(LINDA HELMLY/PHOTO SUBMISSION) This is Grandma Lee (Parolee Crowe Arnold) (right) and little Linda Helmly (left) in 1963. They are smiling for a photo outside Helmly's childhood home.
(LINDA HELMLY/PHOTO SUBMISSION) This is 231 Cherry Street, Linda Helmly's childhood home.
(LINDA HELMLY/PHOTO SUBMISSION) This is a photo of the men of Maxeys in front of the train depot in 1908. There was a "Colored Only" door and a "Whites Only" door to the entrance of the depot, but outside the depot the men were integrated for this photo.
(LINDA HELMLY/PHOTO SUBMISSION) This is an old photo of Main Street in Maxeys, GA in 1908. It was a bustling downtown area with many storefronts.
(DESTINY HARTWELL/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO) Modern day Maxeys City Hall. City council meetings are held here every second Tuesday of every month.
Everything started with a “what if” for Linda Helmly in 2007: What would happen if she told the rich stories of Maxeys she had heard growing up?
At that time, the question took her to the Departm…
