So I'm sitting here at a Starbucks Coffee joint on a Sunday morning, waiting for a friend to show up, but he never does. So I'm left to sit here and drink my coffee alone, but that's not such a bad thing. I've got my laptop with me, so I'm killing time by surfing the Web. My mom is on her way to Atlanta to have lunch with me, as she's passing through on her way to Rome, Georgia, where she and my father are looking to move. They're in Savannah, Georgia now, but they miss the hills and trees and seasons, so they're itching to get to a part of Georgia that has that to offer. Anyway, for whatever reasons, I'm sitting here at Starbucks and memories of Corinth began flashing through my mind. So I've been sitting here thinking back on all my good times while growing up in Corinth. While surfing the Net, I ran across two articles that a gal (Stacy Jones) wrote a while ago about her memories of growing up near Corinth. I must say, she's got a great memory and an incredibly accurate way of remembering the little things about Corinth that made it such a special place.
So I saved these articles and wanted to offer them to you here, as well as comment on them.
Click
here to see the first story.
Click
here to see the second story.
In his stories, he references several really key things that made Corinth such a special place. Most small towns have their fair share of "town characters." But as a kid growing up in Corinth, I really wasn't aware or familiar with other small towns. At least not to the degree that I was familiar with Corinth. Corinth was the end-all be-all of the world. And in some ways, I still think that. And here are a few reasons why:
Johnny TschudiPronounced "Shoody," Johnny was definitely one of a kind. I can remember seeing Johnny riding around town on his bicycle, always smiling and grinning, and always with a big cigar in his mouth. He delivered newspapers for the Daily Corinthian, and as far as I know, he'd been doing it for years. It's been a long time since I lived in Corinth, so please forgive me for not remember most of the details, but I do remember seeing Johnny around town. My dad had lots of stories about Johnny and how he'd been around town for as long as he could remember. Johnny was a simple man, and he didn't need much to be happy. As long as he could ride the bicycle and deliver those newspapers, he was on top of the world. As I recall, he was found one day, not far from his bicycle, and he'd apparently had a heart attack. I can't remember where he lived or where he was found, but I seem to remember he had a large sum of money that he'd saved up over the years. Like I said, he didn't need much to survive, so I'm sure he had saved up a good bit over the years. Anyway, it was a very sad day in Corinth when the town learned that Johnny had finally passed away.
This is a painting drawn by Chig Biggers years ago, and you can see he included Johnny in the background. His bicycle is leaned against the telephone pole, and Johnny is holding a newspaper and watching the train with that cigar in his mouth.
The Cat HouseI don't have a picture of it, but it was real. The story I always heard was that Mrs. Simmons had tons of cats and left them to the house and the old man that was responsible for maintaining the house. As a kid, whenever we'd drive by the house, I'd always look for a cat or two, and remember seeing a big orange cat one day, sitting in one of the windows. It was almost as if he owned the house...just sitting there as if he was the king of the jungle...king of the cat house.
Chig BiggersI have to say that Chig was probably my favorite town character of all. I probably shouldn't refer to him as a "character," as Chig wasn't estranged or crazy or anything like that. He was a very talented artist, always willing to paint something for everyone and always able to accurately depict the special things about Corinth in an artist's way. Regardless of the occasion, Chig was always willing to lend his creative hand. From the Christmas Parade to school plays to town meetings....Chig could always be counted on to pull out a pen or pencil or paint brush and start creating magic.
When I was plebe at West Point, Chig send me a card that he had created....it had a cadet hanging from a tree limb, hovering over an aligator with its jaws open wide. I think the tag line was "Hang in there" or something to that effect....and it meant the world to me because I was far from home and missed my friends and family and Corinth, and he brought all that back to me with a few strokes of a pen.
In one of the stories that I referred to above, the author mentions a sign that someone put up in front of his house as a parody on all the historic signs around town. Corinth is a very historic Civil War town, so tourists are always driving around town, reading the signs, pointing at things, etc. Well, Chig happened to live downtown, right in the middle of the historic district, so he constructed a sign that looked exactly like the other signs, but it was a joke:
Chig passed away a little more than a decade ago, and Corinth lost a great asset. Chig was always willing to help, always coming up with new jokes and ideas, and could always make you smile whenever he was around. We need more people like ol' Chig, that's for sure.
*On a recent trip back to Corinth, I stopped by the local art guild gallery where they were having a Chig Biggers art exhibit. They asked everyone around town to donate pieces of artwork that Chig had done for them over the years, and it was a sight to see! I took a few pictures while in the gallery, so click here to see them.
Prince AlbertIt's been so long, I can't remember some of the details, but I'll give this one a try. As a kid growing up in Corinth, you always either heard stories about Prince Albert or you were lucky enough to see him strolling about town. Prince Albert walked around town with a piece of rope and a saw, and you could always count on him to cut limbs on your trees if you could flag him down as he walked by your house. One day I realized that I hadn't seen him in a long time, and the story that started to circulate was that he cut the limb he was sitting on and hurt himself...and didn't cut limbs any more after that. I'm not sure if that was the truth, but it made sense at the time. Since everyone in town knew Prince Albert, we'd prank call the local grocery stores and ask them, "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" and when they answered "Yes, we do!" we'd respond with, "We'll you better let him out then!!! Ha! Ha! Ha!" I can't remember what the exact product was, but it was something in a small can and we really cracked ourselves up with those prank calls...
Well, that's about all I've got time for this morning. If you can think of some other town characters, then post a comment and I'll see what I can come up with!
