Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - (Page 51) REEF madness story by JEAN M. MCLEAN S FISH CHECK IN AT A LONG-TIME FAVORITE HOTEL WITH A NEW UNDERWATER HOME OFF THE ALABAMA COAST. Sounds like the stuff of a Disney movie, complete with opening scenes of happy families at play, followed by loss and heartbreak, and ending with a redheaded mermaid and singing fish. Well, perhaps the mermaid doesn’t have red hair and the fish don’t sing. But the anglers, their guides, and all those economically impacted are certainly humming a happy tune this summer as Ivan-devastated reefs off Alabama’s shores are replenished with concrete debris created by the same storm. Our imaginary movie opens in 1974, when Alabama’s Gulf State Park unveiled its hotel, a 16-building complex catering to families and conventions. The lodging signaled a building boom that would change that coast forever. And although the facility closed for two years following 1979’s Hurricane Frederick, it eventually weathered 12 named storms, providing beachy memories for what Alabama’s Southwest District Park Superintendent Hugh Branyon estimates to be well more than two million visitors. Hugh began working in the park in 1957 and has been superintendent for 32 years. Although the rest of the park is going strong, he still receives calls lamenting the hotel’s closing since Ivan turned the once-proud facility into a series of concrete shells. “We get calls all of the time saying, ‘My granddaddy started bringing me there,’ or ‘My husband proposed to me at dinner there,’” says Hugh. He hears from convention managers who had booked meetings for 25-plus years, saying they miss the facility. But Ivan’s infamy has turned to good. When the hotel remnants had to come down to make room for an eventual new complex, Alabama’s Department of Natural Resources refused to fill landfills with what biologists consider “clean” concrete. Instead, they considered the Ivandevastated fishing habitat and made a strategic match. The hotel debris is now being used to create multiple inshore reefs, while the destroyed pier material will supply offshore habitat. Fall 2007 51
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue Editor's Letter Contributor Gumbo Words & Notes Accessories Coastal Calendar Storefronts: French Flair in Fairhope Sweet Dreams: Smooth Sailing Art of Living: The Colors of Hope Fixtures: Shake It Up! Live Here: Filled to the Brim Our Backyard: Just Add Water Make Yourself at Home: Open Invitation Pierless Pleasures Always Biloxi Spirited Away Reef Madness Louisiana Love Cheers: Fall Freeze Dish: Java Servers Reader Services Chef's Table: The Kid Inside Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas Last Bite Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - (Page Cover) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - (Page IFC) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - (Page 1) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - (Page 2) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - (Page 3) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - (Page 4) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - (Page 5) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Editor's Letter (Page 6) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Editor's Letter (Page 7) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Contributor (Page 8) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Contributor (Page 9) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Gumbo (Page 10) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Gumbo (Page 11) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Words & Notes (Page 12) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Words & Notes (Page 13) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Accessories (Page 14) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Accessories (Page 15) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Coastal Calendar (Page 16) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Coastal Calendar (Page 17) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Storefronts: French Flair in Fairhope (Page 18) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Storefronts: French Flair in Fairhope (Page 19) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Sweet Dreams: Smooth Sailing (Page 20) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Sweet Dreams: Smooth Sailing (Page 21) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Art of Living: The Colors of Hope (Page 22) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Art of Living: The Colors of Hope (Page 23) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Fixtures: Shake It Up! (Page 24) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Fixtures: Shake It Up! (Page 25) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Live Here: Filled to the Brim (Page 26) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Live Here: Filled to the Brim (Page 27) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Our Backyard: Just Add Water (Page 28) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Our Backyard: Just Add Water (Page 29) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Make Yourself at Home: Open Invitation (Page 30) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Make Yourself at Home: Open Invitation (Page 31) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Make Yourself at Home: Open Invitation (Page 32) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Make Yourself at Home: Open Invitation (Page 33) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Pierless Pleasures (Page 34) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Pierless Pleasures (Page 35) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Pierless Pleasures (Page 36) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Pierless Pleasures (Page 37) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Always Biloxi (Page 38) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Always Biloxi (Page 39) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Always Biloxi (Page 40) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Always Biloxi (Page 41) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Always Biloxi (Page 42) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Always Biloxi (Page 43) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Spirited Away (Page 44) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Spirited Away (Page 45) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Spirited Away (Page 46) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Spirited Away (Page 47) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Spirited Away (Page 48) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Spirited Away (Page 49) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Reef Madness (Page 50) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Reef Madness (Page 51) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Reef Madness (Page 52) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Reef Madness (Page 53) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Louisiana Love (Page 54) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Louisiana Love (Page 55) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Louisiana Love (Page 56) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Louisiana Love (Page 57) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Louisiana Love (Page 58) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Louisiana Love (Page 59) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Cheers: Fall Freeze (Page 60) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Cheers: Fall Freeze (Page 61) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Dish: Java Servers (Page 62) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Dish: Java Servers (Page 63) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Reader Services (Page 64) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Reader Services (Page 65) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Chef's Table: The Kid Inside (Page 66) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Chef's Table: The Kid Inside (Page 67) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas (Page 68) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas (Page 69) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas (Page 70) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas (Page 71) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas (Page 72) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas (Page 73) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas (Page 74) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas (Page 75) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas (Page 76) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas (Page 77) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas (Page 78) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Let's Eat: Cornbread, Catheads, and Calas (Page 79) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Last Bite (Page 80) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Last Bite (Page 81) Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - Last Bite (Page 82)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.