|
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
This Oral History is copyrighted by the Interviewee
and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program on
behalf of the Board of Trustees of the University of
Florida.
Copyright, 2005, University of Florida.
All rights, reserved.
This oral history may be used for research,
instruction, and private study under the provisions
of Fair Use. Fair Use is a provision of United States
Copyright Law (United States Code, Title 17, section
107) which allows limited use of copyrighted
materials under certain conditions.
Fair use limts the amount of material that may be
used.
For all other permissions and requests, contact the
SAMUEL PROCTOR ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM at
the University of Florida
St. Lucie Tape #0f/?
Phillio Platts and Mrs. Helen Platts Waldren
December 19 1967
mgs
Page 1
I'm quite sure that many of you remember a few years ago when Eddie
Coats Williams wrote the story about the long days waters- which was put
on the form of the old theatrical first in the old farmers market and
then on the present city park in the ampitheatre. It ran for five
or six years and one of the characters that he wrote about and portrayed
along these waters presentation was our first physician in Fort Pierce.
His name was Dr. Clark. We're going to have the honor of having
Dr. Clarks son talk to us this evening. Sometimes he's asked how
he came to Fort Pierce and sometimes he scratches his leg and don't give
you a direct answer but I think we're going to ask him tonight how
why did he come to Fort Pierce because he surely ought to be able to
answer the question by n6w and it gives me great pleasure to introduce
one of our old timers Mr. Phillip Platt,
Mr. Platt: Mr. Chairman. ladies and gentlemen: I'm not used to one of
'hese things. Can the people way in back hear me? Okay, Ah- the reason
I came to Fort pierce is for my health, I'm. I was I could only
take liquid diets and I was bed ridden. Mrs. Cox asked me that question
at one of these meetings a long long time ago and I knew that answer
but all I could think of what I was born here. I'm going to tell
you first about some thinking that was I came to think because Fred
Allisbog made a remark. And then I'm going to have my sister tell about
the court and some other items and then I'm going to use my outlined
mao here it's an outline of my talk on the other faces I remember in
Fort Pierce. The account. Mr. Card was one of the nineaoole
growers here the large pineapple grower, He has a daughter named Zola,
St. Lucie Tane IihA-/4
mgs
Page 2
She became a famous lion tamer and she married Fred Allisbog a
famous elephant tamer. And I knew him. He wasa very fine fellow,
And he one time remarked tht the reason that Fort Pierce was olaced
here is because between Stewart and way up the line this is the lace where
you can get in from the dark country. You see the St. Lucie River is
uninviting as far as uo as far as White City. LaCrosse: and uo
as far as Vero and back this way through the St. John's flats. So
here was a lace where the fort and INTerior could get to the coast. That
. might gxolain why the shell mound is tile old fort. The Indians
hundreds of years ago would come over here in season and get fish and get their
oysters. And that's what created those shell mounds, up at Ormond and
up that way, Rockledge you have much greater deposit of oyster shells
made the same way. Well the reason the
a local naturaltwon or location or trading post or a fort to be in this
-rea.a The reason the fort was built where it was in the exact place there
was a nice spring down there at the edge of the river in front of the
old by the old fort was placed. And the soldiers had a fort
there and there was water available so that's why the fort was there.
That interested me. Now I'm going to ask my sister to tell about things
we have planned for her. Mrs. Waldren.
MRs. Waldren: This is, my talk is a letter. It's a copy of a letter
my father wrote. He was the first school superintendent of St. Lucie
County and this is a report that he sent to the state school superintendent
after the first year of school in St. Lucie County and when we consider
about one of our schools toady I think it;s very interesting to hear what
conditions were at that time. White City, Florida. November 12, 1906.
1
St. Lucie Tape #i /~f
mgs
Page 3
Honorable W. M. Holloway, State Superintendent Instruction,
T llahassee, Flordia. Dear Sir: In accordance with your request, I
to submit the following report of school conditions in St.
Luoie County for the one and one third years of its existence. July 1, 1905
to November 1, 1906. St. Lucie County wascreated by the last legislature
in 1905 and comprises that part of the lying south of the
Sebastian River to the St. Lucie River from the Atlantic ocean on
the east to the borders of the old county on the west. We started
empty handed and an indebtedness of one thousand two hundred dollars
was the extent of our resources on the wrong side of the ledger. The
territory had finally all been included in a special tax districts.
Our new board of county commissioners persuaded us that the regualr
tax increased to seven miles by the constitutional amendment would be
sufficient claiming that they must have special road taxes and feeling
that the people would not stand for both. At the end of the year we
find here some one thousand four hundred dollars in debt and the roads
are not appreciably any better. So this year we should ask to have
the whole county created into a special tax district and finally get
out of debt. Buildings: During the year we have built a number of
small buildings that were greatly needed in Vero, Bethel Creek House'
of Refuge and Fort Pierce, colored all furnished with simple
desks besides practically rebuilding School and considerable
repairs to the School. The balance of the buildings we have
kept in repair. High schools and rural graded. We have one junior
high school at Fort Pierce and rural graded at Jensen. It is the ambitiOn
of the present board to see one good high school established in the
county teaching a full senior high school course. We are making every
St. Lucie Tape #I1-rf /
mgs
Page 4
sacrifice and straining at every point to bring this about. Without
a system of compulsory education, however it is going to be difficult
for us to develop this school. The school at Sebastian and 7ero, white,
Gifford and Fort Pierce, colored extended under Chapter 5381, 80%.
At the last session of the grand jury we got a very strong resentment
in favor of compulsory education with the instructions to the local
member of the latest legislature to do all in his power to favor such
a law. We have practically no families in the county who are so poor
as to make it impossible for the children of school age to attend school
during a reasonable term each year. If such cases should develop, then
let the county --make up to the family what they lose by abscense of
children at school. We had better spend a little money for now then
spend a great deal later in court fees trying these brothers who have
grown up in ignorance. And in many cases we shall find that it is not
a necessity to keep these children at home but rather the natural desire
children to escape the strain, to play hookey and utter carelessness
and ignorance on the part of the parent. Unless some such law is passed
we see no reason why we will not have in some district for long an
illiterate white and fairly common school, educated population.
As the negroes are sending to school better than the whites in many
places. The concentration of schools and transporting the pupils has
not always as we can wish. But one of the schools
where this has been adopted, it has caused friction practically from
the start. The patrons of the schools are not denied the increased
efficiency of the school but the lose of the individual school in a
small community whereby building up a school in a neighboring community
St. Lucie Taoe #4 (ff
mgs
Page 5
is rather more than some of the patrons can stand. Jealousy, quarrels,
complaints to the superintendent of the board and many petitions to the
governor, have resulted. The plan is also much more expensive than the
old style, although this is more than an offset by increased deficiency.
Our school term is for whites from eighty to two hundred days. Two
months extra, eighty per cent average. Colored from eighty to one
hundred and twenty days. Our teachers are high grade for the most part
and the wages from thirty five to one hundred dollars per month are
paid promptly by once which are cashed for full face value anywhere in
the county. Our county is so young that most of us have hardly the necessary
means for carrying on our business. Our population is not very homogenous .
The town's new, the people strangers to each other all together it's rather
a difficult problem to face just at present. However we have eleven of
most excellent people, and it's a question of deeping every lastingly
at it and St. Lucie County shall have schools as good as the pineapple
oranges and cattle. Yours truly,
?: How about having to tell about Mr. Cobb.
W: I imagine a great many people my age perhaps could relay
have the same story. We thought so much of Peter Cobb who had the
general store everything to wear, use, wear, eat, and use. So everytime
we had a nickel for candy why, we'd go into his big store, it looked
big to us and I remember going in there and a clerk came over and asked
me what he could do for me and I said, "I'd like to see Mr. Cobb."
And Mr. Cobb was in his little office, you know, and he called him out
and came over and he said, "What can I do for you?" And I said, "I want
a nickel's worth of candy." And he told me, he siad, "Well, what kind
would you like?" So I picked out this and that and this and that, you
St. Lucie Tape # &i /9
mgs
Page 6
know. I gave him my nickel and when I got home the nickel was in the bag
with all my candy.
?: This, you can't, I don't suppose many of you can see it but it's the
outline for my talk and those up close can be able to see it. It's a
map of the places I will refer in Fort Pierce. I thought you might be interested
As I say it's an outline of my talk. Why don't you stnad
It was prepared by, with the assistance of my grandson, Ron. The coloration
you see. That, ah, Morris Creek up here, after I started him on a dark
color I thought it wasn't a very appropriate color for it. It reminds
me of my other little grandson who got a swimming pool
not long ago at the ., and the water was something like
that, a pale green, and he was just splashing around there all by
himself having the greatest time and finally yelled a "Whoopy I'm
swimming in Mountain Dew." And, but I can't remember Morris Creek
ever looking like Mountain Dew. It's just all back and mudded. I
ain't remember it any different. But the river was pretty. Ah, dne of
my pineapple fans gave me this gadget and I thought I might use it for
a pointer for my health. I'm going to start in our house, right there.
It's leaning back of this place now, you know. The house has a porch
on the west, south, and probably in the east. We had a fence, hogwire
fence and cattle proof fence around it. One time I it always had
holes in it as I remember it. But the cattles and hogs had free range
in the city and the area at that time, it wasn't a city, My father and
mother bought two lots there in 1896, March, I believe for a hundred a
fifty dollars, from the canning company. Now the two lots, and just
across the road from us, they go down to the river. has
a boat shop down at the river there, close to the creek, they had
1
St. Lucie Tape #'H/fA
mgs
Page 7
the Morris Creek there. Now, the, Fort Pierce was, naturally a fishing_
place to start with. An old darkie one time told me that he worked on
one of those steam boats worked the river and the table on the steam
boat was provided with fish, just the Pompanoes that jumped on board.
At that time and, the area was suited to boating, across over in the islands
this black mangrove. You should all examine it some times. If I hadn't
gotten so busy I'd gotten a chip to bring you. It's a natural plywood,
black mangrove. It's the kind that grows, not with the roots coming
down from the tree but with the fingers come up from the ground. And
it's a natural plywood and it made excellent stems for the boat, the
curved part. Now Ray Saunders said his dad uses black mulberry
but I'm sure used this other. He'd leave it in the river for
a few days and that would cure it so it wouldn't crack and they'd have
a natural, very strong stem for the boat, the curved part. The, between,
this little layer between, I don't know what the streets were named then.
As far as I know they weren't named but it's Avenue D there, yeah,
Avenue D. Across the, that road from us between, the creek was march
and murky swamp and now the river, the land didn't go out nearly
as far as it does now, of course, I expect . .
. right now. At the Creek there was sandbar thatwas
beyond the water in low tide. We could wade across from our side to the
sand bar and then and then back to this side We wouldn't try to wade
across! because that creek was walsys very muddy. Now the creek was
always very important in the economy. Very important indeed, it was
a necessity. In time of storm the boats would go in there. And that's why
that bridge aluEys had a hump in it for as long as I can remember so if
St. Lucie Tape #14/7
mgs
Page 9
some it was crowded the boats could go on under it, further in, to be
safe in time of hurricane. Then across the creek, where the forest land
is, was a mangrove, a and saw grass swamp with lagoons. I've
had that lagoon covered brown, which really is more appropriate and the
roads coming south was went right close by the wide part of the
lagoon and we would often see, it was just kind of a an old
alligator would be taking a sunbath in the mud at the side of the road.
Most people didn't pay him no attention. He didn't pay people any attention
as I remember. Almost across from that was a Methodist Church, which
was on kind of a slope. It was built kind of high and the legs on the
north side were long and the south side was short. Then, oh yes,
when the creek __ there was a sidewalk, a wooden sidewalk, I think
it was two planks, two planks, I think parallel going
along because it got pretty sandy, to tell you the truth. Beyond the
creek, beyond the lagoon, was a school house. You remember
there was the town hall was built close to the
lagoon later but at first there wag, all had that on there, the town
hall..And then, next to school, the school had, when I started the school
mind you, it had two rooms, at the Fort Pierce school. And taking
the sidewalk on south along side the street, Lowrey's had a aJewelry
store and then Fabin's bakery at the corner. Now up at Lowrey's and
the bakery, just north of what is now Avenue A the road, I remember the
road when there was no paving, no shells or anything there and the
ruts were a foot deep in the sand, and there was sort of a hill there.
And that is one explanation for the sidewalk there because you couldn't
get or anything. Now what's brought this on
St. Lucie Tape #i' />.4
mgs
Page 10
this kind of a talk, I got thinking about it and Fort Pierce at that
time was arranged so conveniently. No one made it out, I suppose,
but look how conviently it was arranged. Here's Cobb's dock, the
biggest dock in town, and that, they have a tramway from that to
several picking houses out on the dock and beside the dock
there were small plants growing out with the frams for:the fishermen
to mend their nets. And the tramway went from the dock right down to
the river. And just south of the dock was the Cooper shop, a place
they made barrels. Put the barrles together, and there was Tom's
store where he sold everything to eat, wear and use. There was a
post office. The first time I used the post office I put a valentine
there. And I remember the postmistress Miss Ella Hanson was the
aunto of the girl I was sending it to and I tried to slip it in without
being seen. Then in the corner there east of Second
street and the cross side was Hardware and they were,
that was also an undertaking establishment. And next, close to the
railroad was the arts factory whcih was all important for the fishing
industry, of course. And I believe there was another
factory near it somewhere. I don't remember. I put a chimney in the
art factory because, they burn light wood and they had a mountain
of light wood there at one time and'I remember one day from White City,
I was about four and a half miles from our place. I saw a great cloud
of smoke, black smoke, going way up in the sky. That's when the art
factory burned down. Art factories often burn down around here in
those days forthatreason that wood is so, it catches fire so
easily. Then came the railroad and across the Railroad the East
Coast Lumber Supply Company. My Tylander was running it then. He
St. Lucie Tape -f~~/f4
mgs
Page 11
ran it for many years. Connected with it for many years. He
told me ten years or so ago that they used to seel as many as
a million crates a year, yes. Of pineapples, and the pineapple
crates were long affairs. Abdut so long, they held nearly
two bushels. That gives you some idea how many pineapples were
growing at the time between Vero and Jensen. On the other side of Avenue
A was the barrel factory and hen there was a Fort Pierce Bank came
around 1901 or 1902. And at the corner was W.J. Nesbitt'snclothing
store. In those days I Mr. Lowrey's jewelry shops. His
business was mostly watch repair, I think. The railroad men needed
watches to be kept on time. I don't think the common laborers used
watches very much, although we began to have pretty soon these dollar
watches. The laborer would start at daylight and would become an
expert at telling what time it was and when it's time to take his noon
rest, lunch and then of course he worked until dark. I bought a dollar
watch from Mr. Nesbitt one time. My first watch was
a dollar and he would it and he said, "It sounds like a song there,
doesn't it?" During, as I said the hogs and cattle had free run. I
don't remember seeing cattle or hogs around our place but during the
Spanish American was a whole lot of hogs one time died under Mr.
Nesbitts store. They played down low to the ground. Now I heard that
the hogs got so much bisquits and stuff thrown out from the soldiers
on the trains going throu and they just gorged themselves and got too full
and went under there and died. But they thought they had cholera
and I expect that's a more rational explanation. Anyhow they got under
there and didd. And across the street to them, of course, second street,
the pioneer it's been in recent recent years called the Pioneer
St. Lucie Tape #f /9A
mgs
Page 12
Drug Store, my father and Mr. Cobb went into partnership and got that
first drug store, Mr. Cobb's initials are P.P.C. and my father's
C.C.P. and they made a red cross, P.P.C. and C.C.P. on it that was
their emblem. Then west of, oh, next to the drug store was Eddie
Ager's Barber Shop, then the Stetson house. Frank Stetson, I believe
his father's the station agent his names Frank, isn't he? And
Mrs. Stetson owned the Stetson house which was a boarding house for
drummers. They don't use that term anymore, but they used it then
for traveling salbsmen. Then the depot was right about there near
Second, near Avenue A next to the railraod, a round building with a
freight and a passenger fair and somewhere aroundthere is a coal shoot.
I think runs in different places. They had begun to
use, maybe they always did, coal on the east coast railraod and
would have a supply of coal to pit
under the locomotive. Across the:) following Avenue A further west
I think there was a jail there and then the Baptist church but
at the corner. I remember the church for the reason that one Christmas
we left the Methodist church, I think, at the time and I was small
and the Christmas Arthur Jennings was superintendent of one of
the churches and he asked me to prepare a recitation for
the Christmas doings and so I was part of and went to the
doings and waited and waited and waited and never was called on.
So I remember it. Next yesr, a little further, across the railraod,
south of the Avenue A there was a two story building which was a
S__ hall. for two reasons. Upstairs in that I saw my
first movie pictore. They showed a volcano eruption and it was a
St. Lucie Tape #t3/W
mgs
Page 13
very picture for me and I still remember when it burned down.
It made a big fire. It was at night and after that
for laundry was there for years and years and years so that some of the
old timers remember it. I always look for it to burn down, too. It was
just like it was going to for fire. But it never
did. It's been rebuilt now. And then at the well, let's get'
back to the east side of the Railroad Avenue there. Butcher shop,
clothing, and one of those of Orange
Avenue and Railroad Avenue they were called was
V
Tucker's Saloon. It had a tar board fence around the back. He
faced toward the railroad. And there would be a bear you could see
sometime back in there. Fort Pierce was often called Fort Tucker in
those days. Saturday afternoon there's supposed to come a time
everybody goes to Tucker's and so that was called Fort Tucker. Across
from the railraod from Tucker's on the corner, I think there's a saloon
there now, was Henry store.Was that John Henry. John Henry.
ANd Phil Jergenson, I remember the store right around
that corner one time told me
recently when he taught school out at he became well
acquainted with old John Henry. And John Henry told him how he did
business here. He'd sell the colored folks groceries on credit
and then every Saturday he's go around with a clipboard and a shot gun
out at colored town and collect While we're over here,
our __ from Henry's livery stable and on the west side of the
livery stable was Men's blacksmith and I think somewhere around there
was a place where the fire engine was kept. Was it to the west of
St. Lucie Tape #~i9/*4
mgs
Page 14
Men's?
?: In the same building.
P: Same building, okay. Mr. Mens and he couul make
wagons. I don't know to make wagons in those days
but anyhow I know he made our and fixed up our model T
cars and made a school bus out of it and so on. Then there was
a round house down there, next to the railraod where ..
where they had locomotive and so on. On the east side of the railroad
there was another livery stable and at the corner of
Second Street and Orange, just about where the county, just where the
county was divided they built a two story concrete block building
downstairs and upstairs. As soon as the county became
my dad and some others got to work and they voted prohibition
for the area. And it was just a short time that a bank came in and
took the place of the saloon was and ah, it seems to me that one of
the newspapers had their offices up over there. Then sometimes,
I don't remember just when the building went up to start but the Fort
Pierce Hotel was found here, near to where it is now. It wasn't called
the New Fort Pierce Hotel then. It's been called the New Fort Pierce Hotel
for fifty years. But it wasn't called the New Fort Pierce Hotel, then.
About then, across Orange Avenue Mr. Rollins lived at the corner and he
and Frank Hart, my uncle, it must have been some what later than most
of these earlier places. They had the first Coca Cola plant here in
"'I C"; "!"' 0 '\
Fort Pierce. I remember ehese-placeiabecause in 1910 a storm that came
up where the printing press, that printing outfit is
now. Ah, and right by there, just northof that for many years the local
St. Lucie Tape # #
mgs
Page 15
weather reporting place was. A lady kept it after her husband died.
I don't remember the name, but they had the gadgets in the shade of
the palmetto trees. It was only sixty feet from the river and so if
there was ever any colder weather in Fort Pierce than there was in sixty
two, between sixty two and ninety nine, one reason may have been that the
thermometers are, were so well protected, and the cold couldn't get to
them very often. Let's see. Down here, the first Ford agency down on
Second Street somewhere. Charlie Horton and I think some partner owned
that. I, somewhere along in here the first the
somewhere along in here. Any questions. All right.
That's about all. I about run out of material. My map, I've come to
the bottom of it. Any questions or somebody want to ask something?
?:
P.: So, ah, well you see, I think it was, it stricks me as being
very accomodatingly played out. There was a way up here and
somewhere there was a shoe maker. Mr Hines, I think, was a shoe maker.
Now where he had his office, his shop, I don't know. 1-o, before
him, long before him. Hines. No, you're thinking about the son. I'm
talking about the old man. No, he was Well, there was
a shoemaker before I'm sure.
?: There was one before him.
P: I think so. When did he come?
?: Oh, I don't know
P: OH, well, that's the end of my story.
|
RSS
HIDE
