As far back as I can remember Clarkesville, Georgia, has been a part of the landscape of my life. Both of my parents grew up here in Habersham and my grandmothers and many of my aunts, uncles and cousins lived here. Some of them still do. Although the military drew my family away from this community for 30 years, we spent summers and Christmases in Clarkesville visiting our extended family and friends.
A walk down Washington Street and memory lane
I had my first “date” at the old Turpen’s Drug Store on the west side of the Clarkesville Square. I’ll never forget it. I was so excited when my grandmother, Bernice Grant, gave me permission to walk with a neighborhood friend, Pete Mauney, from her house on Laurel Avenue down Washington Street to the drugstore on the square. Pete and I spent hours sitting in a booth sipping bottled Cokes and reading comic books. What a memory!
My Uncle Howard and Aunt Winnie Wheeler owned the Otasco Store that once sat on the east side of the square. Winnie always snuck me quarters from the cash register drawer whenever I stopped by for a visit. My dad’s first job was as a soda jerk in what is now Tucker’s restaurant. He quit after one day to play baseball. My great-aunt Ruby Fulbright was the Habersham County Clerk for 40 years and worked in the old yellow brick courthouse. I grew up on tales of how my great-uncle William Westbrook ran the film projector at the local movie house (now the Habersham Community Theater) during that sad time in our nation’s history when segregation was still the norm. White people sat downstairs; black people had to sit in the balcony.
My ties to this treasure of a town run deep. So it was with great sadness and dismay that my ears and heart met the news of the Clarkesville Square fire on March 5, 2014.
That night fire broke out inside Sweet Bread’s Cafe on East Water Street directly behind the historic downtown district. The flames jumped fifteen feet to the adjoining buildings and suddenly the unthinkable happened…the town, with all of those memories and moments attached to it, went up in flames.
From the ashes
The downtown Clarkesville fire lit up the night sky. Firefighters from throughout Habersham and neighboring counties responded. Law enforcement and city support personnel sprang into action. Onlookers and media from beyond Habersham’s borders converged on our tiny town to witness the burning. It was big news…and a big heartbreak.
The downtown Clarkesville fire is now part of our local history. It’s a night people will recall and reflect upon for generations to come.
On Thursday a small crowd gathered in the Clarkesville gazebo for a brief service marking the one year anniversary of that tragic event. While the commemoration service was brief, it was fitting. The focus wasn’t on what was lost but, rather, what was found in the burned out rubble of our town’s historic buildings. Gratitude that no one was injured. Determination to rebuild. Hope for the future. A strong sense of community.
Clarkesville Strong
Immediately after the fire people in Habersham rallied around those whose workplaces – and jobs – were claimed by the flames. Clarkesville Strong became our city’s motto. Money was raised under this banner and the community awakened in the days after with a renewed sense of hope.
Yes, our community faced the devastating loss of locales intricately tied to our memories and life moments but what we discovered in the process is even more meaningful and enduring. We found a sense of purpose. We found hope. We found resilience. We found strength and, above all, we found each other.
Clarkesville Strong. It’s more than a motto. It’s the essence of the souls of those firefighters who bravely fought back the flames the night of March 5 into the early morning hours of March 6, 2014. It’s the heartbeat of the city leaders and employees who tirelessly worked these past twelve months to develop a master plan for rebuilding. It’s the spirit of the residents and nearby neighbors who rallied to support those left unemployed by the fire.
Clarkesville Strong. It’s more than a motto, it’s who we are. In the months and years ahead as decisions are made and resources are devoted to rebuilding, may we always remember that. There are bound to be disagreements about where we are headed, but there is unity in where we have been.
May we forever remain, Clarkesville Strong!
