Q: I would like to know more details of the accidental killing of Margaret Mitchell. Who was the driver? Were they charged with her death? Where are they now? What was the reaction at the time?
-- Dr. Robyn R. Reesman, Chattanooga
A: "Gone With the Wind" author Margaret Mitchell and husband John Marsh were heading to see the movie "A Canterbury Tale" at the Peachtree Art Theatre on Aug. 11, 1949. They were crossing Peachtree Street near 13thStreet when a car driven by off-duty taxicab driver and Newton County resident Hugh Gravitt headed toward them. The car skidded and hit Mitchell. She was sent to Grady Hospital, where it was determined that her skull was "fractured from the top of her head to the top of the spine," according to her obit in The New York Times, and that her pelvis was fractured in two places. Mitchell never regained consciousness and died on Aug. 16. Gravitt, who was 29 at the time of the accident, had 22 previous traffic offenses, according to a 1949 Time article, and smacked a truck with the same car he had hit Mitchell with while he was awaiting sentencing on charges of involuntary manslaughter for her death. Gravitt spent about 11 months in jail and died in Cumming on April 15, 1994. "This accident which happened was unavoidable," Gravitt said during his testimony. "I see her everytime I go to bed and I said then and I still say I would rather it to have been me than her." Marsh later said Gravitt wasn't totally to blame, according to longtime AJC columnist Celestine Sibley. Marsh said he and Mitchell were near the center of Peachtree when they saw the car. He said she panicked and ran into Gravitt's path. Mitchell was world renowned, so the nation paid close attention to her condition. People waited outside the hospital, friends manned extra phone lines and both President Truman and Georgia Gov. Herman Talmadge were given constant updates. The flag at the state capitol was flown at half staff until Mitchell's funeral. I recently walked through the amazing new Mitchell exhibit at the Atlanta History Center -- "Atlanta's Book: The Lost Gone With the Wind Manuscript" -- which is filled with tidbits about her life, insightful, well-written letters and, of course, parts of a "rare piece of her manuscript, once thought to be destroyed."
Q: Tell me about the Georgia Guidestones. What are they and where are they at?
A: These six massive slabs of granite have a perfect home in a grassy pasture just north of Elberton, the "Granite Capital of the World." They've been called the American Stonehenge – among many other things, both printable and unprintable -- and while there is mystery attached to them, they have been around since only 1980. Four gray stones, which are more than 16 feet tall and weigh 20 tons each, are upright and arranged in a circular pattern that supports a fifth. A sixth stone, buried in the ground a short distance away, includes details about the site. The four standing stones include 10 guides – or a new-age Ten Commandments -- written in eight languages: English, Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Hebrew, Swahili, Arabic and Chinese. It's thought that the sentences are supposed to help survivors as they rebuild civilization after an apocalypse. Here are a few: "Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature; Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason; Let all nations rule internally, resolving external disputes in a world court; Avoid petty laws and useless officials." It's not been proven who came up with the idea and bankrolled the Guidestones, but a man named R.C. Christian, which is thought to be an alias, is most often associated with them.
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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