Georgia on MY Mind

As most of you know my "Peach" has gone back to Georgia for
a couple of weeks. I miss her and hope she is enjoying these days
with her sisters and family. I'm sure she will return with that
adorable Southern accent, I recall so vividly when I asked her for
our first date and she told me that she lived on "Tyyyler Street "
in Twin Falls. A lot of water has gone under the bridge in the
intervening 44 years. She has accomplished so much and made
me very happy. I hope that she has been happy too. I know it has
been no small sacrifice to leave her home and her
family and follow me.

This photo, taken at our Eborn Reunion at Bear Lake last year, would indicate that maybe all has not been lost. She has a new name and a wonderful family, and is always a joy to be around. How many people would not have smiled and been better people themselves, were it not for my Iris? What did a country bumkin from Lanark, Idaho and a pretty "Peach"from Macon, Georgia have in common. More than you might suppose. We were both avid fans of the Atlanta Braves and we both loved baseball. She had learned this love of the sport from her father and followed the Braves with him on the radio and TV for years. I had followed them since they were the Milwaukee Braves and won the World Series in 1957. This girl knew what a double play was and that it was OK to steal second base. We also had a common Brave hero, Dale Murphy, who was a member of the LDS Church and a National League MVP. He showed us that you can live high standards and still excel in sports at the major league level. I have a personally autographed baseball signed by Dale Murphy.

Another thing we had in common was a love of the Church, its teachings and its promise, that if we are true to our temple covenants we will be an eternal family. Our family means so very much to us. The opportunities and relationships developed because of our membership in the Church are among our most priceless possessions. When we married there was no temple in Georgia, or even close to it. We were married in the Logan Temple on July 1966. Now we live just a block and a half from that temple where our eternal relationship began. Now there is an LDS temple in Atlanta, Georgia and Iris' Sister Sandra and her husband Gene have served as President and Matron of this wonderful temple which brings the blessings of the Church closer to the saints in Georgia.

This is the skyline of modern Atlanta. It has become a great world city since it was burned by General William T. Sherman as he commenced his famous "March to the Sea" in 1864, just 135 years ago.

I found this picture of the old A.L. Miller High School where Iris attended school during her teenage years. It was an all girls school with about 2000students. She was the only LDS girl in her class. It was hard, but she stood by what she believed.These years were not the happiest for Iris. Maybe I should be glad because, that in part is one of the reasons she came out West. My life and all of our lives would certainly have been different had she not done so.

It's rather strange, but the Bear Lake Georgia connection didn't begin with Iris and Bart. This is a picture of the Stone Monument which was carved in the mountain just outside of Atlanta under the direction of Gutzon Borglum who was born in St.Charles, Bear Lake County, Idaho. He is the same person who created the famous carvings in the granite of Mt. Rushmore, in South Dakota.

Iris was not raised in a colonial mansion in Macon, but this is typical of the splendid plantation homes and architecture which still typify life on the large plantations of the Old South. This home is located in Macon,Georgia, Iris' home town.

Macon, where Iris was born, is located in the very center of the state of Georgia.

This is an old tower left from the original Fort Hawkins in Macon, Georgia. Iris attended school at Fort Hawkins Elementary School as a child. It was located not far from her childhood home.

This small picture show one of the mounds inhabited by the early Indians of Georgia. It is located just outside Macon at the Ocmullgee National Monument.

Georgia is a land of stately trees and magnificent flowering gardens,and peanuts as monument below will attest. Maybe that's why Iris seems a little "nutty" on occasion.

Georgia's climate is mostly hot and humid, the forests are lush and green with Spanish Moss hanging on many of the trees.Though my "Georgia Peach" is away for a time, she is always mind, she is always on my mind.