Rich's:: A Southern Institution - Hardcover

Clemmons, Jeff

4.22

59 ratings by Goodreads

9781626190665: Rich's:: A Southern Institution

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1626190666 ISBN 13: 9781626190665

Publisher: The History Press, 2013

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In 1867, less than three years after the Civil War left the city in ruins, Hungarian Jewish immigrant Morris Rich opened a small dry goods store on what is now Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. Over time, his brothers Emanuel and Daniel joined the business; within a century, it became a retailing dynasty. Join historian Jeff Clemmons as he traces Rich's 137-year history. For the first time, learn the true stories behind Penelope Penn, Fashionata, The Great Tree, the Pink Pig, Rich's famous coconut cake and much more, including how events at the downtown Atlanta store helped John F. Kennedy become America's thirty-fifth president. With an eye for accuracy and exacting detail, Clemmons recounts the complete history of this treasured southern institution in this handsomely packaged hardcover edition of the beloved original paperback.

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About the Author:

Jeff Clemmons has lived in the Atlanta metropolitan area for over a quarter of a century, but his Atlanta roots run much deeper. His great-great-grandfather Archibald Clemmons fought in the Atlanta Campaign, including the Battle of Atlanta, during the American Civil War.

Clemmons has a degree in business administration from Reinhardt University and a degree in creative writing from Georgia State University. His current full-time employer is an international law firm based in Atlanta, where he works in the public relations department.

Outside of his day-to-day job, he gives walking tours that he created of the Midtown and SoNo districts of Atlanta for the Atlanta Preservation Center. He also serves on the board of the Atlanta Preservation Center's auxiliary group, CIRCA, which offers its members private tours of some of metropolitan Atlanta's most interesting historical structures.

All of Clemmons's research for Rich's: A Southern Institution is housed at the Atlanta History Center.

Review:

Jeff Clemmons offers an interesting, thoughtful and thorough history of how Morris Rich and his brothers and their family offered Atlanta legendary customer service generosity and goods, as well as life time of dedicated community action and investment. -MARY HOOD AUTHOR of How Far She Went

For the first time, Clemmons gives an accurate, matter-of-fact account of the civil rights movement in Atlanata as it pertains to crashing the gates of Rich's. -LONNIE KING, CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST

My career as a cooking instructor really accelerated at Rich's Clemmons...covers the remarkable historical trajectory of an institution that was truly "the communal heart and cultural temple" of a city and the south. -NATHALIE DUPREE, AUTHOR OF Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking

A colorful journey through the history of this remarkable institution that was truly unique in American retailing.-THOMAS ASHER, PRESIDENT, THE RICH FOUNDATION

This book is an excellent new source of information about Atlanta's favorite store...well written. Well worth a read. -ANTHONY MONTAG, GREAT-GRANDSON OF RICH'S FOUNDER MORRIS RICH

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