8 | Commentary
Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News
WORLD RENOWNED DIAMOND DEALER These ‘Sons’ honor the Union Located in Dunwoody SPECIAL! ALL LOOSE DIAMONDS UP TO
70
% OFF
QUANTITIES LIMITED
We Buy Diamonds & Gold • Appraisals Starting at $20.00 Haim Haviv, Owner
1820-C INDEPENDENCE SQUARE, DUNWOODY 30338
770-396-3456 WWW.HAJEWELRY.COM
Mon thru Thur: 10-6pm Fridays: 10-5pm
Oriental & Area Rug Hand Washing
Bill Browning got the of the Sons of Union Veteridea after he was among ans of the Civil War. Genthe enemy. Well, not exactly eral Garrard, a Union cavthe enemy. But, at the very alryman, fought under least, some folks who could Sherman in the Atlanta have been his enemies 150 campaign and oversaw the years ago. burning of Roswell’s textile Browning, a native son mills, which provided much of Brooklyn, N.Y., a forof the fortune that built the mer bookseller and bankhouse where Browning er and a fan of U.S. history, works and his group holds now lives in Dunwoody. He its regular meetings. works at Barrington Hall, Browning’s camp is the white-columned mansmall. He hopes someday to sion in downtown Roswell. get up to 35 members. Only A few years back, he said, Managing Editor about eight or so are memsome friends who were fel- joeearle@reporternewspapers.net bers now, and two of them low Civil War buffs asked have returned to Wisconhim to join them in the Civsin. Still, he soldiers on. Peril War heritage group known as the Sons of haps someday, he said, his camp can add a Confederate Veterans. few monuments to the past. And he hopes “I said, ‘I don’t have the ancestry,’” the the group someday can give talks in schools 63-year-old recalled one recent morning in about the Civil War and what caused it. Perthe renovated barn behind Barrington Hall haps they could even debate members of where his office is located. the Sons of Confederate Veterans. That means he didn’t have any anHe thinks the conversation is critical. cestors who fought for the South during “I get really upset with people who say
Around Town Joe Earle
• gentle •Wash thorough Atlanta's Only Unique safe Submersion & Compressed Air Cleaning
Restoration & Repair • Pet Urine Removal Padding & Storage • Moth & Stain Treatments Free Pickup & Delivery • Serving Atlanta for Over 25 years
404.355.2126 MicroSeal of Atlanta
A DIVISION OF S&S RUG CLEANERS
Stoney Green & Steve Arroll, Owners 1710 Chattahoochee Ave., Atlanta, GA 30318
TheRugCleaners.com EPA RATED NON-TOXIC & NON-ALLERGENIC Mention this ad for Spring cleaning discounts!
Outside is fun again. Mosquito Joe makes your yard a mosquito-free zone.
sprays to eliminate mosquitoes, • Barrier fleas, and ticks for up to 21 days. defense against mosquito• Added borne illness. • All natural treatment option. • No contract required.
L CIA SPE ER! OFF
$29 FIRST SPRAY OFFER CODE: RPTR16
New customers only. Up to 1 acre. Cannot be combined with other offers.
404-996-1381
northatlanta.mosquitojoe.com
Bill Browning walks the grounds of Barrington Hall in Roswell.
the Civil War, a requirement to be a fullfledged member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, according to the group’s webpage, which says the organization wants to preserve “the history and legacy of these heroes so that future generations can understand the motives that animated the Southern Cause.” Then again, Browning said he doesn’t know that any of his ancestors fought for the North, either. It turns out that wasn’t a bar to being a member of the group known as the Sons of Union Veterans, he said. That group calls itself a fraternal organization “dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of heroes who fought and worked to save the Union.” He signed up. Browning now is camp commander of the Roswell-based chapter, which he said is the fourth and newest camp in metro Atlanta. On April 30, the group plans to hold a wine-tasting fundraiser, its first. Admission to the event, to be held at Vino 100 in Alpharetta, is $10. Browning heads what is officially known as the Kenner Garrard Camp # 4
we don’t need to talk about the Civil War any more. We do,” he said. “I just think it’s important to know who we are. The decisions we make have to be based on who we were. I know this is old and hackneyed to say, but we don’t go forward without looking backward... “Pretending it didn’t exist is not the way to go forward. Moving forward builds on where we were in the past.” Browning isn’t a Civil War re-enactor. But he knows a few. One recent morning, Eric Peterson, who helped set up the first local camps of the Sons of Union Veterans, dropped by Barrington Hall in full Union uniform. Peterson said he was dressed as Gen. George H. Thomas of Virginia, another officer involved in the Atlanta campaign. Why does he do it? “To keep the sacrifices of union soldiers alive,” he said. Browning says he doesn’t want to refight the war, but to remember it. “There’s no animosity, not in my camp,” Browning said. “I’m just asking for open discussions. I don’t feel like I’m fighting against the tide.”