"It's kind of a win, win situation," said Sue Frank, Gulfport Senior Center Supervisor. Frank was referring to the combination of the "Then and Now" expo and the open house that were held at the Senior Center on Wednesday.  Frank said that the joint event drew a diverse crowd of both locals and newbies. In fact, some of the participants had never even been inside the Senior Center until Wednesday's event.  With the two happenings taking place under one roof, an inevitable ripple effect was the intended goal. If all goes according to plan, the participants and guests of the event will spread …

Before the Gulfport Public Library was created in 1935, local resident of, Julia Luckey, recognized the need for one. In a small room that hid behind the drugstore located at 29th Avenue South and Beach Boulevard, Luckey created a little library. She achieved this goal by donating books from her own collection and by soliciting money from friends that were interested in the project. Tragically her house was burned in a fire and Luckey moved away. In May of 1935 the Gulfport Library came into existence. With the ambition of a group of ladies, one being the Mayor’s wife, a project of the …

The City of Gulfport is more than 100 years old. Just as the city and it's people have molded the city it is today, the Gulfport Police Department has helped shape what we see everyday. Read along and learn about some of the department's history. When Gulfport was first established as a small town, there were not many residents and hence no need for law enforcement. According to the book Our Story of Gulfport by the Gulfport Historical Society (1985), when a law officer in St. Petersburg wanted a criminal on warrant for arrest, he simply asked the trolley conductor to fetch him. Johnney Leigh…

The Lincoln Cemetery which sits directly between Boca Ciega High School and the Pinellas Trail on 58th street south has remained frozen in time. It takes us back to a time when wars abolished our nation, when brothers fought against brothers and segregation was legal.  My father told me that as child he and his friends would walk through the cemetery and think that someone would pop out of the grave and grab them because its appearance seemed haunted with the long grass and plethora of trees that consumed it. There is an old winding road that goes straight through the cemetery, but now the …

Clam Bayou serves copious beneficial factors to the environment and animal habitants of Gulfport and St. Petersburg. The bayou is a 170-acre estuary and is located in both cities. It's home to many creatures as well as an educational “play area” for children and adults. Kayaking, nature trail adventures, bicycle riding and sight seeing are all common activities that can be achieved by visiting this environmentally preserved estuary and nature park.  “Clam Bayou Park is a great place to learn how to ride a bicycle! I used to love playing in that area as a child,” Mayor Mike Yakes said. The …

The word casino typically seems to trigger the theme of gambling in a person’s mind, but not here in the dynamic small-town atmosphere of Gulfport. The Gulfport Casino has never been a gambling casino; it has always been a place where people can come together to enjoy socializing and special events. The Gulfport Casino Ballroom has been built three times resting upon the waters of Boca Ciega Bay.  “My favorite thing about the casino is how it is transformed from a blank canvas to a masterpiece each time it is rented. People rent out the casino and decorate it to their liking, then the casino …

I have heard that Gulfport is Mayberry on Steroids. My meeting with the curator of the Gulfport Historical Museum makes me think that's true. Miki Vaughan has roots in this city that go back generations. Her dad ran the pharmacy on the corner of 23rd and Beach Blvd a long time ago. Now that corner spot is inhabited by Bellini's. Ms. Vaughan flipped to the sheet that showed the Murphey's drug store from the early 50s. “That was my dad's place,” she said. I stood and looked at the photo she pointed to, one among 10 or so on the 3 foot long display at the front of the old Methodist church. The …

“The reason I volunteer here is because it gives me creative independence.” Such was Oliver Norden's response when asked if he ever requested even a small hourly wage from his boss at Rebecca's Veggie Patch. The farm-fresh and hydroponic fruit and vegetable store on 22nd Avenue is not quite two years old, but the building is over 50. The current enterprise is true to the name of the building's founder. Florida chain-store, Farm Stores introduced its drive-through in 1957 in Miami, at the peak of America's love affair with the automobile. From the 60s to the 70s, Farm Stores marched from South…

Walk into the TLC Food Mart any day between 7 a.m. and midnight and step into history. The vintage general store first opened its doors in 1936, when Gulfport was a sleepy fishing village, when red and white bobbers, brass fish-hooks and lead-weights lined the walls and shrimp swam in a wooden tank in the middle of the store. The third Casino Ballroom – the one standing today -- had been open for 3 years, and commercial fishing boats were moored to Williams Pier. Missing for more than 50 years, Gulfport's general store has returned. Today the fishing boats are gone from the Pier and the Food …