I can’t promise to revive my old Monday Mysteries series every week here on Two Together. But I do have one for today: the mysterious origins of the secondary motto of the city of Sebastian, Florida. It appears underneath its main claim to fame (Home of Pelican Island) on the welcome sign into town:

The Welcome to Sebastian, FL on US Hwy 1 (photo found on the internet)

So, the obvious question to me is who were/are the six old grouches, and why does that appear on the welcome sign?  I was all set to contact the local historical society to find out, but it turns out a local columnist/reporter beat me to it a few years ago.  As he discusses in this piece, though, it’s a mystery that may never be solved.  His column is a quick read, but if you just want to cut to the chase, here’s an excerpt and his conclusion:

… Logically, linkage to a generic city council makes the most sense. (Never mind Sebastian has had a five-member council since the early 1970s.)

However, without documentation, it’s more in the realm of folklore.

I mean, who’s to say Carol Anne Mondshour’s 1989 painting entitled “Six Ole Grouches” isn’t closer to the truth? It shows six pelicans sitting side-by-side on dock pilings. …

… A small wood carving by Jack Goble in 1995 — depicting three men and three women as the grouches — once again made the council the target. …

… It’s a shame whoever coined the phrase doesn’t get credit for it today.

George O’Neill, of the Sebastian Area Historical Society, tried to warn Koch and me:

“The more you ask, the deeper it’s going to get — because nobody knows, really.”

—Russ Lemmon, March 2009

I can imagine that without a firm back-story to the tale, you’re likely to get any number of possible “explanations” as to who those grouches were. Ah well.  Whatever the original, it’s certainly is an odd and amusing motto for a town. It certainly made for a fun little mystery as we were driving on Highway 1 south of Melbourne.