Call For Georgia Blog Carnival Submissions

I’m already busy getting the newest edition of the Georgia Blog Carnival ready for posting this Friday, April 11th, but I’m missing YOUR submission.

You can forward your post url (web address) to me gamind@mail.com or use the submission form. Your submission should reach me by 6:00 p.m. tomorrow.

Oh Those Llamas!

I have this thing about llamas. I’ve always thought they are interesting animals since I was little girl. Perhaps it is because they remind me of the Push Me-Pull Me of Dr. Dootlittle fame. I loved the Push Me-Pull Me….so much so that my mother bought me a necklace from Rich’s with a Push Me-Pull Me charm. I still have it in a jewelry box somewhere.

Perhaps I’ll retire someday to North Georgia and raise me a bunch of llamas. Dear Hubby doesn’t seem to be enthused about it, but you never know where life might take you, and I can’t forget that the llamas that live down the road provided Dear Hubby with an early warning of dangerous weather on the day of the tornados.

If you were on I-285 yesterday around 2:30 p.m.near Northside Drive and were wondering why traffic might have slowed the cause was a pair of llamas. Seems the llamas suddenly found themselves loose in traffic, and they did what any intelligent llama would do….they began to run after their trailer.

The entire AJC article can be read here.

Love Seats and Kissing Rocks

On my father’s side of the family I’m the youngest of nine grandchildren. The next oldest grandchild is my sister and a couple of others. The age difference between us is six years. The oldest segment of grandchildren was in their late teens or early 20s when I was born. It was this segment of our grandchild population that passed along to me their own childhood lore of The Place---the one-time farm in Cherokee County where my father lives today.

If we all got together today and walked The Place we would share some of the same memories regarding particular trees, trails, and other spots. Some memories would be specific to each person, and some memories would be more relevant to each of the three generational groups.

One such memory would be the love seat which was a large, rectangular quartz rock that jutted out at the base of a very large, old tree in front of my great-grandmother’s home. The rock formed a ledge that could support the derriere of two slender people. As a child I played in an around the tree, and I never went to my grandparents without sitting on the “love seat.”

Today, if I mentioned a love seat to my students they would instantly picture a small sofa that could seat two to three people, but in the 1800s, however, a love seat was a place to date much like the movies or the mall might be today though the word “date” would have been largely unknown.

A young man might escort a girl to a dance, church, supper, or party, but that was about it. Most of the interaction occurred at the young ladies home in her parlor or on the front porch. In a USA Today article Johns Hopkins University sociologist Andrew Cherlin defines traditional courtship: "It was a process where parents and others kept watch while young people found a spouse. It had rules, steps carried out in view of everyone. It meant sitting in a parlor and chatting with parents.”

Often times a courting couch or loveseat was placed in the parlor or living room for the courting couple to sit close to each other. A loveseat was basically a sofa created from two chairs facing in opposite directions. In this way the man and woman could sit together, but there was a boundary between them….the shared arm of the chairs.

Dating [finally] began at the beginning of the 20th century, implemented by upper class women who were moving into academic and professional circles. They demanded the right to be able to dine out with a man and not damage their reputation. They also craved the freedom that going out on a date gave them, away from the prying eyes of their parents. They would sneak out to the dancehalls to meet who they wanted [per this article].

While Georgia girls might have snuck out to the dancehalls or various shops to meet a beau, girls attending the State Normal School in Athens, Georgia would head out to the Kissing Rocks. These “normal” girls were teachers in training, and the “normal” comes from the fact that they were being taught the standards or “norms” of education.

Per the New Georgia Encyclopedia the University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts used the campus until 1891, when it was purchased to establish the State Normal School. In 1932 the University of Georgia’s Department of Education assumed teachers’ training for the state. The normal school was taken over by the university and became known as Coordinate College but was used only as dormitories for freshmen and sophomore women.

Later the Naval Supply Corps School was housed in the buildings including Winnie Davis Hall, built with funds raised by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and named after Confederate president Jefferson Davis’s daughter. Varina Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis sent a letter to be read at the laying of the building’s cornerstone. You can see it here. The Navy controlled the property until very recently which resulted in the property being turned back over to UGA.

This report, produced due to the anticipated closing of the Naval Supply Corps School, discusses the buildings and the property in general including the Kissing Rocks, a group of boulders along Prince Avenue. The story goes that students at the Normal School would gather at the Kissing Rocks to steal a few kisses with their beaus. The site is also newsworthy for the prehistoric artifacts found at the location during a 1951 excavation.
While I did find some interesting online links about the State Normal School I was a little disappointed I couldn’t find an image of the Kissing Rocks. If anyone out that way would like to help, please send an image to gamind@mail.com and I’ll post it with your credit.

A bit of the school’s history can be found at Rootsweb while pages of The Crystal, the yearbook for the State Normal School, can be found here.

The picture with this post was snagged from OnlineAthens.com

Georgia Bloggers: Lawyers and Legal Matters

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that are written by lawyers and discuss legal matters on a daily or regular basis.

Audacity

Between a Laugh and a Tear

Facing the Sharks

Georgia Business and Family Law Blog

Georgia Law Blog

Georgia Law Blog-Jack Clay

Georgia Legislative Watch

Going Through the Motions

Do you know about Georgia blog that focuses on the practice of law or legal matter in general? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

New Additions and Some Thoughts on Blogging

It’s been awhile so I thought it was time to add a few more blogs to the blogroll.

I’ll be real honest here. I’m wondering if I’ll run out of room at some point in time. I’ve currently got around 50 to add and there’s more out there. It’s absolutely amazing how many Georgians are blogging online.

It’s even more surprising to me that out of all of the folks on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind I only know one blogger….and that’s because our children are “ in luv”, and we go to church together. :) Sure, I have comment conversations and email conversations with many of you, but face-to-face I’d be clueless if we were in the same room together.

That’s ok though….This is the 21st century afterall and though many make fun of bloggers this whole process has opened more doors for me than anything I’ve ever done. Through my posting here, at History Is Elementary, Got Bible, and American Presidents I have been highlighted in USA Today, mentioned in several local papers, spoken with published authors, television commentators, and journalist online. I’ve met teachers all across our nation and discovered many of my problems are theirs as well. I’ve discussed historical issues through emails with a few notable published historians and professors. It boggles my mind that most of them only know me by the name “Elementaryhistoryteacher.”

What access! What possibilities! It’s simply amazing!

Look over these additions to my blogroll….you might find just the blog you need:

Zinnia Art Studio – Art, ideas, and inspiration….’Nuff said.

Buster's War – this blog represents a real trend I’m seeing where individuals and families blog family history with pictures and diary or narrative text. This blog follows the World War II experience of Norman Ward Allday.

Thirteen Eleven – I got every excited when I was contacted by Jenni, this blog’s owner (she is also connected to the first and second blogs in this list). I got excited because I grew up in a craftsman style home and the image at the top of her sidebar resembles “my” house. Follow Jenni along on a journey to restore her home.

Dekalb Officers Speak –I found this site through the Dunwoody North Civic Association
blog. I think this is a wonderful way for officers to inform the public concerning issues surrounding their profession. In fact the tagline at the blog states, “This blog page was established so DeKalb County Police Officers including their family and friends may have a place to hold discussions, post news and vent without fear of retribution.”

Bill Shipp Online – What Georgian isn’t familiar with Bill Shipp’s columns? The welcome page at his site states, “Thousands of Georgians regularly read my column twice weekly in their local paper and online, but I've set up this site to offer a more in-depth and faster-responding venue for the quick-paced action that is Georgia politics.” Welcome to the blogosphere, Mr. Shipp! Hat Tip for this link goes to Paw Paw Bill, our current host for the Georgia Blog Carnival.

Georgia Federation of Democratic Women Grapevine – the tagline states an information site to help spread the word about the activities of Democratic Women and Democratic Candidates.

Mostly Media – SpaceyG’s new hang out where Atlanta talks about the media.

Georgia –a little history….a little about current events….all in all an intersting read, so far. I can’t wait for more.

Cries of the Heart – thoughts on life, worship, and whatever else comes up from Paul Joseph, a pastor from Dalton, Georgia.

Savannah Garden Diary – on the “about” page this blogger writes, “It occurs to me that in this day of digital photos, it makes much more sense to write a garden journal online than in a tatty notebook dripping with photographs, seed packets, and scrawled designs for strange garden structures.” The best part…..we all get to share in the process of watching the dirary grow.

Howell Mill Hell – documenting traffic conditions in the NW corridor….this is a neat (I’m dating myself with my language) idea from Spacey G. Anyone can become a contributor and post their blog entries at the site if they have knowledge of the area. Find out more information about contributing here.

That’s it for now. Make sure you notice the left sidebar where I’m continuing the process of categorizing Georgia blogs. It’s slow go, but the project will continue. :)

Georgia Bloggers: Religion and Spiritual Matters

The following list represents the Georgia Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that discuss religion and spiritual matters on a daily or regular basis.

A Servant's Journey

Austin in Peru

Baptist Commentary

Chasing God

First Baptist Church, Lithia Springs...A History

Got Bible?

Greener Pastures

In Upward Pursuit

Irenic Thoughts

Just Charlie

Next Gener.Asian Church

Primitive Baptist Churches

Provocative Church

Questing Parson

Reverend Mommy's Random Thoughts

Rambling Rose

Simply Ken

Softly and Tenderly

Snapshots of Georgia

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Three Sticks

Vamos Juntos

Do you know about a Georgia blog that focuses on religion or spiritual matters in general? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

Georgia Bloggers: Restaurants, Recipes, Nutrition

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that discuss restaurants, recipes, or nutrition on a daily or regular basis.

Approvechar

Atlanta Dish

Atlanta Foodies

Chow Down Atlanta

Michael Tuohy's Frontburner

Omnivore

Steakhead's Atlanta Eats Blog

Vajra Straight Up

Do you know about a Georgia blog that focuses on restaurants or food in general? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.