Q: The Atlanta Botanical Garden has an area known as Storza Woods. Who was Storza, what is the history of the woodland area and how did the Garden acquire it? Was it part of the Piedmont Driving Club?
--John Atkinson, Duluth
A:You can trek through the woods in the city, thanks to Francis and Eleanor Storza, who were married philanthropists and early proponents of "creating a public garden for the Atlanta community," according to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. When Francis died in 1985, Eleanor established an endowment to help maintain the woods, an area that comprises 10 of the Garden's 30 acres and is one of the few remaining secondary growth mature hardwood forests in Atlanta. The Garden's new Canopy Walk, a 600-foot reverse suspension bridge, allows folks to walk among the tops of the maple, oak, tulip poplar, beech, black cherry, hackberry and flowering dogwood trees. The wooded area originally belonged to farmers, who had not extensively farmed or harvested trees there before selling it to the Gentlemen's Driving Club in the 1870s. The Gentlemen's Driving Club later became the Piedmont Driving Club, which sold land to the city to create Piedmont Park.
Q: As Columbia Drive passes over I-20 in DeKalb County, the bridge appears to have two names. There is an older marker that proclaims it's the Wheeler Bridge, while a newer, highway sign says it's the Shinhoster Bridge. So, what is the true name of the overpass and who are Wheeler and Shinhoster?
--Donna Kirkland, Belvedere Park
A:The bridge with an identity crisis goes by both names. It was originally dedicated and named for Jacob Wheeler, who was with the 5th Georgia Cavalry when he was killed on Sept. 28, 1864, and buried near where the bridge was later built, according to The DeKalb History Center. His grave was found in 1938, and a retaining wall was built around it, but a Columbia Drive widening project forced it to be moved. Wheeler is now buried in his family's plot in Hinesville and the bridge was named after him in 1980. In 2001, the Georgia Legislature passed a resolution to name the bridge in honor of civil rights leader Earl T. Shinhoster, a Savannah native and DeKalb resident who died in a car accident in 2000. The Georgia DOT said there are numerous highways, bridges and stretches of road that have "different names."
Q: Why is Cordele called the Watermelon Capital of the World?
A:We all know about Vidalia and its onions, but Cordele is just as proud of its watermelons. The south Georgia town insists that it grows not only the most, but also sweetest and tastiest of these summertime must-have treats in the world. Unlike other places that stake claim to lofty titles, Cordele seems to have earned its nickname honestly. Charles Hall is the executive director of the Georgia Watermelon Association and he replied to my e-mail by saying that, "… historically, more watermelons are grown in Crisp County (Cordele is the county seat) and surrounding counties than any other area in Georgia – and I guess the world." Watermelons are so important to Cordele that it celebrates the harvest with a festival that lasts most of June, complete with time-honored contests for seed spitting, watermelon eating and watermelon chunking.
What do you want to know?
If you’re new in town or just have questions about this special place we call home, ask us! E-mail Andy Johnston at q&a@ajc.com.
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