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'Think Smart! Think Future! Plant Pines!'
James Smith is this year's chairman. He has done an outstanding job handling the countless details that are necessary to coordinate an event as big and as complex as the Pine Tree Festival. Smith is one of over 50 members of our local Kiwanis Club. You can be assured that each member has contributed time and effort towards making this event as successful as in years past. Ideas are being discussed right now by various community leaders that will potentially make this annual celebration even bigger and provide more of an economical boost to local businesses. My opinion is that residents and travelers alike will continue to enjoy all that is Pine Tree weekend with many enhancements and recreational opportunities in future years. We all should locate a local Kiwanian, and thank him or her for everything this group has done to promote our county and preserve its abundant resources. The Pine Tree Festival was started in the mid 1940s after World War II by civic leaders that were convinced the pine tree was the economic future of Emanuel County. According to community leader and local historian Jimmy Morgan, forest fires at that time were frequent and frequently devastating to the forests. He states that many of these forest fires were deliberately set to encourage the growth of grass at the expense of our forests. Free range of livestock was allowed by Georgia state law and farmers wanted more acreage for pastures. Early festival slogans included "Stop the Fires," "Keep Georgia Green" and "Dollars grow on Pine Trees." These slogans garnered the attention of the state legislature and a fence law was passed requiring cattle farmers to fence their cattle. The occurrence of forest fires in this area dropped immediately. Now, some 60 years later, our county is on the verge of securing its largest industry ever because of the pine tree. The Huber Corporation has plans to build an oriented strand board (OSB) factory here mainly due to the fact that we have an abundance of pine trees. The positive economic impact of Huber over the next 60 years is nearly incalculable. Zach Cowart's slogan is a very good one, and would have been appropriate for the first, current, or any of our 62 Pine Tree Festivals. I encourage everyone to take part in all or part of the many fun and entertaining activities associated with this year's festival.--Wally Gallian is publisher of The Forest-Blade and may be reached at wgallian@forestblade. com
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