'Possum Eaters Convention

Dublin Core

Title

'Possum Eaters Convention

Subject

'Possum Eaters Convention

Description

December 5, 1946, brought the 34th annual 'Possum Eaters Convention - which was held in Newnan for many years at Bud Gay's restaurant on East Broad Street. The menu cooked by the popular black restaurant proprietor included crisp and brown roasted 'possum surrounded by plenty of candied sweet potatoes, rich brown gravy - Bud's specialty - hot biscuits, pickles and coffee. No women were allowed to attend on a convention night. In later years the meeting were held at the old Ranch House restaurant, later known as the Newnan House restaurant, on U.S. Highway 29 north.
These photographs from the December 5, 1946, convention were provided by Joe Downs.
Some 50 veteran 'possum eaters gathered at the December 1946 dinner to decide who could eat the most 'possum, a Methodist or a Baptist preacher, reported to the Newnan Herald. The question was settle "once and for all" by the Rev. R.A. Edmondson, a member of the North Georgia Methodist Conference, who defeated Dr. L.O. Leavell, pastor of First Baptist Church of Newnan in the gastronomic contest. Contest judges were Henry E. Richards - the 'possum eating champion of the convention, Dr. William E. Brown and Dr. W.L. Woodroof, Richards held the 'possum-head-eating title with 13 at one sitting - the Herald had a photo of Richards demonstrating his eating technique.
According to the Herald article, the convention was organized in 1912 when Rev. H.L. Edmondson was assigned to the First Methodist Church in Newnan. A group of men from the church took the minister 'possum hunting, and they treed five 'possums - which were turned over to Bud Gay's hands for preparation. Attending the first 'possum supper were the Rev. Edmondson, his brother Dr. R.A. Edmondson of Carrollton, Col. W.G. Post, J.A. Blakely and Henry E. Richards. Dr. R.A. Edmondson, Blakely and Richards were at the December 1946 supper, as they had been for each since the first in 1912.
The supper was begun with the "possum eaters" sign - the interlocking of the two little fingers, with the thumbs up and down, meaning, "I'm hanging on a limb by my tail!"
Blakely's invitations, along with announcing the Methodist-Baptist contest, stated "Doctors and druggists on hand if you get sick, undertakers and preachers to lay you away, and a lawyer to get what you leave. So, you see, you'll be well fixed."
The 'possum affair was enlarged its second year to include the 50-some members of the Post Bible Class at First Methodist. That was the capacity of Bud Gay's restaurant, so the ranks were closed. After that time, new members were admitted only upon death in the ranks.
In addition to those already named or shown in the captions, some others remembered from the meetings are J.U. McKoon, Jim Vaughn, Coley Pike, Sr., Jay Smith, Bill Camp, Jannar Davis.
The Newnan-Coweta Historical Society would like help matching names with the rest of the faces.
Caption Photo 1: At this table of 'possum eaters is George Fleming, third from left.
Caption Photo 2: From left are 'possum eaters Cliff Howard, far left, Paul Smith, Sam Edwards, and Hernden Murray.
Caption Photo 3: James Blakely, President of the 'Possum Eaters' Convention in 1946, is at left with 'possum eating contest winner Dr. L.O. Leavell. Blakely was presented with a gold chain and Royal Arch Mason insignia as a highlight of the meeting.
Caption Photo 4: The first two men on the left side of the table are, from left, Dr. W.L. Woodruff and Zen Newman.
Caption Photo 5: Seated second from left is Walker Horne, with Cliff Howards at the far end of the left row and Sam Edwards shown again at right.

Publisher

Newnan Times-Herald

Date

December 5, 1946

Contributor

Joe Downs

Rights

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright law. Permission for use must be cleared through the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society. Licensing agreement may be required.

Identifier

CCR 1986.09.16

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Photographs

Files

86.09.16_1.jpg
86.09.16_2.jpg
86.09.16_3.jpg
86.09.16_4.jpg
86.09.16_5.jpg
Date Added
October 14, 2016
Collection
Coweta County Remembered
Item Type
Still Image
Tags
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Citation
“'Possum Eaters Convention,” Newnan-Coweta History Center, accessed March 28, 2024, https://newnancowetahistoricalsociety.omeka.net/items/show/151.