The Swamp Peddlers: How Florida Was Built and Sold

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Oh, and more so you can get everything you want at Saks fifth all the price you love discover all of the fall fashion essentials and up to 70% off@saks5.com or at a sack soffit store near you. This is Lou Habib and Mrs. our American stories show where America is the store and the American people search for the All-American stories podcast go to the iHeartRadio Apple Apple podcasts or were ever good were podcast or countries filled with many different kinds of states filled with different kinds of people. Some of our states were filled with people from other states here to tell the story of who sold Florida is Jason view it, author of the swamp travelers.

They can when Jason so when I was growing up. People go, a Florida boy, you know, what was the beach like grown-up bankrupt in this weirdly unfinished place several roads to know where hundreds of thousands of lots that people up north and all around the world. Oh, but had never filled we call the streets brass people go out there make out a race. We have parties in high school or so trash and empty streets and these terrible road look like little videos of like fallout sitting you know where the Pentagon would drop H bombs on these 50s era midcentury modern developments and see what happened. That's what a lot of Florida look like. So when I wrote this book to write about the shenanigans of these land sales I wanted to write about Glengarry Glen Ross in Florida from about 55 to 75. These installment land sailors did about to be weaned in business and that's 1970s dollars pre-oil crises. While the inflation be big bucks, eight, nine, 10 billion today, many more companies if not Fortune 500 were you know were New York Stock Exchange listed these companies collectively owned couple of million acres. They built cities freestanding cities Port St. Lucie palm Bay, Cape Coral 2 million people live there. It will be 4 million by the end of her lifetime.

He's these guys are empire builders.

This was not a tiny business in 1900. Florida had the same population stretches of swampy buildable uninhabitable was filled with mosquitoes. People lived along the rivers, they lived in higher places the beach property wasn't of great value. We did have the sense of relaxing leisure time more than workers were continued. I worked until he lived in a small room behind your children's house in their working until they died. The people who came to Florida in 1900 to relax with the super train cars and stay in the opulent towels and go tarpon fishing right the average Joe didn't come to Florida you need DDT you need pesticides federal roadbuilding drainage, dredging and filling all these modern techniques you need air conditioning to truly bring the masses to order Florida really takes off after World War II, millions of GIs came home they don't want to live with their parents and housing.

My father was the son of immigrants came to Ellis Island and he was a Marine during the Korean War want to go back in Greenville County. He wanted to be, if not in the suburbs that somewhere else somewhat out when we talk about suburbs. We talk about Levitt William Joseph Levin was a CV during two that's the construction brigade guys and maybe that would roll into Iwo Jima day after the battle was over when they're cleaning up they would build Hutson temporary housing for like 10,000 that moved over into homebuilder.

After World War II, millions of GIs came in so these builders using these post-World War II kind of mass production or prefab techniques found ways to buy. For example, Levittown series of potato farms. I don't remember the acreage for thousands of bye-bye the acreage sell by the foot you divide by the foot and you build small suburban lots these people into the idea was that you would drive into New York City Dr. in the Philadelphia driving to Chicago from your suburban development, Florida had the same type of boom after World War II, and it did have suburbs in Tampa and Orlando and Miami but Florida still did have a lot of people have a lot of land and there were limits to suburban workers, white-collar workers, you know that they can leave it to beaver. There were limits in Tampa and Miami, Florida didn't have a lot of industry or modern service type industry still very rural and very agricultural and builders were trying to figure out how to sell this land who can we bring retirees not rich Northerners trying to attract bus drivers and teachers brightening from the railroad former GIs that want to come to Florida on fixed incomes in live in these small generally. I say prefab that they were coming in trucks and dropping off the house and you build what you can off-site bring on or you built using assembly-line techniques to lay the slab than the crew lays another slab and another slide as far as you can see in the Verizon and the framers, and the first and on and on and on and you do that as quickly as possible as cheaply as to get these retirees in Florida to move down and so we see after World War II in the late 40s in Miami redeveloper brothers the Mackle brothers, Frank Robert Elliott Mackle southern Blue Bloods. Her father was a builder from Atlanta. He also built in Nashville in Birmingham. They came from money, but they were you I would say they had solid middle-class values father was self-made and I think their father knew boom and bust to it, served in World War II. One was a construction brigade CD so he also was similar to Levitt another brother got a deferment to build houses for the military so they knew how to build small houses and they knew the military on the new with the military needed in any with the average man her father had built for the average man, he built big things that he built tenements and housing apartment complexes in Atlanta to the Mackle's were the right guys in the right place at the right time and you're listening to Jason view author of the swamp travelers telling the story of the men who built Florida turn you from mostly an agricultural rural space into a place of refuge for seniors and retirees more of this remarkable story here on our Americans. We have been here the host about American stories everyday on the show were bringing inspiring stories from across this great country. Doors are big cities and small towns, but we truly can't do the show without if you love what you hear go to L American stories.com and click the donate button.

The little give a lot go to L American stories.com fall is here, which means it's time to refresh your closet and sex affect is the perfect place to do just that. Let your style take off the spa and chic faux leather jackets, cool, chunky boots, trendy totes and more.

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People who you want and it's got a lot of land and it has a government that is willing to shamelessly sell itself and sell it land at all times. Florida always had this this whole so we see after World War II in the late 40s in Miami redeveloper brothers Mackle brothers. They built a small sizable sometimes 1200 houses here 1300 houses.

Here they built Port Charlotte, Port St. Lucie, Port Malabar, Deltona, Florida, Spring Hill, Florida.

They were good at it and enjoyed having three and 45,000 acres in building essentially building cities they like. They found that it was fun for them. They really did. They talked about it as urban planner taking a virgin stretch of land naming all of the streets think they go communities. With so many streets they had trouble finding names for the ball to go through every northern state, every northern city every hour every color every month than a name for their kids and in it for the workers kids and on and on and on. Very good at using mass Madison Avenue very good and they were afraid to spend the money to get their name out to get their projects out there. Not just locally but national Mackle's began advertising Florida land in these communities.

They were building in life magazine, popular mechanics time in no Saturday evening Post statesman big money. Some of the radio commercials were the Mackle's favorite TV commercials and one time that the story as they were selling in the development of the East Coast was in Pompano Beach somewhere but not on the beach and they advertise that at night. I forget what it was they were getting letters thousands of letters love to come down that were in her 50s, and we still have 10 years or so. We still have a while to make it to Social Security or retirement on my husband is older than me, but I still need to work that kind of stuff. Is there anyway we can put land on layaway. So anyway, what can we do to get a piece of the four dream we know land will go up. What can we do now to be paying some money and they begin to brainstorm sitting around their shared office in my company and one of the brothers that he was Elliotts and some something. How about installments about we sell land installment plan that we set you can have this lot $10 down to $10 a month over seven or eight years and a lot of about 800 box and we hope in that way will sell the Florida dream, and in one of the slogans was for the price of cigarette that idea took hold think this is his. This is before all the force for modern Miami Beach in the way we see it today or or the sports team all the different reasons people go to Florida. People are so crazy for it that the story is the Mackle's received a bushel's full of cash.

Bushel's full of letters with coupons. From there I cut this coupon out.

Send us a check or money order or $10.10 one dollar bills and will reserve your lot today it was sight unseen.

Development, for example, in the middle of nowhere. 200,000 lots 50,000 acres of whatever they were building. They were divided and they would simply send a map of the project with gridiron streets, many of which had been built with an X like a treasure.

This is our law. So it seems so silly today and I always tell people if I came home and told my wife I bought a lot in Wyoming, sight unseen, she would probably punch me. Why would you do that, but in 1958. Imagine what that meant to a bus driver in Albany New York would put in 32 years just want to make a killing 6265. The wife is a secretary at a high school just trying to make it. Kids are out of the house that finally sell their home.

They paid off and they just want their golden years, though they probably never banner baby once or twice buying this piece of the Florida dream and installments was crazy, but it hit maybe they were ever going to come down. Maybe the home and ran it whatever they were doing. People began buying land sight unseen roads. These companies would sell land from kiosks Buster kiosk in some of the main train terminals in the Northeast, they would have grows as a picture in life magazine girls in bathing suits, not bikinis that is still the 50s with sand and playing volleyball flirting with guys GIs and businessmen getting off the train in the sciences, Port Charlotte $10 down and $10 to the Mackle's.

They were the first to do installment land sales but they were the first to do it on a mass mass scale and using Kennedy's Madison Avenue madmen, advertising and other people began realizing is not rocket science because the money if you have the ability to swing it you can buy large stretches of land in Florida.

It's hard to do today but in those days there were large stretches, large ranches, defunct orange groves. They use the plan you want to get rid of it sometimes and you pay taxes on it you can buy land in the 30s off the tax rolls for pennies an acre. But other people came buying 5000, 10,000 including two brothers from Baltimore were different. The Mackle's bluebloods. They were builders they were Rotarians Shriners that kind of stuff that you know they were there community guys who came from a family until they prided themselves as being members of the Mackle company built the Rosen's were mail-order guys. They were former carnival parkers kids in Baltimore. Step right up that kind of stuff and they were salesman and they would sell stuff on COD sell stuff in installments on layaway television sets of refrigerators, things like that brawler.

They were tough Jewish kids who want who had made their way in the world. By hook or crook and had built up a successful business in their business. That really made it was selling shampoo with Coke formula number nine. I remember formula and I don't know how or why, but this was shampoo that you bought in magazines that they slowly when they promised that it would rejuvenate your hair that it was healed lanolin from sheet. I read it was lanolin mixed with hotel shampoo in a bathtub which they would bottle up and sell for a dollar a bottle they sold other things, through magazines and through some of the first infomercials after TV would go off after the news in America.

Generally, 1130 news would go off TV would go off so you could buy 30 minutes and show whatever you wanted in the middle of the night they would press their sales teams that went around the eastern seaboard selling thing, sell, sell, sell, and if you weren't good you were fired. I think of these guys and straight out of Glengarry Glen Ross, the famous movie on land sales were Jacqueline and Al Pacino now called stage play in a very intense salesman. There are suckers everywhere and I'm paraphrasing what arose and said if you're not willing to take him and someone else will take up to get out get out here to not willing to take that sucker that buyer to scan that buyer. I'll find someone who will, as were survivors and so they came to Florida during the boom in the 50s and they heard there's money there was had a nose for what was going on and looked around and I thought, why are we selling shampoo at a dollar a bottle when we could be selling lots of thousand, and you been listening to Jason Buick, author of the swamp that was still one heck of a story about how Florida was built and sold. My goodness, what salesman, these guys were these two families. The Rosen's and the Mackle's Mackle short of the blueblood construction guys they been doing construction forever Rotary guys communitarians real members of the community and hear the Rosen's hustlers guys who sold mail-order catalogs and did almost anything for about more of this remarkable story.

The story of how Florida was sold and built here on our American story.

Fall is here, which means it's time to refresh your closet and sex affect is the perfect place to do just that.

Let your style take off the spell and chic faux leather jackets, cool, chunky boots, trendy totes and more. Update your wardrobe now designer names like Stella McCartney, Chloe Stewart Weitzman vents machine. Oh, and more so you can get everything you want at Saks fifth all the price you love discover all of the fall fashion essentials and up to 70% off@saks5.com write a sex offense store near you idiots been met and know from the stuff they don't want you to go podcast with some scary good news spooky season is officially here and we are terrifyingly excited to tell you that will be celebrating this Halloween with a special episode of our podcast.

This episode is packed with stories of supernatural dangers from all around the globe. And here's the cool parts available.

All Halloween week and I heartland on roadblocks. Join us starting Monday, October 24 at 7 PM Eastern all the way until Halloween night. This is a monster big deal you guys.

I heartland is powered by Intel.

So come explore the wonderful moments for yourself like the Intel house of wonder a magical place of wonder where you'll find upgrades items and emotes to help take your experience to the next level. Enjoy oceanfront views days into the upside down waterfall and swim with dolphins. How wonderful is that come get spooks this Halloween starting Monday, October 24 at 7 PM Eastern all the way until Halloween night find out more@iheartradio.com/I heartland that everyone is on O'Connor here and I'll be your host on chasing sleep, a brand-new podcast or mattress firm in iHeartRadio where will uncover the sleep secrets that help us achieve some of the world's most extraordinary feats as a health columnist I'm passionate about learning and sharing how we can live and sleep better. And when it comes to sleep. We can all enhance it to reach our own goals. That's why on chasing sleep will be chatting with people who live, work and perform some of the most incredible environments and see how they not only find quality sleep and unique circumstances, how they also use their sleep to perform at the highest level together will discover how these impressive individuals approach sleeping well from astronauts in space to wildlife photographers in the remote wilderness and learn to get high quality sleep in our own lives alongside the sleep experts at mattress firm join me as we dive in, because ultimately all benefit from sleeping well and when we do we can all find new ways to live well to listen to chasing sleep on the iHeartRadio app podcast where you get your podcast and turn our American stories and the final portion of our story on who sold and built Florida Jason Buick, author of the swamp. When we last left off the Mackle brothers and decided to start selling empty wants to nor the price of cigarette money concept was a hit and soon other people were interested in getting him on the game, including two former carnival barkers from Maryland Rosen brothers but to return to the store buyers story of them flying in one of the brothers is flying in a Cessna small plane looks down at redfish point on the clues Hattie River. He decides that the perfect place for my future community Cape Coral.

He had no knowledge of building never built anything he had no knowledge of how to sell land or how to start a land sales community but once he got the hang of it. He knew how to sell Jack Rosen handled the books later, Rosen handled the sales kind of the Mackle's he did with the Mackle's did with it.

National media, but then he took it to another level and cc the Rosen's have the first call centers in the US unions of thousands of sales that are randomly chosen out of the phone book in Gary Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Smith been cordially invited to a film and steak dinner at the Holiday Inn in South Bend this Saturday and you go and you get worked over rightly go door-to-door and once you been sold to itself, your family in Fort Myers. The Rosen's extended airport page feet and brought in real objects.

There were daily flights, one in the morning and one in the evening to New York City. They began bringing in television shows route 66 comes through Southwest Florida gives Bob Hope some sort of award like first annual Great American award in the second annual award right he brings in the American stamp club convention rings and you know if it had been beanie babies.

Then he would had the beanie baby convention in Cape Coral which he would then use this event chess tournaments in track and field.

Are you name it. He would bring it in and he would sell land through those they were just incredible salesman and they became bitter, bitter rivals to the back. Now what the Rosen's would do though they would skirt the line between reputable land dealers and fraudulent peddlers by law. If you're selling land installment selling lots is residential property in Florida in the 50s had to connect that lot to a paved road debris in millions upon dredge and fill got to dig ditches incredible amount of heavy work using big machinery with engineers to go with grading the land over miles get behind on that prices rise of inflation is off the hook that $10 down is that good a deal for so the Rosen's saw that they were on the clock sometime in the 60s and I forget the number now, but it was like $90 million. They were making big money think they almost bought the franchisor became the Miami Dolphins they had the best art collection in all of Florida which was the colder company. The Gulf American corporation. Of course you would go see the Gulf American collection in Miami and then when you walk in the door salesman would start selling you lots. They realize that were 90 million on the hook for spending money and were living freely and were screwed around. Eventually the robbers can meet the road we have to provide a promise for crime fraud. So, Leonard Rosen gets the idea.

Why don't we just go out into real swamp and sell people investment property putting the boarding quote investment property held in that in the fine print also openly say you were not promising you anywhere.

I promise you wrote here. This is not a homestead letter. Lawyers read this put all the contracts and will sell land for $250 $500 thousand dollars an acre as property and will let our salesman live through their this is a future suburb. This is a future city were in a letter salesman run with this let people think what they want make people think this is the future when it's not just unusable land. This is where the Rosen's a lot of money but also get into trouble with a tight start to destroy the image of installment land sales.

I tell people in Port Charlotte. Maybe it wasn't the best community.

No one ever got ripped off. They got what they paid for.

But when the Rosen's are selling to people who think they're uneducated they been worked over to salesman who almost like in a Darwinian process have been weeded out to be the best ones and oftentimes the best salesman were the most unscrupulous ones. They had the Midas touch in a golden tongue work over these people sell them land, they were to move to live. They take them on tours in the winter when there was no rain. You can go into Golden gate Estates Drive around oh someday you know Golden gate. The community enables back here. These are booming places you know in 20 years. This 5 acres and just purchase it be worth a lot of money which was patently untrue. So this is where the federal government starts to get involved in northern politicians are already angry there losing their own people to Florida. Detroit is paying out its pensions and is not coming back to Michigan ever. There are entirely salesman now their former residents are calling saying hey I got ripped off using telephones and using the mails to do it to the federal government starts to have hearings in the Rosen's come off as criminals, which is are you certainly doing unscrupulous things as opposed to the Mac Mac wasn't willing to testify reps and senators praise them in the Rosen are unwilling to testify and they come off as criminals.

The Rosen the macros they didn't like each other.

They knew each other was in the Rosen's belong to the Florida land sales board was a board that was totally made up by people that were supposed to oversee how the advertisements were pitched before you put in time magazine or in the New York Times to give you a check mark that you're not why they're really not to look over it at a small budget in all five members of the board were land developers themselves. The tension there is between the battles in the Rosen's overcontrol of this board. Because the Mackle want to clean it up enough to where they can do business in the Rosen's want. Few if any restrictions at all, so they can continue and they essentially go to war they go to war and they go to war in Tallahassee. Specifically, trying to get a governor in place that will strengthen the board and start to turn over evidence, the district attorney eventually the Mackle's, one out.

Claude Kirk was the first Florida Republican governor since Reconstruction, and Kirk wanted to say before the environment and that meant reading in these installment land sales developers were willing to build on islands. For example, eventually, the Rosen's or Penner run out of the business. The governor threatened to turn over his records from the land sales board to various district attorneys, and so they were facing possibly thousands of felonies and could go to prison so they sold out to another company in the early 1970s and moved away from Florida. One brother died and I think the other one moved to Las Vegas and began working in land development healthcare guys are forgotten.

Rosen's in the Mackle.

They are every bit as important Florida history is people like plan Flagler, the Mackle should be right up there.

Many built entire cities, entire cities from scratch.

They employed tens of thousands of people you know created an entire new landscaping for the state and brought probably hundreds if not thousands of companies of people to Florida and changed Florida's environment forever more. I would say no way of quantifying this but who sold Florida who sold Florida before Disney, before any of the terms and before that the proteins in an these come in a terrific job on the production storytelling by Monty Montgomery and a special thanks to Jason Gillick, author of the swamp was and what stories we heard the men who built and sold Florida and my goodness two very different approaches hustlers the Rosen's and the solid guys the Mackle's trying to do it right the battle on the board. I would've loved to been on those board story of how Florida was built and sold to American stores.

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