Historical facts taken from History of the Carlin House,

William Carlin White, 1988                       

 Phoo courtesy Loxahatchee River Historical Society
Posted: Aug. 22, 20110

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A dear  friend of  WJTW's  is  celebrating  a  birthday?a  big on

e, the amazing Carlin White, a member of the first  graduating

class of Jupiter School, will enter his 104th year on  Thursday,

Aug. 25.  So,  to wish him a happy birthday,  here's  a bit about

what makes his so special.
 

"I've   known  Carlin  for  about  15  years,"  said  Tom  Boyhan,

WJTW  station  owner.  "We met through mutual friends,  Pat

andBill Magrogan, and started a weekly dinner get together. Carlin isamazing.  When  he talks to you,  he can  tell stories that tookplace  95 years  ago as  easily as what  happened  yesterday.  My

favorite story happened after a hurricane when I stopped by his house to check up on him. He was all sweaty. When I asked him why, he said that he had been up on the roof cleaning out his gutters.! This from a man in his nineties."

 

Carlin was born in 1907 in the historic Carlin House. It had been built by his grandfather, Captain Charles Carlin in 1885. According to Carlin', it is not known exactly when the Carlin family decided to convert the home into a commercial venture;' however, it quickly gained a fine reputation as the Carlin House, the area's first hotel. It remained in existence for close to sixty years with his Grandmother, Mary and her daughters running it. It reached its peak between 1895 and 1930.
 

Captain Carlin arrived in Jupiter in 1872 and served as assistant lighthouse keeper until he was appointed Captain of the Lifesaving Station in 1886. Although the Lifesaving Station closed in 1896, Captain Carlin was appointed custodian of the building. Unfortunately, while trying to save the building during a fire, he fell off the roof of the Lifesaving Station and died.
 

Carlin's wife, Mary Moore Joyner, was born in 1850 on a plantation outside of Charleston, South Carolina. The Joyner family came to Titusville, Fla., in 1860. She met Charles Carlin and married him in 1868.
 

Carlin's father, William Arthur White came to Jupiter at the turn of the century to install the first wireless direction finder for the Navy. It augmented the functions of the Lighthouse and was one of three in the state. During this time, he met Emily Carlin and the couple eloped in 1905. His parents separated and Carlin traveled with his father who was in the military. Carlin spent many of his formative years in Central America. He attended high school in Managua, Nicaragua 'and got a great education.'
 

He came back to Jupiter to visit Grandma Carlin whenever he could. "There's just something about this place that draws you back. It's in my blood." said Carlin. He returned to Jupiter to obtain a Florida high school diploma and lived in the Carlin House with his grandmother, Mary Moore Carlin while he attended Jupiter's beautiful new Mediterranean Revival School on Loxahatchee Drive. The school year was 1927/28. "I was here during the great hurricane of 1928 and was able to take movies of the storm," he said. "I also remember hanging out in the center of town* with my friends.* (Center Street and Old Dixie Highway.)
 

While at Jupiter School, he went to work for Mackey Radio in Jupiter. Carlin attended several colleges studying math and science. He ended up at Columbia University studying electro magnetic radiation. He received his degree in electrical engineering. His father was a Chief Petty Officer (CPO) in the Navy and his field was electronics. Carlin said that he often assisted his father and picked up a great deal of knowledge and skill in this field. While working for Mackey Radio in their laboratory in Long Island, he met his future wife, Lillian. "We knew each other for eleven years before we started dating and finally got married. "I spent most of World War II in Latin America and we spent much of my forty years in the Navy traveling but no matter where Lillian and I lived, we visited Jupiter as often as we could starting two days after our wedding in 1938."
 

When Lillian and Carlin returned to Jupiter in 1968, he became a Jupiter Town Commissioner and served as the mayor from 1971 to 1976. As Mayor of Jupiter he helped to get the Jupiter Hospital, now known as the Jupiter Medical Center, built. Early settlers in the area had to travel all the way to Titusville for a hospital. Later, Jupiter residents could go to a hospital in West Palm Beach or Palm Beach Gardens for medical care. But as the population of Jupiter continued to grow, Carlin knew there was a great need for a local, full service hospital. The value of the hospital is apparent to anyone living in the area. As mayor, he was a driving force in obtaining the special zoning for the Jupiter Medical Center.
 

Carlin and Lillian were keepers of Jupiter history. Lillian, a journalist, was the editor of the Courier's Loxahatchee Lament. "She was great at getting the facts from the pioneers," said her husband. "Although she's been gone for many years, I never did find anyone else who could take her place."
 

Carlin has written several books including The History of the Carlin House which was edited by Lillian in 1988. Recently, he collaborated with Jupiter Pioneer/ Historian Lynn Lasseter Drake, in putting together Jupiter, Images of America, a wonderful collection of history and photographs. " Carlin has been like a Dad to me and I love him dearly. In 2003 he generously shared all his photographs (one at a time) for me to scan for the Arcadia book "Jupiter." said Lasseter Drake."Grandma Carlin instilled the importance of protecting history to Carlin at a very young age and because of that, we can learn from the past. Carlin White donated his amazing treasure trove of Carlin artifacts to the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum in 2009. "
 

When asked what he contributed his longevity to, he quipped. "Being very careful." Carlin comes from a family where most of the women lived very long lives. Mary Carlin, his grandmother, lived from 1851-1944. "I had an aunt in Sharps, Florida who lived to be close to 120 years old," said Carlin. "Many of the other women in the family lived to be over 100."
 

Carlin goes to physio therapy several times each week. He has never smoked; however, does enjoy a glass of wine when socializing. "I try to do everything in moderation."
 

He considers his greatest accomplishment his ability to get along with people."Because I was in the military, I had the opportunity to be many places. I also have been fortunate to be linguistically gifted," said Carlin. "I speak most of the Romance languages and learned Japanese before a tour of duty in Japan in 1959. Although I never spoke it as easily as other languages, I was able to read and write it."
 

This amazing man has a youthful vigor plus a remarkable memory. He credits his continued interest in languages, science and history as the factor that has kept his mind sharp. "I'm always amazed when I remember names from the past," he said. When asked what he intends doing for the next 104 years he said," Try to be as healthy as I can and don't do anything in excess." It seems to be a winning formula for Carlin White. Happy Birthday!