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Title: Reminiscences of a Pleasent Day Spent at Stone

	   Mountain in the Long Ago
Author: Rogers, Loula Kendall, 1838-1931
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Date: 
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Reminiscences Of A Pleasant Day

      Spent At Stone Mountain In The Long Ago.Mrs. Loula Kendall RogersIt was a bright, beautiful Autumnal day, when a party of gay young people, on the 10th of September 1858, boarded the train for a merry little picnic among themselves at Stone Mountain.  My sister, and I with several other Wesleyan College girls were in attendance at a house party with Miss Ida Winship, of Atlanta, who was denominated at Wesleyan as "The Prettiest Girl," not only beautiful in person, but in heart, soul and character, being in after years the chosen ideal of Colonel T.W. Mangham of the 30th Ga. Regiment.Those same girls had recently visited me and although we had rambled over the picturesque hills of my own beautiful home of Bellwood, Upson County, and ever green Pine Mountain at Rogers Factory, near Thomaston, we had never climbed a mountain of solid stone, so an accommodating party of Atlanta's finest young men arranged a pleasant holiday for us to visit the real mountain.My relative, Captain William Ezzard of the Gate City Guards, was

      our Chieftain Leader, and the following young people, with several

      others were members of the command.

      Mr. Robert WinshipMiss Julia KendallMr. George WinshipMiss Fannie GrahamMr. Aquila OrmeMiss Ida WinshipMr. Willie ChisolmMiss Loula KendallMr. Harry KeonseMiss Mary Cook WinshipMr. Joesph ThompsonMiss Maria Winship

      If any of these young people, besides myself, are living at this time, I would be delighted to meet them and renew the friend-ships of that day.We walked from the train to the summit of the mountain crossing a rippling stream which added romance to this picture of woodland beauty, and the oak-bowered pathway upward.After reaching the platform and seeing the magnificent picture below, of the North, South, East, West, the whole party was silent.  There is a time when language fails, and even a bevy of thoughtless young girls were mute.A description of Sunset Mountain written in my dear Mother's Diary seemed to be spread out before me, but in a few moments one of the girls exclaimed "Oh! just look at those fields ways off there so far, don't they look like waffles?"  Then another broke the spell, by comparing the people far below to busy Ants building their little cities!After a wonderful survey, the gentlemen suggested an ascension in the Tower, so up higher and higher we mounted, until over a sight more beautiful and grand met our gaze.But we could not ascend the heights of Parnassus up there as they immediately served us with iced lemonade and immense quantities of DeKalb's delicious fruits.  After descending from the Tower which stood like a lone Sentinel keeping watch over the pinnacle of Fame, one of the girls prophesied that even in September the thermometer was far below zero!  After sitting on the rocks, enjoying the mountain breeze, and repeating couplets of poetic inspiration, Captain Ezzard informed us he had given orders for a fine turkey dinner at the Hotel, so we bade Goodbye to the beautiful scenery, and proceeded in the direction of old fashioned pound cake and ice cream.In a few days the accompanying Poem appeared in the Independent Press, which I have taken from my Scrap Book of those days, to testify that even sixty years ago all of Georgia, appreciated Stone Mountain as one of the "Wonders of the World" yet we never dreamed of the Magnificent Shrine of Immortal Fame it is destined to be.May it grow on and on to completion under skillful hands, and

become an ever radiant cenotaph on which in undying letters is

      emblazed "The Imperishable Glory of Southern Valor," and the purity of a Faith that will shine forever in the endless Light of Heaven!Mrs. Loula Kendall RogersStone Mountain

  1858