Wednesday, October 28, 1998

Library recognizes founders By CAROLYN CARY Contributing Writer The following story tells of the women responsible for our county's library. In celebration of their efforts, the Fayette County Public Library (formerly the Margaret Mitchell Library) recently dedicated a monument, erected at the gazebo of the new library, in their honor. Many descendants were on hand to assist in the unveiling. Among those were sons Hill R. Redwine and Dr. Thomas J. Busey Jr. and a granddaughter, Sarah Murphy. Also on hand were officials of the Flint River Regional Library system, and the Georgia State Library system. ß ß ß ß ß ß ß ß In 1929 a group of ladies in Fayetteville realized the need for a library. They began to gather books and, for lack of a better place at the time, used the living room of one of the ladies, Lucy Reagan Redwine, as the place from which they could be checked out. On two different occasions, they used a room in a school, only to have the school burn. During this time, they continued to have bazaars on the Courthouse lawn, selling jams and jellies, making aprons and anything else that might net them some income. One of the ladies, Lynn Beadles, happened to be in her husband's drug store one day, when in walked the author of "Gone With The Wind," Margaret Mitchell. From the ensuing conversation Miss Mitchell learned about the ladies' efforts and over the next 13 years donated money to them. Finally, in 1947, they had enough money to buy a lot from Dr. Thomas J. Busey Sr. and construction began on their very own library building. Because she had been so generous with them, the ladies asked Miss Mitchell for permission to name the library after her. They received that permission. Consequently, the "Margaret Mitchell Library" was open for business in April 1948. Just two weeks before her death in August 1949, Miss Mitchell had backed up her car to the front door and unloaded a trunkful of books that she had gotten from friends in Atlanta. The ladies who gave of themselves over so many years were: ß Lucy Reagan Redwine, a 1913 graduate of Agnes Scott College. She was from Henry County and married Fayette native Hill Parks Redwine. She was a Red Cross volunteer in both World War I and World War II and was a charter member of the Fayette County Historical Society. ß Mattie Lena Blalock Ingram, a county native, was elected in 1925 as a county school trustee, the first woman to hold a public office in Fayette County. She headed the local draft board in World War II and was married to fellow Fayette Countian Lum Ingram. ß Louise Culpepper Murphy was the daughter of a school teacher who came to the county in the 1880s and later practiced law. She married native B. D. Murphy, also an attorney. ß Lucille Alladio Busey was born in Northern Italy but came to this country at the age of 10 months. She was a nurse during World War I and married a doctor in the Army, Thomas J. Busey. The came to Fayette County in 1919. ß Lynne Payne Beadles was reared in Cave Spring, Ga., and married Fayette native Dr. Robert Bennett Beadles, who had a drug store on the west side of the Square. Back to the Top of the PageBack to the Weekend Home Page