50 years ago: February 18, 1975

Dublin Courier Herald

SAM NUNN DAY

     By Doug Hall

Back in the days of old, large crowds gathered on courthouse squares and in revival tents to hear fiery orators deliver rhetoric-filled, hour-long speeches from the stump,

Dublin had its share.

In the late fiftes, tens of thousands were said to have filled the streets when Ernest Vandiver announced from the steps of the Laurens County Courthouse that he was a candidate for governor.

And Dr. J.L. Smalley for years attracted governors, senators, congressmen, commissioners of state departments, educators, and politicos from across Georgia to his annual get togethers where they nibbled on his favorite delicacies, stuffed down barbeque, and other wise just chewed the fat.

But along came a thing called Watergate, and with it an alleged end to these gatherings, skeptics predicted.

Politial apathy, topped by deep mistrust and lack of confidence in government killed off the old political rallies. Those days days were gone, they said.

Well if the skeptics are right, 3,000 people turning up at a rural high school in middle Georgia and stuffing down 950 pounds of barbeque, then sitting through three hours of speeches, speeches, and more speeches by senators, governors, and the like is not the same as the good old days – and grits ain’t barbecue.

McGrath Keen siad it best, “We haven’t seen this many dignitaries in this county since 1935 -when Dizzy Dean came to town to play a baseball game. And I don’t think this many people turned out to see him.”

But Saturday night it was 1975; the man was Sam Nunn, not Old Diz, nor Ole Gene – although his son was there; these people who came knew all about Watergate, political distrust, and lack of confidence.

They heard Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia say, “Though Sam’s tenure in the Senate of the United States is of relatively recent vintage, his performance already as a legislator indicates that he will have no difficulty in maintaining the very high level of senatorial representation that the State of Georgia has always enjoyed.”

And they heard Senator Talmadge say of Byrd, a possible presidential candidate in 1976, “Bob Byrd is worthy of any office within the gift of the people of the United States of America.”

Light-hearted moments abounded. Like when Byrd, unaware of governor George Busbee’s campaign slogan, described Nunn as a “workhorse” in the Senate, not a “showhorse.” 

Busbee, in jest, referred to Byrd as the “miracle whip” of the Senate. Actually, Byrd is the “majority whip.”

And Dublin Mayor Robert E, Cochran got tongue twisted and said that Nunn is making “steady promises.” He meant “steady progress.”

As was expected, here were repeated referencesto the late Senator Richard B Russell and to former Congressman Carl Vinson, who shared the stage with his nehew,SamNnn.

Byrd, who was made majority whip by a proxy vote cast by Russell several hours before he died, said, “There was no man whom I had met in my lifetime for whom I had higher admiration and respect than I had for Dick Russell.”

Nunn said it was his uncle, Representative Vinson, whose farsightedness on the House Armed Services Committee saved America when the Japanesdestroyed most of hr fleet at Pearl Harbor.

But the night belonged ot Nunn.

“When he gets up on the Senate floor to sak, we know that here is a young man who has done his home work,” Byrd stated, “and we listen.”

Talmadge noted that Senator John Stennis of Mississippi, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on which Nunn serves, sent the Perry Democrat to Europe to analyze American military strength there, and the report he made resulted in a reduction of troops there. He has just returned from Southeast Asia at Stennis’ request, and he will prepare another similar report on the U.S. military role in Vietnam.

Mayor Cochran read a proclamation declaring “Sam Nunn Day in Dublin,” and both Governor George Busbee and former Governor Marvin Griffin spoke highly of Nunn.

Byrd’s speech was both a testament to Nunn, and what many said, a “proving ground” for his possible presidential campaign in 1976. 

Arms slinging, fingers pointng, Byrd said, ” I want to talk with you just for a little while about our great country and its neeed for national leadership.” 

He led an emotionally charged cheer for the Democratic Party as the “saviour of the nation” and jumped on President Ford’s oil import tariff with both feet, calling it “The wrong approach to reducing our dependence on undependable foreign oil sources.

“The rippling effect of Mr. Ford’s tariff on oil will have an impact throughout the economy and will be felt by every man, woman, boy, and girl in this country. Manufacturing and industrial operating costs will go up. The American consumer will pay the bill.”

Following his speech, Byrd almost brought the house down with a mountain melody he sang and accompanied himself on the fiddle.

The “Thank you, Sam Nunn” program was organized by several key Nunn supporters from middle Georgia and Atlanta. On the committee were Jim Hammock of Dublin, J.M. Tolleson and Malcolm Reese of Perry, Charles Adams of Macon, Marvin Shoob and Ed Sieb of Atlanta.

Several local people were included on the program; President of the Dublin-Laurens Chamber of Comemrce McGrath Keen made the welcome; Mayor Cochran read the Proclamation; Reverend Jim Rush gave the invocation; Peggy Nelson sang the national anthem.

A huge banner across the Lauren County Courthouse Square proclaims,”Downtown Merchants Welcome Sam Nunn,” and American flags are flying along Jackson Street.

A large crowd from Senator Nunn’s home town, Perry, is expected to make the trip in a motorcade, and several busloads are expected from middle Georgia counties.

BID FOR AMBULANCE APPROVED

The Laurens County Commissioners approved the bid by Community Ambulance Service for operating the county ambulance service for the coming year, but then agreed to ask for a study commission of county citizens to explore ways to handle the ambulance service in the future.

Commission Chairman Tal Fuqua said that now there are three approaches that can be taken to the ambulance service:

1. Locating the service at the Laurens Memorial Hospital

2. Locating the service at the Dublin Fire Department

3. Handling the service as a county emergency service

He said that other possiblilities could be discussed by a citizens’ panel which he hopes the Commisioners will appoint at the next meeting.

The bid by Community was $29,985. The only other bid came from Stanley Funeral Home and was higher.

In other business, the Commissioners approved the bid by Graves and Kellam for fire insurance on the Agriclture Center. Their bid was $197 a year.

Also, the Commissioners instructed County Attorney Dale Thompson to go ahead with legal procedures for 40 to 50 parcels of land in the county for which no taxes have been paid.

Of the three County Commissioners, only Fuqua was present for the meeting. Both Commissioners Herbert Fordham and Robert Beacham were ill. Beacham was contacted by phone andn cast proxy votes on the agenda items.

F&M BANK CELEBRATES 65 YEARS

     By Doug Hall

A bellwether of Georgia banking, Dublin’s Farmers and Merchants Bank reached two milestones today wiwth the opening of their new main offie and the celebration of their 65th anniversary.

The day is being maarked by an open house at the just completed new building on the corner of Lawrence and West Jackson streets, where the bank has been located since 1937 when it was moved from Brewton.

A large crowd is expected to attend the celebration today and to register for silver dollars which will be given as door prizes. The bank will be open until 6 P.M.

The stylish 7,500 square foot French provencial building with its pewter mansard roof gives the Farmers and Merchants more than twice the floor space as the former building and also has expanded the bookkeeping department, office space, and employees’ lounge.

When it began 65 years ago in Bewton, nine miles east of Dublin, townsfolk were awed by the brick and maarble building, first of its kind in the small Laurens County community. This original bilding, complete with bank furnishings, cost $3,800.

Since moving to Dublin, the Farmers and Merchants has remodeled its main office on several ocasions and established Dublin’s first branch bank, the Bellevue Branch which was opened in 1964. For this facility, the Farmers and Merchants bought the Kittrell home, a red brick Georgian-styled house, famous for its marble floors.

Bank President McGrath Keen is the third member of his family to hold the bank’s highest office. Farmers and Merchants was founded by his grandfather, James L. Keen, and was in the hands of his father, Lehman P. Keen, until his death.

Keen, who is President of the Dublin-Laurens Chamber of Commerce in addition to his banking duties, noted that the bank has remained strong through its 65 years. “I think our length of service is important in the fact that we withstood the depression years,” he observed. “Only a handful of Georgia banks can make that claim.”

Officers of the bank include Keen; Wallace E. Miller, Executive Vice President; Margaret Hall, Vice President; Perry Edge, Cashier; Bobbie Dean, Assistant Cashier; Evelyn Atkins, Assistant 

Cashier; Larry J. Dixon, Assistant Cashier; and Allen Thomas, Public Relations Officer. 

The bank’s Board of Directors is composed of Dr. O.F. Keen, Dr. Nelson S. Carswell, jr., B.H. Hall, Sr.; E.M. Herrin, McGrath Keen, Wallace E. Miller, Milo Smith, jr., and Howell C. Walker, Jr.

WABASH STREET CHURCH OF GOD SEMINARS

NEED MONEY? Want a job?

Well, Sunday afternoon may be the start of your success. The Board of Christian Education of Wabash Street Church of God will sponsor 3 1-hour employment service information seminars, with registration beginning at 5:00 on Sunday afternoon. 

The seminars, conducted by David Montford and Henderson Pierce, are geared to help meet the needs of the unemployed, job-sseekers, single-parent families, dropouts, welfare recipients, etc. 

After this Sunday, all meetings will be held on Monday nights at the church: 7:30 – 8:30. 

The Board of Education is hosting this event to help all Christians grow,not only spiritually, but also trade-wise, academic-wise, and financial-wise. It also wants to aid young adults in exploring the functions of the Employment Office in order to better understand its many services.

JOSEY SPRING FOOTBALL PRACTICE

Josey Academy’s Warriors will begin Spring football pratice on Monday, March 3rd, Coach Barney Hester said today, at the same time announcing that the Warriors will participate in a Jamboree with John Milledge, Barnesville Academy, and Gordon Ivey at Milledgeville on Friday night, March 21st.

“We will not lose but two players, Allen Williams and Mike Killingsworth, from our last year’s squad,” the coach said, “but this loss will be a severe one for these two boys wee the right side of our line. They will be hard to replace.”

Coaach Hester alo revealed that the Warrirs will move next year from  Region 2-A of the statewide conference of independeent schcools to Region 4-A and participate in football against Robert Tooms of Lyons, the state champions for the last two years; Washington-Johnson of Harrison, Ocmulgee of Lumber City; Effingham Academy of Springfield; Buckhead Aademy of Millen; and Pathway of Savannah.

Coach Hester also announcedthat the Josey Academy football schedule for next year will have 10 games, starting August 29th and ending October 31st. There is, also, a possibility that Association officials will go to a 11-game schedule.

“If we do go to 11 games, we  hope to schedule Citizens Christian of Douglas for our extra game, “he stated.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Mrs. Ella Dominy Hatfield was the honored guest onSunday when relatives gathered for dinner at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A.B. Lee, jr. to celebrate her 96th birthday, which was Monday, February 3rd.

On hand to help share the occasion with her were her two daughters, Mrs. Ruby H. Lee of Dublin and Mrs. Matilda H. Kight of Macon, along with Mr. Judson Kight. 

All five of her grandchildren, Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Day, Mr.and Mrs. Rodney Strickland, Mr.and Mrs. A.B. Lee, Jr. of Dublin; Mr. and Mrs. Horace Sanders of Irwinton; and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Tye of Macon.

She also has 12 great-grandchildren, and all attended. They are Andrea, Renee, and LaJune Day; Chris, Lisa, and Jay Sanders; Amanda, Stacey, and Rhonda Strickland; and April and Al Lee; and Tommy Tye. 

Her brother, Joe P. Dominy, and other relatives also attended. These were Mrs. Sara Couey, Mike and Sue; Mrs. Martha Smith, Timmy, Cindy, and Mitch of Dublin; Mrs. Lucille Runnels, and Mr. and Mrs. Jim Wildes of Hapeville.

Although Mrs. Hatfield is a resident of the Dublinaire Nursing Home, she is blessed with good health,and with the aid of a walker, she walks to all her meals. She has a witty personality and is an avid reader.

IRISH FOOTBALL PRACTICE TO KICK OFF

Spring practice for the Dublin Irish football teams, both varsity and “B” squads, will start on Monday and end with a Jamboree at the Shamrock Bowl on March 14th featuring the Irish, the Cochran Royals, the Hawkinsville Red Devils, and the Telfair County Trojans, Dublin coach Tom Simonton announced.

Simonton  stated that this schedule will give the Irish 20 days of practice over a four-week period which is according to GHSA rules.

The Dublin coach said that on March 7th, three weeks after the start of a the off-season drills, ,the varsity and”B”squads will be divided evenly and  a game held at night at the Shamrock Bowl. The teams will be known as the Green and Gold squads.The Jamboree will be held a week later also at night

All 8th,9th, 10th, and 11th grade players who plan to participate in football next Fall are expected to attend Spring practice.

There will be no spring workouts for the present 6th and 7th graders who will make up the 7th-8th grade Junior High team next Fall, he added.

Back again for another year will be Simonton and his assistants, Richard Johnson and Travis Davis, for the varsity and Doug Metts and Ernest Wade for the “B “team.

Coach Simonton said that most of the coaching emphasis during the February and March workouts will be on the basic offensive and defensive formations used by the Irish while achieving a 7-3 regular season record last year before losing to Americus in the Region 3-AA playoff game.

“We feel like we have our system understood very well now by the players who played last year, and we want to be sure that all of the new players joining us will get proper indoctrination in the system during the off-season practices,” Coach Simonton said.

It is expected that some 40-odd players will report to the varsity squad wth about that many or more going out for the “B” team.

AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY MEETS

Mrs. Elizabeth Sewell, President of Unit 17, American Legion Auxiliary, was hostess to the Unit when it met in her home on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. for the regular monthly meeting.

After the Pledge to the Flag was given, there was an invocation by the Chaplain, Mrs. George C. Daniel. The Minutes of the previous meeting was read by the Secretary, Mrs. J.E. Sammons, and the Treasurer, Mrs. William C. Dover, gave her report.  Mrs. Joe Harrison, Membership Chairman, urged members to enlist others to join. The VA Center Report was made by Mrs. Prentiss Green, Sr., Hospital Representative, who spoke on the success of the                                          

Joy Shop at the Center and reported that $3500 had been contributed for gifts for families of the veterans.

Mrs. Sammons spoke on National Defense, and Mrs. E.D. Lindsey discussed current legislation as it applies to veterans and widows of veterans. 

VALENTINE QUEEN ELECTED

The members of Delta Delta Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi have chosen Susan (Mrs. David) Stone to be their 1975 Valentine Queen. She will represent the chapter in the International Beta Sigma Phi Valentine Queen contest, in which chapters from all over the world have participated since it was organized in 1939.

Susan, a native of Alabama, was born in Anniston. She attended Cherokee County High School and Gadsden State Junior College in Gadsden. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Moore, live in Centre, Alabama.

Her husband, David, is a graduate of Auburn Univesity and is now associated with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. They have one son, Matthew, who is two years old. They have lived in Dublin for four years and are members of First Baptist Church.

Susan has been active in all sorority activities, having served as Corresponding Secretary last year and Treasurer this year.

In addition, she is a worker at the Laurens County Crippled Children’s Clinic. She is also very interested in gardening, needlepoint, flower arranging, sewing, and painting.

A dance will be given in her honor on Friday night at the Dublin Country Club.

CHURCH DEDICATION SERVICE

On Sunday, February 16, members of Bethsaida Baptist Church dedicated a new educational wing to the church with Dr. Julian Pipkin of the Georgia Baptist Association Sunday School Department as the guest speaker. He challenged the congregation to live up to its responsibility as God’s people.

On July 7, 1888, with fourteen charter members, the Church was constituted. Since then it has grown to a membership of three hundred and forty.

In 1966, the church moved from a wooden frame building to a brick auditorium and educational building. 

In the last ten years the church membership has grown, and the value ofthe building also, now over $135,000.

The church is located on Route 80, West.

The pastor is Rev. Archie Herrin, and the building committee consisted of Chairman Mike Wolfe, Vice Chairman Larry Curry, T.W. Davis, John Crabb, David Childers, and Alton Killingsworth.

DOWNTOWN MERCHANTS MEETING

The Officers and Directors of the Downtown Merchants Association were chosen at the annual meeting of the Association at Mr. Pipp’s. Also at the meeting they heard evangelist Jack Buice of Atlanta and had a discussion of promotional ideas for the year. One idea was to offer dogwood trees to customers.

Officers elected were these:

Emmett Black, President

Earl Towns, Vice President

Carol Rogers, Secretary

Lorene Rowe, Treasurer

Board of Directors named were

W.E. Lovett, Jim Wyatt, Don Jones, Kimball Thomas, Louis Alexander, Perry Edge, Carl Hooks, and Billy Brown. 

BEAVER PROBLEM

Beavers have been at work on the Blackshear Ferry Road, according to Laurens County Commissioner Tal Fuqua. The problem has been getting worse than  ever.

The beavers apparently build dams in front of the drainage pipes,causing them to back up water and therefore causing road washouts when the dams are busted by County workers.

The beavers are not just at work in one area, but at several locations. They build dams that only end in costing the taxpayers money,” he said. Many efforts have been tried to control them, but they have all failed, but “something has to be done immediately,” he stated.

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