This mural is a landmark in Rochelle. It’s been here for at least 15 years. It’s one of those, “you know you’re in Rochelle when…” kinds of places. I made the photo in 2010 and thought I had lost it, only recently realizing I had shared it on another platform at that time. Problem solved. Hillbilly Produce raises fresh vegetables and sells them here and in Pitts during the summer months. As the mural suggests, you can expect watermelons, corn, onions, and peas, for starters. They also sell seasonal items in the fall.
Brian, I first discovered your website, several years ago, when trying to find info online on a (closed) business in Rochelle. My wife and I passed through town, on the way to Americus, on the way to a funeral of the husband of a college roommate of hers from some years back.
What caught my eye, on the way through that small two-block “downtown,” was the sign above a long-closed business, “Braziel’s Old Store/Mercantile.” I know a lawyer in Savannah with the same last name, so had to take a pix of me in front of that building to send to her. She wasn’t related to the original owner, but it was an interesting connection, due to the unusual name.
I later made contact with a relative of the original owner, and was fortunately able to exchange several emails with her on both that store and the history of Rochelle, for which I was very grateful.
I have followed your blog ever since, and been ever so glad I discovered it, all those years ago.
Life is full of surprises!
Rafe, Thanks for sharing this. I also know some of the Braziels in Pitts, same family I imagine, and they are great folks. I have a photo of the Braziel storefront somewhere and will post when I find it. I really appreciate your kind words and read and enjoy all your comments.
Hello, Brian, Attached is a copy of the photo of the Braziel Antiques store in Pitts that I found on your website several years ago, while looking for info on the store in Rochelle. Also attached are a couple of photos my wife took when we stopped in Rochelle on the way back from Americus. That would have been in late 2019; I was still recovering from a January stroke that left me with some left-side weakness, and by that point I was using a cane to steady myself. That pix also shows the collapsed shed on the side; another pix shows the adjacent building. I want to say that I remember Mashburn and Fitzgerald as a smaller competitor to my family’s wholesale business, but not on the order of Albany Hardware, the closest competitor in GA, or Florida Hardware (Jax) or Beck & Gregg (Atlanta). Rafe SemmesMidway/Savannah