14 January 1903: The Athens Chamber of Commerce Is Organized

On this day in 1903, the initial members of the newly created Athens Chamber of Commerce elected their first officers and formally established the organization and committees. 

The officers were L. F. Edwards, President; W. F. Bryan 1st Vice President; M. G. Michael, 2nd Vice President; T. W. Reed, Secretary; and C. H. Phinizy, treasurer.

Earlier in the month, the Weekly Banner published this list of charter members of the Athens Chamber of Commerce:

Abbott, S. K.

Abney Brothers Co.

Anderson, J. T.

Arnold Grocery Co.

Arnold, John L.

Ash, W. C.

Athens Banner, The

Athens Gas Co.

Athens Hardware Co., The

Boley, Sidney

Bondurant, E. J.

Brandt, R.

Brooks, A. L.

Bryan, W. T.

Burnett, W. B.

Carithers, J. Y.

Collett & Ingle

Conway, H. C.

Cooper, J. C.

Darwin, John A.

Davison, A. H.

Dearing, A. P.

Dornblass, J.

Dorsey & Funkenstein

Dorsey, E. H.

Dorsey, J. H .

Dozier & Co.

DuBose, R. Toombs

Edwards, L. F.

Eppes-Wilkins Co.

Flanigen, C. D.

Fleming, T. & Sons

Fleming, W.

Globe Racket Store

Green, T. F.

Griffeth Implement Co.

Griffeth, J. H.

Griffith, A. E.

Griffith, C. B.

Haselton, D. P.

Head & McMahan

Hodgson Cotton Co.

Hodgson, A. H.

Hodgson, C. N.

Holder, Jr., B. F.

Hulme & Co., Geo.

Humphrey, J. E.

Hunnicutt, J. A.

Johnson, M. C.

Joseph, Max

Kenney, D. M.

King & Co., J. S.

Klein & Martin

Lipscomb, F. A.

Mallory, W. A.

McCurdy, J. M.

McGregor, D. W.

McMahan, J. C. C.

McNeely, W. A.

McWhorter, Hamilton

Michael Bros.

Miller, D. F.

Morton, I. P.

Morton, John White

Moss, R. L., Jr.

Motes, C. W.

Nicholson, G. R.

Nicholson, M. G.

O’Neal, W. B.

Orr Drug Co., The

Palmer, H. R. & Sons

Peeples, W. J.

Petrie, C. B.

Philpot, S. T.

Phinizy, Billups,

Pitner, J. A.

Quillian, D. D.

Reed, T. W.

Rhodes, Alex

Rhodes, J. F.

Shackleford, T. J.

Sizer, R. W.

Skalowski, M. H.

Sledge, E. D.

Smith, E. I.

Stern, Chas. & Co.

Strickland, J. J.

Talmadge Bros. & Co.

Talmadge Hardware Co.

Thomas, W. W.

Tuck, H. C.

Turner & Hodgson

Vincent, T. P.

Vonderau, W. P.

Webb & Crawford

Wilkins, J. J.

Williamson, G. H.

Willis, E. F.

Wingfield, W. C.

Mayor J. F. Rhodes was chairman of the committee to draft a constitution and by-laws for the organization, and after his presentation, both passed with "a few minor amendments." 

The meeting schedule would be on the 2nd Tuesday of every month, with quarterly items on the agenda in January, April, July, and October, and their annual meeting in January. 

A total of 17 committees were being formed, covering Agriculture, Education, New Enterprises, Express Service and Railroad Transportation, Advertising and Publicity, Postal and Telegraph Service, and one covering Streets, Roads, and Parks.

The Board of Directors would be the officers and the chairmen from the Arbitration, Finance, and Manufacturers committees. Once committees were organized, they would "take up several matters of importance to the city and discuss and act upon them."

Stated the Weekly Banner, "It is the universal opinion that this new business organization will do much toward advancing the interests of the city."


Learn More:

• Weekly Banner, Aug. 1902 - Dec. 1905 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• History of Athens and Clarke County, Georgia by H. J. Rowe in the Heritage and general collections.
• Athens of Old by the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce in the Heritage collection.
• Athens, Georgia: In the Heart of Expansion, a Very Pleasant Place to Live by the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce in the Heritage collection.
• Athens, Georgia, the Classic City: Tradition with Progress by Donald A. Smith in the Heritage collection.
• Localvesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From It by Amy Cortese in the general collection.
• World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy by Rosabeth Moss Kanter in the general collection.
• Athens Area Chamber of Commerce website.

10 October 1912: "Athens Is a Plenty Good"

On this day in 1912, a small item appeared between news about the upcoming Stewart County soil survey and an ad for the Atlanta Coal and Ice Company ("phone 117") in the Athens Banner:

Says Athens Is a Plenty Good

Mr. L. M. Leathers, who moved to Atlanta several months ago, has returned to Athens. He prefers Athens to Atlanta. He will be at his place of business at 1366 Foundry street. His family will return in a few days.

- Athens Banner, 10 October 1912, p. 8, col. 4.

According to a mid-century business directory for the city of Athens, the L. M. Leathers company started in 1907 and moved to Athens in 1909. They specialized in roofing and other metal work, including doing all the cornice, sheet metal and roof work on the new courthouse in 1913. Their phone number for decades was 264.

Mr. Leathers retired from the company in 1942, and his three sons, Fred, Claude, and Milton, took over the business. By the 1940s, their manufacturing building was located at 675 Pulaski Street, and the company had expanded their offerings to refurbishing Coca-Cola bottling equipment, and "orchestrated the mass production of two of America’s favorite snacks- the peanut butter cracker and the Moon Pie."

Their manufacturing building was refurbished by Athens firm D.O.C. Unlimited, with an emphasis on retaining much of the original structure, including skylights, the company name on the exterior of the building, and high ceilings with brick walls inside, while also making the space pedestrian-friendly with plant beds and platforms that act as porches for the businesses now in the space. In 2005, the renovation won an award from the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation. 

Some of the current occupants of 675 Pulaski Street include Rubber Soul Yoga, Koons Environmental Design, and Shiraz Fine Wine & Gourmet.


Learn More:

• Athens Banner, July 1912 - Dec. 1, 1912 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• The Leathers Building page on Facebook.
• Athens, Georgia: A Pictorial History by James K. Reap in the Heritage and general collections.
• Athens, Georgia Business Directory (n.d.) in the Heritage collection.
• Redefining Southern Culture: Mind and Identity in the Modern South by James C. Cobb in the general collection.
• Origins of the New South: 1877-1913 by C. Vann Woodward in the general collection.
• The Metalsmiths by Percy Knauth in the general collection.
• Redux: Designs that Reuse, Recycle, and Reveal by Jennifer Roberts in the general collection.

Rally to Save the Georgia Archives on October 3rd!

On this day, we'd like you to mark your calendar for Wednesday, October 3rd at noon when a rally to Save the Georgia Archives is planned for the Capitol Rotunda in Atlanta. Show up early, and bring as many friends as you can.

Though Governor Nathan Deal stated that he would restore funding for the Georgia Archives at the Georgia Archives Month proclamation signing on September 19th, no plans for funding before the closing date, and the termination date of the seven archivists who will leave the Archives without experienced staff, have been made. Secretary of State Brian Kemp remains committed to taking the entire 3% of his department's budget cut from the Georgia Archives. 

Without action in October, the people of Georgia will lose access to their own history and public records, while the professionals who have preserved and made available this collection will be forced to move on with their careers. As all researchers know, a knowledgeable staff makes all the difference for finding relevant, useful, and accurate information. 

For more information about the rally, and what else you can do to help save the Georgia Archives, please visit the Friends of Georgia Archives and History website and the Georgia Genealogical Society website.

What You Can Do About the Closing of the Georgia Archives

On this day we'd like to offer some suggestions about what actions you can take in light of the news that the Georgia State Archives will be closed to citizens as of November 1. 

To start, you can write to our Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Secretary of State.

Though the Lieutenant Governor did not enact this budget cut, he may run for governor in the future, as may our current Secretary of State, Brian Kemp.  Write to them to ensure they all understand the importance of the Georgia Archives.

Governor Nathan Deal

Mailing Address:
206 Washington Street
Suite 203, State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334

Phone:
404-656-1776

Fax:
404-657-7332

Contact Us form:

http://gov.georgia.gov/contact-us-0

Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle

Mailing address:

240 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
Phone: 
(404) 656-5030
Fax: 
(404) 656-6739

Contact Us form (at bottom of the page below)

http://ltgov.georgia.gov/contact-lt-governor

Secretary of State Brian Kemp

Mailing address:
214 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
Phone: 
404-656-2881
Fax: 
404-656-0513

Contact Us form:

http://sos.georgia.gov/cgi-bin/email.asp

You can also contact your state representatives. To find the contact information for your State Senator and Representative, use this Find Your Legislator page. Our representatives must know that this budget cut is unacceptable.

This Saturday, September 15th, 2012, is the Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Georgia Archives & History at the Archives building in Morrow. The meeting is expected to end around noon, and a brainstorming session will take place afterwards. For more information, contact the organization via email, at FriendsofGeorgiaArchives@yahoo.com, or by phone, at 678-364-3732.

Please also sign the petition to keep the Georgia Archives open to the public, and follow events on the Facebook page, Georgians Against Closing the State Archives. 

PLEASE NOTE: Even if you aren't in Georgia, you are still encouraged to sign the petition and write to our Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Secretary of State. Many people had ancestors who came through Georgia and just because you don't live in Georgia, doesn't mean you will never need these Archives. It also sets a terrible precedent that other states may try to follow. Politicians need to know that citizen access to their government records is important.

25 July 1902: What Is Summer Without a Fish Story?

On this day in 1902, a great fish tale was published in the Weekly Banner:

BIG CATCH OF CAT FISH.

Athens Fishermen Get Big Haul in Oglethorpe.

Messers. Wellborn and Marion DuBose have returned from a fishing trip to Oglethorpe, and not only report a big time, but bring evidence of genuine fisherman's luck.

They were fishing with trot lines in Edward's pond in Oglethorpe county and Wednesday made a catch of a blue cat weighing 26 pounds, another weighing 12 and about fifty pounds of smaller fish.

This catch has seldom been equalled in this section of the country and proves that there are "good fish in the seas as ever were caught."

-Weekly Banner, 25 July 1902, p. 2, col. 3.

The brothers did not indicate how long their trotline was to bring home such a haul of fish, and there was no announcement of a large fish fry at their family home on the 26th.




Learn More:

• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Catch of the Day: A Fish Cookbook by Carol Cutler in the general collection.
• The Ultimate Freshwater Fishing by John Bailey in the general collection.
• The Smart Cook: Fish by Delia Smith in the general collection.
• Peterson First Guide to Fishes of North America by Michael Filisky in the general collection.
• Fish by Shirley King and Chuck Williams in the general collection.
• Fifty Fish to Catch in Your Lifetime by John Bailey via PINES.
• Cook's Guide to Fish and Shellfish by Kate Whiteman in the general collection.
• The Complete Fishing Manual by Henry Gilbey in the general collection.
• Sushi American Style by Tracy Griffith in the general collection.
• Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace in the fiction collection.

 
 

Important News about the Heritage Room Collection during the Last Part of the Library Renovation

On this day, we'd like to provide notice for some changes that are coming quite soon that could affect your research plans.


In the next few weeks, most of the library will be on the move to enable the last phases of construction. At the end of July, the Reference area is scheduled to move into the renovated side of the second floor, and, at that time, the Heritage Room book collection will become closed stacks through the end of the year. 


The books in this collection will still be available to patrons, but you will need to ask a librarian to retrieve the title or titles you wish to use. This situation is temporary, merely a side effect of space constraints while the other half of the second floor is being updated.
 
The Heritage Room microfilm, reader, and digital scanner will remain in the new Reference area until the end of construction. We still urge you to call to reserve the machine you want to use in advance, to ensure it is available when you arrive. All aspects of the microform collection will return to the Heritage Room space once the room reopens, with great fanfare, in early 2013. (It really is sooner than it sounds!)


Among the features of the new Heritage Room space will be 

• more microfilm readers and printers (plus the old dinosaurs with their loud mechanical Thu-THUNK! when you hit the Print button), 
• a conference room that will be used for classes but can also be reserved for use by local organizations for meetings, 
• more computers, 
• more individual work tables, 
• more shelves full of books, 
• lockers for you to stash your bags securely, 
• an easier-to-find location,
• a more accessible and browsable magazine area, 
• a more comfortable ambient temperature in the reading room,
• a larger vault, and 
• work spaces for staff so there will be fewer piles of boxes and papers and ledgers and maps in the room, which means more room for you to spread out while researching.

Here are some pictures of the room in progress, courtesy of our public relations guru, Rhiannon Eades:

(click to enlarge image)

In the picture above, you can see the light coming from the new meeting room doorway on the right that was once a window! And on the topic of windows, you can see we still have the large one at the end of the room that always filled the space with such gorgeous golden sunlight in late afternoon.

(click to enlarge image)

Hooray! Carpet padding! 

No, not really exciting, but it is the first step toward getting carpet in the new space. (All steps forward are to be celebrated.) You can also see new walls where the microfilm reader alcove used to be (but is now office space for Heritage Room and Information Services staff), and the knocked out wall where there used to be file drawers filled with microfilm and boxes filled with maps.

(click to enlarge image)

A nice low line of shelves with enough power to handle, according to the diagram of the new second floor layout, seven microform readers and reader-printers. At long last, the digital scanner will be at a comfortable height for long periods of research. 

Please let us know at the Reference desk if you have any concerns, or have questions about using the collection. We understand that having access to the materials you need is important, and we are here to make this temporary inconvenience as little trouble as possible. 

In the mean time, we appreciate your patience, and hope you are as excited about the prospect of a renewed Heritage Room as we are. We miss it, too!

Learn More:

• Athens-Clarke County Library Renovation blog.
• Renovation plans for the Athens-Clarke County library.
• Second floor layout of the renovated Athens-Clarke County library (.pdf file).

21 June 1901: Paving Milledge Avenue

On this day in 1901, the Athens Banner reported that paving of Milledge Avenue would happen that summer, after delays of wet weather and a city full of alumni, friends, and family of graduates from the many schools in the Athens area.

MILLEDGE PAVING BEGINS MONDAY.

The Work Will be Pushed Rapidly to an Early Completion.

     The city authorities were unable, after all, to begin the paving of Milledge avenue before the commencement season.     First, the continued rains some time before prevented the beginning of the work, and when it became dry enough to start work, it was decided that inasmuch as it was so close to the commencencements, that the work be postponed until the visitors had left Athens.     Work will be started on Milledge avenue by the city next Monday morning. There is not much time left to complete the work by next winter, but the paving will be rushed as much as possible. A large force of hands will go to work at that time.

--Athens Daily Banner, 21 June 1901, p. 3, col. 5.

The work was scheduled to begin on Monday, June 24th, during a heat wave of two days that the Banner reported "brought most forcibly to mind the tales that Rudyard Kipling relas of the heat in India." Both days reached into the 90s by noon, until a strong overnight thunderstorm calmed the heat. 


This was the initial paving of Milledge, and was not completed until November. Rather than the more industrial block paving used downtown, Milledge was macadamized,  which means layers of broken stone were spread across the leveled road surface, then sealed with a binder. It was much cheaper to pave with this system, and repairs were not as expensive, as well. 


The entire length of the street was not paved, but the paper still declared it "one of the prettiest streets in the South." It was repaved in 1906, with the Athens Electric & Railway Company paying for part of the work, as they laid rail to Lumpkin Street. The costs were split between the city, the railway company, and the property owners. 


By 1914, Milledge was paved from Hill Street to Henderson Avenue. Two years later, 75 property owners petitioned to have the street paved from Springdale to Lumpkin. It was only paved to Woodlawn Avenue, so the following year, after complaints from residents about a Milledge Avenue that was "ankle deep in mud for the past three or four weeks," the city finally paved the road two blocks past Lumpkin Street. The longer paving was likely due to the new residences that had started to develop in the Five Points area on University Drive.


By 1923, Athens had spent nearly $1 million to have 105 miles of paved streets, and spent approximately $100,000.00 per year in maintenance and improvements. More than 50 miles of these streets had sidewalks, such as the brick ones recently restored along Hancock Street.




Learn More: 

• Athens Daily Banner, Feb. 1901 - Oct. 1901 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• A Postcard History of Athens, Georgia by Gary L. Doster in the Heritage and general collections.
• History of Athens and Clarke County, Georgia by H. J. Rowe in the Heritage and general collections.
• Minutes of the Mayor and Council of the City of Athens, Georgia on Microfilm in the Heritage collection. 
• A Place to Remember: Using History to Build Community by Robert R. Archibald in the general collection.
• Asphalt Nation by Jane Holtz Kay in the general collection.
• The Big Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways by Earl Swift in the New Books collection.
• Plain Tales from the Hills by Rudyard Kipling in the fiction collection.
• The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling in the fiction collection.

31 May 1912: "Play is a serious matter to the child."

On this day in 1912, the Weekly Banner offered the following editorial about the need for Athens to have more playgrounds:

(click to enlarge image)

Improved school playgrounds and the establishment of a city park were part of Mayor H. J. Rowe's play as he came into his second term in January, 1912. Stories that year from around the nation noted cities putting an emphasis on parks and play space for their children, including a "Recreation Congress" in Chicago that was called for by the Playground and Recreation Association of America, a group that included social worker Jane Addams and progressive muckraking journalist Jacob Riis at the helm.

In June, the Civic League, an organization of prominent Athens women,  sent a letter to the Chamber of Commerce about the need to create more playgrounds and parks in town before the property became too valuable. In July, reports that the Civic League were working to have school playgrounds remain open during the summer, so children would have somewhere to play that was near their homes, were also published and supported by the newspaper. These attempts were, however, unsuccessful.

Learn More:

• Weekly Banner, Jan. 1912 - Dec. 1914 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Politics and Parks: Chicago Businessmen and the Recreation Movement by Michael P. McCarthy in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society via JSTOR.
• How to Design and Build Children's Play Equipment by Jay Beckwith, et al, in the general collection.
• Child: How Children Think, Learn, and Grow in the Early Years by Desmond Morris in the New Books collection.
• Playground Politics: Understanding the Emotional Life of Your School-Aged Child by Stanley Greenspan in the general collection.
• Children, Play, and Development by Fergus P. Hughes in the children's Parenting collection.
• "The playground of today is the republic of tomorrow": Social Reform and Organized Recreation in the  USA, 1890-1930 by Linnea M. Anderson on infed.org.
• The Backyard Playground: Recreational Landscapes and Play Structures by Creative Publishing International in the general collection.
• Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn, and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta M. Golinkoff in the general collection.
• Children's Traditional Games: Games from 137 Countries and Cultures by Judy Sierra and Robert Kaminsky in the children's Reference collection.