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Georgia: Lack of water won’t dampen fun at Prater’s Mill

By: Kevin Cummings
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Mary Ridley & Betty Quinn

VARNELL, Ga. — Drought has brought to a grinding halt the machine at the heart of the Prater’s Mill Country Fair, but organizers promised there still will be plenty of fun this weekend.

Grinding cornmeal is a tradition at the annual fair centered around a 19th century gristmill. That tradition will be missing Saturday and Sunday because drought has dried Coahulla Creek to a trickle, volunteer Betty Quinn said.

There will be plenty of arts and crafts, mountain music and food, though, and on Monday fair organizers shipped in corn meal from a Tennessee mill to sell during the weekend event, she said.

There may be enough water in the creek bed to do a “slow grind” and demonstrate the milling process, said Ms. Quinn, a volunteer at the fair for the last decade, and who grew up three miles from Prater’s Mill.

“I’ve been over here with my dad many a time to fish (in Coahulla Creek). I didn’t think too much about the mill operation then,” she recalled.

“I didn’t think too much about it until I got to volunteering, and I just watched the kids faces when they came out of this mill,” Ms. Quinn said. “The look on their faces was awe, and I said, ‘We’ve got something here.’ After that I put everything I had into it.”

She said the water situation is disappointing, but said children and families won’t be disappointed if they come. She said young people make the annual event worth the work.

Mary Ridley said he has volunteered for 36 years at the mill because of her “love of Prater’s Mill and the heritage.” It’s important to teach young people about milling corn, bartering for food and the history of the mill to give them perspective, she said.

Brooke Bennett, Whitfield County spokeswoman, said the fair is a great boost to the community.

“It’s nice to see license plates from outside Whitfield County and even outside the state come and enjoy the crafts, animals and great fair food,” Ms. Bennett said.

“Being at Prater’s Mill really puts you in the fall spirit. It’s an event I encourage people to go and visit every year, whether its locals or those coming from miles away,” she said.

Sherry Sexton, fair director, said all the vending booths and entertainment slots are full for the two-day event. There will be about 35 new craft exhibitors this year.

All those artisans are required to sell only items made with their own hands to keep genuine the event’s role as a window to the past.

The Prater’s Mill Foundation, which rescued the mill and keeps the fair going, will honor this weekend three members who died in the past year: Arvil Saylors, Carol Broadrick Ratteree and Thelma Prater, a descendant of the original mill family. They also will recognize the late Henry Shugart, a volunteer who donated a cotton gin on display at the fair.

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