What a happy time this must have been!
Nazi Germany had been defeated earlier in the summer and, just in time for the Trion Company's Centennial Celebration, the Japanese surrendered. The long and terrible battle was over and America was ready to par-tay!
Never before or since has a celebration of this magnitude taken place in Chattooga County, and it may never be equaled again. When you look at the following photographs, you are truly looking into a lost world....
(The following report was taken from a magazine clipping, but the names of the writer and magazine were missing. Perhaps it was written by someone at the Trion Facts as a press release.)
The Centennial Celebration of the Trion Company, Trion, Georgia, was launched Saturday evening, September 29, 1945, with a typical southern barbecue.
Barbecued meat with Brunswick stew were served in abundance and the occasion was marked by reminiscences and renewals of old friendships.
Following the barbecue was an elaborate fireworks display, held on the Trion Golf Course. An old-fashioned Square Dance was held later in the gymnasium of the YMCA with Buddy Hammond calling the old-time formations.
The week following (October 1-6) was designated Centennial Week and the air was permeated with the spirit of the Centennial and members of the pageant spent much time in rehearsal. Special on-the-street interviews from WRGA, Rome, Georgia, were held each afternoon.
A number of people dressed in the costume of long ago and were to be seen each day.
Friday evening, October 5, at the Centennial Ball held in the glove factory at which there were some 3,000 people present,...
Miss Marjorie Wardlaw was crowned Queen of the Centennial Celebration and presented a diamond-studded watch. N.B. Murphy, president of the Trion Company, crowned the Queen, and runners-up in the contest in which the Queen was elected, were attendants.
*Update from web visitor Mary Brown: "The little girl on the left is Sylvia Edge and the little boy on the right is my husband, Wayne Brown. We were both raised in Chattooga County."
Many out-of-town visitors who had come to Trion for the celebrations were present and there were many wearing costumes of many years ago.
Saturday evening, the celebration was climaxed with a huge pageant depicting the 100 years history of Trion, held at an outdoor amphitheater adjacent to the Trion Golf Course.
Above: Preparing the amphitheater prior to the pageant.
Special lighting effects and sound effects were used to dramatic effect and the characters dressed in colorful costumes of various eras presented a dramatic picture.
Dale Stone, well-known musician of Rome, Georgia, presented an organ recital prior to the evening of the pageant.
The pageant was directed by Eugene Bergmann of Atlanta, and was written from the history of Trion by Mrs. J.L. Henderson, who with her husband, secretary of the Trion Company, was co-chairman of Centennial Celebration arrangements.
Under the direction of its officials, Trion continues to move forward and goes into her second century with the same spirit of determination and progress that made possible this Centennial Celebration.
If
you know someone who might share a first-hand account of this event, or
if you know any of the unidentified people shown above, please contact me.
Copyright 2011 Greg W. McCollum. All rights reserved.