The historic home at the intersection of Chamblee Dunwoody Road and Mount Vernon Road is known as the Cheek/Spruill Farmhouse, however another family lived there between the Cheek and Spruill owners and that was the Church family.

Last week I added another history book to my collection. It is a book of Chamblee history written by Vivian Price Saffold, which I found on ebay.com. The book is titled “Past Memories, Present Progress, Future Dreams, A History of the Community and the City of Chamblee.”

Originating at the post office in Dunwoody, the route went north on Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Pitts Road and Roswell Road as far north as John Sullivan’s store (today Northridge Road). From there it went south to the Morgan Falls power plant, to Sandy Springs, to the area of Chastain Park, continuing on Roswell Road to the area known as Poletown; then back in a northerly direction on Mount Vernon Road to complete the circle back to the beginning. With the possible exception of Roswell Road, none of these roads had names at the time.

After World War II ended, there was a serious shortage of housing for returning veterans across the United States. In the Atlanta area, solutions included families living in military tents on rented land or in trailer parks set up for the purpose of housing veterans with families.

The classic movie The Best Years of Our Lives tells the story of three World War II soldiers returning to their hometown after the war ends. One of the soldiers was played by Harold Russell, a World War II veteran who lost both hands in a training accident and ended up at Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia. There he received treatment, which included prosthetic hands and training on how to use them in his daily life.

In 1989, thirty acres of land were for sale on Roswell Road and advertised as the perfect spot for another car dealership. Thankfully, John Ripley Forbes wanted to save this land. He recognized that there were many large historic trees on the property.

Fred Donaldson was born at Donaldson Farm in 1925 (today known as Donaldson-Bannister Farm) at the corner of Vermack Road and Chamblee Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody. One of the wash pots from the farm is still in the family at his daughter Freda’s home and Donaldson recalls how it was used by his grandmother and his parents.