JOHN PENNEKAMP
CORAL REEF PARK

By Jerry Wilkinson

 Park entrance sign
    In the television program, 'Connections,' events often chain together and stair step in time with one event leading to another to a final result. The Everglades National Park, the John Pennekamp Park, the Marvin D. Adams Waterway and the Key Largo school system have a similar relationship. 
    In 1928 David Fairchild was elected the first president of the Tropic Everglades Park Board. He thought every one would think as he did. He was wrong, many believed that swamps were only good for draining. To this he wrote, ". . . prejudice and not wisdom rules the world." In another manuscript he wrote, ". . . When will the American public realize it must choose for it children between tomatoes and plume birds, between something for their stomachs and something for their souls." 
    Another peer, Ernest Coe actively pursued the creation of Everglades National Park. A state sanctioned Everglades National Park Commission was appointed, but it died a slow death. What does this have to do with the Upper Keys? The original plans for the park called for the park boundaries to extend east across -and include- Key Largo as far out as the reef and north across the Tamiami Trail (U.S. Highway 41 west of Miami.). Property owners, outdoors men and Monroe County Commissioners opposed such a grandiose park. A large portion of the proposed park was in Monroe County; therefore, the county would suffer a large dilution of its tax base if this land were withdrawn. 
    In 1946, the Everglades National Park Commission was re-activated with John Pennekamp as its leader. Pennekamp had the ability to get the right people together at the right time. Decades of problems were resolved and compromises negotiated. The park's eastern boundary was moved west to the Intracoastal Waterway, where it is now. President Harry Truman came to Everglades City and dedicated Everglades Park on December 6, 1947. 
    The late John Pennekamp was a former Cincinnati newspaperman and associate editor of the Miami Herald. In Cincinnati, he started as a copy boy and worked himself up to city editor. On assignment in Miami during the 1925 land bust, he met and married Irene McQuillan after taking over the city editorship of the Miami Herald. 
    Among his peers, he is probably known best for his fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, over two editorials and a cartoon allegedly criticizing a well-known local judge. He and the Herald lost along the way, but won at the Supreme Court level, and scored a victory for freedom of the press. 
    Among conservationists he is, no doubt best known for his tireless efforts in the establishing of Everglades National Park, but he was equally as dedicated in making Coral Reef Park the success it is. 
   The relationship between man and the ocean continued to worsen. A state law was passed and signs were posted that declared, "No spear fishing from the Monroe County line and the Long Key Viaduct," in 1956. Barges were seen routinely removing large quantities of queen conch and coral. 
    In 1957, the condition of the outer reefs was reaching crisis level and Dr. Gilbert Voss, professor of marine biology, actively pursued the saving of the reef. This occurred at a biological conference of 52 scientists in the Everglades National Park. His long list of prominent supporters included Daniel Beard, then superintendent of the park; Charles Brookfield, of the National Audubon Society; Dr. John Davis, of the University of Florida; and Ross Leffler, Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, to name only a few. All had impressive credentials. 
    Later, our own Joe Lance, Herbert Shaw, Herb Alley, Marvin Adams (Adams Cut), Bernie Papy, Carlton Adams, and others joined in. All of the organizations, and, of course ,Miami Herald editor John Pennekamp, who saw the project through to the end, cannot be excluded. 
    In 1959, Governor Leroy Collins gave the Coral Reef Preserve control of the ocean bottom to the Florida three-mile limit. The next problem was to get President Eisenhower to transfer the federal land (that which is beyond the three-mile limit out to the 300-foot depth) to the state, and this was largely done by Governor Collins and industrialist Ross Leffler. This was accomplished by President Eisenhower in March 1960, but there was still no land base, just about 75 square miles of underwater land. Park Dedication
      On December 10, 1960, Governor Collins at Harry Harris Park dedicated and named the preserve "John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park" although the dedication program was titled "
Dedication of Key Largo Coral Reef Preserve." I assume the name difference is because President Eisenhower's proclamation used the word "Preserve." This dedication was probably the third largest single gathering of important federal, state and local officials since January 22, 1912, when Henry Flagler arrived on the first train in Key West with about 10,000 in attendance -yet, this was only the beginning. [The second large gathering was about 5,000 for the dedication of the Florida Keys Memorial, known locally as the Hurricane Monument, in November 1937 at MM 81.6.] In addition to Gov. Collins, Monroe County State Representative Bernie Papy, Ross Leffler, John Robertson (Chairman of the Florida Board of Parks) were present, The only space large enough for the dedication ceremony was the newly made Harris Harris Park near Tavernier (MM 92.5.)
    Largely through the efforts of John Pennekamp, 74 acres of the southwest part of Largo Sound were acquired for a land base in 1961. The Rand Trust and the Radford Crane family owned the land and had a firm sale offer from someone else of $141,000. Pennekamp negotiated with Radford Crane to hold off accepting the offer and to wait on the state to come through with its offer. 
    "When will that be?" Crane queried. "I am sure that the Park Service wants the land," replied Pennekamp, "But we'll probably have to wait until the legislature meets again." "Will they make the appropriation?," Crane responded. All that John Pennekamp could reply was, "Honestly, I don't know . . . there is only an even chance." Crane studied the maps for a few minutes and finally looked up. "Forget it," he said, "I'll give it to you." He had to obtain the consent of the other family members and that is how the land base started. 
    But is was not over yet. They had a great land base and a lot of submerged land, but no access to and from the only highway, U.S. 1. Enter Herbert and Donna Shaw, who rescued the project by donating a 60-foot strip of land from U.S. 1 to the land base. Not only did they donate the land, they cleared it as a road. Today it is the old entrance that is closed just south of the present park entrance. 
    Things were going good. The state and the county were matching costs dollar-for-dollar and work began January, 1962. A master plan was completed in August 1962. By early spring of 1963, work was well under way and Ellison Hardee was named the first superintendent of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (JPCRSP). 
    Later, John Pennekamp saw Radford Crane at a luncheon and reintroduced himself. "When you have time, I would like to take you down to see the work that is being done on the land that you gave to the Coral Reef Park," Pennekamp said. "I've seen it," Crane replied, "and we want to give you some more. I'll have my attorney call you tomorrow." 
    The next day his attorney, Jack Kehoe, presented maps of three quarters of Largo Sound and all of Julia Island (the island between Largo Sound and the Atlantic, named after Julia Pinder), which has 3 miles of oceanfront. The first written account of the small island was by Bernard Romans in 1774 when he referred to it as Sound Point. The appraised value was $2.35 million, the largest gift ever made in the U.S. to a state park. State land records show 40 acres of land in this area transferred to the "Crane Interest" on "1-27-1960" for $6,700.
     (A side note. Radford and Robert Crane and son's involvement in the Keys is not only with Pennekamp Park. They owed the Rimersburg Coal Company of PA which developed Sugarloaf Shores on Sugarloaf Key. Word is they were involved with strip mining of coal and had a surplus of huge draglines which could and was used in the dredge and fill operations of the Lower Keys. Additional information is needed. jerry142@terranova.net) 
    Additional property needed to complete the land base was sold by Herb and Donna Shaw with a life tenancy agreement. This was a grove cleared by the fathers of Harry Davis Jr., Pete Anderson, and by Emmanuel and Stanley Clark. If the name of Alexander were added, this would almost be the beginning of the black history of Newport (Hibiscus Park today). 
    This grove was cleared for Donna Shaw's grandfather, Frank Stiles. He had developed seven varieties of mangoes and avocados while living in Miami. Samples of some were planted in the grove area. Hector Clark of Newport also planted 35 key lime trees. H. S. McKenzie of Tavernier dynamited holes for planting and neighboring children skimmed water from "solution holes" to water the newly planted grove. 
    When Hurricane Donna struck the Upper Keys in 1960, many small craft were unable to find safe hurricane anchorage. As a remedy, the Army Engineers and the Coast Guard deepened the channels of Largo Sound out to the Atlantic Ocean. This provided a storm haven plus access to the John Pennekamp Park for small craft in Largo Sound. This goal was also aided by the approval of the Marvin D. Adams Waterway in 1957. The waterway and now deepened ocean channel provided a continuous channel to and from the Atlantic and the Intracoastal Waterway located in Blackwater Sound. 
    This is a side issue. Included in Crane's land gift was considerable land north of the Marvin D. Adams Waterway. Monroe County wanted to expand the school system in the Upper Keys. The school board, fully expecting to pay a nominal fee, approached the park board for a school site for the Key Largo Elementary School. The state, working with the Rand/Crane families, had about 27 acres freed from the state park land gift and transferred to Monroe County for the Key Largo Elementary -and later middle- school. 
    Another event worthy of mentioning is that of the statue "Christ of the Deep." At the same time that the park was gaining popularity, an Italian skin diving enthusiast by the name of Egidi Cressi donated an approximate nine-foot high bronze statue to the Underwater Society of America. The 4,000 pound bronze statue was a duplicate of the "Il Christo Degli Abissi" designed by sculptor Guido Galletti and now resting in the Mediterranean Sea. 
    The Underwater Society offered the statue to the Florida Park Service, who in turn chose Pennekamp Park for its resting place. The Park Advisory Committee of Harry Harris, Herbert Shaw, Eugene Low, Sandy Sprunt and Frank Taylor was given the task of choosing one of the many locations within the park. 
    Ellison Hardee, then the Superintendent of the Park, built a reinforced concrete base of about 20,000-pounds and local contractor, Alonzo Cothron, barged it to the selected location. After lowering and securing the statue in position, it was given the final test a short time later. Category III Hurricane Betsy, on September 8, 1965, churned up the waters of the inner reef. When all had cleared, the statue stood proud and erect, undamaged and unmoved by the hurricane. Since, the seaward extension of the 6-miles has been changed back to the normal 3-mile limit; therefore, the statue is under federal control.
     One of the highlights of promotion was when Dennis the Menace went to Pennekamp Park in a 1976 Dennis the Menace comic book - see below.
Comic Book
     In closing, it should be mentioned that the name of Julia Island was changed to "El Radabob Key." The "El" is for Ellen, the widow of a Pittsburgh industrialist, through whose trust the park was purchased. "Ra" is for Radford Crane; "Da" for son David; "Bob" for son Robert. 
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