IN LINDALE THE TEXTILE MILL went away but the people with the spirit of community that Pepperell created in what was originally a “company town” stayed on. You can take the looms and cotton dust out of Lindale but you can’t take the pride of place that was woven there.

It is heartening to see a grassroots effort start to take hold there to keep/restore what they have and the memories associated, starting with a cleanup of Silver Creek from the grist mill to the dam behind the cotton mill. The first-time turnout appears to have been good — the entire Pepperell High baseball team showed up to assist — with more such community efforts planned.

Much of the gigantic old mill has already been torn down to salvage the value in its old bricks and lumber with destruction of the past continually going on. In that sense, the effort has a certain sadness to it.

In another sense it continues the spirit of the past and appears to recognize what a lovely, lovely spot the mill was put into. Next it may lead to efforts to preserve/restore the considerable number of olden days structures still standing, including many houses first constructed by the mill for the families of its workers.

It is also worth noting that there is as yet no major museum dedicated to the considerable history of the textile industry in Northwest Georgia. Hard to think of a better place for one to magically appear than in Lindale.