400 Life: The Great Outdoors

400 LIFE SEPTEMBER 2020

The Great Outdoors lake lanier: below the surface Sawnee Mountain rich in history Big Creek Greenway more than just a trail system

Plus: Explore the Chattahoochee and Etowah rivers | Meet the owners of Best Ice Cream on Wheels

Thank you for voting us BEST PEDIATRICS in Forsyth 770-888-8888 Monday - Friday | 8am - 5pm 1800 Northside Forsyth Drive | Suite 460 Cumming, GA 30041

www.cummingpediatricgroup.com

2 | 400 LIFE | September 2020

contents from the editor

As we sit here today, the state of the coronavirus pandemic in Georgia is still dicey. The guidance from health experts and officials is as urgent as ever: social distance, wash hands frequently, cover coughs and sneezes, and wear a face mask when in public.

But all along, those experts and officials have agreed that getting outdoors in a safe way is crucial to our overall health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has plenty of guidelines for how to enjoy a trip to a park or recreation area during the pandemic, but a key one is to stay local.

Lucky for us, there are plenty of choices for outdoor recreation in Forsyth County, and you’ve probably experienced most if not all of them: the Chattahoochee and Etowah rivers, Big Creek Greenway, Lake Lanier, Sawnee Mountain.

But how much do you really know about them?

Our goal in this issue of 400 LIFE is to help you get to know the great outdoors around us here in Forsyth County. So the next time you are boating on the lake, or hiking up Sawnee Mountain, or paddling down the Chattahoochee, you’ll understand more of its history and impact on the area, and with it gain a deeper appreciation for our slice of nature.

And please, go enjoy it — safely!

4 How Lake Lanier came to be the amazing attraction it is today As the sun beats down on North Georgia and families find themselves heading out to Lake Lanier to enjoy themselves, many may not know about the relics from the lake’s history that still sit waiting far beneath the surface.

10 Forsyth County is renowned for not only its closeness to the city of Atlanta but also the area’s natural resources and various ways to enjoy them. But perhaps no other amenity in the county combines live, work and play quite like the Big Creek Greenway.

— Brian Paglia

contributors Production manager Tracie Pike

Publisher Stephanie Woody

Staff writers Sabrina Kerns Kelly Whitmire

Editor Brian Paglia

Regional staff writer Erica Schmidt

Advertising Stacy Clark

Photography Ben Hendren

This magazine is a product of the

Special contributors Becky Cahill Jennifer Colosimo

www.ForsythNews.com Sign up for our newsletter at www.forsythnews.com/sign-up-newsletters

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8 Today Sawnee Mountain harbors residential developments, surprisingly strenuous hiking trails, and a visitor’s center; but its expansive views, rich history, and the stories behind both are a treasure that will leave you replenished in both body and soul.

Visit the Chattahoochee and Etowah rivers

14 Local ice cream truck business brings frozen treats to the community

15 400 Reads: View the world around you through more than one lens

September 2020 | 400 LIFE | 3

Below the surface How Lake Lanier came to be

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Lake Sidney Lanier in the 1950s in conjunction with Buford Dam.

Story by Sabrina Kerns

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he Lake Sidney Lanier that many know today is always bouncing with excitement, especially during Georgia’s warmer months, as people from all over the state crowd the lake’s surrounding parks, campgrounds and marinas.

Families go to hang out and play at the parks, residents take their boats out either just for some fun in the sun or to spend a couple of hours fishing, people take time to exercise or relax on a walk down surrounding trails, and many travel across to Lake Lanier Islands for some leisurely golfing.

As the sun beats down on North Georgia and families find themselves heading out to Lake Lanier to enjoy themselves, many may not know about the relics from the lake’s history that still sit waiting far beneath the surface.

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Building Buford Dam

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obert David Coughlin, the author of “Storybook Site: The Early History and Construction of Buford Dam” and a former park ranger on the lake, said that he has met many people in North Georgia who did not realize that Lake Lanier is a man-made lake.

The body of water has become such an integrated piece of the community, that it almost feels like it has just always been there.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Lake Sidney Lanier in the 1950s in conjunction with Buford Dam. The project was part of a much larger mission across the U.S. directly after World War II to develop the nation’s waterways, according to a previous 400 Life story.

Coughlin said that the U.S. government sought out the construction of Lake Lanier and Buford Dam specifically to help provide a water source to residents near Atlanta, use the dam as a power source for surrounding homes, and help prevent flooding from the Chattahoochee River.

The Corps of Engineers was originally thinking of placing the dam in Roswell, but they ended up deciding on the current site because it was a more rural area at the time.

Despite it being a rural area, though, the project was a huge undertaking, gaining attention from those all over the state.

Funding for the project was approved in 1949, and after both the lake and the dam were completely finished, the total cost of the project ended up being nearly $45 million, according to documents archived by the Historical Society of Cumming/Forsyth County.

Local officials held a groundbreaking for Buford Dam in March 1950, and Coughlin said about 10,000 people gathered to watch then Atlanta Mayor William Hartsfield, Cumming Mayor Roy Otwell and other leaders break ground at the site for the first time.

“It was a big deal here,” Coughlin said. “I mean, when they had the groundbreaking, it brought people from all over Georgia to the area to see them officially start a project. It was a big deal and a big change to the area.”

As the Corps of Engineers started construction, the entire area around the site in Forsyth, Hall, Gwinnett and Dawson counties started to change. All at once, Coughlin said that they started to reroute roads, rethink and reconstruct bridges, and start the process of buying up mostly farmland owned by residents at the time.

Nearly half of the cost of the multimilliondollar project was spent buying land and relocating the families, churches and even gravesites that used to reside on the land that now makes up the bottom of Lake Lanier.

A look at construction on Buford Dam from June 24, 1955. The gates to the dam closed the following year, and the lake opened for business in the summer of 1957.

Fast-moving change

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he U.S. government set out to acquire the rights to more than 56,000 acres of land to make room for the 38,000-acre lake and nearly 700 miles of shoreline, and during the process, Coughlin said that 700 families in North Georgia were relocated.

Suddenly, the entire area seemed to be changing.

The Corps of Engineers ended up shutting down or rerouting roads, replacing bridges and tearing down houses, barns, fences and other structures that were in the area that would later become Lake Lanier.

Martha McConnell, president of the

Historical Society of Cumming/Forsyth County, who was a little girl living in Cumming at the time, said that she remembers there being a thin layer of fear in the community surrounding the project. Even as roads started closing, she said it felt like they were almost being cut off from neighbors.

“That was one thing … people used to live side-by-side and then after the lake came in, they had to drive miles to be able to see each other or to go to church,” McConnell said. “It was inconvenient until people got used to it.”

Many others in the community had mixed feelings about the project as it impacted residents in different ways.

Continued, Page 6 The powerhouse at Buford Dam under contruction in the spring of 1956.

Photos courtesy Gainesville Times

September 2020 | 400 LIFE | 5

Public opinion

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he acquisition of land in the area started in April 1954 when 81-year-old Henry Shadburn sold the deed to his land to the government for $4,100, according to an archived 400 Life article by the late Annette Bramblett, former Historical Society of Cumming/Forsyth County president.

“Had the Corps believed that all land acquisition would proceed as smoothly as the purchase from Shadburn, the engineers would have been in for a rude awakening,” Bramblett wrote.

As Coughlin pointed out, many of these families in North Georgia held their homes and land close to their heart as some of them had handed off their land to family through the generations.

It was no surprise that, despite efforts to ask locals to convince others in the area of the project’s importance, some families still turned their backs away from plans for the dam and lake.

Several residents started civil action suits against the government, and Coughlin said some even refused to leave their homes.

“They had to remove someone by force,” Coughlin said. “They had to go in there with the sheriff and say, ‘You have to leave. You don’t have a choice.’”

Others realized that with the stripped away farmland, the area would see more industrial growth, and they saw it as more of an opportunity. Even for some forced out of their homes, Coughlin said that they were amazed by the amount they were able to sell their deeds for.

“In that particular time and that rural part of Georgia, the likelihood that someone was going to buy your property and pay that amount of money was probably pretty slim,” Coughlin said. “And some people, all of sudden, they were liquid for the first time in their entire life. They had never seen that kind of money before, and they’d look at it as a golden opportunity to go somewhere else and purchase maybe some property close by for less.”

Even though opinions in the community on the lake were mixed, as they started to slowly fill it starting in 1957, some could not help but get excited for the fun times that a large lake offers.

Buford Dam, showing flood waters in February 1955.

-Photo courtesy Gainesville Times

In the depths

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ome residents even started swimming in it before the lake was finished despite warnings from the Corps of Engineers that it was dangerous because of floating debris and other structures sitting at the bottom of the lake. Swimmers would even snag their clothes on the tops of trees that rested just beneath the surface of the water.

Even today, there are concrete buildings, cars, parts of bridges and other debris in some of the deepest parts of Lake Lanier, but as the lake is full now, the Corps of Engineers suspects that these structures will never cause any harm to lake goers.

Rumors floating around in the community and online suggest that the entire town still sits beneath the lake, but Coughlin said that is not true. Anything that would cause a hazard was removed from the area before the lake was built, and Coughlin said this meant basically anything that could float. This means that any concrete buildings or other structures, wells and items made from heavy metals were likely left under the water.

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‘You can’t separate it’

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hinking back on the creation of Lake Lanier and Buford Dam now, Coughlin said it is hard to imagine where North Georgia would be now without the popular attraction.

It changed the metro Atlanta area in that it helped bring more money into the surrounding communities, it helped form new businesses, it drew in tourist attractions from other communities and states, and so much more.

Lake Lanier has become an inseparable part of the community, so much so that it has become easy for some to forget that it was not always there.

“To take it away now, you couldn’t do it,” Coughlin said. “It’s interwoven into the community. You can’t separate it.”

Did you know....

• Approximately 84% of individuals who drown at Corps lakes were not wearing a life jacket.

• Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. • It takes only 60 seconds on average for an adult to drown and 20 seconds for children.

• Loaner life jackets are available at many Corps of Engineers parks.

-U.S. Army Corp of Engineers

Go tell it on the Mountain Historical views and unique to-dos on Sawnee Mountain Story by Jennifer Colosimo | Photos by Ben Hendren

E

ven if you’ve yet to climb Sawnee Mountain, simply driving through Forsyth ensures you’ve seen the green grandeur that draws the eye from just about anywhere in the county. Today the landmark harbors residential developments, surprisingly strenuous hiking trails, and a visitor’s center; but its expansive views, rich history, and the stories behind both are a treasure that will leave you replenished in both body and soul — whether you find gold or not.

There’s a reason not many houses were built on Sawnee Mountain. At 1,960 feet with less than a thousand acres to its footprint, it’s a steep climb. Plus, it’s prone to wildfires — and ghost stories inspired by them — it’s riddled with caves and mines from gold rushers, and it’s been all but stripped of its original timber resource, and by default, its original name: Pine Mountain.

“Very few settlers chose to live on the mountain,” said Martha McConnell, the Forsyth County Historical Society’s co-president and lifetime local resident. “The higher you go, the steeper it gets. Before Tower Road was built in the 1950s, there was no easy way to get to the top.”

Ralph Hayes knew that. A brand new employee of Ingram Funeral Home at the time, Hayes found out first-hand just how steep a climb it was during a middle-of-the-night mission to recover the pilot’s body from a plane crash on the south face of the mountain.

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821 acres 11 miles of trails Trail Access Points: Trail Hours: 4075 Spot Road 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., November to February 2500 Bettis-Tribble Gap Road 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., March to October 2505 Bettis-Tribble Gap Road For more information, visit: www.parks.forsythco.com/Sawnee-Mountain-Preserve

“Ralph Hayes had taken a new job at Ingram Funeral Home.

His boss, Royston Ingram, called him just about the time he was ready to get in bed for the night,” recounts George Pirkle, historian for the Forsyth County Historical Society. “The burning wreckage gave them a clear beacon to the location, but it didn’t make it any easier for them to wrestle a wicker body basket through the woods, straight up the side of the mountain. And nothing was easy about hauling the body down the side of the mountain in the dark.”

By this time it was already known by its current name, one to honor a Cherokee Native American named Sawnee. According to legend, when the Cherokees were forced out of this region, Sawnee didn’t want to leave. But along with many, he moved to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears.

“The story goes that in appreciation for his work and in tribute to his friendly, welcoming nature, the citizens of the newly formed city and county named the mountain after him,” says Pirkle. “It has carried his name ever since. It’s easy to imagine that a large part of his spirit still resides there, watching over the lands he knew and loved.”

Maybe Sawnee’s spirit has a little to do with why gold miners eventually had to move on. In the late 1800s, the mines and caves they dug all over the mountain played out, and they packed up to head west, leaving behind nothing but their handiwork.

Other handiwork is thanks to natural disasters and the timber industry, both making it almost impossible to regrow what was lost. But now that the land is preserved as a county park, phase two growth makes it an outdoor destination for hikers and history buffs alike.

Since the 1990s Sawnee Mountain Preserve has seen three phases of development to benefit a community itching to explore.

The Preserve includes 821 acres of hiking trails, Indian Seats, abandoned gold mines, a tree canopy classroom, playground, two picnic pavilions, climbing area, 140-seat amphitheater and interactive visitors center. Families can play outside, attend nature camps and spend Saturdays crafting and learning. The trails are open 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., through October, and close at 7 p.m., starting in November — perfect timing to race the sunset.

“The draw of Sawnee Mountain has grown exponentially as people desire to get outdoors and explore local hiking trails,” says Michelle Daniels, director of tourism for the Forsyth County Chamber. “As the healthiest county in the state of Georgia for the last seven years, visitors utilize Forsyth County’s fantastic park system to continue building healthy habits while exploring the great outdoors.”

Visitors can trek short, easy walks or longer, more difficult trails. They experience a touch of history as they navigate the trails, and can dig deeper into the history at the visitors center.

Whatever the skill and interest level, now more than ever, outdoor adventures offer ways to social distance amidst fresh air and fun.

And of course, ghost stories still haunt conversation today.

“I always love hearing from visitors who share their adventures after they visit for the first time,” says Daniels. “Often we hear about the spectacular sunset views experienced on the top of Sawnee Mountain, or that visitors had no idea about the immersive visitor center located at the Sawnee Mountain Preserve.

Especially during the fall, the colors of the sky paint a radiant canvas for visitors to enjoy while venturing through the 11 miles of trails available to explore.”

“My grandson told me that it is taught in local schools that Sawnee Mountain is four feet short of being a ‘real’ mountain,” McConnell adds. “I have not checked the facts, but we will call it a mountain if we want to. At one time the mountain had those additional four feet, and then some. Natural erosion has accounted for some loss of height over the last several centuries.

Anybody who doesn’t think it’s a mountain needs to hike up one of the steeper trails on a hot summer afternoon.”

These days, the heat is surprisingly tolerable when the alternative is sitting at home, quarantined from friends and family.

Hundreds of social media posts tagged atop Sawnee Mountain prove this is the best way to feel like we’re still all together. In fact, thanks to Sawnee’s spirit, even if you hike it alone, you may not be all by yourself.

In the 1800s, mines and caves were dug out all over the mountain in search of the shiny treasure. — file photos

September 2020 | 400 LIFE | 9

big Creek greenWay

Mix business and pleasure with this one-of-a-kind amenity Story and photos by Kelly Whitmire

orsyth County is renowned for not only its closeness to F the city of Atlanta but also the area’s natural resources and various ways to enjoy them.

But perhaps no other amenity in the county combines live, work and play quite like the Big Creek Greenway.

The Greenway is an 11-mile-long concrete and boardwalk path system through south and central Forsyth along the namesake Big Creek Greenway and one of the county’s most popular outdoor amenities for walkers, runners and bikers.

“It is about conservation, recreation, environmental educa-

tion and alternative transportation,” said Laura Pate, deputy director of administration and recreation for the Forsyth County Parks and Recreation Department. “Our greenway is an investment for our community and environment. It helps to protect our watershed and preserve natural areas for people, plants and animals.”

Pate and some other locals answered a few questions about what made the Greenway so popular and what users need to know.

wHERE Do i GET STARTED? There are four trailheads where users can access the trail.

• 5120 Bethelview road • 4110 Carolene Way • 5259 union hill road • 6265 Cortland Walk (halcyon) The Greenway is open from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., March through October and 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., November through February.

What’s the historY?

Pate said county officials began planning the Big Creek Greenway in the early 2000s “as part of a goal to protect the natural, historic and scenic qualities of Forsyth County.”

“The project was the first of its kind in our county and while it took many years of planning, acquiring land and finally the construction, what we have now is a treasured gem that stretches 11 miles and counting,” she said.

The first four phases of construction brought the Greenway from McFarland Road to Kelly Mill Road, and in 2019, a trailhead opened at Halcyon, a local mixed-use development featuring restaurants, shops and more.

What’s neXt?

There are plans in place to expand the Greenway both north and south.

Currently, there are a pair of plans being worked on that will eventually connect the Greenway to Sawnee Mountain.

Part of the project, expected to be completed this fall, will build 10 | 400 LIFE | September 2020

a new section of the Greenway from Spot Road Connector/Hwy. 20 to the Sawnee Mountain Preserve Visitor Center, while another section, from Kelly Mill Road to Hwy. 20, will be completed next year, bringing the Greenway’s future length of 15 miles.

“In the future, the county plans to connect the two sections of Phase 5 as part of the GDOT Hwy. 20 road-widening project,” Pate said. “An additional trailhead is currently being designed that will be located at 1605 Canton Hwy., across from Sawnee Elementary School. This trailhead is expected to be open in 2021.”

Likewise, there are plans to connect the Forsyth Greenway to Alpharetta’s Big Creek Greenway as part of a widening project on McGinnis Ferry Road.

Who else is out there?

For the last six years, Jeffrey Gelinas has moderated Friends of the Forsyth County Greenway, a Facebook group where members share information, ask questions and let others know about changes to the Greenway, such as sections being closed due for repairs.

“Kind people also post pictures of things they have found that may have been lost by somebody,” Gelinas said. “If someone knows of a dangerous area, where a tree has come down, etc., it is usually posted pretty quickly.”

What will I see out there?

Walking through the county’s natural resources is a great chance to see local flora and fauna, with informational markers about animals and trees placed along the path.

“Common posts are of wildlife, as the Big Creek flood plain is a very rich natural environment,” Gelinas said of some of the group’s popular posts. “Snakes, turtles, birds, deer, insects and plants, as well as some pretty shots of the Greenway at different times of the day and year.”

What do local businesses think?

Even businesses have gotten involved with the Big Creek Greenway, including Geaux Bikes, a service where guests can rent bikes using their cell phones, and an entrance at Halcyon, the southernmost trailhead on the Greenway.

“We certainly see the Greenway as an economic development tool,” said Laura Stewart, vice president of community engagement for the Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce. “We hear many positive comments from businesses who are especially positioned to take advantage of the Greenway. A great example of this is Halcyon, where from the very first plans the intention of connecting to the Greenway was already there.

“The Forward Forsyth team leverages the Greenway and other assets like Sawnee Mountain in many economic development marketing efforts, particularly in marketing to those in the tech/start-up space.”

September 2020 | 400 LIFE | 11

A river runs through it...

Story by Brian Paglia | Photos by Ben Hendren

Hangin’ on the Chattahoochee

Cleaning up

Unfortunately, the Chattahoochee gained an icky reputation over the years.

“In some stretches that was very true,” Ulseth says, “especially father downstream from Forsyth Plenty of ways to enjoy one of Georgia’s County where you have runoff and sewage discharges coming from the city.” premier rivers in Forsyth County But fortunately, Ulseth says a lot of the river’s pollution issues have been resolved, and the river is he Chattahoochee River runs 434 miles from cleaner today than it has been in decades. That’s led Union County in northeast Georgia down to local governments to add new parks along the river, the Alabama-Georgia border and into Lake which has created a rise in river recreation on the Seminole, but residents around Forsyth County Chattahoochee. are most familiar with the 48-mile stretch “People are now embracing it as the recreational through North Georgia and metro Atlanta that resource that it is for metro Atlanta,” Ulseth says. makes up the Chattahoochee River National Forsyth County has three main points for accessRecreation Area. That portion of the ing the river, which runs along the borders with Hall Chattahoochee provides plenty of recreational and Gwinnett counties: Lower Pool West, opportunities and natural habitats that are Chattahoochee Pointe Park, and a boat ramp at 8484 enjoyed by 3 million visitors a year, and it all McGinnis Ferry Road. starts in Forsyth County.

The boat ramps at Lower Pool West and McGinnis Ferry Road put access points at the beginning and Fishing paradise end of where the Chattahoochee runs through Forsyth County along its borders with Hall and The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area starts with the cold waters of Lake Lanier at Gwinnett counties.

“I don’t think any other county along the river has Buford Dam. The Lower Pool West park gives visithat,” Ulseth says, “... where you’ve got a boat ramp tors access to hiking trails and a launch site for at the beginning and a boat ramp at the end.” paddlers to begin a nine-mile trip down to McGinnis Ferry where the river leaves Forsyth What the future holds County.

But the year-round cool temperature of the For all the progress that has been made with the water near the dam creates an artificial trout Chattahoochee’s water quality and the rise in popufishery, according to Jason Ulseth, riverkeeper larity with outdoor enthusiasts, several stakeholders with the Chattahoochee Riverkeepers organizaare dreaming of even bigger ways for Georgians to tion. Trout Unlimited, a national conservation enjoy the river in the future. group, named the area one of the top 100 trout The Chattahoochee Riverlands project, led by the fisheries in the entire country.

Trust for Public Land, envisions a 100-mile continuFor proof of the spoils that await a skilled fishous trail along the river ending at Chattahoochee erman, the state record trout was caught in the Bend State Park, but starting in Forsyth County. waters of the Chattahoochee in Forsyth County: Though the project will be decades in the making, 20 pounds, 14 ounces in, funny enough, 2014. it could one day connect the communities along the river that depend on the Chattahoochee with each other and help them engage with the river like never before.

“We want people to get near the river so they get to know it, get to love it, and want to protect it,” Ulseth says.

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By the numbers Total length: 434 miles, from Union County to Lake Seminole Forsyth section: 9 miles, from Buford Dam to McGinnis Ferry Road Launch site: Chattahoochee Pointe Park, at 5790 Chattahoochee Pointe Drive

Paddlers can literally touch history on the Etowah River hen you push a kayak or canoe into the The day the Etowah went backwards W waters of Etowah River in Forsyth County, it is the beginning of a trip where nature and round the turn of the 20th century, the river was the history intersect. The Etowah weaves its way A source of a large commercial mining operation. Just from Dahlonega to Rome for 163.1 miles of over the county line, in Cherokee, is the site of the forsome of the most biologically-diverse and historically-rich waters in Georgia. Nearly 80 species of native fish call it home, and historical sites like the Etowah Indian Mound State Historic Site dot the river. About seven miles run through Forsyth County, from Kelly Bridge Road down to Old Federal Road, where Eagles Beak Park serves as a key link along the Etowah River Water Trail.

Fishing the Native American way The history of the Etowah, like much of Georgia, is intertwined with the Native Americans that once inhabited the area. And here’s where the Etowah allows you to literally touch that history: downstream from Eagles Beak Park, about a mile and a half below Old Federal Road, paddlers will find a Native American fishing trap, called a weir. Native Americans would place rocks in a v-shape pointing downstream that would direct fish into a confined area to then easily catch them. There are over 40 Native American fishing weirs along the Etowah, more than any other river in Georgia, according to Joe Cook with the Upper Etowah River Alliance. The best chance to see one is in late summer or early fall when the water level is lower, and don’t worry about missing it. “If it’s low water, and you come up on them, you do a double-take,” Cook said.

By the numbers Total length: 163.1 miles, from Dahlonega to Rome Forsyth section: 7 miles, from Kelly Bridge Road to Old Federal Road Launch site: Eagles Beak Park, 7725 Old Federal Road

mer Franklin Gold Mine. Remnants of an old dam used to harness the river for power for the mine are still visible. Cook has heard of a story: there was a mine shaft that was underneath the river, and in 1913, it collapsed.

When the Etowah’s waters rushed into the shaft “the river flowed backwards,” Cook said. “It’s kind of hearsay,” he said. Regardless, the accident effectively ended the mining operation.

More traffic on the river than ever Over the past decade, the Etowah has become more popular than ever with paddlers. Local governments and non-profit organizations have worked hard to develop more access points on the river, like at Eagles Beak Park, which opened off Old Federal Road in 2017. “That has really opened up new sections of the river for people to enjoy,” he said. For a nice day trip, consider putting out at Eagles Beak Park and paddling eight miles to the McGraw Ford Wildlife Management Area, in Ball Ground, passing shoals, fishing weirs, the Franklin Gold Mine site and more. “It’s a really special stretch of river there,” Cook said.

400 eats

Best Ice Cream on Wheels Local ice cream truck business brings frozen treats to the community Story by Erica Schmidt

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ith the advent of hot summer weather in July and August, a locally owned business is doing all it can to bring cold, sweet treats to community members in Dawson and Forsyth counties.

Best Ice Cream on Wheels officially launched its season at the end of March and has been working nonstop to visit as many local neighborhoods as possible.

Owner Kandi Bolton said that she took over the ice cream truck business from a friend of hers back in January.

Bolton said she decided to take over the business when her sister, Cindy Bennett, agreed to manage it for her. “I had a very good friend who owned the ice cream business and she was relocating to Florida and didn’t want to take the company with her,” Bolton said. “So she offered me a deal I couldn’t turn down, and that’s pretty much the story of how we got started.”

“The only way I would agree was if Cindy would agree to manage it,” Bolton said. “I have two other businesses, so I don’t have time, so Cindy manages it for me.”

Since then, the sisters have been rebuilding the brand and making it their own.

The three Best Ice Cream on Wheels trucks run every day along different routes in Dawson and Forsyth. According to Bennett, these routes differ each day and are posted on the business’s social media pages every morning.

“We post our routes on Facebook, and then I also send neighborhoods a message the night before or the morning of to let them know we’re gonna be in their neighborhood,” Bennett said. “And we ask them to post it on their community page as well so people know we’re coming.”

The routes are based off of a list from the former owner of what neighborhoods she visited, as well as specific requests she gets from neighborhoods.

“We have people call, text or message asking us to come to their neighborhood,” Bennett said, “so our routes are always different.”

Best Ice Cream on Wheels also visits parties and events.

14 | 400 LIFE | September 2020

Best Ice Cream on Wheels sends three trucks out into neighborhoods in Dawson and Forsyth counties to bring frozen treats to local community members.

“We do parties and banquets, church events, that kind of thing,” Bennett said.

“We do weddings, we did a prom last week — because everyone loves ice cream!”

The ice cream business also holds sponsored parties, where local business owners will sponsor the truck to go through a neighborhood.

“Basically, somebody who wants to promote their business will hire us to go into a neighborhood and they’ll pay for ice cream for everybody,” Bolton said. “So like we have a lot of realtors that do that with neighborhoods they’re already working ... and we make sure to let everybody know who the ice cream is sponsored by.”

Bennett also said they like to do school fundraisers as a way to give back.

“I’ve had several schools that have already asked us to be their No. 1 person for fundraising,” Bennett said. “We do school events, and we will give a percentage back because we believe in giving back to the community.”

According to Bennett, the COVID-19 pandemic has kept their three trucks busy.

“We started running routes in late March when the pandemic was so bad, so everybody was home and wanting something different,” Bennett said. “So we wore masks and had gloves and hand sanitizer and started running our routes in different neighborhoods — we hit the ground running and

have not stopped.”

Bolton said that the Georgia summer heat has also contributed to keeping the trucks busy.

With the pandemic going on, Best Ice Cream on Wheels has also been delivering ice cream to local assisted living or nursing homes.

“A lot of the hospice companies that have patients there will call us and ask us to come out with our ice cream truck,” Bennett said.

Bennett said that they hope to keep the ice cream business going even after the weather starts cooling down.

“We don’t have a close date or a season end or anything,” Bennett said, “and we do plan on trying to run as long as we can even with cold weather; we’re trying to find some options and checking into some different things, so just stay tuned for that.”

For more information about Best Ice Cream on Wheels, visit besticecreamonwheels.com. To see the daily routes, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook. com/besticecreamonwheels.

For more information or to schedule a truck to come to your neighborhood or event, send them a message on Facebook, email Cindy Bennett at cindy@besticecreamonwheels.com, or call her at 404219-0655.

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We are fortunate to live in a region that affords us with a variety of outdoor experiences. If you are a camping and hiking kind of person, Georgia has parks, campgrounds, and trails to keep you outdoors.

If, like me, your ideal outdoor experience is oceanfront, you can be on a beach within a half a day. As Georgians, we are not the first to understand and appreciate the splendor of the natural world around us.

Indigenous people from the tribal nations of the Cherokee and the Creek lived on this land long before Europeans arrived. It is easy to take the land around us for granted, but it is important that we slow down and take time to reconnect.

with

Becky Cahill

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a perfect guide to remind us of the Indigenous practices of appreciation and gratitude toward the land.

Dr. Kimmerer is a professor of Environmental Biology and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Her research mixes the scientific with the spiritual in order to examine the natural world through different lenses.

Her latest book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, is part memoir, part nature journal, and part Native history. To say that this book is outside of my usual reading selections would be an understatement. However, the title kept showing up through podcasts and book reviews that I value. I took a chance and

I was immediately glad that I did.

The focus of the book is the value of sweetgrass to the Potawatomi people, both as a plant and as a symbol for connection and relationships. Dr. Kimmerer created five sections within the book, all based around sweetgrass: Planting sweetgrass, tending sweetgrass, picking sweetgrass, braiding sweetgrass, and burning sweetgrass. Within each section she includes chapters full of information about the scientific names of plants, her interactions with plants, and Indigenous uses of plants. After each chapter I found myself stopping friends to tell them something new that I learned about pecans, or maple trees, or sweetgrass.

There are takeaways from every chapter of this book, but Kimmerer makes her main message clear from the start, it is the responsibility of humankind to show gratitude and respect toward the natural world that provides for us. She explains, “One half of the truth is that the earth endows us with great gifts … the other half belongs to us through our work and our gratitude.”

A similar term could be sustainability, the concept that it is the responsibility of the current generation to leave the world in better shape than they found it for the benefit of future generations.

Dr. Kimmerer also reminds readers to stop and observe the world, rather than just running from point A to point B. She shares that the term ecology comes from the Greek word oikos, the word for home. It is important to see the natural world as our home.

The next time you feel stressed or overwhelmed, go outside and take a few moments to appreciate the world around you. There are trees, plants, and animals we live with, that we never notice. Follow Dr. Kimmerer’s advice and view the world around you through more than one lens.

Becky Cahill is a career educator and avid reader.

You can follow her on Instagram at beckycahill25.

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