USA > Georgia > Tift County > History of Tift County > Part 28
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51
30. Patton, Charles E .- Army
Dec. 25, 1944 .June 1, 1944
31. Cooper, Francis A .- Army
32. Barbee, Murren Arrel-Navy
.Feb. 12, 1942
33. Adams, Jesse Penn-Army Nov. 16, 1943
34. Whiddon, Heyward W .- Army Jan. 28, 1945
San Diego, Cal. .... Mrs. C. S. Gerner, Mother, Rt. 4, Tifton Okina wa Mrs. C. C. Cromer, Mother, Rt. 1, Tifton
N. Atlantic Mrs. W. R. Neighbors, Mother, Fitzgerald
Norfolk, Va. Mr. and Mrs. Y. E. Matthews, Mother
and Father, Tifton
CHAPTER XXII WIRE GRASS JOURNALISM
J. T. Maund, of Dawson, together with J. F. Thompson, of Valdosta, in 1881 established in Ty Ty the first newspaper in what is now Tift County. The Ty Ty Echo was a three-column folio, printed on a job press. The Echo suspended publication in 1882.
Ty Ty business men, pleased with their paper, regretted its suspension so much that they offered inducements to an outstanding wire grass jour- nalist, Hanlon, of the Isabella Star, to move his paper to Ty Ty. He accepted the terms and moved the Star in February 1883 to Ty Ty. Late in the year Hanlon moved to Albany.
Mr. H. D. Webb's father, W. W. Webb, a few years ago had a copy of The Echo, published December 23, 1881. This paper was edited by J. T. Maud and C. A. McDonald. The price of subscription was a dollar a year in advance. The motto was: "The good and bad will be returned by The Echo."
Included in this issue are: "How to Tell," which explains the difference in news items and advertisements; "Queer," an article about a dog fight; "Ty Ty's School," of which John Murrows was principal; quotations on cotton, hides, bacon, and turpentine; notice by J. J. Williams, J. P. and J. W. Overstreet, N.P., ex-officio, J. P., that justice court would be held the first Thursday in each month instead of the first Saturday; a dance at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. T. Hale; the death of Marion Dampier, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Dampier; singing school of twenty-five students, taught by Prof. Nolen; the marriage of Miss C. A. Lawson to W. J. B. Wadkins.
Advertisements included the following: Dr. G. E. White, physician and surgeon, Ty Ty; Morgan and Corbett, attorneys at-law-Morgan, Al- bany; Corbett, Ty Ty-C. A. McDonald, attorney at-law, Ty Ty; T. K. Mashow's barroom and family grocery, located four miles south of Ty Ty at Pine Forest, Georgia; T. K. Mashow, dealer in naval stores. Ty Ty; the tonsorial saloon of R. G. W. Brooks, who offered to cut hair as smooth as a face, and shampoo heads; livery stable, W. W. Crockett, owner, Ty Ty; Spencer Graves, dealer in fancy articles, notions, patent medicine, patented safety single trees, soap, wagons, newspapers, magazines ; J. B. Cannon, agent for New Home sewing machines, also contractor and builder ; I. L. Ford and Company, north side of railroad ; Ty Ty dealers in furniture, dry goods, groceries, fancy goods, confectionaries, boots and shoes, hardware, tinware, and turpentine tools; J. A. Payne, north side of railroad, dry goods, groceries, gents furnishings and buyer of wool and country produce; W. F. Harrell, dealer in fancy and family groceries, south side of railroad, Ty Ty.
279
280
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
Maund, son of Mr. and Mrs. T. M. Maund, was born in Dawson, Terrell County, September 30, 1863. When very young he learned in the office of the Dawson Journal the printing trade, which he followed for thirty-five years. He edited The Fledging in Dawson, and when about eighteen years old published Ty Ty's first newspaper, The Echo. Later he worked with the Worth County Local at Sumner, and for sometime was editor of the Irwin County News at Sycamore.
On May 3, 1882 he married Electra Kendrick, of Ty Ty. They had two children, a son, Leon, who was with The Times in Valdosta, and a little daughter.
Maund came to Tifton in 1894 and worked with The Gazette for eleven years, then went to Valdosta, where he worked for five years. In 1911 he returned to Tifton and his old job, foreman of mechanical de- partment, and worked until his death, three months later. Maund was a member of the Methodist Church.
The Tifton Gazette, not the daily paper, was established as the Berrien Pioneer in 1889 by B. T. Allen, at Sparks, Georgia. In 1890 it was moved to Tifton and named The Tifton Gazette. The earliest copy of the Gazette now available is January 22, 1892. It is a four-page paper, with six thirteen-inch columns to the page. The outfit consisted of a small assortment of type, a Washington hand press, a job press and a small hand- lever paper cutter. The type was set by hand and the presses were operated by manpower.
1"The news items in Allen's paper were much more casual than they are in the Gazette of today: the headlines were smaller; and there was little attempt to separate the important news from the unimportant. Adver- tisements were segregated from the news, and they were for the most part less effectively written than they are in the present era. Some of the firms, however, notably E. P. Bowen, Tifton Drug Store, and the Padrick Brothers, were modern in their advertising.
"Like other newspapers of the nineties, the early Gazette had a charm that is foreign to modern journalism. Occasional Latin headlines, riming advertisements that carried the rich flavor of old English novels are for the most part a thing of the past.
"B. T. Allen was a man of no mean newspaper ability; his nose for news pointed toward the affairs of his neighbors, in which he realized his subscribers were primarily interested. If a baby boy was born to the Roscoe Hermans, Mr. Herman was made to 'bask in the sunlight of the sweet smile' of a handsome baby boy, newly arrived. An epidemic of measles was an event; and if a dog bit a man, to B. T. Allen, at least, it was news. Though chockfull of news from the town and surrounding territory, Al- len's paper neglected state and national news except in editorial discussion.
1. Fred Shaw's manuscript about Tift County.
281
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
"Like other Gazette editors, Allen was intensely ambitious for his town and section. This ambition found partial expression in a wise thoughtful- ness regarding the needs of the town. For instance, soon after the estab- lishment of the paper, Editor Allen began agitation for a bank, a railroad to Thomasville, a better passenger depot, and the clearing of farm lands -all of which things were eminently desirable."
The following is an example of Allen's editorial comments :
"A Third Partyite has had the gall to try to buy our political opinions for a dollar. He agreed to take the Gazette another year if we would let up on our fight against his party-with its dangerous heresies known as the twelfth plank, female suffrage plank, etc. His subscription was declined with thanks. Sorry so thoughtless a citizen lives in Berrien County."
In 1895 Allen sold the newspaper and job printing to Baldridge and Ful- wood, real estate firm. J. L. Herring, father of the present editor of the Gazette, accepted a position with the paper, which he later purchased ; he served as manager and editor until his death in 1923. Then his son, John Greene Herring, was editor until his death in 1938, at which time Mr. Bob assumed the duties of editor.
During these years of progress the Gazette, paralleling the growth of its town, has sponsored many worthwhile movements in Tifton, and survived three wars, Spanish-American, World War I, and World War II. Since the date of its birth, September 14, 1914, the daily has won distinction. These honors have been recorded in a previous chapter.
The quaint type of wedding "write-ups" was illustrated in the Gazette of 1899:
"Our handsome young friend, Dr. J. A. Gaskins, of Willacoochee, has at last surrendered to the God of Love and was united in marriage Wed- nesday of last week to Miss Estelle Moate, at the residence of the bride's parents."
Another example is :
"It was on February 3, that Florida's most brilliant son and Georgia's most beautiful and loving daughter made the fatal leap which Lycurges calls the cardinal point in everybody's life. J. K. Fitzgerald to Miss Grace McMillan.
"After a series of congratulations from the lips of the multitude who witnessed the scene, they were seated to a most beautiful table, containing all the delicacies of life." A complete list of wedding presents was given.
Marriages were referred to in the old issues as Hymen's altar.
282
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
These were quaint rimes about styles :
"What are the wild waves saying Brother, the whole day long ? They're saying: Your bathing suit, sister, Will certainly shake the throng."
"Mary had a hobble skirt From Paris it was sent And wheresoe'er she starts to go, She never seems to 'went'."
Some of the clever examples of advertisements are :
"An honest pill is the noblest work of the apothecary"-Dewitt's Early Risers.
"Honest John Liver Pills. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Not less than a million have found just such a friend in Dr. King's New Discovery."
"Noah advertised the flood. He lived through it, and the fellows who laughed at him were drowned. Ever since then the advertiser has been get- ting strong, and those who do not advertise, getting left."
"Late to bed and early to rise Will shorten the road to Your home in the skies But early to bed and A Little Early Riser The pill that makes life Longer, and better, and wiser."
Entertainments were written up in a flowery style during the nineties : "Wednesday evening Mrs. Boatright gave an entertainment in honor of the visiting young ladies and a gathering of youth and beauty did honor to the occasion. The game of Pillow Dex afforded much amusement and the recitation by Miss Belle Willingham of 'Prince Eric's Christ Maid' was superb. Miss Katherine Tift [now Mrs. Katherine Tift Jones, noted radio artist] rendered 'Aux Italiens' in the charming and inimitable style that is peculiarly her own and which so delights and entertains her listen- ers. Exquisite piano and guitar music was rendered by Miss Bertha and Mr. Ray Larkin, and with delicious refreshments, a feast of reason and a flow of soul, the evening was delightfully spent."
283
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
References to politics were interesting : "Rockaby, baby, your mamma has gone. She's out at a caucus And will be till dawn. She wore papa's trousers And in them looked queer So hushaby, baby Your papa is here."
One advertisement . suggested that Cleveland or Harrison would be elected President, according to the one who took Dewitt's Early Risers.
"The Gazette is for democracy pure and simple, first, last, and all the time ... These are political times when Democrats cannot afford to com- promise their faith in the slightest degree. Those who are not for democ- racy are enemies and should be treated as such."
"The conspiracy in which Tom Watson is engaged is damnable enough to make the departed spirit of Aaron Burr turn green with envy."
A negro said about the Third Party :
"Well, now lemme tell you, boss, you know dat de white folks is de fust party ; de niggers am de second ; now if you thinks I's gwine ter jine a party neaf a nigger, you is badly fooled, for I be dadsnatched if I do, dey is low down enough for me .- Fort Valley Leader."
Miscellaneous quotations from the old files are also interesting :
" 'Come Eve,' said Adam sadly From this place we must repair Because you ate that apple dear, We must quit this garden fair ; Then Eve looked meekly up at him And sprang this gaglet rare, Which all her sisters since have used 'I've not a thing to wear'!"
"As a rule, man's a fool either accidentally or intentionally." " 'The man that speaks a dozen tongues Is wise,' says Pat, 'but then He's wiser still if he has learned To keep his mouth shut in'."
"Dr. Nick Peterson had a narrow escape last Friday while speeding his horse on Love Avenue. One tire of his road cart burst and the wheel
284
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
spread out to such large dimensions that it overturned the cart, throwing the Doctor out on his head. He crawled out of the ditch somewhat dis- figured about the forehead, but not seriously hurt."
"Prof. Gray of Alabama will preside over the destinies of McPherson. Academy, Nashville."
Modern reducing is suggested in the following : "Oh, who would not a mermaid be ? She never moans or wails, For even though she takes on flesh She's not afraid of scales."
John Greene Herring, who was born on December 8, 1891, became editor of the Tifton Gazette after the death of his father, J. L. Herring, in 1923. He was graduated from the Tifton High School in 1909. He held every position on the paper from carrier boy to editor. During his connection with the Gazette it won the trophy given by the Georgia Bankers' Association for the Georgia newspaper doing the most constructive work for the restoration of confidence, the award offered by the War Cry, publication of Salvation Army, for best editorial on a religious subject, and a prize offered by the Emory School of Journalism for best editorial on the aims, ideals, and purposes of a newspaper.
For a while Mr. Herring was city editor of the Albany Herald and later a reporter for the Dublin Courier, but he returned to the Gazette and worked until his death in 1938.
He married Miss Ruby Hewitt. There are seven children in this family: Paul, Jack, Reuben, Tim, Lois, Sue, and Eunice.
Bob Herring, son of J. L. Herring, has been editor of the Gazette since 1938, when his brother died. "Mr. Bob," as many people call him, has lived in Tifton since his birth on July 28, 1899. He graduated from the Tifton High School in 1916 and went overseas in 1918. In 1919 Her- ring returned to the States.
Mr. Herring married Ida Mae Broadwell. They have two girls. Bar- bara and Jean (Mrs. John Matthews).
He is a member of the Tifton Chamber of Commerce, the American Legion, and the Methodist Church.
His connection with Gazette began as carrier when he was a little boy; press feeder was the next step; linotypist next; editor, last. Under his leadership the paper has progressed and as usual has paralleled the growth of Tifton. The paper has been honored and is considered one of the best small-town papers in the state. The last addition to the paper is an Asso- ciated Press teletype.
285
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
Miss Leola Judson Greene, Mr. Bob's maternal Aunt, who in 1947 celebrated her fiftieth anniversary of work with the Gazette, is another prominent Wire Grass journalist. She has done all kinds of work, from set- ting type to writing feature stories and editorials. She has written during three wars: Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II. A veteran newspaper woman and citizen of the highest type, Miss Leola though true to the ideals of the Old South is still progressive.
Miss Emma Rebecca Sutton, who wrote many interesting articles for the Tifton Gazette was a noted Wire Grass journalist. Years ago she went to New York as a newspaper reporter and stayed several years, but re- turned to her home in Ty Ty, where she was a benefactor to her com- munity.
Gus Pat Adams, who selected Smada for his penname, wrote for the Tifton Gazette many interesting articles about Tift County people. The following article gives a sketch of his life:
GUS PAT ADAMS (Copied from the Tifton Gazette)
"Nov. 24, 1933-Gus Pat Adams, 76 years old, one of the best known residents of this section of the state, died Friday morning at 2:20 at his home 31/2 miles northeast of Chula. Adams was taken ill last summer while on a visit at Harrisburg, Va. He hurried to Tifton and was taken to the Coastal Plain Hospital, later being carried to his home near Chula, where he died. He was not married and made his home with D. H. Hogan and family who lived on Adams place.
"Adams was born in Brooklyn, N. Y. He was a painter and decorator and came to this section 35 years ago. He followed his profession many years and traveled about over this section, from town to town and went from home to home. He knew all the old residents of this section and visit- ed with them. He made headquarters around Chula and it was at the home of William Branch near Chula 30 years ago that he was given the nickname, 'Pat.'
"Adams worked for the Gazette for several years as country circulator and became a regular contributor under the name Smada. Visiting around over the country he came to know all the old families and wrote up all of them in an interesting manner. He attended family reunions, annual meet- ings, and celebrations, and his writings of these gatherings were an inter- esting feature in the Gazette for many years.
"Pat Adams was an institution in this section. He was best known in Tift, Turner, and Irwin counties, but also known in a dozen other coun- ties. He was an interesting talker as well as writer, He was well read, kept posted on politics, and could converse intelligently with learned or ignorant
286
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
on any subject. Pat was a man of generous, jovial nature, and unfortunate was the man who didn't claim him as a friend. He had no relations in this section, but a host of friends, who will regret to learn of his death. Three sisters survive: Mrs. Francis Hale, Brooklyn, N. Y .; Mrs. Anna Gluckley, of Hackensack, N. Y., and Mrs. Emma Bailey, of Coscob, Conn. Buried at Hickory Springs by request.
The Tifton Free Press was established in September, 1940, by J. L. Williams, a pioneer of Tift County. For years while traveling in different parts of the United States he wrote for the Tifton Gazette several inter- esting articles. The Free Press is distributed in three groups, each group receiving papers every three weeks: five rural routes in one direction ; six in another; and all directions in the city. These papers go into thirty-four different homes. Some are sent as far as Texas and Pennsylvania.
The Press is an unusual paper, which combines the journalism of a newspaper and magazine. Subjects range from humor to pathos; they are reminiscent, informal, thought-provoking, entertaining, and informational. The editor gives the reader the benefit of his observation and keen mem- ory. Instead of publishing sensational articles, Williams gives historical, secular, and sacred sketches, biography, treatises on political and geo- graphical subjects, discussions of ornithology, animals, diseases, economic problems, stories of human interest, and humorous informal essays.
Some of his best articles are "Koreshans at Estero, Florida." "The Humming Bird," "Cancer," "Monkeys," "Moses," "The Wise Men and Star of Bethlehem," "Reading and the Human Mind," "Short Skirts," "The Last Supper and Resurrection," and "Egypt."
Often Williams intersperses an interesting chapter of his own life and refers to many incidents connected with Tift County pioneers. During the last war he wrote articles about the different countries in the conflict.
The Omega News, a weekly newspaper, was established by J. W. Lang and his son, W. L. Lang, in 1938 at Omega, Tift County, Georgia. At that time the paper was three columns wide and ten inches in length. The type was set by hand and the paper printed on a hand operated press.
In 1940 some additional equipment was purchased including a cylinder press, driven by electric power. The size of the paper was increased to four pages and six columns. The type was still set by hand. In 1946 a linotype was purchased and the paper increased to six pages, still six columns in width.
The largest edition ever published by the Omega News was the Christ- mas 1946 special edition which included 22 pages. The News has been operated by the Langs ever since its establishment. J. W. Lang is co-owner and W. L. (Bub) Lang is managing editor. Bub took time out during World War II, when he served four years in the U. S. Navy holding the rank of lieutenant senior grade.
287
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
The Omega, News has marched along with the progress of its com- munity, which has doubled in population during the time the news has been serving its people.
Lucy Maude Dowd Thompson, daughter of William Richard Dowd and Mary Ann Overby Dowd, was born on October 8, 1876, in Stewart County, Georgia. She attended high school at a country community, then called Pleasant Valley, and later attended the State Normal School, first in 1898-1901.
Miss Dowd taught school from January 1, 1895 until June 1912. Seven years teaching was in one-teacher schools; the last teaching in 1912 was in Statesboro High School. She taught in Ty Ty from 1907 to 1910.
She married William Charles Thompson, of Ty Ty, Tift County, on August 8, 1912.
Mrs. Thompson was postmaster at Ty Ty from January 1, 1915 to July 1, 1930, and counts among her mementoes the commission signed by her admired President Woodrow Wilson.
She has been a member of the Methodist Church since a small child, and is now general superintendent of the Church School at Ty Ty Methodist Church, which appointment came seven years ago.
She is a life charter member of the Woman's Society of Christian Serv- ice; a charter member of the Woodman Circle, and financial secretary since 1920; a member of the D.A.R., and is eligible for membership in Colonial Dames.
Her hobbies are folks and flowers. She still feels a deep personal interest in each person she taught in school or Church School.
Some of her feature stories have been published in the Tifton Gazette and other newspapers of the state. Her articles and other contributions have meant much to the development of Ty Ty.
The life and distinctive contributions of J. L. Herring, former editor of Tifton Gazette, are presented in the pioneer chapter. Mr. Herring as an editor and author of "Saturday Night Sketches" deserves a distinctive place in Georgia. He was the prose Robert Burns of the Wire Grass. The follow- ing is one of the "Saturday Night Sketches":
A WIRE GRASS EASTER
We walked to church-we had no other way of going. The path led over the gently undulating hills, through swishing wire grass, verdant with the return of spring. Overhead the sighing pines also had taken on a brighter tinge with the life of the new year. The poplars and blackgums in the branch to the right were in leaf; the dark green of the bay was
288
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
relieved, as by a snowy shower, by the dogwood in full bloom. Out on the edge of the bushes the gallberries formed a greenish saffron background for clumps of honeysuckle in full pink flower. The air was heavy with per- fume, redolent with the lassitude of spring.
The little log church stood in a small grove of oaks on top of the hill. Between the cracks of the logs the spring breeze came unobstructed ; the tiny shutterless windows on either side were useless The broad door in one end marked a dividing aisle, on either side of which the rough benches were ranged. On one side sat the women and girls; on the other the men and boys. In the pine-board pulpit stood the preacher, a patriarch with white, flowing beard, deep voice and a knowledge of the Bible gained through many years of study at noon rest time, or by the light of a tallow candle, or a lightwood-knot fire.
The Boy lounged lazily on a bench underneath the small window and watched the door. For a while vainly, and then She came! And with her a breath Elysian, a sense of completeness; all in the world worth while was there!
Not even a small part of the large sum required now for Easter tog- gery went toward her adornment, but to the eye nothing was lacking. Her dress of delicately figured calico had been fashioned by her own skilled fingers; with tight-fitting basque and flowing skirt her figure was faultless ; just the tips of her shoes showed as she stepped, a rustle of many skirts betraying the efficiency of the home laundry. A ribbon at her waist, another at her collar, a tiny bunch of violets pinned at her breast.
No Easter bonnet of fabulous price upon her head, but a real bonnet of pink calico, corded and quilted until it stood out stiffly as board (aided by thin strips of pine inserted), enshrined her face, as a priceless living pic- ture in its frame.
A wonderful thing, that bonnet. Its front came down as her chin re- tired, just at the time to tease; it went up as her head was raised, in a manner most alluring. Back in its depths her cheeks glowed with the blush of the rose in springtime; her eyes sparkled with the light of the stars in summer ; her hair rippled as the nut-brown throat of the thrush, catching the light from the sunbeams dancing outside; her fluttering breath came and went as the perfume of the summer pinks beside the walk at home.
Then, the bonnet was laid aside to catch the summer air, and all the wonderful glories it had half concealed came with amazing suddenness to the youth who gazed, entranced. Only one brief glance did she vouchsafe him, when she turned reverently to where the preacher, who had opened his Bible, was searching in his hymn book for the Easter anthem to line to the waiting congregation.
A sermon of power it was, of the risen Jesus, and the fearful price he had paid, but of a Jesus triumphant, because He had conquered by love ;
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.