Written by Gracie Williams
October 18, 1902: Miriam Hopkins Born
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
On October 18, 1902, Ellen Miriam Hopkins was born in Savannah, Georgia. After her parents, Ellen Cutter and Homer A. Hopkins, divorced, she moved with her mother and sister to Bainbridge, Georgia. Before high school, the family moved to New York, where Hopkins attended prestigious educational institutes such as Vermont’s Goddard Seminary, and New York’s Syracuse University. At these schools, she studied dancing and acting, which is where her love for the arts blossomed.
After school, she danced with Leboska Dance Troupe until she broke her ankle, which is when she shifted her focus to acting. At the age of 20, Hopkins made her Broadway debut as a chorus girl in “Irving Berlin’s Music Box Revue.” After 10 years on Broadway, she decided to switch to the silver screen. Paramount Studios showed immediate interest due to her established Broadway career, and she signed with the studio in 1930. From there, she went on to act in many popular films such as “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” [1931], “Dancers in the Dark” [1932] and even received an Oscar nomination for her performance in “Becky Sharp” [1935].
Hopkins continued to perform in many films and even made her way back to the Broadway stage. She acted well into her later years, until October 9, 1972, when Hopkins died in New York City from a heart attack. She is buried in Oak City Cemetery in the town of Bainbridge.
October 20, 1969: Wassaw National Wildlife Refuge Designated
Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
On October 20, 1969, the U.S. Department of Interior designated the Wassaw National Wildlife Refuge, located on Wassaw Island directly off the coast of Chatham County.
Wassaw National Wildlife Refuge remains in its natural condition, providing habitat for a wide variety of migratory birds such as egrets and herons. The land is made up of beaches, salt marshes and woodlands with live oak and splash pine. The refuge spreads over a large amount of land, reaching about 10,053 acres.
Wassaw NWR is only accessible by boat, but on the island, a multitude of activities are available. Recreational activities include birdwatching during the fall migrations, hiking on 20 miles of dirt roads and seven miles of beaches. The island is open from sunrise to sunset every day.
