The Malabar Motel

The Malabar Motel


My brother, Bo and I by the Pool where we learned to swim...
Bo, 11yrs and Brenda, 12yrs old in 1979

The Malabar Motel on New Kings Road in Jacksonville, Florida was our home from the early part of 1979 until 1980 or 1981. My mom and step-dad were full time managers and my step-dad's friend John and his wife Virginia were the owners. John and Virginia and their two kids, Charles and Becky lived in a house to the side of the motel. We actually lived in the motel. The two rooms on either side of the office was our bedrooms and there was a kitchen between the rooms and behind the office separated by a two way mirror that allowed us to see into the Office from the kitchen. If you were in the Office you only saw a mirror. Sort of like Police Interrigation rooms.

The following pictures are of the Malabar Motel, the Resturant on the left and John and Virginia's old house on the left. I got the pictures from Google Maps...

The Malabar Motel - front view

Malabar Motel
The house on the right is John and Virginia's old house.
It has a sign in front of it.

The left side of the Motel shows the Resturant...

Here are some of my old pictures taken at the motel in 1979.

Me and little Rebecca (look at her beautiful hair)

Me with Becky and Charles

This is me working the switchboard at the motel...

This is a close - up of a Switchboard similar to the one we had...

The Motel had one of the old manual service exchange phone systems.
With manual service, the customer lifts the phone receiver in their room. The switchboard has incoming and outgoing trunk lines. The operator answers the call by plugging an incoming trunk line into the blinking number on the switchboard. The switchboard operator then picks up a receiver that allows her to hear the caller. The caller gives the number they need dialed. The operator then takes the outgoing trunk line and inserts it into one of the four outgoing lines and then dials the number using the rotary dial. Once the call is connected, the operator hangs up the phone receiver.

My Mommy, Dianne at the Motel...

This picture was taken shortly before her death...

This picture was taken in her bedroom at the motel where she had her Piano... she could play the piano by ear and sing really well. I remember her singing that song by Debbie Boone, "You Light Up My Life"... She also liked to sing Donna Fargo's song, "I'm the Happiest Girl in the Whole USA".

All Things Dianne...

These are some pictures of my mom. She was an amazing woman and we all miss her greatly. I want to tell her story thru my eyes. I know that my brother and sister have memories of her as well and I know from conversations that we all have different memories. I think that we all have different memories of her because the interaction we all had with her impacted each of us differently. Some memories that I retained of her, those that impacted me, may not have impacted my brother and sister the same way. Likewise, their memories of her are what impacted them the most.

These memories may not be in order of when they occurred but may come on a more random basis and may also depend on the length and how deep the story is. Some days I may have more time to write than other days so I may choose to write something short and sweet.

Thank you for your interest in this blog. Feel free to leave comments.


Brenda