Atlanta Senior Life - September 2021

Senior Life Atlanta

EDUCATION

page 10

These teachers draw on a lifetime of learning

september 2021 • Vol. 6 No. 9 • AtlantaSeniorLIFE.com

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SENIOR CRAFTERS MAKING THEIR MARKS

From the Crates

Atlanta’s beach music icons The Tams sTILL on the road six decades later page 18

PEOPLE

From steaks to bison burgers, George McKerrow helped define Atlanta dining page 20

Contents SEPTEMBER 2021 COVER STORY COVER STORY Sabiha 4 Woodworker Mujtaba creates one-of-akind chairs Marquetta 6 Quilter Johnson shares her craft legacy with a new generation Embroiderer Gail Rogers

8 embraces centuries-old Japanese tradition

COVER STORY EDUCATION

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teachers bring a 10 These lifetime of learning to their classes for seniors Atlanta seniors 13 Places can get schooled

WITH CHARLIE 14 TRAVELS Milling around Georgia’s historic grist mills

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THE ENVIRONMENTAL GARDENER September means it’s time to get ready for fall planting

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14

18

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THE CRATES 18 FROM Atlanta Beach Music icons The Tams are still on the road after six decades

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PEOPLE From steaks to bison burgers, George McKerrow Jr. helped create ways Atlantans dine out PERSONAL SAFETY Columnist Steve Rose explains how to talk the talk when police communicate PERSONAL COMPUTING To cut the (cable TV) cord? That raises many questions

On the cover

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CONTACT US Editorial Joe Earle Editor-at-Large joe@springspublishing.com Contributors Kathy Dean, Erica Glasener, Tiffany Griffith, Donna Williams Lewis, Kelly McCoy, Isadora Pennington, Steve Rose, Gene Rubel Charles Seabrook, Donna P. Williams, Mark Woolsey Advertising For information call (404) 917-2200, ext 1002 Sales Executives: Jeff Kremer, Rob Lee, Janet Porter

Woodworker Sabiha Mujtaba carves a piece in her home studio.

Photo by Donna P. Williams Photography

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Published By Springs Publishing Circulation/ Subscriptions For distribution information, call (404) 917-2200, ext. 1003 delivery@springspublishing.com © 2021 All rights reserved. Publisher reserves the right to refuse editorial or advertising for any reason. Publisher assumes no responsibility for information contained in advertising. Any opinions expressed in print or online do not necessarily represent the views of Atlanta Senior Life or Springs Publishing

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COVER STORY

THREE WOMEN WHO EXPRESS THEMSELVES THROUGH CRAFT

Their crafts differ. One sculpts in wood. Two others work in separate ways with fabric or yarn. But these three metro Atlanta craftswomen share a desire to create beautiful things that connect the past and the future of their artforms.

Woodworker Sabiha Mujtaba creates one-of-a-kind chairs

By Kathy Dean Sabiha Mujtaba said the first chair she made was a rocker designed for a friend who was pregnant. It depicted a mother and child, with animals. It marked the start of a series of unusual chairs the Clarkston woodworker has designed and made.

“My background is in sculpture,” Mujtaba said. “As a woodworker/ furniture maker/carver, I have not focused solely on making chairs. I have made a few, though.”

One of her pieces, ‘Dancer Chair,’ reflects “the Bharatanatyam dance gestures and clothing of a dancer from India,” Mujtaba said, noting that it was inspired by the fact that chairs have an anthropomorphic terminology — back, legs and arms.

Mujtaba was born in Karachi, Pakistan. Her family moved to London, England, where she was raised and educated. There, she studied sculpture at Hammersmith College of Art and Design from 1969 to 1972.

In 1981, she moved to Atlanta, where she met friends Anne and Timothy Sutherland. She began an informal apprenticeship in Tim’s woodworking studio and studied furniture making. Since 1986, Mujtaba has been designing custom wood furniture and installations through her company, Chysalis Woodworks.

“Sculpture is a creative expression,” she said, “and wood is just one medium which gives that expression a physical appearance.

When the medium and expression are in sync/harmony/balance, then there is no difference.”

Mujtaba uses traditional techniques with power and hand tools to carve her works. She combines various woods, solids and veneers, and often embellishes the surfaces with burnt, painted or

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stained designs.

Her work has been featured in galleries, festivals and shows throughout the southeastern U.S., including the Chastain Art Gallery, the Decatur Arts Festival, the Museum of Design and Spruill Gallery in the Atlanta area, and the Master Woodworkers Show

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in Knoxville, Tennessee. She also had pieces shown at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art in conjunction with The Herter Brothers furniture exhibition.

In 1998, Mujtaba was a featured artist on the Lynette Jennings Design Show on the Discovery Channel, and in 2001, she took first prize at the Decatur Arts Festival Juried Show. She teaches at crafts schools, including Penland School of Craft in Penland, N.C., and locally at Highland Woodworking in Atlanta.

In September, she is scheduled to be included among 37 Southeastern artists from nine states who will show works during the American Craft Council’s Craft Week LIVE: POP-UP in Atlanta.

Art is a family affair for Mujtaba and her daughter, Aalia, who specializes in making jewelry. Aalia’s work will also be featured in the LIVE: POP-UP. “Even though Aalia and I have not collaborated, we are each other’s sounding boards,” Mujtaba said.

“We ask and share opinions about our projects. I think we have similar aesthetics and do influence each other.”

Mujtaba said that she thoroughly enjoys working on commissioned pieces and designing a piece in collaboration with clients to create a unique piece that gives them, “hopefully, a lifetime of pleasure.

Each job has surprising challenges that feel like springboard to the next one,” she said.

The longest project she’s undertaken was “14 Stations of the Cross” for All Saints Church in Knoxville. It took two years and “it was challenging on almost all fronts,” Mujtaba said. “From the subject research and designing to logistics of working in my small studio in Atlanta to carving small figures [it led to] more than a few sleepless, anxious nights. I certainly experienced and learned a great deal.”

Still, she said it was good for

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her at that time. “It felt like an accomplishment, especially as the client is satisfied.”

As to where Mujtaba’s art is taking her in the future, she said that chair-making is unlikely to be a priority, but if an interesting one-off commission presents itself, “I will consider it.”

She stressed that the LIVE: POPUP is a great opportunity for artists,

artisans and craftspeople to show their work. Mujtaba plans to attend the event one of the days, and to be present at the opening. “I’m looking forward to seeing creativity at its best, and I hope to chat about craft with visitors,” she said.

To see a range of her art, visit chrysaliswoodworks.com or follow Mujtaba on Instagram at #chrysaliswoodworks.

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The American Craft Council’s Atlanta/Southeast Craft Week LIVE

POP-UP, Sept. 23-25, will run in conjunction with its online Craft Week marketplace that begins Monday, Sept. 20. More than 200 artists from across the U.S. will participate in the virtual event.

Thirty-seven Southeast artists from nine states, including Sabiha Mujtaba of Clarkston, are scheduled to show works in the ACC’s Craft Week LIVE: POP-UP in late September. The event is part of the Atlanta Craft Show.

The LIVE opening night reception — Thursday, Sept. 23, 5:308:30 p.m. — and the two-day LIVE event — Friday, Sept. 24 and Saturday, Sept. 25, 11 a.m.-7:00 p.m. — will be held in Buckhead Village at 286 Buckhead Avenue in Atlanta.

For more info and details, visit craftcouncil.org/show/season/ atlantasoutheast-craft-week.

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Quilter Marquetta Johnson shares legacy with a new generation

By Isadora Pennington “It’s kind of like jazz,” Marquetta Johnson said as she gestured at the quilts on display in her studio. She describes her work as simultaneously improvisational and steeped in legacy and tradition.

Johnson shared an example: the great jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk said that to create improvisational music he had to work hard at it.

Similarly, Johnson knows how to make quilts and what typically goes together, which allows her to create with the freedom of inspiration.

“When you know the basics of what works together, you’re like an alchemist, you can kind of just put it together. I would say the same thing about a quilter.”

Surrounded by finished pieces, materials, and tools, Johnson speaks about her journey as a teaching artist and professional quilter from her small home workspace.

A soft light filters in from the window and patio door, illuminating the cozy space. The smell of incense lingers in the air and birds chirp cheerfully at the feeders just outside. Stacks of in-progress pieces are positioned throughout the room and finished quilts hang on the walls.

An old iron sizzles idly atop a table.

Her workstations, set up to accommodate her wheelchair, are peppered with handwritten notes that outline her current projects and to-do lists. When I arrived, she was sewing, and the sewing machine gently whirred in her hands as we talked.

Johnson has been working with textiles since she was young. As a girl she had a boundless energy that sometimes got her in trouble. Calling it “a kind of mercurial energy,” it wasn’t until later that she discovered the value in her compulsion to move and create.

She struggled with selfregulation. One particularly attentive teacher saw something

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returning to Atlanta in the 1970s and again taking up quilting.

“That just let me know that even with the circumstances of life for African Americans in the ‘30s and ‘40s, she was still able to find joy through creativity,” Johnson recalls.

Her mother was taught how to quilt and sew, but she had been part of a generation that was enamored with city living and desired store-bought items as opposed to handmade. And so, it was ultimately her grandmother who set out to teach her all the

in her and taught her how to crochet, which set her on a path of creativity and helped her to channel her energy into learning and art. “Crocheting is like mindfulness training that can help you learn how to be still,” Johnson said. “That’s the first step in learning how to be quiet.”

Creativity is not out of the ordinary for the women in

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Johnson’s family. Her greatgrandmother was a seamstress and a quilter who was so skilled she could create entire outfits based on pictures from Sears catalogues. Her grandmother also had these same skills but was more of a folk artist, working as a painter in a figurine factory in Chicago before relocating to New York and later

traditional tools and methods for quilting.

Today, Johnson is building upon those skills and seeks to bring a legacy of skills from the 20th century into the 21st century. She incorporates traditional methods like lap sewing into her practice, mixing the old with the new, and adding elements that she feels broaden

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the appeal of her artwork to a larger audience.

“What I’m trying to do is figure out a blend of things that creates a style that is contemplative,” Johnson says.

“That’s where I’m trying to go with it. I’m not trying to provide you with a memory or something that’s familiar; I want you to have an opportunity to have that visual experience that is simply led by the elements of art.”

Johnson has been a teaching artist for more than 20 years.

Whether she is leading classrooms in schools, civic organizations, community

centers, the High Museum of Art, or most recently a foray into Zoom lessons, she can use her knowledge of the fundamentals of art and her passion as an artist to inspire and challenge children to pursue art.

On any given day you can find Johnson quietly working in her home studio, dyeing and painting custom fabrics, cutting, piecing, and sewing her quilts. But she is just as devoted to her work as an educator. Her enthusiasm for art is contagious, as is her joyous approach to creation. Johnson says that while she would always appreciate more studio representation, what she truly desires is to be a link in the chain connecting creatives from the past to the future.

“What I want to do is encourage young people to take up needles, to take up thread, and change the world with it.”

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Embroiderer Gail Rogers embraces centuries-old Japanese needlework tradition

By Tiffany Griffith The deeper meaning and historical significance of needlework is probably not a subject most people consider. But it’s an artform that Gail Rogers says she never stops thinking about.

“It was the female way of expressing herself over the centuries,” Rogers said. “Women didn’t have other ways to express themselves. I remember seeing the embroidery of Mary Queen of Scots at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. She used it to send coded messages to people when she was in prison. I mean, it’s all so fascinating.”

Rogers has her own history with needlework. Growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina, her hobbies included sewing her own clothes. But after graduate school and entering the workforce as a Cobb County librarian, life got too busy for her favorite pastime.

That’s until she retired and discovered nihon shishu, the centuries-old Japanese art of embroidery. Rogers said her professional life and creative life have a lot in common.

“Librarians are interested in all kinds of different things,” Rogers said. “And the innate abilities and skills that you have, like being detail-oriented, apply in both cases.”

Nihon shishu got its start in China, and later became a tradition in Japan. Religious icons were sewn onto kimonos and broad sashes, known as obis. That style of the craft would remain isolated from the world for more than 1,600 years.

By 1970, the practice gained more attention when master embroiderer Iwao Saito founded the Kurenai-kai in Japan. The school only accepted students who were dedicated to becoming professional stitchers. They learned through an appreciation of technique and gardening.

After nearly 20 years as Saito’s apprentice, Shuji Tamura broke tradition and shared Japanese embroidery with the world in

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“I don’t have any other innate artistic abilities. I can’t paint. I can’t draw. I can’t do any of that stuff.

So, this gives me an ability to tap into my artistic side I didn’t know I had. It’s a way to express myself artistically.”

GAIL ROGERS

1989. He chose Sandy Springs as the home for the first international embroidery center. The Atlantaarea center has drawn students from as far away as Europe, South Africa and Australia. “If I don’t come to the United States and to share, maybe another thousand years no one may not share, and it stays in Japan,” Tamura said.

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Rogers, who took classes at the Sandy Springs center, had retired already by the time she developed her passion for Japanese embroidery. Retirement gave her time to pick up a needle and get creative for the first time in nearly 30 years.

“It’s been an interesting journey,” Rogers said.

From a distant glance, an embroidered piece can look like a detailed painting. But it’s the months, and even years, of patience, introspection, and precise needlework that produces such vibrant silk images.

The pieces are complicated, but colorful. Rogers likes to work with blue and purple silk patterns.

Her teachers also have instructed Rogers about the cultural significance behind each color.

“Eastern and Western color sensibilities are somewhat different,” said Rogers. “The Japanese use a lot of orange and red. In the West, we’re not that crazy about orange. They use those colors a lot in their designs of trees and flowers and birds.”

In Japan, orange is said to denote love, happiness, civilization and knowledge. While red can mean strength, passion, selfsacrifice and blood.

Rogers has dedicated nearly 15 years to perfecting her technique.

She still gets frustrated and jokes that she’s not a naturally patient person. But concentrating on her embroidery takes her away from the troubles of the outside world.

“I don’t think I could have survived the pandemic without having this to do,” Rogers said.

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Rogers is a resident of Canterbury Court in Atlanta, where she lives among many talented seniors, including professional painters and photographers. She said Japanese

embroidery helped find her inner artist and bond with people from around the world who are passionate about needlework.

“I don’t have any other innate artistic abilities. I can’t paint.

I can’t draw. I can’t do any of that stuff,” said Rogers. “So, this gives me an ability to tap into my artistic side I didn’t know I had. It’s a way to express myself artistically.”

Rogers said she would recommend that others take up Japanese embroidery because it’s very fulfilling.

“But I’d tell them to beware, because it’s very addictive,” said Rogers. “Once you get it, it’s hard to get out of. You’ll just want to keep going.”

To learn more, visit japaneseembroidery.com.

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EDUCATON

Fall into school

It’s time for in-person and online classes for seniors

By Donna Williams Lewis Want to brush up on your Italian, learn about “Poems that get you in the End,” explore phobias or learn how to edit a video in iMovie?

Those courses are on the September schedule for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Emory University, one of the nonprofit educational programs for seniors that dot metro Atlanta.

Forced to go online last fall by the pandemic, most of these educational programs are now offering courses in-person as well as online. Nearly all of their presenters are volunteers, typically retirees who enjoy sharing their interests with others.

One of them, Howard Cohen, became an OLLI instructor after taking classes there.

“I cannot tell you how important OLLI is to so many of the students who come and many of the same people have been coming for year after year after year,” he said. “They’ve gotten to know one another, they depend on one another, they socialize with one another, they have lunch together, and it’s a vital necessity, almost, in a lot of these people’s lives to spend two or three hours together with like-minded people, share some ideas and make friends.”

Atlanta Senior Life asked Cohen and a couple of other senior class instructors to share who they are and why they do what they do.

Howard Cohen, right.

Photo by Donna P. Williams Photography

Howard Cohen, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Emory University: ‘The Glories of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’ “It’s a great almost honor, really, to teach people 55 and older … who all are there just for the pure enjoyment of intellectual pursuit.”

Take a class with Howard Cohen, 79, and you may be virtually touring an art museum, taking a deep dive into the history of American music, or virtually visiting one of the many “fascinating Latin American cities” and foreign countries he’s come to know well. His current class is “The Glories of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” For more than 10 years, the Candler Park resident has taken his passions for music, art and travel and whipped them up into a variety of experiential classes for the OLLI program at Emory University.

“I always integrate music with class content,” Cohen said.

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“I love preparing for my classes because it allows me to learn new things.”

The Brooklyn native first came to Atlanta in 1971 to work with an anti-Vietnam War group.

He later taught sixth-graders at The American School in Rio de Janeiro for four years.

Back in Atlanta, he managed the Rizzoli International Book and Record store at the Omni complex (now the CNN Center) and, later, with his wife, owned the International Records store at Peachtree Center.

“We were very fortunate.

We opened just as CDs were becoming popular. We closed

the store when CDs were out, so we caught that huge market,” he said.

“I love to keep my mind going, so after we retired I took a course at OLLI and I knew right away I’d love to teach here,” Cohen said. “I go to OLLI to get that wonderful feeling of community.”

Kate Posey, Enrichment of Life Movement (ELM): ‘Beginning Acrylics (Painting)’ “You get into these classrooms and people are so excited to be able to create something.”

Kate Posey

continued on page 12

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continued from page 11

Kate Posey, 77, grew up as one of 12 children — six boys and six girls — in her family in Niagara Falls, NY. “You learned responsibility very early,” she said.

She worked for 40 years in nursing in New York and Georgia before retiring from a neonatal ICU unit at Kennestone Hospital in Marietta 11 years ago.

Throughout those years, the Kingston, Ga. resident always enjoyed art shows and drawing but didn’t get into painting until she started taking

acrylics classes at Enrichment of Life Movement (ELM).

There, she developed a love of painting scenes from nature, particularly birds.

She gives her favorite people paintings and, six years ago, began sharing her craft in a Beginning Acrylics class she leads with co-teacher Joan Rockwell.

“People come in and they have their own idea of how they want something to look and we kind of just help guide them to their vision,” Posey said. “Art is kind of inside you and you use that to look at other things.”

“A lot of our students are

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“They’re outside of their element, and it is so exciting to watch them grow and change and create.”

Shai Robkin, Seniors Enriched Living (SEL): ‘Behavioral Economics’

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“To me, that’s the big thing: the enjoyment of learning from each other.”

In his business life, Shai Robkin, 69, helps companies and organizations understand the science of how human beings behave and make decisions so that they, in turn, can make better decisions.

For the past five years, the Sandy Springs resident has been teaching classes in senior programs throughout metro Atlanta. Currently, he’s teaching at Seniors Enriched Living (SEL).

Most of the time, he titles his classes “Introduction to Behavioral Economics.” Other times, he teaches classes titled “The Predictably Irrational Consumer” or “Econ Fun01.”

“I like to say people enjoy thinking about thinking,”

Robkin said. “I talk about just the everyday types of things which influence our decisionmaking — all of what’s called behavioral biases — the things we’re not aware of that very much influence our behaviors.”

That might mean looking into why organ donation rates are significantly higher in one country than another or why he’s found that so many seniors tend to be very loyal to Heinz Ketchup over other ketchup brands.

A native Atlantan, Robkin has owned and directed several companies in Israel and several in America, including, since 1984, Vernon Library Supplies, Inc. Teaching in senior programs gives him the chance to “spend time with some of the most wonderful people in the world,” he said.

“These are people who want to remain intellectually curious, engaged, and they come from so many different backgrounds.

That’s one of the things I love about it — people are bringing their own experience,” Robkin said. “If you ask me, there’s nothing more fun than just spending time with intelligent, inquisitive people.”

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Places metro Atlanta seniors can get schooled Here’s a look at some of the metro area nonprofit organizations offering educational and enrichment programs for seniors.

Some offer scholarships, and one program this fall is completely free.

Enrichment of Life Movement (ELM) ELM returns to in-person classes for its fall session and will hold virtual classes as well. The eightweek session, from Sept. 14-Nov. 2, offers in-person classes on Tuesdays and virtual classes via Zoom on Mondays and Wednesdays. Seniors age 50+ can take up to three inperson classes and unlimited virtual classes for the session fee of $50.

A nondenominational program, ELM is hosted and housed by the First United Methodist Church in Marietta. Info: www.elmcobb. org. Reach ELM Director, Kelly Daugherty, at elmcobb@gmail.com or 678-910-1579.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Emory University.

Online and inperson classes begin monthly, except in December, and cost $10 per class. A required one-year membership is $50 and provides benefits such as discounts on OLLI classes, access to OLLI book clubs and other special interest groups, and discounts at some local restaurants. Info: ece.emory.edu/olli or 404-727-5489.

Other OLLI programs can be found at Kennesaw State University, cpe.kennesaw.edu/olli and at The University of Georgia, olli.uga.edu.

Lifespan Academy Buckhead-based Lifespan Resources provides online and inperson educational programming

for adults over age 55.

The fall session begins the week of Sept. 13 with in-person sessions on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., as CDC protocols allow. Join the program online for the same content. One eight-week class is $50. Cost of the full session ranges from $59-$84. Info: lifespanatlanta.org or 404-237-7307.

Perimeter Adults Learning & Services (PALS) The PALS fall session runs on Mondays from Sept. 13 to Nov. 1 and will be held in person at Dunwoody United Methodist Church. Six classes will be held from 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and Mah-jongg and bridge groups are planned. The fee for the entire fall session is $55. Lunch will be offered at $10 per week. Info: palsonline.info.

Seniors Enriched Living (SEL) This interfaith organization based at Roswell United Methodist Church is in its 30th year of offering classes for seniors. The fall term runs from Sept. 20 to Nov. 12. Registered members can take five online classes a week for a registration fee of $60. Open to anyone age 50+. Info: selroswellga. org.

Senior University of Greater Atlanta (SUGA) Tucker-based SUGA is providing all of its fall quarter classes for free to anyone interested, with both in-person and online classes offered.

Virtual classes on Zoom will be held on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

In-person classes will be held on Wednesdays at Rehoboth Baptist Church. Info: su-ga.org. To register, send an email to SugaAtlanta@ gmail.com.

SEPTEMBER 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

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TRAVEL

Milling around Georgia’s historic grist mills 1 | Starr’s Mill,

Travels with Charlie

2 | Healan’s Head Mill,

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Hall County

3 | Hurricane Shoals Park grist mill, Jackson County

Veteran Georgia journalist Charles Seabrook has covered native wildlife and environmental issues for decades.

For “Travels with Charlie,” he visits and photographs communities throughout the state.

In scores of early Georgia towns and settlements, waterpowered grist mills were vital to the communities’ well-being.

The mills ground farmers’ corn and wheat into meal and flour — the basic foodstuffs of households — and often provided other needed services such as sawmilling and cotton ginning.

Thankfully, several local governments and organizations and private landowners in Georgia have given high priority to restoring and preserving old grist mills located within their bailiwicks. Saving the mills will help future generations understand how the structures played huge roles in the state’s history — before steam power, electricity and other technology replaced waterpower.

By my count, some 40 once-thriving mills driven by a waterwheel or a water turbine survive in the state in conditions ranging from intact to dilapidated. With their old dams, ponds, mill races, big waterwheels and other accoutrements alongside shady creeks and rivers, many of them have become some of Georgia’s most picturesque and photogenic attractions.

Several still stand along the same creeks where they originally were built. The scenic Loudermilk Mill in Habersham County, for one, still sits along Hazel Creek at the same spot where it was erected in the

Fayette County

4 | Sixes Mill (aka Gresham Mill), Cherokee County

5 | The Old Brick Mill, Floyd County 6 | Grist Mill at Hamburg State Park, Washington County

7 | Grist Mill equipment at Hamburg State Park, Washington County

8 | Loudermilk Mill, Habersham County

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9 | Lee and Gordon Mill, Walker County

10 | Stone Mountain Park grist mill, DeKalb County

11 | Prater’s Mill, Whitfield County 12 | Millmore Mill on Shoulder Bone Creek, Hancock County

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13 | Nora Mill, White County, GA 14 | Nora Mill Dam on the Chattahoochee River, White County, GA 15 | Nora Mill equipment, White County

16 | Newly ground cornmeal, Nora Mill, White County

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17 | Freeman’s Mill, Gwinnett County

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1850s. Other old mills have been moved lock, stock and barrel — and waterwheel — to new locations, such as the historic grist mill that graces Stone Mountain Park in DeKalb County. It was built in 1869 along a creek in Fannin County in north Georgia, but was restored and moved to Stone Mountain in 1965.

As the historical marker for the Stone Mountain mill states: “A grist mill was a functional structure that served an entire community. The millstones inside the building ground whole, dried grain like corn or wheat. The resulting meal or flour was then ready for baking. Because of this vital role the grist mill often became the center of a town and an important part of the economy.

Is it any wonder that many Atlanta roads still bear their namesake: Akers Mill, Browns Mil, Henderson Mill, Howell Mill, Moores Mill…”

My bucket list includes visiting and photographing

all of Georgia’s still-standing water mills to document their stories and serene beauty. For a handful of them, however, time is of the essence: They have been abandoned for so long that only a heroic restoration effort may save them.

Still, even the ruins of former mills (of which there are many in Georgia) may be worthy of admiration because of their own charm and rich history. Some mill remnants, such as the Sope Creek ruins in Cobb County, are on the National Register of Historic Places. The ruins are all that remain of a manufacturing complex that ran on the creek’s waterpower.

For the most part, visiting most of Georgia’s surviving grist mills is relatively easy. Many of them are in public parks or other publicly accessible places. And although some are on private property with “no trespassing” signs, they may be opened to the public on special occasions.

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GARDENING

September means it’s time to get ready for fall planting THE ENVIRONMENTAL GARDENER Erica Glasener is the Community Involvement and Events Manager for the Piedmont Park Conservancy. She also serves on the advisory board for Trees Atlanta.

Summer is almost over. I don’t know about you, but I am still trying to keep up with the weeds in my garden. With all the rain we’ve had, it’s been a challenge.

The good news is that there is still time. If we’re lucky we’ll get at least a few cooler days in September, perfect for weeding, cutting back and dividing perennials, preparing beds for new plants, starting seeds for fall vegetable crops and generally tidying up the garden.

Tips for dividing perennials As a rule of thumb, divide perennials when they are not blooming. In the fall, divide them early enough during the season so that they will have four weeks to establish new roots before a hard frost.

Whether you use a digging spade or fork or two shovels back-to-back, dig up a large clump with lots of roots and then divide the clump, making sure each section has plenty of roots and shoots. (For the best results use clean, sharp tools.)

Minimize transplant shock by cutting the foliage back by 1/3 to 1/2 at the time you transplant.

This will help compensate for root loss.

Prepare the new planting area ahead of time so that roots of the divisions won’t dry out. Water new transplants immediately after you plant them and then once a week until the ground freezes, if there is no rain.

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Apply two gallons of water for each one-gallon size perennial.

Resume watering in early spring once every few weeks.

Apply one to two inches of mulch around divisions after transplanting.

Make a map, it can be a sketch, labeling the new plants you add to your garden or share with fellow gardeners.

Some perennials should be divided by hand, not with a sharp spade or digging fork, but by digging up a large clump and then teasing apart the roots, making sure shoots are attached to each section.

You can use two pitchforks back-to-back, or a pitchfork (or digging fork) and a spade to pull apart the root balls. Try this method with the following plants: Black-eyed Susans; Bluestar; Blue Indigo; Coralbells; Daylilies; Garden Phlox; Irises.

Do not divide ornamental grasses in the fall. Wait until early spring and divide them as soon as new growth begins to emerge.

Plant cool-season vegetable seeds and seedlings Prepare the soil by adding organic soil amendments. Ideally, you want to mix them in to a depth of 12 inches but even 5 to 6 inches will make a difference.

Plant your seeds a bit deeper than you would in the spring when soils are cooler.

SEPTEMBER 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

This way they shouldn’t dry out as quickly while they are germinating.

Be sure to soak the soil after planting. Keep up with watering during the hot weather, watering once a week, making sure to saturate the soil.

Crops to consider for fall: beets; broccoli; cabbage; collards; garlic; onion sets (small bulbs); parsley (transplants will reward you all winter); spinach; radishes.

Tips on planting Before you plant, clean up your garden. Cut back perennials and weed. Pull weeds before they flower and set seed. This will result in fewer weeds next spring.

Make sure, too, to remove dead leaves that may harbor overwintering pest or disease spores; put these in the trash, not the compost pile. Apply ½ inch to 1 inch of compost as a top dressing for your plants. Keep it away from stems and trunks.

Beautyberry

Shrubs and trees to consider Here are a few plants to consider adding to your garden this fall. The ones marked with an asterisk (*) are choice trees for small gardens Beautyberry- Callicarpa americana - A deciduous shrub with brilliant purple or magenta fruits that appear in autumn on arching stems, growing 3 to 5 feet and sometimes even 9 feet. Easy to grow, this beauty thrives in full sun or part shade. The seeds and berries are a favorite of birds and deer. *Dogwood-Cornus florida, our native flowering dogwood is a favorite of many for its lovely white blooms in spring as well as its red fruits and sometimes scarlet red foliage in fall. It grows 20-40’ tall and is favored by native bees.

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Add plants to your landscape Fall is a great time to add shrubs, trees, perennials, and spring blooming bulbs to your garden. And you’re in luck because the Trees Atlanta Annual Tree Sale opens online Sept.

3-20 for preorders. Pickup is scheduled for Sept. 25 and 26 at Murphy Crossing, 1050 Murphy Ave. in southwest Atlanta.

*American Fringe treeChionanthus virginicus is also called Grancy Greybeard for its white lightly fragrant flowers which look almost like a beard. It reaches 12-30’ tall and bursts into bloom usually in April. Plant one or several.

*Sourwood-Oxydendrum arboreum is a deciduous tree that grows 20-25’ tall. It’s fragrant flowers in summer attract bees and Sourwood honey is a favorite. The leaves turn shades of red and crimson in autumn. A great understory tree.

The InPerson Sale is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. Dogwood 2, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. next to the Freedom Farmers Market at the Carter Center, 453 John Lewis Freedom Pkwy NE. They will offer a large selection of native trees, shrubs and perennials. This year they will also highlight trees for small gardens.

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SEPTEMBER 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

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FROM THE CRATES

Atlanta beach music ICONS The Tams are still on the road six decades later from the crates Kelly McCoy is a veteran Atlanta broadcaster who writes about the days popular music only came on vinyl records, which often were stored in crates.

If I say “beach music” and you think surfers, surf boards and The Beach Boys, I need to clear some things up for you.

We Southerners know the real “beach music.” It came from our region, primarily from the Carolinas and Coastal Georgia.

Think of it as a blend of R&B and pop music. It was music you could dance the “shag” to (the dance, not the kind of “shag” they talked about in Austin Powers movies).

The Tams may not be a household name anymore, but to beach music fans they are musical royalty. And six decades after the band organized in

south Atlanta, it’s still on the road, playing festivals and shows across the southeast. The original members are long gone, of course, but children and even grandchildren of the founders

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TM

are still touring together.

The Tams, an Atlanta institution, date back to the early 1960s. In an earlier article, I mentioned the discovery of The Tams by Southern music

icon Bill Lowery. The group’s first big hit, “Untie Me,” was written by Joe South, a superb Atlanta songwriter who became an established recording artist himself.

The Tams’ signature hit, “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy,” was released in 1968. “What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am),” “Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me” and “I’ve Been Hurt” are a few other hits you may know.

I’ve always been a sucker for horns and harmony and I’ve been a huge beach music fan most of my life. Although I know plenty about the subject, I did consult with a couple of experts for this article.

I contacted Dianne Pope, widow of Charles “Speedy” Pope, the brother of Joe Pope, co-founder of the Tams. Charles passed away in 2013 at the age of 77. Their son Al (Little Redd) joined the group and is still with them today.

The Tams formed in south Atlanta and started with appearances at various places on Auburn Avenue, such as The Royal Peacock, and The 617 Club off Hunter Street. Once they had major hits, they toured with

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big-name stars such as James Brown, The Temptations and Otis Redding.

The Tams were continuously on the road in the 60s and 70s. Dianne often accompanied them.

Once, she said, after a long road trip, she decided to return home and get a little rest. As The Tams headed to Harold’s A Go-Go in Columbia, South Carolina, their convertible, loaded with group and gear, decided to stop working. As luck would have it, Diane happened to pass by and spot them on the side of the road. She stopped and helped them get back on their way, so they wouldn’t miss the gig.

Everyone ended up back in Columbia at a hotel for the night.

Dianne is white. Why mention this? In those days there were hotels for white people and separate ones for Black people.

Dianne and The Tams were all

arrested and jailed, she said, because a white woman was in segregated hotel that was to be used only by Blacks. Lowery came to the rescue. He drove to Columbia, bailed them out, and the show went on as planned,

according to Dianne.

Of course, there are many more positive, and successful Tams stories.

My beach music authorities — Steve Begor, a record promoter back in the 1960s, and Chris Jones, a fan of the music and a collector — forgot more on the subject than most of us ever will know. Their opinion: The Tams are at the top.

“My intro to beach music came through high school friends who were home from college,” Jones said.

“Their 8-tracks were of artists they had seen/ heard on campus: The Tams, Junior Walker, James Brown, and The Swinging Medallions.

Graduating from high school in 1968, “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” fit the moment. The Tams were the first recording

artist that I got see in person, so I’m somewhat biased.”

“They were great live, however not the most dependable,” Begor said. “Remember once they were to play the Beach Club in Myrtle Beach and were nowhere to be found. Someone got in the car and found them playing baseball with a bunch of kids at a local park. They said, “Oh, we didn’t realize the time.”

I live in Bulldog country, where Tams appeared at the B&L Warehouse in 1973. Fast forward to 1977 and go up the street a bit to another club, The Other Place.

I was there to see the Tams one evening. Lucky me! They grabbed me, and others out of the crowd to come on stage and sing “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” with them. This was with Joe Pope!

I was so surprised I forgot the lyrics for a moment.

For more: thetams.com.

SEPTEMBER 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

19

PEOPLE

From steaks to bison burgers, George McKerrow helped define Atlanta dining George McKerrow Jr logged decades in metro Atlanta’s complex and challenging — especially lately — restaurant environment. But he has his own variation on what some might call the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) Principle: offer great food, great service and great attitude.

That focus guided him as he rose from bartender and busboy to regional manager of a popular restaurant chain. After he opened the first Longhorn Steakhouse in Atlanta in 1981, some credited him with having created a new, casual dining segment in the marketplace by providing fresh, hand-cut steaks, a Texas roadhouse atmosphere and an “Urban Cowboy” vibe.

In 2002, McKerrow and another Atlanta visionary — CNN founder Ted Turner — partnered to found Ted’s Montana Grill, which debuted in 2002 on Peachtree Road. He’s guided the private firm through the Great Recession and more recently, the continuing COVID crisis as CEO. With accolades such as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Restaurant Association and involvement in such efforts as the No Kid Hungry campaign, McKerrow has become an icon of the local restaurant business. Atlanta Senior Life contributor Mark Woolsey talked with McKerrow recently about his life, career, and recent challenges to the dining industry.

Q. What got you started in the restaurant business?

A. I got a job when I was 16 for gas money way back in the 60s. Then I went off to college and studied to be a lawyer and work for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

I graduated [from Ohio State] in 1972. I applied to law school and

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Q. You left that company after changes, including a sale in 2001, and founded Ted’s with Ted Turner the following year. How did that come about?

A. I was trying to help Ted Turner’s family figure out what to do with all the bison they had. I wrote a paper and introduced it to Ted through his daughter and sonin-law. I had a concept in the back of mind to build a gourmet hamburger place, sort of what you see at Ted’s. I said the best way to introduce bison to America’s table is at a restaurant and to cook it properly, and then the consumer will go out and demand it at the grocery store

then had second thoughts about going to law school. I thought I’d get a job temporarily; I got a job as a bartender and busboy at a place called the Smuggler’s Inn. And I never looked back.

Q. You came to Atlanta in association with a now — defunct restaurant chain called Victoria Station and later left that company to give birth to Longhorn Steakhouse. How did that come about?

A. If you go back to that era, you had what I would call family steakhouses — half cafeteria and half casual dining restaurant.

They were highly successful. I had worked for them, and I started to see issues with it. Also, if you go back to 1980, you had a fascination with country music and the western motif.

I was introduced by a friend of mine to these Texas honky-tonk saloons called the Hoffbrau. It was a very limited menu and a roadhouse atmosphere. So we had only seven steaks, one potato, salad, and bread and butter when we opened. It was a big risk in hindsight, and I thought it was a good idea.

SEPTEMBER 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

Ted liked the idea, and we shook hands in May of 2001. Six months later, in January of 2002, we opened the first Ted’s Montana Grill. Then we took off and started building restaurants.

Q. How fast was the expansion?

A. Ted had a ferocious appetite, you remember 20 years ago, to grow things big and fast. We did grow 56 restaurants in 72 months and that caused us some heartburn, but we also had the Great Recession in 2009 and 2010 and we stopped growth after that.

Q. How has the COVID pandemic significantly challenged you?

A. We were fortunate in that we were pretty conservative with our finances, so we had a relatively healthy bank account.

We shut down 100 percent of the restaurants for six weeks when the shutdown first took place in March of 2020, we began to reopen the restaurants for to-go only and we rewrote our menu and our business plan, and our strategy, and we simplified things. But we kept our restaurants open as early as May of 2020 and we continued to open restaurants throughout.

Q. What kind of resulting operational changes came about?

A. We made a lot of adjustments to the business formula. We cut overhead and we asked people to

do more work and different kinds of work. Our biggest problem right now is getting people to come into the industry that want to work there. We are extremely short-staffed. And we’re starting to see, over the last three weeks, a withdrawal of guests’ willingness to come out to the restaurants as they begin to worry about the latest numbers on the disease Q. What’s behind the short staffing?

A. It’s a combination of things.

Number One over the last 15 to 18 months we’ve taught a lot of people how to make a living at home. If you don’t have to get dressed up and fight rush-hour traffic, why would you? Second, I think young people coming into the business today are fascinated about the “gig economy” over what I call the “labor economy.”

You’re on stage every day when you’re a cook, or bartender, or food server in a restaurant.

It’s physical labor and mentally challenging. And let’s face it, people have gotten a lot of outside support and stimulus from the government. So, it’s pretty lucrative to be unemployed for the last 18 months.

Q. What’s in the future for the industry?

A. I don’t think it’s over. I think it’s a long way from over and I don’t know when we’re going to stabilize the work force, if ever.

That’s going to turn people to different ways to deliver the food.

Robots and all sorts of technology eliminating the need for so many human beings Q. How are you coping with these unprecedented circumstances?

A. I get up on the sunny side of the bed every morning and find positives in anything I can. I am a problem solver and our team at Ted’s is problem solvers. But I will tell you, this is the most difficult environment I’ve ever worked in over 50 years in this business.

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PERSONAL SAFETY

Know how to talk the talk when police communicate STAY SAFE Steve Rose is a retired Sandy Springs Police Captain, veteran Fulton County police officer and freelance writer. He is the author the book “Why Do My Mystic Journeys Always Lead to the Waffle House?” and the column “View from a Cop.”

Last evening, I watched an episode of “T.J. Hooker,” a TV cop show from the 1980s. The show was not produced as a comedy, but it was one of the funniest things I’ve watched in weeks. Nothing in that show was accurate, and I found myself critiquing it as if I were writing a review.

Maybe I’ll do that in a later column. This episode did, however, get me thinking about how police agencies communicate and how

they project that language to the public, usually via the media.

Most of you probably get police information from media sources. After Sept. 11, 2001, most police departments revamped internal communication standards, moving from signals to “plain talk.”

The reason was simple, if we had a catastrophic event requiring several agencies to work together, we needed a common language. For example, my “Signal 75” may mean “car accident.” Yours may be the signal for dinner break.

Still, documentation to the public remains somewhat official.

Police reports are official. Over the years, the language has evolved into the use of words that, to me, are, well, overly official.

When a crime is committed, the players within the incident fit into one of four categories.

1. Victim 2. Subject 3. Person of Interest 4. Suspect 5. Perpetrator A “victim” is universally known as the one who got the raw end of the deal. The word “subject” is a catch-all in police reports. A “subject” can be anyone.

A “subject” can be subject to an upgrade to “suspect” or

“perpetrator.” A “person of interest” is usually what we call someone who we’re not sure, but we have a hunch, was up to something or involved somehow.

Suspect and perpetrator, or “perp,” are close cousins and could be interchangeable in the police report. So, you would not say, “The ‘person of interest’ shot the store owner.” He definitely would be a suspect or perp.

It can be confusing.

Media sources came up with their own language when reporting crimes. The police report may read, “The suspect pulled the gun on the store owner.”

The media will say, “The suspect brandished a weapon.” It appears the only thing you can brandish is a weapon. You don’t brandish your fists, nor do you brandish Continued on page 23

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The Atlanta-Journal Constitution is committed to facilitating conversations on the topics important to aging well in Atlanta and providing you resources to live your best senior life — especially in today’s challenging environment.

Aging in Atlanta returns this fall with monthly print sections that will feature more local content than ever. Another virtual event is planned for the first week in October. The panel will be moderated by Kevin Riley, Editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and feature local experts who will share their knowledge on topics that matter most to you: estate planning and asset protection, immunizations, prescription management, maintaining physical and mental health, and planning for retirement.

In case you missed it, we launched a monthly Aging in Atlanta newsletter this spring.

Visit us at ajc.com/aging to sign up and to learn more about our special print sections and our upcoming virtual event. You’ll find plenty of 55+ focused content there as well as links to our previously published sections and events.

SEPTEMBER 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

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PERSONAL COMPUTING

To cut the (cable TV) cord or not?

That raises many questions PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY Gene Rubel the Digital Device Doctor, cures digital anxiety for seniors and home/ home-office users.

A graduate of Harvard Business School, “Doctor Gene” spent more than 30 years in international business. He can be reached at generubel@gmail.com.

If you’re thinking about getting rid of cable TV — often called “cutting the cord”— to save money and have more choices, and if you’re really confused by it all, you’re not alone.

Viewers of all ages are wrestling with the same decision, and many are confused or maybe misinformed. We’ll try to help clear up any misconceptions you have about what’s involved and how you could benefit.

To be clear, finding your best way to watch shows, movies and events on TV is a moving target.

Today’s realities can easily be different from tomorrow’s. With that caveat, you need to answer these questions: ■ What do you want to watch on TV? ■ Are you looking for more choices, or do you want to save money?

■ How comfortable are you with internet and Wi-Fi technology?

You’ll probably think of more questions as you go along, but these are the basic starting points.

Today’s seniors remember broadcast TV (without remote control) and the dawning of the cable age. Now you can now watch TV without having a TV (streaming or watching on a computer, phone or tablet). In case you’re not familiar with all

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of today’s available technology, “streaming” is the term used for watching TV content over the internet, and it covers all devices, including TV sets that are connected to the internet.

To best start the decisionmaking process, we recommend you create a chart. Start with a list along the left side of the shows and movies you want to watch.

Include live news and sports on that list if you watch them.

Use the other columns of your chart to show where you can find that content. If you find your choices show up in more than one place, that’s totally expected.

Make sure you add them all because there’s a good chance you’ll need to pay something for everything you choose. The goal here is to see which service – cable, internet streaming, or broadcast – offers most of the programming you want to watch.

More choices?

This exercise will lead you into the second point. Do you want to have more choices – or maybe it’s more options – than cable TV offers, or do you want to cut your TV-watching cost?

If you live in area with good broadcast TV reception and subscribe to only free streaming services, you’ll only need to pay for your internet connection to access thousands of shows and movies. There will be enough choices to last multiple lifetimes, but in reality you’ll only get a lot of content that’s not highly valued by the providers.

If you’re looking at your list of shows, movies and premium channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.) that you currently get from cable, you can replicate that with online streaming, but you might add to your cost.

Your cable provider probably has you on a bundle that includes a lot of channels that can be broken apart – or unbundled.

Your cable likely includes live news (CNN, Fox, MSNBC) and sports (ESPN and the Bally Sports regional channels), and you might pay extra to stream them individually without cable.

SEPTEMBER 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com

Fortunately, you can get most of your cable channels through streaming services. YouTube TV, Sling, Fubo TV, and Hulu Live are the major players for providing this, but they can be just as expensive as what you pay for cable – or maybe more after you finish tallying up everything you want to watch.

If you want to watch just shows without the live programming, you can find them at a lower cost from Philo or Hulu, to name two. If you want some live programming, you can hook up an antenna for broadcast TV and supplement it with subscriptions to providers that specialize in the content you want.

When you add it all up, the cost of the content you want to watch could be less expensive, the same or more expensive. But there are other costs to consider, both monetary ones and aggravation.

The monetary costs are for subscriptions and equipment.

If you are a cable customer, you likely are already paying a monthly fee for a cable box for each TV connected to the cable. If you switch to streaming your TV over the internet, you’ll need to buy a streaming device for each TV – unless you have a smart TV with Wi-Fi and streaming capability built in.

Depending on the device you buy (Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, Apple TV), you can spend anywhere from $30 to $125. But you should be able to find one that’s right for you for $75 or less. The more expensive ones are for 4K TV; there is very little programming in 4K definition, and not all TVs have the capability.

Is your internet fast enough?

In all likelihood, you get your internet service from your cable provider, and you’ll need to make sure you have fast enough service. Netflix recommends 25 Mbps service, while most others

recommend 15. The more TVs and other devices you have, the more service you’ll need. You should consider 50 Mbps at a minimum, and anything over 200 Mbps is probably overkill.

The faster the service, the more it costs. But speed alone is not the only factor that will affect your viewing on TVs, computers or any devices you have. You’ll need a good modem and router to bring in the faster speed and distribute the signals.

Streaming devices operate more like computers than cable, and you may find them to be cumbersome or confusing. You may also find the actions from your remote take longer to complete.

Cable vs Streaming?

In the end, you might find that sticking with cable outweighs the benefits of streaming, which offers more viewing and pricing options. But here’s a reward factor for each decision: If you stick with cable, your provider can also give you access (we’re not talking about any kind of cost factor) to the premium services associated with streaming. You’ll be best served by having a remote that takes voice commands, but otherwise you can get a lot of extra programming without any major upheaval in your life.

If you embrace streaming, you’ll have many times more options and much greater flexibility in choosing the content you want to watch and being able to watch it on anything that has a screen.

Whatever choices you ultimately make, they should be the ones that maximize your viewing pleasure.

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Know how to talk the talk when police communicate Continued from page 21

your debit card at the grocery.

Brandishing is limited.

If a “suspect,” “perpetrator,” or even “subject” robs a bank, he or she gets an “undisclosed amount of cash.” We say that because we don’t want to make fun of bank robbers who end up with a pitiful amount of money that probably wouldn’t pay the rent.

What they do get is caught.

Bank robbers get a detective and even an FBI investigator with a blue windbreaker with “FBI” all over it. (They love windbreakers.)

“Suspects” and “perpetrators” use cars to make the getaway. If we give chase, they “attempt to elude,” as it is written in the report. We give them credit for the attempt, and if they escape, the report reads “managed to elude,” making it

sound as if it’s difficult. We hate to lose.

When the “subject,” “suspect” or “perp” commits the crime, he or she will leave in a particular direction. This is called “Direction of Travel,” a more or less generic term because they probably didn’t go that way long.

In the report, the suspect’s vehicle may be referred to as “SV.” If the SV was an SUV, it may become confusing, so the rule is no joining acronyms. You will often hear the phrase “late-modelsedan.” That means we have no idea what kind of car it is.

Describing an arrest sounds close to describing interpretive dance. We like to facilitate an arrest, like we planned a party.

We provide the circumstance and then we facilitate the arrest. We could say “we arrested the guy”

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but “facilitate” brings into play an upscale motif. “Apprehend” means the same as “caught” but more official. You catch fish. You do not apprehend them.

One of my favorite policereport go-to sentences concerns the arrest of someone smoking or in possession of marijuana.

The report reads, “I smelled an odor that, through my experience and training, I recognized as marijuana.” It is a term on the edge of corny but sounds better than “I smelled an odor that I recognized as marijuana because I went to college.”

in memoriam

Judi Kanne, a regular contributor to Atlanta Senior Life who wrote the magazine’s Personal Health column, died July 28. She was 78 years old and had been diagnosed earlier this year with Lewy Body Dementia.

Kanne trained as a nurse and used her medical background to inform her columns. She wrote about health care issues ranging from ways to recover after a heart attack to understanding Medicare.

Her family asked that memorial gifts be sent in her name to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (www.lbda.org).

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