About Lake Oconee news. (Greensboro, GA) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 2017)
A4 Lake Oconee News Friday, September 29,2017 Start the conversation Send us your opinions by Monday at 1 p.m. news@lakeoconeenews.us 11 i| .... trtgf Stanfordville: Devil’s Half Acre Attending a recent museum program in Eatonton, I had the chance to converse with Lynn Stanford, local police officer and Vietnam veteran who often works community events. Stanford mentioned a recent column spotlight ing the small community of Godfrey in Morgan County. Our conversation drifted toward talk about Stanfordville, a tiny com munity in Putnam County named for the officer’s ancestors and a place with an unusual history that is now mostly forgotten. Located around 12 miles south of Eatonton toward Gray, Stanford ville still appears on official state and county maps. Situated at the in tersection of Highway 212 and Rabbit Skip Road, the community has around 30 homes and 100 res idents with most living within a few miles of the town’s original site. From the late 1700s, this trading post and farming village was populated by sturdy pioneers. In those early days, Stanfordville had a reputation as a wild frontier village with the name “Devil’s Half Acre.” Benjamin A. Bustin explains in his letter pub lished in the Eatonton Messenger in 1926: “Where Stanfordville is now in the western part of Putnam County, about one half acre with three whisky saloons on it. With ‘Brushy Knobs’ in Hank Segars Lakelife Associate Editor Morgan County they were called the worst place in Georgia. It was given the name “Devil’s half Acre’” because some old citizen, probably Dr. Pendleton who said it was an ‘acre of ground wholly abandoned to the devil and his works.’ Along with the Stanfords the Kindricks, Clacks, Resseaus and Lawrences were living there more than a hundred years ago. “When I first saw Half Acre in 1855 to I860, there was nothing to indicate that it had ever had a bad name,” writes Bustin. Also, from a report in Joe Turner’s The Coun tryman, the July 5, 1862 edition, we find: “The sobriquet, once give to Half Acre, came from the fact it was on the frontier and a resort for Indians and half civilized men to meet there and drink and gamble ... it is known that many years ago Stan fordville had a hotel, five stores, three blacksmith shops, one wood shop, SEE SEGARS » A5 Wisconsin - A little history Wisconsin is a clean state, based on several excursions here. No community is cleaner than Madison, the capitol city, which has a regal feel and an environmental smugness that makes you appreciate clean air, refresh ing lake water and an unsul lied landscape. Autumn is trying its best to break through, but it is still a little early. I saw enough hardwoods to be convinced that peak color in the fall in these parts would be something to comple ment all fall settings from football tailgate parties, to deer hunts to campfires to marsh. Much has taken place here Loran Smith Columnist in the state’s history which, like so many states in our great land, reveals that sec ondary settlers were not so kind to the original settlers, the native Americans, like the Ho Chunk or Winneba- gos and Ojibwe or Chippewa. I have always wanted a nice pair of Chippewa boots for the winter. And, how many football fans who tailgate in their Winnebagos, take the time to gain an apprecia tion with the history of the brand. The lakes here (Mendota, Monona, Waubesd, Kagnonsa and Wingra) ame liorate the heat of summer while allowing for water sports and fishing and ice skating in. You can’t come here and enjoy the view of the lakes without recalling a tragic Georgia connection. Soul singer Otis Redding, who was born in Dawson and educated in Macon owned a farm in Wayside in Jones County. His private plane crashed three miles short of the runway into Lake Monona in a nasty rain and ice storm, Dec. 10,1967. If the plane had remained aloft in the time it took him to sing the first verse of the song that would become the first No. 1 posthumous hit, we might still be hearing his gruff voice. While I am a country music aficionado, “(Sittin on the) Dock of the Bay” will be an all-time favorite. Redding’s whistling verse will stir my emotions as long as I hear that heart-warm ing song. That tune and SEE SMITH » A7 Never too early to think about how you want to be remembered Do me a favor, will you? I would greatly appreciate it if you would see that my obituary gets printed as is, just in case I happen to kick the bucket or cash in my chips or buy the farm or any other euphemism that you deem appropriate for the occasion. Let me say emphatically that I have no plans to die anytime soon. I have sock drawers to rearrange, political egos to prick and sunsets to ponder. I got a glimpse of death a Dick Yarbrough Guest Columnist few weeks ago and didn’t like what I saw. Evidently, Death wasn’t crazy about the experience, either, and gave me a pass. A good friend suggested that the reason I survived the ordeal is that God wasn’t ready for me and the devil wouldn’t have me. What would I do without my friends? But that experience did make me think about how I want to be remembered. The best way to do that is to go ahead and get it down on paper like I want and then depend on kind souls like you to see that it gets in the paper that way I wrote it. I know I’m asking a lot of you, but when you consider the countless hours I have spent trying to provide you state-of-the-art, cutting edge observations on ev erything from 10 import ant facts you need to know about tree stumps to why that fat, ugly toad in North Korea should worry less about blowing the world up and more about getting a decent haircut; surely, you can do this one little thing for me? Please clip and save: “Dick Yarbrough, a modest and much-beloved columnist, recently kicked the bucket, cashed in his chips, bought the farm or any other euphemism that seems appropriate for the occasion. “While giving no specifics, a spokesperson indicated the cause may have been a case of technology overload. After listening to a guy in India trying to explain why AT&T wouldn’t allow him to Google Yahoo unless he provided his 37-digit PIN number or answer his security question: What was the name of your best friend’s cousin’s goldfish, Yarbrough supposedly swallowed his laptop whole. “Dick’s much-admired magnanimity toward the plethora of idiots with the temerity to disagree with him while he was on this earth has likely qualified him for eternal life. If given a choice, he would prefer it be spent in Athens, Ga., the SEE YARBROUGH » A7 Lake Oconee News General Excellence Award Winner 2015-2016 GEORGIA PRESS ASSOCIATION President / Publisher A. Mark Smith Vice President Jo Ann Smith Vice President, General Manager Mark Smith Jr. Vice President, Circulation Matt Smith Vice President Michael Smith Associate Editor T. Michael Stone Sports Editor Justin Hubbard Staff Writer James Morton Staff Writer Dave Brown Display Advertising Manager Vicki Parker Advertising Representative Anjie Brown Advertising Representative Tom Gorman Advertising Representative Michael Payne Advertising Representative Shannon Thompson Advertising Representative Daniel Harwell Eatonton Messenger Associate Editor Lynn Hobbs Lakelife Editor Beverly Harvey Lakelife Associate Editor Hank Segars National Advertising Manager Amy Hood Legal Advertising/Circulation Becky Meyer Production and Technology Manager Josh Lurie Graphic Artist Lindsay Pilcher Graphic Artist Mark Brill Business Manager Cassandra Fowler DEDICATION Battle B. Smith EDITOR AND PUBLISHER 1956-1988 Micky Smith EDITOR AND PUBLISHER 1989-2003 ADVERTISING, NEWS AND INFORMATION Lake Oconee 1106 MARKET ST. • GREENSBORO 706-454-1290 Fax 706-454-1292 Madison 195 W. JEFFERSON ST. 706-342-9833 Fax 706-342-9839 Call 706-485-3501 for subscription information Subscription Rates One Year Two Years Putnam, Morgan, Greene counties $35 $65 Other Georgia counties $45 $80 Out of Georgia $55 $95 Postmaster: Send address changes to the ,1106 Market St., Greensboro, GA 30642. Periodicals postage paid at Greensboro, GA 30642. The (USPS 024-046) is published every Friday by Smith Communications Inc., 1106 Market St., Greensboro, GA 30642. All rights reserved. Reprints by permission of the and individual writers only. State and Federal Elected Officials Gov. Nathan Deal (R) 203 State Capitol Atlanta, GA 30334 (404) 656-1776 Web/e-mail: gagovernor.org Sen. David Perdue (R) B40D Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-3521 Sen. Burt Jones (R) 407 East Second St., Jackson, GA 30233 Phone:(770)775-4880 Fax: (770) 234-6752 Sen. Johnny Isakson (R) United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-3643 Rep. Dave Belton (R) 401-B Coverdell Legislative Office Bldg. Atlanta, GA 30334 404.656.0152-Office dc.belton@house.ga.gov Rep. Jody Hice (R) 1516 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4101 Fax: (202) 226-0776 Rep. Trey Rhodes (R) Room 612-B Coverdell Legislative Office Building Atlanta, GA 30334 404-656-0325 trey.rhodes@house.ga.gov The deadline to submit letters to the editor each week is Monday at 1 p.m. Send letters and other news to news@lakeoconeenews.us
