Newspaper Page Text
Page 2A, The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, September 7, 2005
Soldiers’ Healing Field In
Albany September 9-11
The Southwest Georgia
Exchange Club will host a
Soldiers’ Healing Field Sep
tember 9-11. The Soldiers’
Healing Field will be located
on the grassed area between
The Albany Mall and will
face Outback Steak House.
Three feet by five feet
American Flags will be
posted in memory of Ameri
can servicemen and women
who have paid the ultimate
sacrifice or in honor of any
person serving in the military.
The Southwest Georgia Ex
change Club of Albany along
with the Children at Risk
Foundation, Inc. (CAR) is
taking on this project in order
to present a unique opportu
nity for the local community
to honor the nation’s fallen
heroes and those serving in
harm’s way while at the same
time seeing the enormity of
America’s losses.
The Healing Field will be
erected throughout the day on
September 8.
The Healing Field will be
open Friday and Saturday with
special events throughout the
day. A formal ceremony will
be held beginning at 2:00 p.m.
on Sunday, September 11 to
dedicate the field.
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RICK MUGGRIDGE
439-0590
1148 DAWSON ROAD, ALBANY
Submitted Photo
The South West Georgia Silent Singers, of Lee County, Dougherty County,
Dawson and Sylvester were at Turner Field having a moment of fun before
synchronizing their hands using American Sign Language to sign the National
Anthem to a crowd of 30,000 plus at an Atlanta Braves Game August 14th.
Ramon J. Fajardo
Best Childhood Friends
-Attorney At Law
Now located in Leesburg
101-A Pecan Avenue
Leesburg, GA 31763
759-6641
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Divorce, Workers Compensation and Criminal Defense
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Special to the Ledger
Born only four months apart,
Charles Sanders Lee and Wil
liam Paul Forrester became
best friends at an early age.
Charles was born on October
2, 1908 and Paul was born
a few months later on Janu
ary 27, 1909. The Lees and
Forresters were early settlers
in south Georgia and were
known throughout the area
as two of the most prominent
and respected families in Lee
County.
Charles was the son of Judge
E.B. Lee, a leading merchant
and planter in Lee County. He
was born into a large family
with four sisters and six broth
ers. Paul’s father, Richard A.
Forrester, was a well-known
farmer who also served Lee
County as tax collector and
as a member of the Board of
County Commissioners. Paul
was the youngest son of this
large family and he also had
six older brothers and two
older sisters.
Charles and Paul grew up
only two blocks from each
other near the old two story
county jail located just east
of Starksville Street on East
Main Street (Ashburn High-
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way). They started school
together and were members of
the Calloway memorial Baptist
Church. On a regular basis,
they also attended the Baptist
Sunday school together. In
fact, they were students in the
same classes throughout their
school days and graduated
from Lee County High School
in the class of “26”. Each
boy was smart, ambitious and
had many friends, but it was
Charles who finished first in
his class in
1926.
After gradu
ation from
High School,
Paul attended
the University
of Georgia
and worked
as a traveling
salesman for
the Thorn
ton Brothers
of Albany.
Charles
worked
in a man
ager-training
program for
South Georgia Power Com
pany and by all accounts, was
making a good impression on
the leadership of the company.
The two boys grew up dur
ing some interesting times
in Leesburg. The city was
growing and roads were being
paved, water lines were being
installed and electrical power
was on the way. They enjoyed
baseball, fishing, hunting and
other activities typical for their
time. With six brothers each,
they almost had enough to
field their own baseball team.
Most likely, they were also
protective of their sisters. At
family gatherings, Christmas
and other holidays were busy
times, full of custom and tradi
tion. The two large families
were friends and shared many
special occasions together
over the years.
After High School, the boys
had gone separate ways, but
remained close friends and
shared most of their free time
together.
On Friday
afternoon,
February
17th, Paul
traveled
home from
the Uni
versity of
Georgia
to visit his
parents, his
brothers
and sisters.
Charles
remained
in Leesburg
and still
lived with
his parents while working
with the Power Company.
Late Saturday afternoon, Feb
ruary 18th, Charles and Paul
got into their car and headed
down the Old Dixie Highway
(U.S. 19) to Albany for a typi
cal weekend outing with their
friends.
It was about midnight when
they returned to Leesburg,
parked their car, and went into
the Train Depot to visit with
Mrs. Olga Harvey, the night
operator. Passenger trains
were very active on the Cen
tral of Georgia line and the
depot was required to be open
24 hours a day. It was also at
the depot where you could get
warm on a cold winter night
because a potbelly stove was
always burning during the
winter months. Officer H. D.
Logan, the city’s night mar
shal was also at the depot that
night getting warm from his
security rounds in Leesburg.
The small frame depot, only
a few feet from the tracks,
shook loudly as the fast mov
ing, southbound Seminole,
passed on its way to Albany
and further south to Florida.
It was 12:45 a.m. and after
some small talk with Mrs.
Harvey and Officer Logan,
Paul and Charles got into
their car to head home, across
the tracks, on the east side of
town. The new Lee County
Courthouse, finished in 1918,
was also located on the east
side of town. Most likely,
because of the night air and
cool temperatures, the win
dows in the car were fogged
and visibility was poor. Also,
the crossing, at that time,
was next to the Depot, on
the south side, and visibility
looking north was somewhat
blocked by the building. As
the car crossed the tracks, it
was hit by the southbound
Dixie Flyer moving along at
60 miles per hour. Mrs. Har
vey and Officer Logan marked
the time; it was 12:50 a.m.
Sunday morning, February
19th. Train traffic typically
ran on a tight schedule, and
normally, the Dixie Flyer ran
ahead of the Seminole, but
on this early morning, it was
running about 20 minutes late
and was four to five minutes
behind the other train.
Of course, with the train
moving so fast, the small car
was completely demolished
and the two best childhood
friends were killed instantly.
The Dixie Flyer’s engineer,
Charlie Burns, stopped as
quickly as possible, more than
a mile south of the depot, but
it was too late. Some passen
gers and crewmembers, along
with Mrs. Harvey and Officer
Logan tried to render aid, but
nothing could be done for the
two boys. Of course at the
time, there were no emergen
cy services, so an ambulance
from Albany was called and
took the boys to the Albany
Undertaking Company.
As the morning broke that
Sunday, and as the tragic news
spread through the area, the
citizens of the small town
of Leesburg were shocked.
The two prominent Leesburg
families now shared in their
grief for the lose of Charles
and Paul. By late afternoon,
the families of the two boys
had received telegrams, by
the dozens, of sympathy and
condolences from all over
the area. The funeral was
planned for Monday, Febru
ary 20th at 3:00 p.m. at the
Baptist Church where the boys
and their large families had
spent so many of their Sun-
seeTrain,
Page 4A
Charles Sanders Lee
October 2,1908-February 19,1928
“Victim of a Train, but a Child of God”
William Paul Forrester
William Paul Forrester
January 27,1909-February 19,1928