Old Leaves: Upstream

I think of this story every time  I drive past our wonderful firemen's memorial behind the city auditorium.

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7-6-2018

I have enjoyed walking Rome's wonderful Riverwalk since before it had that name. Back in1991 as I walked the paved walking trail that traces the old River Road along the Oostanaula from downtown Rome to Riverside, something I had not noticed before caught my eye. There, embedded in the sandy silt and brambles between the walkway and the river were some large engraved building stones. They were hidden in vegetation near the new landing created for the Roman Holiday pontoon boat at Ridge Ferry Park. I crawled all around them trying to figure out what the inscriptions were as I dodged the stinging nettle plants that surrounded them.

The first stone was a large keystone engraved "No.2" over "AIN" and a second stone had "CITY" carved on one surface. I could see no engravings on the other stones. They had to have come from some important building. Maybe I could find a picture in Battey's history, or the Illustarted History of Rome, or the Roger Aycock book.

I couldn't wait to get home to check. I was surprised to find a picture of the stones quickly, right there in an engraving pictured on a postcard Dr. C.J. Wyatt had loaned me for publication in the Northwest Georgia Genealogical & Historical Quarterly.   It was tiny but readable on the front of the handsome "new" City Hall building on Fourth Avenue between Broad Street and the river: "No.2 Mountain City." It was also visible on page 51 of the illustrated history. It turns out the Mountain City volunteer fire company was headquartered in City Hall. The older Rainbow fire company (No. 1) had its HQ farther up Broad Street.

I contacted Jim Dixon, our assistant city manager at that time and he was thrilled to know they were there. He suggested they could be used in a display there at Ridge Ferry Park, or perhaps elsewhere. Somehow the Rome News found out and I took photographer Paul O'Mara out to see them and talked with David Monroe about finding them. That resulted in the photo and story in the Rome News that accompanies this post.  Sheila found the clipping while going through a box of odds and ends this week. 

These clippings are from the June 23, 1991, Rome News-Tribune.

Later, while I was editor of the Northwest Georgia Historical and Genealogical Society Quarterly, I wrote about the find and published some pictures in that publication.

I continued to check on the stones regularly as we walked the trail. One day, a dozen years later or more,  I noticed sone brightly colored tags attached to them. Soon another article appeared in the Rome News of the stones "discovery".  I suppose Jim had retired by that time and folks had forgotten about the stones again. This time around the stones were actually extracted from the silt by the city workers. I called the city and found that they had been transferred for safe keeping to the city public works facility on North Avenue near the present Animal Control center. I drove over to the lot to see them. Plans had begun for a tribute monument to Rome firefighters and this would be a natural exhibit to include there.

Now, after three decades, it looks like the stones will finally be displayed as part of that new fire fighters memorial being built behind the city auditorium. I think that is wonderful. Here's the most recent story and pictures from the Rome News:

New Firefighter Memorial

And just for the record, I didn't really think the stones floated to Ridge Ferry Park. Everyone knows: that's upstream!

Update: The stones were erected yesterday! Yay!

Rome News July 23, 2018

Gleaning Facebook: Bil & Andy Are Unleashed On Rome

The class clowns have arrived in Rome.

Mama Wolf’s expression says it all.

We kick off the public shows Friday evening at eight. Www.bigfibbers.com for tickets.

Paula Gordon Lepp, should you allow this guy out of the house unchaperoned? 

Comments:

Bill Candler
A traveler who went to Europe last fall informed me the original has only one sucker.

Terrell Shaw
Huh?! I never heard that! Did somebody steal one, like someone did here one time? 

Bill Candler
No clue, they seemed to be on the side of it was originally that way and the gift to Rome, Ga. is different for an unknown reason.

Andy Offutt Irwin
Bill Candler . ‘Posed to be two, the twins Romulus and Remus.

Benjamin Amis
There should always be two.

Capitoline Wolf - Wikipedia

Paula Gordon Lepp
I thought Andy Offutt Irwin WAS the chaperone! My mistake...

Terrell Shaw
Have mercy, Paula, you gotta know better'n that!

Paulette Crimm Gordon
Wish I was there.

Terrell Shaw
Paulette Crimm Gordon come on we got room.

John Paul Schulz
They're making a new one that looks like you. You will be honored.

David Matheny
No, Bil and Andy.....Momma ain't sharin'.

Dekie Hicks
Uh oh. It's started!

Tammy Lepp Killebrew
We will see u Saturday!!

John Paul Schulz
"Hey Romulus, this one's chocolate"

Tony Pope
Between our regular Tellers of Tales...can Rome handle this much storytelling at one time?!?!?! 

Repost from Monthly Marathon: A River Walk 2006

This is a repost from the now-defunct blog Monthly Marathon. I first posted this in March 2006.


A River Walk

3.5 miles around downtown last night and 5.6 miles today down the levee (above) to the confluence then up First Ave to the Silver Creek trail. 58.1 miles for the month. Here are a few more pics I took along the way:

Our courthouse reflected in the Oostanaula



The confluence of the Oostanaula (left) and Etowah (right) rivers to form the Coosa River. The bridge at the right is the Robert Redden Footbridge, a former railroad bridge that rotated on the center column so steamboats could continue up the Oostanaula. The bridge at the right takes Broad Street across the Etowah to the foot of Myrtle Hill.




The Silver Creek Trail crosses the Etowah on another railroad bridge turned footbridge (above) then follows little Silver Creek for three-quarters of a mile as it cascades down to the river.


I've lived in Rome since 1962, but I was completely ignorant of these picturesque downtown views until last week!



Notice the nearly vertical sandstone and shale layers, evidence of the crumpling of the former sea floor here in the Ridge and Valley province between the Blue Ridge and the Cumberland Plateau. At our school I can take my kids out to the driveway cut and pull shell fossils and crinoid stems from the crumbly sandstone.



The creek flattens a little as it nears the river.




The 1913 postcard (above) shows a mill on Silver Creek. I suspect the foreground is a bridge over the Etowah and the mill was at the mouth of Silver Creek. Or else it is high water on some other section of the creek. If anyone knows where this picture was taken, please let me know.

Gleaning Facebook: From the sixties...

 Richard ware posted this old picture on his Facebook page today. Wow! Some serious time travel here.

L-R: Michael Burton, Carol Shaw Johnston, Terrell Shaw

Terrell Shaw
Where was this taken Richard. I don't remember seeing it before. I imagine Mike, Carol and I could raise a sizable payoff to persuade you to destroy it! <grin>

Richard T. Ware
This photo was the only one taken with a regular camera (possibly my old Ansco), and the only one with a date, Jan. 1968. All the others were taken with a Polaroid, and you can tell it too. Look at the other picture with Mike & Carolyn and somebody in the background with some sort of military shirt on. These walls were paneling also, like this picture. Did Mike's old trailer have paneling. Possibly it was taken at our house in Celanese? This was a couple of years before I met Teresa. And, what is Carol so happy about?

Michael J. Burton
we did indeed have paneling in the old trailer, but not sure if this is it.

Ruthie Langston Terry

Love the old photo! It looks like a scene from an old sit-com!

Halelujah!

There must have been a hundred voices in the combined choirs. There was a handbell choir. There was an eloquent opening prayer by Warren Jones. A kids choir. A wonderful soloist for "O Holy Night". There was beautiful narration of the Christmas story by Jacqui Rose-Tucker. There were opportunities for the thousand or so inspired listeners to contribute voice to six carols interspersed through the evening. There was rousing brass, stirring woodwinds, dramatic percussion. There were varied and interesting arrangements:

• a magnificent overture that set the stage perfectly.
• a performance of the lovely "Do You Hear What I hear?" that reached out and shook you with the question, demanding a thoughtful answer
• a very Middle Eastern "We Three Kings" that evoked minarets and camels and maybe a belly-dancer here and there arranged by...
... our own Sam Baltzer. One expected to see the three Kings swaying into the Forum in gaudy silks high atop their camels following that Star.
• and some of us added our own Halelujahs to Handel's famous Chorus at the end.

Wow.

There may be another town our size somewhere that enjoys as much great free music, but surely none better. Sam Baltzer is a Rome treasure.

If the Christmas season ended tonight, I'd rank it pretty high just for tonight!

Lost Rome: Neely School

This postcard was published by the Shropshire Book Store of Rome, probably between 1905 and 1915. It is a view of downtown Rome between the rivers, taken from Myrtle Hill. In the foreground are riverboats on the Etowah river at the base of Myrtle Hill. In the upper right is the clock tower and Neely School. The Second Avenue bridge over the Oostanaula River at the left is a precursor to the current concrete bridge. One of Rome's lost railroad depots is in the foreground just across the Etowah.

Neely School, first known as Tower Hill School, was built in 1883, adjacent to the iconic Rome Clock Tower. It was renamed later Central Grammar School, and then named Neely School for Benjamin Neely, Rome's first superintendent of schools.

Here is a closer view:
Neely School was closed in 1958 and torn down in 1962.

Click on one of the labels below to see similar posts.

Lost Rome: The Nevin Opera House

What a loss to Rome on the very last day of 1919. The Nevin Opera House burned. Built in 1880, it stood where that karaoke joint is now. It featured concerts by the New York Symphony, the Boston Symphony, and tyhe Dresden Symphony. There were plays and operas. The last show was a movie, The Birth of A Nation, in 1916. Then it stood empty till the big fire.

Opera Alley, the only thing left of the landmark, still connects through to West First (and now the Forum civic center). The city has plans to make a bit of a museum out of the alley.

But don't you wish we could still see plays and concerts in that magnificent building!

Out of Town Visitor

This red-tailed hawk, harassed by a trio of raucous, bullying crows, alighted atop a utility pole overlooking busy Shorter Avenue across from Lowe's here in Rome, Georgia. I pulled up into the lot of the U-Haul place, whipped out the ol' Canon, and took a few shots, while she posed under the lowering skies. As I drove out I impulsively decided to slide right into the next drive and get a shot from the rear, and so captured her red tail. Here she is from both sides.

The live nativity scene at our church has been been presented each Christmas for the last 50 years. My family has been involved since 1962. Sheila and I have stood in it each Christmas, save one, since 1983. Here is a link to a short video report about the tradition from the Rome News-Tribune.

Fiftieth Anniversary
Trinity United Methodist Church
Live Nativity Scene

I have previously written about the Nativity Scene here and here and here and (very briefly) here.

Watch the Pedestrian Bridge Go Up...

Sheila and I pass the construction site for Rome's new pedestrian bridge over the Oostanaula River frequently on our evening walks. Here are a few of the pics I've been meaning to post.

But today I found a webcam site sponsored by the city of Rome that will let you watch its progress. Check it out occasionally here.

Riverwalk

Almost a year ago I wrote a letter to the editor of the Rome News-Tribune. I pled with owners of the properties being developed opposite each other on the Oostanaula River just downstream from the Limb to be sensitive to the beautiful riverfront environment. I asked that they avoid turning their dumpsters and loading docks to the river, but to integrate their businesses into the environment with decks and sidewalks joining it to the Riverwalk. This week one of the developers has released plans and I have to admit, given that there will be 4 chain restaurants (Olive Garden, Steak & Shake, Starbucks and one as yet unannounced) and a small strip mall, they seem to have done a pretty good job of just what I asked. There will be a large deck on the strip mall. A nice sidewalk will front the edge of the property and meander to join the Riverwalk. They have even named the complex "Riverwalk".

There are no announced plans for the opposite bank yet. (see pic above)

Click this link to see the design of Riverwalk

Martin Luther King Day

Lining up along First Avenue today.

Marching up Broad Street last year.

As I have for many consecutive MLK days, at 11 this morning I joined two or three hundred fellow admirers of Martin Luther King to parade and sing and chant for five blocks up Broad Street from the Etowah River to the City Auditorium. On this day, last year I wrote a couple of posts:

Walking for Peace, Justice, and Brotherhood

A Meaningful Mile

Today our crowd was a little larger, I think, than in the past -- maybe because of the unseasonably warm weather. I soon had to roll up my long sleeves. There was never a thought of a jacket. We sang "We Shall Overcome", Kumbayah", and "Ain't Nobody Gonna Turn Me Around". Right past the once segregated, now long closed, lunch counters. Right past the long-closed department stores with their dual water fountains & restrooms.
Under the stony gaze of a granite Rebel soldier who guards Rome from atop Myrtle Hill. Up the wide street where proud and optimistic sons of Rome paraded before heading North to defend our homes from Yankees and where Sherman and his men defeated Rome's bedraggled home guard, in preparation for that final fiery dash across the state to Savannah.

There surely were some folks squirming in their resting places in the soil of Myrtle Hill - the leaders under the grand stones near the summit, the many Confederate and few Union soldiers under uniform stones on the far side, and the common folk, black and white, some under unmarked, rough stones -- One hopes they all "understand it" in the "bye and bye".

A Proposal or Two

A few weeks ago I wrote a letter to the editor of the Rome News-Tribune. It was in regard to the property that has recently been bulldozed at the former site of the Holiday Inn (later Ramada Inn) at the corner of our street and Turner-McCall Blvd. This pic shows the site and its view. The Oostanaula River and the Riverwalk are to the left. The utility poles are not quite so intrusive on the view from the site itself.

Letter to the Editor

A Proposal or Two

Some Rome restauranteur or developer is missing a great opportunity to open the signature Rome restaurant. Call it Top O’ the River, Clocktower Inn, Ridge Ferry Place, whatever. The beautiful view of downtown from a well-designed restaurant on the site of the old Ramada Inn would be a great enticement, with outstanding food, for Romans and visitors alike. The Clocktower, County Courthouse, Library, Church spires, river, and levee make a lovely landscape.

Please, developers, don’t waste this beautiful site on fast-food or office supplies or other cookie cutter franchises. This spot is made for something special. It is historic as well as beautiful. Chief John Ross had his home very near this spot of high ground in Cherokee days and a beautiful Victorian home stood here before and after Desoto was annexed into Rome. Thank goodness that ugly sixties hotel is gone. Let's replace it with something that enhances our city.

A several story hotel (with architecture to harmonize with other downtown buildings) with rooms designed to take in the view and a restaurant on top would be a good choice as well. It's close to downtown, the Braves stadium, Barron Stadium, the Forum, Ridge Ferry Park, the Tennis Center, the hospital complex, and many churches.

Now, to the four franchise restaurants going up across the Oostanaula at the old Chevy location: please give access to the riverwalk and take advantage of your river location. Don’t just turn your ugly dumpsters and loading docks to the river! Put a deck out back. Build steps down to the riverwalk. The rivers are why Rome is here. Use them. Promote them. Make them help your business.

And while we’re working at the site, city fathers, how about redoing the fill on the bank to raise the riverwalk -- it floods frequently at that spot -- and landscape the steep man-made slope. Give walkers and bikers access from the riverwalk to the Turner-McCall bridge.

Terrell Shaw

A River Walk

A River Walk

I posted, on the Monthly Marathon blog, several pictures from the walk Sheila and I took today along the Oostanaula and Etowah Rivers and Silver Creek. Take a look.

Thirteen Hills/Rivers/Colleges

Of Rome, Georgia

I need a quick thirteen, so I thought 13 Rome, Georgia facts... well, here goes:

1. Clocktower Hill - crowned by the 1871 water tower and clock that has become the symbol of our fair city. Some citizens opposed building this water tank for fear the water pressure resulting would knock the bottom out of a teacup. I can see the illuminated tip of the tower out our den window as I type these words.
   
2. Old Shorter Hill - the original site of Shorter College, this hill nestles some of Rome's loviest homes including the original Shorter College president's home. That home and a few metal steps are all that remain of the old school. After Shorter moved across the river in 1911, the beautiful college buildings became home to Rome High School. Soon gables, cupolas, and gingerbread began to disappear, and eventually the muddled old buildings were removed altogether.
   
3. Lumpkin Hill (Oak Hill) - This hill holds Rome's oldest City Cemetery and was the site of the original St. Mary's School. But when Turner-McCall Blvd. was built in the late fifties, major parts of the hill were bulldozed and moved across the river to give the new Holiday Inn (later the Ramada) a base next to the fourlane bridge. What is left of Lumpkin now hosts the Days Inn, Village Theaters, Appleby's and KFC.
   
4. Myrtle Hill - In the 1850's the city fathers claimed this hill hard by the south bank at the confluence of the rivers as a cemetery to replace the Oal Hill cemetery. This beautiful burial ground is crowned by the Confederate Memorial. At its base is Veteran's Plaza which includes the national Tomb of the Known Soldier, the lovely Monument to the Women of the Confederacy, and the Monument to Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest "The Savior of Rome". Myrtle Hill includes row on row of Confederate graves, some stones nearly swallowed by tree trunks, and a few Yankee graves. Ellen Axson Wilson was buried here while her husband was serving as President of the United States. rom this hill the boys and old men of the Confederate home guard tried to pick off Sherman's men as they headquartered in Rome in May of 1864 preparing for the Atlanta Campaign. Through the turn of that century paddlewheel steamships tied up at the base of the hill.
   
5. Mount Aventine - Beyond Myrtle and overlooking the Etowah is Mount Aventine. A Jewish Cemetery crowns this hill with meandering lanes of modest homes.
   
6. Blossom Hill - Once home to peach orchards, Blossum was and is largely an African American neighborhood north of Jackson Hill. It still has large wooded areas and is home to Rome's water treatment plant.
   
7. Jackson Hill - Between Blossum and Lumpkin and overlooking the Oostanaula is Jackson Hill, site of major fortifications (Fort Norton) during the War Between the States. The hill is largely wooded and city-owned. Rome's old waterworks, small Civic Center, Tourist and Convention office and Welcome Center are here. There are plans to eventually restore and preserve the earthworks of Fort Norton. The Noble Lathe, still bearing the scars of Yankee efforts at detroying it, is dispalyed on this hill.

1. The Oostanaula - From the roof of our 1870 Victorian house you can peer over the levee and its walking path onto the Oostanaula River very close to the spot where John Ross, famous Cherokee leader operated a ferry. Rival leader, and signer of the notorius Treaty of New Echota, Major Ridge operated a ferry just upstream. The Ridge home, Chieftains, is a museum. The Oostanaula is the combined mountain waters of the Conasauga and the Coosawattee draining the hills of North Central Georgia. The Coosawattee valley is flooded by Carters Lake. James Dickey embellishes that story in Deliverance.
   
2. The Etowah - Starting out crystal clear Appalachian water, the Etowah has its origin in Blue Ridge Hills farther east. It is dammed for flood control near Cartersville into the huge Altoona Lake. It has been cleaned up a lot in recent years: I remember the Etowah as the muddy one. There are many Indian fish wiers still noticeable at low water in this river between Cartersville and Rome.
   
3. The Coosa - The confluence of the Etowah and Oostanaula at the foot of Myrtle Hill forms the Coosa and the raison d'etre of our fair city. Between the rivers lies Broad Street and our downtown. Head of Coosa, as it was called, was home to Cherokee leaders before the land was stolen by the Georgians in collusion with Andy Jackson. The Mississipian mounds that once stood at the confluence mean these river-roads were important before historic times as well. The Coosa flows on into Alabama to eventually join the Tallapoosa at Montgomery to make the Alabama River. The Tombigbee joins and it becomes the Mobile River before it spills into Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Steamships used to carry Northwest Georgia's cotton down this river system to the world.

1. Georgia Highlands College - Youngest of our three colleges is this two-year part of the University of Georgia system. It began life as Floyd Junior College. It lost the "junior" many years ago and was renamed Georgia Highlands last year.
2. Berry College - Born as a Sunday School on the Thomas Berry plantation, the school for poor mountain boys founded by Martha Berry has grown into a highly-respected coed liberal arts college located on the world's largest, and a very beautiful, college campus.
3. Shorter College - founded in 1873 as Cherokee Baptist Female College, Shorter College has become in recent years one of the fine small college musical theater programs anywhere. Best of all, my daughter graduated in musical theater there.

And ...



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