Newspaper Page Text
Book highlights Forsyth County’s past
By Alton bridges
Staff Writer
One of the characteristics
the people who have lived in
north Georgia for generations
is the pride they take in their
community and family. One of
the quickest ways to get these
people upset is to say some
thing bad about their neighbors
or community.
One of the first persons I
got to know when I moved to
Forsyth County was Winnie
Tallant. The pride she has in
Forsyth County, her family and
community is reflected is most
everything she does. Every
year for the past few years, I
have written articles about the
annual camp meeting at
Holbrook Campground. When
we make a mistake, she is the
first to call. She is always
pleasant, but she does have her
facts straight. Just knowing
that she may call will inspire
me to check and recheck the
facts of a story. I have appreci
ated her help and advice.
A few years ago, she and
others decided it was impor
tant to have a history about
Holbrook Campground and
they wrote it. The book is pop
ular with the people who are
interested in the campground
and local history. The book
that I am sure will be used as a
reference and revised for many
generations in the future.
A few months ago, she
decided to write a book about
events she and her family and
neighbors experienced through
the years. The book is filled
with anecdotes and stories that
tell how people lived in north
Georgia before the days of
computers, fancy government
buildings and fast cars. Every
page is filled with the love and
pride that she has for the area
and the people who are a part
of her life.
“Winnie’s Anthology: A
Journey Back in Time” is filled
with stories she recalls in no
particular sequence or order.
These are stories she tells
about her family and friends.
The book is filled with scrip
tures that will help to inspire
us and wise comments that
will help us learn.
Os her life, she said,
“We’ve lived through farming
days of walking behind mule
drawn plows to driving air
conditioned tractors. We’ve
gone from milking a cow and
churning butter to having pas
teurized milk delivered daily to
our door.”
She tells of the Brambletts
coming to the colonies from
England or Ireland and settling
in Virginia in 1743. She tells
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about the Haygoods coming to
Charles City County, Va. and,
in 1659, Francis Haygood
received a patent for approxi
mately 50 acres of Virginia
land. The Holbrooks came
from England to this country
seeking religious freedom and
the Reverend John Holbrook
settled in Salem, New Jersey
then Northampton, Virginia
before moving to Forsyth
County.
The Tallant family came to
the Colonies and settled early.
John Tallant was a Revolu
tionary War soldier.
While Winnie was growing
up, almost everyone had
clothes made at home. She
describes her mother as an out
standing seamstress who
entered a dressmaking contest
and was chosen to represent
Forsyth County in the District
Contest in Athens, Georgia,
where she placed third. The
book has a picture of her
mother and the dress.
Almost every family in the
county had a garden, milked
their own cow and harvested
and ground their own flour and
corn meal. The fall of the year
was syrup making and hog
killing time. She describes
these events and the problems
her family had killing the hogs
the only time they tried.
Monday was “wash day” in
early Forsyth County. Washing
clothes was not so simple
before washing machines, run
ning water and hot water
heaters.
“Water was drawn from the
well to fill the pot. Bed
clothes, overalls, and heavy
work clothes were boiled in
the pot of soapy water. Every
home had a stump from a tree
or a cut from a huge log near
the wash place. Clothes were
removed from the pot, placed
on a stump and instead of
scrubbing, they were beat with
a battling stick and then rinsed
with cold water. Other clothes
were scrubbed by hand using
homemade lye soap. Most
days, blood was oozing from
our fingers before the day was
over.”
Winnie tells us of many
events that took place in her
lifetime and where she was
when the Japanese attacked
Pearl Harbor, President John
Kennedy was shot, the
Challenger blew up and the
Persian War began.
She reminds us of the early
days of the automobile without
a fuel pump and the problems
with muddy roads. She re
members the time (1948)
Georgia had three governors.
She tells the story of an outlaw
named Forrest Turner and of
his trips through Forsyth
County. Later Turner became
one of the most influential per
sons in Georgia’s prison
reform movement. Turner was
known as a car thief and for
robbing small stores. He was
pardoned in 1949 and in his
later years, lived in Cherokee
County.
Near the end of the book,
she tells of various readings
that she has kept through the
years. In December 1931,
Winston Churchill was struck
by a car as he crossed Fifth
Avenue in New York City.
Two years later an assas
sin’s bullet just missed
President Roosevelt killing the
man beside him. Seven years
later, these two cousins were
forced into war together
against the Axis.
The chapter “Just for Fun”
is filled with poems and stories
she has collected and remem
bered. Also, on June 15, 1956,
the 1941 class of Cumming
High School held a homecom
ing with the “Approximate
cost of dinner sl.”
In May 1896, “The Ladies’
Home Journal” cost 10 cents
and was filled with advertise
ments by “Bloomingdale
Bros., Proprietors of “Greater
New York’s Greatest Store ...
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Your mail orders will be
attended to promptly, care
fully and well.”
A surah silk waist in black
only cost $3.13 and a ladies’
fine Swiss scalloped embroi
dered handkerchief were 12.5
cents each.
In 1902, Sears, Roebuck
and Company sold ladies’ red
crocus slippers for just 29
cents and a summer corset for
just 25 cents. Men’s suits were
$5.50 and ladies’ hats were
$1.50.
“Winnie’s Anthology: A
Journey Back in Time” is the
type of book every family
should write for their children
and grandchildren, their
friends and neighbors and for
the people who will enjoy
Holbrook Campground, Plea
sant Grove Methodist Church
and Forsyth County 100 years
from now. Too many stories
and events have been lost
because no one took the time
to write them down. Ms.
Winnie Tallant took the time
and we are all richer because
she did.
The book cost $lO, plus
$2.50 postage, and the net pro
ceeds go to the Pleasant Grove
United Methodist Church
Building Fund.
The book can be ordered
from her at (770) 887-4298.
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, August 19,2001
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