Golden Years

Before the Braves professional baseball team moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966, the minor league Atlanta Crackers were the talk of the South. Crackers radio announcer Hank Morgan explains the allure of the baseball park during the time period. Former players explain what playing for the team meant for them and for the city.

Sue Ellen Mears, with the DeKalb Historical Society, comments on Atlanta's change from rural to urban through the lens of Bill Suits, owner of A to Z Salvage in Decatur, who wished to bring Rufus, his 7 month-old, 50 pound potbellied pig to work.

During the 1950s, Georgia was in many ways a study of contrasts. Much of the state retained its rural character, with people leading lives that had strong links to earlier decades. At the same time, Atlanta was beginning its great growth, with the first segments of the interstate system being constructed, television sets being installed in many homes, and the first major shopping center being built.