Early days of Brookhaven’s library
Brookhaven’s library history began on the back porch of the home of Edna and Weldon Shows.
DeKalb County Schools survey 1916, Doraville and Tucker
I recently came across a book online titled “Educational Surveys of DeKalb and Union County Georgia,” dated 1916. It includes photos and short descriptions of all the DeKalb County Schools at the time. I was glad to discover the DeKalb History Center had a copy of the book and went to see it in their archives.
Railroad section houses became family homes during Great Depression
J. C. Finley lived in the section house that still stands. He shared his memories of that time with Lynne Byrd.
On the homefront during WWII
The June 11, 1942, edition of the Atlanta Constitution shared an announcement from Washington, D.C., “Scrap salvage campaign will begin shortly.” The War Production Board asked that everyone across the country collect metal, rubber, fats and oils.
Video rental business, here and gone
Whatever community you lived in, there was a Blockbuster, Hollywood Video or perhaps a smaller chain or independent video store. Other competitors in the Atlanta area included All Star Video, The Movie Store, National Video, and West Coast Videos. Record stores also entered the video rental business.
Atlanta record store nostalgia-Turtles, Peaches, etc.
In the 1970s, Turtle’s, Peaches and other record stores opened in Atlanta and the surrounding areas. Al Levenson started Turtle’s Record Store in 1977 and opened eight stores in 18 months.
Commemorative Air Force event at DeKalb Peachtree Airport May 24 & 25
Commemorative Air Force is holding Special Warbird Rides Days at DeKalb Peachtree Airport. Five vintage planes based at Peachtree City, Georgia will be at PDK May 24, 2025 and May 25, 2025 for exhibitions and flights from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Military service of Clyde Casto included surgical training at Lawson General Hospital
In 1943, Casto was sent to train as a Surgical Technician in the Medical Department Technicians School at Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia.
The Ashford in Ashford Park, Ashford Dunwoody Road
The next owner was Eugene S. Luckie, followed by W. T. Ashford, who purchased the home and land in 1903, naming it Southlook. Ashford operated a nursery business on the property.
Dachau liberated 80 years ago, April 29, 1945
To commemorate 80 years since the liberation of Dachua, I wanted to return to the history shared with me by Hilbert Margol in 2021. World War II veteran Hilbert Margol and his brother Howard Margol were there to liberate Dachau on April 29, 1945 as part of the 42nd Infantry.
Peachtree Industrial Blvd. 1958, Peachtree Blvd. 2008
The October 26, 1958 Atlanta Journal newspaper printed an article titled, “Peachtree leads new south to shiny industrial future.” The article announced a new four-lane highway called Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. “North of Atlanta, slashed across the flat red plain of the Piedmont, a vibrant symbol of the new south flourishes.”
Sandy Springs DeWald’s Alley and the memories of Shirley Peters Pruitt
Residents of DeWald’s Alley rented from Clyde and Susie DeWald, who lived nearby on Spruill Road, later known as Meadow Lane Road. Susie DeWald would go door to door collecting rent each month. The houses of DeWald’s Alley had outhouses, no electricity, and well water. Pumps were eventually installed.
Atlanta flocks to Flowerland
In 1932, he sold the dairy farm and bought 138 acres in Chamblee. He and wife Lucy Hurt Fischer built a home with elaborate gardens, calling it Flowerland. The home was designed by Phillip Trammel Shutze.
George Adolphus, Sandy Springs postmaster
Finally in 1930, Adolphus began his career as a Methodist minister while living on Crew Street. But in 1934, he made the move to the country, bought a five-acre farm in Burdal and became postmaster.
1938, Fulton County school teachers who marry can keep their job
According to an article in the Sunday American Newspaper (the Sunday edition of the Atlanta Georgian), Oct. 3, 1937, titled “Married teacher opinion divided,” in the Fulton County School System, women teachers who married would lose their jobs.
Before Murphey Candler Park
In the early 1950s, the Kiwanis Club of North DeKalb spearheaded a project to provide North DeKalb County with a park. The 165-acre property was donated by M. A. and Cora Quinn Long and Fred B. Wilson for the construction of a park in 1953.
Moonshine stories
When Ralph Glaze was a boy growing up along Winters Chapel and Peeler Road, he remembers the rumor of moonshine production between Happy Hollow and Winters Chapel Road along what is now Dunwoody Club Drive. Adults used to say, “don’t go down there,” sometimes using the story of a monster to keep children away.
I-285 completed 1969, part of GA 400 opens in 1971
7.4 miles of I-285 on the east side of Atlanta opened in 1968. The entire 64 mile circumferential highway was completed October 15, 1969, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Lydia T. Douglas, Civil Rights and the Atlanta Student Movement 1960
Douglas recalls that Lonnie King conceived the Atlanta Student Movement in 1960. King (no relation to Martin Luther King, Jr.) brought students together to form the Committee on the Appeal for Human Rights. His plan was to desegregate all public accommodations in the city of Atlanta.