welcome to fayette 2014

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Christopher Fairchild

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C r e d i t sPublisher

geneva weaver

editorjosh akeman

staff writerschristopher Dunndanny harrison

contributing writersnicole Chrzanowski

pat cooper

advertising consultantsDebra Leeryan mooncharlie cave

Designchristopher Fairchild

special thanks tojohn lynch, deborah riddle, susan smith, carolyn cary, richelle

mathis, sam burch, cailin obrien, fayette county sheriffs department, fayette county historical society, lamar mCeachern,city of fayetteville fire department, chief alan jones, capt. chrispeacock, FF michael greene, ff damien sorrells, ff greg moody,

cheryl fairchild, dan fairchild, nathan helton

visit welcome to Fayette online atwww.fayette-news.com

contact 770.461.6317210 jeff Davis Place

Fayetteville, Georgia 30124

welcome to fayette 2014Welcome to Fayette is published by the Fayette County News

& Today in Peachtree City All contents are copyrighted 2014

All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be copied, scanned,

or reproduced without prior written consent from the Publisher.


TABLE ofADVERTISERSA Harmon Limousine 104Affordable Signs & Awards 105Autrey's Armory 68Bedford School 28 Berkshire Hathaway - Stephen Walker 59 Berkshire Hathaway -Kay McInroe 58Boulignini Boutique 88 Carmichael Hemperly 68 Chapultepec Mexican Restaurant 78Christopher dunn photography 112Christopher Fairchild Graphic Design 112Complete Chiropractic 88Cosmetic & Laser Skin Care Center 2 Coweta-Fayette EMC 6Crossfit Kickstart 112Edward Jones - Richelle Mathis 41Edward Jones - Scott Trammell 97 Expressive Flooring 15 Farm Federation 107Fayette Co. Board of Commissioners 112 Fayette Co. Board of Realtors 69 Fayette Co. Chamber of Commerce 88 Fayette Co. Development Authority 96Fayette Co. Tax Commissioner 48 Fayette Dental Care 4 Fayette Self Storage 7 First Franklin Financial 88 Gatekeeper 68Georgia Bone & Joint 14Georgia Farm Bureau 105 Georgia Military College 113 Harry Norman - Dorrie Love 15 Harry Norman - Malinda Shelley 89Heritage of Peachtree 79 Jam'n Designs 104 Kids R Kids 48 Kirk the TV Guy 78 Kiwanis Club of Fayette Co. 40 Kobe Japanese Steakhouse 48 Lady Diannes 40 Lee Center 41M & R Print Solutions 78 Main Street 107 Marksman Properties 5 Mayfield Carpet 28Meridian Realty - Tresca Smith 114 More for Less Consignment 115 Oddo Brothers 78 Peachtree City CSV 79 Piedmont Fayette Hospital 3 Powers Heating & Air 28 PTC United Methodist Church 68 Service Master 78 Sister's Sweet Creations 28 Somerby of Peachtree City 29 Southern Conservation Trust 40 Spoon Sisters 97 St Gabriel Catholic Church 97Stage Academy of Music 112State Bank of Georgia 106 State Farm - Mark Gray 104 Synergy Rehabilitation 104Urban Jungle 106Webb Solar Realty 116 Whitlock Ellis Wealth Management 48 Women's Specialists 49 Christopher Fairchild


TABLE of CONTENTS12 INTRODUCTION16 COMPASS AT HERITAGE PARK18 WILLIAM MCINTOSH BY CAROLYN CARY20 WE CALLED HIM BULLY BY JOHN LYNCH22 MCCOOKS RAID BY JOHN LYNCH30 NOW AND THEN42 IRREPRESSIBLE IMAGINATION: REMEMBERING NELLIE MAE ROWE50 A LONG JOURNEY DONE BY JIM MINTER52 ENVISIONING FAYETTES FUTURE54 LINSEED AND SOIL: A PORTRAIT OF STEPHEN STINCHCOMB60 STORYTELLERS GROW UP ON SOUTHERN PORCHES BY ROBERT BURCH64 THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE FIRE & RESTORATION70 TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ADMISSION BY CHRISTINA A. BARBER74 CHIEF OF THE CHIEFS80 EXCELSIOR BY FERROL SAMS82 THE BROOKS BANK BUILDING: STORE OF MEMORIES BY DAN LANGFORD86 RECENT HISTORY: PRESERVING PEACHTREE CITYS BRIEF BUT FASCINATING PAST87 TYRONE SPRINGS FORWARD WITH CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN90 THE BAD MAN OF FAYETTE BY BRUCE JORDAN98 LACROSSE THRIVES IN FAYETTE COUNTY100 D.A. SAYS FAYETTES LOW CRIME RATE IS NO ACCIDENT102 NO RHYME OR REASON TO PEACHTREE CITY STREET NAMES103 USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS108 THERE WAS A TIME BY VARNEY GRAVES110 LOCAL WILDLIFE


This year's Welcome to Fayette magazinefeatures writing from people who livehere and know the county well. FayetteCounty has changed tremendously overtime, from a small farming community tothe thriving Atlanta suburb it is today. Wemined the photograph collection at the Fayette County His-torical Society, grabbing shots that go as far back as the earlyTwentieth century. Our graphic artist, ChristopherFairchild, has recreated some of those shots, beautifully jux-taposing old and new to show how far Fayette has come.

The magazine includes pieces from well known local writ-ers like Jim Minter, Ferrol Sams, and Robert Burch. Minter'sexceptional obituary of Ty Cobb stands out as one of his bestpieces from a long career at the Atlanta Journal. Sams, betterknown to most people around here as Sambo, wrote a greatpiece in 1994 with his reflections on modern medicine. It'seven more interesting to read the Doctor's take twenty yearslater. Burch, an accomplished author of children's books,writes about how his gift for storytelling originated onSouthern porches.

Local historians Carolyn Cary and John Lynch are featuredhere as well. Cary's piece tells the remarkable history ofChief William McIntosh, a Creek Indian who played an in-tegral role in the early history of the county. Lynch recountsthe campaign of McCook's raid through Fayetteville, part ofGeneral Sherman's March to the Sea during the Civil War.Lynch also wrote a touching piece remembering his grand-father, the man they called "Bully."

The tale of Andrew McCullough, known as "The Bad Manof Fayette," is told in a reprinting from Bruce Jordan's fas-cinating book "Death Unexpected: The Violent Deaths ofFayette" which recounts "23 True Stories of Death, Intrigue,and the Darker Side of a Rural Georgia County's History."

Long time Brooks Mayor Dan Langford's story about theBank of Brooks conjures scenes from the small town goingback to the turn of the Twentieth Century.

We also have a feature on Bunky Colvin, head coach ofthe McIntosh boy's soccer team, who has led his incrediblesquad on a dominant 45-game winning streak, including twoconsecutive state championships.

District Attorney Scott Ballard, whose family goes backgenerations in the county, is profiled as he contemplates hisdesire to continue to be of service to the community.

A profile of Steven Stinchcomb offers a look at the trulyunique personality behind Turnipseed Farms.

Another artist with Fayette roots is Nellie Mae Rowe.We've reprinted a feature I wrote about her for the FayetteCounty News, this time accompanied with more examplesof her fanciful artwork.

Other tid-bits round out what is hopefully an interestinglook at the county that offers a flavor of the people who havelived here and helped to shape it.

Josh Akeman

from the editor

13


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In 1995, working with CarolynCary and others in the Fayette his-torical community, Fayette CountyHigh School Graduate SCOTTJORDAN designed the historycompass that serves as the center-piece of Heritage Park in Fayet-teville, a brick, marble, and stonetribute of some of the key points ofFaytettes past. Jordan recieved hisdegree in architecture from Geor-gia Tech.

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by carolyn cary


About 1775, there was a child born in We-tumpka, Georgia, who was to change his-tory and pave the way for what is nowFayette County. He was William McIntosh,Jr., the son of William McIntosh, a fullblooded Scotsman, and Senoya He-ne-ha,of the Wind Clan, Creek Indian Nation. His father saw that he received a good education, and he

was also well accepted by his Mother's people. The Wind Clanheld a place of prominence and were the political and civicleaders. In 1800, William was the Principal Chief of Coweta Town,

now Columbus, Georgia. The chiefs have always been elected,and therefore serving is an honor.A number of Creeks in the early 1800's, however, made no

attempt to deal peaceably with the white man. Known as "RedSticks", they were adverse to the ceding of any Indian landsfor any reason. A Creek, William Weatherford, (Red Eagle) leda raid on Fort Mims, some 35 miles north of Mobile, Alabamaon August 30, 1813. Of the 553 men, women and children in-side, nearly all were slaughtered. The "White Sticks" or friendly Creek Indians were as in-

censed as were whites, and among them, notably, was AndrewJackson. He left his home, Hermitage, in Nashville, Tennessee,and began to round up volunteers to put a stop to the Hostiles'acts of intrusion. Chief McIntosh also gathered a group of Creek volunteers

and they joined Andrew Jackson in the Battle of Horse ShoeBend on March 28, 1814.The Hostiles had gathered on the 15 acre tract that juts out

in the Tallapoosa River in south Alabama, preparing for battle.The battle was a short one, but the end result would comeback to Chief McIntosh years later.One of the Red Sticks that took part at Horse Shoe Bend,

was Menawa, an arch enemy of McIntosh. Menawa was se-verely wounded, having been hit with seven bullets and leftfor dead. He crawled away and it would be several months be-fore he would be recovered enough to be on his feet again. Butthe wounds of hatred for McIntosh would be 20 years in heal-ing. Menawa could not understand the White Sticks and theirquest for peaceful coexistence. In a letter to General Pinckney dated 28th March, 1814,

Andrew Jackson wrote: ... "Major McIntosh who is of Cowetaand who joined my army with part of his tribe, greatly distin-guished himself. When I get an hour's leisure, I will send youa more detailed account."Chief McIntosh fought with Jackson in other battles in and

around Florida in the next several years, and earned the rankof "General" in the United States Army. In January of 1821, he is the Principal Chief of the Lower

Creeks. The Federal Government and the State of Georgia hadrequested the ceding of those lands that were to becomeFayette, Henry, Houston, Dooly and Monroe Counties. Callingtogether the various town chiefs at Indian Springs, (now inButts County) he counseled them to take the money offeredfor these lands, as they were being taken from them slowly,anyway. The Upper Creeks inhabited Alabama and were of the Red

Stick faction. They did not care to sign the treaty, but finallydid so with the admonition that no more land in Georgia wasto be sold. Thus, Fayette County was created.In 1825, the same offer was made for the rest of the Creek

lands in Georgia. Again, a meeting at Indian Springs. But thistime the Red Sticks would not sign. Menawa and the Hostileshad signed a treaty at Pole Cat Springs (Alabama) the year be-

fore, avowing death to those who would sign away any moreland.Among the last words uttered by the Chief to his people in

their hours of decision were: "The white man is growing inthe State of Georgia, he wants our lands, he will buy themnow, but by and by he will take them and the little band of ourpeople will be left to wander without homes, poor, despisedand beaten like dogs; we will go to our new homes (ed. Okla-homa) and learn like the white man to till the earth, grow cat-tle and depend on these for food and life. Let us learn to makebooks as the white man does and we shall grow again into aGreat Nation."As principal chief, he had the authority to sign for all the

Nation. Even as he did so, he encouraged the other tribal chiefsto sign also, so that the signing would be a unified action. The Upper Creeks did not sign and returned to their

homes, vowing to keep their promise of annihilating those whodid. Thus was created Lee, Troup, Heard, Muscogee and Carroll

Counties. The scene had been set, and even though Chief McIntosh

did not really believe his own people would take his life, heprepared his oldest son, Chilly, for that eventuality. Chilly, (age29) being more fair than most Indians, was told to dress as awoman and to take the youngest son, Daniel (age 2 1/2) outof a back window and escape to safety.At 3 a.m. the morning of April 30, 1825, true to their

word, Menawa and approximately 150 to 170 of his Red Stickfollowers set fire to the Chief's home at Whitesburg, on theChattahoochee River at the Carroll-Coweta County boundary.A white Indian agent, John Crowell, had been instrumental inkeeping them stirred upduping them into believing McIn-tosh would take the Nation's money and disappear with it.His wives, Peggy and Susannah, pled for his life but to no

avail. The intense heat of the fire brought the Chief down fromthe second floor of his home and out the front door, to be metwith a hail of bullets.Wanting their beloved husband to die with honor, they im-

plored Menawa to finish his deed, and he plunged a knife intothe heart of McIntosh. They killed all livestock, burned to the ground all buildings

and fled into many directions.Chilly and Daniel made their way to the home of their fa-

ther's friend, Brig. General Alexander Ware, Line Creek,Fayette County. He had a large plantation where PeachtreeCity is now. The wives also made their way here, where theystayed for several months, beseeching assistance from the Gov-ernor of Georgia, George M. Troup. Troup was also the firstcousin of their slain husband, his mother being Margaret McIn-tosh Troup, sister of William's father. Governor Troup made a half-hearted attempt to give aid,

but it was sparse. Chilly led two expeditions West, on the Creek Trail of Tears.

The last remaining Creeks were gone from Georgia by the late1820's.While the perpetrators were never apprehended, in 1835,

Menawa made this statement: "Here are the hands that arestained with the blood of McIntosh, and I am now ready tostain them again in the blood of his enemies, and those whomade me the dupe of their foul designs. When I done the deedI thought I was right, but I am sorry."A fitting remorse for the man who knew the best of two

worlds, tried to do his best for both of them, and lost his lifeby being misunderstood by those whom he loved.

CAROLYN CARY has beenthe Official County Historiansince 1981. This is a reprint-ing of her piece about ChiefMcIntosh which appeared in"The History of FayetteCounty," which she edited.

19


JOHN LYNCH is a former manager of theHolliday-Dorsey-Fife Museum, OfficialHistorian for the City of Fayetteville, a pastpresident of the Fayette County HistoricalSociety, and a member of several other his-torical and heritage organizations. Excerptsfrom this article appear in his latest book,Scarlett's Neighbors, Some very real Ances-tors from the Legendary Land of Gone Withthe Wind. His first book, The Dorman-Marshbourne Letters, was published in1995. For information on how to purchaseeither book, call 770-719-7665.


20


My grandfather, Wesley Parker Dorman was born inFayette County, Georgia in 1887 at the family home onwhat is now Banks Road. We called him "Bully", a termof endearment, the source of which I am not aware of.He was always glad to see us, his grandchildren, and wasalways nice to us. I remember many good times I hadwith him, such as sitting on his lap on the front porch and being tickled by himwith his "stubble" of a beard against my face, etc. He didn't talk much, but I re-member when he did it was in an old time Southern drawl and that he soundedsomewhat like Herman Talmadge. He was a farmer pretty much all of his life except for occasional employment

with the Redwines at their saw mill and lumber yard in Fayetteville (as a youngman and after retirement from farming). I was told that he would stack lumberfor the mill and if he hurt himself, such as dropping a board on his thumb, hewould never go to the doctor but would keep right on working. Dr. F.A. Sams("Sambo") told me that he remembers one particular incident in the 1950s whenmy grandfather would not let him give him a pain shot before he underwent somesurgery in the hospital. He was in his 60s at the time.He had married my grandmother (Johnie May Dickson) in 1919. I have since

learned that they were 2nd cousins and childhood sweethearts. No surprise thereas this happened a lot more than one thinks, especially in the South. Just readGone With the Wind. They made their home near his parents on Banks Roadnortheast of Fayetteville. All of their children, including my mother, were bornthere. The old home place is still therenow a part of Bank's Vineyard. In fact hehad sold the place to Raymond Banks in the mid-50s with a handshake and a twentydollar bill as a down payment. That is why the road bears its present name.

When I was growing up, my grandparents lived in town just around the cornerfrom us on Georgia Highway 54 or Lanier Avenue as it is now known. We grand-children had a well worn path from our house on Railroad Street to theirs throughthe woods. Their place, although in town, was much like a small farm, with ani-mals, gardens, and barns. The house was full of antiques as were the barns. I re-member seeing my grandfather milk cows, and my grandmother churning themilk to make butter. I still have the churn. When my brothers and I were littleboys he would let us ride in his one-horse wagon whenever he would borrow amule or horse to pull it. Sometimes he would let us ride the mulebareback. Iremember riding to town with him one day in the wagon. He gave me two penniesthat dayone for me and one for my brother, who stayed back at the house withGrandma. I thought more of that penny than I would have a ten dollar bill from astranger. Most of the time he walked to town by himself. They never owned a caras far as I know."Bully" was in the army in World War Ia real "doughboy." This one fact I re-

membered most about him when I was young. I took special notice of a frameddocument that was propped up on the mantle in my grandparents house. It wasa letter from "King George" of England congratulating and thanking him on hisservice in the Great War. At the time I did not realize that it was a "form" typeletter sent to all of the servicemen after the war. There were other reminders alsohis old helmet with a "cross" on the front, gas mask in the barn, and the olddocument at the "Post House" in Fayetteville that had, in handwritten script (byMrs. Cumi Guice) all of the names of WWI and WWII servicemen from FayetteCounty on the wall. I always looked at the document with pride every time I wentin the place.I found out that while he was in service, his transport ship was hit and sunk by

a German torpedo in the English Channel. He was one of the ones rescued, onlyafter a terrific and lengthy struggle in the icy waters of the channel. Ever sincethe incident, he suffered from bouts of coughing and aches in his chest. But I neverheard him talk about it or ever complain about having gone through the ordeal.He was not a big man, but tough as nails. I always thought that he walked on water,and I would have done anything for him. My grandfather was said to have been "real tight" with his money. I had always

heard that he was the richest man in Fayetteville (next to Willie Eason), obviouslya joke referring to his frugality. I was told that when he was inducted into theservice and ordered overseas, his father gave him a $100 bill. His cousin Joe Jack-son also got one from his father. When they came home Cousin Joe's was gone,but Parker still had histhe original bill. Will Eason used to kid me about mygrandfather's regimen of walking all the way across townpassing other storesto buy bread at Alford's because it was a penny cheaper. I thought Willie was alittle envious that he had not thought of doing it himself. I know that Bully was abit of a tightwad, but who from that generation wasn't? I do know that in the1950s he forked over a small fortune of $500 that he didn't need to spend to alawyer in Jonesboro for legal fees in a custody case involving my cousins. He didn'thave to do that, but he did. When he was in his 70s, Bully's health began to decline. He came over to our

house one night and dictated his will to my mother. I can still see him sitting inthe recliner. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but I only knew thathe was sick and had to go to the hospital. Then a few weeks later he was sent homebasically to diebut I still did not know the diagnosis. I remember the sadnessof seeing him lying in bed and now realize how helpless he must have felt whenwe came over to see him. When he got worse, my mother spent more time thanusual over there, but it still did not dawn on me the inevitable outcome that wouldresult from his illness. One cold day in January, 1961, our father came in and toldmy older brother to run down to Mr. Ed's (Ed ThorntonBully's first cousin)and tell him that "Mr. Dorman had passed away." That day was a very sad day forme. I remember all of the visits at Grandma's house by family and friends and theensuing funeral. My great aunt (his sister-in-law) had died just a few weeks earlierin December of 1960, and the memory of that was still fresh in my mind. I nevergot used to going to my grandparents' house and Bully not being there.In April, 2007, I was honored by having received a "Cross of Military Service"

awarded to Parker Dorman posthumously at a Confederate Memorial Day servicein Jonesboro. The local UDC presented it to me along with a certificate and in-structions as to its display. I purchased a replica WWI "Victory" medal to go withit, because I saw on his discharge papers that he had been awarded one at the endof his service in 1919. The original was probably lost years ago. Anyway, the piecesare framed and are priceless. Just a reminder of a man I once knew.

by john lynch


by john lynch


Most native Fayette Countian's think of the role of Fayette County in the War Between the Statesas being very minimal, that is that there were no battles or anything else of importance to takeplace here. The "oldtimers" left us with a story that explained how the courthouse was saved:"In April, 1864 a detachment of Sherman's Cavalry came through Fayetteville with the specificpurpose of burning the courthouse. A Yankee-hating lawyer of the town diverted their attentionby displaying a large Confederate flag in his window. The Yanks took time out to taunt this man,arrested him, put him on a mule, and prepared to take him to Jonesboro. In the meantime, Ross's Texas Cavalry, as wellas some men of the town, caught up with the Yankees and put them to run, saving the lawyer." The lawyer is said to havebeen Colonel M.M. Tidwell and he is credited with having saved the courthouse from Sherman's torch.

Although this story was the most popular to be told, a great deal more activity took place in Fayette County than thestory reflects. Many family letters, diaries, war tales, and reminiscences have been placed aside, forgotten, or lost, leavingus with a minimum amount of knowledge about one of the most crucial periods of our heritage. But now, through thewonders of research, some of this material has been found, enabling us to find out what happened here during the war.

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In the late summer of 1864, Atlanta was being besieged by General Sher-man and his 100,000 strong Union Army. The Battle of Peachtree Creekon the north, Battle of Ezra Church to the west, and the Battle of Atlantaon the east side had all been unsuccessful attempts by Sherman forces tobreak through the heavily defended Confederate lines. Sherman thencame up with a new tactic. He would send his cavalry to the south side ofAtlanta to cut the railroads and cut off any supplies to the Confederate defendersin Atlanta. This would force either a surrender or a departure of Confederatesfrom the city.On the night of July 28, 1864, a cavalry raid was initiated that would have a di-

rect effect on Fayette County. The Union Cavalry (about 2200 strong) under Gen-eral Edward M. McCook crossed the Chattahoochee River near Campbellton andproceeded to Palmetto where they arrived early the 29th. They not only destroyedtwo miles of track on the Atlanta and West Point Railroad, but also burned thedepot, tore down telegraph lines, and laid waste to over 100 bales of cotton andother provisions waiting to be shipped by rail. The citizens were terrified as therewere absolutely no Confederates in the area to ward off the attack. The night firescould be seen as far away as Newnan.After the vandalism of Palmetto, the cavalry column continued on the roads

that ran through Fayette County toward Fayetteville. This placed the direct routethrough the area that is now known as Tyrone. At the time, the community wasknown as Hopewell due to the location of Hopewell Academy (built in the 1850's,now the site of the present Tyrone City Hall). A look at the military atlas of 1864reveals the names of some of the people who lived in the areaBeardon, Hop-good, DeVaughn, Head, Watson, Turner, Miles, Carter, Farr, Bailey, Youngblood,Swanson, Lloyd, Denham, Phillips, McIlvaine, Davis, Griffin, just to name a few.These folks would feel the impact of the raid. A few stories were handed down bydescendants and were recorded in the "History of Fayette County" published in1977. Mrs. Claude McEachern remembered a family tale: Some of the "Yankee"raiders came into contact with the John Rush family, who lived on Tyrone-Pal-metto Road. They were all around the place and a few came into the small loghome and lit their pipes in the fireplace. Mrs. Mattie McElwaney rememberedhearing her parents tell of hiding food under the doorsteps. Mr. Joe Thomas toldme that his grandmother came into contact with the raiders at the family homejust off of Fayetteville-Tyrone Road (Linden Road) and that they were from a Ken-tucky Unit. (McCook's rear guard was made up of the 4th Kentucky Regiment).The vandals were persuaded to leave only when the Masonic sign was given. As McCook and his men were on the road from the Tyrone area toward Fayet-

teville they encountered an unexpected bonus during the raid. The column cameupon a large group of Confederate wagons parked for the night on various sideroads that ran off of the main road. The wagons were part of a wagon train sentsouth from Atlanta by the Confederate Quartermasters Corps for safekeeping.They were loaded with officers baggage, equipment, supplies, etc. The Unionhorse soldiers did not have time to inspect all of the wagons for trophies, so theyburned them all (over 500) and sabered all of the mules (over 1000 in all) so asnot to alarm any Rebel scouts in the area. Almost all of the train masters werecaptured. Captain Andrew Jackson McBride of the 10th Georgia, who was alsocaptured in Fayetteville, remarked that there were "more dead mules in the bor-ders of Fayette County the night of July 29, 1864 than were ever seen within thesame space anywhere."It has been recorded in a compendium of Civil War battles that a "skirmish"

was fought at Smith's Crossroads on July 29, 1864. Smith's Crossroads is at theintersection of Flat Creek Trail and Tyrone Road, on the direct route from Pal-metto to Fayetteville. This action was most assuredly connected with McCook'sraid through the area. McCook's cavalry continued its destructive course on into Fayetteville that night

burning and looting as it went. When it arrived in Fayetteville, the raiders wentinto private homes and basically took whatever they wanted and vandalized thethings that they couldn't take with them. The courthouse, although not burned,was looted and several chests of Confederate money were taken and distributedalong the roads as a joke. A great amount of provisions and supplies were also de-stroyed at Fayetteville, and several more "prisoners" were taken from their beds.These were actually convalescing Confederate soldiers that included CaptainMcBride, who had been wounded in Virginia, and was sent here for safe recuper-ation. Over 200 were "captured."


Several more wagons were burned and more mules slaughtered as thecolumn left Fayetteville and headed toward Lovejoy. At Lovejoy thebluecoated vandals tore up a couple miles more of track on theMacon and Western Railroad. The Confederate cavalry under Gen-eral Joe Wheeler (over 2000 strong) quickly moved to the Lovejoyarea to put an end to McCook's destruction. There was a sharp battlejust east of the railroad as Wheeler caught up with McCook's rear guard. Heavyfighting and skirmishing took place all along McCook's retreat route that basicallycut through the heart of Fayette County. So, some of the same areas that were af-fected on the previous night's foray were in the path of the chase on July 30th. Mc-Cook split his forces to throw off his escape. The present roads of Hilo, McBride,Goza and even as far south as Rising Starr Road are believed to have been used bythe fleeing Yankees. There have been a few relics of the "running cavalry fight"found in these areas. One column came by the Tandy King home on present High-way 92 and were greeted by a Confederate squad camped nearby. It has been saidthat a bullet lodged into the front wall of the home near the front door. This col-umn then retreated down the Old Greenville Road toward safer territory.

The Confederate cavalry converged upon Fayette County, the scene of a sprawl-ing cavalry engagement, from all directions. One group under General LawrenceRoss came down from the Fairburn area along Sandy Creek Road as it is knowntoday. One member recorded in his diary that the column ate apples that theyfound along the roadside (the Yates apple orchard was in this area). All of the Con-federate units corresponded with Wheeler in their pursuit of McCook that night,and their reports can be found in the "Official Records". A major thrust of thebattle took place near where the Ebenezer Church is now located. It was here thatone of Wheeler's detachments caught up with McCook's rear guard. The familiesin the area (Adams, Williford, Mitchell, Griggs, Collier, etc.) all left reminiscencesof the fight. Several of the soldiers from both sides were wounded and killed.Three years after the war, eighteen Union soldiers from this action were dug upand reinterred in the National Cemetery at Marietta. They were all members ofthe 4th Kentucky (Union) Regiment. Shakerag Hill in Peachtree City is said to bethe resting place of at least three participants in this battle.

This battle was a spread out affair. Relics from the fighting have been found asfar south as Redwine Road and Highway 74 and as far north as Dogwood Trail andTyrone Road. The battle on Fayette County's soil ended at Line Creek where hand-to-hand fighting took place at the 30 foot high bridge over the creek. More fightingtook place below Newnan, as far south as what is now Moreland. The decisive bat-tle of the chase took place south of Newnan near Brown's Mill, a local landmark.Here the Confederates completely overwhelmed McCook's forces. Wheeler, thevictor, called McCook's venture "the most stupendous cavalry operation of thewar." McCook himself escaped capture, but he lost many of his men, and evenmore than that, he lost the confidence of General Sherman.

McCook's Raid had a far-reaching effect on Fayette County. It was probably de-scribed best by Captain McBride, a witness, who put it this way: "... the battlesraged so fiercely all day and night from Bear Creek and Lovejoy on the east, clearacross the county, to the bloody grounds of Shake Rag (Peachtree City) and RearOver (Tyrone) on the west."

Fayetteville had been in the midst of McCook's destruction and would continueto be a prominent point of movement while Confederates sparred with the Yankeesin our area. Stoneman's cavalry passed through the town in September. Also thatmonth, several units of Confederate forces passed through town in their marchfrom Lovejoy to Palmetto. Several regiments of infantry and cavalry camped inFayetteville during that movement. Fayetteville is mentioned several times in the"Official Records".

It should also be stressed that Tyrone was also the host town of the "Old SoldiersReunion", which took place for many years after the war. The event was organizedas a way of congregating to "do honor to our ancestors". Confederate veteransfrom all over the state would gather here every year (3rd Friday in July) for thereunion. The event attracted several well-known speakers over the years and lasteduntil 1962, well after all of the veterans were gone. It was held where the city hallsits today, adjacent to the town cemetery.

25


We heard that the Yankees were coming that day so our soldiers re-mained in Fayetteville for protection of the home and etc. Theywere lying around on the grass waiting when Slater Hess said sheheard them (the Yanks) crossing the long plank bridge two miles away on theirway to Fayetteville. As they came nearer my sister went out yelling Yankees! Yan-kees! She said to them, "Gentlemen what's the news?" They said, "Just Sherman'sraid coming in." Then she asked them for protection, and they placed on theporch a southern man, a Texan, they had captured somewhere and brought withthem. Our soldiers saw that they were greatly out numbered by the federal raid,and knew they would be overpowered so there was no fighting done that day.

But the Yankees did get my brother's watch which was hanging over the mantleand took several horses and mules from the stables.

When we first heard the Yankees were coming my sister hid many things sheconsidered valuable. Among them was a beautiful pair of silver candlesticks.Years later a granddaughter inherited the candlesticks and she later married anorthern man so her beautiful candlesticks fell into the hands of a Yankee afterall.

Mrs. Roxa C. BlalockFayetteville

First-Hand


The weather was awfully hot, and I remember seeing thewounded men sitting around the small trees, fanning themselvestrying to keep cool. One big man (don't remember name) wasshot through the top of his head and killed instantly.

A wounded man, just before he died, asked me to write to his sweet-heart at the North and tell her that he was killed in battle. I did as heasked me to but don't remember the man's name or address he gave me.There were some amusing incidents mixed with the bad. Early in themorning before daylight when the fight began, W.H. Griggs ran throughthe back of his house down into the woods to hide, and W.V. Mitchellran after him. Mr. Griggs thought it was a Yankee trying to catch him.

Mr. J.W. AdamsFayetteville

Accounts


27


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NOW and THEN...

You can still find segments of whatused to be the Fayette County HighSchool basketball court in what hasbecome a storage facility at thecounty school bus barn. These oldphotos from the '50s show both theboys and girls teams playing gamesin the old gym.

30


It goeswithoutsaying,butFayetteCounty haschanged over theyears. We searchedthrough the photolibrary at theFayette County His-torical Society tofind shots thatcaught our eye andthen we recreatedthem. Some of theold pictures goback to the earlytwentieth century,when much of thecounty was farm-land. Several shotstaken from theCourthouse clocktower on the squarein Fayettevillewere recreated,showing a downtownwith more pavingand fewer horses.Some of the spots

we photographed, onthe other hand,look pretty similarto what they didthen.

new photos by Christopher Fairchild


The Hollingsworth House was originally built in 1906 by Waymon Boozer Hollingsworth. It was moved by thecity in 1998 and has been renovated, looking a bit different than it used to as you can tell from thephotos. It serves as a privately owned event hall now.

Redwine Mercantile used to sit on the corner of Highway 85 and 54. The buildings look a lot differenttoday, but the same spot is now occupied by Mopp Hair Day Spa.

photo courtesy of Sam Burch

32

The Historic Train Depot in Fayetteville has been moved from its original location and been well main-tained by the city of Fayetteville. Today it serves as a rental facility for small events.

WTF 2014 32new_Layout 1 8/13/14 3:33 PM Page 1

This is a view northfrom the CourthouseSquare, before the roadswere paved. It does lookkind of nice without allthe traffic.

This photo on the squarein Fayetteville shows agas station and what usedto be a little movie the-ater up on the secondfloor. The movie posteroutside the buildingshows the theater wasplaying "The Woman UnderCover," with actressFritzi Brunette. The filmcame out in 1919, sug-gesting the photo is fromaround that time.

Today, the same buildingis occupied by the Bal-lard Law Office.

Today, the water tower islong since finished, butthe building is vacant.

This shot shows the oldFayetteville City Hall,back when the water tower was still beingconstructed.


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This is one of several shots that wereapparently taken in 1902 from the toweratop the courthouse, before there was aclock in it. This shot facing west showsthe intersection of Highway 85 and 54.


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This is the view looking east.

Here is a view to the south from atop thecourthouse.


The old Carnes Mercantile Co. building in Kenwood is pretty run down these days, though the side of thebuilding still bears a faded Coca-Cola mural that stirs some nostalgia.

Kenwood used to be one of thecommunities in north FayetteCounty. Kenwood Rd. remainstoday. We recreated a few shotsfrom Kenwood, including thisview down the street to the theold Coca-Cola sign along theside of Carnes Mercantile.

These shots show howMain Street in Brookshas changed since thefirst was taken in theearly 1940's.

36


The Ackert Train Depot is still nicely pre-served by the Minter family, looking muchthe same as it did back in 1940. The depotwas called Ackert at the time, as opposed toInman, so as to avoid confusion with anotherstation already bearing the Inman name.

This scene from Inman shows a little bit ofthe old-time fashion.


Lee's Mill, on the north end ofthe county, is still a beautifulwater feature. The old millbuilding is no longer there,however.

Bennett's Mill is still one ofthe prettiest sights in thecounty. It looks similar today,though now the mill has beenreplaced with a restaurant,Frank's at the Old Mill.


These shots of an old store in Woolsey show abuilding that looks much the same, if a littlemore worn. They also show the advances intruck design over the years.

Dr. Tom Busey used to operate this hospi-tal, which looks pretty quaint alongsidePiedmont Fayette Hospital. We got CEOMichael Burnett to take a similar shot out-side Piedmont, which shows the differencein scope, and bear in mind you can only seea portion of the facility. Piedmont Fayettewas opened in 1995 under CEO Darrell Cutts.


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Winged Dog on Expressway, 1981


R emember ing

by josh akeman

The farm lands of Fayetteville were fertilegrounds for the great imagination andstriking colors that Nellie Mae Rowe putto paper.

Aptly born on July 4, 1900, Nellie was gifted with a freedom of creativitythat is common in children, but often wanes in adults. Rowe sustained that foun-tain of imagination and, in fact, would only truly pour herself into her art afterher second husband died in 1948.

Fayetteville retains some "rural character" today, but not in anyway that anearlier twentieth century Fayettevillian would recognize. Then, it was prettymuch all farms, and Rowe's father Sam Williams was one of many poor farmerstrying to get by. Williams was born a slave, but following emancipation he cameto rent a farm while also working on the side as a blacksmith and basket weaver.

Williams and Luella Swanson had 10 children, and Nellie Mae was the ninth.She was talented from an early age, drawing and making dolls, two things shewould continue to do her whole life. Of course, she couldn't always be playing.Life on a farm meant she and her siblings had to help with cultivating the cotton,sweet potatoes, corn, and beans that the family relied on.

Rowe and her family attended Flat Rock African Methodist Episcopal Church,which is still around today. Founded in 1854, it is the oldest African AmericanChurch in the county. Today it is led by Reverend Edward Johnson, who alsoserves as a Fayetteville city councilman, the first African-American to do so.

43


Rowe would marryBen Wheat in 1916and the couplelived together inFayette County for14 years beforemoving to Vinings seeking greener pas-tures. After her husband's death in1936, she came to know a fellow wid-ower, Henry "Buddy" Rowe, and mar-ried him. She and Buddy wouldpurchase a home on the main street inVinings where they would both live outtheir days.

That home would also become thegreatest of all canvases for Rowe. Sheturned it into an art project that, likeher crayon and pencil drawings, wasstrikingly colorful and fantastical. Againevoking her childlike verve for life,Rowe called it her playhouse and pro-ceeded to decorate accordingly. Herlawn, filled with baubles and trinkets,drawings and homemade dolls, andvarious sculptures and whatnots,would slow drivers and, later, attractvisitors whom she warmly welcomed.She believed any discarded knick knackcould be a piece of something beauti-ful.

"When other people have things thatthey don't want, they throw themaway, but not me; I'm going to makesomething," Rowe was quoted as say-ing later in her life, "I've been that wayever since I was a child. I would takenothing and make something of it."

Rowe found Buddy after losing herfirst husband, but in 1948 she wasagain left searching when Buddy passedaway. In a sense, she was back to havingnothing, and, of course, she took thatand made something of it. She was anartist born, but she truly devoted her-self to her art after Buddy's death.

Something That Aint Been Born Yet, 1978


Nellie on Airplane, 1979

Black Fish, 1981

45


Her work evokedher own life ex-periences, butwas also born ofan irrepressiblyi m a g i n a t i v emind. She entitled one piece depictinga strange creature "Something ThatAin't Been Born Yet."

Rowe began to have her art shownin the last decade of her life. In 1976,she would meet Judith Alexander, anart dealer and promoter, who immedi-ately saw her talent and would becomean advocate for her work. Exhibitionsof Rowe's work would go on to beshown in Atlanta, New York, Dallas,Washington D.C. and elsewhere.

Rowe was diagnosed with cancer in1981 and would die October 18, 1982.She is buried at her childhood churchhere in Fayetteville.

It may be best to allow an art afi-cionado to sum up the work and im-pact of an artist. In The Art of NellieMae: Ninety-Nine and a Half Won'tDo," Gerard C. Wertkin, Director ofthe Museum of American Folk Art, saidthis: "Nellie Mae Rowe has the rare ca-pacity to draw others into a specialworld of her own creation. This is notto imply that she turned her back onthe real world, or that the environmentin which she lived and worked wasimaginary or illusory. The home thatshe inhabited was real, after all, and herwork was grounded in the here andnow, but she brought a magical qualityto everything that she did. Those whowere lucky enough to call upon herduring her lifetime received a warmwelcome to a place that was full of sur-prise and wonder. But to confront herdrawings, sculptures, and assemblagestoday, when she no longer is there toopen the door, is no less an invitationto Nellie's playhouse."

Woman, 1972

Bad Girl, 1981

Atlantas Missing Children, 1981


DR. TANYA BECKFORD

DR. WILLIAMT. COOK

DR. MARLOCARTER

DR. MATTHEWM. RALSTEN, III

DR. CHARLENEEMMANUEL



50

JIM MINTER had a long career in the newspaperbusiness as a sportswriter and eventually as edi-tor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This is areprinting of his obituary of Ty Cobb, written inJuly,1961, for the Atlanta Journal.


A LONG JOURNEY DONE-- Royston, Ga., July 20, 1961

It was a hot afternoon when they came to the small white chapel on the hill in

Cornelia, where soft breezes from the blue mountains beyond brushed across

the apple trees and through the open windows. Thunderheads gathered behind

the hills, briefly making their threat of a summer storm and then surrendered again

before the fire of a July sun. Stillness fell on the hill in Cornelia, and they began

their farewell to Tyrus Raymond Cobb.

They came from Detroit and California, from Royston and from down the street,

those who were close and devoted to the greatest baseball player who ever lived.

Mickey Cochrane, Ray Schalk, and Nap Rucker were there, men of his own breed

and time who knew him on other hot afternoons. And friends made in later years

as the flame flickered and this day drew nearer.

Outside, small boys in dungarees gathered along the sidewalk and old men in

overalls stood under the trees and their faces reflected the presence of immortality.

The gentle strains of "Rock of Ages" filled the little chapel and floated softly through

the windows as they have for a hundred years and more in these firm clay hills. The

preacher said he wasn't preaching Ty Cobb's funeral, for as you and I and all the rest

will do, Ty Cobb preached his own. He did say, as a close friend and minister, that

in those last months and days Ty Cobb had faced his Maker squarely, as good men

do.And then, the last journey. Down the hill past th

e husky policemen standing

straight with hats held over their hearts in silent salute. Past service stations and

stores where patrons and proprietors paused to watch, brushed briefly by history.

Out of the hills and into the valleys, where mountain folk stopped their work in

cotton fields to lean on hoe handles and say their own farewell. Old women in cloth

bonnets, and old men in straw hats toiled on land little changed from the time Cobb

left it many years ago.Through Carnesville and on toward Royston, and th

en past Cobb Memorial Hos-

pital where patients and nurses lined windows and the steps, and remembered their

debt to the man who held this place so close to his heart. The procession went into

Royston, and past the service station where once stood the house Cobb lived in be-

fore baseball called him to Augusta, and to Detroit, and to immortality.


The last time our community came to-gether to actively plan for the futureof the county was the Fayette 93 ini-tiative, paving the way for the additionof the community hospital we nowknow as Piedmont Fayette. Fast for-ward more than 20 years. The decision to take up a newstrategic visioning initiative came as the result of a strate-gic leadership visit to Williamson County, Tennessee, or-ganized to learn best practices benefitting that county.It was the consensus of the community and business lead-ers who participated in that trip that Fayette Countywould benefit from a county-wide vision plan to buildupon the countys already high quality of life, excellenteducation system and high potential for economic devel-opment.

In 2013, a core group of business and communityleaders formed a planning committee to research re-sources for and coordination of a formal visioningprocess. With public approval and financial support fromcommunity and business stakeholders, the committeelaunched a seven month formal visioning initiative,guided by a consulting firm with considerable expertisein the process.

The first phase of the vision process started in Decem-ber, 2013 and consisted of compilation of a CompetitiveAssessment report giving a picture of where FayetteCounty is today. The assessment synthesized quantitativecounty data with considerable citizen input receivedfrom tours of the county, one-on-one interviews, focusgroups and an online community survey. Eight story-lines, or competitive issues, were identified as impactingFayette Countys citizens, place and future prosperity.

During the second phase of the process, a diversesteering committee thoughtfully considered and focusedon the information presented in the Competitive Assess-ment. To ensure creation of a plan reflecting the desiresof the community, the public was consistently updatedon progress and was encouraged to share their ideas andopinions about ideas for Fayette Countybig and small.

In June 2014, the committee adopted a vision state-ment and plan that outlined specific goals, objectives andtactics for creating a Fayette County that, while preserv-ing its unique character, continues to sharpen its eco-nomic edge and elevate its highly desirable quality of life.The plan identifies four major interrelated focus areas,education, economy, community and place, to lay theframework for the corresponding implementation planto make Fayette County an unrivaled place to live andwork.

With the vision planning process completed and animplementation plan identified, the real work begins.Citizen leaders from across Fayette County are encour-aged to engage in the process in order to be part of im-plementing the plan. Though the plan provides cleardirection to meet these goals, it also allows for the planto evolve as opportunities and resources change. The fu-ture is ours.

Further information about the visioning process, thelist of steering committee members, the CompetitiveAssessment report and Vision Plan documents can befound at www.FayetteVision.org. To join the mailinglist or to request a visioning speaker for any groupor organization, email [email protected].

53


Turnipseed Farms is a striking little oasis of color tucked behind the trees near SpeedyPig in Fayetteville. What used to be a much larger tract of family farm land is now10 acres, around which the roads and shopping centers of Fayetteville have slowlygrown out of the soil of what was once almost entirely farm land. You'll find StevenStinchcomb there, as he has been most of his life. The nursery has been scaled downin activity over a decade or more."It was," he says of how big a draw his nursery had been, "I've gotten smaller every year for the

last ten or fifteen years, mainly because of my age. As you get older it gets harder."He hardly seems like an old man or one that has slowed down. Tall and broad shouldered, Steven

has a brightness to his eyes and his manner, a peculiar energy that's comforting and engaging. He grew up farming with his grandfather, his family going back generations on both sides in Fayette

County. "The Stinchcombs have been in this county for at least five generations, and now the younger

ones would make it six or seven," Steven says, and the same goes on his mother's side. She was aTurnipseed, as was his grandfather who mostly raised him.

"My daddy died when I was 8 years old and my grandaddy pretty much raised me, I was heremost of the time with him," Steven gestures around toward the garden, and the pond which thegeese are calling home for the summer. "So I helped him when I was little and I farmed... and thenI changed it to flowers in the 70s, and I've been growing flowers ever since."

A born farmer, his real gift is for art. He puts the work ethic earned in the fields toward paintingdaily.

Asked how long it takes to complete one of his landscapes or portraits, he pauses a bit and givesan easy, bemused smile.

"The easiest answer is to say all my life," he laughs," cause, uh, it's a result of my life," he landson that truth matter-of-factly. "But actual time, I don't try to keep up with it."

His landscapes are drawn from photographs he's taken. Now he's working on a picture taken atSt. Simon's, a beach view out on the ocean.

"I try to paint what's comfortable," he says, trying to define his muse. "I hope that comes across,as self explanatory, because I certainly can't explain it. But, if it makes you feel good," he nods.

The landscapes certainly do make you feel good, many of them depicting countryside, horses,cows, and dogs. His portraits, on the other hand, are striking and vivid. He's had to work at theportraits, going to Atlanta every Thursday for the last 15 years to study with a skilled teacher.

"I study portrait painting, but the landscape painting I learned myself. Trial and error, mostly."

A Portrait of Stephen Stinchcomb

SOIL5by josh akeman

photos by christopher fairchild

L I NSEED

55


He will do portraits on comm

is-

sion, but many of them are

done with nude models paid

by the hour. "I do a lot of that,

but that's because you have to

paint nudes. Some people,

when they ask you what's the hardes

t thing to paint,

they expect you to say the eye or

the ear or the

nose... but it's the skin that's the har

dest, and that's

the only way you can paint it is prac

tice."

He deems himself a "small town p

erson," who

has taken Fayetteville's growth ove

r his lifetime in

stride. Turning left out of Turnipse

ed Farms onto

busy Highway 85 isn't easy. If one

thing does bug

him a bit, it's that traffic.

"I don't care for the way the town h

as grown and

gotten jammed up with traffic," he

says as he mulls

a fairly bland question about h

ow things have

changed over time. His eyes then

flicker bright

again, "But I have a lot of good frien

ds that I would-

n't have met if it hadn't been for that

. So I'm thankful

for that."The geese are Tur

nipseed tenants now, scattering

their feathers all around, but he wis

hes he could get

some bats to come stay as well. He

built a bat house

two years ago, like a big bird house

up on posts, at

least ten feet high so that the bats ha

ve space to drop

out, catch some air, and curl back u

p into the night

sky in a swirling mass of wings.

"I would love to have a big bat colon

y to watch it

come out at night."

Though the bat house is no larger th

an a big box,

he says it could hold a colony of t

housands. He's

done the research; there are 13 var

ieties of bats in

Georgia, and he's hoping at least o

ne of them will

find his house inviting. He sees them

flitting around

at night over his ponds, and has tos

sed around the

idea of bringing some bats in but th

ought better of

it."I thought I'd be b

etter off just to let the ones that

came here on their own."

Walk through the yard, past the flo

wer garden,

bat house and pigeon coop, you s

ee some of his

stone work, beautiful sculptures, so

me finished and

others mostly still rough stone with

the beginnings

of some smooth form.

He cut a finger pretty badly on on

e of his stone

carving tools, though, which robbe

d him of some

grip strength and ended that pursui

t for him.

"I really enjoyed the stone carving bu

t I don't have

the strength to hold the tools any m

ore," he flexes

his hand and settles on another matt

er-of-fact truth.

"But as soon as I got hurt, I knew my

painting would

get better. And it did, because I do

n't think about

that anymore," he waves toward t

he stone pieces,

"I just mainly paint and I concentrat

e on painting."


58


Eudora Welty is quoted as having said we in the Southare inclined to write because we have porches onwhich we sit and hear and tell stories by the hour.Other people have given other reasons that Southern-ers write, but I like Miss Welty's theory because I grewup on porches.The house was often too hot in the summer to be really comfortable

anywhere else till later in the evening, so the family gathered on thefront porch after supper. Children, when they tired of catching lightningbugs or scrapping with each other, sat on the steps and listened to thegrownups.

At our house we heard stories from two porches -- ours and the oneacross the road, where an elderly lawyer lived who was also our repre-sentative in the state legislature. The reason we heard stories from hisporch was that he was partially deaf and spoke as if everyone else were.He and his son-in-law, also a lawyer and also interested in politics, talkedon their porch in the cool of the evening, and we didn't really pay muchattention to what they were saying -- except when we'd hear the oldman preface a remark with, "Now, confidentially. . . ." Then we listenedvery carefully. The son-in-law lived there until last year, when he diedat almost 90, and until a few years ago I lived in our old home placeacross the road. But for years -- thanks to, or because of, air-condition-ing -- neither of us sat on our front porches.

Joan Aiken, daughter of Georgia born poet, Conrad Aiken, grew upin England and as a child pictured her father's homeland from readingstories about it. She said that, consequently, "America was a placewhere people sat rocking on the porch," which confused her; an Englishporch is little more than a roof over the front door.

Porches on houses being built in Georgia today would not confuseanyone. There are some real porches on modern homes, of course, anda few even have rocking chairs on them. But seldom does anyone rockin them. And children, if invited to gather with the elders of the familythere, probably would be alarmed.

Children today have rooms. Few of us growing up in the rural Southduring the 1930s had rooms of our own. We had a bed in a bedroomsomewhere in the house -- a place to sleep or change clothes. Therewere more interesting places to be otherwise.

STORYTELLERSGrow Up onSouthernPorches

by robert burch

61


Except in the coldest weather, much of my growing upwas done on the back porch. There was usually someactivity there, and frequently it had to do with food.With 10 in the family and the Depression at its mostdepressing, home-grown produce was to be preparedfor the next meal or preserved for a leaner season.There seemed always something on the porch that had to be churned,shelled, strung or peeled.

Boys had outdoor chores, toomilking, tending pigs and chickens,hauling stove wood, helping in the gardenbut we also helped withthe projects on the porch. Children who were too young to handle aparing knife could always tote out peelings or shucks.

But it wasn't all work. We froze ice cream on the back porch. Andcut watermelons. We read on the porch, played rook, checkers andrummy on it. We studied on it, perhaps not hard enough, and pursuedindividual interests. I practiced Scout knots on it and tried, but neverquite got the hang of, playing a harmonica on it. Best of all, in reallyhot weather, we ate lunch and supper there. (To me, a meal on a porchis still the next-best thing to a picnic.)

Whether on the back porch (the daytime "busy" place) or the frontporch after supper, we visited with each other and any friends or rela-tives who came along. Often the adults did reminisce and tell stories,and children, even if we were practicing Scout knots, could listen. With-out trying, we absorbed a bit of family history and began to form somenotion of who we were and where we came from.

Houses today have dens and family rooms, but if families gather inthem it's apt to be to watch television. When the children are grown,if they should think back on their childhood and moments of being to-gether with their near and dear, it could be that the only family storiesthey'll remember will be the ones they heard on "Dynasty." My gener-ation, in spite of the economic hardships of the times, may have beenfortunate after all. We not only had porches, we sat on them.

ROBERT BURCH was an accomplished authorof children's books, having been recognized withnumerous awards including the honor of beingnamed 1971 Georgia Author of the Year.


In 1982, a couple of men charged with burglarydecided they would be able to dodge their dayin court by burning up the records of theircrime. The plan didn't exactly go off without ahitch. They managed to set fire to the thirdfloor judges chambers in the old FayetteCourthouse, but were quickly caught and slapped withnew charges. The fire was contained, but the historicbuilding had been damaged, particularly the iconicclock tower. Fortunately, the community rallied andgathered the necessary funds and volunteer hands to fixthe damage and restore the tower with a brand newclock. These photos document the efforts that theFayette County Historical Society led to restore thislocal landmark.

UP

photos courtesy of the Fayette Historical Society


FROM THE ASHES

65


68


AArree YYoouu RReepprreesseenntteedd bbyy aa RREEAALLTTOORR??OFFICIAL SPONSOR OF THE WORD HOME.

REALTOR is a registered collectivemembership mark which may only be usedby real estate professionals who are mem-bers of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OFREALTORS and subscribe to its strictcodes.


Ihad the pleasure of speaking with the museum'skeeper, Mr. Lynch, on one particularly dark andstormy morning. Mr. Lynch is a self-proclaimedskeptic, but happily told me about some of thestrange things -- as he put it -- happening at thehouse. The Holliday-Dorsey-Fife house has a veryintriguing past which only adds to the curiosity about thehaunting.

The house was built in 1855 and owned by Doctor JohnStiles Holliday, a prominent physician of his time in theFayetteville area. His nephew, John Henry Holliday -- theinfamous 'Doc' Holliday of the Wild West -- dearly lovedhis uncle and the family. Consequently, the house becameendeared to the young Doc Holliday.

Doc Holliday is believed to be one of two ghosts whofrequently appear at the house.

The Wild West?

One night, in the late 1990s, a police officer on routinepatrol in the area, spotted someone in the right upstairswindow of the house. The home was vacant and lockedup tight at the time. The officer reported seeing a manwearing a duster staring at him. Of course, when a furtherinvestigation allowed entrance into the home, no one wasthere.

Mr. Lynch told me on two occasions he heard very loudcrashing sounds. He said, "It sounded like a large mirrorfell of the wall. It was that loud." When he went to seekout the source of the noise, he said he found nothing.Everything was in its proper place and nothing was bro-ken.

He said that there are occasional noises and thumps, aswell as items on shelves being relocated. He said that, onetime, a replica cannon was pushed all the way to the veryend of the shelf and was almost about to fall off.

Mr. Lynch also told me that the lights will turn on oroff at bizarre times. He'll arrive in the morning to findthe lights on when he knew he'd shut them off the nightbefore.

He said, "There's no doubt there's strange acoustics inthe house." He continued, "I'll hear someone coming upthe back door landing. When I open the door, no one isthere." He said that the sound somehow traveled through-out the house and he knows someone had to be on thosesteps, yet no one ever was.

Doors also open and close on their own at the Holli-day-Dorsey-Fife House. The front door opens and no oneis there. The attic door has an eerie habit of closing veryslowly, but only when someone is standing in the hallwayand watching.

Trapped on Halloween

One time, Mr. Lynch said, they had a very special Hal-loween event. A ghost storyteller came and hosted theevent in the attic. At one time the attic held Doctor Hol-liday's medical skeleton, so it was naturally the perfectcreepy place to host the event. When the storyteller wasdone, she went to exit the room. The attic door waslocked. They couldn't get the door unlocked; it was stuck.Mr. Lynch and staff had to remove the door in order torescue the trapped storyteller.

He said, "It never did that before. It was really strange."

The Haunting of the

Holliday-Dorsey-Fife House & Museum

FOR THE PRICE

OF ADMISSION

by christina a. barber

TWO

photos by christopher fairchild

71


A Murder... and a Ghost

I asked Mr. Lynch about his guess as to the identity of theghostly spirit. He believes it is John Manny Dorsey, whodied in the house. Reports say he was murdered.

Mr. Lynch's cousin took a photo of the house which re-vealed a shocking discovery. In the lower left hand windowof the house was a man looking out. The man in that photo,taken in 1990, resembles another photo of Manny Dorseywhich hangs as part of an historic display in the museum andwas taken nearly one hundred years earlier.

Mr. Lynch said the spirits are friendly and do not mean anyharm. He also said he's not afraid, but does think these oc-currences are very strange.


Further Investigation

The Holliday Dorsey Fife house has had several profes-sional ghost groups investigate. Mr. Lynch said that every onehas found something indicating possible paranormal activity.One group had two equipment malfunctionsboth relatingto non-working equipment which had been checked justprior to entering the house. Another group reported that avoice recorder flew off of an investigator's belt during the in-vestigation. And yet another group captured an EVP of awhispering sound which sounded like, "Get out."There were several reports from a recent ghost investiga-

tion showing orbs. One photo showed an orb directly in frontof Doc Holliday's picture which sits above the fireplace man-tle. West Georgia paranormal, Joey Ward, shared his group's

experience during an investigation. He said, "We'd set up ourequipment, then went with the curator to a nearby graveyard.When we reviewed the tape later, we heard audible voicesand what sounded like someone walking up or down thestairs." He also told me that they were certain no one was inthe building, as they'd all left, locking the building and turningon the security system. Additionally, there were some pic-tures with orbs.

This is reprinting of a chapter from Christina A. Barber's "Spiritsof Georgia's Southern Crescent."


The globe's focus was just on Brazilfor the World Cup, but FayetteCounty continues to beam withpride over a team that shines brightin not just the state, but nation-wide. Peachtree City is home toBunky Colvin's McIntosh boys soccer team, the reign-ing top squad in the nation. Almost as long as McIntosh had been a fixture

among the state's best soccer programs, Bunky Colvinhas been a key part of the push. Colvin has been thehead coach of the boys team since 2001, and was anassistant for five years before that. Hailing from a county long lauded as a hotbed for

soccer, McIntosh has taken their excellence to a wholeother level the past two seasons. The Chiefs are in themidst of a 45 game winning streak. They've now wontwo consecutive state championships and five overall.They're racking up statewide (consecutive GatoradeGeorgia Players of the Year) and national (reigning na-tional high school head coach and assistant coaches ofthe year) accolades. The icing on the cake for McIntosh comes from the

National Soccer Coaches Association of America whohas ranked the Chiefs as the best high school team inthe country for the second consecutive year. McIntoshhad been close before, with a pair of number two fin-ishes, but this was new and special ground. "I didn't know if we'd ever finish number one with

the teams that have finished ahead of us," says coachBunky Colvin. "Last year, I thought we had a prettygood shot and it fell just right for us."

Christopher Dunn


They earned their spot at the top. "Georgia is actually a very tough statesoccer wise. If you can go undefeated in Georgia, it's pretty huge," saysColvin. McIntosh has done it two years running now. Their dominance on the pitch has been almost incomprehensible. Over thatspan, McIntosh has outscored their opponents by what looks like a made up mar-gin. "Over two years we've scored 271 goals with just nine against," Colvin notes."That's ridiculous. That shouldn't happen."As great a coach as Bunky Colvin is, and he is great as evidenced by the nationalhigh school coach of the year honor from the NSCAA, he's the first to talk aboutwhat a team effort it is to achieve great things. It starts with a group of coaches that Colvin calls "the best staff I've ever seenfor a high school team." Drake Dale and Adam Lewis mold the JV team. MikeNavarre starts the players off on the ninth grade team. Colvin is quick to creditthem helping shape the next generation of great Chiefs. John Briglevich focuses on the back end, while also helping lead the successfulgirls team as a key assistant. "He's a great goalkeeper coach. He's just a coach ingeneral," Colvin says. "I'll say you just focus on the backs and the keeper in agame. Man, he relishes it. That nine goals against is as big a deal to him as it is toanybody."Colvin's right hand man is Brian Messer, who has coached with him since 2001,in a partnership he calls "invaluable." Messer, himself a McIntosh grad, was rec-ognized for his work when the NSCAA named him the national assistant highschool coach of the year after last season. "He does so many things that people don't even realize," says Colvin. "It's ahuge award. You only pick one out of the 30,000 that are members. It's remark-able."Great coaches have come together with great players to form something trulyspecial. Colvin beams talking about a group that took responsibility for their own prepa-ration. Arriving for the first practice of the 2012 season, Colvin found the seniorsalready leading the team through sprints.

"As a coach, a lot of times you try to motivate, but I haven't had to push thisgroup very much," Colvin says. "They were tired of getting to the final and losing.They had made a commitment to do every little thing possible. It's been awe-some."In the lead up to the World Cup, a lot was made of coach Jurgen Klinsmann'sdecision to leave star Landon Donovan off of Team USA. It's a decision Colvin ap-preciates in part because of the makeup of his own team. "We've had a great group of players these two years, but we've had great playersfor years. I could name for you 20 players that are as good or better than the play-ers we had, but there's something to be said for having the right players," saysColvin. "It's more important to have the right players than necessarily the bestplayers. We have players that are probably better than people recognize becausethere are so many good players. Top to bottom, I think that's the difference."There's also an attention to detail that sets the Chiefs apart. "A lot of peopleask why are we successful. I think it's a hundred little things that add up. The mostimportant things are not ones that people think about."Colvin pointed to a particular play in the team's 8-1 win in the championshipgame over Houston County as a prime example. Daichi Uki lofted a pass 40 yardsin the air that was so perfectly placed that Adam Sheikali never broke stride inheading it for a goal. "That goal is a goal you expect to see on Saturdays watching the PremierLeague. So many things go into that that people don't realize," he says. "The qual-ity of that ball is phenomenal. Adam doesn't try to do anything other than place itin the corner of the net."The players buy into the system. It's not about individual glory. He points outthat Uki wants to play a 45-yard-ball to Adam. He doesn't feel the need to be onthe attack. And Adam, who is this year's Gatorade Player of the Year for the state,he says is the most generous player on the team. "The biggest thing that's important is they challenge themselves everyday," hesays. "A senior can't come to practice and say I'm going to slack off because asophomore wants their spot. It creates a really good environment."

Coach Bunky Colvin and the McIntosh boyssoccer team aren't just the best in Georgia,they're the best in the nation.

Chiefof the Chiefs

by christopher dunn

75


Colvin is also appreciative of the quality of play throughout the county andhow much it contributes to the game. Fayette and the rest of the regionplay at such a high level that it leaves any team battle tested by the timethey reach the playoffs. And with the McIntosh-Starr's Mill rivalry, it takes it toanother level.

"You always play different against your rivals than you do against anybody elseand you know you always get your rival's best game," says Colvin. "McIntosh-Starr's Mill is always huge. You get a preview of what it feels like to play in thestate championship game with the crowd's energy and the pressure. In some cases,short of a championship, it's the highlight of the year."

Even in the midst of rivalries, Colvin and coaches that he holds in high regardlike Mike Hanie of Starr's Mill and Whitewater's John Bernard, a former playerunder Colvin, and Shane Pulliam, the previous coach at Whitewater, have cometogether as part of a push to make the games about more than just soccer alongwith the girls' teams. The McIntosh-Starr's Mill matchup has become the Battlefor the Troops, benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project. The game versus White-water raises funds for cancer research. They include a special ceremony betweengames where players from the boys and girls walk the field in honor of someonethey love who has either won or lost their battle with cancer. It's about learningthere's more to life than just sports.

"One of the things that Adam Sheikali said to me this year was 'Coach, this isabout a lot more than soccer,'" remembers Colvin. "We think our job (as coaches)is beyond just coaching. We want these guys to grow up to be good dads, goodhusbands, good people."

Soccer has built the players into a family. Manager Oliver Adlam is a cherishedmember of the program, who the team has taken in as a brother. Adlam, himselfa cancer survivor, lost his mother to cancer back in 2011. The team dedicated thatseason to his family and he's been one of them ever since. He often addresses theteam in huddles after the game and he's one of the team's biggest fundraisers.

Colvin also shared the story of a former player whose father passed during theseason. He was greeted upon his return with open arms, and a player proclaiming"you may have lost your dad, but you've got 20 guys here that will have your backfor the rest of your life." Colvin adds, "those are the things that matter."

Colvin learned early on that McIntosh's soccer could be a family. Colvin grewup in McDonough, but was familiar with the school. He had gotten to know thelate Jeff Ford, the longtime coach who helped shape the Chiefs soccer program,years prior through running. Colvin couldn't make it to all of the races in the cir-cuit, so Ford offered to drive him along with his own family. Fast forward severalyears, after Colvin played soccer at Andrew College and LaGrange College.

"At my last game in college, Jeff showed up and said 'I want you to come coachwith me," remembers Colvin.

Though it would be a couple years before he could join the staff, Colvin wouldjoin Ford and find his calling. He worked as a law clerk before realizing where heneeded to be. "I went to my boss, the judge, and said I'm not going to do this. I'vefound what God wants me to do."

Colvin would take so much from both Ford and his coach at Andrew College,the legendary Ray Wells. "If you say Ray Wells in the soccer community, everybodyknows who that is," Colvin says of the nine time championship coach. "It was Raystarting out (when I was there). That is one of the best experiences I've had. A lotof what we do at McIntosh comes out of things I learned from him too."

Ford, of course, left a lasting imprint on Colvin. "Jeff is one of those guys where he would invest in people and I was one of

those people. He had a huge impact on me," he says. "He not only got me intocoaching, he had such an impact on my life. I saw why coaching is important. Iwanted to be able to do those kinds of things as well."

And for those wondering where the name Bunky came from, it's a childhoodnickname. When he was born and still tiny, his mom dubbed him Bunky for rea-sons she doesn't exactly remember and it stuck. Young Bunky didn't like his birthname of Samuel at the time so he insisted on the nickname. To this day, he saysvery few people know his birth name. In fact, one of his children is named Samueland very few know he's actually a junior.

Bunky knows that, while the Chief boys are on top, they're far from the onlyones. Outside of the other county soccer teams that continue to excel, there's an-other squad in the same school that he lauds. The Lady Chiefs soccer team alsowon the title this year, their third in four seasons, over Starr's Mill. It's the thirdtime in McIntosh history that the teams swept the soccer titles.

"For the girls, the region is so consistently tough. To get through that mix andwin it says a lot about how good (coach Marcia Clark) is. It says a lot about thegirls and how tough they are," Colvin praises. "The semifinal and final were twoof the hardest, toughest games I've ever seen a group of girls play. They wanted itthat much."

McIntosh is a school where the athletes are always in each other's corner. Lookno further than the end of the girls championship where the boys rushed onto thefield to join the girls team. "They truly want success for each other."

And that goes throughout the halls at a school where success has become thenorm.

"Our principal, Lisa Fine, does a good job of setting a very high standard andthat starts academically," he says. "I'm a big believer that if you're disciplined inall parts of your life, that carries over."

Not only has the McIntosh program matched the standard set for the school,the Chiefs have excelled and set a new standard for excellence...nationwide.

Christopher Dunn


Christopher Dunn77


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In my childhood people died all over Fayette County of pneumonia, tu-berculosis, lockjaw, and typhoid fever. Some of them died of a maladycalled acute indigestion. The cemeteries bear weighty witness to the chil-dren who were lost to whooping cough, diphtheria, and dysentery.There were no antibiotics. The doctors fanned out on house calls usingpoultices, stupes, calomel, and, always laxatives. The crisis in pneumoniaoccurred in ten days, giving ample opportunity for the prayers of the faithful.If no mountains were moved it mattered not; prayer was a necessity of life andthe mustard seed was often in the poultice. The Will of God was strong in ourland and malpractice suits were unknown.The old doctors were giants. Theyhad no miracle drugs to give out but they came to the house and they stayedand they gave of themselves; some miracles are so quietly bestowed that theyare taken for granted. Two dollars would get a house call five miles over a muddyroad, three dollars if it was dark. I remember one doctor with a wire chickencoop on his running board to accommodate farmers who were short on cashbut didn't want to be beholden; it beat cleaning chicken mess out of his T-model.Immunizations were the first manifestations of progress. I remember fighting

for breath and thinking I would surely die of choking before Dr. Wallis and Dr.Lester together came to our house and gave me one of the first antitoxin treat-ments in the country. Dr. Wallis said I had membraneous croup; Dr. Lester saidit was diphtheria. They were riding in Dr. Lester's car; so I called it diphtheria.Both of them said it was a miracle I lived.Soon the research men and pharmaceutical houses gave us typhoid vaccine.

There was no such thing as "informed consent" and parental permission wasassumed. In the absence of the Public Health Department, school children werelined up and marched to the County Physician to be immunized against ty-phoid. The County School Superintendent could whip most men in the countyand outsmart the others. I never heard anything but gratitude from parentsabout this step nor anything but grumbling from the children.About the time some of the roads were paved, the old doctors began dying

out. Then came antibiotics, which would have made their lives easier and theirworld more joyous, and th

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