A teenager’s Sunday afternoon guided tour of a popular tourist attraction in Macon nearly 30 years ago came full circle this past Spring when that teen was hired as its executive director.
Jones Countian Aubrey Newby began work in May of this year at Macon’s historic Hay House. The path from that teenage tour to the new position was long and somewhat winding.
Newby graduated from Jones County High in 1997 and obtained a history degree from the University of Georgia. His post-college life started modestly.
“Got a job waiting tables. That’s what you do with a history degree, or go to law school,” he laughed. “That eventually led to the Big Sky Grill (in Gray), being involved in that. Closed that. And you think it’s the worst thing in your life when something like that happens. But, you pick up and move on.”
Newby eventually joined a real estate development firm in Macon, working there from 2006 until May of this year.
“I loved that,” he commented, “getting the old buildings, turning the vacant buildings into commercial spaces as well as residential space, that kind of thing.
“I was able to take what I always loved, historic preservation, and turn that into part of my job,” he continued.
The COVID-19 outbreak, however, completely changed his routine.
“The world kind of went crazy. I still had a job, but had some down time.”
Newby said, during that time, he went to Athens, met with the head of the preservation program and decided to pursue an historic preservation certificate.
“So I juggled a full-time job, wife and three kids, and going back and forth to Athens, a couple of days a week; got the certificate, checked the box and said ‘okay I am done’.”
About six months later, though, Newby was asked to join a group of students from Athens at the Hay House. That same head of the preservation program in Athens was there and asked him to come back to UGA. They met and talked, and a Masters in Historic Preservation at UGA resulted a year and a half later.
When Newby assumed his duties at the Hay House this year, it was not his first job there. He recalls when he was 16, he and some friends went to the popular attraction one Sunday afternoon and took the tour. At the end, the guide told the boys they were always looking for volunteers.
Newby immediately filled out the paperwork, and, just as quickly, he was asked to conduct a tour.
“I told them, ‘sure I can do that. That will be easy’… I wish I could go back and be on that tour. Study how bad it probably was,” he added with a smile.
When Newby went in the following Monday to fill out his volunteer schedule, the coordinator surprised him by offering him a job.
“I said, ‘What, people get paid to do this?’” Newby worked for about three and a half years after school hours and weekends at the Hay House.
“What it did was give me a different perspective,” he declared. “You took this kid from Gray, whose parents had given him lots of opportunities, but you took this kid and plopped him down in the middle of this world he’s never been a part of.
“Not only are you learning about preservation and the importance of that, the governor was there, state representatives, a congressman; all these things are not necessarily a big deal. But,” he pointed out, “to a 16-year old kid, it’s a big deal.
“It really changed my perspective on a lot of things,” the 45-year old executive continued. “It was life-transforming in a lot of ways. Also, it taught me the value of giving back. All these people, that’s what they were doing, they were giving back to this thing that they thought was important. So, it really instilled that in me.”
That philosophy helped lead to Newby’s new position.
“At the age of 44 or 45, I could spend the rest of my life having a job and career that pays the bills. I’ve always had a job that pays the bills. Or,” he reasoned, “I can do that and enjoy what I am doing. And, love every day going in, and love every challenge and new experience. That’s what I chose to do, and so far I have not regretted it.”
Newby explained that his responsibilities as the executive director include working to develop the budget funds, working with donors, writing grants, “to make sure the money is there to support the house,” and working with historic preservation professionals and housing contractors, among other tasks.
“When you have a house of that magnitude, 24,000 square feet, seven levels, nothing is normal about it,” he reasoned, adding he has an office staff and the docents (interpreters/tour guides) to help.
Newby is known in the Jones County community for his interest in historic preservation. He illustrated his passion when he mentioned an historic building, the Cabiness House, just outside Bradley. It was about to fall into ruins when the late developer Bill Lucado purchased and restored it before donating it to the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.
“I remember seeing that house when I was a teenager and thinking, ‘this needs to be saved; someone has to save this’. A picture of that house hangs in my office because it’s an early reminder of where it all began for me, the importance of old buildings.”
The James community homeowner actually did his part to help preserve ‘old buildings’.
“We renovated an 1890 house in James about 13 years ago,” he recalled. “The concept maintained the original integrity of the house but made it more conducive to modern living for a young family, which we had at the time.”
Newby is also known around Gray for more than his love for historic preservation. He is an accomplished pianist, having started lessons at age 8.
“I started playing at Bradley Baptist when I was 14,” he recalled. “Everyone knew that I played, but I never did anything with it, just played.”
That changed one night at choir practice.
“They made me sit down at the piano bench and play this song that was special for the choir that Sunday. I don’t think I ever got up,” he said with a laugh.
He left Bradley Baptist in 2005 and later wound up at Gray Methodist. He remembered he agreed one day to fill in there when necessary.
“About four weeks later, I landed at the piano to fill in. And, 18-plus years later, I’m still there doing that,” he chuckled. The musician plays now for the church’s Praise Team.
That commitment stems from Newby’s priority in life: Faith. “Without it, I’m not sure how anyone could have gotten me out of bed in the morning. It has never let me down even when I was down.”
While he rates historic preservation and music – particularly the piano – third and fourth, respectively, on his ladder of values, Newby’s role as a father is second to his faith.
“I hope my children look back one day and remember growing up in a little town, the freedom living in James offered them, by parents who showed them a world much wider than Jones County.”
That spirit has been reflected in the Newby family adventures.
“Since 2019, we have taken the children on cross-country road trips in an effort to visit every state,” he shared. “Thirty- nine thus far, and driving through the state does not count – there must be an experience there.”
Newby mentioned watching the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park and July 4th in Boston, watching fireworks over the harbor.
“It takes a lot of effort, energy and money to put it all together,” he acknowledged, “but I have never regretted the time or a dollar spent on those trips.
“It has been incredible, and one of the best things I ever did,” he continued, “creating wonderful memories for them and us. The reality hit one day that, one day, memories will be all we have.”
