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Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Folksy spin on history travels well
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
She taught in public elementary schools for 34 years, spending time in Coweta, Gwinnett, Baldwin and DeKalb counties.
When Mary Long retired in 1992, she didn’t forsake her desire to educate. She took it to the road.
She doesn’t know how it all got started, but colleagues began asking her to give group talks and presentations on history. She now travels the state to talk about three of her favorite topics: Georgia history, Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe and Abraham Lincoln. The presentations are packed with tidbits left out of most school texts. She shared a few with me.
Lincoln, for example, had a pet cat. And while I knew his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, was mentally unstable, I’d never heard her condition described so colorfully.
“The butter had slid off her biscuit,” Long said. “He had a wife who was later committed and had two sons to die before he did, and had to deal with the War Between the States. I don’t see how the man made it with all the stuff he had on his mind.”
And of the 20 or so men who petitioned the King of England to create Georgia, Long said Oglethorpe was the only one to join the voyage. “He was a bachelor, and his mother had just died,” she told me.
“A real interesting fella.”
Long schedules about 60 speaking engagements a year for church groups, civic clubs, whomever. She’s speaking to a Methodist group this week, “and I’m Baptist,” she said, chuckling.
Sometimes she asks those in attendance to make a donation. Contribute what you can, she tells them.
‘I get anything from $25 to $200 - whatever they come up with,” she said. “The more the better, though sometimes I do it for free. Well, to tell you the truth, I didn’t think I’d make much at it and if I did, I’d just give it away.”
And that’s what Long has been doing with her honoraria. She started a scholarship program that benefits students at her church, Lawrenceville First Baptist. She’s awarded about 15 scholarships through the years. Recipients must have completed one year of college. Applications are judged by educators from outside of the county with no affiliation with the church. Just to be fair.
On Sunday, Lawrenceville First Baptist held a ceremony to recognize the 2008 winners Kristen Tribble, a sophomore at the University of Georgia; Bryan Prevatte, a junior at Piedmont College; Andrew Clack, a Georgia Tech sophomore; and UGA senior Karen Ward. Each received a $1,000 check.
“I was fortunate enough to work with her this year, and choose the candidates,” said Bruce McGee, the church youth minister. “When the winners are announced, you see they have the same type of character that Mary has, even though that’s not a requirement. She is a wonderful example of what a community leader is.”
Long downplays the generosity. “I’m not that great,” she said.
After all, she told me, when it comes to money, “You can’t take it you.”
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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