Monthly Archives: August 2019
When Gov. Talmadge created the Jekyll Island Authority in 1950, his statement to the press “To create a non-political authority and to remove Jekyll Island from politics.”* sounded sincere. One cannot help but wonder why such a redundant statement was important, certainly when only a few years later the exact opposite occurred. The Authority does seem to function as a non-political entity, until the island becomes easily accessible in December 1954 with the opening of the drawbridge. Eager to implement…..
Behind every creation are visionaries who take a huge risk without the absolute certainty that their plan and idea will ultimately succeed. One only needs to browse through history books to recognize this fact. The creation of Jekyll Island State Park is certainly no exception to this rule. On the contrary, it is proof that visionaries can lay the foundation upon which an idea can sprout and grow; as if the visionaries trust the fertile ground within which their seed…..
How many times have we heard that infamous phrase? And how many times has history proven that this concept is simple, yet hard to achieve? In the case of Jekyll Island and its foray into the “year-round resort” market, it actually worked but only with the help of some “heavenly,” read “State” intervention. When the new Authority took control of the island’s day-to-day management in 1957, and all previous board members were replaced with State-elected officials*, B.E. Thrasher took the…..
The Drifters may have had a top single in 1964 with the same title, but I doubt their lyrics were based on the Jekyll Island boardwalk. It is hard to imagine that the island’s ocean side featured an actual boardwalk, stretching almost two miles long, but some do remember although remnants of it are barely visible. In 1957, the Authority approved the construction of a concrete boardwalk along the ocean side. The purpose was to create a unique family beach…..