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Texas
Escapes Salutes: Dothan,
Alabama and Colquitt,
Georgia
An Easy Sunday Drive
by William “Billy” Warm
TE Photos
Reason:
Murals
Best time to visit: Sunday
Best food to accompany the trip: Peanut
Butter Sandwiches |
Welcome to Friendly Dothan,
Alabama
Mural commemorates an 1889 Tax Riot
TE photo, November 2012 |
Only
48 miles apart, less than 50 minutes if you really step on it, are two towns linked
by paint and peanuts. It could be called the “fumes and legumes” tour, although
by the time you read this, the paint has long-since dried. Visiting one place
without visiting the other would be a crime (a misdemeanor in Alabama but a felony
in Georgia). Besides, if you find yourself in either SW Georgia or SE Alabama,
there’s usually not a lot going on, so why not take the time to watch the paint
dry. I know it sounds dull, but it’s the way they applied the paint that makes
it so interesting.
Tiny Colquitt
(population under 2,000) has been declared First
Mural City by the Georgia Legislature, while Dothan, Alabama (population over
65,000) has long been known as The “Peanut Capital of the World.” It’s a sore
point for Georgia, so don’t bring it up in Colquitt.
It’s just a matter of time before the Dothan murals get mentioned in the form
of an official or semi-official slogan. They have a committee working on it.
Since
I have no idea where you live, you’ll have to supply your own starting point,
but since there are only two stops on this “tour,” just get to the first place
and drive to the next. Either way, you’ll be dazzled by the art – most of it commissioned
by professionals. You will see many of the artist’s names repeated in both towns
and some are even married to one another.
Ready?
“Let us go to
Dothan”
1. Genesis 37:13
2. “and gather peanuts to feed the multitudes.”
– Anon |
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George
Jones & Friends
TE photo, November 2012 |
It’s hard to stand
in downtown Dothan without getting the feeling you’re being watched.
It
could be the abundance of parking lots, or maybe the muralists are wise to the
technique applied to portraits whose eyes “seem to follow you around the room.”
And don’t blame it on security cameras, either. It’s “them,” Aviators,
musicians, soldiers, farmers, and at least one celluloid cowboy watch over you
– or glare, depending on how paranoid you are. |
G.W.
Carver, The "Peanut Wizard"
TE photo, November 2012 |
| Tribute
To Sherman Rose, Aviator / Instructor
TE photo, November 2012 |
| Dothan
Commerce - and a man with an axe to grind
TE photo, November 2012 |
| Observe
at your own risk! One man (and his shadow) got too close to a mural and became
part of it.
TE photo, November 2012 |
Girls
Had It Easy - Boys Handling Bricks for Church Construction
TE photo, November 2012 |
Tax
Riot Mural by Cheryl Mann Hardin (Detail)
TE
photo, November 2012 |
"Not
on the official tour, but..."
TE
photo, November 2012 | |
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