Macon Magazine

Keep along West Clinton Street that merges into Hwy 22. Go through Haddock and right as you approach the Baldwin County Sheri 's O ce o Old Monticello Road, juke joint vibes start to tingle. Back up in the woods are merely shadows of Shady Rest. "James Brown and Famous Flames were sharp when they arrived," said Tommie Johnson, 77, son of Carrie Easley Johnson who helped run Shady Rest and was a friend of singer Gloria Walker. "James had on this clean silver suit and the Flames wore red. Boy did they give a performance," as former drummer Alfred Thomas, 78, of Milledgeville knew rsthand. He went on the road with James Brown during the late 1960s. Thomas' inspiration to join the Chitlin' Circuit happened at Ebony Lounge (since burned down) on Ebony Lounge Road. "I learned to play there and was able to work with an advanced jazz musician," said the gifted drummer who still plays by ear. "From Milledgeville to Macon, I got to a point where I performed seven days a week and with the best of the best like Clarence Carter and Otis Redding." D O Georgia's fourth capital, Milledgeville, is laden with working farms, rail trails, and Black rural community history. Stop by the Black Business District to retrace how a collection of Black-owned businesses continued to thrive despite a segregated South. Known as the "Strip" on McIntosh and Wayne streets, this area documents the restaurants, cafés, markets, barber shops, pool halls, and doctor's o ces that Black families owned and operated in harmony. D I N E For bands and bar food, Bu ngton's delivers with touring talent and a creative menu on the side. Tastebuds win with opening acts like fried green tomatoes and cat sh bites. Nacho lovers will dig its Bob Marley medley topped with queso. 22 22 22 22 to u r sto p: m i lled g evi lle baldwi n Co u nty | day th r ee | su n day m o r n i n g Benjamin Simmons, founder of Shady Rest. Photo courtesy of Georgia College Special Collections. Chitlin' Circuit drummer Alfred Thomas at a 1981 wedding ceremony in Milledgeville, Georgia. Photo courtesy of Alfred Thomas. An 1940s ad for Do-Drop-In o Harrisburg Road in Milledgeville, Georgia. Sam and Iola Finney opened the Chitlin' Circuit stop, bringing in acts like Red Foxx, James Brown, Piano Red, Little Richard, and Otis Redding. Photo courtesy of Georgia College Special Collections. MILLEDGEVILLE Where would you go if you had more than 36 hours? We invite you to share your Central Georgia Chitlin' Circuit landmarks and histories with us at hello@maconmagazine.com to help us extend the guide and archive this crucial aspect of our region's complicated legacy. When you go, email us a photo for Faces. June/July 2024 | maconmagazine.com 61

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