Greg Freeman and Babbie Mason on the set of Babbie's House, February 7, 2008
On February 7, 2008, Greg Freeman performed the self-penned songs, "You Are" and "Between the Lines," on Babbie Mason's television talkshow, Babbie's House, in Atlanta. The following day, he ventured to Nashville where he attended the Gaither Homecoming concert at downtown's Sommet Center with a VIP pass courtesy of Bill Gaither.
A view of Greenville's Reedy Falls
Southern Edition is owned and edited by Greg Freeman, 33, who lives 45 minutes from Greenville, South Carolina. As diverse as Freeman's interests, Southern Edition, a culmination of everything that characterizes the American South, seeks to expound on the region's culture, history, politics, commerce, agriculture, music, art, architecture, travel, gardening and food.
For the authoritative New Georgia Encyclopedia, Freeman has contributed entries on Atlanta's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church and the 200-year-old publication Grier's Almanac as well as biographies on country star Travis Tritt; black gospel diva Dottie Peoples; contemporary Christian singer Babbie Mason; blues singers Francine Reed, Precious Bryant and Ida Cox; and southern gospel legends Hovie Lister and Lee Roy Abernathy.
With a gusto for creative writing, Freeman's work has been published by GospelMusicUpdate.com, Carolina Gardener, Draft Horse Journal, Southeast Horse Report and the groundbreaking, award-winning New Georgia Encyclopedia, an online publication of the Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press. Covering topics ranging from historic daffodils in the South to the civil rights movement to blues legends, Freeman has immersed himself in all things southern, and Southern Edition is a natural extension of these passions.
In addition to publishing Southern Edition, Greg Freeman is active in a number of fields.
Chronicling the show and breeding career of the famous Belgian draft stallion Nesbitt's Misty River Ben (above), a feature article by Freeman appeared in the Winter 2002-03 issue of the Draft Horse Journal.
Freeman's "A Heritage of Daffodils," an article devoted to historic daffodil cultivars, was published in the December 2005 issue of Carolina Gardener, a publication he regards as the region's finest gardening magazine.
Greg Freeman and Calvin Newton, Gaither Homecoming Concert, Nashville, February 8, 2008
Backstage at the Gaither Homecoming Concert in Nashville on February 8, 2008, Greg Freeman met Calvin Newton, 78, a notable southern gospel vocalist and real-life prodigal son. Newton, the subject of Dr. Russ Cheatham's book, Bad Boy of Gospel Music: The Calvin Newton Story (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2003), once sang with the Oak Ridge Quartet (later to crossover into country and pop as the Oak Ridge Boys), the Blackwood Brothers and the Sons of Song (an innovative group comprising Newton, Don Butler and Bob Robinson). He also served time in federal prison, was once a formidable boxer (knocking out an opponent in less than 30 seconds!) and has quite a testimony to share. At the Gaither show in Nashville, Freeman says, "Calvin just latched onto me and made me feel like an old friend. Standing there in the hallway backstage, he introduced me to everyone he could . . . Ernie Haase, Wes Hampton, Don Light, Bill Carter, Barry Jennings. I was blown away. He would look at someone and say, 'Let me introduce you to Greg Freeman. He sang on Babbie Mason's show yesterday!' " This photograph, by the way, was taken backstage by Joyce Martin Sanders of the Dove award-winning trio, the Martins!
Greg Freeman with Carol Fay Ellison, Loveless Cafe, Nashville, February 2008
In this photograph, Greg Freeman is pictured with the Loveless Cafe's celebrity "Biscuit Lady," Carol Fay Ellison, who has appeared on numerous television shows including the Martha Stewart Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show and NBC's Today and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The Loveless Cafe was the subject of a November 2007 Southern Edition article, From Their Kitchen to Yours: Recipes from the Loveless Cafe, Nashville.
As a singer and songwriter, he is worship leader at his church, and has co-written songs with multiple Emmy winner Cheryl Rogers (a producer for the Grammy-winning record, Tribute: The Songs of Andrae Crouch). In February 2008, Freeman performed two self-penned songs on Babbie Mason's television talkshow, Babbie's House, in Atlanta. He and Mason plan to do some co-writing in the near future.
In the garden, Greg Freeman grows flowers, vegetables and herbs, strives to preserve vigorous heirloom varieties, and aspires to develop new plants that can flourish in the South. A member of the American and Georgia Daffodil Societies, he has exhibited prize-winning daffodils. His interest in heritage plants has led to volunteer work at Woodburn Plantation, the estate of South Carolina statesman Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, where Freeman has assisted the Pendleton Historic Foundation in identifying the property's daffodil inhabitants. For the long-term, he plans to rescue historic and heirloom plants from properties threatened by development and relocate them to Woodburn.
Horses have been an obsession of Freeman's since he was a teenager. A life member of the Belgian Draft Horse Corporation of America, the organization devoted to registering and promoting Belgian horses, he has owned a limited number of Belgians over the years including a champion stallion. A virtual walking encyclopedia of breed history, pedigrees, old auction reports and show records, Freeman now owns only one horse, but anticipates raising some foals from this quality, well-bred mare he obtained from his long-time friends, Robert & Elizabeth Cowden (Pittsburgh-based owners and breeders of champion Belgians).
And in his spare time, Greg Freeman enjoys listening to music, attending gospel concerts, reading, watching classic movies, photography, painting, sculpting, collecting art & antiques, exploring small towns, touring southern historical sites, hiking and playing cards and board games.
Greg Freeman with Rod and Andrea Lyda, Cross Roads Baptist Church, Westminster, South Carolina, February 17, 2008
On February 17, 2008, Greg Freeman and Sherry Volrath attended a special Friends Day service at Cross Roads Baptist Church near Westminster, South Carolina as guests of Pastor Rod and Andrea Lyda. Freeman had also been asked to sing, and he opted to perform "You Are," a song he had sung just ten days earlier in a taping for Babbie's House, Babbie Mason's talkshow. Commenting on the Lydas, Freeman says, "I am so excited about how God is using Rod and Andrea. They have a real heart for ministry, and their devotion to serving God is very evident. I am privileged to call them my friends. The Lord has used Rod to challenge and encourage me during some of my darkest times, and I feel very blessed to have his support and know that his love is genuine and his friendship is enduring."
An avid collector (with discerning taste, but a limited budget!), Freeman owns an eclectic mix of art and antiques, including this vase by Charleston potter Kris Neal.
One of her earliest works, this painting by New Orleans' Miriam Ragan is one of several items by southern artists contained in the Freeman collection.
Greg Freeman, Downtown Greenville
(Historic Greenville Summit Building in background)
Greg Freeman inside the Fuqua Orchid Center at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, March 2004
Historic Woodburn Plantation, Pendleton, South Carolina
Each year, thousands of daffodils bloom at Woodburn Plantation. Until recently, though, the species Narcissus pseudonarcissus had been the estate's only daffodil resident. In 2006, Freeman planted at the main entrance some Narcissus x odorus ("Campernelle"), Narcissus x medioluteus ("Twin Sisters" or "Cemetery Ladies") and Narcissus 'Sir Watkin' (an historic cultivar). The latter two had been rescued from vacant lots in Atlanta by Sara Van Beck, co-author of the book, Daffodils in Florida: A Field Guide to the Coastal South.
Jonquil-type daffodils remain Freeman's favorites. While major awards have been elusive and Freeman has yet to compete with a collection, his entries have fared well at the shows. In 2006, he won first, second and third with 'Quail', 'Kokopelli' (pictured above) and 'Trevithian' in a competitive class of all-yellow hybrid jonquils at the Atlanta daffodil show.
One of his most prized daffodils, 'Crackington' is a magnificent double of British origin. It has been incorporated into Freeman's hybridizing efforts.
In his garden, the inspiration for the "Magnolia Eden" department of Southern Edition, Greg Freeman grows a variety of flowers, vegetables and herbs. While daffodils are his passion, Freeman particularly enjoys plants that attract birds and intriguing insects like this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.
Pictured as a weanling in 1996, Willowhurst Bentley was a son of Freeman's first Belgian mare, Clifton's Susie Q. This colt was sired by Remlap Coleddie, an outstanding stallion belonging to Robert and Elizabeth Cowden at the time.
Willowhurst Bentley, pictured at three, was leased and eventually sold to Mrs. Paul Knepp & Sons, Montgomery, Indiana. In Indiana, he sired several crops of foals before being auctioned to a buyer from Mississippi.
Quite a contrast to the awkward teenager in the previous photo, this picture shows that Cowden's Coleddie Sasha has matured into a beautiful mare. Impeccably bred, she was a maternal granddaughter of the champion mare Constance Mardy. She comes from a significant female line that produced champions like Remlap Constance Edie Johne, Remlap Constance Sarah and Oak Grove Jane.
Cowden's Coleddie Sasha, a Remlap Coleddie daughter, was acquired as a weanling in 2001. Bred by Robert & Elizabeth Cowden, she is a paternal sister to Willowhurst Bentley.
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