Richmond Hill resident Sam Davis Sr. already has a key to the city.
Saturday, he’ll be riding in the lead car in Richmond Hill’s biggest event of the year, after recently being named grand marshal of Richmond Hill’s 14th annual Hometown Christmas Parade.
There couldn’t be a better city to be grand marshal in, Davis said. And few have Richmond Hill roots that go as deep.
A Bryan County native and graduate of the forerunner of Richmond Hill High School, Davis went away to war and then to work, but he retired in 1974 and returned home.
"I don’t know of any better place to live," he said. "I grew up here, I raised four kids here. It’s a real honor to be named grand marshal in my own hometown’s Christmas parade. I thank the mayor and the parade committee."
Davis, 90, will lead the city’s parade in a car driven by his son, Sam Davis Jr., who is Bryan County probate judge and elections superintendent.
"All of us children are tickled to death about it, that Richmond Hill decided to honor him as grand marshal," Davis Jr. said. "And we’re proud for him. He’s one of the originals of Richmond Hill."
Background
Davis Sr. was born on April 1, 1919 near the Canoochee River and what is now Landing 2 on Fort Stewart. He was one of 11 children.
A sister, Allene Butler, lives in South Bryan.
A brother, Joe Davis, lives in Washington State while another, Junior Davis, resides in Houston. A third brother, Hiram Davis, lives in Dothan Ala. They stay in close touch.
-Read more in the Bryan County News.