50 years ago Pensacola's astronomy club was started as the Warrington Amateur
Astronomers Association---named for Pensacola's largest
suburb-Warrington---burned down during a Civil War bombardment but restarted.
About three years later-the club went county wide changing the name to that of
the county----Escambia.

In the 1970's, the club went inactive when a new generation of officers did not
have the time to keep it fully active. In 1977 the original founder returned to
the area as a one year sabbatical leave replacement for Pensacola Junior
College's astronomy instructor, Wayne Wooten. After Wayne offered to host a
reactivated club when he returned the college made its facilities available to
the club including the Owens Planetarium. With this support-the club was
reactivated in 1978. Wayne Wooten soon donated a portable 10"----permitting the
club to host public star parties. In the 1980's the club began hosting the star
gazes at the Ft. Pickens campground-taking over from Frank Palma---who had done
the gazes since 1976 as a Pensacola Junior College faculty member.

When the club was started in 1959---Pensacola was celebrating its
Quadicentennial---400 years since the first settlement at Pensacola Bay---even
though a hurricane caused the governor to take his charter and leave the area
with only 50 remaining---because a hurricane had wiped out the supplies so the
area could not support 1300 colonists---so, after two years---most people left.
The next governor and charter did not arrive until more than a century and a
quarter. If Pensacola can celebrate 4.5 centuries with a gap that large, EAAA
can celebrate half a century---with a half dozen years gap. The club was
reactivated by the old members.

Of the founding fathers/original members: Craig Wicke lives in Homestead, FL,
Dan Malinsky lives in Gulf Breeze, FL, and Robert Blake lives 2-3 miles west of
the Lowell Observatory Dark Site.