My Ocean Springs: 2007 in Pictures

Few small towns have a country club exclusively devoted to the sport of tennis, but Treasure Oak Country Club has been serving the tennis community of Ocean Springs since 1964. Legend has it that pirates once buried gold under a special oak tree on the premises, and though no gold has ever been found, the legend of the “treasure oak” carries on in its country club namesake. In addition to tennis, Treasure Oak provides both swimming and boating facilities for its members. Steve Pennington, once named Southern Tennis Professional of the Year, is the tennis pro and club manager, a job that keeps him busy in a variety of ways, including hosting three USTA sanctioned regional tennis tournaments every year.

Miranda Vandermuelen, Summer Park Ranger at the Gulf Islands National Seashore during her school break from the University of Southern Mississippi, interacts with young visitors to her Cast Netting exhibition during Earth Day festivities in Ocean Springs. The Gulf Islands National Seashore is a wild 150-mile stretch of barrier islands and coastal mainland operated by the National Park Service in two locations: Pensacola, Florida, and Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The national seashore was established in 1971, and the Mississippi portion features sparkling beaches, historic sites, bayous, nature trails, picnic areas, campgrounds, and islands accessible only by boat.

Situated on fifty acres of waterfront property in the middle of Ocean Springs, The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory is home to approximately two-hundred students, faculty, scientists, and support staff who conduct groundbreaking marine-related research while providing educational opportunities to untold numbers of people. Jim Franks first came to Ocean Springs in 1963 as a student at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory where he completed his graduate studies in 1968. He is a senior research scientist with the Laboratory’s Center for Fisheries Research and Development and is adjunct faculty with the University of Southern Mississippi’s Department of Coastal Sciences. His primary research involves studies of life history aspects and habitat requirements of coastal and large pelagic fish, such as cobia, tripletail, billfish, tuna, and dolphinfish, in the northern Gulf of Mexico. His current research also includes investigations of pelagic fish species as potential aquaculture candidates. He has conducted studies on barrier island fish ecology, co-authored a plan of response to protect Mississippi coastal habitats and fishery resources during oil spills, and worked with colleagues and fishers to establish angler-based cooperative tag-and-release programs in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Ocean regions. He has authored numerous scientific papers and serves on fisheries advisory committees and boards. He is on the board of directors of the Mississippi Wildlife Federation and several sport fishing tournaments, and is a member of the American Fisheries Society, Billfish Foundation, and Coastal Conservation Association.

Kim Westman stands outside her workplace, Chandeleur Outfitters, in downtown Ocean Springs, the only fly shop on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Rob Recio lived in San Francisco, dreaming of owning his own fishing business. After seeing Chandeleur for sale on-line, he made the trip to Ocean Springs and instantly fell in love with the quietness of the area. Recio sold everything and made the move to Ocean Springs two years ago. Chandeleur Outfitters offers guided fishing tours, specializing in shallow water sight casting for trophy redfish, but the store offers a haven for all fishermen to come to swap stories and shop the latest lines of outdoor apparel.

Phoebe Mendenhall relaxes on the front porch of her favorite store, Two Dogs Dancing, in downtown Ocean Springs, while her owner, Mary, visits with owner, Mickie Miller. Mickie first owned a dog five years ago, and instantly fell in love with the canine world, so much so that she decided to open a business catering to other dog lovers in January, 2004. The name “Two Dogs Dancing” was simply Mickie’s attempt at a unique name, and the unique nature of the name and shop has brought in customers from all over. In addition to dog lovers, Two Dogs Dancing offers gifts for cat lovers, and even for human animals, too!

Post-Katrina, downtown Ocean Springs witnessed a proliferation of bars, much to the consternation of several business owners who took pride in the quiet charm of the area. The push by the drinking establishments to close Government Street for a festival in May led to opposition, with several business owners protesting to city government. In the middle of the controversy, after tiring of picking up beer bottles every morning, Betty Francis of Mississippi Mud Works took the litter and transformed it into what she named “Urban Art” in front of her family’s Government Street business to showcase the trend.

Every town has a sno-cone stand, but few have one in a 56,000 pound caboose in a downtown backyard. After twenty-six years as an Ocean Springs police officer, Timmy Tue retired in 2000 and began working for CSX Railroad. Soon afterwards, his friends thought he was crazy when he bought a caboose on the Internet and had it shipped to Ocean Springs from near Chicago. The 1956 railcar arrived in late 2001, was loaded on an eighteen-wheeler, and carefully maneuvered to a residential backyard! There, Tue completely restored the caboose, added picnic tables and swings to the yard, and opened Caboose Cones, the coolest sno-cone stand on the planet!

John Ruskin, the famous 19th Century art critic and social reformer, never traveled to North America in his lifetime, but this little-known fact did not prevent the legend of “The Ruskin Oak.” The legend claims that Ruskin attended a tea party under the massive live oak after visiting New Orleans in 1885, and even though this isn’t true, the legend has led many an artist to seek inspiration beneath its spacious branches. Rochelle Harper moved to Ocean Springs in 1994 and began playing music in 2000. By 2001, the Rochelle Harper Band had taken shape, with the Ocean Springs Herb & Garden Festival serving as her very first “gig.” Since that beginning, Rochelle has been a fixture at festivals and other venues all along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The self-proclaimed “hippie chick” and her band are known for their original music, connecting with the crowd, and involving children in their inspirational shows.

Ocean Springs is a gold mine for antique lovers with several impressive establishments throughout the city, and collectors from all over the world travel here to mine for antique gold. After working for decades in a Pascagoula shipyard, Bernard Clark retired to devote full attention to his hobby by opening Bernard Clark Antiques. Bernard has over forty years experience in the antique business, and though he only established his Ocean Springs location four years ago, he instantly fell in love with the city, the people, and the downtown area. Bernard’s offers a wide assortment of treasures, but the owner’s specialty is glass, having been taught the ins and outs of pattern glass by expert, Kate Ward. He travels to Maine three times a year (his favorite place to treasure hunt), but most days you can find him sitting in a rocking chair in the middle of his treasures enjoying life.

Not every community has a business solely dedicated to candy, so The Candy Cottage on Washington Avenue stands as another witness to the unique nature of Ocean Springs. The Candy Cottage is famous for its pralines, but its chief claim to fame is the “Foote’s Heritage Solid Pecan Log,” which the present owner’s great-grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Foote, created at their restaurant on the Atchafalaya River. Amber Janes keeps busy at her most tempting job, filling orders for pralines and pecan logs and much more, serving them up in the store as well as shipping them to locations around the world. The Candy Cottage has been a Southern tradition for over seventy-five years!