Jack Atkinson
Robert Overstreet’s African violet

It has been a year since Robert’s death. Last fall he struggled as his time was ending. He enjoyed life and his surroundings. He insisted that I pick a persimmon from his tree. He monitored his chickens and the completing of his garage and apartment.

A retired professor at Georgia Southern and Auburn, he returned to his native county. He built a fabulous complex on ancestral land and he filled it with modern art. As gardeners many of us want more and more. He was a minimalist and had a few very fine plants.

In high school I remember going to Georgia Southern to see Dame Judith Anderson perform the Medea. This was Robert’s doing. He had high ideas and ideals and he passionately worked for them. It was a bit heady for a country boy to see a world famous actress perform a Greek tragedy.

Upon returning to Emanuel County I found Robert still creating. Somehow I became his scribe and would type some of his many letters. He was a master at letter writing. The last letter I typed for him dealt with a particular doctor in another county who had greatly displeased him. The letter was so dramatic I felt the guy may lose his license! We worked together on the ECI Centennial Committee for more than a year. It was during this time that he wrote a general history of Emanuel County Institute. Today we have a history, a garden of native trees on campus and an endowment to help current students all because of his leadership.

One did not have to work with Robert long to realize how persnickety he was. He would tell you, that is just the way it is. There was an enormous family wedding just at the time he was beaten and robbed. I went to the wedding with the explicit instructions not to divulge his situation and condition. He did not want it to mar the wedding festivities. I told one of his cousins who inquired about him that I was under orders to report no details.

His impact on the community was great. Whether it was his famous Harvard beets he would bring to the historical society covered dish dinners or the annual string quartet event, he left an indelible mark on the community. He felt our community must have great music performed and annually he saw to it. He left a committee to make sure it continued to happen; and it did for the first year.

Two talented children and two grandchildren survive. I am sure they are saddled with a legacy, like it or not. He had a way of making things stick.

Back to those few fine plants that Robert cherished. One was an enormous African violet he had had for years. He raised babies from it to give away and I know where some are today. When his daughter Laura was trying to figure what to do with Dogberry (actually she knew she would keep him), the chickens, and the house plants, I volunteered to take the violet. One day she brought two violets, a big baby and the grandma of plants, a huge pink African violet. A year later they are both still living and blooming. I think of Robert a lot when I see these plants. I also know that if I should mess up with them that I would encounter his wrath.

One thing he did not live to see was the return of the Democrats to power. He avidly worked for the revival of Emanuel County Democrats. Of course he knew that both parties win and lose and the swing of the pendulum would eventually bring one or the other. Yet, he would have been so excited at this fall’s election.

Robert, I wish you were here to edit this because I am sure you would find all the mistakes and make the corrections! Jack Atkinson is our regular guest columnist and a resident of Garfield.

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