As a person who is always curious about “what was there before”, when Hickory House closed and the news came out that another bank would be built there, I decided to see what I could find out. Most folks wouldn’t remember the time before the Old Hickory House restaurant, but I went to someone who would remember, Ken Anderson. Anderson grew up in Dunwoody on the old Carpenter and Anderson farm at the intersection of Tilly Mill Road and Mount Vernon Road.

A list of men from Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, and Chamblee who were drafted for World War I in 1917 was among the documents found in a box of Dunwoody postal records. The box of historic documents was donated for preservation by the granddaughter of Sentell Spruill. Spruill was postmaster of Dunwoody, Georgia from 1949 until 1969 and his home sat where Dunwoody Baptist Church is now located at the corner of Mount Vernon Road and Ashford Dunwoody Road.

This history came to my attention from Richard Adams, who shared his memories of working at Atlanta Paper Company and in particular, for Arthur L. Harris. The story includes an everyday item that we purchase at the grocery store and the history behind how it evolved, but it also involves WWII and art in Atlanta.

A small country store once sat at Jett Ferry Road and Mount Vernon Road. Later, the country store included a gas station, with the typical Coca-Cola sign painted on one side. It was built and run by Joe Kelly. Next owners of the store were Georgia Carpenter Anderson and husband Offalee Anderson. Georgia grew up at her family’s home just down Mount Vernon Road, built by her father, Cicero Carpenter.

The property was on the verge of being developed as county tennis courts and the remaining property would be sold off and developed with houses. Kathy Hanna and Pat Adams did a survey of the area and determined there was no need for additional tennis courts. The two women, along with Marilyn Dalrymple, Eleanor Lehner, Rita Langley and Carolyn Jones are the founders of Dunwoody Nature Center.

Ken Anderson was eleven years old when Bud Crews, who worked for DeKalb County, graded land along Mount Vernon Road and what is today’s Dunwoody Village Parkway for a baseball field. Crews built wooden bleachers for the field and was manager of the Dunwoody baseball team.

Before there was a Rich’s Pink Pig, the traditional “Lighting of the Great Tree” took place at the downtown Rich’s Department Store in Atlanta for the first time in 1948. A 70-foot live tree was placed on the roof of the store that year and the lighting took place on Thanksgiving night.

William Akers and Ida King Akers built a country home along Spalding Drive in what was considered Dunwoody around 1935. The name Idalakers evolved from Ida Akers name and from the idea of many “idle acres” surrounding the home. The property included forty-five acres on a hill with lovely views of hills and valleys all around.

The building was a store and post office. It was first the location of the Nash Store and later became Thompson’s Grocery. The door on the left led into the post office. The middle and right door led to the grocery store. Mrs. Thompson, known by the locals as Miss Lottie, would ring up the sales on the cash register.