MONROE — City of Monroe Mayor Marion Holloway, Jr. keeps his Summer visits to Georgia in the back of his mind and remembers these trips well, as an early teenager. He got his Bulldog mentality when he first drove a pickup truck at 14 years old on his maternal grandparents’ farm.
The son of the late Marion LeGrand Holloway, Sr., and the late Annie Belle Franklin Holloway, Marion Jr helped his maternal uncle, the late Robert Lee Franklin, keep the family farm stable in Lawrenceville, Ga. He said Robert was the only sibling of 11 children to remain on the farm.
Marion Jr. saw the mentality Robert had while providing the family food and working the red clay hills of the farm. The long hours were rewarded with big Sunday feast dinners with the Franklin family. Coming from a family who once had a garden, Marion Jr. recognized the importance of growing food while working on the Georgia farm.
“One important thing I learned on the farm was that the only thing that would grow without being attended to was weeds,” Marion Jr. said.
As Marion Jr. grew older, his responsibilities kept piling up, and he handled each one with “care and attention.” He remembers riding to Athens and Norcross with Robert to help repair parts for his tractor.
It was at that time when Marion Jr. fell in love with the University of Georgia, the oldest public university in the United States. He admired the architecture of the buildings and dorms during his first visit.
That visit gave him the confidence to prepare for adulthood, graduating from Monroe High School in 1965. After graduating from Wingate two years later, he stuck with his decision to attend Georgia.
Marion Jr. remembers wearing coats and ties to football games with many friends he still keeps in touch with, starting in 1967.
“That was a dress-up occasion,” Marion Jr. said. “No one would consider going in with a t-shirt and a polo shirt. By halftime, sweat was coming off the bottom of (my) jacket.”
Following Marion Jr.’s graduation from Georgia in 1971, he and his wife (Mary Helen) became season ticket holders. They attended the 1980 national championship game in New Orleans, but he did not get to attend the past two national championships games due to surgeries.
Their daughter, Jennifer Holloway, came to the rescue and attended the games in honor of Marion Jr. She went to Indianapolis, Ind., and Inglewood, Calif., in 2022 and 2023 respectfully and watched the Bulldogs defeat Alabama and Texas Christian.
“I was very happy for her and happy for myself,” Marion Jr. said. “When Mary Helen and I couldn’t go, (Jennifer) and a friend could. Of course, she brought me back confetti (in Indianapolis). In the second game, she couldn’t, because it was raining …
“To have someone that you love use your tickets for something like that, as opposed to selling them to a stranger, I would never sell tickets to the enemy.”
Marion Jr. is relishing his tenure as the mayor but knows he will run into disagreements or bad calls at council meetings. He remains friends with council members as he continues to enjoy cheering for his alma mater.
He said the games he watches also transpire into his daily duties and acts of kindness for others.
“… You look at our position as leaders of the City, you’re not going to win every snap, and you’re not going to score a touchdown,” he said. “You may gain yards, you may lose yards, you may have an interception, but we’ve got a team. … Even though we have differences in how we vote, our council is united. … Life isn’t about getting knocked down, as that will happen, it’s about getting back up and finishing the drill.”
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