THE ET CETERA CHRONICLES - VOL. 58
CHIEF CHECKER OF ANIMALS - R.L. Rountree, a native of Dublin and former alderman, served as the Chief Inspector for the Georgia Department of Game & Fish in the latter half of the 1920s.
BEWARE THE BOLL WEEVIL - In the winter of 1925, Dublin and Laurens County actually celebrated “Boll Weevil Day.” The celebration was designed to bring about more awareness of the need to kill the devilish insect which had all but destroyed major portions of the local cotton crop for the last decade.
A NEW ENTERPRISE - Rev. W.R. Mack was the first African-American to publish a newspaper in Dublin. The “Dublin Enterprise” was in operation from 1904 to 1908.
SMOKER’S DREAM - J.A. Wolfe, a Laurens County farmer, set out to do the unusual while planting his tobacco crop in 1925. Wolfe began his row of tobacco on a hillside and kept planting in an unbroken line a series of mazes until he reached seven and one half miles. There were few experts who could defeat Wolfe’s claim that he had the longest row of tobacco in the world.
MOTHER MULE - “Mother” was a regular sight on the streets of Dublin, Georgia from 1910 to 1925. A mulebelonging to the Georgia Warehouse & Compress Company, “Mother,” handled by “Professor Batts,” hauled about 45 million pounds of cotton, worth about $8,000,000.00 during her career. Grateful for her services, the owners put “Mother” into a green pasture to spend the rest of her life.
A ELITE GROUP OF GEORGIANS - In the history of Georgia, only eight men have served as Governor of Georgia, United States Senator from Georgia, and as a member of the United States House of Representatives. The first five are John Milledge, Wilson Lumpkin, Alfred Colquitt, James Jackson, and John Forsyth. Sixth on the list is George Walton, who was Judge of Montgomery County and Washington County Superior Courts, which had jurisdiction over the eastern side of Laurens County. Seventh was George M. Troup, a long time resident of Laurens County. Last is Thomas Hardwick, who moved to Dublin in 1925 to establish his law practice and a newspaper, “The Georgia Free Lance,” here. Hardwick is the
only one to achieve this remarkable feat in the 20th Century.
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SENATOR, CONGRESSMAN, GOVERNOR THOMAS HARDWICK
BEHIND THE LEGION - The wives of George C. Ingram, Kendrick Moffett, Theron Woodard, W.S. Dennis, T.W. Lester, Milo Smith, S.A. Stovall, Paschall Phillips, and M.C. Holcomb joined together to form the first women’s auxillary unit of Post No. 17 of the American Legion in Dublin in February 1927.
BASKETBALL GOES INDOORS - Laurens County’s first indoor basketball court was constructed in 1928. Named for school Superintendent A.J. Hargrove, the building was originally designed to seat 1,350 persons for games. During the off season, chairs would be placed on the court to form a large auditorium. The gym was located in Stubbs Park on North Calhoun Street on the present site of the current Stubbs Park Gym.
LAST ONE OUT BRING THE FLAG ! - Wanda J. Stine, a two-year resident of Dublin, was among the last few Americans on the staff of U.S. Ambassador Graham Martin, who boarded U.S. helicopters in evacuating the American Embassy in Saigon, Vietnam on April 29, 1975. As told to the author.
I MEANT TO DO THAT - H.W. Whitman, the receiver of the First National Bank of Dublin, drove his first shot off the No. 1 directly into the cup. Problem was that Whitman’s ace went over tall trees and a boggy branch into the cup of the second hole green, some 235 yards away. Dublin Courier Herald . August 5, 1929.
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