Anniversary Notes
As Gold Coast magazine gears up for its 50thanniversary celebration, we have been noting all of the things that aren’t here anymore – along with a few that have been around as long, if not longer. Nearly none of the original 1965 advertisers still exists, at least not in the form they had then. Virtually every bank has changed its name through mergers. Even the Sun-Sentinel goes by a different name. The Fort Lauderdale News belongs to the archives. Even most of the older hotels go by different names. The exception is the hallowed, modernized Riverside.
Maus & Hoffman is still here. It is 75 years since William Maus and Frank Hoffman opened their high-end men’s clothing store on Las Olas Boulevard. And Carroll’s Jewelers, which started in Dade County and later opened on Las Olas, was among the handful of 1965 advertisers. Mark McCormick, our company president, likes to joke that their original ad pulled so well that Carroll’s didn’t have to buy another for 40 years.
Two now large educational centers, Florida Atlantic University and Nova Southeastern University, both started one year before the magazine, but they were just abandoned World War II runways looking for a second act. Broward County, of course, was already here. It celebrates 100 years in October of 2015. And it was just three years later that the Florida East Coast gave up passenger service, ironically just at a time when the rapid growth in cities up and down its tracks were making its rails ripe for a commuter train. That train came, but not on the FEC tracks, and now Henry Flagler’s railroad is having trouble convincing people that its renewed passenger service is a good idea.
Naturally, the magazine is pleased to tie in with companies and institutions celebrating anniversaries. Its April issue will salute many of them, and the individuals – many now gone – who altered and illuminated our times. An interesting anniversary, and this is hard to believe it has been that long, is the 30thanniversary of Covenant House. It seems like just yesterday that we wrote about the Rev. Bruce Ritter who brought the idea from New York, and made his center for runaway kids flourish with the community support of such people as Judge Estela Moriarity and Keith Koenig of Furniture City, who with his late brother took the water bed craze into a major furniture enterprise.
Covenant House is planning a big time celebration. The Night of Broadway Stars will be Feb. 21 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (speaking of things that weren’t here in 1965). This year’s honoree is Harry Durkin, who has volunteered at Covenant House for 25 years. A retired criminal attorney in New Jersey, Durkin is also known locally as a staunch supporter of his alma mater, Notre Dame. For six years he was president of the Notre Dame Club of New Jersey, and held the same office for eight years for the large and influential ND Club of Fort Lauderdale.
Add new comment
