Miami

By Billie and Phillip Kirpich

 In July 2002, not long after the fifth reunion of the Florida Circle of the 1818 Society, Richard Clements circularized Bank retirees living in Florida asking for ideas for the sixth reunion. Billie and Phillip Kirpich asked, why not Miami, a great metropolis with many attractions? Richard seized this idea and began planning the reunion, and we gladly pitched in to help.

There were twenty-five participants at the reunion, held from May 1 to May 4, 2003. The turnout, a bit less that the previous one, was difficult for the participants to understand, given the attractions that Miami has to offer: physical features like Biscayne Bay, the variety and beauty of its trees and foliage, cultural attractions such as the world-famous Miami City Ballet, the New World Symphony that recruits young, talented musicians worldwide, historic sites, art museums and art galleries.

Two of the participants, Colleen Loughlin and Yvonne Marsan (they are sisters) remarked in an e-mail after the reunion: "We never knew that parts of Miami were so gorgeous-people there don't want to cut down trees at the drop of a hat, like they do elsewhere in Florida!"

The welcoming reception and dinner took place at the sumptuous inner court and dining room of the Wyndham Grand Bay Hotel, located on the shore of Biscayne Bay in the Coconut Grove district.

A highlight of the reunion and the featured guest speaker at the dinner was Thomas Fiedler, Executive Editor of the Miami Herald, who gave a graphic account of the history and rapid growth of Miami. He observed that Miami's ethnic diversity, cultural attractions and strategic location in the Western hemisphere all pointed to further growth and growing economic importance. The fact that over half of the population of Miami are Latinos, African Americans and Haitians, is one of the city's advantages.

Next morning, Friday, a chartered bus took us to the Fairchild Tropical Garden, on the bay several miles to the south. A covered tram driven by a well spoken and informed female guide cum driver took us on a 45-minute ride to various parts of the extensive garden with its numerous varieties of palms, trees and grasses from all over the world. It was fascinating to learn of the multitudinous uses of the fibers and fruits of the different kinds of palms.

Following a brief lunch at the outdoor café of the garden, the bus took us to the Dinner Key Marina where the sailing yacht Malu Kai awaited. We embarked on a three-hour cruise in Biscayne Bay that included a brief venture into the Atlantic Ocean. At this location there are some shallow waters, wherein several houses have been built on stilts, appropriately named Stiltsville.

Toward the end of the cruise, the sunny skies that we had at the start were replaced by threatening pitch black clouds and torrential rain. We all went below and listened to Vera Alexandre tell funny stories until the storm had passed.

In the evening the bus took us to a cocktail/reception arranged by Billie at our high-rise apartment on the Venetian Causeway overlooking Biscayne Bay in Miami Beach. At one stage Phillip was prevailed upon to perform at the piano. Thankfully for him the bus was waiting for a transfer to Lincoln Road, a famous mile-long pedestrian mall in Miami Beach that is replete with great shops and restaurants. The bus waited for two hours while we had dinner and then took us back to the hotel. We were ready for bed.

Saturday's activities started with two hours of meetings and discussions, the first led by Hugo Schielke and the second by Phillip Kirpich. Hugo described opportunities in the investment markets that are likely to arise, but warned that investors must exercise caution. He felt that stock prices were fully valued based on current earnings. He illustrated his talk by anecdotes based on his own experiences.

Phillip spoke first of ongoing conflicts over sharing of the waters of the Tigris/Euphrates Rivers among the riparians-Turkey, Syria and Iraq.. He noted that the Bank will no doubt become involved in restoring the infrastructure of Iraq. In addition, it may also be urged to take a proactive role in resolving the water conflicts, as it did in the 1960s when it forged a landmark compromise between India and Pakistan over the allocation of the waters of the Indus Basin.

Water issues are significant in the Bank's current anti-poverty efforts, Phillip said. One third to one half of the developing world's population now lacks sufficient drinking water. This problem is exacerbated by rapid urbanization, by the wasteful use of water in irrigated agriculture, and by the tiny size of the average farm holding, only about two hectares. As it is impractical to serve individual plots, water must be delivered in bulk and then distributed cooperatively by the villagers themselves.

Bob Rafloski noted that, since water distribution requires cooperation at the village level, it can be a powerful catalyst for attaining other needs such as rural roads, schools, health clinics, etc. Bob described some successful village cooperatives in Peru, emphasizing that, unless women are allowed to play a central role, village projects can fail. The meeting agreed with Hilary Clinton that "it takes a village". High-level forums on water-with the Bank participating-have produced numerous scholarly papers on what must be done, but little significant action so far.

Florida's Everglades-critical for the ecology of South Florida and for supply of water to its urban conglomerations-was briefly discussed.. South Florida now has six million inhabitants, expected to grow to twelve million by 2050! The large sugar plantations south of Lake Okeechobee consume large quantities of water and discharge large volumes of pollutants. The sugar plantations have been feeding at the public trough in at least four ways-free water from the lake whose level was raised at public expense, subsidized prices paid for sugar, high tariffs on sugar imports and freedom to discharge pollutants.

June Dosik alluded to serious water problems arising in the watershed of the Apalachicola River in the Florida panhandle. June is part of an environment group seeking to protect the river from a variety of threats posed by planned local development and the growing demands for water upstream in Georgia and Alabama.

The final afternoon of the reunion was devoted to a visit to Vizcaya, the winter home of James Deering, a business magnate and vice president of International Harvester. Vizcaya includes a bayfront villa-more like a palace-and adjoining gardens. The villa and gardens, plush and filled with priceless art objects, have served as a perfect setting for high-level gatherings including: The Summit of the Americas 1994 and a 1987 meeting of President Reagan and Pope John Paul II. In 1991 Queen Elizabeth of England toured the estate.

The farewell dinner that evening was at Monty's, a leading Coconut Grove seafood restaurant. Towards the end of the dinner Richard asked: What about our next reunion? Hugo and Yvonne Schielke had recently taken a three day cruise that they greatly enjoyed and they asked for a show of hands of those interested in a cruise. A clear majority signified their interest and it was agreed that the cruise could also serve as the venue for the next reunion. Hugo and Yvonne will follow up.

[Richard Clements writes:
The above article by Billie and Phillip Kirpich substantially understates their contribution to the recent Florida reunion. The reunion was conceived and largely organized by them. They arranged almost every detail. Their energy and enthusiasm were astonishing. Getting the Editor of the Miami Herald to be guest speaker at our opening dinner was itself a major achievement. Our sincere thanks are due to both of them.]

VERA'S REUNION DIARY
by Vera Alexandre

 Thursday May 1, 1903

The opening event of the reunion of The Florida Circle of The 1818 Society was a reception and dinner held on the terrace of the elegant Wyndham Grand Bay Hotel in Miami. Eager as teenagers going to the prom, the members of our circle assembled and began to find those who had shared earlier reunions and to welcome the first timers.

A delightful dinner awaited us as the sunset disappeared. Twilight at our dinner tables increased conviviality. Not only that, it made speech making a limited opportunity. It was soon too dark to read any notes.

Our guest speaker, Tom Fiedler, Executive Editor of the Miami Herald, who pointed this out, promptly folded away his prepared talk and began to capture the attention and admiration of the group with his apparently improvised speech. He much increased our knowledge and understanding of the intricate ethnic history of Miami. In the process he taught us the secret of pronouncing the name of the city as does a Floridian. It is My-em-uh".

Friday May 2, 2003

Friday was a very busy day. The first event was a visit to Fairchild Tropical Garden. A mini-bus awaited us at the door of the hotel at 9:30 a.m. and carried us away to an incredible site. Here are internationally renowned collections of trees and plants from the tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world. The Fairchild Tropical Garden is active in research and conservation , as well as offering classes that enrich the knowledge of the science of horticulture and botany.

We covered the 83-acre garden comfortably in a trolley that our guide drove, explaining to us all the while what we could see but not recognize. The guide seemed capable of naming every blade of grass along the way. Of particular interest to many of us was the colony of iguanas, in their multitude, some small, some tall, who scampered across the lawns seeking their nourishment of choice.

By this time our group had begun to achieve a camaraderie almost equivalent to that of the fabled legionnaires. We settled around picnic tables in the shade of great trees to enjoy an alfresco lunch.

With little time to spare the faithful mini-bus deposited us bayside for an afternoon's tour of Biscayne Bay and the Port of Miami on the yacht Malu-Kai. The skipper, Captain George Horak, looked the image of the seaman pictured on the package of Gordon's Seafood. When a fierce rainstorm blew up Captain Horak donned the yellow slicker and yellow hat of the Gordon's seaman, maintaining throughout that firm expression that conveys confidence and control.

All too soon we were back on land and preparing to attend a cocktail party very kindly hosted by Phillip and Billie Kirpich. At 6:30 p.m. our mini-bus carried us to the Kirpich's home overlooking the city and its expanse of water.

The Kirpichs' residence is richly endowed with oeuvres d'art. If I had had the nerve, I might have asked for a guided tour. And then there was the breathtaking view of the bay on every side, it seemed. Phillip, who is a talented pianist, treated us to two selections from his repertoire. There was the music, the view, the art collection, and the good company of our fellows. We were being utterly spoiled.

After the cocktail party the faithful mini-bus was there again to take us to Lincoln Road Mall, where a myriad of restaurants would cater to every taste. It was wonderful to be out and about among pleasure seekers of every variety. The warm tropical evening made the outdoor restaurants all the more inviting. At around 10:30 p.m. the mini-bus came to our assistance one final time to take us "home" to our hotel.

Saturday May 3, 2003.

Our final day began with an interesting meeting which provided us with much food for thought. The first speaker was Hugo Schielke who gave us many ideas on the prickly subject of investing for retirement. We listened.We questioned. We made notes. We hope to be wiser.

Hugo's talk was followed by a discussion by Phillip Kirpich on the subject of Water - its availability, its disposition, present requirements and future needs in the Middle East, and in Florida. There was a lively exchange of views and we almost seemed reluctant to break for lunch. However, we needed to reach our next destination, the remarkable Viscaya mansion. Again we trooped in the wake of a very knowledgeable guide who helped us to appreciate Viscaya's magnificent extravagances.

The banquet of farewell took place that evening at Monty's Restaurant overlooking the bay. On the meter of conviviality we had now reached Force 8, soon to become Force 9. There was a sad note when Colin Russell rose to announce that he and his wife Alva were returning to Maryland and might not be in our midst next year. They have been at each of our reunions from the beginning.