Friday, January 2, 2009

Hoschton, GA wins World Record for Scarecrows


Hoschton, Georgia was taken over by thousands of scarecrows this past fall; although the residents of the town only number 1,455 people, there was 5,441 scarecrows scattered throughout the 30548 zip code. The people's efforts at making this a memorable fall season were not in vain either, they were awarded an official world record for the "Most Scarecrows in One Location" by the World Records Academy. I happened to drive through this area and it was quite a sight to see literally hundreds of scarecrows lining the streets, grouped in front of buildings and scattered throughout people's yards. It would have been neat to actually walk around and look at the different ones in detail, but I didn't have the time. 

Anyways, at this time, the city is not being awarded a Guiness World Record title due to a technicality. The office in London is saying that a zip code is not a location. However, the World Records Academy has a different point of view; they are saying that the same zip code counts as a location. A committee will decide within the month of January whether or not to appeal Guinness' decision. 

The World Records Academy is going to honor the record with a full-page in it's 2009 book, which goes on sale this month. You can also see the city recognized on the company's Website: www.WorldRecordAcademy.org

If you need something fun to do this weekend, you can go to the city's bonfire held this Saturday night, January 3rd. It's being hosted by the fall festival committee beginning at 5 p.m. at the Kenerly farm, located at 1688 Georgia HWY 53. Everyone is invited to bring their scarecrows to burn in this fire controlled by the West Jackson Fire Department and to enjoy the hot chocolate and marshmallows which will be provided. 

The Hoschton Fall Festival committee is asking its residents whehter or not they should attempt another world record next year or if they have any other suggestions regarding the scarecrows. 


I found this article to be neat because Hoschton is fairly close to the community I live in. It's neat to see other communities coming together in a unique way to do something fun...and winning a world record and gaining recognition at the same time isn't so bad either! 

I want to hear any stories you have about your town...have y'all attempted a world record? Are you known for something special in your area? Please feel free to share your stories!

 

1 comment:

THE LADY OF REALTY: Bethlehem, Georgia Real Estate said...

We decided to go check out the bonfire and although it was huge, it did not contain any scarecrows. After driving down a very dark winding road through farm land, we finally saw the bonfire and parked our cars. Then we proceeded to walk through a field to the fire...only one person was there! We asked him where all the scarecrows were; he said, unfortunately the city would not give them a permit due to the toxins that would be released from the decorations on the scarecrows. Instead they were having a huge brush fire...entire trees were piled high in it. Scarecrows or not, it was the biggest fire I'd ever seen.