1925: This and that

 SOUVENIR HALF DOLLAR – General James A. Thomas, the commanding general of the United Confederate Veterans and a native of Dublin, was presented the fifth ever minted Stone Mountain commemorative half dollar coin in 1925. Berea Citizen, June 11, 1925.

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY – It was said that there was once a spot five miles from where Laurens, Dodge, Telfair and Montgomery join, where it rained day and night. The 50-foot by 100-foot area, some 300 yards from Gum Swamp Creek, experienced a misty rain regardless of seasonal and weather changes. Atlanta Journal, May 22, 1925.

LOOK UP IN THE SKY! – In the early spring of 1925, Dubliners observed a new and interesting sight above the Radford Place north of Dublin at the intersection of present-day Claxton Dairy Road and Brookwood Drive. What they saw would become a normal method of agriculture for decades to come.  A crop-dusting pilot came to Dublin to demonstrate his skills at eradicating plant bugs. Atlanta Journal April 4, 1925.

IT WAS SO HOT? – Well, it was so hot in the summer of 1925, one of the hottest and driest ever, that kernels of corn were popping in the fields. To prove his case, “Cap” Woodward brought in an ear of corn from the Shewmake place to the offices of the Dublin Courier Herald.  One eighth of the kernels had already popped open, and the remainder were in the process of bursting wide open. Valdosta Times, Sept. 24, 1925.

TOP SECRETARY – In the early 20th Century, the position of “Commercial Secretary” was held primarily by men. When Georgia’s commercial secretaries organized into a state-wide organization in 1925, they chose Dublin’s W.H. Proctor as the group’s first state president. Macon News, April 30, 1925.

THE LONGEST TOBACCO ROW –  J.A. Wolfe, a Laurens County farmer,  wanted his tobacco crop to be a little different in 1925.  He thought he would forsake the tradition of planting parallel rows and just plant one row. He started plowing and planting at the beginning point without pausing.  Back and forth without missing a plant, the single row was measured at seven and one-half miles. Laurens County Farm Supervisor, M.E. Fagg, reaffirmed the national record length of the row as it criss-crossed over terraces.   The distance is comparable to the distance from the front of the Dublin Mall to the City of Dudley. Valdolsta Times, May 26, 1925.

MOTHER MULE – “Mother” was a regular sight on the streets of Dublin, Ga, from 1910 to 1925.  A mule, belonging 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.  Macon Telegraph Aug. 14, 1925. 

PISTOL PACKING MAMMA – In the early days of February 1925, Mrs. J.R. Rooks was convicted of a misdemeanor in a Laurens County Superior Court. Now, Mrs. Rooks, who admitted she was just borrowing a friend’s gun,  was not your typical miscreant lawbreaker. Mrs. Rooks, a widow, was convicted of “pistol toting” or carrying a concealed pistol without a license. Newspaper accounts stated that Mrs. Rooks, sentenced to pay a fine of one dollar and court costs, was the first woman in Georgia convicted of the crime. The conviction brought to the forefront the move to ban the carrying of concealed weapons, a move applauded by the Laurens County Grand Jury. Macon Telegraph, Feb. 13, 1925.

A BUNNY  BIT ME! – Oliver Moore was strolling through his dying pasture when he felt something touching his leg.  When he swatted a rascally rabbit, the meek bunny turned into a bulldog and sank his teeth into Moore’s leg. Moore recovered after Dr. Ovid Cheek cleared him of having rabies.  Valdosta Times, Oct. 21, 1925.

SAVED BY THE DOME  – Over the centuries, hundreds of buildings in Laurens County have been burned to the ground by lightning. On Palm Sunday, April 5, 1925, during Sunday School, a bolt of lightning struck the dome of the Cadwell Baptist Church. There was no fire, only a 10-inch hole in the fireproof dome. Macon Telegraph April 7, 1925.