27 December 1936: New Social Security Office to Open in Athens

On this day in 1936, more than a year after the act was signed into law, news that the Social Security Board would be opening an office in downtown Athens made the front page of the Athens Banner-Herald. 


The Social Security Act had been signed into law on 14 August 1935, but Georgia's governor at the time, Eugene Talmadge, had been adamantly against most New Deal programs. However, in 1936, Georgia Speaker of the House Eurith D. Rivers was elected governor with 60% of the vote promoting New Deal programs such as rural electrification, and supported Georgia participating in the Social Security Program.


According to the brief story in the paper, a long-term lease had been signed for offices in Athens, in "a suite of rooms ... next to Lumpkin street" on the first floor of the Holman Hotel. No employee names had been announced, but the office would open after January 1st, 1937.  The paper reported that "it is expected that the office will have charge of Social Security activities for this immediate territory." Today, there are 33 SSA offices in the state of Georgia.


Located on the corner of Clayton and Lumpkin Streets, the nine-story Holman Hotel was built in 1913 by William S. Holman, originally intended to be office spaces. The top floor was arranged for meetings, banquets, dances or other social functions that provided a view of the city. It was converted into a hotel, and "became the major competitor of the Georgian Hotel which had opened in 1908."


Holman came to Athens from Kentucky after the Civil War, was on the Board of Commissioners, helped develop the northwest part of town, and was one the major investors in the Athens Electric Railway Company, which later became the Athens Railway and Electric Company. He died in 1931, and is buried at Oconee Hill Cemetery.


The Holman building was fully renovated in the 1960s when Citizens & Southern National Bank took over the property. In 1991, it became NationsBank, which later became Bank of America, who still has offices on the property.




Learn More:

• Athens Banner-Herald, November 1936 - March 1937 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• The New Deal in Georgia: An Administrative History by Michael S. Holmes in the Heritage collection.
• Social Security Applications: A Genealogical Resource by Desmond Walls Allen and Carolyn Earle Billingsley in the Heritage collection.
• The Great Depression: America in the 1930s by T. H. Watkins in the general collection.
• Social Security, Medicare, and Government Pensions by J. L. Matthews in the general collection.
• The Coming of the New Deal by Arthur M. Schlesinger in the general collection.
• Everyday Law for Seniors by Lawrence A. Frolik and Linda S. Whitton in the New Books collection.
• The Battle for Social Security by Nancy Altman in the general collection.
• A Post Card History of Athens, Georgia by Gary L. Doster in the Heritage and Reference collections.
• Athens: A Pictorial History by James K. Reap in the Heritage and general collections.
• Oconee Hill Cemetery of Athens, Georgia, Volume I by Charlotte Thomas Marshall in the Heritage and general collections.
• Social Security History page on the Social Security Administration website.

24 December 1897: "No Postage Having Been Placed Upon the Chicken..."

On this day in 1897, news of this holiday surprise was published in the Weekly Banner:

Learn More:

• Weekly Banner, Feb. 1897 - Jul. 1898 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Mailability Standards of the United States Postal Service.
• Extraordinary Chickens by Stephen Green-Armytage in the general collection.
• Master the Postal Exams by John Gosney in the general collection.
• The Joy of Keeping Chickens by Jennifer Lynn Megyesi in the general collection.
• We Need Mail Carriers by Lola M. Schaefer in the children's collection.
• Raising Poultry the Modern Way by Leonard S. Mercia in the general collection.
• Postal Clerk and Carrier by John Gosney in the general collection.
• The Complete Guide to Poultry Breeds by Melissa G. Nelson in the general collection.
• Mailman: A Novel by J. Robert Lennon in the fiction collection.
• The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Manus Pinkwater in the children's fiction collection.
• Can You Ship It? page for the United States Postal Service.

21 December 1906:"Many Improvements In and Around the City of the Dead"

On this day in 1906, news of plans to upgrade the home of the sexton of the Oconee Hill Cemetery, and change the entry site to where it is currently located was published in the Weekly Banner. 

The new burial lots were made available when the sexton's house was moved in February, 1908.


Learn More:

• Weekly Banner, Jan. 1906 - Dec. 1908 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Oconee Hill Cemetery, Athens, Georgia, Volume I by Charlotte Thomas Marshall in the Heritage and general collections.
• Oconee Hill Record of Interments in the Heritage collection.
• Friends of Oconee Hill Cemetery Newsletters in the Heritage collection.
• Georgia Cemetery Directory and Bibliography of Georgia Cemetery Resources by Ted O. Brooke in the Heritage collection.
• Your Guide to Cemetery Research by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack in the Heritage collection.
• Cemetery Research by Nancy Ellen Carlberg in the Heritage collection.
• The Cemetery Book: Cemetery Preservation, Restoration, and Recording by Ted O. Brooke in the Heritage and general collections.

Our Holiday Hours

On this day, we'd like you to be aware that the Athens-Clarke County Library will be closed Friday, December 23rd through Tuesday, December 27th for the Christmas holiday, and closed Sunday, January 1st and Monday, January 2nd for the New Year holiday.


We will be open until 9 pm on Thursday, December 22nd, and will be open our regular Saturday hours (9 am to 6 pm) on New Year's Eve. 


We hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

18 December 1896: For Children, "Dolls, Knives, Etc."

On this day in 1896, McGregor's Bookstore, which also sold athletic equipment and stationery supplies, much like college bookstores do today, ran this advertisement of their holiday offerings:

At the time, David W. McGregor's store was on the corner of Broad Street and College Avenue, across from the University, where Starbucks is located today.

Learn More:

• Weekly Banner, Aug. 1885 - Jan. 1897 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• 1897-1898 Athens City Directory on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Athens, Georgia, in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Children at Play: An American History by Howard P. Chudacoff in the general collection.
• Children of a New Century by Jane A. Schott in the children's collection.
• Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood by Steven Mintz in the general collection.
• The Collector's Guide to Switchblade Knives: An Illustrated, Historical, and Price Reference by Richard V. Langston in the general collection.
• The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden in the general collection.
• The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan in the general and children's collections.
• The Double-Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan in the general collection.

15 December 1885: Robert Toombs Oak Is Not Struck by Lightning

On this day in 1885, General Robert Toombs died at the age of 75, at his home in Washington, Georgia, after years of declining health.  Despite long-woven tales to the contrary, the oak tree outside the Chapel at UGA where Toombs supposedly gave a great speech after his expulsion in 1828, was not struck by lightning.

Augustus Longstreet Hull recounted the myth in his 1894 book, A Historical Sketch of the University of Georgia, and explained that neither the speech nor the lightning strike actually happened:

        A story of Robert Toombs has swung round the circle of the papers of late years, which represents him expelled from college for gambling, standing beneath the old oak in front in front of the chapel at commencement, pouring forth such burning words of eloquence that the chapel is deserted and the speakers left to declaim empty benches. And from this circumstance, the old tree has ever since been known as the "Toombs Oak." It has even been said that on the day of Mr. Toombs' death, the old oak was struck by lightning and destroyed.

        There is not the semblance of truth in the story. It was a fabrication of Henry W. Grady, who, in an admiring sketch of the great Georgian, wrote charmingly of his overwhelming eloquence and pointed it with a story drawn from his own vivid imagination.

In 1985, 100 years after Robert Toombs died, the Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution to have an historical marker placed on the University of Georgia campus, commemorating General Toombs and the "legend" of Toombs Oak. The marker is located between the Chapel and Demosthenian Hall on North Campus.




Learn More: 

• The Toombs Oak, the Tree That Owned Itself, and Other Chapters of Georgia by E. Merton Coulter in the Heritage collection.
• Robert Toombs by Pleasant A. Stovall in the Heritage collection.
• College Life in the Old South by E. Merton Coulter in the Heritage and general collections.
• A Walking Tour of the University of Georgia by F. N. Boney in the Heritage and general collections.
• Annals of Athens, 1801-1901 by Augustus Longstreet Hull in the Heritage collection.
• Robert Toombs of Georgia by William Y. Thompson in the Heritage collection.
• A Historical Sketch of the University of Georgia by Augustus Longstreet Hull in the Heritage collection.
• The Life of Henry Grady, Including His Writings and Speeches by Joel Chandler Harris in the biography collection.
• Robert Toombs Oak State Historical Marker page on the GeorgiaInfo site via GALILEO.

13 December 1902: Santa to Visit at the International Doll Show

On this day in 1902, Santa Claus made an appearance at the doll show benefit raising funds for Winnie Davis Hall:

(click to enlarge image)

Learn More:

• Athens Daily Banner, May 1902 - Oct. 1903 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Miss Rutherford's Scrapbook by Mildred Rutherford in the Heritage collection.
• The Collector's Encyclopedia of Dolls by Dorothy S. Coleman, Elizabeth A. Coleman, and Evelyn J. Coleman in the Reference collection.
• The Dolls of Yesteryear by Eleanor St. George in the general collection.
• Cornhusk, Silk, and Wishbones: A Book of Dolls from around the World by Michelle Markel in general collection.
• The Doll Source Book by Argie Manolis in the Reference collection.
• Dolls of the Art Deco Era 1910-1940: Collect, Restore, Create, and Play by Susanna Oroyan in the general collection.
• The Fairytale Doll Book by Valerie Janitch in the general collection.
• Sewing Victorian Doll Clothes: Authentic Costumes from Museum Collections by Michelle Hamilton in the general collection.
• The Book of Doll Making by Alicia Merrett in the general collection.
• Dolls: A Complete Bibliography by Nancie Anne Lutz in the Reference collection.

5 December 2009: It's Our 2nd Blogiversary!

On this day in 2009, we started this blog, This Day in Athens, in hopes of bringing a glimpse of Athens past to Athens present.  


This Day in Athens has shown how Athens has grown, expanded, and changed over time, but also how some things, like rooster issues on Pulaski Street, an obsessive love of Georgia football, and a passion for Farmer's Markets, are timeless truths of this town. 


Our hope is that as you travel around town or are on the University of Georgia campus, you'll think of Hajos's Photography Studio, of Union prisoners guarded by Mitchell's Thunderbolts, of the Hancock Street sidewalks being laid in 1906, of the literary club meetings at the State Normal School, of fires that could not stop progress, of the water power  and railroads that fueled the growth of Athens and the University. 


Thank you for all the kind and encouraging words over the past two years, for passing along items to friends, for suggestions for wonderful post ideas, and adding information where you could. We hope you've found book titles that peaked your interest in our Learn More section, have subscribed to and enjoy our Heritage Room newsletters, and we hope you'll keep reading in the coming years.  If you have a favorite post, or a topic you would like us to cover, please let us know! 

1 December 1907: Of Interest to Women: Christmas Pudding, Of Course!

On this day in 1907, in the regular newspaper feature Of Interest to Women, included amongst the club meetings, teas, and engagement parties this recipe for a traditional Christmas pudding.

This recipe is far more detailed than most from this time period, when it was understood that women knew how to cook generally, and all they really needed to create a new dish were approximate ingredient amounts. Rather than standard "cups," this recipe calls for "wineglassfuls" and "teacupfuls."


Of Interest to Women was the society page for the Athens Banner. It often included a week's calendar of society events, along with news about travels, visitors, parties, fashions, cooking, clubs, and school pagents or presentations.  

(click image to enlarge)

Learn More:

• Athens Banner, Mar. 1906 - Dec. 1907 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens  Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Wayland Barber in the general collection.
• Mrs. Beeton's Christmas Book by Mary Isabella Beeton in the general collection.
• Out to Work: A History of Wage-Earning Women in the United States by Alice Kessler-Harris in the general collection.
• Women in the South: An Anthropological Perspective by Holly F. Matthews in the general collection.
• Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson in the general collection.
• Memorabilia of the Athens Women's Club by Marguerite Sheffer in the Heritage collection.
• The Christmas Cook: Three Centuries of Yuletide Sweets by William Woys Weaver in the general collection.

29 November 1945: "Cheer Up! Bacon Long Dreamed of Is Coming Soon"

On this day in 1945, the Athens Banner-Herald announced that "the supply of pork has overtaken the demand," so bacon, and other pork products such as lard, would finally become more available in the near future. According to the story, "cold weather has brought on a heevy [sic] hog slaughter on southeastern farms, but...most of the meat and fats would be used replenish home shortages." Thus, the paper's encouraging headline to "Cheer up!"


During World War II, many items were rationed by the United States government, including meat, rubber, sugar, shoes, metal, dairy products, and gasoline. An Office of Price Administration was established in 1941 to place ceilings on prices for some goods to keep prices within the reach of most Americans, and to ration the items that were most needed by the troops during the conflict. Though meat rationing ended in November, 1945, labor shortages meant lower crop yields in the months following the end of the war. 




Learn More:

• Athens Banner-Herald, August - December 1945 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• World War II on the Home Front: Rationing web page from the University of North Carolina School of Education.
• The Home Front War: World War II and American Society by Kenneth Paul O'Brien in the general collection.
• The War by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick in the DVD collection.
• The Second World War: A Complete History by Martin Gilbert in the general collection.
• Pork & Sons by Stephane Reynaud in the general collection.
• The Useful Pig by Roberta Wolfe Smoler in the general collection.
• Living With Pigs: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Porkers by Chuck Wooster in the general collection.
• Storey's Guide to Raising Pigs by Kelly Klober in the general collection.
• Don't Forget the Bacon! by Pat Hutchins in the children's picture book collection.

24 November 1910: Thanksgiving at the Athenaeum Cafe

On this day in 1910, the Athenaeum Cafe downtown offered the following reprieve from cooking at home: 

(click image to enlarge)

The price of 50 cents would be equal today to a charge of $11.80.

The Athenaeum Cafe was next door to the Athenaeum pool hall, and both were below the two floors of the Athenaeum Hotel, owned by Victor Petropol. In the 1909 Athens city directory, some travelling salesmen and the hotel's clerk, W. G. McNair, list the hotel as their residence.

Today, the space where the hotel was located has been divided. The pool hall is occupied by Frontier, and the cafe is occupied by Native America Gallery.

Learn More:

• Athens Banner, July 1910 - Dec. 1910 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Athens, Georgia via the Digital Library of Georgia.
• 1909 Athens City Directory on Microfilm (1889 - 1927) in the Heritage collection.
• Measuring Worth website.
• Thanksgiving: An American Holiday, An American History by Diana Karter Appelbaum in the general collection.
• Thanksgiving Dinner by Kathryn K. Blue in the general collection.
• The Southern Heritage Pies and Pastry Cookbook by Southern Living in the general collection.
• The Thanksgiving Cookbook by Holly Garrison in the general collection.
• Wild Turkeys: Hunting and Watching by John J. Mettler in the general collection.
• The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum in the general collection. 
• Holiday Feasts: Festive Cooking for Family and Friends by Lou Seibert Pappas in the general collection.
• Turkey Monster Thanksgiving by Anne Warren Smith in the children's fiction collection.
• A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving by Charles Schulz in the children's DVD collection.

22 November 1871: Let the Babies Ride!

On this day and several other days in the winter of 1871, the Hodgson Brothers carriage company ran the following ad for their baby carriages in the Southern Watchman: 

In the 1870s, baby carriages were becoming more popular items for Victorian baby care; as seen in this ad, the Hodgson brothers were not making these for their customers, but stocking standard carriages aimed at the general public. 

Baby carriages typically mimicked the shapes of adult-sized carriages, and were made of wood or wicker with cushions inside the bed. Some came with an attached cover while others installed a parasol over the cushioned bed for the child. 

Fancier models could be custom ordered. These more elaborate baby carriages were constructed as though they were miniature horse-drawn carriages, complete with glass windows, lanterns that held candles, and a suspension system intended to smooth the ride. An elaborate baby carriage was also a status symbol for the Victorian mother, a symbol that still exists today.

Learn More:

• Southern Watchman, Mar. 1871 - Dec. 1873 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• The Carriage Maker's and Painter's Guide by G. W. Clark via Archive.org.
• The Golden Age of Carriages by Anne Katherine Brown on the Victoriana magazine website.
• The Victorian Nursery Book by Antony and Peter Miall in the general collection.
• "This is How We Roll" by Faye Penn in New York magazine via GALILEO. (call 706-613-3650 for password)
• The Victorian Home in America by John Maass in the general collection.
• Wanderlust: The History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit in the general collection.
• The Encyclopedia of the Victorian World by Melina Corey in the Reference and general collections.
• "Stroller Envy Hits the Streets" by Adrianne Pasquarelli in Crain's New York Business via GALILEO. (call 706-613-3650 for password)
• The Victorian Home: The Grandeur and Comfort of the Victorian Era by Ellen M. Plante in the general collection.
• Parenting, Inc. by Pamela Paul in the general collection.
• "Have Baby, Will Travel" by Kim Schworm Acosta in Fit Pregnancy magazine via GALILEO. (call 706-613-3650 for password)

19 November 1953: Opening of the Ilah Dunlap Little Memorial Library

On this day in 1953, the new Ilah Dunlap Little Memorial library opened on the North Campus of the University of Georgia. 


Ilah Dunlap was born in February of 1874 to Mary Anne and Samuel Scott Dunlap in Bibb County, Georgia. She was the fifth daughter in a family of six children. Her father was a Captain in Phillips Legion during the Civil War, who started out as a farmer, then later became a successful merchant and city alderman in Macon. 


In 1896, Miss Dunlap married Leonidas A. Jordan.  Mr. Jordan owned Oakland Plantation in Lee County, Georgia, and died within four years of their marriage. In 1900, Mrs. Ilah Jordan is listed as the 26-year-old widowed head of a household in Macon that included her brother Samuel S. Dunlap, Jr.; her profession listed as "Capitalist." She was regularly featured in the Macon Telegraph Society page, often in relation to bridge club meetings or trips to Atlanta and New York. 


In 1906, she married John D. Little, an Atlanta lawyer, and moved to Fulton County. She was already widowed when she died in late July, 1939, on a vacation with a friend in German-occupied Czechoslovakia, just one month before Hitler's invasion of Poland and the start of World War II.  Though her will left $400,000.00 to the University of Georgia for a library, the settlement of the estate took a prolonged period of time.  Much of her jewelry and effects took more than a year to be returned to her executor in Macon, as both the American consulate and German officials had greater priorities than her estate, and faced disruption in communication, the latter sometimes noted in the communiques between various government agencies.


Mrs. Little's bequest gave the impetus to fund a much-needed upgrading of University of Georgia library facilities. UGA had only 185,000 volumes, compared with 751,000 at the University of Texas and 352,000 at the University of Kentucky. The cost to build the library was $2,000,000.00, and the operating budget for the library was increased dramatically as well. The University of Georgia President, Harmon Caldwell, argued that a $1,000,000.000 operating budget was necessary to make the library one that could compete with other southern schools after World War II.

The day after UGA's library opened , the Georgia Institute of Technology had the grand opening of their new Price Gilbert Memorial Library, and the weekend was a series of festivities in both cities to celebrate the events. 


Among those who participated in the celebrations were now University System Chancellor Harmon Caldwell; University of Georgia President O. C. Aderhold; Georgia Attorney General Eugene Cook; and members of the University Board of Trustees. Invited guests included Dr. K. Y. Metcalf of Harvard University; Derner Clapp, Acting Librarian of the Library of Congress; and Ralph Ellsworth, Director of Libraries for Iowa State University. Claude Davidson, Jr., director of the UGA news bureau, even composed a poem for the occasion.


In his dedication address, Dr. Ellsworth praised Georgia for opening two major libraries, stating that, "Only a vigorous University can overcome the terrible inertia that always seems to develop when a new library building is needed. Universities that are on the decline don't build new libraries."


UGA recently completed construction on a new Special Collections Library on Hull Street. Such collections as the Richard B. Russell Library, the Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and the Peabody Awards collection are in the process of moving into their new space. The building will open officially in January, 2012.



Learn More:

• Athens Banner-Herald, August - December, 1953 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• University of Georgia Libraries website.
• History of Macon, Georgia: 1823-1949 by Ida Young, et al. in the Heritage collection.
• Lee County, Georgia: A History by the Lee County Historical Society in the Heritage collection.
• Civil War Macon: The History of a Confederate City by Richard W. Iobst in the Heritage collection.
• Compendium of the Confederate Armies: South Carolina and Georgia by Stewart Sifakis in the Heritage collection.
• Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974 collection in the Ancestry Library Edition database via GALILEO.
• Confederate Service Records collection in the Fold3 database via GALILEO.
• U.S. Census collection in the Ancestry Library Edition database via GALILEO.
• Georgia Marriages collection via FamilySearch.org.
• The University of Georgia: A Bicentennial History, 1785-1985 by Thomas G. Dyer in the Heritage and general collection.
• The University of Georgia under Sixteen Administrations, 1785-1955 by Robert P. Brooks in the Heritage collection.
• In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson in the New Books collection.
• The Dedication of the Ilah Dunlap Little Memorial Library in the Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia.
• MS 3357: Account Book 1939-1964 for the Estate of Ilah Dunlap Little in the Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia.

Newsletters for You!

On this day, we'd like to remind you about our two Heritage Room newsletters, free updates of information that land easily in your email inbox and make keeping up the world of genealogy and history research and events easy as can be.


Our History & Genealogy Events newsletter offers you a schedule of  the upcoming tours, classes, fairs, festivals, meetings, book signings, lectures, and other happenings in Athens and around Georgia. We also include webinars sponsored by genealogy companies such as Legacy Family Tree  in which you can participate from your own home. As items are added to the month's calendar, we will send out updates so you state current with all the historical events.

Our Genealogy News & Tips newsletter provides you a round up of recent genealogy and research information, such as newly published books, new online resources, ways to get past your brick wall, tricks for researching ancestors in other parts of the nation and world, the way various records can be used, and free software available for doing your family tree. It's a great, concise way to keep up with all the ways you can research without spending all your time seeking out information yourself.

Click here (or either newsletter link above) to read the current newsletters and subscribe to have them delivered to your email Inbox. They are a free service of the Heritage Room, and it couldn't be easier, so sign up today!

13 November 1867: "with a view to matrimony"

On this day in 1867, the following personal ad was run in the Southern Watchman:

The names used by the young women placing the ad are likely pseudonyms, since they are engaging in somewhat forward behavior for "refined and accomplished" ladies "of good family." However, the war had changed the social world and expectations for many young southern women. Even before the end of the conflict, "changed attitudes and often changed strategies proved necessary as women recognized that men were becoming ever scarcer resources."

Due to poor record keeping during the war, the exact numbers of casualties on either side of the hostilities are unknown.  Of the estimated 1.2 million men who served in the Confederacy, approximately 250,000 were killed in action or by disease, and another 90,000 were wounded.  Estimates for Georgia were that of the approximately 120,000 men who served, between 11,000-25,000 men died in the war. It is generally believed that the country lost nearly 25% of military age (also marriageable age) men. 

Though there is record of some women embracing "spinsterhood" has a patriotic endeavor, "more common...were those single women who remained committed to increasingly impossible hopes." 

Learn More:

• Southern Watchman, Sep. 1864 - Dec. 1867 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Civil War Cemeteries article on the New Georgia Encyclopedia website.
• This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust in the general collection.
• Mothers of Necessity: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust in the general collection.
• These Men She Gave: Civil War Diary of Athens, Georgia by John F. Stegeman in the Heritage and general collections.
• Confederate Athens by Kenneth Coleman in the Heritage and general collections.
• A Woman's War: Southern Women, Civil War, and the Confederate Legacy, edited by Edward D. C. Campbell in the general collection.
• The Civil War as a Crisis of Gender: Augusta, Georgia, 1860-1890 by Leann Whites in the Heritage collection.
• Southern Watchman, Athens, Georgia: Civil War Home Front Coverage, 1861-1865 by Faye Stone Poss in the Heritage and general collections.
• Confederate Cemeteries, Volumes I & II by Mark Hughes in the Heritage collection.
• Scarlett Doesn't Live Here Anymore: Southern Women in the Civil War Era by Laura F. Edwards in the general collection.
• Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 by Eric Foner in the general collection.
• Georgia Women: Their Lives and Times, edited by Ann Short Chirhart and Betty Wood in the Heritage collection.

11 November 1934: Report from the Athens CCC Camp

On this day, the Athens Banner-Herald published updates from the Civilian Conservation Corp Camp Company 485,  located in Athens at Sandy Creek.  Included was a list of the young men stationed at the camp and their nicknames. 


Alas, the microfilm cut off the last several letters of their nicknames, but this is the list as it appears, with the partial nicknames, some of which are easy guesses, some are lost to time:

Crawford ... Pun-

Linton ... Smokey J-

Patterson ... Uncle B-

Love ... Ju-

Lowry ... Wild C-

Nalley ... To-

Parker ... Possu-

Reynolds ... Preach-

Barton ... Bro-

Benton ... Diz-

Boswell ... Thirty-Fi-

Buggs ... D-

Champion ... Cha-

Cole ... Monkey Ma-

Culbertson ... Salty D-

Free ... Bal-

Foster ... Handso-

Gilbert ... Sli-

Harrison ... Chick-

Head ... Knock O-

Hunt ... Sha-

Jarrrard ... Fess-

Jones, Evans ... Pecker Fa-

Jones, J. C. ... Big-

Jones, R. B. ... Ninety-S-

Jordan ... Flat Fo-

Mann ... Pu-

Motes ... Whistle Britch-

McFails ... Speed-

McKeehan ... Wi-

Padgett ... P-

Potts ... R-

Queen ... Ridge Runn-

Rainey ... Hard Ro-

Ray, S. F. ... Ba-

Reagin ... Pe-

Rider ... Bu-

Sumake, Sam ... Shor-

Spruill ... Evoluti-

Strickland, Hoyt ... Crick-

Tipton ... Pie Fa-

Washington ... Georg-

Wiley, Hamp ... Pecker Ne-

Wiley, J. T. ... Fa-

Williams, R. B. ... Soldi-

In 1933, it was estimated that 25% of American men aged 15-24 were unemployed, and another 29% of men in that age range had only part-time employment.  At the same time, the United States had lost 700,000,000 acres of virgin timberlands, causing massive soil erosion, causing 3,000,000,000 tons of soil to be washed away every year. President Franklin Roosevelt believed he could remedy both problems with the Emergency Conservation Work Act that created the CCC. It passed within President Roosevelt's first month in office.

Most men who enlisted were between the ages of 17 and 28, single, and could enlist for up to four six-month terms. They were paid a maximum of $30 per month, with $25 of that check sent home to their dependents. They were given physicals and health care upon their arrival at the camp, and also received work clothes, room, board, and education opportunities. 

Each camp had an Education Advisor to assist those who wanted to take lessons in everything from basic literacy to college-level work, and vocational education was offered through the camp work itself or from businesses in the neighboring towns. The program was successful not just in putting money back into the local economies of the men's hometowns and the towns around the camps, but an estimated 40,000 men also learned to read and write while enlisted.

In Georgia, the camps offered employment to 78,630 men. They also built parks still enjoyed by Georgians today, including Indian Springs State Park in Flovilla, F.D.Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain, Fort Mountain State Park in Chatsworth, A. H. Stevens Historic Park in Crawfordville, Little Ocmulgee State Park and Lodge in Helena, and Vogel State Park in Blairsville.


Until the program was absorbed into the War Department in 1942, 3.5 million unmarried men and 225,000 World War I veterans served the corps. They built fire roads, installed telephone lines, built parks, and planted over 3,000,000,000 trees across the country. 


The National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni is currently raising funds to put a statue honoring the work of CCC in every state. In Georgia, the statue is located at FDR State Park in Pine Mountain, where they are offering hayrides the evenings of November 18th and 19th.

Learn More:

• Athens Banner-Herald, Oct. 1934 - Feb. 1935 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• State Parks & Historic Sites website of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
• Nature's New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Roots of the American Environmental Movement by Neil M. Maher via PINES.
• The Coming of the New Deal by Arthur M. Schlesinger in the general collection.
• The Tree Army: A Pictorial History of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942 by Stan Cohen via PINES.
• Civilian Conservation Corps section of the National New Deal Preservation Association website.
• The New Deal in Georgia: An Administrative History by Michael Holmes in the Heritage collection.
• Georgia's Civilian Conservation Corps by Connie M. Huddleston via PINES.
• The Hungry Years: A Narrative History of the Great Depression in America by T. H. Watkins in the general collection.
• The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope by Jonathan Alter in the general collection.
• Roosevelt's Forest Army: A History of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942 by Perry H. Merrill via PINES.
• Nothing to Fear: FDR's Inner Circle and the Hundred Days that Created Modern America by Adam Cohen in the general collection.
• The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience by Kirstin Downey in the biography collection.
• FDR by Jean Edward Smith in the biography collection.
• Hitch by Jeanette Ingold in the fiction collection.
• Civilian Conservation Corps History section of the National Park Service website.
• Georgia Camps page of the CCC Legacy website.