Connect

I've been thinking about my writing. I've been thinking about history - not that is anything new.

But I've been thinking about people. Not half-crazed history nerds sitting on a stone wall in an old cemetery drinking a milkshake and reading a book about the guy buried in the plot next to him. I mean normal people. The kind of folks that get up in the morning, go to work, come home, eat supper, watch some TV, take a shower and go to bed. I realize that much of my activities are odd to normal folks. But I think that something about what I do resonates with people. 

Stick with me on this one.

I have spent my life immersed in history. Books, papers, tests, essays, microfiche, websites, professors, battlefields, museums, cemeteries. I've done it all. It's actually fun for me. But the normal person is not wired that way. Joe the rag man doesn't want to write, or read, a ten page annotated thesis on the similarities of Alex Stephens' "Cornerstone Speech" and the remarks of Abraham Lincoln during the fourth debate with Stephen Douglas at Charleston, IL in September, 1858. 

But those similarities are important. So is the rest of history. People need to know.

I'll make the statement, "people want to know". But they're afraid to attend a lecture. They hate writing papers and sure don't want to take any tests.

But here's what writing this blog has taught me. The four biggest entries (measured by page hits) include a tradition of hanging a star between the smokestacks of an old cotton mill, an ice cold glass bottle of coke in an old country store, my wife's entry about family recipes and the untimely death of a true hero..

People want history to matter. They want to see it, touch it, taste it, remember it. We need new ways to help them experience it - ways that they can connect with.

I want to further explore some of the ways people are doing that.  I'm excited to see what the folks at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta are doing - from a Victorian festival to their "Run Like Hell" 5K. But that is just one example.

Long way around saying there's more history, nostalgia and culture to come...

A Star on the Rise...Again.

Cotton.

For years it was a way of life in this area. It was planted, harvested, baled, sold, shipped and even processed in this area.

Not far from where I'm sitting is a community. 125 years ago it was nothing but farmland. An old grist mill was the only hint of industry for miles.

One of the smokestacks standing tall.

Just before the turn of the century the Massachusetts Cotton Company bought the land and built a mill. In those days a mill meant a factory and a village - houses, a school, stores, churches, a doctor's office - it meant community. And that is what Lindale became.

For over a century life revolved around the mill. The whistle marked time as each generation relieved the next. And each generation passed down traditions to the next.

Mr. Bryant installing the pulleys Nov. 28, 1931

One such tradition began during the Great Depression. Like most places, Lindale was hit hard. In the depths of this time a star rose...quite literally. Mill employees built a 11'x11', 400 pound star adorned with 160 electrical lights, 80 on each side. They went out and secured the necessary rigging and hoisted their creation into the sky between the tall smokestacks that stood over the boiler house. The star was built to be large and bright enough to be seen by everyone in the village. It was meant to give the community hope and bring everyone closer together. 

It worked.

For 70 years mill workers hoisted the star into place every December. Men who grew up in the village spending childhood Christmases in the glow of the star took the task from their fathers as the reigns were passed from generation to generation. The star was as sure and as longed for as ol' St. Nick. The mill changed hands many times but the star was constant.

But times change. In September 2001, the Lindale Mill was shuttered. The massive brick complex fell silent and the community began to prepare for the worst.

In 2006, the mill changed hands again and the ropes for hanging the star were cut. The tradition was dead.

But that's not how this story was meant to end. 

A group called Arimathea Holdings, LLC purchased the mill. Much of the complex had been neglected and abused. Some remaining structures had to be demolished. But much of the space was saved and businesses were found to lease some of the space. The boiler house and the iconic smokestacks are still standing. The new owners expressed a desire to preserve the remaining parts of the mill and for it to be available for the community. 

Enter Restoration Lindale. This community group has mobilized in amazing ways. They've restored the old mill pond. Hauled off dozens of dump truck loads of debris and brush, they've cleaned gutters, planted trees, reintroduced ducks to the pond, hung flags for holidays and so much more. They've done it with their own time and money.

And this Christmas, they're going to hang a star between the smokestacks at the old mill. 

The star being raised.

The idea is for it to be big enough for everyone in the village to see it. They hope it will inspire hope and bring the community closer together. Something tells me it's going to work. 

But maybe that's just the historian inside me.

Arimathea Holdings LLC has already made generous donations and concessions to make this happen. Restoration Lindale is planning on "selling" the 160 light bulbs to help raise money to continue their efforts to restore their community. A $25 donation will let you honor a family member or friend that worked at the mill with their own light in the star. I plan to be one of those donors in memory of W. A. Carver, my great uncle, who spent decades working in the mill and playing his guitar on the front porch of the house he bought from the mill (unless my cousin beats me to it - in which case I'll let her take that honor.)

If you wish to help with any of the clean up days sponsored by Restoration Lindale, find them on Facebook. Their website can be found at: http://restorelindale.org 

Donations can also be made to the following address:

Restoration Lindale Inc

534 Reeceburg Rd.

Silver Creek, Ga. 30173

Falls

The stunning drop of Amicalola

Tucked here in the mountains of North Georgia are some of the most beautiful waterfalls you could ever wish to see. The mountain streams carry the runoff of the rains and the rocks give each tiny droplet an encouraging nudge, sending it on its long journey to the Atlantic or the Gulf.

One such place is in Dawson County. Amicalola Falls drops 729 feet to the rocks on the bottom. Surrounded by a state park with miles of hiking trails, cottages, a lodge, picnic shelters and, of course, the highest waterfall in Georgia.

It's all open right now and, if the past is any indication, quite busy with folks enjoying the fall weather.

Me and some of my trusted researchers at Anna Ruby Falls

Down the highway a spell you'll find a shorter, but no less impressive, set of falls. Anna Ruby Falls (not to be confused with the subterranean version that you can "see" in Chattanooga) is the confluence of Curtis and York Creeks as the form Smith Creek somewhere on the way down. 

You enter through Unicoi State Park and then pass through the gate into the Chattahoochee National Forest. There's a parking area, a nature trail, a mock up of an old moonshine outfit and a small visitor center.

And it's all locked up tighter than a drum.(But Unicoi is open)

While our legislature and governor in Atlanta might not be perfect, they are open. So are the governments in each of the other 49 (not 56) states. Composed of a total of roughly 7500 state legislators and 50 governors, every last state has a functioning government. 

But in all of those 50 states, waterfalls, monuments, historic home places, battlefields, museums and mountains are closed. Locked up. Sorry about your luck.

Without getting into how much of the closure is warranted and how much of it is a temper tantrum by a President suffering from acute Washington Monument Syndrome (look that one up) I really want to express my disappointment in the inability of the property owners to access public property because Washington can't get it together. 

But I'm proud that the states are all operating. From conservative Texas to socialist Vermont, they're all open.

Here's my idea. Let's contact our representatives. No, not those turkeys in Washington. They quit listening back somewhere around the Jackson administration. Get in touch with your state folks and thank them for being open. Encourage them to investigate the possibilities of adopting some of these federal sites from their unfit stewards. 

Our people rely on these sites and the people that visit them to support their businesses and livelihoods. We need these places to preserve the stories of our history, our culture and our land. And we need to access them to learn, teach and remember.

Before anyone suggests that the states can't afford such a burden, the National Park Service is 1/16 of 1% of the federal budget. When they actually bother to pass one. The states are paying for them anyway and all of them are suffering from the loss of tourism dollars due to closed parks. 

Let's trust our parks to the people that can manage to keep them open.