Valerie Biggerstaff 7/28/25 Valerie Biggerstaff 7/28/25

Oglethorpe University employee prevents 1939 train accident

Long noticed a large iron beam projecting from a switch. It was a brake beam that came loose from a freight car as the car passed the switch.

Valerie Biggerstaff 7/21/25 Valerie Biggerstaff 7/21/25

Lawson General Hospital in 1941, Morris Volpp and others

Volpp was first sent to Camp Forrest hospital in Tennessee. He developed rheumatic fever and was moved to Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia.

Valerie Biggerstaff 7/14/25 Valerie Biggerstaff 7/14/25

Coming soon: new Lawson General Hospital photos

A wonderful collection of photos was shared with me by the family of Morris J. Volpp. He contracted rheumatic fever while serving in the National Guard in 1941. These photos are not large group photos, but pictures of Volpp and a few other patients on the campus of Lawson General Hospital.

Valerie Biggerstaff 7/7/25 Valerie Biggerstaff 7/7/25

Dunwoody Post Office history

According to The Story of Dunwoody, written by Ethel Spruill and Elizabeth Davis in 1975, there have been seven different post office locations in Dunwoody. Much of the post office history they gathered came from Sentell Spruill, retired Dunwoody postmaster.

Valerie Biggerstaff 7/7/25 Valerie Biggerstaff 7/7/25

More DeKalb County schools in survey conducted 1916: Rehoboth and Montreal

The survey book describes Rehoboth School as being a new $2,000 building on one acre, with a few trees and an “ample playground”.

Valerie Biggerstaff 6/30/25 Valerie Biggerstaff 6/30/25

Early days of Brookhaven’s library

Brookhaven’s library history began on the back porch of the home of Edna and Weldon Shows.

Valerie Biggerstaff 6/23/25 Valerie Biggerstaff 6/23/25

DeKalb County Schools survey 1916, Doraville and Tucker

I recently came across a book online titled “Educational Surveys of DeKalb and Union County Georgia,” dated 1916. It includes photos and short descriptions of all the DeKalb County Schools at the time. I was glad to discover the DeKalb History Center had a copy of the book and went to see it in their archives.

Valerie Biggerstaff 6/16/25 Valerie Biggerstaff 6/16/25

Railroad section houses became family homes during Great Depression

J. C. Finley lived in the section house that still stands. He shared his memories of that time with Lynne Byrd.

Valerie Biggerstaff 6/9/25 Valerie Biggerstaff 6/9/25

On the homefront during WWII

The June 11, 1942, edition of the Atlanta Constitution shared an announcement from Washington, D.C., “Scrap salvage campaign will begin shortly.” The War Production Board asked that everyone across the country collect metal, rubber, fats and oils.