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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2009
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 5A
It’s that time of year
History lesson gives insight to Braselton’s past
THIS IS not about
New Year's resolu
tions. I quit agoniz
ing over that exer
cise in futility on
December 31, 1968.
Haven’t made a
New Year's resolu
tion since; haven’t
broken one either.
It's nice, having that
guilt trip out of the
way. I don’t know
why it took me so long to
wise up.
There’s nothing wrong with
resolving to do better. But
why wait for a special day to
do it? It's like Thanksgiving -
do it when the notion strikes
you.
You wake up hacking,
coughing and wheezing at
5:13 a.m. on August 13.
That’s the time, right then
and there, to resolve to quit
smoking.
The hacking, coughing and
wheezing are exacerbated
by a terrific headache, a.k.a.
hangover. You don’t have to
wait for New Year’s Day to
quit drinking. Quit now.
There I go, letting the frus
trated preacher out again.
Like I said the other day, it's
nigh on impossible to keep
him hemmed up and quiet. I
really don’t mean to preach
to you. That’s the job (call
ing) of real preachers, and
most of the ones I know do
it quite well. If you are into
resolutions, why not resolve
to go listen to ‘em.
My, how I miss Hulon Hill!
That man not only could
preach; he could flat out fish.
He caught a lot of fish - and
men too.
But I digress. It’s easy to
go off on a tangent when
you remember people, events
and experiences that meant a
lot to you and changed your
life.
Sitting at the kitchen table
this morning (it’s a little after
5, dark as a dungeon, eerily
quiet, and only a cup of cof
fee to keep me company ), my
intentions were just to share
a few year-ending thoughts
with you. Right off the bat,
the frustrated preacher got in
the way and I started lectur
ing you. I'm sorry.
Let’s try again. I’m going
to empty the shoebox now;
just dump everything on the
table and see what falls out.
No, it's not about New Year's
resolutions; it’s just some
thing I do every year around
this time.
And lo and behold, out fell
Billy O. Billy O. Williams.
Billy and I grew up together
in McLemoresville, Tenn.
(population 311 if you count
dogs, cats and chickens.)
But Billy O. was not con
fined just to our little home
town. He branched out and
was famous in all of the sur
rounding towns. In fact, he
became the Poet Laureate of
Carroll County. Had he not
pulled out in front of one of
those huge West Tennessee
gravel trucks, he might
have gone on to be the Poet
Laureate of the whole state -
maybe the entire south.
One of my favorite memo
ries of Billy O. was when he
and my brother G.T. spent
a week camping and fishing
with me at Clark Hill. When
we weren’t fishing, Billy O.
was writing poems.
Buried somewhere
in this stuff is one
he wrote about how
the whippoorwills
congregated over
our tent and kept us
awake at night.
The one I pulled
out of the pile this
morning is the fin
est tribute to a group
of men and women
(families) that I have ever
seen. Billy O. was a simple
man and he wrote simple
poems. The following has
a simple title: “Farmers.” It
was published in the coun
ty paper. The clipping has
turned yellow; that tells you
that he wrote it a while back.
Anyway, in memory of
Billy O. Williams, and to say
thanks to the folks who grew
the bacon, eggs, grits, bis
cuits, butter and jelly that
I’m going to enjoy as soon as
I finish this, I want to share
my old buddy’s talent and
wisdom.
First the Lord made all the
earth, the water and the land,
And when he got it finished
he made himself a man.
He made the man a good
wife to help him with his
toil,
‘Cause the Lord knew
every creature would depend
upon the soil.
He placed them down in
Eden to keep them from all
harm,
And after they et the apple
they decided they would
farm.
He and Eve had younguns
to help out with the chores;
They had to raise their food
and clothes because there
were no stores.
They carved wood into
plow shares and trained the
Ox to pull the plow;
They tilled the soil from
sun to sun and sweat ran
down their brow.
The good book says this
happened several thousand
years ago.
Then the Lord came down
and taught folks how to make
their gardens grow.
There have been a lot of
changes since farming first
began,
But farming’s always been
essential for the livelihood
of man.
The horse and mule
replaced the Oxen; then we
needed big machines.
There's so many folks to
feed, it takes more taters,
corn and beans.
When you eat your morn
ing breakfast with coffee,
juice or milk;
Then you don your drawers
and clothing, made of cotton,
wool or silk.
When you drape your coat
around you to keep you nice
and warm,
Just remember what you
eat and wear all started on
a farm.
When someone puts a
farmer down, I always stop
to think.
Good Lord, what would
this old world do if farmers
were extinct!
Billy O. Williams, Poet
Laureate, Carroll County,
Tennessee.
Virgil Adams is a former
owner/editor of The Jackson
Herald.
Subscribe to
The Jackson Herald
by calling 706-367-5233 today!
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BY KERRI TESTEMENT
BEFORE GETTING started with several key downtown
revitalization projects, one Braselton group is keeping the
town’s past in mind.
The Braselton Downtown Development Authority (DDA)
got a brief history lesson from one of its members, Robbie
Bettis, recently.
Bettis — author of the 2006 book, “Passing: Stories
through the history of Hoschton and Braselton, Georgia”
— owns antique stores in the neighboring cities.
And Braselton’s beginning ironically begins in Hoschton
— where Henry Hosch moved to an area off Peachtree Road
in Jackson County. The wealthy plantation owner and his
wife, Matilda, had a daughter named Susan, who later mar
ried William Harrison Braselton in 1867.
Two of the couple’s sons — William Henry Braselton and
Green Braselton - were born on the Hosch Plantation before
their father bought 796 acres. A third son, John Oliver, was
born in 1877. They also had two daughters, Lena and Bell.
The three sons later became known as the business pioneers
the “3Bs,” who operated a successful store in Braselton.
“They were very honest, they were very caring, they knew
all of their customers by name, they knew all of your family,
they knew if you had a calf born — they’d ask you about it,”
said Bettis, who operates the Braselton Antique Mall in the
former Braselton Brothers Store building.
At the age of eight, John Oliver started the store by selling
rock candy, jams and jellies, and snuff to field workers. John
Oliver was a sickly child who couldn't work in the fields,
Bettis said.
The first store was built in 1887. And when John Oliver
was 10 and Green was 15, the boys traveled in a wagon to
Gainesville to borrow $2,000 from a banker. The next year,
they paid off that loan with silver dollars and three days in
advance.
In 1904, a brick store for the Braselton Brothers Store
opened at what is now the intersection of Ga. Hwy. 53 and
Ga. Hwy. 124 in downtown. It featured gas lighting fixtures
— a rare luxury at the time.
“It was considered to be the most well lit building in North
Georgia,” Bettis said.
The store featured six to eight clerks working in specific
areas with all money handled in one central location.
One of the brothers would travel to New York City twice
a year to get new merchandise and they always paid in cash,
Bettis said.
The brothers also started the Braselton Commission
Company, which was a wholesale business in which two men
would travel around Northeast Georgia selling goods from
Braselton to other stores.
The Town of Braselton was incorporated in July 1916
— namely through the amendment of Hoschton’s city charter
to create the new municipality.
“Henry (Braselton) lived in Hoschton and was elected
mayor (of Braselton),” Bettis said.
Besides the store, the brothers expanded their business to
include a post office, freight depot, cotton gin, school and
chamber of commerce.
The Braselton brothers built a number of supporting build
ings and businesses in the town, including the Enterprise
Flour and Grist mill.
The mill was one of the last mills in Georgia to make self
rising flour, and produced 75 barrels of flour and 300 bushels
of cornmeal a day. The building still stands at the corner of
Ga. Hwy. 53 and Frances Street.
Meanwhile, the railroad served as a lifeline for booming
business in both Braselton and Hoschton, Bettis said.
“The railroad was a very important part to this little area,"
she said.
The Braselton store added track next to the building for
train stops. There was also a large warehouse to store goods
coming off the trains. That warehouse was torn down in
2005.
Rail service to Braselton and Hoschton ended in 1947.
Later, the Braselton Brothers Store would be expanded to
include a grocery store (opened in 1955), a furniture store
(opened in the 1960s) and a hardware store (opened in the
1970s).
But by 1980, the Braselton family decided to sell the town
— with the stipulation that it keeps its name, Bettis said.
The sale didn’t include the homes of the 3Bs, which remain
today.
The town sat on the real estate market for 10 years - when
the family decided to raise the price to $20 million, Bettis
said.
That caught the interest of an investment group that
included actress Kim Basinger. There were big plans for the
town, but ultimately, Basinger and her partners couldn’t keep
Braselton.
Another investment group, that included Gwinnett County
developer Wayne Mason, purchased the holdings in the early
1990s. One of Mason's companies donated 2.6 acres —
which includes the Braselton Brothers Store — to the town
in September.
That land will also feature Braselton’s new town green
— a centerpiece of the town's revitalization projects.
In the coming year, the DDA will stay busy guiding revi
talization efforts in downtown.
Braselton officials expect to seek bids for the realignment
of Ga. Hwy. 124 at Ga. Hwy. 53 at the old store. Construction
is expected to take 12-18 months.
At the same time, the town will take on its streetscape proj
ect to install sidewalks and other amenities in downtown.
Bettis’ presentation of Braselton’s history is slated to be
posted on the town's website, www.braselton.net, under the
DDA page.
RIR seeking nominations Braselton bonds get approval
THE NORTHEAST
Georgia Regional
Commission is seeking
nominations for Regionally
Important Resources (RIR)
through January 31, 2010.
A Regionally Important
Resource is a natural or his
toric resource that is of suf
ficient size or importance to
warrant special consideration
by the local government(s)
having jurisdiction over the
resource.
Nominations may be sub
mitted by individuals, inter
ested organizations — such
as a land trust, conservation
or environmental protection
groups — local government
or governmental agencies.
Applications must iden
tify the resource’s value and
vulnerability, its regional
importance, and the degree to
which the resource is threat
ened or endangered and must
include a photo and map of
Tournament
THE 27TH annual Hit
’Em for Hemophilia Golf
Tournament sponsored by
Hemophilia of Georgia raised
more than $250,000 for
research for a cure for inher
ited bleeding disorders.
More than 225 golfers par
ticipated in the tournament
on Oct. 27, at Chateau Elan,
Braselton.
Nearly 50 companies con
tributed to the success of the
27th annual tournament by
serving as corporate sponsors
the resource.
Resources deemed “State
Vital Areas” need not be nom
inated as they will be mapped
by the RC and included on the
RIR map. All resources on the
RIR map are deemed an Area
Requiring Special Attention
and will be considered when
preparing the projected devel
opment patterns map for the
regional plan 2035.
Nominated resources will
be considered by the regional
commission and resources
that are considered regionally
important will be designated
and a regional resource plan
for protection and manage
ment of the resources will be
developed.
For a list of state vital areas
or to access the online appli
cation, go to http://negplan-
ning.org/rir.
Questions should be
addressed to Lee Carmon at
lc armon @ negrc. org.
raises funds
or by providing products and
services.
The only agency of its kind
in the state. Hemophilia of
Georgia works to enhance cli
ents’ care and quality of life
while actively pursuing a cure
through research funding.
Hemophilia of Georgia
exists so that people in
Georgia affected by bleeding
disorders live as normally and
productively as possible.
For more information, visit
www.hog.org.
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE BRASELTON Town
Council approved $10.2 mil
lion in revenue water and
sewer bonds during a called
meeting last week.
The move came a day
before a validation hear
ing at the Jackson County
Courthouse for the bonds,
which will help fund several
water and sewer projects.
Braselton had initially
anticipated issuing $11.2
million in bonds, but it later
got better rates to finance the
bonds for $10.2 million.
The bonds will mature in
July 2035. With interest, the
town will pay a total of $20.8
million with the water and
sewer revenue bonds. For the
bond issuance, Standard and
Poor gave the town an “A-“
State launches
GEORGIA HAS launched
its own Census website
— www.census.georgia.gov
— as part of an effort of
the Georgia Complete Count
Committee, which Gov.
Sonny Perdue established
to motivate citizens to get
involved and respond to the
2010 Census mission.
“This committee is tasked
with developing and imple
menting a plan to ensure
we have the best possible
Census participation rate,”
Perdue said in a statement.
“We expect this website to
serve as a meeting place for
all state and local Complete
rating.
Braselton will use the
bonds to finance relocat
ing water and sewer lines
for the realignment of Zion
Church Road and Ga. Hwy.
124 projects, constructing a
new lab and control facility
at the town’s water reclama
tion facility, expanding the
facility to treat 2.54 million
gallons a day of wastewater
and additional enhancements
to the facility.
Bond funds will also help
pay for the Mulberry River
interceptor sewer phase two
project and the Braselton-
Oakwood outfall sewer proj
ect.
Braselton will use $4.1
million for those projects,
while Oakwood will provide
$3.2 million.
Census website
Count Committees to learn
and respond to our duties as
a state.”
The committee is co
chaired by Commissioner
Mike Beatty, Jefferson, of the
Department of Community
Affairs and Debra Lyons,
director of the Governor’s
Office of Workforce
Development.
Included in the website are
a full listing of the Complete
Count Committee members,
information on meetings and
sub-committee efforts, and
links to helpful materials and
facts from the U.S. Census
Bureau.
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