Elliott Brack’s Perspective
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.
BRACK: Check out the 100-year-old bungalow restored in Norcross
By Elliott Brack | A 1917 Norcross bungalow got a new owner nearly 100 years after it was built, and has been beautifully remodeled by Johnny Day. This Thrasher Street house was built by William McElroy, who ran a coal business in the area. He is an ancestor of S.T. McElroy, who ran a lumber company in Norcross.
Gwinnett Forum | Jan. 10, 2025
“Nothing makes us feel more connected than when we are engaged in a healthy balance of thoughtful speaking and hardcore listening.”
— Belgian-American psychotherapist and relationship expert Eshter Perel (1958- ) via John Titus, Peachtree Corners.
Recent deaths
Continuing objectives
Gwinnett Forum publisher Elliott Brack suggests Gwinnett County needs a long-range list of continuing objectives for improving the county. His 2025 list:
- Move statewide non-partisan judicial and school board elections to the date of the General Election.
- 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.
- Eliminate single-use plastic packaging and straws in Gwinnett and require instead the use of paper products.
- Gwinnett planners to encourage condos and townhouses instead of apartments.
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.
Our underwriters
Recent Full Issues
Award
Follow Us