History Archive

Military families are no stranger to homecomings but for one family in Northwest Florida, they had a homecoming 73 years in the making. On April 4, one family finally got the opportunity to say hello and goodbye to a Korean War veteran who had been missing since 1950. Private First Class Ithiel Whatley, of Pensacola, had been reported missing July 12, 1950, in the vicinity of Choci’won in present day South Korea. He was 19 at the time.

Northwest Florida is rich in history, but one part of its history has been getting more attention from historians in recent years. In September 2021, the Pensacola Pass was recognized as an Underground Railroad site by the National Park Service. The following year, in November, Fort Pickens attained the same status. Both sites are part of NPS’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, which consists of 700 listings in 39 states, plus Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

One Year Ago – 2021

Santa Rosa County’s mass vaccination center opened March 1 and two days later had vaccinated 1,100 people which was close to the number that they originally thought they’d be doing in one week.

One Year Ago – 2021

The Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners was second-guessing a code violation citation issued by the county Code Enforcement Department due to what the owner called a large mulch pile and their neighbor considered a rat- and termite-infested heap of danger.

One Year Ago – 2021

Hurricane Sally caused a lot of damage to the asphalt in between Navarre and Pensacola Beach. Bicyclists and pedestrians were able to use the beach road, but the road remained closed to public vehicles with no timetable for repair though crews were working intermittently to remove the sand.

One Year Ago – 2021

The Navarre Beach Fishing Pier’s new restroom facility was ready for installation. The pier, the longest such structure on the Gulf of Mexico, had posed a challenge to fishermen and others as the nearest restroom had been at Windjammer’s.

One Year Ago – 2021

On a 3-2 vote the county commissioners started the process of amending the Comprehensive Plan to permit expanding sand and gravel mining in the county, which was informally known as the “borrow pit” issue.

One Year Ago – 2020

Renaming the Navarre Beach bridge after Donald J. Trump began on Facebook in December and found its way as an item raised during a public forum of the Board of County Commissioners.

One Year Ago – 2020

A proposed gas station for 8006 Navarre Pkwy. was not well received by some area residents saying that it would be in violation of land development code that required “hazardous or potentially hazardous materials” be stored or located at least 500 feet away from the nearest residential structure and the closest residence was only 230 feet away.

One Year Ago – 2020

Portraying proposed changes to the Santa Rosa County comprehensive land-use plan as a significant threat to potable water safety and supply, the Holley-Navarre Waste System board of directors decided to intensify the utility’s opposition campaign to the plan that would permit borrow pit expansion.