Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
Several years ago, Hurricane Floyd made its way towards the shores of Jacksonville, Fla. This resulted in thousands of residents of that fair city fleeing westward for higher ground. It didn't take long for the hotels and motels to quickly fill up, leaving many travelers with no place to go.
The situation got much better for many of these weary folks when they crossed the borders of Madison County. Several area locations and at least one church opened their doors to help. Few limits were placed upon the hospitality shown to our big-city neighbors. Not only were they housed and fed at no charge, their animals, big and small, received the same treatment. I recall one individual who said, “I have found the real Mayberry.” It was nice to hear that the Andy Griffith Show had nothing on us!
My recent research proves that Madison was much like the fictional Mayberry before the TV show was conceived of. In July of 1902, R.B. Smith, a respected traveling printer, had set up shop to work in Madison for a while. He decided to take some time off and enjoy a leisurely stroll to Valdosta. After walking a short distance out of town, he stopped at the home of T.F. Calhoun for a drink of water.
Apparently, something in the water did not set well with Smith, who quickly fell ill. The Calhoun family took him in and cared for him for two weeks, but he eventually succumbed to the illness. Neighbors then descended upon the home to help with Smith's burial. Mr. Smith was a native of Virginia, but he was thought highly of by the people of Madison, and their generosity in his time of trouble was a good example of what every community should strive to do for others.
Some information for this article was taken from Elizabeth Evans Kilbourne's book, “Madison County, Florida Newspaper Clippings,” Volume 1:1901-1903.