Hey, LaGrange!

This week’s interview goes judicial. This week I interview superior court judge for the Coweta circuit, Nina Markette Baker. Markette to her friends and family.

Our interview was about 30 minutes long and ranged from her growing up in LaGrange to what it was like moving back to LaGrange as an adult and raising a family here.

She said she had a lot of fun with the interview and I believe her. Judges are really limited in what they can say and promote, but this interview format provided an outline for her to speak to her preferences without actually endorsing anything. Overall, we had a lot of fun and I hope that, as always, that comes through in the interview.

Bonus episode! So I decided that since I’ve got so many quality interviews lined up that I’d post a bonus episode for your listening enjoyment.

This episode is my interview with local music venue owner and operator Maggie McDonald of Pure Life Studios. My interview with Maggie encompassed the trials of a venue owner, the operation of a soundboard, the advent of Sweetland and its effect on Pure Life’s business and many other topics that I won’t broach here. I’ll save that for the interview.

This week’s interview is Shannon Gavin Johnson the executive director of the Troup County Historical Society’s Archives and Legacy Museum. The interview was extremely enlightening. Shannon shared her love of the LaGrange community, her passion for history and archiving and her love of the small town feel of LaGrange. That’s not all she shared in the interview, but I don’t want to spoil it for you.

My interview this week was josh rigsby, co-owner of pretty good books on Vernon st by the hospital in LaGrange. He was a great interview. He has a master of fine arts in creative writing and is working on a novel in his spare time so we had plenty to talk about. Though my autobiography that I’m currently working on didn’t come up. (I probably should talk to him about that.) Overall, it was a really fun interview that ran the gamut of topics from late 18th century European tea trading to the diversity of toppings one can put on tortilla chips.

Overall I had a lot of fun with this interview and was sad when I ran out of prepped questions because I wanted to keep talking. I hope that shines through.

My interview this week is with Kim Hunter, head baker at Dixie Donuts on main st. In downtown LaGrange.

Kim has lived a storied life and only recently moved to LaGrange. Opening Dixie Donuts to the public on July 4th.

In the interview she talks about her past careers, the importance of family to her, and what superpower she’d love to have.

This interview is a shorter one, but it is still chock full of goodness.

This week I interview Andy Fritchley, brand strategist for Kelsey design here in LaGrange. He also coached girls soccer for LaGrange high. The interview details his journey from meeting his wife at Georgia Tech, through interning and eventually becoming a process engineer at a local textiles factory, to taking a leap of faith with another local upstart and going out on a limb with his current employer 15 years ago.

And if that weren’t enough we close the interview discussing a fantastic way he celebrated his 40th birthday that you just have to hear!

I found this interview to be a lot of fun! It really seemed to flow and we were done before I knew it. I think that chemistry is reflected in the interview as well. I enjoyed meeting Andy Fritchley and hope you enjoy listening to our conversation.

My interview this week is with Joyce Sato of 505 Eats on Vernon St in LaGrange, adjoined to the Marathon station and sharing a parking lot with the Big Chick (another LaGrange landmark in its own right). In her interview Joyce discusses moving to LaGrange from Ohio, via Brooklyn. Opening the marathon station with her husband. She also draws back the curtain a bit on what it’s like to run multiple businesses and be a full-time mom (spoiler: it’s really hard).

The interview this week was a bit shorter than usual. That’s my fault. I was cramped for time and we’d already postponed this interview 3 times before. I didn’t want to postpone it again. So I figured a short interview was better than no interview at all.

I had a lot of fun sitting down with Joyce! I hope you enjoy listening to the interview!

My interview this week is with Adam Speas, the Communications Director for LGTV at City Hall in LaGrange. He makes and edits videos for LGTV and City Hall. He and his wife are new to LaGrange, having only moved to town 8 months ago. However, he’s gone a long way toward making the community his home already. The interview goes into the unconventional use for graveyards, his detailed search for and ranking of the best burger in LaGrange and his affinity for the Thread in town. He also shares what he most wishes he had known about when moving into the city of LaGrange.

Overall, I had a lot of fun interviewing Adam. We bonded on things like beer, beef and Batman. We also plugged his podcasts at the very end: “Cartwright! A Seinfeld Podcast,” where they recap and review episodes of the 90’s sitcom Seinfeld episode by episode. And, his second podcast, “A Blast from Our Past” explores all things nostalgia from semi-recent pop-culture. Both are worth giving a listen!

Nick Mayfield is a modern Michelangelo. The difference being his media, his paint brush and chisel, are food, drink and musical instruments. Having taken part in the launching of 505 Eats and Wild Leap Brew Company as well as the LaGrange satellite office of the Chattahoochee River Keepers— not to mention being a successful local musician! Nick has nearly done it all. His interview ranges all the way from his adoption in Romania to his participation in the awarding of the title of 2018’s ‘Best New Brewery’ to Wild Leap Brew Co. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed interviewing him!

My interview this week is the Reverend Allen Pruitt of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on North Greenwood St in LaGrange, just outside of downtown. The interview was fun and lighthearted. He goes into how he made a potato gun and how he and his wife didn’t hit it off the first time they met. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed doing it.