HomeMy WebLinkAboutMunyon Island - For One Brief Shing Moment... (Gulfstream Update) pages 10-11V\unyon sand:
ACCO,ro t
Dr. James Munyon as he appeared
during his heyday.
For
One 3rieF
Shining Moment...
"With this medicine, there is
hope," said the gregarious Dr. James
Munyon, greeting his visitors and
holding up a bottle of his famous
patented formula, while pointing to
the heavens with outstretched hand.
That was back in the heyday of
Florida's boom years, before the hur-
ricane of 1928 and the crash of 1929.
During that time, Munyon Island
(located in Lake Worth just off Singer
Island) was a lush and plush resort
that attracted eager seekers of health
and rejuvenation. No one left the
22-acre tropical wonderland without
drinking from Dr. Munyon's "foun-
tain of youth" and purchasing a bot-
tle of his Paw Paw remedy which sold
for $1.99. (Today, the bottle is a col -
lector's item and worth considerably
more!). Among its ingredients were
papaya juice, sparkling water and
more than a little alcohol. The direc-
tions on the bottle read, "Take from 1
to 2 dessert spoonfuls 3 times daily,
preferably with your meals or oftener
if required, especially when tired or
depressed."
Dr. Munyon's claims for his "natur-
al remedy" were extravagant even f o r
those times. It supposedly cured in-
digestion, nervousness, rheumatism,
anemia, kidney problems, catarrh
and constipation, among other com-
plaints. Despite the suspicion of high
alcohol content, Munyon boldly pro-
claimed, "Don't take whiskey, don't
take beer. Don't take narcotics,
which are worse than either of them.
Remember, Paw Paw exhilarates but
does not intoxicate." The elixir even
served as the inspiration for a song
called "Down Where the Paw Paw
Grows." Although hyperbole rather
than humbleness was the doctor's
strong suit, the papaya in Paw Paw
did contain pepsin, a stomach en-
zyme which aids digestion.
The so-called Fountain of Youth Dr.
Munyon extolled was nothing more
Munyon Island, yesterday
10
and today.
Local historian Bessie DuBois displays her prized, barnacle -encrusted bottle
of Paw -Paw.
(.I:N�NNNNN��NN�N000OO N•MnOa**MemNOOOOO fNO O•••NN•N••NNNNNNN
Munyon's Paw -Paw I
•
I consider my preparation of Paw -Paw the crown-
ing achievement of my life, knowing as I do the
great blessings which will follow its use. t. !.
...THE GREAT...
NATURAL
REMEDY
maise,t;nn. � Dyrpnpri.
Stour. ch Ailments.
Nw ur,r�
Slecpleaanerr.
Larr a/ ViWity,
Mmrmntirm. Gtturh.
Kidney. Liver a.3 91ood
Trovble>.
Poor Ctrcul.tion.
Dizzmerr. COnItiD.tion.
...................
An ad for Dr. Munyon's Remedy
shows that humbleness was not the
good doctor's strong suit.
than sulfur water from a well on the
mainland which was pumped across
the lake to the island. According to
John D. MacArthur, the late owner of
Munyon Island, who harbored a cer-
tain admiration for the rather disrepu-
table doctor, "The sulfur water prob-
ably gave people the runs which did
most of them a lot of good."
Visitors who were ferried to and
Munyon's patented formula even
served as the inspiration for a
popular song of the day.
from the island could stay at the lux-
urious Hotel Hygeia, named appropri-
ately for the Greek goddess of health
who was also a daughter of Aescula-
pius, god of healing. The hotel later
burned to the ground and its exist-
ence, until recently, had been nearly
forgotten. Munyon also constructed,
at great expense, a coquina seawall
around the southern end of the island
and then planted every imaginable
kind of native plant, tree, shrub, and
tropical fruit known to Florida.
From the hotel, guests had an un-
impeded view of Lake Worth and the
renowned Royal Poinciana Hotel on
the shores of Palm Beach, 10 miles
away. The following is taken from a
contemporary advertisement for the
resort:
"To see the sun rise from this point
is to witness Nature put on her most
extravagant morning gowns and dis-
port herself in all manner of fantastic
shapes and brilliant colors. These
morning panoramas are only equaled
by the gorgeous and bewildering sun-
sets which linger late into the twilight,
as though loath to lay aside her ef-
fulgent robes to don the sombre dress
of dying day. Steamers, launches and
sailboats run between the Island and
Palm Beach every few minutes. Mails
received and delivered twice daily."
The island was first inhabited in the
late 19th century by a man named
Rogers who pitched his tent under a
banyan tree and lived there for five
years, after which he secured free title
to the island from the government.
He then sold it to a sturdy couple
named Pitts who came down from
New Hampshire and spent 16 years
transforming the wilderness into one
of the most picturesque spots in Flor-
ida. They sold to Dr. Munyon in 1907.
Today, the island, which lies within
the boundaries of the Village of North
Palm Beach, is undeveloped and part
of the package of oceanfront land
purchased in 1981 by the state from
the John D. MacArthur estate. Envi-
ronmentalists are urging that the
native ecosystems of Big Munyon and
its smaller sister island to the south
known as Little Munyon be carefully
retained as part of the proposed John
D. MacArthur State Park. The island is
larger now since almost four -fifths of
its land mass is actually spoil dredged
from the Intracoastal Waterway.
Stepping ashore on Munyon Island
today is like stepping into the forgot-
ten ruins of another time. The vora-
ciousness of nature has triumphed
over the extravagant horticultural
grooming of the past. Yet, vestiges of
the island's glory days are evident if
one looks closely enough. Under-
neath the tangle of vines, leaves and
dense brush are glimpses of the
crumbled remains of the old seawall.
And at certain quiet times, the more
imaginative visitor may even hear the
faint echo of Dr. Munyon's famous
cry, "There is hope!" ;c1
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