The Mystery of Ola High School

Ola means "wave" in Spanish, so when I read the "Ola" on this rather bulbous wrestler's chest, I figured that "Ola High School" must be in an area with a strong Spanish influence. Say, California, New Mexico, or Florida.

Turns out to be in McDonough, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, with no particular Spanish influence.  6% of the population is Hispanic, but mostly recent arrivals.

McDonough is notable for its scenic town square, which has appeared in several movies and tv shows, such as Smokey and the Bandits.

There's a Confederate monument in the center and historic buildings clustered around, including the Henry County Courthouse, His Freedom Reigns Ministries, the Cowboys Western Store, a restaurant called Gritz, and an old Standard gas station which now serves as the town's Welcome Center.

Efforts to remove the Confederate monument have met with strong resistance from the townsfolk.  Well, at least the white townsfolk (58% of the population is black).

Most everybody in town is an evolution-doubting, Bible-memorizing, Jesus-praising fundamentalist.  They have lots of interesting choices for Sunday morning and evening services: Avalon Church, Momentum Christian Church, Retro Church, Radiant Church, Revolution Church, Connecting Point Church, and the Cathedral of Hope (which is not connected to the gay church in Fort Lauderdale).


Gritz Family Restaurant, which also has collard greens and a different type of cobbler every day, sells t-shirts with this passage:

“The South: A place where tea is sweet and accents are sweeter. Macaroni and cheese is a vegetable.  Front porches are wide and words are long.  Y’all is the only proper noun.  Everything is darlin’ and someone’s heart is always being blessed.”











There are three high schools in town:

1. Luella, 1000 students.  50 student clubs, including Anime Club, Daughters of the King Praise Dance Team, regular Praise Dance Team, Mock Trial, Mud Club, and Sophicated Steppers (that's how it's spelled). Sports include cross-country, tennis, wrestling, and rifle.

This is the South, y'all.







2. Henry County High, 1000 students.  Offers mostly job-training courses like Agri-Science, Naval Science, and Salon Services.  Sports include cheerleading, volleyball, wrestling, and rifle.

I don't know what the medal is for.  This is the illustration on the high school home page.  No caption.














3. Ola High.  Clubs include the CyberPatriots, the Mock Trial, and the non-cyber Patriots.

It seems to be named after the former community of Ola, now part of McDonough.  But where did the former community get its name?

Grr....

By the way, ola also means "egg" in Estonian, "life" in Hawaiian, and "oil" in Welsh.