Tommy Jerrell Loggins, age 73, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, passed away on Saturday, February 26, 2022.
Mr. Loggins was born on September 25, 1948, in Cleveland, Georgia. He was preceded in death by his parents. His mother was Monra Monteen Loggins. He served two years in the United States Army after completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia. Following his military service with the United States Army, he received his master’s degree at the University of Georgia. He retired from the Georgia State Forestry Commission with over thirty years of loyal and dedicated service.
Survivors include his beloved wife of fifty years, Wanda Loggins, Lawrenceville, Georgia; Daughter and son-in-law, Patrice and Tom Pennington, Buford, Georgia; son and daughter-in-law, Ryan and Amy Loggins, Wake Forest, North Carolina; grandchildren: Tom III, Kya, Ella, and Elise Pennington, and Beck, Roe, and Jocelyn Loggins. Great-grandchildren include Mason, Madylin, Charlie and Raelyn.
Graveside services will be held at 4:00 p.m., Monday, February 28, 2022, at the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church Cemetery, with the Rev. Levi Nix and Rev. Shannon Irwin officiating.
Arrangements are entrusted to the Whitfield Funeral Home and Crematory, North Chapel, 245 Central Avenue, Demorest, Georgia 30535. Phone number 706-778-1700.
Habersham County Animal Care and Control in conjunction with Planned PEThood of Atlanta served 263 area pets Saturday with free vaccines, microchipping, spay/neuter and flea and tick treatment for families struggling to afford veterinary care.
The drive-through clinic program began this past summer to help people experiencing financial hardship get the care their pets need, as well as help spay and neuter animals throughout the county.
“We’ve had a lot of very endearing, heartwarming stories about why these people are here, and how much they are in need, and how they really have no other options in this area,” Tanya Weaver of Planned PEThood said. “People are willing to come out here and wait hours for this, so it’s very much needed.”
This clinic was the largest in Habersham County yet, serving more animals in need than at past clinics.
Thomas Warden and son Gunner Warden of Clarkesville brought their dogs Kita and Brownie to get their vaccinations and a neuter voucher.
Gunner Warden, 10, waits in the back seat with dogs Brownie and Kita for their vaccines. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
The Warden’s received their dogs from unexpected litters and took them in when the puppies’ futures were uncertain. Now, they’re members of the family that Gunner says he loves.
“When I used to whimper near Brownie, he would come up and cuddle with me,” Gunner says. He says Kita is special to him, too, and loves her quirks.
They typically bring their animals to their local vet, but with prices of veterinary care being so high, when they received a ticket for the event, it was a welcome opportunity.
They were just one of many families to have their pets cared for in the $5,500 operation, paid for completely by non-profit organizations and charities. Veterinarians and volunteers donated their Saturday to put the clinic on, and Habersham County Animal Care and Control Director Madi Nix says these clinics are helping animals community-wide.
Veterinarians Dr. Nicole Chiorazzi (pictured) and Dr. Christina Simpson volunteered their time Saturday to administer vaccines to area animals. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
She says that thanks to the microchipping and vaccination efforts at the clinic, they’re seeing more lost animals reunited with their families, fewer diseases coming into the shelter, and that through their partnership with Planned PEThood, more animals in the county are getting fixed.
“This department has resources that can help us, and we’re not afraid to call and ask for help when we need it,” Nix says. “And that’s what we should be here for, for our community.”
Sponsors of the event included Petco Love, the Atlanta Humane Society and the Jim Parker Foundation.
A hopeful season came to an end Saturday evening when the Warriors were defeated by the Beach High School Bulldogs in ‘Sweet 16’ basketball playoff action.
Still riding high after their come from behind victory over the Salem Seminoles in round one, the Warriors took an early lead against the Bulldogs in the second round. White County held a 5 point lead at the end of the first period, — putting up 20 points to the Bulldogs’ 15. The Warriors increased that margin slightly to 8 by scoring 13 more points compared to the 10 scored by Beach, ending the first half, 33 to 25, Warriors.
The Bulldogs trimmed their deficit down in the third 43 to 39, before taking the lead in the fourth. White County struggled to get back on top. Trailing by one point with 64 seconds left in the game, the Warriors were not able to turn it around. Beach High won, 57 to 52.
This was White County head coach Robbie Bailey’s second trip to the Sweet 16 in two years.
Cyrano de Bergerac has been told numerous times since its inception in 1897, but I hardly think there’s been a version to match the grandiose vision of the material such as the new musical directed by Joe Wright.
Wright, whose credits include Pride & Prejudice, Atonement and Darkest Hour knows how to create a historical world and craft characters who help accentuate the time period. With Cyrano, he scores another winner.
Peter Dinklage stars as the titular character whose short stature is only outmatched by his massive charisma, impressive swordsmanship, and of course, his ability to write swooning letters that spring to life.
Haley Bennett costars as Roxanne, Cyrano’s love interest, but she falls for the brave and dashing Christian de Neuvillette (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Christian’s affections reciprocate and he’s desperate for Cyrano’s help in order to win her over.
Ben Meldonsohn is De Guiche and he’s determined to take Roxanne away and make her his own. Now it’s a love quadruple as to which man will get to claim Roxanne’s heart.
For those who are familiar with the story, this version stays faithful as in one scene where Cyrano hides in the shadows and delivers his romantic prose while Christian stands in an archway looking up at Roxanne at her balcony.
When I heard that this was going to be a musical version, I somewhat expected the numbers to be all style and no substance. I expected flashy choreography and forgettable songs that would come off as cheesy instead of memorable. Thankfully, this movie proved me wrong.
Instead of the music merely calling attention to itself, it advances the story and the actors’ voices are exceptional without becoming distracting or forced.
Dinklage is the anchor of the movie with a charming, committed performance. He brings humor, spirit and energy when he’s on screen which is quite often.
The rest of the cast is also measured both in terms of their acting and singing. They’re never too broad and they’re never underplaying their roles. They find the right notes (no pun intended) to help support the story.
The production and costume designs are borderline immaculate. It’s grand but never too grand. It’s elaborate but never distracting. Again, a great balance.
Filled with terrific performances by its lively cast, musical numbers that are wonderfully staged and Wright’s assured direction, this Cyrano is one to sing home about.
Grade: A-
(Rated PG-13 for some strong violence, thematic and suggestive material, brief language.)
The months of January and February are grim ones in the astronomy community as the anniversaries of all major loss of American life from spaceflight happen. The Apollo 1 fire occurred on January 27th, Challenger disaster on January 28th and Columbia break-up on February 1st. Most everyone alive today is familiar with or witnessed at least one of these disasters and they have been pretty well covered by countless media sources.
Spaceflight is inherently dangerous and the missions above are the worst cases. In total there have been 15 American astronauts killed while on a mission, and many more injured or killed during flight-testing and experimentation closer to the ground.
In this world filled with bad news and stories, reviewing these sad outcomes made me wonder how many times a disaster didn’t happen when it should have. Here’s a few interesting cases.
Mercury-4: Mercury 4 was only the second United States spaceflight. It was sub-orbital and launched astronaut Gus Grissom on a 15 minute and 30 second flight 102 nautical miles up. The flight occurred on July 21, 1961. The spacecraft, known as the Liberty Bell 7, was intended to be a significant upgrade from the first flight with many different changes made to the design of the craft. Among those was the installation of a new explosive hatch release. This was added so that an astronaut could quickly get the hatch open in an emergency.
The launch of Mercury 4 Source: NASA
The launch took place just after 8 in the morning and Gus Grissom splashed down over the Atlantic about 15 minutes later. Up to this point everything had gone as planned with just a few minor hiccups. That would change after Grissom had gotten comfortable as he could to wait for the recovery crew. There were two ways to trigger the explosive hatch, one from the inside and one from the outside. From the inside, Grissom had to pull a pin and push on a knob with some force and the explosives would blow the hatch off. On this occasion, Grissom pulled the pin and sat down to wait for the recovery crew when he would finish the job, but something caused the hatch to explode without him pressing the knob. When that happened, the capsule began immediately taking on water and Grissom nearly drowned trying to get out. Grissom swam away while the Liberty Bell 7 sank behind him, making it the only successful splashdown that resulted in a failed recovery of the ship. It was never determined exactly what happened, but the Liberty Bell 7 was eventually drug up from the ocean floor in 1999. Grissom certainly had luck on his side that day.
Apollo 12: They say lightning doesn’t strike the same spot twice, but Apollo 12 proved that saying false. The follow up to the historic moon mission got off to a rocky start. The launch took place on November 14, 1969 just a few months after the Apollo 11 mission. The weather was dreary, with rain occurring during the launch. During the launch, the craft would see winds in excess of 150MPH, something not seen before or since.
Lightning near the launch tower during the launch of Apollo 12
Despite there being no proper thunderstorms in the vicinity Apollo 12 was struck by lightning not once, but twice. The static discharge from the rocket itself triggered two separate lightning strikes. The first occurred 36 seconds after launch and knocked all three fuel cells offline. The second occurred at 52 seconds and knocked the attitude indicator out. After a very confused few seconds mission control made a call to try a specific, obscure switch that Lunar Module Pilot Alan Bean remembered and flipped. This brought the fuel cells back online and mission control was once again able to see what was happening with the rocket. No other problems occurred due to the strikes, but the astronauts spent extra time in Earth orbit before departing for the moon to check out the craft. One can only imagine what could have happened had Alan Bean not remembered exactly where that obscure switch was.
STS-1: NASA’s Space Shuttle program was highly anticipated by the spring of 1981. It had been a decade since NASA had sent astronauts into orbit and the Space Shuttle was to be the first reusable space vehicle ever flown. The first mission, dubbed STS (space transport system) 1 launched on April 12, 1981 with astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen aboard. STS-1 was only designed as a test mission meant to work out any bugs with the shuttle before okaying it for longer missions into space. The shuttle program almost came to a screeching halt, however, as problems began shortly after lift off.
Space Shuttle Columbia launches on its first mission. Source: NASA
The shuttle was the first US manned rocket that used significant amounts of solid fuel to reach orbit. These two solid rocket boosters caused some major issues during launch, as the shockwave they generated was four times stronger than expected. The pressure wave damaged the heat shield when it caused a strut on the outside of the shuttle to fail, damaging the tiles that lined the underbody of the shuttle. It also forced a part called the orbiter body flap to bend well beyond what should have caused irreparable damage. With this part damaged a controlled reentry would have been impossible. In 2006 James Oberg recalled John Young telling him that had the crew known about this potential failure they likely would have ejected, losing the shuttle on it’s first mission. Fortunately the parts stayed intact despite going so far beyond what they were designed for, and Columbia would go on to fly the first 4 missions. Ultimately the shuttle would be lost in 2003 during reentry due to tile damage much more severe than it saw on it’s first mission.
Space is a dangerous place, but humans have always had a knack for heading into the dangerous out of nothing more than a bit of curiosity.
Have a great week and, as always, watch the skies!
The Tallulah Falls School Indians fell in the Sweet 16 at Greenforest, 80-34, on Saturday night to draw their 2021-22 season to a close. TFS trailed 52-15 at the half and were down by 63-17 midway through the third quarter before getting their offense going a bit more.
For TFS, it marks the end of the road in what proved to be a historic campaign that included the school’s third-ever Sweet 16 and third-ever 20-win season, as well as a region runner-up finish.
Clyde said that a perceived weakness, projected by the United States in the Biden administration’s decision to pull US forces from Afghanistan, gave Russians the resolution to move forward with their attack.
“I think our weaknesses in the last month on the world stage [began] when our president made the disastrous decision to pull out of Afghanistan,” Clyde said. “The way he did it … was a disaster and it projected weakness on the world stage. And when you project weakness that invites aggression.”
President Donald Trump signed a peace agreement with the Taliban in 2020, by which all American troops would leave the country by May 2021. Biden extended that date by three months. In the final week of the withdrawal, terrorists from the group ISIS-K killed 13 U.S. service members and dozens of Afghans in an attack outside the airport.
Clyde said that “bad actors” on the world stage are pushing aggression against other countries. While he isn’t sure what the outcome of the invasion of Ukraine will be, he says he does know that the United States will support North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries.
“When you have bad actors on the world stage, and the world is full of bad actors, the top four are Russia, China, Iran and North Korea … not necessarily in that order, but we’re seeing Russian aggression this very day,” Clyde went on to say. “That is because of weakness projected on the world stage. And I don’t know exactly— I can’t tell you what the outcome of that will be, [but] I can tell you that we’re going to support the NATO countries.”
He says he supports Ukrainians in their fight against Russia.
“I think we should support Ukraine as well in their fight for freedom,” Clyde said. “I think every solitary person on the face of this planet deserves to have freedom and deserves our God-given, inalienable human rights.”
This article has been updated with additional information
Families with ties to Ukraine came to Atlanta Saturday to show their support for Ukrainian fighters and plead for an end to the violence. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder).
ATLANTA (GA Recorder) — Downtown Atlanta was swathed in Ukrainian blue and gold Saturday afternoon as hundreds gathered outside the CNN Center to protest Russia’s invasion of its western neighbor.
The demonstrators, part of a worldwide #StandWithUkraine movement, called on the U.S. and NATO to continue to supply armaments to Ukrainian forces and to “close the sky,” or enforce a no-fly zone over the country to protect citizens from Russian bombs.
Such a move would put U.S. and NATO forces into direct conflict with Russian fighter jets. Thousands of U.S. troops are headed to or already stationed in Europe, including from military installations in Georgia, but President Joe Biden has said their mission is to defend NATO territory, not to fight Russians in Ukraine.
Protestors, many of whom wore vyshyvankas, traditional embroidered shirts from the region, chanted slogans like “Stop the War!” “Close the sky!” and “Slava Ukraini! Heroiam slava!” (“Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!”)
Many said the protest was the first time they had been away from their televisions or computer screens in days. Georgians with ties to Ukraine used the gathering to trade information about the fighting. Many were able to rattle off the latest number of Russian casualties, destroyed tanks or downed aircraft from the latest Ukrainian media reports.
For them, the heartrending images of devastation shown in the media depict familiar places where loved ones still dwell.
“All my friends are there, all of my extended family is there, and some of them are either in the eastern Ukraine, 20 kilometers from the former border, whatever it was, or Kyiv, and both places are under heavy bombardment right now,” said Ukrainian Maria Aslam. “They are building barricades.”
“I wish I could build barricades with them,” she added. “This is all I can do in Atlanta, just stand here.”
Ukrainians in the crowd said they were keeping in constant contact with people back home through social media, which can be both reassuring and anxiety-inducing.
“My brother stays in Kharkiv, and we have our family chat, and we just exchange messages every hour. ‘Are you still alive, or not?’” said Olga Gorman, who moved to Georgia from Ukraine last year. “Five minutes ago, my brother saw a bomb next to his house. He’s still alive, but it’s terrible. This is the 21st century.”
Gorman said she cycles through a range of emotional reactions to the stress and uncertainty.
“I can see three Olgas inside me,” she said. “First Olga, she’s crying. I’m crying from time to time, like every woman, I think. The second Olga, angry. I know we will fight, we Ukrainians will fight. I am part of a few groups on the internet. I am from the IT world, and IT guys in Ukraine, they do so well. They will help to (break) Russian websites, they will help to (break) a lot of Russian banks. I can see how people help people. I can see my (local social media) group. ‘Oh, somebody needs medicine. Somebody needs food.’ Just people helping people. This is the second Olga, she’s angry, but in a good way.”
“And third, I love this one, but she doesn’t come so often, it’s time when I feel peace inside,” she added. “I try to meditate. I meditate with my group from Ukraine. And we just feel, at the same time, peace, and send peace to the world. I love this Olga, but I’m not so often in this space.”
Peace is also at the top of Victoria Carlson’s mind. She was born and raised in Belarus while it was still part of the Soviet Union and moved to the U.S. in 1994.
Carlson, who has relatives in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, said blame for the attacks goes to Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian leaders, not to the Russian people.
“People everywhere are the same, people are people,” she said. “What makes the difference is who is governing them, and right now, in my opinion, we have a psychopath who is in power, who got a hold of a power, who got a hold of weapons. And I am just hoping that in the people who surround him, there are enough lucid people to see it and do something.”
Carlson said some of her Russian friends and relatives are devastated about the invasion.
“A lot of my friends say ‘I would go to a protest, but I have small children. What I’m afraid of, my children are going to be today without mom and dad. Like, what am I going to do?’” she said. “So I kind of feel it’s my duty to come and express my position here because they don’t have the opportunity to do it over there.”
Sarah Wheeler, Caroline Smith, Allison York and Olivia Bonner represented Tallulah Falls School at All-State Chorus in Athens. Selection to the choir is a prestigious honor. The event took place Feb. 17-19 at the Classic Center in Athens. (photo courtesy Tallulah Falls School)
A group of Tallulah Falls School middle school and upper school students participated in the Georgia Music Educators Association All-State Chorus and Statewide Sixth-Grade Honor Choir. The event was held February 17-19 at the Classic Center in Athens.
According to TFS music teacher Rachel LeGrand, students in All-State Chorus rehearsed all day Thursday and Friday and then performed in a concert on Saturday.
“Participating in All-State Chorus is an immense honor as these students had to prepare for two separate auditions in order to participate,” LeGrand says.
All-State Chorus representatives include Sarah Wheeler, Caroline Smith, Allison York and Olivia Bonner.
Sixth-Grade Statewide Honor Chorus TFS representatives include Madison Williams, Finlee Ridlehoover, Keely Franks and Tinsley Hill. (photo courtesy Tallulah Falls School)
Sixth-Grade Statewide Honor Choir rehearsed all day Thursday, prior to performing in a concert on February 18.
“Our students were joined by over 200 sixth-grade students from across the state of Georgia,” LeGrand adds.
Sixth-Grade Honor Statewide Honor Chorus representatives include Madison Williams, Finlee Ridlehoover, Keely Franks and Tinsley Hill.
Legrand says she and upper school music teacher Mary Lauren Keeny are proud of all these students. “They have worked hard for a very long time to prepare for these events; they were fabulous representatives for our school.”
Grady “Archie” Browning, Sr., age 68, of Clarkesville, passed away Friday, February 25, 2022, at Habersham Medical Center. Mr. Browning was born December 7, 1953, in Jacksonville, FL to the late Barney H. and Frances David Browning. Mr. Browning had lived in Habersham for the past thirty years. He was retired from Fieldale Corporation, was a mason and a member of the Francis T. Hurlbert Masonic Lodge # 259 in Jacksonville, Florida, he was an accomplished Civil War enthusiast. Mr. Browning attended The Torch.
In addition to his parents, Mr. Browning was preceded in death by his wife Nancy Wade Browning, and a son, Jason Kent Browning, I; brothers, Larry, Freddie and Eddie Browning.
Survivors include sons, Grady A. “Bo” Browning, Jr, Jacksonville, FL, Rocky Lee Tullis, Mt. Airy; brother, Harold Browning, Jacksonville, FL. Grandchildren, Christina Cody, Chassatie Cody, Jason Browning, II and Emma Browning; great-grandchildren, Brantley Cody and Camden Cody. Several nieces, nephews and cousins also survive.
Funeral services are 2 PM Monday, February 28, 2022, in the chapel of McGahee-Griffin & Stewart funeral home with Pastor Mike Franklin officiating. Interment will follow in Yonah Memorial Gardens.
The family will receive friends Sunday, February 27, 2022, from 2 until 4 pm and 6-8 pm at the funeral home.
Those in attendance are asked to please adhere to public health and social distancing guidelines regarding COVID-19.
Georgia's Ninth District Congressman Andrew Clyde accompanied Habersham County commissioners and local agricultural leaders on a tour of county farms on February 24, 2022. The tour aimed to educate elected leaders about the issues facing Georgia's farm families. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
Habersham County’s chapter of the Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) held a farm tour Friday, taking politicians who represent northeast Georgia around the region to show the area’s “next generation of agriculture.”
Habersham County Commissioners Bruce Palmer and Ty Akins were in attendance, as well as representatives from the farm bureau and US Representative Andrew Clyde. The event was organized by the Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers program to call attention to the people under 35 who are contributing to the region’s agricultural industry.
The tour covered a total of five family-owned farms from across Habersham County and into White County, including McClain Farm, Providence Farm, Barrett Farm, Shore Farm and London Farm.
The Young Farmers program put a spotlight on those in the area taking their dreams of working in agriculture and making them a reality. The family farms they toured highlighted young farmers who are taking up their family businesses and their dedication to family tradition in northeast Georgia.
A family business
Of the many regional family-owned farms, the family love and pride at London Farm shining through from past generations into the next sets it apart.
Sitting just outside the Habersham County border on New Bridge Road, London Farm in Cleveland has been a family endeavor since the early 1900s. Today, it’s a successful dairy cattle farm of over 800 acres, passed down from generation to generation.
The late Verner London changed the farm’s course to the dairy cattle farm it is today in the ’70s, where he worked hard alongside his son, Stanley, to bring it to its point of success. Stanley is now working alongside his son, Matthew, and became emotional as he recalled his father’s dedication to building London Farm.
Stanley London chokes back tears as he reflects on his father, and his family’s, love of and dedication to London Farm. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
Stanley says that his father’s love for his family, his cattle and God reflected on his impact on the farm and on the community. He says that having the feeling of his family surrounding him and the farm in everything they do is indescribable.
“There’s nothing to describe having your family working with you,” Stanley said. “It’s a sense of pride, it’s a sense of joy … at least five to six generations of my family have been in agriculture, and to see the next generation, which my son, and hopefully the generation behind him, be involved, there’s a sense of pride.”
The next generation he’s talking about are his son’s five young daughters, who he hopes will take to the family business like those that came before them.
Barrett says that he doesn’t know what the future holds for farming with an expanding population, but he’s confident that young farmers will be able to handle the challenges. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
GFB Board of Directors member Gilbert Barrett says that while he doesn’t know what the future holds for the next generation of farmers with massive population growth projected in the future, he says he’s confident that new farmers will step up to the plate to face the challenges of the future.
“I feel very good because I see what’s happening with the next generation,” Barrett said. “[At] every farm we have been on today, we got to see the next generation stepping up to the plate and stepping into those roles in agriculture and farming operations. And I feel very good about that.”
Matthew London says that it’s important for young people to step up and into the farming industry, especially with an uncertain future in terms of food demand.
“From a macro scale, big scale, the security of having our food grown here locally and not having to rely on other countries is important,” he says.
But while members of the GFB say that they have confidence in new and future agriculture professionals, the future of farming could be rocky.
Protecting local farms
Farm Bureau Policy Advocate Katie Murray discussed the needs of farmers at the legislative level. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
Farm Bureau Policy Advocate Katie Murray says that with urban expansion crawling into farming counties as the population grows, to continue to make farming as accessible as possible, government officials and farmers need to work together to keep farms in families.
She says the GFB’s biggest issue right now is pushing the Freedom to Farm Act, which is aimed at protecting farmers from nuisance lawsuits.
“This allows … these families who are farming and trying to pass it along to the next generation to continue to produce agricultural goods here in northeast Georgia without the nuisance of lawyers coming in forbidding them to continue what they’re doing,” she says. “That’s our priority issue right now.”
At the national level, there are issues local farmers hope to resolve with the United States Department of Agriculture that they shared with US Representative Andrew Clyde, who represents Georgia’s ninth district in Washington.
“Agribusiness is the backbone of the ninth district,” Clyde said. “Farmers … are the people who made America what America really is. They were the first ones to populate our country and, you know, what would we be without farming?”
Clyde speaks with Matthew and Stanley London after the tour. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
Clyde referred to farmers as “the backbone” of the country, and in his work in Washington, he says he takes policy for farmers seriously. He said that the tour showed him not only an up-close look at many of the region’s farms and workers but a better understanding of what struggles they’re facing.
“I need to understand from them what their issues are, because I’m the representative for the federal government,” Clyde tells Now Habersham. “When the federal government ends up being difficult to work with, or when it has regulations that make it difficult on farmers, then I need to know that so I can help the farmers navigate that because government is supposed to be there for the people not to get in the way of the people.”
Cows congregate at the foot of the iconic Sautee Nacoochee Indian Mound. Hardman Farm State Historic Site will celebrate this spring rite of passage on March 5, 2022. (wrwh.com)
The pasture across Highway 17 from the grounds of Hardman Farm State Historic Site is home to the iconic gazebo topped mound and also to cattle about 10 months a year. These cattle are being raised to become milk cows, and for this cycle to continue, for about two months in the winter, the field is vacant. In late February/early March, a new herd arrives, and residents take this as a sign of spring.
In celebration of the cows coming home and its reopening for the season, Hardman Farm State Historic Site will host a “Cows Come Home Celebration” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 5. Visitors can enjoy a day full of activities centering around the dairy that once operated at Hardman Farm including tours of Hardman Farm’s 100+-year-old dairy barn and creamery, butter making demonstrations, and samples of cornbread baked in the historic Hardman Farm kitchen. Guests can also peruse the bottom
floor of the Hardman Farm mansion along with the farm’s numerous outbuildings and learn more about modern dairy operations from Mountain Fresh Creamery. Young (and young at heart) guests, can enjoy a puppet show depicting the history of the farm and old-fashioned games such as corn hole on the lawn.
Local award-winning fiddle player, Elliott Sperin, will provide live music and local artists and crafters will have goods for sale including pottery, wooden jewelry, garden art, barn quilts, and more. Guests can grab a bite to eat from local food truck, Southern Epicurean, or even try a bowl of mule churned ice cream.
Admission to the festivities is $6 plus tax per person (children under 6 free). For more information, contact the Hardman Farm Visitors Center at 706-878-1077, email [email protected] or visit https://gastateparks.org/HardmanFarm.
