Meredith Arnsdorff is a petite soft-spoken woman with a gentle demeanor who has been immersed in Effingham County’s school system for most of her life: first as a student, then as a teacher, a principal, and a school board member.  “I knew as soon as I started Georgia Southern that I wanted to be an educator,” she told me. Upon graduating from GSU, she became a teacher, and that was the beginning of her career path in Effingham County’s educational system. She recently retired after 36 ½ years of service in the school system, but she’s not finished yet. Twenty-six days after her retirement, she attended a meeting to further her training in education.
Elementary school years for Arnsdorff were not of the ordinary kind. She attended Springfield Academy where her father, Ross Rountree, was the principal. They lived in the brick house on the corner across from the school. It was owned by the school and rented to the principal. It was referred to as “The Teacherage” (like a parsonage). Her mother was an elementary teacher, and she taught Title One Reading. Her parents were good examples, and Arnsdorff grew up to follow in their footsteps.
Arnsdorff’s first teaching job was at Rincon Elementary where she taught eighth grade math (that was before middle schools were formed). “I loved it!” she said. Many of her experiences were very rewarding, and she told me the story of a special student.
“There was a little girl who struggled so in math,” she told me, “and my heart just went out to her because she just tried so hard, and had such a difficult time. I worked and worked and worked with her, and finally by the end of the year she could function like she should as a fifth grader. Without any prompting, she came to me on the last day of school and she said, ‘I would just be lost if it wasn’t for you and math!’ And to this day, she’s still special to me.”
Arnsdorff taught for several years, then took a leave of absence to stay home to raise her three children: Robin, Marci and Jake. When they were all old enough to attend school, she returned to teaching at Rincon Elementary where they were students and she was their math teacher.
“For all children in the same school with a parent – there’s good and bad,” she said. “When my father was the principal of my elementary school, I was accused of getting good grades because my father was the principal. For my children, I was the math teacher for each of them, and I knew exactly what they had for homework!
“That was a unique time too,” she continued. “Rincon Elementary was also the original consolidated high school, and then in my fourth year of teaching there, my father was on the same campus with me again. He was the principal there, so I kind of never got away from him!”
As her children grew older and entered high school, she continued teaching at Rincon Elementary because, she explained, “That was the place I really wanted to be.”
While teaching, she continued taking classes at Georgia Southern and studied school administration. She became an assistant principal in Effingham County, and her work was divided between Rincon and Guyton Elementary Schools, which she said was one of her most important learning experiences.
“Both principals were excellent, but they handled situations differently,” she said, “and I learned a lot by observing the different ways they handled things. It was the best learning in my whole life – I learned that ‘No one way is right.’”
Then she became Principal of Rincon Elementary, a place she seems to dearly love. Her response to the experience was the same as her response to being a teacher there, “I loved it!” she said. “Every day was a new learning experience, and I had the opportunity to be with all the students every day. I wore a thin path up and down the halls. I wouldn’t be a good administrator if I didn’t know what was going on in my classes.
“I learned a lot from my father. He always said, ‘Don’t expect anything of your teachers that you wouldn’t do yourself,’ and you know, I never considered myself anybody’s boss. We worked together. I worked with people- they didn’t work for me, and I think that when you approach things in that way, people understand that you are sincere, and they’re going to want to do their best for you, and you want to do your best for them.”
After 32 years of service to the school system, Arnsdorff was ready to retire, but the system didn’t want to let her go. “ I had an offer to go to the board office,” she said. “At first I said that I appreciated being asked, but I thought I was ready to retire. Then after thinking about it for a few months, I thought, you know, I’m not ready to retire. I asked Mr. Sherouse if the offer was still available, and he said ‘Yes.’”
She worked at the Board of Education for four years as the Assistant Superintendent of Administrator Services. “I missed the daily contact with my teachers and my students,” she said, “but I enjoyed the challenge of my new position. I had never worked with those particular services, which included: food services, transportation, nurses, and maintenance. The biggest portion of my time; however, was spent in taking the incoming calls of concern or complaints. I liked the challenge of not changing someone’s mind, but to help them understand, or for me to understand their viewpoint, and then weigh the information and make the best decision – that can be real challenging sometimes, especially when you’re dealing with the parents of some 12,000 children. One of the most interesting things I did was to get calls from parents who I realized were students I had taught years ago, and reestablished those relationships – that was fun.”
During her years of working in the school system, Arnsdorff has seen a lot of changes, and she tells a funny story about her early years of teaching:
In 1969, my husband, Jerry, and I had been married for five years, and it was the last year I taught before having my first child. During that time, if you were a teacher, far along in your pregnancy, and ‘showing’ you might be asked to leave. I learned that I was pregnant with my first child, and she was due in September, and I distinctly remember having to wear clothing that would camouflage the fact. I remember wearing dresses that weren’t very fitted, and I distinctly remember going to my principal, Cecil Usher, and having to tell him. The day that I went in to tell him that I was pregnant, and I wasn’t planning on coming back, I just boo-hooed, and I said, ‘Mr. Usher, I’ve got something to tell you,’ and he said, ‘Well, what is it?’ and I just broke down crying, and said, ‘I’m pregnant.’ And he said, ‘Well don’t worry honey – you’re married!”
Teachers today face a different set of problems. When asked about how she feels about the state of the economy and the fact that teachers have had to take cuts in salary, and that they may face increases in their class sizes, she responded:
“Of course we don’t like that and we don’t always agree with that, but the one thing that I would point out is the phenomenal way that the staff has handled this. They have not let it affect what they are doing for children. They may be disgruntled about it; they may be unhappy about it; and certainly their pocketbooks have been hurt, but at the same time, they are still giving 110 percent to those students in their classes, whether they have to teach 20 or 30. They’re not letting that reflect on what they are doing in the classroom, and I appreciate that so much, because that’s not true everywhere.”
What would Arnsdorff like for people to know about the educational system?
“I think the most important thing that parents need to understand is that people who have spent years preparing to be educators are sincere in wanting to do what is the very best they can for their students, and although parents and educators may not always see eye-to-eye, their goal is still the same. They might have different ideas about how to reach that goal, but working together, they can do their very best for their children.”
Arnsdorff dedicated her career to “doing the very best for the children,” and although she’s now officially retired, she’s still involved in the school system.
“My retirement is only 26 days old,” she told me on the day we met for our interview, and although she has worked in the educational system for more than 36 years, she is already involved in another educational project. She’s taking part in the Effingham County Schools Leadership Program where she’s learning to become a Leadership Coach for teachers who are working on their administrative degrees. It’s obvious that she’ll be an excellent coach and mentor, just as she has been an asset to Effingham’s public schools.

Q: How long did you live in Effingham? From what year to what year? And what schools did you attend here?
A: I grew up living with my grandparents. We moved from Jacksonville, FL to Rincon, GA when I was eight years old, where I attended South Effingham Elementary School. I transferred to Effingham Co Middle School in the seventh grade. In the tenth grade, I transferred to Lifespring Christian Academy.

Q: Did you ever cheer while growing up? While you were a young girl did you ever see yourself or dream about being a pro football cheerleader?
A: I began cheering when I was five years old for the Hilliard Flashes in Florida. I also cheered for the Effingham Co Rebels in High School. I have to be honest and say my goal was always to cheer for FSU in college. Although I never achieved that goal, I believe that cheering for the New England Patriots has surpassed that goal by a mile and is definitely one of my greatest accomplishments.

Q: Tell me how the cheering and modeling got started for you. How old were you when you started modeling?
A: When I was thirteen years old, my grandmother took me to a casting call in Savannah, GA. I was selected by FORD Models to fly to NYC and meet with their agents. Unfortunately, my family was not financially able to fly to New York at that time. But, from that day on, I knew I wanted to be a model. I was amazed by the ads in magazines such as Seventeen, Glamour and Vogue. I also love being behind the camera. Growing up, I had huge collages of photographs that completely covered my bedroom walls. I don’t believe I went anywhere without a camera in my hand. When my friends and I were bored we would hang up a white sheet for a backdrop and make our own photo shoots.

Q: What inspired you to go to Boston? Did you go up north for the modeling opportunities, because I know you didn’t go there for the weather?
A: At the time, I was dating a guy who was from Boston. After flying down a few times to visit and after doing some research, I decided I would move there. The school systems are excellent and I had to put my son Dawson’s future first. Surprisingly, we LOVE the winter. I suppose it’s because it is new to us. We had never seen snow before, until my second visit to Boston. I love taking Dawson to the mountains, snowboarding, sledding, building snowmen and making snow angels. There is so much to do in the winter and having all four seasons is a wonderful change for us.

Q: For the people here at home, tell a little about the process of becoming a cheerleader in the NFL. Talk about how tough tryouts are. Then talk about once you make the squad, how many hours a week you put into cheerleading practice.
A: I had only been living in Massachusetts for a few weeks before I found myself at Gillette Stadium for tryouts. I thought it would be a fun experience and a great way to meet women my age, with the same interests. The tryouts are very intense and much tougher than I had anticipated. There were hundreds of women at the audition residing from all parts of New England, and many from out of state. It was intimidating at first, but once I made the final cut, I knew all the hard work had paid off.
The hours of practice differ from one cheerleader to another. Our normal schedule includes group practice two times a week. We also hold optional skill building practices throughout the month when needed.

Q: Also, not many people know how much an NFL cheerleader makes. In my opinion, cheerleaders are definitely there because they truly love dance and the atmosphere. I saw a special on television about a year ago that told how much cheerleaders make per game and I was shocked. I think it was about $50 per game or something like that.
A: We are paid for all of our practices, games, travel and personal appearances. I suppose all NFL squads are paid differently but I can honestly say; I would do it for free! No one could ever put a price on the feeling of standing on the field in the player’s tunnel before each game in front of 70,000 cheering fans. Climbing the wall of China, traveling overseas to support our troops, flying to London, England for an away game; it’s just amazing! Not to mention being able to say you cheer for the greatest team in the NFL! PRICELESS!

Q: Has your making the Patriots’ cheerleading squad opened other doors for you? Explain.
A: Absolutely. Not only has it helped open doors in the modeling and entertainment industry, but it’s opened the doors to the New England community. Last month another cheerleader and I traveled to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. We participated in a Habitat for Humanity project to build a home for a disadvantaged woman and her three children. That was one of the most rewarding opportunities I have ever experienced. Working with the Patriots organization has shown me the importance of giving back to the community and helping others.

Q: What are your ambitions? Career goals? Go ahead, don’t be modest, you have already accomplished a lot for your age, what is on the horizon?
A: Well, being a Patriots Cheerleader is a pretty time consuming job but it is finite. There is a three- year limit to being on the squad. I hope to continue pursuing modeling and acting. I absolutely love the entertainment industry but my heart is in ministry. I attended Lifesprings Worship Center in Pooler, GA for many years and if there is one thing I learned from Pastor Julie Stanley, it is that we are put on this earth for a purpose!  I hope to one day attend a Christian missions school and join their dance team. I also love to travel, so being a missionary would be an appropriate fit.  I can’t wait to dive into it!

Q: Other than making the Patriots cheerleading squad, are there any other accomplishments you are proud of? Have you been featured in any magazines?
A: The first year on the team I was selected as one of the cover girls for the 2010 Patriots Cheerleaders swimsuit calendar, which was a huge accomplishment. The photo shoots haven’t stopped since. I have traveled to over 5 countries for shoots and promotional appearances. I have been featured on Speed TV several times and I was featured in an anti-drunk driving commercial. I will be published in the upcoming August issue of Maxim Magazine and I have been featured on the Internet reality series: “The Justin’s”. Currently, I am shooting a pilot for a sports broadcasting show.

Q: Is this your first or second season with the Patriots?
A: I am now a second year veteran on the team and I’m looking forward to the 2010-2011 football season!

Q: On to gameday. I’ve noticed that cheerleaders are nonstop throughout the entire game. Would you say that it is good exercise?
A: Without a doubt! But most of all it’s fun! Every cheerleader on the squad is on the field at some point. We do rotate throughout the game, however, so that we are able to go into the stadium clubs for promotional appearances and calendar signings and spend time with our amazing fans.

Q: Other than cheerleading practice, how often do you workout?
A: I’m a mother of an extremely hyper 6 year old, so everyday is a work out! Although he keeps me busy with basketball or running around the park, I try to make it to the gym twice a week. The new workout routine I’m on is done right in my living room. It’s called P90X and it works wonders! I try to do it at least three times a week, first thing in the morning. It’s a great way to start my day and gives me plenty of energy.

Q: I saw a photo of you on the sideline, with very little on, and it was snowing! Foxboro is easily one of the harshest environments in the NFL when it comes to weather. How on earth can you be smiling when it is snowing and like 20 degrees?
A: Oh, the infamous Halloween game!! We are all so excited each year for that game because we are not in our standard uniform. We are able to dress up in any costume we would like. Unfortunately, in true New England style, the weather took a turn and started snowing. We couldn’t help but smile!
It was quite comical and we were having a blast! But, after half time we ran back into the locker room and changed into our winter uniforms, which consist of pants, gloves and warm winter jackets!

Q:This might get you in trouble, but who was your favorite NFL team(before) going to New England?
A: I can honestly say that pro football was not big in my family until I began cheering for the Patriots. As you know; it’s all about college football in the south! I have been a huge FSU fan all of my life, while my entire family are all die hard Florida Gator fans. It is always a fun rivalry when FL vs. FL is on TV. So, for pro football, it’s the PATRIOTS all the way!

Q: On Sundays when the Patriots are not at home, do you go somewhere to watch the game?
A: Of course! I wouldn’t miss one of our games for anything! It’s actually a lot of fun because my son dresses up in his Brady jersey and gets so excited that we can cheer on the team together. Often, the cheerleaders will meet up near the stadium and watch the games together!

Q: What is your favorite part of being a Patriots cheerleader?
A: There are so many aspects to being a cheerleader that I love! If I had to name one favorite, it would be traveling. Immediately after making the squad my first year, I was in Aruba shooting our swimsuit calendar. This year we flew to PuntaCana. I was also given the opportunity to travel to an away game in London, England last year. I can’t wait to see where our team travels next!

Q: What hobbies do you enjoy?
A: I love trying out all the winter sports New England has to offer; ice skating, skiing and snowboarding. I absolutely love motocross, whether it’s just riding for fun with my son in the back yard or traveling to the pro races, Motorcross is my favorite sport other than football. I also enjoy tennis, rock climbing, surfing, skydiving and just hanging out with my son at the beach.

Q: Do you still have family in Effingham? If so, who?
A: My aunt, Shelly Rowland and her two little girls live in Rincon. My mother Holly Morgan, my brother and two sisters still live in Effingham. Tyler Walker, Lexi Morgan and Clay Walker all attend Effingham Co Middle School and High School. I miss them all beyond words and the distance between us is not easy to cope with at times. But I fly down at least twice a year to visit them and I try to fly my brother and sisters up to Boston as much as possible.

Q: If someone wanted to take the route you have decided to take, what helpful advice would you give them?
A: GO FOR IT! Moving thousands of miles away to pursue your dreams is not easy at all! But if it were easy it wouldn’t be worth it. If you choose to move away and it doesn’t work out, you can always go back. But it’s the question of “what if” that will stand out, if you never give it a try. As for any girl who loves cheering or dance; I would certainly encourage them to search their favorite NFL team’s audition dates. Attending auditions is a wonderful experience in itself! If you don’t make it the first time you tryout, use that as your motivation to work harder to make it the next year! Why would you ever choose failure when success is an option?

Q: Was there anyone along the way who served as your mentor or supported you in accomplishing your goals?
A: My Aunt Suzy! Ever since I was a little girl, she has always been the one person I could count on! Although she was upset that my son and I were moving so far away, she was the only person who wiped away tears and said “I am proud of you! I know you can do it!” She is always there to help me through my successes and failures. No matter what it is, she helps me to make the best decision, keeps me grounded, and makes me smile!

Q: Who is your favorite player on the Patriots squad? Who is your favorite player in the NFL?
A: I would have to say my favorite player is Wes Welker and of course the best quarter back in the NFL is Tom Brady!

Q: Final qestion. Do you have anything lined up in the future. Any
future photoshoots or work?
A: I have recently made the top 100 in a contest for Maxim, so I will have some upcoming videos and photo shoots for that. Next month, we will be shooting our 2010 Patriots cheerleading poster which will reveal our new uniforms. I recently booked a shoot with FHM Magazine and will be traveling to California for that. Being a part of the Patriots organization means the opportunities are endless and I can’t wait for my next endeavor.

It’s a licensed nonprofit rehabilitation center located in Guyton, and they take care of small mammals, deer and reptiles.
Nicole and Debbie met while working as volunteers at a non-profit rehabilitation center on Wilmington Island. When the center moved, Nicole decided to start her own rehabilitation center, and Wildlife Critters Circle of Life was founded in 2006. Nicole asked Debbie to be her partner in the organization. “I’m the CEO and Debbie is the Vice President,” said Nicole. “We have over 30 years of combined rehabilitation experience, and last year we rehabilitated almost 200. I used to do a lot more, but I have three children, and I don’t have as much time. I keep up with the licenses, and Debbie does most of the physical work. She maintains the facility, and she builds most of the cages and pens for the center. She takes up most of my slack, because I have to put my kids first.  She’s been a tremendous help. I can feed the rehabs that only eat three times a day, but the ones that have to eat every two to three hours, she has to take. Her husband, Charlie, is a great help too. Sometimes he helps with the building, and we use all his tools and his land!”
Both women began rescuing animals when they were young children, and since they have known each other, they have been rehabbing together for seven years.
When Debbie was a child she liked to rescue cats, but her first wildlife rescue was a baby squirrel, and that was 20 years ago. “I think we ended up keeping most of the animals that I took home,” she said.
Before Nicole started kindergarten she rescued her first kitten. “I have been taking care of animals all my life,” she said, “but my first rescue was when I was four years old. I picked up my first kitten in a parking lot. It was a little gray tabby, and I found it a home.”
Taking care of animals was serious to Nicole. “I’ve studied animals since I was a child,” she said. “I’d bring something home all the time. My mom is big into horses, and all of her dogs and cats are rescues. Although both of my parents loved animals, my mother was my real influence of rescue animals. She tolerated me having two skunks when I was in high school, but not snakes. One time I put a snake in the bathtub to let him swim, and I was going to check him for mites. I went outside and forgot about him, and then my mother found him, and she said, ‘If you want to live here – no more snakes!’”
Nicole learned about snakes from her father who worked at The Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, Florida, where his job was to take care of the snakes. “There were always at least three snakes loose in our house when I was little,” she said. “My aunt didn’t like spending the night with us.”
In addition to snakes in the house, Nicole had a pet wolf. When she was six years old her dog died, and her parents took her to a wildlife rescue center in Tallahassee to see some hybrid wolf puppies. The center had a purebred black wolf that they bred, and the puppies were 98% wolf. “I picked one out, and my parents bought it for me, and I named him Shasta.”
What’s it like to raise a wolf?     “He’s very easy to train – so smart,” Nicole said. “He was very loyal – our family was his pack. I’m a very accident prone person, and if I ever got hurt, he’d stay with me. He died with I was 12, and I like to adopt Huskies because they remind me of wolves, and I still have one.”
The trip to the Tallahassee wildlife center had a great impact on Nicole. It was a sanctuary for wild animals, and they were kept from being euthanized. “I knew from then on that was what I wanted to do,” she said.
When she was 14, Nicole moved to Atlanta where she worked for a horse trainer, and when she was 15 she worked for a horse vet. She learned a lot working for vets, and she kept her dream alive of rehabilitating wild animals.
“At 17, I had my first literal ‘bring in and release animal’. It was a deer,” Nicole said. “While I was in high school I took care of any wild life I found, and baby goats and deer.” Looking towards college, she researched the schools that had the best Animal Science programs. She narrowed it to two: University of Florida and Mississippi State University. “I couldn’t afford Florida, so I went to Mississippi State,” she said.
At Mississippi State Nicole majored in Animal and Dairy Science, and she worked at a dairy farm to pay for all her living expenses. She started as a ‘dairy milker,’ and learned all aspects of the business: artificial insemination, raising and training the calves, pregnancy checks etc.  “I love dairy farming,” she said, “and taking care of the mamas. We had 300 head of cows, and I managed the farm for 4 ½  years.”
Nicole’s roommate was a wildlife vet tech at the Wildlife Department at Mississippi State. “She brought the wildlife home at night for me to take care of,” said Nicole. “I loved it! The wildlife vet at MSU had a ton of wildlife.”
Nicole got married while she was MSU. Her husband, Anson, was an Agriculture Engineer, and his job brought them back to Savannah. “I got a wildlife permit to do rehabilitation here in Savannah,” said Nicole. “I took Rabies shots and became a licensed wildlife rehabber, and started working at the wildlife rehabilitation center on Wilmington Island. That’s where I met Debbie.”
“My husband helps by keeping the kids while I do stuff. He’s helped build one or two pens. It’s mainly Debbie and I who do all the work, but if I get an owl or hawk that needs to be transported to a vet, Anson takes them for me, but he is deathly afraid of snakes, and they are not allowed in the house.”
Nicole and Debbie built their wildlife facility, and Debbie remembers the first time they built a cage together. “Nicole had her baby in a baby back pack on her back, and she was carrying boards and hammers!”
Both women enjoy building cages and pens for the animals. “I wasn’t one of the lucky kids who lived on a farm,” said Debbie, “but I love building things for our wildlife center.”
Do the women have their favorite types of animals to care for? They both answer, “Yes.” Of course they both love the deer, but they both agree that catching an adult deer is most difficult.  Nicole also likes beavers and otters because they have weasel type personalities. Debbie prefers squirrels. “But I’m not afraid of reptiles,” she said, “and I don’t mind moving them. I had six brothers, so snakes were not something I was afraid of.”
Nicole isn’t afraid of the reptiles either – remember – her father worked for The Alligator Farm in Florida. In fact, they get 30-40 calls a year for reptiles, which includes snakes and gators; and in fact, she likes to remove alligators and has removed two this year.  How do you catch an alligator? “You just jump on it!” said Nicole enthusiastically and in complete seriousness. “As long as it’s smaller than me,” she adds. “For alligators that are bigger than you – you use a rope noose and an extra set of hands to grab the tail, or you put them in a gator box.”
As we’re talking, Nicole holds the baby beaver. He is nursing out of a small baby bottle. He is so cute, and I imagine that it must be difficult not to get attached to the baby animals that they raise and then release into the wild. “It can be hard,” said Nicole. “The hardest part for us is if we have an animal that is injured, but can live pain free, they are required to be euthanized. That’s Department of Natural Resources’ rules; they don’t want you to have any wildlife as a pet.
“So,” she said, “I got my exhibition permit for education programs.” With this permit, she can save the injured animals, which are called nonreleaseables, and use them for educational purposes.
And that leads to another dream that Nicole and Debbie have: “We want to have a place where we can have an exhibition center for the nonreleaseables. For example, birds of prey, or an animal with a blind eye or a missing limb, animals that we can use for educational programs, and they can be used for animal therapy. There’s a program called GLOW (God Loves Orphans and Widows), that we’d like to work with. When people help with the animals, they feel needed.
“We need a bigger place for our facility. If we could get land donated, that would be awesome, because then we could have our nonreleaseable animals and actually have a place where the public can come. Right now we can’t have the public come to where we are because we are a private residence, and we can’t have the rehab animals where they can be viewed by the public.
“We need a place where we can entertain and educate the public, and raise money for the rehab animals. In Effingham there’s no place where kids can come to see where milk comes from, or to see Georgia’s native wildlife. We want to have a petting zoo, an exotic exhibit, and our nonreleasable native wildlife species.
“During the last three days I’ve had nine animals come in, but that’s not as important as having the money come in to feed them and to build cages for them. If we get more animals and not more money, we can’t take care of them.”

Nick Smiley
Age: 26
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 265 lbs.
Pro Record: 1-1

By Barbara W. Russell

Pat Kennedy of Springfield likes to have fun, and she likes to make people laugh. This 63 year old grandmother of six has been practicing her trade for most of her life; in fact, she began performing when she was in elementary school.
Her inspiration was watching Elvis perform on the Ed Sullivan Show, and she wanted to do the same. The school playground was her stage, and a tiny, plastic guitar shaped pencil sharpener was her instrument, and she wiggled and shook while singing “Hound Dog.” She was a great crowd pleaser, and her schoolmates handed over their lunch money to watch her perform. Unfortunately, her performances were short-lived. They were put to a stop when a neighbor drove by the school and thought the little Elvis was having a seizure, and when the principal found out the little Elvis was collecting lunch money, that ended her playground performances – but it was really just the beginning.
Making others laugh has been a most important part of her life, and she’s performed at banquets, wedding rehearsals, birthday parties, showers, nursing homes, retirement centers and you name it, and she’s taken her puppet ministry on a mission trip to Mexico. She even uses her talents in church. How’s that? Sometimes she gives a children’s sermon and uses her puppets and props. “First I get their attention by drawing them in,” she says, “then I teach a lesson.”
Over the years, in her funny acts she’s imitated many famous people including: Dolly Parton, Minnie Pearl, Aretha Franklin, Ronald Regan, Carol Burnett, and Savannah’s own Paula Dean, but her favorite is always Elvis. In fact, when she met me at the door for our interview, she was all decked out in her latest Elvis costume – white bellbottoms, white top, and a white cape, all adorned with sequins. She was wearing a black Elvis wig and giant sunglasses with eyepieces shaped as hearts. Of course I laughed, and she responded in character with “Thank you. Thank you very much,” in her best Elvis voice.
“When I put on my Elvis suit, my leg starts shaking,” she says. “My favorite Elvis song is ‘All Shook Up.’ Why? – Because I can do my pelvic roll the best!” She breaks into laughter, as if visualizing herself being funny. “And nowadays it don’t take as much energy. A long time ago I did ‘Hound Dog,’ but things don’t shake like they used to!”
Creating different characters and costumes is an ongoing process for Kennedy, and some of her favorites are: Red Neck Mama, The Church Lady, Rainbow the Clown, Florence Gump, and a 50’s Biker. She’s also been Miss Piggy, Raggedy Ann, Mickey Mouse, Big Bird, Barney and more. She must be the Acme Costume Store’s best customer, but most of her costumes are her own.
“How many closets do you have for your costumes and wigs and hats?” I ask.
“Oh, two….three….,” she looks around her house, “they’re everywhere!” she says, “and I’ve got trunks of stuff. I don’t get jewelry and stuff (as gifts), I get toys! For our 20th wedding anniversary my husband, Ken, asked me what I wanted, and I told him – an Elvis suit. And that’s what I got.
“You’ll never get a ticket if you’re wearing a costume!” she says. She laughs and tells me about two times when she was stopped by an officer as she was driving to an event – she was wearing a costume of course.
“I got stopped one time in my Elvis suit, and the State Patrol was not going to give me a ticket, then all I said was ‘Thank you. Thank you very much,’ and he thought I was being a smart aleck, and he was going to write me a warning.
“Then I got stopped one time as Dolly Parton. I was driving my son’s car and his seat was lying way back, and I couldn’t get it up, so I was driving leaning way back with these “Dolly mounds” sticking up, and I was trying to see over the steering wheel. The guy said, ‘Lady, I don’t know – you are a lady aren’t you? I don’t know where you’re going or what you’re doing, but just slow down.”
I’m sure the officers were shaking their heads and chuckling as they walked back to their cars.
“There’s not a whole lot of anything that I wouldn’t do to make somebody laugh,” she says. “One time when I was at a 4H camp I jumped up on a piano, then I realized I was a hundred and something pounds up on the piano! That’s a memory that just really stuck out in my mind.
“Everybody thinks I’m all about fun and laughter, but I’ve got a serious side too – it’s a spiritual side, and there’s been some things that I’ve done that have been difficult.”
She tells about a time when she was part of the entertainment at a widow’s banquet. “It would have been easy not to be funny, but if you don’t have laughter in your life, a little joy…. and that’s what they needed. They didn’t need to be preached to, or anything, they needed joy. One of the ladies had not gone to anything since her husband had passed away, and that night she laughed – she had some joy in her life.”
Part of Kennedy’s message is, “Why be negative – everything is going to be alright. Of course, faith is brought in there,” she says, “- believing in God and trusting in Him that everything is going to be alright.”
She speaks from experience, and says that her faith and her humor are what got her through some difficult times.
Nineteen years ago she learned that she had colon cancer, but her faith enabled her to remain positive, and she found many occasions for laughter. Once when she was in a doctor’s office waiting for a procedure, a black lady came in dressed-up in a pretty white dress. She wore a large white hat with a huge white feather on it, and when she removed her clothes and put on a hospital gown, she kept the large white hat with the huge white feather on her head. “That cracked me up!” Kennedy said, “and when Kennedy saw the doctor for her examination, she said, “I didn’t know we were supposed to be dressed for the occasion!”
Kennedy felt sure she would have to take chemotherapy, and that as a result she would lose her hair, but she considered her situation in a positive way. “I had already picked out my wigs,” she said, “and I knew what characters I would be with them. But then my doctor told me I wouldn’t need chemotherapy!” – I guess that’s the power of positive thinking.
The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life is very special to Kennedy, and she walks in it every year. “The first year I walked in the survivor’s lap, I decided to wear my Elvis suit. My granddaughter said, ‘Grand Ma, everybody will laugh.’ ‘I know,’ I said.”
Why has she survived cancer when so many young people and children have not? That’s a question her heart ponders. She doesn’t know the answer, but she does know that she has a ministry to bring a bit of joy to those who are terminally ill. Many times she has dressed up as a clown or another character and visited children in the hospital.
“Once there was a little girl in a room who had Aids, and nobody wanted to go into her room. When asked if I would, I said, ‘Sure.’ I went in and she was sitting on her bed writing a letter to Santa Claus asking him for a cure.” Kennedy doesn’t finish the story.         There’s a catch in her voice. I know that was one of those times when what she did was difficult for her, but I’m also sure that there was laughter in that child’s room that day.
One time she did a clown workshop for children who were terminally ill with cancer at Camp Sunshine in north Georgia. “My daughter, Stacy, went with me and my mom, and we dressed up as clowns. When we got there we saw a screened-in room that had artificial limbs and wigs and stuff, so our emotions were already running….then they brought the children over in golf carts because some of them can’t walk.”
They got their emotions in check and painted every child’s face as a clown. “There was a little eight year old boy who had some kind of a tumor on his side and it caused him to have these breathing spells and he would sweat. It took over 45 minutes to get the paint on him, because every time I’d get so far he’d have an episode and the paint would sweat off his face. But he had the most patience, and he was determined to be a clown.
“Then we performed at the end of it; we and the kids did a little clown act, and a skit, and some of the parents came to watch.”
That’s another memory she says she won’t forget – she loves the children. In fact, one of her dreams is to spend a week at the St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee visiting with the children, in costume of course. It’s an unselfish dream. “I want to bring joy to a cloudy day,” she says.
That’s her serious dream, but she quickly shifts to her funny mode when she thinks about getting old. “My dream is to be sitting in a nursing home singing “A Hunk a Hunk of Burning Love!” she says, “and I want to be buried in my clown suit!”
After spending her life bringing laughter and joy to others, Kennedy is now entertaining in a new role. She’s a costumed storyteller for ‘Ebenezer Alive,’ an educational program at the Ebenezer Retreat Center. She portrays Mary Musgrove who was an important interpreter and cultural liaison between the Creek Indians and the English Colonists during the 1700’s.
“I think the only thing I regret in my life is not becoming a teacher. So now I’ve come at a time in my life, portraying Mary Musgrove, where I can use my being a character, which I love to do, and use it in a form of teaching, which has been really a blessing. I tell about Mary Musgrove – she had perseverance – that’s what I like about her, and I get to teach the way I want to.”
Pat Kennedy teaches. She brings joy. She makes people laugh, -and she recognizes that God has given her these gifts. “I always say a little prayer before I do anything,” she says, “and once they start laughing….” Well, then she knows she’s putting her gifts of laughter and joy to good use.

by Kathryn Turner

What could be better than going to the theatre for an evening of entertainment? Having the theater come to you! And Effingham Theatre does just that.  Performing all over the county, Effingham Theatre is a travelling theatre on a mission to educate through entertainment. They do their shows in garages, in living rooms, and just about anywhere else they can assemble an audience.
Tamara Tyre is the Managing Director and founder of the troupe, and she is thrilled with the program’s success. She first started Effingham Theatre as a summer camp in 2008, and it has being growing ever since.
Tyre may have underestimated her own potential when she first decided to run the summer camp. “At that point in time, I didn’t have plans for a big county-wide program,” she says. “It just sort of grew faster than I expected it to.” And the residents of Effingham County are glad it did.
Having graduated from Effingham County High School, Tyre went on to earn her Theatre degree from The University of Georgia. When she moved back to Effingham after college, she realized there was something missing.
“I noticed there was a need for something,” Tyre says. “I heard lots of parents complaining about there being nothing but sports for their kids to do in the summer.” So she decided to run a summer camp to teach kids the basics of theatre.  The two-week camp was held at the Effingham Recreation Department and consisted of about thirty-five kids between the ages of six and thirteen. In the span of two weeks, she managed to teach the kids how to act, how to build and design scenery, and how to put on a show.
Jonathan Thompson is the theatre’s PR Manager and Artistic Director. He explains that their current show, The Garage Series, is a free event for local people. “It’s our way of promoting community spirit, because [with] the growth in Effingham County in the last few years, there are people coming in who don’t know anyone, [so] we basically put on a block party,” he says.
Both Thompson and Tyre got involved in performing arts at a very young age, and they now use that experience to bring theatre into the lives of Effingham County residents.
Tyre is the daughter of two dance instructors, and she says her first big theatrical experience was in her junior year at ECHS, where she was in the dance line of The Wiz. She has been performing as long as she can remember, and she aspires to bring that knowledge and love for the performing arts to others.
Thompson, who has been acting since he was five years old, shares Tyre’s enthusiasm. He directs most of their productions, and also teaches acting classes with Effingham Theatre. Together, they dedicate their time and energy to the theatre in order to promote arts and culture.
“The whole effort is really to try to bring theatre at a very basic level,” Tyre says. She wants people to understand that a fancy theatre building is unnecessary to have the complete theatre experience. “You can have it in your back yard, which is the idea behind The Garage Series we’re doing.”
After talking with Tyre and Thompson, I decide to see the show for myself. With a title like The Illiad, The Odyssey, and ALL of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less, the last thing I expect is a comedy. But the play, written by Jay Hopkins and John Hunter, turns out to be as entertaining as it is educational.
Six actors play multiple roles throughout the production: Dennis Folker, Jessica Webb, Jonathan Thompson, Jacob Lanier, Lane Towler, Jana F. Ashe, Tamara Tyre, and Sam Murphy. And they all do an outstanding job.
Hilarity ensues as these talented actors transform the living room of Carol and Gary Murphy into another realm. Throughout the evening, they entertain the Rincon residents and their guests, all while covering the basics of Greek Mythology.  Though travelling as a theatre may seem like a challenge, Tyre maintains that travelling allows them to be a part of the community: “I see it as a benefit. Being able to move around and perform in different places [makes us] accessible to different groups of people.”
Tyre is adamant that the art of theatre has nothing to do with a theatre building. “The building isn’t as important as the programming and the people,” she says. Her main focus now is educating people about the fundamentals of theatre. Despite the challenges that travelling entails, Tyre and Thompson think that moving around from one venue to the next keeps the actors sharp. “It makes things a lot more entertaining for the audience,” Tyre adds.
With live theatre, the audience should expect the unexpected. Things may go wrong, actors may break out into giggles, or a child may run onto to the stage, but that is exactly what entices theatre-goers to the shows.
They laugh as they tell me about one of those unexpected moments. In a performace at one of their summer camps, two girls came onstage “and they just burst into giggles,” Thompson recalls. “For ten minutes!” And Tyre seems to think unexpected moments like these make theatre more entertaining. “The crowd loved it,” she says. “They were giggling too!”
Tyre and Thompson want their audience to interact without feeling intimidated by theatre. “When there’s laughter, even if it’s random laughter at things that don’t make sense, the actors on stage get energy from that… and they perform better,” says Tyre. They both maintain that changing venues keeps the actors on their toes.  Effingham Theatre has four set seasons that they budget for themselves: In the Spring, they will be performing The Garage Series; in the Summer, they run the theatre camps for kids; For their Autumn show, they will be performing Puss in Boots with a guest director; and for the Winter show, they are going to perform their own rendition of Beowulf.
In addition to their set seasons, they can also do dinner shows and other performances by request. They are willing to put on a show anywhere.  Jonathan Thompson and Tamara Tyre wish to thank the Effingham County Recreation Department and State Representative Jon Burns for supporting their efforts to bring theatre to Effingham County.
Effingham Theatre has been expanding since its beginning two years ago, and with the community’s continued support, it will continue to grow for many years to come.  For more information or to make a contribution to Effingham Theatre, contact Jonathan Thompson or Tamara Tyre at www.Effinghamtheatrenews@gmail.com.

SIDE BAR
Effingham Theatre Summer Camp
* students will design, construct and perform their own stage production and present
their skills to friends and family.
*Held every day from 10 am to 5 pm at the Effingham Recreation Department in
Springfield
May 31st – June 11th (Ages 5-10 )
June 14th – June 25th (Ages 11-16)
Call Tamara Tyre at 912-657-1120 for details.
Effingham Theatre Acting Classes
*Held in the meeting room of B&S Feed and Farm Supply from 7 pm to 8 pm
April 21st – May 26th
Call Jonathan Thompson at 912-433-3314 for details.

Many of us have heard the phrase “It’s a God thing” used many times over the years. Evangelists have used it, pastors have used it, and we have even heard someone in our own family use it to describe what might be happening in their lives. We have even probably said it ourselves at one time or another. But never more than now is this phrase more evident than at Abundant Life Church on Highway 21, just south of Springfield.
Don Burkhalter is the pastor of this church. It has only been in existence since July. But that is not where our story begins. The story starts back in 1976 when Pastor Don moved from his home in Alabama to Lynchburg, Tennessee to pastor a church there. He was committed to the community there and began raising his family. The church thrived and things were going well. During 1989 God spoke to Pastor Don during the night and told him He was sending Don to Effingham, Georgia.
Many people have heard the voice of the Lord speak to them on different occasions, but for Him to specifically tell Pastor Don where he was to go start a church was a little more than unusual.  Pastor Don had never been to Effingham and was not sure exactly where it was.
“I had never been to Effingham before and was trying to understand what God intended for me to do”, Pastor Don said. “What was interesting was that during this time my family was looking up information on my family tree and found that during the 1700’s there were several brothers from the Burkhalters that came from Germany and settled in the area. It was like God was sending me back to my family home, even though I had never been there.”
Pastor Don moved his family to Effingham where he started Ephesus Church (still located on Goshen Road). “M.C. Anderson sent me a ticket to come down here and get things started and even brought in a couple of trailers to use as our first buildings.” “Our church grew and great things were happening here”, stated Pastor Don. The church continued to grow and eventually they were able to add to their buildings. One of his members during this time happened to be country singer-songwriter, Billy Currington. Pastor Don said that Billy would sing in the church choir and was definitely an asset to worship. They continue to have a close personal relationship today and talk weekly.
Time passed and Pastor Don felt God tugging him to return to the church he left in Lynchburg. So, in 1996, he returned to pastor the church there once again. During this time he continued to minister to the community and beyond by establishing missions outreach and orphanages in several countries.
In the South African countries of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi, he has started six churches and has an orphanage running there. In Haiti, there are also six churches, an orphanage, and two schools, each with 600 students. In Trinidad, he has an evangelistic outreach that covers the entire island.
Although he has mission outreach to other countries, he has also used his resources to benefit people right here in America. In Gary, West Virginia, Pastor Don has established an outreach that helps students stay in school where they are taught computer skills. He has partnered with corporations to donate computers when the corporations revamp their offices. As each student graduates high school, they are given a computer. They are also helped with finding a job that uses their computer skills. According to Pastor Don, they have already given away over 7,000 of these donated computers to date.
He continues to work day and night for the missions that he supports. “Since I am not affiliated with any denomination, I am basically promoting this myself and work to get the funding necessary to continue with our outreach, including opening a thrift store on Laurel Street in Springfield the first of January”, he stated. In fact, as we were talking he was preparing to fly to Haiti to meet with the Director of World Hunger to get more rice shipped to that country. “I guess you could say that I am going non-stop each and every day, but I feel that God has a mission for me and that is to do whatever it takes to bring people the word of the Lord.”
In May of this year, Pastor Don again answered God’s calling and returned to Effingham to preach a three-day revival. Each night the numbers grew, and it was on one of these nights that
he was approached by a couple from Emmanuel Church in Springfield. They asked if he would be willing to take their church as pastor. The church still had twenty-seven of its original, faithful members and they did not want to give up their church. Pastor Don explained to them that if he were to be a part of it, they would need to change the name of the church and he wanted to be non-denominational. He felt that they needed to start from the ground up and be a church that would give back to the community.
After much praying and searching, Pastor Don accepted the position. He has been there almost five months and they now have a membership of over 300. “I am a different type of person some would say”, he said. “I am out and about in all areas of Effingham trying to reach people  that are not churched. I try to work with those who are also battling addictions to try and help them see that they can beat it and that we as a church family are here to help them with the support they need.”
He also stated that there is not a single Sunday that someone is not saved, healed, or joins the church.
It is worthy to mention that Pastor Don holds a Bachelors degree in Theology, a Masters degree in Divinity, a Masters degree in Christian Counseling and a Doctorate of Ministry.  But with all of these degrees, you would never know that he was anything other than Pastor Don. Most of the people in his church do not even know that he has such titles. To him, what matters is getting the word of the Lord to all who will listen.
“God is doing something great here in Effingham”, he says. “It is not about me, it is about the Lord working in the lives of individuals who just needed to learn who He is. Our country is dependent on our younger generation and we have to help them by our witness to them.” What is evident is that miraculous things are happening at Abundant Life Church. One only has to speak to church members to know the focus of the church. One member stated that, “when you go through your week looking forward to church on Sunday, you know that you are in a good place.” Another stated that the feeling of Jesus’ love is felt everytime the doors of the church are opened.
“A God thing”, I would say so. And, at Abundant Life Church, Pastor Don is waiting for YOU to visit.It’s A God Thing

What is red, white, blue and gold and can reach 202.55 miles per hour in 7.887 seconds in just  a quarter mile? Superhero fans would say Superman, but the answer is actually something and someone from this world.

The Ballistic Eagle, piloted by Effingham resident Kevin Martin, is the answer  to the question.
What, you say, is the Ballistic Eagle? The answer is that it is one of very few jet powered bikes ever created and it takes an even more rare character to operate  something with this much thrust.
Enter owner and operator Kevin Martin. From the outset, Martin built his jet bike to be the fastest in the world, but he would almost have to pay the ultimate price to accomplish what he had set out to do.
“When you get up to speeds over 170 miles per hour there are many dangers to consider,” says Martin. “But, there is also so much to do with g-forces and aerodynamics that make this harder to do than it sounds. Many people have lost their lives trying to do it.”
Martin is one of the lucky ones. Having flatlined on three different occasions, Martin knows that God has given him second and third chances.
So why not fix g-force and aerodynamic issues in the wind tunnel Kevin? “I’m a hands on guy, and besides, that  would not be any fun.”
Fun has almost turned to tragedy for Martin on several occasions. One such occasion, while Martin was a sophomore at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach FL, his fun was interrupted by the ignorance of another driver. He had just taken his final exam before Christmas break. His buddy needed a lift to go pick up his car so they jumped on a Honda Hurricane 600. Only a mile from home an office supply truck swerved into the lane he was in. The truck had slammed on his brakes to make an illegal u-turn. With nowhere to go, Martin locked up his brakes at a speed of only 40 miles per hour. Martin had almost cleared the truck but his left knee caught the back bumper, shattering his knee and ripping the footpeg off. His buddy was thrown two lanes over and knocked out momentarily, but suffered only minor injuries.
When Martin awakened, lying on his back, he was holding his shoe in front of his face. “I remember looking at the sole of my shoe, then I realized that my foot was still in my shoe,” said Martin. “I thought, ‘damn this is going to hurt’.”
God was with him that day. Although his leg was severed, his femoral artery was still intact which kept Martin from bleeding to death. “The paramedics on scene, and the doctor’s at the hospital saved my life that day,” acknowledged Martin. “Even though I knew I was in trouble, and I saw the sense of urgency in everyone’s faces, I knew I would need to help them do their jobs,” says Martin. “I didn’t scream or freak out, I was in pain but I had to forget about it so they could do their jobs as quickly as possible.”
Martin’s positive attitude served him well that day. Though he was obviously in shock, Martin kept calm and even cracked jokes with the EMTs on the way to the hospital. Once at the hospital, Martin went into surgery for 12 hours.
“I remember the doctor  aksed me about calling my parents,” says Martin. “I didn’t want to worry them, but then he told me that I might not make it out of surgery alive.”
With death a certain possibility, and or at least the very likely possibility of having his leg amputated, Martin passed out before talking to his parents on the phone.
Doctors saved his life, and miraculously his leg, but this was only the beginning of a very long journey for Martin. He was told that he would probably never walk again, but Martin didn’t take the news lying down. He voiced to them that was just unacceptable. His determination and positive attitude served him well.
Today Martin holds the un-official Guinness and IHRA record for the quarter-mile. On April 24, 2009 his motorcycle, The Ballistic Eagle, became the first jet powered motorcycle in the world to officially break the 200 mile per hour barrier.
It all started when he was around 10 years old. That’s when he got his first bike, and it were daredevils such as Evil and Robbie Knievil that inspired him to do what he does on the Ballistic Eagle today.
He now travels the country and shoots down raceway’s for eager fans. Many factors have to be considered before racing the jet powered motorcycle each time, that’s why Martin takes with him to each show a highly trained and skilled crew who help him in the tweaking and planning process before each ride. And thanks to their expertise, Martin has campaigned the bike since 2003 with no safety issues.
“You can’t ever say enough about your crew,” says Martin. “Without them I couldn’t do what I do.”
Knowing that death is likely with even the slightest error on the bike, Martin doesn’t allow the ultimate price affect what he does. “Any racer will tell you, you don’t think, you react. If you think you are already dead. First and foremost, you have to trust your crew.”
Before each race, Martin goes behind closed doors for ten minutes to clear his head, and visualize the run over and over. There have been several times over the years that Martin has had a “bad gut feeling” before the race. It might be a strong crosswind on the track or a problem during tuneup. Whichever the case Martin says that as soon as he hit’s the ignitors he forgets everything and his body goes into autopilot.
“Most racers call it “the zone”  – where the racer blocks out everything around him and gets tunnel vision,” says Martin. “In actuality, this is a form of self hyponosis.  I place myself in atrance in order to completely focus on the performance.”
On one occasion while Martin was in the zone, seconds prior to his race, his crew chief stepped directly in front of him,urgently trying to get Martin’s attention. Martin did not realize he was there until his crew chief started shaking Martin’s helmet furiously. “He was trying to give me an update that the crosswind had increased to 25 miles per hour,” says Martin. “He probably saved my life that day. I was ready for the crosswind and was able to keep from hitting the wall when the wind crossed about 1000 feet down track.”
Though Martin does not encourage young kids or teenagers to follow in his footsteps as a daredevil, he does use his story of trials, tribulations and overcoming adversity to show young people that the mind is a powerful tool and if they set their mind to do so, they can overcome and accomplish anything.
Martin says that 2010 will be a building year for he and his team, but already things are getting exciting in the Martin Motorsports camp. Recently, they broke ground on a new 6,000 square foot facility which will allow for more custom fabrication and research for Martin and his team.
So what record will Kevin Martin be chasing in the future?
“I really don’t want to give away too much about what we are working on, but I will say it will be exciting,” says Martin.
Kevin Martin, an Aircraft Engineer by trade, has been involved in drag racing since 1990. He began working as a volunteer crewmember for a Supercharged altered team known as the Absolute Pleasure. Kevin’s love of speed soared to new heights, as he felt the growing need to pilot such a radical hot rod! For several seasons, Kevin gathered knowledge about what it takes to be successful in this sport.

Jocelyn Turner Porter, “but you won’t recognize this farm (in the movie). They dug a big bunker – I call it a ditch, and the special effects people had smoke and fires all around. What you’ll see is two soldiers down in a ditch who were wounded, and they’re talking, and all around them are dead Confederate and Union soldiers, and finally some litter-bearers come and pick up the wounded and dead.” This is the first scene of ‘The Conspirator,’ and it depicts the Battle of Gettysburg.
“The movie is about Mary Schraff who was involved in the conspiracy to kill President Lincoln, and she was the first woman ever executed by the United States Government. That’s what this is all about,” said Turner. “They hung her – three men and her. That scene’s going to be filmed in Fort Pulaski.” Mary Schraff is played by Robin Wright Penn, who played Jenny in ‘Forest Gump”.
“They had at least 30 young and old men who had been hired to be dead soldiers on the battle field, and at least four people were from this county and maybe more,” said Turner.
After these extras were outfitted in Union and Confederate uniforms, the make-up crew applied realistic fake blood to them, simulating wounds to the body and bullet wounds to the head. “They had a five gallon bucket of fake blood,” said Jocelyn, “and they filled little bottles with it and they would go around and slosh it on the soldiers to keep the wounds looking fresh.”
“These extras laid out in the battlefield for five hours total,” said Turner. “They lay out for three hours, then they’d get a break, then they’d go back. There were three or four wounded and dead soldiers down in the ditch, and two of them had their feet up the ditch with their head at the bottom, and to me that would have been pretty tough,” he said.
There were two horses in the battlefield scene.  One was a Standardbred whose former job had been as a race horse, but he dutifully played his new roll, standing loyally beside his dead soldier for those five hours. The other horse was a fake dead horse. “It looked real,” said Jocelyn, “and one guy was on it!”
“Two guys toted it out there,” said her brother, “so it didn’t weigh much.”
“Once during the filming of the battle scene, a Fed Ex truck came and rode right through the middle of it!” said Turner. “He was delivering something they wanted real bad. Then he turned, and went out, and they filmed again.”
Did the crew get angry? “No,” said Turner. “They just said, ‘Cut’. They’re used to doing stuff over and over. When the truck left they said, “Let’s do it again.”
Scenes were filmed over and over and from different angles, cameras were rolled down miniature railroad tracks, and the scenes could be viewed on monitors.
Turner and his sister were present for the entire filming event at their farm. They toted folding canvas chairs so they could watch wherever action was taking place. “They move you around,” said Jocelyn, remembering the crew’s directions of, ‘You can stay here, or you can line up here by this fence.’ We could take pictures when the movie crew was not filming,” she continued, “and there was a lot of not filming!”
Although they had been communicating with Robert Redford’s film crew for months, their first real contact came when Redford brought his crew to the farm for a site visit two months before filming.  He brought 13 people with him, and they arrived in a Savannah Tour bus. “They were here to determine what they really want to do out here,” said Jocelyn. “They start telling you what they want to do, and you tell them what you don’t want them to do. Robert Redford and everyone were very nice.”
When Redford and his crew returned for filming, they set up a base camp to accommodate about 150 people. “They rented a vacant lot in nearby Spring Hill Farm, and there was an area for parking – they had to have a lot of parking, and they shuttled the crews back and forth with piles of 15 passenger vans,” said Turner. “There were trailers for the actors, makeup artists, hair dressers and costumes, and there’s a convoy of vehicles coming and going. They bring these people up just before they’re fixin’ to film a scene.”
“There was also a food tent, and they have a good layout of food which included prime rib and leg of lamb. Gourmet food was catered for everyone, and they fed 200 people over there on the first day of filming.
“They also had fast food at the filming sites because they couldn’t leave. They had sausage biscuits in the morning and all kinds of food: bananas, other fruit and cookies, and around noon they’d bring chicken sandwiches and hamburgers They also had salad plates, vegetable plates and fruit,” said Turner.
“Robert Redford really likes fruit,” said Jocelyn. “That’s the only thing I ever saw him eat.”
“When the filming shut down, they could go over to the base camp to eat,” said Turner, “and then that night, when it was 9:30 or 10:00, they brought all this food over. They had fish and all kinds of things, and coffee and drinks, and they brought it later the second night because we were there all night long.”
The battle scene was filmed during the day, and about 10:30 that night they filmed two stunt riders, who looked just like the actors, on horses galloping down a wooded road and up to the two story farmhouse. The house is supposed to be The Schraff Tavern, and one of the riders is supposed to be John Wilkes Booth. Somebody was to come running down the front porch with a carbine rifle and hand it to Booth.
The first time they practiced it, the stunt riders galloped the horses wide open to the house and stopped the horses, and the man on the porch immediately ran straight up to the horses and scared them. The horse wranglers calmed the horses, and the scene was modified so that the man on the porch approached the horses at a fast walk.
When the scene was perfected, after the carbine rifle was handed to the stunt rider, the second part of the scene was added –the riders were changed and the real actors got on the horses, but they are just sitting there talking.
The horses actually live in Savannah at Norwood Stable. Their names are Cody, who is a ten year old gelding, and Mandy, who is a 7 year old mare. The horses were used during both days of filming, as-well-as during other scenes that were filmed in Savannah.  Linda Brown, part owner of the stable, says that the horses are now definitely pretty blasé’ about being movie horses. “I’m proud of them,” she said.
The next scene moves inside the two story farmhouse which was built around 1900. The scene takes place in a bedroom where one of the conspirators is captured while in bed. The film company brought in period furniture, but the quilt on the bed belonged to Jocelyn and Turner’s aunt. When practicing for the scene, the actor was snatched out of the bed about ten times, which is evidently normal procedure.
The next day’s filming took place on some land about two miles away. “They wanted a road that had a curve in it for an ambush scene, and they spent the day in the rain filming that,” said Turner.
“It was a cold day with cold food,” said Brown, who had six horses to be used in the filming that day. “It took the major part of the day – a 12 hour shift off and on. At one point we were on our knees, on the ground holding the horses with lead ropes – but out of sight. We had to do that because the actors on the horses couldn’t make the horses stand still.”
Cody was used again as the mount for John Wilkes Booth as Booth waited for Lincoln’s carriage to come down the road. “There had been a huge hole dug which housed a camera and was covered with plexiglass, and Cody was a trooper and galloped right by it,” said Brown. “I was proud of him. At the end of filming, everyone wanted to buy him, but his owner, Debbie Merkert said, ‘No Way!’”
That night the crew returned to the farm to film the capture of John Wilkes Booth. “It had rained all day long, and about 7:30 that night it quit, which was a miracle,” said Turner. “They built a movie set barn to capture and kill John Wilkes Booth in. They had 30 Union soldiers dressed up as the cavalry soldiers who had come to capture him.”
They were filming inside the barn, and the soldiers needed to stand there in groups like they had just walked up in case the camera on the inside caught a glimpse of them. They stood there for four hours the first time, until they took a break, and then about three hours, and one poor guy finally had to give it up.
“The barn was set on fire to force Booth out, and of course no one is in the building at that time,” said Turner. “The fire was a firewall. They put these pipes in with holes in them and gas lines in front of a structure, and I was wondering why they left big cracks between the boards – well, it makes a fabulous scene with the flames coming through them! That building was roaring, and then they cut it off and put it out.”
That was the end of the fire, and the end of the filming. “They started the filming that night at 9:00, and I went home at 5:30 in the morning,” said Turner. “And I left at 4:20,” said Jocelyn.
Although the filming was over, there was still a tremendous amount of work to be done before the farm would be returned to its original state. It took a lot of manual labor for things to be torn down and put back.  Equipment had to be disassembled and packed, holes filled in, and fences returned to their original places.
“They filmed for two days, and they were here for 25!” said Turner. “And I’d say making a movie is pretty much like ‘Hurry up and wait’.”
Turner and Jocelyn were at their farm for the entire time the filming was in process they said, and they obviously enjoyed every minute of it.