Travis Bell, a co-president of the North American General Lee Fan Club, stands with the original 1969 Dodge Charger used as the General Lee in the pilot for The Dukes of Hazzard.
MORRIS NEWS SERVICE

'General Lee' flies again in Covington

This weekend, the legendary orange stock car will return to the Georgia city where its first signature jump over a police car took place during the filming of the show's 1978 pilot episode.

Travis Bell, the organizer of the three-day festival and co-president of the North American General Lee Fan Club, says he expects as many as 8,000 people to show up to commemorate the General's "first flight."

On the series, the car belonged to Bo and Luke, the easygoing Duke cousins who, along with their Cousin Daisy and Uncle Jesse, often fought police corruption in Georgia's rural - and fictional - Hazzard County.

Planned events include a tour of the sites where the show was filmed and a chance for fans to meet the many mechanics and stunt drivers who worked on the show.

And the General Lee - or, at least, a replica - will take to the air once more Saturday in Covington, 30 miles east of Atlanta.

"We're going to jump it less than one mile from where it first flew," Mr. Bell said.

A 30-year-old disc jockey from Indiana, Mr. Bell is adamant that the festivities be a tribute to the dozens of crew members who helped build and crash the General Lee over and over during the show's seven-year run on CBS.

"They are the people who made the car fly," said Mr. Bell, who says he spent his childhood worshipping the Dukes. "These people are my heroes."

Mr. Bell doesn't expect any of the show's lead actors to attend, but that's all right, he said, adding: "The star of this whole thing is the car."

In all, more than 300 General Lees were used between 1978 and 1985.

Fans attending the festival will have a chance to see the car that made the General's inaugural jump in Covington.

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

TODAY

*Filming location tour: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (starts at Conyers Holiday Inn, on Dogwood Avenue. Off Interstate 20 at West Avenue, Exit 80. Go north to Dogwood, turn left). Admission is free.

*Meet stuntmen, mechanics: 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Turner Lake Complex, 6185 Turner Lake Road in Covington. Admission is $10 for adults; children's admission varies with age.

SATURDAY

*General Lee flies again at Legion Field in Covington, on Mill Street. Gates open at 10 a.m. Admission is $10 for adults, children's admission varies with age.

Hazzard County Vehicle Parade begins at 2 p.m., traveling from Legion Field to Covington Square.

SUNDAY

*Filming location tour continues at 11 a.m.

*Hazzard County Vehicle Show resumes at Covington Square.

CALL: Covington Visitors Center, (770) 786-7510

Reach Brian Basinger at (404) 589-8424 or brianmns@mindspring.com

--From the Friday, June 27, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle