Stories of St. Andrews

Stories of St. Andrews

Told by the People That Live It

Every place has a history. What often gets lost are the everyday stories—the people, the small businesses, the routines, and the moments that quietly shape what a community really is. Stories of St. Andrews exists to capture those stories while they are still being lived.

This project is about St. Andrews as it is today, told through the voices of the people who call it home. Some stories will reach back into the past, connecting today’s St. Andrews to its roots. Others will focus squarely on the present—on the people, places, and relationships that give the area its character right now. Together, they form a living record of a community defined by independence, continuity, and a strong sense of place.

The project begins by looking backward before it looks forward. Stories of St. Andrews starts with a foundation of historical stories that examine how St. Andrews came to be—what forces shaped it, what ambitions succeeded or failed, and how geography, industry, transportation, and individual decisions influenced its path. These early stories explore the influences that drove the development of St. Andrews into the community it is today, providing essential context for everything that follows. They are not exhaustive histories or academic accounts, but narrative explanations of why this place looks, feels, and functions the way it does. These historical stories, included as part of the project’s foundation, allow present-day voices to be understood not in isolation, but as part of a much longer and still-unfolding story.

The stories shared here may take many forms. Some will be historical accounts and stories that tell the history of St Andrews Some will be business stories, told through the people who run them—how they found their way to St. Andrews, what it takes to stay, and what their work means to the community around them. Others may explore roots and continuity, highlighting long-standing institutions and generational businesses that have carried something forward through decades of change. In every case, individual stories are woven into the larger story of St. Andrews itself—how the people, places, and choices of the past shaped the community that exists today.

There will also be stories about where people gather—the places with social gravity, where music plays, conversations overlap, and St. Andrews meets itself. Some stories will focus on food, drink, and everyday rituals, the spots woven into daily routines that quietly define neighborhood life. Others may spotlight makers and independent retailers, people who chose independence, risk, and community over chains and convenience.

Beyond individual businesses, Stories of St. Andrews will occasionally step back to tell broader community and place stories—local art, the waterfront, the working bay, and moments from the past that help explain how St. Andrews became what it is today. These stories provide context, connecting personal experiences to the longer arc of the district’s history and evolution.

This list of story ideas is intentionally open-ended. Not every story will be told, and new ones will emerge over time. The direction of the project will follow the people, the conversations, and the moments that feel worth preserving.

Stories of St. Andrews is not a marketing project, a promotional campaign, or an attempt to polish the edges. It is about listening, observing, and documenting. It is about letting people tell their own stories in their own words, supported by photography that reflects real life rather than staged moments.

This project is created by Bob Taylor, a photographer, writer, and Panama City native who was born here, whose career took him to live and work around the country, and who has since returned here and now calls St. Andrews home. After a 30-plus-year career spanning science, business, and leadership, Bob shifted his focus to documenting people, neighborhoods, and everyday moments that too often go unrecorded. Now retired, he divides his time between extensive travel and life on St. Andrews Bay—always with a camera nearby and an eye for the details that give a place its soul.

Stories of St. Andrews grew out of a desire to preserve living history—not as a historian or a marketer, but as a neighbor paying attention. Through photography, interviews, and narrative storytelling, the project aims to capture St. Andrews as it exists today while honoring the paths, people, and events that shaped it into what it has become. It is created for the people who live here now and for those who will want to understand it years from now. The project is rooted in authenticity, respect for the past, and a belief that the most meaningful stories are best told by the people who live them.