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06 SR873/AP

Senate Resolution 873

By: Senators Stoner of the 6th, Wiles of the 37th, Hill of the 32nd, Rogers of the 21st and Thompson of the 33rd

ADOPTED

A RESOLUTION

To dedicate certain portions of the state highway system; and for other purposes.

PART I

WHEREAS, Emory Parrish was born in 1929 and reared in Adel, in Cook County, Georgia; and

WHEREAS, he was born to June Jackson Parrish and Ada Belle S. Parrish; and

WHEREAS, he went to Cook County schools and graduated from Sparks-Adel High School in 1946; and

WHEREAS, in 1950, he married his high school sweetheart, Nelda Futch, and they have been blessed with 55 years of marriage, two children, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, he graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in civil engineering and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army Corps of Engineers; and

WHEREAS, upon graduation, he went to work for the State Highway Department until being called to active duty in July, 1951, and he spent two years in Germany while in the Army; and

WHEREAS, he was separated from active duty in 1954 and returned to work at the State Highway Department in Sylvester, Georgia; and

WHEREAS, he earned his Master's of Science degree in civil engineering in 1960, and in 1967 he was appointed the first deputy commissioner of the Department of Transportation, a position he held for 13 years; and

WHEREAS, during his tenure at the Georgia Department of Transportation, he was involved in many projects, including serving on the committee to design and create MARTA and the initial traffic study that planned what eventually became I-285; and

WHEREAS, his military career really began with his leaving active duty in 1954, as he held numerous positions and ended up serving as the Commanding General of the Army Reserve Command; and

WHEREAS, he retired from the Georgia Department of Transportation in 1981 and from the military in 1983; and

WHEREAS, it is only fitting that a person who has served the people of Georgia, and the nation, so honorably for so many years should be honored by having a major interchange on a busy interstate named in his honor.

PART II

WHEREAS, the Vandiver family were the original settlers of the Tallulah Falls area; and

WHEREAS, for the purpose of trading with the Native Americans, Reverend George Vandiver constructed a trading post at the junction of the Tallulah and Chattooga Rivers, which in the 1780's was the first permanently established business in the Tallulah Falls area; and

WHEREAS, Reverend George Vandiver was a soldier in the Revolutionary War who drew a pension for his honorable service in that war and who is buried in the area now known as Tallulah Gorge State Park; and

WHEREAS, Reverend George Vandiver was the first moderator of the Tugalo Baptist Convention; and

WHEREAS, in recognition and tribute to Reverend George Vandiver as a truly great patriot, minister, tradesman, and citizen of the Tallulah Falls area, it is most fitting that the State of Georgia perpetuate his name in an appropriate fashion.

PART III

WHEREAS, the Vandiver family were the original settlers of the Tallulah Falls area; and

WHEREAS, the most famous of that family was Adam Poole Vandiver, due to his exploits as a hunter, trapper, pathfinder, and storyteller whose door was always open for his fellow citizen and the weary traveler who chanced upon his cabin; and

WHEREAS, Adam Poole Vandiver served in the War of 1812 and the Creek Indian War; and

WHEREAS, Adam Poole Vandiver was wounded during the Battle of Autosee while fighting to protect the citizens of Georgia; and

WHEREAS, Adam Poole Vandiver never turned a hungry traveler from his door nor failed to give directions to any who may have been lost in the area, always being ready to assist his fellow man; and

WHEREAS, Adam Poole Vandiver was known as the "Hunter of Tallulah" and his descendants still populate the Tallulah Falls area; and

WHEREAS, in recognition and tribute to the numerous, lengthy, and detailed truths and legends which make up the legacy of Adam Poole Vandiver to the area of Tallulah Falls, it is most fitting that the State of Georgia perpetuate his name in an appropriate fashion.

PART IV

WHEREAS, Mary Will was born to William and Sally Rutherford on October 1, 1910, on what is now known as SR 355; and

WHEREAS, in 1928, she married Dewey Robinson, whose family also lived on SR 355, and together they had six children; and

WHEREAS, she was widowed in 1949 and left to raise her children, one of whom was born three months after her husband's death, alone; and

WHEREAS, the family endured many hardships and all of them worked for neighboring farmers to support themselves; and

WHEREAS, Mary Will's children attended Marion County public schools and all of them grew up to be responsible adults; and

WHEREAS, Mary Will was an active member of the community, sometimes acting as midwife and sometimes serving as the undertaker, and she also cared for her widowed father until his death; and

WHEREAS, she was one of the founding members of the Brown Springs Church of God and was the last surviving member when she passed away; she rarely missed a church service and helped to care for the cemetery which is now her final resting place; and

WHEREAS, three of her sons, Clarence (Peewee), Rainey, and Benny still live in the community; and

WHEREAS, to honor Mary Will Robinson and her life of service to her family, her church, and her community, it is only fitting that the highway she was born and died on should be named in her honor.

PART V

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the members of this body dedicate the interchange of routes I-75 and I-285 in Cobb County as the Emory Parrish Interchange.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Reverend George Vandiver is memorialized by the dedication of one of the bridges on US 441 immediately north of the Town of Tallulah Falls, Georgia as the Reverend George Vandiver Memorial Bridge.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Adam Poole Vandiver is memorialized by the dedication of one of the bridges on US 441 immediately north of the Town of Tallulah Falls, Georgia
as the Adam Poole Vandiver Memorial Bridge.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the portion of SR 355 beginning at the intersection of Dr. Brooks Road and continuing to the intersection with SR 352, in Marion County, is dedicated as the Mary Will Robinson Memorial Highway.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is authorized and directed to erect and maintain appropriate signs dedicating the road facilities named in this resolution.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to the Department of Transportation, to Emory Parrish, to the family of Reverend George Vandiver, to the family of Adam Poole Vandiver, and to the family of Mary Will Robinson.