Sandra Deal shares memories of ‘Mansion’ history book

ALBANY — Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal was at Merry Acres Inn and Event Center in Albany on Thursday, sharing some of the exciting details of her latest work “Memories of the Mansion: The Story of Georgia’s Governor’s Mansion” with guests at the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries annual conference.

Deal’s lecture on the book she co-wrote with Catherine Lewis and Jennifer Dickey was part of the three-day conference which brought more than 100 museum and gallery professionals from across the state to the Good Life City, thanks to the Thronateeska Heritage Center, which was this year’s conference host.

“Memories of the Mansion” was published by the University of Georgia Press last October. It is a historical account of the current Georgia Governor’s Mansion, which was built in 1968 on West Paces Ferry in Atlanta. The mansion has served as home to seven former governors and their families — Lester Maddox, Jimmy Carter, George Busbee, Joe Frank Harris, Zell Miller, Roy Barnes and Sonny Perdue — and is currently the residence of Gov. Nathan Deal and Sandra Deal.

The book helps open the home and its surrounding grounds to the public though prose and pictures. It also shares some personal anecdotes and memories from members of the state’s first families and the staff members who have cared for them.

“I really want (the book) to be the history of this mansion and the history of Georgia,” said Deal, recalling what she said to Davis during their first meeting to discuss the book. “It needs to be accurate. They need to know a little about the history of this state. I don’t want this to be political.

“This is about this house, this beautiful home we’ve been privileged to live in. I’d like us to be able to tell about what they did with their families, and the incidents that occurred while they lived there on national scale as well as locally. And that’s exactly what we did.”

Deal also took time to share the genesis of the project, which began when she and her husband first moved into the mansion after his first inauguration in 2011.

“I had no idea what beautiful grounds we have at the mansion,” Deal said. “Well, when Nathan was sworn in the first time, we had a snow storm and so we couldn’t go out walking on the grounds. And so it was about three weeks before we were able to get out and walk around on the grounds.”

On the 18 acres of fenced property, Deal found several things she had not expected.

“We got out and walked and found this beautiful fountain and the terraced gardens,” Deal continued. “And then around the tennis court there were these big stone columns and they had these big iron hooks at the top, and I thought, ‘What in the world were those used for? Was there another house here?’ And there was a millstone that said, ‘I was born here, Mrs. Smith.’ And I thought, ‘I don’t know anything about all this.’”

It was at that point that Deal, who had been a school teacher, began her quest to uncover the stories behind the mansion and its grounds.

“I did not plan to write a book,” said Deal. “I am not an author. I am a sixth-grade school teacher and I love teaching sixth grade and I love reading to the little ones to encourage them to want to learn to read. As a sixth-grade school teacher, I knew the children would ask when they came for tours, so I just wanted to know the answers so I could answer their questions.”

Deal shared that the first thing she did to learn more about the mansion was to organize a gathering of former governors and their families at the mansion, where she hoped to learn from them.

“I thought, I’ll invite the governors and their wives to dinner and I’ll pick their brains and I’ll find out all these things I need to know so I can share with the children,” Deal said. “Well, most of them came and we had a great time, but they wanted to talk about politics and the people they knew back when. And I did not learn one thing.”

Fortunately, Deal was able to develop a relationship with former Georgia First Lady Betty Foy Sanders, who had helped with the planning of the mansion when her husband Carl Sanders was still in office.

Although Sanders left office before he and his wife were able to move in, leaving Lester Maddox and his wife as the first Georgia first family to occupy the residence, Betty Foy Sanders proved to be a valuable resource.

“I talked to Mrs. Sanders because somebody had told me that Mrs. Sanders had planned the mansion but never lived there,” said Deal. “So she was there and I said to her, ‘Mrs. Sanders I really wanted to learn about the mansion.’ And she said, ‘Well honey, just call me sometime and come over.’”

As it turns out Sanders didn’t remember as much as Deal would have hoped, but Sanders was able to point her toward information that would help her find the answers she was looking for.

Through reading material Sanders had given her and talking to people Sanders has suggested, Deal quickly amassed a wealth of information on the subject of the Governor’s Mansion.

At the urging of others, including mansion staff and docents (tour guides), Deal finally made the decision to write a book. However, her assistant pointed out that if she spent all the time necessary to write it, she might run into time constraints.

“I quickly realized I was better at grading papers than I was at writing them,” said Deal. “So, we decided we needed some help. I think my assistant decided that if I was going to try to write the book that was going to be all I would be doing as first lady and that I was not going to be able to do anything else because I was so slow and so picky.”

Eventually, Deal was led to Davis, a professor and the assistant vice president of Museums, Archives and Rare Books at Kennesaw State University. Davis, in turn, brought in her colleague Dickey, an associate professor and the public coordinator of public history at Kennesaw State.

Together, the three were able to continue Deal’s research, conduct interviews with first families and staffers, and compile the information into the book.

“We just made a great team working together,” said Deal. “And they did the work. I mean I have to give them credit, they did the work and it was wonderful. They did such a great job. I just proofread their papers. It was just a great accomplishment and we were just so proud when we got the book back.”

“Memories of Mansion: The Story of Georgia’s Governor’s Mansion,” is currently available at multiple retailers or through the University of Georgia Press.

Deal said that all the profits from the book will go back into a fund to be used to help preserve the mansion, and that even copies that will be donated to libraries throughout the state of Georgia were paid for by a group called Friends of the Mansion, which will also manage the mansion preservation funds.

“It is a beautiful house.” said Deal. “It’s a museum and we live in the museum and so we have to take good care of it. It is a wonderful thing.”

Jennifer Dickey, left, and Catherine Lewis, who helped author “Memories of the Mansion: The Story of Georgia’s Governor’s Mansion” with Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal, share memories of the writing process at lecture Thursday at Merry Acres Inn and Event Center where the three authors spoke to attendees of the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries annual conference, which was held in Albany this year. (Staff Photo: Brad McEwen)

Albany Mayor Dorothy Hubbard, Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal, and Albany Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Rashelle Beasley pose for a picture Thursday at Merry Acres Inn and Event Center. (Staff Photo: Brad McEwen)