'I Grew Up in Virginia Beach' page is a hit

By John Streit, correspondent

Paul West remembers a time when "social networking" meant making phone calls to his friends to gather for a beach party.

Nowadays, that term is synonymous with the Facebook website, where users create personal sites complete with pictures and a journal of recent activities.

Like so many Internet users - especially those who have relocated from their stomping grounds - West discovered that Facebook has been a critical tool for reconnecting and reminiscing with old friends.

Earlier this year, West created the "I Grew Up in Virginia Beach" Facebook page, which already has a membership of 8,289 people who still call the city home or have since forged lives elsewhere.

"I never could have imagined that when I made the site that it would take off like this," said West, a Florida resident who maintains one of his ties to Virginia Beach as a director of the East Coast Surfing Championships. "Just looking at all of the old photos and talking about all of the old places, it's been really cool."

Photos on the site include images of flooded oceanfront hotels from the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962, and a sales flier with meat prices from the now-closed BeLo grocery on Great Neck Road - round steak was $1.19 a pound in 1975.

West got the website idea after finding a similar Facebook page for another city. Within about two weeks, the site drew more than 2,000 members who began sharing anecdotes, stories and photographs of Virginia Beach ranging from the 1940s through the 1980s.

"There are really some classic pictures," West said. "Using Facebook to share these is perfect because people aren't willing to part with these photos, but they have no problem with scanning them and posting them online.

"When you see them, the memories really start flooding in. You remember all of the old hotels, restaurants and events - all of the things us kids used to do in the '50s and '60s."

That's exactly the sentiment Jeanne Holland Newton echoed. Newton, 57, now lives in North Carolina and is a regular contributor to the site.

"As someone whose heart belongs to Virginia Beach, the group has been just what the doctor ordered to help me feel like I'm back home," Newton said. "The time and distance barrier isn't as wide, nor as far. When I'm reading memories others have shared, I'm there."

The site's content ranges from discussions about old hangout spots to information on high school reunions. The photo section documents beach scenes and landmarks from the bygone era.

Most rewarding are the relationships rekindled that had dwindled as time passed, West said.

"I've gotten hosts of e-mail of people who are appreciative and thanking me for doing this," West said. "It's been so much fun."

John Streit, vb.beaconsports@yahoo.com