WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.280 align:middle line:90% 00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:09.400 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: This is an oral history interview with Jeanette 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:11.760 align:middle line:90% Longley in Dalton, Georgia. 00:00:11.760 --> 00:00:16.020 align:middle line:84% And Jeanette is the oldest grandchild of HL Smith. 00:00:16.020 --> 00:00:17.720 align:middle line:84% Henry Lawson Smith, the first man 00:00:17.720 --> 00:00:19.440 align:middle line:90% to graduate from Georgia Tech. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:22.120 align:middle line:84% Jeanette, you're so kind to let us come see you today. 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:26.320 align:middle line:84% And today is February the 17th of the year 2000. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:30.320 align:middle line:84% And I would like to ask you, please, to just tell us, 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:32.720 align:middle line:84% just briefly, some of your recollections 00:00:32.720 --> 00:00:35.200 align:middle line:84% of your grandfather, in no particular order. 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:36.960 align:middle line:90% Do you remember him clearly? 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:38.157 align:middle line:90% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Oh, yes. 00:00:38.157 --> 00:00:40.240 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: What's your clearest image of him? 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:44.960 align:middle line:84% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Well, I think my strongest memory is probably 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:49.080 align:middle line:84% of him sitting in his favorite chair in my aunt's home 00:00:49.080 --> 00:00:52.720 align:middle line:84% by the window, which he loved, where he could look out and see 00:00:52.720 --> 00:00:54.540 align:middle line:90% the mountains and the sunset. 00:00:54.540 --> 00:00:58.620 align:middle line:84% And he would write poetry and work crossword puzzles. 00:00:58.620 --> 00:01:02.290 align:middle line:84% And when I think of granddaddy, it's 00:01:02.290 --> 00:01:05.970 align:middle line:84% one of the favorite memories I have of him. 00:01:05.970 --> 00:01:08.770 align:middle line:84% And then later, after my grandmother died 00:01:08.770 --> 00:01:12.850 align:middle line:84% and he bought a cottage on the beach at New Smyrna, 00:01:12.850 --> 00:01:16.890 align:middle line:84% he would spend the winters there with an older couple that 00:01:16.890 --> 00:01:18.850 align:middle line:90% would come and stay with him. 00:01:18.850 --> 00:01:23.050 align:middle line:84% And then, he would come home for some weeks in the spring. 00:01:23.050 --> 00:01:26.990 align:middle line:84% Then, when summer came, he'd returned to his cottage. 00:01:26.990 --> 00:01:29.650 align:middle line:84% And various friends and members of the family 00:01:29.650 --> 00:01:34.150 align:middle line:84% would take turns spending two weeks with him at the beach. 00:01:34.150 --> 00:01:39.690 align:middle line:84% And we would keep house and cook and enjoy his hospitality 00:01:39.690 --> 00:01:41.980 align:middle line:84% and look after him and take him places. 00:01:41.980 --> 00:01:43.730 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: So you got a shot at that? 00:01:43.730 --> 00:01:44.855 align:middle line:90% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Oh, yes. 00:01:44.855 --> 00:01:46.790 align:middle line:84% And he'd always take us out for Sunday dinner. 00:01:46.790 --> 00:01:48.450 align:middle line:90% That was a big thing. 00:01:48.450 --> 00:01:51.050 align:middle line:90% And so, that was great fun. 00:01:51.050 --> 00:01:53.627 align:middle line:90% And then, as I was growing up-- 00:01:53.627 --> 00:01:56.210 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: He sounds kind of like an ideal grandpa, then. 00:01:56.210 --> 00:01:56.817 align:middle line:90% He was just-- 00:01:56.817 --> 00:01:58.150 align:middle line:90% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Well, he was. 00:01:58.150 --> 00:02:01.010 align:middle line:84% Of course, he was handicapped, because he had arthritis 00:02:01.010 --> 00:02:04.390 align:middle line:84% quite badly and was on crutches, ever 00:02:04.390 --> 00:02:07.030 align:middle line:90% since I can remember, really. 00:02:07.030 --> 00:02:12.130 align:middle line:84% And so he was not as active as some grandfathers. 00:02:12.130 --> 00:02:18.170 align:middle line:84% But he was always a very wise man and gave us all good advice. 00:02:18.170 --> 00:02:22.390 align:middle line:84% And that was something I was going to tell you a minute ago 00:02:22.390 --> 00:02:24.450 align:middle line:84% and I-- oh, about the Sunday school. 00:02:24.450 --> 00:02:28.030 align:middle line:84% He was a superintendent of the Sunday school, 00:02:28.030 --> 00:02:31.090 align:middle line:84% and being very, very active in the church. 00:02:31.090 --> 00:02:35.710 align:middle line:84% But I remember as a child that he was the superintendent there, 00:02:35.710 --> 00:02:39.233 align:middle line:84% and that the church was a very important part of his life. 00:02:39.233 --> 00:02:41.150 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: Do you remember his connection 00:02:41.150 --> 00:02:42.988 align:middle line:84% with Georgia Tech as something that you 00:02:42.988 --> 00:02:44.530 align:middle line:84% were aware of as you were growing up? 00:02:44.530 --> 00:02:46.242 align:middle line:84% Did you realize his significance? 00:02:46.242 --> 00:02:47.450 align:middle line:90% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Well, yes. 00:02:47.450 --> 00:02:49.390 align:middle line:84% I did know he was the first graduate. 00:02:49.390 --> 00:02:53.470 align:middle line:84% And he always had his four tickets to the football games 00:02:53.470 --> 00:02:56.470 align:middle line:84% every year, right on the 50-yard line. 00:02:56.470 --> 00:03:01.230 align:middle line:84% And he had a special parking place that was close. 00:03:01.230 --> 00:03:05.240 align:middle line:84% Because of his disability, they made it as easy as possible 00:03:05.240 --> 00:03:06.320 align:middle line:90% for him. 00:03:06.320 --> 00:03:10.300 align:middle line:84% And he would always take someone with him to the games. 00:03:10.300 --> 00:03:13.500 align:middle line:84% And so, I got to go take my turn. 00:03:13.500 --> 00:03:16.800 align:middle line:84% My husband and I would drive him down to the game. 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:19.260 align:middle line:90% And that was another fun thing. 00:03:19.260 --> 00:03:22.607 align:middle line:90% So, we all were great Tech fans. 00:03:22.607 --> 00:03:24.440 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: So, from the very beginning, 00:03:24.440 --> 00:03:26.240 align:middle line:84% you knew you were a Ramblin' Wreck then? 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:28.520 align:middle line:84% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Oh, absolutely. 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:29.640 align:middle line:90% Absolutely. 00:03:29.640 --> 00:03:33.760 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: You were in a unique position as Henry aged 00:03:33.760 --> 00:03:35.060 align:middle line:90% and got older in life. 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:38.960 align:middle line:84% His business, which was the MD and HL Smith manufacturing 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:39.460 align:middle line:90% company. 00:03:39.460 --> 00:03:40.120 align:middle line:90% Is that correct? 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:41.120 align:middle line:84% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Yes, that's right. 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:44.260 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: Eventually came into your custody, so to speak. 00:03:44.260 --> 00:03:44.480 align:middle line:90% Talk to me about-- 00:03:44.480 --> 00:03:45.980 align:middle line:84% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Well, yes it did. 00:03:45.980 --> 00:03:49.740 align:middle line:84% Well, after my grandfather passed-- well, he retired. 00:03:49.740 --> 00:03:52.520 align:middle line:84% And when he did, after my grandmother died around 00:03:52.520 --> 00:03:58.660 align:middle line:84% 1950, '51, my father ran the business then. 00:03:58.660 --> 00:04:00.080 align:middle line:84% He had been working with him ever 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:06.008 align:middle line:84% since World War II in the final-- 00:04:06.008 --> 00:04:06.800 align:middle line:90% how shall I put it? 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:10.720 align:middle line:84% With the business, there were originally four plants. 00:04:10.720 --> 00:04:15.100 align:middle line:84% And two of them had been divided between my grandfather 00:04:15.100 --> 00:04:17.420 align:middle line:90% and his brother, MD. 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:19.420 align:middle line:84% And then, at that time, my father 00:04:19.420 --> 00:04:23.220 align:middle line:84% had run the Chattanooga plant, and my grandfather 00:04:23.220 --> 00:04:24.660 align:middle line:90% the Dalton plant. 00:04:24.660 --> 00:04:27.420 align:middle line:84% And his brother had taken the Atlanta and the Birmingham 00:04:27.420 --> 00:04:28.660 align:middle line:90% plants. 00:04:28.660 --> 00:04:34.100 align:middle line:84% So then, when World War I came, my father went in the service. 00:04:34.100 --> 00:04:37.860 align:middle line:84% And when he came back, he went into the tent business 00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:40.100 align:middle line:84% as head of the Chattanooga plant. 00:04:40.100 --> 00:04:43.940 align:middle line:84% So later, that was sold to Tennessee Tent and Awning. 00:04:43.940 --> 00:04:46.340 align:middle line:84% And my father went into the automobile business 00:04:46.340 --> 00:04:50.820 align:middle line:84% as the Dodge Plymouth dealer in Dalton. 00:04:50.820 --> 00:04:56.820 align:middle line:84% Then, when World War II came along, my dad sold his business 00:04:56.820 --> 00:05:00.420 align:middle line:84% and went back into the tent business to help my grandfather. 00:05:00.420 --> 00:05:05.670 align:middle line:84% Because the plant ran 24 hours a day, making squad tents 00:05:05.670 --> 00:05:09.830 align:middle line:90% and hospital tents for the army. 00:05:09.830 --> 00:05:13.810 align:middle line:84% And then, he just stayed with it until, when granddaddy died, 00:05:13.810 --> 00:05:17.090 align:middle line:84% he took over the complete management of the plant. 00:05:17.090 --> 00:05:21.310 align:middle line:84% And then, about five years later-- 00:05:21.310 --> 00:05:25.550 align:middle line:84% my father only lived about five years longer than his father. 00:05:25.550 --> 00:05:29.070 align:middle line:84% Then the plant came down to me, and I ran it 00:05:29.070 --> 00:05:32.363 align:middle line:84% until I moved to Atlanta in 1970. 00:05:32.363 --> 00:05:34.530 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: So you became the family tent-maker? 00:05:34.530 --> 00:05:36.850 align:middle line:84% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: So I'm the last of the tent-makers. 00:05:36.850 --> 00:05:37.630 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: Last of the tent-makers. 00:05:37.630 --> 00:05:40.047 align:middle line:84% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: But it was a very interesting business. 00:05:40.047 --> 00:05:41.690 align:middle line:84% You met a lot of interesting people. 00:05:41.690 --> 00:05:47.030 align:middle line:84% And we made a lot of really big tents and unique tents. 00:05:47.030 --> 00:05:48.870 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: That are still in existence? 00:05:48.870 --> 00:05:51.037 align:middle line:84% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Yes, they are still in existence. 00:05:51.037 --> 00:05:53.850 align:middle line:84% In fact, as I showed you some pictures earlier, 00:05:53.850 --> 00:05:57.070 align:middle line:84% there was one that was erected here 00:05:57.070 --> 00:06:01.090 align:middle line:84% at the fairgrounds in Dalton last summer. 00:06:01.090 --> 00:06:05.200 align:middle line:84% And my former foreman, Carl Marcus, and I 00:06:05.200 --> 00:06:08.680 align:middle line:84% went out to see the tent and take some pictures 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:12.000 align:middle line:84% and get our picture made inside the tent. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.580 align:middle line:90% And it was great to see one up. 00:06:14.580 --> 00:06:16.740 align:middle line:84% We always saw it in bits and pieces, 00:06:16.740 --> 00:06:19.442 align:middle line:84% so it was a treat for us to see it put up. 00:06:19.442 --> 00:06:20.900 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: A wonderful legacy. 00:06:20.900 --> 00:06:21.858 align:middle line:90% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Yes. 00:06:21.858 --> 00:06:23.040 align:middle line:90% That was great fun. 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:26.400 align:middle line:84% And I think you're doing a super job on your research 00:06:26.400 --> 00:06:27.525 align:middle line:90% on granddaddy and his life. 00:06:27.525 --> 00:06:29.108 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: I'm finding that Henry 00:06:29.108 --> 00:06:30.380 align:middle line:90% was quite an interesting man. 00:06:30.380 --> 00:06:31.680 align:middle line:84% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Well, he really was. 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:33.340 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: He was quite a sports figure. 00:06:33.340 --> 00:06:35.265 align:middle line:84% Even though he was handicapped in later years, 00:06:35.265 --> 00:06:37.640 align:middle line:84% in his early days, he was quite a golfer, wasn't he, now? 00:06:37.640 --> 00:06:39.720 align:middle line:84% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Well, he actually 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:41.502 align:middle line:90% played golf on crutches. 00:06:41.502 --> 00:06:42.460 align:middle line:90% MARILYN SOMERS: He did? 00:06:42.460 --> 00:06:45.640 align:middle line:84% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: He was such a devoted golfer. 00:06:45.640 --> 00:06:50.400 align:middle line:84% And he was one of the charter members of the local Dalton Golf 00:06:50.400 --> 00:06:53.052 align:middle line:84% and Country Club, and served as its first president. 00:06:53.052 --> 00:06:54.760 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: Another one of the things 00:06:54.760 --> 00:06:57.000 align:middle line:84% that he took a great deal of pride in. 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.240 align:middle line:84% I refer to him as Henry, but that's not 00:06:59.240 --> 00:07:01.020 align:middle line:90% the way he was known in Dalton. 00:07:01.020 --> 00:07:01.937 align:middle line:90% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: No. 00:07:01.937 --> 00:07:06.180 align:middle line:84% Everybody that I know always referred to him as Mr. HL. 00:07:06.180 --> 00:07:07.600 align:middle line:90% MARILYN SOMERS: Mr. HL? 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:08.683 align:middle line:90% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Uh-huh. 00:07:08.683 --> 00:07:12.480 align:middle line:84% And that's the way he preferred to be known, I believe. 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:13.450 align:middle line:90% But certainly, that's-- 00:07:13.450 --> 00:07:15.700 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: He was certainly very well known here. 00:07:15.700 --> 00:07:16.825 align:middle line:90% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Oh, yes. 00:07:16.825 --> 00:07:20.380 align:middle line:84% Very well known and very highly respected. 00:07:20.380 --> 00:07:23.980 align:middle line:84% And was an active in civic groups. 00:07:23.980 --> 00:07:29.163 align:middle line:84% Civitan and other local organizations. 00:07:29.163 --> 00:07:30.580 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: Well, Georgia Tech 00:07:30.580 --> 00:07:33.380 align:middle line:84% considers itself quite fortunate that it had such 00:07:33.380 --> 00:07:34.880 align:middle line:90% a wonderful first graduate. 00:07:34.880 --> 00:07:38.660 align:middle line:84% And I think probably all of Dalton feels quite the same way. 00:07:38.660 --> 00:07:40.660 align:middle line:84% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Well, he was quite fond 00:07:40.660 --> 00:07:42.980 align:middle line:90% of his memories of Tech. 00:07:42.980 --> 00:07:46.860 align:middle line:84% Tech certainly ranked very high in his opinion, 00:07:46.860 --> 00:07:49.345 align:middle line:84% and he was a very loyal supporter always. 00:07:49.345 --> 00:07:51.220 align:middle line:84% MARILYN SOMERS: Thank you so much for letting 00:07:51.220 --> 00:07:53.280 align:middle line:84% us come talk to you about him today, 00:07:53.280 --> 00:07:55.197 align:middle line:84% and for sharing all the wonderful memorabilia. 00:07:55.197 --> 00:07:57.363 align:middle line:84% JEANNETTE LONGLEY: Well, thank you so much, Marilyn. 00:07:57.363 --> 00:07:58.600 align:middle line:90% It's been a real pleasure. 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:02.500 align:middle line:84% I've enjoyed having you and getting to know you and Teresa. 00:08:02.500 --> 00:08:04.730 align:middle line:90% And thanks a lot.