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Safety Harbor Spa founder dies at 90

By THERESA BLACKWELL
Published July 23, 2006

SAFETY HARBOR - Dr. Salem H. Baranoff, 90, founder of the Safety Harbor Spa, died at this home Tuesday (July 26, 1977). He lived at 209 N Bayshore Drive, Safety Harbor.

A native of Kiev, Russia, he came to the United States in 1904 and taught in a Hebrew school in New York City while he studied English.

Dr. Baranoff once told a reporter that he always wanted to be a doctor. But his mother wanted him to be a rabbi in the family tradition.

"I was a bit of a rebel," he told the reporter. He became a naturopath.

His first practice was in a suburb of New York City, and he was so successful with his plan for healthful living through diet and exercise that a patient suggested he open a health spa in the country.

He was able to purchase an old hotel in Spring Valley in upstate New York, and there he "began a new ideology - natural health."

While in New York, he broadcast one of the first radio programs on health foods. The broadcast was in Yiddish.

Again, at the suggestion of a patient, Dr. Baranoff began looking for another spa.

He came to Safety Harbor and purchased the building that is now the Safety Harbor Spa. At that time, it was a rehabilitation sanitarium for alcoholics.

He was able to purchase the five mineral springs on 18 acres for $190,000 in 1945.

Friends say the white-haired, soft-spoken man cared about people. A family friend described him as "the most generous, kind man. ... He will be greatly missed."

But Dr. Baranoff described himself as a man in love with his work.

"I like my work," he said, "and that is my blessing."

Dr. Baranoff was a member of Congregation Beth Shalom in Clearwater and was active in civic affairs in Safety Harbor.

He started several scholarships for young people, donated the land for the town's library and made the down payment and mortgage payments on the building for the American Legion of Safety Harbor.

July 11, 1978

Warning: 'Souvenir' bombs can be deadly

BELLEAIR BEACH - Souvenir-seekers who took washed-up World War II bombs from Belleair Beach Friday night could maim or kill themselves if they try to drill into the bomb heads to make decorations, police Chief Frank Anderson warned Monday.

The bombs are like others that have washed up in recent years from a World War II bombing practice range in the gulf near Belleair Beach, he said.

Demolition experts who dismantled previous discoveries found more than 2 pounds of explosives in each, he said.

Fifteen to 20 washed-up bombs were reported to police about 8:30 p.m. Friday, Anderson said. By the time bomb experts arrived from Cape Canaveral about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, only four were left. The police department has only one officer on duty, so it could not guard the pile of bombs, Anderson said.

"If somebody should drill into one of these - you could definitely ruin your whole day," Anderson said.

July 18, 1949

Another land sale set for Wednesday

CLEARWATER - County Clerk William Crawford said this morning that another in the series of Murphy land sales will be held at the front of the courthouse.

Most of the property is in the Oldsmar area and about 100 lots are to be sold. The property will be free and clear of back county and state taxes, but will be subject to city taxes. The land was taken over by the state in 1939 and is among the last properties of this type to be sold.

Crawford said he hopes to conclude the sales by Oct. 1. The auctions have been held at intervals over a period of years. Murphy land is property that the state took over when the taxes were not kept up. Speculators have bought a considerable portion of this type of property, especially within city and town limits.

HELP THEM OUT

Largo

AIDS PARTNERSHIP INC. 6085 Park Blvd., needs buddies to work one-on-one with clients (training provided), volunteers to work in office and food pantry. personal hygiene products and nonperishable foods. Call 541-6638.

BIG BROTHERS/BIG SISTERS OF PINELLAS COUNTY 918 West Bay Drive, provides adult volunteers to children from single-parent families. A new site-based program allows time-restricted volunteer participants to help in- and after-school activities. Needed: volunteers, especially men, and corporate sponsors for activities for children who are on the waiting list. Call 518-8860.

HOSPICE OF THE FLORIDA SUNCOAST 5771 Roosevelt Blvd., , provides end-of-life services to clients and their families. Needed: volunteers for thrift shop, office and patient and family support, items for resale at thrift stores and cash donations. Call 586-4432.

MISSING CHILDREN AWARENESS FOUNDATION INC. 13094 95th St. N. Needed: donations of school supplies, new toys for the annual Christmas party and cash donations for the Juvenile Photo-ID and Fingerprint Program. Call 585-5360.

RESOURCE CENTER FOR WOMEN 1301 Seminole Blvd., Suite 150, helps women and their families achieve emotional and economic stability and self-sufficiency. Needed: volunteers, pocket calendars, notepads, phone cards, staplers and stamps. Call (727) 586-1110.

STEPPING STONE 158 Ridge Road NW, provides transitional housing for families. Needed: volunteers to sort donations and to work with children, bus tokens, bedding, towels, kitchenware, paper products and cleaning supplies, medium and large diapers, dish soap, detergent, mops, brooms, shampoo, conditioner, coffee, tea, lemonade, cereal, pasta and pillows. Call 581-7882.

Clearwater

CLEARWATER FREE CLINIC 707 N Ft. Harrison Ave. This agency provides free health care to those who have no insurance and who do not qualify for government aid. The clinic treats nearly 7,000 children and adults yearly. Needed: cash, medical volunteers (physicians, nurses and pharmacists), non-medical (clerks and transporters), paper goods and office supplies. Call 447-3041.

COMMUNITY PRIDE CHILD CARE INC. 1235 Holt Ave. Needed: baby linens, baby toys and supplies, disposable diapers (medium and large sizes), baby wipes, double stroller, children's craft and school supplies, cash, children's clothing, children's playground toys, children's books, adult rocking chair, tricycles, tape recorders, household items, cleaning supplies, paper products, fax machine, volunteers to rock babies, sew bibs and cot sheets and to read to older children. Call 443-0958.

EVERYBODY'S TABERNACLE/HOMELESS EMERGENCY PROJECT 1120 N Betty Lane, provides shelter, food baskets, transportation and dinners for the poor. Needed: paper goods of all varieties, canned foods, gift certificates for children's shoes and clothes, diapers, grocery store gift certificates, working vacuum cleaners, working bicycles and bicycle locks, furniture, linens, kitchen supplies, blankets, bus passes, personal hygiene items, a computer (Windows compatible), educational software and toys, art supplies and money. Also needed: volunteer carpenters, thrift shop volunteers, bookkeepers/secretaries and tutors for high-school level students. Call 442-9041.

GRACE HOUSE (Religious Community Services) 1552 S Myrtle Ave., provides emergency shelter for families with children. Needed: volunteers to sort donations, to shop for groceries and to work with children, disposable diapers, sheets, blankets, feminine hygiene products, bus tokens, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, cleaning supplies, sugar, flour, cooking oil, children's snacks, juices, coffee, tea, lemonade, cereal, pasta, pillows, bed frames and mattresses and pots and pans. Call 584-3528.

[Last modified July 22, 2006, 20:31:36]