Numerous Cowetans were involved with the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, and a new exhibition at McRitchie-Hollis Museum reflects on both the Olympics and the Torch Run that brought the flame through U.S. cities including Newnan 20 years ago.
Memorabilia has been shared by participants and spectators, including items from Newnan-Coweta Historical Society board member and treasurer John Thrasher who was involved in the Games as an employee of Georgia Power and who was one of the local torch bearers — carrying the flame along a section of Bullsboro Drive.
The Centennial Olympics took place in metro Atlanta and outlying sites such as the University of Georgia in Athens and in Savannah between July 19 and Aug. 4, 1996. Atlanta Olympics Committee Chair Billy Payne and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young lobbied for the Olympics to be held in Atlanta to prove that the South was no longer impoverished and had moved past the racial tensions of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. Atlanta was selected in 1978 by the Olympic Committee, beating out Athens, Greece and front-runner Toronto, Canada.
The Olympic Torch Relay covered some 16,669 miles, crisscrossing through 42 states to Atlanta, More than 12,000 torchbearers took part in the relay which culminated with Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic Cauldron at the opening ceremonies at the stadium that was later transformed into today’s Turner Field. The torch bearers were determined via an international selection program run by Coca-Cola.
Coweta citizen and Georgia Department of Corrections employee Duke Blackburn developed the route for the Olympic Torch Relay and supervised 1,200 Georgia law officers on the trek across the United States mainland. Georgia State Patrol Trooper Wayne Carlisle, also a Coweta resident, was a member of the team assisting with security for the relay.
The torches were designed by Malcolm Grear and assembled from aluminum parts manufactured in Newnan by William L Bonnell Company and pecan wood that was harvested and prepared locally by Woodmizer South plant of Newnan. The torches include 22 aluminum reeds, which represent the number of times that the Games had been held. All 20 host cities are listed on a gold band on the torches.
John Thrasher, in addition to carrying one of the torches in the relay, acted as a field marshal for the Games. He assisted at the opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympic stadium in Atlanta. He also attended an equestrian event and was at one of the women’s soccer games in Sanford Stadium at UGA, witnessing the U.S.team take home the gold in the first women’s soccer event in Olympic history.
Visitors who were in Atlanta for the Olympics can take a walk down memory lane as they view the torch, souvenirs and images from events, various uniforms, a selection of the popular trading pins and even an “Izzy” mascot doll. The museum also has a journal for visitors to share their own memories of attending or assisting with events during the ’96 Games.
McRitchie-Hollis this summer also offers two other special exhibitions this summer. “Bathing Beauties” traces the evolution of swimwear from the late 1800s through the 1960s, featuring examples from the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society textiles collection. There is also a special historical photo exhibition on development of the Dixie Highway, a traveling exhibition on loan from the Bandy Heritage Center for Northwest Georgia in Dalton. The cottage industry of the early 1900s making chenille bedspreads displayed along the highway route gave rise to the carpet industry that made Dalton the carpet capital of the world.
McRitchie-Hollis Museum is at 74 Jackson St. just north of downtown Newnan. Admission is $5 adults and $2 for students and seniors. Tour hours are 10 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
For more information call 770-251-0207 or visit www.newnancowetahistoricalsociety.com or the organization’s Facebook page.
