Articles by: Elliott Brack
BRACK: Celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth
By Elliott Brack | The Bibb County Board of Education is heavily responsible for my early love of classical music. Back when I was in grammar school, the Macon school system employed a person to travel to its elementary schools with her small 78 rpm record player, and give the students a lesson in “music appreciation.”
BRACK: Time for a new series around “Vanishing Gwinnett” theme
By Elliott Brack | In this space recently we wrote about Hometown Barbeque closing. Its forerunner was called Gunter’s Barbeque.
I have a framed 16×20 painting of Gunter’s, by the late George Keener, in my home hallway that I pass each day. When writing about Hometown Barbeque, I was wanting to have a photo of its predecessor, the old Gunter’s. It never came to mind that I had that painting.
BRACK: Even when searching for a dog, be careful; Scams abound
By Elliott Brack | Somehow, I think was on the way to getting scammed. Over all things, a dog. Ever since our 16-year-old rescue dog, Hercules, died about three months ago, we’ve been thinking about getting another dog. We’ve always had dogs, four main ones, living with us for 9, 15, 18 and (for Herk) 16 years.
BRACK: Dacula, Harbins lose cherished member in Winford Lindsay
By Elliott Brack | Dacula and the Harbins community lost a cherished member when Winford Vernon Lindsay Sr. died on November 1. He lived a half a year beyond age 100. Winford was a giant of a gentleman, the son of a farming family, and Bible scholar. He may have been the last surviving Gwinnett County resident who had been a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps, prior to enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1940.
BRACK: Random thoughts about the negative transit vote and election results
By Elliott Brack | Random thoughts concerning the General Election are on our mind today.
Gwinnett voters in 2020 easily approved the continuation of a one cent sales tax to help fund school infrastructure (76.6 percent), yet were almost equally divided in turning down a one cent sales tax for improved transit. The difference was 1,013 votes out of the 398,000 votes cast! Talk about a closely-split 50.1 percent difference!
BRACK: Memorial for Bill Barks Sr. of Norcross to be held Nov. 21
By Elliott Brack | What a full life Bill Barks Sr. of Norcross lived! He died recently at age 83.
Bill retired from his many business ventures in 2010. He still remained active. As one of the founding members of the PDC Club (Progressive Development Club), which still meets each Wednesday morning in Norcross at 45 South Café (now “people driving coffee), he became publisher of the Norcross Times, which he edited for 15 years, up until recently.
BRACK: We’ll look back on 2020 as one of most distinctive years ever
By Elliott Brack | What a year 2020 has been! Let’s address saner subjects today. With a presidential political year on top of a worldwide COVID crisis, 2020 will go down in history as one of the most distinctive ever. Having Donald Trump around already provided the year a different perspective out of Washington, but the COVID situation overwhelmed and affected us all.
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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