2019 Rally Route - Tuesday September 17th, 2019 – Day 9

Big Hart Campground is located at the meeting of Big Creek and Hart Creek on the western end of beautiful J. Strom Thurmond Lake. Big Hart Campground is situated in a wooded area on the waterfront. One group campsite and 31 family campsites are available, all with 50-amp electrical hookups. Amenities include flush and vault toilets, showers, drinking water, a dump station, playground, beach, boat ramp and dock.

Hot, humid summers and mild, pleasant winters characterize this heavily wooded area on the shore of Thurmond Lake. A mixed pine and hardwood forest covers the site, providing summer shade and fall color. Elevation is 235' above sea level. Wildlife is abundant around the lake. Thurmond Lake provides some of the best fishing, hunting, and water sports in the southeastern United States. Anglers fish for largemouth bass, bream, crappie, catfish and striped bass. It is one of the best kept secrets, it was never full while we were there and we are not sure why. The sites are spacious and everything is well maintained by Nanette and her team, the camp hosts.

While we were researching the area, we found a Laurel & Hardy Museum in Harlem Georgia, about 20 miles from the campground. When I shared this with the rest of the group, they too were anxious to see it! Today is the day we decided to go, as it is on the way to Augusta and we are headed there today too.

A blink-and-you'll-miss-it town in rural east Georgia is the last place you'd expect to find the country's only museum dedicated to the classic comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. But anyone driving along Interstate 20 near the South Carolina state line can't miss the big brown sign pointing to the museum in Harlem, a sleepy hamlet of 1,800 founded 140 years ago along the now-defunct Georgia Railroad line. We were greeted by an empty parking lot and a handmade sign on the door that said the museum would be closed on August 26^th and will reopen in their new location on October 6^th. Oh, no …. What a bummer! Well

Ironically, October 6th, 2019 is the start of an  annual event. In October, Harlem will balloon to more than 10 times its size when 30,000 people arrive for the annual Oliver Hardy Festival, created three decades ago to raise money for the community. When the festival began in 1988, just a handful of booths were set up in Harlem's small downtown. But now the event draws 350 vendors and turns away dozens of others because there just isn't room. The festival, with its Laurel and Hardy look-alike contests, hour long parade and rows of country fair-style tents and tons of fun.

The event headquarters is the two-room museum housed in the town's old post office, which opened in 2002. The museum has quickly outgrown its small space, packed to the brim with hundreds of dolls, comic books, socks and posters donated by fans worldwide. The town has raised money to double the size of the museum. It is moving to the Columbia Theatre, where admission will still be free. The move will empty out the storage room full of pictures, coffee mugs and other collectibles that won't fit on the crowded shelves. This museum is one of three museums dedicated to the duo and they often collaborate with the other Laurel and Hardy museum in Ulverston, England, where Laurel was born in 1890. Both strive to preserve memorabilia of the duo.

Hardy's mustachioed face is everywhere, from the water tower looming overhead to the sign welcoming visitors on the outskirts of town. Ollie's Laundry stands in place of the two-story house where the rotund comedian was born in 1892 just off the town's main drag. The silent film actors were paired up in 1927, beginning a career that spanned three decades. They are still considered one of the greatest comedy teams in film history and were one of just a few acts that made the transition from silent films to "talkies."

Our first stop in Augusta, after we found parking spots was Augusta & Co a new age Visitors Center. We were lucky enough to have a concierge that knew a great deal about what to do in Augusta, but was also a native of Columbia SC our next destination. So, she helped us with ideas for our current trip and the next leg of the trip! She helped us make reservations for the Augusta Canal Boat Tour for tomorrow. Today, we will stick with a self-guided walking tour of Augusta, since the cars are parked already.

Our first stop was the Sacred Heart Cultural Center. On February 20^th in 1889 the cornerstone of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church was set in place. Less than 10 months later, the first service was held. Sadly just 71 years later, the last service was held. In 1972 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ten years later, Knox Unlimited saved Sacred Heart. After five years of painstaking restoration, the church was back to its original magnificence. In 1987 the Sacred Heart Cultural Center opened. Back in 1900’s it was a cornerstone of Augusta’s downtown district and remains a cornerstone of the historic district today. The church building, in the Romanesque and Byzantine design features brickwork, tall turrets and graceful arches.

The building features towering twin spires, graceful arches, 15 distinctive styles of brickwork, 94 stained-glass windows, a barreled vaulted ceiling and intricately carved Italian marble altars. The main alter was the most important part of the church. Above the marble alter, the statues of young Jesuit saints flank the statue of Jesus revealing his Sacred Heart.

There are two Ambulatories on each side of the Great Hall. Walking along this side you follow the stained glass window scenes in logical order, but on the other wall the Stations of the Cross are in reverse order. These windows scenes are drawn from the life of Jesus and are happy one, in contrast to the stations. These stained glass windows were done by the Mayer Company of Munich and New York.

On the front façade there are 15 different styles of brickwork displayed.

 

Across the street from the church is the brooding statue of the poet and journalist, James Ryder Randall. Who is he and why is his statue here? He was the son of a wealthy Maryland family, a promising student, he entered Georgetown University prior to the age of twelve and won awards in literature. Abandoning his studies in formal education, he traveled to South America, Florida, and the West Indies. Upon his return to the United States about 1860, he taught English literature at a flourishing Creole institution, Poydras College, in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. It was during his time in Louisiana that the tension between the southern and northern states increased. His home state of Maryland was on the edge, as it did not commit to be with southern rebels or the Union. Federal troops soon occupied Baltimore. As a Confederate sympathizer, Randall was broken hearted at the riot and bloodshed in his hometown. It was at this point that he penned the poem "Maryland, My Maryland". The nine-stanza poem, with the words "Northern scum", encouraged the overthrow of the Union. It was first published in the New Orleans newspaper, "The Sunday Delta." It became a war hymn of the Confederacy after the poem's words were set to an old German folk tone, "O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree", during the Civil War by Jennie Cary. In 1939 by state law, it became the state song of Maryland. By 1870, Randall resided in Augusta, Georgia with his wife Katherine "Kate" Hammond of South Carolina and their children: Harriett, Marcus, Ruth, Lizette and the youngest daughter, Maryland. He became a newspaper editor and a correspondent in Washington, DC, for local newspaper "The Augusta Chronicle.” He was a devoted member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

From the church, we walked back into downtown Augusta and had lunch at FarmHaus. FarmHaus is a farm to table restaurant. They offer a dry-aged, double patty beef burgers made from a custom grind of Chuck, Brisket, and Short Rib sourced from local Southeastern Angus Beef. They offer the best alternatives for those you don’t like beef. How about an Organic Sea Island Red Pea veggie patty, a ground wild turkey patty & grilled chicken. They also serve humanely-raised beef hots dogs free of antibiotics, hormones, and preservatives.

They offer a “Make It Yours” during the lunch hour. You choose your patty, bun type and condiments. Some of the unique condiments include Roasted Garlic Aioli, HAUS Pickled Onions, Fried Local Farm Egg (Sunny Side Up), Creamy Napa Cabbage Slaw, HAUSmade Pimento Cheese and FHT Bacon Jam. You stood in line to order, then took your seat and they delivered your food to you. Did I mention they have beer, wine and alcohol infused milkshakes? Very unique place … I wish we had one closer to us!

There was some very trendy shops along Broad Street in Augusta and there were a few that seemed like they had not been open in a long time. Or at least they had not sold anything in their window in a long time. But I am sure that Linda would have enjoyed checking out the merchandise with Jackie!

There is history on Broad Street in Augusta too. On November 1, 1882, the Paine College Board of Trustees, consisting of six members, three from each Church, met for the first time. They agreed to name the school in honor of the late Bishop Robert Paine. Bishop Holsey traveled throughout the Southeast seeking funds for the new school. In 1882, he presented the Trustees of Paine Institute with $7.15 from the Virginia Conference and $8.85 from the South Georgia Conference. In that same month, Reverend Atticus Haygood, a minister of the ME Church South, gave $2,000 to support President Callaway through the first year. Thus, a $2,000 gift from a white minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South and $16 raised by a CME minister – penny by penny from former slaves - became the financial basis for the founding of Paine College. 

While Charlie & Jack rested from the food coma created by lunch, Paul – Sandy – Jackie and I ventured a few blocks further to find the James Brown Statue. We found him, in the middle of the street in a grassy area with benches, but no shade.

James Brown grew up in Augusta during the Great Depression and World War II. He overcame poverty and segregation to become an international music icon. Throughout his life, he made many civic, educational, and philanthropic contributions that provided hope and opportunity to those in need.

Some feel that James Brown is not the best role model and should not be immortalized like he is. But, he is every where ... on electric boxes, street signs and even a piano!