Columbus High School - Cohiscan Yearbook (Columbus, GA)

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8 The clanking, monotonous grating of the whirling machines resounds throughout the city day and night, but the muddy Chattahoochee, softened by moonlight, reflects these industries flourishing as a result of its force. Too often it is forgotten that we are a river city and how vital the Chattahoochee is to us. It is not just a muddy stream, whose only claim to recognition lies in poetry, but an abiding and essential part of our being. Augusta Evans Wilson, considered by many to be the greatest woman literary character ever produced by the South, was born in the city on the river. Nun- nally Johnson, a Columbus-born author and playwright, has achieved fame in Hollywood. Columbusites began the Chamber of Commerce, or Board of Trade, as it was originally known, in 1845. The Columbus Fire Department is older than the city government. Five years before the city government was begun, a fire department was organized. Definite achievements in business were made by many Columbusites. A Columbus man was first credited with having the idea of a sewing machine, but he failed to patent it. Stephen Ingersoll of Columbus was thought reflec s an Y.

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in piring influence, by many to be the real inventor of the telegraph. Mr. Morse, an itenerant painter, announced his invention soon after visiting Mr. Ingersoll. Dr. Pemberton, a Co- lumbus druggist, originated the formula for Coca-Cola in his home on Hamilton Road. ln 1916, the Coca-Cola bottle was designed to resemble the hobble skirt. Education was an important influence. Columbus had the first public school system established by a muni- cipality in the south. It was begun in 1867. Columbus is the home of the oldest operating elementary school in the state. Today the city boasts 49 grammar schools, 4 junior high schools, 4 high schools, and a junior college. Along with the influence of commerce and educa- tion, another influence soon appeared. The St. Luke Meth- odist Church and the First Baptist Church were founded in 1829. Confederate Memorial Day Services were held here on August 26, 1866, in the St. Luke Church. Commerce, religion, and the need for education are influences upon the city, but at the same time, the students of our school are a definite influence upon the city's religion, commerce and education. 9