Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-01-01
MRS. INEZ GOULD
WRITES OF Her
LIFE IN FLORIDA

Major George H. Kelly, now state
historian, in Phoenix, sends to The
Dispatch a copy of a letter. he has
received from Mrs Inez Gould. Mrs.
Goild was a reporter employed on
the Douglas Daily International when
Major Kelly sold to The Dispatch
Mrs. Gould writes from Miami, Fla,
and it is suggested BIZ Major Kelly
that her description of conditions in
that boom ridden country is worthy
OF publication in rha Dispatch. The
letter follows:
Miami, Fla,
Dec. 81 1925.
Dear Major Kelly:
1 came here to join my husband
Who has been here since last July
He is employed as an ad writer on
the Miami Herald and likes his work
very much.
This section of Florida lis on the
widest boom imaginable you ever
saw. Every other place on the main
street, Flagler street, is real cs-
tate office and outside of the city
along the boulevards are real estate
offices Some of them in fancy of
hrella and a little desk constituting
their equipment,
The real estate men are mostly
garbed in knee trousers, golf stock
ings and sport shirts, go bare headed
and you can tell one as far as yon
can see him, not only by his costume
but by the brazen, jaunty air with
which he carries himself.
This country is low and flat and
is dotted with a small variety of
pine and scrub palms. The soil is
just a light layer over the white
sand and coral rock. There are
some groves of oranges and grape
fruit, but most of the farmers are
selling off their ground in acre
age. The real citrus belt is north
of here, more to the central part of
the state.
Most of the vegetables here are
shipped in from California and are
very high. There are some veg
etables raised about here, but very
little and it is sold at a public mar
ket and brings about the price of
the California products.
About eight months in the year,
from what l hear, are so hot that
nothing flourishes but mosquitoes.
l have asked various people what
there is as a background to all this.
boom and they leply climate.
consider that very slim thing
as the climate goes here. Four
months of warm weather and eight
or seven as hot as tophet To-day is
as hot as a June day would be in
Arizona.
OF course, Palm Beach and Holly
wood by the-sea are both fine re,
sorts for the wealthy people Blu:
the laboring people can not afford
to live at the beaches as rents are
tearfully high. 1t is playground
down here for the rich, in winter,
hut it is neither a playground nor a
work ground for the poor people.
Hollywood-by -the-sea is a very
pretty place, but it looks for all the
world like movie city, with it's for
eign type of houses all plastered in
yellows, greens, pinks and often
varigated shades. 1t all looks tenn
porary and SNOWY, but not substan-
tial.
with the weather as hot as it is
now, I do not think 1 could ever live
here in summer
l do not think 1 will try to work
while l am here as this heavy heat
is very enervating.
The beach, here is not fine like
Santa Monica or the other California
beaches. Hialeah IS supposed to be
rather the sporting town near here
There is located Jimmie Hodges"
dance hall and cafe and rumor has
06
stand in, you can get all the booze
you want.
The race track is also located at
Hialeah, and large pavilion where
every evening jai-laf, a form of
indoor baseball, is played.
feature at Hialeah is repro
duction of Seminole village. The
little houses are thatched with spalm
leaves and are open at the sides.
Willie Willie, an educated Seminole
has this concession and charges
fee of 25 cents to see his fellow
tribesmen supposedly in their native
splendor
Willie-Willie has also a large num-
Der of alligators in a canal IN the
enclosure where the village is bullt.
There are big, little, old and young
alligators. There is strong renee
along the canal so that visitors may
gaze admiringly on the gators with
out being in danger.
An alligator lis neither handsome
nor attractive as you know. AS
these had been stuffed with big
dinner they were mostly spraWled on
the bank sleeping.
noticed good sized hog in
pen, so 1 surmised Willie-Willie must
give some of the gators" a pork
dinner occasionally.
1 visited for three days in Douglas
on my way here and saw many OF
my old friends. Douglas and IN
truth, anywhere in Arizona, is home
to me.
miss the desert air and the
mountains.