After the recent news story on WSB
(which was later posted on the Turner Classic Movie site) there were some who
doubted the authenticity of the pieces and suggested maybe this is a “hoax”.
One poster went on to say that this had to be a hoax because Tara was still in
Hollywood and was still being touted by certain tour guides on a certain studio
lot (the wrong one).
And let’s be honest here, most of
you don’t know me. You have simply met me through my numerous ramblings about
the subject or maybe you met me while taking a tour around Jonesboro, or
Atlanta or a recent tour of the “alleged” Tara façade. Or maybe you do know me and we went to the
Prom together or you and I were in little league or (for the very few) you were
my closest confidant and buddy…or you gave me my first kiss. Still, none of
that can guarantee that the old green shutters and white windows and the side
porch that looks like the one Melanie sat upon as she visited with the soldiers
is real.
So, how do we know this is the
real thing? Well rather than trust me may I suggest you follow the historical
trail of Tara. First I would go to retroweb.com/40 acres to learn more about
Tara and its life and later move. I suggest you then take a look at the
venerable Tommy Jones site at
tomitronics.com and read “Razing Gone with the Wind” . Tommy inventoried
the pieces when Betty Talmadge bought it all from Julian Foster and was
instrumental in the restoration of Tara’s front door now on display at the
Margaret Mitchell House. Tommy also includes photos of the pieces as they
arrived in Atlanta in 1960 for the “Welcome Home Tara” media event. I would
suggest you then take a look at the article by messynessy.com as they did a
great job “cruising the net for the unusual” as they do on each story and see what
they came up with about Tara and my little project in the barn (they note the
fake Tara tours that have been going on at other studios for years). You can also “ask google” and read about all
the governmental attempts to display the Tara that is in Bettys Barn as well as
the hundreds of articles and masters thesis about it all. Since little
involving Tara can be done in secret you will find that the information is
exhaustive.
As a historian I want to know the
truth of a story and as a story teller whose drug of choice is the passion I
discover amongst the tales of our civilization,….I want to know that the energy
that surges thru me when I relate the tale is the energy that surged thru them
the moment the event happened. My company is called Historical & Hysterical
Tours, Inc. for a reason,….it is the truth of the moment that carries me, not a
suggestion of a theme in a sitcom world.
Peter
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