SAHS Class of 1969

Legacy of Fort Mose

For more than 175 years the remains of the first free black town in the North American colonies lay forgotten in a salt marsh north of St. Augustine, Florida.

Known as Fort Mose, after an Indian name for the area, it was in 1738 the northernmost outpost protecting the capital of Spanish Florida, a vast territory stretching west to the Gulf of Mexico and north into what are today Georgia and South Carolina.

The Spanish encouraged enslaved Africans to flee English settlements in the Carolina, promising them freedom if they converted to Catholicism. Fort Mose was a diverse community made up of people from widely varied backgrounds: Mandingos, Congos, Carabalis, Minas, Gambia’s, Lecumis, Sambas, Ararat, and Guineans.

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994, Fort Mose is now the premier site on the Florida Black Heritage trail, a tangible reminder of the people who risked and often lost their lives in their struggle to attain freedom.

#Fort Mose #Spanish Florida #first free black town

If you’re not sure where Fort Mose State Park is, just head north on US1 just past Schooners restaurant. Keep an eye out after you pass and you should see the street on the east side that will take you to the state park.

Those of us who grew up in St. Augustine South will be amazed to see what The South looks like today. The St Augustine Observer - a monthly newsletter for and about residents of Southern St. Johns County is still full of interesting tidbits.

St. Augustine South got started in 1954. By November 1955 the developers had completed eight miles of roads with eight more miles under construction. The St. Augustine South Improvement Association (SASIA) was incorporated December 11, 1957 with 55 members. The proposed improvements included the park areas, street lights, mail delivery and numbering the houses.

Volume 1, Issue 1 of the St. Augustine South News - with editor Ruth Robbins - reported on the meeting leading to the SASIA incorporation but unfortunately it did not include who financed and published what would become the St. Augustine Observer. Today the St. Augustine Observer is published monthly for residents and visitors of the St. Augustine, Florida area with Cliff Logsdon as Publisher/Editor and Tatiana Diaz as Sales & Media. An advertisement in Issue 1 promoted lots for only $300 per lot with $25 down and $5 per month, indicating a price increase over the original price of $250 per lot.

Today you will find a delightful community that covers an area from Flagler Hospital (the new hospital is just south of State Road 312) down to Moultrie Creek. There are still plenty of the original small homes built in the 1950s but most of them have been updated to take advantage of today’s resources. Yards are beautiful and new homes are quite impressive. “Halloween in The South” is delightful with truck loads of goblins visiting the homes to get their share of treats.

What you see in the photo above is one of the many trails along the waterfront - Intercoastal waterway and Moultriecreek.

The next time you’re down this way, take some time to drive through St. Augustine South. You will find the original small homes are adorable along with the impressive big homes that have been built later.

Hi! Denise Barrett Olson here.

What you are looking at was once our home in Schonau - a small town near Mannheim, Germany. David was stationed at an Army base not far from the house we rented. I worked for Boston University which offered Masters degree college classes for U.S. soldiers and airmen while stationed in Europe. My job was to manage the computers used for courses all over Europe.

The picture you see here is our very small backyard. It was a delightful place on summer evenings. Winter evenings, not so much.

If you would like to stay in touch with your classmates, this Tumblr blog has been set up as a group blog. That means any of us can be added as contributors to this blog. Tumblr is part blog and part social network, making it an easy and fun way to share photos, videos, posts and notes. You don’t need to be a contributor to enjoy the posts. All you need to do is set your mobile device (best choice) or your computer to https://SAHS-1969.tumblr.com and Tumblr will walk you through the rest.

Did you know that during World War II the Ponce Hotel became the Coast Guard Academy?

There is still one thing in what is now Flagler College to remind us all of those days. You will find it in the men's restroom downstairs.

The SAHS class of 1969 is missing one of our favorite classmates. Carolyn Williams Godwin sent the following note to reunion committee members . . .

You may already know of our classmate and friend, Nancy Stauber Ballas, having lost her battle with COVID-19. She died in August after battling COVID related pneumonia. The world of her friends will be darker without her spark and joy in life.

To honor her, a few of us are sending donations to the SAHS Alumni Association’s Endowment Fund. If you would like to join us, please make your check out to “Jackets Forever Endowment Fund” and write “In memory of Nancy Stauber Ballas” in the memo line. Nancy’s family chose this charity for us. Out of our grief, goodness can fall.

Mail your checks to: Trevor Davis, CPA (treasurer)

If any of you took photos of any of the reunion events, would you please share them with us? We would like to post them here and on the Flickr album. You can send digital copies of photos to us at [email protected] and we will post them here.

We collected a lot of photos and screenshots as part of the 2019 reunion. The slideshow at the Saturday banquet was full of memories. With all those photos, it would be a shame to throw them away. Instead, we now have a SAHS/SJA Class of 1969 Memories group on Flickr.

If you aren’t familiar with Flickr, it is a photo management platform with some very impressive social networking features - one of those being groups. While each photo posted to Flickr has features for describing the photo and connecting with the person who posted it. It is a great place to post your favorite photographs - not only to share with others, but also as a protection against disasters.

I am using Flickr Groups as a great way to protect all the photos collected for the reunion and make those photos available to our classmates - those who attended the reunion and those who could not make it.

And there’s more . . .

Flickr’s social networking features make it possible to connect with other Flickr users for private conversations or via group discussions within a Flickr group. So, while it will be another ten years before the next reunion, we can easily stay in touch with our classmates through the photos, videos (yes, videos) and discussions on Flickr.