Arthur E. Dycke, co-author of Palm Coast’s original charter, co-founder of the Palm Coast Historical Society, the 2018 Palm Coast Citizen of the Year, a past official city historian, the author of two books, a man whose self-effacing humility masked deep knowledge and fierce convictions, and a Palm Coast champion who’d made the city his home for the past 33 years, died on Monday. He was 92.
“When people talk about the history of Palm Coast the name of Art Dycke is always mentioned, or his work or book is quoted. It’s a legacy,” Elaine Studnicki, who, along with Margaret Davie, had been previous city historians, said on Facebook, announcing Dycke’s passing. “His work will live on,” she continued. “He made sure that our city history survived and, more importantly, the accomplishments and work of individuals who built this city were acknowledged and celebrated. He was a kind gentleman, always.”
“I don’t think I will ever remember Art without also thinking of Elaine Studnicki,” former Council member Bob Cuff, said. “Together they made a wonderful team to get Palm Coast residents interested in the history of their new born city.”
Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri noted his passing at the end of today’s City Council meeting. “He helped to preserve our history in a big way through his creation of the Palm Coast Historical Society,” Pontieri said. “His contributions to the city cannot be overstated. Really did a lot to help preserve the history of our city and our community, and really appreciative for the contributions that he made, so just want to send out thoughts and prayers to his family and friends, and really I just hope everybody maybe takes a moment to just send out some comforting prayers to that family.”
Dycke and his wife Louise had three daughters.
Arthur Dycke was born in the Bronx, New York, on Feb. 7, 1934, the day Manhattan was in the grips of riots by hundreds of striking taxicab drivers, embarrassing Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, and 64 days after Prohibition was repealed, as the historian in him might have noted with a wink. Dycke attended Public School 3, then Cardinal Hayes High School, a Catholic school for boys, before earning a bachelor of arts in history and elementary education at Hunter College and a master’s in social studies education at City University of New York when CUNY was a powerhouse of intellectuals (alumni from around Dycke’s era there include Henry Kissinger, Henry Miller, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Faith Ringgold and Marvin Kalb.)
He got a professional diploma as teacher of history from Columbia University Teachers College, teaching grades 5-12 for 38 years in the Ardsley, New York school system in the Hudson Valley (not far from where Milissa Holland, the former Palm Coast mayor and county commissioner, grew up). He also taught social science courses for 28 years at Westchester Community College.
He retired to Palm Coast in 1993, six years before the city’s incorporation, and was an adjunct faculty member at the Palm Coast campus of Daytona State College–then known as Daytona Beach Community College–in history, economics, and government.
He worked with Marty McLean, Jim Canfield, and Jim Holland of the Palm Coast Home Rule Coalition in drafting the city’s charter and was appointed, with Margaret Davie, city historian in April 2000. He served on the Flagler County Centennial Committee in 2016 and 2017.
“A beloved community figure, author, preservationist, and passionate historian, Dycke dedicated countless hours to documenting and preserving the early history of Palm Coast, ensuring that the city’s stories, photographs, milestones, and memories would never be forgotten,” a city press release issued today states.
For many years Dycke published, with Kay Stafford, The Palm Coast Historian, some of whose several dozen issues ran to 22 pages, and that is likely the richest trove of the documented early history of Palm Coast.
The Spring/Summer 2013 issue, for example, included a lengthy history of Palm Coast, which Dycke wrote and called “A Brief History of Palm Coast,” going back to before 1969 “when the corporate eyes of ITT/Levitt looked upon the virtually uninhabited land [and] saw 22,000 acres of golf courses, marinas, oceanfront motels, scenic drives, and house lots awaiting the arrival of sun-seeking ‘pioneers.’”
Channeling his inner Willa Cather under mossily different climes, he referred to the early residents of Palm Coast as pioneers throughout and sounding at times as much of a Palm Coast booster as an ITT one: “The pioneers formed a partnership with ITT, together overcoming frontier obstacles in a spirit of mutual respect, active participation, and community cooperation,” Dycke wrote.
That issue reflected the enthusiasm of the Historical Society’s membership at the time, when Palm Coast was a city of 76,000. It included a long and what is now the standard-reference remembrance of Jerry Full, the former Council member and environmentalist, and an account of the Flagler County Volunteer Services’ Team of the Year Award, which went to the Historical Society–including Dycke, Stafford, Eileen Carter, Robert Evans, Gladys Moore, Yerdis Trexler, Norma Kendrick, Betty Buchanan, Carol Lemieux, George Libonati and Ed Moore.
The issue goes on with numerous additional articles, including a letter from Jim Canfield and Dycke’s own column, “Art’s Corner.” That one included a picture of Dycke with David Alfin, the future mayor, who “presented the society with maps showing early sections of Palm Coast to add to PCHS archives.” Dycke also mentioned then-Palm Coast City Councilman Jason DeLorenzo providing the society “with video footage of a historic meeting and public debate that many residents at the time believed to be a turning point in deciding whether or not Palm Coast should incorporate.”
“Dycke,” the city release states, “believed history was built not only through major decisions and development plans, but through the lives of everyday residents who helped create a community from the ground up. His work highlighted the city’s earliest milestones, including the first homeowners, the first child born, and the first storefront to open. He preserved the stories of the individuals who built Palm Coast through perseverance and community spirit.”
“Whenever people talk about the history of Palm Coast, Art Dycke’s name is always part of the conversation,” Mayor Mike Norris was quoted as saying. “Art loved telling our city’s story and making sure it would always be remembered. Art was a kind man with a great sense of humor and a deep love for his community. His legacy will live on for generations.”
Dycke’s two books included a pictorial history of Palm Coast, still available on Amazon, including on Kindle, and Smolen: The Father of Palm Coast, on the life and influence of ITT executive Al Smolen.
“The Palm Coast Historical Society & Museum is deeply saddened by the passing of Art Dycke,” Historical Society President Peter Johnson said in a statement. “Beyond his knowledge and accomplishments as an author, Art will be remembered for his kindness, dedication, and the genuine love he had for the people and history of this city.”
Merrill Shapiro says
There are mines for silver and places where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth and copper is smelted from rocks. But where can one go to find the wisdom of Art Dycke? Where is the source of understanding? Years ago, at a Flagler County-wide gathering of leaders of the Democratic Party I had the opportunity to name the greatest challenge facing the party: There is only one Art Dycke! We need a least two dozen. Much is lost in his passing.
Marsha Lidskin says
To remember Art Dycke is to acknowledge that he was the most kind, gentle and knowledgeably committed Palm Coaster I know. It was a blessing to know him.