OHC NEWSLETTER

October – November & December 2023
DID YOU KNOW? When The “Waycross Victory” Ruled The High Seas

Waycross and Ware County men and women did more than their share to aid the effort in World War II. A little-known chapter in that effort was the building of the “Waycross Liberty.” Many Ware Countians drove daily to Brunswick to work in the Brunswick Shipyards, but the city’s namesake wasn’t built in Brunswick, but in Baltimore.
The namesake of Waycross on the high seas, the S. S. Waycross Victory, 456 feet long, a sleek and speedy cargo ship vessel later to be converted to a troopship, will soon be ready to take her place on sea lanes to our armed forces overseas.
The “Waycross Victory” which was built at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Md., successfully passed a series of ridged tests on her trial trip in Chesapeake Bay.
For 9 ½ hours the “Waycross Victory” was put through her paces by a trial crew from the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard. A painstaking crew of technical experts were continuously busy recording data taken from various measuring devices aboard the ship while a “show me” group of Maritime Commission inspectors passed on the performances indicated. When the ship finally rode into the shipyard dock around 4:30 p.m., she bore the stamp of approval of the Maritime Commission’s trial board.
Included among the multitude of tests the “Waycross Victory” was called to execute were: a six-hour endurance run, a “crash” stop which puts the ship’s turbine engines in reverse immediately following a full speed ahead, anchor tests, rudder steering tests, and a full speed astern performance.
Capt. Carl Norman, who will command the “Waycross Victory” was aboard the vessel during its recent trial run and was a most interesting passenger.
The ship was the first of a series of Victory ships, which are now being named for towns with a population of 10,000 or over.
Capt. Norman, Swedish by birth, does not retain any accent of his native tongue. He has been to sea since he was 11 years old and has been through a number of harrowing experiences. During World War II he was 2nd officer of the first ship officially known to have been torpedoed off the Atlantic Coast. (continued)

Find out more in our Newsletter, click the link below:

OHC Newsletter

Oct, Nov and Dec 2024 Happy 200th Birthday Ware Co! History of Ware County, by Robert L. Hurst, 2004 Ware County was formed in extreme southeast Georgia when Appling County was divided by the state legislature on December 15, 1824. It was named for a man who never visited the area, Nicholas Ware, an active politician known for his flamboyant lifestyle.

OHC Newsletter

July, August & Sept 2024
Waycross Sesquicentennial & Ware County Bicentennial
C.C. McCray City Auditorium

The Waycross City Auditorium was dedicated on May 9, 1937. More than 1,000 folks attended the dedication ceremonies, to inspect and “enjoy the beautiful new building which offers decidedly the largest auditorium in Southern Georgia,” reported the Waycross-Journal Herald.

OHC Newsletter

April May & June 2024
Waycross Sesquicentennial & Ware County Bicentennial
Remembering Dear Old Waresboro

Everyone comes from somewhere. We came from Waresboro.
Whether you hail from Manor, Bickley, Millwood, Telemore or even that place where the ways cross, Waresboro is your ancestral home.

OHC Newsletter

Jan, Feb & March 2024
Waycross Sesquicentennial & Ware County Bicentennial
When Waycross Was Tebeauville

Those who believe wiregrass history began with Waycross would do well to return to those days of yesteryear.
Older than all the rest of course is Waresboro, a farming community that, save for a desire not to have the railroads disturbing their livestock, might have become the center of South Georgia.

OHC Newsletter

October – November
& December 2023
DID YOU KNOW?
When The “Waycross Victory” Ruled The High Seas

Waycross and Ware County men and women did more than their share to aid the effort in World War II. A little-known chapter in that effort was the building of the “Waycross Liberty.” Many Ware Countians drove daily to Brunswick to work in the Brunswick Shipyards, but the city’s namesake wasn’t built in Brunswick, but in Baltimore.

OHC Newsletter

October – July, August & September 2023
In Memory of Susan Lott Clark
Susan Lott Clark, 98, passed away peacefully at her home on May 2, following a long and productive life. She was preceded in death over 20 years ago by her husband, Dr. S. William Clark, Jr., a prominent ophthalmologist in Waycross.