ready to ring in Brundidge

By JAINE TREADWELL

Features Editor

The newly erected bell on Main Street in Brundidge is a good fit for Brundidge, where many of its citizens can identify with it.

Although much larger than the old dinner bells that were rung to bring workers in from the fields or to signal an emergency at a farm stead, the bell will "ring a bell" with those who lived and worked on farms and were part of the farming community in the good old days.

The bell is a national symbol of liberty and it will serve a similar purpose in a town that displays its patriotic spirit at every opportunity.

Jimmy Hollis, chairman of a design committee composed of members of the Brundidge Business Association and the Brundidge City Council, said the hanging of the bell completed Phase I of the design project for the area surrounding the Brundidge Station.

Phase I included

brick fencing around the loop driveway and the planting of trees in the landscape area.

There are four phases of the project and Hollis said completion of Phase I has greatly enhanced the area.

"We will probably complete Phase III before we begin Phase II," Hollis said. "We had originally planned to erect a windmill in the vicinity of where we put the bell. But, the windmill would have blocked the view of the Brundidge Station. So, we have a windmill lying on the ground where it could be damaged easily. We need to get it up, so we’ll move to Phase III next."

The windmill will be placed on the back of the lot on the north side of Brundidge Station.

One wall of the old cotton warehouses that used to stand on the site has been left for historic, architectural and artistic purposes and the windmill will be placed nearby.

"We have plans to make the wall attractive by adding metal work, flowers and shrubs and to put down brick walkways leading to Brundidge Station," Hollis said. "The bricks that are being used in the project are ones that belong to the city. They came from a building that was razed – Anderson Garage and Miss Anderson’s hamburger shop. So, that’s a bit of history that we are using and preserving."

Phase II includes landscaping and brick fencing around the open area in front of the station.

"In the center of the landscaped area, we plan to place a fountain, possibly with moving parts powered by water," Hollis said. "That has not been fully discussed and any plans must be approved by the city council before they are carried out."

The final phase of the combined project of the BBA and the city is landscaping along the width of the Jackson Hardware warehouse complex, which will include a picnic area and possibly a gazebo, Hollis said.

The city is responsible for the flower gardens along North Main Street at Brundidge Station and the Police Department. The city is also working to acquire a caboose to restore and place on the site, in keeping with the theme of the depot

as set by Brundidge Station.