Articles by: Elliott Brack
HARRELL: Wedding at home plate only one element of 1950 Ga. State League
By Dr. Lanier Harrell | For the Jesup Bees professional Class D baseball team after World War II, attendance was never very good. (Other teams in the league were Douglas, Fitzgerald, Tifton, Baxley, Eastman, Dublin and Vidalia.) Many special nights were tried to boost attendance, Ladies’ Night, various giveaways and lucky drawings. The Bees’ most unusual attraction in 1950 was a real wedding at home plate, and it would be long remembered. It happened this way.
BRACK: Seeing Book of Mormon at the Fox Theatre: Not so much a delight
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | Several people urged us to go see the road company of The Book of Mormon, saying they thought we would like it.
We went to the Fox Wednesday night, and came away not excited about the musical some say is so great. To us, it just was not up to par of stage performances we have seen before. Since it’s a musical with lots of toe-tapping dances, I would have thought a person would come away with the lyrics and beat of one of the songs in your mind. Didn’t happen.
BRACK: Gambling, medical marijuana and two movies for you to enjoy
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | Two groups which we oppose have made surprising progress this year. We refer to those wanting the Georgia Legislature to approve gambling and medical marijuana in Georgia. We don’t think these are good ideas.
These groups have insidiously made their way into the minds of many people extolling the virtues of casino gambling and introducing emotion on the medical use of marijuana. They even want horse racing and pot growing in Georgia.
BRACK: Candidates on both sides seem to prosper from outlandish statements
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher| The national political scene leading up to the presidential election has been a wild one so far, primarily thanks to the whirlwind politics of Donald Trump. Though many do not think he will eventually be the Republican nominee, nevertheless Trump has dominated the media, blown most of the other GOP candidates nearly out of the water, and engineered an unusual candidacy.
BRACK: From drone training to Georgia State to likely Maiming Act of 2016
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | Here and there during this holiday season, a round up:
Most likely prediction to come true if it hasn’t already: you will soon hear of a Christmas gift, one of those drone airplanes, crashing into either a house, automobile, or even a human. Those machines take training to fly them correctly, and don’t you know a lot of kids (or adults) getting such a “toy” for Christmas will think he or she has become expert in its operation, when they have not, and may hurt someone.
BRACK: “Joyful, Joyful” and Beethoven’s Ninth, plus Bernstein in Berlin
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | During the holiday season, we hope you (and I) get to hear and sing one of our favorite hymns, Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee. Somehow it reminds me of Christmas.
The stirring hymn was written in 1907 by Henry Van Dyke, a Princeton University professor of English, who was also a Presbyterian minister. His inspiration was two-fold: the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts, and the fourth stanza of Ludwig Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
BRACK: Hudgens Art Center selects Ife Williams as its new director
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | GwinnettForum has learned that the Hudgens Center for the Arts will name Ife Marie Williams as its new director. She previously was the interim director of the Department of Art and Culture in Fulton County.
Ms. Williams was introduced to the board of directors of the Art Center on Thursday night. Reached by telephone, she tells the Forum she is looking forward to “doing what the Hudgens does well, reach out into the community, and expanding into new programs. The Hudgens wants to do what the community in Gwinnett wants it to do.”
Gwinnett Forum | July 26, 2024
“I do not have a psychiatrist and I do not want one, for the simple reason that if he listened to me long enough, he might become disturbed.”
— American Humorist James Thurber (1894 – 1961)
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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