Google+ Georgia On My Mind: July 2007

Monday, July 30, 2007

Additions and Submissions

The 15th Georgia Blog Carnival will post sometime this Friday, August 3, 2007. Submissions should be sent to me at gamind@mail.com or use the Blog Carnival submission form. Please forward your submissions before Thursday, August 2nd at 6 p.m. Submissions can be posts from your own site or you can nominate a post from another blog.

The following sites have been added to the Georgia Blogroll here at Georgia On My Mind:

The M Theory---views on everything from a political consultant.

Big Bonton---great pictures and interesting text

The South Magazine website states it is a publication that celebrates the style of the New South by using Savannah as a lens through which to view the distinctive heritage of the South and examine how that legacy is upheld and updated.

Mitch Skandalakis---The tagline over at Mitch Skandalakis says common sense conservatist. Can’t argue with common sense….we need more of it. Recent posts included Vick Indictment Is Troubling and Molesting Minister Free to Pursue Sexual Abuse.

Traveling History---a blog with two authors where the tagline states, here you will find little bits of history, hopefully you will find one that inspires you to do a little research and learn something new.

Wondering about the picture? It is an image of Atlanta’s City Hall in 1864. Camped on the grounds are the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry.

CREDIT: Barnard, George N., photographer, "Atlanta, Ga. City Hall; camp of 2nd Massachusetts Infantry on the grounds." 1864. Selected Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865, Library of Congress.

Friday, July 27, 2007

John Wisdom: Georgia's Paul Revere

Listen my children and you shall hear
of the midnight ride of John Wisdom
on the third of May, in sixty-three….

Something isn’t quite right, is it?

I introduce The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Wadsworth, to my fourth graders when we discuss Lexington and Concord, and the visual I provide them with is the painting seen here by Grant Wood. Recently over at History Is Elementary I detailed how I use other paintings by Mr. Wood in my classroom.

Near the end of the year as we are discussing the Civil War I spiral back to Wadsworth’s poem to remind children where we have already been in our studies. I write the opening words of the poem on the board except I switch the name Paul Revere with the name John Wisdom and the date.

As students begin to correct me I say, “Oh yeah, sure, it was John Wisdom. He warned people the enemy was approaching. He may have saved people and the towns of Lexington and Concord on his midnight ride.”

I love the chorus of no, no, no I receive from adamant students who love to point out when I’m wrong. They tell me that Paul Revere and several others were charged with the duty of calling out the Minutemen, and the date was 1775 not 1863. Our sprial review is successful and completed. Students have remembered information concerning the Revolution though it has been several weeks since it was taught.

I turn to present matters and pose the question…”Well, I wonder then why the name John Wisdom popped into my head? Who could he be? I wonder if he did something important? We are about to study the Civil War. Based on what you know already about the war write two or three sentences in your notebook predicting who you think John Wisdom is and why I’m bringing him up.”

Students begin to write and then share their predicitions. Finally, I get my chance to share.

John Wisdom , seen in the picture here, was a real person. He was a mail carrier….you know, through the dark night, through rain, sleet, snow, hail…yeah, that mail system. It can be argued that he is the very man who saved Rome, Georgia from destruction during the Civil War at least for a short period of time. He is often thought of as Georgia’s version of Paul Revere.

In May, 1863, Rome was only about sixty miles south of the Confederate lines at Dalton, Georgia. There were only old men, wounded soldiers, and young boys available to protect the town and the arsenal. I guess you coul say the leaders of the South were asleep at the wheel as far as Rome goes.

Why would Rome have been important to the Union?

First of all, the city is located strategically at the point where the Etowah and Oostanaula Rivers meet forming the Coosa. Railroad lines that connected Atlanta and Chattanooga ran through Rome. Many of the farms in the region provided food supplies for the Confederates, and the hospital provided medical supplies and care for the wounded. The city had numerous foundries including the one owned by James Noble, Sr. and his six sons. Their foundry had been instrumental in providing the Rome Railroad with a locomotive by 1857. Cannons and cannonballs as well as other items to assist the Confederacy were manufactured in Rome.

Rumors abounded in the countryside the Union Colonel, A.D. Streight, was on the move. Was he heading for Rome’s arsenal? Was he attempting to cut the Confederate supply line between Atlanta and Chattanooga? Actually it was the latter, but Wisdom felt a burning need to let the countryside know the Union troops were nearby and up to no good. Haven’t you ever heard a rumor and was just dying to tell others?

Wisdom, apparently was unaware that General N.B. Forrest was already in pursuit of Streight and it was a good thing he didn’t know or didn’t care. Had someone have said, “Awww….Forrest is already after him,” Wisdom might have just gone about his duties as a stage driver delivering mail and other parcels. Nope, Forrest opted to get involved.

Forrest was able to capture Streight’s calvary after three to five full days (depends on the source you use) of marching and fighting. The Confederate officer managed to do this with a force less than half the size of Streight’s. Forest had several advantages over Streight, however. The Confederates were riding horses while the Union solders were using mules. In fact some sources refer to Streight’s group and others that utilized mules as “Jackass Forces”. It was hard for these forces to get around unnoticed as the mules often took to braying and could be heard for miles. At some point during the chase Streight (pictured at left) dispatched approximately 200 men to serve as an advance party to head for Rome to scout the area. It was this scouting party that Wisdom heard about and set out to warn his surrounding neightbors.

It is at this point I will defer to the website Rome.Georgia.com as it explains the arduous journey of Wisdom better than I can:

He left Gadsden at 3:30 in the afternoon by buggy and after 22 miles at Gnatville his horse was completely exhausted. A widow Hanks at that place owned the only horse- a lame pony- which she loaned to Wisdom. The pony only lasted five miles until he came to Goshen. Here he was able to get a fresh and stronger horse which carried him to Spring Garden where he was able to get two horses. At a point about one mile south of Cave Spring, Georgia, his mount was exhausted and darkness had come.

Farmers were relunctant to loan their animals nevertheless he walked on and even used a mule for several miles until he was able to get two good mounts in Vann's Valley in succession and raced into Rome after midnight.

Rome’s citizens were quick to act once they were alerted:

The covered wooden bridge over which the Union troops would be forced to move was barricaded with bales of cotton and the bridge floor covered waist deep with hay soaked in oil which was to be set afire in the event the invaders could not be stopped by other measures.

The engineers of the Rome Railroad made trips into the countryside warning the people and bringing the planters who responded to the call to arms. They brought their squirrel rifles, muskets, and muzzle loading shotguns.


The Union advance troop got a good look at Rome from the hill at Shorter College where they could see the fortifications the town had hastily put together. They knew even with their small number they could have taken the city with the element of surprise, but since the citizens had prior warning and had prepared it was fruitless. They returned to rejoin Streight’s command and eventually wound up as prisoners of war with their comrades.

Wisdom receieved $400 and a silver service for his basically unkown ride. General Forrest is honored with a statue at the corner of Broad and Mrytle Streets where Myrtle Hill Cemetary is located. One of the inscriptions state: “On Sunday, May 3, 1863, General Nathan B. Forrest by, his indomitable will, after a running fight of three days and nights, with 410 men, captured Col. A.D. Streight’s Raiders, numbering 1600, thereby saving Rome from destruction.”
Students always end the discussion asking about the fate of Streight. He ended up at Libby Prison outside of Richmond, Virginia. He escaped with 108 other prisoners in right under the noses of Southern guards through a tunnel on February 9, 1864.

Following the thwarted raid earthen fortifications were built to serve as some protection for Rome, however the city was eventually taken and held by Union forces. Union Gen. Jefferson C. Davis took Rome without specific orders in May, 1864 during his search for a bridge that didn’t exist across the Oostenaula River around the time of the Battle of Resaca. Gen. Davis communicated to Sherman that, “[Rome was] the strongest fortified place I have seen in Dixie.” More Union forces were sent to the city after General John Bell Hood began to strike at Sherman’s supply lines in North Georgia. It was from Rome that Sherman telegraphed Grant concerning his plan to “March to the Sea”. Once it was approved he set out from Rome around November 10th and 11th heading South. On their way out of the city many of the downtown buildings and Noble’s Foundry was destroyed by fire.

The Rome History Museum has a CD for sale that would be great to use in the classroom. The content of the CD gets children to think about more modern technology such as the radio. If the radio had been around on May 3, 1863, in what way would it have made a difference ? This would be a great question for students to ponder.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Great Lines from Savannah's Midnight

Over at History Is Elementary I post a 13 list every Thursday usually regarding a history event or topic, however this week I wanted to do something a little different.

Come on over and see if I have added your favorite line from the movie Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil.

Don't forget to comment and let me know you hopped on over.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

American Gothic...Southern Style

The other day I posted about Vanishing Georgia, a terrific website that houses thousands of pictures of events, people, and places in Georgia over the years. This image is actually from a book that was published under the same name. I looked on line for awhile trying to find this image and didn’t so I snapped a picture of it from the book hence my notebook and writing that is seen in the picture. I did it quickly because I didn't want the librarian to yell at me. :)

In the book this picture was titled Georgia’s version of American Gothic. I thought it was interesting and if I taught Georgia history I would certainly use it along with its more famous counterpart.

In reality it is a picture of Augustus and Nancy Cowart. It was taken in 1897, but unfortunately I did not get the county.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Five Great Blogroll Additions

The following sites have been added to the Georgia Blogroll here at Georgia On My Mind:

Atlanta Foodies
Food in Atlanta…..need I say more? Lots of great links and even a food history of Atlanta. Yep, there is history to everything.

Cup O' Joe
The tagline at this site states “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.” Current posts included The Dead Bloggers Society and Bush Is Not Nixon.

Celebspin.com
A Georgia based blog that contains the latest celebrity news and gossip

Atlanta Marketing Center
The tagline at this site states, “The center for valuable practical marketing insight and advice.” One post begins, “You may not know it, but you have a strategy for everything you do.” Head on over and read more!

Jim Stroud.com
Jim’s site mainly concerns recruiting. He calls himself a “searchologist” and provides opinions regarding topics from India’s female president to technology.

And in case you haven’t done it yet….please click through and vote for the golf shoe my husband designed. Thanks!

Friday, July 20, 2007

Georgia Carnival 14

Welcome to the 14th edition of the Georgia Carnival. Please support these fine Georgia bloggers by letting them know you have visited them with a comment. Your continued support with your links and shout-outs at your site help to alert others to what we Georgia bloggers have to offer.

You can host the carnival at your site! Just let me know you are interested and I will set up a date for you.


Now… on to the highlights of Georgia blogging during the past two weeks:

Genarlow Wilson

Today is the big day. Another hearing for Genarlow…The coverage has been hot and heavy. Billy Merck of The Georgia Law Blog examines the possible defensive arguments, and GriftDrift makes a prediction.

GriftDrift had noticed a marked increase of hits since the banter regarding “the tape” had hit the blogs. I decided to post this to check my site meter. Were people actually sick enough to go looking for the tape? Sadly, they were and are. Of my normal 100 to 150 daily hits at History Is Elementary 20-30 per day have Googled “Wilson Sex Tape”. Why should we be surprised our children act as they do?

HEARING UPDATE: Sara over at Going Through the Motions did an fantastic job of managing to blog the hearing live. See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Visit her site later for more as well as GriftDrift who was also at the hearing. Now we wait on a ruling....WSB Radio reported it could be September......:(

Facing the Giants

Sharkbait of Facing the Sharks is doing something many of us only dream about. Facing down the government and corporate America….Bid Rigging at Robbins Air Force Base clues you in to this brave blogger taking on the big guns.

Speaking of citizens having problems with their local government Stacey at Momnesia has an airport complaint.

The Best of Atlanta??????????????????

The Best of the Big A has been announced for 2007 and once again it seems to be a somewhat worthless list. Should chain-style restaurants be considered the best when there are so many stellar eateries in the “Big A”, and when did Atlanta mainstay, the Imperial Fez become an Indian restaurant rather than Moroccan? Blog For Democracy, Audacity, and Creative Loafing's Fresh Loaf weigh in while Meredith Ford attempts to give the AJC's take on the whole matter.

Harry Potter

Take a moment and give Amy your status regarding Harry Potter.

Considerettes is also pondering over the Harry Potter phenomenon as well. Is the Hogwarts series influencing Christian literature?

Education

Why do I love to teach history so much?

Exactly what happens when Shaq and a television camera enter a school and asks the principal to provide nutritional lunches and more exercise time to the kids? The Get Schooled blog for the AJC has some interesting comments.

Yep, she knew it. Thanks to another Georgia blogger 30plus teacher now has proof: Georgia Is Dumbing Down the Test

Religion

Moses over at Three Sticks states, “Life if full of challenges that we must overcome. Fear can become a dominate force in our lives if we are not careful. We must overcome fear and take control of our lives in order to create the life we want.” Read Creating Your Life: Part 1-Making Choices

Read about Pastor's Bill's vacation all around North Georgia, and how he learned a lesson that makes a connection between yellow jackets and the church

Elisheva asks Did Moses Write the Pentaeuch?

Life’s Little Thrills

Mmmmmmm....'mater sandwiches anyone?

Over at Oh, the Joys the Mayor's head is all filled up.

Apparently Splitcat Chintzibob’s moment of mercy has led to a new era in human-arachnid relations.

What could be more thrilling than getting a chance to design your own golf shoe? Well, I can think of a few things……but my husband sure was excited about it. In case you missed my earlier post you can view and vote on his design. I guess it would be thrilling if he won……

Michael Vick

Aging Hipster asks, Who let the dogs out?

Chamblee54 gives us a rundown on the radio personality views on Vick. The pictures alone are worth the click through even without his take on things.

Your Money

Tushar provides Save Big on Your Mortgage, Investing in a Traditional IRA, How Much Should Your Monthly Mortgage Be, and one that is near and dear to my heart……For the Frugal Mind: the Cheapest Days to Shop

The next edition of the carnival will be found here two weeks from today. Posts can be sent to gamind@mail.com or use the handy submission form.

Thanks for supporting the Georgia Carnival!

Thursday, July 19, 2007

So My Husband Designed a Golf Shoe...What Do You Think?

Ok, so what's the point of having a blog and hosting a carnival if you don't take advantage of it every now and then....

It seems my husband designed a pair of golf shoes in a contest at Golfballs.com

Please click through and vote on the shoe he designed. He is calling the pair "GO DAWGS".

In order to vote visit the site here and roll your mouse over the stars and click to rate. You have to scroll down a bit in order to locate the "GO DAWGS" voting space.

There's a link there when you can see all of the other designs, but as for me and my house we are kind of partial to all things Georgia.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

The Deadline Nears For Georgia Carnival Submissions

The Georgia Carnival will post this Friday, July 20th.

Posts written by Georgia bloggers can be nominated by someone else, or the author can submit their own post.

Submissions should be sent to me at gamind@mail.com or use the Blog Carnival submission form. Please forward your submissions before midnight tomorrow night.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Critiquing the Genarlow Wilson Sex Tape

In my usual style I was out Saturday morning purchasing something last minute at the mall to wear to a family wedding. When I was entering the building I heard the sound of hovering helicopters. It was then that I remembered that supporters of Genarlow Wilson were marching and meeting at the Douglas County Courthouse.

My new outfit in hand I decided to change my normal route home and take a left instead of a right and mosey by the courthouse to check out the sights. To be entirely honest I wanted to check out the crowd to see if the local television stations reported the numbers accurately later in the day. I’ve heard Saturday’s crowd described as hundreds of people to thousands of people. By the time I passed there was a steady stream of folks walking up the road away from the courthouse, but there was still a good number of folks standing around the courthouse steps and I assume someone was still speaking. My estimation of the gathering is that it numbered somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 people.

I’m really not sure who I’m more upset with in this tale of debauchery and legal wranglings that has painted the county and thereby the state where I have lived for a long time as racist, backward, and intolerant.

Perhaps I’m most upset with those that have stopped by this blog because you’ve attempted to locate the actual Genarlow Wilson sex tape through a Google search. If that’s the case then visit this site. I’m sure you will be more than satisfied…..

The event that started it all

Quoting William Grigg of the Pro Libertate blog:

Wilson was one of six young men arrested after a December 2003 New Year’s celebration at a Day’s Inn off Interstate 20. The “Douglas Six,” as they immediately became known, had been involved in what I would call, had I no discipline at all, a “Bourbon, Buds, and Booty Bash”: They rented a couple of rooms and invited some female schoolmates to spend the night.

One of the girls arrived at the Day’s Inn with an overnight bag. She got thoroughly drunk, and was just as thoroughly used. The other girl, a friend of Wilson’s from the track team, apparently remained sober the entire time. She was the one who, by her own account, initiated the sexual act with Wilson.

When the first girl awoke the next morning wearing nothing but socks, her first thought was that she had been raped. A call to her mother resulted in a police investigation that turned up a videotape of the previous night’s activities. Soon Wilson and his friends were arrested at school and dragged away in handcuffs.

I belive at this point it is important to note that one of the girls was 17 and it has been reported she was the one that had intercourse with Wilson. It was the second girl, who was 15, that had oral sex with Wilson. Mr. Wilson was 17 at the time.

The action of Wilson and his cohorts was despicable even if they had the consent of the girls which they apparently they had. It makes me angry that these children have been exposed to anything in our society that would make them conceive of such a deplorable thing as a fun thing to do on New Years Eve.

The other boys pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of child molestation and sexual battery in exchange for five year sentences. They would then be required to register as child molesters. Wilson decided to fight the issue because he strongly objected to being labeled as a child molester for the remainder of his life.

I also must point out that while I agree with many things in Mr. Grigg’s post I totally disagree with his notion that the public schools caused this action to happen in any way, shape, or form. This lack of judgment on the part of these young men is a symptom of something that has NOT risen inside the walls of our educational institutions. It is a moral malaise that has occurred in society as a whole over the last few decades and has invaded our schools, public and private, to a point that the stench is extremely nauseating. (A link to Mr. Grigg’s entire post follows.)

Legalities

If the teens had had intercourse the boys would have only been charged with a misdemeanor which would have resulted in a one year sentence instead of a ten year stint. Think on this for a minute….ten years for oral sex with consenting parties…while others have been convicted of much more serious sex offenses with young children and have received sentences of 20 days or 90 days. Clearly the statutes are problematic.

It’s clear that the General Assembly did not take into account that more and more teens are sexually active when the law was written. Since all of this has started the man who wrote the bill, Matt Towery, has said, “No one in their right mind ever thought a prosecutor would take that bill and use it in such a way.”

Perhaps not, Mr. Towery, but maybe it’s the rush to legislate that causes situations like this. That and the fact that District Attorney McDade had something at his disposal that he could have used a bit more in this situation…..discretion regarding what is prosecuted. William Grigg brings up another horrifying situation in Georgia that occurred a few years ago in the Atlanta suburb of Conyers…..

[Residents of Conyers] were shocked to learn of a syphilis epidemic among local High School and Junior High School students. Seventeen tested positive for the venereal disease; more than 200 students believed to have been exposed to the disease were treated as well. Of that group, 50 admitted to have engaged in exotic sexual behavior that might have seemed excessive to the proprietors of a brothel in Pompeii.

“It was not uncommon, when all these young people would get together, to engage in group sex,” recalled Claire Sterk, a professor at Emory University's School of Public Health, in an interview from the 1999
PBS Frontline documentary “The Lost Children of Rockdale County.” “There was group sex going on in terms of one guy having sex with one of the girls, and then the next guy having sex with the same girl. There was group sex going on in terms of one girl having sex with multiple male partners at the same time, multiple females having sex with each other at the same time. I would say that the only type of group sex that I did not hear about in this overall context was group sex between just guys.”

Some of those involved were as young as 12-13 years of age.

"The parents were off and gone," observed middle school guidance counselor Peggy Cooper. "And they said they were watching the Playboy Channel in the girl’s bedroom. And there would be, like, 10 or 12 of them up there." One young boy described to Cooper the "game" their group had devised in which "you have to imitate what the Playboy people are doing." Another boy told her that "there may be three or four of us at one time. And it doesn’t matter if you’re two guys or two girls or a girl and a guy. It doesn’t matter. You just have to do what they’re doing."

One girl recalled a party at which another girl, equipped with "the bag of condoms we got from the health department," undertook to have sex with every boy in the room. The boys at the party were "lined up … it was like they were from the [bedroom] door to the front door.... And then she came out. She … thought it was the coolest thing."

Ick.

Though there were clearly some situations where some of these children could be prosecuted under Georgia law at the time the District Attorney of Rockdale County chose not to.

Legislature

The law that convicted Wilson has since been changed, but the law cannot be applied retroactively. In another effort to free Wilson, State Senator Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) attempted to get the General Assembly to pass a law that would allow the judge to reduce Wilson’s sentence. The effort stalled as some key legislators refused to act.

Court Action Since Wilson’s Original Conviction

Finally a hearing was held where a judge said, “If this court or any court cannot recognize the injustice of what has occurred here, then our court system has lost sight of the goal of our judicial system which has strived to accomplish justice being served in a fair and equal manner.” The judge then voided Wilson’s conviction.

So, he’s free right?

No, hardly.

In reaction to the court ruling state Attorney General Thurbert Baker filed an appeal questioning if the court has the power to commute Wilson’s sentence to a sentence that did not satutorily exist at a time of his conviction. He said he had no choice but to appeal saying, “It is my responsibility to follow the laws of Georgia as they are written, not how some may wish they were written.

The story gets stranger…..Even though he states he must interpret the laws as they are written Baker has been quoted as saying Wilson’s sentence was “harsh”.

…and strange just keeps happening…..

When the local Atlanta paper published an interview with the mother of the 15 year old girl stating she had felt pressured by DA McDade’s office to bring charges apparently he sent his assistant to the mother’s house, taped an interview where he requested the mother contact the paper again, and then told her not to let on that they had visited her. When the paper requested a copy of the tape McDade’s office refused. Later, however, they released the tape to the Fulton County Daily Report . They have posted a link for the audio version as well.

…and the poor decisions on the part of Mr. McDade keep happening…..

Back to the Porn Issue

Still wondering about that sex tape? It seems Douglas County DA David McDade has handed out approximately 35 copies of the video stating the Devil in the disguise of the Open Records Law, made him do it. He has stated that requests from AP reporters prompted him to send the tape to reporters, lawmakers, and members of the public who requested it.

McDade had stated in earlier interviews, “…that the tape would show [others] that the case wasn’t about a teen lovers tryst, but showed something more akin to a gang rape by Wilson and the other boys.”

News media outlets in Atlanta and I’m sure other places as well have only run a snippet of the tape mainly showing Wilson from the waist up. Just the look on the young man’s face is so repugnant I can’t even begin to imagine what the rest of the tape shows. No, it wasn’t a teen lover’s tryst….that’s very clear, however, the entire circus is becoming as nauseating as the choice the teens made on New Years Eve.

In fact the distribution of the tape to some key state lawmakers is one reason why the bill proposed by Representative Jones stalled in the Georgia General Assembly. Several state legislators suddenly dropped any support of the new bill once they saw they tape.

Georgia’s chief prosecutor, U.S. Attorney David Nahmias has said the tape, “constitutes child pornography under Federal law.” He called on McDade to stop releasing the tape.

Now McDade is being accused in the public arena of misuse of authority and distribution of child porn and is being likened to the prosecutor in the Duke rape case.

Perhaps McDade should have blurred the images of the teens before releasing the tape.

Perhaps he should have sought a court order to seal the tape to begin with and then Open Records or not he would not be faced with the porn charges.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have prosecuted the boys to the degree he did….

What do you think?

The next action in this case is July 20th when the appeal by the state Attorney General will be heard.

Additional reads:
Here is the link to Mr. Grigg’s entire post.
Genarlow Wilson and the N Word

This post was also published in full at History Is Elementary

Yes, More Georgia Blogroll Additions...and Don't Forget Those Carnival Submissions

The next edition of the Georgia Carnival will post on Friday. Submissions are due on Thursday by 6 p.m. You can email your submission to gamind@mail.com or use the handy submission form.

Here are the newest additions to the Georgia Blogroll:

Facing the Sharks…What happens when a non-lawyer faces off with six corporate lawyers, air force lawyers, corporations, and politicians? Check out this post for Bernita’s perspective on this new edition to the Georgia Blogroll over at Blog for Democracy.

Principal's Office…reviewing the goings-on in education and other topics from the perspective of a principal

Georgia Porkbusters…exposing the pork under the gold dome

Good Will Hinton…a centrist blog where the right and left meet

Political Vine…home of poltical news, satire, rants, and rumors

Redstate….two of the four contributors are from Georgia so…

The Logues….Information, links, and more for backpackers and campers, Georgia history, and so much more. Check out Victoria’s homepage for more information regarding her books.

and here are some Athens centered sites:

The Red and Black…UGA’s student paper

Athens TV….Can you say public access?

Georgia Life and Style…television that’s all about life and how we live it. Go visit and watch!

Athens Banner Herald…lots of local Athens news plus

Flagpole…Athens standard for art, entertainment, music, politics and much, much more

The Get Busy Anthology…a newly graduated college student journal

Robinart…wonderful art

Curator's Corner---Georgia Museum of Art….great museum links, posts, and pictures

Classic Ground….the place for beliefs and premises related to art, cultural literacy, and Notre Dame football

Antidisingenuousmentarianism…the tagline states a blend between Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book and an episode of I Love the 90s or Best Week Ever

Art on My Sleeve…lots of great artwork

Dorene Paul from the Sandusky Library wrote the other day to advise her husband’s family is from Ocilla, Georgia. She noted that they have always shown her delightful southern hospitality. Why, of course they have!

Dorene also advised a great link for Sandusky History. I’ve placed it under “State and Place History” on the blogrolls.


Remember…you don’t have to wait until I find you. If you would like to be included please email me with your url.

Have a great Monday!

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Sweet Georgia Blue Asked So...

Sometime before the last Georgia Carnival Sweet Georgia Blue
tagged me for the 8 things meme. I had posted a list along with some pictures over at History Is Elementary, however, I thought I would post a bit more with more Georgia-ness added in my random facts……

1. I was born at Piedmont Hospital on Mother’s Day. The story goes my sister named me for a friend of hers….I’m glad. I was usually the only Lisa in my grade level all through school with a three year exception.

2. I grew up in the middle of a lumber yard---anyone remember the old West Lumber Company in Red Oak? My father was the manager of that store and a couple of others. Last summer I went on a visit to Red Oak to find my old house. I’m still looking.

3. I graduated from Woodward Academy, but I also attended Lakeshore High School and Eastern Elementary. I loved going to Woodward. It was difficult, but my first two years of college were a breeze because I was so well prepared.

4. My favorite mall is Lenox, of course. My favorite lunch is at the Swan Coach House. My mother used to take my sister and I for years. It was always a big deal. We’d have lunch---the frozen fruit with chicken salad is wonderful---and then hit Lenox. I’ve carried on the tradition with my daughter. My favorite department store is Rich’s….I refuse to call it Macy’s to the amusement of the nice folks who work there.

5. My favorite high school activity was riding up and down Old National Highway with hundreds of kids each Friday and Saturday night. Teens from Lakeshore, M.D. Collins, Woodward, Arlington, North Clayton, Headland, College Park, Russell…..and on and on would converge on a strip of road probably less than three miles long and inch along in the traffic from point A----the movie theatre near Service Merchandise down to point B---the Steak and Shake parking lot. Along the way you might turn in McDonalds and check out their parking lot and take a turn around the lot at Krystal. What can I say? We didn’t have music videos yet…and the Internet was still a few years away. Sadly many places along “the strip” are abandoned today.

6. Before I began teaching……I was a junior clerk for the State and Superior Courts of Cherokee County. I recorded deeds, helped people look up their titles, and collected traffic fines. Later I obtained a position with a law firm in Marietta where I learned the art of collection law. When I married and moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia I worked for a lawfirm there as well before becoming a stay at home mom with my first born. Once I was back in Georgia I returned to my old law firm for awhile and then I operated my own legal research firm doing background checks, running titles, and collecting debts for various small businesses.

When I grow up I’d like to write full time and teach at the college level. I believe I’m almost to the point that I’m grown up.

7. I hold an Associates Degree in Law from Reinhardt College, a Bachelors degree in Middle Grades Education with a major concentration in Social Studies and a minor in Language Arts from Mercer University, and I’m extremely close to holding in my hand a Masters degree in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. Someday when I have a few minutes I’d like to take the two or three classes I need to complete a Bachelors degree in History. I might stop then…..maybe.

8. My maternal and paternal families have been in Georgia for sometime. I wrote about my Dad’s family a few days ago. It’s amazing how DNA research is now helping people who research their family trees.

The rules for this meme were

1. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
2. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
3. Players should tag 3 other people and notify them when they have been tagged.

When I did this before, I tagged several people. If you are reading this second edition consider yourself tagged and if you would like to post eight random facts about yourself please do so. You can refer to me as your tagger. :)

Friday, July 13, 2007

Vanishing Georgia

This picture is from Vanishing Georgia a resource form the Archives of the State of Georgia. This is an image taken by Jack Delano who worked for the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s.

The website houses over 18,000 photographs spanning over 100 years of Georgia history.

The website says:

The broad subject matter of these photographs, shot by both amateurs and professionals, includes, but is not limited to, family and business life, street scenes and architecture, agriculture, school and civic activities, important individuals and events in Georgia history, and landscapes.

(Sorry for the large gaps....I'm not well versed in posting multiple pictures yet.)

Here’s an image of Abram and Tabitha Glore taken before 1871. The photo is probably dated that way since either Abram or Tabitha passed away in 1871 and that’s the best fix for knowing when it was taken. Love the bonnet, don’t you?







This is an image of an Atlanta in 1908. My grandfather in the 1970s used to love to ask me if I ever rode the trolley because he liked to see the confused look on my face. The trolleys were long gone by the time Mother and I visited downtown Rich’s and Davisons and I had no idea what he was talking about.






Finally, is this your aunt or grandmother? You don’t see this very often anymore, do you? My great aunt still quilted well into her 80s….she was last one of my family to still do it. I wouldn’t even know how to start.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Button's Early Death Becomes A Boon For Collectors

If we were able to go back in time and have a sit down with Button Gwinnett many of us would be surprised to know the true man instead of his persona as one of Georgia’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence. First of all he would answer our questions with a British accent since he was born in England. Many of us would also be surprised that Gwinnett allowed a feud with a fellow Georgian to basically take over all of his thoughts and actions to the point that it hastened an early death.

After marrying he immigrated to the colonies first landing in Charleston and then later moving south to Savannah. Many resources state Gwinnett had a hard time managing his money and was actually fleeing creditors when he left England. In fact, soon after arriving in Savannah he managed to purchase St. Catherines Island totally on credit. He had some mercantile concerns as well as a plantation on the island where he attempted to raise cattle among other things.

Gwinnett did not immediately become involved in the liberty cause, but he did debate the Intolerable Acts at Peter Tondee’s Tavern in 1774. Later when St. John’s Parish (today’s Liberty County) threatened to secede from the colony of Georgia in 1775 he was motivated to action. Following the signing of the Declaration of Independence Gwinnett became a member of Georgia’s government in 1777 and was key in providing much of the foundation for Georgia’s Constitution. His source was a pamphlet written by John Adams.

As Gwinnett became more involved in state government he organized a defensive operation against Florida to secure the border. He used this opportunity to ruin Lachlan McIntosh. The bitter enemies had always clashed. In fact, much of Gwinnett’s public life is dominated by a feud with McIntosh who hailed originally from Scotland. When the invasion failed Gwinnett was charged with malfeasance. Gwinnett ended up blaming McIntosh for his failed run at the governorship of Georgia in 1777 when actually it had been Gwinnett’s burning desire to obstruct McIntosh at all costs that lost him the exectutive postion.

When Gwinnett and McIntosh began to toss blame at each other McIntosh ended up calling Gwinnett “a scoundrel lying rascal”. Gwinnett, wanting to restore his honor challenged McIntosh to a duel.

In 1777, Gwinnett and McIntosh along with their seconds George Wells and Joseph Habersham met at Thunderbolt a few miles outside of Savannah. Apparently word had spread and they drew a crowd. While the crowd waited the four men walked a distance away from the crowd so they could complete the duel in some privacy. The pistols, provided by McIntosh, were inspected, loaded with one bullet each, and given to the participants.

Both men managed to shoot their pistol, and both managed to hit the other. McIntosh was hit in the leg, but it didn’t take long for him to call out to Gwinnett inquiring if he wanted to reload and have another go at it. Gwinnett said yes, but he would need help getting up. It seems McIntosh’s bullet had hit Gwinnett’s thigh and the bone was shattered.

At this point Wells and Habersham stepped in and stated both men had upheld their honor and reputations and it would be best to simply stop. Both men retreated and sought medical care.

McIntosh soon recovered and was off to serve with distinction under George Washington at Valley Forge. Gwinnett, however, did not recover. Gangrene set in and he was dead within three days.
Today Gwinnett’s former property, St. Catherine Island, is owned and maintained by the St. Catherine Island Foundation. While the beach can be visited during daylight hours the interior of the island is closed to visitation to protect the wildlife on the island. Special arrangements must be made to visit the fragile ecosystem. The foundation supposedly uses Gwinnett’s former home, Old House, on the land and some slave dwellings that date from the 1800s for foundation offices. Since Gwinnett died so soon after signing the Declaration of Independence we don’t have many examples of his signature or a reliable image. Therefore he has the reputation of having one of the rarest signatures….some examples have been valued as high as $250,000.

I love to use Button Gwinnett to teach character with. Many accounts paint him as a hothead and in today’s classroom I see children who react violently without thinking of the consequences. While Gwinnett often failed as a businessman and farmer he seemed to hit his stride once he entered politics. It’s simply a shame he allowed his feud with McIntosh to rule his heart.

Monday, July 9, 2007

If It's Monday...New Blogroll Additions

Here are the latest editions for the Georgia Blogroll. Lots of opinion blogs and some other great gems thrown in as well:

Being Amber Rhea
The Buzz Blog
Creative Loafing/Fresh Loaf
Safe As Houses
Masterworks Studio
Get the Picture
Clickfire Webmaster Blog
Our Cheating Ways
Momnesia
Chief Prognosticator
New Century Politics
Aging Hipster
Monotonous
Bird in Hand
Nature Is My Eden
Andy200.org/Andisheh Nouraee
Get Schooled/AJC
Political Insider
The Southern Soapbox
The Exercise of Vital Powers
Georgia Women Vote
Georgia Legislative Watch
Georgia Business and Family Law Blog
Atlanta Hawks Blog
A Word From the Right
Oconee Politics
Considerettes

Did I miss you? Please don’t wait for me to add you. Feel free to send me an email with your url and I’ll be happy to add you.

…and I’m announcing a new blogroll for Former and Want-to-Be Georgians plus Friends of Georgia

Abiga used to live in Georgia and she has dropped by a time or two.

Palm Springs Savant has family in Buckhead and drops by often for an encouraging comment. Yes Rick….I know…..it’s about time!

…Finally, I’ve finally gotten around to taking Dew On the Kudzu off the Georgia blogroll because it’s not a Georgia blog.. I’ve re-linked to this fantastic online magazine down further on the sidebar with their logo. Dew On the Kudzu celebrates the Southern way of life and has been a great friend to Georgia On My Mind since its inception back in December ’06. I hope you will take a few minutes of your time and visit my friend Idgie at Dew On the Kudzu.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Georgia Carnival 13

Welcome to the 13th edition of the Georgia Carnival. Please support these fine Georgia bloggers by letting them know you have visited them with a comment. Your continued support with your links and shout-outs at your site helps to alert others to what we Georgia bloggers have to offer.

Check out the new carnival button over on the right. It’s a great way to let others know about the carnival. If you would like to have this at your site email me and I can provide the code.

You can host the carnival at your site! Just let me know you are interested and I will set up a date for you.

Now… on to the highlights of Georgia blogging during the past two weeks:

Blogging, Especially Political Blogging, Has a Short Shelf Life So Says Glenn Richardson

Cracker Squire seems to be the first blogger who wrote about Glenn Richardson’s comments regarding bloggers

Speaker Richardson Predicts the Demise of Blogging from Buzzbrockway over at Peach Pundit

The Stache Is Pissed posted by Flackattack at Tondee’s Tavern

GriftDrift’s response "Don't sling it, bring it."

Decaturguy’s response over at Atlanta Public Affairs is Sue Me You Slimebag Punk

Andre from Georgia Politics Unfiltered says, "Sue me too."

If Glenn Richardson Isn’t Scary Enough For You Try This:

Yes, It's a Real Photo from Stephen’s Untold Stories

Genarlo’s Struggle

The efforts to release Genarlo Wilson remain a hot topic in the Georgia blogosphere. One voice we have not heard from yet here at the carnival is Billy Merck at The Georgia Law Blog. His post Genarlo Wilson Case Is Not "National Cause" has already drawn some fiery comments. Let Billy know what you think?

Celebrating the Fourth

Belle-Ah over at Southern Somedays posted a series of pictures giving evidence that patriotism is alive and well in small town Georgia. Check out July and Patriotism, Preparing to Celebrate, Decked Out and Ready to Shout, Dressed Out For the Fourth. I had to include all of her pictures because they represent the Fourth so well.

Ellie Bee at What Now? weighs in with some opinions in her post Happy Fourth of July

Peach Pod from Peaches and Purls shows us how her family celebrated yesterday.

Chicken Fat went to the parade in Marietta, and shares his pictures.

Go congratulate Dogwood Girl. She says, "I did it! I ran the Peachtree."

Of course, I’m almost certain everyone had some form of barbecue Wednesday. If this next post is really true the Georgia Department of Education needs to have grill installed in every classroom….Barbeque and Brains. Who knew? Savannah Red clues us in.

…and let’s not forget The Town That Forgot the Fouth of July from History Is Elementary.

And the State of Our Country on Its Birthday?

Welcome to George W. Bush's America says Todd at Article of Faith.

Travel

The Beef Jerky Blog advises, “Living in Fayetteville, Georgia is really just ok, so travel is a must….7 Days of Disney, The Series provides a recap of the experience and some great dos and don’ts.

Around Atlanta

Thinking of driving in Atlanta? You need to read Otter’s post How to Drive in ATL over at Grasping for the Wind. Here’s a small hint regarding what’s waiting for you over there:

Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Atlanta has its own version of traffic rules For example, cars or trucks with the loudest muffler go first at a four-way stop; the trucks with the biggest tires go second. However, in Roswell & Alpharetta, SUV-driving, cell phone-talking moms ALWAYS have the right of way.

Jefferson over at Red Clay Commerce wrote about Chick-Fil-A. Did you know the company is 40 years old?

Being the Best YOU

Four Questions For Your Life from Three Sticks is an interesting post that blends the television show Babylon 5 with questions that will determine the quality and outcome of your life.

Entertainment

Buzz over at The Buzz Blog provides a little culture to the carnival with a video clip of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Suwanee.

Music Business Entrepreneurship: Eulogy for James Brown is from Noric Dilanchian who states, “On writing this homage to James Brown I came to appreciate how many music greats were born or raised in Georgia. It was then I was reminded of how important local culture is despite the urge we have to also connect wider, e.g. nationally or globally.”

Atlanta Tops Yet Another Poll

How much do you spend on shoes? Sara over at Going Through the Motions asks Who Are These Women? Sara, I certainly don't know them, but if any of them have any shoes in my size they want to give away....

Financial Knowledge

Life of a Resident Alien asks Buying a New Construction Home? Do You Need a Lawyer?

Living in a Techie World and Blogging

If you haven’t been by Confessions of a Political Junkie then you haven’t been subjected to all five…count ‘em….five (as of yesterday) posts about Erick’s new iphone. The showoff!…….Just kidding. Last February I got nice large ring from my husband and posted thirteen facts about why I liked it over at History Is Elementary. Who can blame Erick......

Do you ever wish more people could see a particular post? The Basic Accounting Blog shares that article syndication is a very simple process where one gets to share their article among various online sites which helps to impart knowledge through the web. Sound interesting? Check out Article Syndication: The Sky Is the Limit So Explore and Aim for the Sky

Amy’s from Amy’s Random Thoughts is bored. She wants you to tell her about an interesting, entertaining site to read.

Education

Want to see a great rant? 30plusteacher at Best Practices in Education posted a video of a teacher giving the answer to the question What Do Teachers Make? It’s about time an educator got a backbone. More of my colleages need to speak the truth about our profession.

The next edition of the carnival will be found here two weeks from today. Posts can be sent to gamind@mail.com or use the handy submission form.

Thanks for your continued support of the Georgia Carnival!

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Carnival Submissions Are Due

The 13th edition of the Georgia Carnival will be posted sometime tomorrow. Please forward your submission to gamind@mail.com or the handy submission form by 6 p.m. today.

How do you like the new carnival button? You can place this on your site if you want to. Send me an email and I'll send you the code.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Happy Fourth and Thanks to Lyman, George, and Button

The following is a letter that was sent from the Committee of Safety in Savannah, Georgia to Georgia’s representatives to the Continental Congress---
Button Gwinnett,
Lyman Hall,
and George Walton:


Archibald Bulloch
President, Council of Safety
Savannah, Georgia
April 5, 1776

Gentlemen:

Our remote situation from both the seat of power and arms, keeps us so very ignorant of the counsels and ultimate designs of the Congress, and of the transactions in the field, that we shall decline giving any particular instructions, other than strongly to recommend it to you that you never lose sight of the peculiar situation of the province you are appointed to represent; The Indians, both south and northwesterly, upon our backs; the fortified town of St. Augustine made a continual rendezvous for soldiers in our very neighborhood; together with our blacks and tories with us; let these weighty truths be the powerful arguments for support. At the time we also recommend it to you, always to keep in view the general utility, remembering that the great and righteous cause in which we are engaged is not provincial, but continental. We, therefore, gentlemen, shall rely upon your patriotism, abilities, firmness, and integrity, to propose, join and concur, in all such measures as you shall think calculated for the common good, and to oppose such as shall appear destructive.

By order of the Congress
Archibald Bulloch, President

Three months later the men who received this letter did their duty and risked their property and very lives by signing the Declaration of Independence representing Georgia.

On this day let us remember those that sacrificed for us so that we have the freedom to blather about, complain about, argue with, as well as applaud our fellow citizens.

Happy Fourth!

Wordless Puzzler

My wordless image for the week is up over at History Is Elementary. I need someone to tell me what the structure is, what it is used for, and where it is. My first hint was that the building is in the south.

The second hint is it is not a tomb, and the structure has a Georgia connection yet it is not located in Georgia.

Intrigued? Check it out here!

All guesses should be posted at History Is Elementary.

Presidents Sing and Dance to the Star Spangled Banner

Can you imagine? Theodore Roosevelt and JFK….Nixon and Ford together again….and even FDR, Carter, Reagan, and Clinton….as well as Bush I and Bush II all singing and dancing to the Star Spangled Banner.

What could be more patriotric on the Fourth of July?:)

See what I have posted at American Presidents Blog. It will make your Fourth!

Hat Tip: ValkingBlog
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