Necessity is the “Mother of Invention.” Not much to argue with there. If it weren’t for necessity, there would never have been a MacGyver. The crew of Apollo 13 could probably tell you a thing or two about the motivation provided by necessity. And we’re pretty sure that if it weren’t for necessity, Ron Popeil […]
Author Archives: Lance Russell
Lance Russell is an Atlanta-based filmmaker and media communicator who, for over three decades, has been entrusted by clients to tell their stories. A seasoned producer with an innate ability to cut to the heart of the matter, Lance’s instincts are tailor-made for today’s “media bite” culture. Brief, poignant and always entertaining, Lance’s current passion is bringing Atlanta’s colorful and inspiring past to life with his “rest of the story” style video series, Stories of Atlanta. “History’s best communicators,” says Lance, “have always been storytellers. It’s in our DNA. ‘Once upon a time’ is how we got to where we are now.”
Posted inStories of Atlanta
It’s a stretch. . . But it does reach
It is a safe bet to say that there were no Atlantans who fought at the Battle of the Alamo. Safe because the battle was over and done with a year before the terminus stake was ever driven into the ground. And yet…there is a connection between Atlanta and the Alamo. Not surprisingly, the connection […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
The layers of history
It probably goes without saying that pretty much everything was something before it became what it is today. An examination of any city’s past is an exercise in peeling back the layers of, as the Beatles might have put it, the long and winding road. Because of our city’s particular penchant for casting out the […]
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An-out-of-towner raises the roof
The term “carpetbagger” is defined as one who is an unscrupulous opportunist. But just as it is true that all that glitters is not gold, it is also true that not all who came to Atlanta following the Civil War were solely unscrupulous, opportunistic carpetbaggers. Take the case of Hannibal Ingalls Kimball. H.I. Kimball was […]
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Survival in a fast-paced world
Atlanta’s business history is filled with the records of companies that did not stand the test of time. Evidence of that fact is all around but, to put a positive spin on things, where would all of the hip offices, trendy loft condos and tech startups turn for space if Atlanta’s large warehouses and manufacturing […]
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An ineffective good samaritan
If tomorrow you take a stroll down Peachtree street, the chances are better than pretty good that, at several points during your walk, you will be photographed. There are cameras everywhere, not just downtown but, well, everywhere. I’ve seen estimates that, on the average, we have our pictures taken between 40 and 75 times a […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
She found what she wanted
They say it was Benjamin Franklin who uttered the oft repeated phrase that nothing is certain except death and taxes. He supposedly said that in reference to the life span of the recently written United States Constitution, which he felt had the appearance but not the certainty of permanency. But surely there are other examples […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Downtown became more challenging
Henry Ford once said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” However, in true Henry Ford style, he did not ask for opinions and what we got was the “horseless carriage.” And the world has never been the same. Americans have long had a love affair with the […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Not everyone in Atlanta was pleased
Atlanta’s connection to the newspaper business is long and colorful. And over the years, there have been a large number of publications that tried to make a go of it in our town. Most did not stand the test of time. The Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution are two of the obvious exceptions, as […]
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A familiar face comes to town
“The play’s the thing.” You’ve heard that phrase. Shakespeare wrote it. Hamlet says it. So it must be true. And, though probably not in the same vein that Hamlet meant it, the play certainly was the thing when it came to 19th century Atlantans. Opera and the theatre captured the attention of 1800s Atlanta in […]
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An Atlanta Institution
“You want to be where everybody knows your name.” That is a line in the chorus of the theme song from the long-running TV show “Cheers,” a show about a fictional Boston tavern and its regular customers. “Cheers” was patterned after Boston’s Bull and Finch Pub, an actual tavern that opened for business in 1969 […]
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Who among us hasn’t made a mistake
Mistakes are a part of life, that’s the way it is and that’s the way it has always been. “Errare Humanum Est,” to err is human. The hope is that our mistakes aren’t too visible and, in general, are of the minor variety and not of the George Custer variety. But it doesn’t always go […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
A football legend starts a tradition
They say that football is a contact sport. Those who’ve actually played the game disagree. Basketball, they say, is a contact sport…football is a collision sport. Football is a tough and strategic game and the difference between winning and losing on any given Sunday often comes down to a thin, undefinable characteristic. There are no […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Out of tragedy came opportunity
One of the more interesting aspects of a circus is that it is, essentially, a visual art form. Unlike almost any other form of public performance, television, radio or movies to name a few, one does not need to speak the language of one’s audience to put on a circus. And though the circus has […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
You know the notes but where did they originate?
For those who regularly watch Stories of Atlanta, this will be a familiar tale. We’ve posted it before, probably more than once. Given the circumstances, however, it does seem fitting we go back to the well one more time. Fitting, because Tuesday March 15, 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the day WSB Radio signed […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Knowing your place
It is becoming increasingly difficult to get lost. In fact, with the exception of traversing the fringe regions of the planet, those areas without access to a cell signal, wi-fi or satellite reception, one has to work pretty darn hard to lose one’s way. For sure, you can get confused or disoriented…but lost? Thanks to […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
It was the country’s first, but it didn’t last
Today, a visit from the President of the United States often means traffic jams and inconvenience. But, in the early days of the City of Atlanta, a visit from the Commander in Chief was an occasion for great fanfare. Probably because such visits were few and far between and the opportunity to see, first-hand and […]
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Maybe not what he had in mind
Atlanta’s history is intertwined with Atlanta’s religion. Houses of worship were not just a presence in Atlanta, they were one of the major forces that helped shape and support our community. This week, we tell the tale of Leonard Broughton who came to Atlanta to lead a church and ended up building one of Atlanta’s […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
One day you’re the hammer, the next you’re the nail
Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you. That’s pretty much how it goes in life. You can’t win them all. Fortunately, not everything is a contest and, sometimes, being second is still pretty cool. To be sure, as Mel Brooks once said, “It’s good to be the King.” But if you […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
It’s often how things get done
In almost every significant step forward, there are the people who get the credit and then there are the people who actually did the work. Sometimes they are the same people and sometimes not. It was Coca-Cola Chairman Robert W. Woodruff who supposedly said, “There is no limit to what a man can do or […]
