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By Chuck Chandler
Residents enjoymall town on Alabama-Florida border
Generations of people heading to the Gulf Coast have
passed through the town named for its place on the
border of Alabama and Florida but – unless they missed
their turn south – most seldom venture far from Florala's
main drag.
Home to the world's oldest annual Masonic celebration,
which for 146 years has followed the same path tourists
take, sleepy Florala has changed little since it rose out of
the flat Covington County lands previously occupied by
Creek Indians. A 1935 postcard of the Masonic parade
offers a view not so different from 81 years later. The
Hughes Mansion a couple of blocks off the route has been
restored, as has the nearby historic train depot in this
town that is comfortable with a vintage look. There's not
much new around Florala, which suits most long-time
residents just fine.
Cara Bedsole has been a Customer Service
representative in the Alabama Power Florala Office
for two years. She was "born and raised" in Florala,
where her dad is the police chief. She works with Local
