Southside Atlanta Memories

More on Ft. Mac from a Southside reader!

Love Southside blogsters! That's the fun of a blog, after all, getting to know you all in cyberspace! 

I can't be there in person most of the time these days, so I really need your help keeping accurate and 

up to date. Or back in history, as we go here with a good old Woodward alum and Atlanta native sharing

some inside info on a Fort McPherson fixture. He also includes a link to an interview WITH General Truman:

Byford Wagstaff :
I had the privilege of knowing General Louis W Truman, Gen Truman was Aide de Camp to Gen 
Short at Pearl Harbor. He reported that the opening to the movie Pearl Harbor was a 
"Damn Lie". He said they were not playing golf at the time of attack but 
preparing to go to the course. He said that after the attacks were over, he picked up 5 
bushel baskets of shrapnel in the small area around his quarters. Gen Truman stood behind 
and defended Gen Short till is death. At Gen Truman's funeral there were howitzers used 
in the 21 gun salute on the lawn of Second Ponce De Leon Baptist Church in Buckhead.
http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/trumanl.htm

Chrysler in the international market, Ford touts gas mileage on new truck line, pundits address urban sprawl, more from LIFE-1959!

  While looking at a student group's paper documenting Atlanta urban and suburban domestic architecture,  (Hang with me--it gets good)(on the DNR's Georgia Historic Preservation page)  I chased a rabbit down the yard fertilizer hole. I didn't find the info I was expecting to find, so I decided to check out my own cache of old magazines. As you can see I hit the jackpot with this Scott's ad.  According to the ad text,  he is in the process of making his neighbors envy him, although why a grown man would want to do that to a bunch of kids is beyond me....

I kept flipping through the pages of this August 1959 'LIFE' magazine, and was gratified to see that what's old is new again....the more things change, the more they stay the same...(furnish the old person cliche of your choosing...here.)

I couldn't wait to show you all..... 

LOVE THIS TRUCK!   However, throughout the text of this ad, it never says WHAT the mileage IS--It's just "25.3% MORE" than last years model.

As I went through this 50 year old magazine, I was astonished to find the answer to urban sprawl-laid out before a lot of us here in the south even had any!  

Then there is the GM post mortem, which I thought we'd done back when '"Roger and Me" came out. Everyone I knew with a couple of notable exceptions, including our driving family, drove a GM car in the mid '70s. Most families had a land yacht of the Impala variety; my Old National cousins had matching charcoal grey sleek burgundy pinstriped Grand Prixs (2) a '75, then the new body style of '78.(click the link for an excellent little history of the '70s Grand Prix)  He worked at Doraville on the night shift, so the avocado Trimline would be unplugged for most of the day so he could sleep. Little did I know I'd one day work that shift myself...

Unfortunately by the time of the Iranian hostage crisis, giant gas guzzlers had lost some of their cachet. GM cars, too, were losing things like door handles and various other parts.

More and more harassed commuting dads were checking out little cuties that their dads tried to convince them they should be ashamed to look at. However when Mom joined in, engaged by the novelty of these little foreign boxes, and tired of being stranded by another clunker break down, Celicas and Preludes began sprouting up in the driveways of the newer subdivisions (Deer Glen, White Oak)that were (sprawl be damned) popping up over Fayette County. For sure, in town, all Fayettevillians still had a Ford under the carport, likely with this license plate on the front, (from the Dorsey-Fife House) but these new cars were so good on gas, and never broke down...

 

No planned obsolescence here, evidently....

And the weird Chrysler/Fiat deal- what's up with all that? According to this Wikipedia article...(I know, I know-look up the refs yourself..) Chrysler's already been involved with Fiat once, and most of us didn't even know... (please click these images so you can read some of the compelling reasons to drive the new SIMCA)

Ok, I'll give you one: You can make the car go-"toot" for in town driving, and "toooot" for ..but you'll have to read the rest...below...

And-when would you reset your tooter? Old National? 314 and Sullivan Road? (remember this is 1959 we're talking about) When you leave Forest Park? What do you think?

Mere gems from the 1959 LIFE magazine, anon...

Southern Pines...Seaside, and the Southside

Look at these beauties...two people commented on these lovely tall pines yesterday, so I thought you all might enjoy seeing them.
Old National of course, was the land of fragrant pines and white sand when I was growing up; at Aunt Mitzi's at the (almost) corner of Old National and Creel Road, there were several acres of tall pines surrounding the house; I particularly loved the spot in the back corner where the pines halted and soft green grass grew.    

I am not sure what hole our current house is set on, but the visionary H. L. Sudduth laid out the precursor to Seaside and Rosemary Beach. He came to this area from Birmingham, saw this little spit of land right next to the booming little upstart Panama City and bought up what he could from the shipping and timber interests that were already here. He put in sidewalks and started stylish little bungalows, and advertised the development as the last word in recreation and business life, all rolled into one.
To cap it off in swinging style,  Sudduth built a sprawling stucco hotel, a riding stable, a clubhouse and a golf course for the guests to enjoy.
But as we have discovered, easy credit leads to hard falls. After the economic downturn no one could afford to stay at the Hotel Cove, so resort changed hands. Sudduth and his children were later able to continue developing the area, and the Sealy family ably managed the steamlined operations at the Cove Hotel. There were plenty of entertainment options even without the links, setting at the confluence of the bayou, the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. My yard was safe for another 20 odd years.
After WWII, the old golf course was developed into odd little circles, and planted with happy little tract houses. In a stroke of genius, the pines were left to shade and perfume our little spot of the Cove and to stand as gray guardians of the Cove's secrets. If you can slow down, like our friend here, and be really quiet, they'll whisper their stories in  halting, pleasant accents.
Shhhh....look....listen....    

Breakin' the Law... and World War Two memories of Third Army Civilian Supply Officer Linda Weller

According to the 'rules' of blogging, a blogger or blog editor is not supposed to post twice in one day, but here is another evocative, informative piece by Robert Averch ( a for-real Hollywood type, and from all appearances, somewhat paradoxically,  a dedicated family man) writing on one of my favorite subjects-- Hollywood in WW Two. [Disclaimer- you may or may not agree with all of his views or conclusions but his knowledge of Hollywood history and use of archival images is pure art.]

It got me thinking about Linda and Ft. Mac, and her actually pretty decent role in The Good War.  She told me the most amazing stories, all corroborated and even expanded upon by her buddies, all still thriving in the late '60s and early '70s. 

She told me of spiteful enlisted and officers who would, knowing her religion, cuss in every color of the rainbow to try to intimidate her and insult her ( a female doing man's work in this  man's army was not quite the wacky wave-fest one might imagine it to be...)

She told me of nights sleeping on the table in her office, of staying up all of some nights on Coke (ha ha- not that kind,) and I witnessed the ruin her  kidneys had become  by the '70s.

But what I took away  from that was that the years she gave to the United States Army at Conley and at Ft. Mac during World War II were the most exhilarating, meaningful years of her life. She was using her many and extreme talents (she was said later to be able to 'read' the early IBM punch cards at a glance.) in the service of a cause that she knew to be right and true. She solved problems and got the goods through to 'her boys' in Third Army, some of whom would write her gratefully and with specific requests, so great was their confidence in her.

I wanted to have lived in the 1940s, and sat or lay  enraptured in front of the TV any time 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' aired on 17, ditto 'Mrs. Minerver'  'This is the Army', and my biggie fave, 'The Best Years of Our Lives.'    (All of these can be found at these two sites, as well as at many others--TCM is actually playing another of my all time faves- Sergeant York-yes I know it was about WWI, but it was released in the '40s and of course was certainly "white propaganda" of the most delicious kind.

Linda of course remembered actually seeing these films when they were first released, many of them at Lowe's Grand, or the Fox. She also remembered the Bugs Bunny cartoons I loved so well -as shorts shown before some of these flicks.

The upshot is that I am still emmeshed in the early 20th century, a time when faith in the Lord, hard work, FDR, and penicillin were enough to conquer the world.

Enjoy the freedoms we do have, and sit down and watch one of these excellent movies with your family, and make some brand new Southside Atlanta Memories.

Southside's Ft. Mac sends out one of the Greatest, great memories are News again, and a whole new meaning for "Rainbow".

Writing paper letters has just about become a memory- this machine just makes it so easy to keep in touch with those far away.
Fortunately for us Berlie Forehand didn't have email during his WWII stint. Like many of his generation, he was happy to serve, but fretful about leaving his wife and family. So Forehand and his wife sent countless letters back and forth across the Atlantic while he participated in the offensives that would ultimately liberate France as well  as, even more dramatically, skeletal Jews and other enemies of Hitler and his third reich.
Forehand's daughter Shirley Forehand Kinsey discovered the letters, compiled them and annotated them into a narrative of the "Rainbow Division" of U. S. soldiers gathered from an arc of America that reminded General MacArthur  of a rainbow stretched across the land.
Forehand, like so many more of these "boys," were processed through our own Ft. MacPherson.

Go here to read more about a remarkable soldier, and his remarkable daughter. You'll also see 70+ year old pictures of Forehand's family here in Panama City, and of  his adventures in war torn Europe. 

Fantastic southside memory! Mr V's Figure 8, in the Westgate Shopping Center!

What a find! You must go here for a real blast from the past; a commercial for Mr. V's Figure 8 nightclub.
The uninformed, but spectacular person who posted this on YouTube states that "Disco was dead by 1980 -wonder how long this place lasted." Fortunately or not, disco music was far from gone from our neck of the woods, and Mr. V's was thriving when I left Atlanta in 1983, as were "upscale" dance lounges like Bentley's at the Airport Marriott on Sullivan Road. Skatetowne played Donna Summer's Greatest Hits ad infinitum, alongside the peppy Cheap Trick Live at Buddakan lp, and the two perinnial skating rock songs, Alright Now, and foghat's Slow Ride.
I didn't notice disco dying as much as just noticing the name evolving into 'dance music'- Rick James, Raydio, Prince. Punk-y New Wave degenerated into "dance" and techno, and I pretty much lost interest after that.
Feel free to disagree with my assesment, and share some of your won Southside dance memories!

 

 Several bands- like ELO, in 1979, did experiment with Disco, with extremely deliterious effects, however....

Atlanta Prostitution update--more good news, bad news- Nick Kristof of the NYT visits our humble abode...

Here's an UPDATE on this week's eariler post ocmmenting on a New York Times columnist's visit to Atlanta. Nick Kristoff has been writing on forced prostitution and the issues that surround this 21st century slavery for several years; that in itself is a feat. There's a lot of money to be made catering to this most basic instinct gone wrong, and girls (nor young boys, for that matter) are no more valued in New York City (judging from some of the creepy comments he regularly receives on his columns) than in Cambodia, or, sadly, in parts of our own sweet home. 

Please click here and read his notes on a young Atlantan that has been able to turn her life around, thanks to some other awesome Atlantans.

Well, I wish I would have known. Evidently Nick Kristof, writer, blogger, philanthropist, visited our fair city this past week, and saw that 15 year old young ladies, (I bet some of the boys, too) were givin' it up for a piece of candy.
Tell us something we don't know... and aren't appalled at.

(Also see here for the blog mentioned by an insightful FB friend of Kristof here in the Atlanta area.)

We've talked about the sickness here, and I'm sure some of you have taken action on some of the pathetic information passed along through SSAM.

Here are links to several past posts where you'll find links to videos, and possibly one of Kristof's own blogs:

http://www.typepad.com/site/blogs/6a00d8341d590153ef00d834530f4c69e2/post/6a00d8341d590153ef00d835410c3f69e2/edit?saved=e

http://www.typepad.com/site/blogs/6a00d8341d590153ef00d834530f4c69e2/post/6a00d8341d590153ef010536d47d87970c/edit

Please figure out some way to help young people near you that need a hand.  Part of my own fascination with our Southside is that we used to live there. Many of us still live 20 minutes away.

So many of us and our parents moved away to be safe from the dangers of "those people" who were moving in to "our" neighborhoods. We move to special counties with special people and when we find that those people let their kids listen to the music made by the denziens of our old neighborhoods, we build special schools for "our" kids and make up special rules to keep them safe.

I guess that's what happened in McDonough  at Eagle's Nest. Now I'm ALL for parents being in charge of their childrens' learning, and you know I love EAGLES!! -so I'm just saying, I hope they didn't let that awesome girl kicker get swine flu

Maybe if instead of moving our churches out of "the area" we could stay and be salt and light in OUR area (my mother was at Brown before Brown was Brown! and my Mama was shackin' in Egan before the first style shack) then we could all enjoy a beautiful neighborhood, together, saving time, money, gas, our smoggy Atlanta air- we could truly live the good life, together.

Here's one group who's ahead of the game: Moving in the Spirit

                                                               They give dance lessons that turn into character lessons that the students take with them through life. I believe the studio is in the Glenwood area and I learned of them through good old Fayette Presbyterian Church's Linda Weller Circle, which contributes through FCS Urban Ministries

I'm sure you can find -or start your own- way to help people in our own neighborhoods that need help. You'll also be setting a good example for YOUR kids and help keep them safe from boredom and ennui and self pity.

There is no one friendlier or more helpful than a Southsider! I know, because you write me the kindest letters (like Terry Smallwood), all the while giving well deserved praise to fellow southsiders like John Lynch and Robert Kerlin. 

Thanks for reading!

New post /cool old pics need some Atlanta 1963 love, folks

Who's ready to play 'guess that face'? How about a visit to sis, mom, grandmother, aunt?
Just saw this double page ad from the redoubtable RICH's Department Store. On one of my blessed garage sale mornings, I chanced upon THREE library bound sets of Vogue Magazine. Like a hundred dollar bill on the ground? That's what it was like- this 1964 set, and a 1943 set and a 1944. I think I paid a dollar apiece for them. This was at one of about ten fashionable flats that grace Bay County, approx. six of which are in downtown Panama City, lest you think I ripped off some unsuspecting elderly lady.
These are just to give you an idea of the shot, and the ladies in the shoot.
This ad appeared in the February 1, 1964 issue of Vogue. At that time they put out two issues a month.
As you can NOT read- the small white print says photographed at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium.
I think I know one of the models- but owing to the styles of hair, makeup, hat wearing (HAT WEARING!) photography and printing, I really can hardly tell one from the other. I would love to know if these WERE local models, if a local agency shot this, etc. so --
talk to grand dad, dad, bro, husband- heck,
maybe it's YOU in this pic- West End friends- need your help!
I'm going to throw a line out to some additional 'groups' of 'friends' as well- so please get in touch with the creator of this blog through the email here, or- you know where to find me!
 
 

 click the pic it'll open larger- Thanks! 

Well, you like solid chocolate Easter Bunnies every year, too...

Blame the economy- if I had a million dollars I could blow off this class and just write new Easter posts- this is an encore presentation of a Southside Atlanta Memories post from 2007...I DO have a new pic for you later tonight so you'll know what you're missing if you can't make it to a sunrise service. Check back tonight for some guest talent.

I hope you all are experiencing the joy of this Passover week.

[This did NOT copy/paste successfully- if you want to see Lexington Apts c. 1974, go to your left in the catagories "cloud" and hit 'East Point' , scroll down seven (7) posts, and there is the original in all its linked up, obligitory embarrassing picture glory...]

This is at Lexington Apartments on Washington Road, c 1974. At the door is my cousin Grant, son of Gaile Hawley Weller, who is seen at roughly the same age as we kiddos are in this pic, in the 'Stewart Lakewood' photo album in the border of the blog. We are stopping by her mother's (our Grandmother) apartment to either show her our baskets, or pick her up for church, I don' t have a clue which. As this little jaunt would have taken us about twenty miles out of our way, I'm guessing the latter, although Grandmother Myrt (!) was not much of a church goer. In fact, one of the few sentences I can actually hear her say is,&quot; I hate preachers.&quot; I did not have the sense to ask why. She had Parkinson's and wore dentures, the combination rendering most of her utterances fairly incomprehensible to me. </p>

<p>Grandmother moved here right after Grandfather (Edgar) Hawley (of whom I have no memory) died in 1967. They had purchased a house on Mathewson off Lucile in West End, in about 1938. They raised three wild, brilliant, daughters there and hopefully enjoyed some of their golden years between daughter crisises of divers kind.&nbsp; They were involved in Shrine/Eastern Star activities, and Grandmother worked at the Hwy Dept.&nbsp; As did every other member of my family circle at some time or the other. So the road thing is in my blood I suppose. To wit: Uncle Thomas Weller, his first wife, Mitzi,&nbsp; Tom's new mother in law (Grandmother!), my dad Ed Haig, Mom's , uh well one of her husbands- Jimmy Houston,-all worked there at various times, some concurrently, from 1965-the 1970s. </p>

<p>Lexington Apartments figures in two Atlanta murder cases, at least perriphialy. The first is the ultra bizarre Mary <a href="http://www.buckhead.net/history/mystery/msl_a.html">Shotwell Little</a>&nbsp; 'Buckhead Black Dalia' murder that transpired in 1965, in the Lenox Square parking lot.(Where, naturally, she had picked up some Kents- at COLONIAL!) A couple of years later, D<a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1102670/posts">ianne Shields</a> a roomate of some of her old roomates, who just happened to work in her same C&amp;S office, was killed and found in- East Point!&nbsp; Then in the 1970s, the sad, sad, murders chronicled in Ann Rule's 'Every thing She Ever Wanted' mentions 'The Lexington's'. [SCARY UPDATE page on annrules.com, <a href="http://www.annrules.com/news4.htm">here</a>]&nbsp; 7 degrees from Colonial Grocery Store, huh?</p>

<p>Anyway, you can see I have always loved cats and chocolate. And fashion. I believe I was the first in Atlanta to achieve this stocking effect. I simply placed my Easter Basket on my lap and dug through it for the 10 miles from our house to Grandmother's. I'm sure she was delighted with the look. We had a habit during that time of stopping by a&nbsp; Majic Market before church to pick up another pair of hose for me to wear as I could usually destroy them between home and church. We had to pick up a paper anyway.

Clayton School woes, pt 258...

Just saw this story on the beleaguered Clayton County school system, and one of the kids left there and what they've done to serve and protect her...
So let me get this straight...

School system is hemorrhaging students because of loss of accreditation, will continue to lose students and teachers and population without accreditation.

Many of the problems that led to the school system's loss of accred could be traced to cronyism and lack of accountability.

A principal (spelling hint: the principal is your -pal- ?) declines to report the coach's alleged fondling of a student.

The board TRANSFERS the accused coach to another school

The poor old folks that can't give away their Clayton County houses to escape to another school system are PAYING this accused coach,  who is on PAID administrative leave...

I see why the O'Haras sent Scarlett to Fayetteville Female Academy...
Poor Clayton County...