Ed Adams

Interview of Ed Adams

Interview Team: Julien Malebranch, B.J. Chapman, Christal Judge

Faculty Facilitator: Mrs. Lynda Kannady

Date of Interview: 3-9-06

Ed Adams was born December 14, 1927 in Columbus, Georgia to George M. and Lillie Belle Kimbrough Adams. He grew up locally in the vicinity of what is now Veterans Parkway and Weems Road. His father was a farmer and his mother was a homemaker until her five children were grown, at which time she became a schoolteacher. Looking back on his childhood in Columbus, he recalled in those days you knew something about all the folks you met on the street, versus now when he hardly knows anyone. He attended schools in the Columbus Public School system culminating with his graduation in 1945 from Columbus High School. During the fall of that same year, Ed traveled to Atlanta to attend Georgia Tech. He laughs now at the fact that Tech had approximately 4,000 students.

Although he was only in his teenage years during World War II, he can still remember the housing shortage caused by the influx of military personnel to nearby Fort Benning. Many local families offered boarders a place to live during the housing shortage and the Adams family did their part to help. A schoolteacher was taken in at his family’s home and became a temporary member of the family. Another way the Adam’s family participated in the homefront war effort was to sell war bonds. His father was also a member of the Civil Air Patrol. The duty of the Civil Air Patrol was to spot any enemy planes in the area. As Mr. Adams said, “ Fort Benning was close and no one knew what to expect.”

Growing up on a farm in the country made it possible for the Adams family to be somewhat self-sufficient. The family raised their own chickens, slaughtered hogs for pork, and grew many kinds of vegetables. The Adams owned an additional farm in Alabama where they grew peach and pecan trees and cotton. The military needed many farm items to sustain the soldiers; however, the Adams did not produce any of those particular items

However, farming did come in handy when rationing began. Because they were growing their own food, there were only a few items the Adams had to ration such as flour and sugar. The shortage of these two ingredients put an end to the days of endless cookies and cakes. “The other rationed items didn’t hurt as bad as those two,” he explained. Because they lived on a farm, even gas rationing did not affect them as much as it did others. In fact, having farm equipment meant they were given additional ration stamps for gasoline.

On the topic of spending money, Mr. Adams explained that material items were much cheaper during his youth. Five-cent soft drinks and ten-cent hot dogs were often the daily fare for a young person who was out on the town. He reasoned that items were cheaper back in those days because there was very little money in circulation. People just did not make a lot of money back then and work hours were normally longer.

Young people had to find various methods of having fun without money. Mr. Adams said that he would walk to the main road from his country home to catch rides to various recreational sites. Playing tennis and pick-up ballgames were his favorite two pastimes when he was not in school or working. The Adams had a tennis court on their property, which was very convenient. If he had enough money scraped together, he would catch a ride downtown to the movie theater. He remembered the theater would show newsreels before the main feature film. These newsreels would feature information from the war-front. Eating out was considered a luxury and was rarely done, but if he managed to get his hands on enough money he would splurge at Spano’s.

Many local people in the 1940’s believed that Phenix City, Alabama, was not a very desirable location to visit. This was in part due to small-time gangster activity and also due to the fact that soldiers from Fort Benning would go there to fight anybody and everybody. As a young adult he would often take a date and go night clubbing there. “If a person stayed where they should and behaved themselves, there would be no problems.”

To this day he has very fond memories of the soldiers from Fort Benning. He remembered that Columbus was very hospitable to the soldiers. In 1945, he recalled Columbus High School dedicated their yearbook in honor of the soldiers serving in the war. People invited the military personnel to their homes. Of course, there was also a USO Club downtown where soldiers visited to unwind and to enjoy entertainment. “Shunning your duty and responsibility to this country during the war was looked down upon with disdain and it wasn’t something you would do,” Mr. Adams recalled. He joined the military in order to fight for his country, but about two weeks after he took his physical the war ended.

Mr. Adams was living in Atlanta at the war’s end. He remembered how there was a huge party and the whole city celebrated at the glorious news. Because of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered in August of 1945. Asked about the bombing he responded, “I was happy… not because people were dying, but because it had brought the end of the war closer”.

After WWII, Mr. Adams continued his college education and served in the military from 1950 through 1952 during the Korean conflict. In 1954, he married another Columbusite, Kathryn Kinnett. They moved to the Adams’ Alabama farm, where they lived until 1965, when they moved back to Columbus. Mr. Adams founded Ed Adams Realty and to this day is active in that business. The Adams have three children and six grandchildren.