30 years and one week ago, I married MJ Nanney. We met in 1985 when she arrived to Fort Stewart from 2-1/2 years of schooling to be an Arab linguist and intelligence analyst. 2016 marked out 30th anniversary and, to celebrate, we made the journey back to where we met and started our relationship.
As you can well expect, a lot of change takes place over the course of 30 years. It was with this expectation that we flew into Savannah and drove to the Clarion Inn on Abercorn Street where I had reserved a suite for the week.
The day after we arrived in Savannah, we went to Hinesville. We had to go south on I-95 to the intersection of 84 (Oglethorpe Highway) to get there. Driving up 144 through Fort Stewart would not be possible as it is now a closed post and the only way to gain entrance is through the main gate in Hinesville.
The 24th Infantry Division was deactivated in 1996 and the post was reflagged as the 3rd Infantry Division. It became a closed post after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
We drove around Hinesville a bit, ate lunch there. Very few of the businesses that existed in the town in 1983 are there now. The Western Sizzlin' is gone as is the Golden Corral. The Shoney's down on 84 has been replaced by another hotel. The Burger King on General Screven is Shane's Rib Shack.
This used to be the TG&Y.
And this used to be the Winn Dixie.
Where the Walmart used to be is now a PetSense. Walmart has moved out to 84 west heading toward Jesup.
And this, this right here....
McDonald's is still where it was. Next door to it is Bojangles and I'm thinking it used to be up on General Screven, but I couldn't find anyone who could confirm that.
Still, there are some old stalwarts remaining in Hinesville. Here are couple you may recognize.
When I got out of the Army, I stayed in Hinesville for a year. MJ still had to finish out her enlistment. I lived in the Sandy Hill Trailer Park for several months. It was owned by Carl Dykes - then mayor of Hinesville. This is what it looked like then.
And this is what it looks like now.
The number of pawn shops in the area has dropped drastically. One guy in Super Pawn on General Screven told me there used to be 16-18 pawn shops in the area and now there are only about 5 or 6. This pawn shop may or may not be the one where I bought MJ's engagement ring. If it isn't, it's close to where it was.
There are some new roads in Hinesville, but I didn't drive down them. I just stayed on the roads I knew. There seemed to be a lot more traffic than when we were there thirty years ago. There are definitely more shopping plazas/strip malls around the area. It appears that Hinesville has grown quite a bit.
Part 2 will cover going on post.
You can read about it here: Trip to the Past: Fort Stewart
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