Local Knowledge: Railroads, Raines and The Rock

You may know Westgate Mall in Macon was the first enclosed mall in Georgia.

And you would be correct if you already know Macon’s Otis Redding was ranked No. 21 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

But neither is on this week’s Local Knowledge trivia test. 

Sharpen your pencils.

1. What is the largest industrial complex in Georgia?

(A) Robins Air Force Base

(B) Georgia National Fairgrounds

(C) YKK

(D) Buc-ee’s

2. The eight-story Massee apartments on College Street were Macon’s first residential high-rise and were designed by famous architect Neel Reed. They were built in 1924 by co-owner William Jordan Massee Jr., and are observing their 100th anniversary this year. Massee was a close friend of playwright Tennessee Williams and was said to have been the inspiration behind which character in one of Williams’ plays?

(A) Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon in “The Night of the Iguana’’

(B) Big Daddy Pollitt in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”

(C) Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire”

(D) Tom Wingfield in “The Glass Menagerie”

3. How did the community of The Rock in Upson County get its name?

(A) Everyone in the town is hard-headed 

(B) The 1,250-acre Rock Ranch was started there by Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy

(C) Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson turned it into a retirement community for former professional wrestlers

(D)  In the old days, mail was delivered to a large rock, where a secret hole was covered by a flat stone. The mail was deposited there by stagecoach drivers

4. Which of the following is NOT true about famed Macon aviator Hazel Raines? 

(A) She was the first woman in the state to earn her pilot’s license and was known as Georgia’s “First Lady of Flight”

(B)  She was one of the South’s premier stunt pilots and one of the first female pilots in the Air Force

(C)  She auditioned for the role of “Rosie the Riveter” but did not get the part 

(D) She graduated from Wesleyan College and the church library at Vineville United Methodist Church in Macon is named in her honor 

5. What downtown Macon attraction opened in 1999 and is the largest of its kind in the nation?

(A) Skateboard park at Carolyn Crayton Park

(B)  Slide on Coleman Hill

(C) Georgia Sports Hall of Fame

(D) Cherry Blossom Festival Headquarters

6. A fountain once located in the old Cotton Avenue Park near City Hall became a center of controversy in 1918. What was in the fountain that caused such a hissy fit?

(A) Three coins

(B) Four bitcoins

(C) Russian submarine

(D) Statue of a naked lady

7. What is the origin of the historic SAM Shortline Railroad in Cordele?

(A) It was the Sandersville, Albany & Macon Railway 

(B) It was the Savannah, Americus & Montgomery Railway 

(C) It was the Snellville, Athens & Marietta Railway 

(D) It was commissioned to show patriotism to Uncle Sam 

8. What is staurolite?

(A) The official state mineral of Georgia

(B) A propane school bus manufactured by Blue Bird in Fort Valley

(C) A hybrid of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet constellation system

(D)  A hops-free light beer brewed in Perry

9. The Soperton News – one of the Melody’s sister newspapers under the Georgia Trust for Local News – was the first newspaper in the U.S. to print on what material?

(A) Tea leaves 

(B) Pine pulp

(C) Aluminum foil 

(D) The back of a cereal box

10. Actor Pernell Roberts was best known for his roles as Adam Cartwright in the TV series “Bonanza” and Dr. John McIntyre in “Trapper John M.D.” Where was Roberts born and raised in South Georgia?

(A) Waycross 

(B) Valdosta 

(C) Leesburg

(D) Ashburn

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ANSWERS

(1) A.

(2) B.

(3) D.

(4) C

(5) C.

(6) D.

(7) B.

(8) A.

(9) B.

(10) A. 

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