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FREE SPRING 2025 Your hometown magazine representing Gray and Jones County JonesLiving published locally by www.jones-living.com JOHNSON LAW OFFICE CHEROKEE CANNERY Local History Edition FEATURING GRAY, MIDDLE GEORGIA AND BEYOND

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JonesLiving MAGA Z I NE A publication of Oconee Sinclair Media LLC 102 Stewart Ave. | P.O. Box 1538 | Gray, GA 31032 478.986.3929 phone | 478.986.1935 fax www.jcnews.com ©2025 All content in this magazine is copyrighted by Oconee Sinclair Media LLC and may not be reprinted without express written permission of the publisher. The publisher is not liable for any errors in editorial or advertising content. A. Mark Smith Sr. PUBL I SHER Debbie Lurie-Smith ED I TOR Matt Smith GENERAL MANAGER Joshua W. Lurie CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lisa Hutchison SALES REPRESENTATIVE Dianne Phillips SALES REPRESENTATIVE Brandon Park GRAPHIC DESIGNER Cassandra Fowler BUSINESS MANAGER – Contributors – Bethany Tapee Christy Prosser Jones County History & Heritage – Cover Photo – Debbie Lurie-Smith FAMILY & COSMETIC DENTISTRY Dr. Kenneth E. Kay DMD 250 W. Clinton st. • Gray • 478-986-1830 Looking for a Dentist in Jones County? Scan here for directions! 147 JAMES STREET, GRAY, GA 478.405.0045 Exceptional Care. Exceptional People 3448 Vineville Ave Macon, GA 31204 1024 Keith Drive Perry, GA 31069 OTHER OFFICE LOCATIONS: Medical Services & Procedures Internal Medicine Virtual Visits Routine Gynecology Weight Loss Ultrasound Echocardiogram Pulmonary Function Tests 4 SPRING 2025 JonesLiving Magazine

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A historic plaque presented at Plentitude Baptist Church by Jones County History and Heritage Nov. 24, 2024, celebrated the church that had its beginnings in 1928. In addition to the plaque, a book — “ e History of the Plentitude Baptist Church from 1928-2023” — was recently compiled to update its history. Both events seem to complete a chapter in the history of the historic church and mark the beginning of the next one. Church historian Melba Chapman, with the assistance of church member Susan Gordon, put the new history book together. Chapman has been a lifetime member of the church, and Gordon has been a member since 2007. Prior to the recent book, the most recent church history was written by Plentitude member Mildred Dye in 1986, marking the church’s 50th anniversary. e article was published in e Jones County News, where Dye was employed as a columnist. e article stated the 50th anniversary of the church was celebrated Nov. 9, 1986, with 250 people attending the service led by Pastor Wendell Apperson. Information from the history stated the sanctuary was the former Plentitude Academy that was built in 1868. e church and one acre of land was purchased from the Jones County Plentitude Baptist Church The history of Photos Contributed Story by Debbie Lurie-Smith e demolition of a former church sanctuary was the catalyst for the updated history of a church whose members continue to remember and revere its founders nearly 100 years later. www.jones-living.com SPRING 2025 7

Melba Chapman (left) and Susan Gordon look over their notes at Chapman's kitchen table. Board of Education by church founder T. Hunt Taylor, and in 1928 the Sunday School was organized. e first church revival was held Aug. 25-29, 1930, during which 27 people, ages 10-73, became the first members of the church. At the writing of the 50th anniversary article, three of the charter members were still living. e article notated several firsts for the church. J.R. Meek was the first pastor. He was called by the church Oct. 26, 1930, and it was organized as an independent body in 1936. e first deacon was Henry McKay. e first history of Plentitude Baptist Church was written by Linda Shelton, its first historian. e church’s first full-time pastor was called in 1970, and the pastorage was purchased in 1985. Memories of a founder Chapman talked about her recollections of Una Taylor during a Jan. 13 interview about the history book. She said she visited Taylor when she was a young girl. “Mrs. Taylor gave me a Bible and wrote Matthew 6:33 inside,” Chapman said. e Bible verse is from the Sermon on the Mount: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Chapman said, after her husband’s death, Taylor lived with different church members. She said her last visit with Taylor was in 1960, just after her marriage. “Mrs. Taylor was living in Juliette, and I wanted my husband to meet her,” she said. Chapman said Taylor died in 1963, and her funeral was held at Mable White Baptist Church. e founder was buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery. Chapman said she and a friend visited the grave three months ago. She said the couple had no children. Una Taylor was born in Jones County and lived in the county all of her life. Prior to founding Plentitude, the Taylors were members of the First Baptist Church of Gray. New book Chapman and Gordon talked about how the new history book came to be. Chapman said the church’s current pastor, Tommy Freeman, has been at the church for 17 years. She said the church had a conference in 2020, and the decision was made to take the old sanctuary down. e building was beyond repair. 8 SPRING 2025 JonesLiving Magazine

Chapman said a discussion was held about the church’s history and how to memorialize the events. “I asked about the possibility of a book and perhaps a plaque about the church’s history,” she said. Chapman said she became church historian in 2021, and she and Gordon started working on the projects in 2022. Chapman said she was in contact with Earl Colvin with History and Heritage, and a historic marker was unveiled at the church Nov. 24, 2024. e marker was the 11th historic marker to be placed by the organization. Chapman assisted with the unveiling and provided a brief history of the church at the event. Chapman enjoys keeping important items, making the role of historian a good fit. She said she enlisted the aid of Gordon when it came time to start putting all the information together. at information was stored in boxes, files, handwritten notebooks and photo albums. e book begins with the history of how the Plentitude Missionary Church began, which was the need for a school building that was Above: The original sanctuary of Plentitude Baptist Church (top) was demolished in 2020 and plans to rebuild are on hold. Below: Much of the church's history was compiled from handwritten pages stored in boxes and notebooks. www.jones-living.com SPRING 2025 9

constructed by members of the community in 1868. e one-room school was taken over by the Jones County Board of Education, and the building was used for other community events, including public meetings and religious services. e Taylors were members of First Baptist Church in Gray, and Una Taylor taught a Vacation Bible School at Plentitude in 1928. From that interaction, the Taylors felt the calling to start a Sunday School for the area. at led to T. Hunt Taylor asking to use the school building for the Sunday School. He later got permission to operate as a branch of the Baptist church, including the 1930 baptism and subsequent revivals. e details of the church’s evolution are well documented in the history book. In 1936, the Taylors purchased the building and one-acre of property from the Board of Education and presented the deed to the church. e history book contains the names and dates of all the church’s pastors, deacons, and even a list of its members in 1950. T. Hunt Taylor died in 1952 at age 64. A memorial service was held and a plaque dedicated in his honor. Una Taylor was 65 at the time of her death in 1963. e church has continued to thrive, and the history book documents important events and memorializes the dedication of many long-serving members. A celebration was held in 2011, marking the church's 75th anniversary. e drive-in services during the pandemic and the Sept. 20, 2020 sanctuary retirement service are the final events covered in the book, followed by a list of 2023 church officers and ministry leaders. Closing thoughts Plentitude Baptist Church currently has 309 members. e church has Sunday School, morning and evening worship services each Sunday, a men’s ministry, WMU, Bible studies, youth and kids activities. In short, it is an active church. Gordon noted that the church has a good assortment of ages. “We’re not a church in decline. We have families and young families that are involved. We’ve needed new leaders, and that has happened,” she said. “God has provided. People have responded and filled those needs.” e Plentitude history books are available to purchase at a cost of $20 each. Plentitude Missionary Baptist Church is located at 145 Plentitude Church Road. For more information, call 478-986-5865 or visit the church’s Facebook page. u Above: Church founders Una and T. Hunt Taylor. Below: Members gather for the unveiling of the historic plaque. 10 SPRING 2025 JonesLiving Magazine

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Honoring our 39th president through the lens of a photojournalist Plains, Georgia In an age where political cynicism often dominates headlines, the remembrance of President Jimmy Carter’s legacy offered a different narrative: one of hope, decency, and one of profound impact of a life dedicated to others. rough the eyes of a photojournalist, we find the pages of history will forever reflect the story of a man who never stopped working to make the world a better place. As the 39th president of the United States, President Carter took office in 1977 and served one term from 197781. Following his presidency, Carter returned to his hometown in Plains and embarked on a post-presidency of humanitarian work that impacted communities around the world, most notably his work with Habitat for Humanity. e passing of President Carter Dec. 29, 2024, at the age of 100, marked the end of an era in American history. Carter, the longest living president to date, had passed peacefully at his home in South Georgia. Media began to converge on his hometown of Plains upon the breaking news of his passing. As a photojournalist and having just returned to Georgia, I also made my way to Plains to chronicle the farewell, from Georgia’s country roads filled with mourners, then following the procession full circle to the horse-drawn carriage at the Nation’s Capital and the return on Air Force One’s Mission 39 to Lawson Airfield at Ft. Moore. e images captured in the final farewell told a story beyond words from the salute of a veteran as the hearse passed through Plains to the salute of the Honor Guard and the hours upon hours of lines of mourners waiting outside in the snowy evening at the Nation's Capitol to pay their respects to the late commanderin-chief as he lay in repose in the Rotunda. On Jan. 4, the six-day funeral procession began, and we gathered on Main Street in Plains to witness the Story and photos by Christy Prosser 16 SPRING 2025 JonesLiving Magazine

Plains, Georgia motorcade pass through town. e procession made a brief but poignant stop at Carter’s boyhood home, where a bell was tolled 39 times by Karen Barr and Randy Dillard, the longestserving National Park staffers in Plains. Both held the honor of ringing the bell in tribute. e motorcade then continued its journey to the Georgia State Capitol and later to the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, where mourners and bystanders lined the route, waving flags as the procession passed through Georgia’s towns. President Carter would lay in repose at the Carter Center until Jan. 7. As mourners filed through the center’s halls, they were surrounded by images depicting the work and legacy of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. e quiet procession of visitors stood solemnly by Carter’s casket, many wiping away tears as they paid their respects. Outside, arrangements of flowers, peanuts, and a blue hard hat were placed against the Presidential Center sign, simple yet heartfelt tributes saying, “ ank you, Mr. Jimmy.” We photojournalists departed early from Macon the morning of Jan. 7, cameras in hand, determined to travel several hours ahead of the motorcade and Special Air Mission 39. Upon our arrival in Washington, D.C., we navigated multiple checkpoints and street closures near the U.S. Capitol, finally positioning ourselves at the right intersection to witness the next stage of the procession. Braving the frigid January air and standing in ankle-deep snow, we joined the gathered crowd, waiting solemnly as the horse-drawn carriage approached the Capitol, marking another solemn moment in the farewell to President Carter. e horse-drawn carriage carrying President Carter’s casket moved slowly along Constitution Avenue toward the U.S. Capitol late in the afternoon in Washington, D.C. Despite the bitter cold of 23 degrees, many gathered to pay their respects. Security was tight, with multiple layers of barricades and checkpoints, but the crowd remained undeterred, determined to witness the solemn procession. Once the procession passed where we were, we quickly moved toward the top of the hill, watching as the last members of the procession turned towards the front of the US Capitol. e military honor guard carried President Carter’s casket into the Rotunda as a cannon across the Potomac River fired 39 times, each blast echoing through the District. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the final chords of the military band’s march faded over the Capitol, while onlookers peered through the barricades, taking in the solemn scene as the sun slowly set in the winter’s sky. e day felt surreal, frigid and windy, with nearly five inches of snow underfoot, yet the experience was timeless and a moment of historical significance. at evening, a nation paid tribute in the cold night. At 9:30 p.m., we joined the line of thousands to wait in line for public access to the Rotunda Lawson Air Field Fort Moore, Georgia www.jones-living.com SPRING 2025 17

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Washington, D.C. to pay final respects to President Jimmy Carter. e lines stretched three rows deep on both sides of the Capitol as the temperature dropped to 14 degrees. We expected at least a two-hour wait, but the overwhelming turnout on this cold January night certainly spoke to the deep gratitude the nation held for him and his legacy of humanitarian work. e lines were so long that evening that it would be 1 a.m. before we would return to our own hotel rooms after leaving the Rotunda. e following morning, we caught our flight back to Macon to be ahead of the procession leaving Washington D.C. On the morning of Jan. 9, with an early start and military clearance, I waited at Lawson Airfield with other journalists, photographers and media for Air Force One’s Special Mission 39 to arrive following the state funeral, which was held at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. is day would also mark the final flight of the late president as he returned to his hometown of Plains for his private service and burial. e entire six-day funeral procession was conducted with humility, integrity, respect, and dignity. e 21-gun cannon salutes from Washington, D.C., to Fort Moore echoed across the landscape, marking each solemn step of the journey. roughout the week, countless Americans paused their daily lives to honor Carter’s passing. People lined roadsides and overpasses, teaching their children the significance of the moment, while others stood in silent tribute. Inside the Rotunda, an overwhelming sense of reverence filled the air as mourners paid their respects in profound silence. A private funeral service was held at Maranatha Baptist Church, in Plains, where Carter had taught Sunday school for decades. e farewell coverage of President Carter was not merely an obituary but a testament to a life well-lived, the tributes from those he touched throughout his life, served as a poignant reminder of the quiet power of integrity and service. u 20 SPRING 2025 JonesLiving Magazine

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Educators in the Jones County School System organized numerous learning activities to recognize and honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s influential leadership and activism during the Civil Rights Movement. ese activities aimed to encourage students to value and promote justice, peace, and equality for all. e lessons and activities created by teachers included history lessons, writing workshops, music, creative art projects and more. At Gray Station Middle School, seventh-grade ELA Teacher Katherine Mullis tasked students to create visual representations of King’s accomplishments. “Students read texts, watched videos, and researched facts to gather enough data to develop one-page projects. Following a rubric that required students to include several graphics, quotes, and facts, the conversation began to develop about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” the teacher said. One student reflected on the significance of the assignment. “In class, I found out he survived an assassination attempt a decade before he was killed. is got me thinking about what would happen if he were killed the first time. Would we still be segregated? Now I understand how important his name is to not just African Americans but all of us,” the student said. Mullis noted the assignment sparked rich and thoughtful conversation among her students, helping them grasp the importance of celebrating King each year. Clifton Ridge Middle School sixth-grade ELA Teacher Haley Underwood shared that the student body took time during their academic support groups to honor King, discussing his contributions to society. “In our school’s Cougar Time, teachers were asked to allow students Jones County students recognize Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Story and photos by Bethany Tappee www.jones-living.com SPRING 2025 25

to explore who MLK Jr. was through a Flocabulary lesson,” the teacher said. Underwood elaborated on the Flocabulary approach, highlighting its innovative and engaging format. “It is a lesson designed to help students listen and learn. ere is a rap song created about a topic and students learn from the song. After that, they have various activities that they can do to show comprehension of the topic. Students love it because it has a fun beat and they feel like they are listening to music,” she said. Underwood discussed the outcome of the learning activity. “Students had meaningful conversations with their teachers and peers about King’s impact and the importance of celebrating this day. As a school, we pride ourselves on our students’ willingness to explore MLK Jr.’s life with gratitude and appreciation,” Underwood said. One student commented after the lesson. “MLK had a dream, and it is our responsibility as this generation to make it come true.” Underwood emphasized the importance of these classroom discussions for both students and teachers. “As a teacher, hearing students engaged in conversations about MLK Jr., you can have hope that this generation will help continue to work for his dream. ey care so deeply about having conversations around meaningful topics that it helps us teachers learn from them,” she concluded. At Mattie Wells Elementary School, Art Paraprofessional Marjie McElveen introduced third and fourth-grade students to King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, leading to a classroom discussion about the importance of having a vision for the future. After the discussion, the thirdgrade students traced their hands on sheets of paper and colored them with a variety of colors. McElveen explained the purpose of the art project. “We talked about diversity and embracing the differences among their peers,” she said. Meanwhile, the fourth-grade students created “dream jars,” in which they wrote down their dreams and decorated their paper jars, helping students understand the message of King’s famous speech. Laura Dixon, the Media Specialist at Turner Woods Elementary School, created a “story walk” for students to view while traveling through the hallway. is display featured posters with pictures and facts about King’s life and accomplishments. “Our story walk is what we call ‘passive programming’ in library language. It is a way for students to engage with new information, making an impact without physically teaching, allowing them to explore on their own,” the specialist explained. Dixon also shared that the Turner Woods Broadcast Team shared a fun fact about King each day in the week leading up to the holiday. “ e year he won the Nobel Peace Prize was 1964 for the Civil Rights Movement,” one student highlighted. In Macy Skinner’s second-grade class at Gray Elementary School, students created a “KWL” chart to explore their knowledge about King. www.jones-living.com SPRING 2025 27

e chart consisted of three columns, including what students “Knew,” what they “Wanted” to know, and, at the end of the activity, what they “Learned.” Skinner provided the students with information about King. “We read a story about Martin Luther King Jr. After the story, we listened to a video from e Kid President,” she said. Following their research, the students wrote four to six informational paragraphs detailing the facts they learned, and the legacy King left behind. Skinner further described how her class completed the assignment by using the information they gathered to create accompanying artwork. “Students completed a directed drawing and added details to their drawing to attach to their writing. We closed by filling out the ‘L’ column in our ‘KWL’ chart, where students discussed what they learned,” the teacher said. In Terri McNeill’s second-grade classroom at Gray Elementary School, students watched several informative videos and participated in an interactive read-aloud session discussing King. As part of the lesson, students completed a directed drawing assignment. ey followed a YouTube video that guided them on how to create a picture of King and celebrate his accomplishments and birthday. As part of their artwork, the students included birthday cards addressed to King. “ e kids did a good job with this assignment. A lot of them really got the gist of it. In their drawings, some of them put white and black children holding hands. ey understood the actual meaning which was very good,” McNeill said. In their creations, students wrote heartfelt messages to King. “We love you so much. We love how you kept going. I am glad you tried to bring people together,” one student wrote. “Everyone should be loved,” another expressed. To conclude the assignment, McNeill posed a thought-provoking question to help students understand its purpose. “ ink of it this way: When you cut yourself, what color are you? We all bleed red. We are all the same,” she said. McNeill’s analogy encapsulated the importance of teaching about King in the Jones County School, illustrating the values of kindness, respect, and equality. u 28 SPRING 2025 JonesLiving Magazine

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JOHNSON LAW OFFICE clinton, georgia www.jones-living.com SPRING 2025 33

Story and photos by Debbie Lurie-Smith e Johnson Law Office now has the address of 426 Madison St. Its renovation was celebrated at a Nov. 16, 2024, event that appropriately also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the organization that fought to preserve it. e building was formerly the office of Judge Richard Johnson, and it is believed to be one of the oldest surviving law offices in the south. Johnson was born in 1847 and practiced law in Clinton. He became a judge, state senator and a member of the Georgia Legislature. He died in 1921. e law office was originally located at 412 Madison St. It was purchased by the Old Clinton Historic Society in 2015 and moved to the Holsenback property on Pulaski Street, owned by OCHS, in January of 2016. e law office joined the Pine Ridge School House that was moved to the location in 2000 and restored. e story of the preservation of the law office is entwined in the history of Clinton, Jones County and the Old Clinton Historical Society. Johnson is connected to a family that is vital to the community through his granddaughter Patsy Childs, his closest living relative. William R. Johnson, the third child of the judge, is the father of Patsy Johnson, who married Frank Childs. Frank and Patsy Childs are the parents of Frank Childs Jr., Rick Childs, Craig Law office moved to original courthouse square for restoration Earlene Hamilton (center) speaks to Patsy Childs at the Nov. 16, 2024, open house celebrating the law office renovation. A “new” building located in the historic town of Clinton has the distinction of having been constructed 200 years ago and was moved the second time before finding its permanent home. 34 SPRING 2025 JonesLiving Magazine

The first move of the Johnson Law office took place Jan. 26, 2016. At that time, it was moved from its original location on Madision Street, through the streets of Clinton to the Holsenback property on Pulaski Street. www.jones-living.com SPRING 2025 35

Renovation began on the historic building following the 2021 move back to Madison Street near its original location. 36 SPRING 2025 JonesLiving Magazine

Childs and Patty Childs. Patsy Childs, along with William Cawthon Jr., were instrumental in the preservation of the office. She is in possession of a scrapbook about her grandfather that was put together by his daughter, as well as a state directory — “ e Cotton States International Exposition on the South” — that contains information about Johnson’s law career and his time as a Georgia legislator. Cawthon was an attorney and noted historian who dedicated much of his career to the study of Clinton. His masters’ thesis was titled “Clinton: County Seat on the Georgia Frontier 1808-21.” When Cawthon died March 16, 2016, he designated funds in his will for the restoration of the law office. David Mitchell of M.H. Mitchell Inc. is a co-executor of the will and oversaw the renovation of the law office. Cawthon lived in Eufaula, Ala., but he was one of the founding members of OCHS. e historian was a descendant of some of the early families of Clinton, and it appeared that the town was never far from his heart. e renovation of the law office had been a long-term project for OCHS, but Cawthon’s endowment brought the project to the forefront. At the Nov. 16 celebration of the OCHS anniversary and open house for the renovated law office, Mitchell talked about the extensive renovation that was needed. e work included stabilization of the building’s existing studs, restoration of the subflooring with salvaged wood, replacement and repair of windows, replacement and repair of the interior and exterior cladding, recreation of the stone foundation piers, and the recreation of the brick chimney on the east facade. “ is place had many experiences, challenges and opportunities to defy historic disruption,” he said. “ is building is filled with memories, love, affection and a lot of Clinton. What has been done here is another reason why Middle Georgia matters.” Childs was front and center at the open house and commented that she was floored with all the friends who were in attendance. “I’m really overwhelmed, but it’s a wonderful day. ank you for loving Clinton like I do,” she said. Mitchell noted that OCHS would not be here without its president Earlene Hamilton and her mother before her, making sure Clinton was not forgotten. Annie Bowen Hamilton was one of the founders of OCHS and served as its president. Her daughter, Earlene, took over its leadership following Annie’s death in 2003. “One great thing about being southern is we are living in the shadow of those who came before us,” Mitchell said. Hamilton said what better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of OCHS than recognizing the preservation of Clinton. She said when the building was moved in 2016 to save it from demolition, the historical society did not own the Madison Street property. e property was received through a private donation, which puts it within two lots of its original location. “ e decision was made to move it to the spot that is more historically correct, relative to the courthouse square,” she added. e building was moved to its new location in 2021. An additional benefit to the Madison Street location was direct access to power and water without having to encroach on the historic tan yard property. Following the Nov. 16 ceremony in the law office, the group was led on a tour of Clinton by Mitchell. e tour included the Red Barn that had recent repairs partially funded by donations and volunteer labor of the 16th Georgia members, and the McCarthyPope House that is partially funded by a grant from the 1772 Foundation, e Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation and a grant from the Watson Brown Foundation. u www.jones-living.com SPRING 2025 37

Clinton was settled in 1808 on the western frontier of Georgia. In 1810 Clinton had a population of 85 and was a rough frontier town of mostly log houses, a frame courthouse, and a few other frame structures. By 1820 Clinton’s population had grown to 841, making it the fourth-largest city in Georgia with a thriving economy. ere was Samuel Griswold’s cotton gin manufacturing facility, a leather tan yard, five law offices, four taverns, three doctors and 56 houses. Public buildings included the Jones County Courthouse, jail, female seminary, male academy, and Methodist Church. During the mid-1800s, Clinton took on the air of an aristocratic community, surrounded by estates of wealthy planters; however, this tranquil, almost idyllic, village life met the drama and then the tragedy of the War Between the States. Clinton was in the direct path of Sherman’s Right Wing and its notorious “March to the Sea.” In November of 1864, almost twothirds of the town was destroyed by Union troops. In the years since then fire has destroyed a number of those surviving structures. Today only 13 of the original structures have weathered the winds of time and proudly stand as testimony to a time long ago. e Old Clinton Historical Society, formed early in 1974, is still spearheading the effort to preserve and restore Clinton as the unique early nineteenth century survivor that it is and just celebrated 50 years of historic preservation efforts with the completion of the restoration of the Johnson Law Office. It is the fifth historic structure that has been restored in what was the original county seat of Jones County. Brief summary of OCHS accomplishments e McCarthy-Pope House (the oldest surviving structure in Clinton), the red barn (an early 20th century structure), and approximately six acres, including an original spring site, were initially purchased. With the assistance of a matching grant from the Woodruff Foundation, OCHS completed a museum-quality restoration of the house, which then won an award from the Georgia Trust. e red barn is being restored by volunteer efforts and private donations. With help from the Peyton Anderson Foundation, the original courthouse square was purchased and is maintained as green space. A two-acre tract in the heart of Clinton, a one-acre tract on Pulaski Street, and the half-acre bark mill tan yard site were donated by Bill Lucado and are maintained as green space. OCHS purchased a small tract of land with an early 20th century country store across from the red barn at the corner of Pulaski and Washington Streets. e building, now known as Miss Annie’s Store, in honor of OCHS’s first president, was restored with volunteer labor, predominantly from our re-enactor family. A small portion of the Clinton Female Seminary site was donated by Gray Land Partners LLC. is site is located adjacent to Clinton Crossings and serves as a natural area. u Old Clinton Historical Society history 50 years and counting Story by Earlene Hamilton OCHS President Earlene Hamilton (second right) at the November open house and 50-year anniversay event. 38 SPRING 2025 JonesLiving Magazine

Portraits of Annie and Richard Johnson hang over the renovated fireplace in the historic law office. www.jones-living.com SPRING 2025 39

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Stories about people, places and events in Jones County’s history must include a recollection of Cherokee Products Company. During canning seasons, as many as 500-700 people were employed there, including many teenagers working during the summer and getting their first taste of the “real world” as we parents like to call it. Cherokee’s history actually began on Feb. 1, 1929, when George Slocumb of Bradley received a corporate charter for Cherokee Products Company to own and operate a canning plant for the purpose of canning fruits and vegetables for commercial purposes as well as to run a sawmill and cotton gin. Slocumb was 40 when he entered the canning business, and it has been said that if he had not formed the company before the stock market crash of 1929, it might never have begun. Happ Brothers, who operated a clothing factory in Macon, knew Slocumb because they supplied overalls and other clothing to a store he owned in Bradley. On March 4, 1929, Happ Brothers loaned Cherokee Products Company (CPC) $5,000 to cover building expenses and other things needed to get the cannery ready for operation. After the stock market crash of Oct. 29, 1929, the country fell into a Great Depression, and hardly anyone escaped some sort of hardship. Albert Bloodworth, who worked at Happ Brothers at the time, was laid off in February 1930, and he and his mother, Lillie Memories of Cherokee Products Story by Christine Daniels Jerry, George III and Albert Bloodworth Jr. 42 SPRING 2025 JonesLiving Magazine

Octavia Graham Bloodworth (known as Ma Ma), moved from Bibb County to Baldwin County with intentions of farming the old home place. Albert’s father, George Ernest Bloodworth Sr., nicknamed “Babe,” had died in the flu epidemic of 1919. Before Albert had a chance to plant his first crop, he was approached by George Slocumb with an offer of some more stock in CPC if he would come to work with him and help pull the company out of its financial dilemma. Albert already owned four shares of CPC stock. He had purchased one share from Slocumb and was given three shares for a Ford truck he sold Cherokee. Albert accepted the offer, and he and his mother moved to Bradley to be near the cannery as they did not have an automobile. Albert’s brother Logan was an attorney in Macon. e Depression was hard on everyone, including lawyers, so Logan gave up his law practice and went to work with CPC in early 1931. eir youngest brother, Ernest Jr., had graduated from Gray High School and the University of Georgia, where he was in ROTC and commissioned as a second lieutenant. He was working for Cherokee when he was called into active duty in 1942 during World War II, serving in the Signal Corps overseas. Upon his discharge from active duty in 1945, he returned to Haddock. By this time, CPC had moved its operations Hazel, Jesse, Phyllis and Shirley Moore www.jones-living.com SPRING 2025 43

to Haddock, and Ernest resumed working there. e decision to move the operations to Haddock began in 1937 and culminated in 1938. ere were two main reasons for the move: e site in Bradley did not have a rail siding, and the Central of Georgia Railroad was not interested in trying to provide one, whereas a siding would be available from the Georgia Railroad in Haddock. Also, there was a shortage of water in Bradley and no means of changing this because there was no stream going by the Bradley property. Grady A. Smith, President and owner of the Jones County Bank in Haddock, was of course very anxious to see CPC move to Haddock. As an inducement, Smith arranged to furnish 60.5 acres of land free of charge for the plant. George Slocumb did not want to be a part of the company if it moved to Haddock, and as a consequence, he sold his shares of stock to Albert and Logan Bloodworth, who were on the Board of Directors. Jesse G. Moore, a college roommate of Ernest Bloodworth at UGA for four years, had worked at CPC with Ernest during the summers of his college years. Upon graduation in 1937, the Bloodworths offered him a full-time job as a bookkeeper, which he accepted. is new job brought about more than furnishing employment. It led to a romance with Hazel Winters, sister of Albert Jr.’s mother, and marriage in 1939. In 1948, Moore moved to the sales department, and that same year, the company started moving the office operations to Fort Pierce, Florida, each year during the noncanning season in Georgia. e company owned a citrus plant in Fort Pierce, where they canned fruit juices and grapefruit sections. e office personnel who had to move were furnished a place to live at Casa Caprona Apartments. is continued until 1954, with Moore having to move his family back and forth each year. Moore worked for CPC his entire career, retiring in 1992. Upon his retirement, Moore compiled the “History of Cherokee Products, Haddock, Georgia, 19291991,” giving much credit to his secretary, Lillie M. Briley, for her long hours of assistance in helping him put the book into print. Moore’s book is an excellent one, going into much detail about the history of CPC and taking great care to acknowledge the many people who contributed to its success. Many old company documents and pictures are included in the book. Moore called upon several people to write their personal memoirs of CPC, and the book contains several of those, including ones from his daughters Phyllis and Shirley. e book was never published for sale but was intended for the pleasure of CPC employees and friends. It is a wonderful testament to the history and legacy of Cherokee Products Company, and a copy can be found at the Jones County Library in Gray. I cannot include all the memoirs from Moore’s book in this short story, so I have chosen to include the one written by his daughter Phyllis. Memories of Phyllis Moore Thames “I’m A Canned Peach” was the title given to a college English paper I wrote. I guess this shows how deeply rooted the life of Cherokee Products Company was in my life. I remember as a little girl visiting my Daddy in the office. Sometimes I’d peck away on an unused typewriter, look through the trash for papers I could play with or roam through the office supply area to see all the different items. It was always fascinating to me. Have you ever had a sandwich with only bread, mayonnaise, and pimentos? They are great! Especially when your Daddy fixes them in the office as he tests the pimentos to be sure the canning process is proper. There are many senses involved with my thoughts of Cherokee. The taste of the various food products as wells as trips to the attic with “Cousin Tom” to the barrel of cinnamon sticks for spicing peaches, to get a small stick to chew on. Then I think of the smell of pimentos roasting to get the peel off. You wondered why they were not burned up. 44 SPRING 2025 JonesLiving Magazine

Oh, the sights of all the various products for canning, the visits to the lab to watch the testing, the many trucks loaded with peaches and the sight and fun of the visits to the commissary where my cousins worked! The highlight of all was to reach 16 and go to work at Cherokee. Well, I reached 16 in October, 1961. By June, 1962, I was ready to work but then I had to have an appendectomy. About mid-July I was able to go to work. I kept records of all the breakdowns: length, cause, and what process was involved. I was positioned in a busy traffic area, so I got to chat with many people. One day I saw an amusing sight. Logan was going down the outside ladder steps to go to the labeling building. He slipped and fell. He immediately got up, looked to see if anyone had seen him and hurried off. The summer of ’63 I got to work on the grading belt. I also helped with testing peas in the lab. Some people thought I was a VIP. They did not know that I worked half a “peach shift” at night and then the next morning I got up early to do peas. My career at Cherokee was short, but I will never forget it or the other experiences in my life associated there. —— Logan Bloodworth passed away on April 12, 1965, of lung cancer. It was a great blow to the company and to his family as they had all worked very closely. Ma Ma, who had made many contributions to the success of CPC, passed away on Sept. 18, 1974. Albert Bloodworth Sr. died Sept. 17, 1980, of a heart attack in the offices of CPC. He always made people feel welcome to come in and talk to him at any time. At a meeting of stockholders, Ernest paid tribute to Albert as follows: “On behalf of all the stockholders, directors, officers and employees, we state that we shall forever be grateful to him for his leadership, understanding of the issues, for his love of his family, church, business, friends and associates.” Exactly three years later on Sept. 17, 1983, Ernest passed away. Everyone who worked with him understood he would only tell someone what he wanted done one time. Despite his Parkinson’s Disease, he was able to help make decisions through his physically inactive years. e younger generation of Bloodworths — G. Albert Jr., George III and Jerry, along with elected officers Jesse G. Moore and Richard B. Griffin — continued the operation of CPC until it was sold in 2000. On Feb. 17, 2000, Moody Dunbar Inc. of Limestone, Tennessee, bought the pimento line with the Osage and Sunshine labels. McCall Farms of Effingham, South Carolina, bought the peach, tomato, field peas etc. lines with the Osage, GA-Red and Garcia labels for use with their own products. e impact Cherokee Products Company and the Bloodworth family had on Jones County and the Haddock community for 70 years was remarkable. In bad financial times, they weathered the storms and kept the business going. In good times, they expanded and were innovative in their industry. e “cannery” was the first job for many teenagers during the summers in Jones County and provided an atmosphere for them to develop a good work ethic. To quote from Flo Bloodworth Mellard (Logan Bloodworth’s daughter) in her memoir in Moore’s book: Though Cherokee is no longer a part of my life, the cannery is – I bask in its reflection and hope that my own achievements reflect on my heritage – a loving family, a cannery, lessons taught and learned, and a little wooden commissary, painted grey, that enforced the lesson, “In unity, there is strength.” Many thanks to Pat Dumas for the loan of her copy of Moore’s book. Dumas worked in the office at Cherokee for 34 years, retiring in 1999. Also, thank you to Shirley Moore Noles, Phyllis’ sister, for permission to reprint Phyllis’ memoir and to Albert Bloodworth Jr. for his editing of the story. —— Story contributed by Jones County History & Heritage, Inc. e group meets on the second ursday evening of each month, for information on attending contact 478-214-0687. u Logan, Ernest, Mrs. G.E. Sr. (Ma Ma) and Albert Sr. www.jones-living.com SPRING 2025 45

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