By Olivene Godfrey
FLORIDA YEARS....
Since my husband, Ralph, was in bad health during his retirement
years before his death last year, I am grateful for the four
years we spent in Florida when we were young and healthy.
In the spring of 1958, we sold our northwest Georgia home and
furnishings and packed our personal possessions in a U-Haul-
it trailer. We hitched the trailer to the rear of our new 1957
Chevy, unaware that it would one day be a classic. And one early
morning, we headed south. Our destination was New Port Richey,
FL where Ralph's sister, Agnes, and her husband, Alvin, lived
with their oldest son, John, who was a two-year-old at that
time. We stayed in their guest room until we found a place
to live and Ralph went to work temporarily with Alvin who was
a builder.
When we were settled into a new home, we were all busy with
work and good times, especially on weekends when Ralph, always
an avid fisherman, and Alvin, who owned a boat, went fishing
a lot. Fish has always been one of my favorite foods and we
had plenty of it, not counting what Ralph caught, but we could
go down to docks when the fishing boats came in and buy fish
fresh off the boats.
We often enjoyed picnic suppers on the beach, with Agnes frying
chicken on a small, gas stove. We visited Tampa's world port
and marveled at the huge boats and watched as bananas were
unloaded and we made a lot of pictures. (I have family albums
that date back 60 years.)
I remember vividly one Saturday when we wore swim suits under
our shorts and shirts and with a picnic lunch aboard, we all
went out in the Gulf of Mexico in Alvin's boat to a beautiful,
isolated island with a pink sandy beach. We ate our picnic
lunch on the beach and explored part of the island. When we
returned home, we ran into a squall and I was frightened but
Alvin was a skillful sailor and we made it home safe and sound
and content after a happy day.
Another fun adventure was when we drove down to Clearwater
beach one night and went out in the Gulf with a lot of other
swimmers. That was before the movie, Jaws, and we were not overly
afraid of sharks. At that time, the beach was lighted at night.
Sometimes Agnes and I went shopping. Alvin's mother. Granny,
lived in an apartment attached to their home and was often a
sitter for John so Agnes and I would go to Tampa or St Petersburg
and shop. We played Rook with them often, too. At that time,
few homes were air-conditioned so we always had large fans turned
on us. In the hottest months, it was difficult to sleep in the
extreme heat.

The days flew by and Ralph found a job at St. Petersburg and
we moved into an apartment there. I was always thin and gained
a few pounds. Ralph met a co-worker who owned a boat and they
soon became fishing buddies.
Another co-worker lived on Treasure Island beach and owned a
duplex there which he offered us at a reasonable rental fee
so we moved there and another adventure began for us. We still
saw Agnes and Alvin frequently and a number of relatives and
friend visited us while we lived there. They would rent a motel
on the beach as our duplex apartment was too small for more
than one guest. I often prepared meals for the guests and we
cooked out a lot, too.
I remember when my sister, Jeanette and her family and
another couple spent their vacation on the Treasure Island beach
and we had a great time with them, including a cruise one day
from St Petersburg to Tampa with lunch served aboard the boat.
and then my Aunt Helen, now 99 -years old, visited us for three
weeks when she had been recently widowed. She and I ate lunch
every day in restaurants on the beach and had a great time.
To this day, she says the three weeks were among the happiest
she ever lived. The visit was marred only by my extreme fatigue
that had recently hit me.
When my aunt returned to her home in Chattanooga, TN, I went
to a doctor in St Petersburg about my fatigue. I was anemic
but the big surprise was that I was pregnant after a childless
12 year marriage. I remember driving home on the causeway to
Treasure Island with a big smile on my face. Needless to say
we were very happy and I can assure young women that being
pregnant while living on a beach is wonderful. I bought a
maternity swim suit and practically lived on the beach and Ralph
and I often walked late in the afternoon on the beach. Agnes
was also pregnant with her youngest son, Brian, who was born
four months before my son, Barry, and Agnes loaned me her
maternity clothes. The doctor had given me iron shots and I
was soon healthy and happy. I was never nauseated or had any
problems and felt great right up to the birth of Barry, who
we called our Miracle child.
We soon moved to a charming small house in St. Petersburg were
we had more space for the baby. Our large yard was like a Garden
of Eden with tall palm trees, pink grapefruit trees, avocado
trees and various types of tropical plants. Life became very
different for us as we became devoted parents to our son.
When Barry was two-years- old, we became homesick for our beloved
north Ga mountains and the friends and relatives there. So we

returned to Georgia where we have lived since those Florida
years. Still I cherish those years in Florida that we enjoyed
so much as we were never able to experience the plans we had
made for our retirement.