South Florida historian Cesar Becerra credits one of Miami's most historic figures — Mary Brickell — and her great granddaughter with pushing his pursuit of his latest book project.
Brickell was a key figure in the early development of Miami, along with her husband William. She helped establish the city's first post office and bank, along with other vital infrastructure. She's now referred to as Miami's other "mother," along with Julia Tuttle.
While researching Brickell’s uncredited role in founding the city of Miami for his 2021 book Orange Blossom 2.0, Becerra befriended none other than Brickell’s great granddaughter — Beatrice Brickell.
“She grew up being told the story of the ‘Kaimiloa’ over and over again, a very romantic story,” said Becerra. “She always vouched to one day have the story told.”
The story of the SS Kaimiloa involves the transformation of a 230 foot long and 130 foot tall four-masted schooner, that at the time — 1924 — revolutionized sailing with all its impressive technology. Some of that technology would send the first wireless clear signal from across the Pacific.
The story also involves Medford Ross Kellum.
Indiana-born and Florida-raised, Kelllum grew up knowing the Brickell family as a young boy, and was almost like a brother to Beatrice Brickell’s grandmother, who she called “Fannie.”
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Years before he got his hands on his dream ship, Kellum would manage the docks for Henry Flagler and eventually work in government for the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County. But Becerra’s new book, The Kaimiloa Project, uncovers Kellum’s much more adventurous side.
One hundred years ago, on Oct. 16, 1924, Kellum embarked on a months-long journey to the Pacific South Seas with his prized possession: The Kaimiloa.
With his friend Beatrice Brickell’s blessing and insistence, Becerra has spent the last two years deep in research, writing the beginning of that voyage, so that he can get it out in time for its centennial.
The research has brought him to places like Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii — places where the Kaimiloa once sailed in its waters.
“There's something about anniversaries with me, I like to be in those very places,” said Becerra.
And although Becerra’s research is finally published, he said he isn’t done. He’s hoping to uncover more of Kellum’s early years and later years — before and after the Kaimiloa adventure.
WLRN recently spoke with Becerra, ahead of his latest book being featured at the 2024 Miami Book Fair.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
WLRN: Can you talk about who Medford Kellum was and his deep ties to not just Miami, but South Florida?
BECERRA: [Kellum] got his start in the 1880s, coming down to South Florida, particularly Key West, after the loss of both his parents. By 10 years old, he's in Key West, living with his uncle. And it's in Key West where he was romanced by these old, incredible ships. That was the moment he said, one day I'm going to get on one of these old ships and have a massive, incredible adventure somewhere.
And then he moves to Miami at the perfect time. He's in his early 20s and Miami, as you know, is the Magic City for a reason. There's a moment, if you're there, you can't help but just go up through the stratosphere. And he does so. He becomes an early city clerk. He becomes a two time Dade County commissioner and all because really he starts managing the docks at the Royal Palm Hotel for Henry Flagler, and he begins a small business charter fishing and he grows that business, eventually, to a beautiful ship called the Lady Fish, where you can't possibly hire Med Kellum to fish you for an hour or two or three anymore, like in his early days. He will only fish you if you want to go a week or two into the Caribbean with full gorgeous five course meals, et cetera.
WLRN: In your book, you describe Medford as a “retired capitalist” when he began his journey to the South Seas with the Kaimiloa. Can you talk about Med at this time in his life?
BECERRA: When they say retired capitalist, that's the moniker that is given to him later in life when people like reporters are having to kind of define in a comma who he is, but really, in all honesty, even though he was a businessman and used his connections, both and his marriages to basically grow his wealth in real estate in charter fishing, et cetera. I wouldn't call him an industrialist or a capitalist on a big scale, like a Henry Flagler, et cetera.
But he is looped into that because his second wife is Elizabeth Storm Louder Kellum, who's a daughter of a brother cousin to Andrew Carnegie, but it is her wealth that allows Med to go and reap this dream that he had years later.
And they moved immediately over to Fort Myers, and they have a beautiful estate there. And only two years later, they moved into Georgia, and two years after that, they move over to Hawaii, San Francisco. But in Hawaii, they have a home as well. And it's in that journey between San Francisco and Hawaii that he sees this old ship in Oakland, California, laid up, they call it.
That means basically on death's door. So the Kaimiloa was originally The Luzon, but it's in 1924 where he purchases and transforms it. And to his credit, it's a massive restoration project and a recycling project. He had enough wealth to say, ‘look, I want a new yacht and I want all the trimmings,’ but he would've had to wait two or three or four years to have that yacht built. And I think Med Kellum was feeling that he wanted to go on this adventure quickly. Plus he also loved the lines of these old ships and it really comes out looking just gorgeous. It was his pride and joy.
"I hope that reading this book shows that you can take a dream and then go to the ends of the earth with it."
WLRN: Can you also talk about some of the ways Medford revolutionized sailing with the Kaimiloa?
BECERRA: He is credited with the first successful clear signal across any ocean in world history, in this case the Pacific, but that's a big deal. Big time thing because we can say this is the beginning of what we take for granted today. Even cell phone technology, the ability to send a wireless signal, not ship to ship or island to island.
And in the old days before the Kaimiloa sent that first signal in 1924, you would wait 4 to 6, 9 hours to get a signal across. Because you'd have to kind of relay it. But in this case, it was a clear signal. Even the New York Times covered that moment. So we now have three verified sources that the Kaimiloa was the first ship to do that. And just the first time a signal was sent that far. So it's also the era where you're leaving what we call long wave spark technology into short wave.
WLRN: Can you talk about some of the crew and cast on the Kaimiloa?
BECERRA: Initially, it actually was supposed to be a fishing trip, a fishing excursion. [Laughing] And I'm laughing because some of the drama and some of the juicy bits that happened through some of the diaries that we capture are because there is a chafing very soon after they leave Hawaii with the six scientists that find themselves on the ship.
We do know initially there was going to be one scientist and then a week later. in the paper. ‘Oh, there's two.’ And then all of a sudden pretty please with sugar on top, there's three. And in the end, there's six scientists on board the ship. And that ends up being a problem because soon thereafter they leave, it's clear that the scientists have one concept of what this journey is going to be and Mr. Kellum has another.
So we do have scientists, everything from ethnologists like the great late Kenneth Emery, who at the time was only in his early twenties. He would become later in life, the pre eminent ethnologists, archeologists, et cetera, of the Pacific. And by the way, scientifically, with a lab like there was no other before this. They had on board, I think, 50 feet long, eight feet tall, like 30 feet wide, an incredible lab that Kellum had bankrolled with the ability, not only to shoot still photographs and record on audio on cylinders, but actually shoot moving film. And here's the kicker: produce it and process it on site.
WLRN: What were some of the events, experiences, or discoveries that stood out to you, or that you found the most interesting?
BECERRA: So, the Kaimiloa left San Francisco on October 16th, got to Honolulu on Halloween in 1924. And then on November 9th, leaves Honolulu, went to Hilo, and then from Hilo, it followed what we call the Line Islands, all the way down to Tahiti.
Along the way, they stopped at islands such as Fanning Island, Christmas Island, Malden and Penryn Island. And one of the things they were watching, other than the scientists collecting, etc., is they were actually observing cultures living in a very, very normal way as they've lived for hundreds of years involved in what we call the copra industry.
And that just is a fancy word meaning anything around the coconut, basically from the husk to the meat to the water, et cetera. They were watching populations shimmying up trees. Literally climbing these trees, grabbing these coconuts, et cetera.
WLRN: The Kaimiloa went on a second voyage in 1924, but whatever happened to the Kaimiloa after that? Did the Kaimiloa ever dock in South Florida?
That is the $64,000 question. Med Kellum had actually given us several interviews, and in a San Francisco newspaper, it was his dream to bring the ship to Miami.
He envisioned a global journey. He envisioned being gone five to ten years, even. He actually said so. But he never got to bring that ship to Miami. We always suspected, because of the crumb trail we followed, that the ship sank in Hong Kong Harbor in 1937. That's kind of been the sound bite that we found in a few places, but every document we find is not a document you can really sell the farm on, you know, it's, it's kind of like ‘I jotted here to note it here, there.’
And we found out through an astute researcher named Stefan Schoenfeld who found out actually through a live feed at the University of Washington, a folder of this gentleman who was really into ships. We found out that the Kaimiloa had changed its name late in life. It was owned by a British fellow.
And every time he had a new ship, he would put the name Shenandoah on it. The Kaimiloa turns out to be the Shenandoah 3. And when we find that crumb, then we find it finally in Hong Kong Harbour in 1937, after the storm. So she didn't sink in the harbor, she was already being taken apart.
WLRN: What are you hoping people take away from this book?
Med Kellum was a very inspiring guy that really dreamed big, and we need that still today. We can get caught up in going on the regular path of life, but I hope that reading this book shows that you can take a dream and then go to the ends of the earth with it.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Miami Book Fair’s ‘Miami Histories & Everyday Heroes – Nonfiction,’ featuring Cesar Becerra.
WHEN: Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024 @ 11:00 am
WHERE: Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, MAGIC Screening Room (Building 8, 1st Floor), 300 NE Second Ave., Miami, FL 33132
