I have written quite a few stories about past experiences, and to be honest, it gets more difficult to create new stories. I guess you could say that the past has caught up with me. However, now that I am retired the experiences I have with the extension office are now in the past and there are a few stories that can be told.
One of the most memorable experiences is the Garden Delights TV show that Susan Howington invited me to join, I think back in 2009. With the County Communications Department’s Kevin Williams and Ed Gore doing the filming, we set out producing these shows every month for about nine years. When you think about it, this may be the longest running series ever. Susan prepared a healthy dish and explained the nutritional value of the ingredients and I talked about how to grow the commodity being featured or some other subject that may interest no one but me.
The show actually won a couple of national awards on the Family and Consumer Science side of the equation. With Ed and Kevin filming and editing, we charged off as if we knew what we were doing. Ed had the lion’s share of the work because he had to edit me so it would look like I knew what I was talking about.
We milked a cow with Jimmy Carter at Southern Belle Farm, learned how to prune a Christmas tree at Yule Forrest with Allen Grant, cut sod with Ben Barnett in Hampton, and pruned the fig and apple trees in Heritage Park. We interviewed several local farmers like Gary West of Westworthy Farm, Mayflor Chokshi of Mayflor Farm, Russell Brydson of Narrow Way Farm, and Jonathan Craig on his cattle farm where we also got to visit the house featured in the movie “Madea’s Christmas.” With over eighty shows, there were many other memorable episodes that I am sure will come to me when I am finished writing this.
On the last episode before I retired we took a tour of Millers Mill, where Ray Miller took us back in time to a place bustling with activity. We saw how the water was captured from the creek and routed over two overshot water wheels. The drop in elevation was not enough to build tall water wheels so the wheels were made wider with a smaller diameter. The water power ran the grist mill and cotton gin, the cotton was processed and sold to Planters Warehouse in McDonough. There was also a turbine that powered the sawmill and provided some electricity for the immediate area. As Ray told it, the ladies had a schedule of who got to iron on which day, because there was not enough power to run all the irons at the same time. (This may be where we are headed with electric cars). He told about how they bathed in the Mill Run and showed us where Highway 155 ran in front of the old store and crossed the creek on a steel framed bridge that is still standing. Visit www.youtube.com/c/HenryCountyGA, and click videos to find Garden Delights season 10, Episode 1 to hear this story from Ray.
While this local show is not viewed by millions, we did enjoy making it. It took Susan and I a while to get used to people stopping us and asking what was for supper. The first time it happened we looked at each other and said what is he talking about, and then it dawned on us, the TV show. I saw Marvin Rose the other day and he said I looked like I had lost weight since I stopped eating Susan’s cooking. I guess my career as a professional taster has come to an end. The past is closer than you think.
Frank Hancock has worked as a Farm Manager, Vocational Agriculture Teacher, Vice President at Snapper. He recently retired as the University of Georgia Agricultural Extension Agent in Henry County. He is a also a member of the Heritage Writers Group.
