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Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

The ‘numbers’ finally add up

“Macon By the Numbers” began five weeks ago with Wesleyan College at No. 1. That was easy, since it was the first college in the world to grant degrees to women.

“Numbers” crossed the finish line today with Crisco at No. 100. A century ago, the formula for that staple of American kitchens was invented in Macon.

The other 98 numbers have been part of a remarkable, 12,000-word journey. They have taken us through floods, snowstorms and cherry blossoms. We invited folks like Otis, Gus and Honeychile along for the ride.

We covered the height of the American Federal Building (10 stories), the depth of the Grand Opera House stage (90 feet) and the distance to the geographic center of the state (17 miles).

Lena Horne took a bow at No. 32. Nancy Grace had no objection to being No. 73. And Camp Wheeler marched by at No. 46.

I hope you have had as much fun reading the series as I have had writing and researching it. The response has been so overwhelming our newspaper is reprinting it in book form, bringing a permanence to the work.

The roots for this project go back either 20 years or 20 weeks, depending on how you look at it. When I was a sports writer, I published a “Macon By the Numbers” on July 30, 1989. In a sense, that was easier because I had a built-in set of sports numbers to work with — statistics, records, heights, weights, years and percentages.

Of course, it was also before the age of “Google,” so my research was done the old-fashioned way. (Imagine having to look up everything in books and on microfilm.)

This past summer, I began painting by numbers again. I had collected so many interesting tidbits in the process of writing my columns, I began adding them all up and assigning parking places.

There are few cities as “rich” as Macon, where the confluence of history, architecture, people and culture make such a project possible.

I couldn’t have written this series against just any backdrop. Despite its shortcomings, Macon has plenty of meat on its bones. It’s a place with a soul.

But my list, like any list, was subjective and selective. I tried to include the cornerstones that can never be left off in any conversation of Macon. I attempted to include some of the obscure, too. I wanted to flip the “Wow!-I-didn’t-know-that!” switch.

The challenge was not so much gathering the nuggets but assigning them numbers. That required pushing and tugging. It was like playing Sudoku, moving numbers around to make them line up in orderly fashion.

Unfortunately, many ended up on the cutting room floor. I shifted some items around so much I’m sure I left bruises.

I even had to create a “homeless” file, where some items were forced into a holding pattern. For example, I struggled to find a place for the Georgia Music Hall of Fame to land. That’s why you’ll find it at No. 88, which represents the number of keys on the keyboard used by inductee Chuck Leavell.

I found a home at No. 74 for boxer W.L. “Young” Stribling, who boasted a 74-inch arm reach.

Now that’s really a reach. (There were times when I was tempted to put myself at No. 5. That’s the average hours of sleep I got while burning the midnight oil on this project.)

It was worth it, though. Thanks for letting me share it with you.

Reach Gris at 744-4275 or gris@macon.com.