Year of the Coconut - Florida in the 1960s

From a 1929 postcard
Courtesy of  State Archives of  Florida,
Florida Memory

Posted by Jane Feehan 

Coconuts played a part in promoting Florida tourism during the early 1960s. They were touted by the Miami News (Feb. 23, 1964) as “Miami’s Nuttiest Tourist Bait.”

It began in 1962 when 3,000 coconuts were distributed at the Seattle World’s Fair bearing labels urging “Follow me to Miami.” This public relations tactic made it to the front page of the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

The initiative, claimed by Miami City Manager Melvin L. Reese to be “an inexpensive way to extend the compliments of the city … and enhance the tropical image of Miami,” continued at different venues.

Two thousand were given away at New York’s Yankee Stadium during the Gotham Bowl Game December, 1962. Another 2,250 were distributed at the Florida Showcase in New York. Six hundred SS Hanseatic passengers, many of them Danes arriving at Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades, received coconuts as they disembarked. The Singing Mailmen of Miami gave them away on a trip up the Eastern Seaboard, resulting in one school dedicating a day of science class to the study of the palm tree and its fruit. A Rotary Club gave coconuts away to members winning club contests and more than 200 were presented to travel editors in 1962.

Miami tourism expanded in the 1960s; no doubt the coconut played a part in its growth. Perhaps 1962 may best be remembered by some South Floridians as the Year of the Coconut.

Tags: Florida tourism, Miami tourism, coconuts, tourism campaigns, history of Miami, history of South Florida, Miami in the 1960s, South Florida in the 1960s, coconuts in Florida

Warner Bros film showcases Florida, boosts tourism - 1950s

Chasing the Sun – Warner Bros., 1957
The Wonders of Nature’s Playground! On Land – and Under the Sea
Owen Crump and Charles L. Tedford, Writers
Andre de la Varre, Director

By Jane Feehan

In 1957, Warner Brothers released Chasing the Sun, a short movie that Herb Rau of the Miami News praised as doing the best job of selling Florida than was ever witnessed. The 31-minute film, directed by Andre de la Varre, told a story of travel in Central and South Florida seen through the eyes of an Austrian artist. Much of it highlighted attractions; some of those remain open today.

Color cameras caught the iconic water skiing girls at Dick Pope’s Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven (closed in 2009). The film also featured Miami attractions: Parrot Jungle (now Jungle Island), Rare Bird Farm (closed), Monkey Jungle (open) and Theater of the Sea in Islamorada (open).

A publicity piece provided by Warner Brothers, who had released 19 films about Florida during the 20 years prior to the 1957 film claimed, “Without question, Chasing the Sun does the greatest selling job for Florida to date, either by magazine, newspaper, or motion picture.” They expected 50 million to view the movie across the U.S.

Before the film was released, however, Miami Beach was drawing hordes of tourists to the Fontainebleau, Eden Roc and a growing roster of glamorous hotels. Arthur Godfrey was broadcasting his popular TV show from the Kenilworth. In 1957 the first leg of the Florida Turnpike was completed. New towns were established in Broward County, including Plantation in 1953. National Airlines saw a need to establish a route to accommodate keen interest in Florida and, in 1958, began non-stop passenger jet service between New York and Miami.

It could be the film reflected as well as promoted the growing interest in Florida.

Sources:

Miami News, Nov. 10, 1957

IMDB.org

Tags: Films about South Florida, Miami Beach in the 1950s, Miami in the 1950s, 
Florida film industry research

Touring Florida in the 1930s: Of air shows, citrus groves, wildlife, and trailer camps

"Come to Florida" 1938
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory/Postcards

By Jane Feehan

Florida was hit by the Great Depression before most other states, especially after the 1926 hurricane slammed Fort Lauderdale and Miami, scaring off land speculators and developers. By the 1930s, the entire country was affected by a severe economic downturn.

But tough times didn’t stop people from visiting Florida, especially those with cars. New roads and inexpensive tent and trailer camps welcomed “swarms” of tourists during the winter season, which back then started after the holidays.  

There was plenty to see by car, according to travel writers. The roads that made sightseeing possible were State Road 441 from the Georgia line south to Miami and US 1. In the late 1930s, Route 1 was to undergo widening from St. Augustine to Palm Beach. From the Palm Beach area to Miami that well-traveled road was smooth and wide at the time.

Motorists could travel through Central Florida along the Orange Blossom Trail (parts of 441, adjacent routes U.S. 17/192 and other roads).* A recommended itinerary would include a stop at Clermont, Gem of the Hills (now Choice of Champions), and Howey-in-the-Hills, then touted as the “largest citrus development in the world.” Drivers could also stay at Winter Garden, a mecca of vacation trailers, Lake Apopka, a sweet spot for bass fishermen or Winter Haven, the “Citrus Capital” and site of the annual Orange Festival. They might also like to see Palatka, the “new rival” to Ocala (how things have changed …).

The lower coast of West Florida offered Sarasota, “which has more valuable old masters than any other American museum except for the Metropolitan." South of that town sat Fort Myers, once home to Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931) where Edison Day was celebrated (and celebrated today).

A tour to East Florida could include driving on sand along the ocean at Daytona Beach or stopping at Merritt Island to see flocks of birds rising like clouds from its marshes. Nearby was Pelican Island, a wildlife refuge off Vero Beach. Also in Vero was the McKee Jungle Gardens, opened in 1931 (and now named McKee Botanical Garden). Cape Canaveral, about an hour north, was a prime spot for catching jumbo shrimp; the town claimed a yearly 400-ton-catch from its adjacent ocean waters.     

Travel on the Overseas Highway down to Key West was interrupted by damage from the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 but motorists could visit the Lion Farm in Fort Lauderdale, Hibiscus Gardens in Dania or stay at one of the many fishing camps in or near Key Largo.

And there was an air show—held south of Miami—that featured planes from 12 airports and seaplane bases. The U.S. Coast Guard provided some of the best acts, according to some. For visitors who made it that far, a visit to Miami could include a wager placed at Tropical Park or a much-needed rest at a comfortable hotel room near Biscayne Bay or along the ocean.

Much has changed since 1937 but some things stay the same: nomadic tourists seeking warm winters, sightseeing and … air shows. 

  

*Not to be confused with the seven notorious miles of illicit activities dubbed the Orange Blossom Trail near today’s Orlando.

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Sources: 

Cities of Howey-in-the Hills, Daytona Beach

Miami Herald, Dec 5, 1932

Miami Herald, March 17, 1937

Wikipedia

 Tags: Travel, Florida tourism, tours, Florida history, South Florida history, Central Florida, West Florida, Jane Feehan film researcher, Florida in the 1930s, Florida during the Depression