Newspaper Page Text
thesylvaniatimes.com
The Sylvania Times
Wednesday, April 20, 2022 - Page 3
Editorial
From the
Editor’s Desk
-Joe Brady
The Sylvania Times,
Editor
I don’t know about
y’all, but every time I
pull into a gas sta
tion I have to do a
mental check on what
side the gas tank is
on. I miss the little
arrow that used to
be standard in cars,
pointing dummies like me to the correct side.
So the other day as I pulled into the gas sta
tion to fill up, trying desperately to remember
which side my gas tank was on I was reminded
of a “Lucille Ball” moment that occurred in my
family. Now, I know my fellow writer, Carmen
has “Lucille” moments, she has shared them
with us and I believe most of us have them. We
just might not want to admit it.
Back in the early ‘90’s Nanny decided it
would be best to help her recently divorced son,
Kenneth raise his daughter; so we loaded her
up and moved her from Millen to Brunswick.
Just whether or not Uncle Kenneth had a choice
in the matter of Nanny moving in is still up for
debate.
So, we all converge on Emmalane one spring
morning, trucks and vans in tow, ready to get
this over with. If anyone says they just love to
move they would obviously by lying. Nanny
had lived in that trailer behind Granddaddy’s
store since 1970 so there was a lot of stuff
to pack. With the family doing the moving it
didn’t take long to get everything Mary Mons
owned, loaded and we started in a caravan
towards Brunswick. It was at the gas station in
Savannah that the “Lucy” moment took place.
My Aunt Judy suddenly blinked her lights
behind me, Morse code for “I need to stop” so
we diligently pull in to the gas station, waiting
patiently for her to get gas. We all sat in our
vehicles watching her methodically pull the
huge white van beside the tank and climb out
to fill up. With a bemused look on her face she
realizes the gas tank is not on her side. So what
does she do? You guessed it; she pulls around to
the other tank.
This went on for several minutes, Judy ever so
slowly circling the gas tanks like a shark cir
cling his food. Finally in desperation she throws
the van in park, jumps and screams at the top
of her lungs, “how are you supposed to fill this
thing up? Put the gas in 5 gallon buckets and
pour it in!”
That’s all for now, take care!
Pastor Bill Kent,
Memorial Baptist Church
A lot with a little
The Stock Market rises and falls. Farmers enjoy bumper crops but also suffer through lean years when they lose money.
Sometimes our bank accounts are full and then an emergency drains our last dollar. Generally, we think we are doing well
when we have more stuff and many friends, but we read in the Bible about God surprising people over and over again by
doing a lot with a little.
When thousands of people were hungry after hearing Jesus teach for hours, it looked like they would go home hungry,
but Jesus multiplied a small portion into a huge feast for the multitude. "...And they said, we have no more than five loaves
and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people. For there were about five thousand men. Then he said to His
disciples, make them sit down in groups of fifty. And they did so and made them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves
and the two fish, and looking up to heaven. He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the
multitude," (Luke 9:13-16).
During King David's long military service, he learned that God could use a small army to bring victory without many
weapons, horses and chariots. When God steps forward, then the largest and most powerful army may be scattered and
suffer surprising defeat. Though David built a strong army, he relied on God's power. "Some trust in chariots, and some in
horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God," (Psalm 20:7).
When Jesus started Christianity, it began as a small group of twelve Disciples. Though most _ _ . „ mn a
of the congregations in the Early Church fit inside small homes, the Gospel message spread ^ ee ‘ 1 P a g e 0
Ogeechee Ramblings
Scotty Scott
1 —
Poor Robin Landing
I’d always heard since I
was a very young lad that
Poor Robin Landing had
been owned by one of my
Bazemore Uncles who lost
his land due to drinking and
gambling, then traded his last
slave, named Robin, for a
gallon of whiskey. When he
polished off that jug of whis
key, he threw it back over his
shoulder into the Savannah
River, and said “well, that’s
the last of Poor Robin”, hence
the name. Pretty good story,
ain’t it? I’m sure that many
of you have heard it in vari
ous ways since you were a
child as well. Unfortunately,
certain facts have gotten in
the way of that tale.
Prior to the American Rev
olution (1763 or so). King
George granted the Bryan
family a tract of land in what
is today Screven County
stretching from Burton’s
Ferry to Poor Robin Landing.
Whew! I don’t know how
wide that tract was, but that’s
a good 14 miles lineally. In
other words, a pretty good
chunk of property. But I di
gress. My point is that Poor
Robin was already named
prior to 1763, and of course,
under the Trustee’s Charter,
slavery was forbidden. I’d
also like to point out that the
Bazemores didn’t come to
Screven County from Bertie
County, North Carolina until
the Land Lotteries beginning
in 1803. So, it couldn’t have
been a Bazemore or necessar
ily s slave, right?
I’ve discussed this quite of
ten with my good cousin,
Donny Mallard, who I con
sider to be the premier au
thority as regards the Bryan
Family, and he pointed out
to me that Lemuel Martin
Luther Bryan, the Captain of
the Black Creek Volunteers
in the Civil War, is buried
fairly close to Poor Robin
Landing at the Bryan Family
Cemetery (where Poor Robin
Road intersects the Newing
ton Highway). Looking at
the other end of their hold
ings, the Bryans also inter
married with the Humphreys
and Brannon families, from
which so many Screven
Countians descend. The
Humphreys Family Ceme
tery is on Mouth of the Creek
Road near the Pfeiffers, and
of course, there is Brannon’s
Bridge Road near the loca
tion of the Battle of Brier
Creek. I also remember
hearing my Dad talking
about “Brannon’s Bluff”
on the Savannah River, but
I’ve yet to discover exactly
where it is. Anybody who
has a good idea, I would
welcome their input.
In closing. I’d like to
state that through my many
years of doing genealogi
cal and historical research
that there is usually a grain
of truth in those old family
“myths”. Unfortunately,
they are not remembered
exactly as told, and become
corrupted, so to speak.
Still, I’d like to know more
about the Bazemores and
their link to Poor Robin
Landing.
Unearthing Camp Lawton
Dr. Ryan McNutt, Ph.D, FSAScot, R.RA.
1 ^
Iron Arteries
Letters to the editor of The Sylvania Times are wel
comed and encouraged. These are pages of opinion,
yours and ours.Letters to the editor voice the opinions
of the newspaper’s readers. The Sylvania Times reserves
the right to edit any and all portions of a letter. Unsigned
letters will not be published. Letters mwust include the
signature, address and phone number of the writer to
allow our staff to authenticate its origin. Letters should
be limited to 400 words and should be typewritten and
double-spaced or neatly printed by hand. Deadline for
letters to the editor is noon on Wednesday. Email Letters
to the Editor to: thesylvaniatimes@gmail.com
With the start of the new
semester, as a teacher/schol-
ar— one of the pillars of
Georgia Southern’s approach
is a commitment to teaching,
often through research, but
never research at the exclu
sion of education—research
time is condensed down
to reading. As Historical
Archaeology is one of my
courses this term, this focus
on reading will change as the
semester progresses, since
lab work on extent collec
tions makes up part of the
course. Consequently, more
information about our finds
from the spring and sum
mer will be forthcoming as
they’re analyzed. But for the
last week, stolen moments to
read chapters, maps, and ar
chives has been my research.
And this has been exclusive
ly focused on the railroads of
the Confederacy.
Which is, honestly, some
thing of a misnomer. One of
the largest issues affecting
supply and the movement of
troops, goods, and essentials
from Virginia to Texas within
the Confederacy was a com
plete lack of not just stan
dardization of equipment—
rail gauges, engines, etc—but
also a deficiency of thought
of railroads as a mechanism
for interstate travel and com
merce. Each state and rail
road company approached
their rails from an insular,
good of the state and local
business mindset. There was
little conception of aligning
rail lines, sharing lengths of
tracks, or even railroad cars.
For example, there was a real
chance an entire train full of
freight would need to stop
when it crossed into Alabama
from Georgia, and the entire
cargo moved to a different
set of railroad cars owned
by the Alabama Company
that owned that length of the
railroad, and thus demanded
cargo travelled on their own
cars. In this context too,
was the refusal of railroad
company owners to coop
erate with the Confederacy
with the movement of gov
ernment freight, including
military supplies, within
and between states as a
result of the loss of profit.
What does this have to
do with archaeology, and
Camp Lawton, and our
railroad depot at Lawton,
you may be asking your
self. . . .
LAWTON
continued on page 6
- Sds/gcas C&rcfs
- /rt \s/t&tions
- I— &tt&r f-f&acf
- fn isc>/c?&s
- FZ&cei&ts
©siUL -mm?
Sylvania Times Printing Services
SHADY LANE
Tree Services. LLC
Tree & Slump Removal - Storm Cleaiip - Pniniig
Dustin McMillan
Call Today! (912) 682-8166
CAR REPAIR
A • 1
AUTO TECH
PTi I liPH I III Alkil 1 J lk JVJ-li 'i
HI Old Greet Hold
KevinJlDn EjtnrJm JOl-lS iihli ¥rlli'i|
47J.787.2723
Iltattta ®ttttrs
Proudly covering Screven County’s news,
sports, and community events since 2022
thesylyaniatimes.com
Sam Eades Publisher
Joe Brady Editor
Sam Eades Advertising Sales
Debbie Heam Layout and Design
Sarah Saxon Administration/Legals
Burton Kemp Sports Editor
Jake Gay Staff Writer
Scotty Scott Staff Writer
Subscription Rates (Includes tax):
6 Months Delivered In Screven County $ 18.00
1 Year In Screven County $30.00
1 Year Online Only $20.00
2 Years In Screven County $55.00
1 Year Outside of County $40.00
1 Year Outside of Georgia $45.00
The Sylvania Times is published weekly by
The Sylvania Times
117 N. Main • Sylvania, Ga. 30467
Phone: (912) 451-NEWS (6397)
