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ATHENS OF OLD
Meanwhile, back on the street, Andrew Davidson and I found the
sidewalk seating occupied at the Manhattan (where Joey was out
side preparing for an upcoming film showing on the side of his
building on the other corner—with the projector on the London bus
in the parking lot. That Joey.)
So we diverted to Copper Creek, where the topic for the evening
was a request from an out-of-town scholar for my account of what
students did for fun here back in the early '60s and where they
drank beer back then. Since I got my fun at the Wesley Foundation
and my meals at the fraternity house, I have very little memory of
Athens, the town. So, I called on Andy to help me recall the scene,
since he grew up here and was shall we say precocious in re: beer
drinking.
Lost, 0 lost: the twin Michael mansions on Prince Avenue between the UGA
president's house ond the Taylor-Grady house.
You can help, too. Here's what we came up with. Allen's, of
course, which, by the way, started out as John's, but John left
town, and Allen Sain took over. Harry's Drive-In was at Five Points,
about where Earth Fare is now. Andy says you could get a beer from
the car hops, but not inside unless you were 21. Further up the
street, across from the fire station, was the Campus Hideaway, the
first place I ever ate pizza. They had a classical guitarist and can
dles in Chianti bottles. Andy says the Snack Shack, where the
Holiday Inn Express is now, didn't serve beer. The Varsity—down
town location only back then—sold beer until the city passed a law
against selling beer too close to the campus. Otho's was a beer joint
that preceded the Georgia Bar. llppy’s and Zippy's were out on Broad
near Alps Road. Sgt. Rudy's and Modell's and other road houses were
further out. Going out there, Andy says, was called “dirty footin'."
Poss's Barbecue, across from where Publix is now, sold beer. The
Mitchell Bridge Inn, near the bridge, sold beer. Moina Michael,
where Heyward Allen Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Nissan is now, was a vet
eran's club, and it was wide open there for a while, with beer and
gambling for all, including underage students.
No whiskey allowed. No clubs downtown. UGA women had to be
in their dorms by 11:15 p.m., a little later on weekends. They
couldn't wear shorts. The Varsity and Western Union stayed open
late. The rest of downtown was closed up and dark. Free parking
everywhere.
Moina Michael, though, was a scandal. I got a call from Bill
Tyson, pastor at First Methodist Church (before they United). Bill
had been my preacher over in Greensboro when I was in high
schooL He said he had asked the Atlanta Constitution's investigative
reporter, Jack Nelson, to come over and do an expose of Moina
Michael, and he needed an underage student to go in and buy a
drink and gamble. I went out to Jack's motel and talked to him
about it, but I didn't feel right about it. Even though I didn't drink
and gamble, I told Jack I'd feel dishonest doing something like that
under false pretenses. Missed my chance at big city journalism. He
eventually did the story, as I recall, but it lacked the punch of a
drunken Methodist student losing heavily at the slots.
Prince Avenue was still lined with stately homes, and the neigh
borhoods came in a lot closer on Dougherty and Baxter Hill. The
East Side was completely rural, and East Athens had no paved
streets or running water, but Athens hardly existed for me as a stu
dent. I did get a crash course in Athens geography one night
though. During initiation for an honors club I had to walk all over
town, carrying a dead fish, to the homes of various members. I still
remember how close-in most of those places were.
We take what we have now for granted, as we once did the
Prince Avenue mansions. Perhaps, if our present gov ernmental
direction succeeds, we'll soon have quiet neighborhoods again
close in to the university, the musicians will be driven out by the
rent law, the bars and restaurants downtown will be taxed out of
existence and there'll be nobody around to notice a guy Walking
along with a fish.
Pete McCommons, editor & publisher
TNI ATHENS ANIN HWIAME SOjIETT
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DID YOU KNOW JULY IS ADOPT-A-MINNY MONTH?
Pixel (right!) Is a Grey Netherland Dwarf
Bunny. Cute as a button and barely bluer.
IT (left!) Is one of many fun available kittens!
PHASE don't forget
about RUBY and
MAX. They have
been here a while
getting a
discouraged,
problem may
be that they want
to be adopted
together (but
two cats are
even funner
than one). They
are both sweet
beauties with luxuriously
silky hair. Very quiet and
mellow, would love to share a
sunny window In your home.
Laid-back and beautiful,
EMMA has bright green eyes
-) and silvery stripes.
ZORRO is tall, dark and handsome. He
Is also warm, loyal and very gentlemanly.
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