It was the dream of a Gordon College student to honor President Franklin D. Roosevelt's visit to the City of Barnesville to speak in 1938, and his dream will come true with the unveiling of a Georgia Historical Society marker at a ceremony Tuesday, Oct. 6 starting at 10 a.m.
The marker will be placed at the corner of College Drive and Summers Field, on the northwest side of campus behind Guillebeau Hall. This is where, on Aug. 11, 1938, 50,000 people gathered in what was then the stadium for Gordon Military College to hear FDR dedicate the Lamar Electric Cooperative, a project of the New Deal's Rural Electrification Administration (REA.)
In 2006, while a student at Gordon College, Anthony McCalla -- who has since gone on to earn a degree in criminal justice and is a MARTA police officer --realized there was no historical marker commemorating FDR's speech. Through work with college instructors and administrators, Barnesville City Manager Kenny Roberts, and Raleigh Henry, CEO of Southern Rivers Energy, an application was made to the Georgia Historical Society. Even though the application was rejected three times, perseverance paid off and the application was approved in May 2009.
This is not solely a Gordon College event, but rather a team effort involving the Barnesville-Lamar Historical Society, City of Barnesville, College Corridor Committee, Friends of Roosevelt's Little White House, Georgia Historical Society, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, Georgia Rural Library Project, Inc., Southern Rivers Energy, and Yatesville Public Library.
Following the unveiling, a reception will be held in the Gordon College Hightower Library for viewing of Power to the People! an exhibit created by the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia. The exhibit is on loan to Gordon College through October and is available to the public for viewing.