Newspaper Page Text
‘Cirque Dreams’
Jungle Fantasy
to kick off new
Broadway series
N orth Georgia resi
dents are so fortunate
to live close enough to
Atlanta to experience first-class
Broadway performances. A new
Broadway series, the Atlanta
Broadway
Series, will
give us even
more enter
tainment
choices.
The new
series will
kick off Dec.
30 through
Jan. 4 when
“Cirque
angela
gary
Dreams’
Jungle Fantasy” will be performed
at the Cobb Energy Performing
Arts Centre in Atlanta. I haven’t
visited this venue yet and am look
ing forward to checking it out.
Direct from Broadway, “Cirque
Dreams’ Jungle Fantasy’ is inspired
by nature’s unpredictable creations
that are brought to life by an inter
national cast of 28 soaring aerial-
ists, spine-bending contortionists,
acrobats, jugglers and musicians.
The astounding feats are enhanced
with over 150 spectacular costumes
and set in a fantastical jungle
ignited by striking visual effects.
“From the breathtaking aerial
ballet of butterflies to the balanc
ing giraffes, gigantic flowers and
trees, this world-class explosion of
athleticism, theatre and imagination
will exhilarate the entire family,”
organizers state. “In the ongoing
tradition of extravagant touring
shows, Neil Goldberg and Cirque
Productions continue to blend
European artistry with circus and
Broadway theatrics in a dramatic
fashion that transcends imagina
tion and leaves its narration to the
eyes of the beholder making this
production a Broadway first.”
Performances are Tuesdays
through Fridays at 8 p.m.,
Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.,
and Sundays at 1 p.m. and
6:30 p.m. An audio described
performance for the visually
impaired and an American Sign
Language-interpreted perfor
mance for the deaf are available
for each pre-determined Saturday
matinee of each presentation.
To order tickets online, go to
www.cobbenergycentre.com.
Reservations for groups of 20 or
more for individual shows can be
made by calling 404-881-2000.
The production is part
of the first season of the
Atlanta Broadway Series.
“We are proud to kick off the
new Atlanta Broadway Series
with such high-caliber content,”
comments Stephanie Parker, vice
president of the series. “Bringing
these beloved Broadway hits to
metro-Atlanta audiences is a natu
ral progression now that the Atlanta
region features such a spectacular
new performing arts facility.”
The 2008-2009 season of the
Atlanta Broadway series includes:
•’’Hairspray,” Jan. 13-18. It’s
1962, and pleasantly plump
Baltimore teen Tracy Tumblad
has only one desire - to dance on
the popular Corny Collins Show.
When her dream comes true, Tracy
is transformed from social outcast
to sudden star, but she must use
her newfound power to vanquish
the reigning Teen Queen, win
the affections of heartthrob Link
Larkin and integrate a TV net
work - all without denting her ‘do!
Broadway’s musical-comedy phe
nomenon inspired a major motion
picture and won eight 2003 Tony
Awards, including Best Musical.
•Monty Python’s “Spamalot,”
March 16-22. Winner of the 2005
Tony Award for Best Musical,
Monty Python’s Spamalot is the
outrageous new musical comedy
lovingly ripped off from the film
classic “Monty Python and The
Holy Grail.” Directed by Tony
Award-winner Mike Nichols, with
a book by Eric Idle and music
and lyrics by the Grammy Award
winning team of Mr. Idle and John
Du Prez, Spamalot tells the tale
of King Arthur and his Knights of
the Round Table as they embark
on their quest for the Holy Grail.
Flying cows, killer rabbits, taunt
ing Frenchmen and show-stopping
musical numbers are just a few
of the reasons audiences every
where are eating up Spamalot.
For more information on
the 2008-2009 Season, or
to order online,go to www.
cobbenergycentre.com.
Angela Gary is an editor with
MainStreet Newspapers. She can be
reached at AngieEditor@aol.com.
INSIDE: A look at CASA from the judges’ perspective — page 2C
December 31,
2008
0 The Jackson Herald
JR MMicfe
Jana Adams Mitcham,
Features Editor 706-367-8760
jana@mainstreetnews. com
Section C
“What was the real reason Doc Holliday left Georgia ? Why in fact did Doc Holliday abandon his beloved
Georgia, never to return? What were all the circumstances that drove him west, and on to become a
western legend? Discover the amazing truth in this incredible revelation of his life in Atlanta ”
— back cover excerpt from Why Doc Holliday Left Georgia
Book explores possible link between Jackson County
Hollidays and flight of Western legend Doc Holliday
WSitfthill S.reuL. narL'h t'cvim AlaLdUii Silosc, ora mod Ok Huh efmc Mimirj. Q prafcshLj
Jimtln’l char j^il niirdi frotd Ull tlBlfl Dot vtfas [IICLC. POSltud Kpirh
Q By Jana A. Mitcham
UESTION: DID former dentist Doc Holliday flee West in
1873 after retaliating for the murder of a Jackson County
man, J.R. Holliday, and then become a legendary gunfighter?
Was he, in fact, related to the Jackson County Hollidays, and did his
involvement in avenging the killing of kin act as catalyst for his hasty
departure to Texas and, later, to his involvement with Wyatt Earp at the
O.K. Corral shootout at Tombstone, Ariz., in 1881? Did a long-standing
Jackson County feud overlap into Holliday’s family and result in more
death?
This is the premise posed by Gene Carlisle in Why Doc Holliday Left
Georgia. The Macon-based author has researched the life of John Henry
“Doc” Holliday, as well as the lives and murders of two brothers, J.R.
( Jeremiah Robert) and F.M. (Francis) Holliday of Jackson County in the
years of Ku Klux Klan violence following the Civil War.
Carlisle cites records that say that Doc Holliday’s family, descendents
of William Holliday Sr., an Irish immigrant, “appear to be of a different
family” than the Jackson County Hollidays. However, he notes that a
single brother of William Sr., who also immigrated from Ireland, could
be Jeremiah Holliday, patriarch of the Jackson County Hollidays.
“.. .use of the word APPEAR leaves room for doubt,” Carlisle writes.
“The two neighboring Holliday families could be intimately related.
Carlisle says there is “a widely accepted probability that Doc exited
Atlanta for Dallas, Texas, in early September of 1873. But why did he
leave?...The details surrounding twenty-two year-old John Henry ‘Doc’
Holliday’s departure from Georgia are obscure.”
So Carlilse’s story of murder and vengeance begins.
KLAN VIOLENCE, FEUDING
After a two-year war between the Ku Klux Klan of Jackson County
and the two Holliday brothers, J.R. and F.M. — during which time J.R.
testified against the klan and had his cotton mill burned — J.R. Holliday
was shot down in his field on June 16, 1873, by a klan “posse” and cor
rupt sheriff. F.M. Holliday was later murdered in 1899, years after Doc
Holliday’s death. J.R. Holliday and his wife, Elizabeth, are buried in
the Holliday Cemetery, in Barrow County, in what was once a part of
Jackson County. J.R.’s grave is unmarked although a surveyor listed him
as “known to be buried here.”
Whether Doc Holliday had a hand in the murder of two or three men
whose names were on the arrest list for the harassment and murder of
J.R. Holliday is not resolved, but Carlisle views that as a possibility.
He also suggests that Doc Holliday played a hand in the sudden illness
and death of a Jackson County native W.R. Venable, who campaigned
against Doc Holliday’s uncle. Dr. John S. Holliday for Fulton County
clerk of Superior Court.
‘ This was a transplanted Jackson County war; a decades-long Venable/
Holliday conflict (dating back to the early 1800s)...” Carlilse wrote.
Doc Holliday was already scheduled to travel to Dallas to work as a
dentist with a former Georgian, and Carlisle suggests that he took the
opportunity to perhaps poison Venable before leaving the state.
At the time of J.R. Holliday’s murder. Doc Holliday was working at an
Atlanta dental practice. He was bom and raised in Griffin and Valdosta,
and had graduated from dental school in Philadelphia. During his brief
stint in Atlanta, he may have been heavy into gambling and drinking in
the Whitehall District, Carlilse wrote, and possibly also fled the state in
the aftermath of a ruined dental career. Other accounts have it that he
traveled west to seek a cure in the drier climate for “consumption.”
VIOLENT COUNTY HISTORY
Whether or not Doc Holliday did indeed commit revenge murder in
Jackson County and as a part of a long-standing feud with roots in the
county is not absolutely proven in Carlisle’s book.
However, the historical research, the newspaper accounts and the court
transcripts included therein reveal a great deal about Jackson County,
Ga., in the post-Civil War era.
In the 1870s, the Ku Klux Klan remained powerful, despite the Ku
Klux Klan Act of 1871, which allowed heavy penalties to be imposed
upon the organization. During that time, klan activities were frequently
continued on page 2C
Holliday Family Cemetery:
1321 Holliday Drive. N.E., Winder. GA
“Extensive acreage that was formerly Jackson County is today Barrow
County, including the wrought iron-enclosed plot atop ‘the brow of a little hill’
where J.R. (Holliday) fell. The Holliday plot is now on private property near
the intersection of GA 211 and Double Bridges Road.”
—from Barrow County, Georgia Cemeteries (2000)
A HGRHIBLE MIU
NEAR JEFFE
Ofd Man F, M. Holliday Brutally
ftlS SKULL WAS CKO SHED
ATTIENR TlANNTR; IVtCiJlhtl LJlli, IJJSB. J.R.A hniLher killed,
Mr, Frank Holliday Killa<f.
A murder was committed in Jackson
county Saturday mcrnine which
thrtrtJtlsjiily Arouned thtj people, Mr,
Frank Holliday, a wralthy oitiznn, was
brained with an ax as ho wm preparing
hlfl breakfast in hiB kitchen. The body
was discovered early Saturday moruS^g
and the news rapidly spread over the
county, A man by the name ot
Lavender was arrested Saturday after
noon and placed in JofTemou Jail,
charged with the crime, but he stoutly
protests his innocence. Mr, Holliday
was well known to many peopte in
Gainesville^
t iE■:(! E? f.i r.i 1 . CRACKER: DcojniLiuj 1 frlli, liGEL
Artiest op Cjtueh« op Jackjrjw Count*.
This morning the following citizen* of Jack
ijon county were brought tip rto the Unltcdi
Stales* District Conn room, viz: Green Martin,
Janie* Finch, Jack Finch, Henry Finch,
Matt Finch, Jack Henry, James Haney,
George Haney, Ezekiel Patrick, lllclmrdsdn
Lay and Joaeph Jones, They were arrested
by United States Deputy Mamhal, ^nrnes
Sklfcffl. 'The Charge against them [js that on
the night of the 24th of July last, they made
a murderous assault upon one J. R, Holliday,
It said that It wus a hard light and that
Holliday killed two of bln assailants,
ATLANTA CONSTITUTION: October 16th, 1871.
Roundup by U.S. Deputy Mursh^l JamciSklles.