Stumbos have left indelible mark as they prepare to leave Fort Valley

FORT VALLEY -- The first time John Stumbo rolled past the bus plant and headed toward the college at the edge of town, he knew he wasn't in Kansas anymore.

He had spent most of his life in Topeka, an old prairie town if there ever was one. Soon, he would be hanging his hat in the heart of Dixie, where there was no fort and not much of a valley.

Topeka is an Indian name for "a good place to dig potatoes.'' In his new hometown, he found himself surrounded by peach orchards as far as his eyeballs could stretch.

He had fallen in love with Helen Rhea Coppedge. They met while working together on national committees within the United Methodist Church. They planned to marry.

She was a single mother with a 12-year-old son, and John wasn't about to suggest uprooting a middle-school football player from the fall line to the plains of Kansas.

Besides, Helen Rhea was a successful businesswoman. She owned a popular gift shop, Camellia & Main, which later became a mail-order company on the square in Fort Valley.

And her maiden name -- Luce -- was one of the most well-respected four-letter words in the area. In 1927, her grandfather, Albert Laurence Luce Sr., founded Blue Bird, which became the largest school bus manufacturer in North America. Her father, George, was the oldest of the three Luce sons: George, A.L. "Buddy" and Joe.

So, when John married Helen Rhea, he married Fort Valley.

There was plenty of cultural adjustment.

"The problem was, I didn't speak the language. The Mason-Dixon line isn't a political line. It's a food line,'' he said, laughing. "In Kansas, we ate the bottom of the turnip, not the top. We drank Pepsi instead of Coke and had fried potatoes for breakfast, not grits.''

There must have been something peachy in the water, because it wasn't long before John Stumbo was acting like he might never leave. He had never lived in a small town, especially one that grew on him so much.

"These people really got into my heart,'' he said.

He had only lived in Fort Valley for one year and four days when he decided to run for mayor in 1990. He barely knew the folks in front of him in the pews at church before his name was at the top of the ballot. He lost to the incumbent mayor by 13 votes.

He ran again four years later and won his first of four successive terms in office. (He was defeated in his bid for a fifth term in 2014.)

He used to tell people they couldn't pry him from his adopted hometown with a crowbar. That would still be true, were it not for the tug of grandchildren. The Stumbos are moving to Kentucky this week to be closer to their son, Laurence, and his family. They will be honored with a reception Sunday afternoon at Fort Valley United Methodist Church.

Together, they have made a difference. When voters rewarded John with the key to the mayor's office, this town of 9,500 didn't have a slogan. In the shower one morning, he came up with "A City Where Caring Is a Way of Life.''

"I felt if I could encourage people to care about each other, where they lived, what their house looked like and what their schools were like, it would pay dividends and it has,'' he said.

'BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING'

As first lady, Helen Rhea became involved with the mayor's task force on domestic violence, the SAFE House and Salvation Army. She served on the hospital board and was a tireless advocate of her husband's efforts to encourage economic development and political diversity.

"God has blessed us, and when God blesses you, you give back,'' she said. "You're blessed to be a blessing.''

To promote civic pride, John began an ambitious city beautification program. A Christmas decoration campaign proved so successful that some 40 families had outdoor electrical outlets installed on their porches for the next holiday season. Flower beds started popping up from West Church Street to Valley View Drive, and a two-mile stretch of wildflowers were planted in the median of Highway 49, the Peach Parkway.

He established Rebuilding Fort Valley, modeled after the Rebuilding Macon agency in Macon, to repair homes of the less fortunate. He set up a local Community Foundation, which has now contributed more than $90,000 to various programs and projects. He started Fort Valley Cares, which allows consumers to round up their utility bill payment to the next dollar to help others pay their bills. More than $100,000 has been provided in charitable relief over the past 14 years.

He developed such a strong community partnership with former Fort Valley State President Larry Rivers that Rivers referred to it as the "communiversity.'' The Georgia Municipal Association recognized Fort Valley as a City of Excellence. Of course, the football

teams at Peach County High School also put the town on the map as one of the premier programs in the state over the past two decades.

Perhaps John's proudest moment came when the first-ever Boys & Girls Club opened its doors in Fort Valley. He had been told the population was too small to sustain it. Within 90 days, he had three years' worth of pledges. Within six months, he had raised $1.5 million in funding. The school district donated part of the land from the old football stadium, Anderson Field, and a new building was constructed.

The club's rolls now reach about 120 children each day and 160 during the summer camps.

"We haven't had a single teenage pregnancy, and every kid has graduated from high school,'' he said.

A few years ago, Dollar General was looking at several Georgia cities to locate one of its new-concept superstores. The company chose Fort Valley. At the ground-breaking, a man from the corporate office told Stumbo he had many first impressions as he rode around town. There were flower beds in front yards and hardly any trash on the streets.

"Then he told me he saw the Boys & Girls Club sign,'' the old Kansas boy said, his voice cracking with emotion. "He said, 'Mayor, I decided this was a town where people really cared.'''

When you care, folks care back.

Ed Grisamore teaches journalism and creative writing at Stratford Academy in Macon. He can be reached at edgrisamore@gmail.com.

This story was originally published January 9, 2016 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Stumbos have left indelible mark as they prepare to leave Fort Valley ."