NEW CYCLORAMA BUILDING: Soon to be erected will be a new building for the Atlanta Cyclorama, to be located at 130 West Paces Road at The Atlanta History Center. The famous locomotive, the Texas, will be seen from the street level. The circular painting of the Battle of Atlanta will be moved to this site in 2016, and the building will be opened in 2018. For more details, see Today’s Focus below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Saving a Natural Treasure: The Cyclorama To Be at History Center
EEB PERSPECTIVE: How President Obama Disappoints Many in This Country
UPCOMING: Good Samaritan Health Clinic To Move to Buford Highway in Norcross
NOTABLE: Suwanee Saves $180,000 When Re-Financing City Hall
RECOMMENDED READ: The Importance of Being Seven by Alexander McCall Smith
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Missionaries Sentenced to Prison in Cherokee Rights Affair
TODAY’S QUOTE: On the Movement Away from September
MYSTERY PHOTO: Only Two Persons Were Eagle-Eyed in Spotting Recent Mystery
LAGNIAPPE: Waffle Houses Are Located in 25 of the Lower 48 States
TODAY’S FOCUSAtlanta Cyclorama getting new building at Atlanta History Center site
By Gordon L. Jones, senior military historian, Atlanta History Center
ATLANTA, Ga., Oct. 20, 2015 | In the 1880s, before the advent of motion pictures, massive 50-foot high 360-degree cyclorama paintings were the virtual reality time machines of their day. The resulting fad produced at least 20 cyclorama paintings of seven different battles – virtually all of them Northern victories. But in the 1890s, cycloramas gave way to nickelodeons and nearly all were lost to fire or decay. Today, only two Civil War cycloramas survive on exhibit: The Battle of Gettysburg and The Battle of Atlanta.
Jones
Produced at the height of the cyclorama craze in 1886 by the American Panorama Company of Milwaukee, The Battle of Atlanta was one of two identical paintings produced. The first – the one that survives today – was exhibited in Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and Chattanooga before coming to Atlanta in February 1892.
Despite a wildly enthusiastic reception, by October 1892 nearly everyone in Atlanta had already seen the great cyclorama that bore the city’s name. Facing bankruptcy, its Chattanooga promoter sold the painting at a fire-sale price and it was moved into a wooden building in Grant Park. In 1898, the failing attraction was donated to the City of Atlanta.
But then, a funny thing happened to this famous Northern victory: white Atlantans, then in the full grip of the Confederate “Lost Cause” myth, adopted The Battle of Atlanta as a symbol of what they saw as a moral victory in a heroic struggle for independence. In 1921, the now-dilapidated wooden building was replaced with a “fireproof” steel and brick building which would also house other Confederate “relics,” including the locomotive Texas.
And so the Atlanta Cyclorama remained until the 1970s. By then, it was experiencing its worst crisis ever: lacking maintenance for nearly 40 years, it was rapidly deteriorating. At the same time, a tectonic shift in city politics resulted in the election of Maynard Jackson, the city’s first African American mayor. Fearing that Jackson would not care for “their” Cyclorama, some Georgia legislators proposed that it be moved to the Confederate memorial park at Stone Mountain. Mayor Maynard Jackson responded: “It’s one battle where the right side won. I’m going to make sure that depiction of that battle is saved.”
Although Mayor Jackson’s initiative 33 years ago saved the Atlanta Cyclorama from immediate destruction, fundamental problems remained. In a building too small for the painting’s circumference (six feet had to be removed in 1921), the canvas today suffers from severe undulations and improper tensioning. After extensive consultations, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed determined that the best solution for the Cyclorama is a new and larger building at the Atlanta History Center.
In 2013, a gift of $10 million from Lloyd and Mary Ann Whitaker provided not only an endowment for the new addition at the Center, but also served to jump-start a $22.5 million capital campaign for re-housing and restoring this national treasure. The painting and the Texas will be moved to the Center in late 2016, where visitors will be able to see the progress of restoration before its grand opening, complete with four new exhibit galleries, in 2018.
EEB PERSPECTIVEPresident Obama disappoints in extending troop time in Afghanistan
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher
OCT. 20, 2015 | President Obama disappointed me more last week than at any time since he has been president. He obviously has been taking in too much of the Inside-the-Beltway Punch, as he announced that our American troops are staying even longer in Afghanistan.
He went back on his word.
One commentator called it a “U-turn on troops in Afghanistan.”
That upsets a lot of Americans.
It is a bad sign physically, endangering our personnel, as well as fiscally, costing the USA more money. And it props up a government that is not deserving of our efforts.
President Obama has disappointed before. In an earlier time, again when paying too much attention to Washington Insiders instead of Mr. Everyday American, the President in 2009 increased the presence of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, shortly after taking office. That rankled.
But by 2015 the President, should have learned that Afghanistan is virtually an ungovernable country. We are doing nothing more than pouring money down a rathole, at a time where we have pressing financial priorities within our country.
But mostly, it belies the understanding that the American people who elected Barack Obama had with the President, when he was campaigning for office. He promised that he would pull American troops out of Afghanistan at a certain date. Many Americans thought that way, too, and no doubt gave their vote for president to Mr. Obama based either partially or wholly on him giving his word.
Now he has backslid.
Whatever his presidential achievements, and we believe Obamacare is one of them, his decision to keep troops in that far-off country will stamp him as a president who disappointed many Americans, and lost their confidence, with this move. Our nation can’t simply fund an unwinnable war in Afghanistan and address our own social priorities at home.
It is almost unimaginable to think how much money has been squandered since 9-11 by our country in its efforts to prop up Afghanistan. The cost figures are staggering.
- The Center for Research and Globalization says that the cost of the war hits $6 trillion.
- Another way to look at it, the National Priorities Project, makes it simpler: $4 billion an hour.
This undeclared war is now the longest conflict in the history of our country, lasting more than 14 years. The president’s move last week could extend it to the next presidency.
While addressing the fiscal cost, we must not forget the terrible human cost to American fighting men in this war. As of October 1, 2015, a total of 2,326 American military deaths have been recorded, while 20,083 Americans have been wounded. Of course, this does not address many more Americans who have been harmed mentally from their time in this war.
All needlessly.
And by leaving our troops in Afghanistan longer, there will be more deaths and wounded.
While President Obama has not kept his word, our best hope now is that both the persons who secure their party’s nomination, will also promise to bring our troops home from Afghanistan. Their big problem is that one president has reneged on his promise. It will be difficult to feel another presidential candidate in 2016 will be true to their word.
President Obama: you can relent. Show your mettle by keeping your original word, and rescind your order for extending this needless effort in Afghanistan.
New subject: A rare copy of Button Gwinnett’s signature is up for auction, and it’s happening today, October 20, 2015 in England, at Mullock’s Specialist Auctioneers in the city of Wall under Heywood, Shropshire. There’s still time to bid, but you must move fast, since England is six hours time difference from the USA. The “guided price” is expected to be between £600-800, and note that’s in English pounds! To check out the site (and place a bid?), click here.
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Good Samaritan Health Center to move to Buford Highway in Norcross
The Good Samaritan Health Center of Gwinnett announced this week that the Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District will be a sponsor of its upcoming “Building on a Decade of Healing” anniversary celebration.
In addition to commemorating 10 years of providing affordable healthcare to uninsured residents of the Metro Area, “Building on a Decade of Healing” celebrates Good Samaritan’s acquisition of a new facility on Buford Highway in Norcross – which is part of the Gwinnett Village CID.
Chuck Warbington, CID director, says: “Having Good Samaritan being within the CID is a great asset to our community. Their services offer a valuable component to the economic development here in the Gwinnett Village and to the entire Metro area. It’s probably not an aspect that we think about on a daily basis, but keeping the workforce healthy is an integral part of a strong economy and community. Good Samaritan is helping to ensure that everyone in our workforce has access to the healthcare services they need.”
The Gwinnett Village CID is the state’s largest Community Improvement District. The public-private partnership, under Warbington’s leadership, works to increase commercial values, promote economic development, and enhance the quality of life for those that live, work and/or play in The Village.
Greg Lang, executive director of Good Samaritan comments: “We are thrilled to be celebrating with the Gwinnett Village CID in this milestone for our organization, and look forward to working alongside them to see both this community, and the metro Atlanta community, grow healthier – physically and economically.”
Walton EMC offers decorating program at Brookwood on Nov. 3
Kick off your holiday season with the return of Walton Electric Membership Corporation’s popular holiday programs.
Dean Pannell, Georgia Master Florist, will present both Thanksgiving and Christmas decorating ideas at the Oconee Civic Center in Watkinsville on Monday, November 2 and at Brookwood High School in Snellville on Tuesday, November 3. Programs begin each night at 7 p.m.
Pannell, a 20-year floral business veteran, ran his own shop before landing in New York to decorate the sets of “Passions” and “Guiding Light” soap operas. He is the recipient of numerous design awards and has been featured in many popular magazines.
Pannell now runs his own business, Pannell Designs and Events, but his true love is teaching and helping people how to make their homes pop with current and beautiful floral designs.
All attendees receive a gift from Walton EMC. Registration is at the door. There is no charge. Walton EMC is a customer-owned power company that serves 123,000 accounts over its 10-county service area between Atlanta and Athens. For more information, call 770-266-2572.
Duluth debuts STE(A)M activities for youth on Oct. 23
Early Friday fall in Duluth might be cooler in temperature but hot with activities when STE(A)M debuts on Friday, October 23. The evening will be filled with the wonders of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STE(A)M) to be enjoyed by all ages, and also includes a concert by crowd-favorite The Regulars Band, all occurring in Downtown Duluth. As with every Fridays-N-Duluth, the fun begins at 6 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m.
STE(A)M activities are kid friendly and include interactive displays sponsored by community groups, companies and individuals that challenge keen minds and demonstrate how everyday items can be used in imaginative and innovative ways.
- Scheduled STE(A)M participants and programs include:
- Ice cream by Freeze Cream;
- The Atlanta Astronomy Club will offer star-gazing via an on-site telescope;
- Georgia Gwinnett College will host Lego Robotics and ideas about what can be built from this timeless childhood favorite;
- C3 Glass Art Studio will offer glass-blowing demonstrations;
- Destination Imagination will offer the seasonal sport of Pumpkin Chunking;
- “Mathnasium” will test math skills and highlight the importance of math in everyday life;
- Plus music by The Regulars Band.
Suwanee moves to save $180,000 on refinancing of City Hall
The Suwanee Urban Redevelopment Agency has authorized refinancing of 2006 revenue bonds that were used to help fund construction of Suwanee City Hall. The City of Suwanee still owes about $4 million on the original $6.5 million bonds and, through refinancing at an interest rate of 1.94 percent, will save approximately $180,000 across the 11-year payment period that remains.
Over the next 30 days, the City will work to close on the refinancing agreement with JP Morgan Chase. The original interest rate was 3.5 percent.
Financial Services Director Amie Sakmar says: “The City’s debt policy requires that, unless terms are changed, a savings of at least 3 percent must be realized in order to refinance debt. Suwanee’s strong financial position – we have a AAA bond rating from Standard and Poor’s – make us a good investment, and market conditions and low interest rates make this a good time to refinance. Premier financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase want to partner with us because we’re a secure bet.”
The City of Suwanee also has about $13 million in general obligation bonds (remaining from $17.7 million in bonds that were originally issued in 2002), which were used to acquire open space and build parks. The City refinanced those bonds in 2006 and cannot, according to IRS rules, refinance again within a 10-year period.
Buford resident wins DOT’s Achievement Award for 2015
From left are Russell McMurry, Kim Byers and District Engineer Brent Cook.
Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry has named Kim Byers of Buford as winner of the 2015 Commissioner’s Achievement Award for her continued excellence in daily job duties. This came at this year’s District Employee Appreciation Day.
McMurry says: “Kim is the Local Government Right of Way Acquisition Coordinator working with cities and counties to ensure they follow acquisition procedures and regulations. She often goes ‘above and beyond’ to help local governments by drafting deeds and petitions. In Fiscal 2015, Kim coordinated the purchase of 192 parcels while the remainder of the state acquired 250 parcels.”
Byers has worked with the Department of Transportation since 1992 in Administration, then moved to Preconstruction in 1994. For over 20 years, Byers works to ready projects for construction. She lives in Buford with her children, Peyton and Ansley.
Here’s another way to donate to help S.C. flood victims
A special statewide monetary fund has been established by South Carolina School Boards Association and SC Future Minds to assist students in school districts displaced by the historic flooding in South Carolina. Schools looking for ways to help their fellow schools in the 16 South Carolina counties declared as disaster areas who have suffered significant damage and loss can visit www.floodreliefforscschools.org for more information or to donate or can text “SCSchools” to 71777. SC Future Minds is the only 501(c)3 non-profit that organizes private support for the state’s public K-12 public schools
The funds, which will be divided among the school districts, will be used for school-related supplies and programs targeting affected students and could include purchasing school supplies, assisting with after school programs, or providing a program offering food in backpacks to take home, etc.
RECOMMENDEDThe Importance of Being Seven
Fiction by Alexander McCall Smith
On the surface, this book is about poor Bertie Pollock – a good natured six-year-old in Edinburgh, who would dearly love to have a say in his own life. However, his mother is one of those domineering, over protective mothers who has Bertie in violin lessons, Italian language classes and even psychotherapy. She makes Bertie sleep in a pink bedroom so he won’t grow up with gender stereotypes, and she thinks the Boy Scouts is a military organization. My heart goes out to this kid. The author takes the stories of Bertie and several others who live in an Edinburgh apartment building as an opportunity to ask bigger questions. Are you still an artist if you stop creating? Does one feel odder spending money one inherits as opposed to money one earns? Who determines what is considered good art? This book is part of a lovely series called ‘44 Scotland Street.’
— Susan McBrayer
An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (100 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. –eeb
GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBITMissionaries sentenced to prison in Cherokee rights affair
(Continued from previous edition)
Samuel Worcester, a native of Vermont, was a minister affiliated with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). In 1825 the board sent Worcester to join its Cherokee mission in Brainerd, Tenn. Two years later the board ordered Worcester to the Cherokee national capital of New Echota, in Georgia. Upon his arrival Worcester began working with Elias Boudinot, the editor of the Cherokee Phoenix, to translate the Bible and other materials into the Cherokee language.
Over time Worcester became a close friend of the Cherokee leaders and often advised them about their political and legal rights under the Constitution and federal-Cherokee treaties. Another ABCFM missionary, Elizur Butler, who was also a physician, left New England in the early 1820s, eventually being assigned to the Haweis mission near Rome in 1826.
The Georgia government recognized that Worcester was influential in the Cherokee resistance movement and enacted a law that prohibited “white persons” from residing within the Cherokee Nation without permission from the state. Georgia gave the missionaries until March 1, 1831, to obtain a license of residency or leave the Cherokee Nation.
Several missionaries, including Worcester and Butler, decided to challenge the law and refused to leave the state. On March 12, 1831, Georgia authorities arrested Worcester, Butler, and several other missionaries and teachers for violating the new law. A Georgia judge released Worcester when his lawyers argued that he served as federal postmaster at New Echota and was therefore in the Cherokee Nation under authority of the federal government. Governor George R. Gilmer persuaded the United States to relieve Worcester of his postmaster duties and then ordered the missionaries to leave the state.
Three of the missionaries gave up the fight and abandoned their missions. Worcester, Butler, and several of their colleagues remained, and on July 7 the Georgia Guard again arrested Worcester and Butler, and nine other missionaries. After posting bond Worcester returned to New Echota to take care of his wife and daughter, who was seriously ill.
Understanding that the Georgia governor would continue to harass him, he left them and relocated to the Brainerd mission. At that point, he received word that his daughter had died. When he returned to New Echota to console his wife, the Georgia Guard arrested him for the third time. Worcester explained why he had returned, and the commander of the guard temporarily released him. In September the missionaries were tried, convicted, and sentenced to four years in prison at hard labor. They were sent to the Georgia penitentiary at Milledgeville.
(To be continued)
- To access the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Do those high-flying bells give you a clue to this mystery?
Old world or new? Do those bells high in the sky tell you something? See if a thought comes to your mind where this edition’s Mystery Photo was taken. Send your answers to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include the town where you live.
What we thought would be a simple-to-solve mystery was solved by only two persons last week. Chuck Warbington of Auburn wrote: “Mystery photo taken in Pigeon Forge. Our family visits this place annually with incredible memories.” The photograph was clicked by Roving Photographer Frank Sharp.
Tanya Moore of Norcross also spotted the mystery, writing: “This is a picture or The Old Mill, now a restaurant, in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. In the early 1800s this water-powered gristmill on the banks of the Little Pigeon River became one of the main hubs of activity in this small mountain community. In those days, the mill faithfully produced the meals and flours that were crucial for the day-to-day existence of the Smokies’ early settlers. In fact, The Old Mill even furnished electricity for the town until 1935.”
LAGNIAPPEWaffle Houses aren’t everywhere
But Waffle Houses are in over half (25) of the lower 48 states, as this map shows. And yes, Norcross-based Waffle House has its most locations (381) in Georgia. South Carolina ranks second with 144, and North Carolina is right behind with 142. That makes South Carolina the leading state for Waffle Houses per person. Note that the most distant state where Waffle House operates is in Arizona. Also note that Texas is not anywhere near first in locations of Waffle Houses! And hip-hip-hooray for Illinois, which counts two Waffle Houses!
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