PARTY LIKE IT'S 1909: As community celebrates its centennial, The Sun looks back on the days of yore

The Santa Rosa Beach community will celebrate its 100^- year founding near Ed Walline Park this week.

For a look back and sneak peak into the Walline family lore, The Sun sat down with Walton County born-and-bred daughter of the park’s namesake, Adrienne Walline Campbell.

“All we had back then was a volunteer fire department and no water pump, so as a kid I would jump into a truck and go watch it burn,” said Campbell, the only daughter of Santa Rosa Beach pioneers Ed and Jane Walline.

Ed was the first constable appointed to the community by the governor. As a constable he carried a gun and was tasked with arresting criminals.

“He walked in to the old post office and knocked a guy that was wanted over the head with a milk jug,” Campbell said. “He never liked carrying a gun and always tried to find a way not to use it.”

Campbell described her father and founder of the Mosquito Control District as “very civic minded” and “issue oriented.” 

“We would yell ‘the one eyed monster is coming’ when the mosquito truck first started,’” Cambell said. “But there was no air conditioning and the mosquitoes, horse flies and dog flies were so big they would carry you off.”  

The “fog” trucks were not only used for controlling blood sucking pests.

“In the 70s, my father was part of the movie Frogs; well he was asked to make the fog,” Campbell said of the cult classic, which was filmed at Eden State Gardens.

Ed Walline was a “confirmed bachelor until he met my mother when he was 45; that was the end of it,” Campbell said.

People “did not waste anything back then and they worked together,” Campbell said of her grandparents, who moved to the area in 1912 and were, among other things, sugar cane famers.

“After they sent the crops to the mill, Chat Holly would buy the left over foam and go deep into the woods and make liquor for the weekend dances,” Campbell said of her father’s life-long family friend. These days Holly is better known for the road that runs parallel to Highway 98.

Paved roads and bridges are luxuries that also escaped the early settlers, and Walline was always there to lend a hand to stranded travelers, according to Campbell.

“People got stuck so often, my father would ride around with a shovel and boards in his truck to pull people out,” Campbell said. “When they pulled my grandmother’s casket up the hill to the cemetery in 1948 or ’49, it got stuck in the sand.” 

Old historic houses are not abundant in Santa Rosa Beach, a fact Campbell attributes to a hurricane in the 1930s.

“After a big hurricane, a lot of people died and there was a mass exodus, so all the abandoned houses fell into disrepair,” Campbell said. “The old Washaway house was picked up and moved to where it sits on stilts today.” 

With no bridges, people had to be ferried back and forth.

“The Charles E. Cessna was three-stories high; it was a wonder how it never got stuck in the shallow water or fall over,” Campbell said.

Vernon Butler was another dear friend to Ed Walline until the very end.

“Vernon was my dad’s best friend and when dad didn’t show up for a mosquito control meeting, he got concerned and stopped by the house, that's when he found him,” Campbell said.

Born in 1909, Ed Walline died when he was 75 years old.

COLLECTION OF COVERAGE

THIS OLD HOUSE: Washaway endures test of time (PHOTOS)

COLUMN: At 100, you’ve come a long way, Walton

WANT TO HELP?

The South Walton 100 Year Centennial Celebration event, which is taking place Sept. 11-12, is looking for volunteers to help with welcoming the public and other activities. Please call Johndra Culp for information at 850-622-5815.

Emmy Award winner Greg Barnhill to perform at Centennial Celebration

Emmy-winner Greg Barnhill will perform a free concert at Gulf Place on Saturday, Sept. 11, as part of Santa Rosa Beach’s Centennial Celebration. The two-day celebration will be held at Gulf Place and commemorates the founding of the old Town of Santa Rosa in 1910.

“Greg Barnhill is bringing ‘The Nashville A-Team’ with him, a group comprised of some of Nashville’s hottest talents,” said Centennial Celebration spokesperson Johndra Culp. “Both days will feature free live performances by amazing musicians, such as Cadillac Willy, Bryan Kennedy, Suzi Ragsdale, Eric Lindell, Mike & The Yellow Flies, Duke Bardwell, Washboard Jackson, The Steenos, Sonya Cunningham, the Tennessee Firearms and more. It’s going to be an incredible two days of fun.”

Culp said that the civic celebration will also feature vendors offering food, local art, unique items for sale and historic demonstrations.

 The festival is being presented by Waste Management, with additional sponsorship support from Beach 95.1 FM Bud & Alley's, 30A.com, 30A Television, WaterColor Inn & Resort, Cottage Rental Agency, Wachovia, Beach Technical Service Automotive, Andrews & Arnsdorff Realty, Beaches of South Walton, The Red Bar, Trustmark, Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club, Consolidated Pipe, The Walton Sun, Gulf Cemetery Association and ResortQuest.

The event will be held at Gulf Place (located at the intersection Scenic Highway 30A and County Road 393) on Saturday, Sept. 11 from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. and on Sunday, Sept. 12 from noon until 6 p.m.

For more information, as well as a complete live music schedule, please visit www.srb100.com.