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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-01-10 The Oakes Mansion And Pioneer Days (WeekDay)WI 11 TER C Lid fro •:.: :•:: - PART III: DATE_ arry Oakes . . Kelsey'srrollems With IRS Oakes Mansion And Pioneer Da had a small T airport in ennessee. Under his direction, I •:.: constructed an airstrip just north of the Earman River ...• and west of the P-rosperity Farms Road on (part of) our :•:. land which was known as the Kelsey City Dairy. •:.: "When we reopened the Palm Beach Winter Club •:.: (Now the NPB club and golf course), Jan. 12, 1928, Mr. •••• •••• •:.: "In Dec. 1927 I was introduced to a Mr. Smiley who :•:. ...• •••• By Charles A. Branch Former V-P of Developer Harry S. Kelsey •:.: Smiley gave aerialexhibitions over the fairways, driving •:-: many of the players (off the course and) running for :•:. cover, but his Fairchild 'plane acted correctly and no :•:. °•:. damage was done •:.: •:.. The clubhouse (now the Oakes Mansion) was again :•.: •:.: under the direction of Miss Falconer and the local girls :.:. :.:. As Told To Geoffrey Birt Charles A. Branch was vice president to Harry S. Kelsey, developer of what is today the town of Lake Park during the 1920s. An engineer, he played a major role in the building of the Palm Beach Winter Club, known today as the Oakes Mansion, located at the North Palm Beach Country Club — a charming (if now decaying) building of architectural significance which exudes real "character". Today, Mr. Branch (B. Oct. 22, 1892) reside Q in retirement with his wife at 4500 N. Dixie Highway (the Regency Apartments), West Palm Beach, and this is the third in a series of articles he specially penned for :•:. this column on the mansion and pioneer days in the :•:. Lake Park- North Palm Beach area (N.P.B., of course, did not exist in the days of the roaring twenties): who acted as cooks and waitresses, many who I see about us today. The winter season was well attended but much of the glamor had gone because of the Florida land bust. "Mr. Kelsey was meeting with financial difficulties. The I.R.S. was looking into his reported profits and losses of his personal dealings and those of the (Kelsey owned) East Coast Finance Corp. All resulting charges were found to be in error against him, but that was years later. Meantime, Kelsey's ability to raise funds and sell properties was limited by the government action. Kelsey Vs. The I.R. S. (Branch was interviewed on this IRS point, for clarification and elaboration. He explained to me that the IRS auditor came to him (Mr. Branch) complaining of lack of cooperaton by some members of the ECFC and to inform him that the government was going to file a lien against Kelsey's properties. (Branch said: ''Mr. Kelsey never went into bankruptcy. The matter was settled after the 1928 great hurricane." The ex-V.P. recalled that when he telephoned Kelsey— who was in the north— the developer refused to believe. he was at fault, and returned in a state of indignation against the IRS 11" auditor — who was rated incompetent. Kelsey complained to Branch he had paid all his bills and owned nobody. He asked his attorney, Bert Winters, for advice. According -to Branch, Winters recommended that Kelsey should file for bankruptcy. Kelsey asked Winters how much he owed him. Winters replied, $60,000. Thereupon, Kelsey wrote him an I.O.U. for $60,000 and Winters departed. Branch added .-GB.) "In the end Kelsey returned to Boston and started some promotions on frozen food stuffs — in his earliest days he had developed a chain of restaurants. Finally, with the help of Sam Bickford -- a former associate — Kelsey re-entered the real estate field in the Orlando area. He did not die poor, but he never again became very wealthy. He managed to make a good living." (Branch noted, in passing, that the fateful lien Continued on Page 10 b IY]Y Pam 1979 e 10WeekDaY JanuaryP1�Pvi�'e Crumbles -Enter Oakes, MacArt uY' Emp Kelsey CorrtirrlIc'cl From 1'age 1 against Kelsey was filed in the Palm courthouse- G.B•) Back to Branch's narrative: J. C. Bills Form Trusteeship Feb. executive) resigns eb. 20, 1928 Charles Burr (a top Kelsey Soon resigned and returned to Flint, Michigan. s . C. Bills (father of NPB realtor. Louis � . afterward , ,% Bills], a Sandford, Fla. attorney originally from Boston, d attorney Bert Winters turned over was called in, an his legal responsibilities to Bills, and the ECFC went under the protection of the J.C. Bills trusteeship. On March 26 Mr. Kelseycame to my office and requested that I act with the Bills Trusteeship in all matters relating to the ECFC. (Branch comments on incTeasing difficulties caused by the land bus t and national great depression, which made it difficult to keep both the winter club (Now NPB P golf course) and the Kelsey City golf course operating, o had been considerably involved with the ECFC.- G.B.) "On April1,1928...we closed the Palm Beach Winter Club for the summer...The Kelsey City Water been transferred to the had town of Kelsey City (now Lake Park) for back taxes. The Kelsey City Nursery had been incorporated as a Florida corporation with Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey owning all the stock except that given to Mr. and Mrs. Sam Blakely for past Beach County A. w d` w •• w Oh w � - A' Aft. aft naaaaaaa services. Mr. Bills and myself were left to salvage any value still left in the.ECFC for Mr: Kelsey. The Great 1928 Hurricane ' which did someg On August 8, 1928, we had a small stormt• 13, 1928, a second damage to the Kelsey City area. OnSephis and storm was reported in the Atlantic. was to become the devastating great hurricane of 1928 when thousands lost their lives, and millions of dollars worth of property damage occured as storm flooding p Y •nundated the area, and Lake Okeechobee rose to break I its, then earthen dikes, and create one great sheet of water from the Glades to Military Trail, plus vast floods in the coastal region. G.B.) I had the "As the storm continued in our, direction, entire payroll Cluband our properties in a roll men board up the Winter ice Y KelsE City. Mr. Bills came to my of Mrs. Kelsey and most of the children in and then took his car to his home in Sanford. "After the stormpassed, Mr. Bills and I returned at Sept.17, just as martial law was being 9:30 p.m., Sept. P proclaimed. Most of our property had been damaged but Mr. Bills and I managedto stay in our wrecked'Branch returned Sept. home and Mrs. Kelsey and Mrs. a again. 21 after We had made our homes livableg of "This great storm finished the downfallproperty T which (previous reported matters) had started. values (P could not be given away and Land and building *MA "`" ceased _......,.. taxes on any property. Bond paying Bond everyoneP Y and interest ceased to have any value. payments (As duties and responsibilities with the ,ECFC and Branch was. Bills Trusteeship became less demanding, ,assisted elected to the county school board for 1929-30; he count engineer's office and, April 1, 1936 was in t Y appointed chief engineering inspector for the U.S. department of the interior in the construction oft e OverseasHighway Hig hwa between Lower Metac umbe and Big P ine Keys, and later on a Mississippi River bridge at Greenville, Miss. G.B.) "Meantime, Mr. Bills was attempting to dispose of the ECFC holdings. Mea The IRS matter with Mr. Kelsey had been settled...The Intracoastal Canal properties had been transferred to the federal department of war which was busy deepening and widening it to improve shipping between Jacksonville and Miami. Sir Harry Oakes Gains Ownership "Mr. Foskett was an attorney who became associated with Mr. Bert Winters, and J. C. Bills interested him in acquiring the ECFC properties by buyingup in the unpaid tax certificates, and also buying the defaulted bonds of Kelsey City. he was Foskett interested Mr. Harry Oakes (before ate on P knighted by King George VI) in this deal. (The dm the the special quick claim deed to Tesdem, Inc. ro ECFC will establish the actual date when Oakes took own onfld H3Y39 W1Yd 1418014 u,) these holdings). Among the properties were the over g the NPB course, and the long defunct and vanished Kelsey two golf courses (presently,City course). Other � included properties were about 85% of the Kelsey' City lots. "It is believed that the Oakes family lived a short time at the (Winter .Club) clubhhouse. However they more soon bought a house in Palm Beach. They seemed interestedponies in and polo than in golf, and the (Winter Club) golf course was entirely destroyed and the irrigation system and pumps were moved to the south end of the Winter Club to begin a field for riding horses. "Thegolf course was made over to provide riding After the (Oakes) paths for Oakes and his children. seemed to family moved to Palm Beach, the clubhouse receive less maintenance. (Oakes- a native of Maine- at this time began acquiring interests in the Bahamas, and became known actl g During in England, and became a British subject. During Worldg War II he gave $500,000 to St. G g He was London, and .was given a knighthood.s Hospital, murdered in his Nassau home. The crime remain unsolved. -G.B.) narrative thus: Branch concludes his n all the Oakes holdings — r � 11/I r. Foskett disposed of D. MacArthur acquired from the ECFC— to the JohnWinter interests. It'was then that the old. Palm Beach b was re -named the North Palm Beach Country Club Club." Aft w►"aa•aiaa0 w a a 000.000004111b AI AI Ale a. a.