Margaret Childress Long’s Certificate of Recognition

Margaret Childress Long’s Certificate of Recognition

• Whereas, Ted and Dorothy Childress moved to Cotton Bayou in Orange Beach on July 14, 1949, when their daughter Margaret Childress Long was just shy of 2 years old; and
• Whereas, having lived on Cotton Bayou in the same place for most of those 75 years since, Margaret can tell a few stories; and
• Whereas, with those stories and historical knowledge of Orange Beach, she first co-authored “The Best Place to Be – The Story of Orange Beach, Alabama” with Michael D. Shipler in 2006, followed by “Orange Beach, Alabama – A Pictorial History” in 2016; and
• Whereas, Margaret’s love of Orange Beach is undeniable and she has shared her passion for history and education here and throughout Baldwin County; and
• Whereas, she served as a teacher at Fairhope Middle and High Schools, and Elberta Middle School and also as a Baldwin County school board representative for six years; and
• Whereas, Margaret recently stepped down as a member of the Baldwin County Historical Development Commission after serving for nearly a decade; and
• Whereas, she has been an exemplary ambassador and historian of Orange Beach, and the main catalyst of the installation of historic markers throughout the City, including Perdido Pass, Romar Beach, Municipal Complex, Bay Circle, Caswell, Bear Point, Backcountry Trail, and Intracoastal Waterway/Portage Creek, all of which added to older ones at Orange Beach Community Cemetery and at the original Orange Beach Hotel site at the Coastal Arts Center; and
• Whereas, Margaret has created a legacy for generations to come by documenting the community’s early founders and families in the 1800s to its official municipal incorporation in 1984 and all of the years in-between and after; and
• Now, therefore, on behalf of the Mayor and Council, we Honor and Recognize Margaret Childress Long for her Love of the City and to sincerely thank her for her contributions to what is truly the best place to be – Orange Beach, Alabama.
Pictured: Margaret Childress Long and Original Romar House B & B owner Jerry Gilbreath at a 2016 historical marker ceremony recognizing Orange Beach’s first building. Long wrote the copy for that plaque and seven other historical markers in Orange Beach. Gilbreath will open up Romar House for community tours on Aug. 15 from 9 a.m. ‘til 5 p.m.