LETTERS FROM LOCKERLY: Grassmann’s Gift

Published 12:00 pm Tuesday, October 1, 2024

As many of you are aware, Lockerly was founded by Mr. E.J. Grassmann, owner of Georgia Kaolin Company. In a vision statement he wrote when he founded Lockerly, he states, “I have loved Milledgeville for more than 40 years.” He goes on to talk about his hopes and dreams for Lockerly and Lockerly’s impact in this community.  

Now, all these years later, we still talk about Mr. Grassmann and his love for Milledgeville and Baldwin County. We understand that he wanted Lockerly to be a gift to a community he loved, and we honor that today by being free and open to the public.

Over the years, we have worked to be the gift to the community that he envisioned. Today, Lockerly is exploring not only what Lockerly can offer to our community but also how we can have a larger impact by partnering with and supporting other groups in our community.

By now, you’ve likely heard about the Forest Forms art installation at Lockerly. We are ridiculously excited about it! For many years, we never thought we would be able to host outdoor art because of the expense involved in renting and installing an exhibit. We worried that sponsors would not want to support a project that was not obviously income-producing. What we have learned instead is that our sponsors love that we can bring the experience of an art exhibit that everyone in the community can access, free of charge.

Bringing an art exhibition to our community allows those who may not have the means or inclination to visit museums in Atlanta or Macon. Forest Forms will be available during our normal hours and our expanded hours on Tuesday evenings in October and select Thursdays. The sculptures will also be incorporated into Lockerly in Lights so that you can see them then. 

Speaking of Lockerly in Lights, we are hosting a few specialty events on nights we aren’t open to the public. On Nov. 20, we will host a Reindog Parade. Dress up your dog as a reindeer and parade them through the holiday lights! (Dogs are not allowed on regular walk-through nights).  For this event, we are partnering with ARF (Animal Rescue Foundation). Everyone who registers for the event will be encouraged to bring items to donate to ARF like pet food or cleaning supplies.

Also, on Dec. 15, we will host a Jingle Jog. This will be a fun way to walk, run, jog or skip through the lights. That evening, we invite attendees to bring donations for the Chard Wray food pantry.

These are small steps that we can take in our community to ensure that what is good for Lockerly, is good for Milledgeville.

I like to think Mr. Grassmann would be pleased.

I hope to see you soon!

—Jennifer N. Pollard is executive director of Lockerly Arboretum, 1534 Irwinton Road, Milledgeville.