The Blizzard of 1993

Under Construction

 

Time Machine: The Blizzard of '93

This Facebook post and comments were written on February 14, 2015 about this date in 1993!

Actually, on March 12, 1993, I went over to Kroger. I was appalled at my fellow southerners panicking at the forecast of a little snow. The shelves were bare of milk, bread, and toilet paper. Figuring Floyd County cancels school after the third snowflake, I rented four videos (they rented videos back then) so I wouldn't be bored while I was home on Snow Leave, The videos never got watched and anyone who remembers March 13, 1993 in Rome GA can tell you why. 

Frank Norris
We were in the Newnan area during that event -- we had a a considerable amount of snow and cold, but were out of power for less than an afternoon.

Marsha Yancey Atkins
Bought popcorn and rented videos -paid late fees a week later when we could get the movie out of the VCR!

David Matheny
Turner McCall was completely covered in white...about 6 inches!

Katie S. Kimbrough
Wow! Why didn't it get watched?

Ralph Noble
Had 22 inches in Ringgold

Quinn Scott Smith
Measured 23" on my back deck in West Rome. Power was out for 4 days. Took milk and items out of fridge and stuck them in the snow outside. Fortunately we had gas logs and a cast iron swivel arm that hung above with a Dutch oven to hang on it for cooking. Pipes froze about the second day so we drained our 50 gallon water heater into buckets to flush the toilet.

Katie Cauthen Francisco
We cooked bacon over candles. No power until the following Friday night. I escaped to my uncle's for gas stove heat on Monday and to Atlanta on Thursday. Ran into the asst. supt.'s son at Cumberland Mall and he said we had school on Friday. I said "y'all have fun!" Told the secretary the truth about having been in Atlanta and thus not at school on Friday and she wrote "snow" on my excuse. It was nice being a senior. Lol!!! 

Sam Burnham
I spent it at the Ramada which was being used as Georgia Power's rehab center for work crews. My best friend's dad was GP's incident commander and wasn't using his room very much. My two best friends and I had spent the night together expecting a fun snow day. He came and got us and had us use his room. We had warm showers, power, heat, even two or three stations of TV via antenna.

Facebook Time Machine: Back to Valentine's '93

This is from a post on Facebook on November 21, 2009, but the event was a Valentine's party at the McHenry School Gym in 1993. The post was just pictures. The following are comments on the post as a whole.

Terrell Shaw
Brannon was in fourth grade when I took these pictures at a school dance in the school gym. I happened upon them today and quickly copied them with my digital camera. I think it was 1993.

Brannon Shaw
I love you. But I will never forgive you for letting me leave the house in all denim.

Terrell Shaw
Vanity thy name is Brannon! -- I see you have already removed some of the tags!! 

Carol Payne
always a performer! And a very talented one, at that!

Donna Glenn Edwards
ahh but u could have left the first one off...lol

---------------------------

Terrell: Donna once took some video of Lillian playing in the dirt at a softball game where Brannon and other little Cardinals were playing -- I'm gonna hafta see if I can borrow that to copy it one of these days! And she's on Facebook!
Cathie Walters: Donna and I getting down with the music!

Lillian Shaw

Look at that girl in the pouffy dress and tiara. showoff. 

Terrell Shaw

Well if anyone would recognize a showoff it would be Miss Lottie Dottie! There is nothing quite as adorable to me as a little girl all dressed up. They are sooooo pleased with themselves. And Lillian Shaw was a prime example!

Vonne Brock Beard

Look at Chad Rudisill looking down his pants!! Too funny...

Tony Pope
This was early 90's when I was there...I recognize the kids...ha...

Terrell Shaw
Do you recognize my kid? (She removed her tags!) She was in fourth grade. I think that makes this 1993.

Kristi Godfrey
This seems like yesterday. I was first runner up, My maiden name is "Kristi Gregory"

Lori Williams
Omg.... Look at me

Probably 1993. Above is Calvin Snow and his wife standing behind their daughter Kendra. My daughter, Lillian, is in the chair at the right and my wife, Sheila Shaw, is standing behind her.

Pure cuteytude!

Lillian Shaw: Cute outfit. *snickers* i love you!

Tony Pope - Donna E. & Cathie W....two of our most active parents in my years at McH...and both former book fair helpers! Yahoo!
Cassie Davis - The two boys dancing with donna and my mom Cathie are Derrick Buck and Brian Walters
Cathie Walters - we love you Tony Pope
Donna Glenn Edwards - Awww thank you Tony Pope. Those were the good days!!

Tony Pope - Wow...wo many faces I remember...can't believe they've been gone so long!
Donna Glenn Edwards - They were ao young!...just babies....
Cassie Davis - I remember this valentine dance....Nik and i had it going on

Clarissa Snow & Brannon Shaw

Clarissa Snow and Brannon Shaw, neighbors and best friends in 1993.

 

News: Ruth Shaw Retirement

Unknown date 1993

 

At Grantville with Mama Shaw

L-R: James Edward Shaw, Carol Shaw Johnston, Lillian Ophelia Wilkerson Shaw, Sheila Ann Matthews Shaw

 

Gleaning Facebook: Mama Shaw's 90th Birthday

 My grandmother, Lillian Ophelia Wilkerson Shaw - "Mama Shaw" - in the polka-dotted dress and red corsage, at her ninetieth birthday celebration surrounded by thirty of her direct descendants. 1992.

Time Machine: 1992 Clinton Gore Campaign

 

In 1992 Brannon and I campaigned for Clinton & Gore. Here we are at Rome’s Democratic HQ with Senator & Mrs. Al Gore Sr. He spoke at the Floyd County Jefferson Jackson Dinner that year. I will correct to the actual date when I can.

Time Machine: Father's Day 1992

 

Christmas 1991 Shaw Family

 

Lillian: Some Spots

 A very deliberate artwork she entitled "Some Spots" and presented to her Papa (me).

Time Machine: "My Family" by Lillian

 

Christmas 1990

 

Time Machine: Brannon writes from Tallahassee

 

Brannon spent a few days on her own with her grandparents in Tallahassee just before her seventh birthday. Here is her letter home.

Charmaine & Jack's Wedding

 Under construction

Charmaine wore the same dress that many of our family members used, beginning with her mother, Janice in 1961.

Chubbtown

Democrat of the Year

Rome News-Tribune, Sunday, April 1, 1990, page 1

Newspaper Archive: Democrat of the Year

The date of publication is only a coincidence, I promise. I have the framed award to prove it!

Tony Pope, my fellow McHenry School faulty alumnus and also Rome History Center worker, found this old clipping and sent it to me on Dec. 10, 2022, and I put it in the time machine and returned it here to 1990. In 2022 the Floyd County Democratic Association will have been incorporated into a single Floyd County Democratic Party organization and the Jefferson Jackson Dinner will have been replaced by the Georgia Giants Dinner. And 32 more years will have passed.

 

Happy Sixth Birthday Brannon!

 

Time Machine: Dear Family...

This date is a guess. I wish there were a date on this letter I found among my Mother's correspondence. I suspect Brannon dictated this to me when she was 4-6 years old. It was written before she totally gave up calling me "Papa" under the influence of her "Kid's Stop" and McHenry kindergarten friends who called their fathers "Daddy".

One of the things she describes is what she and I called "acrobatics". It began with her cousin Larisa in the early eighties and has continued to the present (2023) with any 5-7 year-olds in the family. The child runs across the yard toward me from the side as I project both forearms before me . The child grabs my left arm, swings his/her legs up and over my right arm to swing by the knees till I bring him/her back upright and she/he dismounts with a grand smile and a shouted "Ta-dah!" Clemmie, Ruth, and I have just recently given it a try.

Those dance positions were an obsession for a while.

Brannon also mentions our stories. I used to invent impromptu and at least partly plagiarized stories usually starring Brannon and/or Lillian and other friends and relatives. I had totally forgotten "Terry and the Dinosaur" -- I have no idea of the plot. I vaguely remember a whole series of stories inspired by C.S. Lewis's Narnia series. On the spur of the moment I named our fantasyland Tanzania. Later, as new episodes were demanded, I tried to slightly alter the name so that it wouldn't share a name with a real location! I remember that instead of a wardrobe entry our first and most frequent door to "Tanzintennia" (or something like that) was a bottomless tide pool at the beach. Under certain conditions when we jumped into the pool we'd just pass right out of its bottom into a new land. But sometimes we made our imaginary way through the crawlspace behind the wall of the girls attic bedrooms and other surprise fantastic portals. 

I don't remember "the Sad Part". 

I suspect the stories were pretty lame but Brannon and Lillian loved them. 

Jackson Irvin Baird

 

Jack Baird and Porterdale friends in Atlanta

Jack Baird, one of my mother's older brothers.

Jack Baird and his wife Georgia

Time Machine: Trinity Kids c. 1989

Copied from Carol Payne's Facebook, February 9, 2017

That's my baby on the left and little Lisette next to her.

Time Machine: Brannon's Art at Five

The caption I wrote for Brannon on this kindergarten masterpiece: "Lillian pulling up holding Papa's fingers - 1-29-89
6 mos. 2 days old - by Brannon"

Abiyoyo by Pete Seeger was a story I often told Brannon. Here she drew "Obie Yoyo" chasing her cousin Amanda.

Another of her favorite storybooks was The Hungry Thing. Here she illustrates that story.

 

Lillian & Lillian

 This picture is labeled:

Lillian Matthews Shaw (5 most.)

Lillian Wilkerson Shaw (87)

Christmas 1988

My grandmother and her namesake on about this date. This is taken at the Shaw house on Main Street in Milstead, Georgia. I now (2024) have one or two of those doves for our Christmas Tree though they are a little worse for many years wear and tear.

Time Machine: Democratic County Committee

An election I actually won!