THE IDEAL PLACE

              TO LIVE! ~ PART TWO

ABOVE -- Did you ever hitch a ride on this pintsize train?  Many of Oceanway's long-time residents were familiar with it, since the Jacksonville Zoo lays just south of their community.  This postcard dates from around 1960. 

For the history of the Jacksonville Zoo, see its website at http://www.jaxzoo.org/globals/ZooHistory.asp

CLICK HERE FOR PART ONE OF OCEANWAY'S HISTORY

"History of Oceanway, the Ideal Place to Live!," by Jamzee Ford.  "All rights Reserved. Copyrighted September 2004. Published in Jacksonville, Florida." 

Early Entertainment in Oceanway

Gordon’s Skating Rink & Donkey Baseball; 12635 N. Main St. 32218:  Another form of entertainment included Gordon’s skating rink, located across the street from the Hardware store. This location also used to be a C & C grocery.   Included inside were two lanes for bowling. Someone had to stand behind the pins and manually stand them back up, and then roll the bowling ball back to the player. Mr. Burl Kitler (former owner of The Red Maple) happened to have that special task.  He actually lost his thumbnail from doing it!  He also loaded trucks up with sand for 50 cents when he needed extra money.  The sand was used for mixing with cement for residents building homes and such. Burl also told about Donkey baseball games, which were held in a field behind the skating rink. The Oceanway boys would play baseball while riding on donkeys (not very tame donkeys, either).  That would have been a sight to see.  I would like to see a reenactment of that myself!  Now Discount Auto Parts sits where the skating rink and C & C grocery used to be.

Pine Drive-Inn Theatre:  This outdoor theater was located on East Port Road, close to Main Street.  The Sunday evening Early Bird special was 50 cents per carload.  Residents would pack as many people as they could in the vehicle.  The couple that ran the theatre lived in a Mobile home on the property.  They served hand made pizza, popcorn, sodas and more at the concession.  There was always an intermission so people could get refreshments without missing the movie.  The lot started with one screen and then added two additional screens around 1974.  The R rated movies had to be shown on screen two because it was the only screen that could not be seen from Main Street.  Just as in theatres today, the couples wanting to make-out always parked in the back.  The lot was set up so that cars parked on a hill to prevent blocking other’s views.  It wasn’t all fun going to a drive-in, though. Cars parked next to a pole, where they could take a set of speakers and place on the window.  This meant the window had to always be cracked, even if it was raining.  Mosquito trays were a must.  People placed these lighted coils on their dash boards.  The gas fumes were bad because no one could afford unleaded fuel.  Also, since the lot was not paved, ant beds were everywhere.  Now a trucking company sits in this spot.

Jacksonville Raceways, 186 Pecan Park Road, 32218:  Just down from the Flea Market sits the ever-popular raceways. This raceway hosts races not only for stockcars, but legal drag racing, go-carts, and are now building a Motor Cross racing track.  Residents can hear the roar of the cars for miles.  It was established sometime in the early 1960’s.  The first owners were believed to be Julian Klein and Mr. Rodenberry.  Roger Godbee has been the owner since 1979.  Godbee hosts Midnight drag races on Saturday’s from midnight to 3:00 a.m.  This has been a very successful effort to keep kids off the streets.  It is only $5.00 to watch and $10.00 to race.  They have had up to 1,000 kids in a single night. He also hosts test and tune sessions during the week for those who wish to practice. The best part is that it’s all legal and safe.  There are always paramedics and police on hand.  His website provides schedules and lots of other information: http://www.jaxRacewaysOnline.com/

 Recreation

Community Center, 12215 Sago Ave, 32218:  Built in 1976 thanks to ex-Mayor Jake Godbold.  It sits on 27 acres and includes indoor sports such as foosball and table tennis to outdoor sports such as basketball, tennis, and fishing.  Its Olympic size community pool is a great treat to the kids during the summer.  It was a special time in Oceanway’s history when this park was developed.  This community had absolutely nothing to do until the park was built.  Now, everyone in the community, from children to seniors, enjoys it.  More recently, the seniors had their own separate facility built on the premises.

Tom Marshall Ball Park:  This ball field has been a part of the community since 1953.  It was named after a college baseball pitcher, Thomas Marshall (1902-1953), who chose to practice law instead of a professional baseball career.  He also served as City Council President and chair of major Council committees from 1933 until 1940.  A bridge that crosses the trout river at Main Street was also named after him in 1959.  The parks motto is:  “The youth of today are our leaders of tomorrow.”  This nonprofit organization consists of an excellent volunteer board, coaches, team moms, parents, and very eager team players.  It offers T-ball, baseball, and softball. You can be guaranteed to always inhale the sweet smell of traditional concession food.

The Timucua Preserve:  The wildlife preserve is located off New Berlin, past the power plant, at the end of Island Drive.  The narrow dirt road winds for miles through the beautiful marsh.  It used to be a common campground with some residents living through the causeway (marsh).  It is now a popular place for fieldtrips, Family Saturday’s, teacher’s workshops, and much more.  It is owned by JEA and provides opportunities for schools and family’s to experience first hand encounters with Nature.  They offer a variety of activities including hiking, making animal tracks, searching through Owl Pellets, adaptation games, and much more.  The neat thing about it is that it is totally surrounded by wetlands.  The view is spectacular. Some residents often called it “Dead Tree Beach” since dead trees often lined the shore of the beach.

I was told that an Indian used to sell authentic Indian jewelry from his home down Sawpit road. (Very close to Timucua Preserve).  He may still be living there today.  The following isn’t something I would teach elementary students about at school, but I do find it humorous.  Rumor has it that 50 years before, this used to be a nudist colony.   Yes, you read this correctly.  It was called the Bird sanctuary.  It had a beautiful, clear, and cold, 30 ft spring that people used to camp next to, swim, and fish in, all in the nude!  There were all kinds of critters, from deer to bats.  Nudity is no longer allowed, except for the animals!

Jacksonville Zoo; 8605 Zoo Parkway, 32218 (Off Hecksher Drive):  The Zoo used to be free so this was a popular dating spot.  The only thing that cost money was a soda or food.  It gave folks something to do that they could afford.  Now the prices for food are as high as Disney, but people can bring in their own food and coolers.  The Zoo has come a long way, removing animals from cages and placing in a natural habitat settings.  It is definitely worth seeing.

The Jetties:  This beach was often referred to as the “Redneck Riviera” beach.  If you could not find someone from Oceanway, they most likely were hanging out at the Jetties (now Huguenot Memorial Park Beach).  Back then, people could have campfires, dune buggy races, animals, and lots more that is not allowed anymore.  People still like to camp, hang out, and fish on the weekends.  It is one of the few beaches that allow vehicles to actually drive and park on the beach itself.

Transportation

Also, everyone in the community had their mailboxes lined up along Main Street.  Mail was not delivered to individual houses. A train dropped off the mail at Duval Station Depot. If someone wanted mail, they had to have a mailbox at that central location.  People who didn’t have transportation had to walk or carpool.  There were regular scheduled passenger trains (thru trains) and local trains that stopped at Duval Station. The depot house is still there today.  The local trains always had to pull into the sidetracks so the passenger trains could pass.   There were stations at Duval Station and Main Street, one at Main Street and Cole Road named Broward Station, and another one somewhere on Eastport Road called Eastport Junction. Apparently two lines ran to Eastport Junction. In 1928, Oceanway was considered Broward Station because the Broward’s owned everything. Two Broward women, one named Ida Broward, lived in a big white house, next to the Station, where Bacardi Rum is today.  One of the local lines ran from Fernandina to Starke, then Ocala, and finally Cedar Key (on West Coast past Gainesville). 

People didn’t really need transportation out here because they worked the farms and dairies and everyone helped each other out if they did need transportation.  The city bus has never had a route to or through Oceanway; however there was a bus from Fernandina, at one time, that stopped here on its way through Jacksonville. As income levels increase, taxi’s started coming out more often and automobiles became more evident than in earlier years.  Now, Oceanway has grown so much that not having a city bus hurts a lot of people.  There aren’t enough jobs out here and people without transportation do not have a way of getting across town to go to work.

Schools & Segregation

Before there was a school in the community, students were bused to Eastport School.  Mary Wright was the first school bus driver in Oceanway. When Oceanway School was first established in 1936, it sat on the property where Oceanway Hardware is today.  It was first grade through ninth grade.  It burnt down and a new school was built in 1938 right behind the old location and where the middle school sits today.  This school was 1^st – 12^th grade.  Later, around 1952, the school was divided.  The back half became first grade through fifth grade.  The front half was the seventh grade center.  Students were bused to Moncrief sixth grade center, Kirby Smith or Highlands Middle for seventh through ninth, and Andrew Jackson for High School (10^th thru 12^th).  First Coast High School was completed in 1991 and is located at the corner of Starratt Road and Duval Station Road. A new elementary school was built in 2002 in between Camden Road and Gillespie Ave.  The old location was torn down, except for the gym and rebuilt as a middle school (6^th through 8^th), which opened its doors this coming school year (2004).  The Principal, Mr. Cochran, transferred from the elementary school to the middle school.  I joke that it’s because he planted golf grass at the old elementary school and he wanted to return to that location to watch over his grass.

It is still well known that Oceanway has always been a segregated community.  It was segregated just like the rest of Jacksonville and the entire South for a long time after the war. Oceanway residents not only didn’t want Blacks out here, but also just didn’t want growth period. Residents survived the depression and they didn’t want outsiders coming in and taking over what they worked so hard to build.  Residents are now beginning to see that we need the growth.  Oceanway needs more taxpayers and business partners for our schools.

Tent City: Oceanway first started bussing blacks in during the 1960’s, when desegregation first started. Parents were appalled by the idea of black children attending school here, so they camped out in tents, in front of the school, to block bus drivers from letting the black children off the buses.   Tent City lasted for three months.  Yes, for three months parents camped out in front of the school preventing blacks from attending.  Mrs. Hartle recalls her daughter not wanting her to drive down Oceanway Ave, where the tents were, because she didn’t like the campers yelling horrible racial slurs.

The elementary school was 85% white, but just went down to 70% white in February 2004.  The new subdivisions and churches have helped and are still continuing to help desegregate Oceanway.  Seventeen churches came together in December 2002 and hosted a block party.  It was lots of fun.  There was loud music, games, food, prizes, hula-hoop contests, and it was all free.  The theme was, “A New Day in Oceanway.” (Reese)  Its purpose was to bring blacks and whites together in an enjoyable atmosphere.  The article is on the following website: http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/276.article

It was always a disconnected and segregated community.  We were the last to get anything, from electricity to streetlights and then parks.  If the city was giving out trees, we got the last of them and those were usually rotten.

It is well known that Oceanway has had a long tradition of ethnic diversity, or “No Blacks.”  It is said that blacks were “tarred and feathered,” in the 1960’s and several crosses have been burned.  However, a lot of the segregated generation has died off and the youth are more accustomed to being around other nationalities.  Not only has Oceanway always been considered segregated, but a low income and “redneck” community, as well. 

Before Barbara Hartle moved here from Highlands, she didn’t know why anyone wanted to live or even visit Oceanway.  It had a bad reputation.  She ended up moving here and eating her words.  She was worried about her children attending Oceanway School, so she decided to get involved in the school system.  One of her children graduated in the top 10, from Jackson in 1986.  Four of the other students from the top 10 that year were also from Oceanway. That says a lot about the type of caring and concerned parents that live here.  She fell in love with the community and the school and still works in Oceanway Elementary today as a schoolteacher.

The bad reputation and low-income status are fading quickly.  Now that has changed.  Homes range from $100,000 up to $600,000 (a lot of them have a view of beautiful marsh land and direct access to the Intracoastal Waterway), different nationalities live and work here, and the “redneck” theme is changing back to an “ideal place to live” them