About The Georgia post. (Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 16, 2013)
JugFest: E veryone who lives in Craw ford County knows that the land is rich in clay. The dirt roads are a vibrant red orange laced with white and the his tory of the county is steeped in handmade pottery. Since the 1800s and into the 1930s Crawford County was a major center for all things pottery and many of the historical “potter” families are still around today. The families of “Jug- makers”, the Long, Mer ritt, Becham, Averett, Yaughn, Marshall, Bry ant, and Pyles families, would ship their pottery (churns, storage jars, jugs, bowls, pitchers and even chicken wa- terers and ant traps) all over the Southeast. The county’s clay is still prized today by potters from all over the state and Southeast. To celebrate the “love of mud” in Crawford Coun ty the small towns of Ro berta and Knoxville have been holding a festival for the last nine years, The Georgia Jugfest and Old Knoxville Days Festi val on the third Saturday of the month of May. Every year in the begin ning of May the towns come alive with activity, children from the high school paint the road in the town square in Ro berta and the windows of the businesses to pro claim the coming festival; pottery classes are held at the pottery museum and every building begins to get a “spring cleaning.” This year focus was put on the Old Crawford County Courthouse, where the Jugfest’s Pot tery Show will be held. With the help of two local Boy Scouts, the histori cal society has worked hard to beautify the courthouse and fix the retaining wall surround ing it in preparation for the show and for tourists visiting for the festival. Most of the proceeds from the festival go toward the preservation and renovation of this historic landmark in Crawford County and it is well on its way to be coming a beautiful tour ist attraction of which the residents of Crawford County can be proud. The weekend is all about pottery and the process by which most of the residents’ ancestors made their living. The committee has chosen one of the best in the field of pottery to teach festival goers about the history of pottery in the south, Dr. Joe Joseph. Joseph is to be the speaker for the festi vals’ annual Lunch and Learn event on Friday May 17th at the Musella Baptist Church. Reser vations are $15 each and can be made by calling 478-836-3825. The Lunch and Learn is not the only fun event to do on Fri day, there will also be the an nual Quilt show with Diane Modeling the Dye, a silent auction, and the Peaches, Pork and SoyBeans Cook-Off. Residents and festival goers will be pulling out their best recipes for Brunswick stew, peach cobbler and any kind of soybean dish to “cook it out,” for the competition to be judged in David Bailey Park right next to the Chamber of Com merce office. A new “runner” in the Jugfest this year is the Jugfest 5K and One Mile Fun Run, created by new county resident, Lariy Carpenter. Carpenter has been running for several years and felt that the Jugfest would benefit from having a road race added to its schedule of events and although a leg injury may keep him from running in the event, he hopes that the start line will be full of friendly faces on Saturday morn ing to kick off the day’s festivities. The day will be a busy one, as it has been for the last eight years. There will be a wood kiln firing demonstration by local potter Shelby West and a pottery sale. A tractor exhibit and pa rade will start at 10 a.m. and self guided tours of the historical buildings and old time crafts, dem onstrations and histori cal exhibits will be going on all day during the festival. There will be plenty of vendors selling their wares, and the historical society will be feeding the masses with the “Chick en Q” starting at 11 a.m. Entertainment will be happening all day on the stage and one of the final performances of the Air Force Reserve Band will happen that day. The band has been a favorite of Jugfest attendees, but unfortunately this year will be their last perfor mance for the festival. If you have old pottery in your home that you would like to find out more about a Pottery ID will begin at 1 p.m. and for a small donation of $2 you can find out just how precious the piece of pottery is that is gather ing dust on your shelf. If you don’t have any historic pottery, the Jugfest is the perfect place to acquire some. The pottery auction not only helps get pieces of unique pottery into the hands of avid col lectors but also helps to further renovate Ithe Old Court house. With the funds raised through Jugfest Cap the auc tion the historical so ciety hopes to turn the courthouse into a cul tural center to include the Middle Georgia Folk Pottery Museum so these pieces of history can be displayed year round for all to see. No Jugfest can be complete without the annual LawnMower Races! Rounding out the day of festivities with a race around the track just down the road from the Old Courthouse, hardcore lawnmower racers will finish the fes tival with their unique brand of Nascar, or should we say “Grass- car,” on souped up grass munchers that are tricked out and ready to race! &oorf footf Strvtrf airth a of history! Open Saturday, May 18th 7:00 am ■ 5:00 PM 277. 'ft. s4(teaue - (fa Take out Available 47Z-Z36-1Z19 35 3 Hi S \m IGPtTQ 0TS3OS a EtM? May 18, 2013 rpfrl AM l AW Gff jjfcsZE □ SUDSth <S &3SEED a ffisasfbss <23 ©SdL SPTUW7 □ HdU & a SZHto Uhm iTUma Antique Car Show, - Tractor Lawnmower Airplane Demonstration Rides & Crafts & More! Featuring The U.S. Air Force Reserve Generation Band c TRI-SPORT & WESTBERRY PROPERTIES R PUBLIC SERVICE TELEPHONE Wk THE GEORGIA POST SjARTLEY, STATE FARM INSURANCE ■Quanta sand & supply ^m&EORGIA TECHNICAL COLLEGE ■fir PROFESSIONAL GROUP 1 DICKEY FARMS : Crawford Family Medicine Elm Oak Nursery Flint Energies Georgia Power Ken Smith/Bibb Home Improvement Medical Center of Central Georgia Mid-Georgia Ambulance Mincey & Mincey Ooh-La-La Catering & BiqTQhTc Dow Chemical Company The Citizens State BanlSof Southern Rivers Energy Shelby West Poftem Mark Air Michael's Arts j&(y& Call 478-836-3825 for information or find us on the web at: www.robertacrawfordchamber.org
