Home Again, Home Again

Okay, let’s go home again.  I can think just so long about those moonlight strolls.  Actually I could think of them a lot longer, but that’s another story.   Back to

Port St

. Joe where today population figures vary from 3,982 to over 7,000.  That may seem a bit of discrepancy to those who have never lived there, but to those of us so privileged, it isn’t at all surprising.  Any ten people in Port St. Joe might seem more than twenty if you add in all the pride they take in being counted among the town’s inhabitants.  How many people get post card sunsets every night or have the buoyancy of salt water to console them as they swim on a summer’s day off shore of those sugar sand beaches.   And none of those lucky people need worry about acrophobia in a city that boasts an elevation of only five feet. 

But this simple community of inviting beaches and delicious seafood has its own ghosts.  Born of fame and grief, it was once a thriving community, and the First Constitutional Convention of Florida was held in old St. Joseph in 1838.  A monument to commemorate the event was unveiled on January 11, 1923.  The monument remains a favorite landmark today.  It is a rare family living in Port St. Joe that hasn’t had a picture taken in front of this stately memorial.  There’s one in my photo album of my parents and me when I was about three I’d guess.  Daddy sits uncomfortable in a suit and tie.  Mama beams in a long sleeved dress of red crepe.  I stand between them with my Dutch boy haircut and a simple white dress.  Pictures are like ghosts that stir up memories, bring back the feel of a crepe dress, the warmth of a summer day and a future waiting for another picture.

       One friend asked that I write more about Port St. Joe.  I hope I’m not overdoing it and that you enjoy the reading at least a fraction as much as I enjoy writing about it.  After all, I’ve written two books about Port St. Joe, AKA Bay Harbor, and never tire of it.  It’s home, and I’ll always love it.

Let me hear from you, and don’t forget I have my current events blog at http://www.ruthcchambers.com/