For four years, Barbara and I have stayed home: first there was COVID-19 when we married. Reba and Scott Turner, Barbara’s daughter and son-in-law, offered us a stay at a time-share in the mountains for our honeymoon, but we didn’t venture out amongst COVID-carrying folk.
Then, Barbara’s dog, Coco (part Lab, part Great Dane?), was our reason for not traveling — she had to walk him every day and no one was able to look after him. A commercial kennel was not an option. So, we just didn’t go anywhere overnight.
Coco died recently as an old dog. He’s buried at the edge of Barbara’s property.
Last Monday, I thought, “Why don’t we ride to Ellijay, GA? That’s where in the early 1990s I spent time on carpet-printing with Courier, Blue Ridge Carpet’s printing operation. My family moved to Southern Pines, NC, in 1989, after moving to Kernersville, NC, in 1988. I worked in Southern Pines for JPS Carpet (renamed Gulistan Carpet as we separated from JPS Carpet). I traveled to and worked at Courier on projects for JPS Carpet.
I tried to think of things we’d have to take to spend two nights in Ellijay, GA. Barbara’s a good packer. We planned to leave on Wednesday morning.
I made reservations at the Best Western Motel in East Ellijay. Ellijay and East Ellijay are separate. I hear that East Ellijay brings in 70 percent of the revenue for Gilmer County, where those two towns are — really, they are part of the same town-area. That motel is on top of a high place with a good view!
The weather was misty when we left him around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. We did all right on curvy mountain roads, as we didn’t go down I-85 and up through Gainesville, GA. We drove north and then west across Hwy. 76, the more mountainous trek.
Ellijay appeared pretty much the same but natives say it’s changed a lot. I took Barbara to see the center of town and its courthouse. Took her to see the Courier Plant, now closed and under construction for a high-class camping outfit, someone said. I showed her Poole’s Barbecue, where I ate, years ago.
I called Tony Holloway who worked in Courier’s dye house in the ’90s. I called Charles and Cheryl Barkley but couldn’t leave a message. Charles worked for Courier, too. Tony messaged back, and I called him. We arranged to meet with him and his wife on Thursday.
That night, around 1:00 a.m., I messaged Tony, saying I’d have to cancel our eating. The reason: I forgot to pack my needed nightly pills. So, next morning, we packed and arrived home by a little after noon. We had traveled 394 miles. That was all, and that included motoring around Ellijay.
After arriving home, Charles Barkey called. He had not responded because my cell phone still identifies as “Aberdeen, NC.” He thought I was someone he casually talks to when he wants to, so he didn’t return my call while I was in Ellijay.
We enjoyed our time away from home, even though I forgot my pills.
Copied: Ellijay (sometimes formerly spelled "Elejoy") is the anglicized form or transliteration of the Cherokee name Elatseyi, meaning "new ground.” Other sources say it means "green place.” Gilmer County was organized by territory cut from Cherokee County in 1832, and Ellijay was designated as its county seat in 1834.
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