Last week’s Yesteryear told the story of two men that grew up in Marianna in the 1940s and, along with their buddies, used to play in an area called “Catgut Canyon”. Those two men are Al Padgett and Charles Baldwin. Their childhood buddies were Jimmy Kynes, Mack Rooks, Frank (Archie) Harris and June Sims, all of which are now deceased. After many years of having little contact, Padgett and Baldwin recently hooked up again and soon the talk turned to that childhood hangout known as “Catgut Canyon”. The two, now both in their 80’s, vowed to make an effort to come to Marianna and find their old stomping grounds.
This past Friday both returned to Marianna along with their wives. They met up with the Times Sports Editor, Clint Cox, at the old Marianna High School. After reminiscing about the old school, the hunt began by heading toward Chipola College, which is in the general vicinity of the targeted location. The infamous Catgut Canyon was described as being north of Kelson Ave. and east of College St.. We spent about 30 minutes driving through the area of Kelson Ave., College St. and Watson Dr.. A few brief stops were made but the search party returned to Kelson Ave. and then turned north on Amelia Dr.. An opening to the wooded area was found so Padgett and Baldwin began conducting their reconnaissance. Of course everything seemed smaller and more grown up than they recalled. But a stream / branch was located and this served as a landmark. They spent about 30 minutes patrolling the heavily wooded area and believed they found the spot where they used to camp out for the night. But Catgut Canyon itself remained elusive. After the foot soldiers traipse through the woods they ended up back on Watson Drive. They called for re-enforcements to flank the woods and pick them up.
The search party convened for a strategy session and several ideas were tossed out. Maybe Catgut Canyon has been filled in over the years? Maybe it was back more towards Kelson Ave. or maybe it is north of Watson Dr.? Maybe they had not been to just the right spot yet? Someone noted that it was awfully hot and that the summer undergrowth was pretty heavy. And the foot soldiers had suffered one or two battle wounds during their reconnaissance. So a tactical decision was made to abort the mission at this time. Cooler weather in the fall would make for better scouting conditions. It would also kill off some of the undergrowth and bugs. In the meantime more intelligence could be gathered from the locals about the elusive canyon. So stay tuned, “The Hunt for Catgut Canyon” will resume when cooler weather arrives.
Al Padgett and his wife Billie currently reside in Tallahassee. After graduating from Marianna he went on to graduate from Florida State University. He went into coaching at the high school level, coaching football and basketball. He served as the Sports Editor at the Jackson County Floridan for about 1 ½ years and then spent 10 years as the Sports Editor at the Pensacola News Journal. Padgett left the newspaper business and went into the insurance business, where he retired after 20 years with AFLAC.
Charles Baldwin went to Davidson College, the University of Florida and Auburn University, where he graduated with a Veterinary degree. He served as a Veterinary in the Lake City area for 35 years before retiring. He moved to and lived in Costa Rico for the next 18 years. He and his wife Linda recently returned to the States and now reside in Fort White, Florida.
Next week’s Yesteryear will feature some more stories and memories about Catgut Canyon from our readers.
Send or drop off any pictures of your favorite sports memories to the Jackson County Times.
E-mail clintcox@jacksoncountytimes.net
Fax: (850) 526-1505
Phone: (850) 209-7319
Office: 2866 Madison St. Marianna
This past Friday both returned to Marianna along with their wives. They met up with the Times Sports Editor, Clint Cox, at the old Marianna High School. After reminiscing about the old school, the hunt began by heading toward Chipola College, which is in the general vicinity of the targeted location. The infamous Catgut Canyon was described as being north of Kelson Ave. and east of College St.. We spent about 30 minutes driving through the area of Kelson Ave., College St. and Watson Dr.. A few brief stops were made but the search party returned to Kelson Ave. and then turned north on Amelia Dr.. An opening to the wooded area was found so Padgett and Baldwin began conducting their reconnaissance. Of course everything seemed smaller and more grown up than they recalled. But a stream / branch was located and this served as a landmark. They spent about 30 minutes patrolling the heavily wooded area and believed they found the spot where they used to camp out for the night. But Catgut Canyon itself remained elusive. After the foot soldiers traipse through the woods they ended up back on Watson Drive. They called for re-enforcements to flank the woods and pick them up.
The search party convened for a strategy session and several ideas were tossed out. Maybe Catgut Canyon has been filled in over the years? Maybe it was back more towards Kelson Ave. or maybe it is north of Watson Dr.? Maybe they had not been to just the right spot yet? Someone noted that it was awfully hot and that the summer undergrowth was pretty heavy. And the foot soldiers had suffered one or two battle wounds during their reconnaissance. So a tactical decision was made to abort the mission at this time. Cooler weather in the fall would make for better scouting conditions. It would also kill off some of the undergrowth and bugs. In the meantime more intelligence could be gathered from the locals about the elusive canyon. So stay tuned, “The Hunt for Catgut Canyon” will resume when cooler weather arrives.
Al Padgett and his wife Billie currently reside in Tallahassee. After graduating from Marianna he went on to graduate from Florida State University. He went into coaching at the high school level, coaching football and basketball. He served as the Sports Editor at the Jackson County Floridan for about 1 ½ years and then spent 10 years as the Sports Editor at the Pensacola News Journal. Padgett left the newspaper business and went into the insurance business, where he retired after 20 years with AFLAC.
Charles Baldwin went to Davidson College, the University of Florida and Auburn University, where he graduated with a Veterinary degree. He served as a Veterinary in the Lake City area for 35 years before retiring. He moved to and lived in Costa Rico for the next 18 years. He and his wife Linda recently returned to the States and now reside in Fort White, Florida.
Next week’s Yesteryear will feature some more stories and memories about Catgut Canyon from our readers.
Send or drop off any pictures of your favorite sports memories to the Jackson County Times.
E-mail clintcox@jacksoncountytimes.net
Fax: (850) 526-1505
Phone: (850) 209-7319
Office: 2866 Madison St. Marianna
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