What’s your name and what fills your time?
Kathleen Sutton Rosskopf (Kathy Sutton). This story doesn’t begin nor end with me. I am humbled to part of this series. Yet, the special people who came before me – Now they are interesting.
The Great Fire of 1901 destroyed my great-great grandmother’s place of business in Jacksonville. She then relocated to the beach and opened the first bath house on the boardwalk, Perkins Bath House. My dad and his brother grew up working there every summer. They picked up glass off the beach, washed wool swimsuits, and ran towels to the beachgoers. Anna Purcell, my great-grandmother, was also a woman ahead of her time. As President of the Junior League, she started the H. Warren Smith Cemetery that sits on Penman Rd and Beach Blvd. My dad, Wimpy Sutton, tells the story that he and my Uncle Jimmy were tasked to trim around the headstones with scissors to keep things tidy. Dad’s mother was a dedicated volunteer at the beach. She spent countless hours as a pink-lady at Beaches Hospital, served the American Legion, and she was even part of the newly formed Red Cross Lifesaving Corp in 1925 becoming Captain in 1926. I still have her uniform. My dad, uncle and grandfather were all Jacksonville Beach Lifeguards. All four of them have bricks in front of the station.
My parents met on the beach. Mom, Bobbie MacDonell, was Miss Jacksonville Beach and often modeled for the beloved photographer Virgil Dean. Dad called her, “the prettiest girl on the beach.” To get her attention, he would show off by walking on his hands-up and down the ramp-in front of the lifeguard station. As teens, Mom taught Dad to Jitterbug to the Big Bands playing music on the Jacksonville Beach Pier, they went on to be in Halls of Fame for dancing. What a life!!!
My maternal grandfather ran The Mermaid near the boardwalk. Their roulette wheel is in the Beaches History Museum. My maternal grandmother worked at Beaches Hospital, she was a powerful influence in my life instilling a strong sense of family, generosity, community and patriotism. As a child, mom and her sisters slept listening to the clack, clack, clack of the wooden boardwalk roller coaster.
The Jacksonville Beach boardwalk is a special place for me as well. That is where I gave my life to Jesus and was baptized right there in our ocean by Fletcher HS coach, Chuck Scott. The very best decision I ever made.
Dad, Coach John Wimpy Sutton was my science teacher and swimming coach. I was so blessed to have that privilege. I fished offshore with dad for tarpon and king on the Candy boat. One vivid memory is catching a 55 lb. cobia when I was about 12 years old. Fletcher HS coach Mike Scanlan was with us that day.
Christmas was extra special at the Sutton house. My two sisters and I loved helping Dad, Coach Jarrett and Coach Taylor at Coaches Tree Lot. Dad and Don Jarrett started the lot in 1954, it is still a Beaches Institution. Every year we would look forward to seeing the friendly faces of our beach friends coming to pick out their trees. On cold evenings, Mom would bring chili, and we’d stand around a fire keeping warm until the last customer was served.
Some of my favorite days were at Beaches Aquatic Club. We would go to early morning swim practice, stay after and help with the Red Cross swimming lessons, play all afternoon at the pool (sometimes walking to the movies for a show,) then back to swim practice in the afternoon. So many wonderful families and childhood friends. They are each a treasure in my heart.
Anything special going on for this summer?
I am deeply passionate about preserving any bits of our ‘old beach heritage’ that I possibly can. My husband Erik and I were able to keep my parent’s home in Jacksonville Beach. They built it in 1955 and never left. Dad would say, “why would I ever leave the beach, this is the best place on earth to live.” Currently, we are working to bring the house back to its glory days, carefully preserving the feel of our family’s legacy for these and future generations.
Any hobbies or interests worth telling us about?
I sell real estate, and Erik is an attorney. We have two amazing daughters and five beautiful grandchildren (I’d love to tell you about each of them). Our full time home is a 28-acre horse farm, Tail Feathers Farm. I was born an avid animal lover, and we currently have thirty-two who keep us busy. I love the art of classical riding known as Dressage. I was introduced to horses by my great-grandmother, she took me to Rocking Horse Stables in Palm Valley when I was very young. Nana would drop me off at the barn and I would ride any horse that was available. We even used to ride horses down Roscoe Blvd, stop at the convenience store for a Slim Jim and root beer, then ride all the way to my great-grandmothers and grandmothers who both had homes on the Intracoastal near the Palm Valley Bridge. What a hoot! As kids we were free to explore.
What’s one thing (funny, different, cool) that many might not know about you?
I’m currently in Bible school, and I am blessed to lead worship some in church and home bible studies. I also love anything to do with water. Swimming remains part of mine and my family’s lives, we even installed in a lap pool at the farm. Rowing has always intrigued me, so a few years ago I gave Erik a rowing skull for his birthday, lol. We kayak, paddle board, and hunt for shark’s teeth, whenever we can steal away from farm chores.
I had two dreams realized this summer; we were able to see the glow of the Northern Lights from our farm and I got to work a couple of days for my daughter on set, filming a Nation Geographic series for the BBC – this was very much a childhood dream come true.
What’s the best part of living here on the First Coast?
There is no place like home. I have lived in multiple states and have traveled outside of the US a good bit. There are so many interesting places and wonderful people in this beautiful world, yet there is something incredibly special about belonging where your roots go deep, where someone knows your family, and you can share a memory of a time or a place. It makes me warm inside.
Anything else that you would like to tell the community?
These are just a taste of the timeless stories I could share about my family and our connections with your families.
I love you ALL. And thank you for loving me and my family for so many lifetimes.
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Mike is a native First Coaster and was a leading figure in surfing and skateboarding for most of his life. After promoting music for many years on the local music scene, Mike now brings a unique perspective to FirstCoast.Life as a contributing writer.
One Response
Awesome!!