CORDELE - Geneva Jones sometimes imagines what it would be like to stick identification labels on the thousands of watermelons her family grows in the sandy south Georgia soil. <br>
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It would be impossible, of course, in the haste to harvest their 17 acres, but she yearns for feedback, especially from people who eat them at Fourth of July picnics. <br>
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She says she wishes she could put stickers on them and we could find out where they went because they have buyers from everywhere. <br>
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Watermelons are as elemental as the flag, fireworks and John Philip Sousa marches at July 4 gatherings around the country. And, thanks to Georgia's climate and growing conditions, watermelons here ripen so they are sweetest just as the holiday hits. <br>
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Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin, who rides a watermelon float in three July parades, says the fruit has become a symbol of patriotism. <br>
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Farmers expect record consumption this year, thanks in part to the nation's patriotic mood. The Cordele State Farmers Market market has been juiced up with activity and optimism for weeks. South Georgia should produce about $25 million worth of watermelons this year. The market, which ships about 170 million pounds of the fruit, mostly in June and July, is a major East Coast supplier for holiday picnics. <br>
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The Crisp County town of Cordele, which bills itself as the ``Watermelon Capital of the World,'' has honored the fruit with an annual festival for 53 years. The theme of this year's festival, which runs from June 22 to July 13, is ``A Crisp slice of America, a tribute to all veterans.'' <br>
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The town of eleven thousand, located about 150 miles south of Atlanta, has become a mecca for growers throughout south Georgia and northern Florida. Roads leading to the market are littered with the carcasses of melons that bounce out of overloaded trucks and trailers.
