Sopchoppy is a small village on the “bend” of Florida a short distance to the Gulf. We camped nearby at a state park. Sopchoppy was a much busier place years ago. The railroad stopped here, there was a timber, turpentine and fishing industry. The town had a nice high school, community center, several churches, four streets of stores, groceries and farming supply stores and it was home to many more people than live here now. The name may have come from an Indian word for “long, twisty river.”
There is one store left in town, a grocery and I was there a couple of days before it too would close. I was wandering around taking photos - what a surprise, and decided to stop in the store. I did not know it was about to close for good. I worked briefly at one like this back in Springdale. During high school I filled in delivering groceries for a friend who was going a trip with his family. There were at least five of these in a 12 block area where I grew up. None now. As I went toward the store an 80’s era four door sedan pulled up and two women got out and headed for the store. I opened the door for them and the older of the pair said, “Thank you. Folks don’t do that much anymore.” The store’s shelves were nearly empty, the butcher long gone but they still sold biscuits for breakfast. You could sit at one of two tables with plastic checkered table coverings and have breakfast or lunch.
I met the two ladies on an aisle, hard not to, and began a conversation. Turned out Miss Euretha lived here her whole life and just turned 85. She was with one of her four daughters and they were looking forward to a family reunion in July in the old community building. She came to see the store one more time. She said she remembers when as a little girl she got to buy candy here once. I expect life was difficult here for a young black girl in the 1940’s but she has fond memories of this town. Euretha is the minister of the Church of Christ here and we talked about faith for a bit.
She and her daughter added a lot to my walk around a troubled old town with not much of a future. Sopchoppy has become a byword in Florida for a declining rural community. Their claim to fame is the annual Worm Grunting Contest. True.
