The year may have been 1955 or '56 and the middle of a hot Georgia Summer. The lake sparkled, reflecting the sunlight and making every person without a pair of shades squint to avoid eye injury. Children played on the beach in the sand or frolicked in th shallows, while a line of adults and a very few fortunate children waited their turn to rided in the speed boats that took them around the penisula of land to see the dam, a sight that was in full view and free from the 'for whites only' park, Red Top Moutain. The park had been abuzz with activity all day long with the anticipation of stepping it up a notch later on.. I remember my siblings and I having to go to bed early that evening because my parents were trying to protect us from "that sinful music that was being played" and the grown folks activities that accompanied it. The breeze blowing past our rooms carried loud talking, extreme laughter, the smells of perfume, toilet water, cologne, after shave and various forms of libations being consumed in long steady gulps like water. We lay in our beds, all night long, listening to Little Richard and friends having fun...
Photos of
George Washington Carver Park
