Savannah, GA prides itself on its eccentric characteristics: the unique street pattern with 22 squares interspersed with several main streets; the many legends that allow it to call itself the most haunted city in America; its liberal alcohol policy of allowing people to carry “party cups” anywhere outside in the historic district; and, the second largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the country.
During my five weeks in the Savannah, I saw many unusual things.
I mentioned before things I saw from my balcony looking across the street at Drayton Tower, a contemporary styled 12-story apartment building. At least three times, I saw young women undressing in front of the nearly floor-to-ceiling windows. One time a fully-clothed woman was watering plants and noticed me on the balcony and she quickly pulled down the drapes. Another fully-clothed woman would dance in front of the windows while wearing headphones.
Savannah has lots of ghost tours, mostly after dark and guides tell riders tales of bizarre happenings and haunted buildings. These tours were mostly by tour bus or horse-drawn carriage. But, I saw one group on a ghost tour in a hearse that had the roof removed and riders sat in elevated seats so they could see the sites more clearly.
Another kind of tour I observed was a vehicle that was powered by about a dozen riders pedaling while drinking from their party cups. They were singing and shouting and were obviously well-lubricated.
Savannah also must be one of the South’s most popular sites for bachelorette parties. During my time there, I saw numerous groups of young women sporting matching t-shirts being led by the bride wearing the same t-shirt and a veil. The women in one bachelorette party were all wearing brightly-colored wigs.
Also, there was an upscale hotel across the street that had a large outdoor rooftop patio that was the site of three weddings the last week I was there. After the ceremonies, the parties would move inside for dinner and dancing. But, the bands were so loud, I could still hear them clearly. One band had a drummer who played the loudest I think I’ve ever heard and not very well. Unfortunately, that band played until midnight.
I did tour the Mercer Williams house that is next to Monterey Square. General Hugh Mercer, the grandfather of renowned composer Johnny Mercer, began to build the house in 1860, but construction was halted by the Civil War. Gen. Mercer served in the Confederate Army and was captured by Union forces and imprisoned. When the war ended, he returned to Savannah in poor health and could not complete construction of the house. He sold the house and it was completed in 1868, but no member of the Mercer family has ever lived in the house.
After being unoccupied for nearly a decade, antique dealer and developer Jim Williams purchased the house in 1969 and restored it. Williams was one of the leaders of the movement to restore the historic district of Savannah and is credited with restoring 50 houses in the district.
Williams is the main character in the book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” written by John Berendt that was published in 1994. Three years later Clint Eastwood directed a movie version of this story that begins with the extravagant Christmas party that Williams held every year at the house. After the party, Williams shot and killed a young man who worked for him during an argument, and the book and movie deal with the trial that occurred afterward.
The last weekend I was in Savannah, I was enjoying an iced-coffee and people watching near Chippewa Square when I noticed a young couple with two children trying to take photos of themselves. I volunteered to take their photo and the guy was really pleased and said I should be a photographer. I told him I worked for 30 years in video production and we had a good laugh. His family was from Washington, D.C. and he said they have visited Savannah several times for a long weekend vacations.
On my journey home, I stopped in Greenville, NC to visit a friend. Dr. Sam Barber is a music historian and my brother Tim took a class Sam taught at Ohio State in the early 1970s. Sam found out from Tim that our dad was involved with the Cleveland-based Wings Over Jordan choir that had a weekly radio show on CBS from 1938 to 1947. They developed a long-time friendship that resulted in a book they co-authored called “Go Down Moses: The Wings Over Jordan Choir” that was published last year. It is available on Amazon.
In the early 1990s, Sam visited me and we videotaped interviews with several of the surviving choir members still living in the Cleveland area. We have kept in touch and had dinner together and breakfast the next morning before I headed north to Ohio. It was a great time to catch up on things.
The next day I drove 628 miles in 11 hours and 15 minutes which was okay considering there were five traffic tie-ups for construction in the 100 miles between Winston-Salem, NC and the West Virginia Turnpike and rain once I reached Ohio.
It was an interesting visit, but I am glad to be home and it’s time to think about summer travels.
