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.

21 December 1906: Heavy Sleet Takes Out Trolley

On this day in 1906, news of long delays in service for the Athens Electric Railway's trolley service was published in the Weekly Banner:

"Quite a while" in this case was until early January, 1907, when the company began installing new poles and stringing "heavier" and "much better" wire throughout the system. It was promised that "there would be no further delays caused by broken wire." (This promise was kept until a severe sleet storm in February, 1908.)

The first successful electric railway system was developed by Frank J. Sprague, who created the suspension and pulley system that became the standard for cities all over the world. It was installed over 12 miles of tracks in Richmond, Virginia, in 1887, and by 1895, 900 U.S. cities had electric railways, with 11,000 miles of rails. 

Most cities had privately run systems, such as Athens Railway & Electric company, which ran the trolley system until March, 1930, when they changed over to a short-lived city bus system.


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.
• A Postcard History of Athens, Georgia by Gary L. Doster in the Heritage and general collections.
• History of Athens and Clarke County by H.J. Rowe in the Heritage and general collections.
• Buses, Trolleys, and Trams by Charles S. Dunbar in the general collection.
• The Electricity Story: 2,500 Years of Experiments and Discoveries by George deLucenay Leon in the children's collection.
• Electricity: From Faraday to Solar Generators by Martin J. Gutnik in the general collection.
• Electric Universe: The Shocking True Story of Electricity by David Bodanis in the general collection.
• Frank J. Sprague article on the Inventor of the Week Archive on the Lemelson-MIT Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology website.
• Richmond Union Passenger Railway, 1888 article in the Milestones section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Global History Network website.

18 November 1921: "Give Kodak This Christmas"

On this day in 1921, this one national Kodak ad was run in the Athens Banner for two local businesses:

The more expensive Autographic Kodak cameras had been introduced in 1914, and allowed the user to write the date (or other information) on the film. When developed, the picture included the data written at the time the photograph was taken. 

Though George Eastman had paid the inventor of this system $300,000.00 (akin to millions today) to use it exclusively for his Kodak cameras, changes in photographic technology made it unworkable by the 1930s. 

The Brownie had been introduced in 1900, and was the first camera made for the every man, woman, and child at a price of $1.00, akin to about $30.00 in today's money. You can see images of these early Brownie cameras by clicking here.

Learn More:

• Athens Banner, Nov. 1921 - Feb. 1922 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs by Maureen Alice Taylor in the general collection.
• More Dating Old Photographs, 1840-1929 by Maureen Alice Taylor in the general collection.
• 1919 Kodak ad showing Autographic Camera being noted, via Google Books.
• The Brownie Camera at 100 page on the Kodak website.
• George Eastman: A Biography by Elizabeth Brayer in the biography collection.
• Measuring Worth website.
• The Origins of American Photography by Keith F. Davis in the new books collection.
• Restoring Classic and Collectible Cameras by Thomas Tomosy in the general collection.
• The Kodak Guide to Digital Photography by Rob Sheppard in the general collection.
• The Amateur Photographer's Handbook by Aaron Sussman in the general collection.

15 December 1909: A "Christmas Suggestion"

On this day in 1909, the Southern Land Company offered a free piano to anyone buying one of the few remaining lots in the relatively new Lynwood Park subdivision.

Lynwood Park was originally part of the Ferdinand Phinizy estate, near the Cobbham area. In 1906, the suburb was mapped out into lots, spanning from Milledge Avenue to the city limits, and included the West Hancock and Reese Street areas. It became "a little town within itself" for the African-American doctors, dentists, educators, builders, ministers, business owners, and other professionals lived and worked.


Learn More:

• Athens Banner, January - December, 1909 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Strolls About Athens During the Early Seventies by Sylvanus Morris in the Heritage and general collections.
• A Story Untold: Black Men and Women in Athens History by Michael L. Thurmond in the Heritage and general collections.
• A Portrait of Historic Athens and Clarke County by Frances Taliaferro Thomas in the Heritage and general collections.
• Cobbham Historic District by Christopher W. Barry in the Heritage collection.
• African-American History Driving Tour (pdf) on the Athens Welcome Center website.
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Georgia in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• A Natural History of the Piano by Stuart Isacoff in the general collection.
• The Everything Piano Book by Evan A. Copp in the general collection.
• Piano: An Easy Guide by Chris Coetzee in the general collection.

8 December 1899: Creepy Santa Has Opinions About Your Shirt

On this day in 1899, and many days during the week, Athens Steam Laundry on Broad Street ran this somewhat creepy version of Santa Claus in their ads for their business:

Athens Steam Laundry often ran ads associated with the holidays, including one the following year featuring well dressed turkeys in starched collars around Thanksgiving. By 1903, the business moved from its location on West Broad to where the Globe pub is today.


Learn More: 

• Athens Daily Banner, July 1899 - Dec. 1899 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Athens City Directories, 1889 - 1927 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• A Postcard History of Athens, Georgia by Gary L. Doster in the Heritage collection.
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, June 1898 in the Digital Library of Georgia. 
• Downtown Athens Walking Tour (.pdf file) on the Athens Welcome Center website.
• Christmas Stories from Georgia by Dorothy Dodge Robbins in the short story collection.
• When Santa Was a Shaman: The Ancient Origins of Santa Claus and the Christmas Tree by Tony van Renterghem in the general collection.
• The Father Christmas Letters by J.R.R. Tolkien in the general collection.
• The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by Frank L. Baum in the children's collection.
• The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore in the children's collection.
• The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton in the DVD collection.

2 December 1904: Love Locked Up

On this day in 1904, the Weekly Banner published news of a recent local marriage that required some persuasion of the bride's parents:

LOCKED

Up Young Bride, But Parents

Finally Give Blessings

to Happy Couple.

   Love laughs at locksmiths is true but sometimes love forgets and gets locked up again.

   The first part of the aphorism was proven true on Sunday afternoon when Mr. Pink Hilyard and Miss Ophelia Hughes were married at the home of a friend near Winterville.

   Mr. Hilyard brought his bride back to the city and they went to the home of the bride's parents. A stormy scene followed and the parents refused to let Mr. Hilyard see his wife.

   Later during the evening the refusal was still adhered to and not until yesterday morning did the parents of Mrs. Hilyard relent and give the young couple their blessing.

--Weekly Banner, 2 December 1904, p. 5, col. 7.

Alas, Mr. and Mrs. Hughes had good instincts. Robert Pink Hilliard was well known in town for being arrested as drunk or disorderly (or both) rather than for being an industrious young man with a bright future. He was also only 18 years old, and Ophelia had only turned 16 a month earlier. In the 1904 Athens City Directory, his profession is listed as painter.

(click to enlarge image)

According to the 1910 U.S. Census, Ophelia and Pink were living with his parents on Lumpkin Street, with Ophelia at home, caring for their two sons, Hughes, age 4, and Douglas, age 2, and Pink listed as now working as a "hackman," or public carriage driver. 

However, the 1909 Athens City Directory lists Ophelia as living with her sister on Oconee Street, indicating the marriage was already showing signs of strain. Pink continued to rack up fines from his frequent appearances the Mayor's Court, to account for his for disorderly drunken behavior, at a cost of $2.50 to $30.00 per conviction. In 1912, he and two of his friends were convicted of robbery and sent to prison. Pink was pardoned and released in 1915.

In the 1920 U.S. Census, Pink is found living in a boarding house in Augusta, Georgia, with an occupation of "painter" and marital status of "married." Ophelia and her boys are still living with her older sister, Alma, who worked as a bookkeeper for Bernstein Brothers Furniture Store and was active in the Y.W.C.A. Extension Club. Though Ophelia lists her marital status as "divorced," she would not officially file for divorce from Pink until August, 1928. 

Neither Ophelia nor Pink would ever remarry. Pink would live out his days in boarding houses and Y.M.C.A. rooms in Augusta, dying in 1958 at the age of 70. Ophelia spent her life in Clarke County, dying in 1965 at the age of 77.


Learn More: 

• Clarke County, Georgia, Ordinary Records. Marriages, Book K, 1901-1906 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• 1900 - 1940 U.S. Censuses in Ancestry Library Edition in GALILEO.
• Clarke County Marriages 1803-1909 by Faye Poss Stone in the Heritage collection.
• Athens City Directories, 1889 - 1927 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Georgia Death Certificates, 1919-1998 in Ancestry Library Edition in GALILEO.

14 November 1911: Ty Cobb at the Colonial Theatre

On this day in 1911, the Athens Banner published an overview of the previous night's performance of The College Widow at the Colonial Theatre downtown, starring baseball great Ty Cobb.

Many baseball players took work as actors in the off-season, some appearing in serious plays, others in vaudeville theater acts, and still others in goofy silent films. Cobb, however, believed acting would not fit him, turning down the original offer to do the play by saying, "I'd go out there and make a horse's ass of myself."

Eventually, playwright George Ade and vaudevillian Eddie Foy, both friends of Cobb, convinced him to take the part of Billy Bolton, an All-American halfback. He had a three-month contract worth $10,000.00. 

Large crowds turned out to see Cobb more than the play itself, which was a romantic comedy about an attractive young widow luring athletes to her school to play for the football team. The College Widow was made into a silent film in 1927, and later a talkie in 1930 with the title Eleven Men and a Girl and featuring actual members of 1929 All-American football team.

When The College Widow came to the south, Cobb was honored with dinners and presentations in every town. In Athens, "a Dutch dinner" was given at the Elks Club after his performance, and during the repeated encores after the second act of the play, Cobb was presented with a football sweater emblazoned with a Georgia "G" by the Georgia football team captain, "Kid" Woodruff; Cobb wore the sweater during the third act of the play. Cobb's mother and sister were in the audience at the Colonial, travelling from Royston to see him in the performance.

However, Cobb was right that he did not have the temperament for acting. He would drink between acts, and argued with Ade about how few of the comedy's jokes were his lines, causing rewrites as the play toured. After six weeks, Cobb quit the play in Cleveland, and returned to his home in Detroit. 

1911 was one of Ty Cobb's most successful years as a ball player: he hit .420, had 248 hits, scored 147 runs, had 144 runs batted in, stole 83 bases, and lead the league in doubles and triples. Of his brief foray into acting, Cobb later said, "I looked silly as an actor, but the money was right."

Learn More:

• Athens Banner, Jul. 1911 - Nov. 1911 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Ty Cobb by Charles C. Alexander in the biography collection.
• My Life in Baseball: The True Record by Ty Cobb, with Al Stump in the biography collection.
• Cobb: The  Life and Times of the Meanest Man Who Ever Played Baseball by Al Stump in the biography collection.
• Cooperstown Confidential by Ze'ev Chafets in the general collection.
• 100 Years of Major League Baseball by David Nemec in the general collection.
• Baseball: An Illustrated History by Geoffrey C. Ward in the general collection. 

31 October 1844: A Youth Library Offered "at the New York Price"

On this day, Albon Chase began advertising a new set of books, available together or individually at his "Book-Store," for the impressionable young men and women of Athens. 

 

Primary education in 1844 was reserved for those who could afford both to pay to have their children educated and did not require their labor at home. Athens had a highly literate population, but there were no free schools. The cheapest schools in the 1840s charged $3.00 per quarter for basic primary education, akin to $93.10 in today's dollars. 

Those with more money could hire private tutors for their children, or send them to one of the local academies that taught basic English, grammar, writing, rhetoric, arithmetic, geography, history, chemistry, astronomy, Latin Greek, natural philosophy, music, drawing, painting, and French. Schools such as The Female Academy (which offered co-ed education), offered subjects on a sliding scale ranging from $4.00 per quarter for the most basic instruction to $8.00 per quarter for everything except more artistic pursuits, which could be purchased as separate lessons. 

Most education for girls focused on softer learning, such as arts, recitation, and French, rather than the speeches of Cicero or higher mathematics. It was this lack of rigorous higher education for women that caused the Lucy Cobb Institute to be founded in 1858, for Athenians believed their daughters should be as well educated as their sons, and did not want to send them away to school for the necessity. 

Albon Chase was a member of the class who could afford education for his children. He was born in New Hampshire in 1808. became the publisher of the Southern Banner 1832. He established with John Linton the Pioneer Paper Manufacturing Company located on Barber Creek, just southeast of Athens, a venture that cleared 60% profit in its first year.

In 1845, he moved the newspaper offices to a three-story wooden building at the corner of College Avenue and Front Street (now Broad), with his newspaper offices above the bookstore. Many newspaper publishers also printed books, ledgers, and other sorts of paper materials for sale other than news; Chase also offered colored wrapping paper for gifts.

He retired from the Banner in 1846 after 14 years of work, but his son, William, purchased part of it in 1858 and acted as co-editor. According to the book Antebellum Athens, "political opposition charged that regardless who was the editor, the Banner was controlled by Howell Cobb."

Chase was a founding and guiding member of other local business ventures, such as the National Bank of Athens, the Athens Building & Loan Association, the Georgia Equitable Insurance Company, and the Southern Mutual Insurance Company, where he served as Secretary until his death in 1867.

He was also active in the practical running of Athens, serving as one of the city's first commissioners, starting in 1839, and representing Ward 2 off and on until 1859. In 1852, Albon Chase served as Intendent of the city, akin to being Mayor today; Chase Street is named for him.  Two of his homes are still standing in Athens, at the corner of Hull and Clayton Streets downtown (now apartments), and at 243 Dearing Street. He is buried at Oconee Hill Cemetery.


Learn More:

• Southern Banner, Mar. 18, 1842 - Mar. 6, 1845 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Antebellum Athens and Clarke County Georgia by Ernest C. Hynds in the Heritage and general collections.
• Annals of Athens: 1801-1901 by Augustus Longstreet Hull in the Heritage collection.
• History of Athens and Clarke County by H. J. Rowe in the Heritage and general collections.
• Historic Dearing Street by Frances Taliaferro Thomas in the Heritage collection.
• Oconee Hill Cemetery, Athens, Georgia, Volume I, by Charlotte Thomas Marshall in the Heritage and general collections. 
• Measuring Worth website.
• Digitized copy of Anecdotes of the Revolution.
• Digitized copy of Fables from Northcote and Others.
• Digitized copy of Hutton's Book of Nature.
• Digital copies of Beauties of American History.
• Digital copies of Lives of the Most Eminent Sovereigns of Modern Europe.
• Digitized copy of Juvenile Companion and Fireside Reader.

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.