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to
Oty? teator-Sribime
AND PEACHLAND JOURNAL
Established 1888
Published every Thursday
JOHN H. JONES
Editor and Owner
< < As a Man Thinketh in His Heart,
So Is He.”
Official Organ of Peach County, City of
Fort Valley and Western Division
of the Southern District of
Georgia Federal Court.
N. E. A. Feature Service
Advertisers’ Cut Service
Entered as necond-cla«n matter at the pout
office at Fort Valley. Georgia, under
the act of March 3, 1873.
MARCH 12, 1925.
JOHNNY JONES
Is bold enough to lift his head and pre
sent a distinctive departure in the field of
special editions. This publication suggests
what ho believes to be the effective stylo
for special edition work in the future.
The old-style special edition, in bulky
newspaper form, relying largely upon
mass of production through sales of
every class of space has been overdone.
This publication embraces the best literary
talent that could be aroused by the offer
of a free trip to New York and numerous
cash prizes for articles. These articles
should prove of high value. Too much ap¬
preciation can not be expressed for the
wonderful, voluntary assistance of a num¬
ber of people, especially some edition of Atlanta,
in the completion of the under
great difficulties, limited time and lack of
organization. It should reasonably repre¬
sent the establishment) of an annual Peach
Blossom Festival Edition in magazine form
that will assume far greater proportions
of beauty and service in 1926.
# * * * *
Our cover design includes the first map
of Peach County to be published, drawn
by that good citizen, Jno. M. Cook, Jr.
# * « * *
In her title for the 1925 pageant, ‘‘The
Trail of Pink Petals,” Miss Pauline Oak
has made a priceless contribution to the
advertising ideas for this section.
# # * # *
Diversified agricultural development,
with more intelligent production of cot¬
ton, which is the inevitable foundation
of the South and Georgia, and industrial
expansion will bring economic independ¬
ence and fame to the Empire State and
will give rein to her matchless natural re¬
sources. in no case must we ignore our
need and opportunities for more profitable
cotton production and industrial growth.
From a common-sense viewpoint this edi¬
tion is made more sound and practical by
an article from J. A. Perry, of the great
Callaway-Truitt chain of cottou mills.
# * * # *
Articles winning prizes, including trip
to New York, published in this edition
will be announced in The Leader-Tribune
appearing on the first day of the Festival,
March 19th.
* * # * «
Some folks help while
Others preach,
Fine! but work will
Easily teach
The golden rule of the
Georgia peach; smiles—it
It not only
Stays In reach.
THE LEADER-TRIBUNE
The Georgia Peach
By John Wingfield Gatewood
Dedicated to the Fort Valley Peach
Blossom Festival.
Sweet Pomona, lovely goddess,
In a green and quiet glade,
Stopped to take her noon siesta
'Neath an almond’s grateful shade;
But the merry little sunbeams
Sliding down from Persian skies
Had a jolly dance together,
In Pomona’s lovely eyes.
Then the fairies gathered branches
From the willing almond tree,
Laid them softly on her eyelids
Where the sunbeams danced in glee;
And Pomona, soundly sleeping,
In her fertile mind and brain
Dreamed a strange and new confection
Made of sunshine, soil and rain.
And the little twigs of almond,
Shot with sunshine from above,
Felt their being palpitating of love;—
With the new-born pangs
As they pressed each moment closer
To Pomona’s lovely face;
Filling bud and sap and sinew
With new loveliness and grace.
Then Pomona, stirring, wakened;
And with knowing smile and nod
Took the branches from her forehead,
Pressed them deep into the sod;
And the branches growing upward,
From the bole to outmost tips,
Caught their color and perfection
From Pomona’s cheeks and lips.
Then Pomona called the fairies
To behold this lovely tree— seedlings,
Bade them lade a bark with
And put out across the sea
To the land we call Fort Valley
Where, as far ns eyes can reach,
In the fullness of perfection Georgia Peach.
Grows the luscious
—By John Wingfield Gatewood,
408 Flatiron Bldg.,
Atlanta, Georgia.
Georgia’s Poem in Pink
By Cleone Duke Braswell
Little, laughing, lacy peach blossoms in
the most roseate of tintedness, with a
fragrance sweet and rare have offered
their beauty aud promise to a waiting
world in Springtime for nearly four thou¬
sand years, but it remained for a Georgia
girl, in the year of 1922, to sufficiently
awaken to the happy sensibility of the art
and beauty of the sea of pink to conceive
the romantic and idyllic idea of paying
homage to the blossom, the fruit of which
has made Georgia famous the world
around!
The story of the peach reads like a
romance, covering a territory all the way
from the banks of the beloved i angtze
kiang in far away China to the heart
of the Empire State of the Dixie of
America.
The Chinese had many traditions ro¬
ferring to the peach, and the peach tree
in that land has been called the ‘‘tree of
life, > t with a virtue which, if eaten in
sufficient quantity, would save the body
from corruption until the end of the
world. The Chinese used peach wands to
boat off the evil spirits and peach stones
were often made into rosaries.
From China, through Japan and the
other Oriental lands, the peach found at
last the fertile soil of Europe’s lowlands,
and passing through sunny Italy, Greece,
Belgium, Holland, England, France and
Spain, the seed of this luscious fruit found
passage on a galleon across the deep blue
sea to Mexico and American soil.
Amid the red old hills of Georgia,
watered by its rivulets and rills, the
peach has reached perfection, and thou¬
sands of acres of Georgia’s richest soil
give life to its production. Every year
in the Springtime the rolling acres present
a spectacle of piuk that surpasses m
beauty any flower show of the world, aud
under such a spell of impending piuk in
1922 the romantic idea of a Georgia Peach
Blossom Festival was conceived in the
Fort Valley Thirty Years Ago
Editor The Leader-Tribune:
I have a copy of the Fort Valley Leader,
dated March 20, 1896. Thought perhaps
you might be interested in it. At the
time Geo. L. Keen was editor and pro¬
prietor, with Tlios. P. Hoyt as associate
editor. At that time A. D. Skellie was
mayor and the council consisted of W. E.
Brown, F. C. Houser, T. V. Fagan and
Jas. L. Harris. Chas. G. Gray, F. 0.
Miller, J. L. Fincher and A. B. Green
constituted the water commission.
Among the advertisers, Fleetwood & Co.,
of Macon, offered choice rye, corn and gin
at $1.50 per gallon up. J. D. Marshall k
Son were agents for a celebrated $2.50
shoe and anioug other things advertised
the Edith & Ethel cigar. C. A. Lackey
advertised his Blood Tonic and J. T. Sis
trunk wanted to furnish the town with
cak and pine wood. Longfellow
An Evening with was en¬
joyed, the following young ladies being
on the program: Misses Cora Lee Seroggs,
Maud Branch, Fannie Branham, Ella
Houser and Gertrude Flournoy. Music
was furnished by Mrs. F. S. Murray and
Miss Fannie Branham, while Misses Lilia
and Myrtice Everett were the hostesses.
Mrs. M. L. Houser advertised the Marl¬
borough Hotel in Atlanta, and A. H. Lubet
kiu was willing to take off one-third of
his $5.00 pants. Dr. W. A. Blasiugame
was a leading dentist while Dr. O. G.
Singleton was a practicing O. M. T. D. Harper, L. L.
Brown, H. A. Mathews and
of Macon, appeared as lawyers.
The Third Congressional district was in
a heated political campaign this far in
advance, E. B. Lewis being boomed for
Congress. A prediction of the way the
counties would go gave Lewis a majority
in the district and the nomination.
The Baptists were makiag plans for a
new building and there was some talk that
the Methodists would soon follow suit. It
was thought that the town would soon
have two fine new churches. Episcopal
services were held in the Presbyterian
church by Rev. J. F. Milbank.
An Experience Party was to be held
soon at the home of Mrs. Monroe Gray,
for the benefit of the Ladies’ Aid Society
of the Baptist church. The funds were
to be used for fitting up the new church
scon to be built. Admission was to be 50
cents.
Among visitors in the city were Jno. M.
Green and G. W. Taugle, of Chicago, who
mind and heart of Miss Etta Carithers, a
beautiful Georgia girl, whose own cheek
reflected the hue of the peach blossom Southern and
whose eyes are as blue as the
sky that covers the Georgia fields.
When the wonderful idea was released
in the little town of Fort Valley the peo¬
ple entered enthusiastically into mate¬
rializing it, and in four years the Geor¬
gia Peach Blossom Festival has reached
a magnanimity and grandeur that excels
the Rose Carnivals of California and
Mexico, the Mardi Gras of the Crescent
City, the Tulip Time of Holland, the Ap¬
ple Festivities of Norway, and even the
Cherry Blossom Festival of Japan!
The late Albert M. Seifert was general
chairman of the first Peach Blossom
Festival and the second great event was
headed by Glenmore Green. In 1924 Leigh¬
ton Shepard served in festival the capacity of
putting on the great and his
services for the festival of 1925 were
again secured by the community. Prac¬
tically every citizen of the community
co-operates in staging the great flower
show and the program of the day is full
of interest, culminating in a spectacular
pageant of romance and color that
eclipses in effect and beauty the pageantry
of a nation, if not of the world.
For four consecutive years Miss Pauline
Oak, of Maine, has been seeured to direct
the pageant, and she is assisted by
various committees who serve in helping
to plan and stage the crowning event of
the festal day. all
In magazines and newspapers over
the world are seen annually stories and
pictures of Georgia’s Peach Blossom Fes¬
tival, by radio its wonder and its beauty
is broadcasted, and no similar idea of
national interest has been developed in
the history of the republic that has been
accepted with such appreciation and en¬
thusiasm as the idea of the Peach Blos¬
som Festival of Georgia.
< < All roads lead to Fort Valley” in the
time of the full-blossom of the peach, and
promised great things for Fort Valley, as
did A. E. Adair and S. L. and A. R.
Hotchkiss, of Columbus, Ohio. Miss Lucy
Garlic, of Waynesboro, was visiting Miss
Mary Stewart. Miss Clifford Burr, of
Barnesville, visited Mrs. J. L. Brown.
Colonels Samuel Butherford and R. L.
Berner, of Forsyth, were on their way to
Crawford court, coming down by Macor^l visit
Miss Hattie Lewis, of Roberta, was
ing Misses Della and Mollie Newell. Mr.
E. D. Jones, of Salem, Mass., was spend
ing a while in the city. He was boarding
with Mrs. Winslow on Macon Street.
An oyster supper at the home of Mrs.
C. 0. Gray netted the ladies between
twelve and thirteen dollars. All had a
most enjoyable time, many exciting games
being played. Selling of pawns was real
interesting, Col. H. A. Mathews having his
eyes blindfolded and naming the penalties.
A party of hunters, consisting of J. M.
Gray, A. B. Green, W. R. Brown, Max
James, Dawson Kendrick, Clade Fagan,
Feston Fagan, Jake Visseher, John Trout
mini Sam Neil, Arch Carithers, J. M.
, and Sax Murray, in
Jones, Will Carithers
charge of Hon. J. M. Gray, had a wonder¬
ful time and brought back oodles of birds.
They went over into Taylor County.
There was quite a write-up of a party
given to Master Frank Miller Martin at
the residence of his uncle, Mr. Willis Web¬
ster, in Plymouth, Mass. This was a leap
vear party and nice presents were received
from his brothers and cousins in Glens
Falls, N. Y., Mass., Vt., N. H. and Fort
Valley. This was his first anniversary, the
second not due until he is 12 years of age.
Sam Jones was having a big time in
Atlanta, preaching in his shirt sleeves and
making it warm for the devil. The war in
Cuba continued and suffering was intense.
William McKinley was heralded as the
coming man and this paper predicted that
he would be the Republican nominee for
president. Judge Crisp had just written
a letter advocating that the people vote
direct for U. 8. Senator.
O. M. Houser, chairman of the Demo¬
cratic Executive Committee, and W. H.
Harris, secretary, 'on called a meeting to be
held at Perry the first Monday in
April to elect a new executive committee
and for other purposes.
Geo. L. Keen.
Manager Kimball House, Atlanta, Ga.
tourists from North, East, South and
West make their plans to be in the heart
of Georgia when the big flower show is
on.
The little Peach City and its com¬
munity put on the great festival unaided,
and each year thousands have come to
gaze upon the beauty of the festive af¬
fair and to sense with keen appreciation
the magnitude of the hospitality and re¬
sourcefulness of the little city of Fort
Valley which plays hostess to a nation as
it seeks to pay homage to the blossom of
the peach.
MY LAND
L
Peach land and pink land,
How beautiful to see!
It’s your land and my land,
A blossoming so free.
Rose pink and deep pink
And everywhere a bloom
Sending heart thrills, soul thrills
To chase away the gloom.
Real true and soul true,
The peoples of this land
Rejoice ever in the beauty
That glows on every hand.
II.
Clear blue and true blue
The skies above us shine
With Heaven’s own brightness—
This land of yours and mine!
Peachland’s a great land,
A land of men worthwhile.
Spring time and rose time
And blossoms every mile,
It’s song time and smile time
That makes this land of ours
A glad land, a God land,
A blossom land of flowers.
—Eliza Hill Martin.
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