NEW VENTURE: Re-development in Duluth of the former Proctor Square Shopping Center at Buford Highway and Georgia Highway 120 will be called The Village in Duluth, an eight acre project that will feature luxury rental housing and live-work components and other commercial businesses, including two restaurants and parking deck. The Residential Group of Atlanta is the developer. An open house about the site will be held December 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the former Big Lots building.
IN THIS EDITIONTODAY’S FOCUS: Children Do Better When They Know Their Family History
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Would a Deadlocked GOP Convention Turn To Someone Not Running?
ANOTHER VIEW: Historic Free Tour of Norcross Cemetery Scheduled on December 12
FEEDBACK: Not Happy When People Change the Name of Holidays
UPCOMING: A Christmas Carol Returns to Aurora Theatre
NOTABLE: More Young Men Performing at Gwinnett Ballet Theatre
RECOMMENDED OUTING: The Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Georgia Leads the Nation in the Production of Pecans
TODAY’S QUOTE: What “Bipartisan” Really Means
MYSTERY PHOTO: Clues Galore for This Edition’s Mystery Photo
TODAY’S FOCUSChildren do better in life when they know their family history
(Editor’s Note: Today’s comment comes from a retired Certified Professional Accountant, who sold his practice in 1990. He formerly was the Ride Director of the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG), and retired from that position in June of 2015.He has been a resident of Lilburn for 31 years.)-eeb
By Jerry J. Colley
LILBURN, Ga., Dec. 1, 2015 | When in the hospital recovering from surgery, I read in an old Reader’s Digest that children do better in life when they know their family history. It started me thinking about my family history and how little I know about it.
I would love to know about my great and great-great grandfathers’ experiences serving in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. And my first hero was my Great Uncle Larry Wootan, who served in the U.S. Army during World War I. His memory was gone by the time I was old enough to appreciate what he had done.
The story that should really be told is that of my dad’s first cousin, Pvt. Frank Power, Jr., USMC, who is entombed in the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor, a victim of the Japanese sneak attack on December 7, 1941.
Another story that needs to be told is that of Uncle Larry’s grandson, Sgt. Doc Caldwell, Jr., U.S. Army, a conscientious objector combat medic who was killed in action in Vietnam on May 13, 1968.
One of my regrets is that I never got all the details of my dad’s service in the Navy in Cuba and aboard the USS Reuben James prior to World War II. Fortunately, he was not on board when the Reuben James was sunk by a German submarine on October 31, 1941, just before our entry into World War II.
Then it occurred to me that I have a story to tell. I served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from November 1968 to November 1969. And I have lots of pictures that I took during that year. (My dad was a professional photographer and I was raised with a camera in my hand.)
So, after I got out of the hospital, I made a photo book of that year while I was in Vietnam. I made the book for my two grown sons, and maybe, just maybe, a grandchild or great grandchild of mine who may someday be interested in my experience during the war. I wish I had a book like that from my relatives in other wars.
Was I a war hero? No. I was a draftee, and a payroll clerk at U.S. Army Headquarters in Long Binh, as safe a place as could be found in Vietnam in 1968 – 1969. I did what I was told to do. No more. No less.
Robert E. Lee’s famous comment was, “Do Your Duty.” I hated every minute of my year in Vietnam. But, now I can proudly say that I did the duty that my country required of me and I did it to the best of my ability. A lot of my generation shirked that duty through various means.
I was not a hero, but I have an Honorable Discharge for “Honest and Faithful Service” to the United States Army. I am proud of my service to our great nation and proud to be a veteran of the U.S. Army. Hooah!
* * * * *
Footnote: If any reader would like to see my book to get some ideas for a book of your own, please send your email address to me at braghq@aol.com. I used MyPublisher.com to make my book. I can only share the book’s website with individual email addresses. You will probably get promotional emails from MyPublisher.com once they know your email address.
EEB PERSPECTIVEWould a deadlocked GOP Convention turn to someone not running?
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher
This election season has produced a bumper crop of candidates for the Republican nomination, but just a few seeking the Democratic nomination. After some dropouts in both parties, the list now stands at 11 Republican and three Democrats still running.
While we question whether Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination, she is moving closer to locking it up.
And as we get closer to the first big test, the Iowa caucuses on February l, those 11 Republicans still running could gum up the works if one of them doesn’t pop to the forefront. It makes you wonder if the GOP could move toward their convention July 18-21 in Cleveland and be deadlocked without a consensus candidate? Could it end up a brokered convention, with the GOP party regulars eventually having to make the choice of the nominee?
What if the GOP convention was at such loggerheads that the Republicans could not easily produce the nominee? Is there some other public figure that they might turn to as a major compromise and unite behind?
We came to this thought reading the other day about a Republican in a high profile position who is not seeking the presidential nomination. That would be John Roberts Jr., the chief justice of the Supreme Court. He has become a much-loved figure among Republicans, a figure they hold in high esteem as he seeks to move the court in a continued conservative manner. Even though he sides sometimes with the liberal wing of the Court, he still is held in high regard among the Grand Old Party.
His stature, we would think, is held in high esteem also by ordinary citizens. While a political appointee, he has generally stayed above the harshness of party politics, leading the court in an exemplary manner. Should the GOP have to turn to him, it would make the election a much closer one than to have one of the current crop of Republican candidates as the nominee, giving the Republicans a better chance of winning, it would appear.
No sitting chief justice of the Supreme Court has ever been elected president. However, one former president has been named chief justice. That was William Howard Taft Grover Cleveland, who served as Teddy Roosevelt’s appointee to the court, a position he had always wanted. He served for nine years.
A few facts about John Roberts Jr. He was born in Buffalo in 1955, is married with two sons. His undergraduate education was at Harvard, where he also got his law degree. He served two times as a law clerk, for a Court of Appeals judge, then for former Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Roberts worked in the Justice Department as a special assistant to the Attorney General, and was associate counsel to President Ronald Reagan for four years, then was the principal deputy Solicitor General for four years. He has had 13 years as an attorney in private practice in Washington, D. C. before being appointed to the Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit in 2003. Two years later, President George W. Bush nominated him for the Supreme Court.
Though mostly in government service, his background is impressive. With 10 years under his belt, the Roberts Court gets generally positive reviews.
If none of the current Republican candidates catches fire, the GOP would gain lots of plaudits with a John Roberts nomination.
ANOTHER VIEWNorcross Cemetery Tour on Dec. 12 tells of bygone citizens
By Gene Ramsay
The town of Norcross was founded in 1870 when entrepreneur John Thrasher built a resort hotel at a stop on a newly-constructed railroad connecting Atlanta to the northeast. Many families moved to the new town, and built stately homes that survive to this day on its residential streets, giving it a historic character that is unique today for this area of the state.
But there is another location in Norcross with tangible links back to the beginning of our town and beyond – the Norcross City Cemetery, where many of our pioneer citizens now rest for eternity.
To celebrate the city’s recent efforts to refurbish the cemetery, I will give a free tour of the cemetery grounds, on Saturday December 12 at 10 a.m. The cemetery is located at the corner of South Cemetery and Fairmount Streets in Norcross, just off Buford Highway, near the heart of historic Norcross.
I will share the history of the town and the cemetery through stories of
- Mollie Jones, who took her three sons on a vacation that set their course of their lives for the next 50 years;
- Owen Medlock, a real estate developer who fell to his death in a tragic accident;
- Winn Born, a successful attorney who served as mayor while in his 20s;
- Edward Buchanan, who went from rags-to-riches-to-rags, parlaying his skills as a telegraph operator into a large fortune, and then losing it all in a stock scheme;
- Doc Lively, a former mayor shot dead on Christmas Day on the city’s main street;
- Laura McNabb, a local teacher who advocated for improvements in education over a century ago, leading to the construction of the “Castle on the Hill”, the town’s iconic school building that stood overlooking downtown for many years;
- Tilly McElroy, who overcame severe wounds during the Civil War to lead a long and prosperous life, that included four wives;
- Noye Nesbit, who played football for John Heisman at Georgia Tech before spending a first career building pipelines for Standard Oil, and then a second career as the first director of the Gwinnett County Water System;
- and many others.
The Impact! Group
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Concerned about someone changing names of holidays
Editor, the Forum:
I sympathize with Debra Houston’s concerns (miffed as she approached her favorite holiday Thanksgiving) about the Thanksgiving Holiday being covered over by the effort to get us all shopping for Christmas.
I have related concerns about our holidays. I hate change for the sake of simplification or cute, especially cute. Here are some examples of this nonsense, such as:
- Christmas changed to Xmas.
- Thanksgiving Day changed to Turkey Day.
- Independence Day changed to Weenie Day.
I think Weenie Day is the worst.
— Alex J. Ortolano, Duluth
Thinks Thanksgiving is doomed
Editor, the Forum:
I totally agreed with Debbie Houston. Thanksgiving going by the wayside …
— Trish Gates, Winder
- SEND FEEDBACK AND LETTERS: elliott@brack.net
A Christmas Carol returns through Dec. 20 at Aurora Theatre
Feel the return of warm memories at Aurora Theatre’s holiday classic, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, playing November 27 through December 20! The timeless tale of redemption unfolds as the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge (Anthony Rodriguez) departs on an unforgettable journey of transformation through Christmas past, present and future. As Scrooge attempts to open his heart and mind to the true meaning of the holiday, audiences are invited to revisit the splendor of what makes this one of the greatest Christmas stories of all time!
Set in the late 1800s on a cold, dark Christmas Eve in London, Aurora’s intimate Studio transports audiences into the home of the troubled and resentful Scrooge. With a heart that’s been hardened throughout the years, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts, each with a specific story and lesson to share. As he travels through the spirit world, he’s forced to make certain choices about his life, including whether or not to embrace the joy of Christmas. Through behavior and voice alone, Rodriguez’s spirited solo performance brings the characters of Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley and the remarkable ghosts to life before audience’s eyes!
Adapted and directed by Tony Brown, the tale is brought from the page to the stage by the design team of Britt Ramroop (set), James M. Helms (lights), Daniel Terry (sound/technical director), Alan Yeong (costumes) and Sarah Thomson (scenic artist).
Tickets range from $20-$30 and can be purchased online at tickets.auroratheatre.com. Regular show times, in repertory with The 12 Dates of Christmas, are as follows: Wednesdays though Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Georgia Secretary of State to be GGC commencement speaker Dec. 17
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp will be the keynote speaker at Georgia Gwinnett College’s fall commencement ceremony, to be held at 10 a.m., December 17, in the Infinite Energy Forum (formerly the Gwinnett Center) Exhibit Hall. More than 300 GGC students will receive their bachelor’s degrees. A lifelong resident of Athens, Kemp holds a bachelor’s of science in agriculture from the University of Georgia. He owns Kemp Properties, a small business specializing in real estate investments and property management.
President of AOA to visit Suwanee medical school Dec. 4
On Friday, December 4, 2015, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM) will welcome Dr. John W. Becher, president of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), to the College. Dr. Becher, who was inaugurated as the 119th President of the AOA in July, will meet and speak to students studying osteopathic medicine.
The AOA is the primary certifying body for Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine and the accrediting agency for all osteopathic medical schools. While GA-PCOM is no stranger to presidential visits from the AOA – the 118th President of the AOA, Dr. Robert S. Juhasz, visited campus in March – this visit hits a little closer to home as Dr. Becher earned his doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from PCOM’s Philadelphia campus in 1970 and remains deeply involved with the college today.
Dr. Becher is an AOA board-certified emergency physician from Newtown Square, Penn. In addition to his position at the AOA, Dr. Becher serves as chairman of the department of emergency medicine at PCOM. He is also director of osteopathic medical education at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City, N.J., and an adjunct professor of emergency medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
In his AOA inauguration speech, Dr. Becher shared key goals for his presidency. He hopes to increase awareness of osteopathic medicine, pursue funding to support research pilot projects documenting the impact of osteopathic medicine, create new osteopathic-focused residency programs, boost advocacy efforts at the state and federal levels, and maintain fiscal responsibility.
NOTABLEMore young men becoming part of Gwinnett Ballet Theatre
The growing popularity of dance is evident throughout our culture, and ballet is not just for little girls in tutus anymore! The growing number of young men participating in the wide world of dance is seen everywhere in all forms of media. Nowhere is this male presence more evident than in Gwinnett Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker 2015 on December 4-20 at the Infinite Energy Theatre Stage. When the curtain rises for GBT’s annual holiday offering, 13 young men, all GBT students, will be performing.
GBT, Gwinnett County’s only totally non-profit dance organization, has been presenting The Nutcracker for 34 years. In the past, male participants have been very scarce or have consisted of hired soloists to play Cavalier to the Sugar Plum Fairy. This year, a strong male presence will run throughout the show. From “bad boy” Fritz to multiple soldiers in Act I, to leaping Russians and bouncing Polichinelles jumping from Mother Ginger’s enormous skirt in Act 2, GBT’s “men” will make a statement!
Artistic Director Wade Walthall is a major reason the school has begun enlisting more guys. His commitment to the school acquiring its own stable of male dancers has been a major goal from the beginning. Another reason is the growing realization in the public perception that dance is highly athletic and a great physical outlet for all that male energy. From only a couple of young men in GBT’s classes, suddenly there were boys wherever one looked! He says: “It is wonderful to see that parents of young men are seeing the value of dance training and encouraging their boys to attend Gwinnett Ballet Theatre. The program and enthusiasm is growing almost daily, it seems.”
Young men who participate in dance at GBT enjoy a well rounded curriculum of classical ballet, and as they grow older, jazz, hip hop and modern instruction. Students progress in physical skills common to all athletic endeavors: strength, endurance, agility, flexibility, coordination. Dance also develops a sense of teamwork, commitment, respect, time management, and more. And although occasional injury happens in dance as anywhere else, major injuries such as concussions and broken bones are, unlike some other sports, very infrequent.
Whether a young man is interested in a dance career or wishes to enhance his participation in another sport through honing certain physical skills, dance training is a valuable and very fun activity. The “fun factor” is one of the best aspects.
- For more information about the GBT School and its curriculum and opportunities for male and female dancers age 3-18, visit the web site at www.gwinnettballet.org, call 770-237-0046 or write to gbt78@bellsouth.net.
Celine Houenou, Mason Havens win GC&B essay contest
Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful has announced the winners of its American Recycles Day Essay Contest. The essay had to address one of four unsung superheroes of the recycling bin – paper, plastic, cardboard and aluminum, placing themselves in the role of a sidekick to tell the all-important tale of their favorite element. The winners are:
- Elementary/Middle School Prize Winner – Celine Houenou: A fifth grader at Pharr Elementary School, Celine’s creative story involved a team of recyclable superheroes rescuing other recyclables from the trash can. She dubbed herself “Clean Celine” as the sidekick that helped Paper Pete, Cardboard Callie, Plastic Bottle Polly, and Aluminum Can Allison to rescue recyclables from Garbage Grace. At the end of the story, Garbage Grace was transformed to Gracious Grace because she now understood that recycling is the right thing to do. For her efforts and creativity, Celine will be presented with a $100 prize.
- Grand Prize Winner – Mason Havens: A student at Georgia Southern University, Mason wrote a narrative detailing how the Greek organizations at his school are working together to create community change by recycling cans and bottles. In his essay, Mason explained that not all superheroes wear capes. Instead, the superhero of this story was a can or bottle that gave his fellow college students the opportunity to work together and make a difference. For his efforts and creativity, Mason will be presented with a $250 prize.
Explains Connie Wiggins, executive director for Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful: “Recycling is a process that ends with us buying a product made from recycled materials. With that in mind, we hoped to educate and motivate others to effect a positive change – whether at home, at school, at work or out there in the world. We have countless people thinking about recycling. We need help getting the word out on so many levels. It’s not just about the environment, recycling has an economic impact, as well. We have to be more conscientious about recycling materials that are wanted and needed by Georgia manufacturers. Thanks to this contest and GCB’s ongoing efforts, the message that recycling is the right thing to do for our community, our economy AND our environment is definitely spreading – and THAT is what America Recycles Day is all about!”
Local nonprofits get $30,000 from Jackson EMC Foundation
The Jackson EMC Foundation board of directors awarded a total $93,589 in grants during their October meeting, including $30,000 to agencies serving Gwinnett County residents. They are:
- $15,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Winder-Barrow in Winder for its Power Hour comprehensive homework help and tutoring program for elementary aged members, and Goals for Graduation, a program that combats academic underachievement in middle and high school aged members.
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$7,500 to Adventure Bags, an Auburn-based non-profit that sources and stuffs comfort bags that are distributed to displaced children.
- $5,000 to O.P.E., Inc., a Duluth non-profit serving low-income single parents who are working to achieve their college degree.
- $2,500 to the Pantry at Hamilton Mill, which serves Barrow, Clarke, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson and Madison counties, to purchase food.
The Jackson EMC Foundation is funded by Operation Round Up, which rounds up the more than 180,000 participating cooperative members’ monthly electric bills to the next dollar amount. This “spare change” has funded 1,021 grants to organizations and 321 grants to individuals, putting more than $10.3 million back into local communities since the program began in 2005.
RECOMMENDEDThe Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta
Expand yourself and your child’s horizon this year by taking your family to the Center for Puppetry Arts at 1404 Spring Street in downtown Atlanta. There are three elements at the World of Puppetry Museum: the museum of puppetry from all over the world; a hands-on Create-A-Puppet workshop; and a performance theatre, currently featuring Frosty the Snowman. A major part of the museum features the world of Jim Henson, creator of Kermit the Frog (among other characters), and how puppetry has changed in the 20th Century to include introducing itself to lots of kids through television. The Atlanta museum is the largest American non-profit organization solely dedicated to the art of puppet theatre. It’s easy to visit, with free parking. Give your children this different experience and watch them benefit! –eeb
- 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 leads the nation in production of pecans
Although the pecan has a long history in North America, Georgia farmers were relative latecomers in realizing the benefits of this tree nut. By the 1950s, however, Georgia had become the country’s leading producer of pecans. In 2012, Georgia led the nation in pecan production, with production for all pecans (improved varieties and native and seedling) reaching 100 million pounds. New Mexico and Texas follow Georgia in total pecan production.
According to archaeological and historical evidence, Asian species of the hickory tree arrived in North America before the first humans crossed the Bering Strait from Asia about 10,000 B.C. Other species are native to the Mississippi River valley.
The tree typically grows to a height of 75 to 100 feet and is well adapted to Georgia’s sandy loam soil with clay subsoil. The term pecan is also applied to the tree’s edible fruit. The nuts have a rounded, oblong shape and vary in weight from 25 to 100 to the pound.
While there may have been wild pecans in some of Georgia’s river valleys, the nuts are generally regarded as non-native to the state, and their value as a potential cultivated crop was not recognized until the late nineteenth century. By that time landowners began to regard pecans, long a staple of wild native trees from Iowa and Indiana to Texas and Mexico, as a commercial crop. Commercialization of pecans allowed the nut crop to expand into a number of southeastern states
In the late 1800s several individual Georgia landowners near Savannah began producing and marketing pecans on a small scale (about 97 total acres by 1889). By 1910 a “pecan boom” began when southwest Georgia landowners started planting what became thousands of acres of pecans. The orchards, however, were not looked upon as a commercial agricultural venture but as a real estate enterprise. Most of the acreage planted during the 15-year boom, from 1910 to 1925, were sold as 5 to 10 acre units for homes or small farms. Most of this acreage was concentrated in Dougherty and Mitchell counties.
Those early-20th-century plantations consistently remain the center of Georgia’s pecan-producing counties today. Modern orchards with plantings of scientifically improved pecan varieties now yield what are called “papershell” pecans, so named because the nuts are easy to crack and shell.
By the 1920s Georgia was producing 2.5 million pounds of pecans. Now Georgia pecan orchards range in size from just a few trees to several thousand acres, with more than 142,500 acres planted. Georgia is also fortunate to have an early harvest date compared to other pecan-producing areas, which often results in good prices for Georgia growers.
- To access the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Lots of clues could tell you where this Mystery Photo is located
There’s water, towers, greenery, an island, and even apparently a festival going in the background in this week’s Mystery Photo. Now figure out where this is. Send your answers to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include the town where you live.
Joe Hopkins of Norcross was the first to spot last edition’s Mystery Photo. He wrote: “Is this the Perry’s Victory Monument at Put-in-Bay, Ohio?” He’s right. Meanwhile, his up-the-street neighbor, the always reliable Ruthy Lachman Paul, also recognized it, giving us such detail: “Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, 93 Delaware Ave, Put-In-Bay, Ohio.”
Then Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill wrote: “This is the Perry Victory and International Peace Memorial at Lake Erie.” The photo was sent in by Rick Krause of Lilburn, who provides this information:
“Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial commemorates the Battle of Lake Erie that took place near Ohio‘s South Bass Island, in which Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry led a fleet to victory in one of the most significant naval battles to occur in the War of 1812. It celebrates the lasting peace between Britain, Canada, and the United States that followed the war.
A 352-foot monument — the world’s most massive Doric column — was constructed in Put-in-Bay, Ohio by a multi-state commission from 1912 to 1915 “to inculcate the lessons of international peace by arbitration and disarmament.” Beneath the stone floor of the monument lie the remains of three American officers and three British officers. It is among the tallest monuments in the United States (only the Gateway Arch, San Jacinto Monument, and Washington Monument are taller).”
LAGNIAPPE‘Tis the season, officially, at historic Gwinnett Courthouse
‘Tis the season, as the giant Christmas tree at the historic Gwinnett Courthouse shows. Meanwhile, the Courthouse’s clock continually tells the time. Roving Photographer Frank Sharp made this nighttime photo of the tree with a Panasonic Lumix KA-1000, on a tripod at F 2.8 with a 10 mm lens.
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