One local nonprofit organization active in the community saluted another when the Bulloch County Historical Society dedicated the double-sided “Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair” and “Kiwanis Club of Statesboro” monumental marker at the Kiwanis Fairgrounds.
Leaders of the Historical Society, including its President Joe McGlamery, Executive Director Virginia Anne Franklin Waters, Historical Marker Committee Chair Bill Waters and Program Vice President Brent Tharp spoke to Kiwanians during their weekly lunch meeting Jan. 6, 2022. The members of both organizations went outside to encircle the marker, which is near the flagpoles and has its “Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair” side facing the parking area.
You have to go around back of the marker to see the side headed “Kiwanis Club of Statesboro.” But the historical text, in gold-leaf lettering, is continuous from front to back. In fact, the Historical Society erected this marker about two years ago, but as Bill Waters noted, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed thoughts of a dedicatory service.
McGlamery, after noting that he joined the Kiwanis back in the 1960s before there was a permanent livestock barn, said that putting on the fair was a lot of work then and that he knows it still is.
“Thank you for the effort that you put forth to create this entertainment for our community – not just the entertainment, and that has great value – but the money that you’re able to put back into the hands of organizations, schools, individuals, kids,” he told the Kiwanis members. “It’s a wonderful thing you do. We also thank you for allowing us to install this marker to memorialize both the Kiwanis Club and the fair itself.”
The Kiwanis marker was actually the 26th placed by the Historical Society. Since the “Adabelle, Georgia” marker was placed and dedicated at the site of that vanished southern Bulloch County town in November, the total is now 27 markers.
Made to order by Sewah Studios in Marietta, Ohio of cast aluminum, with gold lettering and a deep brown, electrostatically applied powder-coat finish, a full-size marker like the one at the Kiwanis Fairgrounds weighs about 100 pounds including its metal post, Bill Waters noted. The lettering is limited to 20 lines on each side, and each line can hold up to 62 characters, including spaces.
“The most difficult part is not selecting the marker subject – in Bulloch County, we could put one up a month, if we had $3,500. That’s what it costs for those markers – it’s condensing this wonderful history,” said Virginia Anne Franklin Waters.
The text of the 26th marker traces the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair back 56 years to the first official one, which opened Oct. 11, 1965. But it also notes that the Kiwanis had attempted to hold agricultural fairs two previous years at a different location.
Tharp read aloud the full text of the marker, which follows. Each side of the monument also contains a notation at the bottom: “Supported by the Jack N & Addie D. Averitt Foundation.” The foundation is the main funding source for the markers and other Historical Society programs.
Marker text, front:
KIWANIS OGEECHEE FAIR
Chartered in 1960, the Kiwanis Club of Statesboro conducted agricultural fairs in 1963 and 1964 on open lots on Stockyard Road as fund raisers. After torrential rains nearly ruined the 1964 fair, the club purchased 28 acres on this site on November 7, 1964, from John Rushing for $20,156. Using their own labor with hand-held tools, Statesboro Kiwanians erected a 25,000 square foot exhibit building and two livestock sheds.
The first Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair here was opened on October 11, 1965 with an address by Georgia Senator Herman Talmadge. In 1971, a new livestock arena was dedicated by Georgia Lt. Gov. Lester Maddox. By 1973, the Statesboro Kiwanians focused on preserving local agricultural history and crafts by establishing a Heritage Village. The Aldrich House, a log-framed dwelling built in 1886 on Harville Road, was moved to the fairground in 1975 as the historical centerpiece. In 1990, the Kiwanis Community Building was built. From syrup boiling and flipping pancakes to the excitement of midway rides, these fairgrounds have been dedicated to preserving memories of generations past and building family memories for generations to come.
(continued on back side)
Marker text, back:
KIWANIS CLUB OF STATESBORO
(Continued from front side)
The Kiwanis Club of Statesboro held an organizational meeting at Mrs. Bryant’s Kitchen (a local restaurant) on February 29, 1960 and elected the following: Josh Lanier, President; Thomas Preston, Vice President; Weldon Dupree, Secretary; Herman Bray, Treasurer and Board of Directors: Belton Braswell, B. Avant Edenfield, T. W. Rowse, William Franklin, Naughton Beasley, Robert Ussery and Isaac Bunce.
The club’s first major community project in 1961 was a matching contribution of $3807 to Georgia Southern College which triggered matching federal scholarship funds of $34,259. The following Kiwanians personally guaranteed a note to Sea Island Bank for repayment: B. Avant Edenfield, Marion Brantley, J.W. Ray, J.E. Owens, Jr., J. Thurman Lanier, W. O. Stubbs, H. P. Jones, Willie Mac McGlamery, L.E. Mallard, Herman Bray, J.L. Dixon, William McKenney, Belton Braswell, Harold Howell, Miles Frank Deal, James Aulbert Brannen, Brown Childs, Wendell Rockett, John C. Wilson, Charles L. Brinson, W.H. Carroll, Weldon Dupree, Tal Callaway, Warren Evans, Naughton Beasley, Henry Appell, Wyatt Johnson and club pianist Emma Kelly. The loan was repaid in 1963 with proceeds from the first Ogeechee Fair.