Remember When

At 33, I feel possibly too young to be contemplating the good old days. Still, I sometimes find myself and friends half-jokingly adding “back in my day” sentiments to our conversations.

Already, my 30s have felt like a reflective decade. So much has changed in my life but also in the world around me. So much, I’m realizing, has changed along the Emerald Coast.

While working on this issue’s “Conversations with the Past” feature story, I got to know Stephanie Somerset, a fellow Fort Walton Beach born-and-raised native. As we spoke about her upbringing, I found myself comparing her version of Fort Walton Beach in the ’60s and ’70s to mine in the ’90s and early 2000s and then comparing it all to the Fort Walton Beach of today.

The change and growth of my hometown weighed on me.

Where I can recall days when views from Choctawhatchee Bay toward Destin lacked the imposing height of the Emerald Grande, AJ’s on the Bayou was the Don Carlos restaurant, and the Santa Rosa Mall dominated in its golden era, Somerset can do me one, or several, better.

She fondly recalled a childhood and teenage years spent on Cinco Bayou. Back then, the Emerald Grande was far from even a thought in infrastructural fruition, Don Carlos, now AJ’s on the Bayou, was still Chan’s, and the Santa Rosa Mall was a brand-new amenity being built during her senior year at Choctawhatchee High School. 

Growing up, Somerset frequented Fort Walton Square, now Uptown Station, and Tringas Theatre, Suds N Cinema today but Cinema Plus when I was a kid. On special occasions, Somerset recalls riding out on her father’s ski boat for family dinners at The Seagull Restaurant on Okaloosa Island, where Adventure Marina is now. Meanwhile, I recall sunny afternoons spent on the playground at Fudpucker’s on Okaloosa Island, AJ’s Oyster Shanty today, while my parents supped on beer and oysters.

Somerset has seen businesses come and go. In just my 30-some years, so have I. One business, we realized, stood the test of both our times—Goofy Golf. And I can confirm that it’s just as fun today as it was 20 years ago, even 50 years ago.

I’m realizing, from my own experiences as well as that of my elders, that it’s often small, local businesses that leave lasting impressions on us. There will always be those local businesses that stick around long enough to leave the sort of impact that scratches our brains with nostalgia even decades after their closing.

Sometimes, while out and about, I ponder which businesses will still be around in another 30-some years, which will scratch that nostalgic itch as I converse with friends, and which will have me waxing poetic about the hottest happenings in Fort Walton Beach back in my day.

Change is inevitable, often necessary. Business owners move on to better or different opportunities. As long as our area continues to foster that sort of entrepreneurial energy that births the best local hangouts, I know we’ll maintain our character, our charm.

So, get out of the house. Get some sunshine. Explore local hangouts and haunts. Enjoy a round of beers, frozen daquiris, or oysters. Invite some friends, and make some memories. And, in 30-some years, call them up and say …

“Hey, remember when?”

Stay cool,