Vahan ®, Alwand Vahan ®, Moiré Pattern ® are Regd. Trademarks | Designs © Alwand Vahan Jewelry Ltd.
177 W. Jefferson Street, Madison, GA 30650
706-752-0105 | www.whidbyjewelers.com
cemented in my mind,” says Harling. “I’m ooded with
all these memories from here.”
He was in the last class to be educated at the historic
Graded School Building, which now houses the Madison
Morgan Cultural Center. Harling reunited with former
classmates, Julie Jenkins, Fran Hilsman, and Whitey
Hunt, during his visit to tour the grounds and revisit his
old classroom. Harling scanned the classroom doubting
that the desks he sat in were ever really that small.
“I remember my rst day of Kindergarten in this classroom,”
says Harling.
He also visited one of the historic Atkinson houses on
Main Street where he took piano lessons.e burning of
Snow Hill, a historic plantation house on East Avenue in
Madison, was another dening moment in his life.
“I remember my father waking me up and telling me it
was on re,” says Harling. “To this day, I still do not use
candles in my home for that very reason.”
While “Steel Magnolias” is set in Northwest Louisiana
and based upon his own real-life personal loss of his
sister to diabetes, Harling’s formative years spent in
Madison inuenced aspects of the timeless tale.
“Madison denitely crept in,” says Harling. “You can see
Madison’s grandeur of southernism in the story.”
e last name of main characters M’lynn and Shelby
Eatenton was inspired by Madison’s neighboring community
Eatonton, where Harling’s mother often visited.
Madison left its mark on Harling and “Steel Magnolias,”
but the heart of the story is a tribute to his sister Susan
Harling, who died due to complications from Type 1 Diabetes
in 1985 at the age of 33, just two years after giving
birth to her rst son.
“All I wanted to do was have somebody remember her,”
says Harling after the lm adaptation of his screenplay
was released. Harling was blindsided by the success of
the play and subsequent lm, which starred big names
such as Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Dolly Parton and
Daryl Hannah. Harling never dreamed his story would
resonate with audiences around the world and across
generations.
“I thought that play would sit in a drawer and they
would nd it after I die, never read by anyone,” says Harling.
But the play was read, then produced, and became
a sensational hit in the world of theater. By 1988, “Steel
Magnolias” was adapted for the big screen, immortalizing
his sister’s story and the story of his upbringing
forever.
“I am still amazed at how beloved it is after all these
years,” says Harling, staring at the owers blooming
outside of the Cultural Center in Madison.
“‘Steel Magnolias’ is really a little bit of everything from my
life, and Madison is denitely a part of that. I am happy Madison
has kept its beautiful heritage.”
/www.whidbyjewelers.com