Tree Falls on Warehouse in May 2 Storm

A large hackberry tree that stood at the corner of the Scull Shoals warehouse for over half a century was blown down in a storm on Friday night May 2.  The tree was in a photo essay on Scull Shoals in the Atlanta Journal Magazine in 1963.

The northwest corner of the warehouse contains a piece of wood forming a lintel for a window on the north, and a decorative brick arch over a partly closed-in door on the front or west face of the building.  Both survived! 

Friends VP Maxine Singleton and her husband William volunteered their 75-foot boom truck and crew of five men to remove it from the wall with minimum additional damage on May 13. Forest Service chainsaw crews will cut up the tree and remove it.  Poison ivy made the timber unsuitable for firewood.


Closing on Ed Center Lands May 21

The land lines are surveyed, the plat is prepared, the title search is done, and all that remains is to hold the closing ceremonies on May 21.  Plum Creek Timberlands, L.C. will sell to the Friends of Scull Shoals, Inc. a parcel of 14.2 acres on Macedonia Road for our proposed Scull Shoals Educational Center.     

The sale is to be at slightly less than half the full market price for timberland in that part of the county, so Plum Creek is a major donor to the Friends of Scull Shoals, Inc.  We plan a special publicity effort following the closing, to give proper credit to Plum Creek for their generosity and assistance in this effort. 


Big "All Hands" Celebration in October

Friends Executive Board voted to hold an all-member celebration on the new Educa-tion Center land in October.  Everyone who has ever worked at, donated to, descended from, or visited Scull Shoals will be invited for a party.

This will be an opportunity for the public to see the new property, and see and hear about plans for the Center's future.  The plans for the party are incomplete as yet, but it will be a weekend in October, so watch for more announcements about the big family gathering at Scull Shoals in the Fall.


Jubilee Booth Successful, April 12

The Friends Booth at the Greensboro Jubilee gave us additional exposure, as people from all over visited in the streets and looked over crafts and enjoyed a beautiful day.  Bob Skarda's Old Oconee pins in native American images made over $90 for us that day.

The ladies of the Colonial Dames of the XVII Century sold additional chances on their hand-made quilt, then held the drawing on Main Street.   They made over $1,000, part of which goes for the Scull Shoals picnic table.

The Bus Tours from Greensboro out to Scull Shoals took seven people in the two trips driver Peggy Sommer and Guide Ed Goff made that day.  As a fund-raiser, it was unsuccessful, but it may be something we could do again at other times, with better advance advertisement.  Our special thanks go to Peggy for arranging to borrow the bus from the Watkinsville First United Methodist Church, and to Ed for guiding the visitors around the site.   Bob and Deb Skarda also guided a Girl Scout troop on-site that day.


March, May River Floods Village   

Tours on March 8 and May 10 were truncated due to heavy flooding in the village in March, and wet slippery areas in May.


Tigers at Scull Shoals

On May 10 we hosted Greene County Tiger Cub Pack 312, with 11 parents and 8 Scouts, led by Reid and Janet Ballard.  Bob Skarda guided them around the village.  He spread the boys around the grass to show the size and shape of Old Fort Clark.  One leader said he'd never seen the boys so quiet as when Bob was talking.  They actively gobbled up hot dogs cooked at the picnic grill.  The boys' highlight was probably their discovery of a small snake seeking high ground in the village away from the flood waters!


Archaeologist John Mayer Here June 1

The new Forest Archaeologist and Heritage Program Manager for the Chatta-hoochee-Oconee National Forests will be "on-board" with us in Georgia on June 1st.  

John Mayer comes to us from the Catahoula Ranger District of the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana, and comes highly recommended by his colleagues there.  He has already heard of the Friends of Scull Shoals, and is looking forward to working with us.

John has worked well with the Louis-iana State Historic Preservation Office, and with the local Native American tribal groups.

We hope to have John to visit Scull Shoals for a special tour during the summer, and to have him join us for the big celebration in October.  He has the Handbook on Scull Shoals with the Friends' activities past, present, and future.   Once he gets his feet on the ground our Board will meet with him.


Archaeologists test "Beca's House"

During this Winter and Spring, archae-ology teams under Becky Bruce's direction have been testing the mill worker house called "Beca's House," and a 20th Century site nearby called "Ellen's Barn."  The volunteers have been guided ably by visiting professionals Tom Gresham and JoLee Gardner as they worked. 

Beca's House has produced early clay smoking pipe fragments dating to the 1830's, and several later plow shares, one of which is locked into a tree trunk.  Additional pottery and glass fit into a long occupation period. Work continues to define the size and shape of the house.  It is located near the large Osage Orange tree at the entry to the village.

Ellen's Barn has produced, besides many wire nails, five wooden dibbles, or short  digging sticks, used to transplant young sprigs, such as tobacco, to the field after starting in cold frames or elsewhere.  This ancient farm tool was previously unknown at Scull Shoals.  The dibbles are of fire-hardened wood, carved into points, for making small holes in the ground for the new plants.  Some appear to have had holes for cords to keep the dibble on the user's wrist. 

Examples of this tool have been found in 19th and 18th Century living history sites in Tennessee and at Plimouth Plantation, Mass.


Friends Board Meets New Supervisor   

The Friends Executive Board met at Rudolph's Restaurant in Gainesville for a quarterly Board meeting Wednesday, April 30.  They planned for a meeting with new Forest Supervisor Kathleen Atkinson in her Gainesville office.  She was presented with a Handbook on Scull Shoals, for reference on the town's history, as well as the Friends of Scull Shoals activities, past, present, and future.

The Board discussed falling member-ship dues income, and the upcoming closing on the land purchase, on May 21 with the Plum Creek Timberlands Co.  Treasurer Gale Farlow reported that we have about 72% of the needed funds for the land purchase, and will rely on additional donations before and after the closing date.  The Citizens Union Bank Line of Credit will assure we have funds needed for closing. 

To celebrate the acquisition of the Educational Center land on Macedonia Road, the Board plans a huge get-together of all the past volunteers, donors, descendants, and visitors to Scull Shoals in October.  Dates are to be decided, working around the UGA foot-ball schedule for best attendance.  This will probably be the first of a series of all-hands activities at Scull Shoals and the Educational  Center sites to assure membership participation and "ownership" in the activities.  

The Friends Board decided to provide the 2002 volunteers with T-shirts this year, since FS funds were not available.  They are being distributed by hand and by mail to those who worked more than 20 hours in fiscal 2002.  The 2003 volunteer shirts are expected to be available for the October festival on-site.

Volunteers who worked more than 20 hours during the fiscal year are also eligible for Forest Volunteer recreation area parking passes.  If you worked that year and have not received a pass, please contact Jack Wynn at 770-536-2564 or at mfjtwynn@bellsouth.net. 


Dues are Still Due! 

Friends, remember that this non-profit educational organization operates entirely on our dues, donations, and the income from the tours and a few small sales.  If you have not made your donation to the lands fund, or if you have forgotten to pay your 2003 membership dues, please do so now. 

Many members are overdue, and this is straining the budget, just as the land project is coming up.  We are developing interpretive exhibits, a self-guiding tour flyer for the town, this newsletter, and a revised brochure printed to go to visitor centers around the state.  All of these cost money.  Please do your part to help support our educational efforts!

Remember also, each of us is to bring in a new member this year!  Have you invited anyone to join us yet?  Why not call now?


Museum Exhibit delivered April 12

Friends Founder Carolyn Reynolds Parker provided funds for the kiosk exhibits on-site, and we installed the exhibits at the kiosk last spring.  The Friends provided a permanent, smaller exhibit for the Greene County Historical Society Museum this spring.

Because of management changes in the Museum, there was a delay in getting their exhibit made and framed.  That exhibit was completed and delivered to the Museum officers during the Jubilee on April 12th. 

The Scull Shoals Museum Exhibit, a smaller copy of that in the kiosk on-site, is now in the Historical Society Museum, at Green and East Streets in Greensboro.  Since the Museum is renovating its interior spaces, it is unknown when the exhibit will be available for viewing.

 

This newsletter is published by and for the non-profit Friends of Scull Shoals, Inc., P.O. Box 295, Greensboro, GA 30642.   Questions? mfjtwynn@bellsouth.net

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