Historic Preservationist Becky Paden Receives Distinguished Service Award

MARIETTA — For decades, lifelong Cobb resident Becky Paden has been working to preserve and protect historic buildings throughout the county.

Sitting outside of the Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre on Marietta Square, Paden reminisced about the countless efforts that went into saving the almost 90-year-old theater.

After closing its doors and falling into disrepair in 2002, Paden, a Friends of the Strand Board member, and other community leaders worked together to restore the building to its former glory by 2009.

In addition to being on the Strand board, Paden has been a member of the Marietta Historic Preservation Commission since its inception in 2005 and the Historic Board of Review since 2008. Prior to her appointment to the Marietta boards, Paden was a long- serving member of the Cobb County Historic Preservation Commission.

During the June 12 Marietta City Council meeting, Councilman Johnny Walker presented Paden with the distinguished service award for her work on these historic preservation boards.

Walker served on the board of review with Paden for 11 years, until she recently decided to step down from the position.

He said it was an honor to serve with Paden and that she had done tremendous work for Marietta.

“She’s made Marietta a better place to live,” Walker said. “She helped keep (our Marietta Square) from becoming high rises, she slowed that process down. Marietta might look different if it wasn’t for (Paden).”

Paden emphasized that, while the award was an honor and very gratifying, she was not alone in her efforts over the years.

“I’ve said many times that David Freedman (on the board of review) should have gotten that award along with me because he worked for the state for many years,” Paden said.

Paden, who grew up in Smyrna, has lived in Marietta for the past 63 years.

“I’ve gotten a lot out of living in an area like this because there are so many historic sites and buildings that I’m really interested in saving,” Paden said. “We lost the whole Square except for one building thanks to General Sherman.”

Paden, who sees the loss of old buildings as a loss of history, has always been interested in doing what she can to save historical sites.

“We’ve lost so many beautiful meaningful historical buildings. I’d just like to see something left to show my grandchildren, if they ever get interested in it,” Paden said.

She added that she always makes it a point to her children and eight grandchildren to pay attention to historical preservation.

“If we don’t save what we have now, there’s nothing left for the future,” Paden said, adding that the area’s growing popularity means more construction could harm these sites in the future.

Walker said, while the two didn’t always vote the same way, he always respected Paden and her wide knowledge of historic preservation.

Paden graduated from the University of Georgia in 1961 with a degree in journalism before going on to get her master’s degree in historic preservation from Georgia State University.

She used her degrees and journalistic experience working at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the MDJ to co-author four books about local history.

In 1999, she collaborated with Jim Bolan Glover IV, and her former AJC colleague, Joe McTyre, to publish their first book together: “Marietta: 1833-2000.”

According to Paden, the book took them about a year to write. While people were sometimes reluctant to talk and hand over family photos, she said the book became really popular within the community.

At the time, the Marietta History Center even hosted a book signing with people like former Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, who was county commissioner at the time, in attendance.

McTyre and Paden’s second book, “Historic Roswell Georgia” was published in 2001 and their third, “Cobb County,” in 2005.

For Marietta’s 175th anniversary in 2009, the city asked the two authors to write “175 Facts about Marietta, Georgia” which featured facts and pictures about the city from its founding in 1834 to then.

Paden, a member of the First Presbyterian Church Marietta, is currently volunteering with the church’s history committee to work on an update to the late Jimmy Corley’s original book, “God at Work, a History of First Presbyterian Church from 1835-2000.” The church is the second-oldest in the city, Paden said.

Paden said meeting weekly and researching is almost like going back to college.

“We have kept careful search records and it was amazing what Corley did to pull it all together for the first volume of history,” she said. “We’re trying to follow in his footsteps. … It’s a lot of work, but it’s worthwhile especially if you’re a person who likes history.”

In regards to future preservation efforts, Paden hopes city officials will pay more attention to historic sites and feel inclined to do more to save them.

She hopes to one day see Marietta do something similar to the Smyrna Reed House, which was purchased by the city and turned into an event venue, with one of its several historic homes currently for sale.

“We need more people like Becky Paden, because she cares about Marietta,” Walker said. “She was very careful about the decisions that she made on improving things like what happens on our Marietta Square.”