Articles by: Elliott Brack
BRACK: Golden Ray salvage going slow near Georgia’s Golden Isles
By Elliott Brack | The continuing story coming out of the Golden Isles of Georgia is what’s taking place between St. Simons and Jekyll Island…..something being called the “Saga of the Golden Ray.” That’s the title of an informative article by Cathy Coleman in the spring issue of the local magazine, High Tide. We visited the Golden Isles last week and were mesmerized by the salvaging attempts.
BRACK: More on Samuel Spencer, Jon Ossoff, NPR and the late Eli Broad
By Elliott Brack | The removal of the Samuel Spencer statue in front of the Norfolk Southern Railroad headquarters continues to bother me — because of the reason for its removal. Etched on the statue were three facts: Spencer was a native Georgian, Confederate soldier and first president of the Southern Railway.
BRACK: Top officials predict what their city census count will be
APRIL 30, 2020 | The 2020 Census state population figures were released this week, providing little information for us except which states gained and lost population. A more detailed and useful release of Census data will come in August, when we will know population figures down to cities and counties.
BRACK: Novel set at Grove Park Inn introduces enemy internment
By Elliott Brack | A new novel by an American Cherokee Indian set at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville gave me insights into a side note of World War II history. The book, Even As We Breathe, is by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, the first enrolled member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians to publish a novel. It was released in September. The author graduated from Yale University and The College of William and Mary. She is the executive director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, and an English teacher at Swain County (N.C.) High.
BRACK: Modern world can’t get along without electricity, batteries
By Elliott Brack | First came Ben Franklin, establishing a connection between lightning and electricity. Then Alessandro Volta developed the early battery. Soon Michael Faraday developed electric motor technology. George Ohm mathematically analyzed the electrical circuit. Many others made their own contributions to modern electricity, notably among them Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Werner von Siemens, Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse.
Gwinnett Forum | Nov. 26, 2024
“Bureaucrats write memoranda both because they appear to be busy when they are writing and because the memos, once written, immediately become proof that they were busy.”
— Editor-in-chief of the Washington Monthly Charles Peters (1926-2023).
Continuing objectives
Gwinnett Forum publisher Elliott Brack suggests that Gwinnett County needs a long-range list of continuing objectives for improving the county. His list:
- Move statewide non-partisan judge and school board elections to the General Election.
- Adoption of the 2023 Transit Plan for Gwinnett.
- More creative efforts to support the arts in Gwinnett.
- Advancement and expansion of city historical societies.
- Require establishments that serve alcoholic beverages to halt sales of such products at 1 a.m., and close by 2 a.m.
- Require the Georgia Legislature to meet only once every two years.
- 21st century salary for the Gwinnett County Commission members.
- Remove chewing gum on sidewalks at entrances of post offices and other governmental buildings.
- Eliminate single-use plastic packaging and straws in Gwinnett and require instead the use of paper products.
- Condos instead of apartments for Gwinnett.
Interested in Gwinnett history?
Now re-printed in its third edition, Gwinnett: A Little Above Atlanta, the award-winning history of Gwinnett County, is once again available for purchase. It sold out of its first two printings. The book won the 2010 Award of Excellence in Documenting Georgia History from the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board. The book is available at Old Town Antiques at 93 Main Street in Lilburn.
- The history of Gwinnett is also available as an e-book from Amazon or Barnes and Noble for $9.95.
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