Q. What is this instrument made of?

(Credit: Historical Museum of Southern Florida)

The instrument depicted above is called a “pan” in Trinidad, the country in which they were invented. There are several types of pans, each with a specific range of notes, in a standard band. For example, the tenor or lead pan’s surface is divided into approximately 30 notes!

Q. First streets in Miami were made of a material which caused them to be blinding white by day and like snow on a moonlit night. What was the material?*

A. Oolitic limestone or limestone

As thousands of people moved to Miami in the early 1900s, the need for more land quickly became apparent. This also meant more roads would come into existence. These roads were unique because of the material used to create them.

 

Street Scene (Miami, Fla.), [ca. 1900.]. Credit:Historical Museum of Southern Florida.

Q. Fill in the blank: The freezes of December, ________, and February, _______, brought to light the problem of cold protection and opened South Florida to the citrus industry.

A. 1894, 1895

Henry Flagler had already been corresponding with Julia Tuttle when a terrible cold front took hold of Florida. Ms. Tuttle had been asking for the extension of his railroad south to a small community called Fort Dallas.  These letters were not as convincing as the case of oranges and orange flowers she sent to show him how Miami’s climate was different from the rest of Florida.

(By streamliner through Florida [ca. 1940.] Credit: Historical Museum of Southern Florida.)

Q: Who was the first African-American woman to be elected to the Miami City Commission?*

(First African American city commissioner [ca. 1965?]. Credit: Historical Museum of Southern Florida.(

 

A: M. Athalie Range

In the 1970’s this African American woman would go on to be appointed as Secretary of the Department of Community Affairs. This made her the first woman to lead a state agency, as well as the first African American in to be in such a position in over 100 years. The roots of her good work go back to Miami Dade County.

Q. During the Spanish American War, Miamians thought Spaniards would ____________.

In February of 1898 the battleship “Maine” was blown up the harbor of Havana. The insurrection in Cuba put the young city of Miami on high-alert. Roughly 7000 men, all volunteers, were stationed in ‘Camp Miami’ and were prepared to fight.

 

(Tents during the Spanish American War, Florida. [ca. 1910.] Credit: Historical Museum of Southern Florida. )