Discovering History in Warm Springs, Georgia

Over the years, I've I heard a plethora of praises heaped upon Warm Springs, Ga. For various reasons, I never had the chance to visit.

My curiosity was piqued recently when I came across the 1977 TV film "Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years." This film reinforced the fact that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt put this west Georgia hamlet on the map more than 75 years ago.

After learning he had polio, Roosevelt came here to take advantage of the area's natural warm waters, which not only eased his pain but made him feel stronger. In the early 1930s, he built the legendary six-room cottage known as the Little White House. During his presidency, Roosevelt came here not only for rest and relaxation, but to create many of his New Deal policies.

I finally got a chance to explore Warm Springs and its vicinity when I took my family on a short ride to Roosevelt's former stomping grounds. Even today, Warm Springs is far away enough to be a quiet escape, yet close enough to make the two-hour drive rather painless.

Meriwether County, where Warm Springs is located, has not become a southern suburb of Atlanta and I hope it remains that way. If Roosevelt was with us today, he would still come here to get away from the hectic life inside Washington D.C.'s beltway.

The road to Warm Springs

The pine trees were thick on each side of the narrow Ga. Highway 41 as we made the trip to Warm Springs. The road dips and dives as you head deeper into rural Georgia. As with any country road, it can be annoying when you get stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle or, even worse, a tractor.
I took the initiative on a few occasions to attempt the dreaded two-lane pass. In hindsight, on this particular back road, I don't suggest the risky maneuver. Instead, soak up the atmosphere of what I feel is vanishing Georgia.
Make the time to stop the car, stretch and speak with the locals. As a Midwestern male, that is a bit tough for me, but I have improved over the years. My Southern wife has always been a natural at the practice and it's rubbed off on me over the years.

We were disappointed we didn't have the time to see the museum dedicated to the late columnist Lewis Grizzard in Moreland. I religiously read Grizzard when I first moved to the South nearly 20 years ago and a tour here would have been a nice addition to this trip. But still, we admired the down-home feel of Grizzard's childhood stomping grounds and nearby Greenville.

Beyond expectations

Our visit to Little White House went well beyond my expectations. Here, one of the biggest names in history found refuge in a cozy corner of the world. I appreciated the Little White House's user-friendly museum and grounds, which contain just the right amount of historical information. You are not overwhelmed here.

Soon after you enter the museum, you'll see Roosevelt's life beautifully chronicled through an enormous timeline that decorates a wall. On the other side of the timeline display is a theater that features a film on the president's life, narrated by former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite.

After watching the film, visitors can step into a gallery filled with articles from Roosevelt's life. The gallery contains items as simple as a pen he used or a letter he wrote, but it feels as though his presence is in the room. The archive presents a history lesson. My 8-year-old daughter Caitlin had plenty of queries as she quizzed me on Roosevelt's presidency.

As we made our way to the Little White House's grounds, we noticed photographs of other presidential visits. Bill Clinton made a 1995 stop, and John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter have also visited.

A tranquil, magnificently manicured outside area leads to a modest chef's home and a garage housing one of Roosevelt's autos. A staff member guided us through the servants' quarters. Roosevelt's cook served him his last meal here before he passed away on these grounds in April 1945.

Around the corner from Little White House, visitors can see some of Warm Springs' therapeutic pools. The facility's chief ranger, Suzanne Pike, directed us to the renovated outdoor pools where Roosevelt exercised. We walked the length of the pools and felt the warmth of the waters that spring naturally from the earth here.
Upon returning to the main house, Pike held a famous historical photograph, showing a soldier crying on the day Roosevelt died, and pointed out herself in the background of the photo.

As I gazed into the photo, I realized that she had a story to tell. The 74-year-old Warm Springs native spent time at these pools with Roosevelt during her younger years.

"I've been here all my life," she said proudly. "I live in the house I grew up in."

Food that sticks
to your ribs
We drove away from the pools in a state of hunger that we've never known. There's no better place to satisfy one's hunger than at the Bulloch House. Southern-style cooking doesn't get better than this.

A bottomless buffet is kept filled with fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, meats, salads, vegetables and fried apples. If there is room left -- and for some reason, there always is -- try a mouth-watering dessert.

Feeling full from dinner, we drove back home, satiated with knowledge and good food. A family couldn't ask for more.