The Walthourville City Council moved one step closer to honoring one of the city’s most celebrated residents during its meeting Tuesday night.
The council approved a $2,415 sign that will acknowledge the numerous accomplishments of Walthourville's first mayor, Lyndol Anderson, following its endorsement of a request from resident Ernestine Hyatt to recognize the work Anderson did for the city.
“She is just such a wonderful lady and she was a good mayor and had a really good council. They did a really good job with what they had back then,” Hyatt told councilmembers in April. “I really think this is the right thing for the city to do in honor of Mrs. Anderson because there's no more deserving person.”
Anderson was first appointed the city's mayor by then Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter in the spring of 1974. She was officially elected in the city’s first election on Dec. 4 of the same year.
Throughout her four-year tenure, Anderson and the all-woman council were responsible for buying the city’s first water system for $1, street lights, city lights and speed limit signs, appointing the city’s first voter registration board and organizing the first city clean-up day.
She and her council also purchased the building that currently houses Walthourville's city hall and post office.
For their work, Anderson and the council were highlighted in newspaper articles throughout the country and received a feature spot on national television from the CBS Evening News with Walter Kronkite.
The present council is still weighing its options for where to place the sign, which closely resembles local historical site markers, but Mayor Henry Frasier said that would not delay the council’s intentions.
“One way or the other we will erect a marker somewhere in honor of the (first) mayor and the council for the City of Walthourville,” Frasier said.
The sign will be designed by the Ohio-based company Sewah Studios and is expected to arrive in about six weeks. The council hopes to hold the official dedication ceremony in late June.
Councilmember Larry Baker did not attend the meeting due to a doctor’s appointment.
The council approved a $2,415 sign that will acknowledge the numerous accomplishments of Walthourville's first mayor, Lyndol Anderson, following its endorsement of a request from resident Ernestine Hyatt to recognize the work Anderson did for the city.
“She is just such a wonderful lady and she was a good mayor and had a really good council. They did a really good job with what they had back then,” Hyatt told councilmembers in April. “I really think this is the right thing for the city to do in honor of Mrs. Anderson because there's no more deserving person.”
Anderson was first appointed the city's mayor by then Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter in the spring of 1974. She was officially elected in the city’s first election on Dec. 4 of the same year.
Throughout her four-year tenure, Anderson and the all-woman council were responsible for buying the city’s first water system for $1, street lights, city lights and speed limit signs, appointing the city’s first voter registration board and organizing the first city clean-up day.
She and her council also purchased the building that currently houses Walthourville's city hall and post office.
For their work, Anderson and the council were highlighted in newspaper articles throughout the country and received a feature spot on national television from the CBS Evening News with Walter Kronkite.
The present council is still weighing its options for where to place the sign, which closely resembles local historical site markers, but Mayor Henry Frasier said that would not delay the council’s intentions.
“One way or the other we will erect a marker somewhere in honor of the (first) mayor and the council for the City of Walthourville,” Frasier said.
The sign will be designed by the Ohio-based company Sewah Studios and is expected to arrive in about six weeks. The council hopes to hold the official dedication ceremony in late June.
Councilmember Larry Baker did not attend the meeting due to a doctor’s appointment.