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THINK SMALL
Back in the day, Frank Felchlin, driving north from Miami,
stopped in Greensboro, GA. Impressed with the town, he
thought it would be a good place to open a sewing plant. He
found space to rent and employed women making pants. The
business was in the basement of our family store, and some of
my friends' mothers supported their families by working there.
Frank eventually outgrew Greensboro and moved his operation
to Athens, where he founded Lyons Textiles, with a larger sew
ing plant located on the corner of Thomas and Hancock Streets,
where The Classic Center is now. Frank prospered greatly in
Athens and provided a lot of jobs over the years.
When Frank left Greensboro, my father was naturally desir
ous of finding another sewing-plant tenant, for the benefit
of the store and for all the ladies needing the work. I don't
remember how they put the word out, but several "industrial
ists" from out of state came to look the space over and dicker
about the rent. One such fellow electrified the town by arriving
in a brand-new, pink-and-grey Pontiac convertible, which my
cousin Ed Lewis got to drive around while its owner (renter,
as it turned out) negotiated a possible sewing-plant lease.
He proved to be all car and no cash, but eventually Charlie
May came down from Philadelphia to look the place over. Our
local industrial development committee comprised my father,
my cousin Miles Walker Lewis, the potential attorney for the
deal; our mutual neighbor and dentist Dr. Charles Easley, State
Senator Allen Roper and enough Canadian Club to lubricate
the wheels of commerce.
...but they did create The development committee
entertained Charlie suffi-
75 01 SO Steady jobs ciently in Miles' kitchen and
offered an attractive enough
that people needed... rent that he opened a plant
beneath the store. Charlie
regularly drove to and from Philadelphia as much, I think, for
his pleasure in the eccentricities of his newfound Southern
friends as for the profit motive.'<>•-.;
Frank's plant and Charlie's didn't provide an industrial
bonanza that put Greensboro on the map, but they did create
75 or so steady jobs that people needed, not to mention the
rent and the groceries the ladies bought in our store.
Gearing up for NBAF was excellent preparation for the next
big thing, including the conclusive demonstration that the
governor and the legislature have little interest in putting up
the money necessary to seal the deal. But while we're waiting
for the next big thing, we can do well to follow the example of
that Greensboro economic development committee and go after
some small operators one by one. Together they can add up.
None of them will bring the tumult and turnaround of an NBAF,
but together they can produce a real economic impact that is
not dependent on one single gigantic player and not subject to
the environmental impact of such a business, either.
The Department of Homeland Security didn't find what it
was looking for here (and many would say, "Thank God!"), but
that is absolutely no reason for us to feel put down. Athens is
still Athens, and there are still people who want to live here
and may have a small industry to bring with them.
The trick, as always, is to know how to sell them on
Athens—on the real Athens, not the generic enumerations
of population, distance from Atlanta, number of miles of
paved roads, etc. The trick is to get people selling Athens
who know what's really special about Athens, the things that
make Athens attractive to creative people looking for a fun,
funky, comfortable place to live and work—a place that is not
Anywhere, U.S.A.
Frank Felchlin didn't respond to Greensboro because the
Chamber of Commerce flagged him down and told him the
population stats or the number of houses with indoor plumb
ing: he took a look around and liked what he saw. Charlie May
didn't drive all the way from Philadelphia and keep on doing
it because Greensboro was an industrial mecca: he liked his
reception among real Greensboro people who took him into
their homes and convinced him that he couid make a differ
ence—and a profit—in Greensboro.
We've got a great town: we just need to perfect our ability
to tell others what we have here. Maybe we need to bring our
musicians into industrial recruitment. They regularly attract
people from all over the world.
Pete McCommons editor@flagpole.com
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
<§s FEATURES
City Dope 5
Athens News and Views
NBAF goes to Kansas, and a year in the life of Athens begins to come full circle.
Eco Hustle 12
What Green Means
As consumers we are open to manipulation, especially by the products we love.
Aziz Ansari 13
Of Keg Stands and Key Cards
Comedy has finally reached the level of the McGriddle!
Film Notebook 22
News of Athens’ Cinema Scene
Luna doc screens at Cin6 on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
So Many Dynamos 25
Happy Skunk Day
Loud, dance-rock band unknowingly pays tribute to Steely Dan guitarist.
Denied, Detained and Deported 28
Cars Can Be Blue’s Shocking Tour Horror Story (Pt. 1)
Nate Mitchell share' his account of his band's recent overseas debacle
LETTERS
4
SO MANY DYNAMOS
25
CITY DOPE
5
REDUX NATION
26
CITY PAGES
6
MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA
27
CAPITOL IMPACT
7
CARS CAN BE BLUE
28
COMMENT
8
RECORD REVIEWS
.’....30
COMMENT
11
DON’T MISS.....
31
ECO HUSTLE
12
THE CALENDAR!
32
AZIZ ANSARI
13
HOLIDAY GUIDE
14
BULLETIN BOARD
....40
MOVIE DOPE
20
ART AROUND TOWN
41
MOVIE PICK
21
COMICS .‘
42
FILM NOTEBOOK
22
REALITY CHECK
43
JENNIFER HARTLEY
23
CLASSIFIEDS
44
THREATS & PROMISES
24
POEM & PHOTO
47
featuring art by Samantha Cotteril!
on display at the Madison-Morgan
Cultural Center
EOITOR & PUBUSHER Pete McCommons
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR l PUBLISHER Alicia Nickles
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner
MANAGING EDITOR Christina Cotter
ADVERTISING SALES Anita Aubrey. Melinda Edwards. Jessica Pritchard
MUSIC EOITOR Michelle Gilzenrat
CITY EDITOR Ben Emanuel
CLASSIFIEDS, DISTRIBUTION l OFFICE MANAGER Paul Kar|ian
AD DESIGNERS Ian Rickert. Kelly Ruberto
ILLUSTRATOR Jacob Hunt
CARTOONISTS James Allen, Cameron Bogue, Jacob Hunt, Missy Kulik. Jeremy Long. Corey Luttrell. Matt Mammola,
Clint McElroy, Bnce Vorderbrug
ADOPT ME Special Agent Cindy Jerrell
CONTRIBUTORS Michael Andrews. Darin Beasley. Sen Jett Chapman. Tom Crawlord, David Eduardo. Jett Fallis.
Tony Floyd. Alan Hurry, Chris Hassiotis, John Huie, Gordon Lamb. Mike Landers. Charley Lee. Bao Le-Huu. Dave Marr,
Pete McBrayer. Maureen McLaughlin. Nate Mitchell, Ryan Monahan. Jordan Stepp, Jett Tobias. Drew Wheeler
CIRCULATION Charles Greenleaf, Jimmy Courson. Mike Dempsey. Eric Muliins, Alex White
WEB DESIGNER Ian Rickert
ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Maggie Summers. Aisha Washington
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jennifer Bryant
EDITORIAL INTERN Christina Downs
MUSIC INTERNS Bryan Aiken. Alex Dimitropoulos
ADVERTISING INTERNS Cinme Carr
CONTACT US:
STREET ADDRESS: 112 S. Foundry St.. Athens, GA 30601
MAILING ADDRESS: P.0. Box 1027. Athens. GA 30603
EDITORIAL: (706) 549-9523
ADVERTISING: (706) 549-0301
FAX: (706) 548-8981
ADVERTISING: ads@flagpole.com
CALENDAR: calendar@fiagpole.com
COMICS: comics@flagpole.com
EDITORIAL: editor@flagpole.com
LETTERS: letters@flagpole.com
MUSIC: music@flagpole.com
WEB SITE: web@flagpole.com
VOLUME 22
ISSUE NUMBER 49
Flagpole, Inc. publishes Flagpole Magazine weekly and distributes 17,000 copies
free at over 275 locations around Athens. Georgia. Subscriptions cost $55 a year,
$35 for six months. © 2008 Flagpole, Inc. All rights reserved.
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DECEMBER 10.2008 • FLAGP0LE.COM 3