The trial of Clarence Newton Johnson for the murder of his son-in-law, Ernest Buffington, was held at the Dade County courthouse during the March term of the Superior court of 1947, not quite a year after the murder occurred. The presiding judge was J.M.C. Townsend, who was well-known as a wise and fair judge, not only in Dade County but across the state.

From reading the trial transcript, one comes away with a sense of Judge T...

I came across a picture at the library a few weeks ago that fascinated me. It was a picture of almost 40 young women made in 1948, the members of the Future Homemakers of America or the FHA at Dade County High School. Surprisingly, I almost immediately identified a few of them, my husband’s aunt, my father’s first cousin, a well-loved teacher, and two family friends.

My friend Donna Street, always up on her history, told me tha...

The Head River Baptist Church was and is a beautiful, isolated place of worship on Lookout Mountain that seems to radiate peace and tranquility. But there was at least one day in its history when it descended into tragedy and chaos that resulted not only in the loss of one life but in grave harm to many others.

No one seems to know exactly when the Head River Church was organized, but it appears to have come about when the comm...

On December 19, 2020, we wish to remember our veterans, honor their service and teach our children about them. To date, Wreaths Across America Dade County has identified almost 275 veterans from Dade County and northeast Alabama. It Is our sincere wish to lay a wreath on the gravesite of each of these deserving veterans. Thank you to all who have contributed. To date, we have received sponsorships and donations that will...

Note: The following article is taken from the History of Dade County, Georgia, Volume II. The articles for this book were written by volunteers, this one probably a church member, but he or she is not identified. The article was written sometime in the late 1990s and so does not include more recent history. The Rising Fawn United Methodist Church still meets either in person, or virtually, during this time.--Linda Wilson

In 184...

Several years ago, Magistrate Judge Joel McCormick’s father, Bert McCormick, borrowed some books I’ve collected in doing genealogy to learn more about his ancestors. The next time I saw Judge McCormick, he told me I had about put his daddy in an early grave. When I asked how, he said, “When he looked at your books, he found out that his McCormick ancestor was in the Union Army, and it’s about killed him.”

Evidently, this was qu...

(This article appears in Vol. II of the Dade County History Book. It was written several years ago and does not cover more recent history of the church. The article has been edited as the original article contains history of the community and the schools. The article in its entirety can be found in the Dade County History Book which is for sale at the Dade County Library and the local banks.)

Actually, very little is known of t...

As we should always remember, Memorial Day is not just the beginning of summer or an excuse for stores to hold a sale. It is not even a day set aside to honor veterans and active service members. Memorial Day is to remember the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.

I have many ancestors and relatives who have served in the U.S. military, but most of them came home. Two died in the Civil War, but only one mo...

Editor's note: This is the final installment of Verenice's memoir about growing up on a mule-and horse-powered farm near Valley Head during the Great Depression. The memoir was edited, and the photos used here compiled by, her daughter, Linda Hawkins Wilson. For earlier installments, please scroll down The Planet's homepage. 

Courting, Marriage, and Starting a Family

         While I was still in nursing school, when I would go...

These two church histories appear in Volume II of the History of Dade County, Georgia, which was published by the Dade County Historical Society in 2011. Some of the articles were written much earlier. Mrs. Minnie Street was a teacher in Dade County for many years. She was my first-grade teacher, the person who taught me to read.--Linda Wilson

Rising Fawn Church of Christ

(Submitted by Minnie Street)

In the spring of 1962 a small...

Editor's Note: This is the fourth installment of Verenice's memoir about growing up on a local farm during the Great Depression. It was edited, and the old photographs used here compiled by, her daughter, retired English teacher and local history writer Linda Hawkins Wilson. To see earlier segments, scroll down The Planet's home page. 

Remedies

            When I was growing up, we did not have antibiotics so different treatment...

Editor's Note: This is the third installment of Verenice's memoir about growing up on a farm near Valley Head during the Great Depression. It was edited, and the old photographs used here compiled by, her daughter, retired English teacher and local history writer Linda Hawkins Wilson. To see earlier segments, scroll down The Planet's home page.

Some Things We Grew

          In early spring you made a bed to grow sweet potato pla...

Editor's Note: This is the second part of local historian Linda Wilson's findings on the World War I veterans depicted in this old photograph of Dade County army inductees, taken on July 24, 1918.

First Row: Len Mason, Asa Reeves, Grady Hawkins, Charlie Gass, Bert Holtzhower, Gene Bates. Second Row: Dent Dean, Ed Tucker, Byron Forester, Lawrence Gass, Boss Cole. Third Row:  Mike Castleberry, Frank Carroll, Charlie Redding, Dolp...

Editor's Note: This is part 2 of Verenice Hawkins' memoir about growing up on a farm near Valley Head during the Great Depression. Scroll down The Planet's home page to access part 1.

Grandmothers

          Both my grandfathers died before I was born and both my grandmothers died when I was 5 years old. Granny Cooper (left) lived with us the last few years of her life. We kept a close watch on her because there was a story about...

Editor's Note: Verenice Hawkins is one of Dade County's great natural resources. As Dade's public health nurse, she vaccinated generation after generation of babies; then, in retirement she began volunteering in the schools to help children with their reading and also agitated successfully to get CPR taught as a requirement in Georgia high schools. Now she has completed a memoir about her childhood on a horse-and-mule-powered...