Georgia Magazine - August 2019 - 4

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Comments from our readers * Compiled by Jennifer J. Hewett

Trivia talk

GGeorgia
eorgia
Georgia
Georgia
Celebrating the Georgia lifestyle

MAGAZINE

Spider lilies bloom
like magic
page 36

Recipes from
personal chefs
page 38
JUNE 2019

Celebrating the Georgia lifestyle

GEMC

MAGAZINE

Jurassic
Georgia

Celebrating the Georgia lifestyle

page 16

GEMC

I always read the magazine, but it was fun to go
more in-depth into the articles in order to answer the
Trivia Contest questions.
[The June] magazine definitely gave me some ideas
of places to explore! I have a vacation home outside of
Blairsville that my parents built 30 years ago, and I
never knew there was a drive-in movie in Blue Ridge.
[See "Georgia's celestial cinemas," June 2019, page 20;
bit.ly/celcin619.] Definitely going to try it out! Thanks
so much for a great magazine.
-Virginia Curtis, Winter Garden, Fla.

GEMC

MAGAZINE

Georgia's
drive-in theaters

page 20

UGA Marine
Education Center
and Aquarium
www.georgiamagazine.org

page 24

06_Cover_Template.indd 1

5/17/19 1:40 PM

Thanks for this fun contest and a wonderful magazine that's informative and
entertaining.
-Cindy Shultz, Richmond Hill
The trivia contest was fun! I really enjoy your magazine, especially the recipes!
-Gail Sawyer, Marietta
Thank you for the trivia contest-and I found the article on The Miracle League
very interesting. [See "Stepping up to the plate," May 2019, page 20; bit.ly/mirlg519.]
-Mary Jean Dunn, Waleska
My GEORGIA

By Jennifer J. Hewett

My Georgia memories

Joys of the journey and
the stops along the way

here's not much that's better than
a road trip with family or friends.
The conversation, laughter, music
and people you're with make a trip special,
and I have fond memories of many such
road trips as a kid.
I remember traveling with my mom,
dad and grandparents to visit my mom's
side of the family in North Georgia, North
Carolina and Tennessee. Nana was an
Avon lady, and her big, blue 1968 Delta 88
Oldsmobile always smelled like Silicone
Glove, one of the company's popular lotions.
Even after my cousins inherited the car, it
still smelled the same.
Every summer, we'd all pile into that old
Oldsmobile and tootle the winding, two-lane roads
up to Clayton for the family reunion on Nana's side
of the family. One guaranteed stop would be at Katherine's Kitchen for a piping-hot country ham biscuit.
Whoever was riding in the front seat between Nana
and Papa had the task of distributing the little rectangular biscuit boxes to everyone in the car. Country
ham was a treat, and, boy, those biscuits were good.
Our last stop on the way to Papa's family
reunions would be the Kentucky Fried Chicken.
We'd always bring a bucket of chicken along with
the cakes or pies Nana had made. Those reunions
always guaranteed two things: lots of good food from
our many aunts and uncles-and plenty of cousins
for us little kids to play with.
On southbound road trips to Florida to visit
Grandma and Papa and the aunts, uncles and cousins on my dad's side of the family, we'd always stop
at Stuckey's along Interstate 75.
As a kid, I was fascinated by the store's spinning racks holding books with magic markers and
travel bingo games as well as table after table of
tchotchkes, T-shirts, peanut brittle and cellophanewrapped goodies such as pecan logs.
How many people collected those state-specific
spoons? Or magnets shaped like all 50 states? You
could find them at Stuckey's-along with gasoline,
Indian River fruit, a scoop of chocolate ice cream
and a restroom.
One time, my parents' car blew a water pump

Visiting at a Sutton family
reunion in 1976 are
Freeman Sutton, front, from
left; his siblings, Leon Sutton
and Vinnie Cathey; and his
niece Isabel Griffin. Behind
them are Rick and Steven
Grimsley, Freeman Sutton's
grandsons.

at the Stuckey's in Unadilla.
On every subsequent trip
by there, we'd hear the story
again. (On a college road trip
years later, my Saturn started
overheating very near there.
Thank goodness for Stuckey's.
My friends and I pulled off the
road and hung out there while
the car cooled down.)
After a fun week of hanging out with family in Florida,
swimming and playing outside
with the cousins, getting splashed by Shamu at
Sea World, eating pancakes and then watching the
space shuttle take off or just relaxing on Grandma's
screened-in porch, we'd load up and head back to
Atlanta, making sure to stop at Stuckey's at least once
before arriving back home.
What's the best part of a road trip: the journey
or the destination?
I'd say both.
Jennifer J. Hewett is the managing editor at
Georgia Magazine. She's advocating for "Georgia
sushi"-a Stuckey's pecan log, sliced like sushi rolls-
to become a thing at parties.

Tiny tot Jennifer Hewett
stands behind her
grandmother's 1968
Oldsmobile, which took
the family on many
road trips.

To submit a My Georgia story, send the essay (no more than 500 words) and 300-dpi
digital photos by email to mygeorgia@georgiaemc.com or by mail to the address
listed on page 6. A self-addressed, stamped envelope must be included for photos to
be returned. Published essays pay $100. Georgia Magazine reserves the right to edit
submitted pieces.
www.georgiamagazine.org

I can't tell you enough how much I enjoyed reading
the May 2019 My Georgia article. [See "Joys of the journey and the stops along the way," page 19; bit.ly/
jotj519.] I loved the parts where you describe stopping
at Stuckey's, which reminded me of our own family road
trips when I was a kid. I'm quite certain many other
readers reacted the same way. Thanks so much for such
a lovely journey back in time.
-Victoria Scharf DeCastro, Winder

I read your article on the "Joys of the journey," and
some parts of it reminded me of my family trips, too (bickering with siblings and sliding along that big back seat that went on forever). I enjoyed the piece!
-Arden Williams, Atlanta

19_My_GA_0519.indd_in_progress.indd 19

4/11/19 2:48 PM

I loved the story about Lemuel Verner. [See "A tribute to America's greatest generation," June 2019, page 28; bit.ly/amgg619.] It was well-written and well-said. Two or
three years ago, I, too, visited Normandy with tears down my cheeks.
My sister gave me a subscription to Georgia Magazine due to our heritage and our
family farm in Burke County. We both love the magazine! I love the trivia game and
Picture this? contest, where you identify the photo, and the recipes. Keep it coming!
-Molly Dye, via email
Editor's note: Do you have a meaningful Georgia experience to share? Submit My
Georgia stories (limit of 500 words; please include high-resolution head shot and related
photos) to mygeorgia@georgiaemc.com.
Share your thoughts. Email us at magazine@georgiaemc.com. Please include your name,
address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity and space.

Georgia Magazine

August 2019

From THE EDITOR
The traditional country club is
an American institution and typically
offers members the opportunity to
pursue leisure activities such as
tennis or golf. But for those who are
more interested in drive times than tee
times, a different kind of country club
has emerged in North Georgia.
Atlanta Motorsports Park (AMP)
near Dawsonville features a go-kart
track that's open to the public and a
members-only 2-mile auto-racing
circuit designed by Formula One architect Hermann Tilke. See "Start your
engines!" on page 16 to learn how AMP
is on track to offer high-speed adventures for the whole family.
Also in this issue, we take a look at
what could be considered the muscle
car of musical instruments: the pipe
organ. Long known as the "king of
instruments," the pipe organ is the biggest and most complicated of them all
and has historically been identified with
the place where it's most often played:
the church.
But there's more to the pipe organ
than just worship music. Many have
been refurbished and repurposed to
play in theaters, schools and even private residences. Turn to "The pipes are
calling," starting on page 20, to find out
how Georgia's historic organs are making a joyful noise while continuing a
long-standing musical tradition.
Speaking of music, what first
comes to mind when you hear the
word "opry"? If you're like most
people, it's Nashville, Tenn., so you
might be surprised to learn that several
Georgia towns boast opry houses and
music halls.
What these small venues lack in
space they make up in the up-close and
personal musical experience they provide. So if you're craving live music, but
without the crowds, read "A night at the
opry," starting on page 24.
Enjoy!

Laurel George
Editor

http://www.bit.ly/celcin619 http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.bit.ly/mirlg519 http://www.bit.ly/jotj519 http://www.bit.ly/jotj519 http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.bit.ly/amgg619

Georgia Magazine - August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - August 2019