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Happy 100th Birthday to the Boynton School!

By Janet DeVries Naughton | September 17, 2013 - 7:24 pm |October 17, 2015 History, Schools

1st Permanent Schoolhouse in Boynton, ca. 1907

It is hard to imagine a Boynton Beach without a schoolhouse. In 1895, only a handful of people lived here, and for most of those, formal education was unnecessary. Between 1900 and 1910, the little settlement, known simply as Boynton, grew in population from less than 100 people to nearly 700.

Though they had no children of their own, Fred and Byrd Spilman Dewey recognized the need for a school in the growing settlement of Boynton. In 1897, Fred S. Dewey appeared before the school board and petitioned for a Boynton school, as reported in the August 5, 1897 Tropical Sun. A small, one-room schoolhouse on stilts was erected on land donated by the Deweys, in the area of the present day Dewey Park (Ocean Avenue and NE 4th Street). Miss Maude Gee was the first teacher, referred to in the Tropical Sun as Boynton’s “Instructoress.” A makeshift school for African-Americans; known at that time as a “Colored School” opened in 1896 in the area of today’s Poinciana School.

Article from Tropical Sun

Albert P. Sawyer donated the land for the first permanent schoolhouse for White children, from his Sawyer’s Addition to the Dewey’s original Town of Boynton plat on November 29, 1902. In 1904 the two-room wooden school which was located near present-day Ocean Avenue and Seacrest Blvd. (then Green Street) opened with W.S. Shepard as Principal and Agnes Halseth as teacher. A few years later, in 1909, Palm Beach County was carved out of Dade County.

The Boynton School, ca. 1913

In 1912, the Palm Beach County School Board approved a contract with A. Mellson to construct the first part of a new school building. The original plan left the upstairs unfinished and did not include the fire escape. The Board approved a contract for William W. Maughlin, an architect from Baltimore to design a new masonry vernacular school. Maughlin, born in 1847, had previously designed the Palm Beach High School in 1908-1909 and was a draftsman for the Florida East Coast Hotels. Maughlin and his firm of Ruggles and Weller constructed the schoolhouse. The Boynton School was Maughlin’s last project, he passed away suddenly in October 1913 at his office and is buried in Woodland Cemetery.

Architect Wm. Maughlin’s Woodmen of the World Monument (1847-1913) at Woodlawn Cemetery.

In December, 1912, the Board of Instruction authorized work to be completed on the two-story, six classroom building. The structure, one of the first in Boynton to feature indoor plumbing, had a signature portico, large sash windows and transom windows to facilitate the flow of sunlight and fresh air. The floors were made from Dade County Pine, and walls affixed with bead board.

The sturdy school featured a new system in masonry, known as Dunn Tile. The molds, designed by the W.E. Dunn Mfg. Co. of Chicago, the largest manufacturer to make concrete block forms, transformed the building industry. The Dunn Co. used a revolutionary concrete and plaster mixer to make concrete for block, a precursor to the concrete block house.

Miss Annie Streater (Shepard) with her 1st to 4th grade pupils, ca. 1913

The school opened September 8, 1913 for grades 1-12 with 81 students in attendance. Little Glenn Murray, age three, was hastily added to the list of pupils so the school had adequate students for the staff of three teachers and a principal. Miss Annie Streater taught the first year and Howard Frederick Pfahl, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, served as school principal for the years 1914-1915. Pfahl motored to school on an Indian motorcycle.

Principal Howard Phahl, ca. 1915.

The Boynton School served grades 1 -12 until 1927, when the Boynton High School opened next door. For the next three decades the building served as a traditional 1-8 grade school, until Boynton Jr. High opened in 1958. The structure served as a school for primary grades and elementary students until its closing in 1990.

Unity and Patriotism

By Ginger Pedersen | September 11, 2013 - 8:56 am |November 5, 2015 Citizens

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This 911 tribute is written by guest blogger Michael Landress of the Boynton Beach Fire Department.

911 Tribute

September 11, 2001 happened to fall on “B” shift for the men and women of the Boynton Beach Fire Rescue Department. I was working as the lead paramedic on Rescue No. 2 along with firefighter 3, Randy Jute and probationary firefighter, Adam Turey.
Our normal morning activities of inventorying supplies, checking vehicles, cleaning the station and perpetuating firehouse gossip was abruptly halted by a barrage of horrific images coming from national television broadcasts. We focused on the small TV in the kitchen to witness the top portion of the north tower of the World Trade Center being enveloped in thick, black smoke.
The smoke was billowing uncontrollably from a gaping hole in the building and initial reports were unclear. However, I vividly recall reporters stating this may have been accidental. “A small plane has just struck the north tower of the World Trade Center . . . more details to follow,” one of them muttered.
It was painfully obvious this was no accident as United Airlines Flight No. 175 slammed into the south tower in an exploding orange ball of fire and falling debris. The plane literally disintegrated into the building killing everyone on board instantly. Terrorists had planned and executed an affliction on American soil like no other time in modern history with perhaps the exception of Pearl Harbor.
As Randy, Adam and I discussed our own strategies for combating such a blaze, the north tower began to buckle and crumble. This magnificent structure, now insulted by fire, collapsed in a huge cloud of dust that blanketed the streets of Lower Manhattan — forever shattering our sense of security. We realized that it was just a matter of time until the south tower would succumb to the same intense heat radiating from the burning jet fuel. It too, would finally collapse under its own great weight. It was surreal watching this calamity unfold on live television.
My wife called the fire station — her voice cracking with fear as the twin towers disappeared from the New York City skyline. I desperately tried to calm her fears, while coping with my own. Our reality then set in when the station alarm sounded, summoning us to the first of many emergencies we would handle on this day. My emotions remained mixed throughout the arduous twenty-four hour shift. I was experiencing feelings of anger, grief, helplessness, but above all, I had feeling of unity and patriotism.
Everyone we encountered, including patients, nurses, ER physicians and the notoriously cranky trauma surgeons offered support for what we were doing — simply our jobs. I’ve always been enamored with this profession, but never have I been so proud to have worked as a firefighter/paramedic as I did on September 11, 2001.

On the first anniversary of September 11th, I was invited to speak to a group of young people regarding the events of that day. I chose words of celebration, not of despair. I reflected on the newfound sense of unity and patriotism I had experienced.
Perhaps I am naïve, but I felt as though, albeit brief, that everyone in the country, regardless of race, color or creed, seemingly became one. We were all touched by this tragedy — not for the color of our skin, nor our political affiliation or religious beliefs, but simply because we are Americans.
Who can forget the bipartisan, campy rendition of “God Bless America” sung by members of Congress on the steps of Capitol Hill? Yes, it’s true, some sang like squeaking hinges, but it was good to see cooperation and unity from our leadership.
It’s troublesome to think it takes this type of cataclysm for the people of this great country to come together as one nation.
I will always hold the 343 New York City firefighters, the paramedics and emergency medical technicians, the police officers, the port authority personnel, our military and civilians who were murdered on that clear September morning in the highest regard.

Michael Landress

Michael Landress is a native Floridian and novice historian. He has spent the previous 15 years as a professional firefighter/paramedic for the City of Boynton Beach Fire Rescue Department. He holds a BA from St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida and his hobbies include; spending time with his two teenage sons, writing, photography, supporting the Miami Dolphins and saltwater fishing.

The Last Cows of Boynton – Part 2

By Ginger Pedersen | September 8, 2013 - 8:36 pm |October 23, 2015 History

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This is a continuation of the Last Cows of Boynton – Part 1 – click here to read the original post.

Many other families also entered the dairy business. The Melear family, from Alabama, had many dairies in Palm Beach County. In a June 25, 1955 article from the Palm Beach Post Historical Archives, the eight brothers and one sister had over 2,200 head of cattle and 2,800 acres of land. All of the Melear siblings settled in Palm Beach County, except one who stayed on in Hawaii after World War I. Carlton Melear had his place at

Carlton Melear

Hypoluxo Road and Congress Avenue. At the time it was built, there was no Congress Avenue, so when the road was put through in 1965, two cattle paths were built under the road so the cows could get to the milking barn on the west side of Congress without disturbing traffic. That property today is The Meadows development, including the Meadows Square Plaza, where the Melears’s house once stood. Tyler Melear had his dairy on Lawrence Road north of what today is Gateway, C.B. Melear was on Old Boynton, Bill Melear and Charlie Melear were on Boynton West Road (today’s Boynton Beach Boulevard) and operated the Learwood dairy, and Lester Melear was on Lantana Road west of the Turnpike. A sister was even in the business. Nonnie Melear White and her husband Louis White were also on Boynton West road. The Melears milk was distributed through the McArthur, Alfar and Boutwell Dairies.

The 1945 Florida Census for Boynton Beach listed several people with the profession of “dairyman” – C.F. Knuth and his son Orville and his Few Acres Dairy at Lawrence and Old Boynton, A.E. Allen at the Eldorado Dairy, the Winchesters (who also raised pineapple), the Williamson and Goodman Dairy, the Goodwin Dairy, Harry Benson’s Gulf Stream Dairy, Albert Teele, who ran a “milk counter” in the Northwood neighborhood of West Palm Beach, B.L. Tuck on Lawrence Road, and Herbert Keatts and Grover Bell, who had their dairies on the Military Trail.

Walter Goolsby and his son Theodore ran Goolsby and Son Dairy along the Boynton Canal and Lawrence Road. They had 20 acres on the west side of Lawrence (where the Artesa development is today) and a hundred acres on the east side of Lawrence, which actually

Calf at Goolsby’s

was originally platted in 1927 as the “West Boynton” subdivision. They bought both pieces of land at tax sales. They were featured in the Palm Beach Post in 1960 when a five-legged calf was born at the dairy. The Goolsby children sold the West Boynton subdivision portion in 1977, and the developer simply took the original 1927 plat and sold lots. These are the avenues today called Aladdin, Barkis, Coelebs, Dorit and Edgar.

As time went by, the land was becoming more valuable and the profit margin in the dairy business was razor thin. The inflation pressures and oil crisis of the early 1970s were the last blows to both the Weaver dairy in Boynton and the Melear dairy on Congress. Both were closed by 1973. Many of the cow herds were moved to the Okeechobee area to larger operations. Some cows remained across from the Boynton Beach Mall until about 2005, when the land was sold for the Boynton Commons shopping center.

So few today are even aware that Boynton Beach played such a large role in dairy production in South Florida. I miss seeing the cows across from the Boynton Mall; it

Cow at Winchester Pasture

somehow allowed me to believe that I still lived “in the country.” I know that very soon the last ones will too be gone, bringing a whimpering end to almost 100 years of dairying history in Boynton. Take a ride out and visit them while they are still there.

In Memoriam: Fireman Lacey’s Final Ride

By Ginger Pedersen | September 5, 2013 - 10:35 am |October 17, 2015 Uncategorized

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This piece is written by guest blogger, Michael Landress of the Beach Beach Fire Department.

In Memoriam

In early 2007, Rescue No. 4 (C-Battalion) responded to a medical emergency in the southeast portion of the city just north of Woolbright Road. Upon arrival, they found an elderly male patient named James Irvin Lacey in slight distress and complaining of chest pain.

As our paramedics performed their assessment and initiated treatment, the eighty-eight year old man exclaimed he was once a fireman for the Town of Boynton Beach. He was then transported to JFK Medical Center, where he was treated and released several weeks later.

When I was presented this information by the crew, I began to research the gentleman’s claim. With a little digging through some dusty boxes I discovered that indeed, James I. Lacey was a volunteer fireman with our department. He started his career in 1945 and retired during the early 1960s. I called Mr. Lacey and explained that I was working on a chronological history book for our fire department and asked if he would be receptive to a visit. He agreed, but said not to arrive before 1pm. As he exclaimed; “I like to sleep in.”

As I knocked on the door and waited, I couldn’t help but think of the memories he may share. I was about to step back in time of our fire department’s history and gather valuable tidbits of information from that era in an effort to enhance the project. Aside from the memoirs of A.R. Cook [an original founding member], there really was no information in the city’s archive regarding the early years of our fire department.

When the door finally opened, a shirtless, wiry, old man was standing there and welcomed me in. He offered me a seat and first spoke of his house — a quaint old Florida block home he purchased in the 1950s. He talked about his lovely wife who passed away in the early 1980s and he explained that he left everything, including the décor, just as it had been when she died — he never remarried.

He was then eager to share memories of the fire department and we spent the next two and a half hours talking shop. Once James began to reflect and speak, he was unstoppable. I could see the gleam in his weary eyes when he recalled something humorous. He would crack a smile and shake his head. He boasted with clarity of the Jungle Inn fire of 1946 [his fondest firefighting memory], and spoke of the Kwik Chek grocery store blaze in 1961.

James mentioned the countless motor vehicle accidents that occurred on Federal Highway and he spoke of the wonderful personalities of his coworkers. Feverishly scribbling notes, there was just no way could I document all of his wonderful stories. Many of those unshared memories he would ultimately take to his final rest and that’s my only regret.

Fireman James I Lacey, ca. 2007

Just prior to finishing our conversation, James slowly lifted himself from his chair then shuffled down a narrow hallway and began rifling through a tiny closet. He emerged and slowly made his way back to the living room clutching a small plastic bag. He reached into the bag and brought forth a vintage 1940s era class “A” cap — complete with a tiny silver badge that read “Boynton Beach Fire Department.”

James donated the cap and it is now on display at Boynton Beach Fire Rescue Department’s Fire Station No. 5. It was evident to this firefighter, that even after all these years, Fireman Lacey remained extremely proud of his tenure with our fire department.

James Irvin Lacey passed peacefully in 2010 at his home, just as he left it.

Michael Landress

The Wireless Telephone of 1913

By Ginger Pedersen | September 4, 2013 - 3:18 pm |October 23, 2015 Uncategorized