Old Golf Clubs for Children's Charity

I have become a pretty good golf club restorer. I have a collection of over 20 putters and several woods I've refinished, and I found a guy to re-chrome, sandblast, plate, etc. club heads for me at a reasonable price. If you have any clubs that may be of value lying around the house, ship them to me. I will restore them and sell them on eBay. The proceeds except the actual money I put into them via the re-finisher, will be given to several children's charities I have been associated with. The following clubs are of value:

-Anything Titleist/Acushnet - Putters, woods, iron sets, wedges.
-All Scotty Cameron Putters
-Ping Anser and Tess Putters
-All Odyssey Putters
-Cleveland "Designed By" Putters and All Wedges
-Wilson Putters - 8802, 8813, 600, Augusta
-Virtually any putter with 8802 style (see pic), especially Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, and Jack Nicklaus models.
-Taylormade Rossa Series Putters, and Woods r7 and newer, Rescue Clubs.
-Callaway Hawkeye VFT irons, Heavenwoods
- Anything else, contact me via email, subject: Clubs for Kids

I will pay for shipping, too. email me what you intend to send, and I'll email you back with instructions.

Thanks, and may God Bless You and continue to do so.

Kevin Todd
kevinwtodd@optonline.net

Trilogy/Quadrilogy Update

What started as a simple, historical drama has evolved into a three-part series about the trials and tribulations of a simple, Southern soldier during the Civil War and Reconstruction. I started writing a book about the end of the war, and a soldiers' return home. The character became somewhat detached from the main theme, so I decided to start with another book to introduce and mature the character to the audience in a manner that will endear him to the reader. So, now we start at the beginning of the war.

The main character joins the 1st Virginia Cavalry. Throughout the war, these men were everywhere in the Virginia Theatre. The enormous amount of content begged for a minimum of three books. The best part is that I can write all three simultaneously as certain information transcends the whole era. The hard part is weaving the tale to get from point "A" to point "B" with a thousand sidesteps.

I was hoping to publish before Summer of 2010, but it looks like I'll be lucky to finish it this year. Hopefully, I can get the first in the series published and release the others in quick succession.

My Book

I've read over 250 books on the US Civil War and have become an authority on the subject. So, I decided to write a historical novel about a Confederate Soldier's return home after the war. It goes through the trials and tribulations of a difficult journey, only to find death and destruction once he arrives home. To make matters worse, he finds that his wife has been deported by Sherman to the North. He goes after her and becomes a vigilante. This is based on all true events especially the history of Roswell which you can read about in my earlier blog "Roswell Mill Workers".

I have a few other books in the process of outlining as well. I chose Lost Cause as the name for my company as it fits the Southern War for Independence and Myself perfectly.

The wit and wisdom of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

Born: 1706-01-17
Died: 1790-04-17

Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.

The absent are never without fault. Nor the present without excuse.

A benevolent man should allow a few faults in himself, to keep his friends in countenance.

Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.

Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.

Wise men don't need advice. Fools won't take it.

Clearly spoken, Mr. Fogg; you explain English by Greek.

Who had deceived thee so often as thyself?

Content makes poor men rich; discontentment makes rich men poor.

God heals and the doctor takes the fee.

Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.

He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.

If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

If you would know the value of money try to borrow some.

Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half-shut afterwards.

Were it offered to my choice, I should have no objection to a repetition of the same life from its beginning, only asking the advantages authors have in a second edition to correct some faults in the first.

Here comes the orator with his flood of words and his drop of reason.

He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.

Allatoona Lake

Many of you may know this. Allatoona Lake was created to stop flooding, not as a reservoir for Atlanta. In fact, the water and electricity generated by the dam are for the Acworth-Cartersville area. The dam is actually in Cartersville city limits.

The lake gets it's name from the town Altoona (spelling changed) that was destroyed by damming the Etowah River. The Etowah flows into the Coosa River (North Flowing) which runs through Rome. Years of major flooding in the early 1900's caused the Army Corps of Engineers to get involved. The dam was their solution.

Altoona and Altoona Station were battle locales during Sherman's march on Atlanta. Altoona Station was located between Big Shanty Station (Kennesaw) and Kingston (West of Cartersville). Altoona was not a large town, but the area was home to many small farmers. Instead of coming up with another solution, the Army chose to drown these lands in a meandering, river-like lake.

Allatoona Lake is the watershed for 1,100 square miles of Georgia. That is a lot of rain run-off. Seems it would have been easier to relocate Cartersville, something the City of New Orleans should have been considering for 300 years now.

Roswell Junction, Georgia

Charles Dunwoody, builder of the Roswell Railroad, built the tracks south for good reason: to link up with the Georgia Railroad, a track between Atlanta and Augusta. As stated in my "Charles Dunwoody" post, it was a vital line in bringing raw materials to Roswell's Mills and returning manufactured goods to market. Several enterprising men built dairy farms at the intersection of the lines, a not uncommon practice for getting milk to market quickly. As the population grew, a petition for a post offfice was submitted for the new town of Roswell Junction. The Postal Service felt that confusion would ensue due to two towns having similar names in such a small area. The service randomly selected one of the petioneer's names for the Post Office: Chamblee. Mr. Chamblee was a black railroad worker and nothing else is really known about him.

Chamblee's gently rolling hills were perfectly suited to dairy farming. Of course the area was more of a pature than a town. In 1917, Camp Gordon was located in Chamblee as a training center for U.S. Soldiers because of the open land, proximity to Atlanta, and railroad lines. Many restaurants, stores, theatres, hotels, and a bowling alley were built for the troops. After the war, the camp shut down and Chamblee returned to it's dual role as dairyland and railroad junction now with an actual commercial town.

In 1941, Camp Gordon re-opened as a Naval Flight Training Center which it was for the duration of World War II, now known as Peachtree-Dekalb Airport. A veterans hospital was also opened during the war. During the war, a road was built for transportation of troops. Renamed Peachtree-Industrial after the war, the town welcomed industries such as GM, Frito-Lay, Kodak, and GE

Bull Sluice Lake, Sandy Springs

Ever heard of Bull Sluice Lake? It's one of Sandy Springs hidden treasures. Loaded with wildlife, Blue Herons, Hawks, Deer, and full of Bass and Trout, it is a natural paradise. Or is it?

Bull Sluice Lake is named after 35' high Bull Sluice Waterfall. The waterfall was destroyed by Georgia Power in 1904, to create a hydroelectric plant to power the streetcars of Atlanta. If you ask any Atlantan where this lake is, they'll look at you with a blank expression. If you ask where Morgan Falls are, then you'll get the nod.

Yes, Morgan Falls creates Bull Sluice Lake. However, have you ever seen it? I've been there at least 20 times and never bothered to look upstream. The name change to Morgan Falls was a tribute, or vanity, of Ga. Power President Morgan Smith, who changed the name for his mother's maiden name 'Morgan'. When the lake is at full capacity, it is able to accommodate power boats. So, there must be another road to the area, in order that the boats can be launched above the dam.

The old waterfall must have been something to see. The river is fairly wide at this point. This could have been the most powerful falls in the whole state. Oh well, I guess streetcars need power to operate. Now, the electricity generated by the dam is said to power 4500 homes. That's about enough to take care of the townhouses on Morgan Falls Rd. Maybe.

Maj. Charles Dunwoody

Charles was born in 1828 in Liberty County, Georgia (south of Savannah), as the 6th and last child of James Bulloch Dunwoody, a Physician. The family was aquainted with Roswell King, and kin to James Bulloch. When Roswell King moved inland to what is now Roswell, he parceled the Dunwoody's a plot of land to the North of town. James Dunwoody opened a tannery that Charles worked. This evolved into a shoe manufacturing mill in Roswell owned by Charles. At the beginning of the war, Charles formed the Roswell Guard and led it as a Major. He was at first Mannassas where he was severly wounded. He returned home, and ran the home guard. If you read my previous post, you know what happened to Roswell. After Sherman left, Charles worked as a private in the cavalry in Georgia. Upon returning home to the ruins, he moved south to the approximate location of the Spalding-Roberts intersection and began farming. He requested a post office and the town of Dunwoody was born. In his later life, he built a railroad from Chamblee, thru Dunwoody, to Roswell where raw materials were sent and manufactured into goods. The name of the only Engineer of this line was "Roberts", hence the road. Dunwoody also re-built a bridge near the present day Roswell Rd. bridge across the Chattahoochie.

Dunwoody once encompassed the area along Spalding to the river, what is now Sandy Springs (sic). Dekalb County ceded the land to help form a new county, Milton, which was for all practical purposes what we call North Fulton. It was disolved into Fulton County later. Too bad, I'm sure the majority of North Fulton residents would be happy to be out of the Atlanta/Fulton County district.

DeKalb County & Atlanta

Did you know that DeKalb County was created by land ceded from Henry County after the Indians were relocated to Northwest Georgia. The original boundaries were from Stone Mtn. in the East, to the Chattahoochie in the West, and North from Henry Co. all the way to a bend in the "Hooch" that led into Gwinett. Yes, that's right, Atlanta and all of Fulton County was originally Henry and then DeKalb County.

Originally, Atlanta was named "Standing Peachtree" by the Native Indians. When the land was sold, a man named Thrasher named it after himself. When settlers arrived, they changed it to Terminus because of the new railroad construction going on. That was a bad name and subsequently they changed it to Marthasville, named after Thrasher's wife. A few years later, John Thomson, the railroad chief suggested the name Atlantica Pacifica and the town shortened it to Atlanta.

When Thrasher was founded, DeKalb County ceded the land to be a new county, Fulton, and a line was drawn halfway from Decatur to Thrasher running due North and South.

U.S. Civil War?

Why is this period called a Civil War? By definition, a Civil War denotes an attempt by two parties to control the government. Obviously, this was not a Civil War. Some people refer to it as the War of Northern Aggression. In truth, that's what it was, but on a larger scale it was the War for Southern Independence. It was no different from the Revolution, or War for American Independence. The facts are simple. The Radical Republicans (now the Democratic Party), through the election of Abraham Lincoln. threatened the freedoms of the nation, especially in the South. The Southern States agreed that this act was the final stage in a series of political coups to remove power from them. Feeling no longer represented in the government, they seceded in an attempt to form their own government and nation, exactly as the Continental Congress had done to Britain. As for the North, they have no reason to call it a war at all. They never declared war, they fought to save the Union, exactly like the British did. They drew first blood. Ft. Sumter was bloodless, no deaths, and merely an attempt by South Carolina to regain control of their own land. Lincoln had been advised by the SC Gov't. to evacuate the fort in January. It was only attacked after South Carolinians discovered Lincoln's attempt to re-supply the fort via the "Star of the West". When the ship was spotted outside Charleston Harbor, the Rebels opened fire. Lincoln calculated this move, knew the South Carolinians would fire, and thereby provoked them to start of the war. The blood is all on his hands.

Lincoln is glorified as the greatest President behind Washington. In the pages to come, you will soon see what a devious, lying, law-breaking man he really was.

The Roswell Mill Workers

In the 1840's, Roswell King from Brunswick, Ga. moved inland to Roswell to create a textile mill on the Vickery Creek, a tributary of the Chattahoochie, mainly to get away from the ocean weather. His son Barrington, along with newly arrived shoe manufacturer Charles Dunwwoody, created the City of Roswell employing over 300 people in their mills.

By the time the War came along, the mills had been converted into tent fabric manufacturers. On July 5, 1864, the U.S. Cavalry comandeered Roswell. On July 7, Sherman ordered the mills burned and all workers transported under guard to Marietta. They arrived in Marietta on July 12th, over 400 women and countless children. They were immediately sent north via train to Louisville, KY and Indiana. Many died on the way. Most were never heard from again.

Men returning home from the war found their families gone, with no official mention of where. One man re-married, assuming his wife was dead. She had been left by the Union to fend for herself in Chicago. It took her 7 years to "walk" home to Roswell, children in tow.

Can you imagine going off to war, returning home, and finding all the women and children gone? And for what? Making tent fabric. I'm pretty sure we won't meet Mr. Sherman beyond the pearly gates.

This is not the only incident of this nature done by the Union. But, this one caught the publics attention as an outrage, North and South, and probably would have been reversed had Sherman not gone onto victory shortly thereafter and removed this so-called "blemish on his record" from the public eye.

North Point Online

Powerful....The power and grace of God, taught through the amazing works of Paul, and explained to the masses in an easy to understand manner by Andy. I feel as though I've been born again, again!

The Hightower Trail

I know all Atlantans are familiar with the name Hightower. Did you know it was an Indian trail leading from Augusta, through Social Circle (where it meets with the Cherokee Trail), heads smack through Dunwoody to Roswell, and finally to the Cherokee and Etowah settlements in Northwest Georgia. In fact, this became one of the main trails by which the Metro counties became settled.

The trail winds past Peeler Rd. onto Happy Hollow, through Kingsley, across Mt. Vernon into Dunwoody Club Forest, right past Mon & Dads House through the woods onto Bend Creek, crossing Dunwoody Country Club, Spalding, across Northridge, through Huntcliff, to a river crossing called "Shallow Ford" and onto Azalea Dr. It heads to Marietta from this point.

If you know the historical markers in town, now you know why Maj. Gen. James McPherson left Marietta, crossed the river, and marched through Dunwoody towards the battle of Cross Keys (East Atlanta). It was a well-established trade route by 1864.

"Ianisms" - Part I

Last night laying in bed trying to get him to go to sleep....

IT: Daddy, what's mommy doing?
KT: She's downstairs picking up the food you left out and putting it away.
IT: I'll go start an investigation!

IT: There's this guy Cyborg who punches, and shoots out of his arms.
KT: That's pretty cool.
IT: Yeah, he was built with technology!

IT: What are we doing tomorrow?
KT: Hiking and swimming.
IT: What about the next day?
KT: You're going to visit Ashley and Corrine.
IT: I like them. I haven't seen them in 15 years!

The wonderful mind of a 5 year old boy...

Saturday, Ian and I were driving home from dinner in my truck. He asked me if a certain house was for sale that he saw. I said "no" and he asked how I knew. I explained to him that houses for sale had signs out in front of them. "Well, I need to buy one" , he said, "so when I move out I'll have my own place." I asked him when he planned on moving out. "As soon as I'm big like you, but i need to get the house now", he responded. I told him that he didn't need to worry about that until he was out of school and working. "Will that house still be for sale?", he asked. I explained that it probably would not be, but many others would be available. He paused for a moment and then asked "Can we buy me a car?"