Community Archive

Ken Knight, who grew up in Crestview from 1948 to 1958, fondly recalls swimming in a clear, chilly creek just south of the city limits and west of State Road 85. “Whenever I talk with someone from that area, I always call it ‘God’s country,'” Knight, who is now 77 and lives in Alachua in the Gainesville metro area, said on Oct. 13. “I would love to live there again. When I was a kid, I used to swim in Turkey Hen Creek. The water was freezing! My fingers would shrivel up.”

A suspension bridge, an historic gristmill and abundant serene scenes of nature thrill hikers on a 6.5-mile roundtrip trek by Krul and Bear lakes within the Blackwater River State Forest in northeast Santa Rosa County.

Troy University environmental science faculty recently developed an oyster habitat suitability model for the Choctawhatchee Bay as part of a $114,843 grant from the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance and Northwest Florida State College.

Gary Ellis, owner of Crestview Plumbing and Hardware at 297 N. Main St., plans to close the iconic downtown store for good on Oct. 31, Halloween, after working there for almost half a century.

Ellis, 65, of Baker, said on Aug. 3 that he plans to lease his overall commercial property to 3rd Planet Brewing Co., which plans to open a craft brewery like the one it has in Niceville sometime next year.

There’s more than one way to swing on a front porch, and a new porch swing is just one of them. Another is to jitterbug to the irresistible music of a lively big band. On Aug. 12, Crestview’s historic Bush House’s front porch has both.

As the popularity of pickleball grows, so does the need for training in the sport. The basics are that of a simple paddle/racquet sport, making contact with the ball and getting it over a net. But to really develop skills you have to know proper techniques.

Though it stands less than half a mile from busy U.S. Highway 90, the 2.5-acre site of the John McMahon Environmental Education Center in Crestview serves as a peaceful and shaded respite from the sun where visitors can hear bird songs and rustling leaves.

Twin Hills Park will host a decorated-bicycle parade, a slew of games, food and drink vendors, and DJ-provided music that will continue through a half-hour-long fireworks show on the Fourth of July.

“It’s more than just fireworks: It’s a ‘Party in the Park,’” Crestview Public Information Manager Chance Leavins said.

This week we reported on the exciting future of the legendary Fox Theatre in downtown Crestview. The vision of the owners is exactly what can create a vibrant downtown community: three full-meu restaurants, a tapas and cocktail bar and a live-music venue.

A Celebration of Life to honor James “Jeff” Jeffrey Littrell, the former longtime Okaloosa County Water and Sewer Department director who died from medical complications on June 5, will be held at 11 a.m. June 22 at Emerald Coast Funeral Home.