Stories of St. Andrews

And the People Who Live Them

Stories of St. Andrews exists for one simple reason: to tell the stories of a place—and the people—worth remembering.

This project is the work of Bob Taylor and Lou Columbus, two locals with complementary skills and a shared respect for the character of St. Andrews.

Bob tells the stories. He researches, listens, asks questions, and puts the words together—drawing connections between St. Andrews’ past and the lives unfolding here today. His focus is on places, businesses, history, and the everyday moments that quietly define a community.

Lou captures the people.

A gifted portrait photographer, Lou has a rare ability to photograph people as they actually are—not posed, not polished, not performing. His portraits focus on expression, presence, and personality. The kind of images where you feel like you’ve met the person, even if you haven’t. In a town built on individuality, that matters.

The project is also guided by Nancy Hudson, a respected local historian and longtime steward of St. Andrews’ past. Through her work with the Panama City Publishing Company Museum, the Historic St. Andrews Waterfront Partnership, and the Bay Anthropological Society, Nancy has helped preserve and interpret Bay County history with care and precision. As an advisor and contributor to Stories of St. Andrews, she provides historical context, research insight, and a steady commitment to accuracy—helping ensure that the stories told here are grounded in fact, not folklore.

Some of the stories shared here look backward—into the early days of St. Andrews, its waterfront, buildings, and businesses, and the people who helped shape them. Others are firmly rooted in the present, focusing on the shop owners, artists, musicians, captains, bartenders, and neighbors who are shaping what St. Andrews is becoming right now. Together, they form a continuous story—past, present, and future—still being written.

This is not a marketing site.
It’s not a tourism brochure.
And it’s not an attempt to repackage or sanitize St. Andrews.

St. Andrews doesn’t need that.

What it needs—and deserves—is to be seen clearly and honestly. To have its stories told by people who live here, walk these streets, know these businesses, and care about preserving the soul of the place as it evolves.

Photography plays a central role in that mission. Bob provides the broader visual context—places, details, moments—while Lou focuses on the faces behind the stories. Together, the words and images create a record of St. Andrews as it exists now, knowing that today’s ordinary moments are tomorrow’s history.

If you live here, the hope is that these stories make you feel proud of your neighborhood and more connected to the people around you.
If you don’t, the hope is simpler: that you understand why we do.

St. Andrews is weird, independent, and proudly itself.
Always has been.

Stories of St. Andrews exists to honor that—by remembering where this place came from, paying attention to what’s happening now, and making sure the people who live these stories are never lost to time.

Welcome to Stories of St. Andrews.