Page 36 - Guest Advantage Spring/Summer 2016

36 GUESTADVANTAGE •2016
Confederacy during the Civil War, it was seagoing power that returned St. Augustine to the Union. In March of 1862, the USS Wabash approached under a flag of truce, and after deliberations between the ship’s officers and city aldermen, our national flag was restored to the fort. Not a shot was fired and the Wabash proceeded on her way.
During the 20th century, St. Augustine developed a maritime export economy never matched in its own history. From 1919 until the 1980s, St. Augustine built almost 4,000 shrimp boats and supplied them
to over 23 countries around the world. A considerable portion of the city’s inhabitants were employed building boats or servicing the industry. In the 1970s, our quaint town exported fishing boats to China and a host of other countries. The sun never set on
St. Augustine’s maritime contributions to the world.
While I’m partial to the St. Augustine Lighthouse as my employer, it is our
finest lasting legacy of the city’s maritime connection. As watchtowers and beacons, lighthouses have stood sentinel over St. Augustine’s coast since the very first years. The boldness of the newly restored lighthouse tower represents this history as well as a commitment to a bright future by the sea.
Through four and a half centuries, our city has been tied to the world by the ocean. While this tie may be less and less evident
as planes and highways now carry us to and from our destinations, we should never turn our backs on the sea, on our maritime history.
I grew up in a house with two faces. When the house was built, the country road was located on the east side of the house. Later, during the early 20th century, the road was relocated to the west side. St. Augustine has had a similar change. Our old road was the waterways to the east; now, our new road
is I-95 to our west. As a people, we have sailed upon Poseidon as much as trod the earth. Consider this: St. Augustine was almost