Newspaper Page Text
Page 6C
June 20, 2018
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Exporter
A letter to Trish’ is first-hand account of life in
the Jarrell family in Juliette a century ago
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
The Jarrell Plantation
Historic Site is 200 acres of
history near Juliette that is
maintained by the state of
Georgia. The home place
and working farm were
owned by the Jarrell family
from 1847 to 1974, when
descendants donated it to
the state as a living mu
seum. Surviving the Civil
War, boll weevil, Industrial
Revolution and countless
other changes in the fam
ily and the world beyond
it, the farmhouse and its
outbuildings, including
barn, sawmill, cotton gin,
syrup making equipment
and gristmill, stand today
as examples of the way it
was.
Besides regular tours of
the Jarrell Plantation, the
state offers special events,
such as an old-fashioned
4th of July celebration, a
day of sheep shearing, quilt
making or canning and a
candlelight tour at Christ
mas time. Barbara Pierce
came to visit the site on
May 24 but she felt like she
already knew it well. She
has been working with the
daughter of Beatrice Jarrell
Bittaker, who grew up in
a family of 12 children
on the Jarrell Plantation
in the early 1900 s, to get
Beatrices book ready for a
second printing.
The book, “A letter to
Trish: Life as a Jarrell in
the Early 20th Century,” is
a collection of memories
of her life growing up that
Beatrice wrote for her
daughter, Trish Acker
man, before she passed
away 20 years ago. Acker
man edited the book to
share with others what life
was like at this place and
this time, and Pierce has
worked with her to ready
it for a new edition. Pierce
said that she helps people
write their life stories but
seldom has a story caught
her interest as this one
did. She said she admired
the people she met in the
book and appreciated the
struggles they endured.
She was captivated by the
glimpse into the past that
Beatrice created with her
detailed descriptions of
day-to-day life. She expects
the new edition to be ready
in July.
Pierce said that Acker
man, who now lives in
Florida, grew up in Macon
as one of four children her
mother raised alone after
their father abandoned
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Barbara Pierce holds a copy of A Letter to Trish.
the family. The other three
children preceded their
mother in death. Acker
man remembers visiting
family who still lived at the
Jarrell Plantation in sum
mers and hating the lack
of modern conveniences
like television. Ackerman
did have some stories of
her own to tell about Jarrell
Plantation, like practic
ing the cussing’ that her
straight-laced mother
would never tolerate on the
cows on the farm. After a
bull once took issue with
her, she decided her moth
er might be right about it
being best not to cuss.
But the stories her
mother told about grow
ing up had gone in one
ear and out the other until
her mother reached an age
when Ackerman realized
the stories would soon
be lost forever and asked
her to write them down.
Beatrice left the farm to
further her education and
become a teacher, obtain
ing her Master’s from
Mercer and being one of
the first white teachers in a
black school in Macon.
She wrote in detail about
doing laundry on the farm
in the early 1900 s, how
they got baths and made
dolls. She wrote about the
clothing they wore and
how it was made and about
the food available to the
family, where it came from
and how it was prepared.
She wrote about her re
sponsibilities as a pre-teen,
including that was her job
to empty 14 chamber pots
each morning and air them
out.
Beatrice wrote that she
was a shy, timid girl and
read in a magazine tips
about how to talk with
people that she practiced
when she went to school in
Macon. Her authorship in
“A Letter to Trish” shows
that she became accom
plished in communicating
through writing.
Piece said the new edi
tion of the book will be
sold in the gift shop at the
Jarrell Plantation His
toric Site, and she hopes it
will be available in other
nearby locations. She said
it is a book that will be
appreciated by anyone who
enjoys history and can be
touched by a glimpse into a
strong personality growing
up on a Georgia farming
plantation in the early 20th
century.
She quotes Beatrice as
stating her purpose in
writing the stories: “As you
will read, our everyday
lives were full of respon
sibilities, hardships, and
many difficulties. I want
my descendants to know
about these things, to see
how these limitations were
lessons that helped us learn
to overcome obstacles.”
Kendrick to subdivide 99-acre tract
By Richard Dumas
forsyth@mymcr.net
Monroe County
Commissioners voted on
Tuesday, June 5 to allow
an Abercrombie Road
resident to subdivide three
one-and-a-half-acre lots to
build homes.
Harold C. Kendrick asked
commissioners for a vari
ance in agriculture to allow
him to cut out a trio of lots
from his 99.96-acre tract
to place a single home on
each lot.
Kendrick said he has an
eight-acre pond on his
property, and three of his
children have expressed
interest in building homes
around the pond. He said
he intends to parcel out
one-and-a-half acres each
for three waterfront lots.
Kendrick said each new lot
will have a separate sep
tic tank and well, but the
driveway will be shared.
No one opposed
Kendricks request.
The Monroe County
Planning & Zoning board
previously unanimously
approved Kendricks
request at its May 29 meet
ing.
In other Board of
Commissioners’ news:
• Monroe County
Commissioners on
Tuesday, June 5 extended
the deadline for its updated
Service Delivery Strategy
with the cities of Forsyth
and Culloden until Oct. 31.
Then-county man
ager Anita Buice said the
Service Delivery Strategy
was initially due on June
30, but Forsyth Council
also voted on June 4
to extend the deadline
date. The updated strat
egy is required by the
Georgia Department of
Community Affairs.
• District 2 commis
sioner Eddie Rowland
commended on Tuesday,
June 5 the county’s road
department, sheriff’s office
and firefighters/EMTs for
their work to clear county
roadways following a
major storm on the eve
ning of June 3.
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