Newspaper Page Text
Biggest Celebration In Perry History Welcomed Gen . Hodges
... ••**,.
GEN. COURTNEY H. HODGES in battle helmet is Perry’s most
illustrious native. His proud home community already has two
memorials to him—a 85,000 Scout Home which was built by funds
publicly subscribed for the purpose, and a striking portrait of
Gen. Hodges presented to the City and placed in the public library
in the new courthouse by- Mrs. Arthur Doyle of Memphis, Term.,
the former Mary Norwood of Perry, who is a first cousin of Gen.
Hodges. It was painted by Mrs. Doyle’s daughter, Mrs. K. Doyle
Ford.
Foremost Field
Commander In
WW II Honored
No other leader and no other
armed force unit in World War II
is entitled to greater credit than
that which belongs to quiet, mod
est Gen. Courtney H. Hodges and
his First lAtrmy.
That official statement by Gen.
Omar Bradley, chairman of the
U. S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his
recently published war memoirs,
confirmed much of what the peo
ple of his native city and county
already knew about their native
son. •
And they tried their beet to
tell him and show him, in a home
coming celebration on May 31,
11145, which far, surpassed anyj
planned public event ever held
in Perry and Houston county.
In Retirement
General Hodges retired from
his beloved Army on Jan. 5, 1949,
and he and the gracious Mrs.
Hodges have been living at San
Antonio, Texas, since then, whilt|
the general has been called on
for special brief assignments by
the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
But he and the people who at
tended are not likely ever to for
get the home-coming celebration
that his home-town of Perry—
and all Georgia—gave him in
1945.
With the town dripping with
decorations, ceremonies on a
grandstand erected in front of
the Perry school included wel
come addresses by the following:
Many Speakers
Charles L. Bowden, mayor of
Macon; Sam L. Norwod, 111, cous
in of the General, speaking for
the school children of Houston;
J A. Davis, chairman of the coun
ty commissioners; E. P. Staples,
superintendent of Perry schools;
S. W. Hickson, county school su
perintendent; B. H. Andrew,
commander of the Robt. D. Col
iins Post of the American Legion;
C. F. Nunn, president of the Per
cy Kiwanis Club; Lt. Dan L.
Crant, AAF pilot who spoke for
service men; Jack G. Holtzclaw,
President of the Virginia Electric
& Power Co., Richmond, Va., who
represented the classmates of the
General; and Mayor Sam A.
•'Unn, also a classmate, who
spoke for the home-folks.
Mr. Holtzclaw and Mr. Nunn
tad both the General and the au
dience laughing over their rem
mm*
iniscences of school days, and the
military escort had difficulty
maintaining erect dignity while
chuckling over the stories about
the General.
Touching Responses
General Hodges, in his re
sponse, spoke with obvious deep
feeling in expressing his appreci
ation for the celebration, his love
for his heme community and his
plea for continued support of the
armed forces who were still
fighting in the Pacific. Typically,
he gave all credit for his unit’s
record to other officers and the
men in the ranks.
Mrs. Hodges said simply:
“Thank you all for making me
one of you.” And brought thun
derous applause.
Mayor Nunn announced that a
civic enterprise of some nature
would be dedicated to Gen. Hodg
es and that the SI,OOO left over
from funds contributed to the
home-coming celebration would
be invested in war bonds for a
later use in the project. Mayo
Davis, chairman of the county’s
war finance committee, urged
citizens to buy more bonds in
support of the war effort. Mayor
A. C. Riley of Ft. Valley, a class
mate of the General’s, wired his
regrets at being unable to attend
the ceremonies.
Rev. J. B. Smith, pastor of the
Perry Methodist church, gave the
invocation, and Rev. J. A. Ivey,
pastor of the Baptist church the
benediction. G. F. Nunn led the
singing of “America” and “The
Star Spangled Banner.”
Family and Classmates
Seateld on the platform with
Gen. Hodges were two brothers,
John L. Hodges of Perry and Sam
N. Hodges of Atlanta; three sis
ters, Mrs. T. L. Hendirx, Mrs.
Sam P. Houser and Mrs. T. D.
Mason, Sr., of Perry; his uncle,
Dr. Fred S. Hodges, Bennetts
ville, S. €.; and the following
classmates: Miss Lula Hurst,
Mr. and Mrs. Carey B. Andrew,
Sr.; Mrs. E. W. Traylor, Mrs.
Cooper Jones, Clyde S. Gurr, of
Perry; and Mrs. Morgan Yates,
of Macon.
Gen. Hodges’ other two sisters,
Miss Theresa Hodges of Peters
burg, Va., and Mrs. W. R. Wil
liams, then of Sacramento, Calif.;
and his aged mother, ,Mrs. John
Hicks Hodges of Perry, were un
able to be present. The General
spent all of his time before and
after the ceremony with his hon
ored mother.
(Many other relatives had re
served seats in front of the grand
stand for the ceremonies and
scores of out-of-town visitors
were in the throng in front of the
school. After the program, a
barbecue was served to the en
tire crowd at the basketball court.
National Attention
The program was broadcast
nationally by CBS and station,
WMAZ and staff writers were
present for The Atlanta Journal,
The Constitution, The Macon
Telegraph, Life magazine and the
Associated Press. A Paramount
News cameraman recorded the
event.
G. F. Nunn, in a special article
for the Home Jouxmal wrote:
"Great men become greater by
their self-effacement; the world
honors a man while he honors
others. And so the whole theme
of the tremendous home-coming
celebration was expanded to in
clude fighting men everywhere
when the General asked that he
might be the medium through
which tribute could be paid td
those fighting overseas, those
who will never return, and those
who stand ready to finish the job
in the Pacific.”
WOLF KILLED
In 1832 a large wolf was killed
near Perry.
l©i For 34 Years Iff .MM
1/lA, I TL I* la" ||r GASOLINE & DIESEL TRUCKSjI
J@Hj In The Same Location
But In Modern NEW Buildings SP
MOTORS
'' i „ ' <r ' ■ , f 1181 * f "'P'' f 'A/ f
[■'/, '‘. ■:,'■■■ : ■- * . .../ x - ■■i '■ x':,. . • XX: Xxj'-'XX-X-'V . ■ ■
V* ' * *■ h s'*.;',-
.
TIST i.z ’'.z" r r r •
MODERN HOME OF CASE EQUIPMENT & CMC TRUCKS
We Salute the 89 Years of Service of
The Houston Home Journal
Myers Pumps To Houston County
Water Systems
and Perry
GEO. C. NUNN & SON
Telephone 31 - Jernigan St. - Perry, Ga.
Quiet Determination
Marked Hodges' Career
Courtney Hicks Hodges was
born in Perry, Ga., Jan. 5, 1887,
the son of John Hicks Hodges
and Katherine Norwood Hodges.
He was the fifth child of 10 chil
dren, eight of whom are living.
His father, who died in 1926,
was editor and publisher of The
Houston Home Journal for 45
years and in the newspaper bus
iness for 50 years.
His paternal grandparents were
James Hicks Hodges, a Confed
erate veteran, and Mary Rice
Hodges of Perry.
Gen. Hodge’s wife is the for
mer Mildred Lee of Montgomery,
Ala., whom he married in 1928.
After completing elementary
and high schools in Perry, Court
ney Hodges went for one year to
North Georgia College at Dahlon
ega, Ga., where he was a member
of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
From West Point To Private
In 1904, when he was 17 years
of age, he received an appoint
ment to West Point Military
Academy which he attended for
one year.
Because of a deficiency in
mathematics, he returned to Per
ry where he clerked in a grocery
store for several months until the
spring of 1906.
So determined was he to have
a military career that he enlisted
in Company L, 17th. Infantry,
U. S. Army, as a private in 1906
and received his commission as
second lieutenant in three years.
He was one of the Army’s top
marksmen.
This determination to succeed
as a military man, coupled with
his will power, devotion to duty
and real ability, carried him from
private to four-star general,
which is the highest rank ever
attained by a ueorgian in the
U. S. Army.
PROHIBITION IN 1886
In 1886, The Home Journal re
ported that 111 counties in Geor
gia had “prohibition wholly or in
part.”
County's Loss
In World War II
Was 13 Men
World War II claimed the lives
of 13 Houston county men, ac
cording to records of the War
Departments.
Those who died in action or
non-battle injuries were:
Cpl. Clinton M. Benson
Cpl. Walter Dickerson.
Sgt. Willie Felton
Pfc, Raymond L. Gentry,
Pfc. Marvin T. Holloway.
Pvt. Jack G. Kaigler,
Sgt. Otis H. Linton.
T-5 Cleo Pennyman.
S/Sgt. Mialvin F. Rackley.
Pfc. James E. Reed.
Pvt. Julius D. Stembridge.
Pvt. Clarence Tucker.
Pfc. Walter B. Whitten.
FIRST MERCHANTS
The first two merchants in
Perry were John McHaiu and
F. W. Jobson.
HOME JOURNAL, PERRY, GA., THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1951
IDYL WVLDE FAIR
GALA 1885 EVENT
The first annual fair of the
Union Agricultural and Social
Club was held at Idyl Wylde
Park in the Upper 11th District
of Houston county Thursday, Oct.
22, 1885, according to the Home
Journal of that date.
There was a horse show and
exhibits of farm products, poul
try and ladies’ handiwork.
“The Fair,” said the Journal,
“was undoubtedly a success, as
the 400 people present constantly
testified. A bountiful barbecue
dinner was served.”
Officers of the Fair were Dr.
Joseph Palmer, president; Mer
edith McCoy, vice president;
M. F. Etheridge, secretary; W. S.
King, treasurer; J. T. Walker,
reporter; C. B. Wellborn, record
ing secretary; and executive com
mittee members, H. S. Feagin,
W S. King and Dr. S. D. Smith.
Keep up with your home town
in The Home Journal.