(Originally published in the January/February/March 2012 issue of the Tam-A-Gram.)
By: Chad Quinn and Barbara Tarnove
The origins of the City of Tamarac’s name have long been up for debate. Various stories, rumors and theories have been passed from neighbor-to-neighbor and written about in various newspaper articles for years. The most common story to be told is the one in which Ken Behring, Tamarac’s founder and original developer of most of the City’s initial neighborhoods, reversed the name of a successful car wash business he had in Wisconsin prior to moving to South Florida – Car-A-Mat.
Other stories have included our City was named after the Tamarack tree, or an Indian Chief, or even by Mr. Behring taking the first initial of all his top executives at the time to form the word (this new theory was only recently uncovered by the Tamarac Historical Society in an old newspaper article).
In fact, when the Historical Society is out and about in the community, manning their information tables at various City events, or their bake sale fund-raiser table at the City’s Community Garage Sales, people often stop by to say, “I know how the City got its name… do you?” As the person recalls the story, most often it is the one about “Car-A-Mat.”
The truth is, that isn’t how the City got its name.
The City isn’t named after a tree, an Indian chief, or Mr. Behring’s executives.
Right from the beginning, when the Historical Society was formed in mid-2009, the group knew that solving the origins of Tamarac’s name would be a priority. Unfortunately all of their research resulted in nothing definitive, other than the fact that there were definitely several different ideas that have all stood the test of time and been passed down through the years.
Barbara Tarnove, the president of the Historical Society, decided to go right to the source. She reached out to Ken Behring through his secretary, Annette, and we are pleased to share with you the definitive answer on this subject:
“I spoke with Mr. Behring and asked him about the name. He laughed and said there are so many stories out there and they are [all] much better than the true story. He then said that the name for Tamarac came from a very boring place, so here is the true story. When Mr. Behring bought the first 13 acres there was a country clubhouse next door called Tamarac [Country Club] (most recently, before it was closed, it was the Oak Tree Country Club), and that is where the name came from.”
So… there we have it, the definitive answer to the origins of the City’s name directly from Tamarac’s founder, Ken Behring. Pass it on.
WE NEED YOU. Help us to continue to discover our City’s history. Do you have time to donate, a story to tell, or mementos to donate? If so, contact the Tamarac Historical Society at history@tamarac.org, or call (954) 597-3523.
Showing posts with label Ken Behring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ken Behring. Show all posts
Monday, January 9, 2012
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Early Tamarac Notables
By: Barbara Tarnove, President, Tamarac Historical SocietyWho is responsible for the way things are today? Those that came before us, for sure. What did they do? Did they sit around a table and plan every detail?
Did they think about what it would all mean years from then? Was the future part of the plan? Was it conceived by one and embellished by many? A few visionaries? Or perhaps it started one day and before they knew it the city grew so fast that it all just happened… I wonder. DO YOU WONDER?
The Tamarac Historical Society wonders all the time and that is what keeps us going. We need to know and know we will. Our small group is researching the early days of Tamarac to understand how we got to where we are today. There are some early notables that helped or were part of the shaping of our city.
Ken Behring, for sure, was the founding father. It was his dream to create a “way of life” that would allow residents to enjoy a complete life with recreation facilities and a maintenance free life style. Surrounding himself with the like of the first Mayor, William Morse, whose idea it was to create their own city, Tamarac was on it way to being that “way of life”.
The first residents of Tamarac came to the city with the influences of their former home towns, The Nyce’s from Geneva New York and the Hardy’s from Queens New York. Both husbands were in the banking business, so financially they saw Tamarac as a good buy. Both couples were active in the community, Mr. Nyce taught art classes, and wrote articles for the newspaper about mortgages and Mrs. Nyce was a social reporter. Mrs. Hardy was in charge of building the first library in the clubhouse. As residents began moving into their new homes, groups formed and committee’s sprang up in abundance. One such group formed the Tamarac Lakes Civic Association, led by the president Charles Paster. Paster a graduate of the University of Detroit majoring in Business Administration and Purple Heart recipient, took his civic duties very seriously. He later became a councilman and Vice Mayor of the city of Tamarac. His background certainly influenced his contributions.
As the city grew so did the experiences of its residents. Mr. and Mrs. Cox were the first in the Mainland’s. Their background was from Detroit where Mr. Cox worked for General Motors as an electrician, for over 25 years. With each new section the homes evolved as well. Mainland’s homes boasted solid marble window sills, recessed kitchen ceiling lighting, free wall to wall carpeting, two spacious bedrooms, garbage disposal and concrete driveways.
Tamarac was to have a home for everyone. For the more affluent buyers that the city was attracting, Vista Villa (The Woodlands) was conceived as a private country club community. This community came with a Von Hagge designed golf course and estate like home nestled amidst lush greenery and acre lots.
One of the greatest influences of the social scene was Fred Hoelscher, Mr.Tamarac. Hoelscher and his wife Zetta retired from Missouri where Fred was a chicken farmer in 1962. Fred quickly became the Recreation Director for the Behring Corporation where he promoted “The Tamarac Way of Life”. Fred re-enforced a life where people enjoyed good fellowship and keeping busy doing things together with other residents. He and his wife started a civic organization as each new clubhouse was completed. Fred was responsible for the Tamarac Lakes News Bulletin, a monthly newsletter keeping all the residents informed of the activities and goings on in their new community.
With an optimistic outlook on the growth of Tamarac, Doug Keller was the first City Administrator. Keller brought his experience to Tamarac from Fort Lauderdale where he worked for 12 years. With only 2000 residents when he started, he established the necessary Public Works Department, City Utilities Department, a Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Streets, Police and Fire Departments and a Division of Transportation. He certainly shaped the early beginning of our City.
Growing out of the Administrators newly formed departments, Ellis De Voe was named police chief. His prior experience came via Lighthouse Point where he was also Chief. De Voe established a fleet of 4 police cars equipped with 2 way radios that would patrol the entire city on a 24 hour basis. He hired the first patrolman , Larry Wark and gave him badge number one. Everyone felt safe seeing the patrol cars that replaced the security guards that previously held the safety duty and thanks to the Behring corporation each car carried a resuscitator as an added precaution.
As cities go, Tamarac was a very young city, being groomed for greatness, led by many experienced, well place individuals who saw a vision and made it a Way of Life.
Did they think about what it would all mean years from then? Was the future part of the plan? Was it conceived by one and embellished by many? A few visionaries? Or perhaps it started one day and before they knew it the city grew so fast that it all just happened… I wonder. DO YOU WONDER?
The Tamarac Historical Society wonders all the time and that is what keeps us going. We need to know and know we will. Our small group is researching the early days of Tamarac to understand how we got to where we are today. There are some early notables that helped or were part of the shaping of our city.
Ken Behring, for sure, was the founding father. It was his dream to create a “way of life” that would allow residents to enjoy a complete life with recreation facilities and a maintenance free life style. Surrounding himself with the like of the first Mayor, William Morse, whose idea it was to create their own city, Tamarac was on it way to being that “way of life”.
The first residents of Tamarac came to the city with the influences of their former home towns, The Nyce’s from Geneva New York and the Hardy’s from Queens New York. Both husbands were in the banking business, so financially they saw Tamarac as a good buy. Both couples were active in the community, Mr. Nyce taught art classes, and wrote articles for the newspaper about mortgages and Mrs. Nyce was a social reporter. Mrs. Hardy was in charge of building the first library in the clubhouse. As residents began moving into their new homes, groups formed and committee’s sprang up in abundance. One such group formed the Tamarac Lakes Civic Association, led by the president Charles Paster. Paster a graduate of the University of Detroit majoring in Business Administration and Purple Heart recipient, took his civic duties very seriously. He later became a councilman and Vice Mayor of the city of Tamarac. His background certainly influenced his contributions.
As the city grew so did the experiences of its residents. Mr. and Mrs. Cox were the first in the Mainland’s. Their background was from Detroit where Mr. Cox worked for General Motors as an electrician, for over 25 years. With each new section the homes evolved as well. Mainland’s homes boasted solid marble window sills, recessed kitchen ceiling lighting, free wall to wall carpeting, two spacious bedrooms, garbage disposal and concrete driveways.
Tamarac was to have a home for everyone. For the more affluent buyers that the city was attracting, Vista Villa (The Woodlands) was conceived as a private country club community. This community came with a Von Hagge designed golf course and estate like home nestled amidst lush greenery and acre lots.
One of the greatest influences of the social scene was Fred Hoelscher, Mr.Tamarac. Hoelscher and his wife Zetta retired from Missouri where Fred was a chicken farmer in 1962. Fred quickly became the Recreation Director for the Behring Corporation where he promoted “The Tamarac Way of Life”. Fred re-enforced a life where people enjoyed good fellowship and keeping busy doing things together with other residents. He and his wife started a civic organization as each new clubhouse was completed. Fred was responsible for the Tamarac Lakes News Bulletin, a monthly newsletter keeping all the residents informed of the activities and goings on in their new community.
With an optimistic outlook on the growth of Tamarac, Doug Keller was the first City Administrator. Keller brought his experience to Tamarac from Fort Lauderdale where he worked for 12 years. With only 2000 residents when he started, he established the necessary Public Works Department, City Utilities Department, a Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Streets, Police and Fire Departments and a Division of Transportation. He certainly shaped the early beginning of our City.
Growing out of the Administrators newly formed departments, Ellis De Voe was named police chief. His prior experience came via Lighthouse Point where he was also Chief. De Voe established a fleet of 4 police cars equipped with 2 way radios that would patrol the entire city on a 24 hour basis. He hired the first patrolman , Larry Wark and gave him badge number one. Everyone felt safe seeing the patrol cars that replaced the security guards that previously held the safety duty and thanks to the Behring corporation each car carried a resuscitator as an added precaution.
As cities go, Tamarac was a very young city, being groomed for greatness, led by many experienced, well place individuals who saw a vision and made it a Way of Life.
Be sure to come by City Hall to check out our new display! (Photo above.)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tamarac Pioneer: Lucille Wind
(Originally published in The Forum July 28, 2010)
by: Chad Quinn
This October the Broward County Historical Commission will celebrate their 38th annual Pioneer Days – the nominee for the City of Tamarac for 2010 is Lucille Wind. Lucille’s story about her arrival in Tamarac is very interesting…
While vacationing in South Florida in 1964, Lucille and her husband Joseph, were looking at a potential property to purchase as a vacation get-away and possible future retirement home. A realtor suggested that he show them a new development, Tamarac Lakes in the new City of Tamarac.
Lucille recalls that the development was “just starting, in fact they were going to have their grand opening the following weekend. They were busy installing the carpet and mirror in the model home.” During their first visit they met the developer (and founder of Tamarac) Ken Behring. Lucille and Joseph fell in love with the plans for the development and their future home and readily signed a contract for a home that was under construction with only side walls and no roof. The Winds’ suggested a down payment of $200 with the remainder to be paid in cash at closing. The cost was $8,990 with added features of air conditioning, a rear patio and an expanded driveway which brought the total for their new home to $10,030. In addition to the low cost, the neighborhood offered a “maintenance-free lifestyle” – Mr. Behring’s concept for his new development was to offer the convenience of a condominium lifestyle with the privacy of a single-family home. For a low monthly fee, residents would get lawn mowing, periodic house painting and roof cleaning, and access to the community’s clubhouse.
The Winds had planned to use the home initially as a vacation home, so they were in no big hurry to have their home completed and even told Mr. Behring he could take his time building theirs because they would not be back for another year. As they were traveling back home, about 45 miles outside of Buffalo in a snow storm, Joseph and Lucille came to the conclusion that they wanted to experience the warm weather and sunshine they fell in love with back in Florida year-round. Then six weeks later in March (much sooner than expected), they were notified that their new house in Tamarac was ready for closing.
In March 1964 they closed on their new home and by September, after finalizing the sale of their business and home in Buffalo, officially moved to Florida! Lucille remembers that “by September, the development was pretty much sold out and that Thanksgiving Mr. Behring gave the residents a lovely turkey dinner and party.” Joseph opened a new business, DeWind Lock and Key on Prospect Road and Andrews Boulevard. At 46 and 39 respectively, Joseph and Lucille were the youngest residents in Tamarac Lakes and were some of the few who were still working. While their neighbors social lives tended to center around the community clubhouse and the multiple activities it provided, Joseph and Lucille found that they did not have much in common with their neighbors who all tended to be much older. While Joseph ran the business Lucille worked as a substitute teacher for the school system. They joined the Ft. Lauderdale Country Club and enjoyed the activities it provided – in fact Lucille is still a member of the club!
In 1971 Joseph’s health took a turn and he and Lucille decided to sell the business (which still exists today as DeWind Lock and Safe) – they decided to play more golf, travel and enjoy an early retirement.
Joseph passed away in 1999, however Lucille has remained active in her community, at her country club, and in previous years, as a clerk for elections at her precinct. In addition, Lucille became involved in her homeowner’s association.
In speaking of Tamarac, Lucille says “It’s been my home for 46 years – I’ve lived here longer than any other place.” She has seen Broward County, and Tamarac in particular change and grow over the years. She use to get a “real thrill” when she and Joseph would drive west on Commercial Boulevard and just as they reached the crest of the overpass over the Turnpike she could look out and see all the “little white houses Mr. Behring was building.” In fact, over the years Lucille convinced several family members to buy homes in Tamarac.
Now her neighborhood is dominated by young families and children. No longer is the clubhouse the center of activity it once was – “There are more young people, there’s more diversity. I love my neighbors, but they have to work, they don’t have time to be involved in their community or the association.”
At 86 years young, and having bought a home in the City’s first neighborhood, Lucille Wind is Tamarac’s only living original resident, and our 2010 Pioneer.
If you have a story to share with the Tamarac Historical Society, or photos and other memorabilia, we’d love to hear from you… call (954) 597-3523 or email chadq@tamarac.org.
Photo Caption:
Tamarac's 2010 Pioneer, Lucille Wind, in front of the home she and her husband Joseph purchased in 1964.
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