Welcome to Bainbridge

Don Barone tours Bainbridge, Ga., site of the first Elite Series event of 2014.

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Welcome...
Welcome…
to...
to…
Bainbridge, Georgia and Lake Seminole...
Bainbridge, Georgia and Lake Seminole…
...the Bass Capital of Georgia...
…the Bass Capital of Georgia…
…and the beginning of the 2014 Bassmaster Elite regular season...
…and the beginning of the 2014 Bassmaster Elite regular season…
…but wait…
…but wait…”Bass Capital of Georgia,” ah…time to put my investigative reporter hat back on and start asking some tough questions about this…claim…
…so I jump into the db Tundra and head over to Bainbridge City Hall to get to the bottom of this statement only to find...
…so I jump into the db Tundra and head over to Bainbridge City Hall to get to the bottom of this statement only to find…
…FREE PARKING downtown…I'm in a downtown and I can park for free…in Connecticut to park downtown you basically need an escrow attorney and one of them fancy black credit cards…but back to investigative business about this claim of being the Bass Capital of this here Georgia which I find to be...
…FREE PARKING downtown…I’m in a downtown and I can park for free…in Connecticut to park downtown you basically need an escrow attorney and one of them fancy black credit cards…but back to investigative business about this claim of being the Bass Capital of this here Georgia which I find to be…
..ah…true…inside the city hall there is this official proclamation that says...
..ah…true…inside the city hall there is this official proclamation that says…
…up there almost washed out by my bad photography skills that Bainbridge, Ga is in fact the Bass Capital of Georgia. **Important note here to all the other towns in Georgia who think they are the Bass Capital DO NOT EMAIL ME ABOUT THIS…email the dude that signed this proclamation…NOT ME with your disagreements.
…up there almost washed out by my bad photography skills that Bainbridge, Ga is in fact the Bass Capital of Georgia. **Important note here to all the other towns in Georgia who think they are the Bass Capital DO NOT EMAIL ME ABOUT THIS…email the dude that signed this proclamation…NOT ME with your disagreements.
So inside city hall I meet these two ladies, one the left, Adrienne Harrison, Executive Director of the Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Amanda Glover, Executive Director of the Downtown Development Authority…and they ask if I would like to see their town…
So inside city hall I meet these two ladies, one the left, Adrienne Harrison, Executive Director of the Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Amanda Glover, Executive Director of the Downtown Development Authority…and they ask if I would like to see their town…
…but as we are leaving Adrienne's office I spot this up on her wall, a framed Bassmaster Magazine from Winter of 1968-69 with Jack Wingate of Bainbridge who with B.A.S.S founder Ray Scott held the very first B.A.S.S. tournament at Wingate's Lunker Lodge on Lake Seminole in February of 1968.
…but as we are leaving Adrienne’s office I spot this up on her wall, a framed Bassmaster Magazine from Winter of 1968-69 with Jack Wingate of Bainbridge who with B.A.S.S founder Ray Scott held the very first B.A.S.S. tournament at Wingate’s Lunker Lodge on Lake Seminole in February of 1968.
True Story! As Adrienne and Amanda are about to take me out to show me their town I tell them exactly this:
True Story! As Adrienne and Amanda are about to take me out to show me their town I tell them exactly this: “Ah, hm, um, not to be rude but I don’t ever pay attention to Public Relations Types…so let’s do this, instead of Chamber of Commercing me, let’s pretend we are friends at a bar drinking some Margaritas and you tell me the real stuff about the town here.” True Story, don’t believe I would say that, call them at 229-248-2000, they’ll back me up.
So we walk out of city hall and this is what I see...
So we walk out of city hall and this is what I see…
…a beautifully restored downtown...
…a beautifully restored downtown…
…with buildings from the early 1900s...
…with buildings from the early 1900s…
…brought back to their glory with...
…brought back to their glory with…
…attention to detail…but…here in Bainbridge, it's not just the buildings they pay attention to. Here...
…attention to detail…but…here in Bainbridge, it’s not just the buildings they pay attention to. Here…
…Live Oak trees also get respect...
…Live Oak trees also get respect…
…and the attention I believe these magnificent trees deserve..
…and the attention I believe these magnificent trees deserve..
…because here in Bainbridge…so far there are 217 numbered Landmark Live Oak trees…5 of the trees have been named so far…and all are protected…all are cherished. Imagine a town that not only protects the structures of its past…but the living age old trees that shade those buildings. Pretty cool except...
…because here in Bainbridge…so far there are 217 numbered Landmark Live Oak trees…5 of the trees have been named so far…and all are protected…all are cherished. Imagine a town that not only protects the structures of its past…but the living age old trees that shade those buildings. Pretty cool except…
…the ones that have this hanging moss stuff in them which frankly...
…the ones that have this hanging moss stuff in them which frankly…
…scares the bejesus out of me, kind of spooky. I asked the ladies why they put the Spanish Moss in the trees like that but for some reason they didn't answer me, just sort of stared at me...
…scares the bejesus out of me, kind of spooky. I asked the ladies why they put the Spanish Moss in the trees like that but for some reason they didn’t answer me, just sort of stared at me…
…oh, did I mention, NO PARKING METERS on the side streets either.
…oh, did I mention, NO PARKING METERS on the side streets either.
So in the center of Bainbridge is this town square park and in the middle of it is a statue honoring Civil War veterans from the area. The statue was commissioned around 1900 by..
So in the center of Bainbridge is this town square park and in the middle of it is a statue honoring Civil War veterans from the area. The statue was commissioned around 1900 by..
…this guy E.J. Willis, Mayor at the time, who BTW the park is named after, and according to local lore, or maybe one really massive coincidence, I'm talking massive COINCIDENCE...
…this guy E.J. Willis, Mayor at the time, who BTW the park is named after, and according to local lore, or maybe one really massive coincidence, I’m talking massive COINCIDENCE…
…that the face of the soldier, seems to, sort of, possible, could be the face of…yep…Mayor E.J. Willis.
…that the face of the soldier, seems to, sort of, possible, could be the face of…yep…Mayor E.J. Willis.
But let me tell you something personal, one of the things I love about my job is the opportunity I get to visit small towns all over America. Towns with gazebos in the park that residents actually use...
But let me tell you something personal, one of the things I love about my job is the opportunity I get to visit small towns all over America. Towns with gazebos in the park that residents actually use…
…and Bainbridge, Ga., is one of the most small, All-American towns I have ever visited. And without a doubt the friendliest...
…and Bainbridge, Ga., is one of the most small, All-American towns I have ever visited. And without a doubt the friendliest…
...this is a huge agricultural area: 'nother true story, I'm driving down the road, see a huge farm, power slide the Tundra into the driveway, get out, knock on the door and ask them to,
…this is a huge agricultural area: ‘nother true story, I’m driving down the road, see a huge farm, power slide the Tundra into the driveway, get out, knock on the door and ask them to, “Tell me about farming.” AND THEY DO…they actually don’t shoot the intruder. Christi Murray and her daughter Chelsey, 5th GENERATION farmers on Murray Farms, a 1,000-acre spread of Tomatoes, not only talk to me, but give me a tour of their tomato packing building and a tee-shirt. Christi said, “Here in Bainbridge, we’ve never met a stranger.”
So once again I go to city hall to check out whether a stranger has ever been met here, only to find out that the Mayor of Bainbridge was at work…as a Pharmacist at the Pharmacy he owns. Edward. F. Reynolds, R.Ph has been Mayor for 5 years; his dad was mayor here for 2 decades,
So once again I go to city hall to check out whether a stranger has ever been met here, only to find out that the Mayor of Bainbridge was at work…as a Pharmacist at the Pharmacy he owns. Edward. F. Reynolds, R.Ph has been Mayor for 5 years; his dad was mayor here for 2 decades, “db, family and friendship is huge here. We want it to be somewhere where you would want to raise your children. It’s all about family and being friendly to all.” And, trust me, they mean it. When I told the Mayor I was having trouble getting onto the internet in town, he told me…
“…no problem, db, I’m working today here at the pharmacy, but go back to City Hall and use my office, I won’t be needing it today.” And so I did, and it’s where I’m filing this story from, the Mayor of Bainbridge, Georgia’s office, in the Bass Capital of Georgia where, I can attest to, there are no strangers…