So, in the first several years of the existence of the Laurens County Airport, officials began to think of ways to aid pilots the location of the airport.
In conjunction with other cities in Georgia, the Civil Aeronautics Commissions, the Georgia Aviation School, headed by Bud Barron, and the Dublin Junior Chamber of Commerce sought out and were granted permission to paint a sign on top of one pf the city’s largest roofs, that of the Dublin Theater, later the Martin Theater and now Theater Dublin, directing pilots flying over the city the course and coordinates of the airport.
The sign read: Dublin - 32 degrees 34 seconds North , 84 degrees 00 seconds West
with an arrow pointing to the northwest. Dublin Courier Herald, October 10, 14, 1947.
THE LAST ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE - Burch’s Academy, located beyond the run of Alligator Creek, was closed in September, 1937. The last one room school house in Laurens County, the Academy served students west of Cedar Grove. The eleven-grade, eleven-teacher Cedar Grove School then became the largest county school. Dublin Courier Herald, September 10, 1937.
I CAN’T HEAR THE BELL - “Silent Stafford,” born deaf and dumb, fought veteran amateur “Fighting Coot” Cooper in an 8-round fight on October 11, 1937 at the Colored Fairgrounds on South Washington Street in October 1937. The event was held to raise money for the Washington Street High football team. Stafford, who lost his first four professional fights, fell victim to Dublin’s Sugar Ray Robinson, in his second professional bout, at the Municipal Auditorium in Savannah. Stafford, a featherweight from Savannah, fought and lost to Augusta’s Beau Jack, a future Lightweight Champion of the World. In his 6th and last professional fight, Silent defeated Johnny Blackfoot, back in his hometown of Savannah. Dublin Courier Herald, October 8, 1937.
GREEN EGGS - George Prescott, a feed inspector for the Georgia Department of Agriculture, would not divulge the secret of his chickens’ freakish green-yoked eggs. Only stating that his White Leghorn hens ate an undisclosed, non-chemical laden, diet of feed, Prescott proudly displayed his brilliant, bright green centered eggs, which turned to the normal yellow after a dozen days. About 16 months later, Eva Knight, of Brunswick reported similar colored eggs. Dublin Courier Herald, October 22, 25, 1937, January 24, 1939.
WELL, I’LL BE A MONKEY’S UNCLE! - When workers began remodeling Sandy Ford Baptist Church west of Dublin, they had no idea of what they were going to find. It is not unusual for construction workers to leave empty bottles, packs of cigarettes, or even their tools inside as they cover the walls. J.H. Horne at first did not believe his eyes, but he quickly figured out the strange object inside the wall. It seems that back in the 1920s and early 1930s, the church grounds were used as a campground for traveling tourists. Horne hypothesized that one traveler left the object behind when he resumed his trip. However, in this case, it seems that this particular object would be difficult to miss as the traveler packed up to leave. For the object that Horne was very are. He found the mummified remains of a monkey. Dublin Courier Herald, July 1, 1937.
SAWYERS DRAW BLOOD - E. G. Daniel, Sr. and his son E.G. Jr. were sawing a large lightwood stump when they noticed blood on their saw blade. They quickly discovered that they had sawed into and cut a 5-foot, dove-colored snake into two pieces. Dublin Courier Herald, March 10, 1937.
IS THAT A DEER? Most people living near wooded areas around Cadwell had never seen a live deer in their community. According to the History of Laurens County, Georgia, 1807-1941, there were “no deer in Laurens County.” Only around that time did the game wardens and local hunters decide to reintroduce them into the woods as most deer had been killed for food in the last century. J.B. Bedingfield, had been noticing deer tracks in the area for about a year, stated that the last deer killed in the area was one shot by his grandfather, D. Tom Warren. In fact, the family still proudly displayed its antlers. So, when a quite large deer was spotted in the area, anyone who had a gun jumped into action to see if they could bag a trophy. J.P. Carter, Sr. and his son, J.P. Carter, Sr., saw the 13-point deer first and opened fire. The elder Carter got into the first shot. His son fired the fatal shot. To make things more interesting, the 200-250 pound deer had turned white with age. Dublin Courier Herald - November 5, 1947.
RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT - You might think that traditional, red, green, and yellow traffic lights hung over the intersection of Dublin’s main streets for a very long time. In fact, it wasn’t until 1947 that drivers were given three-colored traffic signals. Before then, police officers were stationed at intersections or mechanical signs with red and green colored flags were all that drivers had to guide them through the city’s busy intersections.
A.J. Weaver, the Chairman of the Dublin City Council’s Police Committee, oversaw the installation of the first lights, six of which were placed at the eastern and western ends of the courthouse square. Others would installed on a as needed basis. The project, which included parking meters, was part of Mayor Flannery Pope’s plan to ease parking and driving conditions in a rebounding city following the war. Dublin Courier Herald, November 19, 1947.
FROM ONE DUBLIN TO ANOTHER - When Ferrell Chapman, of Dublin, Georgia, read where J.D. Dublin, of Smithfield, North Carolina, was in a bad way and in dire need of funds to pay for a wheelchair, he immediately wrote out a check for $20.00 and sent it to Mr. Dublin. The State, Columbia, S.C. September 23, 1947.
THE NAVY TO THE RESCUE - Ensign Ullman, of the U.S. Naval Hospital in Dublin, was transporting 15 new Navy corpsmen to the Marine Base at Parris Island, South Carolina when they came upon an accident near Savannah involving six African Americans in one vehicle and three white men in the other. The accident, which happened just minutes before the arrival of the trainees, was caused in part because of a torrential rainfall in progress.
With no medical supplies except one first aid kit, the corpsmen set up a field hospital in an abandoned sawmill close by. Using discarded boards, they applied splints to broken limbs and used their uniform shirts for bandages and slings. The corpsmen waited with the victims until the ambulances arrived. The Gaffney S.C. Ledger, August 2, 1947.
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