Randy131 Loc: Florida

You got it, I believe it was called the 'Kennedy Housing Authority'. My father had died before I turned 6 years old, and I was the eldest of 5 children, so my mother moved us to Merritt Island (a long island inbetween Cocoa and Cocoa Beach) in 1957 to get away from my father's family's interference in my mother's attempt to raise us, even trying to get her to allow a few of us to be given custody to them to raise.

My father's youngest sibling (only 7 years older than me) and his wife, I believe still lives on NE 16th Crt, just east off of North Andrews, and west of a large seasonal seafood restaurant that is across the street from Ft. Lauderdale High School, the Flying L's. I believe that NE 16th Ave crosses straight across North Andrews and the road that Ft. Lauderdale High School is on, which I can't remember the name of that road right off hand, but it does not run in a straight line like Andrews does, as NE 16th Crt comes off of North Andrews, but ends on a street that runs north and south behind the seasonal restaurant that is across the road from the high school, and that street that it runs into, ends on NE 16th Ave on it's south end, and NE 18th Str on the north end. To my recollection, that is the description of the area that you lived in, and since I haven't been down there in many years, I can't guarantee the accuracy of that description.

But a strange and ironic coincidence is that when moving to Merritt Island, we ended up living in another federal government housing authority, less than a tenth the size of the one we moved from in Ft Lauderdale, but the name of the complex is the same on Merritt Island as it was in Ft Lauderdale, on the westside of North Courtney Prky.

When we moved here in 1957, before the federal government built up the Space Center at Cape Canaveral and the Merritt Island Moon Port, it was GOD's Country here too, a city boy being put out in the country of orange groves, eating oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit during the winter, instead of mangos, Surinam cherries (called Florida cherries and shaped like a very small pumpkin that starts out green and very tart, as it changes to yellow, then orange, and finally cherry red when fully ripe and very sweet, with huge double pits in it's centers) and coconuts in the summer.

I still live on Merritt Island today, after spending 4 years in the USMC, I came home and started my own construction business, I now live on a canal in a 3,200 sqft, 5 level, 2 1/2 story home that I designed and built more than 30 years ago, as my 3 children are grown, my 2 daughters married with 2 children each, and my son still living at home when he's not traveling from Florida, all around the country, even to Hawaii, while working, as I keep trying to make him choose between his girlfriends and get married and give me some grandchildren.

bggamers Loc: georgia

7 years old liberace I would sit in front of the tv and was sure he was playing just for me then would throw a kiss and tell me he would see me next week. I was so in love it hurt to see him go aaah young love

boatbob2

We lived at 1536 NE 16 th Ave,5 Blocks north of Sunrise Blvd,Do you remember,when Sunrise blvd was only a 2 lane highway? I spent 21 years,9 months and 21 days in the US Army,retired november 1975 as a SFC E-7, Then went to the Broward county Sheriffs dept,stayed 3 1/2 years,and left that,to start One stop fiberglass repair,Ran the company 23 years,till I came down with throat cancer,due to Agent Orange,from my service in vietnam..

Randy131 Loc: Florida

I know exactly where Sunrise Blvd is, my mother worked at Frisch's Big Boy Hamburger Restaurant on the southside of the stretch that was both part of Federal Highway #1 (known up here in Cocoa as US Highway #1) and Sunrise Blvd, until it turned south again at Sears Town, while Sunrise Blvd kept going straight west. Now it's a 6 lane highway with extra turning lanes at all the multiple laned (4 lanes of more) highways that it crosses.

You must have lived very close to Commercial Blvd, also now a 6 lane highway running east to west, as both Sunrise and Commercial today go even farter west than I-95. I think you may have been north of Ft Lauderdale's city limits, somewhere close to Wilton Manor or one of those other suburbs that have turned into small towns today. But you didn't live near my aunt and uncle on 16th Crt, so I must have the avenues confused with the streets since one runs north and south, while the other runs east and west, and I don't remember which is which.

Are you familiar with the area that I described where my aunt and uncle live? When I lived there in the 50s, Ft. Lauderdale High School was on Broward Blvd, somewhere near the Andrews crossing, and as kids we used to love to go to a nearby A&W on Andrews to get birch beer. There was a big Baptist Church on the northeast corner of Broward Blvd and Andrews. There is a new Catholic Church on the northside of Commercial Blvd about 4 to 6 blocks west of where it crosses Federal Highway.

Carol Kelly

These stories were very interesting in the details you remember. I kept thinking one would end with "we married and lived happily ever after". Does that ever happen
do you think? Be interesting to learn.

Carol Kelly

boat bob2, thank you for your service and for sharing so much on here. You make me feel proud so thanks for that, too.

Randy131 Loc: Florida

Very, very rarely for 6 and 7 year olds, but it does show a learning experience of how we should treat each other when we really do fall in love.

I guess that "happily ever after" occurs when it's appropiate for us to put what we learned at 6 and 7 years old, and practiced during the time it took to reach that point of falling in love, as it did for me and I suppose for all of us, both men and women.

But it really was fun learning what comes natural, even at 6 and 7 years old.

The trick to having a wonderful life is always being able to remember why you fell in love with the one you did, and being able to forgive them when they make stupid mistakes and forget what they learned at 6 and 7 years old. By putting to use that 6 and 7 year old's knowledge of their first love, it helps us to obtain and sustain that "happily ever after" life that we all seek.

GOD willing, and with His participation at our requests, it usually seems to work out for all of us who understand that necessity, for without it, all is lost.

But unfortunately sometimes somethings never last forever, no matter how much we wish they would, and hopefully GOD gives us the grace to understand and accept that, no matter what the reasons, or sometimes the tragic occurences.

With longevity comes wisdom, and if we just choose to use it, life becomes a lot easier, especially when we allow GOD to participate in our lives.

boatbob2

Hi,Fort Lauderdale was a great place to grow up,I had a Cushman Scooter,and I was all over Broward and Dade county.We lived about 10 blocks EAST of sears town,and 5 blocks north of Sunrise Blvd,I went to FT Laud HS,,Thats where the landmark bank is now. too many undesirables now,......

boatbob2

I remember that A &W root stand,great beer,,,5 cents a glass...........Times sure do change......

Randy131 Loc: Florida

If you lived 10 blocks east of Sears Town, then you were close to living on the east side of Federal Highway, and not to far from the intercoastal waterway, as I remember that area.

My mother used to take us to the beach sometimes down Sunrise Blvd, and if I remember correctly there was also a state park (Birch State Park???) on the northside of Sunrise where it ended at A1A, where there was a 6 foot chainlink fence surrounding it, with huge seagrape bush-type trees against the fence where you couldn't see into the park, and where we would park on the eastside of A1A up to the sand dunes across from the state park.

It seems that you did live in what is now the City of Wilton Manor.

The "Central 'City Bus' Stop" on Broward Blvd was close to the old Ft Lauderale High School, as I remember it, and that A&W drive-in was on the westside Andrews just a block or two north of Broward Blvd, and I think their root beer was called "birch beer", and it was a nickel for a pre-frosted clear glass mug of birch beer.

Do you remember Burdines in downtown Lauderdale, and the Royal Castle burger shop on a corner just a couple blocks south of it on the same road, which i think was also Andrews?

You're right things have changed, if you can find an A&W drive-in today, you'd have to pay a dollar for a birch beer, and it comes in a waxed thin-carboard container now, similar to what they use for some half-gallon milk containers but in pint and quart sizes. We used to have an A&W drive-in on Merritt Island and in Cocoa when we first moved up here from Ft Lauderdale, but they have since been replaced a long time ago with a Wendy's hanburger joint on Merritt Island, and an IHOP in Cocoa.

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

Egadsss you two are bringing up plenty of places I know well..

Sunrise Blvd right across from Sears had a place called Dans Subs, their steak n cheese outstanding.. A&W We used to go to at lunch from Lauderdale High, that I went to for a year before going to Pompano High.. Rivals an understatement.. lololl

My first love, Pat Rafa, lived in Lauderdale in Wilton Manors and I worked at a little Italian Resturant called Meyers Pizza 3 days week after school until Mom made me quit..

Ran the strip, Ft. Lauderdale beach every weekend....Birch State Park was the weekend hangout..

Ahhh such memories.. finally convinced my dad to buy me a 65 Midnight blue Mustang that everyone wanted to drive ... Never got a ticket or he would have sold it on me... lolol
Kept it a year then sold it for an MGB, convertible, dark green, tan interior..

Have to write more later, shower time, big day in meetings!! Boringgggggg...

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

Five cents??? Reallyyy?? We paid $1.35 a glass frozen solid glasses too..Frosted by the time you got it...

Randy131 Loc: Florida

Linda my Joy, what a very small world for us. But I lived down there long before you did, in 1st and 2nd grades only, then moved up here to Brevard County.

My mother worked at Frisch's Big Boy hamburger joint that was on the southside of Sunrise Blvd in the middle of the section that was also part of Federal Highwy, or US 1 as it's known up here in Brevard County, and at Sears Town, Federal Highway made a turn to the south, as Sunrise Blvd continued west for a vey long way. Federal Highway continued south at that point and about six blocks down it went under 'New River', in the only tunnel that I know of in Florida.

You had to go to the new Ft Lauderdale High School, which I know where it is but can't remeber the name of the main street that it is on, but it was across the street from a huge Seafood Restaurant, that was only open during the winter tourist season. My aunt and uncle (my father's youngest brother) lived behind the restaurant to the west on NE 16th Crt, that only comes off of Andrews, and runs a couple hundred yards east into the street that runs north and south behind that Seafood Restaurant.

I still have many cousins that still live down there in Broward County.

Some day, if we're lucky and of the same mind, we may visit their together, GOD willing. Then you can also tell me about Pat Rafa, and I'll tell you about Arlene Obringer.

It seems that we've both have had blessed lives.

By the way, those A&W frozen glasses were called "frosted mugs", because they had handles on the side and were very large, even though they did also have some small sized ones for small children, since the normal sized ones were very heavy for children to use to drink from, since they were made from real glass back then, but today are made from clear plastic and are much lighter. In my 1st and 2nd grades, they only cost a nickel for the small mugs, and a dime for the regular sized mugs. I believe it was called "birch beer", that supposedly was another type of root beer, and taste a little different than what you bought in regular capped glass bottles of root beer that was a little sweeter back then, than was the birch beer.