The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1941-03-13

Letter From MIR.
Mrs. Fred Kohl,
Florida
Hollywood, Florida
Box No. 2293
March 5, 1941
Dear Mr.. Rattle:


March 5, 1941
Dear Mr.. Rattle:
We receive your paper, The Her
aid, every week on Sunday and
enjoy all the news from up there.
Mrs. Kohl and myself are still en-
joying the Sunny South" and will
relate to you some Of the things
Of interest here.
We were first in Miami but since
January we have been here at
Hollywood, Florida, which Is fiji
teen miles north Of Miami. Holly
wood has a population Of five
thousand but now, with all the
tourists, has a population of over
twelve thousand: It Is laid out
most beautifully with its wide
streets and circles. This keeps all
the traffic always to the right. The
circles have been converted into
parks and are beautiful with the
different kinds Of flowers, trees and
shrubbery. Here is where they
have open air band concerts every
Tuesday and Thursday evening.
Hollywood has one Of the worlds
finest beaches which Is all white
sand and on the Atlantic seacoast.
Southeastern Florida has very
little industry and business depends
mainly on the tourists; however,
there is some farming on the low
lands which soil they call muck"
Here they raise large quantities of
potatoes and tomatoes which are
shipped north. The first potatoes
are being marketed now and toma-
toes should start next month. There
are some dairy herds to be seen
but none like in Minnesota. Cows
here are much smaller and in poor
condition; they have no barns, on
" cement stalls where the cows
are MIXED. Feed is mostly all
shipped in as they grow no grain
and very little hay. This accounts
for us paying sixteen cents a quart
for milk.
The most interest to us was our
visit to the Flamingo Groves, Inc,
which consists of eight hundred
acres of sixty-five different kinds
of oranges and grapefruit and the
fifteen acre Botonic Gardens. Here
can be seen 252 different kinds Of
trees and plants all imported like,
for instance, the Sausage Trees
from Africa, Rubber Trees from
India, Kapok Trees from Mexico,
Cork Trees from Australia, and
rare trees from all parts Of the
world. We also saw the father and
mother of the present grapefruit
as it has not been SO many years
that grapefruit have been develop
ed to its present stage. They have
now developed a new orange called
the "Tangelo" which ripens in
June. Some orange trees get to be
one hundred years old but are us
ually full grown in six years, at
which time they average from five
to seven boxes Of fruit to tree.
It takes fifty leaves to make an
orange and takes eighteen months
from the time of blossom to rire
fruit which will remain on the trees
from two to three months. A full
grown tree consumes $50 gallons
of water every day. That Is why
oranges cannot be successfully
grown everywhere. The Flamingo
Groves are only four and one half
feet above sea level and that Is
why at four and one half feet deep
there is plenty Of water. Another
fruit that is getting plenty popular
here in Florida Is called the Pap
ava" It grows up from seed to
fruit in nine months. The fruit Is
eaten raw, boiled as a vegetable,
picked or preserved. When tough
meats or fowl are rolled in Papaya
leaves and cooked they become
tender in a very short time. Pep
sin also comes from the Papaya
seed.
We were fortunate to see in per-
son a number of entertainers and
stars who are down here for the
winter such as Joe E. Lewis and
Sammy Walch, Paul Whiteman,
Sophie Tucker, the Baird Sisters,
and others.
The beach here Is very crowded
every day and we very much en-
joy the beach and the sun baths.
We do lots Of sight seeing and for
diversion go to horse and dog
races.
The towns here in Florida are
now holding their annual festivals,
which they call Fiestas here. They
offer a very nice program Of en-
tertainment and exhibits.
We enjoy listening to the June in
January program every evening
over radio station WHAT. The
program consists Of Betty Lee and
the weather train which goes up
through all the states, stopping at
the tourists home towns in the
states back home and gives the
weather and temperature there for
that day. It was hard to believe
that when your Thermometers were
below the 20s that we could be
enjoying the beaches here.
How the Ford Tracto