Melanie Johanson, Cornell Museum curator, with one of artist Will Kurtz’s

sculptures, Linda the Dog Walker.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

    Melanie Johanson and her husband, Greer Prather, moved to Delray Beach three years ago from New Orleans, where she was an art instructor.  
    In January 2013, the two were sitting across the street from the Cornell Museum at Spot Coffee and saw that there was an open house for the School of Creative Arts. They went over to check it out with the idea that she might try joining the teaching staff.
    Instead, she ended up becoming an assistant to the Cornell Museum’s curator, and when the curator retired not long after, Johanson was promoted to that job.
    “After procuring all the artwork for an exhibit, it’s a fun challenge to figure out how to best show all the different pieces together in one space,” she said.
    “The process intrigues me just as much as the finished product,” she said.  “I love displaying an artist’s sketches, studies and unfinished work.”
    Johanson, 33, said the museum recently moved in a new direction and is bringing in contemporary art from all over the world. An exhibit called “Language Art” opened Nov. 28 and features artwork with a typographic element.
    She enjoys travel and is especially drawn to the Big Apple.
    “I have always had a fascination with New York City — it’s so alive, “ she said. “I love the art galleries and museums, my studio visits with artists, and enjoying the city itself — the mystery of what might be around every corner intrigues me.”
    Her husband works in Pompano Beach managing a distribution warehouse for Shell Oil. On weekends, they go to the Seagate Hotel coffee shop with Wilbur, their lovable Catahoula hound dog.
    “He loves it,” she said, “and so do we.”
    They live near, and regularly enjoy, the beach. But they also like riding bikes, sometimes on the Shark Valley bike loop in the Everglades.
    “You’ll be riding along and there will be this huge alligator,” she said.  “It’s incredible what you can see from the observation tower. You can see birds swimming underwater to catch fish.”
— Mary Thurwachter

Q. Where did you grow up and go to school?
    A. New Orleans, and I attended both Loyola and Tulane universities.
    
Q. What are some highlights of your life?
    A. Falling in love with and marrying my best friend, teaching high school art for six years, moving to Delray Beach three years ago and finding this great job at the Cornell Museum.
    
Q. How did you choose to make your home in Delray Beach?
    A. We were new to South Florida and were hooked as soon as we discovered Atlantic Avenue and the picturesque beach.
    
Q. What is your favorite part about living in coastal Delray Beach?
    A.  I love running on the beach along the water.
    
Q. Do you have a favorite artist?
    A.  My favorite living artist is the painter Wayne Thiebaud and my favorite artist of all time is Edward Hopper.
    
Q. Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
    A.  Professionally, Casey Gleghorn, the first gallery owner I worked with, has taught me so much about navigating the art world. On a personal level, my late grandmother still has a lot of influence in the decisions I make … “what would Granny do?”
    
Q. What music do you listen to when you need inspiration? When you want to relax?
    A.  The Indie Dance station on Pandora radio is constantly playing on my computer at work, and when I want to relax, I love listening to anything by British singer-songwriter Birdy.
    
Q. What’s the last book you read and would you recommend it?
    A.  7 Days in the Art World, by Sarah Thornton, a great read for anyone interested in learning more about the world of contemporary art. My last guilty-pleasure beach read was Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? I like to think that we’d be friends.

    Q. If someone made a movie of your life, who would you like to play you and why?
    A.  I would want it to be a hand-drawn, fully animated movie, and I would want Taylor Swift to sing all of my musical numbers!
    
Q. What makes you laugh?
    A.  Cat videos online!

By Dan Moffett
    
    As it turns out, it’s not that difficult to get the coastal communities to speak with one voice.
    All you have to do is threaten to move them out of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council.
    Palm Beach County commissioners found that out in October when they voted to consider ending the 35-year relationship the county’s municipalities have had with the TCRPC and shift allegiance to the South Florida Regional Planning Council, led by Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
    Hook up with Broward and Dade? Palm Beach County towns and cities said they wanted no part of that.
    At the urging of the county League of Cities, elected officials in dozens of municipalities passed resolutions “strongly opposing” the idea of taking their planning cues from the south. And officials had plenty to say about it, too.
    “We control 12 seats on the Treasure Coast council,” said  South Palm Beach Councilman Robert Gottlieb. “We’re the big fish. If we go south, we won’t have that many seats. We won’t have the influence.”
    “It is a little less money to belong to the one to the south,” quipped Boynton Beach Mayor Jerry Taylor. “In this case, you get what you pay for.”
“Treasure Coast, they are more like us than the people the county proposes to bridge to,” said Gulf Stream Commissioner Robert Ganger. “We’re just too different than Miami and Broward County. I can’t honestly understand why the county would want to switch.”
    Delray Beach also had little interest in changing ties. The city is working closely with the TCRPC to rewrite downtown development rules, and Delray’s planning director, Dana Little, last year was urban design director with the TCRPC.
    Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie probably has a better perspective than most anyone. Her city sits on the Broward border, she served six years on the TCRPC, she works regularly on transportation issues with the southern neighbors, and she began her career in public service as a planner.
    “If we sit at the table with Miami-Dade and Broward,” Haynie says, “we’ll be the least person at the table. The TCRPC staff is wonderful. They’re a group of very talented individuals. Why would we want to change?”
    Municipal officials say they were blindsided by the County Commission’s 4-3 vote on Oct. 7 to consider switching allegiances. Commissioners Priscilla Taylor, Shelley Vana, Steven Abrams and Mary Lou Berger voted for the move; Commissioners Paulette Burdick, Hal Valeche and Jess Santamaria opposed it.
But municipal officials made their concerns known, and at the county’s Dec. 2 meeting, the County Commissioners changed their minds and voted unanimously to remain a member of the TCRPC.
    Money had been part of the motivation to switch. Supporters thought the move could have saved county taxpayers about $300,000 in membership fees. Because shares of the planning group’s budget are appropriated according to population size, Palm Beach County would pay less than Broward or Miami-Dade, which would carry most of the financial burden.
    Haynie says those who complain about the cost of membership in the TCRPC could be satisfied by allowing Palm Beach County, the biggest contributor, more clout in the group’s decision-making.
    Beyond money, proponents of the change argued that Palm Beach County has grown, become more urban and now has more in common with its southern neighbors, culturally as well as economically.
    Also, supporters said the three southern counties have common interests in transportation and climate change issues. Ú

The 17 units of the Sun Dek Beach House have Flexsteel queen-size sofa beds and chairs for the living rooms,

as well as matching bedding, dinnerware and pictures on the wall.

Sun Dek managers Lonny Wolfe (left) and Gloria McMillan greet visiting guest Holly Lathrop.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith

    The Sun Dek Beach House now sports a bright and beachy look.
    “It was a crappy property that I thought we could renovate and make it better,” said new owner Robert Wolfenden. Although he is based in California, his wife is from Delray Beach and he’s often stayed at Crane’s BeachHouse Hotel & Tiki Bar. His company also owns a shopping center in West Palm Beach.
    When staying at Crane’s, he had to walk about one and a half blocks to get to the beach, but the Sun Dek sits across Ocean Boulevard from beach access. He also likes the Ocean Ridge complex for its proximity to the inlet for those who want to go ocean fishing.
    He saw the Sun Dek property listing on LoopNet.com, an online commercial real estate sales site. His company paid $1.5 million for it in March 2011, according to the county property records. Built in 1962, the Sun Dek has a swimming pool and sits on 0.5 acres.
    His company gutted the 17 units; he picked the Frigidaire stainless steel appliances and flooring. Wolfenden turned to interior designer Miriam Paige with whom he has a working relationship. She is a principal with Paige & Coleman Inc. in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
    She selected Flexsteel queen-size sofa beds and chairs for the living rooms, Cuddledown linens with a high-thread count and matching bedding, the dinnerware and even the canvas photos on the walls. “We were going for a bright and beachy look,” she said.
    To run the extended-stay units, Wolfenden turned to Gloria McMillan, whom he’s known for 25 years.
    Her expertise is in social media. As more guests use online travel sites to book their stays, she is knowledgeable about juggling listings on Expedia, VRBO and Booking.com websites.
    The minimum stay is three nights because the complex was grandfathered in as a vacation-stay rental. The owner also had to keep a similar name to maintain that exception, McMillan said.
    All of the beds are “king sizes because that is what is most popular for guests,” she said.
     McMillan hosted an open house for Ocean Ridge residents in late November. She sent invitations via email and had a small signboard sitting in the Sun Dek driveway.
    Guests toured the units and then gathered under the gazebo to sip wine or coffee and nibble an assortment of cheeses, crackers and grapes, while jazz music played.

    The Sun Dek, 6666 N. Ocean Blvd., Ocean Ridge. Prices start at $120 per night for a studio in the off-season to $395 for a two-bedroom suite. Call 732-2544 or visit sundekbeachhouse.com.

Fite Shavell & Associates held a grand opening for their new office location at 648 George Bush Blvd.

in Delray Beach. The office opening was celebrated by a range of associates, including (l-r) Dana Friedfeld,

Meagan Lake, Loren Beron, Valerie Coz, Terry Berman and Kelly Johnson. The evening was made special

with music provided by Walter William and catering by Silver Sac of Boca Raton.

This is the fourth office for the real estate company.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

BELOW: Nadine and David Fite

The former Pope estate, pictured in this rendering, will have

a ‘modern Tahitian-Transitional style.’ Asking price: $30.499 million.

Photo provided

By Christine Davis

    The former Manalapan oceanfront home of the late Generoso Pope, founder and publisher of the National Enquirer, is for sale yet again.
    Located on three acres at 1370 S. Ocean Blvd., it is undergoing extensive renovations that are scheduled to be completed in February 2015, said Jack Elkins, a Realtor with Fite Shavell Inc., who is listing the house with Bunny Hiatt.
    Currently, the seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom, two-half-bath home, with 32,091 square feet, is priced at $30.499 million, but as more aspects are completed, the price of the house will increase, he added. “In a couple of weeks, it will go up $1 million, and will continue to go up accordingly.
    “This will be the largest spec house on the strip. It has 300 feet on the oceanfront; the only house on that strip with more than that is the Vanderbilt estate. It also has 300 feet on the Intracoastal Waterway, which would allow dockage for a superyacht up to 150 feet.”
    The renovated house, which now features deep overhangs and a white coral stone and ipe wood exterior, will look different and feel different, he said. “It’s a tranquil, modern Tahitian-Transitional style, and has all the amenities of a resort.”
    According to the warranty deed, the owner is Blue Water EJ LLC, a company with an address in New Port Richey linked to Edward M. Brown, CEO and co-owner of Patron Spirits, a maker of tequila, rum and vodka.
    The architect, Gregory Bonner, of B1 Architects in West Palm Beach, has been working on the house for the past year and a half, and called the project massive.
    “It was a gut-rehab. Pretty much everything is new. We left the shell, but we did add some square footage. All the openings in the walls are different; the roof is different; but the floors are intact.”
    Almost all of the rooms have ocean views and there are two elevator towers. In addition to the living and dining room and bedrooms, there are also an art gallery, library, club room, bar, wine room, family room, media room, home theater, children’s family room, second-floor family room, cabana, office, and a gym with a spa salon, massage room and yoga terrace.
    In both the living room and family room, three 9-by-20-foot sections of glass remain and were incorporated into the new design, because “they can’t be made today,” Bonner said.
    Some outstanding new features include a soaring glass staircase in the living room, which has 20-foot ceiling heights, a 20-foot-high-by-6-foot-wide waterfall in the grand foyer, and ceilings throughout with a variety of architectural embellishments. The ladies’  bathroom has a fireplace, and the 20-by-40-foot master bedroom with a ceiling height of 17 feet at the perimeter, is crowned by an 18-by-27-foot skylight.
    Outside, in addition to the dock, there are a pool, grotto, water features, and a pond with a bridge. When a visitor drives through the front gate, the first view will be a 16-foot-high waterfall, which masks a 6- to 10-car garage/man cave with a skylight, which was built into a slope. This is in addition to the main garage, which can hold 10 to 12 cars.
    The landscape designer is Keith Williams of Nievera Williams Design.
    The owner originally planned to live in the home, but has since decided otherwise, Elkins said. “Mr. Brown saw that Manalapan is a hot market, and with that much water frontage, he wanted to make an exceptional house on the property as an investment opportunity.”
    A rundown of the home’s transactions — a total of more than $123 million — since 1999:
    • In 1999, Delray Beach developer Frank McKinney purchased the property from Lois Pope for $15 million.
    • Following an extensive remodel, McKinney sold it in November 2000 to the Binky Revocable Trust for $27.5 million, to software entrepreneur Daniel Gittleman.
    • July 2004, McKinney’s company, Venture Concepts International Inc., took back the property’s title for $19  million.
    • Two months later, another sale of the property was recorded. This time, McKinney’s company sold the estate for $22.4 million to motivational speakers Peter S. and Tamara A. Lowe.
    • June 2009, there was a recorded sale for $22,458,456 to Germantown-Seneca Joint Venture; it was an amount almost equal to the existing Bank of America liens on the property. According to SEC filings, Germantown-Seneca’s general partners were two wholly owned subsidiaries of Bank of America: Ritchie Court M and Harper Farm M., both Maryland-based corporations.
    • MGM Designs, LCC. bought the estate on Feb. 25, 2010 for $12 million.
    • And finally, the Dec. 2012 sale of $15,630,000.

Brendan Lynch, Tom Lynch, Karen Granger, Connor Lynch and Scott Porten

celebrate Tom Lynch’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the Greater Delray Beach Chamber

of Commerce’s Luminary Gala.

Photo by Jim Greene

                                
    The Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce announced its winners at its 2014 Luminary Gala in October. Tom Lynch won the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award; Tim Young, President of Delray Motors, was named the 2014 Business Person of the Year; Delray Honda was named the 2014 Business of the Year; Woo Creative received the 2014 New Business of the Year award; C.R.O.S. Ministries was named the 2014 Nonprofit Organization of the Year; PeterMark Salon was the 2014 Retailer of the Year; Caffe Luna Rosa was named the 2014 Restaurant of the Year; 2014 Delray Beach & Beyond — Corporate Reach Award went to 21 Drops; and the 2014 Ken Ellingsworth Community Service Award went to Tiffany Peterson of Spodak Dental Group.
                                 
    The Delray Beach Center for the Arts at Old School Square will host its second annual publishing seminar, Publish or Perish, from 1 to 4 p.m. Dec. 6, at the Angelique Tea Room in the Cornell Museum. A panel with Sally Ling, Lewis Banks, Winston Aarons and Pam Carey, moderated by Barbara Cronie, writing program director of The Writers’ Colony, will discuss self-publishing vs.  traditional publishing.
    Also, authors Howard and Ellen Goodman will describe their experiences in China from the memoir/travelogue, Disoriented: Two Strange Years In China As Unexpected Expats. The Old School Square Cultural Arts Center is at 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. The seminar is $75. Call Ann Smith at 243-7922, Ext. 317.
                                 
    Tennis icon Venus Williams will design the lobby, two models and some of the individual units of an apartment building complex developed by Jorge Perez,  the 172-unit SofA I and 2, just south of Atlantic Avenue between First and Fourth avenues, in Delray Beach. “The interior design style at SofA can be described as mixed media. Similar to the way an artist would approach a canvas, it has many different elements of décor,” said Ariana Ranieri, speaking on behalf of Williams’ VStarr design team.
“The overall space has an artsy, industrial-type feel, like something you would see when you walk into a warehouse-style art gallery. We were mindful of this scheme in relation to the amenity features and those are equally as unique in concept. Residents will find eclectic beauty around every corner.”
                                 
    Honey, a new venue that offers food choices by Chef Nick Morfogen, cocktails courtesy of in-house mixologist Angela Dugan, and nightlife in its renovated space at 16 E. Atlantic Ave. in Delray Beach, celebrated its opening night on Oct. 29. Honey’s hours are 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday with Sunday hours to be announced. Valet parking is available. Call 270-7187.
                                 
    Society 8 Hospitality Group launched its newest restaurant concept, Mastino, a wood-fired Italian kitchen and bar, in Pineapple Grove at 25 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach. The casual eatery will offer an array of classic Italian dishes, craft beverages and Italian desserts. Mastino will also be neighbors with SoLita, an upscale Italian eatery, for those looking for a fine-dining experience. Call 922-0900.
                                 
The Boca Chamber’s 33rd annual Holiday Auction will be on from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Dec. 10, at the Via Mizner Golf & Country Club, 6200 Boca del Mar Drive, Boca Raton.
                                 
    Dr. Larry Kawa, will speak at the Gold Coast Tiger Bay Club lunch on Dec. 10, at the City Fish Market on Glades Road and Florida’s Turnpike Boca interchange. A political activist who recently filed a federal lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, Kawa is a frequent commentator on FOX news and is a children’s orthodontist in Boca Raton. Cost to attend is $35 for members and $45 for guests. Call 852-0000.
                                 
    Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s new Center for Colo-Rectal Surgery will specialize in an integrated approach to the surgical treatment of colo-rectal diseases, with a focus on collaboration among physicians from Boca Regional and throughout the region. The hospital is a recognized leader in colo-rectal care, earning the 2014 Gastrointestinal Care Excellence Award by Healthgrades for the 10th consecutive year. Dr. Andrew Ross will serve as the center’s director.
                                 
    Rabbi Josh Broide has joined the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County as the organization’s first director of community engagement. Broide has served the local Jewish community in a number of professional roles since he moved to the county in 2000. Most recently, he was outreach rabbi for Boca Raton Synagogue, where he previously served as executive director. Broide has also served as local director of the Jewish Student Union and as rabbi at Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach.
                                 
INSET BELOW: Eva Hill

   In November, the  Palm Beach International Film Festival presented Eva Hill, president and CEO of Britannia Pacific Properties, with the Gutsy Gals Inspire Me! Award at its kick-off gala celebrating the 20th Annual Palm Beach International Film Festival at Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa.
    Hill helped direct the effort to bring the International Film Festival to Palm Beach. She also helped create Eau’s annual charitable event, Artists for Others, which will be held on March 26, 2015. Proceeds from the event will be split among Children’s Home Society, Habitat for Humanity South Palm Beach and Holy Ground Shelter For Homeless.
    Hill’s energy level is boundless, especially when it comes to her humanitarian and charitable work. Calling on her leadership skills and network, she works to help improve the lives of families and children in crisis.
    “I often hear the phrase ‘give until it hurts,’” said Hill. “I prefer to say, ‘give until it feels good!’”
    Recently, Hill was able to largely furnish a number of local Habitat for Humanity homes with Eau Palm Beach’s guest-room furniture no longer in use.
    In addition to providing funding, Hill has participated in mission trips to Mexico to build homes for residents in poverty stricken areas. She also has been involved with WEAVE (Women Escaping a Violent Environment) and Sophia’s Heart (a homeless shelter for families).
    Britannia Pacific, the U.S. real estate investment arm of the Lewis Trust Group, owns the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa. Under Hill’s leadership, the hotel is now recognized as a AAA Five-Diamond Award Property and part of Preferred Hotels and Resorts. Also, the resort was recently ranked No. 6 in Condé Nast Traveler 2014 Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Resorts in Florida. 
    Tickets for Artists for Others are $295. Call 540-4994.
                                 
    The Greater Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce will honor its notable winners at its 2014 business awards luncheon on Dec. 10, at Indian Spring Country Club, with networking at 11:30 a.m. and lunch at noon.
Easy Pay Tire will receive the Chamber’s Legacy Award for longevity and commitment to the area. Harvey Oyer Jr., who passed away in 2010, will receive the Harvey Oyer Community Involvement & Corporate Citizenship Award, which recognizes an individual business leader who has contributed valuable time and resources within the community. TrustBridge will be named the Nonprofit of the Year.
    The voters’ choice, “Young Professional Leader of the Year Award,” will also be named at the luncheon. The nominees are Brittany Etheridge with TooJay’s Restaurant & Deli; Eric Rosenblum with Southgate Design; and Teresa Dabrowski with the Education Foundation of Palm Beach. Indian Spring Country Club is at 11501 El Clair Ranch Road, Boynton Beach. Tickets are $40. Call 732-9501.
                                 
    Boynton Beach resident Barbara Barlage, assistant branch manager at BankUnited in Boca Raton, was recently appointed to the board of directors for the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum & Learning Center in Boynton Beach.

    Barlage, a Boynton Beach resident, was a long-time board member for the Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce having served as board president and as chairwoman for the Chamber’s annual Taste of Boynton. She also served as a board member for the American Heart Association.
                                 
    The 12 Days of Giving, an event which will kick off online Dec. 12 at RewardsforCauses.com, will donate 100 percent of its proceeds to support local causes for a 12-day period ending on Dec. 24.
    Preview dining, fitness and travel offerings of businesses in Palm Beach and Broward counties, including Dada, Boca Surf and Sail, Eleven Salon and Spa, Nu-Turf and Braman BMW, and click “Get Reward” to receive any offer.
    Then select from a list of featured local causes, and 100 percent of the flat $10 purchase price will be donated to the cause of your choice. The reward is immediately ready to use and accessed via “Your Account” and email, and redeemed directly with the business.
    “Every deal you purchase on RewardsforCauses.com supports a great cause and saves you money,” said Delray Beach resident Nicholas Brusca, founder of Rewards for Causes. “Look at it as donating to your favorite charity to receive an exclusive reward. Our standard donation is 50 percent of the proceeds to the cause of the purchasers’ choice, but for these 12 days, we are donating 100 percent to the causes.” 
                                 
    Neighbrhds (www.neighbrhds.com), a product of Urban Living Marketing, has recently released an app with Realtor partner Nestler Poletto Sotheby’s International Realty.
    The app will provide users with local information tailored specifically to Delray Beach neighborhoods. Each Neighbrhds app includes a community social feed, as well as a list of the top local restaurants, bars, shopping and coffee shops. The apps are freely available on iOS and Android.
    To download the app, visit www.neighbrhds.com or search for “Delray Beach” in either the Android or iOS app stores. 
                                 
    Rolando Chang Barrero Fine Art Gallery opened in November at 711 Lucerne Ave., Lake Worth.  Featuring paintings, sculpture, photography, couture gowns, and artist-designed wallpaper coverings, Barrero aims to take his former ActivistArtistA Gallery to a new level. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day except Thursday. Call (786) 521-1199 or visit  rolandochangbarrerofineart.blogspot.com 

Christine Davis is a freelancer writer. Send business to her at cdavis9797@comcast.net.

LEFT: James ‘Bay’ McBride Jr. drowned in 1956 while swimming at an unguarded beach. It was illegal for him to use the ‘whites only’ beach off Atlantic Avenue.

BELOW: Bay’s mother, Rosabelle McBride, visits his grave.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Teen’s drowning echoes

through city’s civil rights history

RELATED: Oral history project being planned

By Ron Hayes

    After church on that Sunday afternoon — May 13, 1956 — a bunch of teenagers gathered on a stretch of sand south of Delray Beach.
    “I was a junior in high school and I drove my father’s truck,” Walter Stephens remembers. “Gas was 25 cents a gallon back then.”
    Where private homes and condos stand today, there were only dunes.
    “Nothing but woods,” Stephens says. “We made a path.”
    No private homes, no condos. No lifeguards.
    “None of us could swim. We’d just get in the water and play.”
    Among the teenagers playing in the water that afternoon were brothers  Jaycee McBride, 11, and James, 15, whom everyone called “Bay.”
    As they frolicked and splashed in the waves, Jaycee McBride was caught in a rip current and swept away from the shore.
    “He was going up and down, only about 50 feet out,” Stephens recalls. “We didn’t know what to do. We just stood there and watched, but Bay was the type of guy who’d do anything for you. That’s why he tried to save his brother.”
    Grabbing an innertube, James McBride went in after Jaycee and managed to push him out of the treacherous undertow, only to be caught in the current himself.
    “We got Bay once he got out of the undercurrent,” Stephens explains, “but we had no idea how to do CPR or nothing. It was sickening because we just sat there and watched him die.”
    That Sunday was Mother’s Day, and James “Bay” McBride and his friends had been swimming south of the city’s guarded beach because — being black —  they had to.
    “We finally flagged some cars down, and the fire department came and got him.”
    On that Mother’s Day afternoon, Bay McBride’s mother was returning from the hospital, where she’d been visiting a sister-in-law, when a nephew flagged down her car. The police had come to their house on Southwest Seventh Avenue.
    Rosabelle McBride was 32 that day. She will turn 91 this month. Her hearing is poor and her voice thin, but her memories are, for the most part, sharp.
    “I really don’t know where that name ‘Bay’ came from,” she says. “We just always called him that since he was a baby. He was interested in going places and doing things. We bought him a bicycle and he would put his younger brother, Alan, on the handlebars and ride through the community and just look around and come back.
    “I remember he saw all the houses being built and he said, ‘My mother wouldn’t want her own home.’ We were poor and had to rent, but Bay didn’t know we couldn’t afford our own home, so he just thought I didn’t want one.
    “He was so nice in Sunday school, and kind. He was a lovable person. Everybody loved him.”

Delray Beach’s efforts to de-annex the black neighborhoods attracted national media attention.

A grainy report by Miami television station WTVJ still exists.

Rosabelle and Jaycee McBride pose at the grave

of James ‘Bay’ McBride shortly after his death in 1956.

The 100-foot strip of beach in Ocean Ridge that was designated for use by blacks.

Photos courtesy of the Delray Beach Historical Society

Integration efforts underway
    The struggle to integrate the beach at Delray did not begin the day Bay McBride drowned. The NAACP had sued the city for equal access a year earlier, on April 30, 1955, but his death ignited a battle that flared intermittently for the next eight years.
    The rest of the story survives in faded newspaper clippings at both the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum and the Delray Beach Historical Society, personal memoirs and a grainy, 12-minute television report by Ralph Renick on Miami’s WTVJ.
    In 1954, Delray Beach bought a 100-foot strip of rocky beachfront from Ocean Ridge, just north of Briny Breezes, and dubbed it “Negro Beach.” Now they spent another $7,278 to install portable toilets and lighting, and $3,728 more to hire three armed deputies.
    The beach satisfied no one.
    Ocean Ridge residents complained that the blacks were driving down property values, and the black beach goers were offended by both their segregation and the small, rocky stretch they’d been granted.
Many blacks, like Walter Stephens and his friend, Bay McBride, preferred the deserted stretch about a mile south of town.
    Alfred Straghn, a young man just starting in the funeral business at the time, handled James McBride’s funeral.
    “I went up there,” remembers Straghn, now 86, “and I told my wife, ‘I’m going to take one dive in the water and come back home.’ ”
    He snorts. “I split my head on a rock!”
    
News of furor went national
    On May 20, 1956, the Sunday after James’ death, about 35 black residents staged a “wade-in” by the Seagate Club while perhaps 100 whites looked on until Police Chief R.C. Croft closed the beach.
    The next week, the all-white City Commission voted 3-1 to ban blacks from both the beach and a municipal pool at the southwest corner of Atlantic Avenue and A1A. The sole dissenter: Catherine Strong, 45, a former mayor.
    “No member of the Negro race shall go upon the beach or into the swimming pool,” the ordinance stated.
And then a second ordinance was passed allowing police to search cars for weapons.
 Barricades were estab-lished at the Atlantic Avenue bridge, at Casuarina Road and on what is now George Bush Boulevard. Both black and white motorists were stopped, and Croft proudly displayed the “weapons” that were confiscated: knives, machetes, a bailing hook, a small pistol and a single hunting rifle.
    “They were tools!” says Dennis Murray, who took part in the protests. “They found machetes and a shotgun in a trunk. Back then, if you saw a rabbit, you’d shoot it.”
    Week after week, the city’s black residents staged “swim-ins” at the beach.
    Next the city voted to de-annex the black section of town, exiling about 3,600 black residents, and the measure was sent to Tallahassee. Again, Strong was the only dissenting vote.
    The furor had grown so loud that Jet, the national black news magazine, featured a story about James McBride’s death and the ongoing confrontations with police.
    Finally, on July 2, 1956, a resolution was reached when the City Commission, in a secret meeting, agreed to a petition from the Negro Civic League, led by Carver High School coach C. Spencer Pompey to drop the de-annexation effort and build a swimming pool in the city’s black neighborhood.
    The agreement was made public with WTVJ’s Renick serving as a moderator.
    Two weeks later, a bid was let for the building of a pool and a biracial committee was formed, led by Coach Pompey.
    In October 1960, the “Negro Beach” was annexed back by Ocean Ridge and its mayor, J.J. MacDonald, announced, “All our moves and acts are aimed at getting the Negroes off our beach.”
    In 1963, the land at the “Negro Beach” in Ocean Ridge was sold to a private developer.
    Again, blacks staged “wade-ins” at the Delray municipal beach, but times had changed, and two years later, on July 4, 1964, the matter was resolved once and for all when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, guaranteeing equal access to all public facilities.
    Strong, the City Commission member who stood alone against the segregated beach, died that same year. In 1965, the Catherine Strong Civic Center was opened on Southwest Sixth Street.

Faith, hope, love and memories
    Walter Stephens, who watched his friend drown nearly 60 years ago, is 73 now and retired after 30 years as a cable splicer for Florida Power & Light Co.
    “A boy drowned with no lifeguard protection,” he says. “That’s what initially sparked the issue.
“After that, we all learned to swim.”
    James “Bay” McBride, the youth who drowned, has rested in the Delray Beach Memorial Gardens on Southwest Eighth Avenue for 58 years. He would be 73 if he’d survived the undertow.
    Jaycee McBride, who did survive, is 70, retired from the Ford assembly line and living in Kansas City, Mo.
    Their sisters, Charlotte Darlene Oliver and Patricia Arnette, weren’t even born when James and Jaycee went swimming.
    Arnette teaches English to foreign speakers at Highland Elementary School.
    Oliver is a corrections officer at the county jail. On her bicep she has a tattoo of a family tree. Under the heading Faith, Hope, Love are the names of family members who are gone. The first name says simply, “Bay.”
    Their mother, Rosabelle, worked for many years as a maid to white families in Delray Beach, then became a cook, first at Highland Elementary School and then Plumosa Elementary School.
    Today, she lives in the home she owns on Northwest 11th Avenue, just across the street from Pompey Park and the swimming pool activists fought to have built all those years ago.
    “I hated to lose my son’s life,” she will tell you, “but I’m happy that he helped achieve integration for the black race.
    “He died for a good cause.”

A nesting pair of burrowing owls

at the Boca Raton Airport.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

A few American kestrels call the Boca Raton Airport home.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack
    
    Life near the Boca Raton Airport may become much safer for gopher tortoises, raccoons, migrating snowbirds — even the human kind — and a multitude of other critters, thanks to a new study designed to keep accidental meetings of wildlife and planes to a minimum.
    Wildlife biologists made their first visit to the Boca Raton Airport last month and began a yearlong assessment — largely funded by the federal government — to determine which bird species may be making unscheduled landings and takeoffs on the runaways and what other animals might transverse the tarmac when no one is looking.  
    The study, required beginning this year by the Federal Aviation Administration for airports with the level of jet service Boca Raton now has, is primarily focused on keeping pilots and passengers from getting injured.
    In the process, however, the study could help a variety of species, including a colony of endangered burrowing owls that have already taken up residence on the airfield.  
    “Anything that enhances the safety of the flying public and the wildlife is beneficial for the airport and for the community,” said Clara Bennett, executive director of the airport. “This is really a neat project and we’re really excited about it.”
    During the next 12 months, wildlife biologists and others from the consulting firm of Loomacres Wildlife Management of Warnersville, N.Y., will visit the airport to do multiple surveys each month from six sites on the field.
    Once the survey is completed, researchers will provide the Boca Raton Airport Authority with a series of recommendations designed to improve safety.
    “The report will include a whole menu of steps we can use to mitigate wildlife strikes,” Bennett said.
    The study will include night visits and will also survey areas within a five-mile radius to determine which geographic conditions — such as lakes and open fields — might increase the chance of wildlife strikes.
    The airport abuts the FAU Preserve, home to burrowing owls and gopher tortoises. Owl nests on airport property are marked to ensure they’re not disturbed during maintenance.
    The assessment has an estimated $90,000 price tag with the FAA picking up 90 percent of the tab and the Boca Raton Airport Authority responsible for the remaining 10 percent.
    The airport authority also recently received approval for another grant from the FAA, which is designed to enhance safety.
    With an estimated $300,000 in federal dollars and about $30,000 from its own budget, the authority will move forward on design of an Engineered Material Arresting System at the north end of the runway.
    The EMAS system will use crushable concrete placed at the end of the runway — visible from Spanish River Boulevard — to stop an aircraft that overruns the landing strip. Tires of the aircraft would sink into the lightweight concrete, slowing the aircraft as it rolled  through the material.
    The system is in use in 51 airports throughout the country, including 14 general aviation airports.
    There have been seven instances where it has been used effectively — including one in Key West — to stop planes that overran the runways, according to Bennett.
    “This is one of those things you need to have that you hope you never have to use,” she said.
    The estimated cost of the EMAS project is expected to be more than $5 million, with the vast majority of the funding coming from state and federal government sources and the airport authority contributing the rest.

Back on the market after 10 years with the Blackstone Group,

the Resort & Club was founded in 1926 by Addison Mizner.

Photo provided

By Christine Davis

    The Boca Raton Resort & Club, a Waldorf Astoria resort, is on the market, but without a price.
    “As with any asset of this stature and size, we need to spend time getting investors educated on the opportunity; we are in the preliminary marketing phase,” said Greg Rumpel, managing director of JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle, Hotels & Hospitality), the agent representing the transaction.
    “The property has a specific target audience and it will be the largest single transaction in Florida from the hotel perspective,” Rumpel said. “We are identifying and talking with a number of investors. This is not a property on the corner of I-95.  
    “The resort is steeped in history, 1,047 rooms, a massive club program and two golf courses. It’s an extensive undertaking for everyone.”
    The Boca Raton Resort & Club has been owned by the Blackstone Group for 10 years, which has invested time, effort and money in repositioning the club, he said. “It’s performing well, and it’s the right time to execute its stated goal (which is) to return capital to its investors.”
    The Blackstone group had invested more than $250 million in the resort, in addition to its latest $30 million renovation of the Cloister building recently completed.
    “We are seeing some large transactions in Florida, and that’s a testament to the strength of the market,” Rumpel said. “We are in a strong cycle right now.”
    In 2004, H. Wayne Huizenga’s Boca Resorts Inc. sold the Boca Resort, along with other properties that included Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel and Marina and the Radisson Bahia Mar Resort and Yachting Center, to the private investment group Blackstone in a $1.25 billion deal.
    The Boca Raton Resort & Club was founded by Palm Beach society architect Addison Mizner in 1926 as the Cloister Inn. But when Florida’s boom went bust in the mid- to late 1920s, Clarence Geist, a wealthy Philadelphia utilities company owner, took over Mizner’s bankrupt Cloister Inn and reopened the hotel in 1930 as the Boca Raton Club.

Marcel Breuer was one of the architects who created the ‘Brutalist’ design of IBM’s Boca Raton campus,

now called Boca Corporate Center and Campus.

Photo provided

Addison Mizner’s design for the Cloister Inn, now the Boca Raton Resort & Club,

relied on his signature Mediterranean Revival style.

Photo courtesy of the Boca Raton Historical Society

Philip Johnson’s postmodern building at Camino Real and South Federal Highway serves as office space.

Photo courtesy of the Boca Raton Historical Society

INSET BELOW: Bonnie Dearborn; Marcel Breuer

More Boca history: City had swankiest barracks

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

    Barrel tile roofs, stucco walls, wrought iron accents, colonnades and vaulted ceilings are some of the architectural details that characterize architect Addison Mizner’s work in Boca Raton, said Bonnie Dearborn, a historic preservation consultant who volunteers with the Boca Raton Historical Society.
    You can still see Mizner’s signature Mediterranean Revival style at The Boca Raton Resort & Club, where the southeastern section was originally his Cloister Inn, which opened in 1926.
    “But over the years, the area has been influenced by many other nationally and internationally recognized architects, too,” Dearborn said.
    Consider Leonard Schultz and S. Fullerton Weaver, best known for designing luxury hotels such as The Breakers in Palm Beach.
    In 1927, they were charged with creating a 300-room addition to Mizner’s original 100-room inn. Today both sections are still visible at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.
    Marion S. Wyeth, who designed Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, also was known for his Mediterranean Revival style, worked on the resort, too. He was commissioned to build the cloister at The Palm Court that connected older and newer parts of what was then The Boca Raton Club.
    Maurice Fatio, who had opened an office in Palm Beach, also did work at the resort. He replaced the original indoor saltwater pool designed by Schultz and Weaver with the Valencia Room theater, which is still in use today.
    “With the pool below it, the room has great acoustics,” Dearborn said.
    Another famous name to design his way into the city was Marcel Breuer, a Modernist who also created New York’s Whitney Museum of Art.
    He was brought to Boca Raton in the mid-1960s to design the headquarters for IBM. Here, he used his signature Brutalism architecture that appears in the building as repeated geometric shapes and raw concrete, often bearing the marks of the wood used in the forms that shaped it.
    “It is a massive building on tree-like piers,” Dearborn said. A newspaper headline from the times described the offices as “exclamation points of concrete” set around a manmade lake.
    Although IBM left town, the building has been repositioned as the Boca Corporate Center and Campus and is still in use today.
    More recently, Philip Johnson, known for his “Chippendale” and “Lipstick” buildings in Manhattan and his Glass House in New Canaan, Conn., made a “pronounced architectural statement” in Boca Raton. His postmodern wedge-shaped facade gave interest to the building that still serves as office space at the corner of Camino Real and South Federal Highway.

Society architect Addison Mizner

    And in case you are wondering, the first architects in Boca Raton were the Seminoles, explains Dearborn. They used the Wood Frame Vernacular style to turn local materials into comfortable dwellings called chickees. Cruise just about any waterway today and you are bound to see one of these nicely fitted out in a Boca back yard.

About this series

    From its pre-Columbian inhabitants to the ‘city with an attitude’ it has become, Boca Raton’s history is rich and compelling. Much of it was revealed during a four-part series, Boca History 101, last month at FAU under the auspices of the Lifelong Learning Society.
    Susan Gillis, curator of the Boca Raton Historical Society and Museum, and historic preservationist Bonnie Dearborn were the instructors.
    Coastal Star reporter Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley attended each session and shares her observations. Her reports on the first two classes — about how a farming town became a vacationers mecca and the hardships of early settlers — appeared in November. The final two installments — about architecture and life during World War II — appear in this issue.

Susan Gillis

Many women served at the BRAAF base in the Women’s Army Corps as nurses. But their lives could be

pretty uncomfortable. Rattlesnakes infested the airfields, and alligators ventured out of nearby canals.

Although there were 800 buildings on the BRAAF, some were poorly constructed or temporary

such as these Quonset huts. After the war, they were moved to Briny Breezes, where they were used

for a ceramics studio and woodshop.

Army pilots prepare to take up a plane so that they can train with radar at the BRAAF in 1943.

The most frequently used planes on the base were B-25s and B-17s.

Photos courtesy of the Boca Raton Historical Society

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley
    
    If you were alive in 1942, you may have been one of the 15,000 people stationed at the Boca Raton Army Air Field to learn about that newfangled radar.
    But don’t write or speak the word; it’s forbidden. That’s just one of the security measures taken on base to protect this secret science that would greatly affect the outcome of the war, explained Susan Gillis, curator of the Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum.
    The base stretched from Palmetto Park Road to just above Yamato Road and from Dixie Highway to the CSX Railroad tracks on land that today is the Boca Raton Airport and the FAU campus. In fact, if you tour the campus, you can still see a few of the old buildings.
    These almost 6,000 acres of land were taken from more than 50 property owners by eminent domain. “Although they were compensated for their land, no one was happy with what they got,” Gillis said.
    The base included an existing airport that was a Works Progress Administration project arranged through Clarence Geist.  In 1927, he had bought what was the Cloister Inn and did extensive renovations on it before reopening the hotel as the Boca Raton Club in 1930. He wanted an airport for his members.  
    It is thought that because of this existing airport the Army Air Force looked favorably on Boca Raton as home to its new and only radar school in the U.S. during World War II.  
    “We owe Geist a lot,” said Gillis, adding that the Army took a two-year lease hold on his Boca Raton Club to use for offices, classrooms and barracks. “Those were probably the swankiest barracks in the U.S.”
    However, the club’s antiques were put in storage and gilded columns were wrapped to protect them from the soldiers. “Even so, the hotel took a beating during the war,” said Gillis, who told us that the golf course was trenched and the pool used for water training.
    Before the war, the over 700 residents of Boca Raton based their economy on raising green beans and tourism. But suddenly the Army base helped them thrive. Two bars in town did booming business. And rooms in local homes were rented to the wives and families of the men on base.
    Although peace was declared in 1945, the Boca Raton Army Air Field continued to operate until 1947. During its tenure, about 50,000 people passed through the base. It was closed when a massive hurricane destroyed many of its 800 buildings and the facility was moved to Biloxi, Miss.
    By 1949, the city agreed to buy almost 2,500 acres of the former airfield and operate a civilian airport there. They also used the land to lure the newest state university to the spot. FAU opened in 1964.
    “Over the years, Boca Raton got a lot back from that base,” Gillis said.

Learn more
    If you want to learn more about Boca Raton, the BRHS regularly offers Town Hall Talks at the Boca Raton History Museum, 71 N. Federal Highway.
    The next talk is at 7 p.m. Jan. 21. Lee Lietzke, a Palm Beach County environmental analyst, will discuss Boca Raton’s eco-treasures.
    Reservations required; call 395-6766, Ext. 101.
    Admission: free for members, $5 for nonmembers.

The medians of Federal Highway in Boca Raton were filled with campaign signs.

Photo provided by Robert P. Gordon

By Sallie James

    Boca Raton is cracking down on the clutter created by political signs, and violators will have to pay if they don’t comply.
    Here are the changes:
    • Anyone erecting 10 or more political signs must post a $500 cash bond with the city, up from a previous $100 bond.
    • Political signs must be removed within three days after an election instead of seven.
    • Political signs are only allowed if they are situated in public rights of way between 100 to 200 feet from the entrance to a polling place on election day, or an early voting site during early voting periods.
    The changes are part of an amendment to Boca’s sign code aimed at eliminating the ugly clutter created by forgotten election signs and getting them out of public places. Before approving the sign code amendment on Nov. 25, City Council members added a reference to safety, noting that abandoned signs can also pose a safety hazard by limiting visibility.
    Council members subsequently approved the sign code amendment, agreeing that the changes were sorely needed.
    “This is a first step to stop the scourge of dozens of candidates’ signs littering our medians,” council member Scott Singer said.
    “Our roadways were littered with signs and we work so hard to make sure our city has a great appearance,” said Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie, adding that some candidates erected 20 signs in a single median during the last election. “I have never seen so many signs in one concentration.
    “It was so out of hand,” she said.
    City code enforcement will monitor future placement of campaign signs and enforce any violations, according to Jim Bell, the city’s acting deputy director for Development Services.
    Council member Robert Weinroth wanted the council to retain the seven-day time frame for removing signs, but other council members said three days is plenty of time to pick up signs.
    “When they are isolated to the polling places, it should be fine,” Haynie said.
    Resident Glenn Gromann, a member of Boca’s Planning and Zoning Board, said improper placement of political signs could create safety hazards by limiting visibility. He urged the council to include a reference to safety — in addition to aesthetics — in its sign code amendment.
    “I think health, safety and welfare aspects of this ordinance should also be part of your consideration this evening,” Gromann said.

The Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum’s 18th annual Walk of Recognition

was held Nov. 20 at the Mizner Monument at Royal Palm Place. The event

recognizes individuals who have been leaders in shaping the future of Boca Raton.

Inductees were (l-r) former Mayor Susan Whelchel, architect Derek Vander Ploeg and

Connie Siskowski, RN, PhD.  They are shown with Mayor Susan Haynie.

Photo provided by The Boca Raton Historical Society

By Cheryl Blackerby

    Rough seas halted dredging for the renourishment project at Boca Raton’s north beach Nov. 15. More bad weather delayed dredging during Thanksgiving week.
    “We only have eight full days of work left,” said Jennifer Bistyga, coastal engineer with the city of Boca Raton. “We will absolutely be finished before the end of December.”
    The project has been plagued by bad weather. Strong winds, rain and rough seas stopped the effort several times early this year. The project came to a halt at the beginning of turtle nesting season at the end of April, with only about 50 percent of the dredging completed.
    The north beach, which was hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy, starts 1,000 feet north of Spanish River Boulevard and runs south to just north of Red Reef Park. The dredging project started March 23.
    The dredge company picked up where it left off in early November at the end of turtle season. The Army Corps of Engineers, the city of Boca Raton, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection are paying for the $4.1 milion  project.
    Another beach renourishment project, Boca’s central beach, will be put to bid in late spring 2015.
    “We hope to start dredging on central beach in November or December 2015,” she said.
    Central beach starts just south of Red Reef Park and runs to the Boca Inlet. The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, the city of Boca Raton and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection will pay for the project.
    Although the central beach didn’t lose as much sand to Hurricane Sandy as the north and south beaches, a recent survey showed the beach needs sand.
    The central beach hasn’t been replenished since 2006 and is due for regular sand maintenance, usually done at 10-year intervals, said Bistyga.
    Central beach actually gained some sand since Hurricane Sandy because of the downward drift of sand from the north beach, but the beach still needs more sand due to natural erosion, she said.
    Boca’s north beach as well as beaches in Ocean Ridge and Delray Beach that were renourished early this year are U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects. The south Boca Raton beach was not an Army Corps project, but the city used the same contractor to save money.
    The city had hoped the central beach could have been done soon after the north beach to save more money using the same contractor, which had the dredge in place, but that didn’t happen.

By Sallie James

    A single-family homeowner is asking City Hall to provide a fix for inconsiderate renters he says park on nearby lawns and swales, play loud music and host late-night parties.
    Resident Adam Faustini, who lives in the Caldwell Heights community (off Second Avenue) of Boca Raton, blames unruly college students for disrupting the peace of his neighborhood. Faustini wants the city to enforce code regulations in the hope that such action will stop some of the disturbances.
    “They have antagonized myself and my wife, calling out names, trying to get their dogs to urinate in my yard,” said Faustini, speaking to the City Council on Nov. 25 for the second time (he also complained to the city on Nov. 12). “I don’t know how you can have a single-family-zoned neighborhood … when you allow three separate leases per home.”
    Assistant City Manager Mike Woika said approximately six out of 77 houses in Caldwell Heights appear to be student-occupied, based on student decals on vehicles and conversation with students.
    Code Enforcement has conducted several daytime sweeps of the area since Nov. 5, with two violations being found on the first sweep.
    Faustini is frustrated. “I’m at the short end of my rope. I’m in my own yard, I’m not saying anything to anybody and I’m being harassed,” Faustini said.
    Some cities require renters to register with the city. Boca Raton may explore that option in the future, Woika said.

In 1962 the Interracial Committee was formed to seek harmony

amid the unresolved resistance to integration of the beach.

Delray Beach Police Chief R.C. Croft displays items

confiscated under an ordinance that allowed police to search vehicles.

Photos courtesy of the Delray Beach Historical Society

    Visitors to the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum at 170 NW Fifth Ave. in Delray Beach are greeted by an African proverb: “Until the lions have their historians, the tales of the hunt will continue to glorify the hunter.”
    Recently, the museum received a $5,000 matching grant from the Florida Humanities Council to document the history of racial struggle that ended with the integration of the city beach.
    “Slavery had been abolished before South Florida was developed. We didn’t have the same territorial issues as the rest of the South,” says Charlene Jones, the museum’s director, “so our issue became the beach.”
    Working with Florida Atlantic University’s department of history, the museum will spend the next six months compiling oral histories for Beach at Delray: Untold Stories, a booklet county educators can use to teach the story of James McBride, C. Spencer Pompey, Catherine Strong and other prominent figures in the integration fight.
    “And then, if we’re funded again, we’d like to create a traveling exhibit around the subject,” Jones adds. “But even if we’re not funded, we’re going to create a lesson plan for Palm Beach County schools.
    “We’re inviting anyone who remembers this time in our city’s history — white or black — to come in and record their memories so we can pull together the names, dates and locations.”
    For more information, call the museum at (561) 279-8883.

— Ron Hayes

By Sallie James

    Last call for alcohol in this city will remain at 2 a.m.
    Boca Raton officials mulling a plan to extend late-night drinking hours downtown balked after learning 17 businesses would qualify under a revised proposal.
    They scuttled the plan during a Nov. 10 workshop after grim warnings from police about increased crime.
    “It has a tremendous amount of unintended consequences,” said Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Constance Scott, who initially supported the extended hours. “It could have a potentially deleterious impact on the quality of our downtown. I think we could change the quality of our image in a very, very short amount of time.”
    City officials considered the issue after Jazziz Nightlife, in Mizner Park, asked to keep its doors open two hours later than currently allowed to better serve its late-night clientele. The upscale nightclub regularly books notable entertainers and musicians.
    Council members initially considered a six-month pilot that would apply only to Jazziz. However, they decided to consider a revised plan that defined eligibility using distance parameters so the proposal would be legally defensible.
    They became uneasy when a distance parameter of 275 feet from residential development turned up 17 qualifying businesses. When the distance was reduced to 175 feet, 22 qualified.
    According to Boca Raton Police Chief Daniel Alexander, the lion’s share of aggravated batteries, domestic disturbances and simple batteries occur in the early morning hours.
    He showed the council a slew of arrest statistics related to two existing Boca bars that remain open until 5 a.m. because they were annexed into the city.
    The statistics had been compiled by the Boca Raton Police Department. That news, combined with the higher number of qualifying businesses, was enough to sour the council on the idea of extended hours.
    “I don’t want to turn into a Fort Lauderdale or a Cancun,” council member Scott Singer said. He didn’t like the original proposal because it was exclusive to Jazziz. And the revised proposal was too lenient for him.
    Numerous residents also spoke out against the proposed extended drinking hours, expressing concern about the potential of increased crime, noise and traffic accidents.
    “Nothing good happens in the wee hours of the morning,” warned resident Al Zucaro. Creating an environment so one business can thrive to the detriment to others is not the city’s purpose,” Zucaro said.
    “The downtown has never been more vibrant and the momentum has never been more on our side,” said downtown resident George O’Rourke.
    “We don’t need a 4 a.m. closing and the associated problems that come with us,” O’Rourke added.
    Jazziz owner Michael Fagien said his intent has always been to bring “a world-class bona-fide entertainment establishment,” to Boca Raton. Fagien said he may consider moving his business somewhere that allows extended hours.

By Steven J. Smith

    BOCA RATON — Wes Van Beck, who distinguished himself as a lifeguard with Ocean Rescue of Boca Raton for more than 30 years, will be remembered for his selfless dedication to his work and his community — even to the point of voluntarily reducing his rank, according to coworker Clint Tracy.
    “He was a lieutenant for about a decade, but in the last 15 years of his career he took a self-demotion to lifeguard,” Tracy said. “When I first met him, he was one of my supervisors. In 2000 I got promoted and was actually his supervisor for the last 14 years.”
    Mr. Van Beck died on Nov. 6 as a result of an accidental choking incident at a Port St. Lucie restaurant.
    “It was tragic,” Tracy said. “Instead of showing the universal symbol for choking, I guess he was embarrassed and he went out into the parking lot to see if he could resolve it himself. He passed out, went into a coma and never revived.”
    More than 100 people attended Mr. Van Beck’s memorial service Nov. 20 at Red Reef Park, where he was remembered for forming Ocean Rescue’s junior lifeguard program.
    “He was the first instructor and put the first class together, back in the late 1980s or early 1990s,” Tracy said. “It’s a five- or six-week program where we familiarize kids between the ages of 10 and 17 with lifesaving techniques.”
    Tracy said Mr. Van Beck, a lifelong bachelor, was “a unique individual” who was committed to the rigid disciplines of his work-related routines.
    Mr. Van Beck was born in Evanston, Ill., in 1961. He graduated from Lake Worth High School and held a bachelor of science degree from Florida Atlantic University. He transferred to FAU in the early 1980s from a college in Kansas.
    “He had a football scholarship in Kansas, but I’m not sure how long he stayed there,” Tracy said. “But he did end up coming back to FAU, where he was certified in physical education.”
He was a lifeguard at Meadows Park Pool before he transferred to the beach in 1983.       Tracy said Mr. Van Beck dedicated his entire adult life to the city of Boca Raton and was considered a true member of Ocean Rescue’s family, as most of his own family did not remain in the area.
    “From the age of 22 to 53, he was a full-time employee of Ocean Rescue,” he said.     In lieu of flowers, donations have been requested for Treasure Coast Hospice, 5000 Dunn Road, Fort Pierce, FL 34981.

    GULF STREAM — Bill (William John) Shannon died peacefully Nov. 9 after a long battle with ALS.
    Bill truly loved life with all of its highs and lows and always with a quick joke and a full heart.
    Born on May 26, 1965, in Montreal, Canada, to his beloved parents, the late Bill and Joan (Kersgaard), he was No. 7 of the Shannon 12.  
    Bill Shannon will be remembered for his love of a challenge, the spark in his eye, his laugh, a generosity that knew no bounds and his incredible spirit. He touched many lives and taught us to live life fully and appreciatively. He will be truly missed.
    He leaves behind his wife Anna (Kyrtatas) and their five boys, William, Christopher, Nicholas, Charlie and Finn, whom he loved fiercely and enjoyed immensely. His spirit is carried on by his brothers and sisters: Deborah (Robert Trudeau), Mike (Janet Cameron), Donna (Alec Paterson), Gary (Kim Holden), Dan (Isabelle Depelteau) Suzanne (Eric Blais), Jimmy (Maude Leblond), Mark, John (Melissa Wreford) Joanne (Bobby Julien) and Judy, as well as many in-laws, nieces, nephews and countless friends.  
    A visitation was held Nov. 12 at Lorne & Sons Funeral Home with the funeral held at Gulf Stream School Chapel on Nov. 13.  
    In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local ALS chapter, Team Gleason (www.teamgleason.org) or Hospice of Palm Beach County.
    The family thanks everyone for their love, care and kind support.
— Contributed by the family
   

    DELRAY BEACH — Jane L. Gleason, 76, a noted interior designer in both Greenwich, Conn., and Palm Beach died suddenly on Nov. 1 at Delray Medical Center.
She was the daughter of Robert and Mary Lorentz.  Mrs. Gleason co-founded Davenport Inc. in Greenwich, Conn., in 1996 and Davenport Too in Palm Beach, in 2006. 
    She was born in Chicago and attended Northwestern University.  Mrs. Gleason married William F. Gleason, a prominent New York attorney, in Boston in 1960.
    Mrs. Gleason is survived by her husband and two children, Christy Redican of Pittsburgh and Bill Gleason of London, as well as her four grandchildren, Charlotte, Will, Coco and Teddy.
    Mrs. Gleason was a great entertainer and cook who was known for her humorous renditions of her travels and stories. She was bigger than life and will be missed dearly.
    A memorial celebration was held on Nov. 9 at the Gulf Stream Bath and Tennis Club in Delray Beach. Lorne & Sons Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

— Contributed by the family

A look at reflexology pressure points on the feet.

SOURCE: www.newhealthguide.org.

By Linda Haase

    The holidays bring out the best in us. And the worst.
    Over-the-top cookie baking and marathon shopping tire our bodies — and our minds. Frankly, we just need to relax.
    But this I-can’t-do-one-more-thing sensation calls for more than a pick-me-up caffeine-laden drink at Starbucks.
    One solution: foot reflexology. This ancient alternative therapy (evidence suggests a form of reflexology was practiced in early China and Egypt) is designed to rejuvenate body, soul and mind. Its theory: Areas in the foot correspond to organs and systems of the body, and applying pressure to these areas has beneficial effect on a person’s health.
    “By stimulating the energy lines you can stimulate and neutralize problems. When I do this, it tells me a lot about a person’s body, for example if their thyroid might not be working right or if they are constipated,” says Angela Artemik, the director of Lake Worth based Academy of Palm Beach, whose programs include massage therapy and workshops in reflexology. “You can stimulate the healing process by stimulating the energy flow and it can relax a person which helps healing. It is mind and body harmony.”    
    Even the Mayo Clinic gives the treatment positive reviews.
    “Reflexology is generally relaxing and may be an effective way to alleviate stress. It is generally considered safe, although very vigorous pressure may cause discomfort for some people,” Dr. Brent Bauer writes on the clinic’s website.
    Bauer, the medical editor of the Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine also notes: “Several studies funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health indicate that reflexology may reduce pain and psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, and enhance relaxation and sleep. Studies also show that reflexology may have benefits in palliative care of people with cancer.”
    However, the American Reflexology Certification Board warns, it’s not a cure-all. “While historically reflexology has anecdotally been found to have a positive effect on the body suffering from a wide variety of chronic problems, it is not a panacea for all ills. Reflexology is not a substitute for medical treatment, but can be used as a complement to any type of medical approach or therapy.
    “Reflexology can be incorporated into an overall healthy lifestyle, which includes attention to diet, moderate exercise and different forms of stress reduction,” the organization notes on its website. “Reflexology is primarily a relaxation technique which can negate the effects of stress while it helps the body relax and balance. Through the relaxation process the body is more capable of dealing with the stresses placed on it by daily living and those associated with illness.”
    Stress reduction? Relaxation? Count me in.
    I’d been hearing a buzz about foot reflexology bars that have opened recently — so a friend and I dragged our weary bodies to Foot Haven Reflexology Bar in downtown Delray Beach to seek nirvana.   
    The zen like feeling enveloped us the instant we stepped inside and closed the door, mercifully shutting out the construction din and hustle and bustle of the crowds. A softly lit, cozy room awaited, with comfy oversized recliners topped with soft blankets and pillows. Heavenly.  
    That’s exactly what owner Herman Garcia envisioned when he rented the historical cottage and former rectory, circa 1924.
“That historical aspect brings a special charm to it. It’s a nice, welcoming vibe. People come in and say ‘I could live here.’ I didn’t want to go too modern or minimalist. I wanted chic and timeless,” says Garcia, a licensed massage therapist since 2002.
    Privacy is paramount so Garcia arranged the 15 recliners in four rooms. The arrangement allows friends, couples or families to experience healing and pampering together. If you prefer solitude, that can be arranged as well.  
    “These days everyone is on the go, people are rushing around. This is a way to relax and be pampered. You can come on your lunch break alone or with your family or friends,” he says.
     Garcia opened the business in March. Others have opened recently in Boca Raton as well.  
    And the benefits? Numerous, he claims. “People can experience an increase in circulation, pain reduction and more. It’s an amazing therapy for runners and people who stand a lot. A lot of servers, bartenders and people who work in retail come every week. They tell us it has helped more than anything else they tried,” he says about the service which is performed by licensed massage therapists who get additional training from him. “Our feet are the first thing we use when we wake up in the morning and last thing used when we go to bed. We don’t give them the care they need.”
    That’s for sure. Mine got lots of pampering during the 55-minute treatment, which began with a foot soak and 15-minute massage of my back and shoulders. (Tea, champagne or wine are complimentary with two of the treatments — and a hot stone massage, coconut sugar or raspberry lemon foot scrub and lavender paraffin wax dip are optional.)  
    Because we were sitting up we were engaged in the experience — and didn’t hesitate to inundate our massage therapists with questions.
    Here’s part of what we learned (we missed a few things when we succumbed to sleep): Our big toes correspond to our heads, the inside arch corresponds to our spine and the area below the pinky toe parallels the shoulder area.
    The treatment ends with a warm towel infused with essential oils enveloping legs. Although we didn’t feel our various aches and pains were cured, we walked out on a cloud — ready to put our best foot forward.
    Foot Haven Reflexology Bar is at 62 S.E. Sixth Ave. Prices start at $28. For more information, visit foothavenreflexologybar.com or call 330-4084.

Linda Haase is a freelance writer on a quest to learn — and share — all she can about how to get and stay healthy. Reach her at lindawrites76 @gmail.com.