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Deep
in the Heart of Somewhere
Number 2:
Dothan, Alabama
and Colquitt,
Georgia
An Easy Sunday Drive
by
John Troesser
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 |
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Tribute To
Sherman Rose, Aviator / Instructor
TE photo, November 2012
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Dothan Commerce
- and a man with an axe to grind
TE photo, November 2012
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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
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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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