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7/27/2019 Dink Claude Final
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Jesup, Georgia 31545 Wednesday, September 25, 2013
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Claude McBride’s call to preach
First-time-
away-from-
home college
students are
awash in free-
dom to make
choices—somegood, some not
so good. When I
came to The
University of
Georgia, I
brought a histo-
ry of attending
church since dia-
per days, but getting out of my dorm
bed on Sunday mornings slipped
down on my list of priorities.
Then one Sunday, my roommate
grabbed my foot and shook it. “Getup,” he said, “we’re going to church.
There’s a great preacher, and we
need to hear him.” That’s the day the
Rev. Claude McBride came into my
life at Milledge Avenue Baptist
Church. Sitting in metal folding
chairs in a concrete-block room, I lis-
tened and knew: “Here’s a special
man.”
And he was.
Claude was for me—as he was for
thousands more—a friend who radi-
ated optimism. With an elastic grinthat stretched from ear to ear, he was
always glad to see you. His anima-
tion was genuine, and he could have
been a celebrity clown or a dress-up
Santa Claus. He had the mirth to
match his girth, and I loved to watch
his belly-bouncing laughs. I see and
hear him now—Claude placing his
hands on his tummy, leaning back,
curling his lips and saying, “Yes, yes
… heh … heh … heh.” Claude was a celebrity, especially
with his family. His wife, Gayle, and
their children, Walt and Wynter,
along with five grandchildren—
Gracie, Susannah, Harrison, Claudia
and Abigayle—shared him with
everyone in Claude’s enormous circle
of influence. Walt proclaimed that
his dad “knew only one sermon but a
thousand ways to preach it. It was a
sermon of love.”
When Claude exited the church
at Milledge Avenue, following its
phenomenal growth, the metal
chairs and concrete-block sanctu-
ary had long since been replaced by
a soaring edifice. His new congre-
gation became the legions of the
Bulldog Nation. Coach Vince
Dooley claimed Claude, as chaplain
of the Georgia Bulldogs, could finda speck of light even in the darkest
spots on the gridiron.
When I was president of UGA’s
Alumni Association, Claude often
answered the phone in that office.
Through the receiver, I could feel the
sunshine he was sending my way.
He was a celebrity to those of us who
wear the Red and Black.
And when he pulled on tattered
overalls that had spent too many
Saturdays in the wash pot, Claude
became a celebrity as Happy Calhoun
from Possum Gap. Several times, I
invited the gap-toothed hillbilly
comic/philosopher to entertain and
energize our company’s associates.
Claude was a celebrity in my pro-
fession’s world, too. In 1955, The
University of Georgia journalism
graduate helped his hometown news-
paper win the most coveted prize of
all—the Pulitzer.
Claude, along with three others,
chronicled the corruption that had
sullied the reputation of the
Alabama town across the
Chattahoochee River.
After I read Margaret Anne
Barnes’ book, The Tragedy and the
Triumph of Phenix City, Alabama, I
was reminded of Claude’s newspapercareer. That’s when I asked him
when he got the call into the min-
istry. Here’s what he told me:
“One night I walked out the back
door of the Columbus Ledger and
someone put a gun in my back. The
thug said, ‘You write one more story
about Phenix City, and you’re dead.’”
Looking at me with that Happy
Calhoun grin, Claude put his hands
on his stomach, leaned back and
laughed before saying, “And that’s
when I heard the Lord calling me to
preach.”Not long ago, I asked Claude,
“How’s Happy?” When he didn’t
smile and said, “Happy’s retired,” I
knew my friend was not feeling well.
His overflow memorial service was
Sunday at Milledge Avenue Baptist
Church. The metal folding chairs
were put into action, again.
My OpinionM M M
DINKNeSMITHChairman
Hundreds of times, the Rev. ClaudeMcBride transformed himself into
Happy Calhoun from Possum Gap. As
a gap-toothed hillbilly comic/philoso-pher, Happy entertained and energizedaudiences for several decades.
As a student at UGA, Claude McBridewas a cheerleader and a member of
the Red Coat Marching Band. Here,
circa 1952, Claude poses with NevaJane Langley of Macon. She was theonly Georgian to have been crowned
Miss America.
