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City Honors Activist's Achievements

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By JOYCE McKENZIE The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2007

Updated: 09/10/2007 08:33 pm

TEMPLE TERRACE - Former Mayor George Fee calls him 'a great guy with a terrific sense of humor.'

His ex-campaign finance director, Jerry Schine, characterizes his old pal as 'a thinker and a doer.'

Margie Schine portrays her longtime friend as a person who 'when he saw a need would take care of it, but not for the publicity.'
Temple Terrace Mayor Joe Affronti credits the gentleman with helping 'to make Temple Terrace what it is today.'

Those accolades are for 93-year-old Ray Knopke, who last week was recognized by the Temple Terrace City Council for his many years of service to the city.

In 1946, Knopke, a native of Glenn Ellyn, Ill., moved with his family to Temple Terrace.

'It's hard for most people today to conceive what Temple Terrace looked like back then,' he said.

The street running from Nebraska Avenue to U.S. 301, then labeled Temple Terrace Highway throughout its length, was a narrow, two-lane road. It has since been widened, and portions of one of the city's busiest thoroughfares have been renamed Busch Boulevard and Bullard Parkway, in recognition of the nearby amusement park and in honor of former County Commissioner Frank Bullard.

There was no bridge over the Hillsborough River at 56th Street, then a dirt road, and the bridge crossing the river on Temple Terrace Highway was a weathered wooden structure.

'At the time, there were no new houses here, and Temple Terrace had some debt,' said Knopke, who noted there were numerous vacant lots that couldn't be developed due to the many Great Depression-related bankruptcies.

According to Jerry Schine - who with his wife, Margie, moved to Temple Terrace in the mid-'50s and has researched the history of the city before he arrived - it was a period in which there was just one police officer, who provided his own transportation; the city lacked its own fire department; and all its students attended a one-room schoolhouse in what is now the Woodmont Clubhouse.

Knopke, who also founded Garden of Memories Cemetery, was determined to see improvements in the community he had grown to love for its beauty, its people and its potential for growth.

He was elected to the city council in 1948, when it consisted of just three members who, among themselves, selected a mayor and vice mayor, a position Knopke held during his first two-year term and three subsequent terms.

'We were always in dire need of money, so we were grateful to the county commissioners who were able to provide funding for paving the roads out here,' Knopke said.

Jerry Schine recalled when Knopke personally financed a community newsletter and on one occasion also paid for a separate citywide mailing. It encouraged residents who smoked to buy their cigarettes in Temple Terrace so the city would benefit from a portion of the tax revenue.
Schine also learned that during the early 1950s the city hosted a fundraising fish fry to help alleviate some of its debt.

'Ray contracted with a fish company for the fish, but when it turned out there were not enough ticket sales to cover the expenses, Ray ended up taking a loss from the fish he had bought,' Schine said. 'The way I have heard the story, the trees on the golf course benefited from the surplus fish.'

It also was a time when Knopke, in conjunction with other city council members, voted to designate a parcel of city-owned property on Flotto Avenue for Temple Terrace Elementary School.

During his tenure on the council, Knopke was instrumental in establishing a plan that led to such measures as annexing property outside the city limits, attaining a post office within city limits and revising the city's charter to increase the number of council members to five. They were also to have staggered terms, and their length of service was increased to four years.

Those intentions and more came to fruition from 1956 through 1962, when Knopke ran unopposed and served three two-year terms as mayor. The 1956 election was the first in which the mayor was elected directly by residents.

'I always thought Ray was a very good mayor,' said longtime resident Ann Simmons. 'During his time, the city grew by leaps and bounds.'

In the 1960 census, Schine said, Temple Terrace was recognized as the second-fastest-growing city in the country. Its 1960 population was 3,689, compared with 423 in 1950.

Knopke has some vivid memories of his 14 years in Temple Terrace city government and more than 60 years as a resident. One was a time when the Hillsborough River overflowed its banks, a problem that led to the construction of the Tampa Bypass Canal; occasions when as mayor he served as judge in local cases; and when, as mayor, he was afforded the honor of taking the first drink of water from the city's newly completed water treatment plant.

A Democrat, Knopke also served 12 years in the state Legislature: six years as a representative and six as a senator.

'He was the first citizen of Temple Terrace to serve in this capacity,' Schine said. 'He always went to battle for our city.'

Knopke lives with Leonor, his wife of 25 years, and plays golf once a week. He's the father of four: three sons and a daughter.

He said he has no unfinished business and no regrets in the way he has lived his long life.

'I think I'm very fortunate in that there is nothing higher that I wish to have attained,' Knopke said.

Reporter Joyce McKenzie can be reached at (813) 865-4849 or jmckenzie@tampatrib.com.

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