BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY will be on display in late February at the Hudgens Center for the Arts as the Gwinnett Chapter, Georgia Nature Photographers Association, holds its fifth annual exhibit there. The theme seeks to recapture the photographic brilliance of Ansel Adams. This is a winner from the 2018 competition was Jerry Black, and depicts Lake Louise in Canada. For more details about the competition, see Upcoming below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Immigration Reform, First Amendment Incident Are Saddening
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Christmas Gift of Jigsaw Puzzle Teaches about Georgia
SPOTLIGHT: Agrisel USA Inc.
FEEDBACK: Maintains that Leaders “Should Hurt to Serve” Fellow Mankind
UPCOMING: Nature Photography Exhibit Coming to Hudgens Center in February
NOTABLE: Now’s the Time To Start Working in Your Garden; Plant Sale Coming
RECOMMENDED: The Last Republicans by Mark A. Updegrove
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Charles Pinckney Served as Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain
MYSTERY PHOTO: Simple Downtown Scene Is Today’s Mystery Photo
CALENDAR: Gwinnett House Delegation to Georgia Assembly Will Meet January 8
Immigration reform, First Amendment incident are saddening
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | The North is no better than the South on immigration reform and First Amendment protections.
Usually, it’s the Northerners coming down on us Southerners as being backward. And, to be honest, sometimes we are. But very often, Northerners are just as bad or worse. One example is what happened recently at the privately-run Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, R.I., which houses immigration (ICE) detainees.
Specifically, an August correctional facility protest and the overreaction of the Wyatt personnel involved was clearly an example of intolerance of peaceful protests, leading to violence. Plus, there was the subsequent refusal of a Rhode Island jury to take any action against these privately employed corrections officers. That is both shocking and unacceptable.
There have been human rights protests against the incarceration of these immigrants for months since ICE placed 133 detainees there in March. Generally, these protests have been peaceful, with law enforcement officers arresting some protestors for civil disobedience without violence. Charges against them were later dropped.
However, on one occasion (August 14, 2019) experienced law enforcement personnel were not at Wyatt. Protestors were then pepper sprayed by Wyatt prison personnel. In addition, a Wyatt Captain stopped his truck in front of the protestors. And then, he made a conscious decision to drive his truck into peaceful protestors blocking the entrance to an employee parking lot. One individual was seriously injured, and several had lesser injuries. All of this was filmed; video is available on-line for viewing by anyone interested.
Expectations were that a Grand Jury would be indicting one or more of these privately employed corrections personnel, at a minimum the truck’s driver. Surprisingly, no indictments were issued.
As a Southerner looking in from the outside, it makes me wonder what’s going on up there. The Corrections Captain may not have enjoyed being blocked by protestors (I wouldn’t be), but how does that justify taking the law into your own hands and running over fellow human beings? How could a Grand Jury fail to at least allow the driver to be brought to trial before a jury of his peers?
I would understand if there was a question about whether or not he committed the act. But there is not. The whole incident is on film, right there in living color.
I have felt for a long time that a New South, one that is more enlightened and progressive, is inevitably coming our way. After this Rhode Island incident, I now hope that a New North is also coming their way.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Christmas gift of jigsaw puzzle teaches about Georgia
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JAN. 7, 2020 | One of the joys of Christmas is the surprise that often comes with gifts. I was surprised—and pleased—that one of my daughters gave me a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle this year. Such puzzles are an old-time custom that blossomed years ago, and has been a delight for people who like puzzles for ages.
Spilsbury puzzle
It all started in 1767 when John Spilsbury, a British engraver and mapmaker, invented the first jigsaw puzzle. He called them “Dissected Maps.” European mapmakers would paste maps onto wood and cut them into small pieces. Eventually cardboard replaced wood, and made the puzzles less costly. Later interlocking pieces made the puzzles more difficult. With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, puzzles for adults enjoyed a resurgence of popularity as a relatively cheap family entertainment, peaking in early 1933 when sales reached an astounding 10 million per week.
While I like occasionally to tackle a puzzle, I usually have the television on, listening more than watching a football game or movie. That makes it, for me, time not entirely wasted. At least I can follow the television, even if I’m having a hard time with the puzzle.
It’s been a few years since I had attempted a jigsaw puzzle. After all, they can be frustrating. Last time—about three years ago—I was frantic to complete the most difficult one I had ever attempted. The problem was that almost all the pieces were only black-and-white, with the jigsaw puzzle being a New York Times crossword puzzle. It was a puzzle within a puzzle. It took me nearly six weeks to complete. Afterward, I boxed it up and sent to a friend who likes to do puzzles. I bet it frustrated her, too.
This year my gift of the jigsaw puzzle was a colorful map of the state of Georgia….depicting over the green background some 71 different aspects of our state printed in color on the 18×24 inch puzzle.
It came with three fact sheets which gave a simple sentence about each of those 71 tidbits about Georgia, many which I did not know. So, it is educational, too! For instance, I didn’t know that Georgia’s shrimping fleet is the largest on the East Coast. Or that the Big Peanut monument in Ashburn symbolizes the world’s largest peanut processing plant.
With a puzzle, first job is to spread (and turn printed side up) those 500 pieces, which took up nearly all the space of a regulation card table….and so the task began.
As with most puzzles, I aimed to get the borders completed first. From this came an omen: at least one border piece was missing, I soon realized. That spelled at least one problem, if not more.
The puzzle was produced by www.truesouthpuzzle.com, based in Nashville, Tenn. Besides several state puzzles, the site also offers other themed puzzles, including states, cities, national parks and others. Each cost $26.95.
Give me at least this: finishing this puzzle didn’t take as long as the black-and-white New York Times puzzle. But putting in a couple hours each day, it was more than a week after Christmas that I finally eyeballed the fourth-to-last piece in place. After scouring the floor, I found three of the pieces, including that last border piece. But the 500th piece? Not to be found. You might detect in the photo the missing piece on the cardboard table in that empty spot shining through in the upper right side of the complete puzzle below the flag.
That’s enough jigsaw puzzle assembly for a while. It was a great gift!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Agrisel USA Inc.
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Established in 1998, Agrisel USA Inc. of Suwanee is growing a better world. The company specializes in providing high quality, cost efficient generic and proprietary turf, ornamental, nursery, aquatic, agricultural poultry and specialty chemical products throughout the United States, Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. Agrisel USA has become the leader in formulating and distributing value-added products to small-to-medium size resellers and dealers. The company recognizes the growth potential with this often-neglected selling segment and has developed specialized programs for volume purchases, unique packaging needs, private labeling opportunities, and preferred cost positioning on many generic and specialty market products.
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Maintains that leaders “should hurt to serve” fellow mankind
Editor, the Forum:
I am surprised that you haven’t drawn more bytes with that worm about paying county politicians a living wage. It should hurt to serve.
If politicians are looking for a job, they should go out and get one. But elected boards providing citizen oversight of county operations and establishing goals, policies needs to be rotated with fresh faces every few years to reflect the will and sensitivities of the residents.
Staying any longer allows them to get too comfortable with contractors and developers. It is obvious to me by the traffic and disturbing amount of apartment buildings that have popped up over the last six years or so that they are being paid too much and staying too long. Good riddance Ms. Nash, and thank you for your service!
— Joe Briggs, Buford
Dear Joe: Can’t imagine anyone saying that “it should hurt to serve.” We differ. I want the best people we have in our county willing to take on the responsibility of oversight of our government. To do that, we need to compensate them adequately. They put in long hours, have to put up with people like you and me, and then you want not to pay them reasonably? Come on! -eeb
- 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. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net
Nature photography exhibit coming to Hudgens Center
Photo by Diana Brooks.
A nature photographer competition is going to be on exhibit at the Hudgens Center for the Arts. The Gwinnett Chapter, Georgia Nature Photographers Association, will present the results of this fifth annual competition on February 15. The exhibit will continue in the Hudgens gallery until April 25.
Members of the chapter have until January 19 to submit entries. There is no fee for submission. Announcement of winners and judges’ comments will be at The Hudgens, Thursday, February 20, at 7 p.m.
The annual Gwinnett competition, “Stand in Ansel Adams’ Footsteps,” began as a tribute to legendary photographer Ansel Adams in 2016. Adams is famous for saying: “A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” The local competition has grown each year with not only more participating photographers, but with increased quality and quantity of the work submitted.
This year the Juror is Mark Green, an accomplished award-winning commercial photographer, videographer and a licensed Drone pilot, who has traveled on assignments around the U.S. and the world. His client list over the years includes many Fortune 500 companies. He and his wife relocated to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in 2016 and he has returned to his early love of landscape and nature photography. In 1976, as an 18-year-old, Green was fortunate to attend a two-week workshop with Ansel Adams in Yosemite.
The Georgia Nature Photographers Association (GNPA) is a 501c (3) organization and has eight chapters in the state with close to 800 members. In 2009, it was the first nature-focused photography camera club in metro Atlanta.
The Gwinnett Chapter began as the Northeast Atlanta chapter and established on December 2, 2011. It is the largest chapter with over 170 members and meets at Cornerstone CoWorking, 279 West Crogan Street, Lawrencevillle. Learn more about the Gwinnett Chapter on the GNPA website at www.meetup.com/Gwinnett-GNPA-Chapter/. For more detail about the Gwinnett Competition, visit the chapter website.
Previous winners of the competition in Gwinnett include:
- 2016: Terry Gilliam.
- 2017: John Rozza.
- 2018: Jerry Black.
- 2019 Diana Brooks
Time to start working in your garden; Plant sale coming
Though the spring plant sale of the Gwinnett County Master Gardener Association is not until April 25, now is the time to start work on your garden. Brighten winter’s grey and soggy days by dreaming of your spring garden.
Now is actually a great time to do a little digging into your garden, so you can add to your landscape. It’s also time to start making lists of what needs to be done and what new plants can squeeze in where.
You can begin by Googling “DIY garden design” or “DIY landscape design.” There are several helpful websites offering design tips.
The Gwinnett County UGA Extension office is an excellent resource. County Extension agents and Master Gardeners are available to offer tips and information about amending soils, accommodating plant needs and much more.
While you’re planning, save the date for the Gwinnett Master Gardeners’ annual plant sale. April seems a long way off, but the days have a habit of sneaking up fast. This fundraiser-sale for the Gwinnett County Master Gardeners Association will offer a diverse selection of native plants, perennials and annuals, herbs, vegetables, shrubs, trees and yard art. The sale takes place rain or shine on April 25 in the parking lot of the Lilburn City Hall/Library. Bring cash or checks, as no credit cards will be accepted. For more information, visit GwinnettMasterGardeners.com
The Last Republicans by Mark A. Updegrove
From John Titus, Peachtree Corners: This book reveals the formative years, careers and relationship of George H. W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush. Each wanted to achieve success on his own and not follow directly in his father’s footsteps. The senior Bush was very much a product of New England while the younger Bush was a product of Texas. It gave them distinctly different outlooks. The common thread running through this story and binding the two men closely together is loyalty to family. The title was adapted from a private remark by George W. Bush in 2016 that he might be “the last Republican president.” Donald Trump’s election seemed to mark the beginning of the rejection of the Republican principles of civility and international engagement and leadership that both Bushes championed. As we enter the election year, this book provides interesting background reading in addition to revealing the love between father and son.
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. Send to: elliott@brack.net
Pinckney served as Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain
(Editor’s Note: Where did the name of the Gwinnett County area of Pinckneyville come from? This is the third of three articles about Charles Pinckney. After this series, we will start a series about Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, his cousin. One of the Pinckneys invested in land in frontier Georgia in bygone days, but we know not which one made the investment. —eeb)
(Continued from previous issue)
After the convention, Charles Pinckney returned to South Carolina and married Mary Eleanor Laurens, daughter of Henry Laurens, on April 27, 1788. The following month he served at the state ratifying convention, speaking in support of the new constitution he had helped to create and reiterating the themes of his June 25, 1787, speech in Philadelphia.
Charles Pinckney
Pinckney was elected governor in 1789 and became the first to serve at the new capital of Columbia, basing his political operations from his plantation Greenwich, on the Congaree River just south of town. He also presided over the state constitutional convention of 1790. Using his considerable political influence, he organized backcountry dissidents into a voting bloc that, ten years later, would back his support of Thomas Jefferson’s bid for the presidency. In supporting Jefferson, Pinckney broke with his economic base, his geographic roots in the lowcountry, and his family (his cousin Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was Jefferson’s opponent) in order to unite the state and insure the election of his ideological peer.
When U.S. Senator John Hunter resigned from Congress in November 1798, Pinckney was appointed to serve out his term. However, after Jefferson’s election as president in 1800, Pinckney was named minister plenipotentiary to Spain. From 1801 to 1805 he attempted to conduct foreign affairs but found himself hampered by an arrogant Spanish court and a secretary of state, James Madison, who believed Pinckney to be inept in diplomatic matters.
Returning to South Carolina in 1806, Pinckney was reelected governor in December and served a record fourth term. Although he may have alienated his family and his socioeconomic peers, as well as some in his own party, the majority of the people in South Carolina respected his ability and his willingness to reach across class and geographic lines in order to unite the state. He served in various state offices until 1814, when he retired from public life. The respite was brief, however, and in 1819 Pinckney was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. There he spoke in opposition to the Missouri Compromise, claiming that it threatened southern interests, particularly slavery, and paving the way for later southern advocates such as John C. Calhoun. Declining reelection in 1821, Pinckney left the public arena for good.
On October 29, 1824, Pinckney died in Charleston, and he was buried in the graveyard at St. Philip’s Church. He was survived by a daughter, Mary Eleanor Pinckney, and a son, Henry Laurens Pinckney, whose birth had claimed the life of his mother in 1794.
Another daughter, Frances Henrietta Pinckney, had predeceased her father. Scorned by his class and his family for much of his later life, Pinckney was also dismissed by some historians as vain, arrogant, and too willing to take credit for the work of others. He was actually an important transitional figure at both the state and national levels. He succeeded in uniting his state across class and geographic lines to insure Jefferson’s election in 1800 and, in doing so, earned distinction as a founder of the Democratic Party in South Carolina. On a national level, he bridged the generation gap between the founding fathers of the revolutionary period and their successors in the age of Andrew Jackson.
- To view the South Carolina Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Simple downtown scene is today’s Mystery Photo
There might just be features in this downtown scene that could signal where the photo was taken. Just take your time and figure out where it is so that you can tell us. Send your thoughts to elliott@brack.net and include your hometown.
Dick LoPresti of Berkeley Lake was first in with the correct answer to the most recent Mystery Photo.
He knew the scene since “We vacationed in the town of Varenna, Italy, which is located on Lake Como.” He should know, since ages ago he sent it in, though he didn’t remember doing so. Others recognizing the scene included David Will, Lilburn (two in a row); Bob Foreman, Grayson; Jim Savadelis, Duluth; and Harriet Cole, Lawrenceville;
Allan Peel, San Antonio, Tex. remarked: “Today’s mystery photo is of the small Italian town of Varenna (pop. 812) on the shores of Lake Como in Italian province of Lecco, about 37-miles north of Milan. The town of Menaggio and the mountains of Lombardy are off in the distance across the lake. To the right of the photo is the belfry (i.e. bell tower) of the Church of San Giorgio, and the yellow building in the left foreground is the Gardens of Villa Cipressi. The bell tower that is prominent in the mystery photo was added in 1653 to replace an ancient Romanesque one that was originally built at the site.
“The Gardens of Villa Cipressi is a complex of buildings and gardens, built between 1400 and 1800. In 1980, the property was purchased by the Municipality of Varenna, and is now used as a renowned hotel, restaurant and convention center. The gardens are open to the public and, as can be seen in the photo, are characterized by stairways and terraces sloping down to the lake with numerous plant species present.
Varenna is a municipality on Lake Como in the Province of Lecco in the region of Lombardy, Italy. Varenna is one of the best preserved medieval centers of the entire lake area, with its charming, steep cobblestone streets, porticos and historic churches.” (See photo for another angle of the town.)
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. also identified the photo. “The Church of San Giovanni Battista (10-11th centuries) is one of the oldest in the Lario region, while the church of San Giorgio was built over an ancient temple. From Varenna’s Pier (the ferry station), the scenic and romantic Passeggiata degli Innamorati (Lovers’ walk) runs along the edge of the lake leading to the historic center. Vertically positioned 100m over the piazza, the fortress that once dominated Varenna offers a unique panorama over Varenna and the lake area. The Castrum of Vezio was built when the Romans wanted to consolidate their control over the eastern shore of the Lake to conquer Europe.”
Town Hall Meeting of Gwinnett delegation to the Georgia House of Representatives, will be Wednesday, January 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the Gwinnett Justice and Administrative Center in Lawrenceville. For additional information, contact Gwinnett House Delegation Secretary Beth Moore – (404) 381-8311 (office).
Basics of Photography is open to 40 people on January 9 at 6 p.m. This is a free seminar for people who live or work in Peachtree Corners and will be taught by professional photographers. It will be in Peachtree Corners at 310 Technology Parkway. Several types of photography will be taught.
Meet Tax Commissioner Richard Steele, bring your questions, and get the inside scoop on all things Tax and Tag, including how to save time and money on your vehicle tags; and how to minimize your property taxes. This talk takes place on Thursday, January 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Gwinnett County Public Library Suwanee Branch, 361 Main Street. It is free and open to the public.
“Trees in the Georgia Landscape” is the topic at the Norcross Garden Club on Saturday, January 11, at 11:15 a.m. Speaker will be Wayne Juers, known as “The Plant Doctor,” who has 40 years of horticulture experience. There will be limited seating, so reservations are required. RSVP to norcrossgardenclub.org/events.
Meet New York Times bestselling author Brad Taylor on Saturday, January 11 at 7 p.m. at the Peachtree Corners Branch Library. He is the NYT bestselling author of over 13 novels. His latest action-packed thriller is Hunter Killer. Autographed books will be for sale.
Bestselling authors Karen White, Lauren Willig, and Beatriz Williams have teamed up again to write a collaborative novel about three women who find refuge at Paris’ legendary Ritz hotel during the dark days of two World Wars through the turbulent years of the 1960s. If you loved The Forgotten Room and The Glass Ocean, you’ll love All The Ways We Said Goodbye even more! Join Gwinnett County Public Library for this author program on Monday, January 13 at 7:30 pm at Georgia Gwinnett College, Kaufman Library Building L, Heritage Room, third floor. Visitor parking is located at Lot 3000 off of Lonnie Harvel Boulevard in Lawrenceville 30043.
Peachtree Corners Public Library will be marking 31 years of service on January 16. Come join Librarian Karen Harris and her staff from 2 to 4 p.m. on that special date. The library will be collecting 31 stories from its readers to mark the 31 years of operation. The library is located at 5570 Spalding Drive.
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