Mary Frazier McLean Park

By
MARY ANN ANDERSOON
If you’re one of the few Hazlehurst residents who knows who Mary Frazier McLean was, then you’re in the minority.
During last week’s May meeting of the Hazlehurst City Council, Hazlehurst resident Glenn Harris says that while Mary Frazier McLean Community Park has existed for several years, few in the community know who she was. She was Harris’s aunt, his mother’s sister, and was an educator who taught for 40 years in Hazlehurst and Jeff Davis County. She was married to Professor D.J. McLean, who worked for the Macon and Brunswick Railroad and attended the prestigious Fisk University in Nashville before teaching and overseeing one of Hazlehurst’s three historic Rosenwald schools.
“The park is where her first home was located,” said Harris. “Later, after she passed, I built the park for the Black community.”
Harris later went through then-City Councilman Eugene Allen to have the city take over management of the park, then and now located on Young Street.
Now Harris wants not only a biographical monument to McLean placed at the park, but also other markers at Weatherly Park and Buddy Spann Park so that the legacies of the Weatherly and Spann families are known as well.
“Every park in the city should have a historical marker to say who these people were,” said Harris.
Mayor John Ramay told Harris it is an “outstanding plan” that is part of Hazlehurst history, adding, “I will support you anyway that I can.”
Ward 4 Councilman Landon Chavis then made a motion to give Harris the authority to place monuments in those parks, which passed unanimously. Harris also stated that the monument for McLean Park will be around $3,100, as will those for the other parks, and donations will be accepted. Anyone wishing to donate should contact City Hall at 375-6680 or Harris at 539-8551.
In other action during the Monday night workshop, with the invocation given by the Rev. Stafford King of Oakland Baptist Church, and the Thursday night regular monthly session, with the invocation given by the Rev. Dustin Hutto, the council ….
…. as an annual formality, and after hearing from Police Chief James Mock, updated the School Resource Officer interagency agreement among Hazlehurst Police Department, Jeff Davis County Sheriff’s Office and Jeff Davis County School System.
…. with Chavis taking the lead, discussed at length but made no formal agreement on installing a much-needed four-way stop at the intersection of Jefferson and Bell streets, with Ramay saying, “We need to study this and come up with something by next month.”
…. with Ramay leading the discussion, talked at length about the 2024-25 Department of Corrections contract to continue using the work detail of the Bacon County Probation Detention Center at an annual cost of $49,000-plus. Ramay said that the city would visit the issue as soon as possible before the contract ends on June 30.
…. agreed to combine the June workshop and regular monthly meeting into one session on June 17, as the mayor and council will attend the Georgia Municipal Association’s annual convention in Savannah from June 20-25.
…. in the workshop’s Citizens Comments, Mock updated the council that a “game plan” was in place for last Tuesday’s celebration and parade for American Idol contestant and Hazlehurst native Will Moseley. City Clerk Vernice Thompson also noted that Moseley would be honored with a proclamation paying tribute to his contributions on American Idol and that he would be given a key to the city. Ramay noted that plenty of filming was done around Hazlehurst for Moseley, including private filming at the Moseley home, Sensations Hair Salon and several schools the young singer attended, adding that Moseley is a “very well deserving young man who’s bringing a lot of interest to Hazlehurst.” Chavis also updated the council on the downtown “watch party” for Sunday’s broadcast of American Idol in which Moseley was competing. Also in this section, Thompson said that Hazlehurst-Jeff Davis County Tourism Director Jim Sewell is retiring at the end of the month and that a thank-you celebration will be held on his behalf.
…. during Thursday’s meeting, unanimously passed yet another Moseley milestone resolution, this one entitled “A Resolution to Designate Will Mosley as Ambassador for the City of Hazlehurst.”
…. in the Mayor and Council’s Comments in both the workshop and regular meeting, Ward 3 Councilman Chris Jones stated that in the April meeting, there was a misunderstanding between comments he made about the way city cemeteries are managed and the story by reporter Mary Ann Anderson that appeared in the Jeff Davis Ledger concerning the cemeteries. He clarified that his comments were pertaining only to city cemeteries and not those outside the city limits such as church cemeteries. Ramay also noted that the city needs to “make sure a city employee is [at a city cemetery] every time dirt is turned to ensure a grave is in the exact right place.”
…. after hearing from Jones, agreed to the nonprofit organization of Hazlehurst Community League’s request to have a Juneteenth celebration and parade on June 19, complete with food trucks, music and more, at McLean Park, beginning at 10 a.m. that day. Thompson noted that Juneteenth is a national and local holiday.
…. listened to City Attorney Ken W. Smith give the second reading of the “Ordinance and Adoption Agreement to Amended GMEBS Defined Retirement Benefit Plan for the City of Hazlehurst” before unanimously approving it. Ward 2 Councilman Steve Land stated he had a conflict of interest in the matter and abstained from voting. The measure states that any employee or elected official who retires from the city and then is rehired or elected is still eligible for benefits and retirement funds he or she was receiving at the time of retirement.
…. also listened to Smith have the second reading of the “Ordinance for Blighted and Nuisance Property for the City of Hazlehurst Providing for the Prevention and Abatement of Public Nuisances within the City of Hazlehurst” before also unanimously approving it as well. A copy of the full ordinance is available at Hazlehurst City Hall for anyone who wishes to read it in its entirety.
…. approved April’s water and sewer adjustments, departmental reports and check register.
…. in Mayor and Council Comments, discussed the need for more police officers and other city personnel to handle the anticipated crowds for the American Idol watch party this past Sunday on Hinson Street in downtown, with Chavis noting that Hinson Street would be blocked from Tallahassee Street to Interstate Credit Union. Also in this section, the mayor and council thanked everyone who worked on all of the Moseley and American Idol projects, with Ramay stating, “Everybody in the city worked very hard and diligently, and it really, really showed off for our city.”
…. also discussed the possibility of combining monthly workshops and regular meetings into one, with the workshop immediately preceding the regular session, with Chavis stating that the city is “not really using the workshop as a workshop,” and instead often passes a number of motions in the workshops that should be passed in regular sessions. The council agreed to take up the matter as soon as possible.