HISTORY: Northwest Florida’s most influential person of all time inaugurated into Congress
On November 5, 1940, Congressman Bob Sikes began his historic 36-year congressional career. Through strategic committee assignments, Sikes transformed Northwest Florida from a small subsistence community into a major defense hub, ultimately securing the military presence that drives two-thirds of Okaloosa County’s GDP today.
HISTORY: When Florida almost sold the Emerald Coast to Alabama
Following the American Civil War, a cash-strapped Florida entertained selling the Western Panhandle to Alabama for $1 million in bonds. Supported by nearly two-to-one margin by local voters in 1869, the annexation deal ultimately failed when post-war economic strain forced Alabama Governor William Hugh Smith to reject the transfer.
HISTORY: Union Volunteers from Walton County torch Marianna in bold raid
After months of lobbying, Hungarian revolutionary General Alexander Asboth was authorized to form the 1st Florida Cavalry, Union Volunteers in 1863. Leading European officers and local deserters through Northwest Florida, Asboth’s bold raid toward Marianna challenged Confederate defenses, culminating in a fierce clash and severe injuries for the general.
History: Vietnam War Claims Niceville Local
Niceville High School graduate Private First Class Larry Eugene Martin was killed in action on October 24 in Vietnam. Serving with B Company, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment, Martin was posthumously promoted to Corporal following an intense tank-assisted sweep in the Demilitarized Zone. He is interred in Dayton, Ohio.
Rare Doolittle Raider artifacts land at Northwest Florida State College
Northwest Florida State College has welcomed a permanent collection of Doolittle Raid artifacts, including mapping and navigation tools belonging to Lt. Col. Carl Wildner. Supported by community and military leaders, the college celebrated this historic addition during a special ceremony at Raider Arena.
HISTORY: Doolittle Raid diarist dies in tragic India crash
On October 18, 1942, Sergeant George Larkin took off on his final flight across the Himalayas. A veteran of the famed WWII Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, Larkin’s diary captured the courage and psyche of the Raiders before his bomber tragically crashed near Dinjan, India, leaving behind an enduring legacy of bravery.
HISTORY: Baker Alum Dies in Afghanistan Combat
Baker High School graduate Preston Medley died in October 2008 in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan at age 23. Medley, a former Baker School football and broadcast student, left behind a young daughter and an unborn baby born two months later. His body was escorted to Crestview for services.
Hurricane Opal – the start of the legal battle for Emerald Coast Beaches
Hurricane Opal’s 1995 landfall remains a defining moment for Okaloosa County, exposing critical infrastructure vulnerabilities and reshaping the Emerald Coast. From the rapid intensification that caught residents by surprise to the long-term legal battles over coastal restoration, this historical review examines the storm’s enduring impact on our community.
HISTORY: Hurricane Opal Makes Landfall in Navarre
When Hurricane Opal rapidly escalated into a Category 4 storm overnight in October 1995, it caught Northwest Florida off guard. The storm caused massive traffic gridlock, over $1.2 billion in destruction, severe coastal erosion, and sparked decades of legal battles over beach restoration across Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties.
He tried to kill a priest and start a bloody rebellion – at nearly 90 years old!
In 1675, Juan Fernandez Diocasale, a leader of mixed Euchee and Chatot heritage, stood accused of plotting the assassination of a Spanish friar. His attempted rebellion against Spanish authority in the Florida Panhandle sparked a violent struggle for power, eventually reshaping the region’s tribal dynamics forever.
