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.

28 October 1918: Athens Quarantine Partially Lifted

On this day in 1918, at 7 o'clock in the morning, the quarantine that had been imposed on the city of Athens and the county of Clarke for the previous three weeks, was partially lifted. County schools, the Lucy Cobb Institute, the University of Georgia and State Normal School, and church services would be allowed to meet, but "city schools, movie houses, theatre, pool rooms, shooting galleries, soda founts and ice cream parlors will remain closed." Sunday schools were also asked to refrain from meeting.

The quarantine had first gone into effect October 7th, when Athens had only a few cases of influenza reported, but wanted to avoid a larger outbreak. Mayor Andrew Erwin had the Chief of Police notify the management of a carnival scheduled to come to town that they would have to cancel their visit, and strict enforcement of the anti-spitting ordinance was put into effect. 

The Board of Health met and immediately closed gathering places such as movie theatres, pool halls, soda fountains, and other "amusements." Physicians or the head of a household where the flu struck had to report the case to the Board of Heath within 24 hours, and city schools were closed. The University of Georgia shut down, and all students who lived off the campus were told to stay at home. The Superior Court also delayed their October session. The only exceptions for meetings were for "necessary war work."

Despite the drastic procedures, the Athens Banner took a measured tone, telling its readers that "there is no need for fear, precaution and proper care from exposure will do more to wipe out the disease than anything else." People were generally asked to stay home, and most were willing to comply. In order for students to return to school, they had to present a letter from a physician stating they had not been exposed to the disease for the previous seven days.

Upon partial removal of quarantine, the chairman of Athens Board of Health, Dr. McKinney, did ask for everyone to "continue to exercise the greatest of care for we are not yet out of danger of a further spread of the contagion." Though only 5% of Athens was thought to have contracted the flu, the epidemic was harshest on those ages 15-34, and was so severe "that the average lifespan in the US was depressed by 10 years." 

By early November, it was news that the Colonial had booked entertainment for two weeks out,  but there is no article that notes the official date quarantine was fully lifted from the city. When Armistice to end World War I was declared on November 12, hundreds of citizens and students gathered in the streets to celebrate the event, with no thought of the flu.


Learn More:

• Athens Banner, Jan. 1918 - Nov. 1918 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Daily Herald on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• History of Athens and Clarke County by H. J. Rowe in the Heritage and general collections.
• The 1918 Influenza Pandemic page on Dr. Robert Siegel's Human Virology website.
• History of Public Health in Georgia, 1733-1950 by T. F. Abercrombie in the Heritage collection. 
• This Time of Dying by Reina James in the fiction collection.
• The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry in the general collection.
• Blessing's Bead by Debby Dahl Edwardson in the young adult collection.
• The Good Doctor's Guide to Colds and Flu by Neil Schachter in the general collection.

13 October 1920: Lady Mistakes Fire Box for Post Box

On this day in 1920, the Athens Banner ran this story of mistaken boxes on the front page:

Learn More:

• Athens Banner, October 1920 - May 1921 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• 1920-1921 Athens City Directory on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• History of the Athens Fire Department on the Athens-Clarke County Government website.
• I Can't Believe I Just Did That by David Allyn in the general collection.
• Master the Postal Exams by John Gosney and Dawn Rosenberg McKay in the general collection.
• McGraw-Hill's Firefighter Exams by Ronald R. Spadafora in the general collection.
• Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters, 1917-1961, edited by Carlos Baker in the biography collection.
• The Expressmen by David Nevin the general collection.
• A Day in the Life of a Firefighter by Linda Hayward in the children's collection.
• War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars, edited by Andrew Carroll in the general collection.
• Going Postal by Terry Pratchett in the CD collection.
• Letters from Father Christmas by J. R. R. Tolkien in the children's collection.
• Mailman: A Novel by J. Robert Lennon in the fiction collection.
• So Others Might Live: The FDNY from 1700 to the Present by Terry Golway in the general collection.
• We Need Mail Carriers by Lola M. Schaefer in the children's collection.
• Curious George at the Fire Station by Margaret Rey in the picture book collection.
• Letters to Jackie: Condolences from a Grieving Nation, edited by Ellen F. Fitzpatrick in the general collection.
• Working Fire: The Making of an Accidental Fireman by Zac Unger in the general collection.
• Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman, edited by Michelle Feynman in the general collection.
• Images of old fire boxes.

27 July 1882: Michael Brothers Open for Business

On this day in 1882, Simon and Moses G. Michael went into the dry goods business as Michael Brothers. Simon was 23 and M. G. was 20. Their store was on the corner of Jackson and Broad Streets, taking half a floor of a two-story wooden building that also housed the city jail and police court.

Within three years, their business grew large enough that they needed the whole building, so the police court and jail moved. They added wholesale to their retail business, and hired traveling salesmen to visit stores in smaller towns in the region. Five years later they built a larger, three-story brick building on the site, staying open during construction by renting sales space in the Athens Hardware building.

In 1893, they moved to the corner of Jackson and Clayton Streets. They had razed the two-story wooden laundry building on the lot to erect a five-story stone building that took up one-third of the block along Clayton Street. The first two floors were dedicated to department-store style retail, and the rest of the building used for wholesale goods. They shared the block between Jackson and Wall Streets with the Athens post office. The new building featured gas lighting and an hydraulic elevator.

When the post office moved in 1905, the Michael Brothers bought the lot and built another two-story building, taking up another third of the block facing Clayton Street. They moved their retail business to the smaller building so they could devote all five stories of the 1893 building to their wholesale business. Their slogan was "Michael Brothers: Since 1882, the Store Good Goods Made Popular."

In 1921, a fire began in the Max Joseph building at the corner of Clayton and Wall Streets. Also present in that building was automobile retailer Denny Motor Company, which had drums of petroleum stored on the first floor. Within 45 minutes, the fire had consumed the Joseph building and both Michael Brothers establishments, even melting coins held in the safe. The brothers noted after the fire that "The commercial monument which we have striven through thirty-nine years to erect was licked up in almost thirty-nine minutes by the cruel tongue of fire and flame."

Total losses to downtown businesses was estimated at $2 million, with at least half borne by Simon and M.G Michael. They announced immediately that they would rebuild, and that they needed more space anyway. Never ones to let construction interfere with the business, they set up temporary offices at the Georgian Hotel within a week of the fire, announcing their location in newspaper ads that noted, "We have lost our store buildings and our stock of merchandise--we are deeply thankful that we have not lost a single friend." They also promised that "The Michael method of merchandising will be maintained in every respect."

The new building opened in summer of 1922. It was Athens' first building with overhead sprinklers. It also featured a classic design with giant, electrically illuminated display windows and walnut paneling on the walls, showcases, counters, and back storage units. Men's furnishings were to the immediate left of the front door, with stationery and books in the section behind; women's cosmetics, jewelry, and accessories were to the immediate right of the door. The building also featured large ceiling and wall fans to keep the air circulating and cool.

Each brother focused on a different area of the business. Simon ran the wholesale side, managing sales to other stores of ready-to-wear clothing, sewing items, accessories, and home furnishings. M. G. ran the public department store with sales of clothing, furs, millinery, costume jewelry, sewing supplies and notions, books, stationery, linens, glassware, lamps, rugs, drapes, toys, and small appliances. Their tailoring department employed in-house seamstresses who could alter or create clothing for customers, and do customized upholstery and other items for the home. Certain departments, such as women's shoes, leased space to outside companies. By the 1930s, the Mezzanine level added a hairdressing department. Every July, they had a store-wide anniversary sale.

Many employees of the Michael Brothers stayed with the organization for their entire careers. They found Simon and M.G. to be "fair, honest, and concerned about employees individually, as people with their own lives to lead." They treated all their customers with respect and kindness, allowing them to add to their unpaid account balances during the lean years of the boll weevil and the Depression, even as Georgia's economic decline brought the end to their wholesale business.

Both brothers were involved in Athens' civic life and were strong advocates for the city. Simon was a member of the City Bond Commission, and M.G. spent many years on the Board of Education, served as president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce, and helped organize Athens Lodge 790 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks. Both families were active members of the Congregation Children of Israel and the Red Cross. They also had other business interests in Athens, purchasing and running the Colonial Theatre, owning other commercial real estate in town, and Simon served as Director of the National Bank of Athens.

During WWII, the third floor of the department store was converted for housing cadets from the U. S. Navy pre-flight base and soldiers brought to town for the signal training corp by installing bathrooms with showers. Michael Brothers Department Store also acted as a blood bank, hosted meetings and collection drives, and promoted War Bonds.

Sons of the original owners took over the business in 1942, but the third generation of Michaels were not interested in retail. The business was sold to Davison's in April, 1953. The 1921 building now houses private offices, Doc Chey's Noodle House, Mellow Mushroom pizza, the UGA Graduate School, and a mezzanine level event space.

Learn More:

• A Postcard History of Athens, Georgia by Gary L. Doster in the Heritage and general collections.
• Oconee Hill Cemetery, Athens, Georgia, Volume I by Charlotte Thomas Marshall in the Heritage and general collections.
• A Store's Story: Michael Brothers Inc. of Athens, Georgia by Leroy Michael, Jr., soon to be in the Heritage collection.
• Athens: A Pictorial History by James K. Reap in the Heritage and general collections.
• A Portrait of Athens and Clarke County by Frances Taliaferro Thomas in the Heritage and general collections.
• July issues of the Southern Banner, Clarke County Courier, Athens Daily Herald, Athens Banner-Watchman, Athens Daily Banner, Athens Weekly Banner, or Athens Banner-Herald between 1883 and 1953 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• A History of the Department Store by John William Ferry in the general collection.
• Start and Run a Profitable Retail Business: A Step-by-Step Business Plan by Michael M. Coltman in the general collection.
• Entrepreneur Magazine's How to Start a Wholesale Distribution Business: A Step-by-Step Guide to Success by Bridget McCrea in the Business Reference collection.
• Michael Brothers building website.
• Fire Destroys Downtown Businesses blog post.

19 June 2009: Georgia Theatre Destroyed By Fire

On this day in 2009, Athenians gathered downtown to watch as a fire gutted the Georgia Theatre. The exterior walls are almost all that survived of the recently renovated historic building, and only remain standing today due to an investment by the property's owner, Wilmot Greene, to protect what is left of the original building because "there's just so much history here."

Before the ashes had cooled on the corner of Clayton and Lumpkin Streets, the imperative demand for reconstruction of the Georgia Theatre began. Fundraisers were held throughout the year, both for the building and for the employees who had suddenly lost their jobs. The sentiment that Athens would not be the same without the Georgia Theatre goes back to the days when it was, as it is now, merely a set of blueprints.

One of the earliest mentions of the building came in January of 1889, when the Weekly Banner-Watchman included the new Young Men's Christian Association building "is soon to be erected, and will be one of the prettiest buildings in the city."

Later that year, the Weekly Banner-Watchman described the day the cornerstone was laid for the building, on May 6th, 1889. According to the paper, "fully twelve hundred persons" came to the 3 o'clock ceremony. The "orator of the occasion" was Henry C. Tuck, a local attorney, a member of the Y. M. C. A., and, in 1889, Clarke County's representative to the Georgia Legislature.

He began his address by stating

No building was ever erected in Athens in which the people felt a deeper or more abiding interest than this--certainly none was ever erected before, in which the spirit and purpose of the work has so attracted and seized upon the hearts of the whole people.

The ceremonies had begun with a procession of 60 Y. M. C. A. members to the Masonic Hall, from where they then walked with 70 Masons, members of Mt. Vernon Lodge and visiting members, to the new building. A prayer was read, a choir sang with organ accompaniment, and it is reported that "The singing was remarkably good."

After Mr. Tuck spoke to the crowd, the Masonic ceremonies for laying the cornerstone followed, including the many items to be deposited within the stone. Some of the reported items were:

A list of members of the Y. M. C. A. engraved on a tablet of lead

Constitution and by-laws of the different secret orders in the city

List of subscribers in the Y. M. C. A. building

Various bills of Confederate money

Copies of the Athens Daily and Weekly Chronicle

Copy of the Banner-Watchman containing a profile of Judge Y. L. G. Harris

The newspaper reported that the cost of the new building in 1889 was $10,000 (approximately $1.24 million in today's costs). The rebuilding of the Georgia Theatre is estimated to cost $4 million, and construction is expected to start by the end of this June now that a loan has been secured from Athens First Bank & Trust.

Fundraising is still needed to meet the costs of the loan and reconstruction. The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation is collecting all donations for rebuilding in their Georgia Theatre Rehabilitation Fund, and Georgia Theatre t-shirts are available through the theatre's website.

Terrapin Ale is issuing a Terrapin Georgia Theatre Sessions series, with proceeds going to the rebuilding effort. In each release, one box will contain a golden ticket, entitling the owner to a lifetime of free shows at the new theatre. Local band Venice Is Sinking has just released Sand & Lines, an album recorded entirely in the Georgia Theatre in 2008, and will donate funds from sales to the Rehabilitation Fund.

Today, on the one year anniversary of the fire, the Georgia Theatre has opened an e-Bay store as a way to raise money, with such items as a master tape of Widespread Panic's first studio recording, salvaged posters from the fire, posters from benefit concerts, Band Together bracelets, and pens made from the charred 300-year-old pine beams of the Theatre roof. Other items will be added to the auction site over time.

Mr. Greene hopes to have the venue reopen by Spring, 2011.

Learn More:

• Athens Southern Watchman, Aug. 1888 - Dec. 1889 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Flagpole Magazine (June, July, November 2009; June 2010) in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Banner-Herald, June 16 - June 30, 2009 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• The Red & Black Archives online.
• Flagpole Magazine Archives online.
• Fire Destroys Georgia Theatre page on the Athens Banner-Herald website.
• Inside the Historic Georgia Theatre photo gallery on the Athens Banner-Herald website.
• Measuring Worth website.
• History of Athens and Clarke County by H. J. Rowe in the Heritage and general collections.
• A Postcard History of Athens, Georgia by Gary L. Doster in the Heritage and general collections.
• Athens, Georgia: A Pictorial History by James K. Reap in the Heritage, Reference, and general collections.
• A Guide to Architectural Styles in Athens, Georgia by John C. Waters in the Heritage collection.
• Georgia Theatre website.

25 January 1921: Fire Destroys Downtown Businesses

On this day in 1921, Athens fire fighters fought through the early morning hours to contain a blaze that threatened to sweep through all of downtown. Newspaper accounts indicate that by 2:30am, three business blocks had been destroyed, and flames were heading toward College Avenue and the University campus. The fire could be seen from as far away as Monore, and was so hot it melted coins in the safe of the Michael Brothers department store. A plea for assistance had been sent to the Atlanta Fire Chief, who sent men and equipment on a special train to Athens, though they did not arrive until 8am, at which point the small, 25-man force of Athens firemen had the situation under control.

The fire started in the four-story Max Joseph building at the corner of Wall and Clayton Streets. Unfortunately, also in that building was the Denny Motor Company, an automobile retailer who had drums of gasoline stored on their first floor. Explosions from the petroleum, as well as windy conditions, spread the flames quickly. The Max Joseph building was completely gutted within an hour and the Michael Brothers retail and wholesale stores were destroyed in just 45 minutes.

People who lived in the residential areas near downtown packed their things in case they needed to evacuate their homes, while others came to town to watch the fire burn, causing crowd control issues as well. The block bounded by Jackson, Clayton, Wall, and Broad Streets was entirely destroyed, with severe damage to many of the surrounding buildings as well. The only serious human injury suffered by the fire department was when Fire Chief George W. McDorman fell from a ladder at about 6am and broke both of his wrists.

Mayor Andrew C. Erwin estimated total losses from the fire at $2 million, with $1 million of it being entirely from the destruction of the Michael Brothers businesses. However, Michael Brothers immediately announced they would rebuild, and in the mean time, set up temporary business sites. Within a few days, the brothers had retail operations running out of the first floor of the Georgian Hotel and wholesale operations established in the Southern Mutual Building.

The new building was completed 18 months later, and was the first store in Athens to have an overhead sprinkler system installed. It operated as an independent department store until 1953, when the business was sold to Davisons, who closed the store in 1981 to move to Georgia Square Mall. The building currently houses office space on the top floors, the UGA Graduate School offices, a mezzanine level entertaining space, and on the ground floor, Doc Chey's Noodle House and Mellow Mushroom pizza.

Learn More:

• A Postcard History of Athens by Gary L. Doster in the Heritage and general collections.
• Oconee Hill Cemetery, Athens, Georgia, Volume I by Charlotte Thomas Marshall in the Heritage and general collections.
• A Portrait of Athens & Clarke County by Frances Taliaferro Thomas in the Heritage and general collections.
• Athens, A Pictorial History by James K. Reap in the Heritage, general, and reference collections.
• Athens Weekly Banner 1918-1921 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• A Store's Story: Michael Brothers Inc. of Athens, Georgia by Leroy Michael, Jr., soon to be in the Heritage collection.
• Michael Brothers Building web page.