From the October 2013 edition of About Covington to Madison magazine. Additional online-only content can be found below at the end of the original article. Thanks for reading!
The Lovely City of Newborn, GA
Lots of
Exciting Things Going On...
Howdy folks! Hope
all is well out there. I'm glad so many of you enjoyed my 2013 UGA Football
Preview in the last edition of About Covington to Madison. Looks like my prediction for the
Clemson game missed the mark, but what a win against South Carolina! Hopefully we'll continue to
improve and grow as a team and achieve the results that we all desire. Go
Dawgs!
This month I'd like to write about
one of my favorite places in all of Georgia – good ole Newborn, GA. As
a few of you might remember, my second column ever in this magazine published
back in the Spring of 2009, covered this fine town. As I said then, “Newborn
holds a special place in my heart as I lived there for four years after my Athens days. And I must
say - I think of my time in Newborn often and fondly.” It's true. There's just
something about that place. I still feel it now when I visit.
Originally named Sandtown (or maybe
Cross Road), the Newborn area was first settled in 1819 making it the oldest settlement in
Newton Co. with the exception of Winton (Brick Store). Newborn’s history is
full and ups and downs. There was a time when there was a bank, hotels,
multiple stores, a theater, and a thriving train depot. As was the case with
many old, small towns in Georgia,
the railroad was its lifeblood, and like so many southern towns, the boll
weevil was its biggest detriment. And naturally the Depression did no favors
for the area, either. And there were other tragedies as well. But through it
all, Newborn survived, which is not always the case. Just look at towns we’ve
covered like Webbville (Factory Shoals) or New Berlin
(North Oxford) here in Newton,
or Smith's Mill or Leakesville down in Jasper as well as several others in this
general vicinity that would end up dying and returning to nature. But not
Newborn. There's a resiliency there – you can feel it.
Newborn and her people are also
rather unique. Some might say eccentric. Well, their motto is “A Town With
Characters,” and that would be an apt description. Maybe there's something in
the water. Regardless, it's just a really cool place with some very good
people. And there's so much history in Newborn. And that ties in to one of the
things I wanted to cover in this piece...
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| Zeigler-Childs Building (Town Hall) |
A new book is being released next
month about the history of this town. Newborn, GA — Characters, Places,
Tales is a 500+ page book written by 8 different contributors under
the name of The Happy History Committee of Newborn. The book has many different
stories and accounts of several long-time Newborn residents and families and
many historical events. There are upwards of 500 pictures in this book as well.
And as I understand it, there's a good bit of stuff about the late Jeanette
Zeigler. As anyone who knew her would tell you, Ms. Jeanette was simply a
marvelous woman. There is also a lot of content about families like the Pitts,
Childs, Epps, Adams, Webbs and others. There is a good bit of information
specifically about John Pitts, the Union sympathizer who hosted Sherman during his March
to the Sea, and the one person most likely responsible for why Newborn wasn't
burned to the ground. A very interesting story that's in the book that I hadn’t
heard about deals with a shooting at the Childs Store in 1916 when Ole Man
Estes gunned down Clifford Childs over a land dispute. Man, I can't wait to get
my hands on a copy of this book!
It will be released on October 19th
and can be pre-ordered at www.newbornga.com
or via mail by sending in a check for $25 for a black and white copy or $60 for
a color copy to P.O. Box 160,
Newborn, GA, 30056. After talking with both Julia
Wilson and Beth Scarbrough about the book, it seems like there's a definite
theme: despite the ebb and flow and the tough times over the years, Newborn has
always maintained a strength and vitality and an appreciation of its value and
what it has to offer.
Also on the 19th of
October is the much anticipated Newborn Tour of Homes and Landmarks. Set
to begin at 10AM and put on by the Newborn Garden Club, the tour will showcase
6 homes: the Porter Manor House and Gardens, the Burge/Bolton House, the Burge
Plantation Cottage and Grounds, the Sandtown/Hodges Home, the Plott Home, and
the Dobbs Home. Also included are four historic landmarks: the Newborn
Schoolhouse & Cemetery, Newborn United Methodist
Church, the Pitts General Store, and
the Zeigler-Childs Building (the current site of the Newborn Town Hall and Library).
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| Porter Manor Home and Gardens |
One of the featured homes, the
Porter Manor House and Gardens, is owned by a local couple, Susan Oliveto and
Chris Dapkus. These two have done a remarkable job renovating this beautiful
home. Built in the 1890's, it has a traditional shotgun-style dogtrot bordered
by same-sized rooms, but the exterior, however, is rather unique. For starters,
it's the tallest building in Newborn and it has something you won't find much
in the South – a mansard roof, flat on top with curves coming off the sides in
a English Manor style with a bit of a Second Empire feel. And Chris, a
horticulturist by trade, has by all accounts done an outstanding job with the
grounds and landscaping. They bought the house in 2008 and have loved living in
Newborn ever since. “This town is so special,” according to Susan, adding that
there's very much a sense of pride in Newborn and they are happy to be a part
of it.
There is also a reunion for alumni
of the old Newborn Schoolhouse on the 19th. That will be taking
place at the Schoolhouse at 11AM. Lunch will be served and any and all alumni
as well as their families are invited to attend.
 | |
| Bigger Family Band at the Newborn Jubilee |
And last but not least – the 19th
is the third Saturday of the month so that means it's another installment of
the Newborn Dixie Jubilee at the Newborn Schoolhouse. Hosted by Mr.
Steve Biggers, my father-in-law, the Jubilee is a always a big event. Joined by
his house band, the Dixie Gentlemen, they play old-timey country and gospel
music and always have a good time. Music starts up at 6. Doors open at 5:30. Food
and Refreshments available.
So there you have it. Lots of
exciting stuff going down in Sandtown! Hope you enjoyed that. I'm really
excited about next month's article, so keep an eye out for that. And definitely
check the online version of the Chronicles as I'm writing a good bit over there
these days. I will also be posting an expanded version of this column with some
additional content and some of my personal recollections of Newborn. Until next
time.
Online-only additional content for
my latest edition of The Piedmont Chronicles as
seen in the pages of About Covington to Madison
magazine:
As I mentioned in the original
write-up, I lived in Newborn for about four years after I graduated
from the University. I moved to Newborn in September of 1998 and
moved back to Covington in October of 2002. It was a really cool time
for me. I was sort of “finding myself,” you might say, but was
very much enjoying the ride. Even though I had just gotten a college
degree in real estate about 8 months prior, I was really just looking
for a job to be able to pay the bills. That job turned out to be at
Bess's Place working for Andy and Julia Wilson. I would work there
for about two years and absolutely loved it! I still think about
those days a good bit. More on that in a minute...
The house I used to live in no longer
stands, but I'll have you know that it had a front porch that was
voted the best beer-drinking porch in the great state of Georgia for
several years running. I've had folks jokingly ask me if I was the
reason why the house was demolished. I don't think so as it was torn
down many years after I left and moved back to C-town. Some of you
might remember it. It was the turn-of-the-century white house with
the big porch right next to the RR tracks on 142. We had some big
times in that place! A few parties, lots of “yard golf,” and
maybe the occasional ruckus. Squirrels lived in the attic and would
often play “squirrel soccer,” in which they would seemingly kick
and pass pecans all across the attic floor.
One time I made some muscadine wine in
a dark closet just off of the kitchen. I got a recipe with the right
amounts of sugar, yeast, and muscadines. After a month, and that
stuff was pretty damn good! What I failed to realize was this: after
it hits the right point, then you need to properly bottle it or
refrigirate it. I just left it in the big jar I made it in with some
cloth over the top of it. After a couple of months, it kinda turned
but I neglegted to mention that to a buddy of mine who wanted to try
it. Let's just say that it didn't agree with him...
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| Bess's Place |
As I mentioned, I often think back to
my days working at the “Pecan Grove,” AKA Bess's Place, putting
out some great food and making some great memories with the likes of
Andy, Ms. Julia, Bobby D, Ms. Virginia, Patty, Chris and Chris, the
rest of the crew, and of course, Mr. Bobby Savage - God rest his
soul. Thinking about Bess's also makes me think of Ms. Alice Adams.
She was Ms. Julia's mother and would always eat lunch at the
restaurant. She was such a great lady. Super nice and sweet, but not
without a bit of spunk and a keen sense of humor. For months I would
always make the mistake of telling her, after my daily visit to ask
her how her food was, to have a nice day. She'd always shoot back,
“don't you tell me what to do!” Ha! I loved that woman.
I'll also never forget September 15,
2001. I had planned and promoted a big show out on the new deck at
Bess's called, “The All-Star, Feelin' Good Newborn Music Revue.”
I had five different acts lined up for a big, four hour show. A
couple of my groups at the time were playing, St. Moore's Fear and
The Cosmic Rednecks. I even had a pretty well-known singer-songwriter
out of Atlanta, Brian Ashley Jones, lined up as well. We all know
what happened on the Tuesday before this show, that Tuesday being
September 11th. There was some definite discussion as to
whether or not we should cancel. It seemed like it was about 50/50
from most folks involved – musicians, Bess's people, friends, and
fans. In the end, as promoter, it was my call. I felt like we had to
do it. A good buddy of mine's parents had this huge American flag. We
got it up on the side of the building right behind where we were
playing. It was perfect. As it turns out, I think most folks were
glad we did it as we had a huge crowd with more people than space on
the deck. Most of the show there were dozens of people out if the
parking lot or in the field next to the restaurant who couldn't get
on the deck. I had many folks tell me the highlight of the night is
when I did an electric, Hendrix-style rendition of the Star Spangled
Banner. A few folks said they cried. So many people came together to
make that show happen. It was a very special night.
I could probably write a book about my
four years in Newborn. So many characters. So many interesting
events, people, and things. There's really no other place on Earth
like Newborn. But I do love that little town.
