Mac Hyman (born Mackenzie Hooks Hyman; August 25, 1923 – July 17, 1963), was an American fiction writer who is known for his best-selling novel No Time for Sergeants , which was adapted into a popular Broadway play and a motion picture.
31-548: Hyman was born in Cordele, Georgia , where he discovered his passion for writing as a student in high school, and first displayed his skill in a humorous article published in the school newspaper. Following a year at North Georgia College and State University , he attended Duke University starting in 1941. He interrupted his studies to serve in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II as
62-455: A collection of Hyman's letters entitled Love, Boy: The Letters of Mac Hyman were both published posthumously. His short story " The Hundredth Centennial " was published by The Paris Review in 1954. Another short story, " The Dove Shoot ", was published in a collection of works by Duke authors in 1963. Hyman's daughter Gwyn Hyman Rubio is the author of Icy Sparks and The Woodsman's Daughter . Cordele, Georgia Cordele
93-635: A dam on it. The Flint is one of four rivers in the southeast with significant remaining populations of Hymenocallis coronaria , the Shoals spider-lily. Four separate stands of the plant have been studied and documented in the river, ranging from Yellow Jacket Shoals to Hightower Shoals. In Gone With the Wind , author Margaret Mitchell describes the Flint River as bordering the fictional plantation Tara . American country music singer Luke Bryan ,
124-564: A fertilizer factory, and other small manufacturing outfits. By August 1930, Cordele housed the Crisp County Hydroelectric System, the first county-owned electric system. Located on the Flint River , the hydroelectric plant continues to operate, and the resulting Lake Blackshear has attracted residents to its waterfront properties. On April 2, 1936 , a tornado struck Cordele, killing 23 people. Cordele
155-520: A fun and silly virtual trip to a small town in America each week, in which the hosts improvise scenes inspired by local newspaper stories. Cordele hosts an annual Watermelon Festival each June. In 1968 a Titan I missile was erected by the Rotary Club of Cordele at the intersection of I-75 and U.S. 280 East. Cordele is home to Crisp Motorsports Park , a 3/8-mile asphalt oval. It is home to
186-814: A middle school, and a high school. The district has 266 full-time teachers and over 4,337 students. The Cordele Inland Port is operated by a private company, Cordele Intermodal Services, which offers rail service via the Heart of Georgia Railroad and Georgia Central Railroad , from their rail ramp in Cordele to the Georgia Ports Authority in Savannah . Two class I railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern pass through Cordele. Shortline Railroad, Heart of Georgia currently interchanges with CSX in downtown Cordele. Flint River (Georgia) The Flint River
217-488: A photo navigator Lieutenant on B-29's and flew 29 combat missions over Japan. When he returned to Duke in 1946 under the G.I. Bill , his talent was recognized by his creative writing professor, William Blackburn, who became his mentor and lifelong friend, and who eventually edited his collected letters. Just before graduating from Duke in February 1947, Hyman married his high school sweetheart, Gwendolyn Holt. In 1949, after
248-662: Is a 344-mile-long (554 km) river in the U.S. state of Georgia . The river drains 8,460 square miles (21,900 km ) of western Georgia, flowing south from the upper Piedmont region south of Atlanta to the wetlands of the Gulf Coastal Plain in the southwestern corner of the state. Along with the Apalachicola and the Chattahoochee rivers, it forms part of the ACF basin . In its upper course through
279-407: Is a city in and the county seat of Crisp County , Georgia . The population was 11,165 at the 2010 census , and 10,220 in 2020. Cordele calls itself the watermelon capital of the world. Cordele was incorporated on January 1, 1888, and named for Cordelia Hawkins, eldest daughter of Colonel Samuel Hawkins, the president of the Savannah, Americus and Montgomery Railway . In November 1864,
310-549: Is fed by Kinchafoonee Creek just north of Albany, and by Ichawaynochaway Creek in southwestern Mitchell County , approximately 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Bainbridge. In addition to Lake Seminole, the Flint River is impounded approximately 15 miles (24 km) upstream from Albany to form the Lake Blackshear reservoir. The Flint River is one of only 40 rivers in the nation to flow more than 200 miles (320 km) unimpeded by dams or other manmade systems, and
341-535: Is increasingly valued for that. In the 1970s, a plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a dam at Sprewell Bluff in Upson County was defeated by Jimmy Carter , then the Governor of Georgia , and other supporters. Carter's hometown of Plains is located near the Flint River. The river is considered to have three distinct sections as it flows southward through western Georgia. In its upper reaches in
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#1732790399127372-404: Is located north of the center of Crisp County at 31°57′51″N 83°46′38″W / 31.96417°N 83.77722°W / 31.96417; -83.77722 (31.964178, -83.777277). U.S. Route 41 passes through the city as Seventh Street and leads north 9 miles (14 km) to Vienna and south 20 miles (32 km) to Ashburn . U.S. Route 280 (16th Avenue) crosses US 41 in the center of
403-788: The Civil War . In southwestern Georgia, the river flows through downtown Albany , the largest city on the river. At Bainbridge it joins Lake Seminole , formed at its confluence with the Chattahoochee River upstream from the Jim Woodruff Dam , very near the Florida state line. From this confluence, the Apalachicola River flows south from the reservoir through Florida to the Gulf of Mexico . The Flint River
434-681: The Georgia State Senate , the City of Cordele is represented by Sen. Carden Summers . In the Georgia House of Representatives , the City of Cordele is represented by Rep. Noel Williams Jr. In the United States House of Representatives , the City of Cordele is represented by Rep. Sanford Bishop . To the west of Cordele town centre and located on Route 280 is the large Georgia Veterans State Park , which lies on
465-442: The U.S. Census Bureau , Cordele has a total area of 10.2 square miles (26.5 km ), of which 10.2 square miles (26.3 km ) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.2 km ), or 0.82%, is water. Cordele has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ), with mild winters and hot, humid summers. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 10,220 people, 3,874 households, and 2,453 families residing in
496-647: The annual pre-season race known as SpeedFest, which is sanctioned by the Champion Racing Association (CRA) organization and run in late January. The event features a 125-lap race for the CRA Jegs All-Star Tour (crate late models) and a 200-lap race for the ARCA/ CRA Super Series (super late models). The Crisp County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of four elementary schools,
527-628: The area that is now Cordele served as the temporary capital of Georgia. During the last days of the Confederacy , Georgia's war governor Joseph E. Brown used his rural farmhouse to escape the wrath of Sherman's March to the Sea . During that time, the farmhouse, which Brown called "Dooly County Place," served as the official capital for only a few days. It was replaced in 1890 by the Suwanee Hotel, located in what became downtown Cordele. The hotel
558-434: The city and leads east 29 miles (47 km) to Abbeville and west 31 miles (50 km) to Americus . Interstate 75 passes through the east side of the city, with access from exits 99, 101, and 102, and leads 65 miles (105 km) north to Macon and 103 miles (166 km) south to the Florida state line. State Route 300 leads from the south side of the city 37 miles (60 km) southwest to Albany . According to
589-572: The city. Cordele has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the highest rated cities or towns with regards crime. With a Total Crime Index of 1 making it safer than only 1% of US cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of any crime here is one in fifteen in any given year. Five citizens of Cordele are elected to serve as the City Commissioners. The current Cordele City Commissioners are: Jeanie Bartee, Wesley Rainey, Royce Reeves, Vesta Beal Shephard, and Chairman John Wiggins In
620-506: The eastern edge of Lake Blackshear. This facility includes campgrounds, a resort hotel, and a golf course. There are also interesting displays of preserved military aircraft and helicopters and army tanks and other fighting vehicles. These displays are open to public viewing during daylight hours Cordele was featured in the eighteenth episode of the Small Town News Podcast, an improv comedy podcast that takes listeners on
651-438: The first of his three children was born, he reenlisted in the air force and served until 1952. Between 1947 and 1954, drawing heavily on his personal experiences from the army, Hyman worked on No Time for Sergeants , the misadventures of a country bumpkin draftee named Will Stockdale, whose hometown of Callville closely resembles Cordele, and who narrates his own story in an uneducated southern dialect. Several publishers rejected
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#1732790399127682-442: The manuscript before it was finally accepted by Random House and published in 1954. The popularity of the book resulted in a Broadway show and a film, which launched the career of Andy Griffith . Hyman, who was living in Cordele with his wife and three children, had published just three short stories and was struggling with his second novel when he died of a heart attack in 1963, at age 39. That second novel, Take Now Thy Son , and
713-442: The one of 1994. Bainbridge also flooded in 1998. Other significant floods occurred in 1841 and 1925. In January 2002, a winter storm blew through Atlanta the day after New Year's Day . The airport's drainage system overflowed, resulting in deicing fluid leaking into the river. Although the antifreeze entered the drinking water of some residents, no one became seriously ill. The airport changed its drainage system to prevent
744-667: The problem in the future. No problems were reported after an unusually heavy 4 inches (10 cm) of rain officially fell at the airport at the beginning of March 2009. In May 2009, the National Fish Habitat Action Plan named the Lower Flint River one of its "10 Waters to Watch" for 2009 for its habitat restoration work. In October 2009, American Rivers placed the Flint on its list of America's Most Endangered Rivers , mainly due to new plans to put
775-650: The red hills of the Piedmont , it flows through a deeply incised channel etched into crystalline rocks. South of its fall line near Culloden , the channel transforms to a broad, forested swampy flood plain . South of Lake Blackshear , it transforms again, flowing through a channel in limestone rock above the Upper Floridan Aquifer below southwestern Georgia and northwestern Florida . The river has been prone to floods throughout its history. In 1994, during flooding from Tropical Storm Alberto ,
806-680: The red hills of the Piedmont, it is considered especially scenic, flowing unimpeded for over 200 miles (320 km). Historically, it was also called the Thronateeska River . The Flint River rises in west central Georgia in the city of East Point in southern Fulton County on the southern outskirts of the Atlanta metropolitan area as ground seepage . The exact start can be traced to the field located between Plant Street, Willingham Drive, Elm Street, and Vesta Avenue. It travels under
837-632: The river crested at 43 feet (13 m) in Albany, resulting in the emergency evacuation of over 23,000 residents. It caused one of the worst natural disasters in the state's history . Interstate 75 was closed in Macon , and Albany State University was also seriously flooded, as the river became a few miles or several kilometers wide in some places. The water lifted caskets from cemeteries and left them, along with drowned cattle and other livestock , stuck in trees and other places. Montezuma, Georgia
868-660: The runways of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport . Flowing generally south through rural western Georgia, the river is fed by Line Creek, and Whitewater Creek in Fayette County. The river passes through Sprewell Bluff State Park , approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of Thomaston . Farther south, it comes within 5 miles (8 km) of Andersonville , the site of the Andersonville prison during
899-415: Was completely inundated after the Flint River topped the 29-foot levee protecting the town from floodwater. The official depth of the river at the height of the flood was estimated at 34 feet. The nearby gauge was underwater, making it impossible to get an accurate reading. Cleanup and restoration of Albany took months to complete. In 1998 another serious flood occurred in Albany, but it was not as damaging as
930-527: Was destroyed by a fire in late 1994 and was rebuilt. Cordele was founded in 1888 by J.E.D. Shipp of Americus . The town was located at the junction of two major railroads – the Savannah, Americus & Montgomery line, and the Georgia Southern & Florida . As the railroads brought more people and business to the newly settled territory, Cordele experienced phenomenal growth. Before 1905 Cordele
961-522: Was located in southern Dooly County , 9 miles (14 km) from the county seat in Vienna . With Cordele's continued progress, many in the community felt the need for a seat of government to be closer than Vienna. Crisp County was formed in 1905 by taking a portion of southern Dooly County, and Cordele became its county seat. By 1915, Cordele was home to several industries including an ice-making plant, mills for processing cotton products into cloth and oil,