Insidevaldosta.sgaonline.com/2010americus/pdfs/scene.pdfInside MAY 2012 FEATURE 6 Dreamhouse the...

InsideMAY 2012

FEATURE 6Dream housethe home of Rod & Lynn Marchant

FEATURE 10A giving soulthe gracious hospitality of Betty Pope

FEATURE 16Heather Cross StanleyRylander Theatre’s managing director

FEATURE 20Forty mule musicPaul Hall and The Barn

FEATURE 25Janice Sidersdirector of HR at Georgia Southwestern

FEATURE 28Roasted with the Golden RuleCafé Campesino

2 AmericusScene • APRIL/MAY 2012

From the Editor:

With little or no winter and an early arrival ofsummer temperatures, it seems we skipped spring 2012altogether!

But we were still able to enjoy the natural beautyof the azaleas and dogwoods in full bloom, lining thecharming streets of the towns of Sumter and Schleycounties.

It’s rather refreshing now to sit back and readabout the people and places featured in the May 2012issue of Americus Scene magazine.

You will enjoy reading about the talented womanwho is steering the ship of the historic RylanderTheatre in downtown Americus.

Then there’s the interesting story of a young girl’sfantasy about a beautiful house located in the historicdistrict of Americus and how grateful she is today to beliving that dream.

Read about how faith built (or renovated) a barnand how the rafters now ring with inspirational,Christian music.

You will also find stories about two other multi-faceted, talented women: Betty Pope and Janet Siders,each unique in her own way.

Also, find out how coffee built a bridge betweendistant farmers and Americus, Ga.! Cafe Campesino’shistory is one of hope and partnership in a world other-wise in turmoil.

We hope you enjoy this issue as much as weenjoyed constructing it. It’s easy when there are somany provocative people and their individual stories inour midst. We want to tell all those stories.

APRIL/MAY 2012AmericusScene


C O N T R I B U T O R S

AmericusSceneEstablished 2008Volume V No. 1

Americus Scene magazine is published quarterly bythe Americus Times-Recorder

South Georgia Media Group

PUBLISHERDan Sutton

EDITORBeth Alston

CONTRIBUTINGWRITERSCamille Bielby

Leila Sisson CaseJoni Woolf

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERSCamille Bielby

Leila Sisson CaseJoni Woolf

LAYOUTDerek Schaper

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVECindy Cox

Cindy HarrisKay Sutton

CIRCULATION DIRECTORKim Nadrich

www.americustimesrecorder.com

For information on submitting articles or advertisingin Americus Scene call 229-924-2751.

Beth AlstonEditor

Dan SuttonPublisher

AmericusScene • APRIL/MAY 2012 5


AMERICUS — Behind the front gate at128 Taylor St., the home of Rod andLynn Marchant, a bit of serendipitymixes with a rich history that reachesback 160 years.

“I pinch myself some days, for it’s adream come true to own this house Ihave admired since childhood,” saidLynn. “We are so fortunate andblessed.”

When the couple married, theyenvisioned a bright future and set long-range goals. Over the course of years,and through some ups and downs, theynever lost sight of what they visualizedas newlyweds 28 years ago.

Their first home was Fort Rucker,Ala., where Rod was in the U.S. Armyand in helicopter flight training school.The first week of their marriage Rodtold Lynn the career path he wanted.She met with this with enthusiasm butthought it too far into the future to givemuch thought.

When Lynn was a teenager, yearsbefore she and Rod married, she rodeher bike to her first summer job teach-ing swimming at the recreation depart-ment under then Coach Jack Finklea. Asshe pedaled along a route that took herthrough the residential neighborhoodthat included Taylor Street, she admiredthe well-kept lawns and graceful ante-bellum and Victorian homes lining thetree-shaded streets. But one house inparticular attracted her attention morethan others.

It was the handsome brick housebelonging to banker Charles F. andGeorgia Lumpkin Crisp on TaylorStreet. Lynn admired its beauty, espe-cially in early spring when the gracefulbranches of the white snowball bushcascaded over the brick wall and neverseemed to get enough of catching aglimpse of the exterior.

“I rode my bike by the house everyday that summer and remember askingDad to drive by on our way to town,”she recalls.

As the years passed the Marchantsnever lost sight of their separate dreams.

While at Fort Rucker, where Rodwas a helicopter flight instructor, theiroldest daughter Lauren-Leigh Marchant,was born. After eight years the familyreturned to their roots in SumterCounty and bought a farm near Lesliewhere Rod and his father, the lateCharlie Marchant of Americus, wentinto business together to raise chickens.And they welcomed another daughter,Kelly, now 17 and a junior at theMadeira School in McLean, Va., nearWashington, D.C.

Lynn said, “Living on the farm andhaving all the animals was wonderfulwhen the girls were young and growingup. We loved our home and country liv-ing. But our needs were changing.Lauren-Leigh was entering high schooland both children had outside schoolactivities. I was tired of driving backand forth from the country and wanted

to live in town again. So, we begansearching for a house that would fit ourfamily’s changing lifestyle. We looked atmany, especially in Americus’ historicresidential district. Things seemed fruit-less and I almost gave up when mymother called me one day.

“She said, ‘Lynn, you’ll never guesswhose house is on the market.’ Andwhen she told me Mr. Charlie’s, Ithought, ‘there is no way we’ll ever beable to buy that house.’ That was thefurthest thing from my mind,” saidLynn.

After much thought and discussion,the Marchants made an offer throughtheir Realtor and purchased the housefrom the Crisp heirs in 2003. Lynn’slongtime dream became reality.

The ante-bellum house has a longand noteworthy history.

According to Alan Anderson,archivist for Sumter Historic Trust, itwas built in 1850 by Alfred F.McPherson, a member of one of SumterCounty’s pioneer families and an alder-man on the first Americus City Councilin 1856. Renovated in 1877 by Thomas

Local artist finds

by Leila Sisson Case

HOME FEATURE

dream househer family home now

Behind the garden gate is the1850s home of Rod and LynnMarchant and their daughtersLauren-Leigh and Kelly.

A. Graham, whose son laterfounded Graham Aviation atSouther Field, it served in the1880s as the parsonage forwhat is now First BaptistChurch. The Rev. Abner B.Campbell made additionalimprovements in 1887.

Henry Crisp, well-known Americus business-man and attorney, said hisfather purchased the housefrom a Mr. English about1927, and it remained in thehands of the Crisp family forthe next 76 years. Henry, hislate sister, Virginia CrispGatewood, and brother,Charles R. Crisp (Charlie),now of Moultrie, grew upthere.

Americus realtor CharlesF. Crisp II of Americus, agrandson of Charles F. andGeorgia Crisp, said threemajor renovations have beenmade since the original con-struction. The first in the1870s was to extend the

house forward with the addi-tion of the two big frontrooms with 14-foot ceilingsand tall windows. At thesame time the chimneys wererebuilt and have never beenchanged. What is now thepresent dining room anddownstairs bedroom are partof the original construction.The bedroom has the originalcast-iron mantle while thetwin mantle was moved fromthe dining room to the leftfront room, the present-daystudy. The more neo-classicalItalianate mantle was addedto the right front room, nowthe sitting room.

Crisp said a few yearsafter his grandparents boughtthe house they decided tomove to South Lee Streetwhere the former office ofSchley Gatewood, M.D. istoday, perhaps to see if theyliked the location better butapparently didn’t becausethey returned to the Taylor

The view from the front door into thewide entry hall and graceful staircasethat leads to the second floor.



Street home and remainedthere for the rest of theirlives. In the 1930s, the Crispsmoved temporarily whileextensive renovations weregoing on. The second floorwith two bedrooms and bathwas added along with thehandsome stairway. Brickveneer was added to the exte-rior to give a more modernappearance. Beautifullydetailed millwork wasinstalled and the twin archedpassage ways added betweenthe sitting room and diningroom connecting the tworooms. The front porch isprobably from the 1920s.The more classical porticowas added in 1965, and theexterior painted a soft green,the color it is today. Thecharming red brick fence,now covered in creeping fig,and classical wrought-irongate were added.

“It’s a dream come truefor me to know that this isour home,” said Lynn, dur-ing an interview and tourthat began in the cozy sittingroom filled with natural sun-light that streamed throughthe tall windows.

“Rod is a helicopterpilot with Saudi Aramco., thejob he told me he wanted thefirst week we married,” Lynnsaid. “He divides his timebetween Ratanura, SaudiArabia, and Americus. Hisincredible sense of foresightled him to take the positionand it has turned out to be agreat opportunity for all ofus. We have experienced dif-ferent cultures, extensivetravel, expanded our hori-zons and learned to thinkoutside the box,” she said.“My children think globallyand Rod is responsible forgiving our family this chanceto grow. But Americus willalways be home.”

Presently the family is inthe fast lane. With Rod awayfor long stretches, and Kellyat boarding school, Lynn and

daughter Lauren-Leigh, 22,June bride-to-be of JaredWall of Americus, are busywith wedding plans.

Renovations began assoon as they moved into the5,000 sq. ft. house to make itmore comfortable and suit-able for their lifestyle whilepaying strict attention to thehistorical features. TheMarchant home is warm andinviting as well as light andairy. High ceilings, tall win-dows, beautiful architecturalfeatures not found in housesbuilt today lend characterand are enhanced even moreby an eye-pleasing interiorcolor palette. Soft green,cheerful yellow, beige, terracotta, copper, brown anddove gray provide a neutralbackground for Lynn’s origi-nal artwork — largeabstracts in strong colorshang in almost every roomand literally pop from thewalls. She has a degree infine arts from GeorgiaSouthwestern and praised theart professors who taughther: Laurel Robinson, JackLewis, Ralph Harvey andBen Paskus.

“They provided me withoutstanding guidance and Ireceived an incredible educa-tion during my student yearsstudying under their tute-lage,” she says. “We are verylucky to have a great artdepartment at GSW.”

Lynn said, “WilliamBlake is the artist that all ofmy art relates to with astrong influence with figurestudies from the works ofMichelangelo.”

Furnished with a mix-ture of family pieces, repro-ductions and antiques collect-ed over the years, the sittingroom is comfortable andcheerful. Family photographsare displayed on the tables.Portraits of Lauren-Leigh andKelly at 2 1/2 wearing thehand-sewn christening gownsLynn lovingly made adorn

Lynn Marchant in the master bedroom

The sitting room

An accomplished artist,Lynn Marchant with oneher original abstracts.

The Empire chandelier illu-minates the abstract paint-ings by Lynn that dominateone wall of the dining room.

the walls. In the adjoiningdining room more of Lynn’sabstracts dominate one wallwhile the Empire-periodchandelier completes the dra-matic effect. The adjoiningbreakfast room and largekitchen is the hub and familygathering place. Lynn andRod both enjoy cooking andhave their own work sta-tions.

“We gutted the kitchenand enclosed the back porchto make more space,” Lynnsaid.

The large heart pinetable is used for family din-ing, and the kitchen island, along table – equipped withmarble slabs on three sides,from the childhood home ofLynn’s mother Sara Paradise– is used for food prepara-tion. The family pets,Polly, a dachshund, andBella, a Maltese, have freereign of the house but enjoyrelaxing in the warm kitchenmost, perhaps waiting for ahandout.

The space at the end ofthe back hall that leads intothe kitchen and butler’spantry features a unique col-lection of art. The down-stairs bedroom, painted alight olive green, features aneye-appealing group of etch-ings, a monoprint, oils oncanvas and a paintingLauren-Leigh did onPlexiglas.

The guest room and theMarchant sister’s bedroomand bath are upstairs butLynn plans to turn one of therooms into an art studio.

As the home tour con-cluded and with Polly andBella finding something moreinteresting outside to chase,Lynn stops a moment toreflect once more on howfortunate her family is to beable to own the house sheadmired as a young girl andpreserve its rich history forgenerations to come.

• • •



FEATURE

AMERICUS — A sunny morning inFebruary with Betty Pope is enoughinspiration to get anyone moving. Andshe stands ready to “let some of theyounger generation take the reins. I lovemy community and my husband did,too.”

A caregiver herself, she does notplan to give up the Rosalynn CarterInstitute which she helped form withWilliam Capitan, Ph.D., the formerpresident of Georgia Southwestern.

“Rosalynn graduated from GeorgiaSouthwestern,” Pope says. “The school

wanted to honor her andthe Center grew out ofthat.”

Her excitement overthe groundbreaking forthe new building growsfrom the satisfaction ofseeing an importantproject through to thehighest level of service.

She can call the firstlady by name. She ownsa cabin overlooking acrystal mountain streamwith the Carters. Abeaming black andwhite snapshot of thePopes showing PresidentCarter a newspaperannouncing his winhangs in her hallway.She and President Carterare smiling. The newspa-per actually covers herhusband John Pope’sface, which still makesher laugh.

That laughter issomething she is knownfor, whether it is sharedalong with an anecdoteabout lunch with hergirlfriends or offered as

an encouragement to the volunteers sheworks with. And who could say no toone of her gracious requests for a needycause?

“Rosalynn has made such wonder-ful strides in mental health and care giv-ing. I was a caregiver for my motherand husband at the same time,” said thesoon to be 79-year-old Pope. “We willall be caregivers and we will all needcare givers.”

Her schedule includes daily visitswith her 95-year-old sister-in-law who

requires assisted care with full-time sit-ters.

“Her husband died in a nursinghome and she has a horror of them,”Pope says.

“They lived in the other side of thehouse John Pope built and donated toMagnolia Manor. Gladys lived herewith her husband for 10 years. My hus-band built the place in a U-shape so hecould take care of his family when theygot infirm.”

The Pope family has had use of thedouble home for three generations.A true Southern belle, Betty Pope wasborn in Jacksonville, Fla., but movedwith her family to Miami before shewas a year old. She lived at home andwent to school right down the street.Pope completed her degree in threeyears because she wanted to get mar-ried.

“I was married at 20 and had bothkids by 25,” she says.

Her first husband was a vice presi-dent for Margaret Ann Stores and han-dled taxes for what is now Winn Dixie.

“He went to the tax assessor ineach town with a Winn Dixie and madesure they were all under the same taxstructure,” she says.

The couple “moved up here to runthe dairy farm for my father. But myhusband didn’t enjoy milking threetimes every 24 hours.”

He enrolled in law school and theymoved to Gainesville. She was pregnantwith a daughter.

“He became a lawyer and wemoved back to Miami where we livedfor 18 years.”

She was in her early 20s in the1950s when she lived in Americus forabout three years. She was a member ofthe Junior Service League. Her grand-mother was the first patient in the

by Camille Bielby

A giving soul:The gracious hospitality of Betty Pope

Pope enjoys tussling withher daughter’s fluffy dogs

while she is traveling.

Magnolia Manor nursing home.“Magnolia Manor has been part of

my life for many years. WhenGrandmother died, I stayed for a fewdays to help Daddy get acclimated. Myfuture husband John called to expresssympathy to my Daddy for his mom’sdeath. He found out I was here andasked me to dinner at Daphne’s Lodgeand the courtship began.”

She cherishes the memory of JohnPope.

“When John married me in 1973,he beamed on Father’s Day. He becamethe father of my two girls. He got threegirls when we married. He took themlike they were his own children.

“My youngest daughter stayed withher father and stepmother to finish highschool. I brought the younger one here.She was in ninth grade. It was the per-fect time to change. She had a wonder-ful group of girlfriends. They are thechildren of my girlfriends.”

She talks about her life inAmericus.

“Jimmy Carter was John’s closestfriend so he got involved in the cam-paign. We were Peanut Brigaders anddid the whole bit.”

John Pope purchased a concretebusiness from his father after returningfrom the war.

“Jimmy wanted to build a pool forthe Plains Lions Club. They (Pope andCarter) became bosom buddies.”

A train trip to the opening of theDaytona Race Track was an adventurethat led to finding a rooming house atfour in the morning.

“It was an inexpensive thing. Youcould have a lot of fun on nothing as faras your money goes. John and his wifenever had children. He loved to be withAmy and the Carter boys.”

Carter’s campaign for Georgia gov-ernor is the source of fond memories.

“It is an awesome feeling to knowwe had that much part in the making ofa president. Jimmy and Rosalynn cameon a visit to Walnut Mountain, onTurnip Creek. We loved the waterfallsso much we agreed to build a cabintogether. The waterfall’s name isRosalynn Rapids. We built a house forthe Secret Service and a shop and pumphouse.”

She doesn’t go much but loved itwhen her husband was living. A limitededition print of President Carter’s draw-

ing of the cabin’s dining room rests atopa bookcase in her guest room.

“Rosalynn was joining us and hehadn’t remembered to get her a presentso he stayed up all night and drew andpainted her favorite room,” she recalls.

A panoramic view of the cabinhanging over the guest bed shows sil-houettes of the Carters and Popesagainst a twilight sky on the porch ofthe cabin overlooking the rushingstream.

“It is ironic because Dad was bornin Ellaville. I now own the farm he wasborn on. It has a cabin, two ponds —catfish and bass — and pine trees. I amproud of that. My father suffered aheart attack at 42, right after I had mar-ried for the first time.”

Pope said they used to spend a lotof time at the farm.

“We would go fishing. Jimmy andRosalynn would come over and fish.Daddy died in 1977, but he got to seethe inauguration. Daddy and Jimmywere second cousins. We were friendsfirst but I don’t bother them. I can seethem anytime if something happens thatthey need to know about, like the deathof one of their supporters.”



Pope is a long-time member ofFirst United Methodist Church inAmericus.

“I was a Baptist, but I joined myhusband’s church,” she says. “I like toassociate with good Christians. I alwaysfeel like if Jesus were to walk in any-time, I wouldn’t want to be ashamed ofwhat I am thinking or doing.”

She has “been in everything atchurch and served on everything. But Iam dropping back. With a cane, it ishard to do much serving.”

And then she refers to herself as a“little old lady” which is hard to recon-cile with the vivacious woman servingpots of tea and a plate of fruit andcookies.

A friend brought her avase with pretty red roses forValentine’s Day.

“I thought to myself, Iused to go to the Manor andtake stuff like this to little oldladies.’ My heart and headwant to do everything. I can’tdo it anymore and it breaksmy heart. It is innately what Iwant to do. Your body tellsyou what to do.”

She ticks off “rest, dietand medication. You have tolisten to your body. I startedfalling. I had my first fall inSienna, Italy on a cobblestonewalk. I was on the way tobuy a cane. I didn’t get hurt,”she says.

She decorates the quad cane she hasbeen using the past 10 years for balance.Her canes are ready for any season,from Valentine’s Day to Christmas.

“I might as well decorate it,” shesays. “It is part of your attire.”

She has five canes in many colors togo with different outfits.

“They encourage me to keep it bythe bed. Most falls happen in the middleof the night when your equilibrium andbalance are off. I keep everything clearon the floor.”

Pope feels badly that the caneencumbers people.

“People will trip over it,” she says.“You don’t want to break a hip.”

Arthritis gives her trouble especiallyin times of rough weather, she says. Shehas fibromyalgia and eye problems.Light sensitivity makes it difficult todrive at night.

“My daughter surprised me andmoved to Americus,” she says. “She hadan empty nest. Her kids were not com-ing home as often. She decided to becloser to her mother and start a newlife. She was a soccer mom with threechildren and a limited social life. Bothgirls have their masters and her son is ajunior at Tulane.”

Naturally, Pope is proud.“They are all very bright and I feel

they are going to be able to have goodlives. Carrie (her daughter) and I canenjoy visiting them. They come morenow that she is more centrally locatedthan Tampa. She has been here a yearand a half.”

Popes’ other daughter lives in NewZealand with her husband and highschool daughter.

Pope’s girlfriends are very special.“We all play cards, Canasta and

Hand and Foot. I play bridge. I had thispermanent card table set up,” she ges-tures to the tea treats spread across thegleaming wood. “We set up many tablesfor cards, baby showers and barbecues.We had a Royal Wedding party at 4a.m.”

Pope’s friends all came in furs andhats.

“I treated them to crumpets andnosegays. My cousin who teaches schoolhad to go straight in. There were adozen of us. We had a good time andcriticized the wedding.”

She says she is not a goody good,but she doesn’t drink or smoke.

“You only come through this life

once so you have to make the best ofit,” she says. “I choose not to, but amfine if my friends want to bring theirown. I don’t serve it.”

Life is good, Betty Pope assures.She has a million memories and photo-graphs.

“I need to organize my photo-graphs. I have 15 shots of my husbandat the rim of the Grand Canyon. It ishard to throw your husband in thetrash. All the shots are different.”

She tells of the sentiment behind themany lovely mementos that tell thestory of her life and travels.

“We had a big house full of furni-ture and things. I tried to leave, but I

had to empty that housebefore I could make thishome.”

She has a sad memoryof their trip to Taiwan.

“John wasn’t well. Hedied in November. I got E-coli in December. I got rundown and was so exhausted.”

As she rebuilt her lifeand regained her energy, shebegan planning a trip for theentire family to go on anAfrican safari in Kenya andTanzania for two weeks.

“I wrapped up littleanimals and put them in abarrel and let each persondraw one and open it to fig-ure out what I was tellingthem. The shots to get ready

to go were the worst part.”No more trips like that for her, she

says. A trip to New Zealand to visit herdaughter was a rough “30 hours fromher door to mine. We went first class,but I couldn’t stay seated. I had tostretch my legs out. And the airportconfusion got to me. I won’t be doing itagain.”

She is a Democrat with Republicanfriends. Her friends are all ages with dif-ferent interests.

“We don’t talk politics,” she says.Her book club is led by Connie

Blanchard.“Connie used to teach this sort of

thing in her years as a professor,” saysPope. “The club is like grad school. Wemeet at The Station and discuss thebook for two to three hours. She givesus grueling questions. I love it. We areavid readers and I get so much more out

FEATURE

A bouquet of tulips matchesBetty Pope’s winning smile.

of the books.”Pope feels special that Blanchard

puts so much into it. Blanchard came toAmericus when her husband acceptedthe post as president of GeorgiaSouthwestern.

Pope’s theory is that she wouldrather know that her “daughters areenjoying life while they are youngenough. It is enough for me to watchthem enjoy it.”

She gave the girls a trip to any-where in the world for a Christmas giftand they chose Turkey and Greece.

“I told them go while you can,don’t wait until you get to an age whenyou don’t enjoy it. I have been there anddone that and I want to bask in theglory that they are enjoying themselves.I could outlive them.”

She says that cancer runs rampantin her family and that both girls havebattled it.

“It is just such an unknown factor— it’s there,” she says.

She is asked about the Pope schol-arships that benefit so many inAmericus. She now has the PopeFellows scholarship for qualified stu-dents in the field of care giving, like

nursing, pre-med, teaching, religion —any fields that involve helping people.There are 16 students on this scholar-ship. She established a business scholar-ship at Georgia Southwestern StateUniversity in honor of her father. SouthGeorgia Technical College created aconstruction scholarship that she fundsbecause “we don’t have enough localcontractors.” And of course there is theJohn Pope Center at South GeorgiaTechnical College, where she has herown reserved parking place.

When she lists the boards she serveson — the Plains Historic Preservationboard, the Sumter Historic Trust, theRylander, the Foundation at GeorgiaSouthwestern, the Georgia Council forthe Arts, the animal shelter, and nowthe Manor board — you get the ideajust what cutting back will mean, toBetty Pope and to Americus’ many phil-anthropic organizations.

“I would rather be in charge thanto work with someone doing a lousyjob,” she says.

She has a degree in business man-agement from the University of Miami.She holds beauty titles for a smile andpersonality that charm people into

action.Her Poinciana Queen portrait

hangs in the hall across from the Cartermemorabilia snapshot. The beautiful redblossoms are a glorious accessory to hereyes and smile.

“Before this year, I would still go tomeetings and keep my nose in what’sgoing on. Now I have to stop doing thatand let them handle it without me,” shesays.

She mentions yet another projectthat she may not be able to continue.

“Until this year I was active in anarthritis support group trying to elimi-nate the stigma of arthritis.”

She says it is important to becomeeducated on what can be done.

“You can learn to live with it andyou need to be aware of the medicinesthat can help. As many as 75 wouldmeet at Magnolia Manor. It was alsogood because people came to the Manorand saw what it is like. It used to be theplace to go to die.”

She is a member of MagnoliaManor’s League of the Good Samaritanwhich raises money to help residentswho outlive their resources.

“We help without embarrassing



them,” she says. “We are all uncertainwhen our time is going to come to leavethis earth.”

When not coordinating her philan-thropic projects and visiting with herdaughter and girlfriends, Betty Pope canoften be found in her studio painting.

“I like water colors. I donate tocharities for silent auctions. I paintedthe garden at the new hospital to makenote paper and tablets for openingnight.”

She has sketched events as they aregoing on so that benefactors couldframe the drawings and auction themoff.

“I wouldn’t live in the big city now.This is the right place for me. You canalways go to Albany, Columbus andAtlanta shopping with your girlfriends.”

She likes to have a group at hercabin.

“We call it Camp Canasta. We goon Friday night and spend Friday andSaturday night. We light a fire and eatjunk food. We have a big breakfast. It isa slumber party and we have a goodtime playing cards from 6 a.m. to mid-night. We watch a movie and eat pop-corn.”

She reiterates the importance ofgirlfriends. She has a Wednesday nightgroup, the “No Cooking Supper Club.”They visit different restaurants.

“We are an eclectic group and wecatch up on what’s going on,” she says.One of her biggest groups is her SundaySchool class.

“It is a caring class, with teams thattake quarterly responsibility for thosewho are sick and hospitalized. We bringfood and flowers when there is a deathin the family,” she says, adding that theclass has an impressive membership of70.

Her patriotism runs deep. She getsa lump in her throat when she sees amarching band.

“The apathy of young people andlack of respect for the flag and veter-ans” led her to found a high schoolscholarship. Each spring high schoolseniors have the opportunity to write apaper in 500 words or less about patri-otism. The papers are given to anEnglish teacher who turns blind copiesover to a committee. Prizes of $1,000,$750, $500 and $100 are awarded forthe best entries.

“It is interesting to read the

approach of each child,” she says. “Itcould be a foreign student who hasmoved to the United States and appreci-ates it here. The money can go for col-lege, clothes or a car.”

The response from parents is won-derful.

“They thank me for making theirchild think about patriotism and citizen-ship and a lot of respect comes fromthat.”

Her husband was civic minded.“So was I. My father was gener-

ous,” she says. “I just feel so fortunatewith my life. Hard luck falls on every-one at some time.”

One of Pope’s favorite mementos is a portraitof her family with the Carters on the porch

of their shared mountain cottage.

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AMERICUS — Heather Cross Stanley,managing director of the historicRylander Theatre in downtownAmericus, compares preparing for herpresent job to that of an athlete trainingfor the Olympics. She’s been rehearsingfor the stellar role all her life.

“I love my work – I always enjoysaying there aren’t many people whohave an entire theater for their office,”said Stanley who observes three years atthe Rylander in the fall.

The theater is all Stanley has everknown – a love affair that actuallybegan when she was no more than atoddler growing up in adjoining LeeCounty. With a naturally outgoing per-sonality, she is not reluctant about step-ping up to a challenge.

At age four, she walked intoAlbany Christian Church with her par-ents, Darrell and Ranan Cross – thefamily’s first time to visit – while arehearsal for a musical was in progress.

“I went right up on stage andjoined the cast,” said Stanley. “The per-forming arts are an area that I havebeen interested in and loved all my life.”

The love affair became more ardentwhen she was seven and her motherenrolled her in the summer dramaworkshops offered by Theatre Albany,the city’s community theater organiza-tion.

“I participated every year from ageseven to 14 and then in 2001 actuallyconducted them,” said Stanley.

“I’ve always known my career wasin theater. I had other outside interestsbut none this passionate,” she said.

Stanley attended Lee Countyschools from kindergarten through 12thgrade and was an honor student. Shewas very active in the high school’s the-ater and drama department – in fact theentire family got into the act. Her moth-er made costumes for shows and herfather helped work on the sets. She mether future husband Chris Stanley whenthey were both cast in “Annie Get YourGun” when she was a sophomore andhe was a senior. Fourteen years later –January 2010 – they married on theRylander Theatre stage, a few monthsafter she accepted her present position.

Graduating from high school withhonors, Stanley received a full theaterscholarship from Georgia College andState University in Milledgeville. Aftertwo and a half years she accepted aposition with the Dougherty Countyschool system to teach drama to kinder-garten through fifth-grade students. Shecontinued her education at theUniversity of Georgia, Athens, buttransferred to Valdosta State University(VSU), Valdosta, graduating with thebachelor of fine arts degree in theaterwith a technical emphasis.

As a senior Stanley had the starringrole in an original play written by VSUalumnae Deb Fordham, an Emmyaward-winning writer for the TV show“Scrubs.” Stanley said the play, named“Holler Me Home,” is about life in the

Okefenokee Swamp during the difficultdays of the Great Depression and isbased on the life of the playwright’sfamily.

“Deb wanted Randy Wheeler,Ph.D., someone she knew and trusted,to direct,” said Stanley. “The show’sdebut in Valdosta was a big success andafter the run, we went on the road toperform at the Out of the Loop Festivalin Addison, Texas, and enjoyed anothersuccess.”

Stanley worked for Peach StateSummer Theater based in Valdosta, aprofessional rotating repertory theater,where she co-created the Avastama PlayFestival with a friend, Marty Lynch.

“Avastama means discovery inEstonian and that is what we did. Weshowcased original, unpublished 10-minute plays by partnering with theValdosta community theater,” she said.“The festival was very well attendedand a successful venture that we wouldhave continued but I moved away.”

Graduating in December 2008, shewent back to the classroom to study fora high school teaching certificate butmid-way through the semester, she readan advertisement about the search for amanaging director at the RylanderTheatre and applied. The rest is history.

“I am so very, very happy I madethat decision to apply for the job andnaturally was thrilled when selected,”said Stanley. “I find my job rewarding,exciting, challenging, educational andwonderful. The connections I have made

FEATURE

Rylander Theatre’s

by Leila Sisson Case

I find my job rewarding,exciting, challenging,educational and wonderful...“

Heather Cross Stanley


in the community and theopportunities to work withsome of the best people aregreat. I am so impressed withhow hard everyone works tohelp keep this city thriving –from the City staff to theAmericus-Sumter Chamber ofCommerce and all the manydifferent groups and organi-zations who come together towork for the betterment ofAmericus and SumterCounty.”

Stanley described the his-toric Rylander Theatre as,“My 91-year-old toddler – itleaks and constantly cries,but it’s my job to see that it’staken care of properly. I feelvery protective of the build-ing itself and its history.Luckily I receive a lot ofpreservation advice fromMolly Fortune, the directorof restoration at the FoxTheater Institute in Atlanta.”

The Americus Theaterand Cultural Authority, thegoverning body of theRylander, is affiliated with

the Fox Theater Institute – aprogram that offers small his-toric theaters in Georgia likethe Rylander help in all areasof theater operation at nocharge.

Stanley answers to theAuthority’s board of direc-tors and laughingly says shehas nine bosses. She worksclosely with the Friends ofthe Rylander directors, thefundraising body, to developan annual presenter’s season– four or five productionsthat are typically professionaltouring companies. She is amember of the Georgia pre-senters (a part of the FoxTheatre Institute) which pro-motes block booking.

“Block booking occurswhen three or more theatersin the same state book thesame play in a given time,”said Stanley. “The cost of theproduction is significantlyreduced so we can get higherquality performances at amore reasonable rate.”

Through the Rylander’s

affiliation with the FoxTheatre Institute Stanley waspart of a special U.S. delega-tion to the annual ContactEast conference inAntigonish, Canada, inSeptember 2010, for a weekof drama showcases and pro-fessional development.

“I received a full schol-arship (all expenses coveredat no cost to the Rylander)from the Canadian ArtsCouncil,” said Stanley.

There were less than 15U.S. presenters representedand she was one of two fromGeorgia in the group withNorth Carolina presenters.During these showcases,artists perform a sample oftheir act in 30-minute seg-ments. As a result, theRylander hosted “AChristmas Carol” lastNovember.

“As soon as I sawJeremy Webb’s showcase Iknew he was someone Iwanted to bring to theRylander,” said Stanley.

“Once I returned home, Ipitched his production to myGeorgia presenter’s col-leagues. A U.S. tour was thenformed in conjunction withthe North Carolina presen-ters. I might never havefound such talented perform-ers had I not been given theopportunity to go to ContactEast.”

The Friends’ secondannual gala this pastJanuary, “Sons of Sailors,” aJimmy Buffett musical tributewas a big success and drewmore than 400 theaterpatrons from a wide area ofsouthwest Georgia.

The Friends’ final seasonpresentation was “Drinkin’Singin’ Swingin,” on March31.

Stanley said, “This is atribute to Frank Sinatra,Sammy Davis Jr. and DeanMartin and straight from theLas Vegas strip. The showpays homage to the iconicsingers, the originals kings ofcool. They banter back and


forth; they discuss what Frankie, Sammyand Dino would say about pop culturetoday and promise to have the audience,at the very least, singing and swingin’ intheir seats.”

Months ago Stanley began workingon the Friends’ 2012-2013 season, fivelive performances and one movie series,which should be booked by the end ofspring and announced. Stanley hasalready booked the 2013 annual gala,“Masters of Motown,” for Saturday,Jan. 12, 2013.

“The sextet of singers, three menand three women, with a back-up bandwill perform all Motown favorites likethose made famous by the Supremesand the Temptations and othersgroups,” said Stanley.

Planning, coordinating and present-ing the Friends’ 2011 gala “AlmostElton John” was Stanley’s first experi-ence in essentially putting together anevent of this magnitude.

“It stands out as my most excitingexperience since I’ve been at theRylander and it was a wonderful suc-cess,” said Stanley. “The house waspacked and everyone had a fabuloustime.”

Presenting shows are just part ofher responsibilities. She constantly dealswith issues with the aging building.

“Learning the quirks of the build-ing and staying on top of them – fromthe leaky roof to bats slipping inthrough minuscule cracks – are issuesthat we work with every day,” she said.

Stanley said, “My main goal is toexpose everyone in the community tothe performing arts in some fashion. Ilove it when I overhear children’s com-ments such as, ‘I performed on thatstage at my dance recital’ or see thosehere for the first time stand in awe ofthe beauty of this place. It makes mefeel good to be a part of introducinganother generation to the performingarts and know that we are helping tocultivate thoughtful and well-roundedstudents.”

She continually strives toward mak-ing the Rylander’s presence known on astate level and to be an economic driverin the community. According to the the-ater’s records, more than 14,000patrons attended a show or event duringFY 2010-2011.

The Rylander Theatre partners withSumter Players, the community theater

organization, and serves as venue for itsfour annual productions as well as thetwo shows presented by GeorgiaSouthwestern State University’s dramat-ic arts department.

She also manages the full-time staffof four: Brenda Burns, administrativeassistant; Lane Marchant, technicaldirector; Will Dozier, box office manag-er; Juana Steele, custodian and from fiveto 10 interns, depending on how manyare needed to handle a show.

The hands-on attitude Stanley takesin handling her wide range of dutiesfrom building maintenance to difficultshow agents and sometimes finicky per-formers is resulting in a standing ova-tion for the stellar job performance she’sbeen rehearsing for a lifetime.



ANDERSONVILLE — The old ruggedcross shines hope over the pews in theold 40-mule barn tucked away on anold plantation near Andersonville. It isan enormous focal point anchored safelyin the rafters above the stage inSouthwest Georgia’s premier gospel per-formance venue.

According to Paul Hall, getting itup there took help from God’s hand –and many others. A ladder leading tothe loft level looks frail against the bat-tered wood, some that was alreadyancient when The Barn was constructedin 1910.

The symbolism in this cross is asweighty as its behemoth 11-foot, eight-inch wood frame. The 400-pound framewas craned into the loft at thefront of the building andthen carried over the pre-carious jigsaw puzzle of aplywood path to the rearof the building. C.L. Parkerand Dr. Jim Herron helpedHall create the plans andfind the wood and stainedglass for the 400-poundcross. It took eight men tomove the metal-reinforcedframe to the rear of the loft.

Hall insisted oninstalling the glass after theancient wood was bolted intothe place of honor. The yel-low and green panes weredonated to Hall by the Mount Carmeldeacons when the church was demol-ished in 1995. The glass was the onlything that could be salvaged from theAndersonville church which was built in1850. The heart pine two by eightsforming the frame were salvaged by afriend of Hall’s from a church con-structed in 1890, near Eufaula, Ala.Hall found the shining red pane at theheart of the cross at a glass shop inAmericus.

“When you summarize, you havestained glass from a church built in1850, timbers from a church built in

1890, puttogether by aretired physi-cian, in a barnthat was builtin 1910,” hesays.

It brings tomind the ques-tion of howmany souls

have worshiped in the presence of thewood and glass salvaged from ages ago.

Hall’s description of the theatricunveiling of the cross is magical. Usingfishing line, he rigged up a black veilthat was whisked away as the cross waslit for the first time. You can picture it:the awe that must have crossed everyface in The Barn.

“Whatever we do, we can do itunder the cross,” Hall said at the unveil-ing.

With only the storm-filtered earlyMarch light washing in from anotherpanel of the salvaged stained glass, thecross bathed rows of pews in a spectral

glow. The blowing rain sounded like achorus of angels thanking Hall forbrightening up the afternoon.

The gospel singer with the musicalname lights up much like the cross whenhe talks about all the people who madeThe Barn what it is today. A comfort-able place to share SweetwaterMinistry’s love for the deep roots ofsouthern gospel music.

Hall’s touch is on every singleboard and beam in the 50’ x 80’ mulebarn. He has virtually disassembled,cleaned and restored every board insight. And a few that were not. Heproudly points out a zig-zag of darknesson the glowing pine by the entrance.The grime was hidden by an old stair-case and stands as testimony to theback-breaking work of extracting aplace of worship from a mule barn.

The plantation-grown lumber wascalled into service in the early 1900swhen the pines it was milled from hadalready been dancing under SouthwestGeorgia skies for over 100 years.

The 19-inch planks were milled on

by Camille Bielby

FEATURE

Forty mule music


The Barn, Southwest Georgia’spremier southern gospel per-formance venue, is located off

Ga. Highway 49 nearAndersonville.

{ The barn }

Hall recounts a misunderstanding with

Ernie Dawson of the eight halls in his

Daddy’s four-room house.

site and knot patterns revealthat many planks were har-vested from single trees. Bigtrees. Big barn.

With the rainstormreverberating on the tin roof,it is easy to appreciate TheBarn’s modern amenities.

“We used to have tospread plastic out over thepews after each perform-ance,” Hall says.

He points to the new tinin the shadows of the raftersthat seems to be keeping thebeat with the voices of thegospel singers coming fromThe Barn’s massive speakers.

“We went through andcut out each rotten rafter byhand. We kept it open,” hesays and shows where a newseating loft will soon rise upfor an even more amazingview of the stage. “Theacoustics up there are won-derful.”

Where 40 mules oncerecovered from a gruelingday under the blazing south-

ern sun, 250 people gather tohear some of the best gospelgroups in the South. Hallsaves room in the schedulefor a few local performerseach year, but brings in well-known names nearly everymonth.

The eclectic collection ofpews donated by churchesupgrading their sanctuariesmakes you wonder howmany people have worshipedin those seats before theywere brought into The Barn’sministry.

The size of a plantationwas often gauged by howmany mules were required tosow and reap the crops. A20-mule team farm produceda significant tonnage of cot-ton in the days before com-bines. Caring for and feeding40 mules was serious busi-ness. And more back-break-ing labor.

A massive hay hook issuspended from a monorailextending the length of The

Barn. The hook was pulledalong the rail by ropes, out-side the building anddropped down to the haywagon. It would trip itself toclutch up a massive pile ofhay in its reaching claws. Itwas pulled up and back intothe loft to feed 40 hungrymules a day.

The hay trough extendedalong a wall that is now aphoto gallery. Trying toretain as much of the build-ing’s original character aspossible, Hall was workingto shore up the trough’sframework when the wholestructure came tumblingdown.

A doorway leads fromthe cathedral into the barn’sold feed room. It serves as acharming dining hall andkitchen. He carved through aconcrete wall so that guestsdo not have to step over aknee-high threshold to enjoyrefreshments.

The Last Supper print

that hung in Hall’s familyhome now holds pride ofplace at the end of the fami-ly-style dining table. The feedroom ceiling is made fromroofing tin salvaged from themain house.

A leaded-glass windowand door overlook the tran-quil pecan grove drinking upthe early spring rain. An oddassortment of solid-wooddoors is interspersed amongthe planks of barn wood lin-ing the interior of the feedroom. Ladies offer refresh-ments like pimento cheesesandwiches, chili, hamburg-ers, hot-dogs, cookies andcakes to raise funds toimprove the kitchen.

The home was built byRobert Hodges who suppliedCapt. Henry Wirz with pro-duce from the plantation tofeed the prisoners down theroad at Andersonville. Hallencourages learning aboutthe story from PeggySheppard’s book on


Andersonville. Documentsbring Wirz’ impossible strug-gle to provide for the Unionprisoners of war to life.

As the barn full of mulestoiled to nourish the captives,so Sweetwater Ministriesnow uses the building to feedthe spirit of southern gospellovers.

“Mr. Hodges was a cir-cuit preacher,” Hall says.“That’s how he ended uphere. He was an educatedman in his day. He was whatwas called an inferior judge,which meant he managedthings like county road work.He was a talented man.”

Remodeling and renova-tion of The Barn began eightyears ago this comingDecember.

“I came out here oneChristmas Day,” Hall recalls.“It was in pretty bad shape.There were no doors. Thewall was open. It was late inthe afternoon. The sun haddropped into the West andwas shining on all the junkpiled in here. And it hit me.‘This was the place.’”

Hall performed with agospel group calledSweetwater along with ElaineHargrove and JohnnyDaniels. They traveled onweekends and performed allover South Georgia. TheLudowici native was in aboy’s quartet at the FirstBaptist Church. He wassteeped in southern gospeland music from a very youngage. His father played har-monica and called squaredancing.

“We used to go toWaycross for all-night sings,”Hall remembers. “You wouldget there before the sun wentdown and didn’t leave untilthe sun came up.”

Like Hodges on his cir-cuit, the members ofSweetwater were constantlytraveling for their ministry.

“The spouses were sup-portive and sacrificed familytime,” Hall says.

When he moved toAndersonville in 1965, Hall

started attending church atSalem United Methodist. Hestill teaches Sunday Schoolthere. He sang with a groupcalled Salem Heirs.

“It just took off for us,”he says. “That’s how we gotinto the singing business.”

Hall wants the old mulebarn to be a shining light tothe community.

“When it comes to thebest in southern gospel, themost noted groups come toThe Barn,” he says, pointingout the different groupswhose autographed photo-graphs line up on the gleam-ing plank wall.

The smiling faces ofGold City, Palmetto StateQuartet, Living Waters, Fivefor One, Cleghorns, ToomeyFamily, Dixie Echoes, DoveBrothers, Heirline and ErnieDawson hang above a bankof pews beside the flag thatdraped Hall’s father’s casket.Two more flags flank thecross shining overheadbehind a manger.

“The Barn does anexcellent job preparing forthe singings. They are justreally professional people,”says Sidney Jones of the BandFive for One. “Being in thegospel music ministry is ablessing. It is very rewardingto be able to share yourbeliefs about what you thinkGod is and who He is toyou.”

Jones believes thatsouthern gospel’s enduringpopularity is “because mostof the people that we knowwere raised up in church. Itjust takes you back to grow-ing up and coming to yourfaith. It takes you back thereand keeps you in touch withwho Jesus really is.”

Jones’ father is aSouthern Baptist minister anda gifted vocalist and likeHall, Jones grew up singingin the choir. Five for One hasbeen performing old gospelfavorites for 18 years. Jonesand his band mates, MarkPeavy, Vernon Kirksey,Charles Jones and Gary


The 400-lb. cross has stained glass from a church built in 1850,timbers from a church built in 1890, and was put together by a

retired physician in a barn that was built in 1910.

The wall of fame hangs where a hay trough fed 40 mules every day.

Mixon, have a large local fol-lowing that filled up TheBarn with their two perform-ances.

Performances are held at7 p.m. every secondSaturday. Hall climbed downfrom a ladder where he wasworking on signs for anupcoming Ernie Dawsonappearance. Programs forupcoming shows are artfullypinned inside the lightedwooden showcase that greetsvisitors at the double-glassfront door. Larry Stanleybuilt it from old barn wood.

“We had it outside butthe wind got it and blew itover on the concrete,” Hallsays. “We replaced it withPlexiglas.”

Hall was joking withErnie Dawson in the middleof a sing “about being poor.He talks real slow. He’s fromTennessee. I told him myDaddy built a house withfour rooms and eight halls.You could tell it puzzledhim.”

His eyes sparkle as hetells about sitting at the tableafter the sing and telling him,‘Ernie, you acted like youwere dumbfounded.’ He toldme ‘I thought you said hogs.I wondered why your Daddyhad hogs in the house.”

Hall walks around witha broom showing the framedneedlepoint work minglingwith a collection of art work.The focal point of the gallerywall is a gilt-framed light-house that is reminiscent ofone of his favorite gospelsongs. But the most cherishedis a photograph of his grand-son in the foreground point-ing to a red barn, dreamilyout of focus in the distance.

Hall’s son worked withhim to clear out all the junk.

“We had been workingon it for about a year when Iknocked down against thebase of this post and hitrock,” he says.

He shows how heknocked down against a sup-port beam with a shovel andrealized it was vintage mule

manure caked down for whatturned out to be several feet.His son helped dig it all outover four and a half days.They put down sand and haystubble and set out benchesand folding chairs for thefirst sing.

“We had a group out ofTexas: Men of Music. Theygot in some good singing andpeople got to moving and thebenches got to rocking on thesand and the folding chairsstarted sliding,” Hall chuck-les.

“The first winter youcould look out through thetin – hot air going out – nodoors. People were brave inthat time. They would dressheavy. The spirit was great,”he says.

The blankets Hargrovehas draped over the backpew are still welcome on acold winter night. Hall runs ashop heater, but it is tooloud to run during a sing.

“Elaine is good at com-ing up with stuff like theblankets. She handles all thebooking,” he says.

He gestures along theopposite wall draped inheavy garnet folds. “

The Lord has blessedus,” he says. “He has led usthrough and has providedalong the way. It is not fin-ished. I want to go down thiswall with a series of stainedglass windows. I have theglass. I just need to put it alltogether.”

“One night at the end ofa singing, I asked for volun-teers. A couple walked upand asked what they coulddo to help. I told them wewanted to put up doors.They said ‘What aboutMonday?’”

That’s how he met aMichigan couple who werein town helping with theaftermath of the tornado.

“Every time they comedown, they are a big help,”he says. “It takes two peopleto hold and nail a board.

“The Lord has His handin it. People want to help



with a good cause.”Elaine Hargrove went

down to “Kevin Crook’s andthey got to talking aboutconcrete sealer. A young manwho works for the companywas there. He told her topick out the color you wantand tell him much how weneed. The company willdonate it to The Barn. Afterthe next singing we will putit down.”

Hall is proud of thegood people who haveworked hard on the buildingand the ministry.

“Elaine Hargrove hasbeen here since day one,” hesays. “The ladies from thechurches donate meals tofeed the men out here onwork days. Faye Herrin,Barbara Fore, Grady andShirley Bell, Carol and JimWilkerson and so many oth-ers have donated so much tomake all this.”

Hall feels fortunate to bea part of it. He came toAndersonville to work for

American Cyanamid when hecompleted his civil engineer-ing degree at Southern Tech.

“They planned to buildPlant Five and sent me toArkansas to learn thatplant,” he says.

He was there for twoyears when he got an offer tocome back and start the newMulcoa operation.

“I was out there longenough to meet my wife,”Hall smiled. “I like to teaseher that she followed me toGeorgia.”

Jeannie taught school afew years before stayinghome with their two sons.Hall has worked for Mulcoafor 42 years.

“We always go outsideto have a prayer before asinging. One night, it startedraining. A state patrolmanbrought out umbrellas. Oneof the singers, Cornbread,was a big guy,” Hall gesturestall and wide. “Cornbreadopens up one of those littleumbrellas and pulls me up

under there with him, rightunder the stream. I said,‘man, are you trying todrown me here?’”

In the summer, it takes alot to keep the Bahia grassmowed.

“You want to present asbest as you can when youhave company coming,” hesays.

The best thing about itfor Hall is “seeing the satis-faction people get out ofcoming to The Barn andlearning that some people’sspiritual needs are beingmet.”

He remembers when hisgood friend fromAndersonville, Jack Teaselywas hooking up the stagelights as the first bus ofsingers was pulling in.

“That’s how close wewere cutting it.”

His favorite gospel songis “Midnight Cry” by GoldCity. He enjoys performing“I’ll Take Jesus” which waswritten by Randy Shellnut of

the Dixie Echoes.“I am a firm believer in

what the Bible says aboutthose who are given much,”he says. “Much is expected.The Lord blessed me. It isright to be involved in this,to give something back. Thereal workers are the volun-teers and supporters.Without them, it wouldn’thave been possible.

“If you get your lostfriends here, they will hearsome gospel before theyleave. It is not just entertain-ment. That is a big part of it,but it is not the purpose. TheBarn doors are always openfor anyone who wants tocome and find some peaceand joy.”

Visit SweetwaterMinistries’ website atwww.sweetwatergospelbarn.com to learn about upcomingsouthern gospel performanc-es.

• • •

AMERICUS — New Jersey nativeJanice Siders took a circuitous path toend up in Americus, Ga., and the storyof her journey is a compelling one.Standing tall at her desk at GeorgiaSouthwestern State University where sheis director of Human Resources, Sidersis an impressive figure whose walk bare-ly hints of a condition that is about torequire complicated foot surgery and anextended period of healing. She hardlymentions it. Instead she talks about thejourney from there – New Jersey, tohere – Americus, about opportunitiesthat she latched onto, about the chal-lenges of a young black woman pos-sessed of a fierce determination to makea better life – and of her determinationto pass that on to her children.

Born and raised in Newark, N.J.,she was, she says, born to be a teacher.“In our family, it was understood Iwould go to college,” she says.

Neither parent finished high school,and college was important to them.Despite his lack of formal education,her father was an avid reader, and shecredits this attribute with her own loveof reading. If she had to pick a rolemodel, however, it would be her moth-er.

“My mom worked hard and raisedthree daughters as a single parent,”Siders says.

Her parents divorced when she wasin junior high, but her mother, who hadcome from a strong family, inheritedthat strength, and became a propertyowner, in addition to working in a chal-lenging job as supervisor of food servic-es at the county hospital.

“All three of her daughters,” Siderssays of her mother, “and most of hergrandchildren, are college-educated.”

A graduate of Rutgers, The StateUniversity in New Jersey, Siders alsoachieved credits from AmericanInternational University as she preparedherself for a career in teaching. Whenasked if her college career led herstraight to Americus, she laughed.

“Oh no! Lots of other careers!” shesays.

She started teaching high schoolEnglish, then middle school English andhistory. Following that, she became astaff writer for the New York TimesInformation Service. Leaving that posi-tion, she took a job with Prudential as acontract drafter for the AssetManagement Co. That was followed bypositions with PAMCO and PrudentialHealth Care; then she came to Atlantaas the Regional administrative managerfor Prudential Capital. She didn’t knowit then, but she was working her way toAmericus.

Siders took a position as HumanResources manager for Textron andthen Collins & Aikman, where shestayed six years. The Human Resourcesposition at Georgia Southwesternbecame open, and she has been in thisposition for almost seven years. It fitsher. She moves with ease throughout theuniversity community, and has madefriends outside the ivy walls. An avidtennis player, she is active in that com-munity, and boasts many friends withwhom she plays. In the HR office,Siders supervises two employees andusually has two or three student interns.

“Everywhere I’ve worked,” Siderssays, “I’ve been on Boards – fromMinority Interchange, to the PrudentialFoundation, to the Red Cross, UnitedWay, Girl Scouts, the Technical College,the Chamber of Commerce,” and shehas served as mentor to several students.She is on the Strategic PlanningCommittee for the USGHRA (Universityof Georgia Human ResourcesAssociation) and the planning commit-tee for their two annual conferences.

“I believe it is incumbent upon thehead of HR to get involved,” she says.“It encourages other employees to dothe same, and it gets the employer’sname out in the community.”

An avid sportswoman, Sidersattends most sports events, especiallythe tennis matches. She works out on

camps at least three times a week (evenwith a bum foot) and she is now thetennis official for GSW’s home matches.

This woman never stops. And, sheencourages her employees to take careof themselves, to use the gym and otherfacilities for personal improvement. Sheis, obviously, a good “boss.”

Siders does have interests outsidethe university community. An avid read-er, she takes her Nook tablet with hereverywhere she goes – everywhere. Shereads when she has five or 10 minutes,whether it’s in the doctor’s office or thegrocery store check-out line.

“The Nook,” she says, “ is my bestfriend!”

She has traveled extensively withher adult children and other familymembers. They have been to Rome,London, Paris, Brazil; they have cruised

by Joni Woolf

FEATURE

The reinventions ofJanice Siders

Known for her gregariousnature, Janice Siders

smiles towards visitors asshe greets them on the

steps of the WheatlyAdministration Building.


the Mediterranean, the Caribbean(Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Bahamas),Mexico, and have been to China. Thisyear they are taking the children on aDisney cruise. Because her primary fam-ily is back in New Jersey, she helps cre-ate these special times so they can all betogether. Her two daughters and hergrandchildren – a girl, 7, and a boy, 10– are obviously a big part of her life,and they are all there for each other.The family connection is a strong one,and they work to keep it that way.Yet, life alone, away from family, hasadvantages.

“I work a 24-hour day, it seems,”she says. “When I leave here, oftenbetween 7 and 9 p.m., I hop on mycomputer at home to keep on top ofwork-related e-mails.”

Siders is never far away from uni-versity life, except for those briefrespites with family when they get far,far away. She is totally enmeshed in lifeon campus.

“Each semester, we hire two orthree students to work in our office andI spend time working with kids who aremajoring in HR management,” she says.“ ... Our students are sharp and we areso proud of them, because when theyleave here, they do really well. All ofour interns have gotten really good jobsand really make an impression on theirsupervisors.”

The woman is committed.When asked how she gets through

life’s difficulties, i.e., what sustains her,Siders has an unusual answer.

“I try tolook beyondwhat’s causingthe challengeor issue. I callit ‘projecting.’If somethingunpleasant issupposed tohappen on the13th (like hersurgery thatwas scheduledfor Feb. 13) Ithink aboutwhat thingswill be like onApril 13.Hopefully I’llbe back on myfeet andhealed.”

She contin-ued: “When

my kids were little I taught them what Icall ‘hypnosis’ when they had a baddream. I would have them recite all ofthe stuff they loved until they driftedback to sleep: ice cream, candy, birth-day parties, tap shoes, puppies, presents... It always worked and now they’reteaching it to their kids.”

Siders had a serious health scaretwo years ago, when a malignant tumorwas discovered in her stomach, with theexpectation that most or all of the stom-ach would be removed.

“I was so scared, especially becauseI was going to have go through the sur-gery alone,” she says. “But somehowmy faith kicked in and I truly believedeverything would be all right and itwas.”

The doctors, she says, used a radi-cal new procedure that left the stomachintact.

“Sometimes,” Siders says, “the onlything keeps you going is faith.”

If she had it all to do over?“I would still study education,” she

says. “I guess I’m just a teacher atheart.”

She tells stories of her two favoriteteachers: one was Mr. Lassiter, herfourth-grade teacher. She cried so hardupon leaving that she was allowed torepeat fourth grade; another was Mr.Hunt, her English teacher for two yearsduring high school. Mr. Huntloved Shakespeare so much he had par-ties for his students on Shakespeare’sbirthday; they would re-create theirfamily shield, and dress as some

Shakespearean character for this specialoccasion. Her stories underscore theimportance of having a few really mem-orable teachers throughout primary andsecondary education – a fact that is notlost on Janice Siders – the perpetualteacher.

In Siders’ office is the winter issueof a magazine called “Insight intoDiversity” and its lead story by JoeSantana has this pulled quote from“The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention”by Pamela Mitchell: “One job may notfully utilize all you have to offer ordevelop all aspects of your talent and/ornetwork. The answer is having a portfo-lio career comprised of more than onerole which you create for yourself viavarious combinations of your skills andbodies of knowledge.”

Looking at Janice Siders’ multiplecareers, as well as her contributions tothe community where she lives, onemight say she was the role model forMs. Mitchell, and her reinventions havepaid big dividends not only to herself,but to the communities that have beenfortunate to have her expertise. She is agift not only to GSW; she is a gift to thelarger community and to all who arefortunate to come into her presence.One might even hope that this career atGSW becomes Siders’ ultimate reinven-tion, and that she saved the best for last.


Janice Siders poses beside themarker that identifieds theGeorgia Southwestern StateUniversity WheatleyAdministration Building, wherethe Human ResourcesDepartment is located.

Janice Siders at her desk inthe Human Resources office.



AMERICUS — It is the kind of success sto-ries most communities only dream of. Thekind Americus likes to boast of.Rightly so.

When local businessman Bill Harris vis-ited Guatemala on a Habitat for HumanityGlobal Village trip, he came back with anidea brewed in philanthropic philosophy.

Harris was on a team that built a housefor a small-scale coffee farmer – a campesino– that encroached on the growing area of asingle plant.

“At the time we were heading into acoffee crisis,” said Tripp Pomeroy.Pomeroy is co-owner of Café Campesino andCommunity Roasters Importers.

“Cents were being paid for a pound ofcoffee,” he says.

Harris found that the Fair Trade busi-ness model had been around since the 1940s,was successful in Europe, and was beginningto gain traction in the United States.

Coffee is traded on the commodity sys-tem, meaning the conditions and expense ofgrowing coffee have little to no influence onpricing. The Fair Trade model takes theGolden Rule approach.Fair Trade is more than a stamp of approval.Harris found the concept of making a con-scious choice to care about and act on morethan a low price or modern convenience con-sistent with his personal beliefs. Connectingdirectly to coffee growers helped Harris learnabout the many factors involved in the grow-ing and import process. His entrepreneurialspirit and analytical experience led him totest the concept by importing a single con-tainer of coffee.

The crop-to-cup process has manyimplications for the environment, the eco-nomic conditions and social justice systemsof the world. Harris realized that a communi-ty’s daily consumption habits could help raisea family out of poverty, add years to the lifeof a farmer, help educate children and buildinfrastructure in disadvantaged communities.

Pomeroy explained that “the vastmajority of coffee farmers live on less than10 acres – many of those on three to fiveacres. A small landholder can’t make enoughmoney to live on” with prices set by the com-modity market.

Coffee prices are set in New York Citybased on global supply and demand. Thegrowers are separated from the buyers by thestructure of trade. Harris discovered that“individual farmers produce about five sacksof coffee per year. A single grower can’t fill a40,000-pound container,” Pomeroyexplained. “With the cooperative business

model, we can get 50 farmers and fill a con-tainer.”

Walking around the coffee house andthe roastery, he explains, “The farmers canvote and own into something bigger, whichoffers expertise and better practices. Thefarmers have their own identity for their cof-fee, while everyone has a stake in the busi-ness. It only works with buyers who buy intoethical partnerships.”

According to Pomeroy, “Bill came upwith an innovation that makes us differentfrom a lot of the roasters in the U.S. A hun-dred thousand pounds will fill 12 containers.A co-op of roasters can each buy less than acontainer.”

The concept of pooling demand to fillcontainers led to the establishment ofCooperative Coffees. Café Campesino is oneof the roasteries in the import co-op.Cooperative Coffees imports $10 to $12 mil-lion in coffee each year through a 24-member

co-op.“Win-Win partnerships built on long

term relationships deliver a more equitableopportunity for small scale farmers,”Pomeroy says.

Pomeroy insists “That’s why it works.We are not slick. Our first priority is the cof-fee farmer.”

What makes Cooperative Coffees andCafé Campesino different are the long-term,close, friendly and mutually beneficial tradingrelationships at retail, import and growinglevels.

“We teach financial literacy to all of ourstaff,” Pomeroy says. “Staff understands theirrole and can connect profit and loss balanceswith cash flow. They understand financialleadership and decision making.”

When the time came for expansion,Pomeroy and Harris turned to Americus’diehard coffee drinkers and entrepreneurs.

“The intent was expansion funding, butthe real result solidified us as a communitycoffee partner. Instead of competing, we area partner,” he says.

Pomeroy gives the example of Pat’sPlace providing box lunches for the SAMShortline Excursion train riders.

“It is the whole local principle,” he says.“Our coffee comes from great people whoare truly dedicated to making the world abetter place.”

He says the partners are more interestedin community identity than brand and imagebuilding.

“We end up on top when the farmershave a good year,” he says. “If we have lessthan a good year, they still have a good year.Ideally, we both have a good year.”

Café Campesino has had a loyal onlinecustomer following for over eight years.

“Visiting trading partners, interactingwith customers, and connecting drinkers withpartners in Mexico” is what CooperativeCoffees is all about, according to Pomeroy.“The reason that it works is that Americus isunusual. It has a lot of good people who getthe golden rule.”

Pomeroy and his staff live by the philos-ophy of “it’s fun – that’s what life is sup-posed to be.”

Pomeroy and Harris understand thatthey “are impacting a lot of farmers. It is nothuge, but it is a positive impact and makes adent in the universe. This is what one mancan do. What began as a trip to Guatemalamade a dent in the world.”

Pomeroy grew up in D.C. and went tocollege in Boston and came to Americus in1989, as a Habitat for Humanity volunteer.

FEATURERoasted with the Golden Ruleby Camille Bielby

Nema Etheridge and Tripp Pomeroy after asuccessful tour on a windy Americus morning.

He bartended at the Courthouse and got tobe friends with Bill’s brother, Lee Harris.

He introduces production managerNancy Aparicio and production assistantMarco Del Paz in the roastery.

“Bill and I hit it off,” he says. “Wetalked; we see eye to eye on being nice topeople. It makes it so everything works.”

He rattles off questions and instructionsin fluid Spanish before rushing off to his nextappointment.

Nema Etheridge explains the busyschedules Harris and Pomeroy keep. Afterall, there’s more to the business than thequaint coffee house on Spring Street.Etheridge came to Café Campesino by way ofGoogle.

That is, she Googled “Fair Trade” andthe Americus coffee partnership came up. Shesent an e-mail that said “I want to work foryou.”

The Sales and Marketing manager wentto Guatemala last March.

“I had been to Latin American coun-tries, but I had never met coffee farmers.They welcomed us into their homes and weate at their tables. They shared their successesand the challenges of working as coffee farm-ers,” she says.

These relationships are the foundationof Cooperative Coffees’ success.

“Some of the meetings were very power-ful. It is justice for the growers to know whois purchasing their coffee,” she says betweenanswering questions and organizing an event.

Everybody here wears many hats andswitches them on the turn of a dime. CaféCampesino offers “cuppings” of the recipesat 11 a.m. each Friday as part of the qualitycontrol process.

“We make sure each blend’s recipe livesup to its profile,” Etheridge explains.

The atmosphere was a little less chargedoutside at a picnic table under a shade treeby a dog pen. Lee Pinnell played chess withhis eight-year-old daughter Sam, while five-year-old Shaw played with the dogs.

The Pinnells filled in missing pawnswith roasted and raw coffee beans. The windadded to the challenge, shuffling the beansabout the board. Sam was not always inagreement with her dad’s replacement on thesquares. “

We come here every Wednesday when Ipick them up from school,” Lee says.

The Pinnells enjoy smoothies and hotchocolate when he is off from his job atClinic Drug Store.

A busy Friday morning found the staffhustling to serve locals a good start to theirday. Everyone chipped in to prepare a hos-pitable welcome for a bus load of visitorscoming for a tour of the roastery. Customerslingered around the tables and sofas usingthe coffee house’s Wi-Fi and catching up onlocal news. Customers stopped off to pick upbags of coffee and enjoyed a cup on the patiowhile waiting for the roastery staff to prepareeach order.

Etheridge and Aparicio restocked mer-chandise displays and set up the roastery for

coffee tasting and bean comparisons. Theybrought out a box of extra hair nets to addto the collection of Café Campesino capshanging on the wall by the roastery door.Pomeroy and Etheridge greeted about 50guests from the Georgia Organics Conferenceheld in Columbus. The organic farmers filledthe retail area of the coffee shop and gath-ered around the roastery.

Carla Linkous and daughters Liza andMolly Linkous-Stewart attend the conferenceeach year as a mini-vacation. Linkous wentto school at Georgia Southwestern. She grad-uated in 1995 with her bachelor’s and in1996 with her master’s.

“It is sort of like coming home,” shesays.

Linkous is involved in a farm-to-schoolprogram. Eight-year-old Molly said the fami-ly is from the Piedmont Region. Six-year-oldLiza smiles shyly as her mother narrowed itdown to Decatur, Ga.

“We drink it all the time,” she says.The Linkous-Stewarts buy Café Campesinoroasts at a Decatur Farmers Market booth.She has not yet visited the new location atthe Sweet Auburn Market in downtownAtlanta. The girls listened attentively toPomeroy’s presentation on organic coffeegrowers with an alertness more often seenexhibited for a video game.

The bus tour included lunch atKoinonia, a Christian farm community thatshares a life of prayer, work, study, serviceand fellowship. Pomeroy noted that CaféCampesino was born from Koinonia andHabitat for Humanity International. Heintroduced his presentation by screening anews report aired recently in Columbus. Thetelevision feature concentrated on CaféCampesino’s commitment to Fair Trade.

Bill Harris appears on screen explaining“Our intention is when we first buy fromthem, we will always buy from them. It cre-ates stability. We treat people overseas likewe would want to be treated.”

Harris hosts trips for his consumers “tomeet the farmers and learn who grows thebeans. From crop to cup, it cuts out the mid-

dle man. We love that kind of emphasis onhelping people.”

He echoes Pomeroy’s sentiment thattheir company uses “business to demonstratethat you can create good in the world whilebeing profitable.”

Pomeroy thanked the organic farmersfor taking time out of the conference for theday trip to Americus.

“It is an honor to talk to 50 people whoget it at the same time. It is pretty fun forus,” he gestures towards the staff.

“We were the weird guys down onSpring Street,” he says. “Now in 2012, thepeople of Americus get what we do. We areclimbing on the map mostly because of ourcommitment to Fair Trade. Americus is ahidden gem, a great city. Fifteen thousandpeople. It is full of wildly left and wildly rightand everything in the middle. It is a town ofpeople who get it.”

Organic growers nodded their heads inagreement over cups of coffee when he talkedof Café Campesino’s affinity toward GeorgiaOrganics.

“Georgia Organics was doing thisbefore organic was cool,” he says. “We likeunderdogs. You raised the bar a little in acountry where we have suffering because ofwhat we put in our bodies.”

Pomeroy fielded thoughtful questionsand explained that coffee cannot be grownhere. Coffee only thrives 10 to 17 degreesaround the equator.

“All of our coffee is organic from cropto cup, which was a huge change for coffeeproducers,” he says. “In a sense, they committo a lower yield and more work, but the mar-ket is willing to pay for it.”

Interest in the burlap coffee bagsbrought an intriguing story from Pomeroy.The bags are offered to consumers for a con-tribution that is used to fund local needs orneeds at the coffee’s origins.

We helped get reading glasses for coffeegrowers,” he says. “We have a large migrantpopulation here who needed heaters. TheMennonites asked us and we chipped in. Thebags are not recycled, but they are repur-posed.”

Pomeroy applauds Bill Harris, “anAmericus native and one of the most inspir-ing people I know. He had a brilliant ideathat began on a Global Village trip in 1998.At that time, a coffee plant yielded about apound of coffee that sold for 35 cents. Billwanted to connect those growers directly tothe consumers.”

And Harris’ idea was to do so using theprinciples of the golden rule: fair pricing,transparent business arrangements, environ-mental and financial sustainability.

“Coops are paying $3.80. They used toget $2.50,” he says.

The audience understands the equationfrom their own experience.

“The average grower farms two to 10acres. But most coffee is grown on five to sixacres which produces five to six bags – sever-al hundred pounds – a year.”

At harvest, the grower may have a

...the people ofAmericus get whatwe do. We are

climbing on the mapmostly because ofour commitment toFair Trade. Americusis a hidden gem, a

great city.

“ “


three- to five-mile walk from a high ruralarea to take their bags to brokers. Savvy bro-kers charged what they pleased. The farmerhad to accept the broker’s price. It was toocostly to return home with coffee knowingthe likelihood that no better price wouldcome from another broker.

The only way to get coffee to the inter-national market is by 40,000-pound contain-ers. That’s 250 bags of coffee.

Pomeroy described how “small scalefarmer coops in Mexico helped neighbors filla container. Capacity was developed with thehelp of non-governmental organizations tofind international buyers for the coop. Wenow buy nine containers from a dozen coopswho each fill part of a container. The roast-ers pool demand to fill containers from smallscale coops on the principles of Fair Trade.”

When Harris and Pomeroy were readyto expand the import business, they identifiedsix coop roasters and built a local investmentpartnership.

“We now have 25 members from theYukon to Gainesville to Austin,” he says.“Worker-owned coops are doing business bythe golden rule to build long-term, sustain-able relationships.”Coffee prices are set on the commodityexchange.

“Direct relationships offer a way toprice coffee based on the farmers’ cost ofdoing business,” he says. “Trading directlywith the coop mitigates the risk to farmersand roasters through long-term, interdepend-ent relationships based on transparency.”

Price structures start with the U.S. stockreport, adjust for the fair trade premium, theorganic premium and a differential factor

that is based on the grower’s reputation. Thisbuilds the price the partner needs to pay thecoop in order to sustain its members.

But Fair Trade operates in the free mar-ket economy.

“If the middle man offers a lower price,it can affect the entire balance,” Pomeroysays. “You have to stay ahead of the localbrokers.”

The strength of the coop is that it paysfarmers enough to forestall the local broker’sability to take advantage of the growers.

“We choose the people we want towork with and test the relationships overtime,” he says.

When Cooperative Coffees considers anew grower coop, they visit the community,meet the leaders and take coffee back to testand sample.

“Members agree to support the farmerand commit to buying the coffee for a year,”Pomeroy said. “If it is successful, we continuepurchasing from them for six to 10 years.”

The shelf life of a bean is like any otherdry grain. It is good forever, but moisturedecreases over the course of a year. Ideallythe beans are sold in the first few monthsafter harvest. It takes 30 to 60 days fromharvest to import.

“Relationships are based on an under-standing of the origin, seeing the harvest andworking with others,” Pomeroy says. “Allorganic certified partners and processingfacilities face the yield challenge. Organicprocesses produce less than half the yield ofconventional methods.”

Pomeroy finds agreement from theorganic growers.

“It is an important conversation to

have,” he says. “You have to pay enough ofa premium to support transitional farmerswho are leaving behind high yields and hop-ing for sustainability in four years.”

Guests donned caps and hairnets for theroastery tour where Aparicio and Del Pazdemonstrated the process of blowing off theshells, sorting the beans and roasting the var-ious recipes that are sold under the CaféCampesino label.

Amanda and Lee Borden of Tallassee,Ala., grow organic fruit and vegetables on afarm northeast of Montgomery. This is theirfirst time attending the organics conference.She took early retirement from StanfordUniversity in Birmingham.

“We wanted to live in the country andgrow our food,” she explained while sniffingbowls of coffee. “I am convinced that ourfood chain will become more difficult andexpensive to support. Ecological sustainabili-ty is possible for subsistence farmers. Wetake too many toxins into our bodies.”

The Bordens grow for themselves andtheir friends and neighbors but do not sell tothe public.

Georgia Organics’ volunteer tour guide,Craig Gilbert, began the arduous task of lur-ing guests away from the retail coffee houseto reload the bus and keep the schedule. Hispatience was tested as his riders gatheredaround Etheridge and Pomeroy, who contin-ued conversing with passengers as they reluc-tantly lined up to embark for their Koinonialuncheon.

Amanda Borden says, “Three years agoneither of us had ever grown so much as atomato. You can learn!”

She laughs and waves as they board thetour bus.

Etheridge and Pomeroy continue smilingas the bus full of people who get it leave thecoffee shop.

But not for long. Pomeroy rushes off toanother meeting while Etheridge andAparicio get back to roasting and selling thebest coffee in Americus.

• • •

Amanda Bordenof Tallassee, Ala.,had never growna tomato beforeshe became anorganic farmerthree years ago.

Nancy Aparicioprepares thebeans for theroasting process.



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