Sweet Tea: My, what big ears you have
Hello and welcome back to Sweet Tea, a newsletter about fascinating, heartwarming stories from around the South.
But first, an apology. Last week I told a story about a king cake I purchased that yielded a bumper crop of six creepy plastic babies. I promised a photo, but then forgot to add it. So, before we go any further, the king cake babies:
I warned you!
THE BEST DONKEY EARS IN THE WORLD
To think, of all the donkeys in the world, and the one with the longest ears is right here in the humble state of Georgia. We are honored — nay, blessed — to share a homeland with Hope, who lives on a little farm outside Macon.
- Hope’s ears are each 15.8 inches long. Most people don’t have a standard reference for donkey ear size, but Hope’s owner Hannah Frost was clued in when her veterinarian was like, “Wow, those are really big ears.”
- After painstaking measuring and documentation, the folks at Guinness World Records agreed. Hope’s ears were record-worthy.
- In celebration, Frost had T-shirts made, saying: “Longest-Eared Ass in the World.”
🫏 I couldn’t get enough of this charming write by the AJC’s Joe Kovac, Jr. Hope’s had a tough life, you’ll find out. She deserves some recognition.
PURPLE POTATOES
Did you know North Carolina is the nation’s top sweet potato producer? They do all kinds of potato magic up there.
- Agricultural scientists at North Carolina State University actually breed new varieties through their Sweet Potato and Potato Breeding and Genetics Program.
- That’s how we got the state’s most popular strain of sweet potato, the Covington.
- But, for a real treat, give a Starling a try. These purple sweet potatoes were also bred at NC State and are grown by organic farmers in the region.
- Starling potatoes taste like regular sweet potatoes, but are a little sweeter and aromatic.
🍠 They’re also one of a dozen delicacies from the AJC’s latest roundup of cool Southern treats to try. Other offerings include Tennessee toffee and sauce made with datil peppers grown in northern Florida. Read more here
SIPS FROM AROUND THE SOUTH
🚀 Ardmore, AL: Alabama’s “welcome mat to the world,” a remake of an iconic replica of the Saturn IB rocket, will soon be returning to the Alabama Welcome Center near Ardmore on I-65. The road trip landmark celebrates Alabama’s space and science history, and is about 30 miles from the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. More from AL.com
🎹 Charleston, SC: Talk about a Renaissance man. Local trucking company owner Aaron Lockard takes some time every week to tickle the ivories on the piano in the lobby of Medical University of South Carolina Health. He’s one of those gifted people who can play by ear, and his music brings unexpected brightness to patients and visitors. More from WCSC
🌳 Nashville, TN: With help from conservation groups like The Land Trust for Tennessee and TennGreen Land Conservancy, state landowners protected thousands of acres of beautiful, biodiverse Tennessee land in 2025. Land conservation easements limit how a property can be used, even if it is sold. Such arrangements protect natural habitats, rare ecosystems and meaningful stretches of nature. More from The Tennessee Lookout
⛳ Augusta, GA: Tiger Woods celebrated 30 years of his TGR Foundation, which has brought new opportunities for learning and pay to the golf mecca of Augusta and beyond. The foundation is planning a learning lab in Augusta that will teach science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. Another is planned for Atlanta. More from WRDW
🎖️ Rocky Mount, VA: A long-awaited monument to Black Civil War veterans will be unveiled today. Black men who served in the Union Army were called U.S. Colored Troops, and the sculpture is intended to capture the emotions USCT soldiers may have felt when the war ended. The work of art was made possible through a Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia grant and support from the Virginia Tech community. This is a great read that gets into the history, care and fellowship that made the monument possible. More from Cardinal News
TELL US SOMETHING GOOD
Is there a cool event we need to know about? Something great happening in your town? Let us know. This is your space, too. SweetTea@ajc.com.
SOUTHERN WISDOM
The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.
Ida B. Wells was born into slavery in Mississippi and freed under the Emancipation Proclamation as a baby. Her revolutionary investigative journalism publicized the evils of lynching. She was also one of the founders of the NAACP.
Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In addition to honoring his profound legacy, it’s a good time to remember other legendary Black minds who laid the foundations of the Civil Rights Movement decades, even lifetimes before.
Thank you for reading to the very bottom of Sweet Tea! Join us next week by subscribing to the newsletter.🍑
About the Author
AJ Willingham is an National Emmy, NABJ and Webby award-winning journalist who loves talking culture, religion, sports, social justice, infrastructure and the arts. She lives in beautiful Smyrna-Mableton and went to Syracuse University.
