\nPart of my teaching load as a professor consists of supervising\n\n \nAs a member of the Save the Strickland Mill Committee of the\nValdosta Heritage Foundation, we recently toured the mill, with the\napproval of the owners and accompanied by Remerton officials. The\noriginal mill is structurally solid. The 1899 structure reflects\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n \nThere is only one way the mill will be saved, and that is by the\nCity of Remerton, the owners, and mill advocates coming together.\nThe mill owners bought the property in 2005.\n\n \nBut, above all else: come out and show your support for the mill.\n\n![](\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d3bcbdd46970c-pi.jpg\")
<\/a>\nstudent teachers at schools throughout Valdosta State University’s\n46-county service area. I have traveled many South Georgia back\nroads. What was once a charming rural landscape of unique little\ntowns has slowly morphed into sameness. Chain-brand retail stores,\nfast food, and gas stations are interrupted by strip malls and\nstorage units. The region’s character has receded in the face of\nnationalization and globalization. However, historical features, be\nthey a restored courthouse or a crumbling tobacco barn, light this\nbleakness. They give character, history, and pride to communities.\nOne such structure is Remerton’s Strickland Mill, now in danger of\ncomplete destruction.\n<\/p>\n\nthe\ncraftsmanship of its time, when construction was built to last. The\ninterior original mill has stood for 113 years, and I fully believe\nit would stand for another century, while today’s urban sprawl\n\n
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<\/a>\ncrumbled around it. The Remerton Mill is the last standing textile\nmill in South Georgia. The mill is the seal, symbol, and soul of\nRemerton. It is a local treasure that deserves to be preserved. The\nmill was a place of the people, where entire families lived, worked,\nplayed, and died. Its history is the history of us. Once it is gone,\nit is gone forever.\n<\/p>\n![](\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d3bcbdd4b970c-pi.jpg\")
<\/a>\nProperty values have\nfallen. An alternate plan needs to be reached to allow the owners to\nget out what they put into it. However, the current request for the\ntotal demolition of the mill is unacceptable.\nThe owners are all\nlocal citizens that saved the mill once, I ask for them to save it\nagain.\nTo area residents, check out Facebook\n(\nSave Strickland Mill<\/a>)\nand petitionsite.com\n(\nSave the Strickland Cotton Mill from demolition!<\/a>)\nand the WCTV news story\n(\nResidents Fight to Save the Remerton Mill<\/a>).\n<\/p>\n![](\"\/blog\/images\/6a0120a58214e4970b017d3bcbdd4e970c-pi.jpg\")
<\/a>\nAttend the Remerton City Council meetings on\n\nSept. 4<\/a> and\n 10 at 5:30 p.m.<\/a>\nin Remerton City Hall, 1757 Poplar St. There was great\n\ncommunity support evident in June,<\/a>\nsee YouTube\n(Save Remerton Mill<\/a>).\nMill advocates have been busy since then and will present our\nprogress and a professional concept plan for the preservation of the\n1899 mill, smokestack, and water tower.\n<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\nBe the one that\nin 20 years will be able to proudly say to your grandchildren,\n\u201cAgainst the odds, I voted to save the mill. I preserved our\nhistory. I took a stand for us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n