What a Difference 26 Years Makes

    

I spend a lot of time in the past. Or, at least thinking about the past--I’ve not yet perfected time travel. I keep getting stuck in that whole time-space continuum thing.

My memories of growing up in Palm Beach County are often in my thoughts. Since I've started writing about my memories and the history of this area, I'm finding two things are happening. One is that my friends have started sharing their memories with me, which I absolutely love.

The second is that my friends are sending me some links and pictures. The YouTube link above is one of the neatest things I've seen. Uploaded to YouTube by MeMeVid, it can help those of you who didn't grow up here understand my fascination with the state and its history.

The first time I watched this video, I was spellbound. I knew Jupiter twenty-six years ago. Having grown up about ten minutes south of Jupiter in North Palm Beach, I knew it before then. A simple trip through Jupiter to Girl Scout Camp Welaka near the county line in Tequesta was a trip through wilderness.

By 1986, I was living in Broward County, but still came home to North Palm Beach from time to time. The part of  Palm Beach County I temporarily left seemed quite modern and built up to me. Looking at this video, I can see I was mistaken. The two lane roads! All those trees! It was still a wilderness in 1986.

I hope you enjoy this look at the rural area that was Jupiter Farms Road, alongside the developed area that now exists. If nothing else, this video should serve to remind all of us that we only have one chance to protect the close to pristine beauty of the place we call home - no matter where it may be.

Copyright 2012 Ruth Hartman Berge

Never Found Anywhere Better!

Carlin Park's Loggerhead Cafe 2012

     The Loggerhead Café is in a two story building in Carlin Park in Jupiter, Florida. Located at 400 South SR A1A, it’s nothing fancy. An open window in the front so that the bathing suit crowd can order a hot dog to go, a covered patio in the back for those who enjoy the sea air while they dine or have a wet backside from swimming in the nearby ocean, and a simple, but good menu is more than enough for any diner.

     The building has been on that spot as long as I can remember. It looks old to the casual observer, although I believe it was built in the 1960s. If there was any doubt that it actually was older than most, the cement bathrooms outside at either end of the building, floors often covered with sand carried in by bathers in the seat of their suits, would be confirmation. The restrooms have been updated, but they’re still on the rustic side.

     If we weren’t grilling lunch ourselves at one of the picnic pavilions which spread out to the south of the main building like ducks following mama, I’d beg to be allowed to buy a hotdog and a soda at the window.

Sign Posted by Seminole Chapter
of the D.A.R.

     The beach at Carlin Park was one of my family’s favorites because of the lifeguards and the handy potties. Somewhere in my box of pictures is one of me in a swimsuit, sunglasses covering blue eyes, posing knee deep in the moat around a sand castle at age two.

     If one got to the park early enough on a weekend, coolers, towels and beach chairs would pile up on the cement picnic tables to signal possession. In 1970, there were only 3,136 people in residence in Jupiter, but hundreds more came from inland or north from nearby towns North Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens to enjoy the beach. Those pavilions provided a nice bit of shade during breaks from running across the steaming sand hot enough to burn bare feet and swimming in the ice cold ocean.

     Loggerhead Café’s building sits on the spot Capt. Charles Carlin ran a lifesaving station from 1885 to 1889. The lifesaving building had to be demolished, but the park still bears his name.

     After a life of adventure in the Navy and around the United States during which he came home to Jupiter several times, Capt. Carlin’s grandson, Carlin White, a Jupiter native, returned to serve as mayor and then to retire here. When I first started writing my column for Seabreeze Publications, Inc., I had the pleasure of being included with other Jupiter authors at an event with Mr. White. I didn’t want to bother him with all of the questions swirling around my brain as it was late in the evening and I was tired by then. I reasoned that since he had recently celebrated his 104^th birthday, he might be a little tired, too. I regretted that I had not fought my way through the crowd around him earlier.

     After all of the authors at the event posed for a picture, me standing behind Mr. White, I stood at my table behind his chair and watched as another Jupiter resident grilled him about life in Jupiter way back when. I don’t remember much of the conversation, but I distinctly remember Mr. Carlin’s response to the last question. Asked, "Why did you keep coming back to Jupiter?" He answered incredulously, "Why...because I never found anywhere better!"

     How about you? Was your hometown THE BEST place to live? Or have you moved and found a new favorite?

And the Winner Is......

First, I'd like to give a huge thank you to the people who took the time and effort to post a comment and make a stab at exactly who "Jones" is in the post, "Just Who Is This Jones Guy?" August 31. The little stories you came up with were excellent - one had me laughing.

Now as to who, exactly, Jones Creek was named after....

My Jupiter native friend, Brad Mayo, went chasing after several life-long natives he knew and actually found someone who knew Jones. He was Preacher Jones and was a preacher at Southern Methodist Church on Park Place. Brad is going to find out (as Paul Harvey says) the rest of the story, but there you go.... Preacher Jones.

And now, I guess you're anxious to find out who won the grand prize... I put all the names in a box and had the lovely Katherine draw the winner.  Congratulations are in order to (drumroll.....)

FRED HOLMSTOCK

Fred, thank you so much for being a follower and participant in this contest. I know you'll love the book! Please e-mail me and let me know where you'd like me to ship your prize.

To all, this was a lot of fun and I'll do something along the same lines again as soon as I can find another mysterious factoid about Palm Beach County.

EDIT:  The mystery continues... I had the pleasure of speaking with Richard Procyk, a local Jupiter historian and author of  a book about the Battle of the Loxahatchee. I asked him if he thought "Jones" might be Preacher Jones. His opinion was that Jones Creek got the name way before Preacher Jones showed up. He thought that since a Fort Jupiter was located there, it may have been named after a soldier. Or a squatter. He suggested a couple of leads I could follow, so the quest is continuing to see if I can find definitive information on it. I'll be sure to pass whatever I find on to you.

Just Who is This Jones Guy?

At the request of one of my readers (thanks, Eric!), I’ve been digging to find out exactly who the “Jones” of Jones Creek in Jupiter, Florida, was and how he ended up with a creek named after him. The Town of Jupiter told me their information was that Jones was a squatter of unknown origin and they couldn't find anything more in their records. He could have been black, white or Indian as all three definitely lived in the area.

Jones Creek is the main tributary to the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter. In 1987, what is now known as the Jones Creek Hammock became the property of the town of Jupiter and was restored and opened to the public in 2007. The headwaters of the creek are considered historic and the cypress slough located there is home to 400 year old cypress trees. According to the Jupiter Parks and Recreation website, www.jupiter.fl.us/ParksRecreation, in one twenty acre property, there are oaks, southern magnolia, wild olives, a mangrove swamp, pine flatwoods terrain and wetlands. If you can look beyond the well-tended paths, it’s a true peek back into the way Jupiter looked in the late 1800s.

        So that’s why the creek is an interesting bit of history. Here’s where I thought we might make this something more than just another story... I may have found out exactly who Jones was through a life-long native of Jupiter, but I don’t have the information in my hot little hands yet. While I’m waiting and hoping for an answer, I think we could have a lot of fun with this. Let’s hear some theories from you. I don’t care if your theory is serious, silly or even absolutely nuts!  Make something up. Who was Jones and why did the creek get his name? Post your theory under comments anytime between now and September 7, 2011, at 5:00 p.m. I’ll put all the entries in a hat and pick a winner!

           Not only could this be entertaining, but I’m even going to sweeten the pot and give the winner more than just applause. Since most of you who follow my blog have a thing for Florida history, I found a great book called “Forgotten Tales of Florida” by Bob Patterson. The review on Amazon.com says that it contains some “classic Florida tales…” and “capture(s) the wildness that still lurks in Florida’s more natural places.”  You win and I’ll ship it to your door. What do you say?  Up for a challenge?