Those who lived in or near the path of the April 9, 1998 tornado that crossed Dunwoody just after midnight remember well the sight of snapped trees in the days following. There were many fallen trees, but the sight of the snapped pine trees made a indelible impression.

The tornado went right through the campus of what was then DeKalb College (now part of Georgia State University) at the intersection of Womack and Tilly Mill Roads. 

One of my favorite subjects as Christmas approaches is the Pink Pig at Rich’s downtown Atlanta.

Those who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s recall the Pink Pig downtown. Many recall when the ride was a monorail that rode above the toy department, so that children got a good a look at all the toys available. Some remember an elevator that went upstairs to Santa’s igloo.

Cherokee Theatre first opened in 1963 at 3861 Peachtree Road, just one year after the Brookhaven Theater down the street on Peachtree Road had closed. The first film shown at Cherokee Theater was the three hour film “55 Days at Peking.” The film starred Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner.

Peeler Road in Dunwoody is named for the family who once lived along the road.  The Peelers first became interested in the Chamblee Dunwoody Road area when some of their family, Uncle Joe and Aunt Mabel Powell, began working for Dr. Luther Fischer. 

As World War II veterans returned to the United States following the end of the war, there was a shortage of housing across the country including the Atlanta area and a rush to build housing for the soldiers. Oglethorpe Apartments on Ashford Dunwoody Road were built to help with this shortage. During this time, some returning soldiers and their families lived in military tents on rented land and in mobile home parks.

The red brick apartments were on land that is Blackburn Park today.

On the property of Life Center Ministries is a historic home that originally belonged to the Ware family.  You can best see the small home by pulling into the church parking lot.  The property was purchased by publisher Norman Berg in 1938 to use for hunting.  He was the Southeast representative for MacMillan Publishers.  He later sold all but five acres, remodeled the barn, and made that his home.  He used the old Ware home as a guest house, letting authors stay there when a quiet place in the country would help them with their writing. 

This history leads to the old stone church at the corner of Mount Vernon Highway and Glenridge Drive. First Baptist Church of Sandy Springs across the road is also part of the history. The church began in Dunwoody and sat in the area where Caldwell Banker Real Estate, KinderCare and New Hop Cemetery are located today along Chamblee Dunwoody Road.

I remember the Putt-Putt Golf & Games at the corner of Shallowford and Chamblee Tucker Road well, because I went there many times with friends and family.

I asked a group of Chamblee High School alumni who have been helpful in the past by sharing their memories, what they remembered about Putt-Putt Golf & Games. I am not an alumnus of Chamblee but of Henderson back when it was a high school.

John Hardigree, born in 1844, came to Dunwoody from Coweta County, Georgia in the late 1800’s. He began working as a carpenter. There he met Catherine Elizabeth Dalrymple and they were soon married. For a while, they lived in her parents’ home on what is still known as Dalrymple Road in Sandy Springs. Then they moved to a home of their own on what is now Lake Hearn Drive, in the district of DeKalb County known as Cross Keys.

The website of AMEDD presents history of the Army Medical Department and includes data of the various Medical Department Technician Schools across the US during WWII. In addition to treating patients at Lawson General Hospital, which was in Chamblee on the outskirts of Atlanta Georgia, men (and women with the Red Cross) were being trained to provide medical care to injured soldiers. This training began in July of 1942 for Lawson General Hospital

According to ancestry.com. Greenville Henderson was born in South Carolina in 1792.. He married Nancy Ann Barnett in 1813 in Morgan County, Georgia. He was also known as Major Greenville Henderson, having fought in the War of 1812. His father fought in the Revolutionary War.

The land of Greenville Henderson extended from the area of Henderson Mill Road and Henderson Road to where Northlake Mall and other commercial businesses are located. He is said to have accumulated 2000 acres.

Clint Daniel and Carlton Renfroe, who grew up nearby, shared with me what they remember about Lawson a few years ago.

Carlton Renfroe was always a great source of local history. He was happy to share his stories and tell me all he remembered about Dunwoody and Chamblee from his childhood. Sadly, he died in September of 2021 at the age of 89.

Renfroe’s family moved from downtown Atlanta to Dunwoody in 1941. His father was hired as a plumber at Lawson General Hospital. Renfroe remembers that during World War II it was difficult to find and buy candy, but his Dad was able to buy some at the PX at Lawson and bring it home to his children.

I haven’t thought much about the history of Waffle House until recently, but the first one opened in Avondale, DeKalb County, Georgia on Labor Day weekend of 1955. The founders of the iconic restaurant were Tom Forkner and Joe Rogers, Sr.

Waffle House history is included in DeKalb History Center’s exhibit to commemorate 200 years for DeKalb County. There was also a Waffle House menu in the 1997 time capsule opened at the celebration on August 25, 2022. The bicentennial exhibit is open Monday through Friday 10 am to 4 pm and Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm in the historic courthouse at 101 East Court Square in Decatur, Georgia.

This past week a new exhibit opened at the DeKalb History Center to celebrate 200 years for DeKalb County. I was fortunate to attend the opening night event, a “Birthday Bash” for DeKalb County complete with birthday cake and the opening of a 1997 time capsule held at the DHC home in the historic DeKalb Courthouse at 101 E. Court Square in Decatur.

The bicentennial exhibit, as well as other exhibits, are open Monday through Friday 10:00 am until 4:00 pm and Saturdays 10:00 am until 2:00 pm.

The 1924 home of Elon and Lizzie Jordon sat on Spalding Drive just west of where Georgia 400 is today. When traveling on Spalding Drive from Roberts Drive towards Roswell Road the home was on the right side of the road. Larry Jordon, grandson of Elon and Lizzie shared this history several years ago.

The first Dunwoody library was not in the same location as the current Dunwoody library. It was at 5064 Nandina Lane, where the offices of the Dunwoody Crier newspaper were once located and where Ernie’s Barbershop, Moondog Growlers and other businesses are located today.

DeKalb History Center archives includes history on several elementary schools from the county, including Evansdale Elementary on Evans Woods Drive in Doraville. Jim Cherry, Superintendent of DeKalb County Schools from 1947 until 1972 requested a brief history of the schools he supervised and the Evansdale one is in the archive.

According to the school history of Evansdale Elementary, it opened in September of 1967 with an enrollment of 650. The following year enrollment was 720 and in 1969 enrollment grew to 788.

In the 1930s, Frances Virginia Tea Room moved to the corner of Ellis and Peachtree Street as more space was needed. This building was called Collier building, named for early settler George Collier and is where the silhouette of Frances Virginia’s face is remembered as hanging next to the restaurant sign over Peachtree. “For almost four decades her portrait reigned in neon over Atlanta’s famous Peachtree Street.”

July 20, 2022 marked the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. As Neil Armstrong took his first step on the moon and said the words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” those who watched remember where they were on that historic day.

In 2019, the year of the fiftieth anniversary I asked readers of the Dunwoody Crier newspaper about their memories of the Apollo Moon Landing.

“Germans Sign Armistice, World War Comes to End.” This was the Atlanta Constitution headline on November 11, 1918 and the good news was celebrated all over Atlanta and in the surrounding communities.

Teachers led school children in patriotic songs and then dismissed them early. Boys from Tech High School marched through town as they celebrated and cheered. Atlanta city offices were ordered closed by Mayor Asa Candler. Students of the Southern Shorthand and Business School on Whitehall Street in downtown Atlanta gathered in the street and sang “America.”