The
Meriwether Historical Society met on Sunday, September 21, 2014 at 4 pm in the
historical society headquarters on Court Square, Greenville. President Sallie
Mabon welcomed the crowd that was a tight fit in the quaint old law office, and
introduced the speaker, Bob Prater, Mayor of Warm Springs.
Prater,
active in Habitat for Humanity and Harmony Church, has often portrayed FDR at
the Foundation. He is currently researching
the relationship of FDR and Cason Callaway. Many historical society members
have been watching the Ken Burns’ PBS program on the Roosevelts and so Prater’s
program was quite timely.
Prater
began by pointing out of the five most influential men in the Central West Georgia
area: Fuller Callaway, industrialist from LaGrange, Henry Kimbrough, senator, merchant,
and banker from Harris County, James Peters, banker and educator from Manchester,
Cason Callaway and FDR. While FDR and Cason Callaway were the most influential,
Prater said, the other three had laid the groundwork for progress.
Prater
pointed out the diverse backgrounds of FDR and Callaway. FDR was born into a wealthy
family in January of 1882. Cason Callaway,
born November 1894, was the son of a hardworking, merchant of a mercantile
store who created textile mills and would become a leading industrialist, but
that came after Cason was raised.
FDR’s
education was the finest. He was tutored at home by German and French teachers
before being sent to Groten Massachusetts then on to Harvard followed by
Columbia law. Cason was educated in the Troup County public schools before
attending Bingham Military in North Carolina. He attended the University of
Virginia for one year before going to business school in New York.
FDR
began a career in law than went into politics as was expected of him, and
Callaway went into the Navy. He was assigned to textile procurement in Washington
at the same time FDR was appointed assistant Secretary of the Navy. Callaway
would say, “Mr. Roosevelt came in the front door, I came in the back door.”
While
Prater is not sure when the two met in Warm Springs, he knows FDR began coming
to Georgia in October 1924. Callaway was running the mills and Manchester Mill
was one of them. FDR bought the 1200 acre Warm Springs property in 1926 and
invited Callaway to build a cottage on the property, but Cason replied he had a
home at Blue Springs.
Prater
pointed out that he has seen that many of FDR’s decisions made in Warm Springs
had a Callaway hand in it. FDR did not want the Foundation to be totally a
hospital and treatment center but a resort that he called “Meriwether Reserve.”
He wanted a golf course on it and Callaway arranged for influential golf course
designer Donald Ross to build it as he was building the course in LaGrange for
Highland Country Club at the time. The course was designed as an eighteen hole
course although only a nine course one was built.
FDR
has precise plans for his resort. After a Thanksgiving event in the hotel that packed
in three hundred, Roosevelt said the foundation sank three inches. He also said
the hotel was a firetrap and too inaccessible for polio patients. After the
hotel burned, Cason Callaway partnered with Woolford, a founder of Equifax, to
build Georgia Hall.
Prater
told a favorite story of FDR’s after he built the Little White House: FDR would
say that wherever he lived people would go to parks on weekends to have a
holiday, but in the South everyone went to town!
Prater
explored many other areas of FDR and Callaway’s friendship from family picnics
and meals together to many letters of recommendation Callaway asked FDR to
endorse or events at which to intervene. FDR, at Callaway’s behest, helped George
Patton IV get an appointment to the military academy. Callaway helped Tap Bennett,
whose father was his experimental farm manager, get into the diplomatic corps. FDR’s
last time nominated to the democratic ticket in 1944 resulted in Callaway, a
convention delegate, calling and informing FDR he had been elected.
Prater
passed out photo copies of a 1933 magazine for the Georgia Automobilist about
motoring the South and specifically the Georgia BiCentennial Illuminated
Highway that contains interesting historical info about our early roads and the
Pine Mountain Scenic Highway.
The
legacies of the two men, Prater concluded, are myriad. FDR touched the nation and the world serving
in politics and leading our nation during World War II. Cason Callaway developed
Callaway Gardens, philanthropic foundations and was devoted to improving
agriculture.
Prater’s
praised the Hyde Park library for help in his research as well as the Foundation
in Warm Springs. He noted society member Mike Shaddix’s name on the credits for
the Ken Burn’s documentary. Prater has a first portion of his work due soon but
does not anticipate publishing a book for several years.
In
other business, the group formed a committee of Sallie Mabon, Diana Norris,
Sally Neal, Carla Snider, Betty Clayton, and Mike Shaddix to work on a history
day competition focusing on Meriwether County. Shaddix brought to the club’s
attention another movie featuring the Institute, Afternoon of a Faun, the story
of ballerina Tanaquil Le Clercq who contracted polio and could not dance. It is available through Netflix. In a last
note of business the group decided not to do the Honey Baked Ham fundraiser
this Thanksgiving. While a delicious and
convenient seller, the fundraiser did not make enough money for the effort
done.
