Saturday, September 22, 2012

Ramblin' 'Cross Georgia - A New Perspective

 Last post I mentioned that I had the occasion recently to drive across south Georgia to visit a friend in Columbus.  The journey took me through the heart of the cotton belt and the cradle of the Civil War, but it also took me through memories and feelings that I haven't visited in quite a while and a re-look at the rural South.  I'll share some of it with you.  Whilst you ramble with me, enjoy the Genius.




The Land of Cotton has changed quite a bit over the years.  For one thing, virtually gone for many years, cotton has made a tremendous resurgence in recent years and is now, along with peanuts, soy and corn, a staple cash crop for southern farmers.  Of course, the harvesting is done a little differently these days and a bale of cotton ain't what it used to be, but somehow, I get a good feeling seeing fields of cotton again.
I suppose you can run across this kind of thing most anywhere in rural America, but they always catch my eye and I always stop to take a picture and a closer look.
No trip across south Georgia would be complete without a stop to see Mr. Jimmy.  Plains is a pretty little town and still bustling with tourists.  The town was decorated in its fall colors for the Plains Peanut Festival which began the evening of this photo.  The town got its name from the fact that it does indeed lie in the coastal plain just before the rolling hills of the Piedmont begin.
 Whenever I visit Plains, I am reminded of Mr. Jimmy the Governor, not Mr. Jimmy the President.  When Jimmy Carter became governor of Georgia he called a constitutional convention to redraft the state constitution, at that time, the longest written document in the English language, and to forever end the good-old-boy nepotism and cronyism that had dictated the state since the Civil War.  He accomplished both, which made him pretty unpopular in some corners as many phony-baloney bureaucrats lost their jobs during the reorganization.  He didn't quite get the job finished in his eight years in office so when he made the same pledge as president I wondered;  "If you can't finish a reorganization of the government in a state with a population of four million people in eight years, how long would it take to reorganize the national government?  Obviously, I'll never live long enough to learn the answer.

The ubiquitous Southern Baptist Church.  A staple of the deep south.  This isn't Mr. Jimmy's church, he attends the Methodist church across the street but this one was more picturesque so I decided to photograph it instead.  Besides, Mr. Jimmy's church is somewhat of a tourist attraction as large numbers of people now come to attend his weekly Sunday school class so additions and informational signage clutter the exterior of his church, including the infamous baseball diamond where his staff and the secret service use to play.

The county P-farm sprucing up Brother Billy's gas station for the festival.  As Hoke said, "Things ain't changed all that much Miss Daisey."


Sadly, too much of the rural South, I guess all of rural America for that matter, looks like this.  Once thriving small towns and junctions are now forgotten as more people moved to the city and family farms became conglomerated corporations.  For me personally, I really miss the mom and pop merchants.


No, this is not the grand canyon but Providence Canyon on the west side of the state near the Chattahoochee River.  This is soil erosion from the Great Depression era caused by poor farming practices.  It was this place that inspired Franklin Roosevelt to establish the county Soil and Water Conservation Districts nationwide with the goal of controlling soil erosion which had reached crisis proportions.  The Districts were given the power of ad valorum taxation and the power of condemnation to achieve their goal if necessary but very few had to use them.  It was mostly educating farmers on conservation practices and simple solutions such as contour plowing or even, no-till farming which worked.  An elected position, I have twice served on the Conservation District Board of Supervisors locally but unlike in the days of Roosevelt, our problems are primarily urban in nature and are a whole new ballgame.

16 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures. Very evocative.

    If I'm not mistaken, the Chattahoochee River is where Deliverance was filmed. I read somewhere that the locals in that area don't like being synonymous with that movie.

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    1. Thanks Tom. Deliverance was filmed in the north Georgia mountains on the Chattooga River

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  2. For me personally, I really miss the mom and pop merchants.

    Absolutely! My hometown once boasted three locally owned and operated department stores. While each was about the size of a modern Family Dollar store it was quite the achievement for a rather small county economy. But anyway, I have moaned and whined about corporate clone stores so many times I have even grown tired of it.

    Not only are true small southern towns a dying breed, those that survive have taken on the air of a theme park at times. After the vast majority of locally owned stores went out of business they were replaced with smaller ones catering almost strictly to tourists.

    While local folks buy stuff from Wal Mart.

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    1. I have to confess to shopping at Walmart myself. I do try to shop at the local Ace Hardware as much as possible though. As to clothes, there's nothing left but the big box stores.

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    2. Sorry, did not mean to imply I did not shop at Wal Mart. Hell, while I can't the place it can't be avoided at times.

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  3. Beautiful pictures. I need to take more local road trips!

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    1. Thanks Lady. There is so much history and interesting things all around us in various parks that it really is a shame to get caught up in the bubble and miss it. But I'm as guilty as anyone.

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  4. I love this kind of history through the eyes of a real native and - almost - contemporary. (I read your previous post too, hence the contemporary) Your photos are the real thing too, not the tourist type images which paint a much more sanitized picture.


    (No, Mr. C., a clematis is not any kind of aster; certainly, this one is a herbaceous perennial, which means that it dies back in autumn, like an aster, but it has whippy, flowing stems, which are two metres or more long and just flop about).

    PS: I'd be happy for you to use my email address if you wanted any information. I don't reply to comments on posts because I'd never get to the end of blogging. There's too much of it already)

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    1. Thanks Friko, for compliment and info. I can see what you mean about comments. Whereas I have a modest collection of blogger friends I see that you can have as many as 40 or 50 comments every post. And with good reason. I love your blog.

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  5. Beautiful Photography. You have a good eye.

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  6. Fun post. We've actually visited Plains and Providence Canyon, so it was fun to see them again through your lens. Looks like the canyon is even more overgrown than it was when we last visited. Too bad. And I agree about the mom-and-pop stores. Our little town still has some, and we love them.

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    1. The canyon has changed a lot since I last visited as well. I guess if they don't let the trees grow the erosion will never stop.

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  7. thanks for that drive through the country! I do miss the mom/pop little businesses scattered; its shameful to see them just lay in ruin.

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  8. Wonderful photos. If you weren't a married man, I'd love to travel those roads with you. My kind of thing. I spent a lot of years traveling by car or RV all over the place and that second picture is amazing. I want go so far as to say this is indigenous to the South but don't recall seeing any in the West and Northern parts. Is it in a protected spot? I would have thought that antique scavengers would have stripped it by now. Love it.

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  9. I lived in Greenville Mississippi in the early sixties..a time I'd like to forget..it still gives me night mares..I being raised in the AF had no idea of segregation and it was a rude awakening..beautiful country thru the south..and I know not all thought that way or still do..but too many to make me want to go there again.

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