History Spotlight: Minnie Clyde Balkcom and the Bibb City Experience

SOURCE: Minnie Clyde Balkcom and the Bibb City Experience 1936 - 1998 by Carolyn Smith, Muscogiana Journal, 2001.

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Minnie Clyde Trawick was born December 21, 1916, in Geneva County, Alabama. She married Daniel Webster Balkcom in June 1934. Webster's family owned a farm and because cotton wasn't picked until August, he sawed logs to raise enough money to marry Minnie Clyde.

They lived in a one room "honeymoon" cabin on the Balkcom family's property. All they owned was a mattress and frame, a chest, and four straight chairs. Webster's uncle made them a table, and they bought a stove on credit. Their first child, Yvonne, was born a year after they wed. Minnie Clyde and Webster soon purchased a cow and an ice cooler to provide milk for the baby.

While living on the farm they grew cotton, corn, peanuts, and they grew their own food. Because the Balkcom family did not own a tractor, a mule and plow were used in the fields. Minnie Clyde vividly remembers the day when her husband returned from the fields, threw his hat aside and exclaimed "Well, the mule's dead, I guess we'll have to do something else now." The loss of their mule put the Balkcoms in a difficult position. This was because they borrowed money each year to adequately run the farm and now had no means to tend to the crops. Without a crop at the end of the growing season, the Balkcoms would be left unable to repay their loan.

Estelle and Clifton Thomas, Minnie Clyde's sister and brother-in-law, were employed at the Bibb Mill and living in Bibb City. They suggested that Webster come to Columbus and apply at the mill. The mill had no employment office and all aspiring workers applied in person. As the applicants waited in line, those who did the hiring would watch to see who would tire and sit while waiting. If someone sat, they were less likely to get hired than a person who stood. Their reasoning was that those who tired quickly waiting in line would tire quickly working in the mill. Webster stood for his entire wait.

In 1936, Webster gained employment at Bibb Manufacturing Company and moved his family from Geneva County, Alabama, to Bibb City in Muscogee County, Georgia. Minnie Clyde and Yvonne stayed on the farm two months longer than Webster so the hogs could gain more weight prior to selling. This would ensure the family more money to repay their loan.

Bibb City had its own governing body which consisted of one mayor, five council members, four police officers, and one clerk. The town had its own newsletter, called the Bibb Recorder, which proclaimed that, "In Bibb City there are clean, attractive and well-kept homes with modern conveniences, well-kept lawns and other appointments to spur the ambition and pride of the people of Bibb City."

Minnie Clyde and Webster came to the mill after workers had been approached to form a union. In a 1933 Bibb Recorder, President William D. Anderson explained that the rights of workers under the law entitled employees to be free to join a union, but that it was not necessary at the Bibb Manufacturing Company. In another edition of the Bibb Recorder it was stated, "Bibb City local employees say agitators won't be aided and that people are too busy to bother attending labor meetings and have no interest in troublemakers." During their working career at the mill, the Balkcoms were never approached to join a union because it simply was not tolerated.

Once employed with the mill, the Balkcoms took up residence on Park Avenue in Bibb City. They were charged 50 cents a room per week in this two-room house located at what is now referred to as "the old village." The mill provided any maintenance needed for their houses including a routine painting every three years. Bibb required the residents to keep their property clean. During their early years in Bibb City, the Balkcoms never felt the need to lock the doors to their house.

Old Village (1900 – 1903)

The Old Village contained three different company-built house types: the pyramidal cottage, the saddlebag, and a ten room house. Along Second Avenue were shotguns and at least one gable-ell that were not built by the company but later incorporated into the village. These still stand today. None of the first company houses had any academic style.

Webster began his employment in maintenance, working from 7:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m., and Minnie Clyde started as a battery filler, working from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The battery was a container that held a spool of yarn. As the cloth was woven by the machinery, Minnie Clyde kept the battery filled with yarn. She tied the loose end of an old spool to a new spool of yarn. This enabled the machine to continuously make the cloth without interruption.

Webster continued to work the night shift for fourteen years. His only break in his service with the mill was during World War II when he went to Panama City, Florida to work in the shipyards. Minnie Clyde and their second child, Gloria, accompanied him immediately while Yvonne stayed with relatives until she finished the school term in Bibb City. A significantly higher salary was the lure to the shipyards for Webster. The family remained in Panama City for more than two years while living in government housing. Once the war was over, the Balkcoms returned to Bibb City and the mill. Webster and Minnie Clyde had no difficulty resuming their employment because they were already trained workers.

New Village (1919 – 1921)

The second phase of the Bibb City expanded the entire village one and a half times its original size. The Bibb wanted its expansion to reflect the growth and prosperity of the mill. Not only did the company hire a noted landscape architect, but the homes were also constructed in the most popular architectural style of the time – Craftsman.

All the children of the employees attended the Bibb City School. It educated children from kindergarten until the eighth grade. Once the children reached the secondary school level, they went to schools in Columbus assigned by the Muscogee County School District. The Balkcom's oldest daughter, Yvonne, attended the Bibb City School from 1940 to 1948 and graduated from Baker High School in June of 1952. The other children, Gloria and Ronald, attended Jordan Vocational High School.

In 1936, the Bibb City school was one of the largest in Muscogee County with about fifteen teachers. The county and state, through the county school officials, would pay the teacher's salaries in accordance with prevailing county rates. School was held in a modern brick building which was provided by the Bibb Manufacturing company. According to Minnie Clyde, the area high school enjoyed receiving students from Bibb City because the children were very disciplined. In addition, the transition to Columbus schools was an easy one for her children.

Bibb City had its own church called Porter Memorial Church, which was named after James H. Porter, first vice-president of the mill. Sunday school attendance was important, and the paper often reported the numbers. The Bibb Recorder frequently reported how many were present in Sunday school for all the Bibb villages.

Sunday school attendance was also important for the Bibb City Girl Reserves. The Balkcom's oldest daughter, Yvonne, was an active member. Money contributed from James H. Porter enabled the girl's organization to take numerous trips with all expenses paid. Parents were only required to provide their daughters with spending money for souvenirs. Membership in the Bibb City Girl Reserves enabled the daughters of employees to travel outside Bibb City to the ocean, the state capital, and to our nation's capital.

There were also activities for the entire family at Bibb City. There were baseball teams, softball teams and a bowling alley. In June of 1929, the Bibb City pool opened for the first time. Once, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce sponsored a beauty pageant which was open to Bibb City female residents and Minnie Clyde won third place. Her award was a season pass to the Bibb City pool. The pool was later closed in 1964.

The mill originally owned everything except for a few stores in the village. This changed in 1964 as a result of the Civil Rights movement. The mill was now required to hire more African American employees. According to Minnie Clyde, the mill sought to avoid racial problems by allowing their White employees buy the houses. The resident of a house had first option to buy, with the second option going to other Bibb mill employees. Minnie Clyde and Webster purchased their home on First Avenue in Bibb City that same year.

African Americans experienced the textile mill world very differently than White families. Mills did not offer the same work opportunities to Black men and women. Life in the mill village was also restricted. Black workers typically had to seek housing and recreation elsewhere. Mill policies regularly forbade African Americans from living in the mill villages; instead, many lived just outside their boundaries. When mills did provide housing for African American families, it was separated from the rest of the village.

Due to a heart condition, Webster became disabled and was forced to resign his supervisory position at the mill in 1969. He died of a heart attack in 1978. Minnie Clyde, who retired in 1971, still lived in their home on what was once called "Supervisor's Row."

After her retirement, Minnie Clyde remained active in the Bibb City community. In April of 1995, a vacancy became available on the city council, and the council voted her as the replacement. The elected officials of Bibb City consisted of a mayor and five council members. The 1998 mayor was Steve Gray, and the council members were Thomas L. Bailey, James Floyd, J. T. Givens, Ronald Golden, and Johnny McNeil.

By the late 1990s, the mill failed to prosper as it did when the Balkcoms first arrived. In 1997, the mill reported a $28.3 million loss in profits with $24 million of that total from the fourth quarter. The efforts to sell the Bibb Manufacturing Company's operations in Bibb City were unsuccessful. The mill closed on March 20, 1998. Bibb's chief financial officer, Chuck Tutterow, said the company intended to market their holdings in Bibb City immediately.

Although Minnie Clyde's term on the council ended January 1, 1998, she remained a member of Bibb City's planning committee. The committee believed the city's location and beautiful surrounding along the Chattahoochee River were its best assets. In recent years, the river-front property in Bibb City emerged as a commodity among real estate investors in Columbus. Some homeowners were said to have standing offers for their houses. In spite of all the changes and the uncertain outlook, Minnie Clyde Balkcom remained optimistic about the community's future.

Bibb City officially dissolved its charter and merged with the Columbus Consolidated Government on December 7, 2000.