The Athens community was saddened to learn that Conoly Hester passed away on October 24, 2021. In an impressive journalism career that spanned more than three decades, Hester wrote for both the daily Athens Banner-Herald/ Athens Daily News and the weekly Athens Observer, in addition to working as an author and editor for local magazine the Georgia Journal. She also provided invaluable assistance to her husband, the late Al Hester, when in his later years he wrote several local-history books. Both of them were extensively involved in the restoration of Gospel Pilgrim cemetery and a host of other efforts to improve the Athens community. Read more about her at the Athens Banner-Herald.
A collection of Hester’s research files was recently organized at the Heritage Room. Most of the files include clippings of articles by Hester paired with a wide variety of documents that she collected. Those who lived in Athens during the 1970s and ’80s will immediately recognize the topics that Hester covered, including a proposed Park Plaza hotel downtown that never came to be, the controversial demolition of the Hull-Snelling House, the development of the Oconee Rivers Greenway, legal troubles faced by the Comer-based pacifist Christian organization Jubilee Partners, and the restoration of the Franklin House building.
Conoly Hester also reported on national and global issues, ranging from the economic troubles of the ’70s to the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua. Indeed, Hester traveled to Nicaragua, resulting in a series of Banner-Herald articles called “Dateline: Managua.” An entry in this series is shown here.
Another major topic covered by Hester was the restoration of the Morton Theatre, a prolonged effort stretching from the ’70s to the early ’90s. An article from the Athens Observer is provided below.
In 1990-1991, Hester was one of several Athens journalists covering Sick Building Syndrome. Employees who worked at the University of Georgia’s Biological Sciences Building and LeConte Hall were coming down with illnesses apparently caused by bad air quality. Extensive investigations were necessary to determine the proper course of action. An example of Hester’s work, again from the Observer, is seen below.
The Classic Center has been part of the Athens landscape for more than a quarter century now. Many newer residents may not be aware of the debates and controversies that took place during the construction of the ever-expanding complex. It dominated the headlines of the local press in the years, 1987-1993, as preservationists struggled to save the historic Fire Hall Number 1, which was ultimately made part of the complex, and local officials tangled with each other over the project’s design and costs. Hester wrote more than 50 articles about the issue for the Athens Observer, including the rare editorial seen below.
Check out the finding aid for the Conoly Hester papers to get a fuller view of the wide variety of materials she collected, now made available to researchers interested in the history of Athens, especially its local journalists.
Finally, Hester’s collection includes some materials pertaining to other aspects of her life, including her and Al’s efforts to document the history of Athens’ African American community and Conoly’s interest in environmental issues. As a member of the Five Points Neighborhood Association, Al and Conoly participated in efforts to save a pedestrian walkway, Parr’s Alley, which connects Milledge Terrace and Lumpkin Street and is one of the oldest surviving features of that neighborhood. Real estate developments nearly blocked the alley at several points in recent history. In 2008, neighborhood activists led an effort to restore the alley to its original length; an adjacent condominium complex had blocked the alley’s outlet to Milledge Terrace. Examples of the many documents related to this issue found in Conoly’s collection are provided below. First is an article Conoly wrote for the Friends of Five Points newsletter. Following that is an image showing the alley before the Milledge Terrace outlet was restored. Compare that shot to its current state, as seen in the final image, snipped from Google Maps.
–Justin J. Kau
Athens: In Time 