(NOTE: The following appeared in the 1985 Odum Homecoming program and was written by Hazel Dean Overstreet. It is being reproduced here for the Odum, Georgia website….KH)
A fourteen-room school building was constructed in 1955. The old two-story brick building, which had leaks and was very unsafe, was torn down. Mr. Aubrey Hires, son of S.J. Hires of Odum, served as County School Superintendent. He lived in Jesup and was instrumental in following through with the plans.
In 1955, approximately 350 people were living in Odum. Incidentally, the school enrolled around 500 students from Odum and outlying districts. Among the names of people prominent in Odum’s history are Aspinwall, Pearce, Odum, Hires, Withrow, Harris, Overstreet, Shuptrine, O’Quinn, Roberson, Sharpe, Truell, Martin, Hatton, Smith, Browder, Thomas, Davis, Crawford, Anderson, Dean, Thompson, Ammons, Browning, Sutton, Bennett, Poppell, Miller, Kicklighter, Clary, Clement, Tyre, Wilson, Daniel, Glover, Jones, Bacon, Jarrard, Babbs, Roberts, Alderman, Madray, Flowers, Perkins, and Campbell.
The Odum Garden Club, the churches, and the excellent school teachers have nurtured Odum’s cultural side. The music teacher, Mrs. Mary Beth McLaughlin, has enriched the atmosphere and lent the serenity and peace all humanity longs for.
Twice, the schools of Odum were threatened with consolidation. Five hundred people met with Doug Daniel, an able businessman, and brilliant, fiery spokesman, to present the cause of the small towns and their need for schools.
1966 and 1967 saw a valiant effort led by Mr. Carl Moody, a prominent landowner and descendant of one of the oldest families in the county, Thurlow Price, former Mayor of Odum and married to an Aspinwall, and others, to keep the schools in Odum.
A fabulous asset for Odum was Doug Daniel, who had a keen salesmanship ability in the furniture business. He drew people to Odfar and wide by coto Odum mining. He has a quick, enthusiastic personality with knowledge of quality woods and artistry, a level head, and a desire to please customers and succeed profitably. He created an unforgettable flavor of a small town in action.
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