Norma Haynes love for Newnan, public safety ran deep

Pictured above: Norma Haynes (front, center) is pictured with the folks she worked tirelessly for – Coweta County’s Public Safety units.

By W. WINSTON SKINNER, Special to The Coweta Shopper

“He was just standing on a bumpout, and they ran over him anyway.”

Norma Haynes shouted her line into the darkened theater at the Manget-Brannon Center for the Arts, and the audience roared with laughter. This was more than 20 years ago, and Norma and I were both in the cast of the Coweta Press Club’s annual gridiron show, “Coweta Capers.”

I knew Norma before “Capers,” but it was through the play that I got to know her better. I particularly learned to appreciate how much fun she could be and to experience firsthand her arch sense of humor.

The “bumpouts” – a facet of a downtown street improvement project that slightly extended the sidewalks at intersections – had led to complaints from some longtime Newnan motorists and at least one complaint about a punctured tire from a venerable matron who underestimated how much of a turn radius remained. The bumpouts were perfect fodder for Capers, which skewered local news and newsmakers to raise money for scholarships.

Frances Smith, who keeps watch over things downtown, told me about Norma’s March 10 death the next morning when I was walking my Pomeranian, Kookie. I had realized Norma was in declining health, but still was saddened to realize that her vital force – which focused on worthwhile projects over many years – was no longer among us.

Newnan was in Norma’s blood. She and Earlene Scott knew each other from girlhood. Norma’s father had a barbershop downtown, not far from where Earlene’s parents ran a market.

“We grew up in downtown and saw it grow like it has,” Earlene told me. Norma was a proud Newnan High School graduate. She was a friend in school to Sally Bowen, a legendary teacher of Latin as an adult. I remember attending a commemorative event at Newnan High and enjoying seeing the two of them reminisce about high school hijinks.

Norma got involved in community life as a young person. Her longevity enabled her to be part of celebrations that spanned stretches of history.

She was secretary of Newnan’s sesquicentennial celebration in 1978, on the committee leading the celebration for the Coweta County Courthouse’s centennial in 2004 and then on the restoration committee for the courthouse. Norma did not hide her displeasure that many of the restoration committee’s recommendations for uses of the courthouse were not implemented.

Before I really got to know Norma through our involvement in Coweta Capers, I knew who she was. Norma was Coweta’s first female bailiff, and I would see her – proudly wearing her official uniform – when I covered court cases in the early 1980s for the newspaper. We later had conversations about some interesting court cases.

We also had some other conversations, about:

•  Family. We talked enough about our kinfolks for me to figure out Annie Hunter Caldwell, the maternal grandmother of her husband, J.T. Haynes, was my great-grandfather’s first cousin. Most of us from old Coweta families are related one way or another.

• A funeral. In 2013, I was asked to lead a funeral for a man who was the former husband of a church friend. I didn’t know a lot about him, except that he grew up in Newnan and had attended Central Baptist Church. I connected with Norma who gave me some insightful information for my eulogy.

• The City of Excellence. Some years ago, the city participated in a program and got named a City of Excellence. A large banner proclaiming this was unfurled above Jackson Street. Norma hated it. She immediately began to remonstrate that Newnan was and had been for decades “the City of Homes.” City officials assured her there was no plan to change the longtime motto, but she wasn’t really happy until the banner went away. The City of Homes designation remains.

• The Georgia Bulldogs. I recall taking pictures at a dinner Norma organized years ago, as president of the Newnan Coweta Bulldog Club. She put together a meal for her beloved ‘dogs during a stopover for the Auburn game for quite a while.

•  LaGrange College. Norma went there and loved it. She was proud that novelist Terry Kay was among her classmates.

Norma’s experiences as a bailiff and in the community created a deep conviction that public safety workers were underpaid and undervalued.

“She was always wanting to do something special for the firemen and the policemen,” Earlene Scott said.

Norma organized the first Coweta Public Safety Appreciation Luncheon in 2000. It has become an annual event and led to the creation of the Newnan Coweta Public Safety Foundation.

Newnan Police Chief Brent Blankenship and Grantville Assistant Chief Cliff Schriefer both told me how much the annual luncheon – and Norma’s warm, welcoming presence – have meant to police officers, firefighters, EMTs and first responders over the years.

“She welcomed us with open arms,” Cliff said.

He remembered her as a “down to earth” person who was always accessible and ever willing to find ways to get equipment or training for any facet of the public safety sector. “She has always been a leader out there for public safety,” Chief Blankenship agreed.

For several years, Norma and Earlene Scott had lunch once a week at Sprayberry’s. Norma always wanted to sit at the first table so she could see everyone who came and went. She would go out of her way to speak to any public safety personnel.

One day a group came into the restaurant in uniform, and Norma began telling them how she was their mother and they were her children and how she would do anything for them. The faces on the group showed confusion, and it turns out they were traveling through Newnan from somewhere else.

“We laughed that day about it,” Earlene remembered, but the incident illustrated the instant connection Norma Haynes felt with those who keep the public safe every day.

“She is considered the mother of public safety,” Brent Blankenship observed.

“She needs to be remembered for what she was – a great, honorable lady who put a lot of time and effort into her community,” Cliff Schriefer said.

Earlene Scott reflected, “We’re really going to miss her.” Yes – yes, we are.