Newnan-Coweta Magazine, January/February 2010

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MAGAZINE

A Times-Herald Publication

January/February 2010 | $3.95

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On Our Website www.newnancowetamagazine.com Special Features Book giveaways Contests Recipe Box Podcasts Blogs Links of local interest

Web extras you’ll find only online.

Look for the computer icon throughout every issue to lead you to the special content at newnan cowetamagazine.com.

MAGAZINE Established 1995 A publication of The Times-Herald

President

Publisher

Vice President

William W. Thomasson

Sam Jones

Marianne C. Thomasson

Editor Angela McRae Art Director Deberah Williams

Congratulations to Lorrie Allen of Newnan, winner of our Cookie Kit Giveaway in the November/December issue.

Lorrie said she was looking forward to some Christmas cookie baking!

Contributing Writers Carolyn Barnard, Jeff Bishop, Sarah Fay Campbell, Nichole Golden, Holly Jones, Meredith Leigh Knight, Katherine McCall, Alex McRae, Tina Neely, Elizabeth Richardson, Michelle Hitt Grasso, W. Winston Skinner, Martha A. Woodham Photography Sarah Fay Campbell, Bob Fraley, Jeffrey Leo, Katherine McCall, Tara Shellabarger Circulation Director Naomi Jackson Sales and Marketing Director

On Our Cover

Colleen D. Mitchell Advertising Manager Lamar Truitt Advertising Consultants Doug Cantrell, Mandy Inman, Candy Johnson, Norma Kelley, Jeanette Kirby, Christine Swentor Advertising Design Debby Dye, Graphics Manager Sandy Hiser, Jonathan Melville, Sonya Studt FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION, call 770.683.6397 or e-mail colleen@newnan.com.

Newnan-Coweta Magazine is published bi-monthly by The Times-Herald, Inc., 16 Jefferson St., Newnan, GA 30263.

Subscriptions: Newnan-Coweta Magazine is distributed in home-delivery copies of The Times-Herald and at businesses and offices throughout Coweta County. Individual mailed subscriptions are also available for $23.75 in Coweta County, $30.00 outside Coweta County. To subscribe, call 770.304.3373.

Submissions: We welcome submissions. Query letters and published clips may be addressed to the Editor, Newnan-Coweta Magazine at P.O. Box 1052, Newnan, Georgia 30264.

On the Web: www.newnancowetamagazine.com © 2010 by The Newnan Times-Herald, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

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MAGS MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION OF THE SOUTHEAST

Completed on Sept. 11, 2009, Lynn Dunklin’s Quilt of Valor is now headed to a wounded warrior. – Photo by Denise Leak

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WINNER OF FIVE 2009 GAMMA AWARDS (for issues published in 2008) Gold Award for Best Series, Silver Award for Best Single Issue, Bronze Award for Best Single Cover, Bronze Award for Best Profile, Bronze for General Excellence

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January/February 2010

contents Features

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QUILT OF VALOR A Coweta woman’s decision to make a quilt for a wounded soldier became extra meaningful after another soldier in her life—her husband—got surprise orders sending him to Iraq.

16 BITTEN BY THE GENEALOGY BUG We sent our Elizabeth Richardson on a mission to explore her lineage and were amazed to learn about some of her famous forebears. If you’re new to the hobby as well, she’ll take you behind the scenes at the County County Genealogical Society.

20 WELCOME TO DEER CAMP For years now, three Coweta men and their families have been enjoying good times at a deer camp in a neighboring county.

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24 CHALK LEVEL Historians have been studying this African-American neighborhood in Newnan and learning more about its role in the formation of the county.

34 OF FURNITURE AND FAMILY Robin Baker’s home is currently sporting a new dining room thanks to some treasured family hand-me-downs she decided to give a fresh, new look.

40 WHAT’S COOKING IN COWETA? Community cookbooks are a favorite of many cooks, and Coweta churches and civic groups have some great cookbooks available.

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44 INTERESTED IN HISTORY? If you want to learn more about Coweta County or the town you live in, there are lots of great resources available through local historical societies.

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58 20 Departments 28 LOCAL HERITAGE Get a sneak peek at what’s been going on inside the Coweta County Courthouse during its $7.5 million restoration.

46 SADDLE UP A member of two hunt clubs in Georgia, Sharpsburg’s Judi Conger also raises foxhound puppies and has a riding school.

50 COWETA COOKS She’s a nurse, wife and mother of three, but Heather Bray says her busy family still makes time to dine around the table.

54 In every issue 8 EDITOR’S LETTER 64 THE BOOKSHELF 65 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

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54 THOUGHTFUL GARDENER The shrub whose beauty reaches its height in February is named for the exquisite and lovecrossed Roman nymph Daphne.

58 BABY FILES Is Disney really the happiest place on earth? Just ask a pregnant woman who decides to go there with her one-year-old!

60 FAMILY FUN The Margaret Mitchell House and Museum in Atlanta makes a great field trip for aspiring reporters.

66 I AM COWETA Meet Colleen Alrutz, director of the Piedmont Newnan Hospital Wellness Center.

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From the Editor }

Examination Time ocrates – admittedly someone I don’t go around quoting every day – said that “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Especially at the beginning of a new year, I think a little inner examination is a good thing and a useful way of spending part of this quieter, gentler season. It is often helpful to reconsider the past when making plans for the future, and that’s what we’ve done with this issue. Inside, you’ll find that many of the stories feature some element touched by the past while looking to the future.

Coweta quilter Lynn Dunklin, for instance, was following in the footsteps of Civil War-era quiltmakers by stitching a “Quilt of Valor” for a modern-day wounded warrior (see page 9).

We sent our Elizabeth Richardson to give us a Beginner’s Guide to Genealogy by checking out the Coweta County Genealogical Society in Grantville (page 16). Although she’s from South Carolina, she was able to use this wonderful local resource to find plenty of information on her forebears, who include quite a few famous folk, including U.S. presidents and a certain wellknown writer from Moreland.

Our own Coweta County Courthouse is in the midst of a $7.5 million facelift, and we got a tour to show you some of the progress. Artifacts from the past were unearthed during the renovations, and even the paint scheme in the courtroom is what you might call “Back to the Future” (page 24).

With Black History Month approaching in February, I was happy to hear of the buzz underway in Coweta’s Chalk Level community in Newnan, a historically African-American neighborhood that has become the focus of some new and exciting research (page 28).

If you’re beginning the new year with wishes for new home decor, you’ll want to check out our story on Robin Baker’s dining room redo which pays tribute to furniture lovingly handed down in her family (page 34).

Looking for a fun day trip for the family this winter? Find out what not-so-ancient piece of technology fascinated a future writer at Atlanta’s Margaret Mitchell House and Museum (page 60).

However you choose to spend your winter, I hope the new year holds many blessings for you!

Fondly,

Angela McRae, Editor angela@newnan.com

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By Katherine McCall | Photos by Denise Leak

ynn Dunklin’s Quilt of Valor was intended to console a wounded soldier. But as with many endeavors begun in a spirit of love and sacrifice, it has become more than just a comfort blanket.

Into the seams of this quilt are sewn pieces of her life – growing up in the military, the making of a film, the deployment of her husband to Kuwait, and a Civil War reenactment. But most of all, Lynn’s love for her country and those who serve it shines through brightly.

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I come from a military family. Born in Fort Bliss, TX, I traveled with my parents for 18 years while my father served in the Army. I went to college vowing never to marry a military man, and met my husband in the first week I was there. Now, he has served for 20+ years. We so appreciate and understand the sacrifices of service members, and hope you will know that we honor and thank you with every stitch in this quilt.

Lynn Dunklin writes in the Quilt of Valor journal.

As Lynn sewed, she also wrote her thoughts and feelings in a journal that would accompany the gift of the quilt. The project started when Lynn began to look for a timeperiod sewing project to engage the women and girls at the 2008 Camp Stephens Civil War Reenactment for Families in Crawfordville. As Lynn researched Civil War comfort quilts, she came across the Quilt of Valor program, whose mission is to cover all wounded and injured service members from the War on Terror, whether wounded physically or psychologically, with wartime quilts called Quilts of Valor. It was started in 2003 by Catherine Roberts of Seaford, Delaware who said, “We are a nation at war.

Warriors need something tangible, a physical representation of love, support and remembrance.”

Lynn felt the mission of the Quilt of Valor would fit beautifully with the Civil War reenactment, and she was motivated personally as well which she noted in her journal.

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With the help of good friend and quilter Denise Leak, Lynn selected the pattern “Pinwheels and Paddlewheels” from The Thimbleberries Book of Quilts by Lynette Jensen. While working on the quilt, Lynn’s family was in the midst of producing its second feature length film, The Sword. Many of the mothers and girls involved in the film, known as “the Ladies of the Sword,” also helped with the quilt.

You have to imagine a house full of people and general chaos while we were diligently measuring and marking. My husband had been working with a group of teenagers on a film project for about fifteen months, and they were all at my home. The film is being entered in an independent film festival and they were trying to get a complete copy done to send in for the competition.

A few days later …

By Monday, the group had a working copy which we watched with relief. Tuesday, it was mailed FedEx, Wednesday, the film festival confirmed delivery. And Thursday my beloved husband received “surprise” orders to go to Kuwait.

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Col. Douglas W. Dunklin left for Camp Arifjan outside Kuwait City on Nov. 10, 2008 and four days later, on her birthday, Lynn left for the Civil War reenactment with daughter Grace and son Samuel.

We leave for the reenactment tomorrow.

Having planned to do this as a family makes it a bittersweet prospect.

Milestones came and went, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. The Sword, whose theme is “Always be prepared to defend your home, family, and faith,” was accepted as a finalist at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. Col. Dunklin was able to return stateside for a brief visit to attend the film festival with his family and friends. As she traveled, Lynn’s thoughts on the quilt continued.

The actual sewing of the quilt began on Nov. 15, 2008 by the mothers and daughters at the Camp Stephens Civil War Reenactment. After that weekend, Lynn’s work proceeded in between school assignments, grocery trips, and continued filming, but always with the thought of that fallen soldier in the forefront of her mind. Now that soldier had a face – her husband. Some days it was too difficult and she had to put the quilt aside. As Lynn sewed she began to realize how lives are like pieces of the quilt.

All this makes me wonder what we accomplish with our days. How much of our efforts will have an eternal effect? Quilts pass away. Films age and crumble. Even words read over and over slip from remembrance. It is the changes in our own hearts and the wonders we pass on to others that last forever. God allows us to interact with friends, family and strangers – each encounter shapes us.

Our lives are a bit like quilts. Pieced together in colorful snippets.

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Lynn Dunklin leads a group of young ladies working on the Quilt of Valor during a civil war reenactment.

I have been struck by the diversity and beauty of our country. The variety of people and viewpoints are all blended like a quilt – sometimes the seams don’t match into a perfect point, but there is still order and delight in the pattern of our lives. I have been surrounded by a multitude of languages and colors, styles and social statuses, but all Americans. We all enjoy the freedom you protect and this is such a blessing we often take for granted. So, as I am sewing my final stitches, I am trying to keep in mind all the hearts I represent in thanking you for defending

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us. From the faces of those I love to those of total strangers I have passed these many months, the smiles reflect a gratitude we don’t express enough.

Finally, in August 2009 the hand stitching on the quilt top was finished and Lynn excitedly delivered it to the Heritage Quilts and Fabrics shop in Newnan. Her quilt top and a fabric backing encased a layer of cotton batting which was then machine quilted on the longarm quilting

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machine to hold it all together. All that remained was to bind the quilt around the edges. There had been some delays and setbacks but never without a purpose, it seemed.

So here it is Friday and the anniversary of the terrorists’ attack and your patriotic quilt is being sewn in a storefront window in smalltown USA – how American can you get?! It would give you chills to see the quilt stretched out in all its red, white and blue glory in the shop window, with vehicles and people from the street reflected in the midday sunshine.

The shop is right on the town square and sits across from the county courthouse. All those elements coming together in the moments we remember the fallen of 9/11 just awes me.

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After receiving a red ribbon at the Coweta County Fair, Lynn’s Quilt of Valor, and a small piece of Lynn’s life, were packed into the presentation case along with the journal to travel to an unknown injured American soldier. Her last entry reads: I hope that someday you will be able to pass your quilt of valor to the next generation and you will be able to tell the story of how you came to receive it – how you gave of yourself for duty, honor and country. And how you made a sacrifice that few people will understand completely. And finally how you were given a small thank you from a grateful fellow American.

Many blessings with patriotic affection, Lynn Dunklin

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By Elizabeth Richardson | Photos by Bob Fraley

What do Lewis Grizzard, Cary Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Laurence Olivier and a man by the name of “Somphronious” have in common?

Me, apparently.

I moved from South Carolina to Newnan in 2005, fresh out of college. My father thought it fitting to tell me as I was on my way out the door that Moreland’s most famous son, Mr. Grizzard, is my great uncle’s stepson. Admittedly, my response at the time was, “Who?” After nearly five years living in Coweta County, I know better. I can truly appreciate the irony that I unknowingly ventured over state lines to come to work for the very newspaper where Grizzard once interned.

As for Mr. Grant and the rest, I’ve only recently become aware that they are among the more interesting off-shoots of my family tree.

When asked to research my family at the Coweta County Genealogical Society and then share my experience, I jumped at the opportunity. I couldn’t help wondering what other hidden treasures would be unearthed while digging up my family’s lineage.

My journey led me to an old passenger depot at 5 West Broad St., which is nestled in the heart of Grantville. There I embarked on an Indiana Jones-like adventure tucked between the old bookshelves of the research library, burrowing in my coat for warmth in the drafty building.

The experience felt authentic. It was a bibliophile’s heaven – I was surrounded from floor to ceiling with volumes of history, of people’s lives set to paper. I spent hours in pursuit of my own roots, exploring publications that were often comprised of crisp, tattered pages that smelled earthy.

Luckily, I didn’t have to go it alone. I was left in the caring, knowledgeable hands of Rhonda Ray, a volunteer who was “bitten by the genealogy bug” about a decade ago. Society President Phil Herrington also helped me comb through the publications available at the society – they also have century16 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

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old newspapers and microfilm.

Since my maternal grandparents – Nealy Augburn Long and Shirley Ann Tyree Long – were originally from North Carolina, there wasn’t any information at the library specific to my family. However, Ray helped me Web surf Ancestry.com, which yielded a treasure trove of information.

Apparently, I’m fortunate to have a relative who has already conducted countless hours of research on our family and who, thankfully, shared the results online. We found the names of my ancestors dating back to the 1700s. All the information jived with the names Ray helped me find while searching through online census data dating back to the 1900s.

In most cases, though, it’s best to verify any online information for yourself to ensure its accuracy.

I was amused to discover that my great-great-great-grandfather’s name is “Somphronious.” One day I’ll have children of my own and there’s nothing like a family name …

Also, family lore has it that I might be distantly related to Al Gore – a fact we couldn’t prove or disprove even though we did confirm my relation to the Gore family. Regardless, I tell myself we all have black sheep somewhere in the family tree.

Thanks to a fun feature on Ancestry.com, I was able to peruse a list of famous people whom my great-grandfather Lacy Wayne Long is distantly related to.

Cary Grant is Long’s fourth cousin 15 times removed – yes, I’m counting that. Former First Lady Laura Bush is Long’s 10th cousin.

Our family is very distantly related to four U.S. presidents – Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon. As a woman and writer, I was

Volunteer Rhonda Ray and Genealogical Society President Phil Herrington are surrounded by some of the group’s many resources available to those who wish to explore their ancestry.

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The Coweta County Genealogical Society in Grantville offers resources including old newspapers and newspapers on microfilm.

most excited to learn that Emily Dickinson is Long’s seventh cousin four times removed and that Queen Elizabeth II is his ninth cousin once removed.

I know “12 times removed” sounds like a game of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” but at least my findings sparked an interest in my genealogical possibilities.

My research prompted my mother to share the story of my great-great-grandfather’s death. Jesse Simon Long was 18 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

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killed in the early 1900s. Long had been put in charge of a prisoner who got possession of Long’s gun and fatally shot him. My grandfather still has the article from the newspaper detailing his grandfather’s tragic demise.

What started as research – as names on a diagram – has quickly become three-dimensional as family members begin to recollect priceless stories of my ancestors’ lives.

Herrington urges people to embrace the Internet when conducting genealogical research because there is access to so many records online. However, a serious researcher will eventually have to get in the car and drive somewhere – a courthouse, a cemetery, a newspaper – for a piece of priceless information.

My research was less intimidating because of the wonderful volunteers who took time out of their day to help me discover a wealth of knowledge about my family – and I’ve only scratched the surface.

All in all, looking at the past helps us find out who we are and where we came from. Going forward, I have even bigger expectations to live up to given all my famous relatives. I hope some day long after I’m gone, someone will want to claim me as a fourth cousin 15 times removed. NCM

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Robin Miller, Billy Arnall and William Starnes

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By Alex McRae | Photos by Bob Fraley

nside the rustic, tin-roofed cabin, a platter piled with sausage and bacon beckons from a kitchen counter while steps away, grits bubble on the stove and eggs sizzle on a griddle.

A group of men hover expectantly as they anticipate the cholesterol-laden feast, wiping brush and grime from camouflage clothing, sipping coffee from mismatched cups and ignoring the deer heads dotting the walls and the gun racks groaning with enough weapons to outfit a third-world army.

The scene would make Martha Stewart gag. If you’re a hunter, it doesn’t get any better than this.

Welcome to deer camp.

Between bites of breakfast, Newnan’s Billy Arnall, owner of the Three Oaks Lodge in north Meriwether County, explains that shooting Georgia white tails is only part of the day’s pleasure.

“The hunting is fun,” Arnall says, “but the best thing is enjoying some good food and good company. That’s what makes it all worthwhile.”

Arnall didn’t hunt much as a boy and when he inherited the property from his grandfather in the late JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010 | 21

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1970s, he was content to savor the fields and forests with a friend or two.

A few years later, one of those friends, William Starnes, suggested he and Arnall see how many deer were enjoying the property, too.

There were plenty.

Starnes and Arnall became regular hunters and were soon joined by mutual friend Robin Miller. In time, the men’s sons joined the outings.

“It was a great way to get to know each other better and spend quality time with the boys,” Miller says. “There’s really nothing like it.”

By the early 1990s, the hunting crowd had grown and the group decided the outdoor experience could be enhanced by a comfortable cabin. Maybe even one with heat.

The men and boys spent an entire year dismantling an abandoned tenant house nail by nail and building a new hunting lodge from the salvaged lumber.

The finished cabin had bunks for 12 and a wood stove to fight the winter chill. Soon, propane heat was added, indoor plumbing was upgraded and air-conditioning made even summertime visits enjoyable.

The wives eventually noticed the upgrades and the “No Girls Allowed” sign came down for good.

“We weren’t interested in spending the night,” says Arnall’s wife, Linda. “But it was a great place for social get-togethers and we had plenty.”

The women knew better than to disturb the cabin’s primitive Three Oaks Lodge in Meriwether County has played host to several generations of Coweta men and boys.

A lodge scrapbook photo, near left, shows the abandoned tenant house that was dismantled for salvage lumber for the new structure.

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ambiance, but Miller’s wife, Alice, says a few decorating touches were tolerated.

“I covered a porch swing with some camouflage fabric and nobody complained,” she says. “But we didn’t try and change much. It was still a hunting cabin.”

The Three Oaks Lodge social calendar got more crowded when a screened pavilion featuring a huge kitchen was built.

“There’s not anything you can’t do out there,” says Starnes’ wife, Carol. “And best of all, the men always clean up afterward.”

Three Oaks Lodge has played host to Sunday School parties, prewedding events and a bash for a bachelor on the brink of matrimony.

The families even gather there for Thanksgiving dinner each year.

Deer meat is never on the menu.

“The girls don’t like it,” Arnall says.

The bountiful doe population provides a healthy supply of venison, but the hunters have collected enough antlers over the years that only a trophy-sized buck rates a shot.

“We don’t mind,” says Starnes.

“Watching the wildlife is part of the fun. You see some things you don’t expect out here.”

The men still laugh about the time a hunter raced back to camp claiming he had shot a wild hog.

The deceased beast turned out to be a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig.

“Basically, he’d shot somebody’s pet,” Arnall says. “We try not to kid him too much.”

Even the deer hunts don’t always go as planned. Years ago Arnall and Starnes set their sons up in a good shooting position and then circled back to the other side of a swamp to drive some deer toward the boys.

Arnall and Starnes got close

enough to hear the boys talking.

They didn’t realize they were also close enough to be spotted until one of the boys said “I see one” and bullets started flying. Right toward Starnes and Arnall.

Bloodshed was avoided and a new hunting lesson was learned.

“We didn’t try that again,” Arnall says. “But it’s a fun story to tell.”

As long as hunting remains a cherished American tradition, woodland retreats like Three Oaks Lodge will continue to flourish, but as new generations gather to enjoy the fun and fellowship, even die-hard hunters admit that these days, you can have a great time at deer camp without ever firing a shot.

“It’s all about spending time together with family and friends,” Arnall says. “We wouldn’t trade that for anything.” NCM

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Chalk Level Historic African-American neighborhood has a rich history Story and photos by Jeff Bishop

61 Pinson St.

tanding on Hardaway Street in Newnan, looking at an unassuming row of old homes, you wouldn’t think they were anything particularly notable. But the saddlebag double pen home at 25 Hardaway is – at least by one researcher’s reckoning – “the early core” of a community that’s been mostly forgotten.

Brenda Harden remembers her grandmother Nora Elam, now 99, referring to the old, traditionally 24 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

African-American neighborhood along Pinson Street as “Chalk Level.”

But times have changed and the neighborhood isn’t what it once was, she said.

“When I grew up on Pinson Street, I remember playing basketball, baseball, and skateboarding,” she said.

“Of course our skateboards were just old two-by-fours with wheels stuck on each corner. We had to make our own games.

“But we had a neighborhood grocery store on the corner of

Savannah and Pinson Street, and a YMCA,” she said. “We’d go play ping-pong there.”

Things have “gone from bad to worse” in that part of town, she said, and she never really considered the rich history behind Chalk Level.

“I was raised right there on Pinson Street, but it just never dawned on me,” said Harden.

She does remember that the neighborhood once boasted doctors and a hospital. Her uncle, Edward Jordan, is the grandson of the late Dr.

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File photos show the Jordan home at 61 Pinson St. as it appears today, here, and near the time of its construction in 1908, opposite.

n St

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Burch Ave Newnan’s Chalk Level Neighborhood Savannah St

Mitchell St

Johnson Ave

Calhoun St

Linda St

Hill St

Pinson St olds

Walker St

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Johnson Ave

Turner St

Walt Hall St

Paul St

Pinson St

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Dewey St

Hard away

Hatcher St

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Gay St

Mary Ann St

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Price St

Coweta County Courthouse Complex

Savannah St

Long St

Savannah St

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John Henry Jordan, whose 1908 Queen Anne home at 61 Pinson St. is the crown jewel of the Chalk Level area.

Julie Turner, a former planner for the Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Development Center and currently a fellow at Emory, has been researching Chalk Level for the past year, peeling back the layers of history like an onion.

In fact, Newnan’s Chalk Level neighborhood—located south of the Cole Town historic district and made up generally of Savannah Street, Dewey Street, and Robinson and Pinson Streets—was featured in the Vernacular Georgia group’s winter excursion on Dec. 5. Vernacular Georgia is a group whose aim is “to promote and sustain the focus on Georgia’s historic vernacular architecture and to encourage its preservation,” according to Turner, who led the recent excursion.

“My field work has netted surprises and more than one puzzle to work through,” she said.

“I will assert with confidence, at this point in my research, that the earliest development of Chalk Level as an African-American community pre-dates the extant structure of streets,” said Turner.

“Instead, the earliest buildings followed the dictates of the creek and the topography of Chalk Level,” she said.

The streets seem to follow the boundaries of the early Georgia Land Lottery maps, Turner said.

“Unlike most old roads, they just go in a straight line, right along the lines of the land lots,” she said.

The origins of Chalk Level extend all the way back to the time when cotton was still king, before the Civil War. Many of the streets of the Chalk Level neighborhood are actually named for early slaveholding plantation owners – and in a town noted for its early wealth, it took a lot of slaves to generate that output.

Many of the slaves who helped build that early Newnan wealth are buried at a

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Willie L. Dixon was a brick mason, and his circa 1920 home on Dewey Street features unique “flying buttresses” made from local brick. The brick appears to be older and probably recycled from scrap, observed Julie Turner of Vernacular Georgia.

The Tom Hunter commercial block was built in two phases, in 1949 and 1952, and the stores have primarily been used as a barber shop, a beauty shop, and a “knickknack” store. The stores are located from 78-82 Pinson St.

The Queen Anne style John Henry Kight house at 76 Pinson St. was valued at $3,500 at the time of its construction circa 19111920. “He was listed in the 1930 Census as a farmer, as owning his own farm, so this was still an active farming area at the time,” said Julie Turner.

Paul Jarrell, associate planner with the Three Rivers Regional Commission, examines the grave of Charlie Burch, the only marked grave at the Farmer Street cemetery, while Cynthia Rosers and Julie Turner look on.

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forgotten cemetery on Farmer Street, notable mostly for its silence. A single, modest gravestone at the edge of the cemetery speaks for the 269 graves there.

“The marked grave was for Charlie Burch, son of A.B. and Eliza Burch,” said Turner.

Participant Cynthia Rosers said that Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has been done at the site, confirming the number of unmarked graves.

“This was a slave cemetery for these two plantations,” the descendants of whom later became the core of the Chalk Level community, Turner said.

She said that at first she had her doubts, but now she’s convinced the graves are primarily those of slaves.

“I was pretty skeptical,” said Turner. “I thought maybe they were African-Americans from the late 19th century. But now I’m a complete believer.”

She notes that Newnan had an unusually large African-American population, from the earliest days of its existence.

“In 1860 there was a white population in Newnan of 958. But the African-American population was just shy of 1,600,” said Turner. “That’s something you might expect to see in the more rural parts of the county, but not in town.”

She reckons that the former slaves began a

community centered on Hardaway Street, along a creek that parallels the road, and then branched out to Reynolds Street and later to Pinson and Savannah Street.

The homes at 6 Reynolds St., 14 Reynolds St., and 18 Reynolds St. are likely remnants of that early Chalk Level era, she said.

“That’s the early core of this historic community, without a doubt,” she said. NCM Members of Vernacular Georgia were surprised and delighted to find an example of the English Cottage style on Pinson Street while touring Newnan’s Chalk Level neighborhood.

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Local Heritage }

Courthouse–

Court square gem to shine again

by W. Winston Skinner | Photos by Bob Fraley

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The R.D. Cole Company built much like the earlier Coweta he Coweta the 1904 courthouse based on a courthouse.

County design by J. W. Golucke, a self-styled The current courthouse was Courthouse looks architect from the east Georgia town constructed during a courthouse like the kind of place construction frenzy. Georgia counties of Crawfordville. James Wingfield where you might run were anxious to show themselves part Golucke designed 25 or more into Perry Mason – and I of the progressive New South. A new, Georgia courthouses. Most of the did one day. courthouses It’s been attributed to almost 20 years Golucke are still since a movie in use. The New crew came to Georgia Newnan to Encyclopedia dramatize Grass deems Coweta’s Roots, the novel as “Golucke’s

by Meriwether most ambitious County native courthouse.”

Stuart Woods.

A couple of The unique stories about the horseshoe courthouse shaped table was center around removed from Ellis Arnall. He the grand jury The courtroom of the Coweta County Courthouse is getting a facelift. kicked off his room to create A section of one wall, below, shows the feather graining and original successful 1942 an office for paint colors that will be featured in the completed courtroom. campaign for Judge Boggs, governor on the played by east side of the Raymond Burr, courthouse with who earlier had a barbecue solved prepared by Jim unsolvable cases Pike, the county as Perry Mason. ordinary.

The Rainwater courthouse is a somehow got in gem in the Brunswick downtown stew and Newnan. Its everyone who classic facade ate it got sick. has brought When Arnall several other attempted to moviemakers to seek the town, and the governorship in building and its 1966, he distinctive dome announced his candidacy in the have become oft used symbols of the grand upper floor courtroom. imposing courthouse on the town county.

The courthouse for years square was a sure symbol of the The building is a repository of contained most, if not all, county promise of the 20th century. Not stories. The previous courthouse was offices. Workers at the building everyone wanted the old courthouse a columned brick edifice dating to recently found tickets left from the to go and demolition began in the 1829. The Banks County 1949 season of the Newnan Browns, Courthouse, which still stands, looks wee hours.

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a semi-pro baseball team. The team members slept under the eaves of the courthouse. Their manager was Lamar Potts, the longtime sheriff. A 1916 arrest warrant was also found.

The courthouse was, of course, primarily a place for court. The most famous case there was the 1948

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murder trial of John Wallace, a Meriwether County landowner accused of killing a farmhand. The story was popularized by Margaret Anne Barnes’ book, Murder in Coweta County, and a TV movie starring Johnny Cash and Andy Griffith.

I have covered plenty of trials at the courthouse. In two of them the death penalty was imposed, though both sentences were later reduced.

Nathan Knight, the state court judge when I began my reporting career, had as imposing a presence on the bench as anyone I ever saw.

The courthouse is currently undergoing a $7.5 million restoration funded with Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax money from the county and all its municipalities.

Patricia Palmer, the county’s public information officer, arranged a tour for me and photographer Bob Fraley.

Albert Johnson, the project manager for Headley Construction, took us from the ground floor to the dome.

The restored courthouse will include its first elevator, located in the northeast corner, near where I

The pressed tin ceiling on the balcony of the courthouse, at left, is being refurbished. The Newnan Browns baseball team once slept in the area below left, and at right are metal railings which had to be raised to meet safety standards.

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once copied the indictment list while James Garner collected his thoughts a few feet away for a scene in Decoration Day. Original colors and the feather graining that made the Georgia pine look like more expensive woods in 1904 will be coming back. The courtroom and grand jury room will be preserved for posterity, and the original octagonal floor tiles will be shining once more. Original 13-foot ceilings and plaster molding will again be visible in rooms that had dropped ceilings for years.

Since no photographs of the original courtroom lighting remain, there will be four chandeliers “as close to the period style as possible,” Patricia says.

Downstairs the probate court will function, and the Coweta Convention and Visitors Bureau will welcome folk from near and far. “Three of the four quadrants will be probate court,” Patricia says.

The elevator is not the only bow to modernity. Thick brick walls have been cut and drilled to make room for wiring and HVAC. The metal railings on the balconies had to be raised to meet safety standards. Al and the Headley folks figured out how to add a piece at the bottom. I doubt Lamar Potts would notice the difference.

It is now much easier to ascend into the upper part of the structure. The “wood” in the dome itself was almost non-existent when the restoration began. Strong bracing has been put in place using a process “kind of like tightening lug nuts,” Al says.

The project was originally slated for completion in April. Al assures me it will be ready now in “late June-July” – ready for another century of stories. NCM

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Tina’s Tips }

From generation to generation

Passing down the love

By Tina Neely | Photos by Bob Fraley and courtesy of Robin Baker

34 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

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Four generations of women have enjoyed the furnishings now in Robin Baker’s dining room.

Clockwise from lower left are her grandmother, Mary Terry, mother, Shelia Entrekin, Robin Baker, and Robin’s niece, Belle Shepard.

At Robin Baker’s home in Newnan, her lovely dining room sports a wonderful new color scheme and freshly refurbished family antiques just waiting to tell a story. In chocolate brown, sky blues

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Her family’s dining table and chairs can be seen in the photo at left of Robin as a baby being held by her greatgrandmother, Mamaw Benefield, as her grandmother Mary Terry, her uncle Mark Terry and her mother Shelia Entrekin look on. The table and sideboard also saw service at many other family celebrations through the years.

and creams, it is beautiful and inviting. The walls are freshly painted, new curtains are made from gorgeous Waverly fabric, and furniture has been painted in beautiful creams and whites. But this isn’t just any furniture – it’s furniture filled with love, stories and memories of special times with family.

The dining table and sideboard came to Robin through her grandmother, Mary Terry.

After using them for many years, Mary passed them on to her daughter, Shelia Entrekin. After celebrating many a special birthday, Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner, the table and server were then passed on to Robin. Inspired by some lovely new fabric, Robin set out to redo her dining room and those beloved pieces of furniture.

Like many others, Robin wanted something new but “new on a budget.” Most

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Robin Baker was only 3 when she celebrated a birthday next to the family table which now graces her newlyredecorated dining room.

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people right now aren’t able to go buy all new furnishings, so people are working with what they have and falling in love with their homes all over again. It’s easy to do: repaint the walls, rearrange the furniture, add new accessories and draperies, have the carpets/hardwoods cleaned and it’s like a new house again. Who wants a new table anyway when you have a perfectly beautiful one already, a table with history, fond memories and love built into it?

Robin has redecorated her dining room and made her whole house new again using these easy steps: • Be inspired. Before painting anything, walls or furniture, find something that inspires you for that room. Often it’s a favorite fabric (for draperies, pillows, etc.) or it could be an interesting art piece, chair or accessory. • Paint the walls. It’s an inexpensive way to completely change the look of a room or house.

Take your inspiration piece with you and match the paint to it, building around this color. Robin

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New upholstery fabric featuring blue and chocolate brown inspired the color scheme in Robin Baker’s dining room.

38 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

used new fabric as inspiration for the dining room, pulling out the wonderful chocolate brown in the leaves for the wall color.

• Add new draperies/curtains.

Window treatments add so much to a room, giving it character, texture and making it feel more like home.

Stores carry many that are pre-made, but there are easy-to-sew patterns for those who aren’t expert seamstresses.

Consider finding a friend who is talented at sewing and work out a trade – curtains for casseroles or whatever your specialty might be.

Another idea: use fabric tablecloths or even shower curtains.

Tablecloths come in a huge variety of fabrics at a fraction of the cost of custom draperies.

Shower curtains are easy too. They are already finished, so you just cut them down the middle, hem the sides and hang them with drawer pulls at the top or even tie ribbons through the holes to hang on the curtain rod.

• Take a piece of furniture that’s a focal point and add a pop of color to it. You don’t necessarily have to paint all the furniture in the room, perhaps just a table or chair. A piece or

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two will do it. Be bold and try it; it is OK to paint over wood furniture. Before you do, here are some tips to help you paint your pieces: • Sand/prep the surface.

Depending on the condition of the wood, you might want to do a light sanding of the entire piece before you get out the paintbrushes.

• Prime it! Depending on the size of the piece, you may or may not need to prime it. For smaller pieces you might go straight to it with spray paint (no sanding, no primer), but for bigger pieces like a table or sideboard/server you may wish to consider priming first. Special foam rollers made especially for smoothly rolling paint onto furniture are available at local home improvement stores.

• Choose the paint color.

Whether you choose to spray or roll the paint, it’s going to take several coats. You might want to consider rolling the first few coats and finishing it off with final coats in spray paint to leave a smooth finish with no brush/roller marks.

A great spray paint to look for is American Accents by Rustoleum.

It comes in a wonderful array of colors and leaves the most perfect finish, and it’s available at local hobby and craft stores.

• Your final step for a room/home redo: celebrate!

Invite family and friends over to make new memories and show off your hard work. If you have an old family photo with your fantastic furniture piece in it, invite the family over and recreate that picture. Then frame them both and place them in the perfect spot to make a great conversation piece! NCM

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I love cookbooks!

I own every Barefoot Contessa cookbook, Magnolia Bakery cookbooks, Paula Deen and Julia Child, even cooking textbooks from the Culinary Institute of America. But my favorites are those classic, mostly

By Michelle Hitt Grasso | Photos by Bob Fraley

spiral bound cookbooks published by churches, community groups, schools and sometimes even families. They often lack

the glossy photographs and hardbound covers found in other cookbooks. Instead, these are cherished community cookbooks that hold within their pages classic family recipes and time-honored traditions.

We are lucky in Coweta County to have so many community cookbooks that reflect not only our southern heritage but also the heart of citizens. From churches, sisters and master gardeners to the ladies of the Newnan Junior Service League and many more, these cookbooks have been passed from mothers to daughters

to granddaughters and have raised money for charitable causes and even provided college scholarships.

Here are some samples of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cooking in Coweta County.

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CHURCH LADIES Some of my fondest memories from childhood are of Sunday dinners at our small Methodist church. That tiny fellowship hall was filled with scents of macaroni and cheese, squash casserole, and homemade cakes and pies. These are the kinds of recipes that fill the pages of both editions of Cokes Chapel Favorite Recipes. Dishes like Methodist Green Beans and Tex-Mex Summer Squash Casserole will take you back to childhood and have you rushing home to make them for your family. If you have ever been to a church supper or just wondered what all the fuss was about, the ladies of Cokes Chapel United Methodist Church have given us the very best of those cherished traditional favorites.

SISTERS UNITE When sisters get together, you can guarantee there will be plenty of good food to go around. I should know – I have two sisters and three sisters-in-law! In 2006 when sisters Martha, Willie, Shirley, Becky, Joyce, Ellen and Bobbie put together a collection of family recipes for their children and grandchildren, they had no idea it would help save one sister’s life. When Shirley Williamson was given the news that she had to have a kidney transplant, her sisters – in true sister form – rallied to her side and used the proceeds from the cookbook Sisters Family Cookbook and its sequel, Sisters Family Cookbook: Second Helping, to offset the financial burden of the transplant and ongoing medication.

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TO SAVE A SCHOOL All Time Favorites of Raymond Community is a cookbook on a mission. It was originally published 22 years ago to pay for a roof at the Mary Ray Schoolhouse in Raymond, and three ladies with a desire to save the schoolhouse got together once again to publish an updated version of this community classic. Old recipes have combined with new ones in an effort to save and restore this former school as a community center.

JUNIOR LEAGUE While some cookbooks are printed for a season, some truly stand the test of time. In 1977, a group of ladies with the Newnan Junior Service League were looking for a new way to raise money for the community projects they supported. The result was a cookbook that my own mother used while I was growing up in Savannah. The call went out all over Georgia for recipes to be considered for publication. Mothers, grandmothers, sisters and friends all contributed their best and favorites for consideration. Popular restaurants and even the First Lady, Mrs. Rosalynn Carter, submitted recipes to be included. Thousands of recipes were received, and each had to be blind tested three times before it actually could be included in the cookbook. When the best of the best were finally chosen, a team of ladies volunteered their time to type each recipe in the same format. Additional sections were added detailing such things as how to fold a napkin, properly set a table and decorate a cake. The final result is more than a cookbook – it is a tradition still passed from one generation to the next.

Junior League members ever since have continued the tradition, and today A Taste of Georgia is currently in its 20th edition with more than 300,000 copies in print. It has won numerous awards and holds an honored position in both the Southern Living Cookbook Hall of Fame and the Walter S. McIlhenny Tabasco Community Cookbook Awards Hall of Fame.

Building on the success of A Taste of Georgia, the Newnan Junior Service League has also published two additional cookbooks – Another Serving and Simply Southern. Each year proceeds from the sale of all three cookbooks provide a four-year college scholarship for two young women from Coweta County.

Community cookbooks will always be my favorite and hold a special place in my own collection. Who knows, maybe one day I will publish a collection of my own favorites! NCM

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Following history in

Coweta

By Elizabeth Richardson

f you’re interested in local history, Coweta County has a number of groups focusing on the history of a particular town as well as the county as a whole. If you haven’t visited one of these sites recently, you may want to put that on your list of things to do in the new year!

• NEWNAN-COWETA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Headquarters: Male Academy Museum, 30 Temple Avenue Contact: 770-251-0207, nchs@newnanbiz.net Hours: 10-12, 1-3 Tuesday-Saturday and Sundays 2-5 p.m.

Founded: 1971 Meets: Members meet twice a year, for a preservation picnic in the summer and also for a Christmas party. Board of directors meets once a month.

Memberships: Start at $25 for individuals and go up to $400 for an endowment plan.

Current project: To rebuild the Atlanta & West Point Railroad Passenger depot.

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Male Academy Museum, Newnan African-American Heritage Museum, Newnan

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• SENOIA AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Headquarters: Corner of Couch Street and Pylant Street Contact: P.O. Box 301, Senoia, GA 30276 Founded: 1989 Meets: Third Thursday of every month at 7 p.m.

Memberships: $15/family, $10/individual, annually (e-mail Keith Skantz at kskantz@lbr1.com) Current projects: Restoration of the house. Trying to establish a museum to display Senoia’s historic artifacts. Open a gallery show of photographs taken by Senoia photographer Melvin Cheek.

• MORELAND COMMUNITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Headquarters: Town Hall, 7 Main St., Moreland; Museum in old mill Contact: P.O. Box 128, Moreland, GA 30259 Founded: 1983

Meets: Third Thursday of every month at 7 p.m.

Memberships: Free Current projects: To operate the Old Mill Museum jointly with the Erskine Caldwell Museum and Lewis Grizzard Museum. Cataloguing items at the mill museum, which includes a collection of artifacts unique to Moreland’s history. Hopes to open exhibits, including mill, railroad and peach exhibits.

The group is collecting old family recipes for a reproduction of a cookbook, What’s Cooking In Moreland, that was printed many years ago.

Members are also asking others to share their memories and photos for a new Moreland history book society members would like to write as a community. “Stories of the Mill and those who worked there would be great, because we are working to

develop an exibit in the Old Mill Museum to showcase the history of the Mill while it was operated,” said the society’s president, Josh Evans.

For more information, call Evans at 678-378-1342.

• AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTER Headquarters: 92 Farmer St., Newnan Contact: 770-683-7055; P.O. Box 833, Newnan, GA 30264 Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 10-4; other hours by appointment Founded: 2003 Memberships: $20 a year Current projects/exhibits: Throughout 2010, the museum will feature exhibits of two or three of Coweta’s oldest black churches each month and detail their history. NCM

Old Mill Museum, Moreland

At a summer fundraiser for the Senoia Area Histrocial Society, Ludie Tucker browses through sale items while sampling one of eight flavors of iced tea.

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Saddle Up }

The Sporting Lifestyle

By Martha A. Woodham | Photos by Jeffrey Leo

Judi Conger gives a riding lesson to Luke Balentine, shown here on horse Cookie.

oxhunting isn’t on the list of approved majors at Berry College, but Coweta County riding instructor Judi Conger has parlayed her time in the saddle during her college years into a satisfying career.

Conger began foxhunting when she was a junior at Berry. Now she 46 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

shares her love of horses and hunting by teaching children and adults to ride with the ultimate goal of following the hounds.

“Foxhunting is one of the few things that parents can participate in with their kids as a sport,” she says.

With many sports such as soccer or

softball, parents are limited to supporting their kids from the sidelines, she explains, but in foxhunting, mothers and fathers are riding along with their children.

“It’s the sporting, outdoor lifestyle,” says Conger, who is a member of two hunt clubs in Georgia,

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Lauren Balentine rides Boo and Hanna Landis rides Scarlette at Judi Conger’s Ramsey Farm.

Midland Fox Hounds and Bear Creek Hounds. “It’s a healthy way to teach children responsibility and to keep them out of trouble. Hunting also teaches them social skills. There is a lot of interaction of kids and adults.”

For example, two of Conger’s former riding students, Jenna and

Claire Campbell of Peachtree City, met Bear Creek Hounds member Lori Kennedy, an engineer, while hunting. Kennedy became a mentor to the teens, encouraging Claire to pursue her interests in engineering at Georgia Tech. Now in graduate school in Michigan, Jenna has found

that hunting has given her an instant circle of friends: Conger and Kennedy introduced her to members of the Waterloo Hunt in Michigan, and Jenna is now hunting with the club.

But you don’t have to ride horses to enjoy foxhunting. Conger’s husband of 15 years, Rick, follows JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010 | 47

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Judi Conger works with Luke Balentine, at left, and Lauren Balentine, above. Conger’s students participate in horse shows through the Boots and Britches circuit, formed by local riding instructors to give their students show ring experience.

the hunt in his truck as a “road whip,” using a two-way radio to keep track of the hounds chasing their quarry, which is usually a coyote. The two have been invited to ride with hunt clubs, making friends up and down the East Coast and in Great Britain.

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As a horse-crazy youngster living The Congers, who live in in Peachtree City, Judi Conger Sharpsburg, also volunteer to raise began riding at age 7 after begging foxhound puppies for Midland. her parents for lessons. She showed Each summer, as many as eight hunters and learned to jump at puppies live with the Congers in Glenloch Stables, which eventually order to learn commands and be were demolished and turned into socialized to people, horses and soccer fields. other dogs. The At Berry, Congers teach Conger began the youngsters teaching riding their names, when a family voice called the commands and college stables additional looking for an essential skills, instructor. That such as going led to on a leash and foxhunting with how to behave Shamrock around horses Hounds and a and cars. passion that has Every fall the puppies are Lauren Balentine helps with one of the consumed her: puppies the Congers raise for Midland Now she hunts returned to the Fox Hounds. as often as four kennels, where times a week with Midland and Bear they are taught how to hunt.

Creek during the winter season, Although sad to see them go, the usually with up to 15 students in Congers are pleased when “their” tow. puppies do well while hunting or at Conger’s riding school is based hound shows. One of their puppies, at 22-acre Ramsey Farm, just south Midland Roxanne ’08, grew up to of the Coweta-Fayette county line. be a champion at the Virginia Her students also participate in Hound Show, the premier showcase horse shows through the Boots and for foxhounds.

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W AT T S F U R N I T U R E G A L L E R I E S

Britches circuit, formed by local riding instructors to give their students show ring experience.

Look at the list of Conger’s students, and the same last names appear over and over. She often teaches siblings or, in some cases, parents and children. One horse in Conger’s barn has been shared by three sisters and their mother.

Although the majority of Conger’s students are children, many are adults who have always loved horses and are now at a point in their lives where they want to follow their childhood dreams. Others got bitten by the foxhunting bug and want to learn to ride so they can hunt. Conger is all too happy to accommodate them.

In fact, learning to foxhunt is easier than ever, she explains. The field, which is the group of horses and riders on a foxhunt, is usually divided into three groups. One group rides fast and jumps obstacles to keep up with the huntsman and the hounds. The second group keeps a fast pace, but avoids jumping.

The third group, the hilltoppers, rarely goes faster than a trot and frequently is in a position to see the hounds working as they follow a scent.

Hilltopping is a great introduction to foxhunting, she says, and horses can be leased for those who want to try the sport. One horse in Conger’s barn, Bruce, is legendary for safely introducing dozens of children and adults to hunt. In 1991, Conger discovered the bay Thoroughbred, abandoned and starved. She nursed him back to health and began hunting him.

Although 28, Bruce is still going strong, and he was booked well in advance for the November hunt that opened the 2009-2010 season for Bear Creek Hounds.

Obviously the sporting lifestyle agrees with him as it does with Judi and Rick Conger. NCM

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{ Coweta

By Meredith Leigh Knight | Photos by Bob Fraley

Heather Bray gets some mealtime assistance from 8-year-old son Caleb.

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Cooks }

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Caleb helps his mom Heather spoon filling onto the crescent roll base of this Broccoli Ham Ring.

BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE: Good comfort food 1 (16-ounce) box elbow macaroni 1 stick margarine, cut into pieces 2 cups Colby Jack cheese 3 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup sour cream 1 cup milk Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook macaroni, then drain. While still hot, place in 9x13-inch casserole dish with pieces of margarine, add cheese and stir. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl and then stir into macaroni mixture. (“This is never enough cheese for us,” says Heather, “so I add one cup or a little more of cubed Velveeta.”) Bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes.

BROCCOLI HAM RING 12 ounces of diced ham 2 cups of fresh broccoli florets 1/4 cup onion, chopped 1/4 cup of fresh parsley 1-1/2 cups of chopped or shredded Swiss cheese 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon of lemon juice 2 packages of crescent rolls Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except crescent rolls in large mixing bowl.

Arrange crescent roll triangles in a large circle on round pizza pan. The

52 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

wide ends of the triangles will overlap each other, and the tips will hang off outer edge of pan. There should be a circular opening in center of pan.

Heather uses a small hand-held rolling pin and flattens out the large end of triangles. (This is fun for the kids to do.)

Next, using a large spoon, scoop broccoli ham mixture onto wide end of each triangle. Then bring the tips of the crescent rolls over the filling to the center pressing down to fat end of triangle. You should end up with a large ring. Filling will not be completely covered.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

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Thoughtful Gardener }

Winter Daphne Story and

photos by Katherine McCall

ebruary – the month for love. It seems fitting that the shrub whose beauty reaches its height in February is named for the exquisite and love-crossed Roman nymph Daphne.

This ancient tale of Cupid, Apollo and Daphne begins with Apollo, who, bursting with pride at the conquest of the serpent Python, speaks haughtily to Cupid. Cupid, miffed by Apollo’s attitude, exacts revenge by drawing “... from his quiver two arrows of

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different workmanship, one to excite love, the other to repel it. The former was of gold and ship pointed, the latter blunt and tipped with lead. With the leaden shaft he struck the nymph Daphne, the daughter of the river god Peneus, and with the golden one Apollo, through the heart. Forthwith the god was seized with love for the maiden, and she abhorred the thought of loving.”

Apollo sought and pursued Daphne as she fled and begged her father to save her. “Scarcely had she spoken, when a stiffness seized all her limbs; her bosom began to be enclosed in a tender bark; her hair became leaves; her arms became branches; her foot stuck fast in the ground, as a root; her face became a tree-top, retaining nothing of its former self but its beauty” (Thomas Bulfinch, Age of Fable: Vols. I & II, Stories of Gods and Heroes, 1913). And so the angelic Daphne was transformed into an equally handsome laurel tree.

Apollo continued to swear his allegiance and love to her, proclaiming it from that time onward by using the laurel’s branches as his own personal crown.

Scarcely had she spoken, when a stiffness seized all her limbs; her bosom began to be enclosed in a tender bark; her hair became leaves; her arms became branches; her foot stuck fast in the ground, as a root; her face became a tree-top, retaining nothing of its former self but its beauty.

– Thomas Bulfinch, Age of Fable: Vols. I & II, Stories of Gods and Heroes, 1913

Let us jump ahead some 2,000 years to the winter of 2008. I had been eagerly anticipating the call for several weeks. My camera bag sat in readiness by the back door with lenses polished and battery charged, ready to be thrown into the car at a moment’s notice.

Finally, the summons came on the last morning of January, one of those warmish winter days that will coax out early flowering plants. The Daphnes were in bloom!

I had been invited by a friend to visit her garden and photograph her large collection of Daphne shrubs, some of which were more than 20 years old. She, like Apollo, had been smitten by Daphne – but the object of her affection was the lovely winter flowering shrub. Her seasoned garden was a reflection of her, or maybe it was the other way around – she was a reflection of her garden. Either way, their lives, like the thick wisteria JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010 | 55

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Gardening in the South recommends it as the best choice for the South.

Whether variegated or not, this shrub is an evergreen usually reaching about 4 feet high. As my friend noted, the Daphne is known for its sometimes unpredictable wilting and sudden death. To give it the best possible growing conditions, plant in porous, loose and well drained soil in a spot with three hours of midday shade. Some mulching or living ground cover around the roots will help the soil stay cool. Also, watering as little as possible in the summer will help with spring flowering and maintaining healthy roots.

As the shadows stretched out, and my visit came to an end, I turned for one last look. Late afternoon sun filtered through the pines and rested on the tops of the delightful shrubs, and I, like Apollo, felt Cupid’s arrow. I hurriedly grabbed my pruning shears and ran back and cut a few branches to put in a vase ... or maybe I could make a crown like Apollo? NCM

vines hanging in the trees, had become intertwined through the years. She and her garden possessed a fullness of spirit that doesn’t come with young gardens or young people.

Wise, deep, mature, and very much a Southern lady. She had been “tending” in that spot for many years – husband, children, gardens and now was enjoying the fruits of her labors from her bright sunroom overlooking the garden.

As we lingered in the sunroom, she spoke lovingly to me of her Daphnes – how she had rooted and 56 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

planted most and especially how “temperamental they are, but such a delight!” Her sadness was palpable at the mention of the lost ones. The Daphnes bordered the walk that led outward from the sunroom, and as I stepped out into the afternoon, fragrance billowed around and engulfed me – some with beautiful variegated leaves, some with glossy green ones, and a pale pink blossom emerging from a deep pink bud. Of the different Daphnes, Daphne odora or winter Daphne is probably the best known, and Don Hastings in

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{ The

Thoughtful

Gardener }

WEB EXTRA: The Thoughtful Gardener Plant Index

Plant Index

Winter Daphne

: Winter Daphne

Common name

flowering in late ne odora high. Known for ing about 4 feet shrub usually reach reen, deciduous reen to semi-everg leaves.

Description: Everg Some cultivars have variegated ary. bud.

January to Febru from a deep pink hing or living blossom emerging shade. Some mulc fragrant, pale pink with hours of midday Blooms: Highly summer will help a spot with three as possible in the drained soil, in watering as little loose and well s, Also, porou cool. in stay the soil Cultivation: Plant roots will help the d ht aroun r . if cut and broug ground cove g healthy roots d into bloom early and maintainin force ring be flowe can g sprin Branches nous if ingested. shrub are poiso All parts of this Special notes:

: Daph Botanical name

indoors.

Go to newnancowetamagazine.com to download your next garden journal page, Winter Daphne.

Notes:

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Baby Files }

Braving Disney with a 1-year-old Story and photos by Carolyn Barnard

y family had planned a trip to Tampa the first weekend of December for the ACC Championship game. Because my family travels to Disney the same way Muslims journey to Mecca, it is literally impossible for my dad to step foot in the state of Florida without making a stop to see Mickey.

Since my parents were already flying around the world (Manila to Atlanta) for the game, taking Lilly to WDW for the first time was definitely on the agenda.

After what felt like a three-day drive to Orlando, we were thrilled to finally be out of the car and eagerly anticipating Disney World. The first day at the Animal Kingdom was fantastic and we couldn’t have asked for better weather. The second day, however, was a different story.

We knew it was supposed to be a wet day but were determined to make the most of it anyway. We were going

to the Magic Kingdom, the happiest place on earth! I was so thrilled to be there with Lilly and was especially looking forward to riding Dumbo with her since I was seven months pregnant and that was the one thing my OB said I could ride. We went straight there, knowing the line would get progressively longer through the day. It was only slightly misting on us while we waited. After 20 minutes or so, it was finally our turn. Our first ride as a family!

We stepped out from under the shelter of the overhang, climbed into our flying elephant, strapped ourselves in … and the bottom fell out. Lilly started screaming and Aaron rapidly pulled off his raincoat to try to keep her dry, at the same time yelling that we needed to get off. At this point, Dumbo took off into the sky and we were soaring through the pouring rain.

Now Lilly was seriously angry Aaron, Lilly and Carolyn Barnard

58 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

because the jacket was on her head, so she was thrashing around trying to get out from underneath it while Aaron desperately tried to shield her from the rain. I was frantically looking for my parents with the camera so we could smile for our picture. This was supposed to be our Christmas card moment!

Finally, Dumbo landed smoothly back on the ground and my furious husband grabbed Lil and ran for shelter. The moment we were off the ride, the rain stopped. I felt like Eeyore being followed around by his little rain cloud. We all tried to have a sense of humor about it (what else can you do?) and headed for Mickey’s Toon Town to try for Christmas Picture Number Two. Sometime during the 45-minute wait to meet Mickey, it occurred to me that the notion of Disney being the happiest place on earth was growing somewhat ironic. Standing in line with a one-year-old, surrounded by children being forced into Christmas hats having complete meltdowns, it became very obvious that not even the parents were having fun. Like us, they were attempting to contain, distract and entertain their screaming kids at the near expense of

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their own sanity. (The thought crossed my mind that Mickeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tent needed two things: an enormous jungle gym and a margarita maker.) By the time we finally reached Mickey and Minnie, Lilly was so exhausted and angry that the mere sight of the enormous mice sent her over the edge. The situation was not improved when Minnie tried to touch her. After a kamikaze-style attempted nosedive away from the characters we had waited so long to see, we were able to snap a few (terrible) pictures and run out of the tent, back into the pouring rain. Happiest place? Ha! Wrapping up our few hours at the Magic Kingdom, we stopped by the Christmas shop in Liberty Square to purchase an ornament commemorating Lillyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first trip to Disney.

While I was looking around the store, with â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Most Wonderful Time of the Yearâ&#x20AC;? playing softly in the background, I heard a very disturbing sound coming from the back of the store. There was a small child strapped into her stroller, screaming â&#x20AC;&#x153;I HATE YOU! YOU ARE A LIAR!â&#x20AC;? at the top of her lungs at her own mother! I decided our rain-soaked trip was over.

Time to get Lilly out of there, immediately, before the scary stroller kid projected any of her hostile vibes onto us.

Thankfully, the next evening Tech won the ACC Championship and Lilly was so exhausted from her trip that she slept the whole way back to Newnan! NCM Grandparents Kevin and Fran Krigline with Carolyn and Lilly

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{ Family Fun }

THE

Margaret Mitchell HOUSE

By Meredith Leigh Knight

he best thing about visiting the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta with my 11-yearold daughter was getting there. And I 60 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

don’t mean weaving through the construction cones up I-85.

I had the pleasure of introducing my daughter to an author whose work had a profound impact on me as a young girl. Margaret Mitchell

was a spunky, petite woman who was denied entrance into the Atlanta Junior Service League because of a risqué dance at her debutante ball, an author who got her start working as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal

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before other women did, and who later wrote one of my favorite novels, Gone With the Wind.

Our journey began when I showed my daughter, Ansley, the 1937 copy I inherited from my grandmother. I read it during the summer before sixth grade in a week’s time, carrying it from the breakfast table to the dinner table at night.

Scarlett and Rhett, Melanie and Ashley set in the backdrop of the Civil War, places where I spent my summer vacations, set my imagination in motion. And then I saw the movie. From Vivien Leigh to

and headed north. But first, we stopped at Mary Mac’s Tea Room.

After all, a girl has to keep her strength up.

Mary Mac’s Tea Room first opened its doors in 1945 when Mary McKinsey decided to use her good southern cooking to make money in the tough post-World War II days.

Back then, a woman couldn’t just open a restaurant, so many female proprietors used the more genteel southern name of “Tea Room.” At the time, Ponce de Leon Avenue sported clanking trolley cars, the Atlanta Crackers Baseball team and tents serving ice cold watermelons.

There were many ornate movie theaters like the Fox Theatre just

down the street. And there were at least 16 other tea rooms around intown Atlanta, with Mary Mac’s being the only one left.

John Ferrell purchased the restaurant in 1994 but little else has changed. Mary Mac’s tradition is for patrons to write down their own orders, which we nervously did. No need to worry, the only requirement is that it is legible. Since it was our first visit, we were treated to pot likker. Don’t worry; it’s okay for minors. Pot likker is simply the sweet juices from collard greens. (Think chicken broth, but tastier, that’s perfect for dipping the assortment of homemade breads that comes with your meal.)

Scarlett and Rhett, Melanie and Ashley set in the backdrop of the Civil War, places where I spent my summer vacations, set my imagination in motion.

Clark Gable to Georgia’s own Butterfly McQueen, I was in love.

Before visiting the Margaret Mitchell House, though, we first had to watch the movie. My middle child and I cozied up night after night on the couch, and I explained bits and pieces of the story along the way. She had been studying the Civil War at school, making the movie even more meaningful. The time we spent watching together, just the two of us, was simply priceless.

Rhett uttered his famous line, and Scarlett decided to go back to Tara as we turned the television off JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010 | 61

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The Remington typewriter on which Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind

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My daughter and I both ordered the vegetable plate. Hers was a deal off the children’s menu for less than five dollars for four big heaping helpings of vegetables. We ordered banana pudding but were too full to eat it, so the sweet waitress packed it in to-go Tupperware.

After our meal, we were off to visit “The Dump,” Mitchell’s affectionate nickname for the Crescent Avenue apartment where she penned her historic novel. My daughter was in awe of the typewriter in the corner where Mitchell used to gaze out the window while writing. In fact, my daughter was in awe of the typewriter. She’d never seen one before. After our tour and history lesson at Mitchell’s home, Ansley had an opportunity to try her hand on a typewriter in the exhibit dedicated to Mitchell’s Atlanta Journal career.

We also were treated to early childhood writings and photos, something my daughter – who yearns to be a writer or reporter or both one day – could relate to. On the property is a small museum that featured a film with actors who had tried out for the various roles in the movie. Ansley wasn’t as interested in this as I was, and if you are a movie buff there is also the Road to Tara Museum in Jonesboro. For us, it was all about the author. Through our visit, we learned that she lived in numerous apartments around the city, some standing, some destroyed.

On our way out, we purchased a couple of bookmarks at the gift shop, holding hands as we crossed the street and marveling at the life and times of a remarkable woman, all the while appreciating our time together. NCM

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Want to visit?

Margaret Mitchell House 990 Peachtree Street Atlanta, GA 30309 404-249-7015 Hours of Operation: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, Noon to 5:30 p.m.

Holiday Hours: The Margaret Mitchell House is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day. The Margaret Mitchell House is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Columbus Day. Mary Macâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tea Room, 224 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta, GA; 404-876-1800; open seven days a week for lunch and dinner with full bar, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The Centre for Performing & Visual Arts oĆ&#x2019; Coweta County

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010 | 63

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{

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Bookshelf }

Return to Sullivans Island

By Dorothea Benton Frank William Morrow, $25.99 Reviewed by Holly Jones Beth Hayes just graduated from Boston College and thinks she knows everything. In her opinion, her mother and her numerous aunts and uncles are the past, and they need to get used to it. Why, for example, do they still hold on to their family’s ancient house on Sullivans Island, the Island Gamble? Worse yet, why are they making Beth babysit the house for a year?

At the beginning of Dorothea Benton Frank’s appropriately titled Return to Sullivans Island, that is exactly what Beth is doing. Armed with only her teacup terrier Lola and a strong sense of martyrdom, Beth is headed for “her one-year sentence in the Lowcountry” – and she’s dreading every minute of it.

It doesn’t help that when Beth arrives at the Island Gamble, her 64 | NEWNAN – COWETA MAGAZINE

domineering Aunt Maggie starts criticizing Beth’s flaming red hair, her clothing choices, and her attitude in general. Beth’s mom Susan isn’t exactly defending her daughter either, at least not strongly enough for Beth.

When family reunion weekend is over, all the cousins leave, Aunt Maggie heads to California, and Susan heads to France for a one-year teaching opportunity. Beth settles in to the island. She gets a hostess job at a restaurant and a freelance writing job at the local paper, she meets a gorgeous guy, and Lola loves the beach.

Life doesn’t exactly stink.

Although, there is still the matter of her grandmother’s old room, where one minute the bed can be perfectly made and everything in order, and the next minute bed linens, lamps and pillows can be everywhere. And there are the strange sounds and scents Beth notices – even her late father’s aftershave. Plus, the mirror that … no, that’s just too strange for words.

And the gorgeous guy, Max – well, he’s still gorgeous, but he’s difficult to interpret. One minute he’s all over her and the next minute he’s a cold, brick wall. Beth doesn’t mind much, though. Max is 14 years older and that makes him more sophisticated, right? Beth knows she’s going to marry Max, so what’s the problem?

The problem is, Beth isn’t exactly as grown up and worldly as she thinks – not that it stops her from doing exactly what she wants. Still, when everything starts falling apart, Beth realizes that old homes, family and traditions might not be so outdated.

And maybe, just maybe, she’s still got

a lot to learn.

A Separate Country

By Robert Hicks Grand Central, $25.99 Reviewed by Holly Jones Eli Griffin has been summoned.

General John Bell Hood, formerly of the Confederate Army, is on his deathbed and wants Eli to carry out his last wishes. The task is a daunting one, but the General always could give orders.

Eli is to take the General’s memoir – not the infamous “war book” the General previously wrote but the story of his life after the war – and give it to a notoriously evil man named Sebastien Lemerle who will decide if it is worthy to be published.

Then, Eli is to get the “war book” back from General Beauregard and burn it. The problem is, no one knows where Lemerle is and Beauregard doesn’t want to give up a

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manuscript that makes him look heroic and Hood look like an egomaniacal murderer.

So Eli begins his quest, and readers of Robert Hicks’s A Separate Country begin a heartbreaking tale of love, valor and deception.

General Hood’s story is told from three different viewpoints – his own, Eli’s, and that of Hood’s beloved wife Anna Marie. After being given Hood’s memoirs, Eli finds Anna Marie’s own journals in their daughter’s room where Anna Marie and their daughter Lydia have both recently died of the same yellow fever that kills Hood.

New Orleans is not a pleasant place during Reconstruction, when Hood’s story takes place; and conspiracies, lynching and outright murder are commonplace. Still, Hood manages to fall in love with the beautiful Anna Marie and they have 11 children. He also makes the acquaintance of Anna Marie’s childhood friends, the devious dwarf Rintrah and a brutish priest named Father Mike.

The more Eli reads and uncovers of Hood’s life, the more he realizes that the General and his wife’s “friends” were not what they seem; and that happiness is not found in money, reputation or even perception.

In fact, Eli learns more about himself the more he reads about Hood and his family.

Hicks’ historic novel is at times brusque and crude, at times sadly sweet, but never boring. It shocks and sickens, but doesn’t let go until the very end. You want to help Hood and Anna Marie find the peace that New Orleans never let them have and solve the mysteries that haunted them. By the time you finish A Separate Country, you will feel like you’ve been summoned too. But it’s a quest worth taking. NCM

{ Index

of Advertisers }

Bank of Coweta . . . . . . . . .68

Newnan Academy of

BB&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Preschool &

Cardiovascular Consultants

Child Care . . . . . . . . . . .57

of Georgia, P.C. . . . . . . .23 Center For Allergy & Asthma . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Newnan Station Tire & Service . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Phillips Dental . . . . . . . . . . .43

The Centre For Performing & Visual Arts . . . . . . .63

Piedmont Newnan

Chin Chin Newnan Chinese Restaurant . . . . . . . . . .53

Radiation Oncology

Coweta-Fayette EMC . . . . .67

the ritzy roost . . . . . . . . . . .53

Crescent Veterinary . . . . . . .

Southern Crescent Equine Services . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Downtown Church

Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Services . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Southern Charm &

of Christ . . . . . . . . . . . .33

The Craft Market . . . . .57

Farm Bureau Insurance . . . . . . . . . . .33

The Southern Federal Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Franklin Road Animal

StoneBridge Early Learning Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Clinic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Heritage Retirement Homes of Peachtree . . . . . . . .37 The Heritage School . . . . .51 Hollberg's Fine Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Kimble’s Events By Design . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Lee-King and Lee-Goodrum Pharmacies . . . . . . . . .13 Let them eat Toffee! . . . . .51

Towne Club at Peachtree City . . . . . . .59 Tradions in Tile and Stone . . . . . . . . . . .39 Uniglobe McIntosh Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 University of West Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Valentine Weight Loss & Wellness Center . . . . .63 Watts Furniture Galleries . .49

Main Street Newnan . . . . .31

Wesley Woods . . . . . . . . . .27

Maritime Air Charters . . . .19

Wedowee Marine . . . . . . .43

Morgan Jewelers/

West Georgia Center for Plastic Surgery . . . . . .39

Downtown . . . . . . . . . .43

March/April 2010 Ad Deadlines Published: March 5, 2010; Contract Ads: January 27, 2010; New Ads: February 5, 2010.

Call 770.683.6397 for details and advertising information.

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I am Coweta } Colleen Alrutz

By Nichole Golden | Photo by Jeffrey Leo

Colleen Alrutz, director of Piedmont Newnan Hospital’s Wellness Center, is the mother of three “beautiful” children: Paige, Ainsley, and Michael. Alrutz’s husband Scott is a first officer for Delta airlines and also a tennis instructor. She is the third of four daughters of Idahoans Pete and Kathy Mooney. The daughter of a cattle rancher, Alrutz spent the first 18 years of her life surrounded by lots of land, cattle and horses. “If you asked my Dad he’d say I am from good Irish stock,” says Alrutz. A graduate of Patricia Stephens College in St. Louis, Mo. with a degree in communication and merchandising, she has also received many fitness certifications over the years from Pilates to group fitness. Since college, Alrutz has lived in several different places including New York, Texas, Florida and Kentucky, but calls Newnan her “all-time favorite.”

Alrutz and her family have lived in Newnan for four and a half years.

What do you and your family enjoy doing in Newnan?

There are so many things we love about Newnan. I absolutely love working in downtown Newnan. We live in a wonderful community neighborhood, SummerGrove, with the most amazing neighbors. We can bike, run, and walk to parks, swimming pools, tennis courts. We love spending time outdoors so the weather is perfect for us. Ainsley and Michael are involved in the Newnan-Coweta Soccer Association, so we spend many evenings and Saturdays on the soccer fields. Scott and Paige are avid tennis players and we have found Newnan to have a wonderful tennis community. I even tried my hand in tennis this summer… let’s just say more instruction is needed. We are members of a wonderful parish, St. Mary Magdalene.

What are your hobbies?

Here is where I am supposed to say “exercise,” right? I actually do love the way I feel after I have exercised. I enjoy walking, running, biking. My favorite cardio equipment is the Arc Trainer. I also love Pilates. Outside of exercise, I love family time, reading, and much to my husband’s chagrin, I love to shop.

Obviously wellness and fitness are your career, so is work your fitness routine? Or do you have a routine outside of that?

To this question, I will answer “I wish!” I do get the opportunity to teach a couple of Pilates classes a week, and a senior fitness class, but like everyone else I have to fit my fitness routine into my busy schedule. Ideally, I get up early in the morning and knock it out before my family even wakes up.

As I get older that seems to become more and more challenging. If I don’t happen to get my exercise in first thing in the morning, I use either my lunch break or I exercise right after work. I am very fortunate to have a husband who values fitness as much as I do. He is very supportive of me getting time to exercise.

What’s your favorite workout music?

That’s a tough one for me. I actually love country, but not to work out to. Anything with a good fast beat.

What are your resolutions or goals for 2010?

A couple of friends and I have registered to run in the Callaway Marathon on Jan. 30 to keep us on track during the holiday season. Each year, my husband and I renew our commitment to not only improve our diet but the diets of our children. It is so easy to drop the ball on this when life is so busy. As always I will resolve to become a better wife, mother, friend and boss.

What advice do you have for fellow Cowetans who want to be more healthy?

This is one decision you will never regret. It will enhance your life in ways you never dreamed of. You will feel better emotionally, physically and possibly spiritually. A little exercise goes a long way and the benefits are far too many to count! Do something you love and keep doing it for the rest of your life! NCM

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SURE FEELS BETTER AROUND THE HOUSE SINCE I SET OUR THERMOSTAT TO ECONOMICAL. We’re gone most of the day. Didn’t make sense to keep an empty house comfortable. But now when we get home, it’s ready. I’m saving $280 a year just by programming a thermostat. What can you do? Find out how the little changes add up at TogetherWeSave.com.

770-502-0226 www.utility.org

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