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.