Hallowed Grounds

Recently I was able to visit three special places.

I've been visiting Rock Eagle for almost 50 years, going back to junior high retreats with Westminster Presbyterian Church, like in 1972-ish.

 This time I was the only one around.

Climbing the tower all by myself was kinda creepy.

In college we went to Rock Eagle twice a year for statewide BSU conventions. After the Friday sessions ended we'd hike through the dark to the eagle, all the way telling newcomers how huge the eagle was.

 I need to investigate this Rock Hawk thing.

Mary-Clayton spent a ton of time at Rock Eagle for 4-H functions.

In nearby Eatonton I took the time

to swing by the Uncle Remus Museum.

Not sure where, but as a child I remember hearing Uncle Remus stories, even before Six Flags Over Georgia opened the Tales of the Okefenokee ride. My grandmother lived in West End near the Wren's Nest, where Joel Chandler Harris lived.

 Like at Rock Eagle, I was the only one around.

But perhaps the most hallowed ground I visited was this football stadium at Milledgeville's Georgia Military College, which is not only a college but also high school and junior high.

In the fall of 1973 the GMC B-team traveled to Macon to play my 9th grade football team. We beat them 66-0. A few weeks later we bussed over to Milledgeville to play them at their home field.

Every time something bad happened, GMC cadets would do pushups. This lasted until the end of the first quarter. The halftime score was 66-0. Note the goalposts at the far right of the above photo. Note below - the goalposts are positioned right before the stadium wall. Every time I kicked an extra point the ball would sail out of the stadium.

Final score 96-0. I never thought about it, but did I kick 13 extra points in this game? That could be a state record, if not national. I never thought about that.

That 9th Grade team went on to form the nucleus of our 1975 state championship team: Putnal, Rutherford, Patterson, Belote, Conner, Jackson, Murphy, and others.

Our team's bench was on the far side below.