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Hello Georgia: an unforgettable experience
An idea chiseled in stone
On May 9, 1970, ah expectant
crowd of nearly 100,000 waited,
as a giant helicopter descended
‘ slowly against the background of
most prominent and
>• ancient landmark Stone
Mountain.
Circling the face of the majes
-7‘ . tic granite monolith, the largest
visible rock in the world, the air
craft, darting downward and pro
jected against the majestic face
of the mountain, looked like a
' fly moving from a light fixture
toward a coffee table in a large
room.
It was an awesome spectacle.
As the aircraft came down slow-
* ly, the whirl of two giant rotors
propelled a breeze, which, like a
* huge exhaust fan, whizzed
through the waiting crowd.
* Moments after the craft
touched down the door opened,
and out stepped several well
dressed men in blue suits; fol
lowing closely behind, was a
•t tall, hefty-built man with the
resemblance of General George
Patton; the man was Spiro
Agnew, then Vice-president of
the United States.
Agnew had come to dedicate
’-'the Stone Mountain memorial
jr the world’s largest
■ .‘carving.
"• Meanwhile, as an aide to the
governor of Georgia, I was at the
State Capitol with a small group
of staff members watching the
great historic event on television,
•' as our boss, then-Governor
■. Lester Maddox, presided over
X* the Georgia entourage and wel
< corned the Vice-President to the
supernal site.
j Governor Maddox, probably
the most camera ready and pub
licized governor of any state in
f U.S. history, was beaming with
T ecstatic delight. Though keenly
critical of the Nixon administra
tion’s Vietnam War stalemate,
Maddox seemed, at least for a
few choice moments, on very
good terms with Washington.
And why shouldn’t he be? He
kept me busy for continuous
days and nights from 1967 to
1970 researching to find more
and bigger things to use in the
speeches I helped him prepare;
this one was the biggest of all!
He could now spread the word to
New York, San Francisco, and
back to Miami, that here in
Georgia was something never
seen anywhere before, never
attempted by anyone, and proba
bly never in a million years to be
matched.
The Stone Mountain memorial
carving is carved from a moun
tain older than the Himalayas,
and presents, in proportions that
are overwhelming to the eye, and
more dazzling than anyone’s
imagination ever conceived in its
most exaggerated flight.
Chiseled in stone are three fig
ures; namely, President of the
Confederacy, Jefferson Davis,
and Generals Robert E. Lee and
Stonewall Jackson; they rest on a
carved-out nitch in the mountain
the size of a city block.
The imposing figure of General
Lee is roughly the height of a 9-
story building, and his horse,
Traveller, is about the size of 5
steam locomotives.
Where did such an idea origi-
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nate? In the mind of the brilliant
Georgia writer, John Temple
Graves. He had seen this mon
strous bulk of Stone Mountain,
and began to yearn for some vis
ible expression of the story of
the South’s valor during the War
Between the States. The idea
emerged as Graves was writing
an editorial, this embryonic
germ was weaved into his editor
ial with words that later became
a physical manisfaction.
Many people read the article,
but one who read it, a woman,
had become intrigued with the
idea, because she had a loving
memory of the heroes in gray;
she had to respond.
That woman was C. Helen
Plane, of Atlanta. She had been
in Atlanta when the city was
burned by General Sherman, and
she was inspired by the heroic
deeds and accomplishments of
her beloved Southland.
“Why not present this idea to
my friends and associates in the
Atlanta Chapter of the United
Daughters of the Confederacy?”
she pondered.
A resounding whirlwind of
applause shook the room as this
Southern lady enthusiastically
told the group about her idea of
an awe-inspiring memorial trib
ute which could be carved on the
face of the rugged rock in
DeKalb County, Georgia; it
could be their way of commemo
rating the deeds of those whose
fame was cherished. The year
was 1915.
The first step in the gigantic
task was to find a sculptor to do
the work. They had heard of
Gutzon Borglum, who had
attracted the resting in the rotun
da of the Capitol at Washington,
D. C. Borglum was asked to
come to Atlanta to inspect the
mountain and consider the possi
bility of carving on the face of
this perpendicular cliff a figure
of General Robert E. Lee, or at
least, his face, to pay tribute to
the Southern spirit imbedded in
its lost cause.
Borglum came, he saw, and he
conquered. His interest was not
just stimulated, but fueled with
burning passion. In an article
published in the New York
Times Magazine, Jan. 2, 1916,
Borglum was quoted on his
description of the mountain and
its proposed monument:
“Stone Mountain, in its colossal
proportions, makes the Pyramids
small and insignificant by com
parison. They are built of cut
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a YOUR REAL ESTATE ADVISOR
JIM FRENCH
GRI, CRS, CRB
ACTIVE MARKETING
JIM FRENCH
It takes a lot more than a “For Sale” sign in the front yard, a Multiple Listing entry and
an occasional ad in the classifieds to get a listing sold. Be sure to discuss the details of the
marketing plan with the companies and Realtors you interview about selling your home.
Realtors who provide high quality service will usually have a written marketing
plan tailored to fit your home and your individual needs. A good marketing plan begins
with pricing the home well and will involve exposing your home to as many real estate
professionals and qualified buyers as possible. The agent’s job is to get buyers through your
front door; your job is to ensure that the buyers will like what they see. Top agents are very
active finding prospective buyers and in coaching sellers about how to enhance their
home's presentation. There are differences in the marketing approaches of companies and
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For professional advice when buying and selling lake property, call Jim French.
14*1*, FRENCH PROPERTIES
■ (770) 886-8787
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stone and long since have fallen
into decay... had the Egyptians
possessed Stone Mountain, there
can be little doubt they would
have shaped it into one of the
first wonders of the world.”
“What interests me in this mon
ument,” Borglum continued, “is
that it represents the first effort in
this country to build a memorial
to a cause, without singling out
an individual the first effort in
America to build a monument to
a nation.
“It is a monument to two or
three million women that worked
just as hard and suffered much
more than their brothers or hus
bands....“lt is a monument to a
movement.”
On Aug. 17, 1915, the idea was
announced to the world, and the
Stone Mountain Confederate
Monumental Association was
formed.
Gutzon Borglum started first
with the concept of carving not
just three, but many representa
tives of the Confederacy, includ
ing General Bedford Forrest, and
others, along yith a mighty
army. But after a few years, a
frustrated Borglum quit to take
another assignment at Mt.
Rushmore.
In 1925, Augustus Lukeman
resumed the challenge, but finan
cial restraints stopped the work.
In 1958, the Legislature of
Georgia created the Stone
Mountain Memorial Association,
and finally, in 1964, Walker
Hancock was retained to finish
the carving, utilizing a totally
different technique.
The Memorial is the august
highlight of the great 3800-acre
Stone Mountain Park; 10 million
people visit this alluring site each
year, the largest tourist attraction
in the Southeast.
Today the monument stands, as
the completing sculptor said, “as
an eternal tribute to that period of
American history which, through
though tragic, gave birth to the
united country we are today.
“No such monument has ever
before been attempted in this
country; nor will such an oppor
tunity ever again exist.”
Big lessons from a little man
Being a snow lover, I am
enthralled with the Winter
Olympics. I love the pageantry,
the speed, the excitement of it
all, and I especially love watch
ing sports in which you could
never participate in the south
eastern United States. To my
knowledge, there’s never been a
ski jump champion from
Cumming. Maybe I could be
the first. Just wait until our next
snow and I’ll practice loping
off my back deck.
In these Games, I have to
admit that my favorite moment
has involved a Japanese, not an
America, winning the gold. On
Tuesday night, my beloved and
I watched as 23 year old
Hiroyasu Shimizu (you won’t
hearing me say his name in this
morning’s sermon I can
write it a lot easier than I can
say it) raced around the speed
skating track. Man, you should
have seen the Japanese fans
cheering hit on; it was as if they
were on the track with him.
When he won and the reality of
being Japan's first gold medalist
on skates hit him Shimizu buist
into tears and wept openly
before his countrymen. I loved
it.
He’s now my favorite
Olympian and not just because
I enjoy a strong height advan
tage over him. He stands a mere
Benefit for Challenged Child set for March
Swayne Brown and the
Song Masters will be hosting the
Fifth Annual Gospel Sing to
benefit Challenged Child
Inc...and friends. It will be held
Friday, March 6, at 7 p.m., at the
First Baptist -Church on Green
Street in Gainesville. Admission
is free, and all “Loving
Offerings” will be donated to the
non-profit agency.
Brown has quite a line-up of
Btico credits
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, February 15,1 W» I
5 feet 4 inches tall while I
tower over him at 5 feet 5 inch
es (0.K., I’m really 5 feet 4
inches and a half but who’s
counting?). He’s my favorite
Olympian because he’s an
inspiration and because he
reminded me of an important
lesson in the Christian faith
Shimizu’s father passed away
several years ago. Ho had given
his son much the same advice
my own father gave me just
because you are smaller is no
reason to quit; just work harder.
After winning the gold,
Shimizu mentioned feeling his
father’s presence and then said,
“My father in heaven is the first
person I would like to tell that I
have achieved my dream.”
That’s pretty powerful.
I don’t know Shimizu’s reli
gious beliefs but his words
struck a chord. Don’t they
remind you of what the writer
of the Book of Hebrews in the
New Testament said when he
spoke of the great giants of the
faith who had gone on before
and then encouraged,
“Therefore, wince we are sur
rounded by such a great cloud
of witnesses, let us throw of”
everything that hinders and the
sin that so easily enables, and
let us run with perseverace the
race marked out for us. Let us
fix our eyes on Jesus, the author
well-known gospel groups this
year. WCON radio personality,
Danny O’Day and April Reed
will be emceeing the show.
Featured performers, in addition
to Swayne and Song Masters are:
The Merediths, The Melody Trio
and Troy Burns. The St. John’s
Baptist Choir and Youth Choir
will be performing for the first
time. And what’s sure to be a
treat the children from
V Rev. Herb
JSL Flanders
and perfecter of our faith, who
for thejJoy set before him
endured the cross, scorning its
shame, and set down at the
right hand of the throne of
God.” (Hebrews 12:172, NTV)
We owe a debt to those who
have already crossed the river
and who laid a foundation of
faith arid love for us through
their deeds of righteousness and
commitment. Their example
should inspire and encourage us
to do and be our best, to never
quit, to go for the gold. And the
greatest way to repay that debt
is to live in such away as to be
an example, a shining light) for
the next generation. Think of
the inspiration that Hiroyasu
Shimizu can be to millions of
Japanese boys and girls, think
of the inspiration that you and I
can be for the little ones around
us and for those yet to come.
Go for the Gold!
Herb Flanders in the pastor of
Lanier United Methodist
Church, located on Hwy. 20,
3/5 miles east of Ga. 400.
Challenged Child will be per
forming a special song for the
enjoyment of the audience.
For more information, call
(770)535-8372.
Challenged Child Inc... and
friends is a non-profit therapeu
tic center dedicated to the needs
of children with disabilities and
developmental delays and their
families across Northeast
Georgia.
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