Coosa-Statewide County AlArchives News.....Who put the stripes on the road? April 16, 1999
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
George M. Hatchett alex0020@charter.net August 8, 2011, 5:10 pm

The Coosa County News- Page 15 April 16, 1999
by Susan Samuels
As you're driving down a road or highway, do you ever wonder why there are white 
stripes on the sides, and whose idea it was to put them there? Doubtlessly, we 
pretty much all take it for granted, as we do the road, itself. It's interesting 
and informative to meet people behind innovations, and the one behind this one, 
is George Hatchett, of Rockford.
The idea came to him when he attended a defensive driving school in the late 
forties or early fifties, taught by a state highway department official. It was 
a three-to-four week course, held at the courthouse in Rockford. The courthouse 
was pretty full, George said. Instruction was in the form of movies, teaching 
techniques for challenges drivers would face on the road. It taught drivers to 
anticipate traffic situations and how to respond. George said he has always used 
what he learned from that course.
The state highway official asked for suggestions. That got George to thinking 
about how hard it is to see the road in the rain, and in the dark, so he 
presented the idea to her of painting white lines on the sides, to help 
visibility. The official reported George's suggestion to the Montgomery State 
Highway Department. Another official wrote a letter to him, saying it was the 
best suggestion he'd ever heard of. The lines started to appear about a month or 
two later. The first lines George remembers seeing started south of Rockford, 
coming up through town, continuing up to above Hatchet Creek.
George, who will be 79 on April 29, has lived in Rockford for most of his life. 
He attended New Hope School, and when it closed, he went to Rockford Elementary 
through the sixth grade. His children all, also, attended Rockford
School. He is married to Ruby (nee' Bryant) Hatchett, formerly of Weogufka. 
They've been married 58 years and got married one day after Pearl Harbor was 
bombed. George served in the Army, the 94th division, in the Medical Corps., 
during WW II. He worked 34 years at Avondale, where he retired from.
George and Ruby have ten children,    who    are Joy Daughtery, of Alexander 
City, Kathy Russell, of Sylacauga, Rodney Hatchett, of Sylacauga, Vicky 
Wilsford, of Montgomery, Nina Smith, of Rockford, Ricky Hatchett, of Clanton, 
Kerry Hatchett of Alexander City, Gennie Collier,] of Valley, Brenda Evans, of' 
Georgia, and Mike Hatchett,! who lives in Saudi Arabia. They have 23 
grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
George is rightfully proud of his idea. No doubt, it does, as he says, "saves 
lives."


Additional Comments:
George Washington Hatchett Died on Feb 09 2011 and is buried at Union Baptish 
Church in Rockford, Alabama

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