Oral History Collection

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Oral History Collection

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Michael W. Boles was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1954. His family moved near St. Augustine pier in 1967. Michael and his brother, Joe Boles, surfed often. In high school, Mike “Booger” Boles began a business shaping boards out of his…


Smiley Sturgis is a pastor at Good News Church in St. Augustine. He moved to St. Augustine in 1965, where he started surfing. He discussed local spots, surfer style in high school; and the introduction of leashes and short boards to the sport of…


Joe Boles is an attorney at law in St. Augustine who served as mayor of the town from 2006-2014. Born in North Carolina, Boles moved in the mid-1960s to Vero Beach where he and his brother, Michael started surfing. He discussed the surfing history…


Chris Way came to St. Augustine in second grade. As a pre-teen he began surfing, looking up to older teenaged surfers. He discussed territorialism on the beaches, surfing and travel, other water sports surfers engage in, and how surfing has…


Pat Hamilton was born in Winter Garden. His parents bought a beach house in Crescent Beach when he was five years old. He and his brother began surfing, often with people from inland Florida who traveled to the coast. He discussed international…


A pioneering female surfer from St. Augustine. She discussed the experiences of female surfers, the landscape of St. Augustine Beach in the 1960s, and surfing competitions. She also discussed living and surfing in Australia, and encounters with…

Mary K. Shaw and Beth Shaw Masters are the sisters of surfer Hugh Shaw. The sisters started an annual longboard competition, the Hugh Shaw Memorial Longboard Classic after their brother perished in a car collision in 1983. The event became part of…


John Walker started surfing in North Carolina and also surfed in Panama. In 1974 his company transferred him from Winston-Salem to Fort Lauderdale. He discussed surf shops in Jacksonville, dropping in on big waves, the spiritual benefits of…

Long time friends, Linda Bevilacqua Farber and Nancy Macri, discussed their experiences as female surfers. They also discussed different surf shops, beaches, the history of Macri's surf shop Blue Sky, and the history of surfer Hugh Shaw. Farber still…

Tory Strange is the owner of the Surf Station Surf Shop on Anastasia Island in St. Augustine, Florida. He created the Surf Station’s Surf Report, and is also a designer of surf boards. The Surf Station and is a beloved local surf shop and has…

Vaughn Cochran is one of the first surfers in St. Augustine’s modern era of surfing. He described his memories of surfing in St. Augustine in the early days. He now owns Black Fly Restaurant, Black Fly Outfitter, and Black Fly Café and is still an…

John Gamble was born in Cuba. After the Cuban Revolution, the Gamble family moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey. Surf movies inspired Gamble to try the sport one day. He discussed his surfing lifestyle and the many adventures he took part in, such as…


In 1966, Jeffrey Hollway moved to St. Augustine Beach to teach math at St. Augustine High School. He bought a used surf board and began surfing, often seeing his students at the beach. He discussed his fond memories of surfing at St. Augustine…


Ron and Lynn met working at a pancake house in Ormond Beach and married at age seventeen. They moved to St. Augustine in 1989 and opened up North Beach Surf Camp for a brief while in Vilano. Over the years they became surfing parents to many,…

Mike Greenwood made custom surfboards under his Greenwood label. He made an agreement with Blue Sky surf shop to sell his boards, where he had a loyal following. He stills enjoys surfing and fishing and shared his surf stories.
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