City Of Williamsburg Va

Peachtree City a national finalist in patriotism contest

But it’s Peachtree City that’s in a national competition to be named the most patriotic city in the country.

Five other towns are in the running to be the reddest, the whitest and the bluest, as determined by Rand McNally/USA Today’s Best of the Road contest. When the bunting settles, say civic boosters and residents alike, Peachtree City will be No. 1.

“I think this is one of the most patriotic communities in the nation,” said Peachtree City resident John Huefner. “I wish there were more communities as patriotic in this country.”

The other contenders are Clarksville, Tenn.; Emporia, Kan.; Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Rapid City, S.D.; and Williamsburg, Va.

Clarksville? Since the 2000 college football season, the Georgia Bulldogs are 7-4 against the Tennessee Vols; surely that counts for something. Emporia? Hmph. Fort Leonard Wood? Never heard of them. Rapid City? Take away Mount Rushmore and they have nothing.

But what about Williamsburg, founded in 1699? If this contest has an 800-pound gorilla, it lives in Virginia.

No problem, said Betsy Tyler, Peachtree City’s public information officer.

“They don’t have 10,000 golf carts getting decorated” for the annual Fourth of July parade, she said. “We do.”

Veterans’ presence

Peachtree City got in the contest earlier this year, when Rand McNally and USA Today asked readers to nominate the most patriotic towns in the nation. More than 100 online ballots were cast for Peachtree City, more than any other municipality in Georgia.

With the holiday imminent, people in Peachtree City have applied patriotic colors to homes and stores the way teenage boys put on cologne — liberally.

At the city airport, an F-16 fighter jet greets visitors to the Falcon Field Veterans Memorial. A smaller monument outside the town library celebrates the nation’s military. Beside it is a former Postal Service letter box where residents can drop off worn American flags to be disposed of properly.

Former resident Lesley Rice has a simple explanation for the town’s patriotic fervor. A lot of veterans live in Peachtree City.

“The people here who served our country have a different sense of the value” of freedom, said Rice, a graduate student in Washington, D.C., visiting her mother in Peachtree City. “Their service is what makes them so patriotic.

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