H.L. (Bud) and Lena Fisher Lyons The demolishing of one of Pompano’s most historical homes was completed today, Monday, May 26. 2002. The home was the residence of H.L. (Bud) and Lena Fisher Lyons located on the corner of NE 1St and NE 3rd Ave, Pompano Beach. I went by , rung the doorbell for the very last time. I had rung this doorbell , (which was built almost on the sidewalk) and ran quickly away while passing their house on my way to the “picture show” located just East of their house so many times when growing up in Pompano. Bud came to Pompano in 1903 as a young lad from Madison, Fl . later on married Lena, who was from Ft. Lauderdale. The never had any children. Bud began farming, raising cattle and purchasing land in the Western part of the County . Their farming and cattle empire stretched from North of what is now Margate, South for several miles and West far into the everglades The area farmed covered many thousands of acres West of what is now Margate and their vegetable packing sheds and houses, platforms and offices stretched along North Flagler in downtown Pompano from NE 3rd st to NE 6th St. Bud grew vegetables, loaded them on trucks, transported them to his packing sheds where he had several large grading belts which , in that period of time was considered the elite in packing houses. The produce arrived at this location in burlap (croaker sacks) bags, unloaded and spread upon the slow moving belt where people picked out any trash, rotted or damaged produce and the “choice, and large ones,” to be used as “tops” that went in the bean hamper or pepper crate before it was “headed up.” Once it was finished. the containers were placed on a chain-drive conveyor belt that ran the entire length of the platform (or shed) from NE 3rd St to NE 6th. and parallel with the rail siding where refrigerated box cars were placed and the produce diverted into these cars for shipment to out of State markets. The grading and sorting of this operation usually began in the afternoon around 5 PM or so and continued on into the night until all had been processed and loaded. This “growing, packing, loading and hauling ” operation provided employment to literally hundereds of people in the Pompano area in a period of time when the economy of Pompano and the country was at one of the lowest points in many years. About an average of 10 of these box cars were filld and shipped nightly. Without the Bud/Lena Lyons impact, this area would have been hard pressed to have rode-out the depression and “brother, can you spare a dime era.” The produce was loaded into the refrigerated box-cars that contained bunkers with top-load hatches where one-hundred lb blocks of ice were entered and on the inside of the cars, were steel grate dividers that allowed the cold air to circulate through the car to preserve the shipment for the many days they were on the road to distant markets. Bean hampers (1 1/2 bu) were loaded in an up and down style all across the end of the car, These were stacked two high, then the next row laid down on the top of these, with the tops out and the next row with the bottoms out and on until a “peak” was reached, this method allowed the hampers to be “interlocked” to insure there would be no damages when they arrived and the cold air to circulate around and through them. Approximately 640 hampers of beans filled a car and about 800 boxes of Peppers. Bell peppers were shipped in wooden crates that were filled and the lids nailed shut. They were stacked in box-cars on top of each other with a “strip or slat’ of wood on top. These slats provided air cirulation plus, they were nailed into the top of each crate, insuring a safe, secure ride. Once loaded, they were “manifested, sealed, and were ready for shipment the same night. From growing in the fields to being picked, transported , processed and shipped the same day to distant markets. This operation continued seven days a week for the entire farming season, from October thru April, I have heard comments from people from out of this area (the,”Johnny-come-latelys”make comments that “this town was founded by”dumb farmers” that didn’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain. This only shows how dumb these types are to make such a statement. When it rained, that is when these “dumb farmers” had to leave their dry abode , go into their fields to start their drainage pumps, pull the lock boards so the water could get to the pumps, to skim-out the field ditches keeping them open so the crops wouldn’t drown. No, these farmers were not too “dumb” to come in out of the rain, they were smart enough to know a ruined crop was a disaster, not only to themselves but for the many people dependant on these crops for a livelyhood. So when it rained that meant extra “nasty work”, not an enjoyable outing. Bud Lyons provided jobs for people by going out into the rain and saving his crops, therefore averting extreme hardships for the citizens of Pompano. If not for the Farmers, such as Bud Lyons, the city of Pompano Beach we know today would in all probability not be as well preserved for these “types”, to enjoy the many opportunities the “dumb farmers” made available for them. With the tearing down of the “Bud Lyons house” and other actions, we go now into another realm that seems to be leading towards the slow and surely dis-manteling of the city of Pompano Beach by those interested in self. as opposed to men like Bud Lyons , and other farmers, who “picked-up their hammer and saw and built-up, not tore down.”