GwinnettForum | Number 22.44 | June 20, 2023
A PEACHTREE CORNERS couple is taking a trip out West, and visited Kansas City recently. Here is one of the KC Streetcars. Running from the River Market on the north end to Union Station and Crown Center on the south, KC Streetcar connects all the downtown neighborhoods with 16 platform stops and 2 miles of track. With streetcars arriving approximately every 10 minutes during peak hours, offering level boarding and fare-free, visitors and residents alike can easily explore Kansas City on their schedule. (Visit the KC Streetcar website.) For more, see Ed Orr’s report in Today’s Focus.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Learning why Kansas City was originally developed
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Here’s why Edward Stack of New York is my hero
SPOTLIGHT: Sugarloaf CID
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
UPCOMING: Snellville to mark its centennial weekend of August 18-19
NOTABLE: Fortune names Peachtree Corners among best place to live
RECOMMENDED: Jury Duty Streaming series, on Amazon Prime
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Ebos Landing has no local marker of its existence
MYSTERY PHOTO: Three by the sea, but which sea and which town?
CALENDAR: Rooftop solar workshop will be Wednesday, June 21
Learning why Kansas City was originally developed
Kansas City bridge across Missouri River
(Editor’s Note: Janet and Ed Orr of Peachtree Corners are traveling out West. Here is a second installment about their trip.)–eeb
By Ed Orr
KANSAS CITY, Mo. | Leaving Indianapolis and heading on the new version of the National Pike (Interstate 70), we passed the fields of southern Illinois, crossing the busy Mississippi at St. Louis, past the Missouri river towns of Wellington and Napoleon, named for who you would suspect, with the unincorporated town of Waterloo between them! These towns because of their proximity to the river and are not close to the railroads or roads linking St. Louis and Kansas City; but they still survive, as does their larger cousin Liberty, also adjacent to the Missouri.
Orr
Continuing west to Kansas City, one finds a number of towns that claim they’re the gateway to the West including Independence, Mo. home of the “buck stops here” Harry S Truman’ St. Josephs, Mo. (the jumping off place for the short-lived Pony Express)’ and Westport, which is now a neighborhood of its bigger cousin, Kansas City and claims to be the start of the Santa Fe trail.
It is easy to see why Kansas City ended up where it did. It was birthed from the Missouri River and the steamboat. There’s a large flat rock jutting out into the Missouri that was convenient for the steamboats coming up stream from St. Louis to offload their cargo. This, coupled with an early municipal development project cutting a path through the 200 foot river bluffs allowed the wagons easy access from this off-loading point to Westport (now KC’s Main Street). From this, the business of servicing the vast needs of the country’s western expansion assured its growth.
Aside from being immortalized in the musical Oklahoma (“Going to Kansas City”) for burlesque and grain elevators, the city has a number of unusual facets: a great number of fountains (perhaps as a result of its abundant water source; it’s the headquarters of two large national banks each controlled by different members of the same family; impressive art museums; a second Federal Reserve District Bank (Missouri is the only state to serve as headquarters for the two Federal Reserve District Banks; a rejuvenated downtown, and a new transit system. During World War II, it built B-25 Mitchell bombers, among others. (It is now a General Motors assembly plant).
Kansas City has a series of good restaurants ranging from the Milwaukee Deli, The Homesteader Café, and L’ Affare, a modern German restaurant, a personal favorite.
The city also has a significant history from the Civil War arising from the Missouri compromise. Of note is the Lawrence Massacre in Kansas, where a number of Confederate guerillas attacked the town of Lawrence, killing men and boys. Not as well known is that this was in retribution for the deaths of a number of the women of the Confederates’ families that had been imprisoned as hostages in Kansas City by federal forces in a mysterious hotel fire. In any event, and perhaps most amazing of all, is that these Confederate guerillas were later pardoned and rejoined society.
From Kansas City, we headed south, past Fort Scott that was one of a series of forts built to enforce the resettlement of Indians to the western territories; past Wichita, which is now a major aircraft manufacturing center; on to the lower gas prices of Oklahoma; and on to catch up with an old friend and mentor in Fort Worth Texas.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Here’s why Edward Stack of New York is my hero
National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, N.Y. Via Wikipedia.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 20, 2023 | Though I had never heard of Edward Stack before, he’s a hero of mine.
Mr. Stack died recently at age 88 in New York. He had served for 60 years in leadership roles of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, ending as president and chairman. And he’s my hero because he’s the person who is responsible for keeping Pete Rose out of the Hall of Fame because of his gambling addiction.
No doubt about it. Pete Rose was a stellar baseball player for years. But his habit of betting on the game, even ones in which he was playing, got him banned from baseball by Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti. Mr. Stack came up with the idea to disqualify him for the Hall of Fame because “of the moral dimension of being elected to the Hall.”
Here’s where I learned a great deal, and suspect that most readers will learn a lot, too. Major League Baseball does not control the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. The Hall of Fame is a nonprofit, founded, owned and controlled by the Clark family of Cooperstown. And all this is a fascinating story, one that also involves the Singer Sewing Machine Company.
Isaac Merritt Singer came up with the world’s first sewing machine in 1850. In 1851 Isaac Singer patented the first practical sewing machine.
But Singer had legal problems in protecting his invention. He sought help from attorney Edward Clark, who became his partner. It was Clark that came up with the idea that made both rich. He created the hire-purchase plan, which was the first American installment plan. Housewives in Iowa or Georgia could order a Singer sewing machine, and make $2 monthly payments with their egg money. When Edward Clark died in 1882, he was worth $25 million, ($600 million in today’s money).
Edward Clark invested in real estate, and he developed a family compound in Cooperstown, N.Y., where the family’s fortune and influence continues to this day. Residences, business, and properties related to the Clark family are all over Cooperstown. And, yes, it was the Singer fortune, via the Clark family, that funded the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Clark family has dominated Cooperstown and the region around it for five generations. The Clarks own just about everything, starting with the grand Otesaga Hotel, where Hall of Famers are put up during Induction Week. The family founded the local hospital and donated the land for the public schools. The Clark Foundation decorates the town for the holidays, and more or less takes care of whatever civic emergencies arise. And, of course, the Clarks control the Hall of Fame.
When the Clarks suggested the Hall of Fame, the timing was perfect. Baseball was about to celebrate its centennial in 1939, just a few years hence. The Clarks went to the commissioner of baseball, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and proposed that the birthday be celebrated in Cooperstown. This idea was too good to turn down. Clark would take care of building the museum. Washington, D.C., courtesy of the WPA, was providing the stadium. The Hall of Fame was a publicity bonanza for baseball, and it wouldn’t cost Landis or his bosses, the team owners, a red cent.
Edward Stack was born in Rockville Centre, N.Y. to a carpenter and homemaker. He graduated from Pace University, and got his first job as an accountant for a Clark company, and worked for the Clark family his whole life. And thanks to Edward Stack, he kept a guy banned from baseball forever away from the Hall of Fame’s other luminaries.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Sugarloaf CID
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Response from the Golden Club announcement
(Editor’s note: thanks to those of you who called, wrote and texted your congratulations on the Golden Club announcement. We will print only one comment about the award, anonymously speaking, in a way, for all those who responded. –eeb)
Editor, the Forum:
You have dedicated your entire life to educating people through the newspaper business and you are continuing to do so during your retirement years when you could be sitting on a beach. AND WE APPRECIATE IT!
Golden Club membership honors your decades of service to the people of Georgia, and J.K. Murphy did a beautiful job of showing us the big-picture view of your career path — which also happens to be your passion.
I think your story will interest those who read and enjoy the GwinnettForum but have not yet had a chance to meet you in person. It’s time people got to know more about the man behind the curtain. So well done, Elliott!
– Anonymous
Send us your thoughts: We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum. Please limit comments to 300 words, and include your hometown. The views of letters are the opinion of the contributor. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net.
Snellville to mark its centennial weekend of August 18-19
Snellville’s Centennial will be celebrated through a variety of events on the weekend of August 18-19. The celebration kicks off at 4 p.m. Friday, August 18 on the Towne Green with a variety of food trucks, music, fun and games along with an antique car display on Oak Road representing cars dating back to 1923.
The city was incorporated in 1923 with Gladstone Snell (founder Tom Snell’s nephew) as Snellville’s first mayor. In the late 1920s the charter became dormant and remained so until the 1940s at which time W.C. Britt became mayor. During his administration the city limits were extended to one mile from the center of town. After Britt’s term of office, the charter again became dormant and remained so until after World War II. When the charter was activated in 1947, Arthur Stancil became mayor.
As part of the celebration on Friday, Experience Snellville will be giving away 100 dairy bars to the first 100 people who pick up a free ticket at the volunteer booth. The tickets will be given out on a first come, first serve basis and can be redeemed at the Frozen Sweets Food Truck.
There will be a kid’s zone with inflatables and a video gaming bus will be located next to City Hall. Both the inflatables and gaming bus will be free to play at this event.
Meet some historic Snellville ghosts from the past and join Snellville Performing Arts behind City Hall at 8:30 p.m., Friday for the hauntingly fun Ghost Tour. Donations will be accepted for the tour.
On Saturday, come to the Farmers Market dressed in clothing from a former decade for a chance to win prizes. Stop by the Farmers Market volunteer booth to show off your centennial clothing and register for one of the prizes that will be drawn at noon at the Farmers’ Market.
Saturday evening, the Atlanta Seventeen Band will take the stage from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., playing music through the decades. Come listen to music from the Roaring 20s to Soul, R&B, Jazz and Rock. The second night of the Snellville Performing Arts Ghost Tour starts immediately after the concert at 9:15 p.m.
At 8 p.m. a giant centennial City of Snellville birthday cake surrounded by 100 sparklers will be brought to the front of the stage by Snellville’s Masonic Lodge No. 99 for a Happy Birthday sing-a-long. Cake will be served to those in attendance.
Lawrenceville promoting Stars and Stripes exhibit
The City of Lawrenceville announces the Stars and Stripes of Lawrenceville Student-Curated Art Exhibit at City Hall 14 until July 4.
This is promoted as a pop-up event under the DTL Happenings umbrella, dedicated to building community through engaging experiences that focus on fun, out-of-the-box, healthy and unique activities that might not be widely practiced or easily accessible.
On the Main Level of City Hall, students participating in the Summer of Impact intern program worked together on the Stars and Stripes of Lawrenceville Student Curated Art Exhibit. Most of the photos were taken by photography intern Mason Bishop, with additional photos by Bruce Johnson.
Students selected, framed, and hung the photos to create a unique art exhibit celebrating the American Flag. The photos also appear on the LED kiosks around the square. In addition, the exhibit includes an original painting, Now What? By John Saude, curated by Aura Leigh Sanders, chair of the Lawrenceville Arts Commission.
A special Flag Day video has been shared on social media displaying American Flags throughout Lawrenceville and inviting citizens to tag the City in photos of their own American Flags. Watch for an additional video about the creation of the art exhibit on the city platforms soon.
The public is invited to view the Stars and Stripes of Lawrenceville Student Curated Art Exhibit Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. , on the Main Level of City Hall, Watch for additional photos and videos on city social media.
Fortune names Peachtree Corners among best place to live
Fortune Magazine has named the City of Peachtree Corners as one of the 50 Best Places to Live for Families, coming in at No. 19 nationally and No.1 in Georgia.
According to Fortune Magazine, their evaluation included nearly 1,900 cities, towns, suburbs, exurbs, villages, and townships across all 50 states in the country. The process reviewed more than 200,000 unique data points across the categories of education, aging resources, general wellness, financial health, and livability.
The rankings considered such factors as the quality of local public schools, graduation rates, nearby college affordability, the number of quality nursing homes, assisted living communities, home health care agencies, risk of social isolation among older residents and access to solid health care providers.
Additionally, Fortune recognized the importance of places that offered diverse neighborhoods. Fortune also incorporated socioeconomic, religious, and ethnic diversity into its data collection process.
Jackson EMC contact center becomes certified
Jackson EMC has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first certified EMC Contact Center in the United States. This accomplishment was recognized through the International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) Contact Center Certification, which validates the center’s efficiency and exceptional customer service.
Jackson EMC’s customer service team underwent rigorous training with ICMI, emphasizing customer focus, leadership, process management, and other best practices. The program also reviewed standards, processes, and data before concluding with an on-site visit conducted by ICMI.
“We’re so proud of our contact center and customer service teams for achieving this certification – the first of its kind for an electric cooperative!” Brent Cochran, director of customer service, said. “We did this to ensure that Jackson EMC is operating as efficiently as possible and using the best practices in managing our contact center and customer service processes.”
Jury Duty streaming series, on Amazon Prime
This eight-part episode documentary-style comedy shows the interworking of 12 people, plus alternates, on a jury. There is one catch: everyone in this entertaining series is an actor, except one person. This one person thinks he has really been called for jury duty, and somehow in the filming of the many episodes, no one flubs a line and discloses that everything is fake. Our hero is told that the filming going on is for a documentary on jury duty, so he can understand all the hullabaloo around him. Add that this jury is one that is sequestered for two weeks in motels, so this complicates the confusion. Meanwhile, the ‘defense attorney’ in the case is really a bad one, adding to the frustration of the jury members. All in all, a thoroughly delightful yarn pulled off brilliantly, which you will want to watch to the very end.—eeb
- An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (150 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. Send to: elliott@brack.net
Ebos Landing has no local marker of its existence
(From previous edition)
Toni Morrison’s literary masterpiece about Ebos Landing on St. Simons Island recounts the story of a young African American man, Milkman Dead, who has been crippled by persistent racism and limited opportunities.
Having grown up in the industrialized North, Milkman returns to the South in search of his ancestral roots. In the course of his travels, he learns from oral histories that his family is descended from an African shaman who possessed the power of flight. Having regained the knowledge of his family and his African heritage, Milkman recovers his lost ancestral powers at the end of the novel and takes flight at what appears to be the moment of his death.
This soaring climax fittingly captures the power, hope, and magic inherent in the myth of the flying Africans and offers an important insight into why this tale has been cherished for so long. By transforming the painful memories of slavery and racism into the emancipating power of flight, the story of the flying Africans continues to play an important role in maintaining a cultural connection to Africa and empowering generations of Black Americans.
Although the myth of the flying Africans will undoubtedly be told for many decades to come, a fitting coda to this tale might be found in the consecration of Ebos Landing in the summer of 2002. The St. Simons African-American Heritage Coalition invited Chukwuemeka Onyesoh from Nigeria to designate Ebos Landing as holy ground and to put the souls of the enslaved to rest. “I came here to evoke their spirits,” Onyesoh explained, “to take them back to Igboland.” Participants in the memorial traveled from Haiti, Belize, Canada, New York, and Mississippi, among other places to watch and pray as elder Igbo tribesmen danced and sang under the aging cypress trees hung with moss.
No historical marker commemorated the site of Ebos Landing, which was adjacent to a 1940s-era sewage treatment plant, until 2022. The African American community also continues to mark the sacred site in their own, more private ways. Some local fishermen on St. Simons, for example, will not cast fishing lines or crab nets in the fecund waters of Dunbar Creek for fear of disturbing the ghosts of the Igbo. While the state waited years to recognize Ebos Landing as a landmark, the many stories ranging from folktales to Nobel Prize–winning novels surely constitute a kind of literary memorial worthy of the remarkable story of the flying Africans.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Three by the sea, but which sea and which town?
A woman with two boys, and a ship in the background: where was this photograph taken? Send your thoughts on this Mystery Photo to elliott@brack.net, and tell us in which hometown you live.
The last Mystery Photo was easy pie for some sleuthers. Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. wrote:: “Today’s mystery is of the sculpture Les Braves (translation: The Brave in French) by French sculptor Anilore Banon (1957 –). In 2004, the French government erected Les Braves as part of the 60th anniversary to honor the American landing and battle along Omaha Beach. The three sculptures stand in the center of the beach close to the original 1945 Omaha Beach War Monument (not visible). They are ‘Wings of Hope’, ‘Rise of Freedom’ and the ‘Wings of Fraternity,’ poignant reminders of the brotherhood that bound the soldiers who fought to free France from the German forces.”
Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill explained the three elements: “1) ‘The wings of Hope’ symbolizes the spirit that carried the men on June 6,1944. It’s meant to inspire and remind us that together it is always possible to change the future. 2) ‘Rise, Freedom!’ shows the example of those who rose against barbarity and encourages people to stand strong against all forms of inhumanity. 3) ‘The Wings of Fraternity’ reminds us of our responsibility towards others as well as ourselves.”
Also recognizing the memorial were Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; Stew Ogilvie, Lawrenceville; Ross Lenhart, Stone Mountain; Ruthie Lachman Paul, Norcross; Ken Hixson, Norcross; Barbara Dawson, Dahlonega; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; and George Graf, Palmyra, Va.
SHARE A MYSTERY PHOTO: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: elliott@brack.net and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
At Norcross Gallery and Studio, the exhibition “Pigments of the imagination” continues. Kathryn Heller tells a story in her brilliant graphite of a wood stork and a laughing gull; the drawing (right) is titled “The Encounter.” She laughingly says that the small seagull won! Attend the reception for the artists on June 25, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. the exhibit closes July 22.
Rooftop solar workshop will be Wednesday, June 21
Rooftop solar workshop will be Wednesday, June 21, at 6:30 at the Five Forks Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library. Learn about the benefits of switching to solar energy to save money on your power bills and reduce your environmental footprint.
The Gwinnett Soil and Water Conservation District will hold their monthly meeting on Wednesday, June 21 at 9:30 a.m. at the Gwinnett Senior Service Center, 567 Swanson, Dr., Lawrenceville. There is a Zoom option; here is the link.
Reviving Baseball Youth Baseball and Softball Camp at Coolray Field will be on Thursday, June 22, from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The Gwinnett Stripers, with assistance from area youth coaches, have invited youth baseball and softball players to the camp who would otherwise not have access to summer ball or travel ball programs. Striper players will lead the group through various drills and exercises on the field. All participants will receive a binder of drills to take home that they can continue to practice throughout the summer. Those planning to attend, email Dave Lezotte (dave.lezotte@gostripers.com) by Wednesday, June 21.
Bluesberry Music Festival will be Saturday, June 24, from 3 to 10 p.m. at Betty Mauldin Park in Norcross. Come for a day filled with bluesy music and delicious blue-themed food and beverages.Don’t miss out on this berry-tastic extravaganza! For more information, visit aplacetoimagine.com.
Reception for the visitors to the Norcross Gallery and Studio will be Sunday, June 25, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. The current exhibit at the Gallery is “Pigments of the Imagination.”
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