A hunt for her husband’s family roots took Cindi Crane on more than a journey into a personal past. Her exploration sparked a fascination with the history of the Cherokee Indians in and around Roswell.
“Doing that research taught me a lot about the Cherokees and the history of the Georgia land lottery,” said Crane, who has lived in Indian Hills near the Roswell city limit since 1996. “I hadn’t even realized that Roswell was part of the original Cherokee nation.”
While pursuing the family history, Crane was toying with the idea of opening a restaurant in Roswell and began scouting out locations. The eatery never materialized, but days spent trekking through old houses gave her another brainstorm: to combine her love of the past and her new knowledge about the Cherokee into a novel.
Starting in April 2010, Crane, a full-time sales director for a software company, devoted her spare time to gathering local material. She dug into records at the Roswell Historical Society and read whatever she could find on the original Indian settlers.
“I spent weekends researching and reading books and online sources,” she said. “I went into Roswell Historical Society’s archives and read books on the history of Georgia, the Cherokees and the Trail of Tears. It took me until last September to get through it all.”
The result was twofold. First, there was her book, “Roswell Redemption,” a fictitious retelling of the Cherokees and their forced removal from Georgia. The second was the inspiration to erect a memorial to the tribe in Roswell.
“The really interesting thing I stumbled across was a story of how the Cherokees believed in having a fire going at all times,” she said “Someone made sure it never went out. They even took it with them all the way to Oklahoma. A few years ago, a tribe in North Carolina took embers from that flame for a monument there. We could also bring some of that to Roswell, the heart of the original Cherokee nation.”
So far, Roswell mayor Jere Wood has come out in support of Crane’s efforts, as has the Roswell Historical Society.
“It’s in the very early stages,” said Crane. “But I do hope to put it in the park around the square or somewhere where there will be traffic to see it. The goal is to educate people about the Cherokee and what they went through.”
On April 5, Crane will attend the meeting of the Historical Society to discuss her book as well as her ideas for a Cherokee monument. The free event will be held at 7 p.m. at Great Oaks, 786 Mimosa Boulevard. For info, visit www.roswellhs.org. /cq/
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Each Saturday, we shine a spotlight on a local neighborhood, city or community. To suggest a place for us to visit, e-mail Bob Howard at bhoward@ajc.com.
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