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The 1970s
Thompsons Keep Bird Sanctuary Mrs. Frieda Thompson is a delightful example of a person moulded for the good of the community by her parents and grandparents. With husband, Treley, she is continuing the preservation of the wildlife in Indian River County, which was her father's life work as the first wildlife refuge warden ever appointed in the United States. "I was just a young girl," recalled Mrs. Thompson, "but I remember most of the people who came here." It began on March l4, l903, when Pelican Island became the first of the national wildlife sanctuaries - there are now almost 400 - and Captain Paul Kroegel, Mrs. Thompson's father, became the nation's first wildlifw refuge warden. Conservationists, artists and writers came to Sebastian to learn about the new refuge. Krogel's home was located on many acres along the river and the experts studied that property as well as Pelican Island. Today the Thompsons still live on 20 acres of the land and her brother, Rodney Kroegel, and his children, Frank and Janice, maintain adjoining sections of the inherited property. Located at the Southern end of Indian River drive, Mrs. Thompson lovingly looks at the bamboo and mango trees, and watches the squirrels and birds which still abound, as she recalls her childhood on the property. "They came from all over to see this and they pitched tents. Dr. Frank M. Chapman wrote part of his 'Camps and Cruises' while living right here. He even devoted a chapter of the book to this property and Pelican Island," she said, noting that Chapman was with the Museum of Natural History, in New York City for many years and was author of many other books about birds. She recalls visits from Louis Agassiz Fuertes the great American bird painter whose work was featured in many American Heritage books, George Shiras II, from the family associated with the Natonal Geographic Society since its inception, and Ernest Thompson Seton, whos Indian research was interwoven into many of the programs of the Boy Scouts of America. "He loved to let out Indian War whoops and break into a dance. He kept it up all the time. He had coal-black hair and looked like an Indian, and he certainly acted like one," chuckled Mrs. Thompson, recalling her little-girl's reaction at the time. In addition to being the wildlife refuge warden, Mrs. Thompson's father was a county commissioner from l905 until about l9l8 and was instrumental in obtaining the first bridge across the Sebastian River and the First hard surface road - to Stuart - the first county courthouse and jail - in Ft. Pierce because Sebastian was then in St. Lucie County - but he was not the first Kroegel to contribute to the area. His father, Gottlob, arrived in Sebastian, then called Barker's Bluff, in l88l and, as the first homesteader in the county, he established a boat shop and produced the first sailing yacht sold in the county. He planted the county's first grove and built the county's first packing house, which is still located on Thompson's property. "Nothing but birds, panthers and bear were here then. Even when I was young the river was so full of fish there was hardly room to swim. The fish would keep us awake at night. "When a few porpoises would swim into a school of fish, the fish would jump out of the water and cause a great roar. It would wake us up," she explained. When her father was first the wildlife warden, he worked for the Department of Agriculture, but later the Department of the Interior took charge of parks and refuges, and the department has maintained a close interet in its first refuge and the first warden's property, now also a wildlife refuge. "Through the six winter months we put out 600 to 800 pounds of wild bird seed and several times during the day you can see l00 to 200 buntings at one time," exlained Thompson, who tends the property today as though it was where he had been raised. However he grew up in "the most beautiful and oldest spot in North America, Ashe County, North Carolina," and came to Sebastian as a teenager in l9ll. Conservation and archaeology are today Thompson's chief absorptions and he has gained national recogniton in both fields. His artifacts have been collected from the Kroegel-Thompson property as well as from around the world. Among his teasures are sabretooth tiger teeth, tyrilobites - "the parents of our shrimp" - petrified oysters which have been cut into fighting tools by the Indians and a piece of whalebone which has stumped the world-renowned experts who have examined it. It is a piece of whalebone that "has been in museums all over the world," but nobody has been able to discern its purpose, although it has been established that it is a type of whalebone which has been extinct for l5,000 years and that it found its way to a New Mexico cave, where it was found, by way of Norway and across the ice fields during the ice age. Carving on the rifle-size bone has been established as Egyptian on one end and Aztec on the other. Through his friendship with the director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, at Harvard University, Thompson's collection has been widely exhibited. Museums should be a safe place to "keep" such treasures, but Thompson sadly told of one time when it was not safe. "I lost a lot of my things which were in Kew Gardens, in London, when they got bombed during the war." The Thompson home is alive with hibiscus blossoms, a sacred malacite frog carved 300 years ago in Thailand, and a book collection which would be the envy of any scholar. Outside, the ground is covered with peanuts and pecans, bought in 50-pound quantities for the squirrels and flying squirrels, the wide variety of mangos are ripening on the trees and the l00 foot Cana Mala Bamboo tree rattles over the perch of Cheeky, the pet rooster. "Sometimes we have 20 flying squirrels on one tree," Thompson said noting that they have been counted by "people who can count a hell of a lot faster than I can." Explaining that this is their hibernation season, but that they never do come out in the daytime, Thompson said they glide up to 35 feet, are very tame and that many visitors have been able to hold them. "But I've followed them for 30 years to try to find where they spend the daytime" continued Thompson, "but I've never found out and I know every knothole and limb on this property." The Thompsons graciously welcome all garden clubs, Audubon societies, wildlife and conservation groups. "We have had over l00 letters from school children who have come here as study groups," commented Thompson, who noted that he has been made an honorary chief of an Indian tribe in Nova Scotia and of the Miccosouki tribe of Florida, by the Indian Guide association. But the most recent honor received by Thompson arrived just two weeks ago from the Department of the Interior, which has kept complete records of the Kroegel-Thompson property, as well as of Pelican Island. The certificate of appreciation to J.T. Thompson from the United States Youth Conservation Corps cites Thompson for his "personal contribution to our nation's resourses, and the education and development of our youth through assistance to the Youth Conservation Corps." After nearly l00 years, descendents of Gottlob Kroegel still occupy the original homestead and after 62 years the daughter and husband of our naton's first wildlife warden continue the conservation dream of former president Theodore Roosevelt, who designated Sebastian land as being worthy of preservation.
Touring Sebastian Highlands The town of Sebastian Highlands, which is bordering the town of Sebastian, north of Vero Beach, started as a modest homsite endeavor. The total of land which was involved was fourteen hundred acres. But the development got so out of hand, through demand, that an increase in acreage was necessary. The first change included adding nineteen hundred acres for a total of thirty three hundred acres. The last change included the addition of fourteen thousand seven hundred more acres, making eighteen thousand acres. The person behind the development of Sebastian Highlands is the Mackle brothers. The original idea was to provide for the sale of lots and the demand was ready. But many of the purchasers inquired as to why homes were not provided. So the plans were changed and the establishment of a building program was initiated. Within the next two months, more than forty houses were in the planning stage. More improvements were added to the original plan. Resulting from these improvements was a twenty acre shopping center, in addition to an elementary school site, a yacht club center and other refinements. The yacht club had a price tag of fifty thousand dollars. The elevation of Sebastian Highlands, and the natural drainage, led to the solving of drainage problems. The lowest point of elevation is twenty two feet above sea level, which is considered high for coastal property. Land is eleven feet higher than the average elevation of Miami, which is nine feet. Spilling into Sebastian and Indian Rivers are perimeter and drainage ditches. Tidal flucuations do not disturb the drainage process in Sebastian Highlands because of the rivers collecting the water. Rain water drains outstandingly well. Most of the property within Sebastian Highlands has been purchased by people living within the state of Florida, which is the exception of the rule that most developments of this type usually sell much better to out of state owners. Buyers have encouraged their friends to purchase here also. One of the first buyers lived in the vicinity of his new home while living his childhood. Seventy years ago, this person attended a one room school house nearby to Sebastian Highlands. The first settlers to the area of Sebastian came here about l879, and several of the families will have representatives residing in Sebastian Highlands. Situated on the inland waterway, which is the main route of water traffic along the eastern sea coast, is Sebastian Highlands. The yacht club which the Mackles provided for the residents of Sebastian Highlands, points toward Pelican Island. The view of these splended birds in flight is provided by the position of the yacht club. A distance short enough away to be comforting, is Sebastian Inlet. This renowned inlet is popular for its fishing and to arrive here, this Sebastian River is utilized. The Mackle brothers, three in number, are doing business under the name of General Development Corporation, and have the reputation of being the largest real estate developers in the nation. Operations are carried on at various different localities and an attempt is made to keep a close, individual relationship with all of their purchasers. Their business is conducted on an informal basis, based on easy going characteristics. This attitude is appealing to all who come into direct contact with the company. Employment has many opportunities within the area, as modern industries are prevalent in the immediate area. Older industries include citrus and agricultural interests. Amusement is offered abundantly, as Daytona Beach is just a small distance to the north and the Palm Beaches and Miami are to the South. Inland attractions include Orlando, Cypress Gardens, Bok Tower and other such places. The area has many recreational facilities and water sports is on the top of the list. Golf courses are easily reached and hunting and fishing are enjoyed by many. Entertainment, in the form of theatres and such, are also nearby. Sports, such as baseball, football, basketball, tennis and shuffleboard, have courts available for use in parks and playgrounds. Several picnic areas are available, with some being on fresh or salt water bodies. Vero Beach, during the year l966, had a population of thirteen thousand five hundred people, which was just an estimation. The county population count for the year l970 for the county was forty three thousand six hundred. The Piper Aircraft Corporation, which came to the area in l957, started with one hundred and thirty thousand square feet, which was used for manufacturing the Cherokee airplane. Ten years ago, the area increaed to three hundred and eighty five thousand square feet. Fifteen packing houses were located in this city during the year l966, and thirty eight thousand acres of land were used to cultivate citrus. Unemployment was not very extensive in Indian River County, with ten thousand, one hundred persons employed in l966. The Florida Industrial commission took a survey and came up with those results. Vero Beach, along with Fellsmere and Sebastian, makes up the chief incorporated areas of the county. Vero Beach is beautiful in its own right. The Los Angeles Dodgers, as far as records up to the year l966 denote, sustain their spring training headqarters here during the months of March and April. this famous team also operates a golf course, in which plans included expansion with two hundred and twenty acres being added. A recreational center was constructed during the middle l960's helping in keeping up with the area growth. This center is to be used in combination with the older center. Four beaches are operated by the city and improvements are constantly being considered. The beaches consist of three miles of ocean property. Vero Beach is also well known for being a retirement community. The first telephone in Vero Beach was installed in l889, and in that same year, the town had its first fire. Cora E. Morse's home caught on fire caused by the smudge-pots, which were used to kill mosquitoes. In Fellsmere, Diamond G. Ranch planned construction of the first Thoroughbred race horse training facility within the area of Indian River County. Completion was due sometime towards the end of the decade including the year l966. A regulation racetrack was also planned; complete with electric starting gates. Vero Beach has very little absense of sunshine. The average rainfall to occur here is fifty to fifty five inches per year. Cape Kennedy is only sixty miles away. Vero Beach is within the one hundred and fifty mile radius that contains Florida's select markets and has eight billion dollars of personal income annually. Future demands have been sighted and programs set up to meet them. These programs include the introduction of a natural gas line, a new dual highway, construction on other present highways and improved public service. The public service improvements include a new police station, a new city hall, a new county library, a larger courthouse and additions to the Indian River Memorial Hospital. Between the year l950 and l969, Vero Beach has more than tripled in size. Construction has been the cause of this growth, in addition to the increase in tourist interest. Over four hundrd years ago, Spanish treasure fleets wrecked on the same beaches which the people of Vero Beach enjoy. Five million dollars or more of this treasure has been recovered and some of this will be on display when two musums, dealing mainly with the visualization of these treasures, have construction completed. One of these is the McLarty Musum, located just south of Sebastian Inlet and the other, St. Lucie Museum is located in Pepper Park, which is south of Vero Beach, on State Road AlA. Several condominiums can be seen on the Vero Beach skyline now, and construction within the county persists on an extensive scale. Plenty of houses are available and priced reasonably in consideration of current real estate prices. Zoning laws have always been adequate and modern in Vero Beach, which is why Vero Beach is as pleasant and fine in appearance.
The Buntings Find an Inn on the Indian River Follow Indian River Drive (old U.S. l) as it swings down by the river and there at the last house, before the road turns back again onto present-day U.S.l, turn in the driveway among the towering oaks, screw pines, palms and fir trees. There, on the old Kroegel homestead, the most colorful show on earth will be taking place between now and May l. The swallows may come back to Capistrano every March l9 but the painted buntings have no such rigid schedule. Any time between December and April, the buntings, both painted and indigo, arrive in the virgin forest on the banks of the Indian River, either to spend the winter or to use the spot as a way-station on their journey back north from Central America. Mr. and Mrs. J.T. Thompson are the hosts at this Holiday Inn for birds. And even if the feathered tribe has not made an advance reservation, the Thompsons never turn away a single guest. There is always room in the inn and more seed in the bird feeder. Frieda Kroegel Thompson has lived on this land most of her life. She was born here, the daughter of Paul Kroegel, first warden of Pelican Island. J.T. Thompson, her husband has lived here almost fifty years, every since they were married on Jan. 26, l923. "But it wasn't until around l940 that we first saw the buntings coming here,' say the Thompsons. What made the beautifully-plumed buntings suddenly discover this mecca for wildlife in that year is anyone's guess. But as far as the Thompsons know, their sanctuary is the only place in this part of the world where the buntings come by the hundreds and thousands for about five months each year. The first time the Thompsons saw the deep-hued bird they didn't know what it was. They asked Dr. Tom Barber, head of the Harvard Museum, who was visiting in the area, and he identified it. There was only one bird that first year, but the next year a male and two females turned up. and from that small beginning, the guest list has grown each succeeding year. "Some days, during peak periods," says Thompson, "There will be 300 birds at any one time crowding the bird feeders and nearby trees. For a while, five pounds of bird seed would take care of one day's food demands but during peak periods we have used ten pounds of seed a day." Mrs. Thompson takes up the story from that point, saying, "When the feeders get crowded, we have seen birds land on those sitting on the feeders and try to pull them off. They are scrappy little birds." Last year the Thompsons saw an unusual painted bunting with the normal colors of brilliant blue, red and green, but its head and neck were a rich shade of brown. They frequently get out their binoculars and take a stand in the yard, watching at close range the comings and goings of their feathered friends. The binoculars are merely a means of studying in detail the gorgeous birds for actually the Thompsons can stand within five or six feet of the bird feeders and watch the birds. Among the things they have learned about the buntings is that the males eyes are amber and, when there is a soft rustling of trees and a stirring of wings, almost impercetible to the stranger, the birds are moving in. They sit momentarily in the surrounding trees near the house, soon to alight on the two main feeders made of bamboo arms. When it rains, Thompson takes the bamboo feeders from their metal poles and removes them to hooks on the open porch of the house. "The buntings come by the dozens to feed on the porch," says Mrs. Thompson. "They love to get in out of the rain." Although the painted bunting has splashy, bright colors of pronounced blues, reds, greens, the indigo buntings have more subdued shades of blues and browns. Thompson says, "The blue of the indigoes is the same as the blue on a Maxwell House coffee can." The Thompsons have other winter visitors to their feathered Holiday Inn. The grackles also arrive by the droves as do oven birds, red starts, prothonotary warblers, western tanagers and Baltimore orioles. Of course the blue jays and robins are also guests. There is no discrimination in this bird motel, with the exception of the grackles. "We really wish they would leave," says Mrs. Thompson, "In fact, we discourage them because they frighten the buntings." There is a nature trail through the wooded acres of the Thompsons' property, leading down to the river bank. A visitor's first thought is there must be hundreds of buntings in this forest, but Thompson says he has never seen the brightly painted birds anywhere except close to the house and the feeders. "I've seen barn owls, warblers, towhees on the trail, but never buntings," declares Thompson. "There are also vermillion fly catchers that walk upside down on the limbs of the trees, looking for bugs." At their sanctuary for birds, the Thompsons need no burglar alarm system for they have their own built-in alarm in the person of another type of fowl; an almost full-grown rooster named Cheekie. Cheekie is a resplendent specimen of the chicken kingdom, his bronze and green feathers vying for attention with the striking colors of the buntings. He lives in peaceful co-existance with the buntings, even giving them warning when danger is near. The oven bird, too, has its loud cry, sounding much like, "teacher, teacher, teacher!" which is meant as a warning. "But they sound it even when there is nothing to be alarmed about," say the Thompsons. The buntings provide their own piped-in music, singing a little like canaries. The Thompsons say their singing around March of each year becomes so strong that it is hard for us to talk. Some say their double notes sound like "sweet-sweet; chew-chew," but to the Thompsons it sounds more like "tweetchy-tweetchy." Regardless of how you interpret their pleasant chatter, the buntings' singing is a good indication that spring is near and they will soon be leaving for their summer homes in Pennsylvania, Ohio and the New England states. "When their singing becomes the strongest, that's when we know they will be leaving us," say the Thompsons.
Pelican Island Not too many people leave Pelican Island with a piece of lettuce as a souvenir. As a matter of fact, not many people leave Pelican Island - because the people population is prohibited from the spit of mangrove land in the Indian River. Pelican Island is for the birds. It is a National Wildlife Refuge for an endangered species: the brown pelican. The lettuce I brought back was sea lettuce - a type of seaweed that seems to abound around the river islands where the pelicans and other birds roost and nest. Lawrence Wineland, refuge manager, theorized the lettuce is abundant because the birds fertilize the surrounding waters, the lettuce grows, fish eat the lettuce and the birds eat the fish. This lesson in the balance of nature was only one of the things I brought back with me from the island between the Indian River and Spratt Creek. I came back with the smell of a bird rookery clinging to my clothes and memories of the sights and sounds of one of the most unusual wildlife refuges in these United States. When my day began the river was calm, rain clouds hovered in the distance. We embarked from near the Wabasso bridge and sped up past Preacher's Island, Nelson's Island and Paul's Island. There were a few pelicans and ibis and anhingas as we rode by, but I was not prepared for the sight of Pelican Island's 3-5 triangular acres literally covered with screaming, cawing, flapping birds. Oh, the pelicans don't utter a sound - at least the mature birds don't. The baby birds make utterances like "ahh-ahh-ahh" but by the time they have grown up and have dived in the sea a few times, they lose their voices. Wineland's comment is, "I tell the men it is too bad wives can't dive in the sea for fish so they can lose their voices." But if the pelicans are mute, the wood ibis and the cormorant and the great blue herons and the white ibis do their share of vocalizing. The island is one huge polyglot of feathered friends. Every mangrove tree has several nests, the ground contains nests, and even the shoreline harbors the nest of an American oyster catcher. "Foolish bird," Wineland said, "his nest is right at high water line. If we get a good blow and the water comes higher, his nest will go." This is Wineland's eighth nesting season as manager of the island and this was the first oyster catcher nest he had observed. We walked a little farther onto the mangrove island. At first the birds seemed to be excited and some scattered into the air, but soon they came back to roost and settled down to watch our progress. Wineland pointed out a nest with blue eggs: "The American egret," he said. Further on was a larger nest with three brownish eggs. One egg was moving in a jerky fashon. "The pelican is about to hatch," Wineland observed. Then we caught sight of a nest with little gawky, grayish birds and it was my first look at infant pelicans. "These are three or four weeks old," Wineland said. "They learn to fly when they are about four or five months old. And their life span is about five or six years." Pelicans mate and begin nesting when they are about three years old, Wineland related. They will re-use the nests built in prevous years, as well as building new nests. A large pelican flew overhead with velvet gray wings and a foot-long twig in his mouth. "That is the male bringing the nest material to his mate, as though to say, it's about time we settled down to raise a family," only troublemakers," he said, "They eat the eggs and the young birds." Well, there's always a troublemaker in every crowd, they say. Or could it be it was just the balance of nature?
Pelican Island: Bird Sanctuary A frigate bird circles overhead, watching us. In the distance a flock of what seemed to be white pelicans, wheeled and turned in graceful wide circles. It had been three years since I had been out to Pelican Island. The island was changing. The first time I had gone to the wildlife refuge in the Indian River, just southeast of the town of Sebastian, the island had been fairly lush and supported quite a growth of mangrove trees. That was in l972. Four years later - in l976 - Larry Wineland, the wildlife refuge manager, took me to the island again. I remarked then about the black mangroves that had become mere little bushes and about the "beaten down" vegetation. He assured me the island was not actually dying, but going through a cycle. Little vegetation Now, three years later, the island is still going through that cycle. Very little vegetation is left because of the excrement of the birds that nest and alight there. But somehow, a great many of the birds are still there and thriving. Wineland took several boatloads of Pelican Island Audubon members to the island recently and I joined them. On the way past Preacher's Island, Nelson's Island and Paul's Island, we saw herons and egrets. Once, Wineland stoped the boat to show us a pair of nesting ospreys high in a tree. The ospreys glared back at us, but seemed undisturbed by our visit. Wineland also pulled the boat into an island where red, black and white mangrove trees grew. He explained that he always points these out to the school children of Vero Beach who he takes on ecological excursions each year. So far he has taken 7,000 youngsters out to the island over a period of several years. At Pelican Island, Wineland brought the boat fairly close in to shore but we were not permitted to get out and expore the island. There are signs prohibiting this, and it is Wineland's duty to enforce these signs. First wildlife refuge Pelican Island was the world's first wildlife refuge, established in l903 when President Theodore Roosevelt created the refuge and appointed Paul Kroegel, a Sebastian resident, as the first wildlife warden. Kroegel's daughter, Frieda Kroegel Thompson, still lives within sight of the island, on the west shore of the Indian River. On this morning it seemed almost as though the wood ibis had taken over the island from the pelicans. They were everywhere. Occasionally we would see a pelican, and once one of them came soaring in over our heads to bring a large twig--it seemed almost like a branch--for nest building. There were cormorants here and there on the island and an egret stood just a short distance from the shore, preening and showing off for our boatload of observers. Down at one end of the island swam a congregation of white pelicans, most of whom will be gong back to Montana or the Dakotas soon. Those who stay are usually young, or possibly infirm and unable to make the trip, said Wineland. One of Wineland's activities as wildlife manager is to band some of the pelicans and wood ibis for identification and study purposes. If someone finds a dead banded bird, it is hoped he will report the location of the find to the address on the band. This way the wildlife department can study the migrating habits of the birds. Wineland knows there are brown pelicans here from the Carolinas and white pelicans from the Dakotas. The white pelicans are winter visitors. He knows that the wood ibis does not stay here year round, and many go to the St. John's marsh to get food. He looks up and points to an echelon of three pink and white birds overhead. "Roseate spoonbills," he said. Standing in the midst of thousands of birds, Wineland remarked, "There is a white heron in the second marsh up, but I haven't seen his nest yet." Wineland knows his birds as well as a mother hen knows her own brood in a barnyard of chickens. "There are about three thousand here right now" he estimated. "But at sunset there may be as many as l0,000, I've seen up to 25,000." Pelican Island is about to complete a 75 year cycle, by the looks of things. Around the turn of the century the island was almost completely devoid of vegetation, then the mangroves became re-established. Now the heavy nesting activity has broken down most of the mangrove trees and in some places has caused the growth to die out. Those trees remaining have sparse foliage. If the island becomes barren again, the birds may desert for other nesting places, or may simply build their nests on the ground. But if they go elsewhere for a while, they always return to Pelican Island. There is something in nature that pulls them back. We walked farther along the feathered population and Wineland found some dead baby birds and on the shore found an adult bird that had expired. But he was not concerned. "Nature must take its course," he remarked. "If all the young birds lived, there would not be sufficient food or space. Nature has a way of balancing things." A short distance away a baby pelican was getting its lunch from its mother's pouch, and overhead a squadron of pelicans was flying in from the ocean. "Lunch time," Wineland announced. Here come the breadwinners to feed their families." The sun was beginning to get hot and Wineland pointed out the adult birds who were sitting on the edge of the nests to shade their newly-hatched off spring. If they did not do this, the down-less infant birds would die from the heat. All around us were pelican, egrets, black crown night herons, ibis, Louisiana herons, anhinga and the great blue herons. A few fish crows were darting in and out. Except for the crows, the United Nations of birds were dwelling in peaceful co-existence.
Sebastian: Sleepy Fishing Row The small riverfront city of Sebastian, often referred to as a "sleepy little fishing village," has stirred from its sleep and like its neighboring sister cities, is starting its new day with growing pains. Located at the northern tip of Indian River county, Sebastian is equally divided in plans and dreams for its future. The city's young citizens, and some older, welcome growth and population while some pioneers want the community to remain as it is and, in some cases, as it was. Its children, who in previous years moved away to find jobs, are beginning to stay in the river area to rear their children. With the community growing at a steady rate, its population, now at about l,l00 has increased l00 percent over the past l0 years. Commercial fishing and shellfishing are the city's economic backbone. The two fishing industries contribute some $500,000 to the community each year, according to local officials. Between 500 and 600 acres of the river's bottom is leased to shell fishermen, Wilson Brown, vice president of Indian River County Shellfishing Association said. Brown says some 250 to 300 commercial boats call Sebastian home port. There are two wholesale fish houses in Sebastian which employ about 75 men fulltime year 'round. Typical of most small or growing communities the local businesses include a bank, one supermarket, two convenience stores,about four beauty salons, a laundrymat, funeral home and doll museum. And there's a small volunteer ambulance squad and fire department. Sebastian's city hall, fire and police stations are located in a five-room building "downtown" a block from the river. The l970 census showed the city's population was 800, but Col. A.T. Jordan, city clerk, says it's really about l,l00. Col. Jordan, who returned to Sebastian after retiring from service is also tax-assesor and collector, city treasurer, building inspector and supervisor of elections. Sebastian, once larger than Vero Beach and Melbourne, was chartered 4l years ago. Its citizens began leaving when it lost its railroad and when the bridge was built across the Indian River in Vero Beach, Jordan said. Sebastian has its own rare features. The Real Eight Corporation's recovery of $5 million worth of treasure from a fleet of l0 Spanish ships that were sunk in a hurricane off the East Coast in l7l5, has put Sebastian on the maps of treasure seekers. The ships were carrying some $l4 million in treasure. The Atomedic Hospital, which was exhibited at the New York World's Fair in l964 as the world's most modern hospital, was purchased by Dr. "Kip" Kelso who disassembled it and brought it to Sebastian. The hospital, due to financal difficulties and being too modern for the times," never opened its doors here. And Sebastian Inlet is known throughout the country as one of the best areas for sports fishing. Sebastian's location, unlike many of Florida's east coast cities, is on a natural bluff. The land was first occupied by the Ais Indians, a cannibalistic tribe. A scenic drive most often remembered by visitors is Indian River Drive. It's a narrow, winding little road that follows the river's edge, bordered by large trees that reach out over the water. Some of the city's oldest buildings are located along the drive, many now unattended. One resident remembers Sebastian when huckleberries were purchased for a nickel a quart from the Indians. The oldtimer who then traveled by horseback or boat, the only transortation, is Charles Sembler. Sembler, 82, has lived in Sebastian 7l years. He served on the city council and the Inlet Commission for 20 years. A father, grandfather, and geat grandfather, Sembler has been married for 6l years. Following his father's occupation, he went into the wholesale fish business. Most of the early settlers were fishermen and a hardy stock, Sembler recalls. They had to be, the country was wild. "It was a perfect time and place for a boy to grow up. There was always a variety of wild game and something new to explore," Sembler said. Mrs. Sembler remembers her girlhood days. The young people, for entertainment, would "get all dressed up" and meet the train. For a second highlight of the day they would go to the post office and wait for the mail to be put out. Today's youth are organizing a teen center with a building donated by the city and funds from the police auxiliary. The teens plan to use the center for dances, "rap" sessions and games. Sebastian has been home for Miss Sallydale Wimbrow about 30 years. She moved away seven times but always returned. Miss Wimbrow came here in her teens with her parents. Her father, the late Dale Wimbrow, founded "Indian River News" a weekly newspaper, in l947. Seven years later he died and her mother, Mrs. Dorothy Wimbrow, who does not drive a car, edited and published the paper for the next l2 years. Miss Wimbrow worked with her mother on the small weekly in both editorial and advertising. A real estate associate, Miss Wimbrow holds high hopes for the city. She expects to see Sebastian grow to what she has always believed it could be. "An uncluttered and clean community with enough opportunities to hold its young," Miss Wimbrow said.
Kroegel Is Honored By City's Council Honored at the July l2 Sebastian City Council meeting was Franklyn Wayne Kroegel, chairman of the Fourth of July activities in Sebatian, which consisted of a parade, concession stands, relay races and an evening street dance, actually presented on Saturday, July 3. Mayor F. Eugene Cragg presented Kroegel with a certificate of honor "for his efforts and public spiritedness in arranging a most successful Bicentennial celebration for the City of Sebastian. "It made me very happy and proud to do it and especially to do it for the Bicentennial year,"commented Kroegel, who gave credit to the "many business and service organizations, individuals and the Sebastian Volunteer Fire Deartment and the Miss Sebastian Pageant Association," all of whom contributed to the success of the programs. Marshall of the parade was Kroegel's father, Rodney, because of his early connections with the north county, said the chairman. Kroegel's grandfather, Paul, was the first federal game marshal in the nation, according to the grandson, who noted that his grandfather was marshal of Pelican Island and that his parents and grandparents were lifetime residents of the area. Commenting on the street dance, Kroegel said, "It seemed that the older people really enjoyed themselves because they really got out and danced." Looking to next year, the chairman reiterated what he had said prior to the festivities, that a service organization should take over the Fourth of July celebration, and Kroegel recommended that work should begin on the project several months prior to July because of the detailed work necessary for a successful program.
Kip Wagner Rites are Held In Vero
Cifford L. (Kip) Wagner, 66, internationally known treasure salvor, died at his Sebastian home this weekend. Funeral services were held at l0 a.m. today at the Floyd Funeral Home Chapel at Vero Beach, with burial at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Wagner, founder of Real Eight Inc. a treasure salvage firm based in Satellite Beach, came to South Brevard from Miamisburg, Ohio, following World War II. Ill with terminal cancer for the last four years, Wagner had resigned as chairman of the board of the treasure salvage firm in l968. In l96l he gathered an interestd group together to form the Real Eight Corp. with Harry E. Cannon, Dan F. Thompson, Dr. Kip Kelso, Delfine Long, Lib Futch, Lou Ullian and Irv Taylor, as its first officers. Wagner, described as an enthusiastic energetic man, enthusiastic and aggressive, spent some time diving as a member of the recovery teams and participated in the recovery of the l7l5 fleet treasure that amounted to more than $l million in value. Wagner was also co-author with Bob Taylor, a Kennedy Space Center writer, of the book, "Pieces of Eight." And he did the feature National Geographic article for January l965, "l7l5 Fleet Recovery." His work in Real Eight gained him national recognition and won him an honorary degree as Doctor of Science from Westminister College, Westminster, Pa. His discoveries over a 24-year period recovered millions of dollars of Spanish artifacts. Surviving are: wife, Alice; son, Tom, of Sebastian; brother, William, of Miamisburg; and two grandchildren.
Fellsmere, Dilapidated
Fellsmere - One of the blue-jeaned young men in the Chat'N Chew calls across the room, "Do you want me to play some jive or boogey?" In a moment the juke box in the little restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue blares forth and the room begins to rock. The music is almost more powerful than the good country fragrances of collard greens, creamed potatoes, lima beans and country steak. Almost, but not quite. It is noon time in the little country town of Fellsmere population 850 not counting the chickens, cats, dogs and goats. The men in the Chat'N Chew are probably workers from the citrus groves west of town, employees of Gulf Western Food Products. Up on Broadway the new volunteer fire department building looks momentarily deserted, although there are probably about l00 volunteer area firemen, with about l0 active ones. Next door to the fire department, the election board is presiding at the city election being held in city hall. Mrs. Ruby Albright and Mrs. Catherine Lester sit at the long table checking voters' names on the registration rolls. Homer Simpson escorts the voters to the booth, while City Clerk Gail Lenardt looked on. A man came in attired in a crumpled, checkered shirt and well-worn trousers. He is a voter, but can neither read nor write. Miss Lenardt asks him to raise his right hand and take the oath that "the information I am about to give is the truth, so help me God." He goes through the ceremony, provides the answers, and goes to the voter's booth where Mr. Simpson helps him with voting procedures. Up the street about a block is the Davis Brothers Grocery where you can purchase fishing rods along with your canned goods, and the window has a display of sea shells and a big green frog that the owner's son made in ceramic class. The frog is not for sale. Across Broadway from the city hall is the Fellsmere Methodist Church, painted a wine red, with a white louvered bell tower. The bell rings every Sunday morning at 9, echoing through the town in alternating cadence with the bell of the Community Church. Mrs. Albright said, "I ring the Community bell mayself, every Sunday." Mrs. Albright is also opposed to reporters who come to Fellsmere with the idea of taking pictures of quaint structures such as the Methodist Church, then going over "to the part of town where some run-down shacks are located and taking pictures of them." She doesn't think that depicts the true Fellsmere. But Homer Simpson, a three-year resident of the town, who left Eau Gallie "to get away from the big city," looks at it a little differently. "Reporters come down here and take pictures of our dirt streets and sometimes of the ramshackle houses, but that's not wrong. Those things are here, as well as the good things. Sometimes we can see in these pictures and stories the things that must be changed and improved." On the same side of Broadway as the Methodist Church, but a couple of blocks further north, is the Fellsmere Inn. It used to be a respectable hotel in the early days of the muck farming, fertilizer processing and sugar mill. Between five and ten years ago the Inn had an excellent dining room with home cooking that attracted everyone from miles around and many out-of-state visitors. In the last five years it has changed hands about five times and has deteriorated into unwholesome disrepute. It has begun to show its shabbiness; with sagging screens, settling porches, and cats roaming across its porch. In the heyday of its excellent dining room, the owner frequently mentioned that the building was l00 years old, and of course thus made it a living antique. However, J.E Dixon, over on Orange Street, says the inn was built in l9l4. Dixon was chief electrician at the sugar mill from l93l to l96l when it closed down. He remembers a lot about the early days of this town. "It was originally called Cincinnati Farms by Mr. Russel, the first owner," Dixon said, "Russel sold much of the area to Mr. Fell, who came down from Virginia for $l.25 per are. Most of the land was under water for years until a dike was built around 50,000 acres and finally drained. Now it's overly drained." Dixon, too, looks with some disdain upon newspaper people who come in and get the acts of the town all mixed up. "Some Orlando paper years ago wrote a story about the town getting its name from Fels-naptha soap," he chuckled. "I don't know where they ever got that idea. It was actually named after Mr. Fell and the 'mere' is taken from the French word for sea. It was supposed to mean Fell's great watery place." Go east on New York Street, go south on Bay Street, turn back west on Pennsylvania Avenue. The narrow dirt roads lead to nowhere or sometimes just across an algae-covered canal. Modern new houses stand side-by-side with freshly-painted clapboard houses with tin roofs and big chimneys. The lawns are almost all well kept and the shrubbery is lush and neatly trimmed. A bucket of begonias sits in a front yard, chickens cackle in a side yard, and a rooster's crow can be heard in the distance at l0:30 in the morning. It is a sleepy, country town out of the yesteryear of pioneer Florida. Time seems to have overlooked it, progress has not yet found it. "You see that palm in the front yard?" J.E. Dixon asked, indicating a beautiful specimen of Poenix Reclinata. "I've been offered $250 for that by some college up in Melbourne. But I won't sell. That has been here as long as I have, and I just think I'll keep it."
Obituary
Charles Sembler - Charles William Sembler, 89, of North Indian River Drive, Sebastian, died early March 9 at his residence. A native of Millbrook, N.Y., he came to this area in l90l from Millbrook. He was a commercial seafood dealer and was owner-operator of Sembler and Sembler Seafoods Inc. of Sebastian. He was a leader in the civic affairs of Sebastian and had been a member of the Sebastian City Council for 20 years. He was also a charter member of Organized Fishermen of Florida, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sebastian School and he was responsible for the bus route between Sebastian and the Vero Beach High School. He was also a long time member of the Sebastian Inlet Commission. Mr. Sembler was a member of the protestant faith. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Margaret Sembler of Sebastian; one sister: two sons, Charles D. Sembler and Edwin G. Sembler, both of Sebastian: three daughters, Mrs. Cora Sembler Sadler, Roseland, Mrs. Marian Thomas, Sebastian, and Mrs. Peggy Quirk: l2 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Monday at l0 a.m. from the graveside in the Seastian Cemetery with Elder Paul Law,pastor of the Little Zion Primitive Baptist Church, officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Shiloh Youth Ranch of Roseland. Haisley-Hobbs funeral home of Ft. Pierce is in charge of all arrangements.
Red Tape Stalls Dredging at Sebastian Inlet Red Tape. Webster describes it as "bureaucratic procedure." There are other ways of describing it also, most of them unprintable. Ask Harry Goode, chairman of the Sebastian Inlet District Commission. Goode has found himself so wrapped up in red tape since the commission first applied for a dredge permit to clean out Sebastian Inlet that he almost reached the point of complete frustration. Last week Goode finally received a dredge permit issued to the commission by the Florida Department of Natural Resources. All the commission need now before it can begin dredging opertions is ANOTHER permit which has to be issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Goode expects to be given the go-ahead by the Corps almost any day. "After all," Goode said, "the worst is over. It took only nine months to obtain the most important permit of all, that issued by the State Department of Natural Resources. What's another week or two?" A noted conservationist and sportsman, Goode is most concerned about the overreaction of ecologists, not the time he and the commission has spent obtaining the dredge permit. "It's really amazing," Goode said, "to think that the commission should have to go through so much when it in fact is doing something to preserve the ecology of the Indian River. "If we don't dredge the sand trap in the inlet soon, shoals will begin building up and there will be a bigger and bigger build up of silt in the river." Goode explained. "That inlet is never going to get stopped up as long as I'm with the commission." Goode's confidence in the Corps of Engineers expediting issuance of a permit to allow dredging operations to begin sometime this spring is the only thing that keeps him from moving ahead on his own. "The commission has emergency powers," Goode said, "that will allow it to act without asking anyone for a permit if we want to get snooty about the whole thing. "The red tape involved in getting a permit," Goode said, "is just about unbelievable." So many agencies became involved at one point that Goode had just about given up trying to keep track of them. "Just under the Department of Natural Resources we had the Bureau of Beaches and Shores and the Division of Recreation and Parks to deal with. And then we had the Salt Water Fish Commission to contend with, besides. "As if that wasn't enough," Goode said, "we needed the approval of the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund who could only act after its Land Management Division approved the project. "Even the Division of Archives, History and Records got into the act," Goode pointd out. "Again we needed the approval of that division's management office. "And then there was the State Department of Air and Water Pollution Control to be dealt with," Goode said, not forgetting to point out that in addition both Brevard and Indian River Counties had agencies that gave approval of the dredging project. More than 2,400 feet of beach south of the inlet will be refurbished when the sand trap is emptied. The commission has allocated $l50,000 for the project, and the state will match the commission's funds. "The sad part of all this overreaction on the part of ecologists," Goode said, "is that one of these days it's going to be like the boy who cried wolf. No one is going to listen unless more care is used with the word 'ecology' and that is when the real damage is going to be done."
Waves at Sebastian Inlet take down backing up boat Sebastian Inlet, considered by boaters as one of the more dangerous passages from the Inland Waterway to the ocean, claimed another boat Wednesday, Inlet Park Ranger Capt. Roy Kemp reported. Capt. Kemp said he did not see the boat go down or learn the identity of its occupants. They were rescued by another boat before he arrivd on the scene. The Brevard Sheriff's Department Patrol didn't file a report on the sinking either. "I was told the operator of the boat lost his forward gear and attempted to back his boat through the inlet from the ocean," Kemp said. Joe Orlando of the Naptune Marine at Micco, said he learned of the sinking. One of the boats from the marina went to the inlet to assist, but arrived after the boat's passengers had been rescued. "I don't know anything except that I heard it was a l4 or l5-foot outboard with five persons aboard," Orlando said. He commented that the inlet waters "can fool you." "People see the inlet at slack tide and it looks calm and safe. Then they hit it when the tide is running and get into trouble. If you know the inlet, there is plenty of water and you can run it safely. If you don't you can get into big trouble," he said. "If that man was trying to back into it, he was asking for it." In another boating accident reported Wednesday a barge struck a boat in the Barge Canal across Merritt Island. The Sheriff's Department said the accident was reported by Tingley's Marina and that the damaged boat belonged to Urban H. Landing of l302 Clear Lake Road, Cocoa. No details of the accident were available.
Inlet Commission Plans Millage Cut Indian River and Brevard County residents living within the jurisdiction of the Sebastian Inlet Taxing District may be in for a pleasant surprise when millage rates for the district are issued next year. During a Wednesday night meeting of the Sebastian Inlet Commission, Commissioners Rich Schmidt and Richard Thomas, with the assistance of commission Attorney Richard Dowen and engineer Ken Damarow, attempted to put together a preliminary budget for the l979-80 fiscal year. What they came up with led Schmidt to remark, "We are going to cut the millage rate...I feel definite about that!" The millage rates established by the current commission since it took office in January of l977 ranged from .30 mills in l977 to .l5 mills in l978. The budget the commission is proposing now promises to cut that fractional amount even further. As outlined by Schmidt, including estimated expenditures for everything from aerial photographs to office space rental fees and utilizing surpluses remaining in the approximately $382,000 l978-79 budget, the commission could conceivably get along with a l979-80 budget of approximately $39,000. "That's the bare bones estimate right now," commentd Schmidt. "With that we could just get by with the daily drudgeries." Schmidt also pointd out that the commission has, in special, segregated accounts, approximately $l50,000 set aside for future work on the inlet sandtrap; another $l00,000 earmarked for an inlet riprapping project, and $60,000 available in the event of an unforeseen emergency. Thomas, while supporting Schmidt in his desire to cut the millage rate and give taxpayers a break, cautioned his fellow commissioner against going too far with his austerity program. "If we don't need it (a higher millage rate) let's don't do it," stated Thomas. "But we better have a little bit set aside in case something comes up." Both Thomas and Schmidt decried the practices of some taxing districts who tax at the same rate year after year whether the same amount of money is needed or not. "There are a lot of taxing districts in this state that tax at the same rate every year and just stick the money in a hole. We don't want to do that," said Schmidt. Schmidt further estimated that a millage rate that would generate about $50,000 in tax revenues would be sufficient, when coupled with surpluses from the l978-79 budget, to see the commission through a normal year of operation in l979-80. "I think it's enough, what with the funds we have set aside and the emergency fund," Schmidt concluded. Thomas and Cowen continued to be more cautious in their approach to next year's budget. "I've seen how quickly the money can melt away," Cowen observed, pointing to a repair project on the inlet's north jetty that is currently about six months behind schedule and costing more than twice what it was bid at. "We don't want to get too bare bones," Thomas agreed. "Let's do the millage cut, because I think we can, but let's not cut it too close." The budget discussed at Wednesday's meeting was only a preliminary proposal. Budget talks will continue at the commissions next meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, July 3l, at 7:30 p.m. in Sebastian's city hall. The public is invited to attend.
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