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Florida's First African-American Resort Community |
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American Beach is located on Amelia Island, just north of Jacksonville, Florida located between two upscale sentinels -- the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island and Amelia Island Plantation.. Founded in 1935 by Abraham Lincoln Lewis, American Beach was created as a vacation haven for African-Americans, for whom access to other resorts was denied in the days before desegregation. In the early 1930s, A.L. Lewis, Florida's first black millionaire and president of Florida's first insurance company, the Afro-American Insurance Company in Jacksonville, bought 200 acres of prime Florida beachfront so his employees could enjoy the Florida shore.
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MaVynee Betsch known as "The Beach Lady", was born on January 13, 1935, in Jacksonville, Florida. The daughter of John Thomas Betsch, Sr. and Mary Frances Lewis Betsch, Ms. Betsch was strongly influenced by her great-grandfather A.L. Lewis whose legacy she protected and advanced for 30 years. A.L. Lewis, one of seven founders of the Afro-American Life Insurance Co., was a major businessman, civic leader and philanthropist. The insurance company that he founded, the Afro-American, was the first insurance company in the state of Florida, and he became Jacksonville, Florida's first black millionaire.
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American Beach Bid Whist Tournament |
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THE
“HISTORIC AMERICAN BEACH”
1ST ANNUAL BID WHIST
TOURNAMENT
WHEN
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2010
WHERE
AMERICAN BEACH COMMUNITY CENTER
1600 JULIA STREET
AMERICAN BEACH
1:30PM - 7:30PM
Registration Required For Play. Seating is Limited
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