[1934 HOME MOVIE: TRIP TO FLORIDA, MIAMI BEACH, HORSE RACES, GATORS, PAN AM S-42 CLIPPER]

Here is a 16mm silent home movie shot by a member of the Flagler family in 1934, during a holiday trip to Florida. The prominent family of Dutchess County New York held strong ties to the local horse community especially in Millbrook and Washington Hollow. They were well known for their large estates. Footage captures iconic images of 1930s Florida as they tour Miami beach, witness gator wrestler’s prying the gator’s jaws open, catch fish on a chartered fishing expedition, pick citrus fruits from the vine, attend a horse race at the famous Hialeah Race Track and watch the Sikorsky S-42 Clipper take off. It highlights family life, recreation and fashion among the wealthy in the 1930’s. The era saw Florida in a recovery period from economic hardships brought on by the Great Depression. Revenue was returning to the state through the legalization of gambling on sports as well as tourism. It opens with family members at home riding horses (:09). It transitions to the Florida trip as family members pose with what might be Seminole native youth in tribal attire near thatched roof dwellings (13:07). A gator wrestler pries the animal’s mouth open (:31). Fowey Rocks Lighthouse appears situated seven miles off the coast of Cape Florida on Key Biscayne (:42). Fowey; completed in 1878, replaced for the Cape Florida Light. It remains in place as a marker for the entrance to the Hawk Channel Passage into the Florida Keys. A man smiles looking back at the camera with a fishing pole over the side of a boat (:49). Members hold up fresh catches (:59). The family poses with young African American youth (1:20). Race relations in Florida in the 1930’s were marked by harsh Jim Crow segregation laws. A man points to a sign noting the highly invasive species known as the ‘Punk Tree’ (1:36). The plant; native to Australia, has become a serious problem in Florida’s environment especially in the Everglades and other wetlands due to their rapid ability to spread. Swimsuit models strut in front of a luxury hotel (2:00). Swimmers take to the pool (2:10). Youth in tribal attire pose with the travelers (2:22). Another gator wrestler (3:09) works with two gators in an enclosed pit (3:21). A section highlights Florida’s duck community as a man feeds ducks from a wooden podium in the water (4:06) and rows a boat amid a swarm of ducks (4:56). A Sikorsky S-42 Clipper (5:07) drives towards the camera. Footage is likely captured at Pan Am’s Seaplane Terminal which made its debut at Dinner Key on March 25th, 1934. Pan Am was at one time a major US International Airline operating from 1927 until 1991. The company was a pioneer in jet aircraft, flying boats, computerized reservation systems and global routes becoming the first airline to fly worldwide. The Clipper drives over water (5:39). Close shots (5:54) highlight the craft’s three radial engines. Women play in swim caps in Florida waters (6:03). A sailboat advertises Hackney’s; a popular seafood restaurant chain (6:14). A pair leapfrogs over one another (6:39).
Horses run the track at Hialeah Park near downtown Miami (8:17). Hialeah is a historic track and oldest existing recreational facility of Southern Florida renowned for it’s architecture style. It is a National Historic Landmark. Jockey and horse round the track (9:42). Sunbathers (10:00) and native women follow on the beach (10:15). Another gator wrestler puts the animal on it’s back (10:46). A fish stuck on a hook streams through the water towards the chartered fishing boat (10:57). A boat similar to the common Farley boat (11:29) and a large passenger steam boat follow (11:35). A fisher holds up a large swordfish (11:38). The group shows of a variety of fish catches (11:49). In a citrus grove, they pluck fruit from the vine (12:18). The conclusion returns to the family’s home (13:14) featuring a woman on a stoop and a boy in tall riding boots petting two dogs (13:24).