You may recall that we are 'doing' the Antebellum Trail, in central Georgia. Highly recommend it, and we aren't even finished yet. What started out as a two day trip here along the trail has turned into several days. Guess it's a luxury that our mode of travel affords, as we stop where we like a place, or whiz on through if the weather is no good. So here's a little recap of the past few days.
After we did our wander-about in Athens, we spent the next day in the small city of Madison. If you should pass this way, it's a must-stop. Their brochure says it all. An 1845 Guide to Georgia called Madison "the most cultured and aristocratic town on the stagecoach route from Charleston to New Orleans". That pre-Civil War description still holds true in terms of the southern atmosphere that prevails as one wanders about the town. We did the walking tour, and saw many fine early 18th C homes, some fine restored buildings, a beautifully restored Town Park, and many fine churches, shops and restaurants. The town is also blessed in that General Sherman spared it when he was leading the great Advance to the Sea, which left a trail of destruction in his wake. Madison remained pretty much intact, except for a few commercial buildings.
We chatted with a woman in a beautifully restored building that she has turned into a special functions tea room. She had this building rebuilt brick by brick, and has two other buildings in town that she's planning to renovate. It's a hobby for her, as she moved here with her husband from Charleston, and needed something to do. Hubby must have deep pockets.
We had a late lunch in the Chop House Grill, which had been recommended to us, and headed on. The second largest state park in Georgia is called Hard Labor Creek SP. The name itself is intriguing enough to draw one for a look. Conjures up images of convicts workin' on the chain gang. But not so. It goes back to the time when the land was used for cotton farming, in the 18th and early 19th C, land that was so hard to work it took huge effort to gain any success. Hence the name Hard Labor Creek. The end result was that the farms were abandoned and taken over by the Feds to turn it into a park as a make-work project in the Depression years. After the war, it was turned over to the State.
And a fine park it is, with very good facilities, hiking trails, large sites, and down the road, offroad bike trails (15 miles of them), and one of the most scenic golf courses in Georgia. We had planned to stay for two nights, but booked an extra so that we could play The Creek course. Proved to be a challenge, but very enjoyable, beautifully laid out in hilly terrain, and very scenic. Greens like table tops. Gail played the front 9 with rented clubs, and rode the back nine when her hands got sore. Definitely worth a return visit, and the best part was we had the course to ourselves. Hardly anybody was out that day.
Yesterday we went on to Eatonton, another antebellum town of note. Similar big houses, but a lot of them are post War of the States. When Sherman marched through Putman County, he spared a lot of the houses, but burned down anything of productive value, like mills, the tannery, the grain-filled barns, the shoe factory, and other outbuildings. Times were tough after the war, but a farmer brought in 15 dairy cows, and started the county off to becoming the dairy capital of the state. New prosperity resulted in many more fine Victorian era homes being added to the town.
Two highlights for us: The Plaza Arts Center, and the Uncle Remus Museum. The former is housed in what used to be the local school. The building was abandoned when a new school was built, but citizens got together and transformed it into a history center, complete with a vintage drug store, an early 1900s elementary school classroom and a history gallery. The tour guide in the museum talked about her life in the 50s, how she and her friends would save up their money for the week, a dime, go to the drug store to buy a package of crackers and a coke, and spend time hanging out at the soda fountain. The vintage drug store we were in well depicted that image, bringing back memories for any of us who experienced such stores in our early days. As did the classroom, with early primers on all of the little desks, the cloak room in behind, the old globe on the teacher's desk.
The highlight of the day, however, was the Uncle Remus Museum. Joel Chandler Harris was born and raised in Eatonton, so is well remembered with little statues of some of his story creatures...Brer Rabbit in particular...in evidence around town. The museum is contained in three old cabins that have been merged to form an excellent tribute to the man. For me, having read so many of his stories as a child, it was a real treat, especially as we had a most wonderful lady on hand to tell us many stories about Harris and life in the town. A black woman of 78 years, Miss Georgia kept us spellbound with descriptions of Harris, his life and development as a writer, and about life in the town where she has lived all her life. Colorful, exuberant, plain spoken, a wonderful story teller herself, Miss Georgia is something else.
When she was a child, black and white kids played together all the time, even though they had to go to separate schools. One day she and one of her best friends, Mary, went to the drug store previously mentioned, where a lot of the kids were hanging out. Georgia had no money, but Mary treated her to a coke, and rather than staying inside, suggested they go sit out front and watch the cars go by. That they did, as there weren't many cars then, and it was something to do.
Some years later, Georgia thought about Mary's kindness, and it struck her that Mary had made the suggestion to go outside because black kids weren't allowed to sit in the booths in the drug store. Mary had spared Georgia the embarrassment of having to stand while the white kids sat. By the time of this insight, Mary had moved to California with her family, and Georgia regretted never having had the chance to let Mary know how much she appreciated her gesture. Recently Georgia was in a local nursing home, doing a story telling for the residents, when she saw a tall woman who she recognized as her childhood friend, Mary. She went to her, excited to see her, and told Mary who she was. Mary's response was "My name is Mary ...". "Don't you remember me?" asked Georgia. "My name is Mary...", was the reply, Mary looking off into the distance.
Georgia sat down close to her, tears in her eyes, and looked into Mary'a eyes. Clearly, Mary suffers from severe dementia. But for just a moment, there was recognition in Mary's eyes, as though she knew Georgia to be her old friend. Mary's caregivers had witnessed this, and were amazed that Mary had emerged from her fog, even if only for a second or two. Needless to say, Georgia was thrilled, as that brief moment of recogniton made up for the things she had wanted to say to Mary.
She also talked about how the black and white kids of the town generally got along well, so that when integration happened in the 60s, it was without incident. Black kids started going to the white kids school and it went smoothly. Clearly, she feels Eatonton is a pretty special place. She is part of the reason. She goes to the high school once a week to tell Uncle Remus stories, and to the elementary school once a week as well. Along with her stories, there are also gems of wisdom passed on, no doubt, to the kids. An unforgettable lady, pictured below with Gail.
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