Seniors Stop In Cairo

 Cairo (pronounced “Cayroe”)  is a city in Grady County, Georgia with a population of just over 9,600. And guess what seniors, it was named after Cairo, Egypt. Although Cairo is nicknamed the “Syrup City”, it has no relationship with the Karo brand of syrup.

Rather, Cairo earned its nickname by producing cane syrup from the early 1900s through the late 1990s. Of the several companies that produced cane syrup, Roddenbery’s was the best known.

Reflecting this “syrup” heritage, the Cairo High School football team is nicknamed the Syrupmakers. That is certainly an original name. Maybe their teams just “cream” the opponents. The school’s female athletic teams are named “Syrup Maids,” often shortened to “Maids,” while the male athletes are often dubbed “Makers.”

 Senior Hunters and Fishermen Take Note…

Cairo is close to great hunting, fishing, and points of historical interest for senior outdoor lovers. The local industrial base continues to grow with manufacturing, service, and healthcare companies anchoring a strong economy.

The area is home to a host of local festivals, including Calvary’s Mule Day, Whigham’s Rattlesnake Roundup, Cairo’s own Antique Car Rally, and several competitive recreational programs.

The Cairo Antique Auto Museum also features antique cars from every decade of the 1900s, along with Matchbox cars, antique bicycles and other collectibles.

Remember Jackie Robinson, a Baseball Hall of Fame member and the first person to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball? He was born in Cairo.

Seniors Enjoy Cairo’s Festivals

Cairo offers several unique festivals, parks and recreation programs, a movie theater, an antique car museum, a public library, a county museum and history center, downtown shopping, and locally owned restaurants. Urban planners call this “livability.” Longtime residents just call it “home.”

Me, I’d love to take in the Pow-Wow festival in July that is sponsored by the Lower Muscogee Creek Tribe. Now the Rattlesnake Roundup in January…I’lll leave that up to you. In any case senior visitors will discover why Cairo is called Georgia’s Hospitality City.

A satellite campus of Southwest Georgia Technical College, later Southern Regional Technical College, opened in Cairo in 2006.

Read up on the founding of the city, its history and its many folks who played an important role in its foundation. The Grady County Museum and History Center on N. Broad Street would also be a great place to learn more about Cairo.

Senior travelers, set your GPS for Cairo that is located in southwest Georgia, thirty miles north of Tallahassee, Florida. Enjoy your visit. -jeb