Who began his career on a televised sock hop in Canada in 1963?
Need another clue?
It was called Music Hop.
Another clue? Are you brain dead? Okay. he hosted the following exciting CBC competition show:
What about if we give him a mustache?
Happy 72nd Birthday, Alex Trebek. You’re a Canadian institution, on tee vee since 1963, longer than most.
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| The historical marker with the E.W.F. Stirrup House. |
The more I learn about Charles Avenue, the more bizarre it all gets and the farther away from Coconut Grove it takes me. There are times it feels as if I am Alice chasing a White Rabbit, the historical marker I discovered years ago. From that moment on my research on the E.W.F. Stirrup House has sent me down many weird and interesting paths, none of which could have been anticipated when I started. My newest problem, based on the last 24 hours of research, is I don’t know whether I should chase down The Mad Hatter or the Cheshire Cat first (although both will have to be contacted eventually). However, it feels as if synchronicity is working overtime on me again. My newest threads of inquiry are now causing me to look into the ‘Merkin Immigration and Naturalization Service about undocumented foreign workers from Canada, restaurant bankruptcies in Canada, and a proposal to build a casino in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Canada? HEY! I know people there.
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| The E.W.F. Stirrup House on July 17, 2012 after a recent landscaping. |
As always, crank it up!!!
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| The open gate with the condo complex in the distance. |
On a visit to Charles Avenue yesterday the gate was open on the E.W.F. Stirrup property, so I walked right in. I was able to take some interesting close up pictures of wood rot and other damage that normally can’t be seen from the sidewalk or the bank parking lot. It revealed how much damage has been caused by simple neglect of this house that stands as a testament to one of Florida’s first Black millionaires, a man who once owned most of Coconut Grove and helped build the early Bahamian community of The Grove, literally with his own hands.
The last time I found the gate left open it was because the landscaping crew had unlocked it, but were working on the empty lot across the street. So I wandered onto the property and started taking pictures. The landscaping crew noticed and started yelling at me, waving frantically. I waved back as if to say, “Hello!” One of the guys got on his cell phone and within minutes a Security Guard from the condo complex behind the Stirrup House (see below) showed up to shoo me off the property. I was able to engage him in conversation for a while and he revealed a few clues about what may have happened to stall all work on the Stirrup House, which had apparently been promised as a gift of sorts to the neighbourhood as a historical community center of some sort. Unfortunately, it’s not something I have been able to confirm as of yet, so I dare not repeat it.
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| The front door of the E.W.F. Stirrup House taken from outside the fence. Ferns now grow on the concrete. |
Synchronicity may have been at work again yesterday when I spoke to another gentleman who just happened to be riding past on a bicycle. He’s lived in the Grove 50 years and seems to know where all the bodies are buried. We had a good conversation and would be talking still, I imagine, if not for the lightening and thunder of an approaching storm. He wanted to pedal home before he got soaked. Unless he lived a block away, he got drenched. The sky opened up in a deluge, with barely a drop or two to give final warning.
When I told him I was a journalist investigating the E.W.F. Stirrup House, he told me some wonderful stories concerning ‘interesting’ real estate deals in The Grove, including some about the 3 lots that were assembled to build the condo complex behind the Stirrup House. During this conversation he dropped one important name — one I had not heard before — and a cursory investigation of that name reveals that he is actually the guy that might have piled up all the bodies needing burying.
All of this — what the security guard told me, what this bicyclist told me, the gentleman who appears to have assembled the 3 lots — are just more unconfirmed threads for me to pull to see how this story unravels. However, now I have the name of someone who knows all the players and may no longer have an axe to grind. Or, in the alternative, may have a very large axe to grind. Either way, if I can connect with this gentleman I might be able to solve the riddle of the E.W.F. Stirrup House.
Meanwhile, nothing really changes on Charles Avenue as long as you don’t consider continued deterioration as no change. This is why I am calling this DEMOLITION BY NEGLECT, because nothing else makes any sense. Why would such a beautiful example of a 19th Century house, a house that has survived on that spot for more than 100 years be allowed to rot? Nothing in Florida, it seems, is allowed to get much older than 20 years. In the many decades I’ve been visiting (and 7 years living here) I have seen buildings go up and down and up and down and up and down on the same piece of land. Who cares? They’re usually gas stations or banks or were gas stations and became banks, or vice-versa. There’s no sense of age — of history — in Southern Florida, except for a few small pockets. Most of those have been preserved, restored with love, and maintained as historical sites or museums.
The clock is ticking as the E.W.F. Stirrup House rots.
Take a look at the rest of my photo essay below and please read the previous chapters of Unpacking Coconut Grove, Florida, 33133 ► Part One ► Part 1.1 ► Part Two: E.W.F Stirrup, His House and All His Other Houses ► Part 2.1
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| Wood rot under the window frame on the side of the E.W.F. Stirrup House. |
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| Wood rot at the side door, which is now being invaded by vines. |
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| A pile of wood behind the house, under a huge bower that developed from all the vegetation. It’s where trash is hidden from the prying eyes of Miami by-law inspectors because it’s against the law to pile up trash on your property. |
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| This pile of landscaping clippings is also under the bower. It also (allegedly) breaks the law. It doesn’t look like much in this pic, but it’s about 3 feet tall. That’s a nine foot palm frond on top. |
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| The extent of the wood pile under the bower. It’s several feet high. This is the opening of the bower. |
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| What kid wouldn’t want to play in a bower this size? While it was impossible to tell from any vantage point, these plants must be invading the E.W.F. Stirrup House. |
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| The plants are clearly invading the house through a side window. |
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| The side door with the other window, open to the elements. The bower is on the left. |
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| The condition at the bottom of the side door. |
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| A window on the east side of the house open to the elements. The house appears to store construction debris. Any thunderstorm coming in from the ocean will blow water right into this window. |
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| Close up of the porch of the E.W.F. Stirrup House. |
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| Other side of same post. |
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| She’s a beauty, ain’t she? |
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| Just a reminder of what this is all about. |
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| The condo complex behind the Stirrup House sits on the corner of Franklin and Main Highway. It includes unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay from the upper floors, 2 high-end restaurants, a recreation of a former venerated neighbourhood bar called The Taurus, and valet parking. I have been told there was a “Save the Taurus” campaign when the possibility of its demise was announced years ago. I’ll be writing more about this complex in Part Three of Unpacking Coconut Grove, Florida. |
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| This is one of the gated communities on the opposite side of Main Highway. At one time it was the extension of Franklin Avenue to Biscayne Bay. Now it’s gated and inaccessible, even to the Google Street View Car. |
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| This is another of the gated communities on the other side of Main Highway. Camp Biscayne, which is also closed to Google Street View, has a long and rich history going back 109 years. Camp Biscayne is so exclusive that even though it’s only a short block away from gated Franklin, there is no access from Franklin, or vice-versa. |
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| Picture of the abandoned Coconut Grove Playhouse, taken from Camp Biscayne entrance where the gentleman and I spoke. |
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| Detail of the Coconut Grove Playhouse. |
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| Detail of the Coconut Grove Playhouse. |
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| Picture of the Coconut Grove Playhouse sign taken from inside the car after the skies opened up. |
If you want to help me save the E.W.F. Stirrup House you could provide no greater service than sharing this with people you think may care.
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| Erle Stanley Gardiner (L) with Luther S. Cressman, “father of Oregon archaeology” in 1966 |
Perry Mason transformed me from a child into a young adult. Let me explain. A Perry Mason novel was the first adult book I ever read. I was about 10 years old and found it while rummaging around the basement among Pops’ books. I was attracted to the pulp paperback by its lurid cover, but I already knew the name Perry Mason. I read it quickly — all the Mason books are quick reads — and loved it!!! I could identify with it in a way I could not other books because Perry Mason was a character on my tee vee!!! I soon found another Mason. Then another one. After 3 books I was hooked. I became a lifelong fan of author Erle Stanley Gardner, who would have celebrated his 123rd birthday today, had he not had the misfortune of dying in 1970.
After
exhausting all of Pops’ Perry Mason books (he had 5 or 6) I found
another detective paperback called “Fish Or Cut Bait,” by A. A Fair that
I also loved. It concerned the Cool and Lam Detective Agency,
Donald Lam and Bertha Cool. It wasn’t until years later that I
discovered A. A. Fair was just one of Erle Stanley Gardner’s nom de
plumes, not unlike Aunty Em Ericann. Some of the other names used by
Gardiner over the years include Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton
Kendrake, Charles J. Kenny, Les Tillray and Robert Parr.
As
I grew older I started collecting Perry Mason books in both hardcover
and paperback. The original idea was to collect every title. However,
that changed when I started seeing other printings of the same novels
with different lurid pulp cover graphics. That’s when I started collecting
every different edition of every Erle Stanley Gardner novel I could
find. While there are only 82 Perry Mason novels, I have HUNDREDS of
Perry Mason books, packed away in boxes because I have no place to
display them in the condo.
However, as acquisitive as I
was about Perry Mason books, I knew nothing about the author. That all
changed one day in a thrift shop when I discovered “Erle
Stanley Gardner: The Case of the Real Perry Mason,” a biography by
Dorothy B. Hughes. It was then I discovered the man behind the books; I learned that Gardiner really was a lawyer, as well as an avid rock hound, inveterate traveler and, most importantly, the impetus behind The Court of Last Resort, a place where the wrongly convicted might find justice.
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| Gardner’s rudimentary recreational vehicle |
While Gardiner will always be known for his Perry Mason books, I also highly recommend his travel writings. Early in his writing career Gardiner set a goal of putting down 66,000 words a day. However, he didn’t want to stop traveling. He created what he called a writing factory and had built a rudimentary RV, which he drove all over the western United States and, especially, Baja, Califoria. Whenever he would find an interesting place, he’d pull over and make it the latest location of his writing factory. He maintained his voluminous output on his trusty typewriter and, over the years, he became an expert in the history and geology of the peninsula.
Over the years, I’ve seen fewer and fewer Erle Stanley Gardner novels in bookstores, often just a title or two. Yesterday at my local Barnes and Noble I could find NOT A SINGLE PERRY MASON BOOK. That made me incredibly sad.
More:
The Erle Stanley Gardiner collection can be found at the Harry Ranson Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
Full episodes of Perry Mason can be found on the CBS web site.
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Desmond Dekker, who passed away just 6 years ago, had the prettiest voice in all of Reggae music. On what would have been his 71st birthday, let’s take a moment to honour one of the pioneers of Reggae music. Everyone knows his most famous song, Israelites, his only U.S. hit. Watch him lip sync it in the late ’60s:
The latest episode of the excellent podcast-documentary How Jamaica Conquered The World is now online. Episode Eleven is the second part of the story of Bob Marley: Recollections and Legacy. It includes an edited version of my “Meeting Bob Marley” story. The story takes place backstage at Convocation Hall, Toronto.
Here’s the first part of the Bob Marley story:
Some of my recollections are also featured in Episode 3: The Story of Dub Music:
If ‘Merka ever had a national troubadour, it would have been Woody Guthrie. Among his legacy of hundreds — some say thousands — of songs include “This Land Is Your Land,” considered by many to be an alternate ‘Merkin National Anthem. However, he also wrote “Roll On, Columbia, Roll On,” considered the Folk song of the state of Washington.
Those who cite Woody Guthrie as an influence include every Folk singer who ever plucked a string, along with a whole raft of Rockers. Consequently, anyone citing those musicians are just further links in the chain that start with Woody, considered one of ‘Merka’s first singer-songwriters.
In the early ’30s Guthrie joined the Dust Bowl migration to California, where he first became known singing Hillbilly music. It was here he first met Socialists and began his political journey farther and farther to the left. After leaving California he rarely stopped moving. Wandering troubadours go back to ancient times, but few traveled as
extensively as Guthrie. At one time he bragged to have been in 45 of the
(then) 48 states.
According to the official Woody Guthrie web site:
The late 1940’s and early 1950’s saw a rise in anti-Communist sentiments. Leftist and progressive-minded Americans were subjected to Red-scare tactics such as “blacklisting.” Many people, particularly in the arts and entertainment fields, either lost their jobs or were prevented from working in their chosen careers. The Weavers, along with Woody, Pete Seger, and others from their circle, were targeted for their activist stances on such issues as the right to unionize, equal rights, and free speech.
Isn’t it telling that leftists and progressives are still fighting the same battles? Woody Guthrie believed in the power of music to transform (as do I). And that’s why on his guitar was the slogan THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS.
However, AS ALWAYS, it’s the music that endures. Here’s a Woody Guthrie Jukebox:
He was a member of The Boomtown Rats, an Irish Punk band from the late ’70s. At the time no one could have predicted that Bob Geldolf, writer of everyone’s favourite work anthem “I Don’t Like Mondays,” would be elevated to a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) for his charity work on Live Aid, the biggest fundraising Rock Concert ever mounted. It took place on two continents at two separate venues, Wembley and JFK stadiums in London and Phildelphia respectively. The simultaneous concerts were broadcast around the world and, in the final accounting, raised an estimated £150,000,000 for famine relief 27 years ago today.
However, it was the music that kept people in front of their tee vee sets. Here are just a few of the performances. [Full list of performers at below]
The Coldstream Guards set the tone for the day with the Royal Salute and God Save The Queen. Speaking of Queen; their performance is considered one of the best of the day and one of the best live performances of their career. Freddie Mercury was at the top of his game, belting out all the high notes. Here is their full performance:
Although they were never billed as such that day, here was the much anticipated reunion of Led Zeppelin, performing their biggest hit:
The Material Girl had a set:
As did Paul McCartney, whose opening was marred by a faulty microphone when he was brought out as the show closer:
David Bowie turned in an electrifying performance of Heroes:
Phil Collins performed “In The Air Tonight” in Philadelphia after a set in London earlier in the day. He’s the only artist to appear at both concerts.
This came after a hurried Concorde flight from London, where he accompanied Sting on such songs as Roxanne and Every Breath You Take:
Sting also performed with Dire Straits, recreating his performance from the Money For Nothing.
Guitar God Eric Clapton blasted out a searing Layla (with Phil Collins, who seemed to be everywhere that day, on drums):
The concerts lasted 16 hours but, with sets occurring at both venues simultaneously, the actual running time of the music was much longer. Here is the rundown for both venues with the songs performed (as listed on the WikiWackyWoo):
Wembley
JFK Stadium
I love Google alerts. While not everything below belongs to Miami’s Coconut Grove, most of it does. And, what’s there has all the appearance of bling in the Florida sun: ritzy hotels, bed races, show biz, outdoor cafes, wine tasting, high fashion, and high end real estate. Imagine how much money is exchanging hands today in The Grove, just in food and drink service.
To hell with Coconut Grove’s history when there’s money to be made.
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| Newton assault victim on suicide watch Herald Sun Miami trial lawyer Michael Seth Cohen has filed a complaint on behalf of Ariel Vargas, 42, who was working the graveyard shift in the Coconut Grove Courtyard Marriott on April 17 when Newton launched an attack that was captured on CCTV. Mr Cohen said … See all stories on this topic » |
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| Magic and more: Singers, comedians, performers to showcase talent in variety … Cherokee Tribune … and more: Singers comedians performers to showcase talent in variety show – CANTON — The Canton Theatre hopes to bring some laughs to downtown Canton with two nights of a variety show. The Coconut Grove Players which consists of six perform… See all stories on this topic » |
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| Man ordered to stand trial for murder of parents ABC Online Thomas Bradley, 40, is charged murdering his parents, Bill and Hilary Bradley, in their Coconut Grove townhouse in March. An autopsy showed both were killed by stabbing. Bradley was today committed to stand trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court. See all stories on this topic » |
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| On the Road Again New York Times One long-haired owner hops on his ride, fires her up and smoothly navigates her into a well-to-do avenue of Coconut Grove. The loud, wet growl of her pipes instantly stops all talk in the open-air cafes and along the crowded sidewalks down which women … See all stories on this topic » |
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| Filming in Miami Miami Today Newspaper; Filming; Fashion Photography; Photography; Commercials; Videos; Miami, Florida; Miami Today; MiamiTodayNews; Miami-Today; South Florida; Coral Gables; Coconut Grove; Aventura; Miami Beach; Ocean Drive; Lincoln Road; South Beach; … See all stories on this topic » |
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| Miami-Dade way ahead of state in spending rebound MiamiHerald.com “On average, we’re still about 10 or 15 percent behind that pace” hit in 2007 and 2008, said Robert Finvarb, owner of several Marriott hotels in Miami-Dade, including a 196-room Courtyard by Marriott along the Coconut Grove waterfront. “We’re getting … See all stories on this topic » |
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| Coconut Grove Grapevine: Great Grove Bed Race registration is … By Grapevine Good, cause the sign-up form is now open for the 2012 Great Grove Bed Race, which will take over the streets of Coconut Grove on Sunday, September 2. This is one of the Grove’s big signature event, thousands of people crowd the village to … Coconut Grove Grapevine |
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| New Wine tasting series at the Ritz Carlton 7/12/12 « Soul Of Miami By soulofmiami Guests’ palates will be greeted with complimentary hors d’oeuvres, while sipping on carefully selected winesthemed by varietal type, region or country of origin, for an educational wine tasting at The Ritz-Carlton-Coconut Grove in Miami’s … Soul Of Miami |
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| Destination Miami | Fashion News, The latest trends, Catwalk – Motilo By CressidaMeale Districts such as Coral Gables, Little Havana and Coconut Grove offer the kind of sultry indulgences their names suggest, but it is South Beach (SoBe) that’s the heart of the party scene in a city that takes its hedonism, ostentation and … Fashion News, The latest trends,… |
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| 3400 27 Avenue UNIT 401, Coconut Grove, FL 33133. MLS … 3400 27 Avenue UNIT 401, Coconut Grove, FL 33133. RITZ CARLTON. MLS# A1663109. www.yellowkeyrealty.com/…/3400-27-avenue-unit-401-coco… |
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| Sonesta New Orleans, Boston, Miami, St. Maarten, Brazil, Peru, Egypt … Cruises and Beach Resorts. Discover the distinctive Sonesta resorts and hotels in New Orleans, Maho Beach, Boston / Cambridge, Coconut Grove, and more. www.sonesta.com/Orlando/index.cfm?fa=c.HPRedirect… |
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| Miami planning board to consider proposed school on July 18 … IF YOU GO What: Miami Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board Where: Miami City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Coconut Grove When: 6:30 p.m. on July 18 … www.miamiherald.com/…/miami-planning-board-to-consider…. |
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| Coconut Grove-$900 Mostly Furnished with Parking & Utilities … This is a great housing opportunity for a responsible male or female in the center of Coconut Grove! $900 per month includes room (180 sq ft), garage parking, … miami.craigslist.org/mdc/roo/3129302623.html |
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| ESL Jobs in Coconut Grove Florida | ESLemployment Job search for ESL jobs in Coconut Grove Florida at ESLemployment.com. www.eslemployment.com/…/esl-jobs-Coconut-Grove-Florida…. |
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| Buyer Representation For Coconut Grove Commercial Retail … 3340 GRAND AV – Coconut Grove, FL 33133. Beds: 0 Baths: 0; Type: Commercial/Industrial; MLS ID: D1369668; Sq Ft: 4500. on grand ave one block from the … www.agreservices.com/…/coconut-grove-retail-properties-for-… |
