Customer Reviews

A Stroll Through Fitzgerald, GA, In The Forties

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Anyone who grew up in or around Fitzgerald, Georgia or Ben Hill County will LOVE this book. Paul takes the reader on an imaginary tour of Fitzgerald (the Colony City) during the 1940s, just after the end of World War II. He names so many people and places familiar to all of us whose personal history began in this unique Southern town. Fitzgerald was founded as an experimental city for veterans of the Civil War to live together in harmony. Old soldiers from the Yankee Union (seeking a more temperate climate) moved to Fitzgerald and lived and worked side-by-side with Southern Confederates. Names of historic places reflected the experiment: The Blue-Gray Park, the Lee-Grant Hotel, Grant Street, Sherman Street, Lee Street, and so on. The experiment worked! This little city was a factor in reuniting a fractured nation. Also of historical significance, many of the businesses in Fitzgerald were owned by Jewish merchants. Because of the size and affluence of the Jewish population, Fitzgerald had its own synagogue -- unusual even for much larger cities. I feel blessed to have grown up in Fitzgerald's unique culture, and I am so happy that Paul has recounted this history in such a charming, personal way. I truly felt that I strolled the streets of my childhood as I read this warm, folksy book. Thank you, Paul.

I'm from Fitzgerald in the 1940s and everything about this book is grrrr...eat! My life is relived in these pages as I read the memories. I know my mother would like this book too. She is gone now and I find the book most interesting. I can visit the Fitzgerald that I remembered. Going there today ... well everyone is now moved away or moved to Evergreen. Buy this book and you will not be disappointed. I only wish Mr. Dunn would write another volume of life in the 1950s. What say you Mr. Dunn?

I grew up in Fitzgerald. I know Mr. and Mrs. Dunn personally. I enjoyed the book immensely. It brought back a lot memories and made me think of much simpler times. It was nice to go back to that place in mind if even for a little wile.