The Famous Sunshine Benches of St. Petersburg

Florida, not Russia.  It's amazing how an old postcard can lead you into the depths of strange, useless trivia.  I went to Google and typed in sunshine benches, St. Petersburg, not really expecting much.  I figured this card was nothing more than an advertisement for a bank, First Federal Savings, painted on the one bench. Was I wrong.  St. Petersburg was once was known as the city of green benches.  Way back when, in the first decade of the twentieth century, a local real estate agent put a couple of green benches in front of his office.  They became so popular with passers by, that in 1916, the St. Pete city council decided to install benches all over the downtown business district, that they all had to be green, and they all had to be the same size.  Now I can't imagine that sitting on a bench, next to parked cars, in Florida, especially in the summer was a pleasant experience, but it seems my imagination is a bit faulty on this one.  But unforeseen problems do have a habit of rearing their ugly head.  It seems that the benches attracted the wrong sort of people.  No, not criminals.  Not drug dealers.  Not unruly teens, smoking and making rude comments to proper young ladies.  The benches attracted the elderly.  Old people sitting in the sun, not spending money.  Just imagine, old people in Florida!  In the early sixties, someone on the city council came up with the bright idea of painting the benches in pastels.  Surely orange, yellow, and pink benches would attract shoppers with money to spend.  Didn't work.  In 1967, by order of the city, all the benches were removed.  The old people did not go away.  And that is how civilizations fall.

The message on the back, "Feb 12th Hope you are feeling fine again from your opperation the 16th we are going over to visit the Pedricks.  I am having a nice time and feeling fine.  We are having a lot of rain. Love Aunt Irene."  Mailed to "Mr. & Mrs. B. J. March & Buddy, Road, Schwenksville, R.D. 2, Pa."  And the postmark, "PINELLAS PARK, FLA  FEB. 13, 1964"

Another Brewer Postcard

On September 6,  I published a postcard written by Frank Brewer while he was at Camp Gordon, probably during World War 1.  Like the earlier postcard, this card isn't stamped or  addressed but does  have a  written message. So, each may have been sent in an envelope.   Signed "Brewer" the hand writing on this card seems similar but has enough differences that it might have been written by a different Brewer family member.  Too, the earlier card was full of misspellings, and this one isn't.

The message,

"Dear Friend,

 I am going to make a move in a day or so.  Over to the gulf coast somewhere.  Will let you know my new address when I get there.

This place is fine but I want to look around some.

As ever,

Brewer"

If nothing else, the Brewers get around.  Click on Brewer in the labels section to see both postcards.

The Burgert Brothers of Tampa, Florida

Take a close look at the lower right hand corner to see the photographers mark, "photo by Burgert Bros. Tampa 360316"   Photography and the United States have an interesting history.  Unlike Europe, a lot of American history happened after the invention of photography.   There were the big things.  The Civil War was well documented by photographers like Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner who followed the campaigns with their large format cameras, while the individual soldiers went in for tintypes and cartes de visite to send back home.

The Burgert family represented a very different type of history.  The first Burgert, Samuel, showed up in the Tampa area of Florida when it was little more than a local, sparsely populated fishing port.  For ninety years, from the 1870s to the 1960s, the family recorded the rise of a major urban area.  The Burgert Bros, were Samuel's six sons as well as one daughter-in-law.  They took portraits, pictures of businesses, hurricane damage, and anything else that came along.  I found a great article, with pictures, at www.tampapix.com/burgert.htm

The Florida Lumber and Millwork Association was founded in 1920 as a trade group and is now known as the Florida Building Material Association.

Grace Arrives Safely

Postmarked, "NORFOLK, VA MAY 11, 12:30 PM 1931"  Addressed to "Mrs. Mattie Richardson, 4 Judson St., Haverhill, Mass."  And the message, "Mon. 7-45 A.M.  Dear Sister & Barbara, Just arriving at Norfolk.  Have had a nice trip.  A little rough & foggy.  Have been able to eat 3 meals a day which is more than most can say.  Grace"  Sounds like an adventure.

The Merchants & Miners Transportation Company was founded in 1852 providing passenger service between Boston and Baltimore.  Eventually, it would push routes south, beginning service to Miami in the twentieth century.  In 1926, the company bought three sister ships from the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company.  I've found a photograph, on the net,  of the particular ship design and it matches the illustration at the top of the card.  The Fairfax, The Chatham, and The Dorchester were used for the Florida run, they carried 314 passengers and 90 crew.  A few automobiles could be carried in the ship's hold for an extra charge.

With American entry into World War 2, the entire fleet of the Merchants & Miners was taken for use as troop transports by the U.S. Army.  The Fairfax survived the war, and after the war's end was sold to a Chinese company and  renamed the Chung Hsing.  The Chatham was torpedoed and sunk of Belle Isle Point, South Carolina,  in 1942.   It was the sinking of The Dorchester that made the news.  On the night of February 3, 1942, the ship was hit by a German torpedo 100 miles from Nassarssauk, Greenland. 675 people out of 906 on board died.

Among the dead were four army chaplains, Father John Washington (Catholic), Reverend Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed), Rabbi Alexander Goode (Jewish) and Rev. George Fox (Methodist).  The four chaplains gave up their life vests to others, and linked arms as the ship slid beneath the surface.  The captain also died.

After the war, the company didn't have enough capital to buy back or replace lost ships.  In 1948 they began liquidating assets and went out of business in 1952, 100 years after the founding of the company.

Because this card is a half tone, lots of little dots, I was unable to get a usable scan with out using the de-screen setting on the scanner.  That's why the images are a bit out of focus.

Study In Knees

No, not those knees. "STUDY IN KNEES AT CYPRESS GARDENS Cypress knees come up from the roots of the trees in fantastic and gnarled shapes but never grow to be trees, only acting as breathers, the same as leaves do on other trees." Addressed to "Ralph Lerch, Granite City, Illinois. U.S.A." And the written message, "Here's a little still study in art that you might like. Beautiful scenery & stuff on the beach. Boy they sure give you some service in Miami. A fellow comes out every few minutes and gives you the run down on the horse races and takes your bets while you're lying in the sand. See you all latter. Kindest regards to Fran, Frankie and yourself. Al Lehman" The funny thing is that this postcard has Cuban stamps and no post mark, so it looks like Al took the boat to Havana and did some more drinking, gambling, and maybe hit a brothel or two, then never mailed the card.

-

I've always thought of Las Vegas as the place that nice middle class Americans go to sin in safety. Miami and Havana, both mob cities in the forties and fifties, could have been a little more dicey for Al Lehman. He might have been one of the many low level gangsters who made some cash during prohibition who then went semi-legit with a night club, illegal gambling in the back room, and a couple of girls who sat at the bar and cut in the house for a percentage of their earnings. Miami and Havana would have represented the big time to him. Then again, he might have been a nice respectable guy who wanted a bit of fun that would impress Ralph Lerch. What a great name.

Royal Palm Hotel

Built on the north bank of the Miami River, the Royal Palm Hotel opened in 1897. It was built by Henry Flagler, partner of John D. Rockefeller, railroad owner, and real estate developer. Flagler is credited with starting the resort building boom along Florida's east coast. When he showed up in Miami, it was just a small town, but after only a few years, it had become a major resort destination for the wealthy of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. The Royal Palm was the first building in Miami to have electricity, elevators, and a swimming pool. It was built on a Tequesta Indian burial mound, and over sixty skulls were removed during construction, which were given away as souvenirs. Damaged by a hurricane in 1926, infested by termites, it was condemned and torn down in 1930. Each card has the usual stamp block with postage listed as "ONE CENT For United States and Island Possessions Cuba, Canada, and Mexico. TWO CENTS For Foreign. The color image of the hotel is from the 'FLORIDA ARTISTIC SERIES" and has a publishers mark, "PUB. BY THE H. & W.B. DREW CO. Jacksonville, Fla." Also, "IN GOD WE TRUST." The black & white image was printed by "The Rotograph Co., N. Y. City. (Germany)" The color shot of the dock, "Made in Germany. A. C. Bosselman & Co., New York." The only thing I could find about any of the card publishers was about the son of A. C. Bosselman. The son was killed on New Year's eve, 1921. It seems he got a bit rowdy, got into an argument with a policeman who hit him in the head and fractured his skull. In the articles I found from the January 3, 1921 edition of the New York Times, Bosselman senior was listed as a souvenir manufacturer, and his son was listed as the manager of his father's Washington office.

Florida Oranges

A hand colored, photo composed postcard to make mid-westerners envious of Florida. Never mailed, no message, but printed on the back, "FLORIDA ARTISTIC SERIES COPYRIGHT 1909 BY LEIGH PUB. BY THE H & W.B. Drew Co., Jacksonville, Fla." The postage needed is listed as, "ONE CENT For United States and Island Possessions, Cuba, Canada, and Mexico. TWO CENTS For Foreign." I don't think the post office even makes postcard stamps anymore.