“I’m 92. I was born in 1934 in Montrose aided by a midwife who came over before dawn to assist. 

When we first moved to our big house that was built around the 1860s, there was no running water, no indoor plumbing, no electricity, and no telephone. We had kerosene lamps and ice delivery. I’d go out to the well and pull up water with a bucket. It was only about 30 feet down. 

There were a half-dozen kids in Montrose. I was an only child and a free agent. My mother didn’t mother me in terms of, ‘You can’t do that.’ It was, ‘Come back before dark.’ I’d go down to the bayall day. Our world consisted of Daphne, Montrose, and Fairhope. It was trouble going anywhere else.

Before my mother married, she rode the bay boat to Mobile during the week, stayed at Miss Lula Vincent’s boarding house, then came home on weekends. The bay boat was the only way to get to Mobile. My parents met at a theatre in Mobile. Mom was the director, and Dad played a part.

The first time we went through the Bankhead tunnel was when I needed an emergency operation in Mobile. It had just opened, and I’m thinking, ‘Is this safe? We’re going under the bay.’

I finished school in Fairhope, then got a Navy scholarship to Auburn. I met my wife, Nancy, our senior year. We got married the next spring.

I was fascinated by computers when they first came out and worked for IBM for 30 years. I’ve seen it all, from before computers to moonshots and AI. The early computers were as big as a cabinet. There’s more power in your phone now than the one that drove us around the moon. The future is here.

I was largely unaware for several years as my mother was writing three books. She wrote one about Montrose, then Daphne, Battles Wharf and Point Clear. She was the researcher, and Dad was the artist. The books are accurate because Mom talked to neighbors, getting their personal stories, 

Now I’m immersed in family history and genealogy. My mother was a d’Olive. Two cousins and I are researching back to the early 1700s, when the first d’Olives arrived. I’m still discovering d’Olive cemeteries all over Baldwin County.

I helped Sonny Brewer raise funds to move the Tolstoy round house. We needed $400,000 to move it from the parking lot in Montrose to public property, so we recruited Savan Wilson to help create awareness.  There were times when Sonny and I didn’t know if we could climb that mountain, but we did. I’ve always gotten deeply involved in what I’m doing.

The Montrose Cemetery is another family and history project. It’s 170 years old–the first burial was before the Civil War. About 1,200 people are buried there, fifteen are in my family. This cemetery is my heritage, and I built a website for it. Ten years ago, we added data where you can enter a name and use GPS to walk right to the grave. The website is MontroseCemetery.org.

I’m passionate about Montrose, Auburn, Mobile Bay and sailing. Many people feel attached to where they grew up. So many places have totally changed, but Montrose is largely the same. We even fought Fairhope’s attempt to annex us. They were messing with my homeplace and trying to rip it apart. I love Fairhope. I went to school there and still go to church here and the yacht club. I’m just passionate about keeping Montrose the way it is 

I retired from IBM and kept going with website work and volunteering. I was even a cast member in Love in Fairhope on Hulu with my friend Claiborne Walsh. It was a lot of fun because I got to wing it. 

My daughter passed away about 10 years ago, right after my wife died. That was a rough year, but you gotta keep going.

Somebody asked me the other day how I’m living to be this old. I enjoy life, give myself variety, and keep busy. I feel more energetic and focused than I did 40 years ago.”

Richard Scott

The Tolstoy round house that Richard helped raise funds to move to a Fairhope park.

The Montrose Cemetery