Tara Comes Home…circa 1960

This time last year the volunteers on the Saving Tara Project were eating cake served from the tailgate of my old Chevy Blazer in remembrance of the June 1, 1960 arrival of Tara in Atlanta and being amazed at how much we had accomplished. I bought a cake from the local Publix Grocery that was supposed to say, “Happy Anniversary Tara” but due to a spelling error in the bakery (their error not mine) it came out, “Happy Aversary Tara”….and I think I remember making a joke about some of the “adversary” we had in trying to do the work in a hot, dusty barn. We laughed and joked and ate the cake in the barn yard and then went back to the task at hand….saving Tara.
That time last year the facebook site had reached a little over 750 followers and I was thrilled because that represented the seventy-five year anniversary of the façade. I really never dreamed that one year later the facebook page would have over 22,000 fans and the story of the project would be written up and read by millions around the world. Social media has definitely been a part of the team that included the Talmadge family that allowed me to give this a try, the volunteers who have driven long distances to spend a morning sorting and cleaning a dusty old movie set and of course my girl, Sharon who has been right there helping to sort and put this big puzzle back together. They have all shared the news to all their friends, they have encouraged me when I have gotten frustrated AND they have more than once gone nose to nose to “defend my honor” when someone has written or said something uncomplimentary of me and the project. Thank you to all who have given of your time to help….and know that even if you cannot make it back for another workday, you will always be a part of the success we have had.
Today, in honor of the celebration of Tara’s arrival in Georgia the first of June 1960 I have posted new photos of the guests that day. On the platform you will see both Wilbur Kurtz (historical consultant for GWTW) and Franklin Garrett (Historian for the City of Atlanta, “and its environs”) and I believe the big fellow to be Julian Foster, the man who secured the Tara façade from Desi Arnaz and had it shipped to Atlanta.
After some resent research into Betty Talmadges files I believe the black haired lady in the photos with Foster to be Mrs. Allan (Nance) Walker, who according to a newspaper clipping was set to be the “interior coordinator for the interior recreation of Tara”. The article states that Mrs. Walker was a native of Albany Georgia and had taught period furniture and design at the Albany Division of the University of Georgia. It appears my friends that the plan in 1960 was to replicate the Tara façade and have Mrs. Walker furnish it with pieces that resembled those in the movie and others who would be correct for the time period.
So you see, as we celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of Tara in Georgia we can also celebrate the vision of those who have gone before and sought to bring this icon to the people. They led the way and the lack of a museum housing the Tara façade is not because they did not try. I believe that there will be many more battles to fight before we see the proper museum setting for the Tara façade but, how could it be any other way since its story (as told in the book and then the movie) is about those who choose to rise above and rebuild from the ashes of war and the crushing burdens of life….a story of people with, “gumption”.
Peter