Cities Grapple With Historic Sites Destroyed By Hurricane Michael

News Herald (Panama City, FL)

The old school house in Callaway near John B. Gore Park, which dates back to 1911 and is a historical site in Bay County, will have to be taken down and rebuilt due to damage from Hurricane Michael. A blue tarp over the roof is a visible sign of the hit it took.

The goal is to salvage whatever can be saved and restore the historical site to its former state.

"Structural engineers (from our insurance company) have deemed it as a total loss," said Callaway City Manager Eddie Cook. "The goal now is we're going to be bringing in containers and they're going to start disassembling it. We're going to do the best we can to use whatever materials we can off of it so that we can rebuild it back the way it was."

The old school house is one of the historic sites in Bay County where repair and rebuilding are necessary after the Category 5 October storm. Months later, local residents familiar with these sites reacted to the destruction and expected resurrection with a mix of sadness, hope and grim acceptance of the path ahead.

Cook said the start date for the disassembling of the school house depends on when the containers get in.

"It hurts. It really hurts," Callaway Historical Society President John Piercy said of the school house being deemed a loss.

"Being the newcomer to the area, this was one of the first things that encompassed my attention right whenever I came here, what a wonderful piece of history," added Cook, who began his position as City Manager in June 2017. "Never did I think that, a year and a half later, I'd be sitting here trying to figure out how to rebuild it."

Residents in Lynn Haven are also grappling with damage to their historical sites. The McMullin Library, which also dates back to 1911 and has served for a variety of community uses, was undergoing renovations when it got rocked. The library has been moved several times and is now on Georgia Ave.

"We were doing great, almost got it finished and then the hurricane split the building in half," said Lynn Haven Heritage Society member Rich Walker, who is handling the McMullin project. "The three trees that cut it in half were big 150-foot pines. Because we don't have that much money, we didn't have insurance on the buildings, so I had to get a contractor in from Georgia to lift the trees off."

The trees have been taken off, the area is cleared and the building has been gutted, Walker said. However, the building needs to be leveled and straightened, which is estimated to cost approximately $18,000, since it was moved by the storm.

"We've put in for a FEMA SBA loan. They're working on that. That might turn into a grant. We don't know," Walker said. "We're working on a Bay County historical loan, for the historical buildings of the town. I've got two listed and I'm going for a third."

Walker said he has a "very difficult reaction" to the damage after putting in so much work for the McMullin Library, though he is committed to renovating the building.

"I have a tough time. I'm a realist here," Walker said. "The historical portions of the city are integral to me. This city is not going to be the same as it was, ever."

As for Parker, they were able to salvage historical artifacts. The historical artifacts are being stored at Parker City Hall, which held up well from the storm. None of the artifacts, including old signs and markers, were affected in any way.

"We're thankful and grateful it was preserved because we know not a lot of other cities were as fortunate," Musgrave said.

The Bay County Historical Museum in Panama City also survived the storm and is still standing. The museum made it out fine, except for some cracked upstairs windowpanes and roof damage. Artifacts are still displayed there.

"This building withstood the ravages of that fairly well," said Bob Hurst, vice president of the Historical Society of Bay County. "Everything in here was saved. Nothing was lost ... all I can say is we are trying to save as much as we can of the history of Bay County. We're just grateful for everything we've been able to save. We're thankful we have a museum to house all of this."

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