Sam Avera writes: …the small building shown on the right side of the store was once a barber shop. I spent a good bit of time at my grandparents home in Gibson (Glascock County) and my grandfather took me there for my haircuts…haircuts were .25 cents and mine was special because it was called a “feather cut”, whatever that was. I am 73 years old now and I think I must have been around 6 or 7 years old when the barber shop was open, maybe a bit younger.
Karen Igou Holcomb remembers: Best hotdogs in the world. He used to deliver also. If he had enough orders he would drive the 10 miles to Baxley to deliver for lunch. He was a very nice man and his mother was the sweetest.
Though this structure has been severely modified over the years, the original structure remains, with fanlight windows. Thanks to Frank Flanders III for the identification.
Wes Carter writes: I grew up in Berlin and lived there until 2002. I remember this was General Brownings barber shop. There was a red, white and blue barber pole out front and then Berlin Diner which is what the sign you see in the picture said, although now faded. Jonie Nicholson adds that it also served as Berlin’s first youth center. For those not in the know, Berlin is pronounced BUR-luhn.
Home over the years to everything from the Fitzgerald Police Department, a dentist’s office, cafe, barber shop, and tattoo parlor, the First National Bank Building in recent years was known as the office of General Insurance Company. Connie Kruger adds: This building was also, for a time,, the offices of the Hebrew Commercial Alliance, which was begun to lend financial aid to Jewish merchants, when other sources were not readily available to them.
I recently got a tour of the building from local builder and preservationist Louie Harper, who will soon renovate it.
This is the ground floor, which was originally home to the First National Bank. It’s remembered in recent years as the office of Joe Hair’s General Insurance Company.
These rooms on the second floor were the offices of early Fitzgerald dentist and businessman Dr. C. A. Holtzendorf.
The basement was once the National Barber Shop, as well as the Fitzgerald Police Department headquarters, and lastly, a tattoo parlor.
Fitzgerald Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Joan Herndon writes that Tom Riley and Keaton Tiner have operated this barber shop since 1963, at least, and that it is still open for business. Amazing. Dan Westbrook notes that before then it served as Charlie Dunning’s barber shop.
Blakely Court Square Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The commercial block where this was located was demolished by 2013.
On another post about Foskey’s, a user wrote: Back in the day, Oak Park had a reputation for being a “rough place” and we used to tease my dad when he would go there to get his hair cut — “Daddy, you’d better make sure he knows how to do stitches as well as cut hair!”
Mary Davis Donahue writes: I am the youngest daughter of Thomas Ralph Davis Jr. of Hopeful community. He states that the store was orginally built in the 40’s by Maloy Goff. It consisted a general store, a counter cafe and two bay garage. My dad said he has very fond memories as a little boy sitting at the counter, eating hamburgers. My dad was born in September 1942.
Karen Cone Shiver: I believe the store was originally built by Mr. Sullivan. He and his wife lived in the upstairs apartment. Then his son, Mr. Hubert Sullivan ran the store. My father, Buddy Cone and my mother Drucilla Cone ran the store for 15 years after Mr. Sullivan (this was in the 1960’s and 70’s). My father then leased the store to Brady Clark who along with his family also lived in the upstairs for a while. Mr. and Mrs. Clark later built a beautiful brick home in the Hopeful community. When they moved into their new home the upstairs was (for a time) used as a beauty shop. Mr. Clark later sold the store to my cousin, Irvin Hobbs, Jr. who along with his wife Barbara (Bobbie) ran the store for many years. When Bobbie and Irvin left the store I lost track of how many other people have owned this store.
Also a few more details about the store: The portion of the building to the left under the apartment was the hardware department during my childhood. The addition to the right of the store has served as a restaurant for many years. (I believe this was added during Mr. Clark’s time as owner). The inside of the store has been remodeled and several times during my lifetime. When my Dad, Buddy Cone owned the store there was a full service meat market in the back portion. My Dad cut meat there for many years. My mother and several others, both family members and friends worked the front counter. I have two very vivid memories of times there as a child. One was the day we were robbed at gunpoint. I was in the back of the hardware department where we had a little room set up that was like my hang out when I was there. I heard a commotion going on up front and when I entered the front of the store it was just in time to see John Aldridge ( a relative and store employee) and my Dad wrestling a pistol away from a man. My Mom was white as a sheet. The man had tried to rob them and had pointed the pistol at my Mom but somehow John and Dad got it away from him. I do not recall any shots being fired. The other memory is that someone had been breaking into the store and stealing from us so Dad and John hatched a plan to spend the night in the store and see if they could catch the thief. It worked. Someone climbed into the window that you can see behind the ice machine (there was no ice machine there at that time). When they got their head most of the way through the window my Dad hit them over the head with a coke bottle and knocked them out and then he and John called the sheriff. Man, what memories!
