A Tribute to Abbie Howard By David Moore

Our dear Abbie Howard, it’s just not fair

To have your body lying there

Beneath the roots of this old tree

Without a stone to identify thee

The visitors here just walk right by

Unknowing of the place you lie

And so it remains a mystery

Your place in Atlanta’s history

You came this way from Louisiana

To seek your fortune in Atlanta

A city which had been set ablaze

And mired in post civil war malaise

But business woman that you were

Saw fertile ground for the entrepreneur

And brought us out of our depression

By establishing mankind’s oldest profession

They called your establishment a house of sin

But you couldn’t dissuade the legions of men

Who sought refuge from their daily chores,

In the company of your charming girls.

You provided work and a place to dwell

For  women who had chose to sell

Their wit, charm, and sophistication

In lieu of the marriage certification

You scoffed at the moralizers and critics

Defending your lifestyle to all of your cynics

The temperance workers who chose to condemn

Didn’t know what it was like to put up with those men

Married life would not have been all that sunny

All the cooking and cleaning without all that money

Because what they say is so true in the end

Diamonds…. are a girl’s best friend

Discriminating provider of services to men

And Margaret’s inspiration in Gone with the Wind

Because Historian Garrett determined that Belle

Was really our Abbie (can I get a “do tell?)

Yep, that’s the truth (it came from Franklin’s mouth)

An authority on history down here in the South

 In 1905 your time had expired

 No longer quenching the thirsts of desire

You were buried at Oakland under the dirt

Lying down on your back, but not having to work

David Moore


Please follow this link to the Athens Banner-Herald for the remarkable story of how the marker came to be dedicated.