Georgia: What Two Guys Won’t Get Up To

A Five-Day Round Trip to Georgia for Family and Cattle

THURSDAY -- “This is the stupidest thing you’ve done in our entire marriage.” My traveling companion shared this opinion from his spouse as we headed southeast. My own dear wife was similarly impressed by our decision to keep life as it was scheduled before the contagion. So was my younger sister, who made her opinion clear from her home in Greece.

When three grown women on two continents are in such accord, one must proceed with the utmost trepidation. So we did. We were going to a cattle sale.

Our destination was the 32nd Partners in Progress Hereford, Angus and Baldy Female Sale being put on by CES Hereford and Angus and Predestined Cattle Company in Wadley, Georgia.

Proud Addition to My Cap Collection. 

CES is owned and operated by Mr. Charles E. Smith, usually addressed as Mr. Charles. He is a southern gentleman, a successful farmer, and a strong Christian man.

Predestined Cattle Company is Kyle and Jennifer Gillooly. Jennifer is Mr. Charles’ granddaughter. Kyle is my cousin. He has worked for several years helping Mr. Charles improve his herd and has also worked to build the herd that he and Jennifer own jointly. Both of them are committed Christians, hard-working people, and just about as nice as folks can be.

This year was different than other years. The entire United States was contracting like a sphincter as it attempted to contain the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We were uncertain how it would affect travel, lodgings, and meals, but we determined not to miss this annual sale as long as it was still being held.

We left southern Indiana on an overcast day, driving through heavy rain around Evansville as we crossed into Kentucky.

We were not alone on the road. Truckers continued to ensure goods made their way to market. People in private vehicles still moved along toward their destinations, although many fewer than there might have been. Urgings to stay at home seemed to be working.

We stopped only at rest areas for necessary breaks and information until lunchtime in Tennessee. Hearing that traffic would be unfriendly on the way to Chattanooga, we opted to go through Birmingham, Alabama.

Cracker Barrel

Around Columbia, Tennessee, we found an open Cracker Barrel restaurant. A luxury. Hoosier restaurants had been forced into walk-up only status earlier in the week. They could cook. You could eat. But not on the premises. Even my favorite coffee shop pleasantly greeted you at the door, which was blocked by a heavy table, and passed your order to you.

The Cracker Barrel folks had made accommodations. The menu was a single page of paper. In our section, only three tables were occupied and each party was seated far from the others. Beyond that, the service was fine, the food was done well, and the staff was friendly. It was just as normal as an abnormal day could get.

Rest Stop Rocket

Entering Alabama, we stopped at the rest area. Same reasons as before. This rest area was hard to miss. Proud? You bet your sweet astronaut!

Alabama Welcome Center, Elkmont

When we think of space flight, Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida is famous for its launches. The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas is famous for its Mission Control Center. Alabama has bragging rights too. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is situated on the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.

According to NASA's website, "For more than six decades, NASA and the nation have relied on Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to deliver its most vital propulsion systems and hardware, flagship launch vehicles, world-class space systems, state-of-the-art engineering technologies and cutting-edge science and research projects and solutions." And that's why it's difficult to pass the Alabama Welcome Center in Elkmont, Alabama without craning your neck and being surprised by just how tall a rocket really is.

Things became more congested around Nashville, Birmingham, and Atlanta. We stopped for the evening in Conyers, Georgia, east of Atlanta.

Colberts in Conyers

We spent the night in a Hampton Inn. They provided written descriptions of the extraordinary steps they’d taken to ensure the safety of their guests. The next morning, except for a lone lodger, we were the only people in a dining area that normally would be filled with families and business travelers. It was sobering.

That evening, we found a local Applebee’s open. There were people seated at half a dozen tables. The food was very fine, but the atmosphere was subdued. We were happy to find an open venue.

Our greatest disappointment was in driving around the shopping center afterward and learning we’d missed either a Chili’s or a Red Lobster as options. Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Mmmm. Our loss was mild. We still slept well.

FRIDAY -- Speaking of sleeping, our accommodations were about to improve immensely. But first, we visited a landmark.

Stone Mountain

Not far from Conyers is a very big rock. Based on what we saw on our way there, there is plenty of rock to be found just beneath the soil in that area. Imagine how difficult it may have been for people to settle and attempt to farm where plows were constantly striking stones.

Some things can’t be hidden. Stone Mountain is just such a thing. Its bare slopes rise six hundred feet above the surrounding landscape. We entered Stone Mountain Park and drove around the perimeter on Robert E. Lee Boulevard.

Stone Mountain, Georgia

This part of America is several weeks ahead of southern Indiana in plant growth and blooming. We’d seen redbuds in Tennessee and green, hazy crowns along the roadway as trees push forth fresh leaves. But here in the park, it seemed all was in bloom. Azaleas, daffodils, flowering trees. Each plant begged to be looked at.

Stone Mountain - Blooming Tree

Stone Mountain - Planting Beds

Stone Mountain - Sprouting

Stone Mountain - Pine Needle Bedding

Biking and walking paths along the boulevard were in use by a variety of people. Most were walking. Some appeared to be families out for the day, taking advantage of mandated time together. Others were athletes staying in shape for the next time crowded races were authorized. A few wore masks. Probably as much from the pollen as from worry about contracting an illness.

Stone Mountain - Robt. E. Lee Boulevard Walk/Bike Paths

As we continued driving and the flanks of Stone Mountain came into view, we kept looking for the carvings. Nothing. Not a chisel mark.

We arrived at Park Central, where visitors usually can take the Skyride gondolas to Stone Mountain Summit. I approached a woman sitting in her SUV and asked where we could see the carvings. She pointed back over her shoulder and I could just see a corner of the carving peeking over the tree line. “Oh. It’s not so big,” I thought. I was wrong.

A Mention of Kentucky, and a View of the Carving

The text from the Stone Mountain Park website says of Stone Mountain … “The largest high relief sculpture in the world, the Confederate Memorial Carving, depicts three Confederate figures of the Civil War, President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The entire carved surface measures three-acres, larger than a football field and Mount Rushmore. The carving of the three men towers 400 feet above the ground, measures 90 by 190 feet, and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain. The deepest point of the carving is at Lee's elbow, which is 12 feet to the mountain's surface.”

“The carving is actually much larger than it appears from Stone Mountain Park's attractions. Workers could easily stand on a horse's ear or inside a horse's mouth to escape a sudden rain shower. A dedication ceremony for the Confederate Memorial Carving [which was begun in 1923] was held on May 9, 1970. Finishing touches to the masterpiece were completed in 1972.”

Mankind’s capacity to create art on such a large scale is astonishing.

Georgia Pines

Leaving the park, we completed our trip to Wadley. Much of the scenery along the Interstate was pine trees. It was a demonstration of effective forestry. Many stands of pine were live trees surrounded by dead ones. The live trees were victors in the race for growth, crowding the nearby trees and denying them the nutrients and sunshine they needed to thrive.

In other areas, the stands were noticeably thinned. There, the selected trees could grow even stronger without nearby trees leeching available resources.

Cotton

Off the Interstate, persistent November and December rains left withered, brown stalks holding bright white tufts of cotton standing in the fields. We saw both small plots and much larger plots. It was difficult to imagine farmers having to leave that work undone. I don’t imagine that set well with them.

Last Year's Cotton Crop Still in the Field

Another reason for the standing crop, according to Mr. Charles, is that the people who planted the crop opted for insurance when it became apparent that weather had dramatically, adversely affected the projected yield. Once that agreement with the government was in place, farmers could no longer work the ground covered by the insurance settlement. By that same agreement, insured cotton crops are to be turned under by February 1 of the next planting year. This was not done, as we witnessed the standing crops the third week of March.

Mistletoe

When you look into the branches of trees here, you may see an anomaly. Light green growth sprouts from the end of so many branches. Meanwhile, you see a ball of leaves, larger and darker green, at various spots within the branches.

It’s not your imagination. No, parts of the tree didn’t start early. It’s mistletoe. And it’s a wonder folks don’t spend a lot more time positioning themselves just so under these trees when they know that somebody special will be walking by.

Red Ants

Some of the fields around here have lumps in them. Significant lumps. Lumps that are home to a specific, aggressive, annoying, and painful insect. The red ant, or fire ant. If life has denied you the experience of being bitten by one of these creatures, you have something to add to your blessings when you count them.

Red Ants

The mounds built by these ant colonies are impressive. I’ve seen several here and they seem to be three to four feet in height and spread perhaps a dozen feet across. I’ve not been near one, advisedly.

They make dramatic sculptures. I have seen some covered with lime and others covered with what looks like pitch. Both are overt suggestions that the colonies consider relocating. I have no first-hand reports of the success of these endeavors.

Irrigation

This part of Georgia has been made into a land of plenty. That doesn’t happen without determination, industriousness, and learning to deliver resources where they are needed.

Mobile Irrigation System

The apparatus you see at the top of the hill is not a handrail. It’s a long (sometimes very long) mobile pipe connected to a source that delivers water from there all the way to the other end. And all points in between. Irrigation allows farmers here to produce row crops. Think of that the next time you purchase a pair of denim jeans, plush towels, or when you grab a handful of salted peanuts. Look at that item and tell yourself, “I know where you come from. And why that’s possible.”

Bethany Farms Bed & Breakfast

We are staying in a home built in 1851, before the Civil War. We’re in Georgia. Homes of that age are uncommon. The story goes that a boy’s orphanage in Savannah moved its lads to what today is Bethany Farms Bed & Breakfast. As it turns out, they moved the boys into the path of the advancing Union army. Fortunately for them and for us, the Union army spared the house. Not the outbuildings, but the house.

I wondered about that.

“Ma’am, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that you and these fine young men have a place to lay your heads this evening. The bad news is that we burned the barns, emptied and leveled the smokehouse and smithy, razed the summer kitchen, and we’ve slaughtered and consumed all domestic animals on the premises. And a ‘possum we found in the woods. Think nothing of it. We were pleased to spare the house. You have a nice day, Ma’am.”

However that encounter played out, ours has been wonderful. The two-story home has very tall ceilings, hardwood floors, wide doorways with transoms, comfortable furnishings, and several bedrooms reserved for guests. It also has a dining room that seats at least six, freshly brewed coffee, and breakfasts that delight you in the moment and stick with you during the day. Delicious.

In addition to Tom and Pam, our host and hostess, there is a sixteen-year-old cat, another cat not nearly so advanced in age, and a dog whose back end seemed to be dancing to a separate time signature as it came to sniff us. It had strong beginnings of a grey muzzle, so we had that in common.

The Ways We Speak

I’ve heard it said that climate affects the way we speak. In colder regions, people’s lips stay closer together and phrasing is shorter. Crisper. In warmer regions, words become more elastic and broader. East Central Georgia tends to prove the theory.

When we stopped for lunch in Louisville yesterday, the young lady at the register asked us for our nime. Nearly all of us have one, but we don't all realize it. My nime is David. It is two syllables. Just like my cousin Kyle (Kye-yule).

Language in the South flows like thick syrup and has a musical lilt. That’s one reason Southern ladies get pretty much what they want. It’s a tune that Southern men (and about any other type) can dance to. Another reason is that it is unwise to disappoint Southern ladies. Especially the nice ones.

Another aspect of Southern culture and language is respect in address. "Yes, sir. Yes, Ma'am." It may not be universal, but it was instilled in the people I spoke with when they were young, and it remains with them today.

The Sale

We arrived in time to look at the cattle being offered for sale. As advertised, this was an outstanding bunch of Herefords, Angus, and Baldy heifers. Many of them are with calves or pregnant, so buyers get a boost for their herds. The quality is such that you have to wonder how much better the stock being kept must be.

Surveying the Sales Lots

Angus Sales Lots

Visitors and prospective buyers want to see what’s being offered for sale. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but stepping into a pen and watching how an animal stands and moves tells you so much more.

Earlier, we mentioned the importance of hydration. How about this? Put on a long-sleeve black shirt or blouse, long black pants, and go stand in a field with no shade on an 85-degree day. Each of the temporary pens erected for the sale shares a watering tank with the pen beside it. You can bet those animals appreciated that water. And you can doubly bet the people caring for them kept those stock tanks filled throughout the day.

Topping Off Water Tanks

The Grounds

The sale traditionally is held on the property where Mr. Charles’ sister lives. It’s the site of the farm office, it’s near barns, and the pastures nearby allow for the sales lots to be presented, as shown above.

The homesite itself is beautiful, too. This year, a least a couple of people compared it to the grounds of The Masters Tournament in Augusta. Possibly. More cattle here, though. Here are some of the blooming plants that decorate that spot.

The House and Shrubbery

Stump Beautification

Vibrant Azaleas

Rose Mock Vervain or Rose Verbena

Behind the House - Fields Just Being Planted

Traditionally, Friday night ends with an annual fish fry. At the sale site, a large white tent with scalloped edges is erected at the back corner of the house. Nine rows of tables line the tent in two columns, two tables wide.

The tables are covered by red and white gingham print cloths secured with plastic clips. Cups, jars, vases, and pitchers dot the tables, holding succulent plant arrangements. Between the plants are bottles of Bettilu and Charles’ Syrup, cane syrup locally grown by Mr. Charles and his wife and cooked on the premises of their home.

Home Made Cane Syrup

SATURDAY -- BBQ Barn, from North Augusta, South Carolina served a delicious fried fish dinner last night. Today they brought us hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, and cole slaw today. At both meals, dessert was banana cream puddin’, cookies and cream puddin’, or both! Please note that there is no g in puddin’.

The Sale Begins

The first Angus heifer under the auctioneer’s gavel sold for $12,000. The second went for $10,000. Most sales lead with the finest sale lots because they will command larger prices and condition buyers to pay more. I told you these people are nice, not naïve.

The sale continued, moving through Angus heifers to Hereford heifers, and finally to the Baldy group.

The sale was successful. It took much work and planning. Participation by phone and Internet played a greater role than in past sales. The most significant element was blessings. Providential timing, at the leading edge of COVID-19 isolation strategies. Beautiful weather, one day ahead of a series of rain storms. Willing participants, including local and more distant buyers from Georgia and out of state who appeared in person, and also more cautious people who used technology to stay involved during the sale.

You get a Baldy by cross-breeding Angus and Hereford cattle. Ideally, a Baldy has the finer qualities of each breed. If you have a cattle operation and want strong maternal instincts, femininity, frame, and vigor but are unconcerned by paperwork attesting that an animal is purely this or that, a Baldy deserves your consideration. And honestly, how many of us are either this or that. I think that, in many ways, we are all a little bit Baldy. And it’s a good thing.

When the last lot sold, the auctioneer and guests tallied the results. The farmhands and family helped the tent company disassemble the tables, fold the chairs, and strike the tents. I overheard that the tent vendor really enjoys helping to put on this annual event because these two families are so helpful with the setup and tear-down.

SUNDAY -- Of people and a view of the enterprise

7:30 a.m. The morning sky is lightening. Sunrise is pinking the clouds at the horizon. Silhouettes are taking on their daytime aspects. Birdsong was just complimented by the long note of a train passing in the distance.

There is sound from the kitchen as our hosts prepare the morning meal. Tom just started the coffee in the dining room. The sounds from the coffee maker are like a workout. Push (almost like a hydraulic grunt). Long sigh of steam. Push. Long sigh. Just like a workout, except for the gurgle. If you are lifting weights, please don't gurgle.

Fine People

It's not surprising. When you align yourself with good people, you're going to meet more good people.

We met people staying at the same B&B as us. She works for the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension office while he operates a feed and fencing business. I watched their kids play with and look out for younger kids at the sale. Their sixteen-year-old son tossed a baseball with a younger developing athlete. Their thirteen-year-old daughter kept up with an extremely energetic young girl. While wearing an orthopedic boot on one foot.

During Sunday breakfast we talked about agricultural education in Georgia, and how Future Farmers of America (FFA) plays the role largely played by 4-H in Indiana with livestock. We talked about technical training and workforce development for youth and how Georgia is making it possible for youth to graduate with college credits, sometimes as much as an Associate's degree.

While similar things are happening in Indiana, Georgia is accomplishing it in a county sparsely populated (the county has one high school). I find this challenging and exciting. Exciting that they are getting this done. Challenging that size is no excuse for us.

I also learned that love of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, including the Final Four, is not universal. I was in a place where the passion was for football and many people could not care less about our fervor for roundball.

Another person I met had driven over from Brunswick, and had recently retired from the beef industry in New York. He happened to grow up in my home town in Indiana. That was a particularly nice surprise.

The local pastor blessed the meal at the fish fry, blessed the lunch on Sale Day, and blessed the opening of the sale. I say local. He commutes ninety minutes to lead the congregation and has done so for several years. He is dedicated. He also is perceptive, kind, bold in the Spirit and shared several interesting stories about hunting, which he is particularly fond of.

Other people were friends, neighbors, and cattle men and women from near and far. Daily interaction with the land, the animals, and one another, made them down-to-earth and a pleasure to meet.

The Good Part

As much as we enjoy the sale and admire all the work that goes into the planning and execution of it, the day most special to us is the day after. Then, the pressure is largely gone and we can visit with our family members.

Part of the post-sale visiting is peeking behind the scenes. CES and Predestined Cattle Company have some excellent cattle coming on.

Hereford and Angus Heifers

Kyle Gillooly's father, Jim, took us into several pastures and lots to look at young stock, recipients of embryo transplants, bulls, and newer calves.

Veteran Cattleman Jim Gillooly Points Out Promising Calves

We traveled by Gator to most of the places we went. It behooves you to call "Shotgun!" at your earliest opportunity. The front seat is vastly more comfortable than the utility bed.

Making the Most of a Big, Green Egg

Sunday evening, we visited with Chris and Lynn Oglesby, Jennifer Gillooly's parents at their home.

I won't go into great detail, but here:

Sunday Supper

Yeah. It was like that.

Everybody was gracious and nice to talk to. After a very pleasant visit, we returned to the B&B for the evening. Thanks to Adam O. for his handling of grilling duties with the  Big Green Egg.  And to Tom O. for taking on the management role.

MONDAY -- We had a final visit for this trip with Jim and Jane, their granddaughter Morgan, and as many of the Gilloolys as could attend. Coffee. And pie, because life is too short to wait all the time.

We left knowing we'd drive through a strong storm in Atlanta, but hoped for the best. Despite losing time because of a couple of accidents, we made it into Tennessee in pretty fair time.

Jim Oliver's Smoke House Restaurant Trading Post

Traveling under overcast skies, we made our way to one planned stop en route. The owner of the vehicle we were driving had purchased some grilling spices here before, and wanted to replenish.

As with most of the trip, there were few vehicles on the road outside heavily populated areas. As we approached Monteagle, Tennessee, we skirted a large hill, slowly winding our way to its shoulder. Runoff from an earlier rain cascaded down cut rock faces, splashing from ledges and spraying into the lefthand ditch. In other spots, water had worked its way into seam and burst from the hillside in a white spray.

Finally, the road crested and we headed toward Exit 134. Jim Oliver's Smoke House advertises itself as "your Tennessee mountain get-a-way." The Smoke House offers vacation cabins, scenic backroads with hiking, waterfalls, and overlooks, a restaurant, an old general store that is equal parts sales floor and museum, packed with old cash registers, distilling equipment, and who knows what else. In better times, they offer live music every Friday and Saturday night. It looked like it would an enjoyable place to be. But we got the items we went in for, seeing three other people inside, and went on our way.

Smoke House Restaurant Trading Post

 We cleared Nashville with only one impromptu detour, looked at the time, and decided to keep on going. By 10 p.m., we were home. It may have been one of the stupidest things we've ever done. I hesitate to offer it champion status. This wasn't my first rodeo. But I was incredibly blessed by the doing of it.

One very meaningful thing to witness was the respect my father and these committed cattlemen have for one another. I have known for years that this is a passion for him. I didn't realize how much that passion is appreciated by others in the industry as well as by family. Very affirming.

I'm as excited to have had the chance to spend time together. I've been told that having Dad there was immensely meaningful to those we visited with. I know for me, the traveling, pointing out things of interest, joking, and experiencing were an honor and something I hope we can do again soon.