Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1921-08-26
NOVELTIES
THE BABY
No.. 2

a~ronce of a semi-tropical sun, two in
4 FAINT alligators came into being among
+ho sand dunes of Florida, which bor-
dor the swamps in the vicinity of Tar
IN town 3S miles north
wost of st. Petersburg. The eggs from
-,bich these two amphibians were
botched bore much resemblance to an
. ordinary duck egg, and were of about
tbe same size. Two years later-or in
the spring of the present year-these
midget lizards suddenly found them
eelves seized one day and made cap
lives. by a young nan hailing from
No. 263 Central avenue, st. Petersburg,
where, all winter long, he had tapped
creamy root beer for the wealthy tour
lists who patronize so literally that IA
mons southern resort. Henry F. Mer-
kel is the name of the proprietor who
conducted that store, where root beer,
ponges and post cards were sold.
BEFORE coming north for the summer,
he conceived the idea of making pets
oP two denizens of the swamps and of
transferring the reptiles from their
native haunts to the "little Florida of
the north" as the South Jersey pen
insula is sometimes called" These
black and yellow-striped pets now oc-
cupy a space in Mr.. Merkel's Wild
wood boardwalk store, situated mid
wav between Pine and Maple avenues.
If Won ask him he will tell you that
s-L-- L4kf4a rHfl1 hn hohinC
still for many, many years to come;
for the growth of this species of rep
tilian creation is remarkably slow and
that as many as a thousand years is
estimated for them to live. Mr.. Mer-
KEEL said he saw one big fellow in cap
tiyity in the Everglade state, whose
age the natives reckoned to be 900
wears. This patriarch of the marshes
"was Is or Is feet in length and would
weigh, perhaps, 500 OF 700 pounds"
continued the fancier of the crocodile
twins, whose presence along our
vanity Fair" ocean front promenade
is n of the outstanding features
of this seasons novelties. do they
sleep much-these twins" asked M
curious seeker after knowledge?
"That's about all they do" replied the
keeper; they sleep nearly all the
time'; and this, as you know, is char
acteristic of babies-little alligators
being no exception to the rule!
Nearby the alligator cage a big
bunch Of sponges is displayed and n
lone alligator hide or skin hangs
against the wall or partition. On the
opposite wall post cards galore are
strung; but on none of these things
rests the fame of the proprietor, who
formerly conducted a cafeteria at
Fourth and Walnut streets, Philadel-
phia. Retiring from the catering field
as a whole, Merkel is exclusively now
in LIQUID forms of nourishment, creamy
root beer dispensed in schooner
sized mugs, being his leader; while
grape juice, o~rangeade and WILDWOOD
cocktails are to be had on the side.
What is a wildwood cocktail?' 1t is
"a combination of grape juice n
orangeade,'. the dispenser tells you,
and he does not have to wink either
eye when imparting this information.
His business could be classed under
the head of the legitimate. The re-
ceptacle from which the foaming root
beer is drawn is termed the Liberty"
barrel-not a cheap affair, by any
means, for the owner says it cost him
5 1,100.00. No wonder that such a bead
can be put upon the mugs of the
tempting, dark brown beverage served
there, to thirsty patrons. The secret
of the pressure lies within the barrel.
The name of Mr.. Merkel's assist
ant in his laudable boardwalk enter
prise, is Miss Stella VanHorn, of "The
Pines" Wildwood. After the season
is over she will drop the Miss and be-
come Mrs. H. F. Merkel, as their en-
gagement has been announced for
sometime. They will be married in
October in Philadelphia, by the pastor
of the Lutheran Church, at 49th and
Spruce streets. The newly welded
couple will then go to Florida to spend
the winter of 1922. Thus, it is seen
that business and romance sometimes
go hand in hand!
-O-
Have Won tried our famous sOdas and