July 2, 2011 Summer '69

How many of you have made your trek a few miles west to the fireworks stores in Muscadine for M-80s, Black Cat firecrackers, and bottle rockets? I can't wait for the city's fireworks show for the finale of the 4th of July. "Hot Fun in the Summertime" by Sly and the Family Stone is bopping out of my iPod and it brought about memories about the summer of 1969. What makes it memorable for me was it was the 3 months after I graduated Tallapoosa High School and it was the days of preparing for the freshman year of college. That summer I turned 18 and signed up for the draft. My mother bought me a 1959 Rambler station wagon from G. P. Lamar the proprietor of the Bargain Mart for $200 dollars. Mr. Lamar was a great American and taught me what to look for when buying shoes. That car mother purchased had a push button transmission and no air conditioning or radio. Remember when radios in cars only had AM? That car got me to and from Wadley, Alabama many times. It died the following spring. I was blessed with a pretty good job for a kid right out of high school at American Thread Company where I was a "horticulturist", which is a fancy name for cutting the grass around the massive 3 story plant on West Atlanta Street. Can any of you remember the siren they had when shifts changed? You could hear it all over town sometimes when the wind was right. That summer was one of the hottest I can recollect and 42 years later, it seems to be just that hot so far. Here we are facing a weekend of 96 degree highs.Was June not the hottest month you can remember in a long time? The "mill" as many people called American Thread was a mild inferno in the card room on the 3rd floor, the spinning room on the 2nd floor and the finishing room in the lowest level of the plant. My cousin Tommy Meunier just home from a stint in the U. S. Army in Korea had a supervisory position in the finishing room. Tommy seemed to be sweating more than anyone in the mill that summer. That summer was as great a lesson on people as I ever received from any college class room. I learned that the people that make this nation what it is are not the politicians, or the big bank roll fat cats. America is what it is great because of the working class. America won two world wars because of the working men and women of our land worked hard and sacrificed in the name of freedom. Working at American Thread taught me the value of a job well done and I had the privilege of working shoulder to shoulder of some of the finest people that I ever knew. Charlie and Bessie Morris, Wayland Lee, Enoch Roberts, Troy Bush, Lee Roy Brooks, "Scratcher" Jordon all made impressions on my life. The plant was closed the week of the 4th of July in 1969 and I got to work as a night watchman. 12 hours on, 12 hours off. I walked around the entire plant that took about 50 minutes each hour with a clock that had to be punched with keys strategically placed around the facility. I remember sweating and chaffing so much I had to buy Niagara Corn Starch by the 55 gallon drum that summer. Working there was an experience I will never forget. I sometimes drive by the plant from time to time to see if the grass needs cutting. I am hearing great things about the Tallapoosa Paddling Company that offers excursions on the Georgia side of the Tallapoosa River. I think that would be a fun thing to do with the kids. Presley turned 9 on Thursday and for her birthday she "shot the 'Hooch" up in Helen, Georgia where the Chattahoochee River is about 6 feet wide and a couple of feet deep as the springs and small streams from Union County join the ones in White County for form the head waters of one of the South's mightiest waterways. She now wants to go down the Tallapoosa River because she overheard me talking with Scotty McClain about the days we'd get inner tubes from Berford Pope and leisurely float down the river back when we were lads. I once was given a great inner tube by the folks at Ballenger Tire Company. Do you remember when Ballenger Tire recapped tires at the location about where the now closed People's Bank? Ballenger Tire is gone and so is the bank. This weekend I plan on testing if Zocor really works by cooking some country cut ribs on the grill. 4th of July in Tallapoosa has always been special with the parade and the night time fireworks. Old Glory is flying high all over town and there is a spirit of celebration every where. I ran into Johnny Causey the other day at Walmart. Johnny when we were in about the 8th or 9th grade talked about joining the military someday. He did and is quite active in veteran's organizations these days. Thanks John and to all you other people that went to the wall for all of us. Veterans, we can't thank you enough. We have a holiday to celebrate freedom because of people's service to our nation. In a country where we have crooked and selfish politicians, political upheaval in the halls of the United States Congress, a lack of consumer confidence, and global uncertainty, this country founded in 1776 is still the greatest on Earth. Can I get an "amen?!"