A collection of memorable articles and columns written by Richard Hyatt during his 40-year career working for newspapers in Georgia. Topics in Richard Hyatt's Columbus range from politics to sports to crime, but mainly this master storyteller writes readable pieces about people you would like to know.
From a distance Roger Kaiser's life is a fairytale. He was a schoolboy star in Dale, Indiana, led the Southeastern Conference in scoring two years in a row, sparked Georgia Tech to its first appearance in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, was a two-time All-American and married his childhood sweetheart. After a brief career in the ABL, he went into coaching and won four NAIA national titles at West Georgia College and Life University. He retired with more wins than any basketball coach in Georgia history. He is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the NAIA Hall of Fame. But he lost two siblings and faced the loss of a daughter at the age of 35. He has survived two bouts with cancer, numerous surgeries and is the founder of the Alexis Kaiser Foundation, designed to raise money for his granddaughter and other special needs children. He continues to work with young people at Mt. Bethel Christian Academy in Marietta, Georgia.
In 1981 the sudden collapse of two skywalks in Kansas City’s Hyatt hotel killed 114 people and injured another 200. There never was a public trial, nor a full airing of everything that went wrong. Richard A. Serrano shared a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the disaster at the time; now he returns to the tragedy to learn all that went wrong, how it could have been avoided, and what lasting effects persist today—for engineering and the legal system, but most importantly those who suffered. Drawing on legal depositions, evidentiary material, and recollections from 240 survivors, first responders, and construction officials, Buried Truths and the Hyatt Skywalks is the story of this monumental catastrophe and what it teaches us today. The Friday evening Tea Dance was all the rage that summer of 1981. Each week the lobby filled with throngs of revelers, some celebrating atop the skywalks themselves. On July 17, without warning, the steel support systems buckled and the concrete and glass skywalks crashed onto the crowded lobby. The devastation reverberated far beyond the ruins. Firefighters, police officers, and paramedics suffered from deep depression, cycled through divorce, hit the bottle, and in some instances committed suicide. The hotel had been built using a new fast-track method with key construction decisions often made on the fly, including changing the skywalk design from six heavy hanger rods to twelve thinner poles. Within a year the skywalks were splintering inside. Even then the collapse could have been averted, but special inspection panels to check the hanging walkways were never opened. Though wholly avoidable, the Hyatt disaster did bring significant changes—some good and some problematic. Tougher industry guidelines were enforced for US construction projects. Police officers, firefighters, and health care workers are now treated for PTSD and other psychological trauma after working a tragic event. But the rush to settle all the Hyatt lawsuits helped usher in a controversial new era of nondisclosure agreements. Buried Truths and the Hyatt Skywalks explores America’s worst structural engineering disaster. Though the world has moved on, survivors and witnesses still vividly recall that night. This is their story.
The Haskins Award has gone to the nation's top college golfer since 1971 and the list of winners is impressive. But who was Fred Haskins? The easy answer is that he was a gifted teaching pro at the Country Club of Columbus in Georgia but there were many more layers to this British-born golfer who was born on the edge of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake — a windy English course that has brought even the greatest in the game to their knees. Haskins learned the art of making clubs in his father's shop. He came to America and became friends with Bobby Jones when he worked at East Lake, the Atlanta course where the Golden Age icon learned the game. He spent decades as the club pro in Columbus, Ga., teaching boys and girls to play in Saturday morning clinics that never cost more than a dime. His prodigies were some of the best amateur players of their generation. Some of his students helped found the Haskins Award, the only award in college golf that allows the players to select the winner. There is greatness in the players this award honors but there is also greatness in teachers such as Fred Haskins who stood behind these players and taught them the values of the game they play so well.
His drug store on Broadway and Poplar was between two blocks and two universes away from mainstream Macon. He ran it like a carnival, pushing a juke box on to the sidewalk in order to sell his Valentine Day's candy. A half century later, Charles Jones is the ringmaster of a corporation that runs hotels and develops real estate throughout Middle Georgia. Charles Jones: A Biography is the poignant story of a country boy who lost his identity and was challenged to build a reputation for his new one. It is also the story of a quiet leader whose community is still enjoying the efforts of his energy and vision. Even with his success, Jones is hardly a household name. He built Macon's first motel. He brought the Indians home. He soothed race relations. He attracted world class industry to the region. He worked hard to bring his community a medical school and to improve its local college campus. These things he did in an unorthodox style that shoots from the hip and takes few prisoners.. More than the story of a single person, this is the contemporary history of a community and a primer for aspiring leaders who want to understand the thinking of a man who values giving and believes money is not as important as the work that earns it.
Hope, Arkansas gave us Bill Clinton, but Zell Miller gave Georgia both hope and HOPE (a scholarhsip program he established), according to journalist Hyatt (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer). Hyatt traces Governor Miller's career from mountain boy Marine, history professor, to memorable "Give em hell, Zell!" keynote speaker at the 1992 Democratic Convention. Includes selected speeches and bandw photos. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Neighborhoods on the south side of Atlanta, Ga. had for years begged for recognition and acceptance. Their opportunity to brag came through two consecutive state basketball championships won by Sylvan High School. Coach Ozzie Wadewitz teams were among the greatest in Georgia history and 50 years later the pride that Ozzie's Boys brought to current and former residents of their community is even more valued. This book tells the story of a team, a school and a neighborhood that has never stopped cheering.
In 1981 the sudden collapse of two skywalks in Kansas City's Hyatt hotel killed 114 people and injured another 200. There never was a public trial, nor a full airing of everything that went wrong. Richard A. Serrano shared a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the disaster at the time; now he returns to the tragedy to learn all that went wrong, how it could have been avoided, and what lasting effects persist today-for engineering and the legal system, but most importantly those who suffered. Drawing on legal depositions, evidentiary material, and recollections from 240 survivors, first responders, and construction officials, Buried Truths and the Hyatt Skywalks is the story of this monumental catastrophe and what it teaches us today. The Friday evening Tea Dance was all the rage that summer of 1981. Each week the lobby filled with throngs of revelers, some celebrating atop the skywalks themselves. On July 17, without warning, the steel support systems buckled and the concrete and glass skywalks crashed onto the crowded lobby. The devastation reverberated far beyond the ruins. Firefighters, police officers, and paramedics suffered from deep depression, cycled through divorce, hit the bottle, and in some instances committed suicide. The hotel had been built using a new fast-track method with key construction decisions often made on the fly, including changing the skywalk design from six heavy hanger rods to twelve thinner poles. Within a year the skywalks were splintering inside. Even then the collapse could have been averted, but special inspection panels to check the hanging walkways were never opened. Though wholly avoidable, the Hyatt disaster did bring significant changes-some good and some problematic. Tougher industry guidelines were enforced for US construction projects. Police officers, firefighters, and health care workers are now treated for PTSD and other psychological trauma after working a tragic event. But the rush to settle all the Hyatt lawsuits helped usher in a controversial new era of nondisclosure agreements. Buried Truths and the Hyatt Skywalks explores America's worst structural engineering disaster. Though the world has moved on, survivors and witnesses still vividly recall that night. This is their story"--
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