John Hoomes, August 12, 2023
Kelly Hoomes, July 8, 2023
Kelly Hoomes, Museum Research Specialist from Kennesaw State University, addressed the Paulding County Historical Society and guests on July 8, 2023, to share some of her research entitles, “The Victory Garden, Then and Now.” She also assisted attendees with seed-planting activities and samples to start their own home Victory Gardens.
Kelly explained that, in the 19th century and early 20th century, prior to World War 1, the term “garden” typically referred to flower and/or ornamental plantings for urban culture entertainment. Rural plantings, even small ones, were crops for consumption. While some food planting did occur in cities, it was rare. Ornamental gardens were so common around homes and entry ways to homes, or backyards, that magazines and frequent newspaper articles were devoted to the leisure gardener.
When the United States entered World War I, a great increase in food production was going to be required. This increase was needed not just for U.S. and allied troops but also civilians in the war zones, as battlefields destroy farm fields quickly. Manpower, normally associated with farming, was being diverted to soldiering, increasing the strain of food production. To help offset these needs, and to develop closer ties between citizens and soldiers the national government encouraged “citizen” soldiers to start food gardens at home to support the war effort.
Liberty Gardens, War Gardens, and Victory Gardens were the names used for these projects. Posters, pamphlets, and books distributed by the U.S. Government, State, County, and local agencies provided expert advice and guidance. Co-ops, as one example, help coordinate seeds for urban dwellers and urban volunteers for farms during planting and harvesting seasons. Magazines and newspaper articles once devoted to the ornamental garden were now sharply focused on the Victory Gardens. By the end of 1917, some three million garden plots were growing vegetables. In 1918 over 5 million more plots were cultivating food stocks and canning over 1.45 million quarts of canned goods.
During the opulent 20’s, Victory Gardens receded then reappeared in the 30’s Great Depression. With World War II, America again became the world’s breadbasket and Victory Gardens expanded to over 20 million plots that produced 800 tons of food. Post war Victory Gardens did drop from their war peak but continued as a popular pastime activity. When produce became a world supply item in the 90’s and the recent COVID pandemic Victory Gardens took a big upswing in urban and rural locations. In crowded cities, rooftops have been converted to gardens (some even for corporate use), additional plots as small as a few square feet are available for rent. No doubt there is a certain satisfaction in growing and consuming your own produce. Picking and preparing that produce exactly when you determine the item is at its peak freshness.
At the conclusion of her presentation, Kelly demonstrated techniques for preparing seeds for your own Victory Garden and she even gave out samples for her audience. On behalf of the Paulding County Historical Society, we thank Kelly Hoomes for sharing her expertise and time with us. We look forward to her visiting with us again and perhaps some of the gifted seeds will return this fall in the form of a plump harvest to taste. Surely this is one of the best ways to encourage more Victory Gardens.
For additional information on this and other presentations available at the Paulding County Historical Society Museum visit our website and see highlights of Kelly's presentation on our Facebook page.
Written by Joe Prosser
Bobby Cole, June 10, 2023
On June 10, 2023, the Paulding County Historical Society (PCHS) was pleased to host Mr. Bobby Lamar Cole, of Powder Springs, GA, to an afternoon walk down memory lane. Cole grew up in Paulding County, was born in 1932, and is one of six children of mother Lucy Elizabeth (née Lizzie Fuller, 1898 – 1956) and father Tasco (Tack) Cole (1893 – 1981). Bobby’s formative years were spent on the family farm in Cain, GA now known as the New Georgia Community of Dallas. Tack Cole Road, in the New Georgia Community, is named for Bobby’s father.
During the Depression the Cole family grew cotton to help make ends meet. Mules were the standard in the fields to plant, harvest, and transport cotton to a mill for processing and binding. Bobby demonstrated how homemade baskets were used to pick cotton and every family member picked his/her share. Bobby suggested that sometimes friendly competition between pickers might cause an increase in the basket weight by unfairly adding some wet cotton to the mix. The winner with the heaviest load could bost of his prowess until the joke caught on. He also told us about dealing with insects, especially the saddleback worm (a moth larva of a slug caterpillar-Limacodidae) which have stinger spines that can be most painful if handled improperly. Despite the tight financial needs of the family and a $300 asking price, Tack surprised young Bobby with a horse, Charlie. Soon Bobby and Charlie became nearly inseparable so he further requested that Tack never put the horse to a plow. While Tack respected the horse as Bobby’s pet, eventually the needs of the farm required the horse to work. Bobby said it hurt to see his pet being used in this way but that he had sufficiently matured to acknowledge that the needs of the farm exceeded his needs for a pet.
For pocket money, Bobby would trap rabbits then sell them for a quarter each. With Charlie to carry him, Bobby was able to increase his search area for rabbits and quarters for his pockets. On other occasions Bobby and his brothers would form possum hunts to train their dogs and a treed possum would be the goal. When attempts from the ground could not dislodge the possum, someone had to climb the tree. Sometimes this worked, sometimes the possum outsmarted the hunters, or once in a while, something else fell out of the tree. When that “something else” was one of the boys, a broken arm or leg might be the prize; but boys will be boys.
As Bobby got older, he attended Dallas High School (current grounds of the Herschel Jones Middle School). It turns out that he was an excellent basketball player and was customarily featured in his school’s victories. Bobby enjoyed basketball so much that he frequently refereed games at local schools to encourage others to develop their skills. One of the women in the audience asked Bobby what was dating like in high school. He quickly replied that, “submarine hunting” was his favorite activity and that he tried to engage in it as often as possible. Bobby added that he and his wife, Joyce Walker of Cobb County, have been married for over 60 years and have one son, Chris.
Bobby’s tongue-and-cheek response to the dating question generated much merriment and further demonstrated his quick wit, engaging storytelling, and verbal picture painting of life in and around Paulding County some 80 years ago. There were about two dozen attendees for his presentation. Some knew Bobby directly, some knew of him, and some of us knew nothing of Bobby Cole except that this could be a very interesting afternoon. From the moment he entered the school house, Bobby greeted us like old friends he hadn’t seen for a long time. As he took us on this journey, Bobby made us feel like we were there with him. When he was telling us about his tree climbing exploits, you just wanted to shout out to young Bobby, “be careful or you’ll break your arm.” What an interesting, informative, and entertaining afternoon this turned out to be.
Paulding County Historical Society offers monthly encounters at the “little red school house” on the second Saturday. It’s a great way to spend a few hours learning about the people and events of Paulding County. Recent guest presenters have included Pat Hardin, author of, The Black Horseman (volumes 1 and 2), the saga of her ancestors, the Wiley Jones family of Paulding County. John Hoomes, curator of Pickett’s Mill Battlefield State Historic Site, discussed the rediscovery of a potential one-of-a-kind flag pole finial (a distinctive ornamental flagpole topper; in this case carried by a union regimental color guard during the battle).
While we may ask for a small volunteer donation to help offset expenses at these encounters, your enjoyment and positive experience here is our goal. We will ask you to consider joining the Paulding County Historical Society. Individual memberships are just $25.00 per year; family membership is $30.00 per year; visit our website for more details. Consider volunteering an hour or two a week; we are all volunteers here and learning as we go. We have a graduate anthropologist on our board of directors to help us better interpret the displays but are always in need of help to handle requests, research documents, or do a little maintenance on a 160-year-old building.
John Hoomes May 13, 2023
Pat Hardin, January 14 and April 8, 2023
