He died on October 2nd in Macon, GA at the age of 86. His work speaks for itself, no other comment is necessary.

-- Riley Kinney (csx333@yahoo.com), October 03, 2001

Answers

I don't believe that the Hugh Moss Comer from Macon who passed away last year and who was the railroad photographer and historian, is the same Hugh Comer referred to in the note regarding Avondale Mills in Sylacauga. Hugh Comer from Macon was an officer in the Bibb Mfg. Company, headquarted in Macon. His relatives operated Avondale Mills and were active in Alabama politics through the years. Hugh Comer from Macon was actually born in Savannah in 1915, was in college during the mid to late 1930's at Emory Univ in Atlanta and Harvard Business School in Mass., and went to work for "the Bibb" upon graduation. He started taking steam train pictures before he finished high school in 1933 and his mother gave him a Speed Graphics camera around the time he entered college, which he used for many years. His father was John Comer, and his grandfather was Hugh Moss Comer, who was receiver for the Central of Ga. Railroad in Savannah at the turn of the 20th century. His grandfather and a Major Hanson actually formed the Bibb Companies, so the original Hugh Moss Comer from Savannah was very influential in textile mfg. and railroading in the south. Hugh Comer from Macon once told me there were several men named Hugh M. Comer throughout the large extended family.

-- Jim Goolsby (pioneeraugusta@mindspring.com), November 04, 2002.

When I was a child (in the 1930s) my family lived in the village of Sycamore, AL. My parents, as did most adult people of Sycamore worked for Avondale Mills of Alabama. In fact, this company owned the entire village including the Company Store and other retail establishment.

Avondale Mills was founded by Hugh Comer's Father, Braxton Bragg Comer, and Hugh and his brothers were officers in the Company. Hugh visited Sycamore frequently in those days and seemed to regard the children of the villagers as his own adopted children.

On one of his visits, Hugh confronted my oldest sister, Evelyn, who was wearing a new dress of which she was quite proud (as is the way of young children). Hugh commented on the dress and Evelyn put her hands in the dress's pockets and said something to the effect that "My new dress has bockets." Hugh got a big kick out of her referring to the pockets as bockets and, from that point on, anytime he saw my sister, he called her "Bockets." Evelyn is now 77 years of age and to this day she is still known by the nickname "Bockets."

-- David Allen Neighbors (Lusefuse@aol.com), November 02, 2002.