Gris Lists: Easter, baseball and other facts of life

If Easter Sunday (April 20) seems late this year, that’s because it is tardier than usual.  The latest Easter can ever fall on the calendar is April 25. 

It was on March 31 last year, and on April 9, April 17, April 4 and April 12 the four previous years.

The last time Easter was on April 20 was in 2004.  It won’t happen again until 2088.

Here are the most recent dates Easter was (or will be) on April 20: 1930, 2004, 2025, 2088, 2099.

Five price tags in Macon from 50 years ago 

1. An aluminum web lawn chair for $3.97 from K Mart on Riverside Drive.

2. A dozen eggs for 49 cents at the Food Fair on the corner of Second and Arch streets.

3. A steak platter (6-ounce steak, french fries, tossed salad and toasted Grecian bread) for $2.19 at Shoney’s on Pio Nono Avenue.

4. A 100-count bottle of Bufferin for $1.09 from Eckerd’s Drug Store at Napier Square.

5. Three 20-ounce loaves of Colonial, Merita and Sunbeam bread for $1 at the Piggly Wiggly in Shurlington Plaza.

Four baseball movies/TV series filmed in Macon

1. “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings” starring Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor and James Earl Jones (1976)

2. “Trouble With the Curve” starring Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake and John Goodman (2012)

3. “42” starring Chadwick Boseman and Harrison Ford (2013)

4. “Brockmire” (IFC series) starring Hank Azaria and Amanda Peet (2017-20)

Five takeaways from General Marquis de Lafayette’s visit 

1. Lafayette was a Revolutionary War hero, a close ally of George Washington and a key figure in the French Revolution. At the invitation of the U.S., Lafayette was part of a 24-state tour from July 1824 to Sept. 15, 1825. Macon was one of his stops on March 29, 1825. (From a bicentennial presentation by Andy Lawson, retired history teacher and member of Macon Palaver Club.) 

2. His aide, Auguste Levasseur, described Macon as a “pretty little town that did not exist 18 months ago and emerged as if by magic from the middle of the forests. It is a civilized place, lost in the still immense domain of the first children of America.’’

3. Lafayette stayed in Macon for two and a half hours.  There was a picnic lunch with the townspeople.

4. Lafayette was greeted by Mayor Edward Dorr Tracy, who spoke to him in three languages, including French and the Muscogee language. Lafayette noted it was the only time in America that he was spoken to in an Indigenous language by a white man.

5. Lafayette received a beaver skin hat, which must have suited him far more than the crown of leaves put on his head in northern cities.

Nine ‘Inmates’ for Saturday’s ‘Jail & Bail’

Here are the nine “inmates” for Saturday’s “Jail & Bail” fundraiser for Critical Care for Animal Angels dog rescue from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Byron Baptist Church. The “inmates” are being handcuffed, issued bright orange jailhouse T-shirts and having their mug shots taken. They are asking for donations so they can be “released back into society.’’ (Call 478-972-1161 for more information.)

1. Jim Russell, deputy director for production and operations at Robins Air Force Base.

2. Dr. Samer Othman, owner and dentist at Advanced Dental Arts in Macon.

3. Toby, the Mercer Bears mascot.

4. Angela Hambrick, principal of Peach County High School.

5. Jesse Davis, assistant superintendent, Peach Board of Education.

6. Jennifer Smith, family nurse practitioner at Hometown Health Care in Byron.

7. Martin Moseley, Post 4 Chairman Byron/Fort Valley Peach Board of Commissioners.

8. Matt Edwards, owner of On-The-Mark Printing in Byron.

9. Connie Holland, CEO of Vision Savers.

Three things named after former Macon mayors

1. Luther Williams Field was built in 1929 and is the second-oldest minor league baseball park in the country. Luther Williams was mayor from 1928-29 and a champion of sports and recreation in the city. He was originally from South Wales and once worked for the British civil service commission. He moved to Macon to work for Western Union Telegraph Company and contributed to the city’s economic growth late in the 19th century as president of the Bank and Trust Company.

2. The convention center at the Macon Centreplex is named after Edgar H. Wilson, a former mayor from 1959-63. Wilson also served in the state legislature. He was an Air Force veteran of World War II, dean of Mercer’s law school and chairman of the Macon-Bibb County Water and Sewer Authority.

3. The Lee Robinson Memorial Bridge on Riverside Drive was dedicated in 2017 to former mayor Lee Robinson, who died of cancer in 2015. It crosses Interstate 75 at Riverside Cemetery. Robinson was a Vietnam veteran and an avid runner. He was a Georgia state senator from 1974-82 and mayor from 1987-91.