Continuing Lt. William Henn's account of his storm-tossed voyage up the Florida coast in 1891. He and his fellow travelers are off Jupiter Inlet, but caught in a storm that prevents them from making land:

The Minnehaha was pounding and smashing into the short lop on the long, heavy swell, sending the spray flying all over us; but we were making headway, and gradually "clawing off" the shore. The little craft, however, was straining and leaking badly, and the pumps had to be kept going without intermission. At last a dim light appeared on the eastern horizon, and the white crests of the waves to windward seemed more distinct; then, as the stars began to pale, a gray light came stealing over the water, and soon it was bright enough for us to distinguish the white beach with its darker background; and to our relief a dark blurred mass appeared about two points away on our lee bow. This quickly took a definite shape, and proved to be the building of the United States life-saving station at Jupiter. But to leeward [toward shore] as far as the eye could distinguish to the north and south, ran several lines of furious breakers, the spray from which rose in sheets of vapor enveloping the sand-hills in clouds of mist. It was anything but a pleasant sight, and then I think we all realized the peril we were in, and the small chance we had of gaining the shore, if, as a last resource, we should try to beach the boat.

We were now within a mile of the station , and about half a mile from the beach. There was no time to lose, so I ordered Skipper to hoist the ensign "union down," and to half mast our private signal, which was flying at topmast-head. The moment had arrived to "lay the boat to," Would she do it? Skipper said "No"; but try we must. We watched for a "smooth" and eased down the helm. She came up nearly head to the wind; then, gathering sternway, fell of the trough of the sea. The next moment a crest struck her amidships, and sent the water flying half-way up the mainsail. Then she came up to the wind, only to fall off again. It was no use; she would not fall off again.
.......
We now turned our attention to what they were doing at the station, and saw the United States ensign flying in answer to our signals, and the life-boat on the beach with the crew about her. They made a gallant effort to launch her, but the breakers proved too heavy, and to our great disappointment they desisted from making any further attempts. We afterwords learned that the boat had been swamped. The crew remained on the beach,standing by the boat, watching for a chance to come to us.
.......
We had no life-buoys, or anything on board that would float, except for the oars of the skiff and the setting-poles, which wouldn't have been of much account; and to add to my anxiety, two of our ship's company, my wife and the steward, were unable to swim. The danger in beaching the sloop was very great, as there was an outer line of breakers, with deep water between them and the shore. If we were swamped in crossing it, we should sink before we could reach the beach, and there was the additional risk of encountering sharks, several of which were actually visible. We emptied the water-casks and improvised a couple of life-buoys by slinging and attaching to them . . . life lines. Then we could do no more but await developments.

Next: the rescue.

Continuing Lt. William Henn's account of his trip along southeastern Florida's largely uninhabited coast in 1891.

. . . everything appeared to be in our favor -- settled weather, a fair wind, and smooth water; so congratulating ourselves on our good fortune, we made the requisite preparations for a night at sea, and at 6:30 P.M. let her go north.

Until midnight all went well. We passed Hillsboro Inlet, and were some twenty miles to the northward of it, when suddenly the wind increased, and hauled farther ahead, with passing showers of light rain; but the water was still smooth, so we reefed the mainsail and held on. At 3 A.M., having passed Lake Worth Inlet, and being within ten miles of Jupiter, we ran into a heavy swell setting from the northeast, and at once knew that Jupiter Bar was impassable. We could already hear the thunder of the surf on the beach, and see the line of white breakers on our lee beam. The wind all the time was increasing, so we now close-reefed the mainsail and stowed the jib. For a craft of her size, the Minehaha was doing right well, but it was trying work. She was shipping water, and I could see Skipper was anxious. I must confess I felt the same. It was no use disguising the fact, we were "regularly caught on a lee shore," and cut off from gaining any harbor.

However, we remembered the life-saving station at Jupiter; if we could manage to gain it, I knew I could depend on the captain and crew to do all in their power to save us. We spoke but little, for all were aware of danger we were in; but we drove the sloop to the best of her powers and longed for daylight.

About four o'clock we caught sight of Jupiter Light, the bright flash of which sent a ray of hope into our hearts, for it seemed like an old friend, and told us we would soon be within reach of assistance. Would the night ever pass away?

Tomorrow: Conditions get worse.

In 1893, Lt. William Henn, a well-known naval officer and yachtsman, wrote an account of a cruise through Florida waters. Starting on the Gulf coast he and his party rounded the peninsula and stayed in the Miami area for a while before sailing north.

On the morning of March 24 [1891] we had a splendid morning, with a light northeast wind, and all of us felt sorry it was to be our last at lovely Miami. Our friends came down to the wharf to see us start, and fairly loaded the Minnehaha with green cocoanuts, tomatoes, and flowers. After exchanging salutes with commodores and the Yacht Club at Cocoanut Grove, we turned our head toward "Bear Cut," and steered for the open sea.

[The party was forced to anchor and stay in Biscayne Bay overnight due to lack of wind, but proceeded up the coast the following day.]

We put out our trolling-lines, and were soon busy with kingfish. We made good progress, and at 3:30 P.M. arrived off New River bar, which seemed to be smooth; but we decided on anchoring outside until we saw what the weather was going to do, for if the night promised well we made up our minds to give up the expedition to New River, and make a dash for Jupiter Inlet, the state of New River Bar auguring well for finding Jupiter Bar passable.

We were now about to undertake the longest and most dangerous run on the southeast coast of Florida; for we had between fifty and sixty miles to go, with no available harbor, if the sea should rise, for more than two hundred miles, unless we could regain Biscayne Bay. Jupiter Inlet had no more than four feet of water on the bar, and except in fine weather and with smooth water was a dangerous one to attempt. Hillsboro and Lake Worth Inlets, both of which we would have to pass before reaching Jupiter, were no better. If Jupiter Bar was impassible, we would be in an awkward predicament.

Tomorrow we will continue Lt. Henn's account of the journey to Jupiter.

Other than at the Hillsboro Inlet, in the early years of the twentieth century there were no permanent residents living on the beach in what is today Pompano Beach.

It is thought that the first beach resident (albeit seasonal) was Exum Jelks and his family. Around 1907 Exum purchased 100 acres that ran from the beach to the canal (today's Intracoastal Waterway). He paid $2,000.

The Jelks' property was located south of today's Atlantic Boulevard and was platted with the name "Palm Island."

Broward County's website gives the origins for Trade Winds Park, located on the north side of Copans Road, just west of the Turnpike:

Trade Winds Farm was a horse-breeding and boarding business owned and operated by William K. and Margueritte C. McLean from 1944 to 1975. Their original farmhouse still stands and is a museum on the north side of the park. In 1975, Broward County bought the property from the widowed Mrs. McLean for $1.75 million, $150,000 of which she returned to the County for the development of the park.

The McLean's were Pompano residents who had previously owned McLean Machinery and Equipment Company, located at 1001 Hammondville Road. When I-95 was constructed through Pompano Beach, this property was purchased for the Interstate's right-of-way.

In the 1930s and 1940s, one of the eagerly-anticipated winter arrivals in Pompano was a portable roller rink.

Longtime resident, Merrill Pridemore remembers it being most frequently located on the south side of Atlantic Boulevard, west of Federal Highway, but at times it was sited on the corner of NE 1st Street and 1st Avenue (where the Pompano Pharmacy is today) or where city hall is currently located.

The roller rink was tented and had a wooden floor. Music was provided as was a snack bar and an area for viewing the skaters.

The roller rink usually stayed in Pompano for a few months and then moved on to other venues.

The Pompano Beach Historical Society will mark the end of its 2007-08 programming season on Wednesday, May 21st, with our traditioanl covered dish supper at the Dick & Miriam Hood Center (217 NE 4th Avenue).

Members and friends are invited to bring a dish to share and enjoy what is always one of the most delicious meals in town.

That evening we will also install new officers and directors, as well as outline plans for the future.

Please join us.

Tasteful Traditions is the title of a new cookbook sponsored by the Pompano Beach Historical Society as part of the city's centennial celebration. It contains hundreds of recipes from local residents and restaurants.

The new cookbook will be available for purchase at Historical Society events as well as by mail. Those wishing to have a copy mailed to them or sent as a gift, should send a check for $15.00 ($13.00 for the book plus $2.00 for postage and handling) to the Pompano Beach Historical Society, P.O. Box 154, Pompano Beach, FL 33061.

Thought to be Pompano Beach's oldest residential structure, the 1910 Cap Campbell house sits at the corner of NE 3rd Street and 4th Avenue, but this was not where it was constructed.

Cap Campbell built the house on the southwest corner of NE 1st Street and 1st Avenue.

Sometime in the 1920s, Cambell moved the house to its curent location and then built a gas station on the site.

In the 1940s, Moe Hirshman purchased the station and leased it out for a while before having it demolished to build the Pompano Pharmacy.

Stuart B. McIver, a long-time resident of Lighthouse Point and a prolific writers who authored many books and articles on South Florida history, died yesterday.

Stuart was a familiar face at the Pompano Beach Historical Society; over the years he gave a number of talks to its membership. He and his wife Joan could be seen quite often at the Pompano Beach Green Market on Saturday mornings.

His most recently published book was Death in the Everglades: The Murder of Guy Bradley, America's First Martyr to Environmentalism. A partial list of his other works includes Hemingway's Key West, Dreamers, Schemers, and Scalawags, Fort Lauderdale and Broward County: An Illustrated History, Yesterday's Palm Beach, One Hundred Years on Biscayne Bay, 1887-1987, Coral Springs: The First Twenty-five Years and True Tales of the Everglades.

Most important, Stuart was a kind and generous person who inspired many others to appreciate and preserve the history of South Florida.

Back in the 1940s, the area around Atlantic Boulevard (still called Ocean Drive then) and Federal Highway was largely undeveloped, but no one needed to worry about running out of gas, because there were plenty of filling stations.

On the northwest corner sat McNab's Texaco station. Across Atlantic, on the southwest corner, was William's Gulf station, and the McNab Standard Oil station was on the southeast corner.

The only corner that didn't have a gas station was the northeast -- it had a wooden juice stand called The Orange Bowl.

Oh, and gasoline sold for under 20 cents a gallon in 1940.

Most people know that mason is a term for a bricklayer and that a longshoreman is a person who loads and unloads ships.

But there are quite a few historical occupational terms that are less familiar today, such as a fletcher (one who makes bows and arrows), whitewing (street sweeper) and chiffonnier (wig maker).

An extensive list of such terms can be found at Old Time Occupations.

Do any of the women in this photograph look familiar to you?

The unidentified image was found in the Pompano Beach Historical Society's collection, and several attempts to place names with faces have been unsuccessful.

Long-time resident Merrill Pridemore looked at the photo and wrote, "The 2nd from the right resembles Jewel (Bland) Rocker but I can't be sure. It's not the Farmers Market - probably a packing house. Those are empty bean hampers behind the group but I don't believe they were bean graders, judging by their clothing and their shoes."

If you have any insight into this photograph, please contact the Historical Society.

Update: Bud Garner adds some more information: "The lady , fourth from the right is, I believe, Evelyn Keene. Others are "iffy" and I would only be guessing."

Up until 1939, a long line of railroad freight cars lined up along Dixie Highway was a familiar sight, especially during the agricultural packing and shipping season. Along Flagler Avenue in the downtown area, there were three tracks to accommodate the loading of produce while still allowing passenger and through trains to pass the area without delay.

Following the 1939 opening of the State Farmers Market west of town, the Florida East Coast Railway constructed a spur track to the market. It connected to the main line near 15th Street and Dixie Highway (and is still in use).

At the corner of Flagler Avenue and NE Second Street there is a masonry building with the name "Belvill" on it. It was constructed in 1934 by T. Sol Belvill to replace an earlier, wooden building (shown in the photograph) that had burned down.

It is not clear when the original Belvill building was constructed, but it was before the First World War. The old building housed the U.S. Post Office and commercial space on the ground floor and hotel rooms on the second.

Following the fire that destroyed the wooden building, the Post Office moved to the Masonic Lodge building on the south side of Pompano Canal. That building, just east to today's City Hall, was recently demolished to make way for a new library.