Beach Getaways 2008 - (Page 14) cities & towns POMPANO BEACH by Flora Iacchia In the Swim of Pompano Glimpses into the past carry a beach town forward W hen I moved to Pompano Beach, I did not expect to find a place with such a small town feeling so near to Fort Lauderdale. Quickly, I discovered that Pompano Beach had the virtues of a vintage South Florida beach town, right smack in the middle of a big metropolitan area. Above, Pompano’s FEC Railway station, around the turn of the century. Image courtesy of Pompano Beach Historical Society. At its founding on July 3, 1908 (Pompano will celebrate its centennial this summer), Pompano Beach was a sleepy stop along the Florida East Coast Railway and, later, U.S. 1. It was the sort of place where everyone knew everyone else. “Most people had a passing acquaintance inside the town and even went to the same school,” says Dan Hobby, director of the Pompano Beach Historical Society. Pompano grew up as a farming community, a bit of history that my adopted town celebrates each weekend, October through April, with the Pompano Beach Saturday Green Market. The market is not just for baked goods and other foods; vendors sell art, books and historical images, all under the banner of the market’s green pepper logo. The farmers’ market was created by the historical society; each fall the group inaugurates the new farming season by cutting a ceremonial green ribbon of green peppers in honor of this local favorite vegetable. Right, Pompano Beach. 14 VISITFLORIDA.com/beaches http://VISITFLORIDA.com/beaches
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