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

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AFTERWORD The past should teach us how to handle the future: “I was on base, teaching for Georgia Military College in Building 905, on the morning of September 11, 2001. Someone, I couldn’t tell you who, stopped by my office and said, ‘You need to come to the T.V. now.’ I arrived in one of the base offices in time to see the second airliner hit the World Trade Center. Shortly thereafter, someone said, ‘We have ten minutes to get off the base before they lock it down.’ We heard reports, and it doesn’t matter now whether they were true or not, that a commercial airliner was headed for Robins and that the authorities could not get a response from the onboard crew. The day was as intense as any I’ve experienced. I spent it glued to the television and that is not my normal mode of operation. At a meeting in downtown Macon the next day, I remember that people were nicer than before, more polite; it seemed that cultural differences faded. We really were the United States for a while. Two weeks later, when I returned to work and drove through the new serpentine access to Robins Air Force Base, I did so beneath a guard holding a machine gun atop a Hummer. The moral of this story is that when the worst happened, RAFB and the City of Warner Robins were ready. I was one of thousands of non-essential personnel who were off the base in ten minutes. The sleepy and primarily Civil Service base came to immediate military readiness. The city and surrounding areas focused on plans for assisting in any way possible. Then, Georgia Military College had a small extension campus on base serving about 200 students. After 9/11, the City of Warner Robins partnered with us to place a city campus on land once used for military housing as part of an urban redevelopment plan. Growth exploded. Today, Dublin and Eastman extension campuses work under the Warner Robins campus with a student population approaching 2,000. The reclaimed military housing area is a modern business park with ponds, walking trails, labeled plant life, and its own population of wild geese. One of the trails passes a beautiful olive tree honoring Barbara Shaheen, another proactive citizen who left a scholarship to build Warner Robins for the future. Middle Georgia is an area that adapts, overcomes, and succeeds. 72 ✦ PLANES, TRAINS & HEROES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Haydee Acosta Archeology on Big Indian Creek Emily Beck Patti Ferrell Bedford Emily Denny Bishop Mark Bohnstedt, Nola Brantley Library, Warner Robins, Georgia The Ron Bohnstedt Family Marsha Priest Buzzell Lonnie Davis Debra Parkman Elliott Jennifer Lauren English Sarah Curington Eno Bret Evans Karen Fowler The Willie Leonard Garman Family Cindy McCullough Gentry Linda Farone Patricia Fussell Steve Holleman Joy McCammon Ocmulgee Archaeological Society Joan Dembowski Pottinger Dianne Ward Dean Dodge County Public Library Staff Ben Elton Vanessa Smith Lou Crouch David Gorman William P. Head Dan Hart Toby Hill The Reggie Holleman Family Chuck Hulon Roberta Wallace Jolley Ashley Killbrew Ken Lance Opal Dent Smith Lassiter Ellie Loudermilk April Moyer Lunceford Betty Cantrell Maxwell and Spencer Maxwell Beth Conley McLaughlin Jason Merideth Nola Brantley Public Library Staff Booker O’Brien Ted Ramsdell Alice Flagg Smith Grady Stokes Randy Toms Janie Townsend Lee Vanosdol Ginny Weaver Diane Wagner John Wagner, Sr. Erik Walton April Renfro Warren Dara West Tommy Williams PHOTO PERMISSIONS GRANTED BY Nola Brantley Public Library Perry Area Historical Museum RAFB Office of History The Museum of Aviation Warner Robins Convention and Visitors Bureau Acknowledgements ✦ 73
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Thank you for your interest in this
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Houston County Hospital. First Edit
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FOREWORD “Every Day in the U.S.A.
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Top: Warner Robins City Hall. Middl
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CHAPTER ONE B EFORE W ARNER R OBINS
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Archeology on Big Indian Creek, 201
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Above: Most of the railroad tracks
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CHAPTER TWO C OMMUNITY C ONNECTIONS
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Above: Much of the property origina
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Top: First School in Wellston Middl
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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 36 and 37: Opposite: Presidents Lyndon B. John
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 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
Page 88 and 89: SOUTHERN LIGHTING In 1986, contract
Page 90 and 91: WELLSTON DECORATING “Home is wher
Page 92 and 93: AMERICAN LEGION POST 172 American L
Page 94 and 95: FAMILY DENTAL ASSOCIATES The origin
Page 96 and 97: GEORGIA MILITARY COLLEGE Georgia Mi
Page 98 and 99: CENTRAL GEORGIA PERIODONTICS AND DE
Page 100 and 101: JIMMY SPINKS, STATE FARM AGENT For
Page 102 and 103: CLEAN CONTROL CORPORATION Above: St
Page 104 and 105: GOLDEN KEY REALTY Above: Gwen Giles
Page 106 and 107: FLINT ENERGIES ✧ Above: The first
Page 108 and 109: BUZZELL PLUMBING, HEATING AND AIR C
Page 110 and 111: MIDDLE GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY Top
Page 112 and 113: 21ST CENTURY PARTNERSHIP Top: Eddie
Page 114 and 115: NORTHROP GRUMMAN At Northrop Grumma
Page 116 and 117: PHYSICIANS FOR WOMEN, PC The doctor
Page 118 and 119: GRIGGERS WEALTH MANAGEMENT This is
Page 120 and 121: CUSTOM CABLE ASSEMBLIES Although it
Page 122 and 123: 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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