BY BOBBIE SUE O’BRIAN
Special to the Telegraph
On Sept. 26, 1927, Robert Cody Barksdale was born in Ocala, Florida. Three days later, on Sept. 29, Barbara Bryant Horne was born in the small town of Reevesville, South Carolina. Fortunately, Robert was older, because at a young age Barbara had decided that her husband should not be younger than her!
Barbara’s father worked for Seaboard Railroad in South Carolina and was eventually transferred to Capitola, Florida. After a while, Mr. Horne became the depot agent in Hampton where he and his wife remained while their five children grew up. Robert’s parents met in Dunnellon, Florida, and, after marrying, opened a clothing store in Inverness. During the Great Depression the Barksdales and their young son moved to Union County where they helped on the family farm. Eventually Robert’s parents moved to Starke for their jobs.
Barbara went to school in Hampton through the eighth grade, and then rode the bus to Bradford High School. Robert was already a student at BHS when, one day he was standing at one end of the hallway on the second floor of C-Building when he saw what he still describes as “the prettiest girl I had ever seen” at the other end of the hallway. It wasn’t love at first sight because both were dating others. However, by the time they were seniors, they were together.
After graduation, Barbara attended Florida State College for Women in Tallahassee and Robert joined the U.S. Coast Guard. His service in the Coast Guard didn’t last very long because World War II ended shortly after he enlisted. Barbara attended FSCW for a year and then began working for Southern Bell in Jacksonville. Robert also ended up in Jacksonville, attending Massey Business College. At the end of the day, they enjoyed meeting for dinner, then afterwards they headed to their separate boarding houses. On cold, wintry nights they particularly enjoyed the hot chili at Woolworth’s.
Robert and Barbara wed at the First Baptist Church in Hampton on Feb. 9, 1947. Barbara’s mother owned a grocery store in Hampton and both of her parents were well-known in their community. Likewise, Robert’s parents were well-known in Starke because they owned Barksdale’s Department Store. Their wedding was a big event with many in attendance with some guests having to stand outside in the freezing cold.
The Saturday night before their Sunday wedding was extremely cold with temperatures in single digits! Because of the freezing weather, Mr. Waterson, who was in charge of utilities, turned off the water supply to all of Hampton to keep the pipes from freezing and bursting. The reception was held at Barbara’s parents’ home, and since there was no running water, the groom’s parents came to the rescue and hauled in water from Starke! Robert and Barbara spent their honeymoon touring several Florida cities and tourist attractions.
Their first home was a nice three-bedroom house on West Madison Street. They both worked at the family department store until their first baby, Bobbie Sue, was born. Barbara’s primary job then became homemaker and nurturer. Three years later a son, Robert Jr. (Robby), joined the family, and then four and a half years after him, Vicki completed their family.
Throughout his high school years, Robert was an usher at the Florida Theatre, eventually becoming the film projectionist. He also occasionally projected throughout his young adult life. Then, in the early 1960s, he and Barbara had the opportunity to purchase the theater. So, in January of 1962, Barbara was back in the business world again assisting her husband in running the theater. Robert worked at both the department store and theater for the next four years, until his mother retired, and Barksdale’s Department Store was sold to Eagle-DeVane.
The Barksdales were hard workers and did everything necessary to keep the theater in business. They were always there to greet customers, sell tickets, work behind the candy counter, and be film projectionist when necessary. When the theater wasn’t open for business, they spent many hours cleaning, doing maintenance, driving to Jacksonville for films, concession supplies, and cleaning items, and fulfilling many other behind-the-scenes responsibilities.
In 1964 they built and opened the 301 Drive-In Theatre, south of Starke on U.S. Highway 301. Although a builder was hired, Robert was hands-on in its construction, even climbing up the very tall poles to attach many 4×8 sheets of plywood that made the large screen.
The Barksdales eventually purchased additional theaters: one in Marianna, Florida, one in Eufaula, Alabama, and several in Tennessee. In 1977, Barbara and Robert left the Florida Theatre and 301 Drive-In in the capable hands of their daughter and son-in-law, Lee, and Vicki Sparks, and moved to Humboldt, Tennessee, to run three of their theaters. As the years passed, the Barksdales sold the Florida Theatre to their daughter and her husband. Now, Justin and Priscilla Sparks have followed in the family tradition and currently run the Florida Theatre.
Although they loved the theater business for many years, the Barksdales sold their remaining theaters one by one, eventually retiring when they were in their 80s. Robert and Barbara worked together for 46 years, offering movie entertainment and tasty popcorn to their customers.
After living in Tennessee for 35 years, the Barksdales returned to Starke in 2012. The family loves having them nearby once again. Their three children all live in Starke. Vicki’s son, Justin, and his family are also Starke residents, as well as Robby’s son, Matthew, and his family. Robby’s son, Ben, lives in Keystone Heights, and his eldest son, Cody, and his family live in Jacksonville.
The family enjoys getting together for birthdays and special occasions and are excited to be celebrating the 76th anniversary of this wonderful couple who started it all on a very cold Sunday afternoon in February of 1947.
