HIS CLOSE FRIENDS
Billy and Suzy Vessels
Bill and Sherry O'Dowd
Jim and Marie Vensel
Neil and Ann Bahr
Harvey and Liz Elwood
Herb and Emily Savage
Armer White
Jack Peeples
Morris Salomon
Jim and Eileen McCaughan
Bill Allen
Gene Sarazen
Ken Venturi
Peter Cats
Don and Kay McNeil
Ara Parseghian
Dr. Ed Lauth
and Dobbie Lauth
Ed and Peggy McHale
Dr. Handwerker
Fred Hooper
OTHER FRIENDS & ACQUAINTANCES
Father Hesburgh
Richard Nixon
Bill Rogers
Tony Lema
Bebe Reboso
Monsignor William Barry
Archbishop Coleman Carroll
Senator George Smathers
Billy was the 1952 Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma. Billy joined the Mackles shortly after leaving school.
He was friend to VIPs the world over and served as a special aid to Dad on matters of Corporate Relations.
He was always dedicated to the Mackles but his dedication rose to the level of heroism during the Barbara Mackle kidnapping.
Bill joined up in the early fifties and worked with Dad and his brothers until the late seventies. He was the first to join them in their new venture after they parted with General Development. He was also a long time golfing partner at Riviera Country Club.
Head of Engineering and Architecture at both General Development and Deltona. Personally designed all of the Mackle Brother's communities from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s. Jim was a perfectionist excelling in hobbies of archery and sailboat racing.
Neil was the architect of the franchise and branch office network and all of the other innovations that made the installment land sales business and the international sale of Florida real estate so successful. Neil started in the Cleveland office and left there in the late 1950s to head up the General Development Sales and Marketing department. He was with Dad longer than anyone. Dad thought so much of him that he often introduced Neil as "the fourth Mackle Brother" Neil was still actively involved with Deltona when we left the company in 1986 and remained a member of the Board of Directors for a number of years after our departure.
In the early 50's Harvey and another electrician were working for an electrical contractor who abandoned his contract with the Mackles and left Harvey and his fellow employees stranded. Dad put Harvey in business with a personal loan.
Harvey repaid them by the outstanding product and life-long friendship that he gave back for the rest of his life.
Harvey had a great sense of humor. He was especially fond of golf and fishing and enjoyed competing at both.
In the early 50's Harvey and another electrician were working for an electrical contractor who abandoned his contract with the Mackles and left Harvey and his fellow employees stranded. Dad put Harvey in business with a personal loan.
Harvey repaid them by the outstanding product and life-long friendship that he gave back for the rest of his life.
Harvey had a great sense of humor. He was especially fond of golf and fishing and enjoyed competing at both.
Real Estate Man extraordinaire, Armer was involved in many of the land purchases made by the Mackles over the years.
Jack was one of those rare individuals with outstanding talent and an extremely high energy level to go along with it. Jack was a successful Tallahassee attorney skilled in the law as well as State politics. His avocations included scuba diving and balloon racing.
It was said that Morris Salomon wrote or influenced most of the real estate law in the State of Florida over the first two thirds of the twentieth century. His involvement with the Mackles began in the late 30s or early 40s soon after Frank Mackle Senior brought his family to the state. Morris was not only an outstanding attorney but was one of the fiercest negotiators that I ever knew. His counsel and representation of the Mackle Brothers was a significant reason for their success over the years.
Jim was working for IDS handling mortgages for them in the early 1950s. IDS moved in other directions and their Florida office was closed or being phased out. The Mackles had been thinking about getting in to the mortgage business on their own. Instead Dad agreed to let Jim continue to handle them under McCaughan Mortgage.
Jim and Eileen became close friends and often vacationed - at the Key Biscayne Hotel and elsewhere - in the 1950s and 1960s especially.
Bill was the one long time bank relationship who remained a friend through good times and bad.
He was already a senior officer at First National Bank of Miami in the fall of 1969 when Barbara Mackle was kidnapped. Bill Allen or the book, 98 Hour Til Dawn, both tell the story better than I can. But it was Bill who was called on late in the day and was asked to lend the $500,000 ransom money to the Mackle Brothers on the spur of the moment and on their personal signature. For Bill that was the easy part. The hard part was organizing his staff to amass that amount of money in $20 bills and locate a suitcase of the size demanded and deliver it by dawn the next morning. As I understand it, Bill and his associates stayed all night to accomplish that task.
As the years went on and First National became Southeast Bank, Bill, advancing in his own career, still stayed close to the Mackle family and when the difficult times came after the permit denials, Bill personally intervened with our New York and Boston bankers to buy us time to work our problems out.
If only all bankers had the values and integrity that Bill possessed ...
Legendary golf professional.
Nearly as legendary golf professional.
Peter was financial advisor to Norman Winston when original Deltona venture was put together with C,K.P. Peter was a member of the Deltona Board for many years. Peter and Dad hit it off immediately and were close friends for the rest of their lives. When Dad was in New York, Peter was always a breakfast guest at the Plaza Hotel - especially when important bank or new venture business was being served!
Don was an early promoter of Deltona Lakes and brought his nationally syndicated radio show - the Breakfast Club - to Deltona on its first anniversary. A close friendship with Dad and Mom developed. They loved Marco Island and vacationed there for many years. Their son Tom, an attorney, was later a member of the Board and another son - Father Don - founder of Notre Dames Center for Social Concerns - were also close to the family.
Legendary Notre Dame football coach and owner of a second home on Marco Island. Frequently part of Frank Mackle Jr. - Gene Sarazen golf outings.
Doctor Lauth was one of the many friends who put their lives on hold to help during the Barbara Mackle kidnapping, attending to Robert and Jane though the ordeal. Ed and Dobbie were close family friends for many years.
Close friends for many years. Ed was the owner of McHale Funeral Homes and - as is often the case with funeral directors - had a marvelous sense of humor.
One of the early pioneers of Key Biscayne and a close friend and family physician.
Dad's first contacts with Fred Hooper came at the racetrack and at LaGorce Country Club in the late 40s.
Fred was a successful heavy equipment contractor during and after the war and a director of Florida Canada and General Development.
By the time that they were in business together the friendship had became even closer.
Fred had already lived a fascinating life.
One of my most cherished memories - growing up - were golf outings in the summer at Spring Lake Country Club with Dad and Fred Hooper and Eddie Blind the "starter" at Monmouth Park Race Track. Eddie Blind was another character and Eddie and Fred had some serious money riding on their summer long golf competition. Dad and I enjoyed watching their match and listening to their stories!
Fred Hooper was an incredible guy in his own right. He had worked his way up from ranch hand to school teacher to a heavy equipment man to horse owner. After a round of golf we would sit in the men's locker room and he would tell the stories of his life including:
The time he was bitten by a snake and his horse ran away and he took days walking back to civilization with his hand swollen by the snake bite
The story about the first horse he ever purchased who went on to win the 1945 Kentucky Derby
The fabled match race between his horse Olympia and the best Quarter Horse in the country who was owned b some Texans. He stood in the saddling ring at old Tropical Park waving cash in the air taking all wagers.......Olympia won ..... and he offered to give the Texans a rematch against an unknown filly in his barn wh ...Fred assured us ... had beaten Olympia at a quarter of a mile in morning trials..... The Texans had had enough and declined the second race.
His story - written up in Believe-It-Or-Not - of calling a hole-in-one.
and many more.
Mr. Hooper passed away in 2000 at the age of 102. He was active in horse racing to the end.
President of the University of Notre Dame
President of the United States
Secretary of State
Golf professional tragically killed in a plane crash.
South Florida Banker and close friend of Richard Nixon
Pastor of St. Patricks Catholic Church on Miami Beach, Monsignor Barry was a pioneer in the spread of the Catholic Faith in Florida from the early part of the twentieth century. I am not sure of the exact history but Barry University owes its existence to the his family as well.
First Bishop of the Diocese of South Florida which was established in the 1960s. Previously the entire state had been part of the Diocese of Jacksonville. Bishop - later Archbishop - Caroll was a resident of Sunset Island and quickly recruited Dad and Mom into the work of the Church - Dad through the Serra Club and Mom with St. Vincent DePaul among other things.
Long time U.S. Senator from the State of Florida and close friend of Jack Kennedy. Senator Smathers was a regular guest at the Key Biscayne Hotel, a close friend of Billy and Suzy Vessels and an occasional golfing partner at Indian Creek Country Club
Bills Vessels - Dad - Bill O'Dowd
Dad - Robert - Jim Vensel
Dad - Robert - Neil Bahr
Herb Savage, Jim Vensel and Wives