Jr. ROTC raises flag

Macclenny’s McIver Street was the scene July 3 of the 100-year anniversary celebration of Baker County’s historic old jail.

A flag raising, the national anthem, guest speakers, historic jail tours, an art exhibit and a kid’s play park were some of the featured activities.

A variety of vendors hawking everything from custom-decorated flip-flops and local honey to tacos and barbeque occupied a steady stream of visitors from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.

“I think, overall, it went well and I’m pleased with the turnout,” said Sheldon Beasley, a member of the Baker County Historic Society and current acting president. The historic society is housed in the county’s original jail building which underwent a major, grant-funded renovation several years ago.

When the heat got to be a bit much, visitors cooled off inside the nearby Macclenny Woman’s Club where members of the Baker County Lion’s Club were busy selling hotdogs and iced tea.

“There’s a one dollar chilling fee, to come in, just so you know,” teased Lion’s Club member Vince McDuffie as people gratefully entered the cool confines looking for some lunch.

Paula Barton wearing Sheriff Thrift's hat

A highlight of the celebration was the address given by former Baker County school superintendent Paula Barton, whose late father Paul Thrift was sheriff 40 years ago. After his election in 1966, the Thrift family moved into the jail where they lived for the next seven years. Paula was fourteen at the time.

She showed spectators a poster saved from her father’s 1966 campaign for sheriff and laminated copies from the pages of The Baker County Press that documented election results and his letter of thanks to the people that supported him. She also put on his brown leather hat, saved from the days of his campaign.

“When we Thrift kids moved from north Macclenny to the jail we thought we’d hit the mansion” said Ms. Barton, laughing. “There was a downstairs and an upstairs and a cook Minnie, who later became a beloved part of our family.

“The meal that Minnie used to make that stands out in my mind is lima beans and rice, ham hocks, cabbage and potato salad.”

Ms. Barton told the crowd she could recall the first night the family spent at the jail like it was yesterday.

Her bedroom was on the side close to the old courthouse, her brother’s room on the side by the cell block. There wasn’t any air conditioning and being June, it was hot, so the windows were raised.

Sheriff Thrift, it seemed, had locked up a few “highly intoxicated, respectable gentlemen” from the community that night and Ms. Barton could hear a lot of hollering. She slipped into her brothers’ room and they all lay on the floor in the dark listening.

“There was no bad language used in our home and the profanity we heard that night was stuff our ears had never experienced,” she said.

Her father came in later, closed the windows, put down a rotary fan to mask the profanity and promptly escorted young Paula back to her room.

Charlotte Johns tastes beekeeper John Pierce's honey.

The next day the sheriff called a Thrift family prayer meeting in the living room.
He explained that their life had changed now that he was sheriff. Regardless of what they would likely hear, profanity would never be accepted in the family and the sheriff’s children needed to be a notch above other children and must set an example.

“I can’t say we always did, but he let us know his expectations of our behavior were high,” Ms. Barton.

The Thrift kids, who had a strict curfew, quickly learned that the jail had 17 stairs and they memorized every creak. Also, the old courthouse clock next door to the jail rang every fifteen minutes. When it struck ten, they knew they’d better be up those stairs and in their rooms.

Ms. Barton loved hanging out in the radio dispatch room because that’s where she was most likely to learn about or see any action taking place.

“My daddy hired the first black sheriff’s deputy in Baker County, a fine man named Frank Smith. He came in one day and went back into the cell block to check on a prisoner. He ran back, urgently saying to the dispatcher, “Get the high sheriff! Get the high sheriff.”
“Mr. Smith had discovered one of the prisoners had hanged himself with a sheet,” said Ms. Barton. “It was the first time I ever heard anyone refer to Daddy as “the high sheriff.”’

Another vivid memory was seeing her father arrive at the jail one day, dragging in a handcuffed patient from the Northeast Florida Hospital. Sheriff Thrift had been called to Northeast Florida State Hospital to subdue the patient who had somehow gotten a gun and fatally shot one of the hospital’s doctors.

“I remember their clothes were drenched in blood,” said Ms. Barton, “and the horrible way the man spoke and behaved to my father. At that moment, for the very first time, I saw my father not simply as “Daddy,” but as the sheriff.

“I gained a great respect for the law and for the sacrifices one makes to serve in that role, as well as the sacrifices a sheriff’s family makes.”

Ms. Barton closed her remarks by thanking all those who serve in law enforcement for the protection of the county’s residents.

Prior to the jail’s centennial celebration, The Baker County Historical Society sponsored an art contest for middle and high school students. The subject was historic buildings in the county. Winners received $50 savings bonds from Mercantile Bank.

The first place middle school winner was Shae Robinson. The high school winners were: first place, Joseph Keen; second place, Kristen Gray; third place, Sam Griffis. Honorable mentions were Aaron Dinkins, Brianna Gray, Dawn Mack and Teresa Dutton.