Map of Atlanta's Catholic Bookstore

View Catholic Gift Shops and Books in a full screen map

This map helps you find Atlanta Catholic bookstores near you.

It's a companion to our story in this week's edition. We talk to bookstore owners how they compete with online retailers.

Please read the story on our Web site.

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Helping at a Friend's Funeral

Yolanda Colin, September 1962 - August 2012

In "As Befits a Man," Langston Hughes wrote

I don’t mind dying—
But I’d hate to die all alone!

The pew sitters were shoulder to shoulder Saturday. Ushers brought out extra chairs and still people filled the back of the church, two and three people deep.

Certainly, Yolanda Colin didn’t die alone.

I was honored to be a pallbearer at her Aug. 25 funeral. I like being a pallbearer. It is the last time I can help a friend. It is one small way I can help deliver them to their final place of rest.

Part of my responsibilities with others was to prepare her casket for the airplane that would fly her remains to her native New Orleans. We tightened the straps around the cardboard box surrounding her ornate casket before the hearse pulled away to the airport.  

I met Yolanda in 2006. I was a newcomer to St. Anthony of Padua Church, Atlanta. It was the annual Men’s Day Celebration. At the conclusion of Mass, the priest called all the men up to the foot of the altar for a blessing.

At that point, I developed a profound fascination with the floor. Hand to God, I never stared so intently at my shoes and the floor then in those moments. I had just moved from New Hampshire and I can tell you how many times men at my former parishes had been called to the front of the faith community for a blessing. Zero.

And at this point I should say, I am white. Most folks in the parish are not. St. Anthony is home to a vibrant black Catholic community.

So, to review: Altar calls were not something I did. Ever. I was new. I was conscious that I would be the only white person amongst the two-dozen men.

Some how Yolanda caught my eye as we shared a pew. With her were her two young boys, who are now teenagers. She nodded that I should go up. I politely tried to brush her off. Thanks, but I’m studying very intently whether I need a new pair of shoes, I hope my actions showed. 

She persisted. Certainly, she must have me mistaken for someone else, I thought in my mind.  

But gently, with a whisper to go and a small wave with her hand, she got me out of my pew. I joined the group.

St. Anthony since that fall day has been my home.

I treasure that memory of how this woman kindly reached out and made me take a step I never would have taken on my own.

We visited last on Sunday, Aug. 19, as she rested in hospice. I thanked her. We smiled over  the memory. I showed her pictures of my newborn. She told me to plant a kiss on the youngster's big toe. So said, so done.

Archbishop Oscar Romero, of El Salvador, is said to have paraphrased St. John of the Cross, in his words:  

“In the evening of life you will be judged on love.” 

I hope that as Yolanda moved from this life that her kindness to me was written in big bold letters in the book of life. 

--Andrew Nelson

New Photos from Mitchell Estate

We have additional photos related to the Margaret Mitchell estate to share. 

The gift to the Archdiocese of Atlanta has gotten a lot of attention, as we knew it would. We are happy to share what we can.   

Here are two additional photos:

The photo above is a signed copy of "Gone With the Wind" from Margaret Mitchell to her father, Eugene. The book was published on June 30, 1936 so she gave her father, an Atlanta lawyer, this copy before the book went on sale.   

Here is the beautiful tea set that belonged to Mitchell. (I'll have more information about this next week. )

UPDATE - I ask an answer from the Archives Department at the Atlanta Archdiocese and in return I get great information.  Here's what archivist Angelique M. Richardson wrote:

The tea and coffee set was passed down to Margaret from her mother, May Belle.

The set is done in the Repousse pattern, the oldest sterling silver pattern in the United States. We were lucky enough to have found the complete tea and coffee service.

The tea and coffee set is mentioned in an inventory created by Margaret that we got a copy of from the University of Georgia. In the inventory at UGA she describes the tea set as follows:

Quadruple Plated Tea and Coffee Service—Tray has handles, length 18 1/8 x 14 ¼ inches. Center design shows an oblong with a spiderweb in lower righthand corner, initials “MBM” in script. Two Pots, identical, 6 ½ inches high, each engraved on lid “MBM,” top section of pots repousse design, bottom incised. Two-handled Sugar Bowl same design, no monogram, top missing ever since I can remember, circumference at widest part approximately 15 ½ inches. Waste Bowl same size and design as sugar bowl, minus handles, engraved “MBM.” Cream Pitcher same design, initialed “MBM,” 4 ¾ inches high, approximately 12 inches in circumference, handle. Bottom of each piece bears stamp in circle “Barbour Bros. Co. Silver Quadruple.” There is also stamped or scratched into the bottom of each piece “987,” on the pots the number “6” appears above the “987.” On bottom of one pot “Mitchell” is scratched in printed letters.

Atlanta Marks Anniversary Of Margaret Mitchell’s Death

The Georgia Bulletin comes out this week on the 63rd anniversary of Margaret Mitchell’s death, August 16. The writer’s short-lived life of nearly 49 years was ended five days after a car struck her at the intersection of 13th and Peachtree Street. I recently traced some Atlanta landmarks that are closely associated with Mitchell. The cool thing is you can still drive by them today. On the other hand, if you want to save somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.61 per gallon in gas, you can view them on the Google Map of Martha Mitchell’s Atlanta provided below. Also check out the August 16 issue of The Georgia Bulletin to discover the connection between the Mitchell family and the Archdiocese of Atlanta.  Michael Alexander, Staff Photographer



View Margaret Mitchell's Atlanta in a larger map

Msgr. Walter Donovan Remembered as a "Pioneer Priest."