Becky Holland
PLAINS — When visiting the South, most Northerners would say that the Southern hospitality and charm of the people is the best part of their trip.
And that’s the case in Plains. According to tourists from all over the world, including some in town this week for the Coop Coffees’ 10-year celebration of being in the import business, Plains’ main appeal is the people.
One most important person in the history of the development of Plains was Julia L. Coleman. Born in 1889, in Nacogoches, Texas, the daughter of a Baptist minister, many stories have been written about “Miss Julia.”
Though she died in 1973, her influence is still felt among the those who grew up in Plains, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and among the campus of the old Plains High School.
Steve Theuss, Park ranger, with the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site, said of Coleman, “She was lady who touched everyone’s lives.”
In fact, Theuss said, “She was well known and well loved by all.”
Theuss commented that on Thursday, the site would display for one day only, facsimiles of Coleman’s scrapbooks, as part of the National Historic Park Week events to be held in conjunction with Earth Day and upcoming May Day events.
“We will be able to show these, under well-supervised care, to any who want to see them,” said Theuss.
Pointing, with gloved hands, Theuss talked about the different items in the books. “There’s May Day activities, and there’s where students had first aid and CPR classes.”
Growing up visually impaired and lame, according to the History of Plains text, published by the Plains Historical Preservation Trust Inc., Coleman was not able to drive a car and had to read with a magnifying glass. Her physical challenges did not stop her from teaching English at Plains High School. Later on, she became the school’s principal. She was later named superintendent of Plains High School, and according to Theuss, “That was a role given to men.”
Former President Jimmy Carter, one of Miss Julia’s many students, has said of his teacher, “Of all the teachers I have ever had, including those for my studies at four different colleges and universities, Miss Julia has been the one who has been the one who has done the most for me and made the most beneficial and lasting impression on my life.”
When he presented his address on his Inauguration Day, Carter quoted Coleman. “We must adjust to changing times and still hold true to unchanging principles.”
Coleman touched lives out in the community as well by setting an example with her moral character, determination to be the best she could for her children, and was instrumental in setting the tone for what the Plains people do now — being nice to one another.
Al Green described the charm of Southerners this way: “ All I can say is that there's a sweetness here, a Southern sweetness, that makes sweet music. ... If I had to tell somebody who had never been to the South, who had never heard of soul music, what it was, I'd just have to tell him that it's music from the heart, from the pulse, from the innermost feeling. That's my soul; that's how I sing. And that's the South."
That’s Plains.
Next week, the Times-Recorder will take another look at what makes the small town of Plains appealing. In May, the focus will be on Archery, and in June, Leslie. E-mail becky.holland@gaflnews.com if you have any suggestions about Small Town Appeal.
