Safe at home
For 61 years from 1948 to 2008, Vero Beach was a familiar name to baseball fans. Dodgertown was the classic major league spring training site. Then it was gone, and Vero survived.
Growing pains
Better bridges and roads, mosquito control and eventually, the widespread use of air-conditioning, even in public schools, made Vero Beach attractive to new residents during the postwar Baby Boom.
Wally Skiscim, second serviceman from the right, enjoyed dancing at the USO parties. He returned to Vero Beach after the war to marry Mary Anne Maher. COURTESY OF SKISCIM PHOTOS, ARCHIVE CENTER, IRC MAIN LIBRARY
Never the same
World War II brought permanent changes to the homefront, even to towns as small as Vero Beach in the early 1940s.
Century of progress
Like many latter-day retirees who visit towns up and down Florida’s east coast before deciding to settle in Vero Beach, a Vermonter named Henry T. Gifford checked out Titusville, Fort Pierce and the swamps now known as Miami before moving to Vero in 1887, when it was unnamed, unknown and mostly uninhabited.
Color-tinted photograph of Arthur Mayfield Hill and Catherine Richey Hill hangs on the living room wall of Linda Hill, widow of Hill’s grandson Arthur M. Hill III. It probably dates from the Hill family’s early days in Vero around 1920. LINDA HILL
Property pioneer
Of all the people remembered during the celebration of Vero Beach’s centennial this year, citrus developer and businessman Arthur Mayfield Hill may be one of the most underappreciated.
Coastal luxury
A couple from Manhattan drove into the picturesque seaside town of Vero Beach and immediately knew the search for a home was over. Having scoured Florida’s east coast for a quiet getaway, their criterion was simple: They needed a place to relax and enjoy the outdoors with family, and Vero Beach seemed like the perfect place to escape from the city.
Sailing fare
Take a picture-perfect day. Add a private yacht, a seasoned skipper, a gourmet feast and you have all the ingredients for a fun-filled day of sailing, dining and merrymaking with Sail Moonraker.
Fort Pierce Yacht and Ship created this magnificent showpiece table for Double Down, a $35 million mega yacht refit. The table contains a motorized lazy Susan with remote control to accommodate the dozen or more guests seated. FORT PIERCE YACHT AND SHIP
Port’s new pearl
Nothing exemplifies ultimate luxury like the mega yachts that quietly make their way up and down the Florida coast and occasionally take harbor in coves from Key West to Jacksonville. These beautiful ships may spend months crisscrossing the oceans, but eventually they must come to port.
The Nuestra Señora del Carmen y San Antonio, originally HMS Hampton Court, is shown in this painting days after the hurricane of 1715. It grounded on the east coast of Florida and was the only one from the Spanish treasure fleet to beach relatively intact. JAMES FLOOD
When pirates scoured the Treasure Coast
One man. One crew. One ship can take on the entire British Empire without a hiccough or regret. However grandiose Bellamy’s assertion may sound today, it was not without sincerity.
Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge on South Hutchinson Island once saved the stranded and is now a romantic getaway for couples. RICK CRARY
Beacon of romance
In Martin County, there is a historic, scenic, coastal setting that has been a beacon to lovers for more than a hundred years. Situated on a bluff of strikingly picturesque rocks at the southerly end of Hutchinson Island, the Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge looks out over a vast expanse of aquamarine water that melts into the horizon. A soothing rhythm of white-foamed waves splashing is heard on the rocky coast, while a cool sea breeze calms the senses.
