Donalsonville, What I Miss As I close my eyes and think about the Donalsonville of the 50s and early 60s, a potpourri of visions come into my mind; all special memories to be cherished. That quaint little farm town had it all. The scenes, events and day to day living experiences were genuine and played out by good, honest people. They play nicely on the brain. The town was typical, rural Americana. The many recollections that come to the forefront are as follows: Beautiful oak trees along Hwy. 84. This is perhaps the strongest and most nostalgic memory. Those trees overlapping the two lane highway defined the town and added such beauty and charm. There were so many of them. They covered both sides and the middle of the two lane street pretty much from the present day location of Dollar General to the Methodist Church. In the name of progress an institution of the towns personality was sacrificed at some time in the mid to late 50s. There is a place on the road to Marianna where the oak trees grow across the road and meet which causes me to reminisce on those far gone works of natures art. Crowds of people on the downtown sidewalks on Saturday. They were mostly farm people who were busy all week and found time only on Saturdays to come to town, shop and visit with their friends. Shopping for groceries was the main focus but money was spent at all the local retailers dependent on their needs at the time. The retailers had to be doing well financially with all that traffic. The socializing on the sidewalks was rampant. A couple of people would stop by themselves and visit, with others joining in at times to cause the conversation to grow; at times the obstruction of sidewalk traffic could be a problem. No one really complained. They understood the great spirit of people and found a way through or around the social circles. It was a busy place. Most of the traffic seemed always to be on the sidewalk along Dismukes, the Surprise Store, Andrew Lynns and City Grocery. There would be hundreds of people on the sidewalks and about all parking places taken. If you got a parking place, you never moved your vehicle to find a better one or you might be driving around for a while. Mama used to run into a guy named Aleander Bush, who always wore overalls. Every time she would greet him by saying, Hey, Old Crazy. They would chat for a minute and do the same thing the next time they saw each other. Walking with my mama taught me how everyone seemed to know a lot of people. Such is the benefit of small towns. The Saturday matinees at the two theatres...the Peoples and the Dunn. This is where kids went while mom and pop shopped and visited. Donald Duck, Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker and other cartoons shown before the main cowboy feature was a winning combination. The show was very popular and drew crowds. This is where the older kids first got the courage to hold hands and claim boy friends and girl friends. Green Top Motel and Cafe. Frank and Ruby Rachel had the go-to place for burgers and hanging out in the 50s. There were 8-10 motel rooms and the cafe that was noted to have the best burgers in the area. The juke box played the tunes of the day and the booths filled up often. Both youg and old patronized the business. Mills Rexall Drug Store. Dr. Mills was in his latter years when I first saw him. I still remember those boney, arthritic fingers grasping a bottle of pills or liquid. Dont know when he came there but suspect he was a key member of the business district for a long time. He exuded a kind, dependable, caring demeanor. My mother took a liquid blood pressure medicine at the time, dark in color. He mixed it as I recall. When a kid got the ground itch, he sold a can of obnoxious whatever to freeze the parasite. Kids got it easily by going barefoot. One could see the raised worm like portion of skin where it resided. The freezing was painful. Baby doll tears gushed. It was worth it to stop that terrible itching. Sometimes a dreaded second treatment was necessary. That is when they had to run me down. Jitney Jungle. This is the first grocer store of size that I can remember. J. Lonnie had the perfect temperament for his position. Always friendly, always helpful and with an infectious laugh. We would have extra vegetables to sell some years and he would buy them. I can remember unloading bushel baskets of black eyeds peas and butter beans at the back of the store. Loiss Cafe. It was first located just west of the Julian Webb house. If you wanted a sit down meal be it breakfast, lunch or supper, it was the place to go. Their broasted chicken is my fondest memory. Seems it was coated with some kind of crumbs and baked in an oven. Mama would infrequently get a box to go. It could not quite stand up to her fried chicken but was a delicious treat. The Surprise Store. Earl Wilson was the proprietor and Jabo King was his right hand man. This is where we got new shoes when it was time to start back to school. Jabo had a knack for gab and making people feel important; even little 10 year old kids. He could so quickly pop a couple of boxes of shoes out of the back room and fit your foot. Jeans and new shirts were available as well. As history dictates, Jabo hung in there and did well. Bivings. This is probably where the nicer back to school clothing was sold. For the day, there was lots of inventory. This was back when genuinely friendly, helpful salespeople knew you and could get what you wanted. It was common to see classmates working there on Saturdays. Roberts Pharmacy. It had an old fashioned soda fountain and counter. The only place downtown where you could get a cherry coke. A funny book stand with a generous amount of offerings for the time stood near the front. Once Yank yanked my chain when he asked for a penny tax on a ten cent funny book. Let me have it any way. Yes, they were funny books, not comic books. Not sure I ever saw him smile. Thomass Five and Ten. The Thomas brothers (Ross/Carlton0 had it good for quite a few years. All of those glass counters filled with all kinds of what have yous just intrigued small kids. They had a lot of stuff for five or ten cents. Popcorn was available, also. Harry Kings Barber Shop. Harry and his brother, Newton plus George Walden had a barbershop next to Rabun Furniture Store. In my family haircuts were always done on Saturdays. With all the people in town they had all the business they needed. There were maybe ten or so chairs for waiting which was usually the case. If a patron wanted a shoe shine, he was at the right place. Shine would let you see your face in your shoes in just a few minutes. He always started with a little soapy water and a small brush with which he cleaned the shoes. Then he wiped them off with a cloth. Next he applied polish with his bare hands. He finished with his shine cloth moving back and forth in a blur and an occasional popping of it as he jerked it really fast. The cost was less than twenty five cents if my memory is accurate. Harry, Newton and George always had their palaver going covering the weather, local news, politics, etc. You did not sit in their chairs and not get brought into a conversation. Hardys Barber Shop. As I got older, I gravitated to Hardys for my haircuts. It seemed my brother knew where to get a cool hair cut so I followed. Mrs. Hardy would cut it like you wanted it. This was in contrast to Harrys where there was one cut...skin the sides and take a little off of the top. Mr. Hardy, bless his soul, was used only when Flo was too backed up. Rabun Furniture. Melton and Lois Rabun owned the only furniture store in town for many years. When we bought new furniture, that is where we got it. They were well liked and trusted in the community. My parents regarded them as friends. Melton delivered a dining table and chairs to our house; the nicest pieces we had ever had. I remember him showing mama and daddy how to sit in the chairs. He told them they were made to sit in and cautioned not to lean back in them like a rocking chair or they would weaken and need repair. The Tastee Freeze. Circa 1960 the Tastee Freeze was built and opened across the street from the high school with Doc and Mercedes Sheffield, proprietors. It was so popular I wonder what kids did before. It had it all : a huge parking lot, a new building with a lot of glass in the front, a juke box, good food/drinks, booths and Mercedes doing a fine job of directing operations. If a young person went to town, they went there. Many a relationship was started and nourished in that parking lot. On football and basketball home game nights the place was a sea of cars. Michael Whittle car hopped and was never to be forgotten. Of course, he never forgot anything either. Had a memory like a genius, which I believe he was. When we had classes on the southern end of the High School we could here the juke box going. I can still almost hear Up on the Roof and Walk Right In. City Grocery/Piggly Wiggly. Hoyt Newberry and his brother, Horace, brought a new dimension to the grocery business. They worked hard and managed well. They started out with City Grocery which was small and jam packed on Saturdays. In a few years Hoyt had left Horace to run it while he opened a new construction Piggly Wiggly where Harveys is today. Hoyt and his wife built a strong business which survived well until his passing. There were many other things that are to be remembered about Donalsonville but these are my highlights. The effort to rebuild the small police station brings back the importance of history. Wonder why those oak trees were not replanted?
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 01:20:49 +0000
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