Charles Shiflett Column April 11, 2004

HISTORY OF RETAIL POLITICS IN BARTOW COUNTY

It's amazing how quickly so much of Bartow County's history is being forgotten as another generation
fades from view. Names such as Grassdale, Corbin, and Dewey are now only remembered by the
names of roads or churches in those areas - with most current residents not realizing that at one time
these were distinct communities.

Life in most of these communities usually revolved around one or two small country stores and maybe
a couple of churches. In one of his recent columns, Jackey Beavers remarked at how Cass Groceries
would always be known as Mr. Bell's store to him. Henry Bell was my wife Sandra's grandfather. He
owned Cass Groceries and later also operated Bell's Grocery a little further down near where U.S. 41
and Cassville Road meet.

Over in White, Henry's brother Ernest Bell operated Bell's Store there and later became a mayor of
White. Another ancestral relative of my wife owned Worthington's Store in the Dewey community.
Though no trace remains of many of Bartow County's old country stores, there are some still visible,
and others like Cass Groceries are still in operation. Perhaps someone reading this will be motivated
to write a local history book on the community stores of Bartow County. It would be an interesting
topic.

After reading Jackey's column, I began to think about how different life was when Jackey visited Mr.
Bell's store as a child. With the rapid growth experienced in Bartow the last twenty years, it's now
possible to spend an hour in Wal-Mart and perhaps not see anyone you know. Of course the same
can be said for our other big box retailers, grocery stores, and restaurants. We are rapidly becoming
disconnected from the communities we live in, which in some cases are just places we drive through
to get from home to work and back again.

The impact of that disconnect can now also be seen in local politics. So many potential Bartow voters
have moved here from elsewhere with no local ties. Some work in Cobb County or Atlanta and never
really integrate themselves into the fabric of the county. One only need look next door to Cherokee
County to see where politics here may be headed.

For the past ten years, elections in Cherokee have been primarily won by the candidates who sent out
the most campaign mail. Many Cherokee residents only listen to Atlanta radio and don't read their
local newspaper. For Cherokee politicians, direct mail is the primary way to target voters. We here in
Bartow are not quite to that point yet, but the era in which a few influence brokers decided Bartow
County elections has passed.

One can envision the old country store in years past as men sat around a wood stove discussing
politics. The first stop for a candidate would often be thos stores in his district. Neighbors would watch
to see which campaign signs would go up in the window of their local shop and many would take that
as their indication of who they should vote for. Votes were often bought and sold for influence or
financial gain, as power brokers would guarantee blocks of votes to candidates.

Today, special interest groups have largely replaced the country store. Each election cycle we watch
as political action committees representing doctors, lawyers, business owners, educators, union
workers, and various social causes endorse candidates and rally the troops.

Mail, newspaper ads, automated phone calls along with hard-hitting TV & radio spots now dominate
campaigning - and old fashioned door knocking has disappeared except for some local elections.
With 45,000 people in a typical state house seat, 150,000 in a state senate seat, and almost 700,000
residents in a typical congressional district - there are just too many people to see.

Our ancestors would probably feel uncomfortable being this far removed from those who would
represent them and you can't blame them. So with election time near, I guess I could stop by my local
Wal-Mart, but I doubt I'd find a pot-bellied stove. However, they do have an electronics department, so
maybe I'll catch a political ad or two on TV.