Taylor County GaArchives Biographies.....Coolik - Prager, Families 1918 - 1954 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Virginia Crilley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00003.html#0000642 November 2, 2020, 9:36 am Author: Bruce Goddard The Coolik family was a big part of Reynolds for about 35 years. The Prager family was here around 15 years. Both Coolik and Prager were born in Poland. Both were Jewish. Both families escaped Poland to find a better life that problem-ridden Poland did not offer. With nation-wide economic troubles, famines and religious persecution back at home, they fled with hopes of finding prosperity and acceptance in America. Incredibly, they found what they were looking for in Reynolds, Georgia. They were most likely the only citizens of Reynolds who spoke Hebrew. Ever. David Coolik began his dry goods business in Reynolds in 1918. He quickly got involved in the community and was obviously well liked and he and his family fit in very well. You will find his name in the group that joined Brown Marshall to start the Reynolds Golf Course. The Coolik business, which was a thriving business, operated on the corner where Knight Pharmacy is located now. Jacob Prager also found acceptance and prosperity here. He started his business in Reynolds around 1925. He and his wife had 3 girls. The girls began school in Reynolds Elementary but soon moved with their mother to New York City. All of the girls were honor students in NYC and graduated with honors and all lived great lives in America. One of the daughters was recognized for receiving the highest score in New York City on an English Examination at the College of New York City. Her father, Jacob (by the way), had only a 3rd grade education. After his family left for NYC, Jacob continued to run his business and traveled back and forth from Reynolds to NYC to visit his family. During that time, he lived as a boarder at the Flowers house - that eventually became the Crawley house (amazing what you can find in old census records). At one point, he moved back to NYC to start a business but about 6 months later, he was back in Reynolds and leased the same store he had operated in before and started again. He finally left for NYC to join his family for good but even after that, he came back to visit his friends in Reynolds and Butler. Jacob Prager died in New York City in 1954. I am not sure where the Jacob Prager store stood. I have heard that the store that became Brady’s Store - which would be the small store just north of the Barrow Chevrolet buildings. Maybe someone can confirm. The Coolik family, on the other hand, never moved back north. My understanding is they had a house on the property where Dennis Swearingen lives now and it burned down. They built the house that still stands today and I have learned that Bob Swearingen purchased the house from the Cooliks. David Coolik also built and lived in the house where Will Frank and Blanche Brunson lived. There is a big C (for Coolik) above the threshold of the front door of that house that you can still see today. David and Sophie Coolik, both born in Poland, had four children - all born in Reynolds. Their first child was Sammie. He was born in 1918 and graduated with my dad in the Reynolds High School Class of 1935. Both of them left for Emory University after they graduated. At some point Sammie transferred to Vanderbilt University and got his degree there. Sammie was obviously a very good golfer and he learned to play at the Reynolds Golf Course his daddy helped start. I have read about the golf tournaments he won at the local golf course. He also served in the US Navy for 4 years during WWII. The Coolik’s also had three daughters; Edith, Mollie and Nora. All four of the Coolik children were honor graduates of Reynolds High School and all went on to have wonderful and successful lives in the southeastern United States. The youngest daughter, Nora, married Al Coplin who was a well known and prominent businessman from Macon. She spent her entire life there and died in 2009 in Macon. Interestingly, David Coolik had a younger brother named Louis who was in business with him in Reynolds initially. He also worked for Driezen’s Dry Goods in Butler before moving to Talbotton to start a Coolik’s store there. I have not done the research but I would bet the Driezen’s were another Polish family who moved to Taylor County. I do know that Louis Coolik bought Driezen Store in Butler in 1945 and change the name to Coolik’s. I also know that my grandmother Lucy McCoy was from Talbotton and my grandparents would commute back and forth with the Coolik’s to Talbotton on many occasions to visit relatives. David Coolik left Reynolds in the early 1950’s and moved to Montgomery to be close to children. He died in Montgomery on March 17, 1957. His wife Sophie died two years later. The Coolik and Prager stories are a very important part of the Reynolds story. They were living proof that someone can start with nothing and make a great life and overcome whatever obstacles they may encounter. Why they came to Reynolds we may never know. They were Jewish and they were from Poland. They spoke Hebrew and I am sure very broken English in the beginning. But they were accepted here with open arms, contributed positively to our community and made a wonderful life. They were as different as anyone could be from the people of Reynolds. But it spite of that, they found acceptance and prosperity here. Sometimes when we look back we look through nostalgic eyes. And there are times we are embarrassed by what we read happened in the old days. And then there are other times we are very proud and the lessons are huge. And fitting for today. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/taylor/bios/coolikpr1059gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 6.1 Kb