Part of the fun in looking back through time is examining the origins of the things that today we take for granted. Even though it is obvious that there clearly had to be a first for just about everything, that doesn’t make it any less interesting to find out just exactly how a particular “first” went down. So, once again, we pause to consider just exactly who was the first and what had to happen to make it that way in this week’s Stories of Atlanta.
Tag: Atlanta Stories
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Not everyone shared his enthusiasm
James Litchfield Beavers is not a name that most Atlantans today are familiar with but, back in his day, James Beavers was “The Man”…literally. For 26 years, James Beavers was a member of Atlanta’s police force and from 1911 to 1915 he was Atlanta’s “Top Cop,” the Chief of Police.
In his almost three decades of police work, James Beavers changed, adapted and grew with the City of Atlanta. He was on duty during Atlanta’s Race Riot of 1906, he was charged with enforcing a city-wide ban on alcohol which took effect in our city 12 years prior to the passage of the 18th amendment. In his capacity as Chief, Beavers oversaw the investigation of the Leo Frank case which garnered nation-wide publicity.
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Everyone knew it was a dangerous situation
He was a freedman and a barber at the Atlanta Hotel who, by all accounts was well-liked and respected. He just picked the wrong day to step outside.
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Attracting the wrong kind of attention
In September of 1895 at Atlanta’s Cotton States and International Exposition, Charles Jenkins demonstrated to the world what he called a Phantoscope, an early version of a movie projector. From that moment on, the world would never be the same.
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Star gazing at the Fox Theatre
To be honest, it seemed like an urban myth when we first heard about it but, after a little bit of research, the myth proved to be fact. A whimsical tale on its own, the reality that it is true makes it one of the Stories of Atlanta worth a second look. Here’s what we […]
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Not exactly a favorite son
I can think of at least two residents of Metro Atlanta that have tossed their hat into the Presidential candidate’s ring. Maybe there are more, but, has there ever been a Presidential candidate who was actually a resident of the City of Atlanta? Our friend Greg Hodges asked that question and the answer he discovered […]
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Some first-of-the-year inspiration
It’s time for the annual first week of January ritual. You know, the one where we tell ourselves, “This year is going to be the year.” This year we get back into the gym – we start eating better – spending more time with our family – working smarter and, in general, making the self-improvements we think we need to make.
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Tested and proved in the South
The early days of automobile manufacturing were much like the Wild West. By some accounts, there have been over 1800 car manufacturers and it took a while before the “Big 3” to became the dominant American automobile companies. Most early car companies are nothing but distant memories on the American landscape but one is, to […]
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From Atlanta he sold to the world
As sure as there is breakfast, lunch and dinner, there is snacking. Satisfying those between-meal cravings is a need we all have. While some people are able to eat healthy snacks, many of us cannot resist the lure of less healthy foods. Snacking certainly is not a new innovation. It goes back, in some […]
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A look back at the summer of love
It was the sixties and hundreds of thousands of people gathered together for 3 days of music. You can probably guess the rest.
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He was a credit to his profession
Ask anyone in Atlanta what comes to mind when you mention our city’s boxing tradition and chances are you’ll get the name Evander Holyfield. That is assuming the person you are asking doesn’t confuse boxing with wrestling, in which case, you’ll probably get Dusty Rhodes, Rick Flare or Gordon Solie. But it is Evander “The […]
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The dragon that reaches out and grabs you
Roger Babson is the founder of the Gravity Research Foundation, an organization with the stated purpose of studying, understanding and, ultimately, harnessing the force of gravity. It was the childhood drowning of his older sister in a river near Gloucester, Massachusetts that sparked Babson’s life-long interest in finding a way to control the effects of […]
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It had everything to do with necessity
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 […]
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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 […]
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He missed the bus but eventually got to Atlanta
Coinciding with the particularly busy October schedule of the vast staff that creates the Stories of Atlanta, we, once again, will acquiesce to an imagined groundswell of viewer demand for an encore look at one of our favorite tales. I was following a thread on a message board recently in which the participants were discussing […]
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A familiar face comes to town
Watching this week’s story one can’t help but pause to consider the burdens that life places on some people. It is a story that flew under the radar two months ago and, we feel, it deserves a second look because most of us can relate to the relationships we don’t get to pick. We start […]
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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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It’s the story of 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.
