The Double Standard

 "The Double Standard"
It looks like Henry County, GA has a huge problem with how they are treating one section of society in their county.  Just a few weeks ago the Board of Commissioners did not allow the SCV group to have black powder gunfire or cannon fire for the re-enactment at Nash Farm.  This has been allowed until the change in leadership in the county to a not so diverse group of people.   On Monday, April 29th there will be some filming done in Stockbridge for an HBO series.  There will be simulated gunfire in the filming and the people doing the filming let them know that everything will be fine and that it is not real.  But still, it is gunfire that would have been the same case at Nash Farm.  Those who are in the SCV should think about seriously suing the county over this issue.  This is nothing but pure reverse discrimination and a right in your face attitude about it.   If one group cannot use simulated gunfire then the no one else should be able to do it.

Henry County Watchdog Group.

It’s Time to Move Forward

“It’s Time to Move Forward”

Henry County is the county that has missed many chances over the years, but those can be found if we try as citizens to move forward toward the betterment of our community. Now is the time to extend hands across the divide and work for a compromise to make our communities better places to live and to leave our eyes open to possibly better ideas for the future. I have been in Henry County for just over 40 years now. We bought property here to build a home in 1967 in the Luella area. Henry County is the home of my great great great grandparents Matthew and Evilene Goss who moved here in 1835 in the area between Bear Creek (Hampton) and what would become Locust Grove. This county means a great deal to me. In grade school, we lived in the southern part of DeKalb County before moving here full time.

But by looking at the past I can see a bright future if we plan it correctly and give the citizens chances to truly put their feelings into what is happening. I can seen in the years to come the Norfolk Southern Rail Yard planned for the Bethlehem Rd. area along Hwy 42. This yard will take in containers from ships at the Port of Savannah and place them on trucks to be routed in all directions for the destinations they are planned to fill warehouses for distribution.

We have the opportunity for our history to bring in dollars to the county coffers if we plan that well. There are sites from the Native American Period, the Civil War and areas where historical people have lived in our communities. This can bring in tourism and trade that will help local restaurants, hotels and stores. We are coming upon the 200th anniversary of this county in 2021. That is not that many years away now and now is the time to begin planning for this event.

I personally have discussed with other associates about the Orion Space Project that is being developed for NASA. They will need better and improved tracking systems and locations to locate them. Henry County could benefit from this project that will mean millions of dollars to the county. But that is only in the discussions as this will be something that is likely 5-10 years down the road.

Given our airport at Hampton near the raceway the airport is being lengthened and can be a new hub for air traffic and for commerce. That is something that can be worked on as time continues to move on. The airport authority is well on the path to creating a viable aircraft site for our county.

I can see something like a “Gone with the Wind” theme park in the Hampton-Lovejoy area that could benefit not only Henry County, but Clayton County as well. There are several avenues of how this can be planned and appropriated if it is worked correctly and with the right people to be behind the project.

We can invite movie studios to our County to use some of our large empty warehouses for sound stages. They can make it work for them and bring money to our area as well. This would fill an empty space and make Henry County part of the film industry in the process. This is a good idea that maybe can be brought to fruition.

The main course of commerce will be along the I-75 corridor through the county. It has built up along the path already, but this will continue to grow in the coming years bringing in fine dining and places to shop that we don’t already have here to do. It would be nice to see some even more fine restaurants locate here and for some good places for people to shop.

I remember telling people in the county years ago that we needed a flea market that would bring in people. Well, they helped to bring in Peachtree Peddlers in 1993 and look at the size of the complex today with people shopping their from all over. It has turned into a success and a success for Henry County in the process.

Let’s all be in the process of keeping our roadways clean. Adopt sections of roads and pick up the trash that looks so bad on our roads. We don’t want to be known as the trash county. And while we are cleaning up our roadways let’s clean and make our old cemeteries look good. It’s the right thing to do.

We have potential here for something even better than what we have today if it is planned and worked out correctly. We need to listen to the older generation of this county who have been here since their youth and don’t push them aside because they have created the foundation of this county and it is wrong to alienate them from the process. Give them a chance and let’s give Henry County and our towns a chance to blossom. Thank you all for reading.

Movies and TV Show filming is nothing new to Henry County

Movies and TV Show filming is nothing new to Henry County and the area.
I remember vividly in the late summer of 1976 when the film crew came to McDonough with all their equipment to film a scene on the town square for “Smokey and the Bandit”.  We lived just off the square at the time and it was great fun to watch a movie being made.  People came from all around and even people up on the roof tops watching the movie.  McDonough was to be a town in Arkansas where the Bandit was to lure the police away from Snowman in the big rig.  Burt Reynolds played Bandit driving a new year change to a ’77 Trans Am.  The car was to make some maneuvers on the square and hide behind the old police shack on the square.  Of course it is gone today.  The stunt people tried making the turns on Macon Street and with the angle of the road and a small shower it made the scene hard to film, but they made it.  I was standing on the square with many other folks, but I was lucky enough to be next to the camera man and Burt Reynolds in the car

 right in front of us looks at the camera and smiles.  Then they filmed the Snowman played by Jerry Reed who stopped at what he termed a choke and puke which is a restaurant.  He also had his truck fueled there.  They used Lamar’s Sportsman’s Club on Macon Street near the Cemetery for the scene.  He got into a fight for the scene with some bikers about Fred  his dog.  So they threw him out and of course he gets into his rig and Lamar gives him his food.  And as he leaves he smiles and runs over their motor cycles. 

 I got to meet Burt Reynolds, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, Sally Field and Mike Henry during the filming in Henry County and in Clayton County.  It was a lot of fun.   The movie was released in May 1977 with a budget of $4.3 million and the second largest box office take that year with $126, 737,428.00 behind Star Wars at $307 million.

Then my late father-n-law Mr. Elton Mills was in several scenes of the show “I’ll Fly Away” driving his old pick-up truck for several scenes.  This was in 1989 and he had a great time doing it.  It was something he would never forget.




After Linda and I married we moved to Lovejoy, GA at La Costa Mobile Home Park for a time.  While there one day in May 1995 a knock came on the door and I opened and a whole lot of folks were in our yard looking and a nice man stuck out his hand and introduced himself as Mr. George Harrison (Yes one of the Beatles) and he wanted to speak with me.  His film company was making a movie to be broadcast in Great Britain and they were using some sites in America for the movie.  He said would I mind them using my home and I said for one condition to sign one of my Beatle records which he smiled and happily did.  Then we dealt with the producer and director.  The movie was about an old Motown singing group wanting to get back together for a reunion.  It was entitled the “Soul Survivors.”  The stars were Isaac Hayes, Ian McShane, and Antonio Fargas.  We got to meet all of them.  They wanted to use our house because of the site as we lived in a curve.  They
 were to use it for a “cat house” and Isaac Hayes was to come out in the morning to leave and is caught by reporters.  The scene actually was filmed in the evening as the sun was setting for the effect of a sunrise.  We and about fifty of our neighbors sat in a vacant field across the street watching the filming that went on till past 3:00am in the morning.  The producer said that they handled the “Lovejoy Mysteries” in Great Britain and when they saw the name Lovejoy they decided on using it for part of the movie.  The movie was release in January 1996 to mixed reviews.  It was nice meeting Isaac Hayes who sang the song “Shaft” that was a big hit.

Dr. Mike Moon with his Son and Isaac Hayes

In all the times that I have been involved around or with movie making we have noticed that the production company has things well in hand and we and the others there watching were having great fun.  They seem to want folks there to watch as many of them have performed on the stage and they are used to people watching them.  There is a lot that goes into movie making as well as for making television shows and it takes time and effort.  The crew has to make sure everything is just right with lighting and other parts.  In our case, they used a track system to have the camera man ride to film the scenes around our house. It was a lot of fun and to meet so very famous artists are an honor as well.  We learned that the late Isaac Hayes liked cornbread and pinto beans.  We talked for sometime in between takes.  He was more than happy to speak with us and answer questions.