Be Careful Saying Something is “The First”

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In my last blog I said Dr. H. H. Hipson was Martin County’s first dentist. Thank heaven I said “Martin County’s.”

After he read my blog, Boo Lowery said, “I thought Uncle Charlie was the first dentist.” I hemmed and hawed, trying to make allowances for myself. When I reread my blog I was thankful that I had said that Dr. Hipson was “Martin’s County’s first.”

Stuart’s early dentist, Dr. Charles E. Roberts, Isabel and Mattie Belle Roberts in front of their home in Stuart now owned by Boo Lowery. Photo courtesy of Isabel’s daughter Dorothy Clark
Boo Lowery said “I thought Uncle Charlie was the first dentist.”

Martin County had not been created when Boo’s great uncle was a dentist. Dr. Charles Roberts was said to be the first dentist in Stuart. At the time Stuart was in Palm Beach County.

I found an account of early dentists I had written for my Stuart book but did not use because of space:

Stuart’s first resident dentist was Charles E. Roberts who came to town with his in-laws the Neil P. McQuaries in 1908 and practiced dentistry here until .1917 when he moved with his family to Atlanta.[i]

[i] “Dr. C. E. Roberts Dies in Atlanta,” Stuart Daily News, October 14, 1926

There were many ads for Dr. C. E. Roberts in the Stuart Times and the Stuart News.
The McQuarie and Roberts families lived in house formerly owned by Capt. Thomas and Desimona Hogarth . It is now owned by Boo Lowery.

Young Charles Neil Roberts married Boo’s aunt, Louise Lowery. They lived in Atlanta where Charles was a sports writer for The Atlanta Constitution for 42 years. They visited Stuart as often as possible.

 Books could be compiled using the historic photographs and oral histories Harris R. “Boo” Lowery III has shared with me. The whole idea of blog-writing is a way to share with others what friends like Boo have shared with me.  Even Boo’s questioning helps me along my way.

Centennial History through Dr. H. H. “Dale” Hipson

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Dale Hipson used to joke that no one had lived in Martin County longer than he had. That was because he was born on May 16, 1925, a little before the county was created.

Mrs. Flora Hipson with her daughter, also named Flora, and baby Dale who was born in Stuart on May 16, 1925.

Dale’s father, H. H. “Harry” Hipson, was the first dentist to establish a practice in Martin County. He moved to Stuart in 1923 as soon as electricity was available five days a week. Originally, his office was in the Feroe building that still stands as the law office of Kibby Wagner. Later it was moved to a large wooden building that once stood on Osceola Street, caddy corner from the Lyric Theatre.

This rare photograph of the building that held the Hipson dental office on its second floor was taken after Harry Hipson moved into his new building.

In 1941 Dr. Hipson, Sr. moved into a Streamline Art Deco building a block away on Osceola Street. Constructed by Charles Conrad, its style was inspired by the architectural designs of the 1939 World’s Fair.

Dale Hipson shared this photograph of his father’s new building.
This photograph of the Hipson Building was taken on November 29, 2024.

After graduating from the University of Florida, Dale attended his father’s alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, and became a dentist too. After Dale retired in 1992, we became close friends through our mutual interests in the environment and local history. Dale was an outdoorsman and actually lived the history I wanted to learn.

Dennis S. “Corky” Hudson sits on the Hipson front steps in front of Earl Dyer Ricou, Dr. Harry Hipson and later-to-be Dr. Dale Hipson.

Since Dale was an amateur photographer and film maker and one of his two best buddies was Earl Dyer Ricou, a professional photographer, I acquired many images to share.

Dale Hipson poses with his inseparable hunting and fishing buddies , Bud Beckman and Earl Dyer Ricou in 1945.

Dale’s third buddy in what his friends called “The Three Musketeers,” was “Henry C. “Bud” Beckman, Jr. All three loved to explore, hunt and fish. All three were the sons of mayors of the City of Stuart so the three families provide a wealth history to share as we celebrate Martin County’s Centennial.

Expect many more blogs using material I have because of Dr. Dale Hipson.

Half-a-Century in One House

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To illustrate the subject of the post.
The Thurlow home since Veteran’s Day 1974 as it looks on Veteran’s Day 2024..

We Thurlows moved into our new house on Banyan Road on Sewall’s Point on Veteran’s Day 1974. It is hard to believe it was 50 years ago.

Dick Granfield designed our house and Paul Siefker of Indiantown’s Martinique Construction, was our contractor.

Years later, when we needed a handicap bath downstairs, Dick’s architect son, Stewart Granfield, designed a pleasing addition.

The three Thurlow children Jenny, Jacqui and Todd stand in front of their home-to-be before the driveway was poured.

Dick Granfield placed our house near the street with a big circular driveway that came close to our front door. Visitors have easy access.

The driveway was great when our kids were little. Other neighborhood children liked to bring their scooters and Big Wheels to our house because of the driveway was not on a busy street and had a gentle slope. Later it was skateboards.

This shows the empty lot next door.
Jenny and Todd, confront each other on our driveway.
Our dog Nifty sits in the lower story of Todd's chair-house.
Across–the-street neighbor, Kimberly Burkey, and Todd enjoy a two-story structure made of lawn chairs.

A noble black man, Charles Lynn, designed and poured our driveway. Ten years later, when Mr. Lynn put in a walkway at the side of our house, I realized he was an artist in his trade who appreciated the beauty of proper proportion and gentle curves.

Starting at left: Bob Johnson, Dale Hudson, Mary Thurlow Hudson, Sandra Robson, Chuck Schad, Jane Greenwasser, Sarah Johnson.

Old and new friends respond to an open invitation to sit in the Thurlow driveway on Friday evenings.

So now our driveway that was so popular with the youngsters is popular with the oldsters. Friday, driveway gatherings that began during COVID 19, continue.

Starting at lower left, Bob Johnson, Sandra Robson, Bill Robson, Margie Dunn, Liz Dunn, Brooks Bahner, Courtney Bahner, Bryson Bahner, Tom Thurlow Chuck Schad, Jackie Burkey, Sarah Johnson.
It is always a highlight when younger family members drop by.
Starting a left, Mark Puchalski, Cathyi Puchalski, Sandra Robson, Bill Robson, Tom Thurlow, Chuck Schad, Jackie Burkey, Sarah Johnson.

Tom Thurlow, in the orange shirt, is no longer with us but his friends continue to gather in his driveway on Friday evenings. Notice the small ramp that allowed his wheelchair to access the driveway.

Starting at left, Gloria Fike, Thresa Schober, Chuck Schad, Margie Dunn, Dale Hudson, Mary Hudson.
Driveway guests become aware of the length of days as the months go by.
J J the turtle and Chuck Schad.

Neighbors, like Curt Grimmer’s Sulcata Tortoise sometimes drop by on Fridays. Chuck Schad is amused.

Chuck Schad, Bella Thurlow and Sarah Johnson,
Our cat, Bella, enjoys driveway gatherings. Here she is expecting a treat from Sarah Johnson. She sits in a chair as soon as they are put out and waits for the guests to arrive.

Our most regular guest is Chuck Schad, who was Tom Thurlow’s classmate in Liverpool, New York, and who came to visit him by bus after the Thurlows moved to Stuart in 1952. He and his wife, Audrey, moved to Stuart, in 1963 where Chuck’s local banking career began with First National that is now Seacoast.

Deanna, Nat, Julia, Mary and Todd Thurlow, Tom and Sandy Thurlow, Ed and Jacqui Thurlow Lippisch, and Jenny, Mike and Evie Flaugh,
Robert Holland photographed our family standing on our driveway in July 2018.

Thank you, Mr. Lynn. Thank you, Dick Granfield. Thank you, Paul Siefker.

I love my 50 year-old house.

Martin County’s Centennial Year is Coming Soon

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On November 9, 1950, The Stuart News put out a 110-page Historical Edition. It had a cover piece showing the plaque at the right of the courthouse entrance that was to be unveiled on Veteran’s Day, two days later. 

This plaque installed 74 years ago is still near the front door of the Court House Cultural Center.
The 110-page Historical Edition of The Stuart News published November 9, 1950 contains a great deal of Martin County History including many first-hand pioneer accounts.

When our family purchased the negatives of local photographer Arthur Ruhnke, the ones immediately appreciated were of the 1950 Veteran’s Day celebration. The Martin County Council for the Arts had just moved into the 1937 addition to the old courthouse.

My favorite shows Dale and Mike Clark sitting on a car trunk in the foreground. Dale Clark had been my husband’s Stuart High School teacher and “Mike,” whose real name was Ella, was a co-founder of the Environmental Studies Center on Indian River Drive in Jensen Beach. Dale Clark was Principal of Jensen Beach Elementary School on Savanna Road when our kids attended.

Martin County Courthouse
Arthur Ruhnke captured this scene on Veteran’s Day 1950. The man wearing a straw hat suspenders adds a vintage quality to the photograph.

When the 1937 addition to the old Martin County Courthouse became the Court House Cultural Center, Mark Taylor who taught photography at FIT, colorized a black and white print of the crowd in front of the flag draped building. Before the days of PhotoShop it was very special. The framed photograph may still be on the wall of the Court House Cultural Center.

Lottie Martin, the former Governor’s wife, looks up at her husband at the podium. County Commissioner Arthur Sims stands behind Mrs. Martin, R. V. Johnson, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Governor John W. Martin, Judge A. O. Kanner , Stuart Mayor Drew W. King and Senator Evans Crary are also standing.

The plaque installed in honor of Governor John W. Martin, for whom our county is named still can be seen on the front of the Court House Cultural Center.

Back to the Beginning

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My first blog was about compiling A Pictorial History of Palm City with my daughter Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch.  The books have arrived from Southeastern Printing, now located in Hialeah. It is time to get them in the hands of those who want them.

Southeastern Printing delivered our books on October 3, 2024

We are having a launch party on the patio of the Palm City Social, a trendy new restaurant in the location of the former Palm City Grill in Martin Downs Village Center on November 21 from 4:00 -7;00 pm. Everyone who wants to buy a book is invited.

Since I had never visited Palm City Social, I drove by and peaked in at the patio after the books arrived. It does seem like a perfect place for our book launch.
A Pictorial History of Palm City, Florida
Beautiful coffee table display.

The beautiful coffee-table style book with its watercolor of palms by acclaimed artist Jerry Rose on its cover should in every Palm City home after Christmas.

Jerry Rose painted the scene soon after he and his wife bought waterfront property from Val Martin, Martin County’s first real book merchant. The painting was a “thank you” to Val.

Jerry Rose

In 1972, Val Martin sold his bookstore in Stuart located across from Memorial Park and founded Florida Classics Library. He began publishing many valuable out of print books, beginning with Jonathan Dickinson’s Journal. When he died in 2021, at the age of 89, his niece, Julie Alexander took over Florida Classic Library located at 11300 SE Dixie Highway in Hobe Sound.

https://floridaclassicslibrary.com

The painting that graces the dust jacket of A Pictorial History of Palm City was on the wall in Florida Classic Library. Realizing it would make a beautiful cover for our Palm City book, I asked and received permission to use it from both, Julie, the owner, and Jerry, the artist.

Russell Holloway

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Pelican Hotel

To know the King sisters who grew up in the Pelican Hotel is to know about Russell Holloway.

Recently, I talked to Nancy Crawford, oldest of Bill and Nina King’s five daughters who told me “Russell raised us.”

I asked how she felt about Russell Holloway living in East Stuart during the years of segregation. Nancy said that was “just the way it was.”

Movie star Fabian Forte with his wife Kate Regan and Pelican Hotel chef Russell Holloway in 1969.

A picture of Russell Holloway surfaced among images collected by Alice and Greg Luckhardt. It showed Russell with Fabian Forte and his wife Katie Regan. It was taken in 1969 during the filming of the movie about the “Notorious Ashley Gang.” Scenes were taken in the Pelican Hotel and some of the cast and crew of the movie stayed there.

Actors – Karen Black and Fabian as Laura and John in 1969 movie (Luckhardt Collection)

When I reread a 1987 newspaper article about Russell Holloway by Sallie Hughes of the Miami Herald, his life story amazed me. The article was published when Russell was 67, after his Pelican Hotel days. Hughes photographed Russell cooking chicken in an East Stuart convenience store but at that time of his life he was also preparing huge dinners for the Macedonia Baptist Church in Gifford where he was pastor.

Pelican Hotel East Stuart Russell Holloway
Russell Holloway who, during his heyday, cooked in the Waldorf Astoria during the summer season, is shown here cooking in the Speedy Mart on Tarpon Avenue in 1987.

From the Hughes article we learn that Russell was born in Albany, Georgia and moved to Stuart with two of his sisters in 1939. His brother-in-law, George Mitchell, head chef at the Pelican Hotel, taught him to cook and hired him to work at the hotel. Before Russell perfected his cooking crafts he was drafted into the U.S. Army. In Massachusetts, he was preparing to go overseas when he met Gen. George Patton in a chow line. Patton, who knew a good deal about the quality of camp fare asked, “Who’s the cook?” Russell replied, “I’m the cook.”

Sgt. Russell Halloway went with Patton to victories in Morocco and Tunisia, through the siege of Sicily and into Nazi Germany.

When Sallie Hughes asked if he fought? Russell said, “Everybody fought. I have the scars to prove it.” Of course, he also cooked. Provisions were good. A Patton favorite was lamb stew that Patton insisted all the men have when he did.

The fighting cook returned to Stuart and became the Pelican’s top chef.

I know my friend Kay King Norris still uses some of Russell Holloway’s “cooking tricks.”

More on Bill King and the Pelican Hotel

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Bill King 1907-1968

Imagine my delight when I recently came across this portrait in my own collection of scans of negatives from Earl Dyer Ricou. Although there was no identification, I felt sure it must be Bill King so I sent it to John Norris his grandson and asked if it was his grandfather. The family confirmed it was .

What better way to share the accomplishments of Bill King than through an Ernest Lyons Column? The column was written after local attorney Jim Littman converted the Pelican Hotel to an office building.

The Pelican Hotel placed ads in Annual Fishing Guides distributed by the Martin County Chamber of Commerce. This is page four of the 1950 edition.

Advertisement for the Pelican Hotel from the 1957 Stuart Fishing Guide.

Local residents could buy memberships to the Pelican Hotel swimming pool. My friend Kay King Norris has always sworn that the guy doing a swan dive off the diving board in this photograph was my husband Tom Thurlow Jr. My Tom was not a show off so I’ve always wondered if it could really be true.

Anyone can leaf through Fishing Guides on Martin Digital History https://www.martindigitalhistory.org/collections/show/6

The King Era of the Pelican Hotel

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The home of Mr. and Mrs. Newman Cheek was built beside the Pelican Hotel. It was convenient for eating meals in the hotel dining room.

Boom times did not last. Drew W. King Sr. came to the rescue of the Pelican Hotel in 1928. I was delighted to find the exact date on newspapers.com.

I knew that King Sr. owned and operated the King Hotel in Tullahoma, Tennessee and wondered if he came to Stuart because of a connection with affluent families from the Nashville area who had been guests in the Pelican Hotel. Members of Maxwell House Coffee Cheek family and H. G. Hill family, with 500 grocery stores in Tennessee, were big Pelican Hotel boosters. Newman Cheek built a house adjacent to the hotel that still stands.

This article appeared in the South Florida Developer on December 14, 1928.

After managing the Pelican Hotel for a decade Drew King, Sr. purchased it in 1939 and, with the help of his son Bill, continued to manage it. However, Drew Sr. died in December 1944 at the young age of 61. Two of his three sons were in the US Army. Drew, Jr. was serving in the invasion forces in the Philippines. Grover arrived for the funeral from Camp Beale, California. His daughter, Libba, was married to George Parks Jr. and another daughter, Lillie, was married to Bernard Coker.

Bill and Nina King’s five daughters; Nancy, Kay, Lillie May, Elsie Ann and finally, Quintina, grew up in Stuart and were, and continue to be, very popular. (The Kings’ use of the prefix quin meaning “five” or “fivefold” always makes me smile.)

Dale and Sue Hipson’s wedding reception was held in the Pelican Hotel in 1953, Nancy King, Dale, Sue, Dr. and Mrs. Hipson and Sue’s mother, Mrs. Eric Fletcher stand in the receiving line.

Running the Pelican Hotel was a family affair. When Sue Fletcher, the girls’ cousin came to visit and help out, she was soon married to the town’s young second generation dentist , Dr. H. H. “Dale” Hipson .

There are so many angles to the Kings’ era at the Pelican Hotel, it will take several blogs to cover them.

I reread the article “Looking down from the Third Floor,” by Christina Martinez, written when she was a South Fork High School Student in 1991. The article about the King girls living in the Pelican Hotel, is in Florida Cracker Sampler produced by South Fork High School teachers Paul Catano and Ron Ashley with a grant from the Florida Endowment for the Humanities. (Now Florida Humanities.)

The Florida Cracker Sampler has been scanned in Martin Digital History and is available to all.

https://www.martindigitalhistory.org/items/show/3468

I think this link will take you right to the PDF of the Florida Cracker Sampler. You can leaf through the whole book. The article about the King sisters is on pages 70-72. The students who wrote the articles and did the interviews are more than “grown up” now.

“Just One Place for a Harbor”

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The local dream for a huge deep water port within the St. Lucie Inlet has been the subject of previous blogs. Harry Lyons, the father of beloved longtime Stuart News editor, Ernie Lyons, has also been the subject of a blog; as has the Florida Photographic Concern. This blog ties all three together is a surprising way.

Harry Lyons dedicated his harbor song to Stuart, Florida because it was where his health was restored after he worked himself to exhaustion in real estate sales on Chicago’s North Shore.

Fifteen years ago, Juanita Brown Fisher and her husband Jack bought a box of old sheet music at Palm City Auction. “Just One Place for a Harbor” published in 1924 was in the box. The words were written by Harry Lyons and the music was composed by Harry’s brother-in-law Chancellor L. Jenks.

When I saw it, I could not believe my eyes. Juanita has a lovely voice and sang in her church choir. I twisted her arm and had her sing the song acapella for a September 9, 2009 Stuart Heritage program. Juanita has never completely forgiven me but she made herself my friend forever. I have had scanned copies of the sheet music in my computer ever since the program.

Those who know music say this song is “a challenge.”

Ernie Lyons’ sister, Isabel Williams, allowed me to make copies of her family photographs. Among them were photographs of Chancellor Jenks at the piano where he composed the harbor song. Harry Lyons wrote on the photograph saying so.

Harry Lyons wrote” Where music for my Stuart Song was composed in 1924. Chancellor sang for my phonograph records of my song.”

The Jenks home was in the affluent community of Kenilworth near Chicago where Harry Lyons’ success in real estate sales inspired his grand plans for Martin County.

Harry Lyons mentioned phonograph records. His daughter, Isabel, and newspaper articles told of Florida Photographic Concern movies showing what new Martin County had to offer. Although no phonograph records or moving pictures films have survived., Florida Photographic Concern prints continue to be discovered and shared.

This photograph of the proposed harbor site recently came to light through the generosity of Bette “Tootsie” Kindberg.

The Ironic Legacy of the Pelican Hotel

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To see all blogs press sandyhistorylady.com

This vintage postcard shows the Pelican Hotel as it looked in the 1920s.

The former Pelican Hotel stands today as the firm law firm of Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary. Its history can be told from many angles, some of them charming, but those will be covered subsequently. The era of the hotel’s management by the King family is a heartwarming one.

 I started to write this blog about Governor John Martin’s involvement in hotel’s coming into existence. The birth of Martin County is filled with what is called “conflicts of interests” today.

Governor Martin was on the board of the Griner Company that managed a chain of hotels. An agreement was signed on January 21, 1926 between the Pelican Hotel Co., with John E. Taylor as President and Gerald J. O’Reilly as Secretary and Charles B. Griner as President of the Griner Hotels, Inc. committing Griner Hotels, Inc. to operate the Pelican Hotel.

The Pelican Hotel was financed by W. I. Shuman’s Southland Bond and Mortgage Company. John E. Taylor was the mayor of Stuart. Gerald J. O’ Reilly was the architect of the Pelican Hotel as well as other buildings financed by W. I. Shuman. Taylor, O’Reilly and Shuman were all members of the County Division Committee.

This amazing photograph of the Pelican Hotel under construction was dropped off anonymously at the Stuart Heritage Museum.

The Pelican Hotel was opened just in time for the huge Martin County Birthday Parade. Governor and Mrs. Martin were the first guests to arrive. The Griner organization put on an elaborate reception, banquet, and dance at the Pelican Hotel on January 29, 1926.

Lottie Martin sits beside her husband Florida Governor John W. Martin. (Florida State Archives)

Previous blogs showed the cars, floats, bands and children passing by the reviewing stand at the Pelican Hotel.

I was shocked when I found the following article that was published in The Stuart News on March 26, 1926.

Page one of The Stuart News, March 26, 1926. ( Newspapers.com)

I am afraid my admiration for our county’s founders took a dive.

The twists of fate amaze me.

After the Pelican Hotel was no longer a hotel he was converted to an office building. It was acquired by Willie E. Gary in 1986, remodeled and furnished with elaborate custom-made mahogany furniture.

Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary, LLC. Attorneys at Law. Photo taken September 15, 2024..
Willie E. Gary (Internet)

Willie E. Gary is an American lawyer. Gary and his wife Gloria established Martin County’s first Black law firm at the age of 27, presently known as, Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson, Gary & Gillespie, P.L.L.C. Gary was portrayed by actor Jamie Foxx in the 2023 film The Burial. Wikipedia