AC repair inBrunswick, GA

For those in Brunswick who know Austin Irby, one word comes to mind — Elvis.

And that’s true. The South Carolina native has crafted a career out of paying hommage to the King of Rock and Roll. For more than a decade, he’s traveled to share Presley’s songs (and moves) with adoring crowds. He made his first appearance in the port city back in 2013, with the inaugural Georgia Elvis Festival.

The event offered a number of free concerts and related events in the downtown area, but the primary focus was a competition at the Ritz. There, some of the leading Elvis Tribute Artists (ETAs) from around the world gathered to perform in the hopes of winning the top prize.

Irby was a newbie way back then.

“I was a part of the first one when I was just 16 years old. I was in the non-professional division because I wasn’t old enough,” he recalled with a chuckle. “But I’ve come back every year since then, except in 2020.”

He won the contest in 2018, which allowed him to go on to compete in other prestigious festivals. It’s also likely given a boon to his work as a professional ETA. Irby has been traveling for weeks around the Southeast, sharing Elvis with enduring fans. There’s also a stop in Brunswick this year — but it will be a bit different than in years prior.

While there will still be four days of events, there will be a twist. Several performers — many who are ETAs like Irby — will share tributes to other legendary singers. After the curtain wraps on the first day of tribute competition on Friday, there will be a program titled “Country Roads, Take Me Home.”

At 2 p.m., the artists will share the music of Conway Twitty, Roy Orbison and others. Irby will be appearing as country singer Josh Turner.

“I’ve been playing around with doing my own stuff for a while. I’m a country music fan and I like Keith Urban and Josh Turner. About two or three years ago, I did, ‘Your Man,’ at a festival and a bunch of people liked it, so I made it part of my act ... I have a Josh Turner set now,” he said. “I’m super pumped to be able to do that in Brunswick and with a live band, which makes a huge difference. But I love that you’re going to be able to see a different side of many of these entertainers.”

Friday evening will continue with a headline show titled Las Vegas Nights featuring the music of Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart ... and of course, Elvis. The competition resumes Saturday followed by another tribute show at 2 p.m. titled “Follow the Yellow Brick Road,” featuring Dwight Icenhower. He will appear as Elton John. At 4:30 p.m., the ETAs will perform in the pocket parks around downtown followed by another headline Elvis show featuring Irby and several other fan favorites.

This format, he feels, allows the festival to continue its tradition of honoring the King, while giving the artists space to showcase another side of their talents.

“Of course, we’re all Elvis fans first. Elvis is the greatest performer who ever lived ... but we do have different sides. When (the ETAs) are together, of course, we talk about Elvis. You literally learn something new every day but we also enjoy other music. Some like music from the 50s, 60s or 70s. I like country music, that’s my cup of tea. Others like rock-and-roll or pure rock. There’s a whole other side,” he said. “It’s nice to show audiences that you can still entertain them outside of the Elvis costume. It draws more people to you as friends and fans.”

Irby certainly has plenty of both in Brunswick and he’s looking forward to returning.

“It’s so great to be coming back as a headliner. I go all over and talk to people and those who’ve never made it down to that festival always say, ‘I’ve never been to Brunswick, but I hear it’s great.’ And it is. Brunswick is just the best of the best. They’ve always welcomed us with open arms and have taken us in to celebrate Elvis’ life and legacy,” he said.

The first class of young archaeologists will process their finds at Fort Frederica next week in a brand new lab a few feet from where they dug up and screened artifacts from the 1740s.

The “arch lab” at the national monument was dedicated Thursday and was built with a donation from the children of Karl W. Meschke, a vice-president of Mead Paper Co. who was instrumental in the operation of the former Brunswick Pulp & Paper Co.

The wood frame classroom was dedicated with a ribbon-cutting Thursday evening.

Karl Meschke’s children, sons Paul and Ross and daughter Janice Whorton, attended the ceremony and were gratified by what they saw.

“The first word that came to my mind was awesome,’’ Paul Meschke said.

The nature of the gift, a teaching lab, was appropriate, he said.

“I thought it really fit my father. He was an extremely articulate and intelligent man,’’ he said.

The building materials with natural wood exterior were also fitting considering their grandfather was a forester.

Born in 1929 in Louisiana, their father came to Woodbine in 1932 when his father was a forester for American Creosote Co.

“The natural appearance would have appealed to him,’’ Ross Meschke said.

Whorton said the family had done other things to honor their parents and were looking for a way to honor their father. She spoke with Lucy Thomas, her college classmate and president of the Friends of Frederica, about an appropriate gift.

“We started with a bench’’ and considered a few other possibilities, she said. Then she asked Thomas, “What is the ultimate thing you would want for Frederic?. She laughed and said, ‘Our dream is an archaeology lab,’’’ Whorton said.

She asked her brothers and the answers were, without hesitation, “Yes, yes and yes.”

Driving down the lighted path at twilight Thursday, Whorton said, she teared up.

Their father would have been pleased with the result, they said, but the humble man would have said not to bother putting his name on it.

Karl Maschke grew up in the Golden Isles and was valedictorian and voted best athlete in the Glynn Academy class of 1947. He excelled at football, basketball, tennis, and track and field. He then earned a degree in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech where he was in the Navy ROTC. He served as an engineering officer in the Navy during the Korean War before spending 35 years in the pulp and paper industry where he worked in the reconstruction of several plants.

He started work as a chemist in Brunswick before rising to vice president of Mead Paper Co. He designed a chlorate plant and new paper machines at Brunswick Pulp & Paper Co., a joint venture of Mead and Scott Paper Co. It is now owned by Koch Industries and is operating as Brunswick Cellulose.

Ellen Provenzano also tears up when talking about it sometimes.

Since 1995, she has overseen and instructed the elementary school students, first as a parapro then as a certified teacher, as they repeatedly dug up and processed the artifacts discovered in what is called Shiner’s Trench. Students from nearby Oglethorpe Elementary School were the first to participate in the program, but the Glynn County School System dropped the program around 2012. Since then Provenzano has taught mostly archaeology camps and summer interns.

But the new lab, which seats 30 at tables, has already had an effect.

“I’ve got seven groups scheduled in the next two months,’’ and it will likely grow from there, she said.

The artifacts are available only because of the discovery of Shiner’s Trench. Joel Shiner was one of many archaeologists who worked among the ruins of Frederica, a fortified town that British Gen. James Oglethorpe established as a buffer against Spanish forces from St. Augustine, Fla.

Shiner buried some of the artifacts, such as pieces of clay pipes, pottery and bottles, that weren’t of the quality necessary for preservation or display in a ditch. Once “Shiner’s Trench” was discovered, Fort Frederica had a source for Provenzano’s work.

“These were considered extra,’’ she said of the small pieces Shiner found.

Although they were being discarded in a way, “Putting artifacts back in the ground kept them safe,’’ she said.

And they’ve held up well even after repeated re-discoveries.

“I’ve seen the same things about 15 times,’’ she said.

The children will be digging and brushing artifacts in the same place beneath the covered ground that has served as an excavation site for years.

“We’ll have children going right in there,’’ she said of the new classroom, “to do their lab work.”

Until the lab was opened, the only processing space was in the conference room at the park headquarters in what was formerly the superintendent’s residence, said Steve Theus, assistant superintendent of Cumblerland Island and Fort Frederica.

The first students will use the lab Tuesday. In the coming years, some of Karl Meschke’s great- grandchildren will likely study there. Paul and Jamice Meschke have two granddaughters, 8 and 4, in Brunswick.

It’s a busy weekend for Brunswick with the city’s downtown hosting five events and festivals.

Jennifer Krouse, Brunswick Downtown Development Authority programs and events manager, updated the DDA Board on the weekend’s happenings at a regular meeting on Thursday.

This year’s Brunswick Georgia Tribute Festival kicked off Thursday with an opening night party at The Blue Door and hits full swing today at the Ritz Theater.

Founded as the Elvis Tribute Festival in 2013, Elvis tribute artists from all over the country descend on Brunswick to pay homage to the King of Rock and Roll. It’s since expanded to include an array of performers, “Las Vegas legends, classic and modern country,” according to the event’s website.

Today at 11 a.m., Elvis tribute artists will perform in competition for prizes, followed by a matinee show at 2 p.m., open-air performances in downtown at 4:30 p.m. and a “Las Vegas Nights” concert at 7 p.m. in the Ritz. More shows are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit tributefestival.rocks.

Peaches to Beaches also starts today and continues tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine. Billed as “Georgia’s longest yard sale,” Peaches to Beaches brings together vendors along 230 miles of U.S. 341 from Barnesville to Brunswick. For details, visit explorehwy341.org.

Saturday marks the first Forward Brunswick Farmers Market featuring a curated selection of local growers and producers, and the inaugural Xyno Keep it Funky Fest celebrating the furniture store’s first year in business.

The farmer’s market opens at 9 a.m. and runs to 1 p.m. in Mary Ross Waterfront Park. An attendant will be on-hand to assist customers paying via EBT or SNAP benefits. For more information, visit forwardbrunswick.org/farmersmarket.

From noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Queen Square, next door to Xyno, will be alive with music, food trucks and crafts vendors and a wide range of activities for kids, including face painting and an inflatable bounce house.

More info on the free event can be found at xynofurniture.com.

On Sunday, Temple Beth Tefilloh invites the public to get a taste of Jewish culture and tradition at the Jewish Food and Culture Festival in Jekyll Square. Anyone looking to learn about traditional Jewish food, games, music and customs is welcome to join the party from noon to 3 p.m.

Krouse also updated the board on the inaugural Brunswick Backyard BBQ in February.

It was a great event from the cooks’ end, and the Georgia Barbecue Association was very happy with it, she said. Some issues cropped up on the public’s end, though — a Boston butt shortage and some dropout volunteers, to name a few.

Overall, however, Krouse said it went well and will come back next year with some tweaks.

In other business, the DDA board:

• Awarded a $25,000 grant to Brunswick Landing Marina to assist with a $134,000 project to remodel the restrooms and showers on the marina’s north end.

• Awarded a $7,500 grant to Silver Bluff Brewing Co. for a $15,000 project to stabilize the second floor of a building at 1317 Newcastle St. in advance of a renovation project.

• Discussed upcoming St. Patrick’s Day events.

Georgia Chamber of Commerce officials were encouraged and disappointed earlier this week with bills that passed on Crossover Day, the cutoff date for proposed bills to stay alive.

Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, said there was good news and bad news on Crossover Day.

“The team at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce worked around the clock on a variety of bills,” he said.

He expressed disappointment that the House didn’t have a vote on sports betting. Clark said his office will continue to advocate for legislation to allow sports betting because of the impact the revenue collected by the state would have on education.

Even more disappointing, Clark said, were the legal reform bills that never gout out of the Senate, including reform designed to help the trucking industry deal with supply chain issues.

He was also disappointed the Apex legislation to allow a court to grant a protective order prohibiting the deposition of high-ranking corporate officers or government officials who lack unique, personal knowledge of any matters relevant to a lawsuit.

Another disappointment was seat belt legislation that would allow the failure to wear a safety belt or safety restraints for children as admissible evidence in civil actions. It could also be the basis for cancellation of insurance coverage.

“All those bills were gutted or didn’t pass or didn’t come up for a vote,” he said. “We’re going to continue to work on those issues but we’re going to have to have some deeper conversations about that longterm.”

The good news is legislation has crossed over to support workforce development, including improvements in literacy for young men and women in the state. Two workforce housing efforts designed to improve housing accessibility in Georgia communities also crossed over.

Other bills to cross over include a safe hospital bill designated to better protect hospital employees and an electric vehicle and mobility bill.

Clark encouraged people to contact their state representatives and senator to express their opinions on issues important to them.

“There’s still a long way to go with about three weeks left in the session,” Clark said. “We’re going to be there every day working on all these issues.”

Primary Content

Credit: The Current

Mary Landers, The Current

Home to four Superfund sites, the Brunswick area has a long history of environmental contamination from local industry. The region’s dolphins have been studied and found to carry a heavy load of toxic chemicals, including Aroclor 1268, a mixture of PCBs used only at the Brunswick LCP site. But there has never been a study of Brunswick residents to determine if the environmental contaminants have entered people’s bodies.

Until now.

Emory University researchers in partnership with Rebuilding Together Glynn County and other local organizations are recruiting participants to learn if residents have been exposed to potentially harmful chemicals at a level that is higher than in other places.

“This study is particularly about exposure,” explained Noah Scovronick, assistant professor in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and a co-leader of the study. “So “We’re not attempting in this pilot study to discover how people are being exposed, necessarily, or whether the exposure is associated with any health problems. It’s really just to try to identify that people have blood levels of certain contaminants that are higher than what’s found in the general population of the United States.”

Some of the contaminants researchers will be looking for are known to be associated with some of the sites in and around Brunswick, like mercury, PCBs, and certain pesticides. They’re also screening for some other commonly investigated contaminants like lead and other heavy metals.

Participants will complete a short questionnaire to collect demographic information, as well as information on possible routes of exposure, such as diet and employment at any of the industrial sites. They’ll also provide a blood sample for analysis. In return they’ll receive a $50 Walmart gift card, their individual test results of pollutants measured in their blood sample, an invitation to meetings that will report the overall findings plus a packet of materials on how to reduce their exposure to chemicals.

Participants must be at least 18, live in the Brunswick area now and have lived there at least 10 years total.

“We are pleased that we can respond to community concerns about environmental pollution in Brunswick” said Glynn County Commissioner and The Community First Planning Commission Board Member Allen Booker in a press release announcing the study. “Local organizations designed this study in partnership with Emory scientists, and we are hopeful that the study will provide residents with some of the information they are looking for.”

The researchers have gotten robust response to their initial efforts to recruit participants, Scovronick said, with many area residents expressing that they knew they grew up in the shadow of industrial facilities, and have long wondered if it’s the reason that they have family members who’ve gotten sick. Many of the neighborhoods closest to the Superfund sites are predominantly Black and the researchers want participation from people who are living or have historically lived there.

Scovronick and research partner Dana Barr, also of Emory, are aiming for 50-100 participants. The first round of testing is planned for mid-March. If they get enough people, including a good balance of people from different backgrounds, ages and neighborhoods, the first round of testing may be sufficient. If there are no unforeseen delays, results should be available by the end of the summer, Scovronick said.

This study is funded by the Emory University Exposome Research Center through a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). For more information or to apply visit bit.ly/912health or email brunswickexposure@emory.edu or call 404-727-0250.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Current.

Mary Landers covers Coastal Georgia’s environment for The Current, a topic she covered for nearly 24 years at the Savannah Morning News, where she began and ended her time there writing about health, including most recently focusing on the pandemic. She’s adept at telling the stories of everyone from jellyfish fishers to pipeline protesters. Mary is a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi, where she taught environmental science at Lake Malawi National Park. As a reporter in Georgia, she’s won numerous investigative reporting awards as well as the Larry Peterson Investigative Journalism Award.