By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
AUG. 20, 2024 | There’s a new book out about Gwinnett County in the modern era that traces one of the key families of the county’s recent development, the Masons.
Much of the book is focused on Wayne Mason, with significant information about his partner and brother, the late Jimmy Mason.
The book is written by Catherine Lewis, a professor of history at Kennesaw State University. The book is essentially an academic one, with lots of references, drawing largely upon already-published material, though the author spoke with several members of the Mason family directly. The book will be available in September from Mercer University Press. It has 145 pages and sells for $27.
Everybody knows that Wayne talks at 100 miles per hour. Luckily, the author must have an ear that is up to that speed, for she captures Wayne’s distinctive philosophy in interesting ways.
Here are some of the great direct quotes from Wayne in the book:
“I thought I was a Rockefeller for a while, but soon, I was flat broke. But I worked it off, after losing a lot of money. And I ended up paying everyone off, and then came back myself even stronger.”
* * * * *
“You’re not a permanent resident unless you own a cemetery lot, and know where you’re going to be buried.”
* * * * *
“You appreciate what you’ve got if you made it yourself.’
* * * * *
“I don’t like money, but it does quiet my nerves.”
* * * * *
Mason
When as a kid selling eggs in Atlanta: “Those rich people, they’d feel sorry for me…my little hands would be cold and red and they’d give me a pair of gloves. Some Saturday I might get 10 pair. Then I’d go to school on Monday and sell them to the other kids. What did I need gloves for? You can’t count eggs wearing gloves.”
* * * * *
“I’ve been in every kind of business you can think of. You name it, I’ve been in it.”
* * * * *
When Jimmy and Wayne started building houses: “Jimmy stayed with Southern Bell until we made enough in the company to support both families. Whatever Jimmy’s salary was at Southern Bell was the amount I took from the company. We shared everything 50-50.”
* * * * *
“You can’t take a five-dollar bucket of dirt to buy groceries.”
* * * * *
“I didn’t join any organization, even the Boy Scouts, who wears uniforms.”
* * * * *
“If it was for the benefit of the county, we would find a way to do it.”
* * * * *
“When I started out, I couldn’t hardly run a waterline or grade a road that didn’t cross the property of somebody who was kin to me, or who had married into the family.”
* * * * *
“We borrowed the money for the Lake Lanier water plant, capitalized the interest for three years, and then went to full cash with interest for another three years. We backloaded the bonds, paying interest-only in the early years, and principal in the last years. Think what a dollar was worth in 1973 compared to what it was worth 25 years later. That way you could make the numbers dance.”
* * * * *
“I think diversity is the best thing that has ever happened to us.”
* * * * *
“I have had a great life, and I would do it all again.”
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