Page 59 - DeKalb Bicentennial Flipbook

Luminaries of DeKalb County

SCOTT CANDLER, SR. (1887-1973)
Scott Candler was known as “Mr. DeKalb.” Candler held
the sole office of commissioner of roads and revenues from
1939 to 1955. He inaugurated countywide water, library,
fire, and police services, facilitating a time of rapid growth
in DeKalb County. He was an early advocate for the vision
of Stone Mountain as a park and worked to secure land
acquisitions and the completion of the Confederate carving.
Scott Candler, Sr. was born in Decatur and graduated from
Davidson College and Atlanta Law School. He served in the
infantry during World War I and rose to the rank of captain,
decorated with a Silver Star for valor in combat and a Purple
Heart. He was mayor of Decatur from 1922 to 1939, secretary
of commerce for the state, and taught Sunday school for 40
years at Decatur Presbyterian Church.

NARVIE JORDAN HARRIS (1916-2009)
Narvie Harris Elementary School in Decatur honors an
educator many people will always remember. Harris retired
from the DeKalb County School System in 1983 after 39 years
of teaching. Two years later, she was named an honorary
Associate Superintendent by the DeKalb County Board of

Education. Her career began in a one-room schoolhouse in
rural Georgia.
Her father, James Jordan, was a prominent Atlanta
photographer and tailor. Harris attended Clark College
in Atlanta and received her master’s degree in education at
Atlanta University. During her lifetime, Harris inspired the
lives of tens of thousands of children. She also had traveled to
every continent except Australia.

Sp i rit o f D eK alb – B i centen n ial 1822-2022 57