Bridwell keeps Colquitt County's history alive

Oct. 27—Hometown Heroes

This profile is the first in what's planned to be a monthly series that we call "Hometown Heroes." It will focus on people who are making the community better by going above and beyond at their job, through volunteering or by sharing their passions.

If you know of someone we should consider profiling, please email kevin.hall@gaflnews.com with some information about what makes that person a Hometown Hero. Or you can call The Moultrie Observer newsroom at (229) 985-4545.

MOULTRIE — Jack Bridwell — a United States Navy veteran of Vietnam, a former educator, a sometime historical re-enactor and Downtown Moultrie's special North Pole guest every Thanksgiving night — has poured his life into preserving Colquitt County's history and heritage as the Museum of Colquitt County History's curator and one of its founders.

"I'm just Jack," he said smiling, at the start of the interview.

Bridwell grew up in Doerun, the son of "Big Jack," who was a World War II veteran, and had retired from the United States Air Force. The family moved back to Doerun and his father started a business in welding and also served as a city councilman. His grandfather was a blacksmith, so making things ran in the family, Bridwell said.

"It was sort of a natural progression how I moved into that and started building things and tearing things up. Usually I fixed things. I didn't tear a lot of stuff up," he said laughing.

Bridwell and his father would fix farm equipment and also invent or create things that the farmers could use to help them, when they came to them looking for implements to use out in the field. If they needed something to make their tractors run better or if they needed something to crop tobacco or pick cotton or harvest peanuts, they would build something that would help.

"I felt like we were a very essential part of the community. We kept the farmers going," he said.

He said that he learned a lot from his dad and in his dad's shop and, "You can fix anything if you take your time and do it right."

Early on, from around 10 years old, Bridwell had a paper route in Doerun for the Moultrie Observer, which he kept until right before he graduated from Doerun High School. He said everyone knew him because he delivered their newspaper.

"It's amazing how it's carried over in to my life," he said of the lessons that he learned by having a paper route and collecting money from his customers for their subscriptions. "You learn that you can't trust everybody as much as you want to."

After graduating high school, he received his associate's degree in engineering from Middle Georgia College. He said that he had always loved history all the way back to grade school but he went into engineering because he knew that he could make a living at it. Later on in life, he earned his master's degree in history, in 2001, and his doctorate of education in history with emphasis in U.S. history and the Civil War, in 2002.

In 1965, he married his high school sweetheart, Faye, whom he had met in first grade and knew all of his life, he said, and they hadn't been married a year before he left for Vietnam.

Bridwell had already joined the United States Navy and was going to go fleet, he said, but a recruiter called him with an offer and he went into service in 1966, starting out as a Petty Officer Third Class, with a specialty in welding. He served two years. He was assigned to the 62nd Naval Construction Battalion, also known as the Seabees, which he had never heard of until the recruiter explained what they were.

"They keep the military going," he said.

Bridwell was stationed at Hue-Phi Bai, near Vietnam's demilitarized zone. His battalion established a camp there and then established a camp for both the Army Rangers and the Marines.

"I survived. I came home," he said of serving in Vietnam.

Bridwell said that when he came home, he went to work for Tucker Aluminum, a company that his wife worked for and that lasted about a year. He then got a better offer in Albany, he said, and he and Faye moved there. He worked for Mars Chocolate North America in Albany for several years.

"It was a great company to work for. I enjoyed it immensely," he said.

Bridwell started his career in education when he was recommended for a teaching position at Moultrie Area Vocational-Technical Institute by his former teacher, Bob Howell. He stayed there as a drafting and design instructor and an upper math instructor for 30 years, retiring in 2003 from Moultrie Technical College.

While at the technical school, he was named one of the top vocational teachers in the state of Georgia for the 1987-88 school year, at the annual Georgia Vocational Association's meeting in Atlanta. He also received, in 1986, the certificate of merit of the Georgia Council on Vocational Education in recognition of outstanding programs in drafting that he established at Moultrie Tech. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Vocational Association, the Colquitt County Board of Educators and the South Georgia/North Florida AutoCad Users Group.

During his time as an instructor, his students were recognized at both local and state levels in the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) program and in the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (VICA), in which they were elected to both state and national offices. Moultrie Tech's Drafting and Design program was also named as one of the top three programs in the state by the Georgia Council on Vocational Education during his time as an instructor.

In 1998, Bridwell and his students were involved with drawing the design and plans for the Moultrie Technical College campus on the East Bypass, which is now Southern Regional Technical College.

"It was a great 30 years. I enjoyed it. I loved the people. I loved working with students. ... That was 30 good years," he said.

The Museum of Colquitt County History opened its doors on April 25, 1999.

"I retired from there [the technical college] and quite literally came here," said Bridwell, the museum's executive director.

Bridwell was one of the people who was instrumental in getting the Colquitt County Commission to allow the old, unoccupied Health Department building to be used to house the museum in 1996. He said that Barbara Gregory was the key and she recruited him and several others to get the museum going. Through his and the other dedicated citizens' work, money was raised for renovations and artifacts were collected from Moultrie and Colquitt County. Then he was approached to actually get the museum's doors open.

"We started in the front and worked our way back. The original building got filled up and I went to the County and asked for two more rooms," he said of he and Faye's involvement in getting the museum open and running.

In 2011 the museum broke ground on an expansion that included the two new rooms, which are the largest rooms in the museum, Bridwell said.

"And we filled them up. It was interesting to go through a building and maintaining the museum running at the same time," he said.

He said that people were still bringing articles in and since work had gotten out on the internet, people would come from all over the Southeast to visit the museum. He said they still have people come in from all over the place to tour the museum.

"I've been here just about every time it's open. Faye and I have. It's been a blast. We love it," Bridwell said.

When asked how he started his career as Moultrie's own Santa, he said, "White beard."

He said that he didn't remember who the individual was from the City or County who had asked him but they saw him in his classroom at Moultrie Tech and asked if he would be Santa for them because the guy who was supposed to be doing it was really sick.

"And I said, 'Me?'," Bridwell said.

He agreed to do it and he said that was how it started here in Moultrie, but he has also, over the years, been Santa up in Kennesaw, Dothan, Ala., Savannah, and down into Florida.

"But every time I sit down and have a child on my lap, it's all worth it. Their little smiling faces. They'll look at me and ask for things that are unbelievable sometimes," he said.

He said that out of all the years that he has been Santa, he couldn't think of one child that he wouldn't adopt.

"It don't matter who, what color, what ethnicity. I'd adopt every one of them if I could. The little bright, smiling faces make it worth it," he said.

He said what keeps him going is that they smile at him and sometimes they'll come up and touch his hand while he's sitting there just to make sure that he's real.

"And when they do that, it's just over. Whatever you want, I'll move the world to get it for you," he said.

Bridwell actually does keep a Santa list and he does "check it twice," he said. It's a list of things asked of him by children that he recognized were in need.

"There's no telling how much money I've spent to do that to make sure this kid gets something when I know the family can't do it. It's part of the job. They're worth it. They're worth every minute of it," he said.

He said that DFACS would contact him within a few days after every sitting and ask him if there was anything that they needed to take care of.

"I've got a list and I'm very proud of them for what they do," Bridwell said.

The sleigh that was initially used on the square for Santa to sit in was one that he and his brother built, he said.

"We brought it up there, finished it and never brought it home," he said.

When asked why he continues to be the executive director of the museum and what keeps him going, he said, "Education. People need to know where they come from. They need to know what people went through to get to where they are today. ... If you go through here, there's so many things that are of the community, of the city and of the county, and surrounding counties even, that will bring back memories. That's sort of, to me, what it's all about."