Newspaper Page Text
The story of a student
who met an immortal
By Mark Oliphant
AUGUSTA FOCUS Co_rt_th
Theyear was 1989. A young man
with a raw writing talent yet to be
jelled was spending a year out of
college because of a financial aid
road block. At the time, he worked
part-time for a local weekly publi
cation where he met an elder states
man whose ingenuous wisdom and
encouraging spirit would leave a
permanent mark in his memory
for years to come.
With a never-say-die spirit, this
college junior’s return back home
from Atlanta turned out to be some
what productive over a course of
nine months. He met a newspaper
editor who took him under his
wing and groomed him with his
new-found craft despite having
only written term papers and
amateur articles for his college’s
newspaper.
Not only did this young man
learn interview tactics, sharpen
his typing skills and learn proof
reading methods, he came across
one of the most invaluable experi
ences during his initial months at
the newspaper office.
Oneday duringthisyoung man’s
first week on the job, in walked an
elderly gentleman inslow and care
ful steps with the aid of his trade
mark cane. A folded newspaper
under his armpit. Pulling out
crumpled sheets of paper with his
difficult-to-read scribblings to hand
to the copy editor for typing.
Stooped over, turning at a 45-de
gree angle toward the young stu
dent, peering over his reading
glasses with eyes that appeared to
illustrate years of knowledge too
far in quantity to document at one
time. Through his soft-spoken, ar
ticulate voice, a “how-do-you-do
young-man” was uttered.
The young man would often
make time for this elder, who was
like a grandfather he never had,
and take him to almost every des
tination in town he needed to go.
Onewhich stands out was a visit to
a senior citizens cehter, wherethe
gentleman invited the young man
inside to meet his chess buddies.
Theyoung man reluctantly agreed,
since he had never really visited a
senior citizens center, aside froma
nursing home at the age of 12,
when his grandfather was alive.
In lieu of being one of the fore
most authorities in African-Ameri
can history, having travelled ex
tensively abroad, including Lon
don, and having worked arm-in
arm with MLK whenever he came
in town during his heyday, the
elderly statesman abandoned all
of his rank as such and .... asked
this young man for an interview!
Not for the young man to inter
view him. Vice versa! In featuring
the budding journalist with two
fellow newspaper staffers, this
gentleman taught him the essence
of humility.
After managing to pull strings
to return to Atlanta and earn his
bachelors degree, work for a na
tional lifestyles publication, and
later work in public relations for
his alma mater, this young man
only saw this gentleman on two
more occasions. The elder states
man and columnist appeared more
frail, less alert than before and
with less sight capabilities. Never
theless, he remembered thisyoung
man and his aim in becoming an
accomplished communicator. '
The young man returned home
years later. He was now a televi
sion associate producer and 're
turned to the newspaper as a
freelance correspondent.
Recently, this young man won
dered about the whereabouts of
the older gentleman. Two days,
later, it appeared the same news
paper editor connected with this
young man’s mind: a symbol of
their long friendship. Heinformed
theyoung man that the gentleman
died the previous week.
This young man realized that
the immortal statesman will al
ways be etched in his memory
everytime he interviews someone
or writes an article, especially this
one. ?
The statesman, the institution
and the gentleman was the incom
parable J. Philip Waring.
By the way, the young man was
yours truly. I, on behalf of all the
lives he touched, thank our Cre
ator and his family for sharing Mr.
Waring with the African-Ameri
can community, the city the world,
and me. We will miss him. |
Closer Look
Going Places sy..eniip warng
History advanced by black building
The following column by the
late J. Philip Waring was one
of his first published for
Avgusta Focus on August 8,
1985. Phil's fans can read his
past columns in this newspa
per in the future. They are
invaluable chronicles of local
black history.
Planning is ending now on a
daring but timely thrust in “Liv
ing Black History.” It has to do
with naming the awardees —
churches, businesses, professional
units and community service agen
cies — who have either built new
structures or made significant re
habilitation or renovations on
same during the past 25 years.
They will be honored on August
18,4 p.m., when our Black History
Committee also spotlights senior
citizens and gate openers at the
Williams Memorial CME church.
As there are so many deserving
Urban Builders we’ve decided to
continue this over into 1986, and
many not named today will be in
cluded at next years’ annual
awards assembly.
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Ao (R A i Wl e T
S LU B S S
Asaforementioned, Augusta has
some of the most beautiful and
stately churches in our nation, and
they and our ministers are most
important to advancement of com
munity life in the Augusta area.
Now for this year’'s awardees:
First, may we look at those who've
built new structures during the
past 25 years. Out in the county
we have Belle Terrace Presbyte
rian and Broadway Baptist. Moses
Baptist in the downtown area has
a beautiful new structure as has
Ward Chapel AME out on 15th
Street. Elim Baptist on the hill
has beautifully redecorated itself
while Liberty Baptist and The
Friendly Church in Christ on Car
rie Street now have handsome
structures as does Gethsemene
Baptist on Wrightsboro Road.
First Mt. Moriah has just about
doubled in size on Milledgeville
Road.
The two “crown jewels,” how
ever, are Mt. Zion AMEZ and the
now Mt. Calvary Missionary Bap
tist on Wrightsboro which together
will cost over two million dollars!
(This again shows the powerful
potential of our Black churches).
It takes teamwork to prevent
cigarette sales to minors.
Preventing cigarette sales to minors is not a job anyone can do
alone. We all have a role to play in this effort—parents, teachers, store
owners, state and local officials and, of course, tobacco companies.
At Philip Morris USA, we're teaming up with retailers, wholesalers
and other major tobacco manufacturers in support of an ambitious
program called “We Card.” 1t is providing stores across the country with
signs and educational materials to promote awareness of minimum-age
laws and the importance of checking ID.
We're also supporting the passage of state legislation to better
enforce existing minimum-age laws.
What can you do to help?
Become familiar with your state’s minimum-age laws. Don’t buy
cigarettes for minors. And don't send minors to buy cigarettes for you.
Teamwork can make the difference. ‘
At T
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PHILIP MORRIS U.S.A.
- Action Against Access. -
Now may we examine some
churches which have completed
extension to their plants and they
include: The S. Thomas Center at
Trinity CME; the education build
ingofthe Williams Memorial CME;
the education building of Mt. Zion
Baptist on Wrightsboro; the
Turner Morris parish house at St.
Mary's Episcopal. The huge Tab
ernacle Baptist, one of the largest
community churches in our na
tion, has completed over $600,000
in major renovations and repairs
during the past 15 years. Again,
additional churches will be in
cluded on our 1986 awards roster.
One of the most exciting find
ings on our business-professional
sector and community service
agencies is how they’ve built new
buildings by taking older struc
tures and doing handsome and
attractive rehabilitation. We'’ve
put them into classes. First, reha
bilitation and new structures. May
we examine one of our newest and
that would be Charles Walker’s
attractive office at 12th and
Wrightsboro Road; there are two
new funeral homes, namely Bennie
Williams and Blount and Reid;
several dentists have invested and
they are Dr. Latimer Blount, Dr.
Willis J. Walker, and Dr. Varnell
Gaines. Several years ago, Attor
neydJohn “Mr. Civil Rights” Ruffin
constructed a neat lawyer’s office
while Mason Bohler and Wilber
Johnson have erected fine restau
rants. The first down on East
Boundary and the latter is the
“Famous Door” on Laney-Walker
near Ninth Street. Back in the
mid-sixties, L. B. Wallace built an
office structure across from the
Pilgrim.
Our business and professional
leaders have pressed fineold struc
tures into active service via reha
bilitation and they are: Augusta
Blue Print which made a massive
investment resulting in an attrac
tive business-industrial printing
reproduction complex down on
Reynolds near the Fifth Street
bridge; Judge Carl Brown has put
together a lawyer-business office
from an older three-story building
while Dr. Elijah Lightfoot has con
verted an older store fronting the
former Immaculate Conception
Church into a physician’s office
with space on hand; Commissioner
Henry Howard and family have
rebuilt their production-office
headquarters on Milledgeville
Road into a very attractive head
quarters-shop. This year Pilgrim
Health and Life Insurance Com
pany (which pioneered in loaning
money to Black businesses) will be
cited for its rehabilitation of its
AUGUSTA FOCUS "~ 'DECEMBER 18, 1097
adi;cantCivicßnomforoflam
and community meeting space.
About ayear ago the Metro County
weekly newspaper purchased an
old house across from the new jail
on Walton Way. Publisher Bar
bara Gordon shows how hard work
by volunteers has turned its inside
into an attractive office facility.
Now for the community service
agencies, First would bethe CSRA
Business League building which is
an incubator and has aided more
economic development than any
unit of its kind; then there’s the
one-room “Strum Academy” at
Shiloh Community Center and the
new Paine College Alumni House
on upper Laney-Walker. The
Bethlehem Community Center has
spent over $250,000 in renovating
its main headquarters. The
Bethlehem Area Community As
sociation (BACA) purchased anold
100-year-old residence for $9,500
and its members who reside in one
of the most disadvantaged neigh
borhoods in our city, spent to
gether over two years in rehabili
tation of this agency. This is a
national example of “neighbor
hood self-help.” Puttingall of these
resources together for community
recognition is really successful
“Black History in Action.” Let’s
come out on August 18 and per
sonally salute them.
Thiscolumn was originally pub
lished in the August 8, 1985 issue
of Augusta Focus, on page 10.
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