B-I-N-G-O At the C-C-C
January 11, 2009
Judy Copeland with Epilepsy Services of Northwest Florida and the Dogwood Chapter of Good Sam Club teamed up to play “Safety Bingo” with the residents of Century Care Center. There were no losers in the game, and the residents enjoyed themselves as did the volunteers. The two groups provided an abundance of prizes, as well as game play assistance for those who needed it. Submitted photos, click to enlarge.
North Escambia’s Very Own New Year’s Baby Turns 6
January 10, 2009
April Johnson of Walnut Hill was born six years ago with just a little claim to fame; April was Escambia County’s 2003 New Year’s baby.
“We certainly did not think we would have A New Year’s Baby, especially the first one of 2003,” mom Emily Johnson said.
The first due date from the doctor was December 21, 2002. When that was changed to January 1, 2003, Emily still didn’t think she would have a New Year’s baby. When Emily, 19 at the time, and husband James, then 25, thought it was time and made three trips to Sacred Hospital over five days at the end of December, they really thought April was going to have a December birthday.
But April Nicole Johnson was born at 1:48 a.m. on January 1, 2003 — the first baby born in Escambia or Santa Rosa counties in 2003. A very healthy April weighed in at eight pounds, seven ounces.
“It does not seem like she should already be six years old. She is our sweet little princess,” mom Emily said of her first child.
April, a kindergarten student at Bratt Elementary School, celebrated her sixth birthday with a giant birthday cookie.
April has a little brother named Hunter. She is granddaughter of Van and Sandra Johnson of Walnut Hill, and Sally Reasons of Atmore.
Ashley Cunningham Named Miss Ernest Ward Middle
January 10, 2009
Miss Ashley Cunningham, 13, was named Junior Miss Ernest Ward Middle School Friday night.
Other award winners were Clarissa Ross, 1st runner-up; Ariel Holland, 2nd runner-up, and poise and appearance, and Miss Hospitality; Savanna VanderPol, 3rd runner-up; Cheyenne Godwin, physical fitness, and Miss Congeniality.
Click here for a complete photo gallery from Friday night’s pageant.
Junior Miss EWMS 2009: Miss Ashley Cunningham, 8th Grade
Ashley, 13, is a member of the Drama Club, Honor Society, yearbook staff and a member of the Barrineau Park 4-H Club. Last year she received the Most Fashionable 7th Grader Award and 100% homework completed award. Ashley’s hobbies include swimming, tennis, reading, going to the movies and spending time with her younger brother Austin. Her future plans are to graduate high school and attend college to become a dentist.
1st Runner-Up: Miss Clarissa Ross, 8th Grade
Clarissa, 14, is an 8th grader who cheers for Cantonment. She participates in gymnastics with Flip Factory. Clarissa’s hobbies include cheerleading, taking pictures, shopping, dancing and playing soccer. In the future, Clarissa wants to go to West Florida to become a nurse.
2nd Runner-Up, Miss Hospitality and Poise & Appearance Award: Miss Ariel Holland, 8th Grade
Ariel Holland, 14, is the captain of the school’s cheerleading squad. She is on the swim team, participates in the Northwest Escambia little league softball program and is a member of the “Lady Cats”. She is also an active member of Bratt Baptist Church. Ariel’s hobbies include shopping, cheerleading, and spending time with family and friends. In the future, Ariel plans to attend cheer on a college level while obtaining her career in the medical field.
3rd Runner-Up: Miss Savannah VanderPol, 6th Grade
Savannah, 12, is very active in Escambia County 4-H. She has won multiple county and district awards. Last October, Savannah won the 4-H highpoint Intermediate exhibitor award at the Pensacola Interstate Fair. She has shown horses, poultry and rabbits for the last few years. Savannah enjoys hunting and passed the hunter safety course with a score of 98. She is also a member of Cantonment First Baptist Church. Savannah’s hobbies include horseback riding, showing animals, hunting, soccer and shooting sports. In the future she would like to be a nurse or a veterinarian.
Miss Congeniality and Physical Fitness Award: Miss Cheyenne Godwin, 8th Grade
Cheyenne, 14, is a cheerleader and participates in the yearbook and newspaper staff. She enjoys dancing, theater and acting. Recently she was in a movie called “Chatterbox”. Cheyenne participates in the Pace Relay for Life with a swing dancing team called Pensacola Swing. Her hobbies include cheerleading, dancing, computers, fishing and shipping. In the future Cheyenne would like to attend West Tech’s Criminal Justice program and get into Julliard School of Arts.
Other contestants were: Rachel Presley, Karmen Watson, Kendal Cobb, Ashlynn Webster, Sabrina Cox, Hope Coggins, Leann Fillingim, Kachanne Thomas.
Pictured above: Ashley Cunningham is crowned Junior Miss Ernest Ward Middle School by last year’s winner Angel Mitchell. Pictured below: Savannah VanderPol, Ariel Holland, Ashley Cunningham, Clarissa Ross and Cheyenne Godwin. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Molino ‘Queen Mother’ Leads Red Hat Ladies In Celebration
January 7, 2009
The ladies of the Red Hat Society recently held there second annual Christmas celebration at the American Legion 340 in Pensacola, complete with dancing, laughter and gifts for everyone. The mistress of ceremonies was Nan Johnson from Molino, the Queen Mother of the “Dazzzling Divas”.
The Red Hat Ladies are the ladies seen meeting together in red hats…there are often pink hats too. The red hats are for ladies over 50; the Pink Hatters are ladies that have not reached “the birthday” of 50. The purpose of the Red Hat Society, according to their web site, is to have fun.
“Little girls grow up, but they’re never too old to play dress-up and have tea parties,” the web site says.
From the “Dazzling Divas” to the “Classy Sassy Ladies of Gulfport, MS.”, everyone had their fair share of fun at the American Legion 340. Ladies that ranged from 65 to 90 danced to the music of a local band “The Dreamers”, doing the “Electric Slide” and the “Cha-Cha Shuffle”.
The Dazzzling Divas began the day with skits, gave out gifts to each lady present and enjoyed a wonderful lunch. The ladies were asked for things that brought back good memories. One of the memories was packages wrapped in brown paper tied with string. All the gifts were wrapped in brown paper with string. The ladies report a much larger turnout than last year.
Pictured above: Queen Mother Nan Johnson (in the purple) from Molino in a Dazzzling Divas skit. Pictured below: The Red Hat ladies celebrate. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com
Photos and story submitted by Tina Pendleton.
Carver/Century School Honors Susan Jones As Teacher Of The Year
January 6, 2009
As they returned to school for the New Year, the staff and faculty at Carver/Century K-8 School took the time to honor one of their own Monday.
Third grade teacher Susan Jones was honored as Carver/Century’s Teach of the Year by her peers.
“She is an excellent, excellent teacher,” Principal Jeff Garthwaite said. “She was one of the teachers directly responsible for our gains last year on the FCAT in the third grade.”
This will be the last year in the classroom for Jones; she is planning on retirement after 35 years as a teacher.
The teachers and staff celebrated with a lunch, including a bit of “bubbly”(sparkling grape juice). The lunch, sponsored by the Carver/Century School Advisory Council, included items donated by Subway of Flomaton, Tri-Cities Florist in Flomaton, Piggly Wiggly and Southern Panhandle Restaurant.
Pictured above: Carver/Century Principal Jeff Garthwaite pours a glass of sparkling grape juice for Teacher of the Year Susan Jones at a staff lunch Monday at the school. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
2008 Persons Of The Year: Sharon Smith
January 5, 2009
The late Sharon Smith has been named as one of our NorthEscambia.com Persons of the Year. Mrs. Smith was a teach at Molino Park Elementary School until her sudden death moments after waving goodbye to her students on the last day of school. Along with Mrs. Smith, we honor all of our North Escambia teachers and everyone else that works hard to educate our children.
On the last day of school, Mrs. Smith waved goodbye to her students, turned around and lost her breath. She died a short time later. She spent 36 years of her life educating students at the former Molino Elementary School and at Molino Park.
Reprinted below is a NorthEscambia.com story about Mrs. Smith’s death.
Beloved Molino Teacher Passes Away After Waving Goodbye To Students
Molino Park Elementary fourth grade teacher Sharon Smith was set to retire Friday. She stood outside the school, waving goodbye on the last day of school to her students.
She turned back toward her Molino Park Elementary school and lost her breath. Sharon Smith, 57, passed away a short time later.
“She loved ‘her children’ in her class,” Molino Park Principal Alice Woodward said. “She was happy all day today; it was her retirement day. She didn’t feel bad at all.”
Molino Park fifth grade students “walk the walk” and wave goodbye to cheering friends and family on the last day of school. Mrs. Smith walked too, arm around another retiring teacher as they waved to the cheering crowd.
Then the students left on the buses, Mrs. Smith waving goodbye to them.
“She was excited to go outside and wave goodbye to ‘her children’ as they left school,” Mrs. Woodward said. “She was so happy. Then she turned around and went inside. That’s when she started having trouble breathing.” Mrs. Smith died a short time later.
Funeral services are set for Thursday, the day the school had planned to throw a retirement party for her.
Mrs. Smith had experienced more than her fair share of tragedy in the past months, with both her husband and son passing away within six months of each other. Her husband, President Smith, Jr. passed away May 1, 2007, and her son Reginald Smith died on October 20, 2007, at the age of 23.
“She retired, then she went home to the Lord to be with her husband and son,” Mrs. Woodward said.
“We were her family; she was ours,” Mrs. Woodward said. “We are really going to miss her.”
Mrs. Smith began teaching in 1972 at Molino Elementary School, where she remained until 2002 before moving to the new Molino Park Elementary School. Friday was set to be her last day before her planned retirement.
“We thank you and feel blessed that we got to share this awesome teacher and woman with the world,” her aunt Doreatha Jackson said. “She finished her work here.
“And due to her faithfulness in spreading the love of God to others inspite of her pain and heartache,” Jackson said, “He rewarded her by reuniting her with her husband and child. We will miss her greatly but she is happy and at peace! Thank you, Molino Family for loving her.”
Family members say Mrs. Smith suffered one heart attack at the school. She was revived, then died on the way to Pensacola’s West Florida Hospital.
“She finished the race,” Mrs. Woodward said. “She finished the race.”
NorthEscambia.com invites your comments on this article and Mrs. Smith. Email news@northescambia.com or click here for our contact form. To read the comments we have received, click here for our memorial board.
Funeral Services for Mrs. Sharon Smith will be held at 11:00 Thursday morning at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church at 1120 North Sixth Avenue in Pensacola.
Pictured above: Mrs. Sharon Smith and her fourth grade class wave goodbye about five minutes before their final walk to the buses Friday morning at Molino Park Elementary School. Pictures below: Sharon Smith (top left of photo) and Elaine Barrow pose with students just minutes before they took their retirement walk; and Mrs. Smith at Thursday’s class party. Submitted photo, click to enlarge.
2008 Persons Of The Year: Heather Leonard
January 4, 2009
Heather Leonard has been named one of our five NorthEscambia.com 2008 Persons of the Year. Along with Heather, we honor the the North Escambia men and women that work to install values in our children.
A final North Escambia Person of the Year will be named on Monday.
For 14 years, “Ms. Heather” taught dance in Byrneville and Century. But along the way, she taught hundreds of girls more than just dance. She taught them self-respect, grace and how to be a lady. She taught them about her Lord, and she taught them that dance can have class.
Because of Heather Leonard, many North Escambia girls learned to be ladies, not to follow the ways of the world. For Heather, it was not just about earning a dollar as a dance teacher, it was about making a difference. For that, we name her a North Escambia Person of the Year.
Reprinted below is an April story that ran on NorthEscambia.com, just before the final Heather Leonard Danceworks recital.
Heather Leonard Retiring After Teaching Dance 14 Years In North Escambia
When the music fades after a dance recital in Flomaton Friday night, Heather Leonard will take off her slippers for the very last time as a dance teacher. She’ll head off for the traditional post-recital pizza with the girls, knowing that she’s not only taught dance, but has taught grace and self-respect to hundreds of girls across North Escambia.
After 14 years teaching dance in North Escambia, Heather Leonard is retiring, and she is closing her Heather Leonard’s Danceworks. She will end her career with her students’ final recital at Flomaton High School.
She has taught not just dance to girls from Jay to Century to McDavid to Byrneville to Walnut Hill. She has taught them self-respect, self-worth and a little bit about her Lord.
She began teaching dance as her business 14 years ago after moving to Byrneville. Her first classes were taught at the Byrneville Community Center, a location she would continue to use until just after Hurricane Ivan.
“When I came here it was the biggest blessing that no one had ever really danced,” she said. “I came in and had a fresh slate. Fresh kids with no experience. They got to be mine.”
She was happy that she got to teach the girls of North Escambia that they could respect themselves and still dance.
“I am a Christian, and my values do not line up with a lot of the dance community. I’ve tried to teach the girls that they are how God made them. They are precious, innocent. They are not trashy.”
“I look at the way the dance community is as a whole…cut throat, self-centered, eating disorders to be too thin, smoking, drugs. I can’t stand those things.” Those are the things that Heather crusaded against during her 14 years.
“Once I was saved, I looked to God who showed me that those things were not what He liked,” she said. “He brought me out of the darkness into His light. I became very focused on ballet and finding a way to teach the girls to love themselves the way He made them. I’ve always been very careful to lead them in the right way.”
“We love Miss Heather,” Chelsea Sims, a senior at Northview High School said. She is 17, and she has danced 14 of those years with Heather. “She’s so much more than a teacher. She’s our friend.”
“She helps us with our lives,” Sarah Killam, a freshman at Northview said. She is 15, and she has danced with Heather for 10 of those years. “She’s like a mom to us. Sometimes we will stay after class and talk to her about what is going on in our lives.” The photo to the left shows Sarah with Heather at one of Sarah’s first recitals.
“And she’s always worked to help us be better Christians,” Chelsea said.
“We can have Sunday School sometimes after dance,” Darbi Langhorne said. She’s now in nursing school at Pensacola Junior College. She has danced with Heather for 14 years.
The theme song for Friday night’s recital will be “Sharecropper’s Seed” by Christian artist Nicole C. Mullen. “So I’m praising the Lord of the harvest…God still cares for the least of these,” the song says.
“The Lord cares about everyone. He cares about you, about me. One of my relatives was having a hard time, addicted to drugs. It could have been me. It’s impresses me so much how much God cares,” Heather said. “This dance is dedicated to him.”
Every performance for Heather Leonard’s Danceworks always starts the same. “Before every performance we circle up and pray,” she said. “It has always been that way.”
For the past few years, her dance studio has been in the back of the Country Bumpkin building in Century. It’s nice studio…a mirrored wall, a proper wood dance floor and metal ballet bars.
“That’s not how we started,” Darbi said. “We started with a mirror on a wood frame we rolled out at the community center. The (ballet) bars were PVC pipe and duct tape. But we just danced anyway.”
Hurricane Ivan proved to be a test for Heather and her students. It heavily damaged the Byrneville Community Center where her classes were held. There was no ceiling, no heat and water puddled on the floor when it rained.
“But we were determined,” she said, “that Ivan was not going to beat us. It was a lesson in perseverance. We felt like we had to continue to show that we had not been beat by Ivan.”
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Heather and the three girls gathered around on the floor looking through a box of pictures (pictured above). They would laugh as they looked at 14 years of memories. Sometimes Heather would pause, a fond memory on her mind.
“It’s been a great time,” she said.
“I love it a lot. I’ve been dancing since I was three years old. There has never been a year since then that I did not dance.”
So why is she retiring from dance?
“The Lord put it on my heart to set dance aside,” Heather said. “He wanted to make sure I love Him more than I do dancing. He changed my life. He made me; He saved me. He wants me to show others how much He cares.”
She expressed her thanks to the North Escambia community for supporting her during her 14 years. And she expressed special gratitude to her husband Stephen.
“My husband has been so supportive over the years,” she said. “He was the brains behind the business. He helped me go into business without doing into debt, and to be a good steward. I appreciate him so much.”
The final Heather Leonard’s Danceworks recital will be at Flomaton High School this Friday night at 7:00. Admission is free.
For more photos from Heather Leonard’s Danceworks, click here.
Pictured top of page (L-R): Heather Leonard, Darbi Langhorne, Sarah Killam and Chelsea Sims practice their “Sharecropper’s Dream” dance. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
2008 Persons Of The Year: Robert Stewart & Our Volunteer Firefighters
January 3, 2009
Robert Stewart has been named as one of our NorthEscambia.com Persons of the Year. Along with Robert, we honor the members of our volunteer fire departments and their family members.
Each day through Monday, NorthEscambia.com will name another person as a NorthEscambia.com Person of the Year.
Robert Stewart has retired after 30 years of service as a volunteer fireman in Bratt and Walnut Hill, the last 15 of those years as chief of the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department. He retired to spend more time with his grandson “Little Man” and to fight cancer.
Robert and the other members of our volunteer fire departments answered the call to serve our communities. They answer our calls for help day and night. They risk their lives for our community. While they are answering those calls, their families are home alone, sacrificing their family time together. To each of the volunteers and their families, we say thank you; you are Persons of the Year in North Escambia.
Robert answered the call tirelessly for those 30 years, going out of his way even after the call was over to make sure that victims and their families were fine.
We ran a story in September about Valerie (Baker) Brock, a woman that owes her life to Chief Stewart and the rest of the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department. You can read that story here.
The Walnut Hill community honored Robert at the fire department’s annual fish fry in November. With tears and a standing ovation, area residents honored “1501″. Read that story here. He was also honored at a November reception with the fire department, friends and families. The video was produced by NorthEscambia.com using our photos and video footage, along with pictures submitted by fire department members and Robert’s family. Watch the video here.
Sue Straughn from WEAR also featured Chief Stewart on and “Angels in Our Midst” segment in November. Read about it, and watch the video segment here.
From our stories, to the tribute video, to the fish fry, to the retirement reception, to Sue Straughn’s piece on WEAR…they were all done with the same purpose as our naming of Robert Stewart as a NorthEscambia.com 2008 Person of the Year. They were to say “thank you” to a man that did so much over 30 years for his community that those two words seems so very lacking.
Reprinted below is our September article where we first reported that Chief Robert Stewart was retiring from the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department.
Chief Robert Stewart Retires To Battle Cancer, Spend Time With ‘Little Man’
Robert Stewart has retired after 30 years of service as a volunteer fireman in Bratt and Walnut Hill, the last 15 of those years as chief of the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department. He retired to spend more time with his “Little Man” and to fight cancer.
Stewart answered his first fire call in 1967 after the formation of the Bratt Volunteer Fire Department. The Walnut Hill Ruritan Club founded the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department in 1964 and donated a truck to form the Bratt department three years later.
For 10 years, he served the Bratt community as a volunteer fireman until Bratt VFD’s truck finally “wore out”. Walnut Hill and the Atmore Fire Department began answering calls in the Bratt community in 1977.
He was out of a volunteer fire department for about 10 years, until he joined the Walnut Hill VFD in 1987. For 21 straight years, he served the Walnut Hill department. The last 15 of those years, he served as chief.
“1501 enroute”
March 9, 2001, was the beginning of what Stewart said was the most memorable call of his career.
The call was not far from Stewart’s house. It was a single vehicle accident, car versus a tree, on Highway 99 near Oakshade Road. When Stewart arrived, he and the other members of the WHVFD found a small sports car, literally cut in half, two pieces of car on the side of the highway. Inside, the passenger was not seriously injured.
But the driver, a 16 year old local girl, was gravely injured. Her leg was partial severed, a major artery cut. Her situation was worse than serious. In fact, she coded at least twice before arriving at the hospital. “Coded”, as in “code blue”, as in cardiac arrest. But Stewart and the rest of the emergency workers that day worked hard to get this young lady on LifeFlight.
In the end, she lost her leg, but she survived. Today, she’s a healthy 23 year old, recently happily married.
“I’ve been to a lot of bad wrecks,” Stewart said. “Sometime, people die. It’s always a good call when you can help someone that doesn’t die.”
But two words made this wreck different than many for the chief.
“Thank you.”
From death’s door, the young girl was able to return to tell Stewart and the rest of the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department “thank you”.
“Sometimes they come back to tell you ‘thank you’,” he said. “It makes you feel good, and you know your department has accomplished something, when they came back to thank you.”
There have been others to return to thank the department over the years. But Valerie Baker’s accident just sticks out in Stewart’s memory.
“The ‘thank you’ means a lot, especially when they came to the department and thank everyone,” he said. “It just means a lot.”
On Friday morning, NorthEscambia.com will introduce you to Valerie and take you back to the day that nearly claimed her life, and you’ll learn what she has to say about Robert Stewart and the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department.
“Not a Hero”
Chief Stewart doesn’t consider himself a hero. The Walnut Hill volunteers are team, he said, with everyone working together to help the community.
He was labeled a hero at least once. It was another wreck, this one on State Line Road. A car was upside down in a water-filled ditch with three children inside. Stewart was the first on the scene, responding from his nearby home.
“I managed to get the door open and got the three children out of the ditch,” he said. “Their mom called me a hero. I was just doing my job.”
Cat In Tree? Been there, done that. Twice.
It’s a scene that’s usually in a children’s program…the fireman rescues the cute little kitty cat from a tree. But in real life, it’s not exactly so pretty.
One cat-in-a-tree call was on Highway 97 several years ago. 1501 and his wife, Diann Stewart (a.k.a. 1503) responded to the call.
“She ran the ladder up the tree,” he said. “I knew what I was in for. I put on a bunker coat, and gloves before going up to the cat.”
“The ole cat just froze on the tree,” Stewart said with a chuckle. “I needed both hands to peel it off the tree. It stuck like Velcro on that tree. I had to keep peeling that ole cat off the tree.”
The second time Stewart responded to a cat-in-a-tree call, he was perhaps a bit smarter. He sent his son Sam Stewart, also a volunteer fireman, up the tree. This call was at the home of a local pastor. The pastor told them to drop the cat, and drop it Sam did. The can landed on a lower limb of the tree, uninjured.
Scary Stuff
“When my youngins were in school, I did not like it when you’d get a call in the direction they were suppose to be coming from,” he said. “You were always it afraid it was going to be one of yours.”
“When you live up here, you are kin to somebody,” he said. “You always care about who it is.”
A Time To Work, A Time To Play
Stewart was quick to thank all of those that have volunteered with the Walnut Hill VFD over the years. And he expressed his thanks to the other volunteer fire departments in the area the assisted Walnut Hill, as well the county deputies, state troopers and others he worked with for years.
The biggest thanks went to those Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department members, a group he said he always enjoyed being around.
“I had the best bunch of firemen in the county he said, “and when they were done working and got ready to play, I had the biggest bunch of youngins in the county.”
Time For Little Man
Stewart said his health and his “Little Man” led to his decision to retire. Little Man is his grandson, 14 month old Drew Kennedy, the son of Kelly and Jeff Kennedy.
When NorthEscambia.com sat down with Stewart for this interview, Little Man was in the floor with Nana (Diann), playing with a toy John Deere tractor. He was wearing fire truck pajamas.
“Do you want Papa’s chair” Stewart asked him. Over to the chair he ran, grinning ear to ear at his Papa.
“He loves fire trucks,” Stewart said. It runs in the family.
“It was just time for me to spend more time with Little Man,” he said.
Battling Cancer
“Little Man is good medicine for me,” Stewart says as he talks about battling cancer. “It’s a nice blessing to have him at all. He goes to Pensacola with me for my treatments.”
The cancer was another factor in his choice to retire.
“It you are going to be in charge, you have to keep up with what was going on,” he said. But the cancer treatments were making him very, very tired.
He started chemotherapy in 2006. “It just had me wore out,” he said. He thought he had been cured. But the cancer returned.
Daily IV treatments began again in 2007 and continued everyday until March of 2008. But it was necessary to being treatments again in July of this year.
“I just had a bad feeling about this knot on my head this time,” he said. Turns out it was malignant, and the battle is proving to be hard.
“1501 Completed Assignment”
“It’s hard not to answer a call,” he said. The fire department pager still goes off in the Stewart home, alerting them of emergency calls. Diann remains with the Walnut Hill VFD as an EMT. “After 20 years, it’s hard not to go help someone.”
“I just always tried to help.”
Pictured top: Retired Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department Chief Robert Stewart and his grandson Drew (”Little Man”) Kennedy watch from the sidelines at a recent accident on Pine Barren Road. Pictured above: Stewart at last year’s Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department fish fry. Pictured below: Stewart makes a call as “Little Man” watches an ambulance crew work. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
2008 Persons Of The Year: Cyndi, Danny, Drew Marlow
January 2, 2009
Cyndi , Danny and Drew Marlow of Molino have been named as one of our NorthEscambia.com Citizens of the Year. Cyndi suffered the loss of her child and husband in a tragic vehicle accident in early 2008, and she stepped forward to turn that tragedy into “Drew’s Field”, a t-ball field under construction at Walnut Hill’s Bradberry Park.
Each day through Monday, NorthEscambia.com will name another person as a NorthEscambia.com Person of the Year.
Our communities cried for and with Cyndi over her loss of husband Danny and two-year old son Drew. We published a memorial message board where our communities expressed their thoughts. You read that here, and a blog post “Go Home Truck” here.
We hugged our children and our spouses and told them they we loved them, as we were reminded just how fragile life can be. But through the pain, Cyndi decided to make Drew’s t-ball dream a reality for other children in our area with Drew’s Field. It was an act of amazing courage, and a testament to the community spirit that makes North Escambia such a great place to live.
We think the story of Drew’s Field is best told by an article that we first published on April 15, 2008. That article is below.
T-ball Field To Be Named In Memory Of Drew Marlow
Cyndi Marlow stood alone in the middle of a simple, unfinished dirt t-ball field Monday afternoon. A cold wind blew across the nearby wheat field as she stood holding a small, child-size Florida Gator bat.
It was Drew’s bat. A brightly colored little bat, with scuff marks on its fat end where Drew played hard with it.
It was Drew’s dream to play t-ball. And Drew’s dad dreamed of the day he would see his son give that ball a good strong whack off a tee at the ballpark. It does not matter if a little fellow gets to first base in that first game. Dads will cheer; dads will smile with pride anyway for their sons. It’s just what dads do. Danny Marlow looked forward to that day with great anticipation.
But Monday afternoon, Cyndi Marlow stood alone on that field at the back of Walnut Hill’s Bradberry Park. She did not hold the bat dangling from her hand or just in the middle like most people hold a bat. She held the bat close to her heart with both hands before posing for a picture with Drew’s bat. On Drew’s Field.
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Drew and Danny will never see that field. Two year old Drew Marlow and his dad Danny Marlow died January 28 in an accident on Highway 97.
The Northwest Escambia Little League has voted to name the new t-ball field at the back of Bradberry Park “Drew’s Field” in honor of Drew’s dream.
“We were going to go play t-ball,” Cyndi said with a smile. “That’s all Drew talked about. “
“He would play and play with this bat, his very own Gator bat,” she said of her son, gently rubbing a finger along the handle where Drew would hold the bat.
She laughed a little. “Well, it was more like golf when he played with it. He could not really hit the ball unless it was on the floor, or unless Danny held it is his hand and let him hit it.”
Drew and Danny spent hours playing with that blue and orange bat. Dreaming of that big t-ball opening day they both just knew would come when that little boy with a big number “3” on his jersey stepped to the plate.
Danny had it all planned out, down to the jersey number. Drew was Cyndi and Danny’s “miracle baby”…he was their third attempt at in vitro conception.
“We were just so excited. But then we went to the doctor. They rate the chances of the embryo surviving on a scale of one to five. A four or below has a small chance of surviving.”
“The doctor rated the embryo as a three that was Drew. A three out of five. We knew it was all in God’s hands.”
And God blessed the Marlows with a healthy sandy blonde baby boy they named Drew.
“That’s where the jersey number ‘3’ came from. Danny always said ‘could you imagine if he was a five’,” Cyndi said. “He always wanted Drew to wear ‘3’ in his first t-ball game.”
“I kept thinking that I wanted to do something so that they would be remembered. My family was always at almost every ballgame. I wondered if they (NWE) would let me make a field and call it ‘Drew’s Field’.” When she approached the NWE Board, they agreed to make her dream a reality.
Now the rush is on…the plans call for Drew’s Field to be ready for dedication on closing day, June 6. The biggest expense, Cyndi said, will be the memorial marker for the field.
“We have quite a few volunteers ready to help us on making this happen,” she said. “I’m so excited. I have mixed emotions. I’m still sad, but I’m really excited about it. It is quite an honor for it to be named after him.”
“I still cry every day,” she said. Up this point, she has fought back the tears during our interview. Now she wipes the tears from her eyes. “It’s been hard.”
“I was overwhelmed with your printed comments,” Cyndi said, referring to a Memorial Message Board and a blog that was published here on NorthEscambia.com. Dozens and dozens of people from the community posted their thoughts and comments about the tragedy.
“I’m really sad. But it makes me feel good that he touched so many lives,” she said.
“There was this family that told me they started going to church. There was this lady that bought Bibles for her children. Drew’s story has changed so many lives.”
“Everything is for His glory,” Cyndi said. “I’ve been asked why I am not mad at God.”
“But I am not mad at God. I don’t understand it,” she said, fighting back her emotions. “I know God has a purpose. And I try to think about the good losing my husband and my child has done for others. To bring glory to God.”
“I was blessed to have him two and a half years,” she said of Drew. She paused and took a deep breath to get the words out. “I love him. I really miss him.”
Additional funding is still needed to make Drew’s Field a reality. If you would like to help build Drew’s Field, donations can be made at any Gulf Winds Federal Credit Union in Escambia or Santa Rosa counties in Florida or at the Atmore, Alabama, branch to the “Drew’s Field” account.
Adopted Or Foster Homes Needed Now For Horses
December 30, 2008
A group based in the Molino area that has spent over three years helping horses in Escambia County is now in need of foster homes for some of the animals.
Panhandle Equine Rescue is in desperate need of foster homes for rescued horses, according to PER President Diane Lowery. Many PER horses are also available now for adoption.
Some of the horses available for adoption include Eli, a 17-month old gelding; Rain Dancer, a seven-year old mare; Jasmine, an 8-year old black Mare; and Dot, a three-year old filly.
For more information on fostering or adopting a horse, call Diane at (850) 393-9793 or 587-2754.
Pictured above: Rain Dancer, a seven-year old mare, is just of the Panhandle Equine Rescue horses that needs an adopted or foster home.