FATHER'S DAY AND LINDSEY'S

When I think of Father's Day each year, I, quite obviously, think of my wonderful father who passed away in 2007, Lindsey Hand Barron, born in 1923.

My dad grew up in Newnan and graduated from the old Newnan High School that sat on the corner of Jackson Street and Temple Avenue.

He worked after school each day at Kessler's on the court square, and he delivered newspapers.  From day one, he was an entrepreneur.

He attended Emory at Oxford College for two years and, then, attended Emory University in Atlanta for two years.  He was one of seven students chosen as the most outstanding, plus he was President of Sigma Chi Fraternity.  Not only that, but he, also, ran his own business picking up for and returning laundry to the other students.

He, then, joined the Navy in World War II, trained in Chicago, and served as an ensign, gunnery officer, on an LST in the Pacific Theater.  He was at Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Guam.  He even saw the flag raised at Iwo Jima.  Their job was to put the Marines on the beaches and then pick up the few that survived.

Returning home he started his own soft drink bottling plant in Woodbury, Georgia, after which, he received the Pepsi franchise for 16 counties from Columbus to Rome in Georgia.  He put his bottling plant in his hometown of Newnan.

He, also, had a plumbing and electrical contracting business as well as Westinghouse appliances business, and, later, he opened a furniture store where the Newnan Times Herald is now located.  He began doing real estate in the back of the furniture store, plus he had the Hartford Insurance Agency.

Finally, decided to go into Real Estate full time, he sold everything and moved to 12 Jackson Street, where his Real Estate business began in earnest.  It is still thriving and growing today.

My brother, Frank and I had the most generous, selfless, hardest working dad, but he always had time for us.  We came first for him, no matter how busy he was each day.

He put together the land that now is White Oak and Shenandoah as well as Summergrove.  He was the developer of many subdivisions including Sherwood Forest (he got the names from my Robin Hood book), Pleasant Grove, Windsor, Lynhaven, etc.

His last hurrah was his dream of a first class home for retirees.  That dream became Wesley Woods of Newnan-Peachtree City.  He planned and implemented every detail.

He was President or Chairman for most every civic organization in Newnan, from the Newnan Kiwanis Club, to the Community Chest (now United Way), and the Chamber of Commerce.  He was Chairman of the Deacons of the First Baptist Church, and he served on the Newnan Hospital Board of Trustees as well as the First National Bank Board of Directors.  He was chosen Man of the Year and even, Man of The Half-Century in Newnan and Coweta County.

Frank and I have tried our best to follow in our Dad's footsteps.  We believe in giving back to our community.  This Sunday, I will think of my dad, Lindsey Barron, the "Lindsey" of Lindsey's, Inc. Realtors.  I am forever grateful to and proud of my father.  He was the best example of what a "Dad" should be, and, he taught us to follow the Golden Rule each day.  He instilled in us a love of our family, of our friends, of Newnan and Coweta County, and of our church.  We do our best to follow his lead.

Happy Father's Day!