11/17: Louisianan’s view; on publishing GwinnettForum; more

GwinnettForum  |  Issue 15.63  |  Nov. 17, 2015
15.1117.VetsDay2015 VETERAN’S DAY in Gwinnett was marked with a ceremony at the Fallen Heroes Memorial at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center. The keynote speaker was Dr. Stanley C. “Stas” Preczewski, president of Georgia Gwinnett College and retired U.S. Army Colonel.  Dr. Preczewski called for an “Action Day” and not just a ceremony to be celebrated once a year. He ended a list of challenges with this quote: “The road is less traveled in the extra mile.” The ceremony was ended by the laying of the wreath, three rifle volleys and taps. The Philadelphia Winn Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution hosted a reception after the ceremony for veterans and their families.
IN THIS EDITION
TODAY’S FOCUS: A View from Louisianan Who Lived Short Time in Gwinnett
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Response from Readers Makes Publishing Worthwhile
ANOTHER VIEW: LAN Line Customers Have Callers Who Abuse Them
FEEDBACK: Four Comments, including Two on Paris Bombings
UPCOMING: City of Suwanee Seeking Snappers in Photo Contest       
NOTABLE: Little Mulberry Park in Gwinnett Honored with Award
RECOMMENDED READ: Very Good Lives by J. K. Rowling
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Association of Georgia Artists Started in Murphy Home in Savannah
TODAY’S QUOTE:  One Element That Has No Handicaps
MYSTERY PHOTO: Lots of People Recognize Harbor in Croatia
LAGNIAPPE: Augusta DAR Project and Tourist Attraction
TODAY’S FOCUS

Louisianan’s view from living for a short period in Gwinnett

(Editor’s Note: We asked someone who lived in Gwinnett for a short time for his viewpoints on our county. The writer is a distinguished journalist from Louisiana, who has since returned to his native state. –eeb)

By Bill Long

SHREVEPORT, La., Nov. 17, 2015  |  After retiring from college teaching in July of 2014, I moved to Duluth, Georgia, to be near family. Except for two years in Washington, D.C., where I worked in the U.S. Senate pursuing a graduate degree, and a year in Cambridge, Mass., studying at the post-doctorate level, I had resided in Louisiana where I was born and raised.

Long

Long

Work and other family obligations through the years required that I spend a good deal of time in Dallas, Austin, and Houston, and my passion for New Orleans and Baton Rouge (that’s where the Tigers from my alma mater roam) required frequent attention.

I had been to Europe a number of times, but I had never lived in any other part of this great country. I was eager to experience more of America. Gwinnett County, Ga., gave me that opportunity. When asked to write down my observations about Gwinnett, I naturally started to draw comparisons.

Small towns in Gwinnett County embody the southern warmth and friendliness of the entire region, not unlike Natchitoches and Abbeville in Louisiana, absent the Cajun-French accents and food. But unlike areas I had lived in, these Georgia communities have built impressive town centers and art facilities, adding appreciably to the area’s quality of life and future prosperity.

These “suburban” towns (outside the Beltway, as they say in Atlanta) are becoming urban centers as the population in Gwinnett Country continues to grow.  It will be interesting to see how this diversified growth changes the character of places like Duluth, Snellville, and Suwanne.

The Gwinnett County economy seems somewhat different than other sub-regions in the south. In a short period of time, maybe four decades, Gwinnett County’s population soared from a few thousand to nearly a million, and it continues to grow geometrically. When I often went to the 1818 Club and to Gwinnett Rotary meetings during my short stay in Georgia, I met men and women who talked mostly about traffic issues, banking, residential construction, insurance, and related services.  Subjects not covered were tourism, oil and gas, timbering, agriculture, fisheries, and heavy construction…..topics one would hear discussed in business clubs in Shreveport, New Orleans or Houston. Clearly, Gwinnett County’s economy is more service-based than other regions in the South.

Gwinnett County, for the most part, is clean and orderly. Compared to areas in Texas and Louisiana, more forest areas are preserved; subdivisions are better planned; roadways (more congested than one would like) are better maintained; and roadside trash and debris are better handled. I sense that healthcare is better in Gwinnett County than in other areas in the South. This, I think, is due to the influence of Emory; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Gwinnett Medical Center.

Gwinnett’s other great advantages are proximity to the beautiful mountains of north Georgia, the City of Atlanta, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and the presence of Delta Airlines. Obviously, getting to the airport from Gwinnett County poses a challenge. One wonders why the State of Georgia doesn’t just go ahead now and build high-speed train services over and above I-85,  I-75, and Georgia 400 where rights-of-way are already in place?

On balance, I believe that Gwinnett County is a very special place. Yes, there are challenges, but on the whole, I can think of no better place to live, work, study, worship, and raise a family.

Geaux Dawgs! Geaux Jackets! Go Georgia!

EEB PERSPECTIVE

Response from readers make publishing GwinnettForum worthwhile

By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher

NOV. 17, 2015  |  Sometimes I wonder why I continue to publish GwinnettForum. I’ve said before that at least it extends my life through this participation with the wider community. Thank you for allowing me to do this, and from responding from time to time.

15.elliottbrackEvery now and then, I get a noteworthy comment comes from a reader, and it makes me proud to publish these thoughts and ideas, so that you, the other readers, can benefit from their viewpoints.

For instance, today we have two letters that illustrate this point.

One is from Charles Blair in Lawrenceville  Few people outside Lawrenceville probably know of  him, if they are not in the field of industrial machinery tools. Charles works mostly alone, fabricating in his metal shop components that have keen tolerances. If you need a spare part duplicated, Charles can do it.   He is also clearly a deep thinker, and we benefit from his thoughts.

The other letter-writer printed in this issue is an old friend from South Georgia, Alvin Leaphart, an attorney who is in a solo private practice in Jesup, though widely known as a member of the bar. He is also an outdoorsman, particularly in sailing, and enjoys being on the Georgia coast. Both writers were commenting on the Paris attacks.

Consider also two of our regular contributors, George Wilson, a private businessman from Stone Mountain, and Debra Houston, a retired businesswoman from Lilburn, both stimulate our minds with their comments. Debra speaks for a lot of us in this edition in frustration from having a land line telephone.

15.0814.mystery

One of our favorite Mystery Photos from earlier this year.

We’re pleased, too, with a growing list of people contributing their recollections of the Mystery Photos we have been running for almost two years. Some of the scenes they share with us are as beautiful as any National Geographic photographs. And this week we have one of them not only spotting the mystery, but sending us a photo of him and his wife at the site of the most recent mystery.

Participation by our readers vindicates our publication. We invite our current readers to tell others about our publication, so that they can widen their scope through reading it. At least the cost won’t hurt their weekly budget.

Getting deep-felt correspondence from people like these enriches all our lives. We are thankful to them, and others sharing their views with us through GwinnettForum.

Please pardon this aside in this issue. The sheer thought of people enjoying, and responding to our Forum, thrills me. Again, “Thank You!”

A BRIDGE? Do you remember a comment last week that the new Atlanta Falcons stadium is now wanting a bridge of its own?  Seems to me that the new Mercedes-Benz stadium has a case of envy, now that the Atlanta Braves have a bridge of their own in the making.  I can hear Atlanta politicians and Mercedes –Benz officials thinking: “If the Braves can have a bridge, why can’t we?”   Wonder where it will go?

STOCK? Another Atlanta sports story has the Atlanta Braves thinking about offering stock in their baseball club, much like many people in Green Bay, Wisconsin, own stock in the Packers. But talk about the timing of coming to the market now, when the Braves have suffered through one of their worst seasons in years?  But of course, stock traders say that when you, as an investor, venture into the market, do so when you can buy low.

We suggest you wait to buy Braves’ stock. If their performance this year is any indication, let others buy this year, and you buy next year, when we suggest the price could be lower.

ANOTHER VIEW

LAN line phone customers have their own callers who abuse them

By Debra  Houston

NOV. 17, 2015  |  In a more innocent age, the family phone was our friend. It seldom rang, and when it did, you’d say, “Honey, could you get that?” Now you say, “Wait! DON’T!” The modern LAN (Local Area Network) phone has become a nuisance and a thief.

00_icon_houstonMr. Anonymous calls on weekend mornings while my family sleeps. I answer and get dead silence. Privacy advocates say these calls test to see if you have a live line.

“Hi, this is Rachel.” Robocall Rachel has a great credit card deal for me.  Actually she wants my card number so she can steal me blind.  She says, “Hold on while I find a real human to swindle you.”(My interpretation.)  Actually, you’re well advised to hang up.

My Caller ID is linked to my TV. If an unfamiliar area code pops up onscreen, I ignore it. If the number is legit, the caller can leave a message on the answering machine.

Recently a couple of robocalls left irate messages. The first featured a man claiming to work for the IRS. He said I owed back taxes. If I didn’t call back, the FBI would arrest me.  That same day another loudmouth called, said he worked for the FBI, and that I faced a lengthy prison term for not paying taxes.  He also ordered me to call back.

Skillful scammers use untraceable “local” numbers. One came from a man with a thick Middle Eastern accent. He wanted to update my Windows. I told him I didn’t own a PC. When he replied, “No problem, I will help you,” that’s when I smelled a rat.

Rumor has it that the “Windows” scam comes from Pakistan. With your help, the caller steals financial records from your computer. It sounds like a plot from a John Grisham thriller: Terrorists steal from Americans to fund killing them.

I asked the Windows guy for his name. He said, “Ted Turner.” I couldn’t suppress my laughter. He said, “You should be ashamed for laughing at me,” and hung up.

Weeks went by, and he called again. When he mentioned Windows, I said in my best Nancy Grace voice, “Sir, you are a scam.”

“That is impossible,” he answered. “I cannot be a scam. I can only be a scammer.”

We can’t expect our politicians to fix the robocall problem — they’re the biggest abusers of all. You’ll find out when Donald Trump calls you before the Georgia Primary in March. That should really scare you.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Crowell Brothers Funeral Home

00_new_crowellThe public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Crowell Brothers Funeral Home now has a new location in Buford at 201 Morningside Drive in Buford, in addition to our original location on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Norcross, Ga. It has been a family owned and operated business in business for over 30 years, and which prides itself on caring, individualized service. The staff at Crowell Brothers works to help families properly honor their loved one, according to his or her own personality and life experiences. Many families follow their own traditions when arranging services; others seek something different, a way to celebrate an extraordinary life. Crowell Brothers strives to personalize each service and help those affected begin their healing process. Whether you are currently in need of our services, or are simply educating yourself about your choices, this site was established with you in mind. Crowell Brothers is here to help you through any questions or concerns that you may have.

  • For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: Our sponsors.
FEEDBACK

Be angry and resolved, defiant but not defeated about Paris attacks

Editor, the Forum:

The recent actions in France have started many discussions and stirred many feelings.  But we must remember what the true goal of these radicals is.

00_lettersThey want to drive a wedge between us. They seek to separate our emotions from our intellect. They want to plant a seed in the darkness of our hearts where our fears and prejudices lie. They want us to live in fear and imagine enemies in every face we see.  They seek to make us lose our civility and reason, so that they can justify their own agenda.

When the president said they are attacking the universal values we share, he was talking about our respect for human life. This is a value that all organized religions and humans share, but one that our uniquely human ability to assign value will let us set aside.

We have today a large organized effort to teach disenfranchised people that to set aside this value and kill is not only acceptable but required.  The greatest victory that these radicals can have is if they convince us that this is true.  If they can make us set aside our values and decide that we can justify the same actions against others simply for vengeance or fear, then they will have won.

We should be angry and resolved, defiant but not defeated.  We have a military to fight wherever we find them, we have police and courts to maintain our sense of justice here at home.  But we must never allow them to have victory over our hearts and turn us into the savages they want us to be.  We have that choice and I ask each person to make that choice.

We must not let our anger and frustration have power over our judgment and actions.

— Charles Blair, Lawrenceville

Encourage alliance between Russia and United States to defeat ISIS

Editor, the Forum:

When George Bush invaded Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9-11, and destroyed the Iraqi army and essentially killed Saddam Hussein, he also destroyed the balance of power in the Middle East. As the result we now must deal with a nuclear threat from Iran, and we have ISIS.

Unfortunately it takes a brutal dictator to control the people of the Middle Eastern countries.

I am a student of history and over the years have read a lot on the Mid-East. These people have been fighting among themselves and their neighbors for the last 3,000 years, and they are still at it. The only way the Romans could control them was with brute force. That is all an ignorant religious radical understands.

The attack in Paris is only the beginning. Everyone is at risk. The idea is to make all of us (Americans and others alike) fearful, spend enormous amounts of money on security, and make people afraid to go to public events—all of which will destroy our economy, not to speak of “our way of life.”

Assad is a brutal dictator, but if he is gone, who and what will replace him? Another just like him or he won’t last long. And then more instability.

Russia and the United States have a common enemy. We need to stop playing around. Our leaders need to quit with the diplomatic rhetoric, and join with Russia, destroy ISIS, and when the dust settles deal with our differences.

If you agree I hope you will use your influence to encourage such an alliance between Russia and the United States.

Alvin Leaphart, Jesup, Ga.

Remembering a world-class athlete who few knew recently died

Editor, the Forum:

Sometimes I think of someone from the past and turn to the Internet. I wondered last week whatever became of years-back track star Houston McTear, and was shocked to find out he had died of lung cancer in Sweden at age 58 on November 1.

His death received little or no mention in the sports media, even though he had been on the cover of Sports Illustrated long ago. I’ve heard ESPN said nothing about his death; probably didn’t know.

He was an amazing athlete with a sad story, growing up dirt-poor living in a shack in a small Florida panhandle town. He was said to race trains as a schoolboy running alongside the tracks in tennis shoes.

I can remember long-ago stories of him smoking cigarettes while he competed in track, one time grinding out a finished smoke with his track shoe as he stepped into the starting blocks, not an approved training regimen.  With little or no track training in high school Houston began winning most races he ran in, and became known as the fastest runner in the world, even with an unlikely build of around 5’7” and 170 lbs.

He once turned in the fastest time ever, finishing the 100 yard dash at 9.0 seconds. Later he spent several years homeless and on drugs living on a California beach. There is a website about him: 9Seconds-theMovie.com. A sportswriter in Crestview, Fla. wrote about Houston’s life, mentioning that he only read at a third grade level, even though he attended college briefly in California, to run track, of course.

His is an amazing and sad story worth retelling. His name always rang a bell with me, but I’ll bet few sports fans today outside of some old track coaches have ever heard of him, track not being a big money sport.

Marshall Miller, Lilburn

Questions ideas presented in previous issues

Editor, the Forum:

I’m surprised that you would publish a first grade assessment of representation in our electoral process and government. Mr. Wilson writes as if this is news, and it maybe it is to him. He must have read a few of the recent articles in the news on the electoral process.   His assessment and recommendation is paradoxical, supports the system we have in place, and if the current system were to be changed it would decrease the “fairness” of the process. I appreciate your responsibilities and interest in supporting freedom of speech; however maybe we should apply an intellectual qualifier.

Richard Stickel, Norcross

Dear Richard: GwinnettForum is the conduit for ideas and innovative thought. We want to allow as much freedom as expression as possible, left, right, front, back, whatever. Then it’s up to the reader to draw conclusions. –eeb

UPCOMING

Deadline is Dec. 31 for Snap Suwanee photo competition

logo_suwanee2013Calling all photographers! The City of Suwanee is now accepting submissions through December 31 for its annual Snap Suwanee photo competition. The city is looking for great photos that illustrate the Suwanee community – its beauty, its people, its spirit.

Photos submitted to the competition should ideally be taken within the City of Suwanee limits during the last two years. The contest is open to all photographers, from professional to amateur, DSLR champions to cell phone snappers. Up to five photographs per photographer may be entered. Visit suwanee.com for additional guidelines and an entry form.

Winning photographs will be exhibited in the first floor lobby at City Hall, beginning in March 2016 for approximately one year.

Christmas tree lighting on Nov. 26 has lots of allied events

Continue the tradition this holiday season with Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation (GCPR), as it hosts the 28th annual Lighting of the Tree on Thanksgiving Day, November 26 at 5:30 p.m. The tree lighting ceremony begins at 6 p.m. at the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse in downtown Lawrenceville.

14.1202.villetreeFamilies can enjoy gathering on the grounds to await the flick of the switch illuminating 30,000 lights on the 30-foot Norway spruce. The evening’s entertainment will include Class Act Band leading everyone in singing carols, and music by Cheyenne Knight and Katie Wolf.  Food vendors will be on hand to offer sweets, savory treats and warm beverages.  For kids, there will be face painting, Whoville Hair and crafts starting at 5:30 p.m. until Santa Clause arrives in style.

Santa’s sleigh will be on display on the East Lawn, on loan from the North Pole.  Parents can take photos of their little ones in the sleigh with Santa once he has arrived at the Courthouse.

The East Lawn will feature musical performances by Buford High School Theatre Club.  Event sponsors include the City of Lawrenceville, Hayes Chrysler, Gwinnett Daily Post and Wall Heating and Air Conditioning. For details, please call the Courthouse at 770-822-5450 to register for special holiday events hosted by GCPR visit www.gwinnettparks.com. The Gwinnett Historic Courthouse is located at 185 Crogan Street in downtown Lawrenceville.

 Holiday Expo coming Dec. 5-6 at Infinite Energy Forum

Two days of one-stop holiday shopping is offered at the Home for the Holiday Expo December 5-6 at Infinite Energy Forum (formerly Gwinnett Center).  This Christmas extravaganza features merchandise from local and national vendors; specialty and retail stores; handcrafted arts and crafts; gourmet foods; apparel; jewelry; home accessories and décor; and gifts. There will be over 125 vendors, with upwards of 50 handmade crafters and specialty products on hand.

The hours are Saturday, December 5, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Sunday, December 6, from noon until 5 p.m. Tickets are $5 online at HomefortheHolidayExpo.com or $8 at the door.

Holiday performances from local school choirs, bands, and dance groups will be presented.  Scheduled to perform are Duluth Middle School Chamber Orchestra, Mill Creek High School Show Choir, the Norcross High School Master’s Chorus, Honey Bee Records Music School Performers, Dance Warehouse, Paris Dancers, North Atlanta Trombone Quartet, Reid Soria and others.

  • To find out more about the event, call 770-963-9205, ext. 1203.
NOTABLE

Little Mulberry Park gets urban forestry award for greenspace

The Georgia Urban Forest Council (GUFC) has presented its 2015 Excellence in Urban Forestry Awards Program to Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation (GCPR), winning the  prestigious Outstanding Greenspace Grand Award for Little Mulberry Park. The GUFC is a nonprofit organization with the mission of sustaining Georgia’s green legacy by helping communities grow healthy trees.

15.1117.LilMulAwardAt the awards ceremony recently in Savannah were Andrew Saunders, president of the Georgia Urban Forest Council; Nancy Lovingood, certified arborist with Lovingood Consulting Services; Marcie Moore, Greenspace Planner with GCPR; and Robert Farris, director of the Georgia Forestry Commission.

Mary Lynne Beckley, executive director of the Georgia Urban Forest Council, says: “Thoughtful implementation of their long-term master plan helped to preserve this beautiful Greenspace, contributing to positive environmental, health, and economic benefits for local citizens.”

The park, consisting of 891 acres, is located in upper Gwinnett County near Dacula and Auburn. Entrances are at 3855 Fence Road in Auburn, and at 3800 Hog Mountain Road in Dacula. There are multiple trails within the park. There are 5.5 miles of paved multi-use trails; a paved hiking trail (no bikes) of 2.3 miles; an unpaved hiking trail of one mile; and the equestrian trail is 5.5 miles long.

  • For more information on the Georgia Urban Forest Council and its 2015 Awards Program, call 404-377-0404 or visit www.gufc.org. For information about Little Mulberry Park or the events offered by Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation, visit www.gwinnettparks.com.
RECOMMENDED

Very Good Lives

By J.K. Rowling

00_recommendedJ.K Rowling, the perennially popular author of the Harry Potter series, who also writes for adults, shares her brand of wisdom about handling failure, and still living a very good life. This is based on her address to the 2008 graduating class of Harvard University.  The benefits of failure and the power of imagination propel one forward and provide the resiliency necessary to handle both success and disappointment.  Imagination was instrumental in keeping her focused during periods of poverty.  “You will never truly know yourself or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity” she says, adding: “Life is not a checklist of acquisitions or achievement; your qualifications or curriculum vitae are not your life”. Very Good Lives is a powerful and instructive reading experience. The full title is Very Good Lives; the Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination.

— Karen Harris, Stone Mountain

An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (100 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. –eeb

GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBIT

Association of Georgia Artists started in Murphy home in Savannah

(From previous edition)

Christopher Murphy Jr. liked to sketch outdoors. Captivated with Savannah’s distinctive architecture and familiar with its numerous landmarks, he systematically captured the ebb and flow of daily life in the streets and on the waterfront from 1925 until his death. Acutely aware of changes brought about by both progress and neglect, Murphy visited deserted historic plantations with crumbling outbuildings and wandered into rural areas outside the city, drawing what he saw. With these numerous drawings as sources, Murphy created more than 250 etchings and drypoints. These works fit firmly within the etching revival traditions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, an aesthetic well developed in the prints of James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Joseph Pennell, Murphy’s teacher.

Murphy

Murphy

On May 29, 1929, 19 locally prominent artists gathered in the Murphy family home and established the Association of Georgia Artists. The new organization had ambitious goals: to encourage art appreciation in Georgia, to mount annual exhibitions of members’ works that would travel throughout the state, and to enable artists to become better acquainted with one another. Within ten years the membership roster swelled to nearly 100. Murphy served as the organization’s president from 1934 to 1935.

Murphy was also an active member and president of the Savannah Art Club, the oldest art club in Georgia. Established to encourage art appreciation in the citizenry of Savannah and further art as part of the community’s cultural life, the Savannah Art Club also managed the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In the following decades Murphy directed his career from Savannah. He maintained a rigorous exhibition schedule, which included showing his work in Georgia at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Savannah Art Club, and the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences; in New York at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, the Print Club of Rochester, and the Whitney Museum of American Art; in Ohio at the Cleveland Print Club; and in Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Print Club.

At various times he taught classes in Savannah at Armstrong State College, Hunter Air Force Base Service Club, the Savannah Area Vocational-Technical School, and the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also accepted a limited number of portrait commissions and contributed illustrations and articles to several magazines.

Murphy married Ernestine Cole in 1946; their only child, Christopher Cole Murphy, was born three years later. In 1947 he produced 37 illustrations for the book Savannah, a collaboration between Murphy and local historian Walter Charlton Hartridge. The book was well received and helped initiate massive restoration efforts in historic downtown Savannah.

Murphy died on October 20, 1973, and is buried at Hillcrest Cemetery in Savannah. The collection of the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta includes 100 pieces of his work; the Telfair Museum of Art also houses his work.

MYSTERY PHOTO

Bridge or what?  Tell us where this photo was taken

15.1117.mystery

A railroad bridge?  An aqueduct? A Six Flags Exhibit?  You tell us what this is, and where it is located, and you’ll win the prestigious Mystery Photo recognition in the next edition.   Send your answers to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include the town where you live.

15.1113.mysteryFirst in to identify the Mystery Photo in last edition was Ruthy Lachman Paul of Norcross, citing Dubrovnik, in Croatia. The photo came from Ross Lenhart of Pawley’s Island, S.C.

Then came Scott LeCraw of Suwanee, saying: “I’ve got you this week!  That’s the harbor at Dubrovnik, Croatia.  The city is still ringed by its old defensive wall.  Walking the top of that wall around the city is a thrilling activity filled with beautiful sights. Here’s a picture I took from atop the wall looking back the other direction.”

Next in was Tom Merkel of Berkeley Lake saying the mystery “is the walled city of Dubrovnik Croatia, founded in the 7th or 8th Century.” Bob Foreman of Grayson recognized it: “The photo is of the ancient town of Dubrovnik, Croatia, a World Heritage Site. This is on my list of places I want to visit.”  (Hey, Bob, get up a trip; lots of us would enjoy it!)

Donna and Jerry Fogel

Donna and Jerry Fogel

Jerry Fogel of Dacula not only recognized the mystery, but sent in another view of the area, after taking a cable car to high above the city: “My wife, Donna, and I recently returned from a cruise there. It is the walled city of Dubrovnik, Croatia.  A lot of well traveled people say it is the most beautiful coastal city in the world!!”

Others recognizing it include the always alert Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill; Tom King of Huntsville, Ala.; and Logan Duke of Atlanta.

LAGNIAPPE

Site of George Walton home in Augusta

15.1117.GeoWaltonHome

15.1117.DARTripTOURIST ATTRACTION: Button Gwinnett gets lots of attention in Gwinnett as a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Yet George Walton, for whom nearby Walton County is named, was another signer, and his home is its own tourist attraction in Augusta. Called “Meadow Garden,” it is nestled near the medical center in Augusta, and open for touring Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. Meadow Garden was saved from being a rental house in 1891 by the Augusta Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The care and maintenance of Meadow Garden is a project of the Georgia State Society DAR and is owned and operated by them.

Visiting from the Philadelphia Winn chapter in Gwinnett were, at right on the front row, Linda Olsen, Kitty Watters and Gerta Groff. On the second row are Ann Story, Lee Schermerhorn and Cindy Gaskins. Back row includes Carolyn Holley and Regent Lydia McGill.

CREDITS

GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday. If you would like to serve as an underwriter, click here to learn more.

  • Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves or comments on any issue to Gwinnett Forum for future publication.
  • MORE: Contact Editor and Publisher Elliott Brack at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com
UNSUBSCRIBE
We hope you’ll keep receiving the great news and information from GwinnettForum, but if you need to unsubscribe, go to this page and unsubscribe in the appropriate box.
© 2015, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.
Share