The Goat Man still has a following.
Several readers emailed to reminisce about Charles “Ches’ McCartney, who traveled throughout Georgia on a wagon pulled by his goats.
McCartney, who died in Macon in 1998, made an impact on many, judging by the emails I received.
Thanks for your stories. Here are a few of them.
“It was in the early 1950s when I first met the Goat Man. (My) Dad had met him earlier and delighted our family with stories about the man. Apparently they hit it off. … The man and his goats gave me a love of these animals, which exists to this day. I have never forgotten this man. I met him two or three times that summer.”
—Dinah (Hatfield) Fowler
“I remember seeing the Goat Man several times as he came through our little town of Stockbridge. I was always fascinated by all the things he had hanging on his wagon. As a child, I was afraid of him, but curiosity always took over and I got as close to the wagon as I could just to see what all he carried in his wagon.”
—Mary G. Elliott
“We came across the Goat Man on several occasions. Almost always, several cars would be parked along the roadside and curious people would be standing or walking in the area. He was always filthy and his goats were usually aggressive in pressing visitors for food or attention. … I don’t recall having ever bought anything from him but he always had something to sell.”
—Charles Coe
“Apparently the Goat Man plied routes on U.S. 78/278 from Atlanta to Augusta, passing through my little hometown of Dearing. In the late 1950s and early ’60s, we would get the advance word. “The Goat Man is coming.” We would run down to the road and wait, and here he would come down the roadside with his goats pulling that little wagon. Some of the goats would be riding In the wagon. … He would spend a good amount of time talking to us and passing the time.”
—Michael Reeves
I met the Goat Man around 1970 or ’71. Some friends and I had been to Jackson Lake for a day of skiing and we stopped by a store on Route 36 on our way home. The Goat Man and his caravan were out back, so we visited with him for 20-30 minutes. He told us many tales of his early years and his travels. … We gave him a few dollars when we left.”
—Bill Cavin
About the Author
