FLASHBACK Okaloosa

Listen to those who remember when Crab Island was an actual island and how it has evolved over the years.

Thanksgiving in the 1900s in North Florida, Camp Walton, Okaloosa

As you listen, this episode was recorded in the spooky month of October, but this episode is timeless in that it tells of a local ghost story that I have heard many times and in many different versions – The Legend of the Lady's Walk. Those of you who live on the Santa Rosa Sound in Mary Esther or in Fort Walton Beach are probably very familiar with this story and may have even been frightened as a child by the prospects of its truth. I will give you three versions. Each version was told in a 1983 article from the Playground Daily News, written by Brian Massey. He quotes each version verbatim.

Today on Flashback, I want to you to imagine this town, our County with only two or three hotels or inns. Dirt roads abound. A commercial airport has not yet been created. The railroad in the County is still relatively new and the only way to get to Okaloosa County by land is by rail. No bridges have been built and places like Destin are minor blips on a map, let alone the consciousness of would-be vacationers. In fact, vacationing in Okaloosa County isn't even a thing.   Mail was delivered by boat and yes people would come by boat if not by rail. This is a story about the early days of tourism in our County centered around a vacation rental dating back to the 1920s that is no longer with us today. The Valparaiso Inn

The early settlers of Mary Esther were cattlemen, preachers and hard-working folks who created this quiet bedroom community in Northwest Florida's Panhandle between Pensacola and Destin-Fort Walton Beach. We explore the early history of the City of Mary Esther and a short story of how Charles Lindbergh came to visit Mary Esther, Florida.

Okaloosa Beach Safety and other area lifeguard programs were created out of the tragedies on June 8, 2003, also known as Black Sunday. Listen to how Okaloosa County and Destin evolved into having a robust, professional lifeguarding program that continues to save lives every year through water safety education, contacts and rescues.

Listen as we talk with Charles Rigdon, son of CH "Bull" Rigdon. Bull, for many people, was the face of the fairgrounds for many years. His son Charles recounts the history of the fairgrounds.

For many of us, it is hard to imagine the contour of our beaches without the signature look of the Destin East Pass and the rock jetties protruding into the Gulf of Mexico. They are a signature look of Destin and signal both exit and entry into the East Pass. A doorway to what many believe is the best fishing in the country. So many rocks, such a massive endeavor, and all man-made.

Today's story comes to you from the 1950s,  from a gentleman named Jimmy G Warr Sr. who was a boy living in Fort Walton at the time. He and his friends – the three amigos – had discovered what I have dreamed about for years living in beautiful Okaloosa County and it landed their story in every newspaper across the country.

Destin-Fort Walton Beach has had many names. We take you through the origin story of  VPS and how early developers in Valparaiso, Eglin Air Force Base and a partnership with Okaloosa County have influenced what it is today and how it will continue to be successful in the future.

The Arbennie Pritchett Water Reclamation Facility treats 7-10 million gallons of water every day. The facility was built in 2005 and was named after a man who spent his life serving the County, Bennie as he was known, was a wastewater operator for the County.

Take a drive around Okaloosa County and you are sure to come across the names of small towns or should I say communities that don't have much prominence on a map and without some simple signage you probably wouldn't know they even existed. This episode is about one of these communities, Dorcas Just outside of the city limits of Crestview heading east on U.S. Highway 90 past the Shoal River and past the Emerald Coast Zoo, you'll hit the intersection of County Road 393 in another not so well-known community of Deerland. Turn north and you are well on your way to the Community of Dorcas. You'll pass the Shoal River once again and you'll see a white sandy beach area on one of the banks, an area I'm told that locals use to or may still, gather for relaxation and socializing. The Dorcas Baptist Church has the most signage and there's a reason the community kind of centers around the church area. The name itself, Dorcas, has origins in the Bible mentioned in both the New Testament books of Acts and Peter as a woman known for her good works and acts of mercy. To learn more about this community I went to a Dorcas local, who just so happens to be the Executive Director of the Baker Block museum.

On this episode of FLASHBACK we explore how people in Okaloosa County used to talk and write and express themselves through the years.

This is an addition to our very first episode of FLASHBACK which explored the history of the Racetrack, once located off of Racetrack Road. James Ward reached out to FLASHBACK and we were able to talk with him about his memories of this track from the 1950s. We were also able to explore a notable figure in Okaloosa County history, Silas Gibson. Thanks for listening and we'll see around town.

Okaloosa County has the distinction of being the first County in the state to accomplish certain "Firsts". Listen to the stories of becoming a Purple Heart County, the first Special Olympics County and how Fish Aggregating Devices are a game changer for anglers in the Gulf of Mexico. Need more Okaloosa County government information? - Go to MyOkaloosa.com

We will take through the history of the Brooks Bridge and give you an update on the replacement project currently underway. More info on the replacement project by FDOT can be found at https://nwflroads.com/projects/415474-2 In the 1930s the state saw the need to connect northwest Florida to south Florida on a highway system that would require a fair amount of bridges. The Gulf Coast Highway system, aka the Florida Loop would go from Pensacola to Tampa. According to news articles, in 1931 funds began being allocated to build bridges to make this idea come true. Yes folks we are talking about the Brooks Bridge. We've had two Brooks Bridges since the 1930s and were about to see a third. You can already see buildings and signs being removed to make way for the new one. The construction of the new one as you may know, is being overseen by the Florida Department of Transportation.    

The Florida International Motor Speedway Destin was going to be a 2.5 triangular track with a 60,000 person seating capacity. The announcement for the track was made in newspapers Jan. 1, 1971. Listen to how this track almost became part of the Emerald Coast landscape.

There were drive-ins as early as the 1910s, but the first patented drive-in was opened I 1933 by Richard Hollingshead in New Jersey. He created it as a solution for people unable to comfortably fit into smaller movie theater seats after creating a mini drive-in for his mother. Hollingshead advertised his drive-in as a place where “The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are.” Drive ins began to take off around the country in the 50s and 60s and their popularity was evident  in Okaloosa County, too.

We'll get into whether German U-boats actually infiltrated the shores of the Choctaw Bay, and what would have happened if it turned into the largest seaport in the world as some early developers wanted And of course we will discuss the role of the nightlife in the early years of Shalimar. We will also get into a story about a not so widely know area of Shalimar, Black Point.

We explore the origin story of who built Water Boggan on Okaloosa Island in the late 1970s. Thanks to Harvey Fleming for this look into Okaloosa history.

We don't think much about County seats or what they mean. When Okaloosa County was formed in 1915 by the state legislature, a temporary County seat had to be named and Milligan was chosen. Listen to how they got the seat and how they lost it.

Listen to AFSOC historians discuss the early history of Hurlburt Field and AFSOC, as well as some funny, serious and patriotic stories about this elite group known as the Air Commandos. Learn more about Okaloosa County services at myokaloosaa.com

Northwest Florida State College has grown to be a premiere Junior College, recognized nationally for academics and athletics. Listen to past and present presidents, former students, and other historic recollections about the institution's history and some exciting new projects on the horizon.

Lannie Corbin, Sheila Bishop and William Prince discuss their memories while working behind-the-scenes at the Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival. Listen to what they learned about the personalities of artists such as Rick Springfield, Charlie Daniels, the Dixie Chicks and Billy Ray Cyrus.

Water Boggan and its various names throughout the years created memories for thousands of children and their families beginning in 1977 on Okaloosa Island. The park was dismantled in the early 2000s but the memories live on in those who visited the park. On this episode of FLASHBACK we talked with two lifeguards who worked at the park for a behind-the-scene look into the park.

Laurel Hill, Florida is home of the Hoboes - Want to know how it got that name? A unique part of our County is the City of Laurel Hill. Incorporated in 1905, the 3-square-mile Laurel Hill is the county's oldest city. Laurel Hill is a quiet place, low-key in my opinion and has the feel of happiness that surrounds what you might think of when you think small rural town in America. It sits just a hop and a skip from the Alabama State line along State Road 85 and its one place in the County that will get snow on occasion in the winter. One thing that sticks out to me and probably many outsiders traveling through the town, is the mascot associated with the local school. Laurel Hill is the home of the Hoboes. I was both surprised and curious about this when I moved to the area in 2005. This isn't your typical tigers, gators, wildcats kind of mascot. So why the hobos? And what is a hobo?

Listen as we take you back to the start of Goofy Golf in the late 1950s and all the years until the present day. We spoke with relatives of the first owner and founder, James "Jimmy" Hayes as well as Bob Fleskes, who owned Goofy Golf from 1971-2011 and the current owner Chris Clements.

Over the years Northwest Florida and Okaloosa County was the set for movies dating back to the 1940s like Twelve O'clock High (1949) starring Gregory Peck about aircrews in the United States Army's Eighth Air Force, who flew daylight bombing missions against Nazi Germany. There was  Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) based on the real-life experiences of the pilots and crew of the famed Doolittle Raid.    John Wayne's “The Green Berets,” was filmed at Eglin and more recently a movie called Frogs in 1972 where an upper class family who hunted and killed through the years and nature, including large bullfrogs rise up and attack them on an island. Its no surprise that this did not win an Academy Award We also had Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Truman Show filmed in nearby Seaside in South Walton. One of the most notable ones was filmed in Shalimar, Destin and Navarre was JAWS II, Starring Roy Scheider, who was known to frequent the local bars when they weren't shooting the film

Racetrack Road is also named State Road 188. It is exactly  2.581 miles long. Racetrack Road also has another name, that many people may not have noticed. On the west end of Racetrack Road a signs reads Brian D Little Road, designated by the State Legislature in 2006.  Its also well represented on the County Commission dais. Three districts are represented along the road by Commissioners Goodwin, Boyles and Ketchel. Because it is a state road, it is maintained by Florida Department of Transportation. LISTEN TO HEAR MORE