lexington yesterday

Willie Lee Corley wasn’t the first of the Lexington crowd to go to Georgia. Back in the early 1800s a number of Lexington’s Lutherans went to South Georgia as missionaries during the land lotteries. Land was being redistributed after the Indian removal to the west. South Carolina Lutherans wanted a presence in Georgia.

For many years the Rev. Jacob Kleckley travelled days from Cutoff, GA, in Macon County to St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in the Dutch Fork to attend SC Lutheran Synod annual meetings. Today, the trip to Macon County takes five hours by car.

Don’t confuse Macon County with Macon. Macon is where Warner Robbins is located. Macon County is near Andersonville Prison.

Uncle Willie Lee got his first job in Georgia after graduation from Clemson. For decades, our family packed up the Chevy and travelled to see mom’s younger brother: at the birth of children, special events, but mostly just to visit. It was always a one day visit, which meant a lot of travelling. But it was worth every mile to see Uncle Willie Lee’s flowering fields--acres and acres of flowers with a sprinkling of ornamental peppers, grasses and, of course, his itchless, red okra which turned green when cooked.

Uncle Willie Lee developed his much acclaimed project for highway beautification in Georgia. He experimented with wild flowers that could be seen while travelling down our interstates at 60 mph. Lady Bird Johnson, also dedicated to making our travelling hours more enjoyable, invited Uncle Willie Lee to study her Texas gardens.

She gave him cuttings and seeds for his project. He also made many trips to Georgia’s sea islands and spoke to garden clubs about roses, another of his specialties.

Many of the plants he propagated were sold commercially and can be seen all over the south in gardens, along our highways, and as growing crops.

Uncle Willie Lee returned to Lexington when he retired. He was a widower with grown children, so he returned to his roots. Unfortunately, his health was failing and he had little time to enjoy the company of those who loved him so much. But, I am sure his legacy lives on in a garden somewhere.