MARY BRASWELL: Looking back at April 1927

Each week Albany Herald researcher Mary Braswell looks for interesting events, places and people from the past. You can contact her at (229) 888-9371 or [email protected]. Follow @ABH_MBraswell on Twitter.

A good look at life in Albany, Southwest Georgia and across the state can be found scouring the pages of the April 1927 Albany Herald.

— Radium Springs Club at Skywater Park opened for the season with a dinner, bathing revue and dance. The club was an exclusive one for members, by invitation only. Privileges for members include bathing in the “radium-rich” waters, a casino, dining, dancing, canoeing and use of the newly completed 18-hole golf course. A limited number of guest cards were available for $1 to allow bathers to enjoy the wonderful water, as well as other areas of the resort.

— Gov. Clifford Walker spoke at Blakely on “The State’s Educational and Agricultural Problems.” Walker directed his speech especially to parents and taxpayers advocating consolidation of schools and a “rounded, scientific education system.”

— H.B. Stovall, prominent merchant in Leesburg, reported that approximately 5 tons of peanuts were stolen from one of his storehouses. Since he had no reason to open the storehouse for several weeks, it was difficult to tell just how long the peanuts had been missing.

— The April term of the United States Court of the Middle District of Georgia handled the finalization of 17 applications for naturalization. All naturalization seekers met the requirements of residing in Georgia for at least one year and the United States for at least five years.

— A popular book with the ladies was written by Miss Ruth Leigh. Its title was “101 New Ways for Women to Make Money.” The author encouraged “the woman with a telephone voice or the knack for cooking or sewing or any other feminine accomplishment to turn her ability into dollars and cents.”

— Barron G. Collier and his associates increased the holdings of the Empire State Development Company with the purchase of an additional 873 acres across the river from Radium Springs. Thad Huckabee, vice president of the development company, did not disclose the purchase price, but stated that the holdings stood at approximately 2,000 acres with an eye on 500 more acres in the future.

— A representative of the State Welfare Commission visited the Dougherty County Jail and issued favorable reports to the County Commission. Renovations totaling $972 brought the facility onto the list of most modern jails in the state. New steel cots, including six in the women’s department, were among improvements. The greatest expenditure and most notable improvement was for the addition of hot and cold showers to the white and black departments of the jail.

— Patterson Motors on Front Street was the place to get a new Chrysler “50” in Albany. The “50” referred to the fact that the automobile could travel 50 miles (or more) per hour. Prices varied by style, but one of the most popular was the Roadster with a rumble seat for $795.

— A commercial plant farm near Coolidge held a contract with the Campbell Soup Co. for the shipment of tomato plants. The farm, with 63 acres of tomato plants, was scheduled to ship one (train) carload of plants per day for 15 days.

— Miss Mary Alice Bixby of Nashville, Tennessee, spoke at a meeting of First Baptist Church’s Sunday school teachers and officers. Bixby, known widely for her work with church leaders throughout the South, stated that teachers in the church should neither play cards (including bridge), dance nor participate in mixed bathing (swimming). Her advice was not to remove any teachers, but for the teachers who had been doing so to cease participating in any of the aforementioned activities.

— Albany set a goal of 5,000 for opening day attendance of the game featuring Albany and Savannah of the Southeastern League. The date was Wednesday, April 20, with game time set for 3 p.m. Businesses were asked to close one hour before the first pitch and remain closed until the game ended. “Bring all the boys in your neighborhood, 25 cents admits them to the bleachers and everyone counts.” Note: About 4,000 fans turned out for the game and the Albany Nuts beat the Savannah Indians 2-1.

— Georgia’s execution law was held valid and constitutional by the state Supreme Court. Ten men with death sentences were expected to be electrocuted in short order.The General Assembly replaced hanging with electrocution in 1924. Before that change, the hangings were carried out by the sheriff in the county where the crime was committed.

— New owners of the Newton Turpentine Company made numerous improvements to the business. A new still, a new platform for separating the spirits, new equipment for barrel-making and new tenant houses were some of the biggest capital outlays. Also new for the company and its workers was an electrical extension line allowing all work-related buildings and tenant houses to have electricity.

— Royal Ice Cream Parlor offered two toasted sandwiches and a drink for 25 cents.

— Albany was issued a $2,000 quota for flood relief in Mississippi. Within a few days, the relief fund had risen to $1,403.95. Some of the the largest contributors were Churchwell’s store and employees, the Holman Mule Barn and Lodge No. 75 of the Ku Klux Klan.

— So law-abiding were the citizens of Albany that the mayor heard only seven cases in Police Court. One was dismissed and fines ranging from$2 to $10 were ordered in the other six cases. Crimes ranged from three cases of traffic violations to three cases of disorderly conduct to one case of “plain drunk.”

QUIK QUIZ ANSWER: (a) Five traffic lights

At the mid-April meeting of the Albany City Commission, the decision was finalized to make which of the following purchases?

a) Five traffic lights

b) A new street sweeper

c) Three police vehicles

d) Twenty-two additional trees for Tift Park

Answer at the bottom of Mary’s column.