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Bobby Culpepper
Palm Beach County’s first, native born commissioner, Jupiter Mayor,
historian, storyteller and protector of our beaches, parks and rivers.
County Commissioner
BEACHES AND PARKS
“Some of the public parks and beaches that exist in Palm Beach County today might not have been public had it not been for his efforts during the 1970s to promote access and acquire, through public bonds, beachfront property.”
Gayle Pallesen
Staff Writer
Palm Beach Post
DUBOIS PARK
Five separate parcels, four separate owners and one man, determined to make it all public owned parks. After years of raising the public funds and owner negotiations, we now have DuBois Park as one of the most beautiful parks in the county.
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CARLIN PARK
From only 18 acres in 1969, Bobby was able to purchase what is now over 120 acres of one of our most beautiful beachfront parks. Helped with the naming by Bessie Dubois and several Jupiter Clubs, it was officially named Carlin Park, after Captain Charles Carlin in 1969.
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MORIKAMI PARK
I drove west on Atlantic Ave in Delray just past the new Kings Point development to a dirt road and went south about half a mile to a group of large pine trees with an old tractor and a single wide house trailer about 50 feet long. Three metal fold-up chairs and a very old Japanese gentleman were waiting for us. I introduced myself and we started to visit.
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Mayor of Jupiter
LOXAHATCHEE PRESERVATION
Among many other achievements, Bobby saved the Loxahatchee multiple times. These efforts continued as a commissioner but primarily started as Mayor of Jupiter from 1966-1968.
CREATING BULKHEAD LINES
In the early 1960’s, developers and property owners were filling in the river by dumping fill to create more property for themselves. In 1966 Mayor Bobby had the river perimeter surveyed to stop encroachment and save our river.
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STOPPING SEWAGE DUMPING
In the 1960’s we had partially treated sewage being discharged into the river up by the Tequesta Dr Bridge. I continued work on this as a commissioner to create the Council of Governments, made up of officials from Jupiter, Tequesta, Jupiter Inlet Colony, Palm Beach County, and Martin County.
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JUNK CAR REMOVAL
When a car was no longer useful, the owner would take it to a wooded area, which was about 80% of greater Jupiter. The vacant land south of what is now the Jupiter Medical Center, about 300 acres of undeveloped area, had over 50 junk cars or car parts, which with the help of John Freeman and his big front loader we cleaned the area and many more acres around Jupiter.
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Jupiter Jaycees
PROJECTS, PROJECTS, PROJECTS.
In 1962, I joined the Jaycees and later became the president of the organization. The Jaycees are not affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce. It’s a separate organization. The Jaycees was created in 1915 to help young men develop their leadership abilities to help their communities. The year that I was president, we completed 52 community projects in one year with an average of 32 members.
INSTALL SEATBELTS
One of our first projects was seat belts. Cars came from the factory with no seat belts. Jaycees sold and installed them at my father-in-law Dick Stalls’ business, Stalls Standard Oil Station.
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CHRISTMAS PARADE
In the 1960s, the Jaycees sponsored the Jupiter Christmas Parade. The parade was always one of the biggest and best in the county with at least two other marching bands besides Jupiter High School
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STATE AWARD
At the end of my term as president, we had completed 52 community projects and we won 10 state awards. I think that’s more than any local chapter has ever done before, to my knowledge.
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As I write about what I was doing in the 1960’s and 1970’s to save beaches for the public and provide parks, like Okeeheelee, Morikami, Spanish River, Dubois, Riverbend and others, and all the parcels from the Florida Inland Navigation District, I know that some of you reading this in my book were not yet born.
But I said at the time when some questioned it, this was a time of “Now or Never”, which was our slogan for the $50 Million Bond issue in 1974 for Beaches and Parks. This was when I walked the beach from Boca Raton to Jupiter in three days. I said then it did not matter if it was not developed for 25 years (that was 50 years ago), but we were doing it for the future generations.
And now, in my 92nd year in Palm Beach County, as my Daddy would say, “I have been around and seen a lot.” I am very proud and happy with what I see today.
I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I have had living it and writing about it.
Bobby Culpepper