Built for the Cairoga Club in 1920, this commercial block originally housed three businesses downstairs [Britt’s Gent Shop; the Sanitary Barber Shop, later Graco; and Tony Mike’s California Fruit Company], while the club was located upstairs. The club featured a basketball court, bleachers, a dressing room and showers, a kitchen, and a banquet room. There were also billiard tables.
From 1932-1970, the offices of the W. R. Roddenberry Company, known nationwide for its food products, from syrups to pickles, was located on the second floor. W. R. Roddenbery improved upon his father’s cane syrup recipe and in 1890 began commercial production. Roddenbery’s was sold to Dean Foods in 1993, the local factory was sold ten years later, and no Roddenbery pickles or peanut butter are to be found today. Cane Patch Syrup is still around, though, and the Cairo football team is still known as the Syrupmakers.
Today, it’s home to the Grady County History Museum. It’s free to the public and its director, Don Nickerson, is very enthusiastic about sharing his community’s history.
Cairo Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 
In 1951 while I was attending high school in Griffin, Georgia I met Rebecca Roddenbery. She was a school teacher in Griffin at the time. Later she started dating my friend Henry Walker. Henry and I put together an independent basketball team in Griffin and played other independent teams all over the State of Georgia.Rebecca travels to most all the games. In September 1951 I started to school as a freshman at Georgia Tech lost contact with Rebecca The last time I saw Rebecca and Henry Walker was at a football game in Athens, Georgia Georgia Tech was playing the University of Georgia in 1953. Their seats were close to my seat at the game. In 1954 I joined the US Coast Guard and was transferred to the Hawaiian Islands for several years. I learned later that Rebecca and Henry were married and had a happy life together for forty plus years. Aloha!
You need to get a picture of the Graco Barbershop in Cairo. The origional 1929 furnishings are intact. Now owned by the Historical Society
Thanks for the tip, David. I was not aware of the Barbershop, but will definitely be checking that out next time I’m down Cairo way…