I’ve cobbled together several reasons why our little town of Miami Springs is so special. (Note to reader) Please don’t send this article to anyone outside the zip code unless it’s to your children who have inexplicably moved away, now have realized their mistake and wish to move back. Hopefully not in your house. Think about it kids, we’d love to have you back, but not in your old room, it’s a reading den/exercise room now.

Curtiss Parkway Bike Path Miami Springs, Florida
Curtiss Parkway Bike Path Miami Springs, Florida

A walk-able neighborhood is a rare treat, and my neighborhood has a little bit of everything that makes America great. It is a microcosm of humanity. Adding the diverse languages, foods, relationships and backgrounds which we have developed into, makes for a delicious human stew. If you take white bread America, toast it, add hot sauce and wash it down with a Cafecito, you’ve come home to Miami, but Miami is not Miami Springs. You may need to tune airline noise out, along with the occasional pocket rocket whine on Okeechobee. These distractions are easily shunted off as minor glitches.

Miami Springs Circle Gazebo

It feels as if a microcosm of the entire world has settled in our triangle. The ways we weave all of this into a thriving, loving environment in our neighborhood are many. We wave to all cars passing through and they wave back. Walking the dog, we see other neighbor’s dogs and stop to chat. We wave at city workers, and they wave back. On my block we exchange special dishes (Thanks Danny and Karla) when cooking. I trundled out the old Santa suit and on Christmas morning we walked the hood stopping into any home with or without children. It was a nice way to cement relationships and meet new residents. Those pictures will be treasures. In the last few months, we celebrated a 100-year-old’s birthday, a backyard wedding, graduations and celebrations for any number of occasions. New people to the neighborhood truly enjoy our togetherness and the family friendly activities the city promotes.

Big Mangos in Miami Springs backyard
Big Mangos in Miami Springs backyard

What’s better than having a mango tree in your backyard? A neighbor who has one! Being in a tropical climate we enjoy sharing when neighborhood trees offer their mangoes, star fruit, (carambola) loquat, lychee and avocados. Every fruit season fills a bowl or two of goodness on our table.

Entrance to the Curtiss Mansion Historic Photo
Entrance to the Curtiss Mansion

And then there’s our astounding unique history. Pay a visit to the expanded and noteworthy Miami Springs Historical Society building at the foot of Stafford Park on East Drive. Call for a free tour at 305 884-4406. Our historical record is truly outsized for a small town, but we’ve got it!

Glenn Curtiss the Fastest Man on Earth on his V-8 Motorcycle

Our story is spectacular and a deep dive into America’s aviation history through our founder, Glenn Curtiss. On the ground, he was the fastest man on Earth for 23 years having added an 8-cylinder power plant to a heavy-duty bicycle and in January of 1907 sped 136 MPH on the packed sands of Ormand Beach, Fl. The motorcycle is now in the Smithsonian Institute Museum in Washington D.C. On July 4, 1908, he flew 5,080 ft in his plane the ‘June Bug’ to win the Scientific American Trophy and its $2,500 prize. It was considered to be the first pre-announced public flight of a heavier-than-air flying machine in America. (Wright Brothers were too secretive) He pioneered airplane production in the U.S. and received pilot’s license number 1 issued by the Aero Club of America. Curtiss became known as the Father of Naval Aviation by teaching the Navy to fly and pioneered taking off (and landing) on ships. Some of his hundreds of inventions and patents are still utilized today like the tail hook and ailerons on the wings. Along with Cattleman James Bright, he developed Hialeah and Opa-Locka.  Call for a 1hour Saturday morning tour of the Glenn Curtiss Mansion or take a virtual one at: https://curtissmansion.com/virtual-tour/

Curtiss Mansion and Gardens
Curtiss Mansion and Gardens

His accomplishments are so vast, they cannot fit this page so Google Glenn Curtiss for more of your town’s history.

CURTISS MANSION 1927

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”  A new year is a great place to begin. Happy New Year my friend.

Glenn Curtiss seated in aircraft

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