Newspaper Page Text
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SATURDAY,
JULY 22, 2006
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Old school
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Donated land has been used for education for more than 153 years
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Journal Lifestyle Editor
In 1853, America was at peace,
and the small town of Perry had
only been in existence for 32
years.
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Special to the Journal
Fannie Killen Norwood on her gradu
ation from the Perry School in 1881.
Wait for the beep - answering machines have the upper hand
I knew I was in trouble
the second I started
talking. I had called a
new friend to invite her to a
program at church, and got
her answering machine. I
took a breath, waited for the
beep, then tried to leave a
nice, welcoming, “we’d sure
love to have you” type mes
sage.
Instead, I left a rambling,
confusing, “I sQre sound
like an idiot” type message.
It involved me talking all
over myself trying to explain
the meeting, who would be
there, adding, “oh, did I men
tion what time it is?” and,
“just come as you are” and
my son calling, “Mommy,
Mommy, Mommy!” in the
background.
Sherri Martin
The Front Porch
smartin@evansnewspapers.com
When I could ignore him
no longer, I finally said,
“Excuse me” to the answer
ing machine, covered up the
phone and tried to sound
like a good mother while
threatening him to within
an inch of his life if he did
not quit interrupting me!
Lifestyle
That was the year that Samuel
Dodderidge Killen made a deci
sion to donate some of his land
for the building of a school
for youhg ladies, the Houston
Female College.
He also provided a gift of SSOO
to get the school built.
His generous gift had a stipu
lation, which was that if the
land ever stopped being used for
educational purposes, it was to
revert to his heirs.
That never happened, though,
because the land Killen donated
has never once stopped being
used for education.
The Houston Female College,
which at one point had 85 stu
dents and taught a curriculum
that included science, literature
and embroidery for sl2 per term,
became the Perry public school,
and was eventually replaced by
another Perry school, the brick
building on Main Street, which
now serves as the central office
building for the Houston County
Board of Education.
On Tuesday, Norwood M.
Davidson, Killen’s great
great-great-grandson was in
Perry to present a portrait of
Samuel Dodderidge Killen to
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I mean it! Or go to your
room!
When I finally hung up,
how I wished I could have a
“do-over” for that message.
I know as soon as she lis
tened to it she thought, “I’m
never going back to that
church, as long as that crazy
the Houston County Board of
Education. Davidson, whose
home is in Mcßae, also brought
an 1854 catalogue from the
Houston Female College, school
pictures from the 19th century,
and a wealth of memorabilia
including a hand-written roster
of the men from Perry who went
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. Special to the Journal
The Killen home is still standing on Main Street, and has been remodeled and
restored over the years. It is now Watson Hunt Funeral Home.
Martin woman is there.”
Would someone please
help me out here?
There has got to be some
way to prevent these types
of situations.
Whenever you have to
record your outgoing mes
sage on your own answering
machine, you get the chance
to listen to it and make sure
it sounds okay.
If you call a business, such
as the power company, to
report a problem, you have
the opportunity to listen to
the message you leave to
make sure it’s correct.
So why, why, why can’t
someone give me that option
when I call and leave a mes
sage on another person’s
answering machine?
off to serve the Confederacy in
the Civil War andSßture of a
group of bundled up ladies and
gentlemen taken during “the
blizzard of 1898.”
Samuel Killen was one of those
who went off to serve, and was
for some time a prisoner of war,
See LAND, page 6C
Unless I am trying extra
hard to sound ultra-profes
sional (and believe me, it
takes extreme mental effort
for me to do that), I either
come off sounding like the
aforementioned rambling
idiot, or I talk so fast in an
effort to get through with
the message that no one
can understand what I’m
saying.
Therefore, I wish that
after leaving a message, a
voice would come on and
say, “If you are pleased with
your message and would like
to save it, press one.
If you realize you left out
vital information, press
two.
If you realize you sounded
like a complete fool, and
BECTUN
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would prefer nobody on the
face of the earth ever hear
this message, press three.”
I would never leave anoth
er crazy message again,
thereby not scaring off inno
cent people from my church.
I also would be sure not
to leave a snippy message
to my husband, one that I
regret the minute the words
leave my mouth.
Think of the relationships
that could be saved!
And I would have the
opportunity to gather my
thoughts, slow down my
tongue, and sound like a
completely reasonable and
sane person on a regular
basis.
Or at least on somebody
else’s answering machine.