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We old-timers lost a friend this weekend when Mike "Mo Mo" Martin passed away. Mike was a long time fixture at Kennesaw Mtn. and just about anyone who has participated in a L/H at the Park for the last twenty five years will miss him. My fondest memories were when Mo Mo would take us to all the hidden parts of the Park after the end of the day. We would sit in the dark as he told stories that weren't in the books but had been passed down and shared by visitors through the years. We'll all miss him.
Marlin
(Moderator: I hope this doesn't violate any forum rules by posting the obituary from the AJC -- if it does, delete it.)
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By J.E. GESHWILER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/14/04
Mike Martin refought the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain for a quarter of a century.
It wasn't that he wished the outcome had been different. He simply was fascinated with its history, learned all he could about it and took part in countless re-enactments.
Mike Martin was a member of the Living History Volunteers from Kennesaw Battlefield.
"Mike was a fixture as an infantryman or as part of an artillery battery at battlefield demonstrations most summer weekends for 25 years," said National Park Service historian Willie Johnson of Kennesaw. "He was wonderful in talking to the public, especially one-on-one."
"What Daddy enjoyed most was educating the public, and not just about how the two sides fought and the weapons they used, but about the daily life of soldiers, the food they ate, the hardships they endured," said his son, Brad Martin of Lovejoy.
The funeral for Mr. Martin, 46, is 11 a.m. today at Pope Dickson & Son, Morrow Chapel. He died Sunday of cancer at his Forest Park residence.
Mr. Martin left instructions he was to be buried in a Union uniform and the coffin was to be draped with a Confederate flag, Mr. Johnson said.
"Daddy wasn't partial; he respected the men of both sides," his son said. "Whenever he went to a re-enactment, he'd take uniforms of both armies so he could fill in for whichever side was short of men.
"Mom was an accomplished seamstress and sewed him a variety of uniforms from authentic patterns, so everything he wore was true to the Civil War period, even his underwear," his son said. "He had an exact replica of a Springfield rifle and a specially crafted sword he used to signal his artillery battery to fire.
"He really knew the Kennesaw battlefield. He'd take me for walks there, and we'd find soldiers' belt buckles, bullets, even Union cannonballs and grapeshot. He could tell you stories about skirmishes that very few people were aware of," his son said.
"Mike was especially proud to have been accorded membership in the Order of St. Barbara, the patron saint of artillerymen," Mr. Johnson said. "It's an honorary society of U.S. Army and Marine artillerymen, but they decided to include National Park Service re-enactors as well, and Mike was inducted during the 1980s as a muzzle loading associate."
Mr. Martin trained as a carpenter and worked as a maintenance man for several schools, Clayton College & State University and Georgia Perimeter College at both its Dunwoody and Clarkston campuses. "Mike did carpentry, painting, plumbing, locksmithing, a little of everything," said Fred Cuspard of Lithonia. "He was the kind of guy that if you went to war you'd want on your side."
Survivors include his wife, Mary Martin; a daughter, Tracy Martin of Orlando; his mother, Betty Martin of Morrow; and a sister, Marcel Schlau of Jacksonville.
Marlin
(Moderator: I hope this doesn't violate any forum rules by posting the obituary from the AJC -- if it does, delete it.)
__________________________________________________ _______________
By J.E. GESHWILER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/14/04
Mike Martin refought the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain for a quarter of a century.
It wasn't that he wished the outcome had been different. He simply was fascinated with its history, learned all he could about it and took part in countless re-enactments.
Mike Martin was a member of the Living History Volunteers from Kennesaw Battlefield.
"Mike was a fixture as an infantryman or as part of an artillery battery at battlefield demonstrations most summer weekends for 25 years," said National Park Service historian Willie Johnson of Kennesaw. "He was wonderful in talking to the public, especially one-on-one."
"What Daddy enjoyed most was educating the public, and not just about how the two sides fought and the weapons they used, but about the daily life of soldiers, the food they ate, the hardships they endured," said his son, Brad Martin of Lovejoy.
The funeral for Mr. Martin, 46, is 11 a.m. today at Pope Dickson & Son, Morrow Chapel. He died Sunday of cancer at his Forest Park residence.
Mr. Martin left instructions he was to be buried in a Union uniform and the coffin was to be draped with a Confederate flag, Mr. Johnson said.
"Daddy wasn't partial; he respected the men of both sides," his son said. "Whenever he went to a re-enactment, he'd take uniforms of both armies so he could fill in for whichever side was short of men.
"Mom was an accomplished seamstress and sewed him a variety of uniforms from authentic patterns, so everything he wore was true to the Civil War period, even his underwear," his son said. "He had an exact replica of a Springfield rifle and a specially crafted sword he used to signal his artillery battery to fire.
"He really knew the Kennesaw battlefield. He'd take me for walks there, and we'd find soldiers' belt buckles, bullets, even Union cannonballs and grapeshot. He could tell you stories about skirmishes that very few people were aware of," his son said.
"Mike was especially proud to have been accorded membership in the Order of St. Barbara, the patron saint of artillerymen," Mr. Johnson said. "It's an honorary society of U.S. Army and Marine artillerymen, but they decided to include National Park Service re-enactors as well, and Mike was inducted during the 1980s as a muzzle loading associate."
Mr. Martin trained as a carpenter and worked as a maintenance man for several schools, Clayton College & State University and Georgia Perimeter College at both its Dunwoody and Clarkston campuses. "Mike did carpentry, painting, plumbing, locksmithing, a little of everything," said Fred Cuspard of Lithonia. "He was the kind of guy that if you went to war you'd want on your side."
Survivors include his wife, Mary Martin; a daughter, Tracy Martin of Orlando; his mother, Betty Martin of Morrow; and a sister, Marcel Schlau of Jacksonville.
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