Say, didn’t you used to be? More stories from the afterlife

Every time I am at Ortho Georgia on Northside Drive, where my wife has been doing physical therapy after her knee surgery, it takes me back to when that building was Mansour’s
Department Store. 

I guess I’m in the men’s department. Or maybe ladies shoes.

Mansour’s was a big part of my life when I was growing up in LaGrange. It was the giant department store on the downtown square. I went to elementary school with some of the Mansour boys.

I ride similar waves of deja vu whenever I pass the old Macon Telegraph building at the corner of Broadway and Riverside. I spent more than half my career inside those walls. It’s now a climate-controlled self-storage
facility.

My mother-in-law once worked as a seamstress at Happ Manufacturing. It’s now Broadway Lofts, one of the first loft projects downtown. Our oldest son, Ed, later lived in the same building, where his MeMa once hemmed garments.

Every time I roll past the Goodwill Donation Center at the fork on Hardeman Avenue and Forsyth Street, I want to stop and get a doughnut. Old-timers will remember when it was a Krispy Kreme.

I hope you enjoyed the recent “afterlife” quiz in The Melody.  Perhaps it brought back some memories. At the very least, you learned something.

I have gathered enough for another round. I will have more in the coming weeks.  (It will likely become an ongoing feature.) Feel free to send me your suggestions at gris@maconmelody.com

Now, try to match this list of current Macon businesses with what they were in a previous life. 

AFTERLIFE

1. Georgia Cardiology Associates, 3330 Northside Drive
2. Goodwill Industries/Anderson Conference Center/Edgar’s Bistro, 5171 Eisenhower Parkway
3. Tier 2 Technologies, 1015 Riverside Drive
4. Pet Supermarket/VIP Beauty Supply/Papa John’s/Batteries Plus, 210 Tom Hill Sr. Blvd.
5. WMGT-TV, Channel 41, 301 Poplar St.
6. Dollar General, 888 Pierce Avenue
7. Bibb County Tax Commissioner’s Office, 188 Third St.
8. Bear’s Den Restaurant, 1191 Oglethorpe St.
9. Lawrence Mayer Florist, 608 Mulberry St.
10. Bibb School Nutrition Central Kitchen, 2011 Riverside Drive
11. Marg’s Mercer (Margarita’s expanded dining room), Mercer Village, 1602 Montpelier Ave.
12. Regymen Fitness, 3049 Vineville Ave.
13. Poppy’s of Macon, 2950 Riverside Drive
14. Just Tap’d, 488 First St.
15. Graphic Resource printing services, 152 Spring St.

PREVIOUS LIFE

A. Ivan Allen office equipment

B. Payne’s Apothecary/Young Drug Store

C. Nashville South nightclub/New City Church

D. Piggly Wiggly Grocery/Silk Garden Center/Aunt Zelda’s Furniture 

E. Northside Racquetball Club

F. Fountain of Juice/Nu-Way/Bear’s Burgers

G. Capital City Bank

H. Carol’s Linens/Barnes & Noble 

I. K Mart/Hutchings Career Center

J. Hard Rock Grocery/Self’s Food Mart/Barfield’s Grocery

K. Trading Post Furniture Storage & Moving/Armory

L. Moore’s Furniture/Riverside Theater

M. Oxley-Willis Wholesale Dry Goods & Notions

N. Sam’s Wholesale Club

O. ChiChester’s Pharmacy

ANSWERS: (1) E. (2) N. (3) C. (4) H. (5) M. (6) D. (7) G. (8) J. (9) B. (10) I. (11) F. (12) O. (13) L. (14) K. (15) A.