{"id":18872,"date":"2019-02-05T16:55:56","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T23:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/somimag.com\/?p=18872"},"modified":"2019-02-05T18:32:20","modified_gmt":"2019-02-06T01:32:20","slug":"giving-the-doc-thomas-house-its-historic-due","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/somimag.com\/giving-the-doc-thomas-house-its-historic-due\/","title":{"rendered":"GIVING THE DOC THOMAS HOUSE ITS HISTORIC DUE"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/a>
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Doc Thomas House. Circa Early 1930s<\/p><\/div>\n

By Dan Jones
\nwith Ana Lima & Elizabeth Smith<\/b><\/p>\n

If you live in South Miami, Coral Gables or High Pines, it\u2019s quite likely that you\u2019ve spotted the little wood cottage at 5530 Sunset Drive. Most folks I encounter tell me they have driven by it for years, even decades, and always wondered about its origins. I was once among the uninitiated, too. Now, I am privileged to serve as the historian for the 1932 Florida wood-frame vernacular \u201cDoc Thomas House. \u201d<\/p>\n

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Doc Thomas<\/p><\/div>\n

As a history buff, High Pines resident and retired educator, I jumped at the chance to research Tropical Audubon Society (TAS) and the house it has owned since 1976 when recruited by its board. After digging in with TAS more than 5 years ago, I have unearthed many fascinating facts about the society, its benefactor, Arden Hayes \u201cDoc\u201d Thomas (1887-1975), and about the distinctive home he gifted the organization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A chapter of National Audubon Society and a nonprofit 501c3, TAS\u2019s local roots date back more than 100 years. Its mission of protecting wildlife, habitat, water resources and quality of life shapes its current conservation work: helping propel Everglades restoration and protection of Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay and the Biscayne Aquifer no less! Yet it was Doc Thomas\u2019s gift of the house and grounds that has added a unique dimension to the society\u2019s South Florida role.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, in addition to its ornithological and conservation concerns, TAS also became a historic preservation organization upon receipt of the Doc Thomas House.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is nothing like an actual visit to truly appreciate the house\u2019s character and history, so I intend to pique your curiosity in the story that follows, and welcome you in person for a guided tour at 1 p. m. or 3 p. m on the first Saturday of any month through June.<\/p>\n

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Remember the O. K. Feed Store?
\n<\/b>Roundabout 1935, Doc Thomas moved his drug and feed stores from\u00a0Sunset Drive up to South Dixie Highway into a larger space. He closed\u00a0the pharmacy in the mid-1950s and expanded the O. K. Feed Store,\u00a0where it operated until 2000. Its good name was subsequently sold\u00a0and O. K. Feed Store now operates in Homestead. Its website states:\u00a0\u201cOK Feed has been a family owned business for over 90 years! We\u00a0were established in 1926.\u201d Doc left the feed store to his employees, in\u00a0particular J. Frank Tipton, Sr., whose descendants still own the South\u00a0Dixie Highway building now occupied by Papa John\u2019s Pizza and Crown\u00a0Wine & Spirits.<\/p>\n

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