Today, the Galt Ocean Mile is lined with
high-rise condominiums, a remarkable concentration of luxury
dwellings valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. But more than a
half century ago, it was far from a prime property. The politicians
that ran the city in those days, during the days of racial discrimination,
considered it so expendable that it was the only beach area that Fort
Lauderdale's black population was allowed to use.
The story and the name of Galt Ocean Mile
began in 1913, when Arthur Galt, a Chicago lawyer, bought the property.
It took him 40 years to sell it. Galt was the son of the law partner
of Hugh Taylor Birch, who at one time owned most of what is today's
Fort Lauderdale Beach.
Incredibly, the Galt Ocean Mile was
only part of the land that Galt purchased, most of the 8,000 acres that
was included lay west of the Intracoastal Waterway. It was during the
1920's, the glorious days of Florida's land boom, that the “Countess
of Lauderdale”, Gwendolyn Maitland, decided to create a resort
to rival Palm Beach in Fort Lauderdale.
The slim, refined-looking Scot formed the
“British Improvement Association” which promptly began acquiring
property, principally a successful subdivision called Oakland Park and
8,000 acres from Galt. The down payment for Galt property was one million
dollars, a fraction of the total the Countess laid out.
She had assembled an impressive group of
partners: two Lords, a Viscount, an ex-King of Greece and her fellow
aristocratic Palm Beachers, including society's ruling Grande dame,
Mrs. E.T Stotesbury.
The new resort town, incorporated on November
25, 1925, was called Floranada, a combination “Florida”
and “Canada.“ The cornerstone was laid for Florinada Inn,
a golf course was built and a narrow-gauge railroad was ordered.
Then came the bust, the inglorious end to
Florida's great land boom. The company had sold only a few lots and
the money on these was refunded and the land reverted to Galt.
At this point, no one was interested
in buying, but when, in 1927, the last remaining oceanfront public
beaches in the city of Fort Lauderdale were declared off limits to blacks,
by default they used the Ocean Mile, which became known as the "black
beach”. Galt was choosy about selling his land. Prospective buyers
had to promise building programs that met his standards. He once turned
down a good offer when he found the land would be used for a trailer
park.
After World War 11, James S. Hunt and Stephen
Calder formed a partnership and persuaded Galt to sell them a parcel
of land between Middle River and the Intracoastal. They called it Coral
Ridge and dubbed their company Coral Ridge Properties. This brings us
up to the beginning of the story as published in the October edition.
So - “Now you know the rest of the story”
This information comes
from an unidentified reader, a long time resident of the area.
BEACH COMMUNITY
CENTER
THE ANNUAL HOLIDAY ON THE GALT family
event was celebrated on Thursday, December 13th at the
BEACH COMMUNITY CENTER and in the surrounding areas of the
Galt Ocean Village Shoppes just north of Oakland Park Bouveland and
A1A.
This family charity event was offered in
partnership with the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Fire Department
Toy and Food drive and the Broward County Firefighters Children’s
Education Fund, The City of Fort Lauderdale’s Parks and Recreation
Department, Sun Trust Bank, Dan O’Flaherty Re/Max Realty, San
Francisco Puff and Stuffs and Florida Skating Productions all joined
in and made this event the best ever.
Featured were Holiday crafts, food and
drink, ice skating, rock climbing, pony rides, bounce house and the
“Children’s Holiday Kingdom” in the City of Fort
Lauderdale’s NEW BEACH COMMUNITY CENTER. The
City of Fort Lauderdale’s “Show Mobile” offered
a variety of entertainment and contributed to the success of the occasion.
This event also provided residents of the
area the opportunity to see and know our new COMMUNITY CENTER and
recognize the potential of this facility to the Galt Mile Area and
it’s residents.
GALT OCEAN
SHOPPES
IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, INC.
On September 2001, a new group was formed
in the neighborhood for the purpose of improving and promoting the
business community in the Galt Ocean Village Shoppes. The membership
in the new group was expanded to include merchants, business property
owners, and residential property owners all of whom will benefit from
a thriving and safe shopping environment.
The group has met with the City of Fort
Lauderdale in several "Charets" at the Beach community center and
discussed what the community would like their shopping area to look
like and the type of anchor stores, hotels, luxury condos that the
community would like to attract. The group applied for a $25,000
business capital improvement fund to start the process of creating
a Master Plan for the area.
The new group also partnered with the City
of Fort Lauderdale on December 13th in sponsoring the " Holiday on
the Galt" at the Beach community center.
The enthusiasm of the new group and the
vision of change for the area has caught the eye of the City and they
are working hard with us to create a business community that we will
all be proud of.
The officers of the Galt Ocean Shoppes
Improvement Association, Inc. are: President Dr. Alex Leeds, First
Vice President Gabriel Palotas, Second Vice President Lawrence E.
Blacke, Secretary Noel Brown, and Treasurer Marty Sullivan. –Other
members of the Board of Directors are: Dennis Matson, Candy Colby,
Annette Sweet Palotas, Ralph M. Hammaker, Ken Vincent, James Rainey
and Robert Rozema.
If you would like to join the group and
be part of the team that will create the New Galt Ocean Village Shoppes,
call Marty Sullivan at 390-6081.
AUTOMATED EXTERNAL
DEFIBRILLATORS SAVES LIVES!
Every minute of every day sudden cardiac
arrest claims another victim. A heart attack occurs when the arteries
that supply blood to the heart become blocked, the flow of blood which
carries oxygen to the heart is slowed, and the muscle fibers contract
chaotically rather than in sync with each other as they normally do.
Historically, only trained medical professionals
were able to interpret the heart rhythms on manual defibrillator devices.
However, today’s new Automated External Defibrillators (AEDS)
use embedded computer chips to analyze the rhythms instantly and
accurately, making it possible for non medical individuals to
provide vital service with minimum risk.
The Red Cross and /or the manufacturers of
the devices will train you and your employees in the use of AEDs at
your site, at your convenience. Red Cross training is a comprehensive
course and includes:
- Interactive
training and certification in adult CPR, (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
which should always be the first act of caring for a heart attack,
while awaiting use of the AEDs.)
- Thorough,
interactive training and certification on the proper use of AEDs.
- Intensive
practice scenarios.
AEDs have evolved to the point where non
medically trained personnel can be trained to use them and, in coordination
with CPR, give the best possible care to a victim before paramedics
or other professional assistance arrives. Through the years, it has
become evident that the best chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest is through
early defibrillation, and it has been proven that these patients so
treated have a higher survival rate and do very well thereafter. However,
if more than ten minutes have elapsed, the opposite is true. If you
question whether your staff is capable of using a defibrillator, you
must look back on how CPR evolved. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
began as an advanced procedure that only doctors could perform. Since
then, we have found that the public can perform CPR safely. It is taught
widely, even to grade school children.
A CONDOMINIUM IS AN
IDEAL PLACE FOR AN AEDS. LIKE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER, YOU NEED TO HAVE
ONE, BUT HOPEFULLY WILL NEVER HAVE TO USE IT.
(The above information comes from the American
Red Cross and other published sources and organizations endeavoring
to promote the AEDs use by the private sector. These devices cost about
$2,500 , - - - A few dollars might save a life!)
If you are seriously interested, simply Click Here to access the AED Page of the GMCA Web Site. - editor!
The President’s
Column
The October edition of our Newsletter
was so well accepted that we have decided to enlarge it in order to
allow more comprehensive coverage.
As President of the Galt Mile Community Association,
I am proud that, in a few short months, we have established a web site
for all the world to see, available to all member buildings, as well
as this Newsletter. Also available on the web site is a “forum”
which might prove helpful if you have a question.
These electronic and paper media are designed
to establish and cement neighborly relations and provide meaningful
communications among all residents of the Galt Mile.
I have to say at this point that the Web
Site is not getting the action we expected. Out of 24 member buildings,
10 have not yet taken advantage of our web site to show and publicize
their building. Bob Rozema
This publication will accept a limited number
of advertisements for businesses Located East of the Intracoastal for
the next issue, of April 1, 2002. Limited space is available. Please
contact the numbers shown below for more information.
Publisher:
The Galt Mile Community Association
Editor:
Robert Eagan
Associate Editor and Treasurer:
Leah Glickfield
Contributing Editors:
Members of the Board of Directors of the
Galt Mile Community Association
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phones: 563-1001 or 563-5876
[The editor of the Galt Mile Community Association�s web site and newsletter is currently Eric Peter Berkowitz. Click Here to access more complete information on the �Contact Page� of the GMCA Web Site. The obsolete contact information above was reprinted from the original newsletter - editor!]
MEDICAL MIRACLE?
�VERTEBROPLASTY�
It happened to me, so I can verify that
it is possible to have a broken back on Monday and walk pain free on
Tuesday! The combination of osteoporosis and lifting too much weight
is a no-no. I did just that. Afterward, the only part of my body that
functioned properly was that part of my central nervous system devoted
to recognizing and transmitting excruciating pain.
Later, in the hospital, after X-rays and
an MRI, a fractured, crushed vertebra was confirmed. I began imagining
what it would be like taking narcotic painkillers the rest of my life.
But then Dr. Linda Anne Hughes of Holy Cross Hospital�s �Interventional
Radiology Department� visited me in my hospital room and described my
MRI as a �textbook case� for what I later came to know as Vertebroplasty.
The doctor offered to perform the procedure and I readily accepted.
After a painless two-hour operation, using
local anesthesia, with no side or after effects, I was able to move
without pain later that same day. And the next day I was able to get
out of bed and walk absolutely pain free!
In layman�s terms, the procedure involves
injecting the same cement/glue mixture that the orthopedic surgeons
use to fix broken bones in other parts of the body. This compound is
injected into the fractured bone in the spine (the vertebra) using a
small needle, which immediately cements the fracture back together.
The bones have a thin covering with many nerve endings. The pain from
a fractured spine is the result of the tiny broken bone chips rubbing
and irritating this lining around the bone. This procedure �glues� the
bone back together and prevents the small broken bone chips from rubbing
together and thereby eliminates the pain. Only a band-aid is needed
to cover the “wound” made by the needle! Four hours in bed
for the cement to harden and you are ready to dance!
This procedure is not widely known about
in the US: a number of the medical professionals are not yet aware of
it, much less so the public, although it has been used in Europe for
several years. More information is available from:
Dr. Linda Anne Hughes
Office Telephone: 954-492-5791
The Editor
|