My Roots

Ringgold

When I tell people that I grew up in a small town in Georgia, they often ask how small. I always tell them that I really don't know. "Like, 100 people, or 10,000 people?" I honestly have no idea. I have finally done some painstaking Wiki research and am proud to report that Ringgold, GA has a population of 2,440. That is pretty small. The above picture is of our main street in Ringgold. I was a bit confused by that number considering that my graduating class had about 300 students. Was 12% of the population of Ringgold in my graduating class? Well, no. Most of the students lived in the county.

Catoosa County, GA. Population 53,282. This is a better reflection of where I grew up. I never really lived in the city limits of Ringgold.

I also lived about 10 minutes from Chattanooga, TN. Population 155,554. I lived closer to Chattanooga than to Ringgold. So maybe I'm not as much of a small town kid as I like to think. I take a little bit of pride in that identity, and let my southern drawl slip once in a while just as a reminder.

And now a few facts:
Dolly Parton and her husband as well as George Jones and Tammy Wynette were married in Ringgold, GA. People came to Ringgold to get married because the whole process (blood test, license, ceremony) could be done in about an hour.


Chattanooga has it's own celebrity stories. Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins) is from Chattanooga. He is rumored to return often and hang out at fine drinking establishments.
Chattanooga is also the hometown of Emmy Award Winner Leslie Jordan.