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Oral History- “I Remember Hour”
Wynne S. Christensen “I Remember Hour” Collection
In 1984, Congressman James Mackay, who served as President of the DeKalb Historical Society (1984-1986), developed the idea to create an oral history collection to document the history of DeKalb County, Georgia. His plan called for interviewing public officials, teachers, shopkeepers, and other longtime residents of DeKalb who had different experiences and memories to share. These interviews were usually an hour long and thus were known as the “I Remember Hour.” Wynne S. Christensen was a staff member of the DeKalb History Center in the 1980s and a resident of the Druid Hills area. Funds were donated in Christensen’s name for us to preserve this valuable collection. As a result, the Wynne S. Christensen “I Remember” Collection has now been digitized and contains over 130 interviews on DVD. Notes and transcriptions (if available) for these recordings are available in the reading room, and increasingly as PDF files from this page. Click on the file name in blue to read the transcript.
The collection features a variety of people and covers many subjects. There are two programs on the 1996 visit of the Olympic Torch to downtown Decatur, the 100th anniversary of the Tucker Baptist Church and the integration of Decatur High School. Guests on the “I Remember Hour” include local judges Oscar Mitchell, Bond Almond, Clarence Peeler and Richard Bell. The R.L. Mathis family talk about the dairy business in DeKalb, Thomas Vinson talks of public health issues, George Dillard talks of working for the FBI and Joe Pugh speaks about Baron DeKalb. Local resident Scott Candler, Sr. talks on identifying Georgia homes in a program from 1968, Pauline Pounds gives a talk on one-room schoolhouses, and Fire Chief Dudley Martin talks about fire services. Women during World War II, Hardman Cemetery, Scottdale Mill, Peachtree DeKalb Airport, Swanton House and the making of the movie “Driving Miss Daisy” are all included in this wide-ranging collection.
Use Ctrl + F (for “find) on your keyboard to search for key words. For many of these interviews, notes were made at the time of recording. In cases where audio is of poor quality, we have not transcribed the interview. Interviews are available for viewing in the archives by appointment.
Some of the following presentations contain language that may be considered offensive; but solely in the interest of historic preservation, the DeKalb History Center has transcribed each presentation as accurately as possible. Otherwise, the presentations and remarks therein are in no way a reflection of the mission and values of the DeKalb History Center, its employees, and its agents. DeKalb History Center holds no responsibility regarding the accuracy of the information presented, told from individual memories and experiences.
2012.3.1 Judge Julius McCurdy, March 1982– County jail, early roads and farms, early businesses near the square and around the courthouse; First service station with gasoline; Political officials, judges, solicitors general, clerks ordinary, Lawyers, County commissioners like Nash, Matthews and Candler; Events like the singing festivals, County and law enforcement 1914 onwards, Education system, Emory, Agnes Scott, Oglethorpe, Columbia and Mercer, DeKalb County School system, DeKalb General Hospital, Transportation, the 5-cent car fare, Stone Mountain, Camp Gordon and DeKalb County Airport, Lawson General Hospital
2012.3.2 Charles Clayton, May 1982– Principal of Herring Street School, Decatur, 1933-1953; Autobiography, progress of blacks in DeKalb County education, accreditation of colored schools and the Civil Rights movement.
2012.3.3 James Venable, May 1982– Biography as told by the judge @ 77 years of age, Stone Mountain and granite business/Lithonia/Pine Mountain, Early surveying in Atlanta area, Law career and KKK, Borglum and Stone Mountain and early developments, 1870 bought from S. Granite Co., Defense in criminal trials-Barbara Mackel trial, Hines murder, Temple bombing, Opinion on trends, All about the KKK, Vivid political personalities, Thos. Watson, Asa G. Candler, Religion and society’s morals, Other judges and lawyers Jas. Davis, Roy Leathers, Schley Howard, Gene Talmadge, Views on Indians, Early DeKalb County history, Camp Gordon, State government, Legal system’s fairness to the poor; Jury system, Comments to the youth
2012.3.4 Judge Oscar Mitchell and Judge Bond Almand, September 1982- Schools and colleges of DeKalb, Stone Mountain and its memorial, how times have changed, from hitching posts, church bells and early funeral customs to camp meetings; Families of DeKalb like the Candlers; DeKalb News Era; Bobby Jones; Street car franchise cases; Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit; J.B. Bond and Rock Chapel. Ezekiel Lee and ties with John D. Rockefeller; Picayune train and Camp Gordon; Schley Howard, an attorney and trial lawyer and Joe Hurt; Jack Davison of Lithonia; Emory at Oxford and life there; Legal system in Georgia and some interesting cases; Lithonia to Decatur in a horse and buggy; Almand family genealogy; The jury system; Revocation of parole for M.L. King, Jr.; Mike Wallace interview Christmas 1981; Advice to young people and community service
2012.3.5 Judge William Dean, 1983 -Courtroom customs like the cuspidors; Coming to DeKalb in 1914; Serving as a page in the Legislature; Political figures like Pierre and Schley Howard, Robb, Ramspeck, Jas. C. Davis, Jas. Mackay, Elliot Levitas; Georgia politics and DeKalb politics; Sheriffs and county clerks
2012.3.6 James G Lester, February 1983– Emory University, Geology; How he came to the Atlanta campus of Emory in 1919. Jobs he had held with the University in the physical plant, athletics, teaching and committees. DeKalb geological history, re: granite outcrops like Stone Mountain, radioactivity around Stone Mountain (13 cpm). Dr. Baker and anecdotes about Emory; Pushball at Emory; The Emory Museum, started at Oxford campus. Dr. Fattig, Bishop Andrew and Senior Hall at Oxford. Other developments at Emory at Oxford. Anecdotes about teachers. Experiences at Emory at Oxford. Arthur Tufts graded with a mule team. Location for hospital. Intercollegiate sports. Co-education at Emory. How attracted to teaching. Soapstone Ridge. What year given for official move-Summer 1918; 1st class in fall of 1919; theology, law and medicine
2012.3.7 Judge Verlyn Moore & Mrs. Douglas McCurdy, November 1983- Lawyers in Georgia; When he began practicing; History of Georgia Bar 1735-1846; About Wilkes County and the Judicial Circuits; Superior Court judges; About William Crawford, Judge of Superior Court; Dawson; George Walton; Law libraries; Lawyers in the National government prior to the Civil War; Supreme Court 1845-1846, 212 lawyers admitted to bar; DeKalb County and Standing Peachtree, the 5 counties; Flint River Judicial Court and Stone Mountain Circuit history; Mrs. Douglas McCurdy remembers the WWII years; DeKalb County 80,703 residents in 1940; Pearl Harbor day remembrances and life during WWII; Red Cross work, ration stamps and the USO; Victory gardens; Stone Mountain Women’s Club activities; Black out drills and civil defense
2012.3.8 Nina Rusk Hosch, November 1983- Her family from 1914-1920; Moved to Clairmont Ave. in 1909; Family background and the neighbors like the Houston, the Murdocks and the Jones, The Ridleys, the Billups, the Gibbs, the Johnson, the Blodgetts, the Dowmans, the Randall sisters and the Tilleys; Childhood activities, the family cat, playing alone, the horse’s head scatter rug, making animals from cucumbers, neighborhood gathering and plays, paper dolls on oatmeal boxes. Sand pile playing, playing in the woods behind the house. Dean Rusk’s visits and adventures during WW One; Mr. Rusk’s marble monument business (1909-1920) declared non-essential freight during WWI…doomed his business; Took in boarders; Telephone and General Pershing’s picture; Life during WWI; Running away and the bridge over the railroad tracks at North Decatur Road; Doll bed made by her father; Armistice Day Parade; Sundays in Decatur and the Houston Chapel; County medical cures and punishments like sitting in a chair; Story of Papa and the owls; Horse races at Lakewood; Moved to Cedartown when she was 5 years old; History of 43rd General Hospital and WWII at Emory University and the Nursing School; Went to Camp Livingston, Louisiana; WWII experiences: training and going overseas to Algeria; Serving in Algeria as an Army nurse; The move to Italy and the invasion; Caring for the wounded; Transfer to France
2012.3.9 Judson C. Ward, March 1985 Where he grew up, Cobb County and Marietta; Emory was not easy to find, came down old 41 past water works to 14th Street; Early campus description; Campus in 1929; Quadrangle buildings, woods, trails and streams; Trolley car approach along Oxford Road; Naming of “the village”, not until Navy V12 program was formerly knows simply as the end of the car line. Burns Service Station; Fraternities and Mrs. Coker’s Boarding House; Early finance and expenses; Entertainment and the Fox Theatre; Dancing forbidden on campus; Fraternities’ spring formal dance; Emory Faculty; Denying admission and dismissals for misbehavior; Great academic aspects of Emory; Returned in 1948 as Dean; Veteran influx and “Mudville”; PhD degree in 1946; Required attendance in chapel; Expansion of Emory’s graduate programs and Medical School; 1962 Dr. Atwater’s coming and its impact on recruitment; Loss of contact with Southern student and transition to non-Southern student body; 1962 and first black student admitted and race relations, student unrest; How Emory handled those problems; Southern culture, faculty willingness to talk with students; Various Emory problems: traffic, crime, public schools and student characteristics today; Audience questions and answers
2012.3.10 Milton Scott, September 1985- Schools (Donald Fraser, Agnes Scott) and education in DeKalb; Paved streets; Grinding corn meal at Houston’s Mill; Some personal family history, Geo. W. Scott, arrived Oct 30, 1850; G.W. Scott’s diary, with comments about Atlanta; G.W. Scott’s military service during the Civil War; Chemist Nathaniel Prat of Sams Crossing; Farmers and fertilizer anecdote; Bank financing of crops; Elsie May bag company; Lowrey National Bank; Allen Ripley; Florida phosphates and cotton; Scottdale Mills-provided housing to workers and company store, health benefits and schooling; Mill operated about 80 years until forced out of business by foreign competition; Agnes Scott College from Decatur Female Seminary; Story of its founding by a gift from George W. Scott; Audience questions; Strawberry farm; 1st airplane experience-Candler Field and saw Wright Brothers; Recent trips to Africa for missionary work
2012.3.11 Clark Harrison, October 1985– Bit of info about his book “The Long Way Home.” Born on Wilton Drive in 1924; How poor DeKalb was is 1924 as compared to the Midwest; World War II; Army experiences in 1944 and comparing WWII to Vietnam. Lessons from being wounded and returning home after war. Decatur is a state of mind, Scott Candler, politics, the defeat of Scott Candler and start of multiple county commissioners; DeKalb county politics; First National Bank; Experience while in office; Accomplishments while in office; Other activities, flying to Alaska; Purpose for the writing of his book; Vietnam, what we learned from it.
2012.3.12 Rod Bain, Max Cleland, Mike Mears; Brad Clements, October 23, 1985- Clements: Slide show of early settlement architecture, log cabins, Barker Cabin, Biffle Cabin, “Medicine House,” Spivey Cabin, Lyon House, Johnson House, Wm. Evans house, Solomon Goodwin house, Swanton house, Mary Gay House, Wm. Shepherd house; Cotton gins and mills, barns and privies, Georgia Railroad station, Masonic building, Candler Hotel, Smith, White and McCurdy houses; Bain: Hardman cemetery slide show. 1947 proposed restoration and Bain’s 1983 restoration with 1100 hours of work that took 16 months. Who maintains cemetery now, and types of plants that grow there. Cleland: Lithonia, founded in the mid 1850s. Family genealogy and views on history. Mears: History of Decatur as related to the Black community; Decatur’s sister city in Burkina Faso
2012.3.13 Judge Clarence Peeler, January 1986- North DeKalb County in 1932; Chamblee High School; Personal military history; Road conditions around Chamblee and Peeler roads; Attending law school; Working for Julius McCurdy and prosecuting attorney job; Working with Roy Leathers; Local politics and interesting cases; Fred Phillips case; Working with Scott Candler on county support matters and Judge Frank Guess; 1952-divided the criminal court into two divisions under Judge Vaughn and Judge Guess; Part of courthouse square taken for street widening; Street car fare set at 5 cents; Street car screeching as it made turn around McDonough Street caused court hearings to be temporarily suspended; Manslaughter indictment; Suburban Plaza case; About Stone Mountain murder case; Humor in the law
2012.3.14 Fannie Eberhart & Captain Fred Howard, February 1986– Fannie Eberhart, Decatur 1916-1986, teacher for 40 years. Rosa and Eddie Moore, parents; Fannie Mae Moore; Washington High School; grandmother was a slave; what Decatur was like in the 1920s, McDonough St. to Agnes Scott; Fire station, Belk-Gallant, Turner’s Funeral Home, Decatur Theater, DeKalb New Era office, Bailey Brothers Shoe Shop, Stovall Tire Store, Woolworth’s; Dr. Houston’s home, jewelry store, Weekes Brothers Grocery store, Shield Brothers Store; Mrs. Cooper brought them lemonade; Decatur Library; Audience questions and answers; Taught at Hopewell on Bouldercrest Rd (later combined with County Line elementary), combine with family history, grandmother from Richmond, Va. as a freed slave. Father from Athens, Ga.– Fred Howard, police officer; 1935 and organizing the police department and early training; 1956 and Civil Rights, ordinances, increase in number of employees; Computers and reports; Biggest change has been in the attitudes; of law enforcement people; The Miranda Decision; Working for the county and retirement; Criminal conduct and main concerns – traffic, common theft, burglary, rape; Questions from audience
2012.3.15 Judge Richard Bell, March 1986- Bell family history; Ledford house in Decatur; Early days of radio and various homes occupied around Decatur; First Sunday school teachers; Boy’s High School in 1932; Judge Andy Robinson; Decatur Presbyterian Church scout troop; Camping around Peachtree Creek with Bill Owens; Decatur Boy’s High principals and teachers; College and military service; Employment after military service and Emory Law school; 1950 and running for the legislature; District attorney and famous cases: Mrs. Gray embezzlement and her 34 aliases; Barbara Mackel Case: kidnapping; Ramada Inn kidnapping; Other cases before Miranda rights, taped testimony used; Brooks shooting; 1982 statewide political race; Accolades for DeKalb County
2012.3.16 Julius McCurdy, September 1986- Capacity of DeKalb Jail vs. population; Superior Court judges and Solicitors General; Other official of Superior Court; Sheriffs; Decatur City Court judges and Lithonia and Stone Mountain lawyers; Tucker and Atlanta lawyers; Impressions of Schley Howard; Stone Mountain memorial carving history; Political career; History of McCurdys in Stone Mountain; Audience questions: Ponce de Leon Avenue, public hangings, most famous trial; Jury commission
2012.3.17 Hugh Howell, January 1984- Memories of early days of DeKalb Historical Society; Howell family; Stone Mountain and the Venable home; History of the DHS; Early active member, dues, officers, meeting room was downstairs room of the DeKalb Public Library; Speakers: Carl Hudgins, Dr. John Goff; Name place origins, like Peavine Creek; Alice Park, wife of Hugh Park, author of “Around Town”; Real estate in Tucker and Stone Mountain; Howell Sr. bought 60 acres of the Arthur George farm; McCurdy Road and Hugh Howell Road; Granite rock house on Houston Mill Rd. installed a hydraulic ram; Judge Luther Rosser property 500 acres at Hightower Trail; 1936 approached by the state highway dept. for road right of way; Howell Sr. ran for governor against Ed Rivers; Hugh Howell road finished in 1938; Story of the grandfather clock; Pullman room; Visits of Gene Talmadge and “Miss Mitt”; Richard Russell and Walter George; 1954 sold land on Hugh Howell Rd. to Post; 1955 Bought and restored the Sam Venable home and 134 acres; 1980 purchased Stone Haven, the former Sam Venable home, with antiques inside; Negotiation for sale of Stone Mountain property to state and reason for gate; Indian artifacts found; Autographed picture of Gutzon Borglum; Dr. Willis McCurdy and fox hunts; Anecdotes on living at the old Venable home; Names of persons associated with the Venable property; Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad; Nuns of St. Thomas More, wedding receptions; Description of fireplace and facilities of house; Sold in 1969 to Post Properties
2012.3.18 Mr. and Mrs. Sam Hastings & Wheat Williams, March 1984- Mr. & Mrs. Hastings: Family early history, moved to Atlanta in 1899 and moved to Decatur in 1903. Only one paved road, no water or sewer systems until 1906-1907; School, the post office and history of the Atlanta transit and the fare; Telephone system came in before electricity; Houston Mill and the “steam plant” on; Halley’s comet in 1910; The Confederate monument; The Fire Dept. on Dr. Ansley’s auto and the hose reel; Historic fires; DeKalb New Era; Weeks Bros. store (groceries and dry goods) Hitching posts on the court house square; Sunday Sings; The Great Lakes area; The Hastings House and “Paradise Alley” filled by the courthouse debris; Mrs. Hastings tells about the Decatur Women’s Club and Georgia Federation of Women; Support of Tallulah Falls School; Child labor in the mills. Alexander Institute; The origin of the Blue Star Highway; Went out of existence in WWI in favor of Red Cross; Decatur Women’s clubs and activities; Garden Club 1928, Dogwood Festival and Yellow Daisy Festival; Answers to audience questions on local capital punishment, Miss Harvey who married Ray Hastings and how they came to meet each other–Wheat Williams: Coming to Decatur from teaching in Fulton County to 1921 to reorganization of Decatur School system to 1931; Working for honors among the students; Church school at First Baptist church and others; Church schools; Businesses and residences on the court house square; Segregated schools; Politics and running for and serving as county commissioner; Change in county; government, the convict champ, county finances, police force, zoning laws; Raising the tax assessments; Audience questions: origin of the state seal of Georgia
2012.3.19 Robin Harris, James Mackay, & Julius McCurdy, April 1984- Presentation of check to DeKalb Historical Society; Endowment Fund for DeKalb Historical Society; 32K pledge presented to Julius McCurdy
2012.3.21 Fire Chief Dudley Martin and Dr. Wallace Alston, 1984- Chief Martin- Saving a drowned child; Moving to the area; Communication device the fire department used to use-demonstration, Dr. Alston- growing up in Decatur; Decatur Presbyterian; taught at Avondale High School; Emory University
2012.3.22 Dr. Thomas Vinson, February 1985– Came in 1950; Some characters he met when arriving; e.g. Scott Candler and Jim Cherry; Fluoridated water comes to DeKalb County; DeKalb County Health department developments; DeKalb County Medical profession within the county; Diseases: polio, rabies, TB, ringworm, mental health; Administrators, health education, CDC; Volunteers assisting in school health services; The hearing program; DeKalb firsts in public health; Discussion and Questions; Drug abuse cases – alcohol and drugs – what’s going on; Explain the frequent health Dept. changes in location; Emergency ambulance Service; Water pollution and sanitary landfill problems; Grady Hospital services; Abortion/Family Planning; Mental Health problems
2012.3.23 Grace Robinson, March 1985– Father Clarence Robinson; Had grocery store in Ingleside (now Avondale); W.L. Robinson and Sons Grocery Store; Grandmother was an Alston; About the Alston family relations; Spivey family’s log cabin along Daniels’ Creek; Grandfather Spivey’s Macedonia Church where he preached; Grandfather’s 2nd wedding; Book of poems about her mother’s optimism; When we got electricity and plumbing; School at Rockbridge Rd. and Stone Mountain. Highway; Graduated high school in 1931; Agnes Scott in 1935, began teaching; Moved school to Forest Hills; Poem about Stone Mountain; Audience Questions: What about young people? Changes in the curriculum; When was Ingleside Country Club established? Avondale developed from 4 farms; Announcements by J. Mackay and request for photos
2012.3.24 Wyman C. Lowe, April 1985– His former residences and law practice; Education; Hazing at Mercer University; Church affiliation; Dr. George Sparks, founder of Georgia State College; Political career 1947, candidate for 5th district; Congress, ran against Jas. C. Davis; County unit system in effect until 1964; Reviews each Democratic primary election through 1974 for Congress; Watergate in 1974; Ran on Republican ticket; Two party system in Georgia; Disqualified as candidate in 1982 – no basis given; Election fraud claim in 1979; Incident brought on by fraud; Attempts to block his contesting the election; Westbury vs Sanders decision did away with the county unit voting system; Military experience, 1941 and Ft. McPherson; Duty in the Pentagon, civic affairs and the American Legion
2012.3.25 Mathis dairy, October 1986- Introductions by Jack Mathis, Betty, father R.L. Mathis Sr., mother Cookie (nee Cook); Slide presentation on the business of milking; First milk bottle; Cows milked in the pasture; Reason for pasteurized milk=refrigeration; Springs kept milk cold; Certified dairies with certified milk 1928; 1912-1914-methods of sanitation; Great grandfather T.W. Stephens and Bob; Came to DeKalb County before 1922; Lloyd’s mother bought 5 cows from his father-in-law to begin; Anecdotes and family photos; Slides on dairying in DeKalb County by Dept. of Commerce and Agriculture; Photos of county fair at SW DeKalb High School; 1st milking machines described by Mr. Mathis (1918); Fire at the dairy and telephones and communications; Workers at the dairy like Herman Parker; 7 days a week-Milked and delivered milk; Bottle filters; Lighting in the dairy barns; First met his wife in Canton, GA; Milk delivery and competition; Boy Scouts and Tours; How the Mathis cow got its name; Public relations stunts; Photos of present (1986) plant; End of slides – getting a cow ready to be milked; 213 dairies around Atlanta and milk inspectors; Milk from the cow to the bottle-deliveries; Travelling to Wisconsin and bringing home dairy cattle 1921; Onion and bitterweed problems with cows’ milk; Remodeling the house in 1937
2012.3.26 Steffen Thomas, November 1986– Story of learning English and giving first speech; Received a medal from State of Georgia for Art; Unveiling of Henry Grady Sculpture which he designed-ties in with the story about the medal; He was art supervisor of the National Youth Administration when he moved to DeKalb County; Building a house in Stone Mountain; Reads a poem about his house; Talking about when he first arrived in USA and West Palm Beach, Florida; Touring the US and his first job and his memories; Audience questions: his life and some stories of teaching lessons to students, and his house
2012.3.27 Commander Bennie Wilkens , January 1987– Decatur Police Department
2012.3.28 Sarah Furse, February 1987– Family plantation after the Civil War was near Savannah; Moving to the edge of the city; Meeting her husband; The Depression years; Travel to Louisiana and Oklahoma City; Dust storms and oil wells; Transferred to Atlanta and lived on Chelsea Drive in Decatur in 1937; Ridley House near Peavine Creek and Scott Boulevard; In 1939, emerging from the Depression, and WWII; Getting to the Bell Bomber Plant (Lockheed) during WWII (carpooling) and getting home by street car from Marietta; Hitchhiking and getting to the Commissary and Hospital at Ft. McPherson; The Korean conflict and travel to Japan; Girl Scouts; Trips in Japan; Returned to Ft. Gordon and Decatur; Changes since living here in the 1930s; New things coming and short reminiscences
2012.3.29 Dr. Lawrence Matthews and Dr. Carl Renfroe, March 1987 – Lawrence Matthews; Born 1904 in Lithonia (Rock Chapel) and Redan; Cotton gin, grocery store, etc. Moved to Decatur; Went to Emory Medial School, Dr. Sam Guy, Dr. Homer Blincoe, graduated 1935, residency at Grady; Tom Jackson, surveyor, post office department, Mrs. Kirkpatrick; The Houston Family; His mother at Agnes Scott, Early childhood life, telephones; Indoor plumbing, living in Decatur; Practiced at Crawford Long, changes from home; Delivery to babies and hospitals; Warren Matthews murder; Superintendent of Decatur Schools-Homer Wright; Lunches at Decatur Schools; Professor at Emory, Dr. Blincoe, Dr. Sam Guy; Recollections of Scott Candler, M. E. Thompson, pastors and Bishop Arthur Moore, and Judge Phillips; Babies delivered that became famous-Bill Curry (coach of Alabama); Different time for physicians– Dr. Carl Renfroe, teacher, 1953 principal of Decatur High and Superintendent of Schools; Came to Decatur in 1953 as principal of Decatur High School; Student council-Monday meetings with student body officers and reps; Pep rallies and enthusiasm for sports; Decatur’s schools and student homework demands; Fun and foolishness in DHS, good order and discipline; Fraternities and sororities hazing; The football game with Athens; Earl Amsler (??) supt. of schools; School Board of Decatur procedures; Budget and finances of the school board and state board of education; Retired in 1975; About Hugh Parks; Decatur Schools and Integration; Federal government handling of integration; Family history and anecdotes; Declaring snow days; Communication through community hearings; National teacher examinations and advanced degrees; Key people in the job named; Jas Mackay’s comments
2012.3.30 John Evans, May 1987– How he came to DeKalb County (by chance) in 1965; economics; Inter-racial theological center from Chicago; The “transitional period” of racial integration; Pockets of black communities and lack of involvement; Answer to totally integrated community has not been found; 1968 and beginning of political career-DeKalb County Executives Com.; Political work and community work are the same; Year of Dem. Natl. Convention in Chicago; 1972 the McGovern years; Shirley Chisholm’s candidacy; 1976 and the Jimmy Carter years; 1980 – a year of attempting to steer the county into the Democratic party; DeKalb branch of NAACP; 1981 public office as County commissioner; Black political power in DeKalb; District elections in the city of Decatur; Changes in the county over 22 years; Ethnic groups live in their own respective communities; Have a piece of the action, get our share of the action; Questions: What is status of the new court house addition? Has the Kirkwood situation changed? Post office parking area plans?
2012.3.31 Dorothy Nix, November 1987– Background in history in the Midwest; First job during WWII; Enlisting and service in the WACs; Post war years of housing shortages and the “no children” policy of the 1950s; Writing for the Atlanta Journal; Segregation in the 1950s; Working as a writer on the day of the 1st space launch; Divining water; Calling on Scott Candler; Recruited by Jim Cherry; Observation on the sense of history in the current age of urban development; Comments about DHS staff and programs of the DHS
2012.3.32 Dub Brown, mayor of Chamblee, October 1987 – Born in Atlanta; 100 acre dairy farm off Buford Highway; Shallow Ford in creek; Learned to drive gathering hay with truck in fields; There were 33 dairies in North DeKalb area; Health requirements drove many dairies out of business but land valued redeemed that loss; Joined Navy in WWII, Normandy; Worked for Delta Airlines as a mechanic; Delta and the unions; Service station business in Chamblee with brother; Civil participation; How got started in politics, lived on a dirt road that needed paving; Change in Chamblee area from military area to industrial; Chamblee High School; Things that impressed him as a child; Building of Buford Highway; Grading with mules; During WWI and Camp Gordon, going fishing, outdoor activities; Nancy Creek 1st Baptist Church baptisms; When MARTA came through, moved half of the graves in the churchyard; City Hall in 1954; Before charter, was a railroad town; Chamblee was named “Lower Roswell”; How renamed to Chamblee; Population 12,000 but declining due to Chinese community purchase; School system and water system operated by DeKalb County; DeKalb County Airport history; Original part of Camp Gordon but land repurchased for Lawson General Hospital and Naval Air Station; Chamblee High School – when built; Lawson General Hospital over 100 buildings by 1940; Closed in 1945 at the end of WWII, largest general hospital in US where the most seriously wounded were sent by air; Landed at Naval Air Station; Peachtree Industrial Blvd, 1938; MARTA essentially finished in 1987; Auto traffic and Atlanta Regulatory Commission; Discussion of 1987 conditions; Antique businesses in Chamblee; Relationship of citizens with DeKalb Peachtree Airport; Drs Watkins and Mendenhall-lived in log home; Trains in Chamblee and use of RR commuter service to Atlanta; Churches in Chamblee
2012.3.33 “Doc” Manget, January 1988– Became interested in aviation through Ben Epps who flew 1st plane in Georgia; Aviation as a child; At one time, 3 airports in DeKalb: Gunn Field, Panola Road; George Gunn property; Stone Mountain Field, remembers 1937-39 and driving out to watch the airplanes at the airport; Sergeant Alvin York and Camp Gordon; Sold off in last 20s and early 30s; Atlanta Aeroclub; Navy training programs leased airport from county; Planes like the N2NC Stearman – all painted yellow because known as “yellow terrors.” Famous trainees: Tyrone Power, Robert Montgomery; After WWII Navy needed larger runways and moved to south side of Dobbins in April 1969; Hired form El Paso airport to come to Peachtree DeKalb History Center Removal of WWII barracks and leveling of surface; End of the early day without a single fatality; Audience questions: flying lessons, DeKalb Co. Grand Jury visit; Gene Brown and early airmail pilot; Ralph Tuggle field on Sycamore Drive; Discussion of aircraft and flying experiences; Story on wooden arch, was gate for Camp Gordon now gone; Corporate aircraft; Central tower operation now FAA employees; Runways are 3980 feet;1968 completed all-weather runway; Now 4 are running; Noise hazards; Bird hazards due to garbage dump near airport – attracts starlings, etc. that disappear after the garbage is covered at night; Accidents, helicopters, ultra light aircraft; Scheduled shuttle service to Hartsfield tried in 1970s but could not make a profit; Commuter airlines have been tried but not successful; 1978 EPA rating was 71st out of 15,000 airports; 254,000 operations per year
2012.3.34 Andy Robertson, February 1988- Begins with the year 1906, when Agnes Scott College becomes four year college. Arrived in Decatur, graduated from high school in 1923, entered Mercer Law School. Worked as a boy in 1928, there were 12 grocery stores around Decatur’s square, 9 soda fountains, 2 movie theaters. Reversal brought about by auto whereby people moved out of the city; Early history of the county and transportation; Change of name to Clairmont from Webster Street and from Shallowford road; Used to come to Tatum’s Drug Stores in evening for entertainment; Now only one grocery store left; No need for parking spaces, autos changed that. Klondike, GA in 1898; The post office where Robertson settled; His mother’s family (Burgess) became clerks of Court in 1885; Decatur homes and boarding houses; Getting picked on on the way home from school; Father’s education at Andrew Betts Academy at Lithonia; Normal School at Athens; Wesley Chapel Methodist church and cemetery; How he was named; 1909 city put in water works. Workers fell into water tower; Hearing Billy Sunday; Meeting Miss Mary Gay and Dr. Houston’s office; Miss Martha Lumpkin (Compton) for whom Marthasville was named; The PTA organized in 1913; Rock building “Academy” and Donald Fraser; Decatur growing under aura of education; Agnes Scott Institute and Donald Frazer Military School; Dr. McCain, Dr. Perry, Dr. Sparks and Ivy Street became Georgia State University; Finishing schools, families who emigrated to put their children in college; Decatur cemetery “new” cemetery started in 1913; Bishop Candler won’t allow football at Emory but allows pushball; How Decatur High School got a football team up to 1950; Saturday School until 1931; Enrolling at Mercer; Ansley and Gass’ drug store; Marble counters, lemonade and Sunday singing, drinking out of dippers; Until Emory opened there was no hospital closer than Atlanta, so they took people to the drug store; Dick Brooks Barber shop; Atlanta telephone building; Rogers Brothers Grocery Store; When the Turners moved from Conyers to Decatur; On the Decatur City Commission for 10 years
2012.3.35 Whitfield Smith, clerk of court, March 1988- Modern history of the county; Practicing attorney since 1975; Comments about Judge Oscar Mitchell; Changes in DeKalb County court System; Juries, computerization of records, 12,000 civil cases; Changes in real estate records room; Functions no longer performed by the county; Reason for legal-sized documents; Function of the Clerk of the Courts Office; Questions: randomness of jury selection, comments on changes in the jury system; History of the jury selection; Plans for the new court house facilities; Old record in storage that are of historical significance; Freeze-drying water-damaged records; Court house security – incident in 1984; Pilfering of records; Dealing with jurors
2012.3.36 John Ridley and Caroline Ridley Howard, 1988– Dr. Ridley’s house; How the Ridleys got started in Decatur; came out on the street car in 1913; Arrowheads found; House originally faced August Railroad (old Mead place); Mead St. was known as Hopkins Street; House was turned around to face the street; Aunt Claire Ridley was person for whom Clairmont/Clairemont was named-tells how it came about; Purina food store fire; Halloween, hobos and gypsies; About William Schley Howard defending the gypsies; Oakhurst Elementary School and G.P. Adair fundraising for the stage curtains; Silent movies and candy pulls; Mamie Barns, principal; Bringing a gun to school; Social affairs at the Candler Hotel (Press breakfasts); Declamation contests at Decatur Junior High; About Decatur churches and socializing; Grandfather Ridley, Civil War veteran; Richard Bowen family; Curb market in Decatur; Dick Brooks barber shop; Milking; Clean-up, paint-up campaign; Delivering groceries for Wheat’s Groceries; Riding with “Red” to deliver ice in the ice wagon; Friendliness around Decatur with everyone who worked there; Delivery wagons and their drivers as a part of any business around Decatur; Pony rides in Decatur; The music teacher and the recitals; Wilco Jones, journalist; Johnson’s blacksmith shop on Atlanta Ave. and watching horses being shod; Questions: why “e” dropped from Clairmont; Summer home of Dr. Ridley; Aunt Claire was spelled with an “e”
2012.3.37 Dr. T.O. Vinson, Dir., DeKalb Health, May 1988- Dentistry; DeKalb’s first hospital; Undertaker, ambulance service, Horis Ward; Questions: rabies epidemic; Number of doctors in county in 1988 not including CDC; First location of Health Department; Immunization; Tick fevers, polio, dental program and fluoridation; Nursing home program; Doctors of DeKalb Medical Society; Dr. Chapman Powell; Ringworm in DeKalb History Center Psychiatrists of the county and other staff positions; His wife, acquaintances and classmates
2012.3.38 Judge Clarence Peeler and Noah Stone, May 1988- Biographical sketch of Noah Stone, attorney and teacher, city attorney for probate for Avondale; Stone and Peeler talk about Judge Hutchinson’s biography and the Stone Mountain circuit; Poll tax; Portraits of Judges; Hutchinson and Jas. C. Davis; Portrait of Judge Frank Guess; father was Carl Guess, legislator; Decatur City Courts; History of State courts system; Portrait of Judge Vaughan; Portrait of H.O. “Hooly“ Hubert; Embezzlement case of Sheriff Clem Jolly; Judge Roan; Judge Candler and Superior Court; Noah Stone on when legislature moved county seat to Stone Mountain
2012.3.39 Mrs. J. Don (Geraldine) Aderhold, October 1988– 6th generation family of DeKalb County; Writing to servicemen during WWII; Old home place Edgewood/Candler Park area; Growing up in DeKalb near Little Five Points; Grandparent and Ezra Baptist Church; Candler Park; Street cars; Dr. O.C. Aderhold, president of University of Georgia; Getting around without an automobile; Columbia Seminary; About husband and family; DeKalb development and Memorial Drive after WWII; Integrating the church and resulting loss of membership
2012.3.40 J.C. Bailey, his Shoe Shop on the square, November 1988– Court House and those working there; Curb market and the 100 year celebration in 1922; Business around the square; Vernon fire; Barber shop, hotel, dry store, A.S. Turner, new City Hall in 1927; Street cars, Weeks Bros. Groceries; Decatur Presbyterian Church; Baptizing in Peavine Creek near Decatur High School; First Library; Radio in 1926; Dr. Houston; Sams Crossing; Ices boxes, Druid Hill, Saturday School, barefoot in the summertime and early dress; Questions: about stores….no mention of shoe shop or its operation
2012.3.41 Judge B. J. Smith, 1988- Businesses around square; Dairy famers out along North Druid Hills Rd.; Hello World landmark; School system; Jail system; Description of legal system; Oscar Mitchell, Mike Wallace interview, Jim Cherry, Judge Hubert, Scott Candler; Clark Harrison, Charlie Emerich; Problems of growth; Questions: education at North Georgia College; About his family
2012.3.42 Tom O. Davis, January 1989- Not native to DeKalb County, came in 1931; Law school during the Depression; Organization of County judicial system in 1930s; Set up practice in Lawrenceville; Joined FBI after Pearl Harbor; Housing shortage in Decatur; Oscar Mitchell’s appointment and court history; Population of Decatur 13,276 in 1936; Changes in Decatur; FBI; Questions: change in county government from sole commissioner to salaries
2012.3.43 Kent Randolph, Tucker resident, February 1989– Family came in 1930 at age of 5; Settled on Burns farm, Mountain Industrial Blvd and Hugh Howell road; Description of the Tucker area; Arnold’s Dairy, Lawrenceville Hwy was the only paved road in Tucker; Seaboard railroad, 1892; Cottingham house (blacksmith); Gin and sawmill; Andrews Drug Store in 1910 on Main Street; Pickens Brothers, Gil Hudson, Dr. Andrew, Aussie Andrews and Service Station; Tucker Feed and Grocery; Foster Thomas, painter; Depot in 1930 and story of the mail hook; Cofer Bros. general store about 1930; Geo. Thomas, butcher; Postmaster was Kelly Cofer; Feed and Grain store at corner of Railroad Avenue and Main Street; Cofer’s burned in 1938; About King Cofer; England’s General store across the street in 1910; First auto in Tucker area; Bank of Tucker owned by the Burns’ until 1948; Tucker, the city of “sevens” story; Newsome’s Drug Store in 1939 and about “Doc” Newsome; Arnold Service Station, Tucker School; About Tucker First Baptist Church; Tucker school and children; Tucker High School in 1938; Brownings Court House; Tucker Mattress Co.; Fellowship building of Primitive Church of Tucker; Hello World Service Station and its story, located at corner of Montreal Rd. and Lawrenceville Highway; Tucker transition to high tech and a list of those who have made it so; Audience questions: Tucker’s name and its origin; after a family of Tuckers, or engineer of the railroad who laid out the town
2012.3.44 George Dillard, March 1989- Early history in South Georgia, truck farming in South DeKalb, moved to Johnson Estates on Peachtree Creek; Belmont community elementary school; Personal life in law school; Military service; Working in the FBI; Moved back to DeKalb County; Subversive activities in the 1950s; Civil rights and busing; Assistant county attorney in 1955; Condemnation cases for I-85; First crisis in 1955 as county attorney with the changes in county commission form of government; County garbage problem; Zoning laws of 1956 and the changes from farming to development
2012.3.45 Margaret Bridges, April 1989- Arrived in 1939; Lived on Glenwood Ave. near East Lake; Description of Druid Hills and Scott Boulevard and Deepdene Park; Ed Shea and the Atlanta Swimming Association that led to Atlanta swim meets; How we used the street cars to get around; East Lake Road; Grocery, Fernbank and the Harrison family; Bailey’s Hardware on DeKalb Ave. and other early community stores; Colored help in the 1930s; Substitute teaching at various schools; DeKalb county schools and Jim Cherry; Moving to the county, Dunwoody and Mt. Vernon road; League of Women Voters and the county unit system; Segregation; Living on Lullwater and Druid Hills; People who meant a lot in the community; Questions: population of East Lake; Who was Colonel Massey-teacher at Cross Keys
2012.3.47 Jim Anderson, May 1989
2012.3.48 J. Davidson Phillips, Pastor of Decatur Presbyterian Church, November 1989- Raised in Tallahassee, Florida; Came to Decatur in 1941; City College, Virginia at 20, then to Columbia Theological Seminary; Road conditions around CTS when he arrived; Decatur’s history beginning with the land lottery; Fairview Church in Lawrenceville was first Presbyterian Church in these parts; Rev. J.S. Wilson; Early settlers’ origins; September 1940 and concerns about Hitler in Germany; Ministers’ calls in the 1940s; Georgians, the Depression and poverty at that time; People at Columbia, Rev. Richardson and his love for sports; Dr. Green at Columbia chopped wood for his exercise; Dr. Kerr (?) at Columbia and others; About Decatur Presbyterian; Came in 1954; Dr. Hugh Bradley has just retired and new sanctuary had just been completed; Talks about Dr. McCain, Dr. Wallace Alston; Decatur was a town of homes and churches; Churches started in partnership with the Presbytery; About Agnes Scott college faculty and students; About Decatur High School and integration; Decatur HS football support; About DeKalb government leadership; Mayor’s advisory committee; About his courtship and marriage; Questions: accomplishments of church and the retirement; Church sponsored Korean leper colony; Wilson rehabilitation hospital
2012.3.49 Talmadge Amberson, Part 1, September 1989– Introduction and brief personal background; Baptist history and church history; Calvinistic form of Baptist church at Charleston, SC; Origins of disagreements; Southern Baptists in the 1700s organized as an “Association”; Yellow River Association of 1824; What is now the Baptist Convention was organized in 1825; Migrations that spread Baptists after the Revolutionary War; Family history; Small farm families formed the nucleus of church growth; “Free Church” movement; John Wesley’s “Aldergate Experience”; The Anabaptists; Baptists in DeKalb County; Yellow River Association. of 1824 (Rock Mountain); Stone Mountain Association; Oldest Baptist church in DeKalb was Salem, organized in 1820; Those churches in the Atlanta Baptist Assn. (1910); Era of the 1950s; Questions: comment about Salem Baptist Church; Cemeteries and county churches; What is a “hardshelled Baptist”? Discussion on the concept of the Free Movement; Pastor’s role; No hierarchy in the Baptist church
2012.3.50 Talmadge Amberson, Part 2
2012.3.51 Willie Austin, Jr., – About the office of Marshall of the Court; Became Marshall in 1967; About county growth since 1967: Dunwoody, Lithonia, Klondike areas; Increase in legal papers served for the county by the Marshall’s office and nature of these legal services; About the Marshall’s Office functions; Legal service on property foreclosures, lawsuits, taxes, eviction; And unusual lawsuit involving a court order to recover a dead body from an accident; The problems created by narcotics on carrying out the work; Growth of the Court’s business (stats); Question about number of people working in the clerk’s office and comments about female employees; Levying against dairy farms; Redan, dairies and farms; Tucker and northern DeKalb in the late 1960s; Serving under various judges; Avondale in the “Driving Miss Daisy” movie; Personal history; Dr. Allgood of Avondale; How did he get into his line of work? What was the largest foreclosure? Decatur Street cars; Recollection of a pathetic eviction situation rescued by the Salvation Army
2012.3.52 Bobby Burgess, DeKalb County police & Cobb, lawyer in Decatur (first name inaudible), February 1990; Burgess family history in DeKalb; joined police department in 1957; prison farm near Memorial and Rockbridge; police killed in action; bootleggers; Cobb audio is very poor.
2012.3.53 William Breen, March 1990- Introduction and biography; Mayor of Decatur 1969-1970; Time before 1926-family and how he came to Decatur; Fulton family home and ground; The spring behind the house; The Dade-Sams on Avery Street and gatherings at the spring; Described his neighbors; Tragedies of Alvin Moore and the Rawlins boy; Milton Scott family; Columbia Seminary; Camping out and the Boy Scouts; McAfee Mill; Juvenile problems in the 1930s and 1940s; Summer camp and Decatur Boys High and grammar school plus Saturday mornings in Decatur; Businesses on the square; Audience Questions: What was McAfee’s Mill – a grist mill out Candler Street to McAfee Road; Dr. Charles Cunningham; How did you decide to become an architect? Who did you marry? How did you get interested in her? About Scott Candler; 1960s Decatur in urban renewal
2012.3.54 Dolores Stockard, April 1990- Para-professional school program in south DeKalb County; Harper family farm and general store in southwest DeKalb; Candler Road Glenwood intersection and commercial development problems and government social programs and grants; Arts in the marketplace program grants; Laotian needlework program grants; Soapstone Ridge and the Georgia Conservancy; Georgia State Artifacts Repository; DeKalb Scenes beautiful program; Question: Did Tom Davidson have a nickname?
2012.3.55 Bill Evans, May 1990- About his family; About the Lithonia stone cutters; Stone Mountain’s two paved roads; Grandaddy and hunting; Growing up in the Stone Mountain community; Stone Mountain street car and Halloween night tricks; Armand Hendee and Bill Evans climbing on the steep side of Stone Mountain; Collecting Indian artifacts around Stone Mountain; Memorial Drive residents and the building of the road to corner grocery store of Evansville; Grandaddy’s A-Model Ford; Fox hunting; Experiences in DeKalb County politics: mayor of Stone Mountain race; Simplicity of early county government; About dogs and the leash law; Charlie Emerich, county administrator following Claude Blount was responsible for combining water and sewage; DeKalb County efforts to get back the Chamblee Airport; City of Decatur growth; Questions: About the Stone Mountain Commemorative coin…what year?…1925; Story about the water meter at Agnes Scott, i.e. discovery that Scott Candler had never installed a meter at Agnes Scott; How did the road in front of his house get paved? (the road to nowhere); Boy’s school across from Stone Mountain Depot; The street car token controversy – 5 cents versus 7 cents; The street cars went to Korea where the Decatur-named car still bore the name; last street cars were in 1946; About his dad; DeKalb General Hospital; When was Memorial Drive paved? Late 1930s; Named for the Memorial carving on Stone Mountain; Scott Candler’s involvement in Lawson General Hospital; Scott Candler and the water/sewer system. Notes about the talk were made in 1990 at the time of the recording. Audio is poor quality, has not been transcribed.
2012.3.56 Tom J. Fountain, October 1990- His dad and the 1900s; Filling stations; Little 5 Points (Moreland and Euclid Avenue); East Lake Drive and College Ave.; 25 cent road service; “Lightning” Sam King; Service stations in the 1930s in DeKalb County and their owners; Gasoline storage and the EPA, government controls; Gas and oil dispatches changed by computer controls; Roy Walkers’ station in Decatur; Station operators’ personal service to the community; Audience Questions: Hayes Auto Service and Warren Howard; 1950s and 1960s; Changed in automobile and related communities, the strip centers and service station competition; When did Standard turn into Chevron? The break-up of the Standard Oil Company; About the earliest gas distribution stations at the hardware stores; Ice plant in Decatur; Where did he live and what schools did he attend? More about he various oil companies and how the owners’ personalities and community service made a difference; What about the service of cleaning windshields and the 1917 Atlanta fire?
2012.3.57a-d Daniel Hopkins, Jeanette Hopkins Livingston, Cora Cash Henderson, Frances Lanford, Willie Arnold- Tucker Baptist Church, 1993. First Baptist Church in Tucker celebrated 100 years. Some of the older members were interviewed. Dan and Jeannette Hopkins on the Tucker area; Schools, community teachers in 1934-36; About the USS Atlanta; People and places of businesses in Tucker; Woco Pep Service Station sells for $65.00 in 1930s; Residences in Tucker; The footwashing in 1913; Born 1905, remembers Tucker’s tornado; About the old Tucker Baptist Church, met once a month; Baptized in the creek; World War II in Tucker, what she did for recreation; Home remedies; Farm work; Nicknames; Describes the church; Washing of feet; Going to school; born in Gwinnett County (Snellville) and moved to Tucker in 1920s; Rev. C.C. Singleton’s ministry and the Ladies’ Aid; About the church building; Sunday school at both Methodist and Baptist churches; Memories of WWII; Rationing and war bonds
2012.3.58 C. Campbell, February 1991; very poor quality, no notes taken at time of recording
2012.3.59 Horis A. Ward, March 1991; South DeKalb businessman, former county commissioner, funeral home director. Audio is very poor quality, has not been transcribed. See also our Biographical files.
2012.3.60 Ga. State Convention, Sacred Harp, part I, March1995
2012.3.61 Ga. State Convention, Sacred Harp, part II, March 1995
2012.3.62 City of Dunwoody Remembers, February 1994- Early community; Ethel Warren came in 1933 to Dunwoody and lived there all her life; Davis born in Marietta and moved to Cave Springs as a boy; Elizabeth Davis was principal of Dunwoody Elementary School and lives on Chamblee-Dunwoody Road; After retiring, wrote “The Story of Dunwoody” with Ethel Warren; Only one school Chamblee High School was combined with Dunwoody Elementary School; 1961 – Opened Cross Keys school, then Sequoia and later Peachtree; Stories of growing up in the 1950s; Hunting and Murphy Candler Park; Driving in the early 1930s in the area; Playing baseball next to the railroad tracks; Old family cemetery, Dunwoody Cemetery; At school: Mrs. Chamber 4th and 5th grade teacher; Had to go for water for the school; Public well at Dunwoody and Nash’s Store; Cotton gin; Women of Dunwoody School; Old roads; Social events for Mr. Kellogg; Spelling bees; The Chestnut family; J.W. Warren family; Nash’s Store became Amoco Station in late 1950s; Land values; Mr. Davis – $8,000 for 63 acres; Recreation at Dunwoody; fishing and baseball
2012.3.63 Ira B. Melton, 1993- Significance of “I Remember Hour” and introduction by Sue Ellen Owens; 1935 and the charter for the city of Pine Lake, a private town, isolated by roads; Original lots 20×100, no building restrictions; Pine Lake vs. Mooney’s Lake; Lake filled with water from Snapfinger Creek; Police Chief Purvis; Indian campground along Snapfinger Creek; Wisteria Gardens; Japanese family – interred; Mrs. May of German descent among first citizens; F.W. Dodge; All streets were 30 feet r/w water and sewers taken over by county; Town security and mayor/city council; Questions: Schools in Clarkston and now Rockbridge Elementary; In 1948, built Shiloh Baptist Church; Carl Shaw was original owner who deeded land with reservations as to purpose; Where did Ira Melton live before moving to Pine Lake? Decatur; Story about city owning 1 foot around development; What kinds of businesses are allowed? Zoned first 200 feet for business; Grocery store and post office; Emory students sneaking in to skinny dip in lake; Personal history
2012.3.64 Cities of Tucker & Lithonia, 1994
2012.3.65 Virgil Hopkins, September 1991
2012.3.66 Roberts Brothers, November 1991
2012.3.67 Col. Tom Hensler, February 1993
2012.3.68 Joe Pugh on Baron DeKalb, Lunch & Learn, April 1994
2012.3.69 Sam Knuckles Remembers, June 1993
2012.3.70 Georgia State Convention of Sacred Harp/Shaped Note singers, Decatur, March 1994, concert; no transcription
2012.3.71 Margaret W. Pepperdene, Agnes Scott professor
2012.3.72 Paralympics Torch Relay, July 1996- video; no transcription
2012.3.73 Scottdale Black community, 1995- Black families in Scottdale read by a citizen; Tobie Grant on black churches, Avondale Colored High Schools, streets and community, facilities in the 1920s and schools.
2012.3.74 Georgians and the Holocaust; (for research purposes only)
2012.3.75 Making of the movie “Driving Miss Daisy”, 1990– Starts with live version of movie to explain the plot; Interview with Alfred Uhry; Was raised in Druid Hills; Explains his Atlanta heritage; Goes into the story of the play opening at the Alliance Theater and running 15 months; Interview with actor from play, Al Hamacher – he was a regional actor before this; William Hall actor – explains the attraction of the play; Interview with Mrs. Ultry; Explaining that the play is not exactly like the story it’s based on; Interview with T.J. Coleman-son of the real chauffeur; Interview with Morgan Freeman who played the chauffeur; Albert Ultry “wanted to show emotions of characters in 1930s”; Interview with the director; Atlanta has changed so much except Druid Hills; Talking about filming places in Atlanta, The Temple, Druid Hills; Interviews with people involved with bombing of the Temple; Rabbi Sugarman, Ailene Uhry talking about the plot of the movie; Interviews with producers of the movie and the production of the movie, casting; Interviews with Dan Akroyd, Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman; Making the set in Griffin; Interviews with producers of film; Conclusion with thoughts from actors, producers, the author and the Rabbi; The Real Miss Daisy; About the play and its actors with comments from Alfred Uhry; The play is a composite; Miss Fox, Will Coleman’s son interviewed; The emotional truth of what it was like to be in Atlanta then; Atlanta scenes filmed in Griffin, GA; Interview with Rabbi Sugarman about Temple bombing; “My aim is to entertain.” Al Uhry; Comments by Bruce Beresford, Director; “Wanted to write about prejudice without pointing blame.” Interview with Morgan Freeman about southern people; Comments “a love story: between the races; The making of the movie; Interview with Richard Zanuck, Andy Collins and the actors; Filming photographers; Editing and music; News-McNeil Lehrer News Hour – comments on political ads on TV in the 1990s gubernatorial races; Texas and California
2012.3.76 Mrs. Pauline Pounds and Swanton House, 1994
2012.3.77 Paige Perkins, Chamblee Remembers, November 1996
2012.3.78 DeKalb insurance agents: Jim Anderson, David Crosby, George Whiting, December 1995
2012.3.79 Olympics Torch Relay at Old Courthouse, July 1996
2012.3.80 Dr. Tom Keating, Saturday School, 1999
2012.3.81 Bobby Burgess (also see tape 52), March 1997
2012.3.82 Franklin Garrett, May 1995
2012.3.83 Liz Salter, Tom Preacher, Vera Hiller, June 1995, Druid Hills- 1925-14 houses between Ponce de Leon and N. Decatur, first neighbors were George and Irene Woodruff and on left the Harvey family. Early childhood memories; 1926-first grade at the Emory School in Fishburn building which became Druid Hills School; 1927-having a nurse, Victoria; Rogers Store and A&P, manager with the wooden leg; Druid Hills land office (later beauty shop); Shoe repair, jeweler, variety store, grocery store, theatre; The Carr home on Houston Mill Road; Houston Mill was re-activated in the 1920s; Claude Jones’ jitney, description; Mr. Monroe the nurseryman and gardener; Uncle is described, came twice a week $1 a day for 12 hours work; Bradley’s next door, barn and ponies; 1925-the Burke children in the rural areas out Clairemont, LaVista and North Druid Hills; The buttermilk lady; Tom Preacher interviewed – came to Springdale Road in 1922. Tudor home
2012.3.84 Walt Drake, Joe Pugh on Stephen Decatur and Baron DeKalb, April 1995
2012.3.85 DeKalb Historical Society 40th Anniversary Dinner, August 1987
2012.3.86 Jim Anderson on Mr. DeKalb, 1990
2012.3.87 Professor Clayton
2012.3.89 Mrs. Albert Burke, April 1992
2012.3.90 Winnona Park Neighborhood Association, March 12, 1991; video is poor quality, but audio is fine
2012.3.92 Brad Pepham, Max Cleland, Mike Mears, Clement Archie
2012.3.93 Decatur’s 175th Anniversary
2012.3.96 Sacred Harp/Shaped Note Singers concert; no transcription
2012.3.97 Decatur High School Desegregation, February 24 1999, Decatur Business Bureau event (see flyer in DHS yearbook 1999)
2012.3.98 Clarkston
2012.3.99 Dolly Wolf, Evelyn Boring, Margaret Carf, Cecil Beach – Decatur Library; June 1997
2012.3.100 Dr. Ruth Schmidt, first female president of Agnes Scott College, 1994
2012.3.101 Manuel Maloof, a video retrospective. 4 minutes. Produced by Peregrine Productions, Atlanta, GA., copyright 1992 (for research only)
2012.3.102 Dr. Wade Huie, Jr., April 14, 1998
2012.3.103 Ken Thomas on genealogy, 1997- How to trace your family history; Sudden interest in family history; Where to start. Family bible or knowledge. Then National Archives at East Point. The Georgia Archives. Public libraries; Put it on a chart and organize your material, computer programs; Other places: Mormon branch Library, Tucker; British Parish records, local families of DeKalb at DeKalb History Center; Local historians, cemetery records, Memorial Day visits to family cemeteries, family reunions; Stumbling blocks: evaluating the information from family stories. Multiple ways of spelling names and nicknames; Average time it takes – a lot in just a few hours; Classes offered, beginning, intermediate and advanced; Journals and records; What should families keep in the nature of records; videotapes are valuable in filling in reasons for history. Labeling photos. Various resources, Boy Scout merit badges pamphlet; to our children’s children, American given names, Civil War ancestors Guide, Research in Georgia, annual update of historical societies; Researching family names, Jewish names, foreign names, churches; County histories, street names; Negative aspect encountered; Adoption records
2012.3.104 Earnest Adkins, MD, DeKalb Medical Center, February 27, 1997
2012.3.106 Congressman Mackay retirement party, Decatur Federal Skyroom, March 16, 1989
2012.3.107 Sue Ellen Owens & Walt Drake on Stephen Decatur, 1997
2012.3.108 Attorney Noah Stone, 1980s? (see also 2012.3.38)
2012.3.109 Justice in DeKalb, Session One, February 1999: Tom Davis, Clarence Peeler, Edward Wheeler; March 1990
2012.3.113 Congressman John Lewis, 1998
2012.3.125 a) old courthouse roof repairs b) Mr. Bill Brice? c) Presentation of Pike County book d) Bill Hall (Robb?) dinner and roast; 1990
2012.3.136 Guss Simpson, 1991
2012.3.137 Mrs. James Mackay on Clarkston
2012.3.138 Bedros Sharian
2012.3.139 C. Judson Ward on the US Constitution, November 1987
2012.3.146 Betty Asbury Hosts: The history of Doraville with Boyce Creel, Fannie Mae Jett, July 1999
2012.3.150 Who Runs Georgia?, featuring authors Calving Kytle and James Mackay, November 10 1998
2012.3.152 Scott Candler, Sr. Honored at DeKalb Historical Society meeting, September 1971
2012.3.153 Wilbur Kurtz, Jr., Guest Speaker at DeKalb Historical Society meeting, May 1971
2012.3.162- “Then and Now” with Ken Thomas, 175 Year celebration of DeKalb, 1997
2012.3.163- “Then and Now” with Walt Drake, 175 Year celebration of DeKalb, 1997
2012.3.164- “Then and Now” with Richard Sams, 175 Year celebration of DeKalb, 1997
2012.3.165 East Lake Country Club, 1997
2012.3.166 Walter McCurdy, 1997
2012.3.167 DeKalb historic courthouse clock, 1997
2012.3.168 Rebecca Latimer Felton (re-enactment), 1997
2012.3.169 Caroline Ridley Howard, 1997
2012.3.170 Jim Perkins, 1997
2012.3.171 Narvie J. Harris, 1997
2012.3.172 Elias Nour on PBS, March 1987; (for research only)
2012.3.191 James Mackay at Druid Hills High School Black History Celebration, February 27, 1996
2012.3.192 Assisting Crime Victims during the Olympic Games, copyright 1996, Presented by the Office For Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice, Developed by the National Crime Prevention Council, Washington D.C., produced by Cinema Associates (for research only)
2012.3.200 The Jeanes Supervisors: Striving to Educate. Copyright 1994, Breaking New Ground Productions (for research only)
2012.3.208 Popham seminar, featuring Who Runs Georgia? authors Calvin Kytle and James Mackay, also Cliff Kuhn, June 21 1998
2012.3.210 Oakhurst Presbyterian, African American history, September 27 1999, Caroline Leach, minister (majority of the interview is inaudible due to recording issues; video seems fine, only partially transcribed.)
2012.3.211 Flag Forum, January 28 1993
2012.3.212 C. Judson Ward on Emory, October 22 1997
2012.3.213- “A Most Bold and Daring Man” – Stephen Decatur by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, copyright 1993 (for research only)
2012.3.332 Chamblee 75th Anniversary: mayors, councilmen, Mayor Dub Brown and the city logo. Nancy Creek and Prospect churches, Franklin Garrett speaks, citizens remember and brief history on the area, May 1983
2012.3.341 Clarkston Talk by Franklin Garrett of Atlanta Historical Society given at DeKalb College in the Fine Arts Auditorium, September 1982. This is audio only and the quality is poor. It has not been transcribed.
