Meet the Muse... more coming soon! on The Tybee Times Online

Tybee Island is a "museful" place - a small, laid-back community by the sea that holds many memories for me. Growing up forty miles inland, this was a summer vacation home. We'd come as a family and stay for several weeks, and if we were lucky, it would be at one of what we now call Tybee's historic "raised cottages" with their breezy wrap-around porches. Back then we just called them beach houses.

I remember two in particular owned by friends of the family - the Macon house was right on the ocean, and the Mikell house at 11th and Lovell was a block from Tybee Market. It was very comfortable, but spooky. A small hole in the front door left by the bullet that killed the local police chief several years back was still there, and we used to hear noises on the side porch stairs at night. Sometimes, my younger sister would be so frightened sleeping in the back bedroom, my parents would have to keep the porch light on all night.

During my teen years, I was allowed to bring a friend along to Tybee. We'd rise early, and head for the beach to ride the waves before it got too hot. Around noon, we'd walk home for a shower and lunch by way of Tybee Market so we could grab a bag full of "Mary Janes," and a grape soda. Mid afternoon would find us walking up to Chu's and Christy's Department Stores at South End, or riding bikes to Fort Screven and stopping by the Sugar Shack for ice cream. Around four, we'd hit the beach again, strolling up to the pier and back, talking to all the lifeguards along the way.

Tybee's main drag for adult nightlife was, and still is 16th Street (Tybrisa). But back in the early '60, down the boardwalk past the old pier, there was a small amusement park with a carousel and a Ferris wheel. Frequented by local families and visitors, many summer evenings island friends would meet us there. Getting stuck at the top of that wheel was always a thrill. If the night breeze didn't take your breath away, the sight of the lights out on the ocean certainly would. Families used to roller skate on the pier's pavilion, too. Only went there a couple of times as there was so much else to do during vacations here, but I hear it was a place generations of Tybee family members could enjoy together.

There were also Saturday night dances in Fort Screven at what is now the American Legion where young people and adults from the island would mix. Locals from Savannah also came out on summer evenings to hear live bands like the "Islanders." Sometimes, vacationing friends from my hometown were also at those dances.

During "tourist season" (June through August), with the influx of visitors from Savannah and the region, the island's small businesses were pretty busy. But once vacation time was over, the crowds began to thin. After Labor Day, only a small, close-knit community of year-round residents remained during the winter months, and for kids like me whose families lived forty miles up the road, the island of Tybee receded into the mystical memories of youth and summers past.

They used to say Tybee was the "best kept secret on the Atlantic Coast." These days, things have changed considerably. The Macon house is long gone as are others on that stretch of beach, and the Mikell house burned years ago. A number of familiar community landmarks are gone, including the amusement park. The pier with the skating rink burned in 1968 along with The Brass Rail Lounge. Old south end vacation rentals like Cobb's Apartments and more recently, eateries such as Captain Chris Restaurant have been replaced by condos, shops and restaurants. Other oldies including the nearly 100 year old structure of Hunter House Inn and Restaurant and Doc's Bar, established in 1949 are holding their own, as is the Carbo House, while an upscale hotel stands in the spot of the Old DeSoto Beach Club that went the way of the wrecking ball back in 1999.

Tybee's newest Tybrisa Pavilion and Pier will be highly visible in Disney's "Miley Cyrus" movie, The Last Song, being fimed this summer, as will Sam Adams' rambling, oceanfront beachhouse off Chatham Avenue. In 2008 the City of Tybee completed a restoration project of the south end business district installing new streets, sidewalks, plantings and lighting, and beachfront parking was revamped. Fannie's on the Beach, Spanky's, Chu's, Christy's, Doc's, Windrose, Waves and other shop storefronts along Strand Avenue and Tybrisa Street got a face lift. This fall the Marine Science Center at south end will also get some much needed improvements.

North end's Sugar Shack is still scooping ice cream. Jaycee Park has new playground equipment, and now accommodates a restored Firehouse that's recently became the home for the Tybee Arts Association and a new "Black Box" theater. Under the direction of the Tybee Island Historical Society old Fort Screven army buildings such as the Guard House have been restored, and this year marked the end of a twenty year, award-winning project to restore all original structures on the grounds of the Tybee Island Light Station - a tourist destination which is the pride of the island! Fort Screven's shell of an army post theater, (vintage 1930), later known as the Beach Theater and closed in the early '60, is also slowly being rehabilitated. The structure has been stabilized, a new roof added, and work is finally starting on the facade including new windows. Plans are underway, and the Friends of the Tybee Theater hopes to least get the doors open in 2010.

Tybee's still fondly known as the "Redneck Riviera," as some folks strive to retain the small town charm and "quirkiness" for which it's famous, but the close knit community of years past is vanishing as the old guard fades. Up until the recent market crash, some Tybee folks were afraid certain parts of the island were going to be lost to over development.

Might be the wave of the future for all small coastal towns, as people from other places who can afford expensive condos and vacation homes may have little or no appreciation for local customs and history. There's a delicate balance between welcoming them and allowing them to bring changes that threaten the very existence of things that attracted them in the first place. Communities must be diligent to maintain that balance, and Tybee is no exception.

Years ago islanders coined the phrase, "Tybee Time" to describe the collective psyche that reigned supreme out here. In the beginning it defined the laid-back schedules, and easy-going attitudes of islanders at the close of the busy tourist season - a small community left to make the most of the remoteness of their island.

Like most tourist driven economies, after locals made what money there was to make during the season, they went on "schedule B," which usually meant they had time to relax and spend with family and friends, and develop a sense of community. By the mid 90's, when legendary "horn man" Charlie Sherrill effortlessly wove it into his "Coastal Wave" genre of music, many locals who proudly identified went around with a virtual soundtrack in their heads, playing refrains of Sherrill's "Tybee Time," or "A Night Like Tonight" over and over again as they went about their daily routines. For them, Tybee Time had become a concept as constant as the tides.

Throughout the years, the concept evolved and spread to migrations of seasonal visitors, and transplants seeking relief from their otherwise hectic lifestyles. Locals are still attached to this identity, and trying to hold on to the sense of community it fostered. Let's hope they do, as the customs, culture and history of a place may often sustain it through the toughest of times. But the island's main industry has always been tourism so the trick now will be to truly welcome "them" without losing "us."

Besides the Tybee Light Station, Fort Screven Military Museum, and our beautiful beaches - by the way, Tybee was just named the #1 Healthiest Beach in the country by Health Magazine - one of the biggest attractions is Fort Pulaski National Park. Several local traditions that started out as small community events have enjoyed wide appeal in recent years, and we're known for our parades. Got an occasion? Got a parade! Tybee's famous for its annual wet and wild "Beach Bum Parade," Irish Heritage Parade, there's a fall "Pirate Festival" and parade, and this year we even celebrated Mardi Gras, Tybee-style - and another parade! New Year's Day "Polar Bear Plunge," is actually a parade as well, directly into the Atlantic! Tybee also hosts an annual marathon, international bicycle races, sailing and speed boat races, surfing and windsurfing competitions, kayak races, sand castle competitions, a vintage car show and a wine festival as well. I doubt we'll ever have a golf course without filling in the marsh. (God forbid!)

Disney's "Last song" film script is based on a brand new Nicholas Sparks novel, and stars the darling of the teen set, Miley Cyrus, Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine), Kelly Preston, and Aussi newcomer, Liam Helmsworth. A number of locals have landed speaking roles, and many residents have gotten in on the action as extras. Thanks to Sparks and Disney location folks, Tybee will retain it's own name in the film - a real first for us and something that will no doubt put us on the map for the very first time on an international scale. Will it change Tybee? Probably, but I'd rather see the film industry discover us, and have the family-oriented image Disney brings help mold our new persona, than for it to be shaped solely by the interests of developers which is where it was headed up until the market dropped last year.

My hope is somehow we'll be able to retain the essence of what it really means to be here as it's only "the sea, the sand and the southern soul" that hold this tiny berg together.

The Tybee I knew and loved as a youngster may be gone, but my muse is still here, and it doesn't take a walk down the beach to remind me - although it's just blocks away!

I'm definitely still on Tybee Time.

Thanks for reading.

The Editor

*"Meet the Muse" is an online section for publishing the creative work of local contributors. Although The Tybee Times retains all editorial rights and responsibilities as outlined in our publication's policies and writers' guidelines, writers retain all rights to their original manuscripts. They may also personally receive and address any comments or questions by readers about such manuscripts that may be published by The Tybee Times Online.

For more information or to query for submission, please e-mail thetybeetimes@aol.com. (copyright 2009)

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