GOOD EVENING, AND THANKS FOR JOINING US.
I'M AMY AUBERT, AND THIS IS EYEWITNESS NEWS AT SIX.
MACON POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING THE DEATH OF MAN... FOUND LYING AGAINST A FENCE SATURDAY MORNING.
POLICE SPOKESWOMAN JAMI GAUDET SAYS A PASSERBY FOUND 52-YEAR-OLD CARL ANDERSON'S BODY AT THE INTERSECTION OF CONCORD STREET AND THIRD STREET LANE... AROUND 8-30 THIS MORNING.
BIBB COUNTY CORONER LEON JONES SAYS THERE WAS SOME BLOOD ON ANDERSON'S BODY... BUT SAYS THERE WERE NO OBVIOUS SIGNS OF TRAUMA.
HE SAYS AN AUTOPSY IS SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF DEATH.
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON THIS CASE... YOU CAN CALL MACON REGIONAL CRIMESTOPPERS AT 1-877-68-CRIME.. AGAIN THAT 1-877-68-CRIME.
TWO PEOPLE IN WARNER ROBINS ARE IN SERIOUS CONDITION AFTER THEY WERE HIT BY A VAN FRIDAY NIGHT.
WARNER ROBINS POLICE SPOKESWOMAN TABITHA PUGH SAYS 87-YEAR-OLD CLYDE MATHE WAS DRIVING ON NORTH DAVIS DRIVE... WHEN HE HIT 35-YEAR-OLD LINDSAY SNIPES.. AND 28-YEAR-OLD ADRIAN BELASCO.
SNIPES AND BELASCO WERE WALKING ACROSS THE STREET AT YOUNG AVENUE.
PUGH SAYS MATHE WAS NOT INJURED.
THE ACCIDENT IS UNDER INVESTIGATION... ANYONE WITH INFORMATION CAN CALL WARNER ROBINS POLICE AT 478-929-1170... AGAIN THAT 929-1170.
MORE THAN 40 YEARS AGO... CROWDS RAGED IN A BYRON FIELD... KICKING OFF THE 19-70'S BYRON POP FESTIVAL.
NOW THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY... COULD LABEL THE EVENT... WITH AN OFFICIAL HISTORIC MARKER.
AUSTIN LEWIS TAKES A WALK BACK IN TIME... TO PAINT A PICTURE OF THE MUSIC FESTIVAL... THAT TURNED INTO A HUGE HIT.
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NOW OVERGROWN WITH SHRUBS AND TREES... THE OPEN FIELD ON HIGHWAY 41... WAS ONCE FILLED WITH BANDS... AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS MUSIC LOVERS.
ON FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND IN 1970... MUSIC LEGENDS LIKE JIMI HENDRIX, THE ALLEMAND BROTHERS AND B-B KING ROCKED OUT AT THE BYRON POP FESTIVAL.
nats of Tim Thornton: I was here with my popsicle truck, the stage was about 50 yards.
AND TIM THORNTON...WHO NOW OWNS THIS PROPERTY... SAYS HE WAS 18 AT THE TIME. HE RAN A POPSICLE TRUCK AT THE FESTIVAL....AND CAN REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME HE CAME HERE.
Tim Thornton, Macon: For one thing quite honestly, you could, the air reeked with marijuana which I had never even smelled before, but once you smell that distinctive smell you knew it was something different.
THAT'S ONE REASON SOME FOLKS AREN'T SO SURE ABOUT GIVING THE EVENT THE HISTORIC MARKER.
Marlene Humphry, Byron: The Byron Pop Festival has two faces to the people in Byron there are some people who think it was the best thing that ever happened to Byron and there are those who say it brought drugs to Byron for the very first time.
BUT THORNTON SAYS IT BROUGHT PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY... TO SMALLTOWN GEORGIA.
Tim Thornton, Byron: The people looked unlike anything we had ever seen, we never seen hippies with hair halfway down their back and braided hair and beads and so forth, maybe in Life Magazine or Walter Kronkite, but it was totally different it was really almost a cultural invasion.
nats of Tim Thornton: We're standing approximately where the stage was.
THORNTON SAYS HE CAN STILL REMEMBER WHEN JIMI HENDRIX STOOD HERE.
Tim Thornton, Byron: looking up and seeing him on the elevated stage and the fireworks all behind him and the loud music, the loud starspangled banner and that was probably the single most impressive moment, yea, that I can remember...I could see it like it was yesterday.
THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY SAYS THEY WANT TO HEAR EVERYONE'S THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FESTIVAL... BEFORE THEY SPONSOR IT AS A HISTORICAL MARKER.
AUSTIN LEWIS 13WMAZ EYEWTINESS NEWS.
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Tim Thornton, Byron: and offered to pay me 50 dollars a day to come to this pop festival and sell popsicles and hey in 1970, 50 dollars a day was good money.
Tim Thornton, Byron:For all practical purposes, as a vendor, I virturally had a front row seat
Tim Thornton, Byron: It was oppressively hot almost when you breathe, you just feel the heat, it almost feels like a heater blowing on you, but at that age and at the moment that wasn't a primary concern.
Tim Thornton, Byron: I had some interesting offers to excahnge where people didn't have money, but l'll give you this for a popsicle.
Tim Thornton, Byron:like bags of marijuana and of course I was working for someone else and I harldy knew what it was at the time so I didn't get involved with that.
Tim Thornton, Byron: I think he was supposed to come on at midnight at the strike of july 4th with the fireworks and the starspangled banner, i think by the time he came on it may have been four'oclock in the morning most of us had gone to sleep.
Tim Thornton, Byron:You talk about a wow moment that was a wow moment of the festival
Tim Thornton, Byron: We couldn't even fathom, even as I was packing up and pulling in here, we had no clue it was going to be anythign on that scale.
Marlene Humphry, Byron: It will bring those people who remember whether they read about it, heard about it, or were there will bring them back to Byron.
MARLENE HUMPHRY... WITH THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY... SAYS IF THE BYRON POP FESTIVAL BECOMES A HISTORIC MARKER... IT COULD BECOME A HOT TOURIST SPOT.
YOU CAN SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND STORIES OF THE FESTIVAL AT THE TOWN HALL MEETING ON THURSDAY AT 7 P-M AT THE BYRON MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM.
BOOMING CANNONS... AND GUNFIRE HELPED HUNDREDS IN OLD CLINTON TAKE A RIDE BACK IN TIME TODAY.
***4 SEC NATS***
IT WAS ALL PART OF THE 31ST ANNUAL OLD CLINTON WAR DAYS.
THE EVENT PAYS TRIBUTE TO KEY MOMENTS OF THE CIVIL WAR.... BY FEATURING RE-ENACTMENTS OF FIGHTS... LIKE THE BATTLE OF SUNSHINE CHURCH.
PEOPLE ALSO ENJOYED WALKING TOURS... FOOD... AND HOMEMADE ARTS AND CRAFTS AS THEY RELIVED THE PAST.
Pam Kirby, Lawrenceville, Ga "It's very authentic. I have enjoyed the camps and the stores that they have setup. It's been awesome"
Christopher Faulkner, Gray "The atmosphere is kind of like you are stepping back in time. We look around at the shops at all the old items they have for sell and of course seeing the battle reenactment is all fun"
YOU CAN STILL JOIN IN ON THE FUN... THE OLD CLINTON WAR DAYS... CONTINUES TOMORROW.
THE BATTLE OF GRISWOLDVILLE KICKS OFF AT 2-05 IN THE AFTERNOON.
ADMISSION IS 5 DOLLARS FOR ADULTS.. AND 3 FOR CHILDREN.
FOR MORE INFORMATION YOU CAN CALL 478-986-6383.. AGAIN THAT NUMBER... 986-6383.
THE WARNER ROBINS HERITAGE SOCIETY HELD A MEETING THIS MORNING TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT AN UPCOMING PROJECT THAT WILL SHOWCASE THE CITY'S HISTORY.
ABOUT FIFTY PEOPLE CAME OUT TO HELP KICK OFF THE PROJECT AT THE NOLA BRANTLEY LIBRARY ON WATSON BOULEVARD.
GUESTS CHECKED OUT SOME HISTORIC PICTURES AND SIGNED UP FOR A CHANCE TO BE INTERVIEWED.
MARSHA (BUH-ZELL) BUZZELL WITH THE CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU SAYS THE PROJECT WILL LOOK FOR PEOPLE TO TELL THEIR STORIES OF LIVING IN THE INTERNATIONAL CITY AND HELP THEM COLLECT AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE TOWN.
THE PROJECT WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME A MUSEUM THAT WILL BE HOUSED AT THE ALBERTA DEPOT AND WILL SHOWCASE COLLECTIONS FROM BOTH THE NOLA BRANTLEY LIBRARY AND THE ALBERTA DEPOT.
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THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
FOR YOUR LATEST NEWS ALL DAY EVERY DAY... VISIT 13WMAZ DOT COM.
HAVE A GREAT NIGHT. WE'LL SEE YOU BACK HERE FOR EYEWITNESS NEWS AT ELEVEN.