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12 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA CATHOLICS IN GEORGIA THOMAS S. GRAY If you were to ask the young men of Augusta who the most popular business man of their city is, their answer in the majority of cases would be: “Mr. Tom Gray.” If you were to put the same question to their elders, they would give you the last two thirds of their juniors* answer. And if you were to ask a member of the Catholic Lay men’s Association for the name of the hardest worker in the Augusta Association, the answer would be the same as in the other cases. Mr. Gray was born in Atlanta April 6, 1872. His father died while he was very young. After grad uating from the Brothers’ School at St. Patrick’s, he entered merchantile life as a bookkeeper for an Augusta house. In 1896, Mr. Gray was united in marriage to Miss Annie Wiggins of Augusta. Seven children bless ed the union, five of whom are living—Margaret, (Mrs. Eugene Gilbert), Herbert, a student at the law school of the University of Georgia, Thomas S. Jr., a student at Richmond Academy, and Anna and Virginia Gray. Mr. Gray became teller at the Union Savings Bank in 1898, and has advanced through various positions to that of vice-president and cashier, which he holds today. In banking circles he is known as the “young man’s friend.” Through the bigness of his heart, he has started many an Au gusta young man on the road to prosperity in business. “Character, not capital,” is his standard of judging the young man, and his wide business experience has yet to reveal to him a case where this policy has been faulty. When a dispute arises in business questions in Augusta, Mr. Gray is looked upon as the logical arbitrator, and his advice is constantly sought in matters of finance in Richmond County and its vicinity. About ten years ago, the Wholesale and Retail Merchants Association of Augusta started a movement to put a boat line on the Savannah CLERICAL LIFE—SOME OF ITS SERIOUS AND HUMOROUS SIDES (Continued from page 7.) and on going there I found Mr. W., the occupant of the pew who had caused me the distraction the day before. He had no sooner introduced himself to me than he said: “Father, yesterday was the first time that I was ever inside a Cath olic Church during service, and I did not under stand a single thing that was done. Why do you stand with your back to the people? And what are you reading out of that book? Why do you wear those queer vestments during the service? Now you must not be offended at my asking all those questions, but Mr. H. told me that I could ask you about anything that I did not under stand, and that you would be glad to answer.” I told him, of course, that I would be very glad to tell him anything about the Church that he desired to know, and that I would commence with the difficulties he had mentioned. “The service which you attended yesterday is what we call Mass,” I said, “and it dates back in all its essential features to the time of the Apostles. The Priest stands facing the Altar be cause he is not talking to the people, but for the people to God; and hence he turns his face to the Altai;, where God is. He wears these vest- aments which seem so queer to you out of respect to God. You would not like to go to your parlor River between Augusta and Savannah. Mr. Gray was named chairman of the committee which went out and raised in a few days the $90,000 nec essary to establish the boat line. Two modern boats were secured, and the line flourished until the war started, when they were transferred. Augusta until recently was visited with exas perating regularity by floods. It was not an un common sight to see boats operating in the down town section of the city. Mr. Gray was appointed a member of a committee organized to mitigate the evil. The committee not only mitigated, but eliminated it. Today a million dollar levee stands between the river and the city as the result of the work of the committee on which Mr. Gray worked, and floods in Augusta are a matter only of history. During the war Mr. Gray was actively engaged in the various drives conducted in the Tenth Con gressional District. He was treasurer of the Au gusta Red Cross Drive, Liberty Loan Drives, and various other campaigns which did so much to bring the war to its successful termination. Mr. Gray’s work for the Laymen’s Association is too well known for repetition. He is never too busy to lend his assistance to the work; never too occupied to give it the benefit of his advice. He is president of the Augusta branch of the Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia, and state treas urer. He is a charter member of Patrick Walsh Council, Knights of Columbus, of Augusta, and a founder of the Church of St. Mary of The Hill. He is also a member of the Augusta Country Club, the Carmichael Club, the McElmurray Club, and various other social and civic organizations. With men like Mr. Gray, loyal, practical, enter prising and courageous, behind the Laymen’s As sociation, it can face the future with assurance that great as has been its success in the past, its greatest work will be done in the days which are yet to come. where some honored guest awaits you if you were in your work day clothes, but out of respect for him you would change them for others; so we Priests as we go to the Altar of God change our ordinary dress. Now as to what I was reading out of that book yesterday I will read it for you.” I took a Missal out of my book case and read the Introit, and some of the other proper parts of the Mass. We were celebrating the Feast of SS. Peter and Paul, whose more solemn celebration had been transferred to the Sunday. “Can you imagine,” I said to him, “anything more appro priate to the House of God, and to read to the people of God, who are met there to worship Him, than these words which are taken from the Acts of the Apostles: ‘Now I know in very deed that the Lord hath sent His Angel and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod; and from all the expectation of the Jews’?” “We were commemorating yesterday the feasts of the holy Apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, and so we recalled to the memory of the faithful the words of Peter as he left the prison in Jerusalem. Then I read from the Psalms: ‘Lord, Thou has proved me and know me; Thou hast known my sitting down and my rising up.’ We believe that the Saints who reign with God in Heaven are in terested in us and pray to Him for us; for if the Angels who see God’s face in Heaven feel joy, as Christ tells us, when one sinner does penance, how much more joy should the Saints feel who