When you think about it, all news is trivia, at least to the apathetic and the ignorant. Some things are well, much more trivial than others. While these excerpts will never make their way into the historical annals of Laurens County, they are worth mentioning here, before time trivializes them into extinction.
NO HONEY BOO BOO - J.B. Jones had a way of making things easier. He rarely made mistakes in his designs. A bee keeper by avocation, Jones built his bee boxes in the normal manner. To cut corners, Jones placed quart and half gallon jars on a partition in the middle of the box. The jars had a hole so that the bees could crawl up into the jar, which was covered to prevent all light from coming in. The bees would go up into the glass and fill each jar with the best honey. When the jars were full, Jones simply flipped them over and put a air tight lid on to keep his product clean, fresh and oh, so sweet! Springfield Missouri Leader, June 19, 1895.
ONE STUPID POSSUM - Mrs. W. W. Lane was in her kitchen fixing breakfast one morning when she noticed something, seemingly alive. Mrs. Lane noticed a real live possum under her table. So, she asked Mr. Lane to capture the creature and take him to the pen to fatten up and clean out the mistaken marsupial for a fine dinner. Huntington Indiana Herald, September 18, 1919.
PISTOL BLUE PERSUASION - John Hester loved Alice Cobb so much that he went to Mrs. Cobb to ask for her daughter's hand in marriage. The problem was that John was 14 and Alice, a very mature 12 years old. Mrs. Cobb sent John, swearing vengeance, on his way. The next day, Hester, somewhat drunk, reappeared and vowed to take his beloved even if he had to whip an army.
While Mrs. Cobb was cooking a Monday night supper, Hester pulled out a pistol, pointed it at the shocked mother and demanded that she consent. Fearing for her life, Mrs. Cobb agreed and the couple were married by a local parson within an hour and a half. Huntington Weekly Herald, October 16, 1891.
THE FIGHTING FELLOWS OF FLAT ROCK - In the 1890s, Justice of the Peace Court was held at the militia courthouse at Flat Rock, a couple of miles south of present day Minter in Laurens County. On every 4th Saturday, complainants and criminals were brought before the local Justice of the Peace, whose courtroom consisted of a wooden desk and bench positioned under an umbrageous pine tree. In one of the first cases on the docket, John Hester, possibly our determined suitor, and Louis Pope presented their case before the court.
Hester accused Pope of doing wrong. Pope took offense and a tempestuous tussle ensued. All of a sudden the fight moved to the bench scattering the judge and a stack of Georgia code books onto the sandy, pine needle laden soil Justice Thigpen implored the combatants to bring order in the court. Intent on mauling each other, the men continued their fray. Bailiffs and law abiding citizens stood by and enjoyed the fracas until enough was enough and the matter was settled out of court.
Messers Barfield and Horton were next on the docket. The two long time feuders realized the finality of settling their differences out of court, commenced to fight it out. Barfield pulled out his knife and charged his antagonist after Horton cursed at him. Only the intervention of bystanders kept the men from killing or severely wounding each other.
Horton, still on an adrenaline high, began a quarrel with old man Beatty. This time the bailiffs pulled out their bud nippers and ended the foolishness on the spot. Amazingly, Justice Thigpen imposed no fines for contempt of court. Atlanta Constitution, March 5, 1895.
ABSENTEE LAND OWNER -. Crawford W. Long, the discoverer of ether, once owned a 202 acre tract of land in Laurens County. Long and his brother-in- law, Giles Mitchell, were given the land by Long's father, James Long, in 1848. The land, designated as Land Lot 287 of the 22nd Land District, was sold to Quinn L. Harvard in 1862. Today you can find the land by traveling west from hte Dudley exit on I-16 beginning about a half mile west of the exit and extending another half mile, on both sides of the highway. Deed Book P, pages 15 through 17, Laurens County Records.
WHO CARES ABOUT IT? - San Soucci Creek flows in the Buckeye District of Laurens County. The creek, which is located along the northern part of the old Blackshear Place, gets its name for a obscure French phrase which means "without care." Deed Book 136, page 719, Laurens County Records.
BIG NIGHT AT THE OL' FISHING HOLE - It was a fall day in October 1873 when Messers Fuqua, Scanlon and Montford went down to the Oconee River for some night fishing. During the darkness, the men used a net to snare 13 sturgeons weighing in the aggregate 1712 pounds. Macon Telegraph, October 21, 1873.
WATERMELON MAN - Thomas Fuqua loved to eat watermelons, but just could not figure out how to preserve them for eating many months later. So, he tried packing one in a container of cotton seed. The summer fruit was still fit for eating in March of the following year. Here it will be said that it was his ancestor, Henry C. Fuqua, who is credited for discovering the use of cotton seed as a fertilizer. Macon Telegraph, March 5, 1878.
FAMOUS FRIENDS - Alex Moffett of Dublin served in the Confederate Army in Co. B of the 2nd Battalion of the Georgia Volunteer Infantry. Moffett served with the Macon Volunteers from May 29, 1861 until he was discharged on Sept. 11, 1861. One of his company mates who also transferred out of the company was a local Macon boy, who later became known for his poetry. He was Private Sidney C. Lanier. Moffett's wife's sister married Dr. Joseph LeConte. Dr. Leconte was known world wide as a leading geologist and chemist in the 1800s. Roster of the Confederate Soldiers of Georgia, Vol. 6, pp. 790-1.
STAR TEACHER - Enda Ballard Duggan, of Dublin, once held the position of principal and teacher at McRae High School where she was saluted by a student as his best teacher. When the student grew up to be a successful man, he never forgot his favorite teacher, staying in contact with her on a regular basis. That student was a future governor of Georgia and United States Senator, Herman Talmadge. LCN 5/12/1975, p. 4.
IN MEMORY OF HEROES - Laurens County built its first public hospital in 1952. Ten years later in the fall of 1962, Laurens County changed the name of its hospital to Laurens Memorial Hospital to honor those Laurens Countians who had died in all of the wars. Two decades later, the hospital was purchased by Hospital Corporation of America and was renamed Fairview Park. Portions of the building are now occupied by Middle Georgia State College. DCH, 10/13, 1962, p. 1.
FAST MAN FOR FURMAN - Robbie Hahn starred with the great Dublin Irish teams of the 1960s. Hahn played football for Furman University, where as a sophomore split end, he set school records for pass receiving. In 1966, Hahn was named Co-National Lineman of the Week. In 1966 Hahn set a Southern Conference record for most yards receiving in a game with 178. His 81 yard touchdown reception against George Washington University set a conference record for longest pass reception. In 1967, Hahn set three conference records and tied another in 1967. He finished his career being named to the all Southern Conference team, as well as honorable mention on the national All-American team. DCH 12/10/1966, p. 3, 10/31/1966, 12/8/1967.
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