Tag Archives: Georgia Vintage Automobiles/Tractors

Fitzgerald High School Football, 1948 State Champions

6 Replies

Running back Lauren Hargrove (1930-2009), whose nickname was the Phantom, became a local celebrity in Fitzgerald for his role in the 1948 State Football championship, in which the Purple Hurricane beat Decatur. In these rare photographs, he’s being presented a new automobile by Pontiac dealer Albert McCormick. In today’s world, such a gift wouldn’t be possible, but it’s amazing what hometown pride meant in those days.

Lauren was running back for the Hurricane from 1945 until graduating in 1948. In that time he was All-State, All-Southern, and Prep All-American. He also had a distinguished career for the Georgia Bulldogs from 1950-52, and was a letterman in all three seasons.

It’s amazing to think of how many car dealerships there were in Fitzgerald, or any small town, back then.

There’s even a book about the 1948 season, called Purple and Gold Boys, by C. R. Adams.

 

Teal House, Brooks County

14 Replies

Thanks to Terry Hewett for identifying the house, and the awesome ’57 Chevy. Justin Payne reports that this house was destroyed by an arsonist in 2018, possibly one of several around Morven and Quitman. Justin’s mother Genelle Teal Payne grew up in the house. He shared the following:

After speaking with my mother, she told me some interesting history about the house. It was originally built in 1891 by one of the Simpson family and was actually a bar. In the early 1900’s it was converted into a Victorian style home (with gingerbread exterior trim and floor to ceiling windows) by the Peets family (I think it was the Peets family if I understood my mother correctly). The Teals purchased the home in the early 1950’s and from the 1950’s until about 2015 the house underwent numerous renovations while my grandmother, Bessie Mae Teal was still alive. One of our cousins was in the process of renovating the house when it burned. During the renovation they discovered many of the original architectural details including hand-hewn heart of pine floor boards and an extra fireplace no one knew about.

…around the time the house was converted from a bar to a home there was actually a man murdered in the front yard of the home. A Mr. McAllister (she said he went by his nickname, Cat) had too much to drink one night during a poker game at the house and felt he was cheated by one of the Simpsons. McAllister left and then returned with a gun and was told not to cross through the picket fence that use to be in front of the house or Simpson would shoot him. McAllister ignored the warning, opened the gate and Simpson shot and killed him through front window…

 

Cuthbert, Georgia

6 Replies

Founded in 1831 as the seat of the newly created Randolph County, Cuthbert is one of the most architecturally interesting towns in South Georgia. From antebellum office buildings to Greek Revival houses, there’s something for nearly every taste. The public square is a beautiful green space where you can sit back and take it all in or if you’re more history-minded visit Greenwood and Eastview cemeteries, where many Confederate veterans and notables are buried.

Cuthbert Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Alton Gay Farm, Red Rock

3 Replies

Red Rock, a farming community near the Dougherty County line, once had two stores and two schools. None of those places remain. Thanks to Brenda Murphy Duckworth for the identification.

Denton Farm, Bickley

9 Replies

David Musgrove writes: I believe this is the house my father lived in as a child. It was known by the family as the Denton farmhouse because it was owned by the Denton’s. The area is overgrown now. My father, his brothers and his sister took some pictures of this house only last week. My grandfather was Willis Edgar Musgrove. There is a well he put in behind the house with his name in the cement.

Abandoned Cadillac, Chula

6 Replies

Johnny Bradford writes that his grandfather bought this Cadillac Sedan Deville in 1956, and that it’s still owned by the family.

Update: As of 2016, this car has been purchased by Rollins Jackson, who plans to restore it.

Townsend’s Garage, Kite

6 Replies

This old beauty is a Chevrolet Fleetmaster. In 2011, Amanda G. wrote: I am 27 years old and this car has been sitting in the same place for as long as I can remember, just around the corner from the house my great-grandmother lived in.