Editor’s note: This week marks the reintroduction of our Franklin Echoes page. The regular feature page of Franklin County history, as reported by Franklin County newspapers, was discontinued due to space limitations caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Franklin Echoes will once again be a regular feature, appearing a few times per month in the beginning and later again as a weekly feature. –– Shane Scoggins, Publisher
From Franklin County Citizen
Jan. 6, 1972
Rosie Lee Blackwell Is First Baby for 1972 Born in County
Rosie Lee Blackwell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lee Blackwell of Route 1, Bowman, was the first new baby to make an appearance at Cobb Memorial Hospital in 1972. 1972 was well under way before she was born around 9 p.m. Saturday. Rose Lee has a sister, Cora Ann, who will be three years old on February 3rd.
As of mid-afternoon Monday, no baby of Franklin County parents had been born at Cobb Memorial.
Dr. Wayne Harris of Royston delivered 1972’s first at Cobb Memorial.
•••
Carnesville City Hall
Nears Completion
Carnesville city officials and citizens are very proud of the progress being made of the new remodeling of their new city hall as it is nearing completion.
The newly remodeled structure has a mayor’s office, a conference room, a general business office, a bath and additional space for future needs. The office space contains approximately 600 square feet.
At the side of the main office there is space to house two fire trucks. Parking space is allowed for about six cars in front of the main entrance of the city offices for customer convenience while transacting city business.
Mayor Whitlow expressed appreciation for the help and cooperation of Carnesville citizens and to the Georgia Mountain Planning Commission for their help in getting the plans drawn without cost to the city.
Carnesville city officials are: Mayor D.B. Whitlow and councilmen Benny Eavenson, Ray Spears, Leland Swindel, and Carter Wansley.
From Franklin County Citizen
Jan. 13, 1972
County’s First Steer
Show Is Scheduled
The first Franklin County Steer Show and Sale, sponsored by the Franklin County Cattlemen’s Association, will be held in March, 1972. This show and sale is open to 4-H and FFA members enrolled in Franklin County.
The boys and girls have been working with their calves several months. They have all owned their calves and been working with them since October. The calf must be fed and exercised properly to be a good show animal and also to cut-out choice beef. These steers on show day should way 700-1000 pounds.
There will be much activity at the show and sale. The exhibitor of the Champion steer will receive $40 prize money and a trophy. All exhibitors will receive prize money for participating in the show. The boys and girls will sell their steers at an auction sale to businesses and individuals who are willing to help these outstanding boys and girls. Special arrangements will be made for anyone wanting to purchase a steer, many businesses will sponsor a steer and then resell the animal or carry it to the processing plant.
The experience received from a project like this will always be with these boys and girls. They must accept responsibility, learn to make decision and practice honesty and courage. This type of experience will be helpful in future years regardless of their future occupation.
The main purpose of this type of program is development of the individual.
From Franklin County Citizen
Jan. 2, 1997
DOT to honor
former Gov. Vandiver
The man most responsible for bringing Interstate 85 through Franklin County will have a section of that highway named for him.
Lavonia’s most noted elected official, former Gov. S. Ernest Vandiver will be honored in a ceremony next Friday (Jan. 10) at 2 p.m. at the new Georgia Welcome Center located near the Franklin-Hart County line.
The section will stretch from the Banks-Franklin County line to the South Carolina line – the last couple of miles which are in Hart County.
A movement began several months ago to have a stretch of the highway named for Vandiver. Lavonia resident Harry Sewell and a person Sewell said “wishes to remain anonymous” began gathering names of area business leaders and citizens who favored such an idea. Sewell commended [State Rep. Alan] Powell and [State Sen. Eddie] Madden for their work in getting the resolution passed.
“I had just as soon no one know I was involved in this,” Sewell said. “I didn’t do it for recognition. I did it out of friendship.”
Vandiver was elected governor in a landslide victory in September of 1958, carrying all but three of the state’s counties. He had served the previous four years as lieutenant governor. Vandiver was attracted to politics at an early age, serving as Lavonia’s Mayor at age 28. The Army Air Corps pilot was named adjutant general in 1948.
The son of the late Samuel Ernest Vandiver and Vanna Bowers Vandiver, he was both in Canon, but moved to Lavonia at a young age, attending both elementary school and high school in Lavonia. He attended Darlington Prep School before attending the University of Georgia, where he received both an A.B. degree and his law degree.
In James Cook’s book, The Governors of Georgia, Vandiver said when he left office he felt like “a fellow who has just finished his final exam and felt like he passed.” The book goes on to say, “Both his political colleagues and the press agreed that Vandiver had given Georgia four years of honest, competent leadership. By any standard of measurement, he left Georgia’s government in much better condition than he found it four years earlier.”
The Franklin County native had to overcome a severe economic crunch in state government when he first took office. His management efforts left $22 million in the state treasury when Carl Sanders took over as governor in 1964.
The battle was raging in the South over whether to obey federal mandates to desegregate Georgia’s schools. His leadership prevented Georgia from experiencing the chaos felt by neighboring states and no one was injured or killed during this delicate time period. The Governors of Georgia said, “By accepting a court ruling he disagreed with and urging the people of Georgia to obey the law, Vandiver displayed responsible leadership in a time of crisis.”
Franklin Countians are most grateful to Vandiver for his push to bring 26 miles of I-85 through the county. He was able to justify his decision as being more than a reward for his home town, showing that the route through Franklin Count was the shortest and most economical from Atlanta to South Carolina – saving thousands of dollars at the time.
From The News Leader
Jan. 8, 1997
New Year’s Baby
Mildred Hendricks of Hartwell gave birth to Franklin County’s first baby of 1997 last week. The baby girls, named Raven Demia Hendricks, was born Jan. 2 at 12:23 a.m. at Cobb Memorial Hospital. Traditional gifts for the New Year baby were given by the Ty Cobb Healthcare System Auxiliary.