Businessman James E. (Jimmy) Stewart, Jr. discusses growing up in South Georgia in the 1930s and 1940s, attending the University of Georgia, serving in the United States Army in Cold War Europe, and running a family-owned, small business in Waycross,…
James Lester “Jim L.” Gillis, Jr. is the grandson of Treutlen County founder and state representative Neil Gillis, the son of State Senator and Highway Commissioner Jim L. Gillis, and brother of Hugh Gillis. He discusses his time working as an…
Bob Brussack interviews Seth Hendershot about Seth's involvement with the music scene in Athens in the early '90s, jazz in Athens, and Seth's experiences in the business world including founding Hendershot's Coffee Bar. This interview is part of the…
Willie Green Cutts talks about being raised by his grandmother and helping his grandfather with farming rather than finishing school. He discusses working as an entertainer, his experience as a farmer, and how he acquired his land. Cutts also shares…
C.L Walters was born in Plains, Georgia in 1948. After serving in the Army, Walters graduated from Georgia Tech in 1957. He later returned to Plains, where he bought the family grocery store. In this interview, Walters talks about growing up in…
Sandra Walter was born in the Concord Community of Sumter County in 1939. Sumter moved to Americus, Georgia at the age of fifteen where she graduated from Americus High School. Walter currently lives in Plains, Georgia after her husband, C.L Walters…
Ray Baldwin was born in 1937 in Americus, Georgia where his family owned and operated the Americus Baking Company. Baldwin attended Georgia Southwestern State University, after which he came to own an insurance company called Baldwin Company. In this…
Sarah Ross is the Executive Director of the University of Georgia Center for Research and Education at Wormsloe in Savannah, Georgia. She is also the President of The Wormsloe Foundation and Executive Director of the Wormsloe Institute for…
Sarah Ross is the Executive Director of the University of Georgia Center for Research and Education at Wormsloe in Savannah, Georgia. She is also the President of The Wormsloe Foundation and Executive Director of the Wormsloe Institute for…
Homer Wilson grew up in Madison County. He earned a certificate in forest from Fort Valley State College. In this interview, he discusses how he began working in his father’s barbershop, Wilson’s Styling Shop, in downtown Athens, Georgia. He talks…
Archibald Killian was born in Athens, GA in 1933. He studied at the Burdett School of Business in Boston, and served as a police officer overseas in the U.S. Air Force. In this interview, Killian discusses the process of desegregation of the…
Antonio Ramirez vivió en Mexico D.F. hasta que se mudó a Athens, Georgia en 1995. Después de trabajar en la construcción, él y su esposa abrieron un restaurante familiar, llamado Tlaloc El Mexicano, en 2007. En esta entrevista, Ramirez habla sobre el…
Florinda Arroyo se nació en el estado de Michoacán en México y se mudó a Athens, Georgia con su esposo, donde abrieron el restaurante Tlaloc, El Mexicano. En esta entrevista, ella habla sobre aprendiendo de cocinar como niña, la idea de abrir el…
Alonso Haro creció en Zacatecas, México, después de que regresó para los Estados Unidos en 1992, donde eventualmente se estableció en Athens, Georgia. Haro trabajó en el restaurante de su padre, La Taqueria La Parrilla, donde actualmente es uno de…
Walter Allen Jr. has lived in Athens his entire life, graduating from Cedar Shoals High School and attending the University of Georgia for two years. He left the university to work full-time for a local radio station and later started a successful…
James Deadwyler was born and raised in rural Winterville, GA, just outside of Athens. His parents passed when he was young and he was forced to drop out of school to make a living. In this interview, he describes his professional career working with…
Tommy Brown was born in Athens in 1940 to a family of seventeen children. Growing up as a sharecropper, he learned much about self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship. In this interview, Brown shares his experiences with the Ku Klux Klan, workplace…
Arthur Sims, Sr. moved from rural Georgia to Athens with his family when he was young and attended segregated Athens High and Industrial School. In this interview he talks about his teenage years participating in Civil Rights movements and jobs he…
Barbara Sheats was born and raised in Athens, Georgia. She attended Timothy Road Elementary, Clarke Middle School, Clarke Central High School, and Athens Academy before completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia. In this…
Diana Fairbairn has lived in Athens since the early 90s and has had a substantial impact on the local scene of soul food. In this interview, Fairbairn talks about her introduction to food, her experience opening Five Star Day Cafe, and what she’s…
Shanna Sheats was born in 1975 in Athens and grew up off Timothy Road. In this interview, Sheats recalls her integrated education at Timothy Road Elementary, Clarke Middle School, and Clarke Central High School. She discusses attending several…
Matthew McRae was born in McRae-Helena, Georgia and attended Twin City Elementary and High Schools. After attending Fort Valley State University and dentistry school he, along with his wife Barbara, started McRae Family Dental in Athens, which now…
Tracy Smith was born in 1963. Her childhood was shared between Athens and Atlanta, and she constantly moved between the two. She attended Athens Technical School and interned at WXAG radio in Athens which began a long career in marketing and…
Tarik Camp, also known as Top Cat, was born in Athens, Georgia. His mother worked as a singer and his father as a DJ. Growing up, Camp worked as a D.J and music creator before he formed the band, Mascom. Camp currently has a wife and two daughters…
Kevin Corban was born in 1961 in Tunica County, Mississippi. He attended Mississippi State University where he received a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and a master’s degree in crop pest management. He worked as a cotton scout for over twenty years…
Joseph B. (Joe) Wilkinson was born September 3, 1946 in Atlanta. Wilkinson is a graduate of North Fulton County High School and the University of Georgia. Wilkinson has held various roles with the Coca-Cola Company. He also worked as a White House…
Vashaun Jones was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. He describes being blind or visually impaired throughout his life. He talks about his career, emphasizing the importance of failure to achieving success.
Cornelius Butler was born in Dawsonville, Georgia and currently lives in Bainbridge, Georgia. At a young age, Butler was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, which has caused progressive loss in sight throughout his life and will result in eventual…
