Several years ago, Randy and I and the kids were driving back from a vacation trip. As we approached Atlanta, we saw a sign about Rutledge, GA.  Since our little Rutledge is such a sweet place, we wanted to see what another Rutledge might look like.

We turned off and drove through – it’s a beautiful place and it’s obvious the people who live there love their town. As small as it is, they’ve built up interest in the town by having city-wide activities all during the year: yard sales, a county fair,  and festivals include everyone.  The town itself is very attractive – homes are neatly maintained, the streets are clean and well-kept and everyone seems very friendly.

Seeing how Rutledge, GA has grown and developed into a beautiful place to live and work, gives me hope for our little Rutledge. The people here are so nice, and really want Rutledge to grow and prosper; even the little fun things we’ve done so far, like the kids’ July 4th parade, have been met with approval and excitement.  This year, we hope to add activities; some may include:

• a pet show – everyone will be encouraged to bring their pets to show them off;  a local vet will be invited to speak to the kids about the best ways to take care of their pets
• a day of art- kids and teens will be invited to town hall to let them be creative and maybe learn some new techniques to express themselves
• water play day- water guns will rule! refreshments may include watermelon and other fresh fruits

I know we’ll have more fun things as we grow, and I know more folks will learn what a great place Rutledge is. I’m glad to be able to share the secret.

Yesterday we had Rutledge’s first 4th of July parade. While we only had a few people to come, everyone there had a great time, and we hope to make this an annual event.

We started out with the pledge of allegiance, then everyone lined up behind Mayor Joe Dexter. Randy took his bike to the end of the parade route, and kept traffic from coming into the group, and Jennifer blocked the entrance to the other end of the street.

After we got back to the community center, we spread out blankets under a tree, and while Jennifer poured pink lemonade for everyone, I cut this beautiful cake made for us by the ladies at the Piggly Wiggly.

As I said, we hope to make this an annual event- a very small town in a neighboring county has turned their small-town parade into a large event, usually having at least 200 participants; we may not ever get that big, but I would like to eventually get other towns in the county to participate in some way, and I’d also like to see more of our citizens to come out for it too.

Next year’s route will be a lot longer, Mr. Joe’s dad has said he’d bring his 1947 tractor and wagon along to haul kids, and we’d love to get at least one fire truck in as well.  We may also change the time to later in the afternoon, and cook out hot dogs for everyone too.

Happy Independence Day!

The Alabama Department of Tourism is sponsoring The Year of Small Towns and Downtowns in 2010. Each town that participates receives a free historic marker; Rutledge will be participating and we’ll center the Homecoming Weekend around the Primitive Baptist Church in Rutledge. It’s one of the oldest churches in Crenshaw County, and since Rutledge was once the county seat, the church is even more central to the county.
We’ve already set dates, and we also decided to have a homecoming weekend in 2009 as well – you might say it will be our practice run.
We’ve come up with several ideas on how to celebrate our town and it’s roots – we’ll be making videos of town members telling how it was to grow up in and around Rutledge; an art show is also being planned; we’ll have activities for the kids on Saturday; and Sunday we’ll wind up the weekend with a community church service in the morning, dinner on the grounds and an afternoon singing with local groups.
I’ve also come up with an idea to have a poster and postcard design competition among the residents of Rutledge. The winning posters will be used to publicize the weekend, and the winning postcards will be reproduced and sold during the weekend. Each winning designer will get a copy of all the winning designs. It will encourage the local folks to get involved, and any money raised will go towards maintaining the church building.
Check back for more details on how the plans are developing…