Planes, Trains & Heroes: A Story of Warner Robins and the Robins Region

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Opposite: Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush are among the world leaders who have visited Robins Air Force Base over the years. by April, and the first aircraft arrived for maintenance by May of 1942. Although the United States had entered World War II, local dignitaries wanted a dedication of the former dairy farm turned military installation. On September 1, 1942, they encouraged base commander Col. Charles E. Thomas to hold a ceremony and to name the base for his mentor, Brigadier General Augustine Warner Robins: “Gen. Robins was commander of the Materiel Division (near Dayton, Ohio) from 1935—1939” (Head). In his speech Col. Thomas said, “I doubt that any single individual has had any more to do with the development of what we now know as the Air Service Command than Brigadier General Augustine Warner Robins.…It is most gratifying that such an important project bears the name of one who held supply and maintenance functions so close to his heart, and who inspired many improvements in the performance of these functions” (“Robins AFB and 78 ABW Heritage Pamphlet”). The base grew to be Georgia’s “largest industrial facility” by the end of World War II (“Robins AFB and 78 ABW Heritage Pamphlet”). General Robins’ wife and daughters attended the dedication ceremonies, and dignitaries continue to follow their footsteps to Robins. These include former first lady Madame Chiang Kai-shek of China, President Anwar El- Sadat of Egypt, Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel, Vice Presidents Dan Quayle and Al Gore, and Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, FROM THE PEOPLE “The following is about what I was told by my parents who moved here to Warner Robins from Ohio in 1943. The original Sacred Heart Church corner stone still marks the 1945 year it was built. Before that time Masses were celebrated in the USO hall attached behind the Warner Robins City Hall building, which was replaced by the Nola Brantley Memorial Library in 1976. My first recollection of Sacred Heart Church was that of the brick church that seated about 200 people before the choir loft was built around 1957. “The architectural design with the exposed beams and floor plan is very similar to the St. Peter Clavier Church built probably about the same time in Macon. I remember the Sundays of my parents driving my two older brothers and younger sister to Mass from Cochran Field to Sacred Heart Church on what was then a two-lane highway from Macon to Warner Robins. Before the Catholic schools in the area were built, some of the parishioners would travel to Macon on Sunday and bring the Sisters of Mercy to and from Warner Robins to teach Sunday School (Catechism) along with other lay ministers of the parish in the old barracks building that was moved to the church grounds before Sacred Heart School was built in 1956. That old wooden building served as school and later the activity hall for several ministry organizations. I was fortunate to go through the forth and fifth grades at St. Joseph School when it was first built on High St. in Macon. The Presentation Sisters had arrived from Ireland in time for the new Sacred Heart School to start in 1956. I was in the seventh and eighth grades and in the second graduation class of Sacred Heart School. “My first experience with airplanes was when we lived in Cochran Field shortly after the war shut down the Army training base. I would ride on by brother’s handle bars to the air field between the hangers and watch the prop driven planes land and taxi up to the terminal. I was then six and couldn’t believe the size, sound, and power of those airplanes. This was well before jet airlines came into service. As it was with most citizens of Warner Robins, we occasionally felt the effects of the now defunct C- 124, nicknamed “old shaky,” would make its flight pattern over our house. The term “shake, rattle, and roll” came into use long before Chuck Berry wrote his lyrics. One evening my dad was flying back from Ohio in his single engine Cessna. He had said before he left that he would circle the house on Shirley Drive in Warner Robins as a signal to meet him on return to Cochran Field Airport. We kids were all excited as he tipped his wings and mom was shouting to get in the car. Where were the cell phones back then? On just about any day at Mass you could hear the propeller engines running up, and the train horn blasting from the trains that ran along the rails east of the city. The propeller sounds of the past have changed to the sounds of jet engines, and the startling sonic boom, “sound of peace.” The train horns sound the same from the diesel train engines. “However, I must confess my racing on an unexpected occasion down to the track to see a very rare steam engine chug by. Their whistles have a very distinct sound. My experiences with trains and planes really were not that involved until I became an adult, mainly following the footsteps of my brothers in service to the Air Force. Yes, they are my heroes. But that’s another story covering another country and assigned duty stations. It’s still good to have settled in good ole Warner Robins, Georgia.” - John Wagner, Sr., 2018 34 ✦ PLANES, TRAINS & HEROES
Richard M. Nixon, James E. “Jimmy” Carter, George W. Bush, and William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton of the United States. According to Guide to the Robins Region Georgia, “The base was a turning point in Wellston’s history, increasing the population, reputation, and, in a sense, bringing the hibernating community to life…. Today, Warner Robins is called ‘The International City’ and enterains a growing, diverse population and culture” (5). Chapter Four ✦ 35
Page 2 and 3: Thank you for your interest in this
Page 4 and 5: Houston County Hospital. First Edit
Page 6 and 7: FOREWORD “Every Day in the U.S.A.
Page 8 and 9: Top: Warner Robins City Hall. Middl
Page 10 and 11: CHAPTER ONE B EFORE W ARNER R OBINS
Page 12 and 13: Archeology on Big Indian Creek, 201
Page 14 and 15: Above: Most of the railroad tracks
Page 16 and 17: CHAPTER TWO C OMMUNITY C ONNECTIONS
Page 18 and 19: Above: Much of the property origina
Page 20 and 21: Top: First School in Wellston Middl
Page 22 and 23: Park. A major form of entertainment
Page 24 and 25: Watson Boulevard. Mississippi & Ohi
Page 26 and 27: WELCOME NEIGHBOR TO THE “ CITY OF
Page 28 and 29: FROM THE PEOPLE “Our family moved
Page 30 and 31: construction. Late in his life, nei
Page 32 and 33: CHAPTER THREE C OMPETITION Teams fr
Page 34 and 35: CHAPTER FOUR C HURCHES Sacred Heart
Page 38 and 39: CHAPTER FIVE C OMMERCE The April 19
Page 40 and 41: Above: Bloodworths Grocery, 1958. R
Page 42 and 43: Houston Mall. FROM THE PEOPLE “I
Page 44 and 45: Above: The old railroad station is
Page 46 and 47: CHAPTER SIX S CHOOLS Warner Robins
Page 48 and 49: 2014-2015; and national champions,
Page 50 and 51: FROM THE PEOPLE “My journey to Wa
Page 52 and 53: CHAPTER SEVEN Q UALITY OF L IFE The
Page 54 and 55: CHAPTER EIGHT G ROWTH Norfolk South
Page 56 and 57: CHAPTER NINE T HE F UTURE A F16A Fi
Page 58 and 59: Above: A Fairchild Republic A-10 Th
Page 60 and 61: WARNER ROBINS HEROES BENJAMIN HAWKI
Page 62 and 63: FROM THE PEOPLE “I got to spend s
Page 64 and 65: Above: Some of the many employees h
Page 66 and 67: The historical marker for the Pearl
Page 68 and 69: Dr. Dan Fussell. Their daughter Eli
Page 70 and 71: Robins is the best possible place t
Page 72 and 73: 70 ✦ PLANES, TRAINS & HEROES WARN
Page 74 and 75: AFTERWORD The past should teach us
Page 76 and 77: WORKS CITED 21st Century Partnershi
Page 78 and 79: SHARING THE HERITAGE Historic profi
Page 80 and 81: FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF WA
Page 82 and 83: MERCER UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEE
Page 84 and 85: HEART OF GEORGIA HOSPICE Top: Camp
Page 86 and 87:
SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH AND SC
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SOUTHERN LIGHTING In 1986, contract
Page 90 and 91:
WELLSTON DECORATING “Home is wher
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AMERICAN LEGION POST 172 American L
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FAMILY DENTAL ASSOCIATES The origin
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GEORGIA MILITARY COLLEGE Georgia Mi
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CENTRAL GEORGIA PERIODONTICS AND DE
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JIMMY SPINKS, STATE FARM AGENT For
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CLEAN CONTROL CORPORATION Above: St
Page 104 and 105:
GOLDEN KEY REALTY Above: Gwen Giles
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FLINT ENERGIES ✧ Above: The first
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BUZZELL PLUMBING, HEATING AND AIR C
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MIDDLE GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY Top
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21ST CENTURY PARTNERSHIP Top: Eddie
Page 114 and 115:
NORTHROP GRUMMAN At Northrop Grumma
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PHYSICIANS FOR WOMEN, PC The doctor
Page 118 and 119:
GRIGGERS WEALTH MANAGEMENT This is
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CUSTOM CABLE ASSEMBLIES Although it
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PERRY- HOUSTON COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHO
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PEACHSTATE HOSPITALITY Top: The Fai
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YELVERTON JEWELERS Above: Darrell Y
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SPONSORS 21st Century Partnership .
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Marsha Priest Buzzell, Warner Robin
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Planes, Trains & Heroes: A Story of Warner Robins and the Robins Region

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