City manager: Confederate store up to code, city had 'no discretion' over new biz license

Jun. 16—KENNESAW — The top staffer for the city of Kennesaw on Wednesday defended the issuance of a new business license to Wildman's Civil War Surplus, the controversial Confederate-themed store that sits in the heart of the city's downtown.

At a news conference, City Manager Jeff Drobney said Wildman's had jumped through all the proper hoops to receive a new business license, that the building is up to code, and that the city treats all businesses the same.

"They went through the process that any other business applying for a business license in the city of Kennesaw would go through, 100%," Drobney said. "We held them to the same standard, and to say anything else or to infer anything else is a bold-faced lie, or a misrepresentation of the truth."

Wildman's attracted infamy for decades as a storefront chock-full of Confederate antiques and books, items that caricature African Americans, pro-segregation posters and a decades-old Ku Klux Klan robe.

The store's founder and longtime owner, Dent Myers, died in January at the age of 90 — Wildman's is now owned by a trust in Myers' name and is being run by his friend, Marjorie Lyon. The shop had been shuttered since his death, but reopened Tuesday.

The press conference was called in the wake of Kennesaw Councilman James "Doc" Eaton resigning Tuesday in protest of the city issuing a new business license for the store. (Cobb Elections Director Janine Eveler told the MDJ a special election to fill Eaton's seat will occur in conjunction with the November 8 general election.)

"It is with a heavy heart that I am stepping down," Eaton wrote in his resignation letter. "The City accepting a new business license that will allow the new owner to perpetuate the blight and bigotry on Main Street is unacceptable."

'Not discretionary'

In his letter, Eaton had referenced "a laundry list of code violations that have been overlooked for years."

Drobney vehemently denied that claim. While the store failed a code inspection on June 3, Wildman's then corrected those problems, and inspectors returned on June 7 and were satisfied with the building, he said.

The structure was built in 1907, according to Cobb County property records.

Also false, Drobney said, are claims that Cobb County Fire Marshal's Office didn't inspect the building. Fire inspectors visited, twice, on May 27 and June 7, before determining the store met fire safety requirements.

At the end of the day, Drobney said, Wildman's met all the legal requirements to reopen.

"A code violation is something that is clearly defined, that a citation would be issued, that would be upheld in court," Drobney said. "We simply don't pick and choose. There seems to be some misunderstanding from people about how a business license is issued. It's not discretionary on our part, as a local government, to issue a business license to an applicant that meets all state, county, and city codes and ordinances."

Other local governments in Cobb have rewritten ordinances in order to target businesses they deemed unsavory, such as sex shops.

"That's not something I can speak to," Drobney said, when asked if legislation might be crafted to target Wildman's. "I can't speak for the City Council."

Mayor Derek Easterling and council members Pat Ferris, Antonio Jones and Trey Sinclair did not return requests for comment. Councilwoman Tracey Viars, who attended the press conference, declined to comment.

Community pressures officials

Drobney said he'd been inundated with emails in recent days from people on both sides of the issue, and acknowledged that Wildman's reopening had provoked a social media firestorm.

The city manager declined to opine on whether the store's presence downtown was good for the city. Nor did he speak about its controversial inventory, saying, "we don't advocate for a business, nor do we denigrate a business."

Cris Eaton-Welsh, the councilman's daughter, is herself a former council member, and says she intends to sell her chiropractic practice, which is just a few doors down from Wildman's, over the store's reopening.

"We've been told just to wait, and I have to take my responsibility in that because I've waited for 20 years, which means I turned a blind eye for 20 years," Eaton-Welsh told the MDJ. "I will tell you, if this had been a strip club, it would have been handled 20 years ago, and I think that what they have in there is even more repugnant than a strip club and has no business on Main Street," she added.

Through an open records request, the MDJ acquired emails sent to elected officials in recent months, in which people lobbied for or against the approval of a new business license for Wildman's.

One emailer said attempts to shut down the store are "disgusting" and ignorant of history.

"The city of Kennesaw would be nothing without Wildman's. There is numerous evidence the Confederacy was not racist at all nor is the Confederate Battle Flag of Tennessee which has been used by people that those who wish to honor their ancestors do not endorse, respect, or agree with," the emailer wrote.

Another man, in an email to the mayor, described how the store stoked in him an interest in Civil War history, leading him to conduct an Eagle Scout project restoring the Gilgal Church battle site in Kennesaw.

"Without Dent Myers store I do not think I would be the man I am today," he wrote. "Please do not give into the angry woke mob like so many others do."

Another person wrote to Easterling that Wildman's is "a Kennesaw staple."

"Whether someone agrees with him or not the man was a legend and one of the friendliest people in town no matter what you looked like," they wrote.

But at least four people sent nearly identical emails to officials requesting that the mayor and council do whatever it could to remove what they call an "eyesore" from downtown.

"Wildman (Myers) is now deceased and no longer able to spew hate, display his racist flags, posters and other items that are in public view in an otherwise wonderful business district and college town," the email said. "This has for years been offensive to many of us that reside in and visit this community.

"The population of Kennesaw has evolved. We will no longer tolerate this type of mockery of our town. We are immensely embarrassed by this ridiculous, hate-filled, eyesore in the middle of our Business Community. We respectfully ask that it be removed."

In response to a constituent requesting that the city shut Wildman's down, Councilwoman Viars wrote in an email, "while I appreciate your thoughts and I believe we'd all love to see that entire structure become a functioning space that lots of people could enjoy, the property in question is privately owned, not city owned, and likely there is a will and a probate process that will take place before anyone knows the fate or future of that Building."

Lyon, Wildman's new proprietor, said in an interview that there had been a "technical issue" with renewing the license, but said the city didn't trouble her, and the problem had been worked out. She wasn't deterred by the pressure being put on officials to shut Wildman's down.

"You know what's newsworthy? The fact that half of the businesses in town were sending little private letters to the mayor to keep us shut down, because we don't fit into their little yuppie group," Lyon said. "Is that newsworthy? How about the reverse discrimination and how about the reverse racism that happens?"

Lyon said that "the mayor has been good," but said she hadn't personally spoken with him.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him (Easterling) ... In any town, any mayor has the final say, to say yea or nay on something. ... In the city code, it'll tell you straight up. Bottom line is, if they don't want a business here, you don't get a business license."

Business as usual

On Tuesday, Wildman's was open for business under the proprietorship of Lyon. Inside, the business looked mostly unchanged since the death of its founder, although slightly more organized.

Shelves are still stocked with Confederate memorabilia, antique weapons, Civil War books, items caricaturing Black people and all the other items that have brought the store infamy.

In a similar vein to the late Myers calling the store a "museum," Lyon framed the sale of Confederate knick-knacks and artifacts as a tribute to prior generations.

"People nowadays in this society don't have a freaking clue about honor, respect, dignity," Lyon said. "They make quick judgments ... This country was built on the backs and the labor of every person before you, every one — white, Black, yellow, green, polka-dot, it didn't matter. Where we are now, you can thank an ancestor for."

Lyon defended the display of Nazi memorabilia by asking, "what makes a Holocaust museum more worthy than this?"

Lyon complained of threats she's received, saying people drive by the store screaming vulgarities, or celebrating Myers' death.

"I'm talking about the low-life kind of folks ... It's dishonorable, unscrupulous people. The ones that will hide behind a keyboard and say vulgar, nasty things because they're mad. It's like an adult child having a damn tantrum, because they didn't get their way. I had no idea this town was filled with so many of those," she said.

For many in the community, however, the store is a shrine to racism and hate. It has been the target of protests and graffiti in recent years.

"I cannot in good conscious continue to be associated with a system that will allow this to continue in our community," Eaton wrote in his letter. "... As a community, I know we are better than this. As leaders, we are better than this. I want to set the example for my grandchildren that silence on issues that matter is agreement and not a sign of true leadership."