Jawbones

I was navigating around on Dave Tabler’s Appalachian History blog and ran across an article written by Ruth Cade in November of 2007. The subject of this story was a “Booger Man”. Apparently, Ruth’s dad had used the threat of a local ghoul to make the kids want to come in and stay in after dark. This story brought back memories of “Jawbones”.

I grew up in Mt. Olive, Alabama. Today, this would be considered a rural suburb of Birmingham. Our next door neighbor was Clyde and Bertha Countryman. This couple had moved to Mt. Olive many years before Momma and Daddy bought their house in the suburbs. They were from a mining community south of Birmingham called Boothtown in Shelby County. Their children were grown and had children of their own. As a boy I stayed with Ma Ma Countryman during the day. As time went on Ma Ma and Pa Pa treated me like one of their own. After I started to school I would stay with her until my parents got home in the evening. When time changed in the fall it would get dark before Momma and Daddy got home and I would get to walk home in the dark. I distinctly remember PaPa Countryman telling me to go straight home or Jawbones would get me.

Now what was Jawbones? I remember him describing Jawbones as a wild animal of sorts that hung out around the mining camps and Mt. Olive getting children that stayed out after dark. Jawbones smacks of the Booger Man strategy employed by Mrs. Cade’s father. I wonder how many more stories are out their about Booger Men and Jawbones? I would love to hear the stories.

Winter Time Ain't What It Used To Be!!!

The following is a photograph of Court Street looking east toward the Gordon County Court House. The photograph is dated 1892. There is a pretty fair amount of snow on the ground. If we had that much snow on the ground in the morning Calhoun would pretty much grind to a halt. For Calhounites of the day this snow did not seem to cause much trouble. They seem to actually be prepared for such an event. Note the two sleighs in the picture. Throughout the photographic archives there are many wintery scenes of Calhoun. Is this a photographic record of a time when north Georgia was colder? My family comes from the northern hill country of Alabama and Mississippi and my parents and grandparents sure indicated that it was colder when they were kids. My grandmother told of mornings when my great-grandmother would get out of bed and broom the snow off the quilt they slept under. Apparently they had a serious roof issues in those days.

Update

Well the leaves have fallen and we are headed into the holiday season here in North Georgia. Work at CHS is quite brisk right now, so I have been lacking in my posts. Hopefully, I will be adding new posts to my blog over the next few days.

Reservoir Identified

The first post I made to the Vanishing Calhoun on August 13, 2007 was about an odd shaped structure above the Boston House on Mt Alto. I issued a general query as to the origins and function of this structure in the blog and started asking around. A local told me that it might be a water tank of sorts. She lived on the hill and heard about a tank that once was near her house. One person speculated that it was an athletic field of sorts – maybe a tennis court. The first hint of what the structure could possibly be came from the 1911 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Calhoun. On this map a reservoir is noted as being east of town on or off of O’Calligan Street. This street appears to be the present day alley that leads behind the Calhoun Municipal Building. Sheet 3 of the Sanborn Map clearly shows a system of pipes that appears to take water away from the reservoir and feed to various parts of town. Most notable is an eight inch piper that is labeled “to reservoir”. Today this pipe can be seen in the bank above and behind the municipal building. Further explanation of the structure seen in the picture comes from Jewell Reeves in the 1962 Climb the Hills of Gordon. According to Reeves on March 26, 1898, a bond referendum was voted on to fiance the construction of the town’s first water supply system. Plans included a pumping station to be located on the land of H. L. Hall and reservoir to be construction of Kiker Hill above the jail. The present day Municipal Building is the same structure as the aforementioned jail. Jimmy Palmer, the present Mayor of Calhoun, said that the reservoir was eventually filled in. I think the aerial photo above shows the location of the old reservoir.

Harbin Peach Orchard, 1900

As I examine and study the images of Calhoun's past I am often surprised by the subject of the photograph. Vanished chapters in our history that are as much of our community fabric as the Outlet Mall and Carpet industry of today are often discovered. Take the photograph above for example. The citation that accompanies the photograph states the following: Calhoun 1900. View of the Harbin Peach Orchard. This area is now the residential area of Hillcrest Drive and Sequoyah Terrace.

The Thicket

On June 3, 1850 in Inferior Court of Gordon County, Georgia Oothcaloga Depot was named the county seat of Gordon County. The fact that Oothcaloga Depot won the honor over Big Springs can be attributed to the philanthropy of John P. King. Mr. King graciously donated all of the land that was going to be used for public buildings. He also donated a strip of about thirty acres of piney woods. These woods separated the growing hamlet around the Depot from Oothcaloga Creek and a millpond. These bodies of water, in alignment with the scientific thought of the day, were believed to be the source of the “bad air’ that was thought to the causative agent of malaria.

It is said that the Gordon County Fairgrounds adjoined the pine thicket in southwest Calhoun. This is confirmed by the 1911 Sanborn Tax map in which the “Pine Grove” was noted as being east of West Pine Street. From what I can tell, West Pine Street approximates the route of present day Yellow Jacket St.

In the picture the red line approximates the Oothcaloga Street. This street extended out toward the Rome road. The green colored area is thought to be the “Thicket”

Looking West, 1916

This photograph from 1916 is described as an aerial view from atop Mount Alto.

Johnson Gin Company, Between 1911 and 1943

The picture above is of Johnson Gin Company. The business was located at the corner of South King and Court Street. This company appears on the 1911 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Calhoun. It was destroyed by fire in 1943.

Information about Unknown Landmark

I learned today that there was a reservoir atop of Mt. Alto at one time. Could this be a man made oval shaped reservoir? I also may have a lead on the house in front of the structure.
Tonight I discovered digitalized 1911 tax maps for Calhoun on the Internet. There is a road on one of these maps named O'Calligan Road. This road is labeled as leading to the "Reservoir". This road appears to start directly across Piedmont from North Court Street. I think that O'Calligan is the alley that leads to the parking lot the Calhoun Municipal building. I visited this parking area Thursday afternoon and discovered that there is an iron pipe jutting out of the bank above this parking lot. The 1911 map indicates that an eight inch pipe followed O' Calligan to the "Reservoir".

Pavilion Park, ca 1897

The photograph is said to be taken by T.F. Tomlinson in 1897. The band in the photograph was know as the Belmont Band. There are several photographs of this band in the Vanishing Georgia collection. However, this post is about the Pavilion. The citation with his photograph states that this Pavilion was located at the site of Phil Reeve Stadium. The Reeve is the home of the Calhoun High School Yellow Jacket football team. Considering that I am one of the administrators at CHS I had to give us a plug. Back to the Pavilion! There is no landmarks of any type to mark the location of this part of Calhoun history that has vanished. Maybe somebody that reads this blog can shed some light on the history of the pavilion.

Unknown Landmark in Calhoun, Georgia

This home in the middle of the photograph is the Boston House or Mt. Alto. ( ca. 1939) It was the home of Dr. John H. Boston. Dr. Boston is a notable Calhoun figure. However, this post is about the odd structure behind the house in the upper right hand corner of the picture? Any ideas about what we are looking at? You can double click on the picture and it should open in Explorer.