The great trek is over, spending the first night in our new home near Pensacola tonight!

[lizardbreath]

Congrats lots LB. I was born in Pensacola (tiny Cantonment) 1945. It was all a privately owned paper mill, supported us, lived within eyesight straight down the street. St.Regis bought the mill and us people of that neighborhood. They moved us all to Jax, northside. I had the same schoolmates in Jax that I did in Cantonment. Amazing event. Dad so liked Cantonment so much for years he kept a pecan orchard he bought. Every year the orchard neighbor wrote Dad asking permission to harvest the pecans. Dad told him he needn't ask but he wrote every year. We didn't really know him and no money was ever talked of. It was beautiful 20 acres packed with lined up pecan trees. It was split by a stream. Govment cut it in half with a highway. That Gov pressure crap is why Dad sold it.

Enjoy settling in. I'll be watching with y'all Saturday. Another oddity = Did my predental at UF but got my DDS degree from UT Med School in Memphis - Florida was years away from getting a dental school, which I bet is better than UT's by now. Grew up age 6-20 as a Florida fan & was at UF in Spurrier's class. Sat on 50 yd-line every UF v UGa game from age 6 'til I moved far away. (Never rooted for UT.) Stay cozy.

PS>> Forget about Durty's threat. I've offered him my wife instead.

You (and your wife) are magnanimous beyond words!

 

[lizardbreath]

We just sold my parents house in Pace off Woodbine Road. Got about 90 per foot. It was 35 years old and needed some updates but in great structural shape. Had 3 acres on lawn and 4 pecan trees.

Yeah, I was stunned by what your dollar can buy in this area. When I conducted a survey of anything in FL that was near the water, I kept coming back to this area. When I came down about a month ago to scout for a home, I knew Pace was the place for me. I even found a really pleasant subdivision with a very comfortable one-story (old knees) that had my name written all over it. As they say, the rest is history.

 

[NOLAGATOR]

Oui mon ami - Certainment!

Most certainly…My good man...welcome home!!!

But remember it is the “Red Neck Rivera “

 

[lizardbreath]

Most certainly…My good man...welcome home!!!

But remember it is the “Red Neck Rivera “

My goodness, but you are a handsome rascal!

 

[ChiefGator]

Now that you mention it we do seem to eat way more there than here in ATL. I enjoy Brooksies Barn, Reggie's BBQ, Catfish Galley and for a chain restaurant Cheddars isn't too bad.

Those are only a few. I actually live close to Brooksies, but since it is a buffet I don't go there. Try the new location of Los Portales, it is very beautiful. Try Dumplins they have great deserts, and some pretty good food as well. I like Flo's fillet as well.

I eat way too much.

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

I still live in Pcola....went to Woodham High as well---75'. Hate to break it to you, but it is not even a middle school anymore. Closed for renovation....construction going on in it like crazy. Believe it or not, they are turning it into--now get this....back into a high school. But it won't be Woodham high, as that name is long gone. Gonna be something like West Florida High--not really sure as I don't pay much attention to the local screw ups around here anymore.

It was Woodham High School since 1965, then in 2007 the brilliance of the school board determined they didn't need a high school but did need more space for middle school students so they converted it to middle--and then merged the high school kids into the other surrounding high schools. Here it is 11 years later and now the opposite has happened and they merged the middle school kids into surrounding other schools and a need to make Woodham a high school again is a priority. But someone decided to just put the name out to pasture and refused to call it Woodham again. Go figure.

Escambia County logic.

Santa Rosa isn’t much better either, but it’s tolerable down in the south end of the county.

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

Congratulations on the new home!
Man I miss Pensacola. I lived there for nearly 2 years after graduating Boot Camp.
While attached to USS Wasp, LHD-1 out of Virginia, we would come down twice a year for Air Traffic Control refresher training.
Welcome back to the sunshine! Go Gators!

Another NATTC product!

 

[rogdochar]

I'll be driving through Cantonement in about 30 minutes on my way to cut grass on Squirrel Ranch (in Baldwin County, AL)... I still love the street layout in Cantonement that the mill originally built when you would have been there. Oh, and I think the golf course finally closed last year.

The owner-builder of that papermill built all the houses on that street. There was our row of simple "Jim Walter-type" homes, the street, then the golf course. That man must have been very civic minded. Soon as I was old enough, I'd pull up to the window and watch grown men, swinging sticks and pulling carts. Nobody explained it. One day I saw men doing that during a hailstorm. That guy built a huge golf-course gazebo straight in line with our house. Our volunteer community orchestra performed there at night, special events. The humongous Easter Egg hunt-contest took place on that golf course. 4-5 year old me would peek out my bedroom window and see them hide some eggs under the stile-steps going over the fence to the course. I found 64 eggs that year & my arch-rival, Billy Woods
won with 65.

The mill inundated us all with smelly smoke. "Bread & butter smoke", Dad called it. The 5PM whistle would blow, and my 10 y.o. sister and 5 y.o. me would lean heads over our white picket fence to watch "daddy", lunchpail in hand, come walking home from work, always whistling that week's church-choir song = rehearsing of sorts? Traveling tent revivals at night lasted a week, on the golf course. Magical lantern-glow of a lighted 20'x40' rustling-skin white canvas tent, with plenty of irreligious jack-snapper beetles for tiny me to slip my seat to catch & hold through their fussy snaps. (got a spanking everytime & did it everytime) And the whole community knew I got spanked. Whole jovial community really knew everybody well. Cantonment knew me as Jacksnapper Roger. It really was very Norman Rockwellian. Anyway, thanks for driving me down memory lane.

 

[lizardbreath]

The owner-builder of that papermill built all the houses on that street. There was our row of simple "Jim Walter-type" homes, the street, then the golf course. That man must have been very civic minded. Soon as I was old enough, I'd pull up to the window and watch grown men, swinging sticks and pulling carts. Nobody explained it. One day I saw men doing that during a hailstorm. That guy built a huge golf-course gazebo straight in line with our house. Our volunteer community orchestra performed there at night, special events. The humongous Easter Egg hunt-contest took place on that golf course. 4-5 year old me would peek out my bedroom window and see them hide some eggs under the stile-steps going over the fence to the course. I found 64 eggs that year & my arch-rival, Billy Woods
won with 65.

The mill inundated us all with smelly smoke. "Bread & butter smoke", Dad called it. The 5PM whistle would blow, and my 10 y.o. sister and 5 y.o. me would lean heads over our white picket fence to watch "daddy", lunchpail in hand, come walking home from work, always whistling that week's church-choir song = rehearsing of sorts? Traveling tent revivals at night lasted a week, on the golf course. Magical lantern-glow of a lighted 20'x40' rustling-skin white canvas tent, with plenty of irreligious jack-snapper beetles for tiny me to slip my seat to catch & hold through their fussy snaps. (got a spanking everytime & did it everytime) And the whole community knew I got spanked. Whole jovial community really knew everybody well. Cantonment knew me as Jacksnapper Roger. It really was very Norman Rockwellian. Anyway, thanks for driving me down memory lane.

Thank you for sharing that. As much as we all love our Gators, there are things that mean even more. Remembering those golden moments with the people and places that made us who we are is a beautiful thing. Especially when they live on only in our hearts and in our characters. I grew up in Jacksonville and although I chose to retire elsewhere, there are things about the old town and its inhabitants (living and dead) that I will always remember with great fondness.

 

[Renard904]

Another NATTC product!

Yes, AC2, Honorable Discharge, I was in the first graduating class post Hurricane Katrina.
Town was pretty much torn to shiite, yet I had some of the best days of my life there.

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

Yes, AC2, Honorable Discharge, I was in the first graduating class post Hurricane Katrina.
Town was pretty much torn to shiite, yet I had some of the best days of my life there.

We got our azz shredded by Ivan the year before. Took me 2.5 years to finally get rebuilt & back in the house.
BTW, welcome back to the area!

 

[Detroitgator]

The owner-builder of that papermill built all the houses on that street. There was our row of simple "Jim Walter-type" homes, the street, then the golf course. That man must have been very civic minded. Soon as I was old enough, I'd pull up to the window and watch grown men, swinging sticks and pulling carts. Nobody explained it. One day I saw men doing that during a hailstorm. That guy built a huge golf-course gazebo straight in line with our house. Our volunteer community orchestra performed there at night, special events. The humongous Easter Egg hunt-contest took place on that golf course. 4-5 year old me would peek out my bedroom window and see them hide some eggs under the stile-steps going over the fence to the course. I found 64 eggs that year & my arch-rival, Billy Woods
won with 65.

The mill inundated us all with smelly smoke. "Bread & butter smoke", Dad called it. The 5PM whistle would blow, and my 10 y.o. sister and 5 y.o. me would lean heads over our white picket fence to watch "daddy", lunchpail in hand, come walking home from work, always whistling that week's church-choir song = rehearsing of sorts? Traveling tent revivals at night lasted a week, on the golf course. Magical lantern-glow of a lighted 20'x40' rustling-skin white canvas tent, with plenty of irreligious jack-snapper beetles for tiny me to slip my seat to catch & hold through their fussy snaps. (got a spanking everytime & did it everytime) And the whole community knew I got spanked. Whole jovial community really knew everybody well. Cantonment knew me as Jacksnapper Roger. It really was very Norman Rockwellian. Anyway, thanks for driving me down memory lane.

Here’s the golf course this morning...

 

[rogdochar]

Houses on the golf course were wood slat siding, 3 bedroom, $35 per month.
At the end of that street the mill sat just to the left of the two-story movie theater. Right next to the theater, the only grocery shared a wall with the pharmacy but separate businesses. Everybody walked to it all being within easy sight and only 2 blocks straight away.

Everybody loved only baseball back then. The mill sponsored the local kids baseball team. Keeping in touch with friends, about seven years after we moved, Dad told me about a kid pitcher in the area that won all his games = Don Sutton. Never met him, nor his folks but Dad loved Don Sutton 'cause he was from around Pensacola. (Probably also because the Suttons started out as sharecroppers, like my Dad did.)

 

[Gatormb]

Tell your wife I'll be over later...

If you can afford her you can have mine!:cool:

 

[Gulfstream]

The owner-builder of that papermill built all the houses on that street. There was our row of simple "Jim Walter-type" homes, the street, then the golf course. That man must have been very civic minded. Soon as I was old enough, I'd pull up to the window and watch grown men, swinging sticks and pulling carts. Nobody explained it. One day I saw men doing that during a hailstorm. That guy built a huge golf-course gazebo straight in line with our house. Our volunteer community orchestra performed there at night, special events. The humongous Easter Egg hunt-contest took place on that golf course. 4-5 year old me would peek out my bedroom window and see them hide some eggs under the stile-steps going over the fence to the course. I found 64 eggs that year & my arch-rival, Billy Woods
won with 65.

The mill inundated us all with smelly smoke. "Bread & butter smoke", Dad called it. The 5PM whistle would blow, and my 10 y.o. sister and 5 y.o. me would lean heads over our white picket fence to watch "daddy", lunchpail in hand, come walking home from work, always whistling that week's church-choir song = rehearsing of sorts? Traveling tent revivals at night lasted a week, on the golf course. Magical lantern-glow of a lighted 20'x40' rustling-skin white canvas tent, with plenty of irreligious jack-snapper beetles for tiny me to slip my seat to catch & hold through their fussy snaps. (got a spanking everytime & did it everytime) And the whole community knew I got spanked. Whole jovial community really knew everybody well. Cantonment knew me as Jacksnapper Roger. It really was very Norman Rockwellian. Anyway, thanks for driving me down memory lane.

Americana....I cried.

 

[B52G8rAC]

Americana....I cried.

My uncle worked at the Cantonment mill his whole life (after coming home from WWII). The smoke and aroma would inundate our home in Ferry Pass and I would complain to him about it. He always said it smelled like "bacon and eggs" to him.

 

[Gatormb]

Congrats lots LB. I was born in Pensacola (tiny Cantonment) 1945. It was all a privately owned paper mill, supported us, lived within eyesight straight down the street. St.Regis bought the mill and us people of that neighborhood. They moved us all to Jax, northside. I had the same schoolmates in Jax that I did in Cantonment. Amazing event. Dad so liked Cantonment so much for years he kept a pecan orchard he bought. Every year the orchard neighbor wrote Dad asking permission to harvest the pecans. Dad told him he needn't ask but he wrote every year. We didn't really know him and no money was ever talked of. It was beautiful 20 acres packed with lined up pecan trees. It was split by a stream. Govment cut it in half with a highway. That Gov pressure crap is why Dad sold it.

Enjoy settling in. I'll be watching with y'all Saturday. Another oddity = Did my predental at UF but got my DDS degree from UT Med School in Memphis - Florida was years away from getting a dental school, which I bet is better than UT's by now. Grew up age 6-20 as a Florida fan & was at UF in Spurrier's class. Sat on 50 yd-line every UF v UGa game from age 6 'til I moved far away. (Never rooted for UT.) Stay cozy.

PS>> Forget about Durty's threat. I've offered him my wife instead.

Me too. Arm wrestle for it.

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

My uncle worked at the Cantonment mill his whole life (after coming home from WWII). The smoke and aroma would inundate our home in Ferry Pass and I would complain to him about it. He always said it smelled like "bacon and eggs" to him.

That was some nasty-azz smell too. In the winter a strong North wind would push that stank all the way down to Gulf Breeze. Let's not forget the trains loaded with pulp & pine logs that would always seem to block Hwy 29 forever right when you wanted to go somewhere.

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

Houses on the golf course were wood slat siding, 3 bedroom, $35 per month.
At the end of that street the mill sat just to the left of the two-story movie theater. Right next to the theater, the only grocery shared a wall with the pharmacy but separate businesses. Everybody walked to it all being within easy sight and only 2 blocks straight away.

Everybody loved only baseball back then. The mill sponsored the local kids baseball team. Keeping in touch with friends, about seven years after we moved, Dad told me about a kid pitcher in the area that won all his games = Don Sutton. Never met him, nor his folks but Dad loved Don Sutton 'cause he was from around Pensacola. (Probably also because the Suttons started out as sharecroppers, like my Dad did.)

I believe he's from up around Molino. There used to be a sign on hwy 29 recognizing him.

 

[rogdochar]

I believe he's from up around Molino. There used to be a sign on hwy 29 recognizing him.

Absolutely true. But I think. that area was so sparsely populated that his team came south to play some games.
Now that Escambia area has Emmitt Smith they might not feel the need to attach to the Sutton name.