I’ve been excited about visiting Concord Georgia for some time because it is a handsome little town of 350, but also because it provides a reason to visit my buddy, Hack. I met Hack in the 8th grade, and we quickly became best friends. I spent many weeks at Hack’s summer home in Truro on Cape Cod, and after college, we shared an apartment. Thirty years ago, Hack was the best man when Liz and I married, but Hack and I have drifted apart since then, and I hadn’t seen him since he moved down to Georgia three years ago.
After three postponements, I finally traveled to Georgia.
After three postponements, I finally traveled to Georgia.
Atlanta is midway between Concord Georgia, an hour to the southwest and Cumming, Georgia, an hour to the northeast. I spent three nights in Cumming with Hack and his gracious roommate, Ann. On Sunday, I arose early and headed southwest to Concord, Georgia.
When I’m preparing for these trips, I always try to identify someone who knows the town, and knows a little of the history of their Concord, and most importantly, someone who likes to talk to strangers. In John Strickland, I hit the jackpot. John is the mayor of Concord and a prominent figure in the church and business community. John is the sixth generation to farm the land, and the Stricklands were among the first settlers in the town. John is both a local historian and a raconteur. Tales of the past spin easily from him.
Isaac Strickland settled in Concord in the 1830s and opened the first store in town. He had seven sons who all diversified the family business. In the years after the Civil War, the Strickland family built up a conglomeration of about a dozen businesses and over 20,000 acres of land, or about 15% of Pike County. By 1906, the holding had increased to 30,000 acres. They had over 300 tenant farmers. The Stricklands primarily grew and ginned cotton, but they also provided everything a farming community needed such as a fertilizer plant, grain elevator, grist mill, and lumber mill. In later years, they grew pecans and peaches and had a canning factory along with a department store, a bank and even a mortuary.
When I’m preparing for these trips, I always try to identify someone who knows the town, and knows a little of the history of their Concord, and most importantly, someone who likes to talk to strangers. In John Strickland, I hit the jackpot. John is the mayor of Concord and a prominent figure in the church and business community. John is the sixth generation to farm the land, and the Stricklands were among the first settlers in the town. John is both a local historian and a raconteur. Tales of the past spin easily from him.
Isaac Strickland settled in Concord in the 1830s and opened the first store in town. He had seven sons who all diversified the family business. In the years after the Civil War, the Strickland family built up a conglomeration of about a dozen businesses and over 20,000 acres of land, or about 15% of Pike County. By 1906, the holding had increased to 30,000 acres. They had over 300 tenant farmers. The Stricklands primarily grew and ginned cotton, but they also provided everything a farming community needed such as a fertilizer plant, grain elevator, grist mill, and lumber mill. In later years, they grew pecans and peaches and had a canning factory along with a department store, a bank and even a mortuary.
The Great Depression hit Pike County especially hard. Between 1920 and 1930 the population of the county dropped from 21,212 to 10,853. Concord’s population stayed pretty steady between 300-400, but as surrounding communities and isolated farms struggled. The Strickland empire receded. Farming changed. The boll weevil devastated the cotton crop, so the gin closed. They tried raising sweet potatoes, cattle, turkeys, soy beans, and peaches, but with each venture, the market dried up. The fertilizer business closed and finally, in 1992, Strickland's closed As the economic decline continued the population in Pike County drop to 7,000. In recent years, the population of Pike County has rebounded to over 20,000 as the metro-Atlanta area creeps outward. The regulars at the Concord Baptist Church Bible study group largely dread the influx of newcomers. They miss the tight-knit Mayberryesque community that they grew up in.
I suspect that John arranged a special group to sit with me during the pre-service Bible study. His wife Ginny, Keith - the local USPS driver, Catherine, a great storyteller, and her largely silent husband, Chuck. They pumped me with questions, but also replied at length to my two stock questions: ”What do you like best about Concord?” and “How has Concord changed since you first came here?
Concord, back in the 1950s, was still pretty isolated and insular. "Going six miles down the road to Zebulon was like going to a foreign country," recalled John. "Every Sunday afternoon, I would stop by all my favorite neighbors in town, and there would always be cookies or lemonade." Strickland's Department Store was the center of life in town, and Ms. Jewel ruled Strickland's. "She raised a lot of us when she was working at the store." Everyone's eyes lit up, and their heads nodded in approval at the mention of Ms. Jewel. She passed this year at the age of 99. Everybody looked out for each other and knew each other’s business. For the most part that closeness was what made for a wonderful childhood. For John, it meant that whenever he got in trouble at school, which seems like a fairly common occurrence, he would get whomped at school then again by Ms. Jewel when he stopped off at the Strickland Department store, and for a third time by his mother when he got home. He could never figure out how news could travel so fast in the pre-telephone era. Years later, he found out that the little girls in his class would run to the store after school to study the pattern books and tattle about John’s misdeeds.
John worked around the store for much of his childhood. He would accompany the drayboy ("a black fella") on his deliveries. "It was always about the service back in those days." If you made a delivery, you'd be expected to sweep the floor, or chop some wood or just come in to chat. If you took too long the mule, would up and leave and head back to the stables." "There were 11 stores in town. Customer service was everything. There was this one lady, Miss Blank, who was never happy. She once sent a grapefruit back to the store because she didn't like the way it rolled around her plate. My father took that grapefruit and slammed it down on the table and sent it back to Miss Blank."
John worked around the store for much of his childhood. He would accompany the drayboy ("a black fella") on his deliveries. "It was always about the service back in those days." If you made a delivery, you'd be expected to sweep the floor, or chop some wood or just come in to chat. If you took too long the mule, would up and leave and head back to the stables." "There were 11 stores in town. Customer service was everything. There was this one lady, Miss Blank, who was never happy. She once sent a grapefruit back to the store because she didn't like the way it rolled around her plate. My father took that grapefruit and slammed it down on the table and sent it back to Miss Blank."
Catherine's life has always centered around horses. "I used to ride down to Strickland's every day to drink a Coke. I would drink part of the Coke, and then I'd give the horse part of the Coke, and then drink part of the Coke." There was always a committee of town elders sitting on the benches out front. "They laughed when I gave my Coke to the horse, so I offered them some, and one guy said 'I don't mind drinking after a horse, but I don't want to drink after you!'"
"Tell him about cutting back on your horses" chipped in Chuck. Catherine used to have six horses, but she promised her husband she would cut back. "First I cut back to seven horses, then I cut back to eight horses, then I cut back to nine, and now I've cut back to ten." I could tell this was an old joke, but genuine laughter rang around the table.
"Well, we better get ready for choir."
We decide to continue the discussion over breakfast, but first we headed out to the chapel.
"Tell him about cutting back on your horses" chipped in Chuck. Catherine used to have six horses, but she promised her husband she would cut back. "First I cut back to seven horses, then I cut back to eight horses, then I cut back to nine, and now I've cut back to ten." I could tell this was an old joke, but genuine laughter rang around the table.
"Well, we better get ready for choir."
We decide to continue the discussion over breakfast, but first we headed out to the chapel.
After the preacher of 30 years retired from the Concord Baptist Church, Jacob has been leading the flock for the past six months. Change is hard and there have been some defections to some of the ten other churches in town, but Jacob has brought the 21st century into the service. The pulpit is flanked by two widescreen LED monitors that scroll with the lyrics of the hymns and project a PowerPoint of the bullet points of the lesson from the scripture. There is a special emphasis on the children’s ministry, and the Youth group sat in the front two pews in matching black tee-shirts.
The town has largely been reduced to a couple of functioning stores including the Concord Café where we adjoined to after the service was completed. The place was packed and the buffet was dangerously delicious. After brunch, John took he for a tour of his town.
Concord had managed to preserve some of her old buildings. The old drug store was an office for a while, but it was vacant again. The Strickland Lumberyard is now the home to a woodworker who produces planks of specialty wood that cost about 100 times what the old pine planks cost 20 years ago.
Concord has settled into a comfortable pace. John is at ease with his decision to close up the business - he couldn't compete with Walmart. The Strickland building hosts occasional wedding and has been featured in films. Despite the economic decline, folks seem satisfied. They hope the new generation of long-range-commuter residents will start taking more of an interest in church and community life, but if they don't, the old-timers seem content to live with their memories surrounded by their friends.