ARROW History Oral History Gulf - Apalachicola Region Resources on the Web

Regional History
History of Timbering
County Histories
Oral Histories
Calhoun County
Gulf County
Ronnie Brake
Dave Maddox
Tom Parker
Jackson County
Wakulla County

History: Voices from Gulf County

Ronnie Brake
Ronnie Brake was born in 1946 in Kenny's Mill, a portion of Port St. Joe built for the workers of the St. Joe Lumber and Export Company's sawmill. Eight years earlier a huge sawmill had been constructed on an oak ridge facing the canal from the St. Joe Paper Company. According to local historian Wayne Childers, "the plans were to cut some 325,000,000 board feet of longleaf pine, 35,000,000 board feet of hardwoods and 50,000,000 board feet of cypress from the recently acquired St. Joe Paper Company lands." Click here for complete profile and to listen to his recollections about hunting and fishing in the ARROW region.

Dave Maddox
Captain Dave Maddox was born September 12, 1921, in Apalachicola, Florida. For many years Captain Maddox was a harbor pilot, guiding ships safely through St. Joseph Bay to the docks at Port St. Joe. He learned the trade from his father Fred Maddox who in turn had learned to pilot ships from his father John Maddox. In those days you had to serve an apprenticeship. While Dave Maddox was still in high school he operated the pilot boat and steered ships for his grandfather. Upon graduation from high school, he completed the final requirement of his apprenticeship, going to sea on merchant ships. Click here for complete profile and to listen to his recollections about St. Joseph Bay.

Tom Parker
Tom Parker was born in Port St. Joe, Florida, June 25, 1927, on Blossom Row in a house bought by his grandfather. In 2005 Tom Parker and his wife Louise lived on the same street six or seven blocks from where he was born. Click here for complete profile and to listen to some of Mr. Parker's recollections about growing up in Port St. Joe.