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EARLY COUNTY NEWS, THURSDAY MAR. 19, 1970 EARLY COUNTY NEWS Official Organ of Blakely and Early County BLAKELY, GEORGIA 31723 W. H. FLEMING PUBLISHER-EDITOF W. W. (BILLY) FLEMING BUSINESS MANAGER PaMtahed Every Thursday By the Early Coaaty News. Entered at the Post Office in Blakely, Ga., as Second Class matter under Act of March 3,1873. SUBSCRIPTION RATES One Year-43.09 Six Montli—»2.o« ADVERTISING RATES AU cards of thanks, memorials, resolutions and matters of similar nature are charged for at a minimum of |I.M for 50 words or less. Other rates furnished upon application. Classified Rate— 25 words or less 75c. Each additional word 3c One time insertion. -MEMBER— GEORGIA PRESS ASSOCIATION NATIONAL PRESS ASSOCIATION MARVIN GRIFFIN At STONE MOUNTAIN GEORGIA Speech of Former Governor S. Marvin Griffin at the Unveiling of the Bronze Plaque at Stone Mountain State Park, March 8,1970 at 2:00 p.m. MR. CHAIRMAN, YOUR EXCELLENCY, THE GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA, MEMBERS OF THE STONE MOUNTAIN MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION, PAST AND PRESENT, YOUR FAMILIES, OTHER DISTINGUISHED GEORGIANS AND VISITORS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AND MY FELLOW GEORGIANS: This is indeed a happy day for me and for the members of my family, and I know it is also a memorable and a happy day for millions of Georgians. I want to thank our distinguished Governor, the Honorable Lester Maddox, for both the kindness and the genorosity of his introduction of me on this great occasion. This is the day Georgians have looked forward to for more than a half century. It is a fulfillment of a dream of at least three generations of Georgians who worked painstakingly, and at times with discouraging frustration, to properly develop this great monolith into a Confederate Memorial, and a State Park for all to enjoy. On May 20, 1916, exercises dedicating Stone Mountain as a memorial to the Southern Con federacy were held at the base of the mountain near the perpendicular wall of the eastern side. An address was delivered by the late Judge Emory Speer, and a speech was made by Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor. This was the beginning of an effort, partly carried out, to carve on the side of the mountain gigantic figures of General Robert E. Lee and General Stonewall Jackson. I find that on this occasion the late Forrest Adair was master of ceremonies and presented to the audience of approximately 5,000 General A. J. West, a Confederate veteran, who introduced Judge Speer. Following these exercises in 1916 many others became interested in the construction of the monument, and an association was formed for that purpose. This association raised large sums of money which was largely spent in carving by Mr. Borglum. Dissension arose because the association dismissed Mr. Borglum on the ground that he had failed to carry out his contract and Mr. Borglum destroyed his models, which the association claimed to have paid for. Another sculptor, Augustus Lukeman, was employed to complete the design, but there was some criticism of his work and criticism of the association on the ground that it had wasted money. For that reason the work stopped. Later the Legislature created a monument commission composed of the Governor, the aa a a a a o o o o o oo ooaaoooooq j MANRY-JORDAN : i FUNERAL HOME £ Established 1937 □ * o : 313 S. Maia St. Phoa* 723-4200 : BLAKELY, GEORGIA We Serve : ’ O ; Any Insurance Policy • Agut For UaitW Family Life ißsaroaca Co. ULAJUL«JUUUUIJLILaJUIJUUUUU^^ Mayor of Atlanta and three others to be ap pointed by the Governor. About that time the depression came on, and no work was done on the monument or the park for nearly three decades. It was a long period of heartbreak and disappointment. An entire new generation of Georgians was born, and grew to maturity looking upon the unfinished carving on the face of this mountain as a living example of the failure of a great people to build a suitable monument to the courage, to the devotion to duty, and the sacrifice and deprivation of the heroes of the Confederacy. It was the English philosopher, William Hazlitt, who wrote so poignantly: “They only deserve a monument who do not need one; that is, who have raised themselves a monument in the minds and memories of men”. That quotation was of little comfort to the rank and file of Georgians, and countless hosts of people throughout the Southland, who believed that the great work at Stone Mountain should and must be completed. For nearly thirty years I had occasion to pass this mountain, and I never came down the high way that I did not have to turn my head away from the unfinished skeleton of the work here at the mountain. Like countless other Georgians, I felt shame at our shortcomings, and remem bering a quotation from Joseph Joubert that “Monuments are the grappling-irons that bind one generation to another”, I was determined to do something about the completion of the work at Stone Mountain if I ever had an opportunity to do so, and that opportunity came when I took the oath as Governor in January of 1955. I was determined that my generation, the new one in the making, and all generations to follow in our great state would have a grappling-iron, a symbol, if you please, that would bind Georgians down through the ages to the glorious history of our Confederate forbears, and our children and our children’s children would have this symbol in the building of a great Confederate Memorial on the face of this granite mountain. It has been done. So mote it be. There were times, even then, when the proper development of this great God-given resource remained in doubt. I called upon the General Assembly to authorize me to condemn the property in the public interest, and acquire the property for the state in fee simple. The General Assembly did this, but there were some who were still con vinced the Stone Mountain property should not be bought by the state. Finally, in January of 1958 I called upon the General Assembly not to just “authorize” me to procure Stone Mountain for the state, but to “direct me” to acquire Stone Mountain, even if I had to exercise the right of eminent domain. The General Assembly moved immediately to comply with my request, and I notified the At torney General to begin condemnation proceedings. At this time, the state had an “offer to buy” the Stone Mountain property for $1,100,000, and after being properly appraised by competent authorities, the state bought the mountain proper from a private group. At this time, DeKalb County gave a 400 acre tract of land to the State of Georgia, and this generosity on the part of DeKalb County should not go unnoticed or unrewarded. The General Assembly of 1958 created the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, and you are well aware of the progress that has been made here at the mountain during the past 12 years. The Stone Mountain Memorial Association has done an excellent and an outstanding job, and should receive the highest commendations from the people of our state. The members of the Association have rendered a full measure of devotion to this great project. I feel that I would be negligent in the responsibility placed in me if I were to conclude my remarks here this afternoon without thanking those who worked with such deter mination in years past to make the development of Stone Mountain a reality. I shall always be grateful for the unselfish devotion of the Honorable Scott Candler and the help that he and others in DeKalb County gave to the purchase of Stone Mountain, and the proper development of its resources. To them, and to all those who had a part in making this project possible, I say “thank you” for a job well done. We were 54 years properly developing our great God-given resources on a mountain of stone that has been here in Georgia for millions of years. What we have done here will remain for a thousand years to the credit of those who had enough vision and faith to get the job done. Thank you. 1077^^ 7 x x HOW OLD IS THE EARTH? No om> knows. The most widely accepted scientific guess, based on a study of radioactive materials, is that the earth is about 5 billion years old! 25 Years Ago (From the issue or Mar. 22, 1945.) EIGHTEEN Early county men were sent the past Friday to Fort McPherson for Induction into the army. Clerk of die Draft Board C. M. Dunning has announced. They are: Bob R. Houston, who failed to pass the physical exa mination and has returned to Blakely, William A. Hall, Jr., Henry G Wiley, Andrew J. White, John Chester Houston, Vester White, Joseph G Spence, Span Duke, Joseph B. Revells, Oscar B. G Jordan, Paul F. Eldridge, Floyd G Hearn, Davis S. Pyle, Thomas J. Spurling, Felix E. Batson, Irving R. Rehberg, Jack G Garrett, Clifford Smith, Billy O. Batchelor. MACON, GA. — Coach Bill Geer saw his Damascus sextet cop the first girls state C bas ketball title here tonight with a 43 to 31 win over Broxton, while his brother, Walter suf fered the first defeat in three years when Hartwell eased his Colquitt stage stars out of the B division title to the tune of 25 to 34. •••• DEATH claimed a prominent and highly-esteemed citizen of Blakely and native Early countian Tuesday morning when Homer Ed Minter died suddenly at his home on River street from a heart attack at 9;45 o'clock. PRIVATE John Moseley has been wounded in action while ser ving with the famed 4th Marines on Iwo Jima Island, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Moseley, have learned. His wounds were described as "slight”. JOHN A PIPKIN, U. Su Navy, recently wrote his mother, Mrs. F, W. Pipkin, that he had met qp with her brother, William J. Bethea, of the Army, who has been overseas for a year. Neither of them had seen anyone from home since going overseas. A DELIGHTFUL program of Irish songs, appropriate because of the nearness of St. Patrick’s Day, featured last week’s meet ing of the Blakely Rotary Club, held Friday at noon. The singer was Mrs. Wand Bennett, the former Miss Betty Walker, of Fort Gaines. *••• MR. WILL ROBINSON, native and former resident of Blakely, died at the home of a daughter in Escambia, Mich., on February 20, his sister, Mrs. R. W. Da vis, of this city, was recently notified. MR. AND MRS. Arthur Creel announce the birth of a son, Da vid Clarke, at Holland’s Hospi tal, on March 14. **** ■SGT. HARRY B. ("Sunshine”) Grier, of the U. S. Marine Corps, San Diego, Calif., spent several days in Blakely -the past week visiting friends and relatives. *•** STAFF Sergeant Bill Sanders is currently in Blakely visiting his mother, Mrs. Oscar Sanders, following eight months of ser vice overseas. Sgt. Sanders served as a waist-gunner on a B-17 bomber based in Italy and completed 50 missions. 50 Years Ago (From the issue of Mar. 18, 1920.) FRIENDS regret to know that Mr. Herbert Fort is on the sick list this week. **•* MR. AND MR£ J. □. Smith announce the birth of a son on Wednesday, March 17. MESSRS. L. G Hobbs, E. A. Evans and O. B. Hudspeth at tended a hog sale in Albany TYiesday. •••* PROF. Z. L FITZPATRICK, of Madison who some thirty years ago taught school In Blakely, was in the city Monday night en route home from a visit to Flo rida. ***• MR. H. F. WILLIS, of Barnes ville, is in the city on a visit to his son, Mr. T. L. Willis, and looking after business interests here. MR. J. J. SMITH was down from Albany last week to spend a day or two with relatives. *••• MRS. BERNARD HERRING, who has been in a Dothan Hos pital for some time, returned home last night. Friends are glad to know that her condition is Improved. This Week by 'Tige’ Pickle Don’t look nows But I do believe that 1 see faint signs that haircuts are coming back in style. •••* The horse and buggy had its draw-backs, but Old Dobbin never got a parking ticket for staying too long at the same hitching post. Job had patience, I know, and he kept the faith, but then he never had arthritis, either. 75 Years Ago (From the issue of Mar. 21, 1895.) COL. ARTHUR G POWELL is in Atlanta this week. MR. J. T. JAY, of Hilton, was in Blakely Monday. MR. R. H. BOSTWICK, of Ar lington, was a visitor here this week. CAPT. E. HlLTONwasupfrom the Station last Saturday. •••• THE PUBLIC ROADS are in a distressingly bad condition, which makes a buggy trip any thing but pleasant. •••• MR. GW. JAMES has com menced the erection of his re sidence on College street. •••• MR. P. Q DuBOSE went over to Fort Gaines this week to be examined for admission to the bar. MESSRS. L. E. Black and W. L. Elder are both having their dwel lings freshly painted. THE FERRY at Columbia has been Impassable for 10 days. The cable wire is broken and it may be 10 days more before it is fixed. »»** THE Chattahoochee river has been so high that the boats have not been able to travel for a week past. It is falling now and steam ers will soon resume their tri weekly trips. ... SERVE SO MANY PURPOSES! ftw things can serve so many purposes on a fam! We're speaking of — — bank savings that are safe yet readily available, and grow with interest, • earned. Sore hero regularly and you'll save more . . . hove spare when you want ar need it most! YOUR DEPENDABLE HOME TOWN BANK MEMBER FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATiON FDIC First State Bank —■-.■■wii.hZ of Blakely "You’re Always First at First State" Letter to the Editor Dear Hoyle: We are greatly enjoying the "old timer” pictures you have been running recently. In the February 26 issue, which came :oday, 1 was amazed to see the 6th grade with me a the lower right, next to John Underwood. I had never seen that picture, though our folks generally bought all the pictures with us kids in them. John Underwood and I were a little out of our league that year because Miss Fleda Barksdale, our 3rd and 4th grade teacher, decided we should skip sth grade. We could handle the school work all right, but we (at least I) were much below the other kids phy siologically and socially. The other boys had already discover ed that girls were something dif ferent from soft boys; they were interested in keeping company and in carrying,on conversations that made llttfe sense to me. Our local daily for several years has been running old pic tures captioned either "If you St. Patrick, whose day we ob served on Tuesday, is reputed to have driven the snakes out of Ireland. What a job he would have in the United States today. Two legged snakes, I mean. *♦»» This country is going to al ways have its troubles as long as one-half of the people complain about over-weight, and the other half complain about being under fed. ♦♦♦* The Supreme Court has over looked one main problem of the schools. It hasn’t found a place for the students to park their cars. The following article which first appeared in the Ohio Legion News, and which was given to me by Mrs. Huey Johnson, is pur ported to be some of the "Com munists Rules For Revolution”, and was obtained by the Allied Forces in Duseldorf, Germany, in 1919, fifty one years ago. Read it and compare the Red rules with what is happening in our nation today. It is frigh tening. A. Corrupt the young; get them away from religion. Get them interested in sex. Make them superficial; destroy their ruggedness. B. Get control of all means of publicity, thereby: 1. Get peoples minds off their government by focusing attention on athletics, sexy books and plays and other trivialities. 2. Divide the people in hos tile groups by constantly harp ing on controversial matters of no importance. 3. Destroy the people’s faith in their natural leaders by hold- F* # * THE SMALLEST OF ALU DOGS IS THE CHIHUAHUA FROM MEXICO- HE OFTEN WEIGHS AS LITTLE AS TWO POUNDS . Two Texas oilmen walked into a Cad illac agency and one picked out a sedan that caught his eye. As he started to reach for his wallet, his friend said, "Let me get this. After all, you bought the lunch." remember tills, you’re an old timer” or "Do you remember?" Also every Saturday there is a picture feature called "Pioneer Profile.” I was the subject in an issue last summer.* These features are very popular here. Though I had had no contact with him in o4er 50 years, I tried to reach John Underwood by phone this afternoon. The phone people came up with three John Underwoods in Atlanta. The first was unmarried, I couldn’t reach the next number, then de cided it would be cheaper to write. Can you send me four more copies of the February 26 is sue? I want to send brother Perry one (he was in last week's picture) and also Kendrick Wo mack and a couple of others. I will enclose sl. Whatever’s left over put it in the collection plate Sunday. Sincerely, Roy Newton Professor Emeritus 208 Rust Avenue Big Rapids, Michigan 49307 ing the latter up to contempt, ridicule and obloquy. 4. Always preach true de mocracy, but seize power as fast and as ruthless as possible. 5. By encouraging govern ment extravagances destroy its credit, produce fear of inflation with rising prices and general discontent. 6. Form necessary strikes in vital industries, encourage civil disorder and foster a len ient and soft attitude on the part of government towards such dis orders. 7. By specious argument cause the breakdown of the moral vir tues, honesty, sobriety and up rightedness in general. 8. Cause the registration of all firearms on some pretext with a view to confiscating them and leaving the population help less.