As Long Beach lights its centennial birthday cake, the 100 candles will reflect a history much older than its age as a city.

From Indian hamlet to a modern municipality, its chapters are filled with stories of ancient oaks, farming, pirate legends, island living, education, churches, hurricanes, an active historical society and a people whose mettle has carried them through the good and the bad.

Today, its 17,320 people live in quiet neighborhoods known for good schools. Long Beach fosters small shops, several grocery stores and a small shopping center, a university campus, fishing piers and harbor, light industry and farming, ancient oaks, a library and other amenities that make small-town life inviting.

Its most enduring symbol, the Friendship Oak, is now on the University of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Coast campus, a site that surrounds the first Long Beach settlements, known variously through history as Bear Point, The Chimneys, Rosalie and Scott's Station before settling on the catchy name that reflects its Mississippi Sound location.

The oak, thought to be 500 years old, reflects the change as much as anything else tangible in the city, beginning with Native Americans lured by prime fishing and hunting through colonial settlement and on its 21st century image.

On two occasions, Saturday and on the incorporation date of August 10, Long Beach and its Coast neighbors will celebrate the city's 100th with birthday cake, fireworks, fish fry, a collectors' centennial postal cancellation and a downtown parade.

"One of the best things about Long Beach is location, location, location," said Jerry Rouse, a 44-year resident who heads the Long Beach Centennial Committee.

"It's 'location' because we're near the beach, and here we have convenience to the rest of the Mississippi Coast, the shopping, the entertainment. But we're still a small community in some aspects."

It is, in fact, the fourth in population size of the 11 coastal cities. "Welcome to Long Beach, a great place to live and shop" greets those who check out the city's Web site. It's sometimes called a bedroom community, because many residents work at Stennis Space Center or larger nearby cities, but its loyal townsfolk would argue it is much more.

With a downtown fronting the crystaline white sand beach, Long Beach encompasses 10 square miles as it annexes northward. The modern moniker is "The Friendly City," though one fascinating past name is "Radish Capital of the World," a hint at its agriculture origins.

Some of those early truck farms and pecan orchards are now subdivisions, and some lovely old homes have fallen to storms. Several attempts to bring a casino to the city have failed, so it has not yet faced the changes of a casino town. On the other side of the coin, casino-industry workers - and lots of others - are attracted to its small-town ambiance.

"Long Beach is growing businesswise, but it will take a little more time," said Rouse, a former alderman and longtime school coach. "That's why some of us were for condos - to help it grow."

The unresolved question of condominiums has split the town in half. In this latest Long Beach chapter still being written, some residents would welcome the new people and growth; other residents argue the city's ambience would be in jeopardy with high-rise towers.

"We have to understand our past and what has come before us to know how we arrived at where we are now and be able to build toward the future." said Nashie Ward, a historical society past-president. "We think that's where our historical society comes in."

The society formed in 1997 and in that short time has put up a dozen historical markers and rebuilt a World War II honor roll destroyed by Hurricane Camille. City Hall exhibits and school projects on local history are ongoing, and in January the society hosted the kickoff to the yearlong centennial celebration.

One of many labels used on the produce sent from Long Beach when it was the self-proclaimed "Radish Capital of the World."

Long Beach’s strong neighborhoods and excellent school system also make it popular with those who work in nearby Gulfport and Biloxi. Although Long Beach is a small community, with a population of about 17,320, its students’ standardized test scores consistently rank among the highest in the state.

Students who want to pursue further education after graduating can attend classes close to home at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast campus in Long Beach.

The beautiful coastal setting, proximity to jobs and services, and low cost of living make Long Beach an attractive destination for those thinking of relocating. Seniors in particular have discovered Long Beach makes an ideal retirement destination, with a welcoming atmosphere and many amenities often associated with larger communities, including a senior center, a yacht club and a small-craft harbor.

Long Beach is governed by a mayor and a council composed of six elected aldermen.

Thought to be at least 500 years old, is a lasting symbol of Long Beach as well as of the University of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Coast campus.