My Hometown
Okaloosa County was where I was born, lived, and worked (in various towns there) until I moved to Tennessee around 1998 or 1999.
It will always hold a special place in my heart, and I still have a lot of family there.
Niceville, Florida
I was born in Niceville, in the building that is now the Twin Cities Pavilion, a not-for-profit Assisted Living Facility. It was a hospital in 1971, of course. LOL I lived in Niceville off & on for years, alternating between there and Niceville's twin city of Valparaiso. The two towns used to be one town called Boggy, Florida until it split into what is now Niceville and Valparaiso back in 1910. The two towns share Boggy Bayou, the body of water that Niceville's long-running Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival is named after, but each has several bayous of their own as well.
I went to elementary school in Niceville for a few years, attending Rocky Bayou Christian School and Edge Elementary, and graduated from Niceville High School in 1988. I was active on the drama team all through high school, and in my senior year at NHS, I won both the Miss NHS pageant, and that year's talent show.
As an adult, I worked at both First National Bank & Trust in Niceville and the long-gone Lewbo's Patio Grill.
Valparaiso, Florida
My family home is in Valparaiso, and that is where I lived most of my life, on Bayshore Drive, right on Boggy Bayou. My maternal grandparents, Charles Kent Purcell and Lillian Hodges Purcell, bought several plots of land in Val-p. when my Mom (Suzanne Arthur) was a little girl, dividing the lots between their daughters when they were of age. I literally grew up next door to several of my immediate family members, which was truly a blessing. Not many people get to see their grandparents very often, much less get to know them as well as we did.
Not only did we enjoy very close relationships with our family, but we shared resources: dock, garden, trampoline, etc. We all helped with the upkeep of the property and we all enjoyed the fruits of that labor - together. Some of my favorite memories were trips with my grandparents on their houseboat.
My Mother, Stepfather, and my Aunt still live on that same property in Valparaiso, and I visit several times a year. A lot of it has changed over the years, but there are some things that always stay the same.
I also worked for a time in Val-p. When my temporary position ended at Duncan Amusement Company, Finley Duncan asked me to work at Playground Recording Studio. Mr. Duncan was as kind as he was interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him. He had so many stories and loved to share them with anyone who would listen, and I was more than happy to oblige.
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
I lived in Fort Walton Beach, Florida for a while, and worked several places there. During my senior year in high school, I was chosen to be on the Gayfers Teen Board for my school, Niceville High School, along with a number of other students. That offered us many opportunities to work part-time in the department store: gift wrap, door-checking, modeling, and more. We also put on a big fashion show every year, with the teens representing each local high school working together in the show.
My first full-time job was at Duncan Amusement Company, working for Finley Duncan and Bruce Duncan.
Later, I worked at a few stores in Santa Rosa Mall, most of which have long gone out of business: Butler's Shoes, Endicott Johnson Shoes, Thom McAn Shoes, JW (Jeans West) Men's Clothes, and Dr. Pet. After leaving the mall, I worked across the street from it at a store called Tuxedo Reflections.
I returned to work in FWB when I started work at my first banking job with First City Bank of Fort Walton Beach. Wanting to work closer to home, I left there to work at First National Bank of Fort Walton Beach, floating between a few locations while waiting for the Niceville branch to open.
Okaloosa Island, Florida
I lived at the El Matador Condominiums on Okaloosa Island the last year I was in Florida. I grew up with Boggy Bayou literally in my back yard, but that year living with the pure white sand and emerald green water of the Emerald Coast as my 'yard' was blissful.
Destin, Florida
I never lived in Destin, but it is also in Okaloosa County, and I worked at several business there, and spent a lot of time out and about there in my spare time. The first job I had in Destin was at SunDestin Condominiums. I filled in at the Destin branches of both First City Bank and First National Bank from time to time. When I broke up with my ex-fiancee and left Lewbo's in Niceville, I went to work at Longhorn Steakhouse in Destin. I eventually left Longhorn Steakhouse for a job in retail working at Today's Fashions/Naturally White/Some Things' Fishy.