Category Archives: interview

Harry Demille

Harry Demille bridges from The Strip community where he worked at the 12th Gate harry2 to the Little Five Points community where he co-founded Wax and  Facts.harry

 

12th Gate

Patti and Judith move from Florence, Alabama to Atlanta

Moving into the 12th Gate

The house of 12th Gate

Little Feat

DeMille’s Garrett

Great houses of the area gone with the wrecking ball

Finding new housing in Little Five Points

Learning about Inman Park

Wax and Facts

cheap housing

Little Five theaters

The Redwood Lounge -dangerous to pass

Peelers

Starting  Wax and Facts

Sarah and Sean

New Wave

Hendrix blows Atlanta’s mind

Roy Orbison’s appeal to all ages

Coming to Seminole

Patti and Judith story

Bluesmen

Headshop depends on your frame of reference

Atlanta musicians of the time

bad memories and aging

WRFG blues

Piedmont Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Wise interview

steve wise2Steve Wise is a long time member of The Great Speckled Bird staff. He is working on his book concerning the times and underground papers.

(This was shot on the very northern edge of Piedmont Park across from [The Great Speckled Bird]  office at 240 Westminster Drive. and down the wooded hill from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. We occupied that office from the fall of 1971 until May, 1972, when it was fire-bombed. My guess is that the pic was shot in December, 1971)

First row: Barbara Aiken, Stephanie Coffin, and Marjorie Jordan.  Second row: Roger Friedman (wearing the ram's horns), Robin Boult, and Bob Dorland [RIP].  Third row: Lucia Droby, Morris Brown [RIP], Teddi Vaile, and me. Back row: Ron Ausburn [RIP], Candy Hamilton, Zachary Coffin being held by Joaquín Eugene Guerrero, Charlie Cushing, someone hidden, Nancy Jones Presley, Blues (Michael Teece), and Carter Tomassi.
First row: Barbara Aiken, Stephanie Coffin, and Marjorie Jordan.
Second row: Roger Friedman (wearing the ram’s horns), Robin Boult, and Bob Dorland [RIP].
Third row: Lucia Droby, Morris Brown [RIP], Teddi Vaile, and me. Back row: Ron Ausburn [RIP], Candy Hamilton, Zachary Coffin being held by Joaquín Eugene Guerrero, Charlie Cushing, someone hidden, Nancy Jones Presley, Blues (Michael Teece), and Carter Tomassi.

 

 

 

steve wise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All recordings copyright the strip project 

1wise

2beatnik

stripdeath

piedmontparktext

parkpolice

emory conservative

drugs

drugdefense

beyond bird

bird finances

future media

allmanstory

music biz

roadbusted

radio

starbar

l5p

oldtimes

 

 

 

 

Wolfe interviewed by Bill Horrisberger for StoryCorps

Kudos to Bill Horrisberger for his earlier StoryCorp interview.

Early life

Best times

Selling magazines

selling comics

Clifton Night Ministry

other shelters

Bill Horrisberger- conscientious objector

Visual Icon

Little Five Points fences

Gentrification

the Ex-Prez Way

Bill Horrisberger on shelters

Wolfe is a good man!

 

Wolfe Thomas interview

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Wolfe and Patti Kunkle, Queen of L5P
Wilton Hugh "Wolf" Thomas, famous street personality of Atlanta Georgia, Little Five Points, know for selling of the Great Speckled Bird newspaper for decades. This image was made at The Great Speckled Bird Reunion at Complex B in Atlanta Ga. by T.W. Meyer.
Wilton Hugh “Wolf” Thomas, famous street personality of Atlanta Georgia, Little Five Points, know for selling of the Great Speckled Bird newspaper for decades. This image was made at The Great Speckled Bird Reunion at Complex B in Atlanta Ga. by T.W. Meyer.

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In Atlanta during the late sixties and onward, a fixture on the local scene has been Wolfe Thomas, known simply as Wolfe, selling periodicals.

Tom Millican “Tom the Birdman” at 10th and Peachtree

Famous for his and Tom Millican’s standing at 10th Street and Peachtree selling first The Great Speckled Bird, then other less noble periodicals like Girls! Girls! Girls!,  Wolfe was instantly recognizable by his height and blonde locks. One of the good guys of the street, hard at work at his post No matter the weather. Wolfe is always friendly, even if a bit grumpy at times, and is always ready to help out others in the street community.

Like so many of the hip folks, Wolfe transferred his allegiance to Ponce at Highland and Little Five Points to sell magazines when Midtown gentrified .

wolfel5p

 

 

 

 

 

 

      All recordings copyright the strip project

Coming into Atlanta

“It’s all happening at ‘The Zoo’”

The music changed and Beats became  Hippies

Ed Knight

Feelin’ at home with the hippies

Atlanta street people

On The Strip

Atlanta’s digger, Bongo

Piedmont Police Riot

Cosmic carnival tales

A newspaper for the Homeless

Stre

et folks and Chili Dog Charlie’s

the last Birds

The 12th Gate and The Bistro

Jacob, street lawyer wino

bad times – the loitering laws

Little Five Points merchants

The Strip project

Wolfe sings Dusty Roads

Kudos to Bill Horrisberger for his earlier StoryCorp interview of Wolfe.Listen here.

143006738_1424797834143006738_1424822250Wolfe Obituary

 

Tom and Stephanie Coffin interview

The Coffin’s art house

 

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Tom and Stephanie Coffin are among the most creative and industrious people you could ever meet.  Since arriving here in the mid sixties for Emory grad school, they have contributed much to the quality of life in Atlanta. They were among the group that birthed and raised The Great Speckled Bird to be “the Wall Street Journal of Underground newspapers”, as 60 Minutes called them. Without The Bird it is unlikely Atlanta would have had such a counter culture.

All recordings copyright the strip project

 

Arriving in Atlanta

hard work of creating a newspaper

The Bird introduces counter thought to the region

The Bird introduces counter thought to the region

West Coast influences

The Albany Movement

stepping on the Atlanta stage

protective aura of a woman with small child

too hot at the Byron Pop Festival

trouble finding housing

Seattle roots and Beat bloodline

1968

Stephanie and son stroll The Strip

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Stephanie with son Zac in stroller in front of Atlantis Rising on The Strip

 

 

 

 

 

 

2014 Zac Coffin by hois sculpture at 10th and Peachtree
2014 Zac Coffin by his sculpture at 10th and Peachtree

Caught for history

The Strip to 14th Street

Talkin’ to Tom Coffin

TomCoffin
Atlanta’s Lorax; Tom speaks for the trees.

Tom was later the head arborist for Atlanta, charged with protecting our tree canopy. The developers were upset with  him for doing a good job and not giving them free reign, so fellow travelers in city government fired him as incompetent. He sued the city and he won in court as a whistleblower on corruption. Now he continues the fight to keep Atlanta’s trees healthy through The Tree Next Door organization.

 

 

 

starting The Great Speckled Bird

Most memorable moments

Mini-riot on 14th Street

Colony Square developers destroy the street

Life at The Birdhouse on 14th

Emory Herald Tribune leads to The Bird

1970s bring back harder times

 

 

 

Debbie Eason interview

shapeimage_2 shapeimage_4Debbie Eason is a Creative Loafer extraordinary.

Debbie Eason came up with the idea of a FREE newspaper about all the activities in Atlanta, paid for BY THE ADVERTISERS!  For a mother to work was still shocking. To be an editor was unheard of in those days.  From her efforts was born Creative Loafing. Debbie was all over the area and has some interesting tales. Give her a listen.

All recordings copyright the strip project

Creative Loafing

Women in the 50s

Loaf rising

More Loafing

ERA

Little Five Points

Walking The Strip

Atlanta’s growth

Lane Mills

her sons

finish…

 

Rupert Fike interview

There is nothing run of the mill about Rupert Fike.

His life sounds like a novel starting with the UGA SDS being taken as a joke at the Levitation of the Pentagon in 1967, to The Farm in Tennessee, a still running commune, by way of the Haight and the Saturday class and SNCC. Rupert is a writer, poet and philosopher handyman, among other attributes. And not only did he live it, he is a good story teller.

      All recordings copyright the strip project

Meeting Stephen Gaskins

Kathy

Virginia-Highland

The Rainbow Family

Bust

The Strip

Driving Dr. King

Alley Pat

Officer Don

The Catacombs

Others enter

The Dead come to Piedmont Park and The Cosmic Carnival

Atlanta Pop Festival

Hendrix

freaks in The South

Hassled in Little Five Points

Draft Induction

Tai Chi

Marty K.

Altamont

Speed

Riot freaks South

Narcs

Olampala

Levitate the Pentagon 1967

pentagonrising

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fugs –  Exorcising the Evil Spirits from the Pentagon

Allman Brothers

Mansions

Piedmont

 

 

Charlie Brown interview

Charlie Brown, Darryl Brooks and some friends came to Atlanta from Chicago. They quickly became part of life around the area. Charlie tells a good tale, so have a listen to Tale of The Chicago Boys.

      All recordings copyright the strip project

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Lynard Skynard

The Bands

retire

Tom the Birdman

Little Five Points

VW

rest

It was noisy, but here are Charlie and Darryl at Manuel’s Tavern.

Richards

The clubs

Walker

Part 5

Part 6

Leather

Kids

The Strip stores

George Ellis

The Strip

The Street

Peachtree

Governor’s Mansion

The Allman Brothers

Janis Joplin

Pop Festivals

Hitchhiking

Joe South

Vedado Way

Bo

Jacob on The Strip

The Chicago Boys

9th Street

plants

sandals

Little Five Points

Haynes McFadden interview

catacombswall2Haynes McFadden was typical of the experimental artist of the time. He came from the world of photography and got interested in color. He helped the Electric Collage Light Show rise to acclaim. He was involved in some of the early ‘scene’ in Atlanta. He  resided in South Africa until his death. Haynes Carter McFadden passed away June 10, 2012 at 69, after having resided in Omaruru, Namibia, since 1998. He was a pioneer for the Baha’i Faith in Germany and Namibia, photographically chronicled a number of major Baha’i events and later focused on training and empowering Namibians through both his business and his Baha’i activity.
Here are his stories from his Atlanta days.

      All recordings copyright the strip project

Moving into the pre-Strip area

Lightshows

Experiments with color

The Electric Collage

The Catacombs

the Bands

The area transforms

Oglethorpe University area

work in Theater

Shady

Shady Theaters

Shady too

The Atlanta Pop festival

about Alex Cooley

The Onion Dome

Light art

 

 

George Nikas interview

nikas arrestGeorge was arrested for identifying a narc in Piedmont Park. Meanwhile…There was a police riot.

We stood and fought back: The Parks belong to the People.
We stood and fought back: The Parks belong to the People.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were lucky enough to get George to sit and tell us the story behind his part in what became a police riot. He was also on ‘the scene’ from the early days and sheds a lotta light. Listen in…

All recordings copyright the strip project

Names on The Strip

People on The Strip

the Police Riot

Newt

Stores on The Strip

Strip art

Tight Squeeze area

The Strip name

Hip community area

Atlanta musicians

14th Street Theater

Chit

Chat

Religious

George’s worst experience

Age Amaze