You know someone had a significant impact on the community when they are included in Walk with the Spirits, Historic Augusta’s annual cemetery tour. Each year, re-enactors portray people buried in the city’s historic cemeteries – leaders, visionaries, trailblazers, and ordinary people with extraordinary stories to tell, like John Martin who survived a tomahawk wound to the head in the Cherokee War of 1755. During the 2011 Walk with the Spirits, brothers Whatley and George Bush, decked out in suits and hats of the period, portrayed our founders George Blanchard and Francis Calhoun. Francis joked that he was visiting his old friend in the Summerville Cemetery as his grave is in Westover Memorial. George and Francis recounted their development of Forrest Hills and the grand old Forrest Ricker Hotel to appeal to wealthy Northerners – but also of King Woods and Vineland to meet the demands local families who sought more affordable housing options. George Blanchard passed away in 1958. His friend and colleague followed in 1965. We hope they’re proud of how we are carrying on their legacy, and we know they are out there somewhere brokering a great deal.