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About Wakulla County -
Panacea, Florida
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11-09-2005 |
Wakulla County Welcome Center:
A Treasure by the Bay
If you haven't yet visited the Wakulla County Welcome Center in
downtown Panacea, Florida, then you are truly missing out on a
wonderful experience. The Center, housed in the old
"Stonecrabber" restaurant, is an educational and visual treat.
Run completely by volunteers, it offers beautiful views of Dickerson
Bay from its outside deck, as well as from the observation room located
in the rear of the structure.
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Welcome Center Volunteer Bonnie Holub
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When
you enter the building, you are greeted by one of the many
volunteers who give of their time each day to educate visitors on the
beauty and natural resources of Wakulla County. There is an
information center where visitors can pick up brochures and maps on
where to stay, eat, and play while in Wakulla County. There are
also educational and historical displays depicting Wakulla County's
role in America's past. There is a waterman's display which
describes the role of Wakulla's seafood industry, as well as a
pictorial display of the local fishing and crabbing industry.
Visitors to the center can peruse the peaceful coastal art
gallery,
full of works by various artists, some of whom are local. The
overall theme of the art is nature, with beautiful and interesting
scenes of Florida's coastline, fishermen, and marine life. The
Welcome Center also features a bird nest exhibit, seashell
exhibit, and shelves full of
interesting examples of local ocean "creatures", no longer living, of
course!
Peer through the scope on the outside observation deck of the Center
and you might just see a bald eagle or an osprey soaring over beautiful
Dickerson Bay. Guests can also spend some time at the historic
Panacea Mineral Springs, located just across the street from the
Center.
As mentioned earlier, the Welcome Center building was initially a restaurant, the "Stone
Crabber", built in the mid 1980s. It changed hands several
times, under different names, before the County finally bought the building. The Blue Crab Festival Steering
Committee approached the County Commissioners with a proposal to turn the
building into a Welcome Center. The Blue Crab Committee would be
reponsible for funding the center and managing it, if the county would
maintain it. An agreement was reached and the Welcome Center
officially opened its doors in April 2004. The entire community pulled together with
financial contributions and their own time to renovate the building.
Patsy Byrd is one of the many volunteers who keep the Welcome Center
going on a daily basis. She says the Center receives both local
visitors and visitors from all over the country. Some of the
other Center volunteers are Bonnie Holub, Kellie Greene, Pam Portwood,
Lori Ann Pollgreen, Margie Irwin, Lydia Long, Laura Smith, Dorothy
Holub, and Helen White. The Welcome Center is open 7 days a week
and staffed
completely by the volunteers. Says Bonnie Holub, one of the
original founders of the Center, "We have wonderful volunteers, but we can always use more!"
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| Volunteer Patsy Byrd |
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So, the next time you are wondering what to do with that Saturday or
Sunday afternoon, take a leisurely cruise to Panacea to visit the
Wakulla County Welcome Center. You'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner!
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Community 
