Category: Community

An obviously happy youngster, who couldn’t be more than 5 or 6 years old, beckoned her equally enthused friends into a building that you might not expect to pique the interest of small girls – a jail house. Nevertheless, the girl’s friends followed her to the old structure.

Inside, they found a statue of a prisoner in a striped uniform. Perhaps the girls’ experience unleashed their curiosity just a bit about their state’s past. The jail building stands amid other attractions at Palm Beach County’s Yesteryear Village. It is a living history park where the volunteers and staff’s aim is “opening people’s eyes to Florida’s history,” said Steve Barnard, a volunteer since 1998.

He is one of many volunteers who donate their time, among other things, portraying people from the state’s past. In Barnard’s case, he plays a fictional character, Lt. Ambrose Hall, a man inspired by Barnard’s family history. Ambrose was an “old family name,” he added. Barnard can speak with authority about one attraction in particular, a village fire department housing old-fashioned fire trucks. Barnard, a West Palm Beach resident, is a retired fireman who joined the city’s department when he was 40.  He recalled that when he joined the department, it was a time of horses and buggies.

Recently, he showed a visitor several fire trucks at Yesteryear dating back to the 1920s.  Up until then, the trucks were horse-drawn, he said.  Barnard, a man with grey hair and mustache, sporting work overalls on a recent day, speaks with a scratchy voice and states, “I love South Florida, it has some real cool history that most people don’t know about.”

The village comprises 9 acres on the South Florida Fairgrounds. ”If it wasn’t for the fairgrounds, the village wouldn’t be here,” said Paige Poole, Yesteryear’s Education and Community Relations Manager. The village displays buildings and artifacts from 1895 to 1945. Through audio on telephones, visitors can browse and learn about the original and replicated buildings including an old school, a farm, a blacksmith shop, a general store, a jailhouse and other places. In addition, Yesteryear features “the only big band museum in the United States, the Sally Bennett Big Band Hall of Fame Museum.”

Poole recommends that visitors allot at least two hours to tour the entire village. She says, “Past visitors love it, they absolutely love it, adding they’ve come from afar as Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia. There are a lot of unique exhibits here that people really enjoy.” For instance, if you wish to learn about a major crop in Palm Beach County, you can visit the sugar-processing exhibit.

Yesteryear Village also showcases a Southern Bell Telephone Exhibit dedicated to the history of the telephone. That term might sound like one from the past – especially in this day of cell phones and other technological advances.

“Speaking of technology, the village affords visitors and others a chance to unplug and go back in time,” said volunteer Marie St. John. On a recent day, St. John, in character, was showing youngsters how pioneers churned milk to make butter and make the liquid safe to drink. Back in her character’s day, everyone helped prepare a meal. “Everyone’s prepared some food for a feast,” she said.

 Visitors can learn about history at Yesteryear Village, one of Palm Beach County’s most unique cultural attractions. Yesteryear Village, located at 9067 Southern Blvd. in West Palm Beach.  Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. https://www.southfloridafair.com/p/yesteryearvillage

The Parklander spoke with Captain Chris Mulligan of the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Parkland District, to learn what’s going on with our police department that our local residents should be aware of. Captain Mulligan led off the conversation with good news. He said that Parkland citizens are living in a safe community and the first six months of this year, crime is down 30 percent compared with the same period last year. He also spoke about the Center for Public Safety Management’s study of the BSO’s Parkland area in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas incident. One decision that came out of that study was a call for increased staffing. The BSO responded by enhancing traffic safety enforcement and adding a motorcycle deputy. (There previously was not one in the area.) Citations are up as a result, and statistics show that the number of accidents has remained even compared with the same period last year.

In more good news, the increase in staffing also resulted in an increase in the Crime Suppression Team, whose role it is to target specific problems that have been identified as well as the locations and times where and when they most often occur. The Crime Suppression Team moves from location to location in order to combat crime and keep it from occurring. The BSO also has revived their bike patrol unit and now has deputies on bikes in the area, particularly in areas of heavy traffic, in parks, in business areas, and in residential areas. Their mission is the same as that of officers in patrol cars, but being out in the open they can see and hear more of what’s going on in their surroundings. Therefore, they’re also able to interact with residents, businesspeople, and patrons of businesses. The area is also seeing, among the new hires, more deputies who are new to police work. Although not as seasoned as those who have worked in other agencies, but they are fresh and eager to get into stopping crimes before they occur and solving them when they do occur.

Captain Mulligan also said that the Parkland area detective unit has a clearance rate (rate of number of crimes solved) of 32%, making it one of the best in the agency.

In response to comments from residents, the Parkland area unit is also making a greater effort to engage with the community’s residents. They are contacting homeowner associations and attending their meetings on an average of three a month. In addition, some HOAs hold events (e.g. carnivals, Easter egg hunts), and the BSO tries to be a presence there as well. The unit also does its own events, including Coffee with a Cop, where residents can sit down with officers at a restaurant or coffee shop and, over a cup of coffee, discuss their concerns, pose questions to the officers, and get to know better what the BSO is doing in their area. It’s a great opportunity for an exchange of information and ideas. Then there is National Night Out, another anti-crime initiative, and an opportunity for parents of school-age kids to meet their school’s Resource Officer. Last year, at the beginning of the school year over 2000 residents turned out for this. Another event involving kids is Trunk or Treat, a goodie-filled event, co-sponsored by the city of Parkland, that’s an alternative to trick-or-treating and is safer than walking the streets and ringing doorbells. Parkland Unit BSO officers also attend PTA meetings. Additionally, there are programs in which officers read books to kids, which fosters a greater harmony between kids and police. The BSO participates in area farmers’ markets in the fall and spring, also co-sponsored by the city of Parkland. They bring out their specialty vehicles, including a striped police car, for the kids to swarm all over. The SWAT trucks are a special favorite.

Last year the BSO had a Rape Aggression Defense program in Parkland, teaching situational awareness, how to know you’re in danger, and some self-defense techniques. They will repeat this program this year. The Parkland Area unit is getting ready to start a Police Youth Explorer program for middle school and high school students who have an interest in law enforcement and might consider it as a future career. There is training, and the kids get community service hours while developing leadership skills. October will see the first Citizens Police Academy in the district. As the start of the school year is upon us, the Parkland Area unit of the BSO has its safety plan and traffic plan in place so they can be sure they’ll be watching out for our kids.