Varsity hot dogs. The Little White House. Coca-Cola, cotton and Ray Charles.
These and 45 other notable Georgia landmarks are given tribute in the new picture book “Georgia Icons: 50 Classic Views of the Peach State.”
Written by Georgia resident Don Rhodes with photographs by North Carolinian Jeff Barnes, the little book takes a quirky look at the things that make Georgia great.
Rhodes, 55, who works in corporate communications in Augusta, has previously written biographies of two of these icons -- soul musician James Brown and baseball great Ty Cobb. He spoke recently about selecting his 50 finalists and how three different musicians made the list.
Q. You’re heavy on musicians, aren’t you?
A. In the whole state of Georgia, among all those statues of politicians, there are only three statues of entertainers (James Brown, Ray Charles and Otis Redding) that make people happy. I decided since I crossed paths with and interviewed these guys, that I wanted to put them in there.
Q. Did you purposefully focus on areas other than Atlanta?
A. Without a doubt. You want to spread it around.
Q. How did you decide on icons?
A. Jeff is from North Carolina. He came up with stuff I thought was too common. I came up with stuff he'd never heard of (and we compromised.)
Q. What did you learn that you didn’t already know about Georgia?
A. I didn't know that Vidalia onions can only have that label if they're from an authorized certified Vidalia county. And what I also didn't know is they have embargoes on these counties, on (when) they can release to the public, so that all the onions will be at their peak.
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