I can still hear the surf and smell the salt air at night.

Normally my family would just make the four-day drive south to Briny Breezes and then locate a “house” to rent for a few weeks.

I recall Dad and Mom hauling that old Yellowstone or Trotwood trailer from South Michigan down to Briny one year. All two lane of course, and the trek over Monteagle, TN was a real hoot. I do believe Dad sold it and left Briny for snow country sans trailer that spring.

I remember Dad, AJ (Jack) Freeland,  as always a “cash and carry” man-- product of the depression — no credit card, no bank notes, no mortgage, no debt. He would carry a roll of money in his pocket and when the roll got quite small I always knew we would be heading north very soon.

I also remember Dad and Mom belonged to a group called the “Tin Can Tourists“… a bunch of post war travel trailer nuts.  Fun though.

I believe Briny had a resident – Bernard Kessman — a yankee from NY.  I knew Bernie as a kid. Wonder what ever happened to him?

My mom(Viva Freeland) passed away in 1957 while we were staying at Briny but she did love it there.

My step Mom, Mrs. Judy Martin, retired and died at Briny some years ago. She had a list of surnames… Judy Halstead-Freeland(my Dad); Robertson/Martin… what a lady.

I recall a bunch of us kids running behind the ice truck that wondered through the park delivering blocks of ice to the residents. The guys would give us big slivers of ice to chew on.

Around 1953-54 I managed to swim into a Man-O-War.  It’s a good thing my dad was on the beach with me.  I was a mess for a long time and I  wouldn’t venture back into the water on next year’s trip to FL.

I recall mom taking me over the draw bridge to shop in Delray Beach. We would always walk down to the train station and watch the Seaboard or Atlantic Coastline trains go by.

And I do recall seeing movies in that old military style Quonset hut building. I hear it burned down.

And buying ice cream in that walk up store right on the beach. I loved to watch my dad and mom and all playing shuffleboard at night under the lights.

I remember dad taking me to the Gulfstream Polo Grounds and watch them play polo. My dad had an old friend who owned and operated a tavern not to far North of Briny on A1A… I can’t recall the name of the place, but his name was Claire Whitehead.

I’m now living on the beach west of Galveston, TX and I have such fond memories of Briny.

The place was magic to me then. I can still hear the surf and smell the salt air at night….nothing like it anywhere.

I fell in love for the first time in Briny.

I hope to get over and down to Delray and Briny soon again.

Shalom to all, Craig

by Fred House

The badge law was started by a guy appointed head of security for Briny.

The Ocean Ridge police had a contract to patrol Briny and he often rode along. I don’t remember his name but they erected a statue of him by the drug store,  after his death.

Ever meet someone given a bit of authority, and watched it go to his head… that was he. He promptly had a fancy uniform made, and strutted around like a pint size Mussolini. Since he’s been gone for thirty years or so I’m not speaking out of school. He started making all kinds of rules, most of which were ignored.

However the badge rule was his pride and joy. I threw mine in the garbage. So one night he and the cop from Ocean Ridge stopped me in Briny about 9 pm, riding my bike, a nightly occurance. He strutted around asking me questions while the young cop watched. When I finally said he’d known me since 1958, the cop looked at him and said lets go. I rode away and was never hassled again. I remember the young cop was killed a couple of years later in an accident.

Rick Rasure was the first security guy we had, I’d worked in the awning business with him so we were friends. Every year just before the snow birds arrived I would help put up awnings. Dirty and hard work, on a ladder, trying to pull the canvas awnings through the small channel, the length of the trailer. then tying them down, using a special knot, to the poles on the patio. We did several a day since everyone was arriving within a week of each other. It taught me the value of hard work..like find a different, and scholarly, line of work. Study hard, and go to college.

Coincidence–In my bridge club here a nice lady mentioned her ex husband had grown up in Boynton Beach, I told her I had grown up in Briny, she said so did he. It turned out he had grown up in one of the small houses on A row, across from Briny (south) in the county area. I don’t remember him, his name is Tim Poole. I sent this link to him so hope to hear from him.

Briny Breezes 1963-1964 Beach Parties and Other Memories

by Fred House

The parties we held there on the beach, every weekend, were legendary.

The Grannis family, Lindy and Ellen, Don their father, actually they lived just north of Briny, Ken Varcoe and his mother Joyce. If anyone knows how to get in touch with Joyce let me know. Ken died many years ago.

Chellie Long (Varcoe) was my best friend for many years, I’ve lost track of her and hope Joyce knows where she is. Chellie had the house on the beach at the end of Bellaire Drove – now a State Park.

Next door to Chellie was a real Russian Princess. I had my first taste of caviar there. Greg Kessman, my best friend in Briny, Bob Samuelson, Ron Heavyside, his parents opened a TV repair that eventually became Nomad Surfboards.

Smitty, who lived on A row, his mother Mary Smith was a good artist, I have a painting of the Briny Marina by her. Smitty lived two doors down in a screened in room of an empty trailer. We spent many an evening with him playing guitar and he and I singing folk songs..

Speaking of folk music, 1963 was near the end of the beatnik movement, but in Ft. Lauderdale there was a coffee shop for beats just past the tunnel. SoChellie, Ken, Linda Lanier and I would hop in Linda’s T-Bird and drive down there. This was my trip to the library to study. We would sit and listen to bad poetry,  bad bongo’s, sip stong and bad expresso, and snap our fingers instead of clapping. Oh yeah we were hip alright.

Since the library closed around 9:30 I would start begging my friends to leave. They didn’t have a curfew, but I did. 10 pm. So around ten to ten we’d take off. There was one stoplight between Lauderdale and Delray and no traffic, so we’d do 90 all the way home. I’d stroll in at ten or so. If I was ever asked to describe the interior of the library I couldn’t do it, never stepped foot in the place! Such innocent fun.

That ended in 64 with the British invasion, a cultural earthquake. I think my class of ’65 was the last ‘innocent’ class. We didn’t have drugs yet… that came in late 65-66- lol.

My best friend Jack Blair and I bought a bag of pot from a ‘friend’ to try it out, the summer after our graduation. My parents were gone so we sat at F208 and smoked most of the bag. It tasted like pizza was our only reaction. We found out later it was oregano. Some friend. I coughed for 6 months which delayed my actual first experience with pot.

One day a few of us were surfing, it was a windy and rough day. My mother had come up to watch us, when we heard cries for help. I paddled to shore and went up the rise to see out to sea. A sailboat had capsized a ways out, maybe a half mile or so, and two men were clinging to the hull. I wanted to paddle out and my mother kept saying no.

Finally a guy next to us, about age 20,  told her to relax. He said that he would make sure that  I was okay. So out we paddled. He fell quite a bit behind.  I put both guys on my board and swam, pushing them to shore.

By now my ‘savior’ was in trouble as well and quite a ways out so I turned around and rescued him too. I had to laugh at my moms reaction. She told him thanks a lot for nothing.

In the paper the next day the guys I rescued said they didn’t really need rescuing, they were fine. Hmm, not what they told me at the time. They were very happy to see me then.

Well I realize I’ve left off a name or two..first Claire Ohland–any ‘kid’ who lived in Briny in the early 60′s will remember her mom, who taught us Sunday school.

Nelson Littlefield, his parents and brother Dana were long time Briny residents. Many people who now live in Briny know Dana from his beauty shop in Boynton.

Susie Gustis, her parents owned the grocery store in Briny.

Billy Cobb and his sister Gayle I think..their grandparents lived behind us E-207, and once in a while brought out a big pot, boiled oil and made donuts. My goodness the smell alone drove me crazy. They were very generous and shared with many neighbors.

One fond memory I have is of the square dances. They ran dances for the young kids and we had a ball. Live callers, dosado, left allemande, promenade home..as I recall Briny square dancers were very good, both the adults and the kids. I vaguely recall traveling to other square dances?

When we first moved into Briny there were no phone lines so to reach us people had to call the office. “Evelyn House your daughter is calling long distance”. My mom would hop on her bike and ride like mad to the office, after all it wasn’t cheap and sitting on hold was even more expensive. She would come back all excited and most of the day friends would ride by to find out the latest news. How was my sister, how were my mom’s grandkids, etc. Very little privacy in those days, of course none was needed. Soon they added the bells, which I hated. Eventually the park was wired for phones and a certain charm was lost.

In those early days people either rode a bike around, or a few, like Ralph Samuelson, rode small motorcycles or Vespa scooters. In fact my first motorcycle was a Tahatsu 90 cc bike my dad bought from Ralph. I remember Ken Varcoe had a moped, a bike with a motor. He had to peddle up to a certain speed, then it would start. Top speed about 20. Mine went about 60 top end. In those early days with no air conditioning, people spent a lot of time sitting outdoors on their patios, so biking around and visiting was a big pastime.

As was sitting on a bench at the beach, enjoying the ocean breezes. I still love the sound of the ocean at night. Another great memory is the smell of gardenias, at night, riding my bike around. I have a gardenia bush outside my bedroom here in Mexico and often think of Briny when it’s blooming. We had one in back of our driveway on F208 that was over 7 feet tall. I wonder if it is still there? My mom had an extra bit of land next to the driveway and cultivated rose bushes there. My sister’s duty whenever she visited was pruning, fertilizing, etc. I guess I did the same when she wasn’t around. I still enjoy roses and have a few in my garden here.

When the news of the proposed sale hit CNN I was in Puerto Vallerta, Mexico, my usual home in the winter, some good friends from San Miguel had rented a place there and we went out for dinner. The hostess knew me well, and as she seated us made a comment like ‘did you hear about the trailer park in Florida that is selling for 510 million dollars?’. I replied that yes I’d heard, it broke my heart and I needed a double margarita fast. She and my friends looked at me funny and laughed. Some joke. I told them I lost a million dollars that day, because I’d grown up in Briny, and had sold in the 90′s. It took some fast talking and a few descriptions of Briny before they believed me. My drinks were on the house that night!

I lived in Palm Beach for many years, another story, however I never forgot my roots. I told any and all that I had grown up in a mobile home…. 14 bedrooms of course.

Briny Breezes Artist Janet Folsom Catches Lobster Bare Handed in 30 feet of water 

This article was sent to briny-breezes.com blog from Fred House and is used with his permission:

Lobster Anybody?

This 10 pounder was caught by Janet Folsom bare handed in 30 feet of water at the west end of the Cape Cod Canal.  Largest catch was 22 pounds, Janet had scuba dived since the early 1950′s when she met Yves Cousteau when he came to Miami to talk about his aqua lung.

This write can remember 85 years ago when he spent his summers at his parent’s cottage at York Harbor, Maine that he could go out on the beach at low tide and poke out lobsters by the dozens that were hiding in the crevices of the rocks. Those were the days. 

Paul Folsom

From Fred House

Hi Lynn,

This is Bobby Samuelson and I in about 1958 Briny yachtbasin–I can’t count the times I sanded, varnished, and washed this boat. it belonged to Bobby of course. At the time I was 10 and he was 16–my best friend. good times

A Tribute to Uncle Jay Beardslee and the Magic of Briny Breezes

Note from Lynn Thomas (founder and editor of Briny-Breezes.com Memories and Tribute Site)

On March 29, 2010, Shelly Ellison commented about the passing of her beloved Uncle Jay Beardslee:

“With great sadness in my heart, I now reflect on another great memory of Briny. My dear Uncle Jay passed away last week. He and my Grandfather Don Coir loved Briny with a passion rarely seen. Uncle Jay loved to play shuffleboard, he was also the President of Briny for a time. He loved to talk to me about the Pelicans by the boats. Both he and my Grandfather will be greatly missed. Briny is such a special place, I will never forget the magic Uncle Jay and Grandpa found here. I too know what a magical place this is. Thank You Briny Breezes!”

Upon receiving the above email, I asked Shelly for more information.

Shelly replied with photos and more information about her grandparents and her Uncle Jay and the Briny Breezes she knows and loves.

“Thank you so very much. And thank you for such a wonderful site!” ~ Shelly

Thank you Shelly for sharing your memories with us.  Won’t you share your Briny Breezes memories?

My Uncle Jay Beardslee was President of Briny Breezes in the 1980’s.

Every winter I’d get to see Aunt Grace and Uncle Jay. Aunt Grace was always making things in crafts; she’d say they weren’t that good and always give me something she made. (They were very good!)

Uncle Jay was the President (of Briny Breezes)  for a time; I loved to brag about that. He’d always talk to me about the pelicans at the inlet to Briny; he seemed to really like the pelicans.

Uncle Jay and Aunt Grace always had something sweet to eat at their trailer, and they had lots of friends. They played a mean Shuffleboard. I will miss Uncle Jay; he was a very smart man, and a loving Uncle.

My Grandpa -Donald Coir- spent all of his time with the Chiselers, talking to everyone, he did a lot of painting for Briny, and he was also big in the Art shop. He loved to paint. He used to drive my Gram crazy when it was time to come down to Briny. With special permission, we scattered his ashes in the ocean offshore. Gram still lives in Briny.

Grandma (Alma Coir) could always be found chatting with her friends or we for the matter in the late afternoon always had a cocktail and we sat watching the boats, talking about Briny, and enjoying every minute of each others company.

Aunt Billie (Wilma Fauble) was Grandma’s (Alma Coir) sister, she’d come down too, she loved to sit out in the sun with her cocktail; we’d all gravitate towards her. She was always in high spirits. We lost her not to long ago. Aunt D (Doris Hambacher) is also a big part of my memories with Briny, she is my favorite Aunt, comes down several times during the winter, she is my playmate. We swim, walk eat and hope our time in Briny lasts longer than a week.

Donald Coir; my beloved Grandfather and favorite person. His passing was very hard for me. Grandpa loved Briny so much. He drove Gram crazy when it was time to leave for Briny. Grandpa was involved with almost everything. He loved the Chiselers, and the Arts (Briny Breezes Crafts and Artists). He won 1st place for a painting he did of a Rabi. The painting was then donated to a museum in Bloomfield Hills, MI. The photo is Grandma (Alma Coir) and I (Shelly Ellison) in front of his prize winning painting. I was always proud of Grandpa.

Grandpa and I always tried to do things together; we golfed, and even took a boat out on the Intracoastal Waterway.  I will never forget my time with my Grandfather, he was always easy to find. Gram would send me out to look for him at lunch, you could find him in the streets chatting it up with his friends, and he really loved Briny. So much so that when he passed, Gram drove Grandpa’s ashes down to Briny and we got special permission to scatter Grandpa’s ashes in the waters off his beloved Briny. So now when my mom and I walk the beach or we sit in the sun I know Grandpa is with us, sharing the magic of Briny. I see him in everything Briny has.

George and Florence Coir, came to buy in Briny in 1954. I remember the trailer being very hot! Grandpa George loved to show us the tiny lizards, my early memories of them are sunburns and laughter, sunshine and family. They started it all for us, for them I am forever grateful. They brought Briny into our lives. For me that’s when the magic began.

Delta, a Therapy Dog, enjoys Briny Breezes as well — pictured here by the Intracoastal Waterway

Thank you again Shelly for sharing your memories with us.  Won’t you share your Briny Breezes memories?

]]> http://www.briny-breezes.com/blog/magic-briny-breezes/feed/ 0 http://www.briny-breezes.com/blog/easter-sunrise-at-briny-breezes/ http://www.briny-breezes.com/blog/easter-sunrise-at-briny-breezes/#comments Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:20:03 +0000 admin http://www.briny-breezes.com/blog/?p=636

My grandmother awakens me early Easter Morning from my deep slumber.

I open my eyes, rubbing away the sleep and gaze up at her standing over me.

She smiles… “It’s time to go.”

I have been visiting with my grandmother at her trailer in Briny Breezes Florida.

I look out the window.  “Go where? It’s still dark outside.”

“To the beach.  Come on and get a move on,” she says as she shakes my leg.

As she turns to walk away I roll over, falling back into sleep.

“Lynn get up,” she says, calling to me from her kitchen.

I roll towards her, the aroma from her coffee pot permeates the trailer.  “But Nana,” I say, “It’s still dark out.”

“Of course it is,” she says, “How else can you see the sunrise?”

“But Nana, it’s too early.”

“Lynn, let’s get going.  I don’t want to miss Easter Service and the sun simply won’t wait for you.  Let’s go before we miss it.”

I rise from the bed grumbling.  I’m not a morning person, and at nine years of age the last thing I want to do is to get out of bed.

Nana leaves the trailer, waiting impatiently on her patio.  She calls to me again.

As I pull my nightgown off and my shirt on, my burnt shoulders protest, reminding me once again that I had too much sun yesterday.

I go out to the patio and walk with her up the sidewalk towards the beach.   I am surprised to see so many of her Briny neighbors also up and about so early this morning.

We walk up the path, passing the Seascape Restaurant and walking up to the crest of the dune, the sound of the ocean beckons to me to come on down to the beach.

We walk over to a crowd of people, all standing on the beach looking east across the water… waiting.

Then to my utter amazement the sky changes colors – from blackness to deep ink-blue to deep purple.

Then it changes to red and orange as a mound seems to pop up at the horizon.  It seems like you can see the wisps of flame dancing in the sky and slowly but surely the sun starts to rise.

During the day, it seems to just linger far away – high up in the sky.

But this morning as it rises, the sun looks enormous moving up from the horizon faster than I would have ever thought possible.

There are reds and oranges and now yellow… the sky a masterful watercolor too beautiful to describe.

This is more amazing than I would have ever thought possible.  I look up at my grandmother and smile.  I realize that she has given me a great gift – perhaps the best Easter present I have ever received.

And then it’s suddenly morning – a new day.  I look at the awe on the many faces standing near us.  Then the preacher steps forward and reads to us from the New Testament.

What an amazing morning.  The day feels special all day long.

Years later, my husband and I are raising our sons in south Florida.

As our two little boys struggle against my gentle prodding,  I call to them to awaken. They lie still, hoping I’ll leave their room.

I call to them… “Come on, hurry up … I don’t want you to miss the sunrise.”

“But Mom,” my youngest one pleads, wiping the sleep from his eyes, “It’s too early!”

“Of course it is, silly… how else can you see the sunrise?”

As we walk to the beach, I say a silent thank you to my grandmother.  It is because of her gift to me that I  will now share something with my sons that’s greater than they can imagine.

Briny Breezes Trailer Park – Recent Photos

Pictures taken during a visit to the park in 2007
By Lynn Thomas

Briny Breezes at the Intracoastal Waterway (Copyright 2007 Lynn Thomas)

Briny Breezes Quonset Hut & Fountain (Copyright 2007 Lynn Thomas)

Briny Breezes Oceanfront Club House (Copyright 2007 Lynn Thomas)

Briny Breezes Street (heading East towards Ocean) (Copyright 2007 Lynn Thomas)

Briny Breezes boat Marina at Intracoastal Waterway (Copyright 2007 Lynn Thomas)

More stories by Lynn Thomas at http://www.briny-breezes.com/blog/briny-articles-by-lynn-thomas

If you would like to add several of your Briny Breezes photos to our blog, let me know by email, so we can build a special page for your images – thank you!

Theodore Pratt ~ Author ~ Resided briefly in Briny Breezes

I remember seeing numerous adults painting seascapes while standing at their easels either at the beach or on their lots.

The Briny Breezes Trailer Park Artists strove to catch the beauty of Florida’s surf and sky. Many of these artists were retirees who had never painted before arriving at the Park. My mother was an artist as well, painting in both watercolor and oil.

Another type of artist stayed for a time at the Briny Breezes Trailer Park, the author Theodore Pratt. My mother recalled meeting the author of the Flame Tree and the Barefoot Mailman, among other works.

Theodore Pratt (author of ): The Barefoot Mailman

Theodore Pratt and his wife lived in Old Floresta in Boca Raton at the time, and decided to stay in the Park for a while to get the feel of trailer life to write his Murder Goes in a Trailer, which was set in a trailer park modeled on Briny Breezes.

Theodore Pratt, author of books and movies about historic Florida and other topics, lived in Florida from 1934 until his death in 1969.

Fourteen of Mr. Pratt’s thirty-five novels are set in Florida.

Florida Based Books by Theodore Pratt:

• Seminole: A Drama of the Florida Indian – (1953)The white men invaded his land, stole his woman and drove his people into the swamps; but Osceola and the Seminoles could not be conquered.
• Seminole (1963). A novel, adapted from the author’s drama: Seminole
• The Story of Boca Raton – 1963
• Florida’s Spanish River Area (1969)
• Pratt’s Trilogy of Southeast Florida
• The Barefoot Mailman (1943) tells of the mail carriers who risked their lives to carry the mail from Palm Beach north to Juno and south to Miami. While the work is fictionalized, the basis is true and it is simply amazing what these men withstood to see the mail delivered.
• The Flame Tree (1950) is about Palm Beach, Flagler’s rail line, the Royal Poinciana Hotel, Bradley’s Beach Club gambling house and Lake Worth.
• The Big Bubble (1951). A novel of the Florida boom.
• Mercy Island – While on what is supposed to be a relaxing fishing trip in the Florida Keys with his wife and his friend, a young husband imagines that his wife is having an affair with his friend. The husband plots are interrupted when they come upon a doctor who is on the run from the law for a crime he didn’t commit.
• Murder Goes in a Trailer (1937) Anthony Adams’s second mystery series is set in a trailer park modeled on Briny Breezes. Written under the pen name Timothy Brace.
• Florida Roundabout (1959)
• Tropical Disturbance (1961)
• Escape to Eden (1953)
• That Was Palm Beach (1958)
• Jacksonville (1947)
• America’s no-surrender Indians (1959)

(Florida) Filmography by Theodore Pratt:

• The Barefoot Mailman (1951) From the novel of the same name; starring Robert Cummings.
• Juke Girl (1942). From a story written by Pratt. The movie starred Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan. Two migrant farm works, Danny and Steve (Reagan), wind up in Cat Tail, Florida where Danny works for Madden Packing while Steve works for Nick, a farmer. Madden destroys the tomato crop, Steve, Lola (Sheridan) and Nick take off for Atlanta to sell their crop for big money; only to return Cat Tail and go up against Danny and Madden.
• Mercy Island (1941). Based on Pratt’s novel with the same name.

If you knew or met or know about Theodore Pratt, Please Add Your Comments below

Memories of Briny Breezes from Residents, Visitors and Fans

Briny Breezes ~ “The Best Location in the Nation”
Celebrating the Memories, Trivia and History of Briny Breezes, Florida.

Briny Breezes Trailer Home at "the Best Location in the Nation"

1956 Briny Breezes Family Swim - copyright Lynn Seeley-Thomas

I spent much of my youth living in Briny Breezes. Our family would arrive after Christmas and stay until Easter.

We would have a wonderful time visiting the area, touring Florida and Cuba, and most of all… enjoying the sand & sea.

I invite you to post your memories and comments to our blog.

Comments on Briny Breezes Memories

Add Your Briny Breeze Memories

(If you would like to add your photo to the comment, email me the photo (150×150 max size).

If you would like to add several of your Briny Breezes photos to our blog, let me know by email, so we can build a special page for your images – thank you! info @ briny-breezes .com

My grandfather was Paul Miller who was of the developers of the property in the early 1920s. I was excited when my cousin sent information about this blog. I have so many, many childhood memories of the park and the wonderful residents. I remember when the “new” rec hall was built and being with my grandfather as he excitedly looked forward to its completion. As a child, I remember some of the dances there and I have very fond memories of the wonderful residents. ~

Shelly Ellison

With great sadness in my heart, I now reflect on another great memory of Briny. My dear Uncle Jay (Jay Beardslee) passed away last week. He and my Grandfather Don Coir loved Briny with a passion rarely seen. Uncle Jay loved to play shuffleboard, he was also the President for Briny for a time. He loved to talk to me about the Pelicans by the boats. Both he and my Grandfather will be greatly missed. Briny is such a special place, I will never forget the magic Uncle Jay and Grandpa found here. I too know what a magical place this is. Thank You BRINY!!

Update:  The Magic of Briny Breezes

Bob Voss

My parents bought into Briny in the 70s and retired down there 2 years later. Spent most winters there. My dad passed away in 1990, but my mom stayed there another 9 winters until she passed away around 2000. I spent most winter holidays there. I kidded folks and said I wanted a ‘white xmas’…that was white sand between my toes on the beach on Xmas day as I took annual dip in the ocean in December, no matter what…

See article by Bob Voss: http://www.briny-breezes.com/blog/a-sandy-white-christmas/

Sue Rheinfrank

After my husband’s death in 2000, my relatives, Ken Nicholson, Eda Wood and Herb and Cynthia Nye, invited me to spend a week at Briny to help me cope with my loss. Being surrounded by loving family and kind new friends there was a source of great comfort to me then.

I returned to Briny with my cousin, Donna Clarke, during the summer of 2008. Once again, I found the people to be as nice and the setting to be as beautiful as I remembered it. What a wonderful sanctuary it is to everyone who loves it.

Dave

I remember coming down to Briny Breezes from Kokomo, Indiana back around 1973 playing Rock n Roll with our band... playing at Dante’s Den… always amazed at Carvin behind the bar… he was a great multi-tasker… we loved the place.. Great People there in Briny… Great Memories !

Jack Lee

My favorite memories of growing up in Briny were playing in the woods where Crown Colony Stands, Janet Flosom teaching me how to scuba dive and eating Lobster from the 2nd reef. We would go out with an inner tube and a net which is where the lobsters would go. In the 50’s Marine life was plentiful. I also have slides that I scanned of that era.

Marilyn Young

Your Briny Breezes articles are just wonderful, very descriptive, very nostalgic. I hope they are enjoyed by the residents and their families who have had these memories and experiences. I really enjoyed it.

Mary Kate

I’ve really been enjoying your web site – keep the memories coming!

Harold Kelley

I have enjoyed your postings about Briny Breezes. We have lived in Briny for nearly 30 years. Your article on the Quonset huts was well done and the pics were great. However, the ribs that support the structure are not steel. There was no available metal during the war and they used wood ribs. The ones in Briny are wood. Some deterioration has set in after 65 years of service and work has been done on some of the ribs.

Micky Morgan

My family moved into Briny in 1954 and my folks both worked for the Millers. Dad, John Swan, worked in the office and some outside ‘jocking’ trailers until his death in 1956. Back then one’s trailer didn’t stay on the lot year round; it was moved to storage, either in the Quonsets or outside of them.

As a kid we had lots of room to play in the summer and most summer residents moved their trailer up near the beach and back again to the ‘cheaper’ lots in the winter. Mom, Charlotte Swan Knaus, was the Social Director for some years and directed the various plays and productions in the old auditorium that burned and then the new one which replaced it for many years. Many thanks!

Fred House

I grew up in Briny, well almost. We found paradise in 1958 after moving down from Wisconsin. The park was filled with kids my age, we had forts under a lot of trailers, plus the north side was still wild with huge banyan trees, inlets, and our forts. ~ Fred House

Note: Please read Fred’s wonderful Briny Breeze articles at: http://www.briny-breezes.com/blog/briny-articles-by-fred-house/

This web site is a wonderful way to keep in touch! I lost touch with Peter Folsom many years ago after moving here to Mexico. Last month I received an email from him–he had found this web site and read my article about his mom. It turned out he had come here to San Miguel one year with his mom and lived here. I’ve also sent this link to various friends from Briny in the old days, including Lindy and Ellen Grannis, Greg kessman, Clare Ohland, Dana Littlefield– so hope they check it out.

Clare and I have been looking for Chellie Long Varcoe for many years so if anyone has a clue please let me know. Perhaps the whereabouts of Joyce Varcoe? thanks

Another update–recently Clare emailed me that she is interested in coming to San Miguel to see how life in the slow lane is. I haven’t seen her since the 60’s so it will be interesting. I just moved into a brand new house here, a few minutes out of town in the country. I have a horse parked across the street. I call him my fertilizer machine. Of course I don’t get too near but send my gardener over to collect the nuggets.

Shelly Ellison

Doni Caldwell (Cookie Grannis)

Nancy Whittingham

John Irish