By Laura Armstrong
Remember growing up, you'd be looking for something in the World Book and you'd accidentally find the most interesting tidbits?
You'd get all sidetracked, reading about a topic completely unrelated to your assignment, and your mom would wonder why it was taking you so long to finish your homework?
I credit these accidental side-trips with enriching my own education, and often think our computer-dependent kids are missing out on something pretty special.
But computer research has generated many of these moments as well, the most pleasurable of which has been my recent discovery of a weblog called Chicken Fat, which has derailed me on a number of occasions with its abundance of fascinating Marietta trivia. Even on a deadline, I haven't been able to resist this rich blog, offered up by a local man whose insights are often thoughtful, mostly irreverent and much more liberal than yours truly.
I love reading it, so I decided to contact him.
The man behind Chicken Fat, Edwin "Rock" Hunter, 66, is a Marietta native who calls himself The Invisible Man, despite his bold writing. A lover of history and genealogy, he's a Navy veteran (1963-65) and a 33-year employee of the U.S. Postal Service, now retired.
He started blogging in 2005 after his sons Rocky and Adam helped him get started, and writes about whatever pops into his mind, from the art of Picasso and Finster, to his new stove top, to being overlooked by the East Cobb Neighbor delivery guy.
What began as a duty to keep friends informed about the old neighborhood has turned into an impressive body of work chronicling people, places and events from four centuries.
His and wife Anna's ancestors provide a treasure trove of memorable stories, originating with the genealogical research he's been doing for years. No old cemetery or gravestone escapes Eddie's observations, and his blog is chock full of fascinating lore, including murders, moonshine and the streets of Marietta.
His great grandfather, William A. Trammell Hunter, was wounded on Kennesaw Mountain during the War of Northern Aggression. His dad, Ed Hunter, was chief of both the Marietta and Cobb Police in the 1950s. And of course, Eddie grew up running around post-WWII Marietta when it was a unique slice of Americana - on the fast track, yet still steeped in the history that defined it. Put another way, before all us Yankees showed up.
Eddie estimates his readership at 60-150 people daily and says he knows about half of them. In a post I stumbled on recently, he muses that the other readers are like ghosts, "out there in cyberspace darkness watching in their own silent way."
That'd be me, I guess. An appreciative watcher.
Check out Chicken Fat online at www.ethunter1.blogspot.com
And congratulations to Eddie and Anna, who happen to be celebrating 40 years of marriage today. Hope you took some great photos at the Biltmore House; we're looking forward to your next post.
Lbarmstrong3378@comcast.net
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