R.S. Shiver: A Cornerstone In Florida City

  Roy S. Shiver came to South Dade in 1949 at the age of 17. With him came his brother Earl, but Earl returned home after about a year. R.S. (as he is best known) worked in a packing house on Flagler Avenue, and for farmer Amil Twait, who grew pole beans and papayas off Old Cutler Road. Not content with the profits of farming, Amil traveled to Alaska during the off season to pan for gold, but could not convince R.S. to join him.

  In 1951, R.S. took a job with W.C. Bass and Sons, which manufactured glass windows, sliding doors, and just about anything related to them. The company employed about 90 people in downtown Homestead, and exported mainly to the Bahamas. They would ship out a container of products and then R.S. would travel to the Bahamas to teach installers how to do the job. After about ten years, R.S. became the general manager. After the Bass’ sold the company, Shiver worked for the new owner for a short while, then left to form his own company in FloridaCity on Krome Avenue. It was located in the strip mall across the street from his current address. Jo Bass, the wife of Buddy Bass, came to work with R.S. not long after and remained until her death. When she was nearing death from cancer and could no longer come in to work, she would close her telephone calls with “I’ll be in tomorrow.”

  1951 was also the year R.S. met Sue Craven at a roller rink in Homestead after her family had moved here from Mississippi. Two years later they married on February 21, 1953, a date which Sue remembers more clearly than her husband. They became parents of three sons, Roy Dan “Danny”, Donald Joe “Joey” and their youngest, former Homestead Mayor and Miami-Dade County Manager Roy Stephen “Steve” Shiver Jr.

  In 1964, R.S. decided to explore running for the Florida City Commission. He went to see Agatino Strano for advice and support. Mr. Strano told him “you are not Italian and this is an Italian town.” Some of the men with Mr. Strano listened in, and as R.S. left, one of them commented: “I am going to vote for you because you tell the truth.” R.S. won that year, but fell 17 votes short of enough to avoid a run-off. Now, candidates run every two years for two seats. It is necessary to win 50% plus one vote to be elected outright. Since 1960, Shiver has only had to be in the run-offthree times. Frank Navillio was mayor of FloridaCity at that time. 

  R.S. Shiver was given the toughest assignment on the commission, Police Commissioner, a time-consuming job which he has filled to this date with only a two year gap.  Shiver’s first police chief was Willie Fasulo, a legend in FloridaCity, who was the last elected chief in Florida. R.S. has many stories to tell about Willie. He would write a ticket on someone and then try to convince the judge to find him not guilty. R.S. has Willie’s police badge, and has worked with at least six police chiefs.

  Being police commissioner is not a task R.S. takes lightly. Residents who have a complaint about policing have always been urged to come to Shiver Glass and Mirror without an appointment to talk to R.S. He drops what he is working on and listens to what the person has to say. When he can help, he does. When he cannot, he tells them so and explains why not. His office in the police station is a working one, not a ceremonial one. In fact, Shiver is seldom without his police radio, through which he monitors criminal activity and the City’s response to it. He is knowledgeable of crime trends and what is necessary to respond to them. Response time is of critical importance to Shiver.

  Another assignment which has been of great importance to FloridaCity has been his membership in the Miami-DadeCounty and Florida Leagues of Cities. Shiver served for 15 years on the Florida League of Cities, where he learned what worked and didn’t work for cities with similar problems. He was elected to the Miami-Dade County League of Cities when Homestead Councilman Jeff Kirk nominated him from the floor when the nominating committee tried to push through its candidate. Before Miami-DadeCounty passed the half-cent sales tax, Shiver helped the Miami-Dade County League of Cities to lobby for a 20% portion of the tax before the League of Cities would endorse the measure. After negotiation with then County Manager Steve Shiver, FloridaCity received about $300,000 as its share in the first year, an excellent return on years of meetings attended. Once, while attending a Florida League of Cities meeting in Tallahassee, R.S. was invited to dinner at the Governor’s Mansion by Governor Childs. Shiver took fellow Commissioner Juanita Smith as his guest so she could get a first hand view of the workings within the Governor’s Office.

  This past January 2014 election, R.S. carried every precinct and again became Vice Mayor as the top vote getter. Like Otis Wallace, R.S. Shiver was once denied the vice mayor’s seat when he was the top vote getter and someone else was voted to be the vice mayor.

  In addition to being mother to three sons and the wife of an elected official, wife Sue ran the local Goodwill Store for years and was a part of the lives of many people. After Jo Bass died of cancer, Sue became the office manager of Shiver Glass and Mirror. With all of her sons involved in the business, Sue is still busy being a mom and grandmother.

  R.S. doesn’t believe in term limits because the voters have a choice every election, but he still runs for re-election every day. If he is not seeing residents at his place of business, he is driving around town in his truck. Where three or more are gathered, R.S. is likely to pull up, shoot the breeze, and ask the folks what’s happening in their neighborhood. He really wants to know.

  Bob Jensen is vice-president for Community Liason for First National Bank of South Florida, president of the FloridaPioneerMuseum, and a retired Navy commander.