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The True Citizen, Wednesday, December 8, 2021 — Page 5
(Editor Note: This is part one
of a three part series)
At the time, I was in way
over my head. Pleasingly,
though, I was oblivious to that
so I just kept sputtering along,
doing the best I could. And it
was working.
At 19,1 was practicing news
paper journalism and tapping
out obituaries on an old Royal
electric typewriter. If I got
lucky, Jean, who used a sleek
IBM Selectric, would go to
lunch so I’d run over to her
desk and whip out two obituar
ies, rapidly.
“Jesus said, ‘Let the dead
bury the dead,’” I announced
to a coworker as I put the dust
cover on the old Royal. “I pre
fer cheering to tearing up and
dying off.”
With those words, I became a
sports writer. Granted, I barely
knew much but I learned all
the game rules and so much
history that I can still tell you
how much money Yankees
Ronda Rich
GORDON PIRKLE PART ONE - A LEGEND
player Mickey Mantle made in
1968 and quote biographies of
John Heisman and Dr. James
Naismith.
There was plenty of joy in
those early years. It was ex
citing to attend college bowl
games, sit in a press box for
the Atlanta Braves with men
reporters more than twice my
age, and to interview Hall of
Fame coaches Bobby Dodd,
Vince Dooley, Frank Broyles,
and racers Richard Petty and
A1 Unser.
One man I met in those
early days quickly turned from
friend to a powerful mentor.
To this day, I think of him as a
beloved favorite Uncle.
I don’t remember the exact
moment or the particular situ
ation that brought me into Gor
don Pirkle’s world. Normally,
I can recount thoughtfully
such key meetings. It seems
that Gordon was always there
though I know he wasn’t. Then
as now, my days brighten im
mensely when I see him.
Gordon, in the 1980s, had
no idea what the good Lord
Almighty had in store for him.
How accidentally, he would
think of a gimmick - just
come to him clear out of the
blue - that would make his
business, the Dawsonville Pool
Room, world famous and raise
Gordon to iconic heights from
the red dirt back roads of his
hometown in the Appalachian
foothills.
George Elliott and his race
team of sons Ernie, Dan, and
Bill were trying to take on the
big guys and big money of
NASCAR stock racing. Like
me, they appeared to be in over
their heads - at least, in the be
ginning but this would change
quickly. We mountain people
are stubborn, unpleasant at
times, resourceful, and it never
occurs to us that we can’t fit in
just fine wherever we go. Petty
chuckled the first time he saw
their humble car and ragamuf
fin crew in Rockingham, North
Carolina.
In short time, no one laughed
anymore. Dawson County,
Georgia, a moonshining capi
tal of historic proportion, had
turned out another set of for
midable stock car racers. These
men would set speed records
never imagined (or equalled).
So, Detroit began sending en
gineers with master’s degrees,
hoping to learn what the moun
tain boys had figured out before
MIT or Georgia Tech could.
It began as just a story of lo
cal color. But steadily, it grew
to one of national curiosity
and, since us mountain people
stick together, I always had the
inside scoop thanks to George
Elliott who taught me the tech
nicalities of racing and Gordon
Pirkle who schooled me in its
history. These two men had
known each other all their
lives. They had mutual trust
and respect for each other and
their neighbors which made
them akin to a set of favorite
college professors.
I have never met a man
kinder to everyone than Gor
don. He was critical in con
tributing to the legacy that
became a cottage industry for
Dawson ville, Georgia. While
the Elliotts made history, Gor
don made hamburgers, keeping
the endless trail of reporters
happy with homemade food
and the old racing stories he
dramatized.
Next week, we’ll look at
Gordon’s place in history.
This is the first of a three
part series. Sign up for Ronda’s
free weekly newsletter at www.
rondarieh.com.
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