Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/914877
108 | M A C O N M A G A Z I N E D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 8 I n 1977, Macon's Johnston-Felton-Hay House was 122 years old. Although its last resident owners, Parks Lee and Maude Hay, had died years earlier, in a spirited move to help bring tourists to Macon, their children opened the house to the public in 1964 through the P.L. Hay Foundation. Two family members, Vivian Hay Anderson and Virginia Hay, had been among the founding trustees of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, then less than a decade from its own establishment as a statewide nonprofit organization. Although the house drew numbers of tourists (most of whom were given a wonderful tour of the interior by the Hay's former butler and house manager, Chester Davis), the exterior was showing signs of serious deterioration with rotting wood and peeling paint. In early April 1977, acting on behalf of the Hay family, Macon Mayor Buckner Melton approached Edward Neel of Columbus, the Trust's board chair, about a gift of the Hay House marks 40 years as a Georgia Trust historic property property to the new organization. Following a meeting with Hay family members on April 15, Neel wrote to the executive committee about the offer of the house to the Trust, along with its contents, and "liquid capital of $84,500." He asked them to study the proposal in preparation for their annual meeting a few days later in Rome. At the board gathering, with mostly positive comments citing that the gift would "give the Trust a project" and would "make the Trust more visible," Marguerite Williams of Thomasville made the motion to accept Hay House and it was unanimously adopted. At a subsequent meeting, the entire board of trustees also voted unanimously to accept the Macon museum site. The announcement came in fall 1977 when the acquisition of Hay House was the lead story in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's monthly newspaper, Preservation News. Although the actual transfer was not until the end of December, with particular efforts by trustees led by Bradley Hale, the exploration of the site, fundraising and consideration of its management were leading issues. Fran LaFarge, a New York native and educator became the first director, hired through a federal grant to the City of Macon. LaFarge, in turn, engaged Maryel Batten, a Macon preservationist who had previously worked at Parke-Bernet (Sothebys'), as Hay House curator. Batten and a few interns catalogued the site's thousands of objects. Davis remained on staff as the first docent. By 1978, the first board of Hay House was appointed as a standing committee of the Georgia Trust. Chaired by Nancy Anderson, who later directed Macon's Museum of Arts and Sciences, the 14 member committee included three Hay family members, a member of the Felton family, and among others, Phil Walden, founder of Capricorn Records. Mayor Melton served as chairman of the fundraising committee and remained in this capacity for more than a decade, initially raising more than $350,000 for work on the building. The Trust sent out invitations for an official grand opening program on Feb. 11, 1978. For $8, participants could attend several cocktail receptions, a luncheon and a tour. The opening to the general public occurred a month later when, on a single Sunday, more than 3,000 people went through the house. The energetic committee and its members continued to raise funds for the next two years and their efforts put Hay House well on its way to its current restored state and profile as one of Macon's most beloved and visited places. Jonathan Poston, senior director of properties for the Georgia Trust, and Hay House director (The above article is excerpted from a longer version by the author published in the fall 2017 issue of The Rambler, the official quarterly magazine of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.) Hay lore An ongoing series about Hay House lore, traditions and history