Once Upon a 'Bay Book'

(NOTE: The following appeared in The News Herald as a staff-written column called "Bay Books" on Saturday, Jan.1 2000. You can find it in the online archive here.)

The Dawning of a New Century'

CENTURY - Twin road signs along U.S. 29 in Escambia County welcome visitors or drivers-through to this little town on the Florida side of the Alabama border, about 45 miles due north of Pensacola.

One sign faces north at the foot of the overpass that spans the railroad tracks that separate Century from Flomaton, Ala. The other sign faces south at the town limits and greets those driving from Pensacola to escape hurricanes and Yankee insurgents and what-have-you.

"Welcome to the Dawning of a New Century," the signs read.

The signs have been in place for many years. No one seems to recall how long, exactly. And until this year, the signs were simply cute wordplay embodying Century's hopes for industrial expansion.

(Actually, a new industry is eyeing the place - a Japanese company that makes biodegradable balloons for Disney parades and events. The balloons disintegrate upon contact with water. But I digress.)

This winter, however, the road signs also became a sign of the times, if you will. Like just about everyone else in the world, it seems the citizens of Century (population about 2,000) have a habit of getting a little ahead of themselves.

People around the planet have demanded the right to celebrate a new millennium when it's still a year away, you see. Those who know better will let them, and then celebrate it again when it actually arrives in 2001.

Likewise, the folks in Century (which happens to be my hometown) embraced the idea of an early "new millennium" party - and threw in a town centennial a few months shy of Century's 99th birthday.

(Century was named in April 1901 by someone who understood how to define centuries - and probably even millennia. The Alger-Sullivan Lumber Co. set up a mill near the Teaspoon community that year and needed to name its train station so that the U.S. Post Office would deliver mail there.)

I missed the two-day "Century Centennial" that concludes today - I had to work. But it's OK. Most likely, we'll party again next year.