THOM 8 | Spring / Summer 2017

PLACEMAKERS
Providing a bit of initial inspiration was a gift from
Melissa’s father, a collection of colorfully written
fishing logs belonging to her great-grandfather
Mitchell – pen set to paper by self-proclaimed “4th
Mate,” Pete Yorkman. Written in 1945, the accounts
provide a glimpse not only into the rambunctious
excursions themselves, but also perhaps into why
Melissa, Christina and Emily felt compelled to
continue the tradition of recording the stories of this
place, its food and its people:
"The speckled beauty they gaffed was much admired by
those aboard the mother ship. Libations were certainly in
order and many toasts added to the frolic of these famous
tours. The cuisine was as usual excellent and rounded out
another happy log in the annals of Mitchell Tours. It may
be well to note that our famous sea-sick remedy, 'Lilflon'
was not required, which in itself spoke highly for the
rugged fortitude of our guests."
Rather than write a story about the seafaring
adventures of her great-grandparents and their dear
friends herself, Melissa connected with Vereen Bell,
Jr., now an English professor at Vanderbilt University,
and asked him to write about the families’ fishing
ventures instead. “To have him write it from his
perspective was a way to preserve his family history,
too,” she says.
And so, with every turn of the page, you get the
feeling that you, too, are sitting right there at a very
long table, eating, laughing – maybe a little too hard,
thanks to a couple Lilflon cocktails – and listening
to the stories of the Saints. This book is a storybook,
yes, but it just wouldn’t have felt right without the
recipes scattered throughout its pages. After all, no
matter where you are, we all know that the best
stories are best told in between bites.
Do This in Remembrance
Like the contributors to this book, each of these
three women has their own story to tell and their
own reasons for their reverence of Port Saint Joe.
Christina, Melissa and Emily come from three
different backgrounds and represent three different
generations and three different perspectives. What
these three do share is what we all share – a wish to
preserve a place, to create a record of what it was in
order to serve as a sort of guidepost for what it will
be.
"When the ice box was full, the skipper headed for home,
directly into the face of the setting sun which was fast
sinking over the horizon and whose rays, blending with
the deep shadows of the evergreens along the shore, gave
a picture of peaceful solitude and served a fitting climax
for a golden day never to be forgotten."
–from The Logs of Mitchell Tours
SAINTS OF OLD FLORIDA
saintsofoldflorida.com
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