The Miracle City That The Wind Blew Away Part 3 (Post) 5-19-8512: V
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Supplerrient to The Post, Sued -lay, ay 19.1, 1.9805.
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PROPERTY DAMAGE in Palm Beach Count was estimated at $7 5 million. More than, 16,000 people were left homeless in the wake of the hurricane's destructive sweep across the countv.
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F'
he storms that Kelsey could
of the many fatalities of the Great
of lives. There were no deaths.in
natural -variety. The hurricane of
Bust of the late twenties.
the
Kelsey City, -but the hurricane
your
�lt In the. meantime, Kelsey City
nearly leveled_ the town. With.
caused Lake Okeechoee to
development was managed b
T
almost no warning of the storm,
Kelsey's associates, with some
residents rushed to the, most stable
Although most of the damage oc-
66
dubious financial results. Skimm-
structure in town the City Hall.
ominious newspaper -accounts,
�
ing of funds was apparently com-
Even that stone lace edifice was
made it all the more difficult to
monplace. Even worse_ was
said to - have swayed in theOPEI
Tvvo years later. came the peal
ent
Kelsey's custom of'signing his tax
awesome. winds. When the tumult
famous hurricane of 1928 was a
returns without reading them
finally passed, the residents- walk -
carefully. The Internal- Revenue
ed out to find that all the stores
Service found. that Kelsey was
along Park Avenue were flattened
significantly understating his in-
—several- buildings had virtually
come. This finally led to his indict-
disappeared.
merit on criminal charges. This had
dire effects on ,land sales, but
Wind� as high as 1 50 miles an
Col
Kelsey did manage to stay in
hour had razed the town's three
business and ride out the financial
majormanufacturing plax�ts, as
. . . . . . ....
storm. He even won dismissal of
well as school and church
the charges when the court gave
buildings. Even the Farman River
__ ._ ..his ex lanat�on that
�
fridge, a solid Ioking concrete
I%JRA
.. . . . . . . . . . . . .. is e ious accounting error
span, had beenwrenched from its
It'S resulted from'all-win
- -moorings.
DIL
,._ misplacement of a decima-1 point:
In a legal sense, Kelsey City died
F'
he storms that Kelsey could
not weather were of the more
natural -variety. The hurricane of
1926, which passed northwestward
your
through.. Miami September- 17-18,
caused Lake Okeechoee to
� -
overflow its dike at Moore Haven
and claimers over 300 lives.
Although most of the damage oc-
carred south of Pompano, the
ominious newspaper -accounts,
�
especially in Northern papers,
made it all the more difficult to
attract prospective land investors.
rp.
Tvvo years later. came the peal
ent
death knell -for Kelsey City. The in-
famous hurricane of 1928 was a
,....;direct hit on West Palm Beach..
he cataclysm claimed thousands
v v v
in 1930 when the state officially May 31
nullified its municipal charter.
After that time, Kelsey City itself in our Ji
became a ._ghost town of sorts,
although most of the residents did
rerna.in in the general area that was
to become Lake Park in 1939.
One history of Lake Park
described the early thirties as a
time of "unique sharing and- �
togetherness among the- people re- �
maining ... The. Garden, Club did
much for the town, and the.P.T.A.
provided entertainment for the
young. The" Community Church
served as a recreational center for
_Page 4- Supple .ent, to The Post, Sunday, May 19, 198
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