IF YOU WERE A BEE, could you resist checking out the nectar in the azalea blossom? Yes, spring has arrived in all its beauty, and you know the bees must be pleased and also their queen fat and sassy with all this nectar. But this time also means it’s pollen season. Yet pollen will soon be mostly gone, and meaning less sneezing and watery eyes. Ah! Springs in Georgia are wonderful and long, as is the fall season. What a great place to live!
IN THIS EDITIONTODAY’S FOCUS: Next Aurora Production Centers on 1939 Cuban-Holocaust Story
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Georgia Gets Black Eye from Legislative Kooks and Weirdos
ANOTHER VIEW: “Keep Bill Under Control This Time, President Rodham!”
SPOTLIGHT: Heaven & Associates, P.C.
UPCOMING: GGC’s Sixth Button Gwinnett Day To Honor Dr. James d’Angelo
NOTABLE: Dept. of Labor Career Expo To Host 60 Employers Needing Workers
RECOMMENDED ADVENTURE: Georgia Center for the Book
GEORGIA TIDBIT: In Professional Baseball, Georgia State League First Founded in 1906
TODAY’S QUOTE: The Most Important Day in Your Life……and…..
MYSTERY PHOTO: Another Architectural Gem for Your Guessing
LAGNIAPPE: Local DAR Chapter Visits Atlanta’s Historic Oakland Cemetery
TODAY’S FOCUSNext Aurora production centers on 1939 Cuban-Holocaust story
By Chelsea Bohannon
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., April 8, 2016 — A lyrical memory play that connects modern day Cuba with the Holocaust, audiences are invited to experience Aurora Theatre’s presentation of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz’s resilient Sotto Voce, April 15 through May 8.
Decades after the S.S. St. Louis was rejected by Cuba when seeking refuge from Nazi-Germany, one woman’s continued grief for the loss of her great love who traveled on that fateful ship, combined with a young student’s persistent interest in the past, transcends into an ethereal romance based on the woman’s memories.
Marianne Fraulo and Louis Gregory” (photo by Chris Bartelski)
Director and Aurora Associate Artistic Director Justin Anderson says: “It’s a story about humanity, healing and allowing the past to propel us into the future instead of allowing it to hold us captive.” Although it stems from an event almost 80 years ago, it is as relatable and necessary as ever in our current world landscape in light of the ongoing and harrowing refugee crisis happening in the Middle East and Europe right now, and the immigration debate continuing in our own backyards.”
Aurora Producing Artistic Director Anthony Rodriguez is compelled by theater that relates to what is happening in the world, too. “Sotto Voce is about a Cuban student striving to understand one small part of the Holocaust so the people who died in it are not forgotten. The plays that connect us as a community help forward our belief that, theater is for all,” he says.
Set in 1939, amidst World War II, German-born novelist Bemadette Kahn lost the love of her life when the S.S. St. Louis was rejected by Cuba, the U.S. and Canada, sending hundreds of Jewish refugees back to Europe to perish within concentration camps. Now 60 years later, a young Jewish-Cuban writer contacts Kahn to uncover the forgotten story of her lost love, Ariel Strauss, a passenger on that ill-fated voyage. As the past begins to resurface for Bemadette and her relationship with the young writer deepens, the unlikely duo is guided by her memories to form an inimitable romance.
Cruz, who was the first Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize in drama, intertwines the culture of his Cuban roots into his stories. To serve more of Atlanta’s richly diverse community, this production will be performed in English with Spanish supertitles as part of Aurora’s Teatro Aurora initiative. Directed by Anderson, the three-person cast stars four-time Suzi Bass Award nominee Marianne Fraulo (Bemadette Kahn), Saquiel Rafaeli/Ariel Strauss (Louis Gregory) and Lucila Pulpo/Nina Strauss (Denise Arribas).
Sotte Voce will be most enjoyed by adults and teens. Tickets range from $20-$30 and can be purchased online at tickets.auroratheatre.com or by calling the box office at 678-226-6222. Show times are as Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
PRIOR TO THE PERFORMANCE on Thursday, April 21, a Community Conversation: The Forgotten Ships of Souls will be held beginning at 7:15 p.m. Audiences are invited to join Aurora for a discussion detailing the voyage of the S.S. St. Louis and the ultimate rejection of hundreds of Jewish refugees trying to escape Nazi Germany. The inquisitive conversation will focus on the resiliency of love, the power of memories and how individuals can grow and cope from the choices – in and out of our control – in the past.
EEB PERSPECTIVELegislative kooks and weirdos can give Georgia a black eye
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher
APRIL 8, 2016 | Eventually, if you elect enough kooks and weirdos to the General Assembly, don’t you figure by the time they find their way around the State Capitol, that they might, just might, introduce some crazy legislation?
It’s impossible to lay blame at any one door. However, these days in Georgia we have many more Republican legislators than Democrats in the 2016 session. (The GOP dominates the Senate 39-17; in the House, there are 118 Republicans; 60 Democrats; one independent; and one vacancy.) When we had Democrats in charge in Georgia, there were more oddball and woeful legislators in the Democratic Party. Today it is just reversed.
Few (if any) Georgia Republicans are liberal, and a good many may be moderate. Many of the GOP elected officials are conservatives, some in the far right wing, of their party. Some even cozy up to the Tea Party.
It’s from the far right wing that a politically opportunistic sideshow has emerged. Few who belong to this new element could be deemed “statesmen” in any day.
These elected officials aren’t very interested in tackling real major issues of the day. They are much more thinking of making a name for themselves. They do this by introducing legislative subjects that few people think are needed. And in doing so, Georgia gets a black eye for its far-right posturing.
Legislatures in several states have seen measures affecting the following topics introduced in the last few years. They include:
- Voter suppression, such as cutting back on early voting, pushing for voter identification laws, roadblocking voter registration; and residency restrictions.
- Reducing or eliminating state income taxes.
- Blocking paid sick leave.
- Attacking efforts to raise the minimum wage.
- Reducing or taking down renewable energy standards.
These measures are too far sophisticated to come from these inexperienced, fruitcake legislators who are pushing for them. They are what the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is promoting.
As the nation’s statehouses have moved toward Republican majorities in recent years, ALEC has been behind much of this super-conservative legislation. To see such proposals introduced in state after state, you have to realize that there is a central, very conservative think-tank, giving these legislators the words to use, sometimes literally.
Perhaps this explains recent news. Did most Georgians really think that our state needs the law on religious liberty? Have these people not read the 46 words of the First Amendment, which imposes no restriction on religion? The prime person pushing this bit of tomfoolery is Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus). We owe it to him that our state came under the spotlight after the Legislature passed the religious liberty bill. Happily, Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed it.
But watch out. These legislators are not going away easily. They’ll be seeking to embarrass Georgia again by introducing this un-needed, phony issue in the next session.
As one has said, “When bad leadership arrives, it stays and stays and stays.” (Does this speak to term limits?)
How sad! Georgia and the rest of the nation is under fire from the extreme right wing in controlling much of what our statehouses are considering these days.
It happens any time any one political party completely controls any government. What we need is to have two strong parties in a near-balance of power, both carefully watching the other. When that happens, government will find itself more reasonable, more efficient, and also probably more honest.
We look forward to that day, but don’t see it coming real soon. It may test our patience.
ANOTHER VIEW“Keep Bill under control this time, President Rodham!”
By Debra Houston
APRIL 8, 2016 | Around and around we go! Who will be president? Nobody knows!
It is near midnight, November 8. Except for Hawaii, polls have closed and states are trending blue. CNN projects a winner. A triumphant Hillary Clinton stands at the podium, shoulders squared. “You’ve had a President Clinton,” she declares. “Now you’ll have a President Hillary Rodham!”
It’s not the surname switcheroo that concerns me. In fact, I think she should use her maiden name. Makes history clearer about which Clinton we’re talking about? No, I’m worried she’ll be an ultra-liberal Barack Obama in a pastel pantsuit.
Yet equally troubling is a Trump win. The phrase “Loose lips sink ships” was custom-made for him. He said he’d nuke Europe to destroy ISIS. Imagine how that remark made our allies feel. He also put his foot in it when he said if abortion were illegal, he’d send women who had them to prison.
Seldom do the purveyors of American culture encourage a pregnant woman to “Keep your baby. We’ll help you however we can.” Many victims, Donald, carry the emotional scars of abortion to their death. But didn’t he say he loved Planned Parenthood? Yes, but there are two Donalds, according to Dr. Ben Carson. There’s no way of knowing which one will show up on Inauguration Day.
John Kasich thinks he has a shot at the White House. The RNC has probably whispered something tantalizing in his ear about a brokered convention. Big mistake, RNC. Nominating Kasich would make Trump supporters angry enough to stay home on Election Day and we’d end up with Hillary Rodham.
Ted Cruz was never my first-choice candidate, but he has my attention now. Establishment Republicans disliked his maverick style in the Senate, but in the primaries, he was the only legitimate threat to Trump. Again, if Cruz is the nominee, can he stop Mrs. Clinton from metamorphosing into President Rodham?
Throw in Server-gate, the scandal Mrs. Clinton has hanging over her head, and things get even wilder. Perhaps Bernie Sanders will be on the general election ballot across from Donald Trump. Then we’d have a wild-eyed socialist running against a wild-eyed capitalist.
One thing is for sure — neither party knows who their nominee will be, much less who will make it to the presidency. Yet, if I were a gambling woman, I’d have to say, “Keep Bill under control this time, President Rodham.”
IN THE SPOTLIGHTHeaven & Associates, P.C.
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Heaven & Associates, P.C., is a certified public accounting firm. They provide solutions for success. They are located at 4720 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Suite 201, Norcross, Georgia. They work with clients to minimize their tax obligations, address the financial and accounting needs of their businesses and address the broader accounting needs of estate planning, business succession planning, and benefit and retirement planning. They can be reached at 770-849-0078. Their web site is www.heavencpa.com.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, go to: Our sponsors.
Send us a letter
We encourage readers to submit feedback (or letters to the editor). Send your thoughts to the editor at elliott@brack.net. We will edit for length and clarity.
Make sure to include your name and the city where you live. Submission of a comment grants permission for us to reprint. Please keep your comments to 300 words or less. However, we will consider longer articles (no more than 500 words) for featuring in Today’s Issue as space allows.
- Send Feedback and Letters to: elliott@brack.net
GGC’s 6th Button Gwinnett Day to honor Dr. James d’Angelo
Georgia Gwinnett College will host the sixth annual Button Gwinnett Day on Wednesday, April 13 at 10 a.m. at the college’s Student Center. This is a celebration of Gwinnett history and heritage in recognition of Georgia’s signer of the Declaration of Independence, and in partnership with Gwinnett Public Library.
The 2016 Button Gwinnett Day will be highlighted by the first presentation of the GGC Preservation Award to Dr. James D’Angelo of the Georgia Archeology Research Society in recognition of his work at Fort Daniel.
The event will include the presentations “Collections and Opportunities” by Archivist Shane Bell of the National Archives of Atlanta and “Sharing Stories that Move Us and Make Us: Helen Lewis and Clarence Jordan” by Jamil Zainalden, president of the Georgia Humanities Council.
Following a luncheon at which the GGC Preservation Award is presented, the GGC Honors Program will lead a panel discussion on the college’s four pillars of leadership, scholarship, service and creativity. The panel will include Charlotte Nash, Gwinnett County commissioner; Judy Jordan Johnson, mayor of the City of Lawrenceville; Pedro Marin, Georgia state representative; and Dr. Maria Lumpkin, GGC’s director of Student Involvement and the Student Center.
The event will conclude with the announcement of student winners in a project competition, voted on by attendees during the day.
- A PRE-EVENT MEMOIR writing workshop will be presented at the Gwinnett Public Library’s Five Fords branch, at 1 p.m., April 9, by GGC faculty members Dr. Linda Hughes, associate professor of educational foundations, and Dr. Kathryn Gray-White, assistant professor of history.
Spring Planting Festival At McDaniel Farm Park on April 16
Spring is the time to prepare the soil and begin planting. Join the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center (EHC) as it celebrates the region’s agrarian past with its Spring Planting Festival at McDaniel Farm on Saturday, April 16. The event will run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and features hands-on opportunities to learn about life on the historic farm.
The festival highlights the history of McDaniel Farm and the role agriculture played in Gwinnett’s past. EHC Director of Programming Jason West says: “McDaniel Farm is one of the last remaining large tracts of land from the 1820 land lottery. The property continued to be farmed until the 1990s. This festival not only celebrates the McDaniel property as a cotton farm but also stresses the sustainability of agriculture and how this is experienced through the farm landscape.”
McDaniel Farm is located at 3251 McDaniel Road, Duluth.
The festival features a number of activities and games that make the connection to farming including blacksmithing demonstrations, weaving activities and examining tools and tasks of the past. Guests should be prepared to get dirty as they explore for earthworms, discuss composting and plant their own seed. Participants will also make an herb sachet and learn how to establish and reap the benefits of their own herb garden.
The program fee for the Spring Planting Festival is $8 per person. EHC members and children under the age of two are free. Pre-registration is encouraged and can be done online at www.gwinnettEHC.org. Guests can also pay the program fee at the gate on the day of the event.
Waffle House Museum to have open house April 9 in Decatur
The Waffle House Museum’s spring open house is this Saturday, April 9. The Waffle House Museum is located at 2719 East College Avenue, Decatur.
Waffle House fans are invited to stop by the museum from noon to 3 p.m. to celebrate the 60-year heritage of this Southern icon. Along with taking tours of the 1955 diner replica, guests will receive a Waffle House branded gift to take home with them. This event is free to the public.
Waffle House enthusiasts can visit the site of where the Waffle House experience began. The goal is and has always been to provide guests with a unique and comfortable dining experience. At every restaurant, the bright yellow sign welcomes customers like an old friend, the jukebox plays a variety of Waffle House songs and associates give everyone a heartfelt greeting as they walk through the door.
- For more information about Waffle House restaurants, visit wafflehouse.com.
Lawrenceville kicks off five-part outdoor movie program tonight
The City of Lawrenceville is gearing up for the first of a five part series of outdoor movies. With a showing of Universal Pictures’ Jurassic World, Lawrenceville-based US Auto Sales presents the annual Movies on the Lawn summer series that kicks off this Friday, April 8 on the Lawrenceville Lawn at 210 Luckie Street.
The second Friday of each month – April through August – Lawrenceville welcomes residents and guests to enjoy an evening under the stars watching family friendly movies on the city’s newest green space. Food trucks will be on-site and other concessions will be available for purchase by local vendors as well.
Mayor Judy Jordan Johnson says: “A lot of thought goes into the lineup of movies that we select for this event. Parents are always in search of family-friendly activities in the community, so we like to show a wide range of movies that will appeal to children, teens, and adults as well.”
Although the movies will begin promptly at dusk, guests are encouraged to arrive early to explore the Historic Downtown Square for shopping, dinner, desserts and more. Free parking is available throughout the downtown district and onsite at the Lawn. For seating options, bring blankets or lawn chairs, but please note that open flames and pets are not allowed on the lawn.
Coming May 13, will be Universal Pictures’ Back to the Future. For more information about all of the events taking place in Lawrenceville, visit www.LawrencevilleGa.org.
NOTABLEDept. of Labor Career Expo to host 60 employers needing workers
More than 60 employers will be recruiting to fill hundreds of job openings at a career expo in Gwinnett County on Tuesday, April 19. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the church located at 2050 Sugarloaf Circle in Duluth.
The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL), along with the Norcross Cooperative Ministry and 12 Stone Church, will co-sponsor the expo. Veterans and military personnel will be allowed to enter the event at 9:30 a.m. GDOL staff will be on site to help screen the applicants.
Employers representing all sorts of firms will be present, ranging from Alcon to Waffle House. Applicants are encouraged to bring a resume and dress appropriately to improve their opportunities for jobs.
Job seekers planning to attend the expo are encouraged to visit www.employgeorgia.com to create an account and upload or create a resume. Having an Employ Georgia account and resume expedites the interview process. For more information about the expo, or employers wanting to register, contact the Gwinnett Career Center at (770) 840-2200.
RECOMMENDED ADVENTUREGeorgia Center for the Book
It’s not every day that basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal comes to the Atlanta area to talk to children, but that is exactly what he will be doing on April 30. O’Neal, author of several children’s books, will be in Decatur sponsored by the Georgia Center for the Book, an organization that brings eight to 15 authors to Decatur every month to audiences of 50 to 900. I have been to several of these authors’ talks and I highly recommend them. The best part – they are free! The Georgia Center for the Book has attracted a wide variety of authors including Ann Lamont, Pat Conroy, Diana Gabaldon, Barbara Walters and Alexander McCall Smith. Most of the talks are held in the Decatur Library auditorium, but larger audiences are seated in local church sanctuaries. Sound too good to be true? I assure you, it’s great!
- To learn about upcoming visiting authors, go to http://www.georgiacenterforthebook.org.
— Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill
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 TIDBITIn professional baseball, Georgia State League first founded in 1906
The Georgia State (baseball) League was founded in 1906 as the first Georgia-only minor league. Albany, Americus, Columbus, Cordele, Valdosta, and Waycross were the original participants of the Class D loop, directed by league president J. W. Thomas. The Columbus club moved its operations to Brunswick on June 25, and Americus and Valdosta both disbanded during the first week of July of the same year. A week later, the rest of the league folded, citing financial difficulties throughout the circuit.
Thomasville’s team, 1913
An attempt was made to bring back the league in 1913 under the new name of the Empire State League, with Thomasville and Brunswick replacing Columbus and Albany. The league changed its name back to Georgia State League in 1914, and drastic changes occurred in 1915, when the league moved the Americus team to Gainesville, Fla. A team from Dothan, Ala., was admitted to play that year, and the name of the circuit was changed to the FLAG (Florida-Alabama-Georgia) League.
When the league reorganized in 1920, it had moved its location from south Georgia to the northwest part of the state. Teams from Carrollton, Cedartown, Griffin, LaGrange, Lindale, and Rome played Class D ball in this circuit. This formation of the league played only briefly before disbanding in 1921.
In 1948 a new Class D league with the same name was organized. The cities of Baxley, Douglas, Eastman, Fitzgerald, Sparta, and Vidalia-Lyons made up the league the first year. Over subsequent years, Dublin, Hazlehurst, Jesup, Sandersville, Statesboro, Thomson, and Tifton would also play in the circuit. Douglas was the only team to play every year from 1948 until the league folded in 1956.
- To access the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Maybe the architectural features will help you recognize the photo
Here’s another majestic building for you to identify as this edition’s Mystery Photo. Maybe the architecture, including these turrets, or the trees or the location will give away this mystery. Send your ideas to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.
Last edition’s Mystery Photo got a lot of correct responses, as apparently a lot of Gwinnettians have vacationed in Hawaii. As Jayne P. Bane of Buford told us, “The most recent mystery photo is Iolani Palace, Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the only royal palace in the United States.” We didn’t know that! The photo was sent in by Rick and Sandy Krause of Lilburn.
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. gave some added info: “Built in 1882 by King David Kalakaua and his wife Queen Kapiolani, the palace had electricity and telephones even before the White House. In January of 1895, Queen Liliuokalani, the last reigning monarch of Hawaii, was imprisoned in the palace during the overthrow of her government. Some say you can still hear the Queen pacing back-and-forth in the room where she was held captive. The palace then served as the capitol of the territory when Hawaii was annexed to the United States, in 1959.”
Among those recognizing the photo were: Michael Green, Milton; Bob Foreman, Grayson; Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; Dottie Kuhn, Lawrenceville; Jim Savadelis, Duluth; and Jo Pinder of Baltimore, Md., the former Gwinnett County librarian, who told us that the building was “…used in the original Hawaii Five O as the police headquarters.”
LAGNIAPPELocal DAR chapter visits Atlanta’s historic Oakland Cemetery
Fourteen members of The Philadelphia Winn Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, visited Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta recently. After a morning tour of the cemetery, lunch was taken at the Six Feet Under Restaurant, directly across from the cemetery. Atlanta fathers purchased six acres in 1850 to be a public burial ground. Originally called Atlanta Graveyard or City Burial Place, Oakland was renamed in 1872. By then it had expanded to 48 acres, mainly because of pressures of the Civil War. By 1867 the cemetery reached its present size. Oakland Cemetery is the final resting place for the rich and poor, famous and unknown. There are approximately 6,900 Confederate graves at the cemetery with some 3,000 Unknown Confederate Dead. The Lion of Atlanta stands sentry to these unknown soldiers who were hastily buried during the war then reinterred at Oakland Cemetery. Regent Lydia McGill, Helen Hay and Anne Lockhart are shown with the lion statue. (Photo by Frank Marchese.)
CREDITSGwinnettForum 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:
- MORE: Contact Editor and Publisher Elliott Brack at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com
Follow Us