Casey Piket – South Florida’s Pioneer Legacy

MPNOD – Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade Historical Society

Saturday, April 11, 2026

The Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade were pleased to welcome avocational historian Casey Piket with a program on South Florida’s Pioneer Legacy — the origins and legacy of the Miami Pioneers and Natives Of Dade.

This talk explored the origins and legacy of the Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade, a pair of associations that later merged into one civic organization, formed to preserve the stories, achievements, and contributions of South Florida’s earliest residents, the men and women who transformed a wilderness settlement into one of the nation’s most remarkable cities.

As the city matured, many of these early settlers felt a responsibility to preserve the story of its founding. They recognized that their efforts had shaped a burgeoning city referred to as The Magic City, a phrase coined by Miami pioneer E. V. Blackman. Determined to ensure that these experiences were not forgotten, the pioneers established civic organizations dedicated to recording and honoring the city’s earliest history.

Watch the Zoom meeting on YouTube:

link to video: https://youtu.be/wEYLCj9jUFY

Enjoy the program? You can make a donation easily with one click.

Eliot Kleinberg – Prohibition in South Florida

MPNOD – Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade Historical Society

Saturday, March 14, 2026

The Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade welcomed Eliot Kleinberg, speaking on the real battle between gangsters and law enforcement during the mostly failed effort to enforce Prohibition in South Florida; it’s the theme of Eliot’s latest “Adventures of Nate Moran” novel, Hypocrite’s Row.

Prohibition once was the law in America. But In the South Florida of the 1920s, It was a joke. There was an open coastline just a few hours’ boat ride from the British docks in the Bahamas, and wealthy society swells and tourists would pay handsomely for a drink. The suppliers became folk heroes and the lawman the villain. Miami police detective Nate Moran’s colleague is murdered by a rumrunner who later walks on a technicality. Nate helps bring to justice a high-seas pirate and murderer in Fort Lauderdale and helps bust up a notorious gang of local moonshiners, rumrunners, and robbers. And he must solve a murder in a secret room of a Palm Beach hotel where the rich and entitled can drink: Hypocrite’s Row.

Florida native Eliot Kleinberg, creator of the Civil War historical novel “Peace River,” the “Adventures of Nate Moran” novels, and the original “Weird Florida” books, spent nearly a half-century reporting on local news and writing about Florida and Florida history. He produced two history columns and wrote fourteen books — and co-wrote or contributed to several more — all of them about Florida.

Son of longtime journalist Howard Kleinberg, he lectures regularly on Florida topics and runs a blog on better writing called “Something Went Horribly Wrong.” https://www.ekfla.com

Watch the Zoom meeting on YouTube:

link to video: https://youtu.be/wEYLCj9jUFY

Enjoy the program? You can make a donation easily with one click.

Coral Gables, The Moderns with Karelia Carbonell

MPNOD – Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade Historical Society

Saturday, February 14, 2026

The Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade historical society were pleased to welcome Karelia Martinez Carbonell, a historian and preservationist dedicated to protecting Coral Gables’ architectural legacy. As President of the Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables, she has played a crucial role in advocacy and awareness campaigns for heritage sites.

She recently co-authored a book on architecture, Coral Gables: The Moderns – Redefining The City Beautiful 1960-1980, shedding light on a lesser-known yet significant chapter of Coral Gables’ architectural evolution — celebrating the city’s embrace of Modernism in the mid-20th century.

Her co-author is Bruce Fitzgerald, an architectural enthusiast and writer passionate about documenting and promoting historical and modernist structures, who passed away in 2025.

Karelia discussed the book, the modern architecture and offered a briefing on the work of the Historical Preservation Association of Coral Gables.

Watch the Zoom meeting on YouTube:

link to video: https://youtu.be/wEYLCj9jUFY

Enjoy the program? You can make a donation easily with one click.

Diamond Images with Mark Diamond

MPNOD – Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade Historical Society

Saturday, January 10, 2026

The Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade historical society were pleased to welcome a well-known local photographer and 3D hologram specialist for a presentation on images of South Florida. Mark Diamond grew up in South Florida, engaged in photography at a very young age, which evolved into three dimensional imaging.

His massive collection of images spans from aerials and architectural studies to everyday scenes of life in South Florida — and optical peculiarities. Mark’s work is collected and on display publicly in over 15 countries with subjects ranging from vintage rock and roll icons to 3-Dimensional botanical studies.

Watch the Zoom meeting on YouTube:

link to video: https://youtu.be/YmSOxRxgzUc

Enjoy the program? You can make a donation easily with one click.

Larry Samuel – Making Miami

MPNOD – Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade Historical Society

Saturday, December 13, 2025

The Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade historical society were pleased to welcome Larry Samuel for a program about local South Florida History — Making Miami: The Historic Rise of the Magic City.

This book takes a deep dive into the development of Greater Miami from the 1920s right up to today, showing that it has been real estate that has consistently driven the growth of the “Magic City.”

A number of other important topics were addressed, including the expansion of a transportation and infrastructural network; tourism; threats to the natural ecosystem from residential, recreational, and industrial development; and issues of race, class, ethnicity, immigration, and nationality.

Watch the Zoom meeting on YouTube:

link to video: https://youtu.be/v9gck6FvdRI

Enjoy the program? You can make a donation easily with one click.

Christine Michaels, Indigenous Whispers

MPNOD – Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade Historical Society

Saturday, November 8, 2025

The Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade historical society were pleased to welcome Christine Michaels with a program on Indigenous Whispers, a gripping true tale of survival — a 13-year-old boy shipwrecked in the Florida Keys in the 1500s, rescued and raised by the Indigenous people of South Florida. Fast forward to 2023, where glimmering new developments in downtown Miami revealed something far older — 4,000-year-old relics buried beneath our feet.

These discoveries sparked a bold idea: Indigenous Whispers — a first-of-its-kind project in Florida blending ancient oral history with cutting-edge augmented reality to bring the voices of Miami’s early inhabitants back to life. Enjoy this captivating talk on reclaiming hidden history, reshaping how we think of Miami’s past in the future, and opportunities to become involved.

Christine Michaels is a cultural curator and heritage storyteller whose work has help shape Miami’s cultural landscape. She began with her acclaimed Little Havana Walking Tours, recognized among the top 10% of world attractions by TripAdvisor, establishing her as a trusted voice in cultural tourism.

Her passion for storytelling evolved into the Little Havana Shop, where she creatively bridges culture and fashion through sustainably crafted hats, believing that fabric is a universal language and every stitch tells a story of tradition.

This deep-rooted commitment to preserving and sharing cultural narratives naturally led Christine to co-found Indigenous Whispers, a mission-driven initiative dedicated to honoring the heritage of Miami’s indigenous inhabitants, including the Tequesta Indians.

Christine continues to weave together the diverse threads of Miami’s rich cultural tapestry, ensuring that ancient stories and traditions remain vibrant and relevant for future generations.

Watch the Zoom meeting on YouTube:

link to video: https://youtu.be/6i3T1YfsR2A

Enjoy the program? You can make a donation easily with one click.

Miami’s Great Hurricane – Karen Dustman
From Riches to Rubble: The Storm That Brutally Crushed Miami’s Early Boom and Almost Wrecked the City’s Future

MPNOD – Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade Historical Society

Saturday, October 11, 2025

The Miami Pioneers and Natives of Dade historical society were pleased to welcome Karen Dustman, author of Miami’s Great Hurricane — From Riches to Rubble: The Storm That Brutally Crushed Miami’s Early Boom and Almost Wrecked the City’s Future.

A century ago, an unexpected tempest roared ashore in Miami, leaving massive destruction in its wake. In this fascinating lecture and slide show, historian and author Karen Dustman provided a peek at bustling Miami in 1926 before — and immediately after — the terrifying Category 4 Great Hurricane pummeled the city. We heard “voices from the storm:” the words of real-life hurricane survivors describing what they experienced that horrifying, pivotal day — including the survival story of Karen’s father, a native of Arch Creek.

It’s a timely topic, with the Centennial of the historic hurricane approaching. And while the story includes plenty of loss and tragedy, it’s also an uplifting message of heroism, resilience and hope, as Miami showed her strength in the face of the epic disaster.

Watch the Zoom meeting on YouTube:

link to video: https://youtu.be/LHDYLTVFMHo

Enjoy the program? You can make a donation easily with one click.