The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-09-04
PENSACOLA'S FIRST
SODA WATER PLANT
Town "charactcrs" of Old Pensacola
and Old Manner Of Fumigation
For Yellow Fever.
(Rv j. N. Andre~s.l


When I came here some years ago
there was one soda factory at the cor
ner OF Main and Baylen streets. Jim
Hudon had the business to himself.
Jake Lipps was with him untfI he
died. The soda water was good, but
there was more gas in it and the bot
ties would explode without any APP
parent cause.
When / made a previous mention Of
the fire department forgot the old
Hope heck and ladder. q very impor-
tant part OF it.
Speaking OF the characters here
then, we had one known as eBig Lie"
She was often arrested and it would
take from three to five men to handle
her. Then there was ~Rockaway viii
lis" He would get drunk and fight.
He would have to be dubbed and was
frequently as bloody as a beef. Then
he would be thrown on a dfay and
hauled down to the station.
Now, am going to tell you some
thing about the so-called funigation
Of old time. When the place was quar-
antined during yellow fever. even the
mail was supposed to be fumigated
Well, you know what u. S. mail bags
are like, heavy stuff, locked tight. Well
they were thrown in one end of a box
car and the door on each side wide
open and pot in the middle of the
car with sulphur burning in it. That
was what fooled the people and what
the government paid for. Rev. Mr.
Park the Presbyterian minister. and
myself made the trip to Milton in one
of the cars where the mail was being
fumigated. We were not inconveni-
enced in the least
When the street cars were first
East Gregory street to what was
park out there that was the eastern
terminus, and Kupfrian park, or Old
Friscatti was the western end.
Since I came here we have had 16
mayors. including the present one.
Only three ex-mayors are living, CAL
vim Goodman, G. M. Jones and w. H
Northup. The others were George
Wells. ]. M. Tarble, Francis Walsh w.
II. Hutchinson, w D. Chipley, j. NJ.
billiard. w. r. Anderson, Pat Me-
Hugh. T. f. Welles, c. n. Bliss, f.
Reilly and F. d. Sanders and A.
Greenhut. / guess a joke on myself
would come in here. 1t was a serious
one and very expensive to me, but a
joke nevertheless. / was keeping store
at the old Pom stand and had a good
stock on hand. but at the rear Of the
store a sort. Of wareroom had been
built and e. lot of combustible stuff
stored there, and my insurance had
gone up to where it was prohibitive,
so / did not renew it and secured an
other place, intending to move as soon
as the other place was vacated In the
meantime, on June 2, 1886, a fire
started a few doors above me and
swept out both sides of the street,
burning SO houses. The next morning
I started down to the store as usual
and met a lady. She said, THAT was a
terrible fire last night" I asked her
where it was. She said. Lord. man,
don't you know about it? Why you
haven't got a thing left" went down
and looked at the ashes. Friends had
carried out all my goods. but they
were burned in another building.
Now. I want to tell you OF some men
OF past years who managed the fl
nancial affa irs Of your city. ]. S.
Leonard and b. r. Pitt were both
good financiers had helped to put city
and county on good, sound basis, and
to bring the paper from 20 cents on
the dollar to a full 100 cents. Then
when C. M. Jones went into office in
June, 1901. the assessment values were
from 40 to so per cent and the tax rate
16 mills. Streets and squares were in
bad fix, and a floating sdebt of $4,000
was bearing 10 per cent. He succeeded
in getting a uniform value of 20 per
cent and reduced the tax rate to II
mills. He paid off the floating debt
(not with negotiable notes) of $4,000
and went out of office, two-year
term, leaving $4,000 in the treasury.
He took charge of his present office |
finding it in debt He has made it
self sustaining and has a good balance
in the treasury. That shows the diff
ference in efficiency and inefficiency. !