Marietta wouldn’t be Marietta if it weren’t for Bo Glover and his family.
The Glover family’s contributions to the city began in the mid-1800s when Bo’s ancestor, John Heyward Glover Jr., became Marietta’s first mayor and donated land for Glover Park in the center of town.
For more than a century, the park that makes up Marietta’s Square has been a hub for entertainment, art festivals and political speeches. And it might not be there today had Bo and his dad not fought to save it from becoming a parking deck in the 1970s.
“From the time John Glover became mayor and with each generation going forward, the Glovers played a role in the politics and economics of the town in a huge way,” said Amy Reed, director of the Marietta History Center.
James Bolan “Bo” Glover IV, onetime owner of the century-old Glover Machine Works Inc. — a metal foundry that produced railroad steam engines in its early years — died Dec. 23 at age 94. His funeral will be Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Marietta, with burial at Mountain View Park Cemetery beside his wife of 74 years, Joan.
Bo Glover was born in Marietta in 1930 and, except for his military service, lived his entire life there, calling it “the prettiest place in the whole world” in a 2011 interview.
The Glovers have deep roots in the area dating back eight generations to John Heyward Glover Jr. and his wife, Jane Porter Bolan Glover. The couple moved to Marietta in 1847 to escape coastal diseases that had killed some family members in Charleston, South Carolina, where they owned numerous rice plantations. Their first home in Marietta was a Greek revival plantation called Bushy Park.
Wanting to be closer to town, they later moved to a home on Whitlock Avenue, which was commandeered by Union soldiers during the Civil War. Passed down through the generations were family stories that Jane Glover would stomp her feet when she heard one word: Yankee.
The family saved its legacy of Glover Park when Bo Glover’s father, James Bolan Glover III, spent four years in court fighting the city to keep it from becoming a four-story parking deck.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
“My grandfather actually saved the park,” said Bo Glover’s son, James Bolan “Jim” Glover Jr. “My father was part of that. He just wasn’t the ringleader.”
He said his grandmother, Joan Glover, “would always say she would have a new Cadillac and a new fur coat if it hadn’t been for that damn park.”
Its preservation was critical.
“That is the epicenter of everything Marietta,” Reed said. “Everything revolves around the Marietta Square, from social activities to government activities. It’s a really important part of the community.”
Reed also noted that the Glover family’s donations have provided invaluable insights into the city’s social and cultural history. Several museums, including the Atlanta History Center, have received items from different generations of the family, from furniture to clothing, items from the machine works and other artifacts.
“We don’t often get that,” Reed said.
Bo Glover excelled at Marietta High School in academics and athletics, graduating in 1947. He married Joan Wooten in 1950 and graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology a year later.
After college, he served as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, flying North American F-86 Sabre jets. He narrowly avoided one disaster, ejecting from his plane before it exploded over the Nevada desert.
“That’s when my mother said: ‘We’re going home,’” Jim Glover said.
They returned to Marietta, and Bo followed the family tradition of working at Glover Machine Works Inc., eventually becoming its president after the death of his father in 1979. The business, then Georgia’s oldest family-owned manufacturing operation, faced challenges in the 1990s due to economic pressures and was sold in 2001.
Bo Glover was active in the community as a member of the Marietta Rotary Club and the board of elders at Grace Community Church. An avid golfer and antique car collector, he cherished two 1924 Lafayette Touring Cars that belonged to his grandfather.
“He was a great provider,” Jim Glover said. “We loved, respected and admired him, as did our friends.”
At church, Bo Glover was affectionately called the “Pied Piper” for his ability to connect with children, who often followed him around.
He rarely discussed the family’s legacy at home.
“He didn’t want us to be arrogant about it,” Jim Glover said.
He said his father was a man of great faith and would probably be happy if that was considered his legacy.
Survivors include a son, James Bolan “Jim” Glover, V; a daughter, Anne Glover Cundiff (Tim); a sister, Jane Glover Hawkins; as well as other extended family and friends. The family suggests, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Grace Community Church at gracechurchmarietta.org.
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