Authors to sign copies of O.B. history books on Dec. 2 & 9

Just in time for Christmas, Orange Beach historian Margaret Childress Long will sign copies of her two books, “The Best Place to Be – The Story of Orange Beach, Alabama” and “Orange Beach, Alabama – A Pictorial History’’ at St. Charles Cards & Gifts on Dec. 2 from 10 a.m. ‘til 2 p.m. and The Emporium on Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. ‘til 2 p.m. Co-author, Michael D. Shipler, (pictured with Long) will also be at the signings.
St. Charles Cards and Gifts is located next to Wal-Mart Shopping Center on Perdido Beach Blvd. in Orange Beach, and The Emporium is located just to the east in the Winn-Dixie Shopping Center.
Having already collected hundreds of pictures from people wanting to share their local history following the 2006 publication of “The Best Place To Be,’’ Long and Shipler released their follow-up, a condo style-coffee table book, in 2016.
Some of the more than 600 photographs in the book date back to the 1880’s. The book also includes “then and now’’ pictures, as reflected on the front cover. Those pictures uniquely illustrate the incredible changes Orange Beach has experienced through the city’s growth.
“There were very few people living here when we came down from Evergreen in 1949,’’ Margaret said.
Margaret said the authors thought their picture book would top out at 80 pages. They ended up with a major editing job just to get it down to 192 pages.
Long moved to Orange Beach from Evergreen when she was just two months shy of her second birthday. She went to Foley High and Auburn, and despite 12 years teaching school in Creola, she has always called Orange Beach home.
She and her husband (Buddy) live in the same house where Margaret’s parents lived for more than 50 years. Her dad paid $12,500 to Dr. Amos Garret of Robertsdale, her mom’s first cousin, in 1949 for the 300 ft. waterfront parcel. A teacher at Fairhope Middle and High Schools and Elberta Middle School, Margaret served the island as school board representative for six years after her mother died in 2000. Her father died less than a year before that. A fisherman, hunter and farmer, her father also owned a farm in Silverhill. Sons Wesley and Brooks have turned the farm into the popular Alligator Alley tourist attraction.