The Way We Were

The Way We Were: Holt and Betty Ann Graves

The Way We Were: Holt and Betty Ann Graves

Like the lace on Betty Ann Gordon’s dress the day she married Holt Graves at St. John’s Cathedral in 1980 the couple’s lives are intertwined and patterned in a beautiful and fitting filagree of family history. Betty Ann’s wedding dress had been worn by Holt’s mother, Tayloe Graves and several of his aunts; it was […]

The Way We Were: Larry and Mary Jane McKnight

The Way We Were: Larry and Mary Jane McKnight

The story of Larry and Mary Jane McKnight began in the first grade at Hendricks Avenue Elementary School, and it continues today, seven decades later. Both of them were born and raised in the San Marco area of Jacksonville—Larry on River Oaks Road with one younger sister and Mary Jane on a street just off […]

The Way We Were: Janne and Jody Brandenburg

The Way We Were: Janne and Jody Brandenburg

She admits to being raised “like a brat” in Jacksonville. He grew up on a farm south of Florida City. She spent time in the limelight, in front of cameras, and on TV. He’s become known for his work with the bereaved in the death care industry. Their pairing has been compared to Mary Poppins […]

The Way We Were: Karen Buskirk

The Way We Were: Karen Buskirk

Some people give selflessly, not expecting any reward or return. They give because they believe that giving back is the only way to truly effect positive change. Karen Buskirk is one such person. “You can gripe and complain all you want, but if you don’t give back to make the community better, then you’re not […]

The Way We Were: Dr. Christian Berdy

The Way We Were: Dr. Christian Berdy

Since 1975, Dr. Christian Berdy has been a well-known Jacksonville periodontist, a specialist in the treatment of gums. His life can be characterized as one of perseverance and selflessness. Berdy’s parents were born in Austria and met in a Jewish refugee center in France in the late 1930s. Berdy was born in occupied France in […]

The Way We Were: Bob and Melody Bachman

The Way We Were: Bob and Melody Bachman

Bob and Melody Bachman have history here. But it didn’t begin with them. Bob’s mom, Margaret Ruth Kelly-Bachman, grew up from the age of 3 in a house her dad had built on Alcazar Avenue in Grenada. She was a student at Hendricks Avenue Elementary School when it was still new. Her mom, Bob’s maternal […]

The Way We Were: Hazel Montgomery

The Way We Were: Hazel Montgomery

Hazel Montgomery has been a permanent Jacksonville resident for nearly eight decades. She was married for 62 years to an Ortega native. “She is sharp, proud of her Ortega heritage, a delightful storyteller, and an all-around fabulous person,” said Marianne Hofheimer, one of her five children. Hazel Jackson Montgomery was born in Albany, Georgia at […]

The Way We Were: Pat and Betty Geer

The Way We Were: Pat and Betty Geer

Pat and Betty Geer met in Jacksonville in the 1960s, raised a family here, and continue to reside locally. They were high school sweethearts at Robert E. Lee. Loyalty to God, school, and country is what they learned and what they taught their children. “Time changes all things,” Betty said wistfully. “But I wouldn’t want […]