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Jesup, Georgia 31545

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

75

Thanks to ingenuity and a flashlight, Sanford Stadium got its hedges

Gov. Lamartine Griffin Hardman was a progressive but stern governor. In 1929, he decreed no vehicles of The University of Georgia should leave Clarke County. Under normal circumDINK stances, thatd be NeSMITH an easy rule to folChairman low. But circumstances werent normal when President Steadman V. Sanford was determined to unveil the best football stadium in Dixie that fall. The Bulldogs were welcoming Yale to help christen the new gridiron in the valley between north and south campus. Circumstances got more complicated when an Atlanta donor called with a gift of privet Ligustrumhedges to ring the stadiums field. Thats when President Sanford hit upon a scheme that might not invoke the governors ire. He involved the governors son, Lamartine Griffin Hardman Jr., who was a UGA student. And since the universitys fleet was limited, and the biggest truck belonged to the ROTC department, Henri Leon (Sarge) Farmer was recruited to guide the stealth mission to and from Fulton County. When young Hardman and his ROTC instructor struck out for Atlanta, they had intentions of returning before dark. The trucks headlights were on the blink. But the journey took longer than expected. On the return to the Classic City, the sun dropped. Sarge, ever-prepared, pulled out a flashlight. He put his student behind the wheel. Clinging to the running board, Sarge aimed the beam toward Athens. That workedfor a while. Then it got darker. Army-like, he crawled onto the hood of the big olive drab truck. Hanging on with one hand and shining the light with the other, Sarge sprawled outguided the governors son back into town and to the gate of yet-to-be dedicated Sanford Stadium. Workers were waiting to spade the privet into the red clay. Legend suggests they, too, needed flashlights to beat the deadline before the Oct. 12,

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1929 kickoff. No one knows if Gov. Hardman ever yelped, but he was in the 50-yard line seatsalong with eight other southern governorsto see the Bulldogs bite Yale, 15-0, between the hedges. There is more than one version of this story, but before the governors grandson, Lam Hardman III, died, this is how he retold it. Ive been carrying Lams story around for 20 years. And then it hit methe great-grandsons of Sarge Farmer and L.G. Hardman Jr. live in Athens. With the help of their mothers, Lamartine G. (Lam) Hardman V, Henri Leon (Beau) Farmer IV and I took a trip to Sanford Stadium to touch the hedges. Lams 7. Beaus 9. For 50 minutes, between the hedges, I also was younger than 10. The three of us imagined the roar of 95,000. As I was looking at the privet Ligustrum, I flashed back to 1996. Vince Dooley was on the phone. The Olympics are coming, he said. If you

Thanks to the ingenuity of the great-grandfathers of Lamartine Griffin (Lam) Hardman V, left, and Henri Leon (Beau) Farmer IV, the Georgia Bulldogs have played between the hedges in Sanford Stadium since 1929. want some of the hedges, you best get on over here. Years later, I bragged to Coach Dooley how well my hedges were doing. He trimmed my pride, adding, I dont want to hurt your feelings, but you cant kill privet hedge. The iconic football coachturned green-thumbis right. Privet is an invasive-like weed. Not only will it take over the farm, it will take over the imagination of millions in the Bulldog Nation. Followers of the Red and Black believe theres something magic about playing between the hedges. Just ask Charlie Trippi, Fran Tarkenton, Herschel Walker or Gurshal. You cant kill privet Ligustrum. Just ask Vince Dooley. And you cant kill the legend of how the hedges got to Sanford Stadium. Just ask Henri Leon Farmer IV or Lamartine Griffin Hardman V. dnesmith@cninewspapers.com