Memories of the TV Series Movin' On | Eastern North Carolina Now

   There was a Facebook post on 'Growing Up In Decatur, Ga. page', which brought back an old memory. It prompted me to write this article for BCN but I did not post it on FB. I am a FB stalker and not an active poster. Some of my "friends" on Facebook actually know me which could create a problem.
   "Anyone remember the NBC T.V. Series Movin'On filming in Decatur in late 1975 at the old E.V. Camp Steel Mill in Druid Hills? We would really appreciate any Stories/Info from folks here......Thank You!"

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    There was a TV show in the mid nineteen Seventies called Movin' On. It stared Claude Akins and Frank Converse. They filmed all over the country. It was kind of a travelogue version of "Then Came Bronson" except in a big ole Kenworth-Truck instead of a Harley.

    In 2013 the 1974 Kenworth W-925 truck used in the series was restored. The series was popular in large part due to the CB craze that caused would be truckers to adopt the Road Warrior persona in their Ford and Chevy "K-Whoppers." And that is a big 10-4 Buddy.

    Naturally, I have a story about that. If I did not have stories about everything, how would I be able to continue to travel down memory lane? I do not make them up, but I do tend to embellishment them from time to time. This is a true story; I would not kid you on that.

    In 1974 Lake Lanier Islands began the operation of PineIsle Resort and Golf Course , run by Stouffer Hotels. It was a luxury hotel and the site of one of our national sales meetings. It had a fantastic Golf Course and in those days Golf was the de-facto leader in business perks. It also had the added benefit of being far away from the strip clubs in Atlanta (about sixty miles). When you get 350 Sales Engineers together, you have to pick a location that provides some kind of natural buffer for personal excesses. PineIsle filled that bill in spades. It was not exactly a prison but it did provide some insurance against the Canadian Sales group who were known for excessive boisterousness. They all wore Sgt. Preston of the Yukon hats. It was their trade mark and they did their best to enhance the reputation as hard drinking frontiersmen. Our nickname for them was the EH CLUB. At the time of our sales meeting, the TV show was filming in the area. They stayed at the hotel, parked that great big Kenworth in front of the Lobby and filmed around the North Georgia area for one of the episodes, which is lost to me now.

    Please excuse the poor quality, but this is the only decent picture I could find.

    They had a swimming pool that extended from outside to inside the dining area. One night as we were having dinner, Claude Akins and his lady co-star for that episode were in the outside pool. A clear silicone flap-door separated the outside and inside pool area. Claude and his costar swam under the flap and immediately realized that they were interrupting the dinner speeches. Everyone's attention was diverted from the speech to the newly arrived actors. I guess you could say that in those days Claude was a B list celebrity and was 49 at the time. I have no idea who his co-star was in that episode, but I estimate that she was about 25 years old. That prompted many of the guys (all men sales force in those days) to ask for autographs and pictures from both. He was gracious, signed numerous autographs and they posed for pictures with several of the sales engineers. They swam back outside and we continued to pretend we were interested in the after dinner speeches.

    Needless to say, I have no recollection of what the speeches were about at that dinner, but I remember that short brush with stardom like it was yesterday. They eventually demolished Stouffers hotel and replaced it with a more modern and up to date hotel in 2008. Below is a picture of the demolition. I don't know if those old mattress could tell a story or two, but at least I have one.

    "A few well-worn mattresses piled in a parking lot were among the last signs of PineIsle Resort at Lake Lanier Islands.
    On Monday, workers clad in hard hats tossed out doors, ceiling tiles and old plumbing fixtures from the 254-room hotel."
    At Lake Lanier Islands, PineIsle Resort's walls come tumbling down.

   It certainly did not hurt to have Merle Haggard write and sing the theme song for the TV Series.