I%26#39;m not ancient but am getting there. Does anybody remember the pre- Frederick Gulf Shores? My parents took my sister and me to Gulf Shores every year for vacation until our late teens. I have very happy memories of Gulf Shores. This was back in the 60%26#39;s-70%26#39;s, before Frederick hit in %26#39;79. There wasn%26#39;t much in Gulf Shores then. I remember right at the end of HWY 59 you could almost drive on in the Gulf (no buildings to stop you). On the Right corner where 59 deadends there was a grocery/market called Jeannie%26#39;s Market and on the left was a Drug Store. Behind the Drug Store was an open air Arcade place they called ';The Hang Out';. All the ';Action'; was here. All the Teenagers hung out there. I thought it was ';SOO COOl';. Not many restaurants back then. I remember the Frendship House ( It was the finest restaurant), then there was the Dunes and I won%26#39;t ever forget the Dairy Queen. It was located back up Hwy 59. It was run by a lady named Hazel. I will never forget her. She was larger than life, always had bright red cheeks with sweat rolling down her face. (I bet it was hot doing all that cooking) . If memory serves me, she was loud spoken and always wore flowered cotton dresses with an appron tied around her waist. Those were the best hamburgers ever eaten and those milkshakes were like heaven. I remember siting and eating lunch behind the building at a concrete table with the pine and moss covered trees all around. Oh yea there also was a restaurant named Meme%26#39;s way out somewhere. It was very famous. I still have a cookbook from there. We stayed at the Robert%26#39;s Cottages every year. The people who owned it (I guess the Roberts) had a daughter and we would strike up a new friendship every year and have the best time. My Dad had to go see Fort Morgan every year also. There were some steps going up the outside of a building and one step had an old rust spot on it. My Dad said the spot was old BLOOD from one of the soilders who died. We believed him too year after year and were so amazed. Later on we became the wiser but never let on. LOL. Lots and lots of good memories of Gulf Shores. Now I guess it%26#39;s nothing but super tall condos. Can anyone tell me if there is any remnat of the old Gulf Shores left?
Well I%26#39;ve taken a trip down memory lane. Hope I didn%26#39;t bore everyone. Does anyone have any memorieg of Gulf Shores from years gone by? I would like to hear them.
Gulf Shores pre-Frederick
well, i didn%26#39;t get to experience the old gulf shores, But thanks for sharing yours.. Sometimes I long for the simpler times...Not everything has to be bigger and better.. We stayed at st george island three years ago and it is more like what you describe..No large condo%26#39;s and just a couple of places to eat. It was really nice. It;s funny that we all think the more there is to do on vacation the better. I like just siting back and enjoying the wonderful ocean air.. and watching the sea gulls. I hate that the mississippi gulf coast has lost some wonderful historic places and all those wonderful ancient trees. that%26#39;s something that can never be replaced with casino%26#39;s and condo%26#39;s.
Gulf Shores pre-Frederick
I lived near Gulf Shores and am very familiar with the pre-Frederick days. I am sorry to say that there is no resemlance to that Gulf Shores/ Orange Beach any longer. We have the developers, politicians, and city council to thank for erasing those fond memories and supplementing their pocket books. The beach now has become wall to wall with condos and you will be hard pressed to find a view from the highway to even glimpse the beach.
Hazel%26#39;s is still there and has two locations. The Flora-bama is trying to come back after Ivan. Sea and Suds is obscured by a condo and the rest is history. The only thing that still reminds me of the undeveloped Gulf Shores is Fort Morgan. We have a condo at the end of that road away from all else. It won%26#39;t be long till that is gone too.
I have never been more sad to see a place go, but you know what they say. ';You call some place paradise, you kiss it goodbye';
Back in 1978, I began hearing people talk about Gulf Shores and how wonderful it was. I think it was fall that we went there, to a Kiwanis convention at the brand-new state resort. I was NOT impressed. I was used to going to the beach at Myrtle Beach and Daytona Beach. The water was full of seaweed and there were very few restaurants. Everything shut down at 8 p.m. and boy was it DARK! Now that the city council is allowing tall condos, it is nothing like it was even 5 years ago. And now that last year%26#39;s hurricanes have given the developers an excuse to tear down and build big, even the small things are gone - Dairy Queen, the amusement park facing the beach. One good thing got swept away - a truly NASTY condo owned by Young%26#39;s Realty!!!!
I%26#39;m not ancient, either, but my family went to Gulf Shores almost every summer - same time period you were there. I remember The Friendship House - they also sold antiques in a separate room off to the right of the front door. There were not many restaurants to choose from, but they were all good. Meme%26#39;s was our favorite. My grandparents went with us on vacation and they were friends with the owners (I guess Meme herself). Meme%26#39;s had the best gumbo and they served bread and butter with the butter on oyster shells. There were no large towering condos back then and the beaches were usually almost deserted. There were lots of sea oats, also.
I still go to Gulf Shores every August with my husband, my daughter, and my mother.
If you want to recapture a bit of the ';old Gulf Shores'; you will need to stay on the Fort Morgan side, and it would be best to go there in September. It%26#39;s not nearly as crowded (beach and restaurants).
Meyer%26#39;s Real Estate and Kaiser Real Estate are good companies to rent from.
Do you remember ';Spooky Golf';? They had a miniature golf course with a giant (plaster?) fish that you had to walk inside of to hit your golf ball.
I too miss the old Gulf Shores. I turned 18 in %26#39;76 and we had a blast going to the honky tonks and listening to Southern rock bands. Kenny Stabler had a place I think because we kept running into him. We used to get a lovely old weathered board beach house going toward Fort Morgan and cram as many girls into it as we could fit. Ahh, those were the days.
The closest I%26#39;ve seen that resembles the old Gulf Shores is the road between Panama City and Cape San Blas. It%26#39;s called the Forgotten Coast but I don%26#39;t think it will forgotten for long. The Cape is already being over-run with beach houses wall to wall.
YES... why can%26#39;t Gulf Shores be like it used to be????? My grandparents owned a little cottage on the beach when we were growing up and that was where we spent many weeks during the summer.
If you%26#39;d like to see some postcards of the OLD Gulf Shores go here... http://www.jdweeks.com/gulfshores.html
Those aren%26#39;t mine but I sure did enjoy looking at them!!
YES... why can%26#39;t Gulf Shores be like it used to be????? My grandparents owned a little cottage on the beach when we were growing up and that was where we spent many weeks during the summer.
If you%26#39;d like to see some postcards of the OLD Gulf Shores go here... http://www.jdweeks.com/gulfshores.html
Those aren%26#39;t mine but I sure did enjoy looking at them!!
YES... why can%26#39;t Gulf Shores be like it used to be????? My grandparents owned a little cottage on the beach when we were growing up and that was where we spent many weeks during the summer.
If you%26#39;d like to see some postcards of the OLD Gulf Shores go here... http://www.jdweeks.com/gulfshores.html
Those aren%26#39;t mine but I sure did enjoy looking at them!!
Hey folks. Thanks for continuing my trip down memory lane. It put a smile on my face again.
Genesiscat.....I%26#39;ll check out Meyers Realty for somewhere to stay around Ft. Morgan and now that you mention it, I do remember the oyster shell butter at Meme%26#39;s. I also rember the Spooky Golf and was scared to go in the Mouth of the ';Monster'; when I was about 8.
Gumbeaux....I know about Cap San Blas and Port Saint Joe but have never been there. Might try it sometime. My family and I have been staying in Panama city beach area every year for the past....oh...15 or so years because my sister just happened up on a place that reminded us of the ';Old Gulf Shores'; and our two boys wanted more to do. It was on the West end of PC (Quieter end). The name was Nauticus Beach Villas. It was sold by the owners 2 years ago. they were made an offer they couldn%26#39;t refuse (13mil.) for the place an yet another condo is on the way.
Alee123... Thanks for the info and web address. I going there now to check it out!!!
Wow.. I don%26#39;t know my reply was posted THREE times!
Sorry about that.
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