THE SETTLING OF SARASOTA (30th in a series)

The year was 1938, Franklin D. Roosevelt had been reelected President of the United States and Sarasota was the beneficiary of WPA projects for much of its employment.

Potter and Honore Palmer donated 2,000 acres of Bertha Palmers ‘Meadow Sweet Pastures’ ranch for a state park, a gift which became the core of the Myakka State Park. Hundreds of persons were employed constructing roads, building cabins and more. Improvements to the Osprey Avenue bridge, the construction of city sidewalks, and the development of Luke Wood Park were all WPA projects.

Construction of the Lido Beach casino as a WPA project was approved by the government on June 13, 1938 with the proviso that the city contribute $40,000 in cash and donate the land. Thirteen hundred feet of beach frontage was obtained from the Ringling Estate in a tax debt settlement; a $40,000 bond issue was floated and sold out within days. The casino formally opened on December 27, 1940. Nobody knows the total cost of the facility, but it was referred to as “The Quarter Million Dollar Casino.” Thousands of servicemen from the Sarasota and Venice air bases visited it often.

The Sarasota-Manatee airport was another WPA project that benefitted Sarasota significantly. In July 1940 the War Department approved the airport as a part of the National Defense Plan and additional grants came rapidly during 1940.

In March 1942, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses belonging to the 97th Bomb Group arrived for six weeks of final training. There were no barracks, tents were erected for sleeping and eating. Kerosene lanterns were used for much of the illumination. The 97th Bomb Group log read, “Three days of steady rain necessitated the use of palmettos for the construction of corduroy roads to permit entry to dispersal points.”

At the peak of the field’s operation, more than 3,000 men were stationed here. Captain Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay that delivered the first atomic bomb to Hiroshima was one of the first flight instructors at the airport.

On December 7, 1941, a total of 353 Japanese bombers, launched from six aircraft carriers, attacked the U.S. Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, sinking 10 warships, destroying 188 aircraft and killing 2400 personnel. President Roosevelt called it, “A date which will live in infamy,” and the United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941.

This surprise attack changed the U.S. public opinion from isolationist to participant. Before the war ended, 6300 Sarasota County men and women had registered for the draft. The population of Sarasota County in 1940 was only 16,106.

(To Be Continued)..

(C) Copyright, 2009 - Leland Desmon.
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THE SETTLING OF SARASOTA (29th in a series)

The nation was in the depths of a depression on March 4, 1933, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd President of the United States of America.

Sarasota was fortunate that the Boston Red Sox chose it as their spring training site. Tourists escaping from the northern winter cold came to see them play.

Fred Albee opened his Florida Medical Center in the former Park View Hotel in Venice. His patients ate nutritious food from his farms and groves and ice cream from his dairy.

March 9th, Congress passed the Federal Emergency Relief Act which expired in two years to be replaced by the Works Project Act (WPA). In 1935 it provided jobs for ¾ of the nation’s “heads of the household”. Sarasota received $131,465 from the WPA to work on ten area projects. This sum provided employment for 294 men in the city, 114 men in the county, and a total of 87 women throughout the area. In addition, work crews of the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) were kept busy for six years at Myakka State Park.

Booker High School, Sarasota’s first high school that admitted Negroes, graduated its first class of four in 1935.

John Ringling (right), the last of the five Ringling brothers, died on December 2, 1936. He was 60 years old. In his will he bequeathed his home, Ca' d Zan, and the Ringling Museum of Arts to the State of Florida. At his death, John was so deeply in debt that it took ten years to settle the estate.

In 1937, the city bought the property now called Bayfront Park from the defunct Sarasota Bay Hotel Co. by purchasing tax certificates valued at $15,000. The WPA put $131,000 into the project which made possible the construction of Bayfront Park and the Municipal Auditorium. The Auditorium opened on February 24, 1938 for the Sara de Soto Celebration. Three thousand people attended.

Today’s Sarasota/Manatee International Airport started as a small landing strip named Lowes Field. It was the destination for swim meets, gymnastics, music, shopping and dining before it went out of existence in 1969. It was Sarasota’s first municipal airport. On July 15, 1937, National Airlines was authorized to provide passenger and mail service from Lowes field. One daily northbound flight to Tampa and St. Petersburg, and one daily southbound flight to Ft. Myers and Miami were scheduled.

Sarasota was one of only 275 cities in the nation with airmail service. The aircraft was a single engine Stinson; the runways were grass. Unfortunately, however, the city was informed that National would soon cease operations until the runways were improved. Summer rains often made takeoffs and landings impossible.

The airport became a WPA project and work began on September 1938 with 15 men. By the end of November, 317 men were working on the improvements. Unskilled labor was paid 31 cents/hour, semi-skilled 37 cents/hour, and skilled labor 48 cents/hour. The airport grew to 640 acres and 300 of the workers lived in the Sarasota/Manatee area, futher aiding the local economy.

The city of Sarasota had 16,106 residents.

(To Be Continued)..

(C) Copyright, 2009 - Leland Desmon.

The information on this page may not be reproduced or republished on any other webpage, website, or publication. Please LINK TO US instead.