ALAQUAH CEMETARY, STEELE CHURCH, MAGNOLIA CEMETARY

ALL OF DADDY'S SIBLINGS HAVE PASSED AWAY, BUT I THOUGHT I MIGHT HAVE SOME COUSINS STILL IN DEFUNIAK. I LOOKED ONLINE AND IN THE PHONE BOOK, I COULDN'T FIND ANY HAMILTONS. I KNEW I WANTED TO GO TO WHERE MY GRANDPARENTS ARE BURIED, ALL I COULD REMEMBER WAS IT WAS A SMALL CHURCH CEMETARY OUT OF TOWN. I LOOKED ONLINE AND FOUND ALAQUAH CEMETARY AND STEELE CHURCH. THAT'S WHERE THEY WERE AND SOME OF DADDY'S SIBLINGS.

I WAS SURPRISED IT WAS A METHODIST CHURCH! I THOUGHT WE WERE ALL BAPTISTS!

 IT'S A PRETTY LITTLE CHURCH, THE LAST TIME I WAS HERE AS A CHILD, I REMEMBER IT BEING IN PRETTY BAD SHAPE. LOOKS LIKE THEY HAVE FIXED IT UP AND TAKEN CARE OF IT OVER THE YEARS.

THE ALAQUAH CEMETARY IS RIGHT NEXT DOOR.

I FOUND MY RELATIVES RIGHT AWAY.

THE WHOLE HAMILTON PLOT.

MY GRANDMOTHER. I NEVER KNEW HER, SHE DIED BEFORE I WAS BORN.

MY GRANDFATHER. I  ONLY HAVE ONE MEMORY OF HIM AND THAT WAS HIM WORKING IN HIS GARDEN. THEY HAD 5 BOYS AND 5 GIRLS.

HOWARD WAS ONE OF MY DAD'S BROTHERS.

AND LES

THESE ARE  THE TWO BROTHERS I REMEMBER....I DON'T REMEMBER HIS OTHER TWO BROTHERS AT ALL.....IRA AND ROY.

MY HOME SWEET HOME

DEFUNIAK SPRINGS IS IN WALTON COUNTY, MY DAD'S MIDDLE NAME WAS WALTON, AND MY OLDEST SON'S MIDDLE NAME IS WALTON.

WE DROVE BY MY HOUSE SO MANY TIMES, WE FIGURED SOMEONE WOULD CALL THE COPS ON US. ONE DAY I TOLD DARRELL TO LET ME OUT AND I WALKED FROM TOWN TO MY HOUSE. THE WALKING SEEMED TO HELP ME REMEMBER.

MRS. DRAKE'S HOUSE, WHICH WAS ACROSS THE STREET FROM US LOOKED PRETTY MUCH THE SAME.

MY BEST FRIEND, ROBERT RUTAN'S FAMILY LIVED IN THIS HOUSE, AND HIS FAMILY OWNED THE  DRY CLEANERS WHICH  WAS RIGHT NEXT DOOR, ALL OF THAT WAS STILL THERE.

 THE DRY CLEANERS WAS CLOSED....I HALF EXPECTED TO FIND ROBERT IN THERE WORKING, FOLLOWING IN HIS FATHER'S AND GRANDFATHER'S FOOTSTEPS.....

OUR HOUSE WAS RIGHT BEHIND THE DRY CLEANERS.

TOLEDO AVENUE......MY HOUSE IS ON THE LEFT. THERE WERE HOUSES WHERE I REMEMBERED EMPTY LOTS AND  EMPTY LOTS WHERE I REMEMBERED HOUSES.

WE HAD A SEPARATE LITTLE HOUSE FOR THE WASHER/DRYER, IN THIS PICTURE YOU CAN SEE IT....I COULD HARDLY BELIEVE IT WAS STILL STANDING.

THIS IS A BACK VIEW OF OUR HOUSE........

THE REASON WHY OUR HOUSE LOOKS SO DIFFERENT, IS BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN ADDED ON TO.

OUR HOUSE WAS JUST THIS SQUARE PART.

I WAS BORN IN THIS HOUSE. I REMEMBERED THE BRICK COLUMNS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE FRONT STEPS, AND THE SCREENED IN PORCH. IN MY MEMORY THOUGH, EVERYTHING WAS BIGGER!!

WHATEVER THE CASE.......IT LOOKED LIKE HOME IF YOU SQUINTED YOUR EYES A LITTLE.

WE LEFT TOLEDO AVENUE AND DROVE OUT HIGHWAY 90 AND JUST BY ACCIDENT FOUND THE FAIRGROUNDS.....I HAD FORGOTTEN ALL ABOUT THE FAIRGROUNDS. THIS IS WHERE DADDY TAUGHT ME HOW TO DRIVE.

AND OF COURSE ONCE A YEAR THE CARNIVAL CAME TO TOWN.....THAT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF OUR SUMMER! WE SPENT THE WHOLE WEEK AT THE CARNIVAL, PLAYING THE GAMES AND RIDING THE RIDES.

BILOXI MISSISSIPPI & DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, FLORIDA

WE ARRIVED AT MARTIN LAKE RV RESORT, JUST OUTSIDE OF BILOXI,  ANOTHER PASSPORT AMERICA PARK.

WE HAD A LARGE PULL THRU SITE, WITH A BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF THIS LITTLE LAKE.

AFTER WE GOT SET UP, DARRELL CALLED THE DODGE DEALER AND MADE AN APPOINTMENT TO GET THE TRUCK SERVICED  THE NEXT DAY. DARRELL WAS  IN DIRE NEED OF A HAIRCUT, SO WE TOOK OFF THE NEXT MORNING TO FIND A BARBER. WE FOUND A LADY BARBER....SHE DID A GREAT JOB!

ALSO DID SOME SHOPPING AT WALMART AND WINN DIXIE, I WAS ABLE TO FIND SOME NICE LOOKING, REASONABLY PRICED  MEAT AT WINN DIXIE.
THE NEXT MORNING WE TOOK OFF FOR DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, FLORIDA, WHERE I WAS BORN, I WAS EXCITED!

I WAS FINALLY  BACK IN FLORIDA AFTER 54 YEARS!

WE MADE THE TURN OFF INTERSTATE  10 FOR DEFUNIAK, 54 YEARS AGO, THERE WAS NO INTERSTATE 10.

WE WERE STAYING AT SUNSET KING LAKE RV RESORT, JUST OUTSIDE OF DEFUNIAK.

THIS WAS ALSO A PASSPORT AMERICA PARK. WE HAD A VERY NICE LARGE LOT.

AFTER WE GOT SET UP, WE HEADED FOR DEFUNIAK, I COULDN'T WAIT ANOTHER MINUTE.  I PUT 104 TOLEDO AVENUE IN MRS. GARMIN. DRIVING IN TO DEFUNIAK I HARDLY  RECOGNIZED  ANYTHING. WE FOUND THE COKE PLANT........IT WAS STILL THERE!! THAT WOULD BE MY STARTING POINT IN FINDING ANYTHING.

AND THE BALL FIELD............

WE DROVE BY MY HOUSE, EXCEPT THE ADDRESS  WAS NOT 104, IT WAS 41, SO I WASN'T SURE IT WAS MY HOUSE.

MY MEMORY WAS AS FUZZY AS THIS PICTURE!

THEN WE DROVE TO BALDWIN AVENUE, WHICH IS THE MAIN STREET OF DEFUNIAK.  MY DAD'S TAXI BUSINESS WAS ON THIS STREET, I FOUND IT,  AND THE MOVIE THEATRE, JUST A FEW DOORS DOWN.

THIS WAS THE MOVIE THEATRE, WHERE AS A KID I SPENT A LOT OF MY TIME. THEY HAVE RESTORED IT AND STILL USE IT. I LOOKED IN THE WINDOWS, AND I REMEMBERED.  I WALKED AROUND THE BLOCK,  EVERYTHING  WAS SMALLER THAN I REMEMBERED.  I USED TO WALK TO TOWN PRACTICALLY EVERY DAY AS A KID, AND THOUGHT IT WAS SUCH A LONG WAYS FROM HOME TO TOWN.  IT'S NOT, IT'S VERY CLOSE.  I STARTED REALIZING THAT  54 YEARS IS A LONG TIME!!

I REMEMBERED  THIS CLOCK.

THE CREATIVE SALON BUILDING IN THIS PICTURE  WAS THE DRUG STORE AND THE BRICK BUILDING WAS THE BANK. DEFUNIAK HAD DEFINITELY CHANGED.......FOR THE BETTER IT SEEMED.  DEFUNIAK WAS NOW  "HISTORIC DEFUNIAK."

 IT WAS VERY EMOTIONAL FOR ME.......

THERE WAS A LITTLE JOG IN THE STREET HERE....AND I REMEMBERED THIS LITTLE GATHERING PLACE.

WE DROVE BY LAKE DEFUNIAK AND OUT TO MY SCHOOL....TO MY HORROR ...THERE WAS JUST A BIG HOLE IN THE GROUND. I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT I THOUGHT COMING HERE.....BUT I WAS ON AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER....AND I HAD  SEEN ALL I COULD HANDLE FOR ONE DAY.