A history of hard work has
defined Wayne County’s past and present.
You can never discount sweat of the brow, but a dash of good luck goes a
long way, too. And there is no better
example than what I wrote in 2004:
“As
American troops dug trenches on the Western Front in 1916, Jim Harper’s mules
pulled plows, cracking through North Georgia’s red clay. The Allied Powers eventually would win World
War I, but Jim was fighting a losing battle in Gilmer County.
“There
had to be a better way for a hardworking farmer to feed his wife, Florence, and
their five children. Word was the soil
was rich with opportunity in Southeast Georgia, so he loaded his plows and
household wares onto two wagons and headed toward Wayne County.”
If
his daddy had unhitched his mules elsewhere, our community would not have had the
good luck of James Harper’s 96 years of positive influence. He’s been gone since 2013, but his legacy
lives through his daughter, granddaughter and two great-grandsons.
James proved you don’t have to be 9 feet tall to be a giant. And his family proves “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Peggy Harper Riggins—wife of Jiggs, mother of
Jodi Riggins Ammons, and grandmother of Riggs and Rhett Ammons—is not much over
5 feet tall. But don’t tell her
that. Peggy is a giant in our
David-and-Goliath battle to keep Republic Services from harming our
environment. Peggy’s organizational
skills and devotion to the No Ash At All group have been priceless. She is an
all-star among a legion of unselfishly devoted volunteers.
I
can attest: Peggy has not rested and
will not rest until Wayne County is safe from additional risk being proposed by
the second-largest waste-management company in America. She must sleep fast, because her computer
keyboard rarely stops clicking. There’s no way to log all the calls she makes
and receives in a day. The back of her
station wagon is a rolling warehouse of No Ash At All materials.
We
reminisce—regularly—about her father.
Peggy knows he was one of my heroes.
James demonstrated that if you worked hard and treated people fairly,
good things will happen. He made good
things happen for Wayne County.
His only grandchild, Jodi, is
following his example, as a civic leader and as president of Harper Industries
Inc. Thanks to her vision and efforts,
the Cherry Street City Center has been brought back to life. James’ let’s-make-it-better DNA is also
reflected in his two great-grandsons: Riggs, 13, and Rhett, 11, sons of Steve
and Jodi Ammons. They are emerging as
leaders, speaking out for the safety of their hometown. You need to see their video on why protecting
our community’s environment is vital: https://www.facebook.com/pg/bittersoutherner/videos/?ref=page_internal.
There was no
doubt, James Harper was pro-business. He
spent a lifetime building multiple businesses, creating jobs and paying
taxes. His work on the Wayne County
Industrial Authority is legendary. So
how would he feel today about the business plan Republic is proposing for its
landfill? Peggy and I agree: James would
be standing tall against anything that could harm our region. Republic’s dangerous
proposals for the rail-spur and toxic coal-ash dumping far outstrip the monetary
reward.
I am confident,
if James were here today, he’d be doing all he could to protect Wayne
County. But once again, aren’t we
lucky? Jim Harper unhitched his mules,
101 years ago, outside Jesup on Highway 203. And Peggy, along with her family, proves
“the apple doesn’t fall far from the
tree.”
