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thesy lvaniatimes .com
The Sylvania Times
Wednesday, May 4, 2022 - Page 5
Let the Musk Syeah
“Church in the Wildwood”
Mr. Harry Tell Hodges
Sam Eades
samsylvaniatimes@gmail.com
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Thomas “Tommy” Dewey Com, Sr., age 77,
of Sylvania, and husband of Patricia Ann Zei-
gler Com, passed away on Sunday afternoon,
May 1, 2022, at Augusta University Medical
Center.
Bom in Polk County, Tennessee, he was a son
of the late Oscar McKinley Com, Sr., and the
late Cora Katherine Sanders Com.
Tommy retired from Sara Lee Bread and
worked part time at Thompson-Strickland-Wa
ters Funeral Home. He was a member of Little
Horse Creek Baptist Church.
In addition to his parents, Tommy was preceded in death by his brothers, Ker-
mit Com, Oscar McKinley Com, Jr. and Frank Com and his sisters, Ruby Hoard,
Mildred Bagget, Ruth Bakowski, Dorothy Com, Edith Lee and Grace Ann Com.
Survivors include his wife, Patricia Ann Zeigler Com; daughters, Cindi Davis of
Monroe, GA, Dianne (Robert) Kinsey of Atlanta, GA, Belinda (Paul) Washlesky
of Melbourne, FL and Kathy Waters of Sylvania; his son, Tommy D. (Kim) Com,
Jr.; brother, John (Jean) Corn of Bradenton, FL; his grandchildren, Sylvia Davis,
Vicki Davis, Seth Corn, Hunter Corn, Eddie Waters, Julie Shipkoski, James Kinsey
and several great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends from 1:00 P.M. until 2:00 P.M. Thursday after
noon, May 5, 2022, at Little Horse Creek Baptist Church.
A funeral service will be held at 2:00 P.M., Thursday, May 5, 2022, in the Little
Horse Creek Baptist Church Chapel conducted by Rev. Pete Wall. Interment to fol
low at Zeigler Family Cemetery. Active Pallbearers: Thomas Corn, Jr., Seth Com,
Hunter Com, Jimmy Evans, Bill Forehand, Eddie Waters, James r |lJ| UH*
Kinsey Please share your thoughts and stories about Tommy at IJr|i \
www.thompsonstricklandwaters.com IJ TT
SBA
continued from page 2
McNeill Funeral Homi
Central Savannah River
cal damages, as verified
by the SBA for mitiga
tion purposes. Eligible
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may include a safe room
or storm shelter, sump
pump, French drain, or
retaining wall to help
protect property and oc
cupants from future dam
age caused by a similar
disaster.
Applicants may apply
online using the elec
tronic loan application
via SBA’s website at
disasterloanassistance.
sba.gov/ela/s and should
apply under SBA dec-
laration#17402. The
filing deadline to return
applications for physical
property damage is June
20, 2022. The deadline
to return economic injury
applications is January
19, 2023.
Iowa to be on a bigger
river. The town was once
the county seat, but popula
tion was in steady decline,
and the Church had grown
neglected. In 1888, the
Church was closed.
However, about 22 years
later the "Society for
the preservation of The
Little Brown Church" was
founded, and by 1914, ser
vices were again held in the
building. Shortly afterward,
the small congregation
experienced a revival that
attracted new attention to it
and to its namesake song,
"Church in the Wildwood."
It attracts thousands of
visitors every year to see or
be married in "The Little
Brown Church in the Vale."
There's a church in the
valley by the wildwood
No lovelier spot in the dale
No place is so dear
to my childhood
As the little brown
church in the vale
(Oh, come, come,
come, come)
Come to the church
by the wildwood
Oh, come to the church
in the vale
No spot is so dear to
my childhood
As the little brown
church in the vale
How sweet on a clear
Sabbath morning
To listen to the clear
ringing bells
Its tones so sweetly
are calling
Oh come to the church
in the vale
There, close by the
church in the valley
Lies one that I loved
so well
She sleeps, sweetly sleeps,
'neath the willow
Disturb not her rest
in the vale
There, close by the side
of that loved one
'Neath the tree where the
wild flowers bloom
When farewell hymns shall
be chanted
I shall rest by her side
in the tomb
SiitaaTforiefc
iiL SLud o B
106 Mims Road
Sylvania, Ga 30467
912-451-6417
sy(vaniaflonst@DiJtiook.ccirn
Kenneth & Stacy Sanders
Out nsrs/Optra tors
x«nd*r«mcnumcntcaflgvruiil corn
Sandersmapunient.fiain
I am sure alot of folks
remember hearing men's
voices of your favorite
Church choir singing..."O
come, come, come, come,
come, come " and you
thought to yourself "are
they ever going to stop
singing that?" Well, this
happens to be the bass line
to one of my Grandfather's
favorite hymns, "Church in
the Wildwood" or as some
folks know it,
"The Little Brown
Church in the
Vale."
One of my
grandfathers was
Sam Charles Cath-
cart of Thomson,
Ga. He loved
going to the little
white Method
ist Church in this
quiet Cobbham
community and if
he wasn't singing
"I can tell you the time, I
can take you to the place",
he was belting this particu
lar hymn. I remember those
days like it was yesterday.
As a child, I would always
try and grab the special spot
beside him on one of the
old wood pews my family
would fill. You see our fam
ily was big and we filled
most of the Church.
Now, it was hot in that
Church. No air at all and
only drop down ceiling fans
to move the air around , a
few wasp nests in the cor
ners of the building and of
course shutters that would
open from the outside to
let in a brisk not always
so cool breeze. But, it was
nice. I didn't realize how
much I would appreciate
the time with my family in
that old country Church. As
you know by now, I love
good ole Country Gospel
music! It makes my heart
sing and my feet dance!
The hymn "Church in the
Wildwood" was composed
and written by Dr. William
S. Pitts in 1857 following a
coach ride that stopped in
Bradford, Iowa. It is a song
about a church in a valley
near the town, though the
church was not actually
built until several years
later. In the years since, the
church has become known
simply as "the Little Brown
Church".
The story is, that during a
stagecoach ride to visit his
fiancee in Fredericksburg,
Iowa, the stage stopped
at Bradford and allowed
Pitts to wander in the area
and enjoy the woodlands.
Pitts found particular
beauty in a wooded valley
formed by the Cedar River.
While viewing the spot,
Pitts envisioned a church
building there and could
not seem to ease the vision
from his mind. Returning
to his home in Wisconsin,
he wrote "The Church in
the Wildwood" for his own
sake, eventually saying of
its completion, "only then
was I at peace with myself."
By 1862 Pitts was mar
ried, and he and his wife
moved to Fredericksburg to
be near her elderly parents.
He was surprised upon his
return to the area to find a
Church being erected where
he had imagined it five
years before. The building
was even being painted
brown, because that was
the least expensive color of
paint to be found. During
the winter of 1863-64, Pitts
taught a singing class at
Bradford Academy. He had
his class sing the song at
Dr. William S. Pitts
the dedication of the new
Church in 1864. This was
the first time "Church in
the Wildwood" was sung
by anyone apart from Pitts
himself.
Nearing the twentieth
century, small Bradford
was in great decline. The
village had been bypassed
by a new railroad through
Nashua, Iowa, two miles
west, and the flour mill
moved to New Hampton,
CALL FOR SPECIAL ELECTION
Notice is hereby given that, in accordance
with 0 0 G A. §21-2-540, a special
election shall be held in Screven County for
the purpose of submitting lo the voters
the following queslion for approval or
rejection. The special election will be held
on May 24, 2022.
Shall a special 1% sales and use lax be
imposed in the special district consisting of
Screven County for a period of time not lo
exceed five (5) years and for Ihe raising not
more than an estimated amount of $9
million for transportation purposes?
Advance voting will be held in the
Registrar's Office at the Screven County
Courthouse, Uonday-Friday,
9 00am-5:00pm. beginning May 2, 2022,
and ending May 20, 2022, and Saturday,
May 7, 2022, 9:00am-5:00pm and
Saturday, May 14. 2022, 9:00am-5:00pm.
Polls wilE be open from 7:00am-7:00pm
on eleclion day
Debbie Bro mi)
Election Superintendent
Screven County 1 m
Mr. Harry Tell Hodges, 99, passed away on
Friday, April 29, 2022 at his residence sur
rounded by his family.
Harry Tell was the youngest son bom at the
family home place in Blue Springs to the late
Claude and Sadie Hodges. He attended school
in Newington and served in the Merchant Ma
rines during WWII. He farmed for all of his life
and had logged and operated a sawmill during
in the 1950’s. He was a member of the Sylva
nia First Baptist Church, a former member of
North Newington Baptist Church and the Syl
vania Lions Club. He loved to hunt and fish and
was a member of Tuckahoe and Spring Lake Hunting Clubs.
He is preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Virginia Arrington Hodges, his sib
lings: Tillman Hodges, Clayton Hodges, Ollie Mae Thornton, Quentin Hodges, and
Claude Hodges, Jr.
He is survived by his daughters: Elaine H. Millsap of Sylvania, Marsha H. Chastain
of Sautee Nacoochee, GA and Rachel Hodges of Sylvania; son and daughter-in-
law: Kerry (Lisa) Hodges of Sylvania; grandchildren: Jennifer (Matthew) Conklin,
Joel (Amy) Millsap, Michael (Stormee) Newton, Brian Millsap, Hillary (James)
Dixon, and Matt Hodges; great-grandchildren: Savannah Conklin, Journey Conklin,
Makenzie Newton, Micah Newton, Henry Millsap, Ethan Dixon, and Jase Dixon;
sister, Uldine Cannon of Savannah, brother-in-law, W. A. (Loretta) Arrington, nu
merous nieces and nephews and many many close friends.
Funeral services will be on Monday, May 2, 2022 at 3:00pm at the First Baptist
Church of Sylvania with Dr. Charlie Cooper, Rev. Pete Wall, and Rev. Bill Kent of
ficiating. The family will receive friends in the Family Life Center from 1:00pm to
3:00pm.
Interment will follow at the Screven County Memorial Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be his grandsons, Joel Millsap, Brian Millsap, Michael Newton,
Matt Hodges, Matthew Conklin, James Dixon, as well as Chip Bazemore, Sr., Brian
Batzel, and Jay Brinson.
For those in attendance of the services of Mr. Hodges, please consider yourselves
as honorary pallbearers.
Friends may sign the online register book at www.joineranderson.com.
In Lieu of Flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude's Children's Hospital at https://
www. stjude. org/donate/
Joiner Anderson Funeral Home Screven Chapel is in Tf J J f1 C L
charge of all arrangements.
Thomas “Tommy” Dewey Corn, Sr
