ONE YEAR AGO, SEPT. 23, 2021
The Pex Theater may appear as an eyesore at the moment, but the Downtown Development Authority plans to change that as it enters the next phase of renovation: re-stuccoing the facade and bolting on a brand new marquee lit with LED panels. DDA chairwoman Teresa Doster shared plans and architectural drawings at the September Eatonton-Putnam Tourism, Arts and Heritage Partnership (EPTAHP) meeting, and said that once the outside of the Pex is complete, the focus will shift to the inside of the building.
FIVE YEARS AGO, SEPT. 21, 2017
A small crowd gathered Saturday morning at Little River Park and surrounding areas to watch as the boilers of Georgia Power’s Plant Branch were removed by implosion. “It was a lot more exciting than the dropping of the smokestack; this explosion was bigger,” said Alan Haley, of Lake Sinclair Realty, noting the situation was “bittersweet” because the plant had been a landmark for 40-plus years. Approximately 700 pounds of explosives were used for the job, according to Georgia Power spokesman John Kraft.
25 YEARS AGO, SEPT. 25, 1997
Gatewood School Headmaster Tom Johnson said the 1997-98 school year has brought Gatewood its highest enrollment ever. The school now has 420 students, and Johnson pointed out that not all of them are from Putnam County. “Some come from Greene, Morgan, Baldwin and several other counties, for recognition of Gatewood is widespread and we now enroll students whose parents might have chosen to send them to more distant schools,” Johnson said.
50 YEARS AGO, SEPT. 21, 1972
Putnam County High School Marching Band participated in the annual Band Day held at the University of Georgia football game Saturday. Thirtyfive high school bands combined in the latter part of the halftime show playing beautiful, gayful music.
Among their presentations were “Tea for Two” for tubas, “El Cumbanchero,” “You Gotta Be a Football Hero,” “Glory, Glory to Old Georgia” and “Hail to Georgia.” The crowd was very enthused over the show.
75 YEARS AGO, SEPT. 25, 1947
According to the annual report of the Eatonton Library, 8,647 books circulated in the period Sept. 1, 1946, through August 1947. Total number of readers is set at 11,031 with a membership roster of 777.
There are at present 10,765 books in the library, 76 of which were added during the past year. 193 books were removed from circulation during the year.
100 YEARS AGO, SEPT. 22, 1922