GwinnettForum | Number 21.18 | Mar. 11, 2022
THERE WILL BE HILARITY and excitement returning to the Historic Gwinnett Courthouse Square on April 23 as Family Promise will stage another fund raising Bed Race. Competitive heats of dueling Bedson bicycle wheels loaded with one person pushed by team members will dance around the square. For more details, see Upcoming below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Lawrenceville and Hudgens partner for art installation
EEB PERSPECTIVE: One guy’s faith in Coach K really paid off for Duke University
ANOTHER VIEW: With war in Ukraine, might be a good time to plant wheat
SPOTLIGHT: Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful
FEEDBACK: In Gwinnett, sometimes trees don’t stand a chance
UPCOMING: Family Promise bed race returning to Lawrenceville on April 23
NOTABLE: Southwest Chamber selects Savannah Johnson for Character Award
RECOMMENDED: The Southernization of America by Frye Gaillard and Cynthia Tucker
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Primus King turned away at polls in Columbus in 1944
MYSTERY PHOTO: Figure out where this building is located
LAGNIAPPE: Heavy pre-World War II bike-for-two can be yours
CALENDAR: Hugh art supply sales through March 15 at Norcross Gallery and Studios
Lawrenceville, Hudgens partner with art installation
By Melissa Hardegree
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | Art is now a way of life in Lawrenceville, with a newly formed partnership between the City and The Hudgens Center for Art and Learning. Master works from the Hudgens’ permanent collection can now be viewed at Lawrenceville City Hall. Works from the collection will rotate on an ongoing basis – providing new and exciting art for the enjoyment of the community.
The partnership began with important works from American painter and graphic artist, Ben Shahn, whose work centers around the Social Realism art movement. Shahn’s pieces on display feature portraits of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King, Jr. and Frederick Douglass as well as imagery promoting interracial solidarity. Residents and visitors are encouraged to view the works on display on the Main Level of Lawrenceville’s City Hall at 70 South Clayton Street.
Mayor David Still says: “The addition of public art in City Hall supports our commitment to the arts and provides accessibility to fine art for residents and visitors. The city is thrilled to display works from artists of many disciplines and backgrounds in our partnership with The Hudgens Center for Art and Learning.”
The exhibitions do not stop on the Main Level. Future exhibitions of student work, local artists, and historical pieces are set to be installed on all levels of City Hall, making the building a perfect location to view a variety of public art styles. Art in Lawrenceville blends business, lifestyle, and talent together for a heart-art-smart community for all to enjoy.
Hudgens Center Executive Director, Laura Ballance says: “The Hudgens Center for Art and Learning is excited to partner with the City of Lawrenceville to share and display artwork from The Hudgens’ impressive permanent collection in City Hall. Our permanent collection includes hundreds of pieces, from Great Masters like Picasso, Kandinsky and Miro, to revered local artists such as Steffen Thomas and Mary Kistner. We believe these important works should be enjoyed by all and bring inspiration to the next generation of creative thinkers.”
Established as Gwinnett Council for the Arts in 1981, The Hudgens has pioneered arts enrichment programs and community engagement through the arts in Gwinnett.
For additional information regarding the City of Lawrenceville, visit www.lawrencevillega.org or follow the city on social media. For more information about The Hudgens Center, visit www.thehudgens.org.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
One guy’s faith in Coach K really paid off for Duke
Coach K. Via Wikipedia.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
MARCH 11, 2022 | Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski is basking in honors these days, as he nears the end of his meteoric career. He is worthily being recognized for being the best college basketball coach ever, as evidenced by his record 1,196 victories … and still counting as the team enters the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament this week.
Many basketball fans across the country saw him lose his last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium to North Carolina last week. Then most of these fans stayed glued to the television screen as the University heaped honors on Krzyzewski. Through it all, Coach K was resolute, cheered on by many of his star athletes of the past in attendance, and by the every-seat-taken in that bastion of basketball called Cameron.
For those of you not following basketball, Coach K’s background includes college at the U.S. Military Academy, including playing basketball as a point guard for famed Army Coach Bobby Knight. After graduation and marriage, he served his time in the U.S. Army before going into coaching as an assistant to Knight for one year, at Indiana University.
Krzyzewski then became the coach at his old “stomping” grounds at the U.S. Military Academy, and in five seasons, he compiled a record of 73-59, taking one team to the National Invitational Tournament.
Butters
Next came two rungs on his record that are mighty significant. First Duke University Athletic Director Tom Butters, in spite of Krzyzewski’s mediocre record at Army, hired the young Coach K as the Duke basketball coach. His team’s record for the next three years was unimpressive, scoring in 1980-81 a total 17 victories, but 13 losses. And the next two years his record was worse, 10-17, followed by 11-17.
All totaled, his first three years at Duke found Coach K with a 38-47 record. Duke fans were squealing, disappointed by the lack of a consistent winning record.
The second rung was Tom Butters’ faith in Coach K. He stuck with him during these first three years. Without the solid backing of Butters, Coach K would never have achieved what he has done since then.
Butters himself was a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan, and a former pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He joined the Duke staff in 1967 as director of special events, and also coached the baseball team for three years before founding the Iron Duke Fund and becoming athletic director in 1977. Three years later, he brought Krzyzewski to Duke.
Coach Butters died in 2016, but lived to see Krzyzewski achieve tremendous success at Duke. No doubt he saw something in Krzyzewski that gave him the confidence to hire Coach K, then back him in the early years. That factor may have been the discipline that Krzyzewski learned as a cadet at West Point, then later honed when serving in the military. Krzyzewski’s record as a coach at Army could not have been the deciding factor in his hiring, since it was unexceptional at 73-59 (.553).
As of today, Coach K’s record is 1,196 victories, 366 defeats, for an overall winning percentage of .766. And yes, he’s still coaching as his team is in the ACC tournament this week, and no doubt have a seeding in the NCAA tournament as a top team.
So, yes, hats off for the significant achievements of Mike Krzyzewski. But we also must remember Tom Butters, who showed his faith in his young basketball coach. He allowed Coach K to continue coaching for a fourth season, where he was 24-10 in 1983-84, and went to his first NCAA tournament….and many more after that.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
With war in Ukraine, might be a good time to plant wheat
By Byron Gilbert
DULUTH, Ga. | In the 1970s, I had hair and lived in the small town where I went to college in Ohio (Ohio Wesleyan). Some of the years I spent working for a 500 watt daytime radio station that carried the Chicago Board and had agriculture shows and middle-of-the-road music. I could tell you the price of corn, soybeans, and winter wheat daily. These were the grain crops in the area and pigs and chickens were popular. Morgan and Arabian horses were bred there. West of town was Select Sires.
The local farmers referred to the rotation of crops as CBF. Traditionally, that was corn, beans, and flour, or winter wheat. The baby boomers following their fathers on the farm were turning the “F” into Florida, mostly because the price of wheat was so low making it not worth planting. It also allowed them to rest a field.
Corn is tops in Iowa, soybeans is Illinois, and wheat is Kansas. Wheat is west of the Mississippi River. It takes huge fields of the Great Plains.
As soon as I saw the outbreak of war in Ukraine, I thought about the price of wheat. Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe and the crops won’t be planted or harvested. Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and Russia are the primary markets for Ukrainian grain.
American farmers paid to not plant should consider a wheat crop. The price will soar. Russia is another major producer and the world will be turning away from their products.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful is a Keep America Beautiful affiliate and award-winning 501(c)(3) charitable organization that boasts an expansive community-based network dedicated to finding long-term solutions to environmental and quality of life issues through individual action. Guided by a Citizens Advisory Board representing all sectors of the county, GC&B is a nationally recognized leader in creating cleaner, greener and more livable communities, involving more than 100,000 volunteers annually to clean and restore public places, recycle more, protect watersheds and develop the next generation of environmental stewards. To learn more about Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and its mission of “Connecting People and Resources for a Sustainable Gwinnett,” visit www.GwinnettCB.org.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here
In Gwinnett, sometimes trees don’t stand a chance vs. growth
Editor, the Forum:
Amen! to Mr. Mackaben’s letter regarding uncontrolled growth and transit.
Some years ago, when the twin water tanks fronted I-85 and one of the tanks carried a sign that read, “Success Lives Here,” someone remarked that it should also say, “Trees Don’t Stand a Chance.”
I believe the tanks, and the signs, are gone, but the situation remains the same.
– Robert Hanson, Loganville
Editor, the Forum:
Dan Mackaben’s assessments of what is happening in Gwinnett County are my thoughts, exactly. I especially liked his statements and comment that “The only winners are the speculators, developers, and builders who could care less as long as there is money to be made.” Look back 15 years or so at Gwinnett. Do you like it better now? Development does not always equal progress.”
– Elizabeth Truluck Neace, Dacula
Editor, the Forum:
Dan Mackaben brings some important questions to the table about unbridled growth here in Gwinnett County. Having come from a county in Florida that grew and grew without thought of planning and then put in a public transit system after the fact just shows how greed motivates people.
The only thing that gets done is what the developers want and there are those of us who just want to get out of our subdivisions to go shopping, to the doctors, or work without getting killed on the highways. If you are going to cram thousands upon thousands of people in apartments or townhomes, then put in the transit systems first or at least provide us old folks some kind of transportation to get from home (point A) to wherever it is we are going and back again.
I have nothing against growth, but it needs to be thought out instead of just plopping apartments here or townhouses there. After so long, urban blight takes over when people move out because of overcrowding and no transit system.
– Sara Rawlins, Lawrenceville
Send us your thoughts: We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum. Please limit comments to 300 words, and include your hometown. The views of letters are the opinion of the contributor. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net.
Family Promise bed race returning April 23
On Saturday, April 23, 2022 beds mounted on bicycle wheels will race around the Lawrenceville Square in a Bed Race to benefit Family Promise of Gwinnett. “It’s a light-hearted race to call attention to a very serious problem,” says Carol Love, executive director of Family Promise of Gwinnett County.
The Bed Race is the most visible fundraiser for Family Promise of Gwinnett, which strives to end homelessness one family at a time. Family Promise operates Promise Haven where families experiencing homelessness stay for up to 90 days while looking for jobs and housing. Community volunteers provide evening meals for the families. In the past, the event has raised approximately $45,000 in its best year.
The Bed Race, typically an annual event, was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. During the Bed Race, teams of four runners, plus one rider, race their beds for 228 yards. Each team competes in two heats. The racing beds must have a mattress or box springs; but no air mattresses are allowed.
Racing begins at 11 a.m. at the corner of Perry and Pike streets. Trophies will be presented during a closing ceremony at 12:30 p.m … Awards will be given for the fastest bed in youth and adult categories, a people’s choice for favorite bed design, and the top fundraising team.
Bed Race sponsors include Metro Waterproofing, M.C. Dean, Thrivent, Peach State Federal Credit Union, and Bullseye Indoor Range and Gun Shop. For more information, see www.familypromisegwinnett.org or call 678-376-8950.
Eighth annual Duluth Rotary Car Show to be held April 9
The eighth annual Rotary Club of Duluth Car Show returns on Saturday, April 9, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on site at the Duluth First United Methodist Church, 3208 Duluth Highway in Duluth. The family-friendly event is free to the public.
This event welcomes vehicles in all categories. Each event attendee will get one vote to choose a favorite entry. Owners of the 20 most popular vehicles will receive people’s choice trophies. The entry with the highest number of votes overall will receive a grand prize.
Other highlights include a $1-per-ticket raffle (winner splits proceeds with Duluth Rotary); refreshments (burgers, hot dogs, drinks, etc.); and collectable t-shirts for sale.
The event raises money for Operation One Voice, (www.OperationOneVoice.org.) Mark Tyrrell, a Duluth Rotarian, and event organizer, says: “Operation One Voice was started by Bill Stevens, a retired Gwinnett police officer. It helps with families of wounded and fallen soldiers. Operation One Voice has raised and given over a million dollars since its inception. I am proud to be part of the organization.”
The fee to enter the car show is $20 per vehicle for those who pre-register by Wednesday, April 6. The cost per vehicle on the day of the event is $25. To preregister, fill out the form online and mail it with a check made to the Rotary Club of Duluth to Mark Tyrrell: marka.tyrrell1@gmail.com or 2913 Paddock Trail, Duluth, Georgia 30096. Participants may also reserve their spot and pay by check, cash, or credit card on the day of the event.)
North Georgia gets additional telephone area code: 943
North Georgia is getting a new telephone area code on March 15. It’s to be “943.” Current telephone numbers, including current area code, will not change. The growth of the greater Atlanta area spurred this addition. The new area code will overlay the existing 404/470/678/770 region. All of Gwinnett is affected by this change.
Southwest Chamber selects Johnson for Character Award
The Southwest Gwinnett Chamber kicked off a month-long March celebration of their 10-year anniversary. The organization’s signature First Friday monthly networking event drawing local business professionals was the perfect setting to recognize an outstanding local youth.
A Wesleyan School junior, Savannah Johnson, had no idea why she was in attendance at the event. After a description of her character and accomplishments, the audience began clapping as Savannah Johnson, who lives in Dunwoody, was given the Chamber’s Character Award. MaryBeth Bender, Chamber executive board member, conveyed the organizations’ desire to elevate students making a difference in their community- not as much because of what they do, but because of who they are.
Johnson was recognized as an outstanding student whose attitude and actions embody the organization’s mission, passion, and commitment to excellence and community action. Dr. Joseph Koch, principal of The Wesleyan School, recommended Savannah Johnson because of her leadership. Various Wesleyan staff recognized her as a hard-working, mature, conscientious and respectful leader amongst her peers, consistently offering a helping hand, as well as stepping up to lead without being asked. She is considering several colleges to attend in Georgia, showing interest in nursing and nutrition/exercise science.
The Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce champions the local area as the preferred place for economic opportunity and diverse talent, generating a robust quality of life. The organization fosters collaboration amongst business leaders to connect, engage and make a difference in the community. Each month of the school year, the Chamber will recognize a selected student based on the characteristics of respect, citizenship, caring, trustworthiness, justice/fairness and responsibility, displayed at home and in the community. Applications for consideration are available and can be submitted to SWG Chamber of Commerce board member Mary Beth Bender at mbender@norcrossga.net.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
The Southernization of America by Frye Gaillard and Cynthia Tucker
From Billy Chism, Toccoa: The authors of this new book get to the heart of matters quickly. They point out the phrase ‘take back our country’ really means take our country back ‘to the 1950s and unquestioned white, Christian, male, heterosexual domination of culture, politics, and law.’ In a series of compelling essays, the authors show how racism, deeply rooted in the American past, remains a force in today’s national politics. But there’s more than bigots to be concerned about, they contend. Propaganda in our country is flourishing like never before. White Christian nationalists are forever promoting far-fetched conspiracies with end-of-the-world implications. Perhaps Author Douglas Blackmon summed it up best: ‘This book reveals how the worst aspects of what was once the Southern ‘way of life’ have metastasized across the country to contaminate the values of millions of Americans who should know better.’ This is an excellent book. People who think will enjoy it. The full title of the book is: The Southernization of America: A Story of Democracy in the Balance.
- An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (150 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. Send to: elliott@brack.net
Primus King turned away at polls in Columbus in 1944
On the morning of July 4, 1944, Primus E. King, an African American man duly registered to vote in Georgia, sought to cast a ballot at the Muscogee County Courthouse in Columbus in the Democratic Party’s primary election. Shortly after entering the courthouse, King was roughly turned away by a law officer who escorted him back out to the street.
During this time the Democratic Party monopolized political activity in Georgia, as in other southern states, and the party’s primary provided the only occasion in which a voter was offered a choice between candidates seeking offices in state and local government. For this very reason Blacks were denied participation in the primaries by the Georgia Democratic Party and its county affiliates.
King’s challenge to the white primary had been planned by a group of Columbus African American civil rights activists led by Dr. Thomas Brewer. By prearrangement King, after his rejection, walked several blocks to the office of Oscar D. Smith Sr., a white attorney, who prepared a lawsuit against members of the Muscogee County Democratic Party Executive Committee, chaired by Joseph E. Chapman, for denying King his right, as a citizen of the United States, to vote. In September 1945 the arguments in King v. Chapman et al. commenced in a federal district court in Macon. Smith and King’s other principal lawyer, Harry S. Strozier of Macon, argued that their client’s right to vote under the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Seventeenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution had been violated. They asked for $5,000 in damages for the plaintiff.
On October 12, 1945, Federal Judge T. Hoyt Davis ruled in King’s favor and awarded him $100 at 7 percent interest, since it was clear that the defense attorneys would appeal the decision. Because the U.S. Supreme Court had recently declared Texas’s whites-only primary unconstitutional on the grounds that the Texas Democratic Party was part of the state government, the defense had argued that the Democratic Party in Georgia was a private entity.
On March 6, 1946, in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, La., Judge Samuel H. Sibley, a Georgia native, denied the contention of the defense in King v. Chapman,arguing that Georgia’s election laws “associated” the state with the Democratic Party primary and that the state, therefore, “puts its power behind the rules of the party.” (Thurgood Marshall, the lawyer who later orchestrated the famed school desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, served as amicus curiae for King before the appeals court.)
(To be continued)
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Figure out where this building is located
Here’s a building in a major city. Tell us where this building is located, and what happens in this building. Send your idea to elliott@brack.net, and include the town where you live.
The most recent Mystery Photo is this building, the Hog Mountain “Courthouse,” where for years people voted. Today people no longer vote here, but vote in four different locations of the precinct now. Hog Mountain Precinct A is at Rock Springs United Methodist Church; Precinct B is at Prospect United Methodist Church; Precinct C is at North Metro Baptist Church; and Precinct D is at Woodward Mill Elementary School.
Recognizing this building as a former voting precinct was Richard Lux of Trickum, who said: “This is the former Hog Mountain district courthouse. It was one of the smallest voting precincts in Gwinnett County. They were still voting there in the 1980s.” Bill Baughman of Snellville also recognized it as a voting place. Most, if not all, similar buildings in the less populated precincts have since been torn down.”
The photo came from Raleigh Perry of Buford, who said: “The accoutrements in the building were a wood fed pot-bellied stove, what we called an Army Stove, and a bench outside (seen under the window on the left.”
Heavy pre-World War II bike-for-two can be yours
This is a German pre-World War II and very heavy bicycle for two. It’s fun to ride with a second person helping peddle. It has no gears, and it is fitted with a smooth rumble seat for a toddler. It hasn’t been ridden in ages, and its tires are flat. It’s on sale for the best offer. For details about this bicycle, call 202 834 3808. Available for pick-up (you will really need a “pick-up”) in Gwinnett.
Art supplies sale at Norcross Gallery and Studios, 116 Carlyle Street, through March 15, from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily. The inventory is vast: sketch pads, artist grade oil paint and all kinds of acrylic paint, charcoal, pencils galore, frames, stretchers, easels, and even a new artist bench. More info: (215) 715 4307.
Sixth annual Paddy’s Day Pathfest in Braselton on March 12, from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. along Georgia Highway 211. Gather your feather boas, green tutus, four leaf clovers and Paddy’s Day tee-shirts and join in the festival golf cart parade along the LifePath. Teams get four hours to putter around the LifePath completing challenges to finish a Quest. Details: www.BraseltonLifePath.com.
In 2022, Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States on Sunday, March 13, Larry Zani of Kairserslauten, Germany, tells us. In Europe their “Summer Time” begins on Sunday, March 27. During those two weeks, time zone differences between most of the U.S. and Europe will be one hour less than usual. Of note — The European Union voted in 2019 to abolish the practice of seasonal clock changes at a future date. However, because of COVID, arrangements to scrap the clock changes were put on the back burner in most countries, including Germany. Remember for Daylight Saving Time, clocks are turned forward one hour.
Sundays in Suwanee Series with bestselling author Vanessa Riley will take place on Sunday, March 20 at 3 p.m. at the Suwanee Library Branch, 361 Main Street, Suwanee. Join the award-winning author as she discusses her historical novel, Island Queen, based on the true-life story of Dorothy “Doll” Kirwan Thomas, a free Black woman who rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies.
GwinnettForum is provided to you at no charge every Tuesday and Friday.
Meet our team
- Editor and publisher: Elliott Brack, 770-840-1003
- Managing editor: Betsy Brack
- Roving photographer: Frank Sharp
- Contributing columnist: Jack Bernard
- Contributing columnist: George Wilson
More
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 1365, Norcross, Ga. 30091
- Work with us: If you would like to serve as an underwriter, click here to learn more.
Subscriptions to GwinnettForum are free.
- Click to subscribe.
- 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.
© 2022, 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.
Follow Us