About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2022)
Wednesday, May 4,2022 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3B Downtown home holds piece of Dawson history Photo submitted to DCN New Jersey artist Neal Hughes visited Dawsonville on April 19 and painted an oil portrait of the house at 77 Tucker Avenue during his visit to Georgia for the annual Olmsted Plein Air Invitational. By Julia Fechter jfechter@dawsonnews.com For many commuters, the vintage home at 77 Tucker Avenue is just another building in down town Dawsonville. But to New Jersey-based oil paint er Neal Hughes, it was his next painting inspiration. Hughes was in the area for Atlanta’s eighth annual Olmsted Plein Air Invitational Gallery Exhibition. He’s previously visited the county and painted at Big Canoe and Amicalola Falls. “I like old buildings like this...I do a lot of old architecture,” he said, pointing out interesting aspects like the criss-cross porch railings or the double front porch. Recently, some Dawson- area residents expressed interest in the Tucker Avenue home, which has been unused for some time now. The Burt-Vandiviere - Bearden house currently sits across the street from the Dawson County Government Center, behind the Dawson County News office. However, its original location was at the intersec tion of Ga. 53 and Lloyd Seay Street, also known as West 3rd Street. Much of the home’s his tory is encompassed on pages 155-156 of the book “Dawson County, Georgia: A History” compiled by the Dawson County Historical Society and pub lished by Farris Yawn. This home’s journey started sometime before 1873, when John Palmour built the home. After its construction, the residence was sold in 1873 to David J. Burt, who lived there for about seven years. The home passed hands from David to Dr. William H. Burt, who owned it and practiced medicine there for 20 years. Then, the house was sold to Col. A.W. Vandiviere, who lived there until his death in November 1943. Rachael Bearden Parks, sister of J. Andrew Bearden, purchased the home from the colonel’s heirs, E.C. and H.G. Vandiviere. Rachael later transferred the title to her brother’s wife in 1949. Around that time, Andrew and Helen Bearden added a dayroom at the house’s rear. Initially, there was a separate kitch en in that part of the house. They both lived in the home until after his death, when Helen sold it to what was then called the Dawson County Bank in August 1984. As of that year, the home had two chimneys, one built with field stone and the other from handmade sticks. Under the Ga. 53 site, the home had a cellar. Then in 1986, George and Marie David bought the home, moving it to its current location. Previously, the down town location hosted the old Tucker home, which was owned since 1876 by family members including George, Annie Tucker Anderson and Edna Anderson Noblin. George and Marie restored the home, and she temporarily ran a tea room out of it in the latter 1980s. Meanwhile, after the home’s relocation, the bank built a new building at the old site in 1987. The David family still owns the home at 77 Tucker Avenue. This residence is another quaint reminder that in rural areas like Dawsonville, all it takes is a stroll around downtown to remember that people live and work daily along side reminders of local his tory. Pat Densmore-Floyd provided DCN with an excerpt of “Dawson County, Georgia: A History.” Bearden named principal of Robinson Elementary School By Erica Jones ejones@dawsonnews.com This week, the Dawson County Board of Education approved Linda Bearden as the new principal at Robinson Elementary School begin ning in the 2022-23 school year. According to a release by the school system, Bearden, a native of Forsyth County, has 19 years of expe rience in elementary education in Forsyth and Dawson County Schools. Most recently, she has served for the past seven years as the principal at Robinson Elementary School. Before serving in this role, she served for nine years as an elementary school teacher and for three years as an academic coach. Bearden will be taking the principal role over from the current RES principal Page Amette, who will be moving up to serve as the school system’s new direc tor of instructional services for elementary. “Mrs. Bearden is excited to contin ue to work hard to serve the commu nity, students, staff and parents at RES in her new role,” the release said. “She believes that together we can ensure our students are nurtured and clanged so that each student achieves success.” Bearden holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of North Georgia and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Kennesaw State University. She is married to Danny Bearden, and they have two married daughters and a three- year-old grandson. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with her family, camping and reading. “Mrs. Bearden is honored to contin ue to partner with the dedicated facul ty and staff of Robinson Elementary to serve our children and community here in Dawson County in her new role as Principal of RES,” the release said. Bearden BOC eyes more funding for new public health building By Julia Fechter jfechter@dawsonnews.com Formative steps are being taken toward another SPLOST VII project, thanks to a recent vote from the Dawson County Board of Commissioners. During their April 21 voting session, the com missioners approved send ing the Georgia Mountain Regional Commission a letter to help the county apply for a $1 million grant and any other applicable funding. Previously, the county included $2.5 million for a new health department building as part of its proj ects for SPLOST VII, which Dawson County vot ers approved in 2021. BOC Chairman Billy Thurmond said he and County Manager David Headley have been looking at ways to increase that dollar amount, recently meeting with a GMRC official to discuss such opportunities. There’s a chance for the county to apply for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the same kind of funding as the $750,000 awarded for con struction of the senior cen ter at Veterans Memorial Park. “Now, that [grant amount] has been moved up to $1 million,” said Thurmond, “so there’s an opportunity for us to put in for an additional million dollars to get all the things we need necessarily for the health department.” The county has also been working with state legisla tors, like Rep. Will Wade, to acquire more monies through the budget process, and the health department is filling out an application for other state funding, too. It will only cost about $1,000 to get GMRC to help with the details of the grant application process, which can be complicated, Thurmond said. “Any kind of help we can get is awesome,” he added. The BOC also voted 4-0 to approve the family den sity or “land gifting” exception originally pre sented at their March 3 meeting. This provision will allow for the creation of no more than five lots, including the parent tract, for intra-fami ly ownership transfer. The measure will require minimum lot dimensions of 1.5 acres per current septic rules, and building permits could only be issued to the grantee family member. Commissioners will now be able to approve family density exceptions without needing to hold public hearings. “That makes me feel a lot more comfortable about this whole thing,” said District 2 Commissioner Chris Gaines. District 1 Commissioner Sharon Fausett said this step will “help reduce spot zonings.” “That’s the purpose of it, not for somebody to cut it out and be able to speculate on it in five years,” District 4 Commissioner Emory Dooley said. “It’s just for the family to be able to do what they need to do.” FROM 1B Anglin berth in three years. Anglin will be heading into a sea son of potential for the Lady Tigers, who return all but one player from last season’s roster and will be add ing freshman players who are com ing off a Mountain League champi onship under coach Natosha Berry. While his experiences playing and coaching under successful head coaches will be a part of his devel opment leading the team to success, he also has a much broader plan to root the team within the community. “I want to establish a family-like culture where the players and coach es feel like they are a part of some thing bigger than themselves,” Anglin said. “This community has always been extremely supportive of the basketball programs and I want to embrace that. Starting in the rec departments, I want the kids and coaches to know that they are a part of our program.” That long-term, ground-level approach is only fitting for a man who has displayed his service to the area for many years. Next year, Anglin will continue in his position as head boys golf coach and will enter his fifth year as a mathematics teacher. His message to next season’s Lady Tigers roster is one that places an emphasis on his own commitment to the group and the personal growth of the team. “I want every player to know that I care about them and I will fight for them,” Anglin said. “At the end of the day, our success will not be defined by a scoreboard. We want to equip our kids with the tools to be successful in the real world and in the next stages of their lives.” FROM 1B Baseball Elijah Odom opened up the scoring with an RBI single to drive in Davis Glass. After a double by Sawyer Bearden and a Nick Mullinax walk, Mulberry took advantage of the loaded bases and hit a two-run single. A sacri fice fly by Brandon Cramer would bring in the fourth run of the inning. The Raiders would extend their lead once more with a three-run fifth inning, but the Tigers would have one more chance to come back. In the seventh inning, DCHS would load the bases again and score twice on consecutive hit- by-pitches. With the score at 8-6, the Tigers were unable to continue the rally and finished their season with a first-round playoff exit. While the season ended with the two losses, Sapp was still pleased with the way the team finished the regular season to clinch the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. The Tigers swept Lumpkin County to secure that spot after having been swept by North Hall. “We needed to finish off the season on a good note and we did that,” Sapp said. “We played very well against Lumpkin County in every facet of the game.” Despite the exit of six seniors after this season, the team will have plenty to build on as they attempt to make a trip back to the playoffs next season. On the mound, prospec tive starters Trey Harvey, Davis Glass and Joshua Priest will be crucial in helping them stay in games. Offensively, the contributions of Bearden, Horner and Rucker will continue to be important. Harvey earned his spot in the rotation this past season and will be looking to continue his success heading into his junior sea son. Priest proved to be effective both in starting games and in relief, help ing stabilize the team on several occasions. For the team to make another playoff appearance next season, Sapp has out lined what the team will need to focus on. “I believe that the core of the team next year will need to play at their best — and with a lot of experi ence on the mound — I believe this team will be in every game,” Sapp said. “Pitching will lead this team next year and hope fully the offense will step up and be on par with the pitching.” Overall, the Tigers fin ished this season with a 19-13 record and a 14-7 record within Region 7-AAA. Thanks to the moms out there making it work Perhaps because I don’t have children, I never gave much thought to the importance of good mothers. I took the good mama I had for granted. Yet, often when I do things she taught me such as mak ing biscuits or putting pieces of broken clay in the bottom of a pot when I plant flowers, I remember her teachings. Sometimes, we’d come in from church and she’d say, “Let me go in here to the kitchen and see what I can throw together to eat.” I never once knew my mama to go to the store to buy a miss ing ingredient for a recipe. She either substituted ingredients or made something else. One time, after I had built a house practically in her back yard, she called and said, “I just got some hot Mexican cornbread outta the oven. Come over here and get some.” I did a double take at the phone. Mama was an Appalachian cook. It never occurred to me that she had even heard of Mexican cornbread. Oh. My. Goodness. It was the most delicious stuff I’ve ever tasted. I ate half the skillet. “Where did you get this recipe?” “I made it up.” I pressed her. “How did you know to make it up?” “I read a newspaper story about putting corn and cheese in cornbread so I experimented.” I walked over to a kitchen drawer, pulled out a pen and paper. “We need to write this down.” She was reluctant. She was a free spirit when it came to cooking but, finally, she managed to remember what ingredients she put in but not the measurements. Those she happily improvised. I’ve become that same kind of cook. I take the basics of what I know about cooking then create dishes all the time. As soon as Tink says, “This is fantastic!” I run for pen and paper. That’s how I wound up with his favorite spaghetti recipe of all time. Thank you, Mama. She did an even better job with my sister, who is known as one of the best cooks in the country. She’s incredible. Seven-layer chocolate cakes, chicken pot pie, vegetable soup and anything else you can name. Trust me on this: If you ever have a chance to sit at my sister’s Sunday dinner table — or especially when she cooks for the preachers (she really shows off then) — DON’T turn it down. It will be the best country meal of your life, with a bit of dazzle thrown in. She taught my niece, Nicole, to cook. She’s a mother of five so she doesn’t have the time to make the elaborate dishes that her mama makes — she buys frozen yeast rolls for instance or a roll of fro zen com then adds lots of butter to doctor it up — but she’s a smart cook who knows how to whip up tasty meals and stretch a dollar for a family of seven. Nicole is a physical therapist. She is always working at least one job or adding part-time work if her best friend, also a PT, needs helps. On top of that, they are in church three to four times a week and going to ballgames from here to kingdom come. One day, exhausted, she dragged into the house. Her daughter, Zoe, who was 12 at the time, asked, “What’s for supper? I’m hungry?” Wrong question at the right time. Nicole slapped her hand on the counter. “Zoe Burkett, I’ve been up since 4:30 a.m. and I didn’t have time for lunch. If you want to eat, you need to learn how to cook.” Zoe shrugged. “Okay.” This young lady does nothing halfway. Perfection is always her goal. Four years later, she is well on her way to becom ing the best cook in the family. It didn’t start with the right ingredients, either. Just like with the rest of us, it started with Mama. Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of What Southern Women Know About Faith. Visit www.rondarich.com to sign up for her free weekly newsletter. RONDA RICH Columnist
