Local History

When I was a boy in Atlanta in the early twenties, my school, Marist College (grades six through twelve), taught history as Charles Eliot Norton and Byron Dobell (“Letter from the Editor,” February/March issue) would have it taught. We learned—interminably—about Atlanta, with major emphasis on the Civil War battles, ours being a military school. We used to collect Minié balls from the battlefield, which included my backyard; then proceeded slowly to Fulton and De Kalb counties, then Georgia; next the Confederacy; finally, shortly before graduation, the rest of the United States, North America, Europe, and remaining continents. Hope Mr. Dobell is reassured.