Growing Up Downtown Bay St. Louis

By Pat Murphy

A personal story of one man’s coming-of-age in a small Mississippi town, a picturesque village on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.

$60.00

Hello folks, my name is Pat Murphy, a writer, artist, musician, and avid historian. I was born in the little town of Bay St. Louis, MS in 1949. My childhood was spent enjoying (living) the quintessential small town American experience where “everyone in town knew everyone else” and if they didn’t know you, they knew your family. It was a different day and time from the one that we know today.

Through my book “Growing Up Downtown Bay St. Louis”, I’d like to invite you to accompany me on a first–person journey along the western Mississippi Gulf Coast during the 1950s to the 1970s and beyond.

Within the pages of my (this) book, I’ll take you to this special place through stories about many of the oddball and loveable characters of the town, the business community, social and school groups, the strong influence of the city New Orleans only fifty minutes to the west and the tranquil environment of the beautiful Gulf of Mexico lapping its sandy beaches.

Tempering my life in this small, picturesque Gulf Coast town is (was) the ever present threat of hurricane season and of the killer storms that have served as time posts throughout my lifetime.

Despite the story of my early childhood bout with polio, the joie de vivre of Mardi Gras parades, Tom Sawyer–like summer adventures with friends and my lifelong love and dedication to my music makes this a memorable snapshot in time and a piece of Mississippi Gulf Coast history that I feel must be preserved.

My story began out of a deep love for my maternal grandfather who was a businessman in downtown Bay St. Louis for almost fifty years until his death. A large part of my life was spent in and around his store. The tale has developed over the years into much, much more.

The book is collector edition quality, combination black and white/color, hard bound cloth binding with foil print front and back complete with full color dust cover. It is landscape format 11 X 8 ½” and contains 230 pages of my personal stories with lots of images from my vintage photo collection and elsewhere.