Georgia Magazine - February 2023 - 4

MailBOX Comments from our readers * Compiled by Jennifer J. Hewett
Georgia
Celebrating the Georgia lifestyle
ating the Georgia lifest
®
MAGAZINE
Dawgs
Raising Dogs
page 16
www.georgiamagazine.org
Honoring the
hard-working mule
page 34
Koi story: Fish fascination
can be contagious
page 40
SEPTEMBER 2022
Love those pets!
September's magazine, the pet-themed issue
with all the animal articles, was a very enjoyable
read! [See bit.ly/gmg0922.]
-Susan Miller, Powder Springs
In the September issue, Cameron Whitlock
provided an accurate glimpse into what happens
at a cat show and why people enjoy showing their
cats. [See " For the love of cats, " page 32;
bit.ly/lvcats922.]
t
'Critter Fixers:
Country Vets'
page 20
For the love of cats
page 32
While most folks are aware of dog shows,
many are unaware of cat shows, and this story
generated interest among Georgia Magazine
readers to visit a cat show to see for themselves what it's all about. The Cotton States
[Cat Club] show in November attracted more visitors than in previous years, which the
club attributes to the article.
Cotton States will hold its 85th annual show
next Nov. 4-5, and we look forward to greeting
more new friends. In the meantime, there will
be several other local Cat Fanciers' Association
(CFA) clubs sponsoring cat shows during the
year. For additional information about cat
shows, please see cfa.org and
cottonstatescatclub.org.
-C.A. Johnston Folds, vice president,
Cotton States Cat Club, via email
From THE EDITOR
The SAM Shortline excursion train-
which travels a 40-mile stretch of railroad
track between Georgia Veterans State Park
in Cordele and the tiny community of
Archery, near Plains-has the distinction
of being Georgia's only rolling state park.
Originally known as the Savannah,
Americus and Montgomery Railroad,
today's SAM Shortline transports
passengers in air-conditioned comfort
aboard restored, vintage passenger cars to
destinations such as downtown Cordele,
Americus and Plains.
Read " Still on track, " starting on page
26, to find out how a dedicated crew of
visionaries and volunteers brought trains,
tourists and economic development to
southwest Georgia.
Aimee Copeland also had a visionary
ATTN: READERS ...
'What brings you
joy?'joy?'
Share your story and photo and let us know what
brings you joy! We will select and publish the best
essays, photos and children's art in our August 2023 issue.
The rules:
1. 200 words or fewer.
2. One entry per person, per household.
3. Photos should be 300 dpi and emailed to magazine@georgiaemc.com; one photo
per email, please.
4. Children's art can be produced in pencil, crayon or paint, no larger than
10x12 inches.
5. Include your name, mailing address, phone number, email address and the name
of your electric co-op.
6. Email stories to magazine@georgiaemc.com or mail to: Reader Stories, Georgia
Magazine, P.O. Box 1707, Tucker, GA 30085. Georgia Magazine reserves the right to
edit published stories for the purposes of space and clarity. Deadline: May 1, 2023.
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.
4 Georgia Magazine February 2023
idea: to improve accessibility to nature
for people with disabilities and mobility
issues. Copeland contracted necrotizing
fasciitis, a bacterial infection that destroys
human tissue, after a zip-lining accident in
2012. The infection led to the amputation
of her right foot, left leg and both hands.
The foundation she established has
been an advocate for people with disabilities
and in 2017 partnered with the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources to realize
one of Copeland's longtime dreams. See
" Back to nature, " starting on page 20, to
discover how this collaboration has led to
11 all-terrain wheelchairs being deployed
at parks throughout Georgia.
February is Black History Month, so in
this issue we look at one of the oldest
African American communities in Georgia:
Flat Rock.
Flat Rock was founded almost 200
years ago in DeKalb County in what is
now the city of Stonecrest. Its history is
documented at the Flat Rock Archive,
which is housed in the homestead of
T.A. Bryant Sr., whose land ownership was
instrumental to the community's survival.
Read " The Flat Rock Archive, " starting on
page 16, to learn more about how this
history is being preserved and passed on.
Enjoy!
Laurel George
Editor
e
4
2
3
1
FOR THE
love of
W
32 Georgia Magazine September 2022
32-33_Cat_Shows_0922.indd32-33_Cat_Shows_0922.indd 32 32
8/10/22 8:09 PM
cats
The Cotton States Cat Club puts on a show
By Cameron Whitlock * Photos courtesy of Cotton States Cat Club
hen Robbie Burns (R.B.) entered the ring on a hot Sunday
in July, the suspense was palpable. He had been carefully
conditioned and groomed in the months leading up to the Triple
Crown Cat Fanciers show in Lexington, Ky. And unbeknownst to the genial
orange feline, he was about to become a grand champion.
R.B. is an exotic shorthair cat, bred and raised by Ann Strople, the
secretary of Georgia's premier cat society, the Cotton States Cat Club (CSCC).
" Until I attended the first Cat Fanciers Association [CFA] International
Show, held in Atlanta in 1994, I had never seen a pedigreed cat in real life, "
she says. " I was hooked. Soon after that I got my first pedigreed cat and
was fortunate to meet breeders who helped me learn the ins and outs of
showing and, eventually, breeding cats. "
The Cotton States Cat Club, cottonstatescatclub.org, was founded in
1938 in Atlanta, when breeders Mary Kate Carroll and Gladys Donaldson
brought together a group of 12 cat enthusiasts from throughout the South.
Later that year, the Cotton States Cat Club hosted its first show at the
Atlantan Hotel in downtown Atlanta.
More than 100 cats and kittens were in attendance at that first show.
Since then, the annual CSCC show has grown to host-on average-about
350 cats and 200 spectators.
Ann Strople's exotic shorthair
cat, R.B. (Robbie Burns), achieved grandchampion
status at the Triple Crown Cat
Fanciers event in Kentucky in July.
GEMC
T
h
e
s
P
s
I
s
u
e

http://www.bit.ly/gmg0922 http://www.bit.ly/lvcats922 http://www.cfa.org http://www.cottonstatescatclub.org http://www.cottonstatescatclub.org

Georgia Magazine - February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - February 2023