Elliot Levitas was elected as a Democrat to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1964 and later served as a U.S. Representative from Georgia's 4th congressional district. In this interview he talks about his long career in politics, including the…
Elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from the Eighth and later the Ninth District, Bill Stuckey served in Congress from 1967 until 1977. While in Congress, Stuckey served on the Agriculture committee, the District of…
In 1962, Rowan ran a successful campaign for the Georgia Senate. He was the youngest senator at the time. In 1974, he made an unsuccessful bid for governor. In 1989, he ran successfully for public service commissioner, and retired in 1994. Rowan…
Marvin Dawson Mathis served as the news director of WALB-TV in Albany, Georgia, before running a successful campaign for Congress in 1971. He served on several committees, including Agriculture, House Administration, and Steering and Policy. Mathis…
In 1969, Sam Massell was elected as a Democrat to be the Atlanta's first Jewish mayor. He discusses his early political career and his time as mayor, including the development of MARTA, his support for the advancement of minorities, and the role of…
John Charles Foster was elected to the Georgia Senate as a Democrat in 1974. He served as chairman of the Education Committee during his entire tenure in the senate. Under Governor Joe Frank Harris, Foster sponsored the Quality Basic Education Act…
Betty Bird Foy Sanders met Carl Sanders at the University of Georgia, and they married in 1947. When he entered politics, Betty campaigned with him, and they moved to Atlanta when Carl was elected governor in 1962. Sanders discusses raising two…
Helen Lewis was born in Cumming, Georgia, in 1924 and spent most of her career as an educator and activist for civil rights and social justice. Lewis discusses her student activism at Georgia State College for Women in the 1940s. In particular, she…
Eunice Lastinger Mixon taught eighth grade science and high school biology, chemistry and physics for thirty years in the Tift County School System, and was an instructor at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. In 1974, gubernatorial candidate…
Betty Vandiver helped her husband Ernest Vandiver run a successful campaign for lieutenant governor in 1954 and in 1958, when Ernest Vandiver was elected governor of Georgia. As first lady, Betty Vandiver was instrumental in setting up…
James G. “Jim” Minter worked as a sportswriter for UGA’s The Red and Black newspaper, and then went on to the Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution, where he worked with Lewis Grizzard, Bill Shipp, and Reg Murphy. He was appointed executive…
Erwin Mitchell practiced law in Dalton, Georgia, before serving as a solicitor general for the Cherokee Judicial Circuit and subsequently as a Superior Court judge on the same circuit. In 1958 Mitchell was elected as a Democrat to the 85th Congress,…
Ben Blackburn was elected as a Republican to the US Congress from Georgia's fourth district and served from 1967 to 1975. While in Congress, Blackburn served on several committees, including Banking and Currency, the Housing Subcommittee, the Joint…
Louise McBee was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives from Athens-Clarke County in 1991. McBee served on and chaired several committees, including the Appropriations Committee, the Retirement Committee, the World Congress Center Overview…
In this interview Mary Anne Summers discusses her experiences working with a variety of Georgia politicians and public figures throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Summers became a secretary for Richard Ashford during the Vandiver administration.…
Keith Mason volunteered for Jimmy Carter and worked for Zell Miller in Miller’s 1974 run for lieutenant governor. He continued to work for Miller, establishing himself as an advisor during Miller’s gubernatorial race in 1990, and becoming Governor…
David Poythress began his career in the U.S. Air Force as a judge advocate general and became assistant attorney general in 1971. Since then, Poythress has served in a variety of elected and appointed positions, including as secretary of state, state…
Thurbert Baker worked in Fulton County in the public defender’s office. He then worked as a lawyer for the Environmental Protection Agency. In 1989, he ran his first campaign for the Georgia House of Representatives, where he subsequently served five…
Harold Lloyd Murphy was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1950 and served until 1961. He also served as an assistant state solicitor general of the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit in 1956. From 1971 to 1977, he served as a superior court…
Shirley Carver Miller is the wife of former Georgia Governor and U.S. Senator Zell Miller. Her platform as first lady was adult literacy, and she campaigned to increase the number of people passing General Education Development tests. Miller…
William Wyche Fowler was elected to the Atlanta city council in 1975, and eventually became president of the council. Upon Andrew Young’s resignation, Fowler won a special election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1977. He served on the Ways…
Millard Grimes worked as an editor for The Red and Black, and graduated from UGA with a degree in journalism in 1951. He returned to the Columbus Ledger as associate news editor, and in 1955 the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for documenting…
Carlton Colwell he ran a successful campaign for the Georgia House of Representatives in 1964. He represented several North Georgia mountain counties for thirty years. Colwell served on various committees, including Appropriations, Ways and Means,…
James Francis “Jim” Martin drafted legislation as part of the legislative council before joining Legal Aid, an organization representing low income families. In 1983, he ran for office, and was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives as a…
Eric J. Tanenblatt graduated from Emory University with a degree in economics. He immediately started as a campaign worker for George H.W. Bush, organizing college campuses. There, he met and worked with Senator Paul Coverdell. When Bush was elected…
George Hooks was elected as a Democrat to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1980. Under Governor Joe Frank Harris, he served as the assistant administration floor leader. He served five terms in the house, and was elected to the Georgia State…
Glenn Anthony reported for the United Press International, covering various civil rights groups in Alabama and Tennessee. He entered politics when he went to work for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, lobbying for business interests. He was involved…
Marie Dobbs Barnes married Roy Barnes in 1970. In 1974, Roy ran a successful campaign for the Georgia State Senate; Marie was active in this and subsequent campaigns, while also raising their three children. Marie became an active advocate for early…
Harold G. Clarke was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1960. In the legislature, he authored several bills and plans, including Abolish Atlanta and the Clarke Plan. In 1966, he participated in the legislative initiative…
George J. Berry went to work in the finance department of the city of Atlanta in 1962. Berry was chosen to be the deputy chief administrative officer in Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen's administration. Mayor Sam Massell promoted him to chief administrative…
Edward H. Johnson went to work for Zell Miller’s campaign for lieutenant governor in 1974. Upon Miller’s election, Johnson was appointed as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. In 1977, Johnson was elected as a Democrat to the Georgia State…
DuBose Porter ran a successful campaign as a Democrat for the Georgia House of Representatives, in 1982. In 1987, Porter and Griffin Lovett bought Dublin’s daily newspaper, The Courier Herald. Porter oversees the business and publishing aspect of the…
George T. Smith joined the U.S. Navy in 1940 and after two years was placed on the Naval Land Force Equipment Depot. He left the military in 1945 and returned home. In 1948, he graduated from the University of Georgia Law School and went into private…
Fletcher Thompson was elected as a Republican to the Georgia General Assembly as a state senator in 1964. In 1966, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served in the two succeeding congresses, but was unsuccessful in a bid for…
Aubrey R. Morris was born in 1922 in Roswell, Georgia, and grew up writing for the local newspaper. In this interview, Morris discusses his long journalism career, including his days as a journalism student at the University of Georgia, his work at…
Lewis Massey helped Joe Frank Harris campaign for governor. In 1990, he went to work with Pierre Howard’s campaign for lieutenant governor. Howard was elected, and Massey was appointed Chief of Staff. In 1994, he successfully managed Howard's…
Charles Campbell met Senator Richard B. Russell when he introduced him for a Blue Key speech at UGA. He went to work as Russell’s legislative assistant in Washington, D.C., and eventually became his executive secretary. Upon Senator Russell’s death…
Joseph Maxwell Cleland first became interested in politics during his Washington Semester Program. In 1965, he was asked by Senator Richard B. Russell to become a congressional intern. Cleland then joined the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam. He was…
Robert A. “Bob” Holmes was invited to teach as a professor in the political science department of Clark Atlanta University in 1971. Holmes became active in a variety of political issues and campaigns. In 1974, he was elected to the Georgia House of…
Steve W. Wrigley worked as a senior policy analyst for the Georgia State Senate in 1987 and advised Senator Zell Miller on the Mountain Protection Act. When Miller was elected lieutenant governor, Wrigley served as his executive assistant. From 1993…
William J. “Bill” Lee was elected as a Democrat to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1956. He continued to serve for forty-two years, making his the longest uninterrupted tenure in the house by any representative until tying with Tom Murphy in…
James Roy Rowland attended South Georgia College and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia. In 1952, he received his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia. He practiced medicine in Dublin, Georgia, from 1952 to…
Bobby Kahn, a Democratic political activist from Savannah, Georgia, is the former chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia. Kahn was elected chairman in 2004; his term expired in 2007. He previously served as chief of staff under former Governor…
Tyrone L. Brooks was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1980. He has sat on numerous committees, including Economic Development and Tourism, Governmental Affairs and Retirement, and Appropriations. Brooks has served as…
Lonnie King was born in Arlington, Georgia. He was raised in Atlanta and served in the U.S. Navy. He left the Navy in 1957, returned to Atlanta, and earned his degree from Morehouse College. In 1960 he was present at the founding of the Student…
Thomas Houck dropped out of high school at age 15 and joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to work under Hosea Williams. In 1965, he met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at a meeting of the SCLC, and in 1966 he came to Atlanta and became…
Willie Bolden was born in Sumter, South Carolina on December 7, 1938. and was raised in Savannah, Georgia. He is best known for his work as a civil rights activist. In this interview, Bolden discusses his activity with the Southern Christian…
Matthew Towery was an unofficial page for Governor Lester Maddox, and continued in an official capacity during Maddox’s term as lieutenant governor. He became a speech writer in Mattingly’s successful run for senate in 1980. In 1989 with the…
Pierre Howard was elected to the Georgia Senate as a Democrat in 1972. He continued to be reelected until 1988. In 1974, Governor George Busbee appointed him assistant floor leader of the senate, a position he held for eight years. Howard proposed…
Charles C. “Chuck” Clay worked as assistant solicitor in Marietta. He went on to become district attorney, and then, in 1986, commissioner, for Cobb County. In 1988, Clay was elected to the Georgia State Senate as a Republican. After his election,…
McCracken Poston gained his first political experience as a law student campaigning for Buddy Darden’s run for Congress. In 1988 he ran a successful campaign for the Georgia House of Representatives, where he stayed until 1996. He then made a bid for…
Harry Donival Dixon entered U.S. Maritime Service and served in World War II in 1943. In 1963, he was elected as a Democrat to the Georgia House of Representatives. He served as chairman of the Regulated Beverages committee for 27 years, and rewrote…
Ford B. Spinks was born in Tifton, Georgia on April 5, 1927. In 1962, he ran a successful campaign twice – due to reapportionment – for Georgia State Senate. He continued in the Georgia Senate, and served in many committees until leaving the senate…
Powell A. Moore began his career in politics in 1966, when Senator Richard B. Russell appointed him as his press secretary. After Russell’s death, Moore went to work in the Justice Department as deputy director of Public Information under President…
Henry M. “Hank” Huckaby worked as an assistant dean of admissions at Georgia State for four years. In 1973, he went to work under Governor Jimmy Carter’s administration in the Office of Planning and Budget, serving in subsequent years as director of…
Charles C. “Chuck” Clay worked as assistant solicitor in Marietta. He went on to become district attorney, and then, in 1986, commissioner, for Cobb County. In 1988, Clay was elected to the Georgia State Senate as a Republican. After his election,…
Stephanie Stuckey Benfield was born in Eastman, Georgia, on December 25, 1965. The daughter of Congressman Bill Stuckey, Benfield grew up in Washington, D.C. While building her own practice, Stuckey and Manheimer, she worked as legislative aide and…
Mary Margaret Oliver served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1987-1992, and the Georgia Senate from 1993-1998. When Oliver was elected to the senate, she was appointed to chair the Judiciary Committee during her freshman term, and was the…
Peter Louis Banks worked as a congressional intern for U.S. Representative John James Flynt, Jr., from Georgia during law school. After graduating from law school, he worked as an attorney for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. He was elected to the…
W. Daniel Ebersole moved to Atlanta in 1974 to work as a volunteer aide to Atlanta city council member Charles Helms. He worked on Zell Miller’s campaigns for lieutenant governor and U.S. Senate against Senator Herman Talmadge in 1980. From 1980-1990…
Richard Pettys attended the University of Georgia, where he worked on the student newspaper the Red and Black. In 1965 he began working for three newspapers in Gwinnett County that would soon become the Gwinnett Daily News. In 1969 he joined the…
Reid Walker Harris was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1964 and served for six years. During this time he worked on achieving the independence of the legislature, and was the principal author of several laws concerning conservation…
John Reginald "Reg" Murphy attended Mercer University in Macon, and worked for the Macon Telegraph. In 1955 he opened the Atlanta bureau of the Macon Telegraph. He was chosen to be a Neiman Fellow at Harvard in 1959, and in 1961 went to work for the…
Cynthia Diane Wright served as a research associate with the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government. She also served as corporate counsel to the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority and was assistant legal counsel to Governor…
Cathey Weiss Steinberg served in the Georgia General Assembly for sixteen years in both the Georgia House of Representatives (1977-1989) and in the Georgia Senate (1991-1993). She is recognized as a strong advocate for women’s rights. She was the…
Betty Vandiver helped her husband Ernest Vandiver run a successful campaign for lieutenant governor in 1954 and in 1958, when Ernest Vandiver was elected governor of Georgia. As first lady, Betty Vandiver was instrumental in setting up…
Jane Brevard Vandiver Kidd was involved in politics early, serving as chair of Youth for Herman Talmadge in Talmadge’s 1968 Senate campaign, and campaigning for her father during his 1972 U.S. Senate campaign. She graduated from the University of…
Milton Jones served in the United States Army Reserves from 1954-1962, retiring as a Sergeant 1st class. A Democrat, he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1963 and served until 1970. In 1974, Governor Jimmy Carter appointed him to…
Thomas Bryant Buck, III, was first elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1966. He served for thirty-eight years in the Georgia House of Representatives, one of the longest tenures of any lawmaker in the state's history. He became a committee…
Senator Carol Jackson, a Democrat from Cleveland, was elected to the state Senate from Georgia's 50th District in 1998. Lieutenant Governor Taylor has appointed Senator Jackson to serve as vice chair of the Corrections, Correctional Institutions, and…
Bill Burson served as an aide to Senator Herman Talmadge and later to Governor Carl Sanders. In 1967, the newly elected governor, Lester Maddox, appointed Burson Director of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services. Over the next three…
Wayne Garner served in the Georgia State Senate from 1980 until 1993. Garner chaired the Senate Committee on Corrections for approximately ten years. He was later named majority leader of the Senate and, ultimately, President Pro Tempore. In April of…
Jack Etheridge served as a law clerk for a State Superior Court Judge and Federal District Court Judge. He became an associate with Smith, Kilpatrick, Cody, Rogers & McClatchy (now Kilpatrick & Stockton) and later spent ten years as partner with…
Bob Cohn began his career as a news writer and photojournalist after graduating from the University of Alabama. He has worked on Olympic and event marketing for many years and has served as a chairman of the National Parade and March Oversight…
Kathy Blee Ashe was first elected to the Georgia General Assembly House of Representatives in June of 1991. As a member of the Georgia House of Representatives for House District 56, Ashe served on the Education, Children and Youth, Higher Education,…
Geisinger's political involvement has included membership on the National Legislative Conference on Campaigning Financing and Ethics. He was the first advisor to the National Legislative Leaders Conference and was honored as an outstanding leader…
Robert J. Shaw was born on August 21, 1929, in Bronwood, Georgia. He attended Georgia Tech and Georgia State before enlisting in the Air Force in 1950. Shaw has served as the Chariman of the Development Authority of Fulton County as well as being an…
Mary W. Beazley was bonh on November 8, 1929 in Athens, Georgia. She attended the Georgia State College for Women and the University of Georgia. Beazley worked as a staffer for Gov. Vandiver, Lt. Gov. Geer, Gov. Maddox, Gov. Carter, Lt. Gov Miller,…
James L. Paulk, known as Jimmy, was born March 26, 1949, in Fitzgerald, Georgia. He received a Bachelor's of Business Administration in Management from the University of Georgia in 1972. At the age of 26, Paulk defeated Senator Martin Young, then the…
Rusty Paul grew up in the Birmingham, Alabama area during the 1950s and 60s. He has worked in journalism as a newspaper and radio reporter, chaired the Republican Party in Georgia, and served as a state senator in the Georgia General Assembly. In…
Ron Fennel has served in various political positions over his 33-year career, including two terms as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, representing his hometown of Brunswick (1988-1992). While a member of the Legislature, he…
Don Johnson was elected to the State Senate from the 47th District in 1987 to fill the unexpired term of the late Senator Parks Brown. Johnson, a Democrat, served on the Judiciary, Reapportionment, Agriculture, Transportation, Finance, Public…
William H. Jordan, Jr., served as executive secretary on the staff of Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr. from 1955 to 1968. In April 1968, he resigned to work for the Senate Appropriations Committee and was a member of the committee staff until circa…
Senator Nan Orrock was elected by Atlanta voters to the Georgia Senate in 2006, after serving ten terms in the House of Representatives, where she was the first woman elected as House majority whip. She also served as the Governor’s Floor Leader, a…
T. Rogers Wade was chairman of Herman E. Talmadge's 1980 re-election campaign, as well as a former administrative assistant and chief political fundraiser for the senator in Washington, D.C. Upon returning to Georgia, he was named vice president of…
Tom Baxter was a reporter, editor of the Sunday Perspective section, national editor, and chief political correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has written about politics in the South since 1987, joining InsiderAdvantage in 2007 to…
Karen Handel served as Secretary of State of Georgia from 2007 to 2010, when she resigned to run for governor of Georgia, a bid which was ultimately unsuccessful. In this interview she discusses her upbringing, public service career, and political…
Ralph Reed is founder and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition. He was senior advisor to the Bush-Cheney campaigns in both 2000 and 2004, and chairman of the Southeast Region for BC04. As chairman of the Georgia Republican Party he led the GOP…
David Morrison is a political journalist that covered Georgia politics for the Atlanta Constitution during the 1970s. He discusses his work in journalism, his experiences with prominent politicians, and the state of party politics in Georgia.
Abit Massey was born on November 14, 1927, in Hall County, Georgia. Abit Massey is a past Chairman of the Board of the American Society of Association Executives and the Center for Association Leadership and past President of the Georgia Society of…
Laughlin McDonald has been director of the Atlanta-based Voting Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union since 1972. Prior to that he was in private practice and taught at the University of North Carolina Law School. He has represented…
Julian Bond was a civil rights activist who held leadership roles in several organizations, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored…
Senator Bill Stephens, a Republican from Canton, was elected to the State Senate in 1998 to represent the 51st Senate District. He discusses his work with Gov. Zell Miller, his time in the State Senate, and the state of party politics in Georgia.
Roy D. Moultrie was born in Hamilton, Georgia, on April 2, 1932. He attended West Georgia College and obtained his J.D. from Mercer University. Moultrie served as a probate judge in Harris County, Georgia, before running for state representative for…
Robert Lindsay Thomas is a U.S. Representative from Georgia. He was elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-eighth and to the four succeeding Congresses (1983-1993). Thomas discusses his involvement with agriculture, his experience in Washington, D.C.…
Douglas Clark Teper attended Georgia State University both for his bachelor's degree and law school. He was elected to the Georgia State House of Representatives in 1988 and served through 2005. He served on the Industry, Judiciary, and Rules…
John Lewis is best known for his civil rights activism in the 1960s and, since 1986, his work as a U.S. Representative. In this interview John Lewis discusses his early years in rural Alabama and his work as a civil rights leader and U.S.…
Eva Galambos has served as mayor of Sandy Springs since 2005. She is a retired economist specializing in urban finance and labor economics. She has also served as an arbitrator resolving disputes between labor and management. Galambos has been deeply…
Martha (Marti) Plemmons Fullerton was born on January 13, 1942, in Murphy, N.C. She attending Young Harris College and Florida State University. Fullerton held various positions in the Bowdoin Commission from 1963 to 1999. She also served on the…
Sadie Fields is best known for her work for the Christian Coalition in Georgia. In this interview, Fields discusses her early years growing up in south Georgia and the formation of her interest in politics. She describes her experience working for…
Margaret Holliman is a conservative Georgian who has been active in many political campaigns and organizations. She worked on the campaigns of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. Holliman has also attended several Republican National Conventions and…
A former member of Congress, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and two-term Mayor of Atlanta, Andrew Young began his political career as a minister and civil rights activist. Young discusses his upbringing in New Orleans, education, early career…
Billy Lovett is a former Laurens County Comissioner, member of the State Public Service Commission, candidate for Governor, and businessmen in Atlanta. Lovett discusses his work in the Public Service Commissioner, his campaign for Governor, and the…
Bill Hardman discusses his career as the director of tourism for the state of Georgia from 1959 to the early 1970s, including his office's attempts to improve Georgia's reputation among out-of-state travelers and to lure vacationers headed to Florida…
William “Bill” Shipp worked as a journalist in Georgia for fifty years. In this interview at his home in Acworth, Georgia, Shipp discusses the range of modern Georgia politics, with a particular emphasis on Georgia governors since 1946. Topics…
George Berry discusses the political career of James Carmichael, including his early life, his involvement with Rickenbacker Field and the Bell Aircraft Corporation in Marietta, his work with Governor Ellis Arnall, and the 1946 governor's race…
Ray Moore (b. 1922) was an Atlanta TV newsman for twenty-three years. In 1951, he joined WSB Radio and then WSB-TV the following year. Moore resigned as news director of WSB, in 1969, and joined WAGA-TV (Channel 5) until he retired from broadcasting…
For the past 15 years, Dick Yarbrough has gained a large following with his syndicated newspaper column which reaches some 600,000 households and more than 1.3 million readers each week throughout Georgia. In March, 2013, Gov. Nathan Deal named Dick…
Casey Cagle was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1994 at the age of twenty-eight. He served in the Senate for 12 years before being elected Lieutenant Governor of Georgia in 2006. In this election, Cagle defeated Ralph Reed, a prominent…
Frank Albert was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1964. He served as a Republican Senator for eight years, working closely with such politicians as Governor Zell B. Miller, Senator Culver Kidd, and Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives Tom…
Andrew Young is a politician, businessman, and activist. Over his career, he has worked as a pastor, was involved in the Civil Rights Movement, served as a U.S. Representative and UN Ambassador, and as mayor of Atlanta. In this interview, he…
Garland Pinholster grew up in Clyatville, Georgia in a farming family. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, served at Fort Benning during the Korean War, coached college sports at Oglethorpe University, and was elected to…
Johnny Isakson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and has served in politics since his election to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1976. Since then, he has served in the Georgia Senate and both houses of Congress, and has run a successful real…
Ray Holland is an attorney who served in the Georgia House from 1989-2003. In this interview Holland discusses his education at the University of Georgia and his introduction to politics through the YMCA Youth Assembly. He discusses his early…
Jay Beck was born in Albany, Georgia, and was a close friend of Hamilton Jordan. Beck served on Carter’s staff during his presidency, and later worked as financial consultant for the Carter Center. Beck discusses Hamilton’s Jordan’s role as campaign…
Phil Wise served as a member of the White House staff of President Jimmy Carter. In this interview, he briefly talks about his childhood, his early relationship with Carter, and his increased involvement in Carter’s administrations, first in managing…
Sam Doss was elected to the Georgia State Senate as a Democrat in 1968. In the legislature, he served on the Higher Education and Appropriations Committees. He was responsible for advocating for the legislation that led to the establishment of the…
Charles Graves worked in the news industry, as a local reporter and then as the press secretary for U.S. Congressman George Davis. He also served as a Georgia State Representative and then Executive Director of the Georgia Democratic Party. In this…
Stacey Abrams served as State Representative for Georgia’s 89th House District and was selected to the role of House Minority Leader for the Georgia General Assembly. In this interview, she discusses her early life, education, and career, including…
Frank Moore worked in Jimmy Carter’s gubernatorial and presidential administrations. In this interview he discusses his specific roles as Deputy Chief of Staff to Hamilton Jordan, national finance chairman of Carter’s campaign, and congressional…
Stacey Abrams served as State Representative for Georgia’s 89th House District and was selected to the role of House Minority Leader for the Georgia General Assembly. In this interview, she discusses issues facing Georgia, including the public…
Skip Hulett talks with Dana Miller about his relationship with Mitchell Terry Mincey, a death row inmate who was executed in Bibb County in October 2001. Hulett, a newspaper reporter before coming to work at UGA, had known Mincey since covering…
Christine Packwood interviews Athens native Virginia Schultz. Schultz talks about her experience growing up in Normaltown in the 1930s and 1940s, working for the University of Georgia and General Motors, her family, and her religious…
Jenniffer Jones interviews her mother, Dawn Bennett-Alexander, about her early life in Washington D.C., including Bennett-Alexander's experiences during segregation and her memories of attending the March on Washington in 1963. Bennett-Alexander also…
Henry "Dink" NeSmith interviews his mother, Marjorie NeSmith, about her early life, living in Putney, Georgia, and later in Baker County. Marjorie talks about being in college at Georgia Southwestern State University when the US entered World War II,…
Jan Levinson interviews Adam Hebbard about early life, growing up in various locations throughout the Southeast and in Australia. Topics include Hebbard's parents' backgrounds, family vacations, holidays, and Hebbard's relationship with his siblings.…
Rayna Carter, age 9, interviews her parents, Raymond and Litashia Carter, about her birth and their family. This interview is part of the Georgia Narratives series.
Yancey Gulley and Corey Johnson discuss the development of their relationship over the past decade, finding a balance between career and family, and their community involvement and activism in Athens. This interview is part of the Georgia Narratives…
April King and Jake Mosley discuss their relationship, from meeting at a Drive-By Truckers show at the 40 Watt Club to their upcoming nuptials in South Carolina. This interview is part of the Georgia Narratives series.
Jenniffer Jones interviews her mother, Dawn Bennett-Alexander, about first loves, how relationships change and grow, and "the gender of love." This interview is part of the Georgia Narratives series.
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…
Lauren Griffith interviews Dr. Bruce Allen, Honorary Consul of Liechtenstein to the South, about his early life, his family, his interest in foreign service, his memories of UGA (including the Snack Shack), and the role of public diplomacy. This…
Louis Boyd interviews his friend and neighbor Robert Henry Bohler about his transient childhood growing up in the Great Depression and his experiences at Berry College and at Fort Sill in Oklahoma during World War II. Bohler also talks about meeting…
Geneva Johnson Blasingame discusses the Linnentown, also known as Lindentown, community and Black neighborhoods in Athens, Georgia. She recalls the University’s efforts to push out black communities in 1962. Blasingame comments on the children…
Fannie Jordan discusses being born in Athens on Hull Street in 1922 and subsequently moving to Church Street, Finley Street, and Hancock Street. She reflects on playing basketball in school and attending a two-story school on Finley and Reese Street.…
Sally Brown Rhoden recalls growing up in Monroe, Georgia. She discusses seeing plays at the Fox Theater, her family, and social life. She recalls participating in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with the Monroe Drum and Bugle Corps. She reflects…
Hans Neuhauser discusses his early life and his decision to attend the University of Georgia in 1964. He recalls his decision to work with the Coastal Plains Conservancy in Savannah in 1972 and explains what sparked his interest in the Georgia coast.…
Bennie Tillman discusses his early life, family, education, and career. He recalls working for contractor J.W. Davis, Snelling Dining Commons, and for St. Mary’s Hospital as a cook. Tillman reflects on living in Rocksprings, raising and keeping…
Louis Boyd interviews Jill Clement. Clement talks about her early life in Massachusetts and her decision to attend Piedmont College in Demorest, Ga., where she met her husband, Charles Clement (see FPP -0020). Clement discusses her decades of…
Louis Boyd interviews Dr. Charles Clement. Clement discusses the background of his family, who settled in Indian territory in Oklahoma before moving west to Moscow, Idaho. He talks about his father's experience in a one-room school house where he…
Georgia Hooks was born in Americus, Georgia in 1945. He grew up in Americus and served five terms in the Georgia House of Representatives. Hooks later served in the Senate, where he worked in the Appropriations Committee along with other senate…
Charles Fedrick Crisp grew up in Americus, Georgia in the 1960’s. He is the great-great grandson of Speaker of the House, Charles Fredrick Crisp (1891-1895). In this interview, Crisp talks about his family’s connection to the Bank of Commerce, his…
Russell Thomas Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1934, though he grew up in Americus, Georgia. He graduated from Auburn University in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural administration and served as mayor of Americus for fifteen years.…
William S. Harris was born in Tampa, Florida in the late 1930’s and was raised in Americus, Georgia from the age of five. He attended Americus High School and later South Georgia Technical College. He joined the Navy for two years after which he…
Jane Wilson Butler Abernathy was born in Americus, Georgia, though she has lived the majority of her life in Leslie, Georgia. She graduated from Georgia Southwestern State University and The Military College of South Carolina in 1972 and 1978,…
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…
Milton Raven was born in Plains, Georgia in 1931 though he grew up in Archery, Georgia as the youngest of five brothers. In this interview, Raven describes his upbringing, college education, work in the Army and his career as a teacher and principal.…
Linda Fuller Degelmann was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1941. While in her thirties, Degelmann moved to Americus, Georgia with her husband Millard Fuller and their three children. While in Americus, Degelmann lived on Koinonia Farms before she…
Reverend Charlie Cook was born in Greer, South Carolina. As a child, Cook’s family moved around the southeast, which resulted in Cook’s exposure to different churches. Cook preached as a pastor at Wilson Presbyterian Church, Washington Presbyterian…
Chuck Southerland and Eddie Coleman live in Hawkinsville, Georgia. In this interview, Southerland and Coleman talk about their canoe trip on the Ocmulgee and Altamaha River from Hawkinsville, Georgia to Two-Way Fish Camp in Brunswick, Georgia. This…
Butch Hall and Sam Way live in Hawkinsville, Georgia. Butch is the son of Mark Hall, a notable community member from Hawkinsville. Both Hall and Way spent much time on the Ocmulgee River as children and later as adults. In this interview, Hall and…
Sam Way lives in Pulaski County of Hawkinsville, Georgia. In this interview, Way talks about the history of Hawkinsville and historical landmarks. This interview is part of the Hawkinsville, Georgia series.
Ed Darsey, John Calvin Hadden, and Eddie Coleman grew up in Hawkinsville, Georgia, by the Ocmulgee River. In this interview, Darsey, Calvin, and Coleman discuss fishing, hunting, and boat-racing stories from on the Ocmulgee. This interview is part of…
Henry Cravey, Phil NeSmith and Chuck Southerland live in Hawkinsville, Georgia. In this interview, Cravey, NeSmith, and Southerland discuss their trip to Old Town, Florida to view the City of Hawkinsville shipwreck. This interview is part of the…
Allene Haugabook was born in Plains, Georgia in 1929. Her mother was a piano instructor and served as one of her earliest musical inspirations. In this interview, Haugabook talks about music in her family, growing up and living in Plains, and her…
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…
Jan Williams was born in Athens, Georgia, though she grew up in Sumter County, Georgia. After getting married, Williams moved to Plains, Georgia. In this interview, Williams talks about growing up in Sumter County, her time in college, her experience…
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…
Former President of the United States Jimmy Carter was born in Plains, Georgia. In this interview, Carter talks about historic preservation in Plains, his childhood during the Great Depression, his grandchildren and family events, and reflections on…
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…
Raleigh Saperstein talks about her involvement with the farming and local food scene in Athens, including her work with the Athens Farmers Market and Wholesome Wave outreach. This interview is part of the Georgia Narratives series.
Kai Reidl talks about the music scene in downtown Athens, including Hot Corner and the Slingshot Festival. He also discusses economic development, collaboration, and the community. This interview is part of the Georgia Narratives series.
Jacob Kennedy describes his experience as an undergraduate at the University of Georgia, including his developing interest in music and seeing shows downtown. This interview is part of the Georgia Narratives series.
Christina Cotsakis talks about how her study abroad experience in Costa Rica changed her outlook on her life and studies. This interview is part of the Georgia Narratives series.
Mike Wharton has worked for the Athens-Clarke County Government in the Leisure Services Department for approximately 30 years. In this interview, Wharton talks about the construction and planning of Beech Haven Park, future plans for the park, the…
Jack Rowland was born in 1926 Cochran, Georgia; Alice Rowland was born in 1962 in Athens, Georgia. The Rowland family owned the property called Beech Haven, which would later be bought for Beech Haven Park located in Athens, Georgia. In this…
Sam Thomas works at the T.R.R Cobb House located in Athens, Georgia, though he grew up in Montreat, North Carolina. Thomas talks about the restoration and transportation of the historical house, the creation and history of the Beech Haven property,…
Katherine Ross was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1924. She frequently visited Beech Haven of Athens, Georgia while growing up. Ross is the granddaughter of Charles Rowland, who owned the Beech Haven property. In this interview, Ross talks about the…
Paul Van Wicklen talks about his career with UGA Libraries, starting in periodicals, then becoming a stacks supervisor, and finally moving to the new Special Collections Library. He talks about his mentors and other staff at the library. He also…
Frank McGill talks about growing up on a family farm in Tifton, Georgia. He also talks about his career with the UGA Extension Service, becoming a specialist in peanut production. He talks about the effect of the peanut economy on small towns in…
Emogene Williams talks with her daughter Avis about her early life and family, growing up during the Great Depression in Covington, Georgia. She talks about what life was like for African Americans in rural Georgia, describing her memories of the KKK…
Edel Benson was born in 1921 in Athens, Georgia. Benson attended Athens High School and the University of Georgia. He served as a Second Lieutenant over the 48th fighters squadron in WWII. In this interview, Benson talks about his time in Europe and…
Claude Williams was born in Tifton, Georgia in 1922. He graduated from North Georgia College in 1942 and from the University of Georgia in 1944. Williams served in the European theater of WWII, after which he obtained a journalism degree from the…
Phillip Pollock was born in Joliet, Illinois in 1923. Pollock was drafted into the Army in 1943, where he began his infantry combat career in the European Theater of World War II. Upon his return home, Pollock earned both an undergraduate and…
Duard Baxter was born in Madison County, Georgia in 1924. After graduating high school, Baxter volunteered for the Marine Corps, serving in the Pacific Theater during WWII under the 6th Marine Division. Upon his return to the United States, Baxter…
Conulus Scott was born in Madison County, Georgia in 1920. He farmed and worked at a sugar mill before being drafted by the military in 1942. He served in the Medical Corps in Europe during the war. After the war, he became a plumber and continued to…
Thurman talks about his experience growing up as black kid in Panoramic City, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. He talks about riding VMX dirt bikes with his older brother. Thurman talks about his process of becoming race conscious while…
Frank Bird is a teacher in Georgia and he talks about his background in teaching, his teaching philosophy, and becoming involved with the Foxfire teaching program. He also talks about incorporating hands-on learning in his classroom. This interview…
Jan Buley teaches literacy at the graduate level in Ontario, Canada. In this interview, she talks about her early education, her development as a teacher, and her introduction to, and continuing involvement with, the Foxfire teacher workshops in…
Dorothy Partridge is an educator and one of the participants in the earliest teacher workshops offered by Foxfire founder, Eliot Wigginton. She talks about that experience and the Foxfire model as a whole. This interview is part of the Georgia…
In this interview, Dawn Bennett-Alexander talks about her work in order to attend the 2012 Democratic National Convention, the importance of the convention to her, and her experience at the DNC. This interview is part of the Georgia Narratives…
Jack Edmunds and Asa Phillips from Hart County, Georgia talk about their experiences participating in the economic and community development program administered through the University of Georgia Archway Partnership. This interview is part of the…
Jean Poleszak interviewed by Betsy Bean. Jean Poleszak discusses how she and her husband first became acquainted with Jekyll Island after stopping over on their drive down to vacation in Florida from their home in Kenmore, N.Y. After moving full time…
Lydia Thompson is a naturalist and artist. She was born in Natchez, MS, and moved to the Georgia coast in 1985. Thompson currently lives on St. Simons Island is a columnist for the Jekyll Golden Islander. Thompson's primary focus is on the…
A resident of Brunswick and Glynn County since 1973, M. H. “Woody” Woodside has served as president of the Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce since 1985. He previously spent 11 years on the congressional staff of “Bo” Ginn and 3 years with…
Ben Slade was born in Savannah, Georgia, and lived in several coastal towns during his childhood. He graduated from North Fulton High School in Atlanta and Vanderbilt University. He returned to St. Simons in 1961 and began a 36 year career at First…
