In Morrell Park along the Savannah River, in the port of Savannah, Georgia, stands a monument to a legend that few people know about: The Waving Girl Statue. Who is the Waving Girl? It is Florence Martus, someone very well known to the maritime trade. From 1887 to 1931, for 44 straight years, she waved at each and every ship that passed through the Port of Savannah, using a piece of cloth by day and a lantern by night. It didn’t take long for the word to spread to other ports throughout the entire world. Sailors would look forward to being greeted by Florence as they entered into the Port of Savannah along the Savannah River. They would all wave back or salute her, and the ships would often also blow their horns in greeting. It is estimated that the Waving Girl, Florence Martus, greeted over 50,000 ships during her 44 years, never missing a single one! She was born in 1869 on Cockspur Island in the middle of the Savannah River, five miles downriver from Savannah, Georgia, to a father who was employed with a crew on the island rebuilding Fort Pulaski following its heavy bombardment during the Civil War. After this occupation, her father became a lighthouse keeper for several years, and when he retired, he passed the job on to his son, Florence’s brother. The lighthouse was located on Elba Island, another island in the middle of the Savannah River. During this time on Elba Island, while she was a teenager, she began to wave at the passing ships, often accompanied by her pet collie, and the ship crew would respond back with waves, salutes, and horn blasts. It is believed that she did this to help her feel connected to the wider world, while being isolated on an island in the middle of a river for most of her life. But she certainly made an impact on the wider world, becoming famous for her simple daily acts of kindness. Florence lived on this island for 44 years, until her brother also retired from the job in 1931. On her seventieth birthday, in 1939, the Propeller Club of Savannah presented her with a memorial built in Morrell Park, the Waving Girl Statue. It depicts her waving to the passing ships with the traditional piece of cloth, while her faithful collie companion stands by next to her. That is quite an honor to have a memorial permanently erected in a prominent place on your behalf! The Waving Girl Statue was designed by Felix de Weldon, the same famous sculptor who also designed the United States Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial, found at the entrance of the Arlington National Cemetery, depicting the six Marines raising an American Flag over Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. To this day, passing ships will still blow their horns and the crew will still salute or wave to the Waving Girl Statue, in memory of a woman who brought such a warm welcome to sailors after long trips at sea. The Wild Images Team waited for the right conditions to capture this image of The Waving Girl Statue. Once the sky was filled with a nice collection of clouds, and the foreground lighting became ideal, we set up from a vantage point such that her collie stands majestically above the flower bushes, while Florence Martus is framed perfectly by the trees and the clouds to make her waving cloth the centerpiece of attention. The Wild Images Team has captured many other images in the Historic District of Savannah such as the haunting photo of houses of Calhoun Square through Spanish moss, this view of an ornate house from Lafayette Square, and the mystical aura surrounding the Forsyth Fountain in Forsyth Park, each of which are available for sale in our store. Savannah blog posts have documented as a boat is dwarfed by the massive Hapag-Lloyd Budapest Express, an evening view of the Savannah River terminals and the Talmadge Memorial Bridge, the amazing story of the Florence Martus Waving Girl Statue, the very detailed National Maritime Day Monument and a photo of its associated Propeller Club Dedication plaque, the perfectly framed view of the William Jasper Monument, the very functional historic armillary sphere of Troup Square, a lucky shot of a ghostly woman in a green dress standing in the doorway, an image of the geometric spiral patterns that fill a stairwell, and The Wild Images Team Travel Gnome catching some rays and then doing the backstroke in the rooftop pool. In the nearby Historic District of Charleston, South Carolina, the Wild Images Team has captured many other images including the colorful walkway with lights through humidity, a photo of the ornate house through trees branches, and in the bay where the Schooner named Pride sailed through, each of which are available for sale in our store. Charleston blog posts have documented when The Wild Images Team sought refuge from a historic downpour, which subsequently flooded the Charleston streets, that led to the stranding of our Coordinator Christina, photographed on a humid night as Christina poses in the steamy view, and then on a drier day as Christina rides the ferry to Fort Sumter, which formed these reflective wake trails towards the fort, the Battery District where ornamental balustrades line the street along East Battery, a late night view through the back gate of a house in the Battery District, and then an image of decorative folk art in a courtyard. In the somewhat nearby North Carolina, The Wild Images Team has captured photos such as the Cape Lookout Island scenic backdoor view of the lightkeepers house which is available for sale in our store. Blog posts from North Carolina include the standard vegetation as Cape Lookout Lighthouse is framed by pine trees. In the somewhat nearby Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, The Wild Images Team has captured images including the wispy clouds over ornate Front Gates of the Governor’s Palace and a night time view of Josiah Chowning’s Tavern with waitstaff, each of which are available for sale in our store. Colonial Williamsburg blog posts have documented where dianthus barbatus also known as Sweet William grows in the Governor’s Palace Gardens, the day our Travel Gnome jumped the Governor’s Palace wall, was quickly taken into custody by a guard, and sentenced to serve time in the stockade, to which The Wild Images Team was also sentenced thanks to our Travel Gnome, and during a freer time the moment that a couple is married in a jumping the broom ceremony.
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