THIS AND THAT IN 1922
People wanted to have fun. They wanted to play games. Women gravitated toward the harmless game of bridges. The Laurens County Grand Jury considered bridge an evil game and threatened to arrest even the most erudite women players even in their own homes.
In January, the city of Dublin allowed the operation of pool halls with a high license fee of $1500.00 a year. Within two weeks, two Syrian pool hall operators, Pete Thomas and Azor Pharis, were indicted for conducting gambling inside their place of business. The two men were also charged with allowing minors to play on the billiard tables.
Boxing was the most popular non-team sport in Laurens County. Dublin had its own successful boxer. His name was Bill McGowan. McGowan went on the be Champion of Canada in his weight class. McGowan hitched his star to one of the best boxing stables anywhere around, the Stribling family out of Macon. Young Stribling, who sparred with McGowan, went on to be a highly heralded boxer. His brother, Herbert “Baby” Stribling, made serveral appearances in the makeshift boxing rings in Dublin.
Hunting wild game was a necessity for many men in the 1920s. The wealthier men took great pleasure in participating in organized hunts. Izzie Bashinski, one of Dublin’s most revered businessmen, was arrested along with eleven friends including the mayor, was arrested for shooting migratory birds (doves) out of season. The “dirty dozen” included postmaster M.J. Guyton, W.B. Werden, R.L. Tindol, and other prominent businessmen.
Sometimes people don’t have a gun when they need one. An eight-year-old named Brit went into a field on the Davis place in the Buckeye District. All of a sudden, a large gobbler turkey jumped out of the brush and began to bite and beat the boy with her wings. The boy triumphed and took the twenty two pound hen for a heart meal for his family. Jordan Ellington were out in the swamps around Dublin seeking to shoot a fat turkey hen for Christmas. And so was, Lee Davis, who heard the distinct call of the delicious bird. When Ellington uttered his realistic turkey call, Davis fired, striking Ellington, the turkey who got himself shot by another turkey right before Christmas
A good businessman sees a need and fills it. Wallace Smith of Dublin realized that the people of Dublin needed an alternate way of traveling to Macon. Instead of traveling by train, Smith establish a successful bus line between the two cities.
Although many of the banks in Dublin had closed or merged in the five previous years, a new bank, the Georgia State Bank opened a branch in Dublin.
November 1, 1922 was a sad day in Dublin. Everyone’s “Uncle Jerry” died. Lowther was known to be one hundred and four years old. Born into slavery, Jerry Lowther operated his master’s plantation during the war. Lowther became a skilled blacksmith and operated his own shop on the Old Hawksinsville Road, now Bellevue Avenue. The shop was located near the ancient oaks which stand on the Will and Natalie Curry home (2022.)
“Aunt Dossie” Wilson was almost old enough to be Jerry Lowther’s mother. Born in the year 1805, Ms. Wilson was known to be one of the oldest woman in state. She was born in North Carolina and sold as a slave to John Manson of Wilkinson County. Despite her advanced age, Wilson was in good physical shape with a good appetite and a clear mind.
Lewis Cleveland Pope devoted most of his life to serving his state and country in the Georgia National Guard. Pope joined the local guards while in high school in Dublin in the late 1800s. He was made a Captain during World War I. In 1919, Pope was appointed Captain of Company A of the 121st Georgia Infantry, which was headquartered in Dublin. The local unit became known as the first company of the modern national guard unit in the South. In 1922, Pope was elevated to Adjutant General of the state organization. Pope served for more than four decades, dying as a colonel in World War II. Adjutant Pope’s brother, Charles Flannery Pope was promoted to Captain of the local company of the National Guard. He too went on to serve for decades.
Arguments about erecting commercial buildings have not gone away since 1922. One of the most contentious battles arose when Dr. E.B. Claxton and Dr. E.R. Brigham wanted to build a hospital among the grand homes of Bellevue Avenue. Their petition was denied. The doctors fought a futile battle all the way up to the Supreme Court of Georgia. In the decade which followed, the duo opened a hospital on Bellevue Avenue. Dr. Claxton established his own hospital in the 1930s.
Public appearances of the Ku Klux Klan in Dublin were surprisingly rare. On February 23, the friends and family of Mrs. C.E. Baggett laid her to rest. As the her body was lowered into the cold ground, an octette of white-robed klansmen appeared at her grave. The men marched in dead and respectful silence through the mourners and placed a wreath of flowers at her head. The large floral tribute read “In appreciation of the life of a good woman. Dublin Klan 108, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.” Without a single word uttered, the group vanished as quickly as they appeared. Meanwhile the mourners stood by as if they were paralyzed.
With the collapsed of cotton due to the invasion of the boll weevil, most people were highly concious of price. The city of Dublin wanted to make sure that people were getting what they paid for. A five-cent haircut was easy to measure. The same could be said the of five-cent shoe shine. In tough times, there were those boot blackers who wanted to double their fee to a dime. The city proclaimed that the dime a shine was now a part of the ancient past. The first standard nickel loaf of bread was put on sale by a local grocer in January.
The year saw an event which made history in Georgia. Mrs. Annie Anderson was appointed to serve as the county’s first judge of what became the Juvenile Court. The appointment by Superior Court Judge, J.L. Kent, made Mrs. Anderson, the first female judge in the history of the state, was made in hopes that she would be more understanding of the children under her jurisdiction.
The second Boy Scout troop outside of Dublin was founded in Dexter in October 1922. The troop was led by Professor Shippey of the Dexter school, Dr. J.E. New, H.W. Daniel and T.C. Methvin.
Farmers in Laurens County organized in mass to promote the new creameries in Dublin and into separate groups to promote the increased and diversified hogs, chickens, eggs, dairy products, watermelons, and even cucumbers.
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