Newspaper Page Text
Egood
VENIN VF
By Quimby Melton
Everyone, of course, knows
the important part the Christ
mas tree plays at Christmas.
But there probably are a lot
of people who do not know of
the Yule Log, that for many ye
ars was also an important thing
at Christmas.
The best way we know to tell
about the Yule Log is to retell a
story, told to Good Evening
when he was a boy, by Uncle
LeGrand Tutwiler. Uncle Le-
Grand was an old Negro man
who worked around the old girls
college in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Good
Evening’s father, the late Dr. W.
F. Melton, was president of this
school, and we spent part of our
youth there.
Uncle LeGrand was born a
slave on a large plantation, near
Tuscaloosa, Ala. After the War
Between the States, he re
mained on the plantation as long
as “O1 Marster” lived, then
moved to town.
Uncle LeGrand resembled the
pictures one sees of “Uncle Re
mus”; and he certainly could
tell tall tales like the Joel Chan
der Harris character.
— + —
“You young 'uns, don’t know
nothing ’bout a real Chrihtmas”,
Uncle LeGrand said, one day
when we asked him to "tell
us a Christmas story.” "Christ
mas back on the plantation was
something shore nuff.”
Then he went on to tell of the
days spent in preparation for
Christmas, the parties “all over
the neighborhood,” the annual
“dance in the quarters” for the
Negroes.
In fact he told of so many ac
tivities we asked him:
“Uncle LeGrand, how could
you do all that in the few days
at Christmas?”
— * —
“Hush child” he said "we
didn’t rush at Christmas time.
We had days and days to cele
brate. The Christmas holidays
lasted as long as the big back
log burned in the big fireplace
in the big house.”
Then he told how during the
summer months the Negroes
would cut down the largest
and toughest tree “down by the
river”, would saw It the correct
length for the fireplace and just
before Christmas would drag it
to the "big house,” put it in the
big open fireplace and start the
Christmas fire.
"As long as there was a bit of
that log burning, that meant hol
iday,” he said.
Then with a chuckle he con
tinued. "One year we had Christ
mas for more than two weeks.
No one, but a few of us on the
place, ever knew why that back
log burned so long. I'll tell you
the secret.”
Then he told how they found
a big "ironwood tree.” After it
had been cut down, and it took
many an ax to do the job, and
after it had been cut the right
length to fit snugly in the fire
place; it was dragged to the ri
ver and thrown into the water.
"Ironwood,” he said, "is hea
vy and will sink. So we tied a
long rope to it and tied the oth
er end to a tree on the bank.
This was how we could tell
where that ironwood log wuz. All
summer long that old ironwood
log lay at the bottom of the ri
ver in the mud — just a soak
ing up water. A few days fore
Christmas we hitched a yoke of
oxen to the rope, pulled the log
out of the river and dragged it
to the house. It wuz tough wood,
it wuz soaking wet, and it burn
ed and burned for days and
days.
"And we didn’t have to work
as long as any of the log was
left burning.”
"But Uncle LeGrand I never
heard of ‘ironwood,’ was our re
ply.
"Hush chile, there’s a lot you
ain’t heard of,” was the old
Negro’s reply as he lighted his
pipe, learned back in his rock
ing chair and fell asleep.
4l O SHOPPING
U © DAYS LEFT
Pole S 3
CHRISTMAS SEALS tight TB and
other RESPIRATORY DISEASES
1968 CHRISTMAS ° GREETINGS 1968
Lt. Reese Killed
In Vietnam War
Marine First Lieutenant Jam
es R. Reese, 26, of Griffin has
been killed in Vietnam. His fa
ther, James Reese, 348 North
16th street was notified this
morning.
Maj. Mark C. Wilson of the
Marine office in Atlanta came to
Griffin to bring the death mes
sage.
He told Mr. Reese his son was
killed Dec. 2 when the spotter
plane he was in was shot down,
Lt. James R. Reese
Spalding In Good
Financial Condition
Spalding County expects to be
able to squeeze through the re
mainder of this year and use
only a little of 1969's tax money
in the last part of December, ac
cording to Jack Moss, County
Commission chairman.
Commissioners Moss, David
Elder and Z. L. Wilson checked
County Building
Permits Top
$2 Million
Spalding County building per
mits for the first 11 months of
this year have passed the two
million dollar mark.
Sam Cobb who handles build
ing permits for the county told
the County Commissioners this
morning that a total of 208 had
been issued to date. These
total $2,010,350, Cobb reported.
The commissioners agreed that
the building permit report show
ed the growth in the commun
ity during the year.
Warning From Police
Criminals At Work
During Yule Season
The Griffin Police Department
is seeking the cooperation of Gr
iffin merchants in an effort to
decrease the amounts of mo
ney and merchandise taken by
undesirables, forgers, counter
feiters, slim-slam artists and
shoplifters.
A spokesman for the depart
ment said that the bad check
criminals have greatly increas
ed their activities during the
past few years and many are
considered experts.
The season before Christmas
is a prime operation time for
the slim-slam artists, forgers,
counterfeiters and shoplifters.
“We must admit that the dan
ger is very real and of no minor
importance to our businesses,”
the spokesman said.
He gave some basic precau
tions that should be taken when
DAILY tNEWS
Daily Since 1872
crashed, and burned.
Lt. Reese’s body was recov
ered and will be returned
for funeral services. Plans were
incomplete today.
Lt. Reese’s mother Is Mrs. Ha
zel Reese who makes her home
in Ft. Valley.
His father has operated a ra
dio-television shop and store in
Griffin many years.
Lt. Reese graduated from Grif
fin High School in 1960. He at
tended Mercer University, the
University of Georgia and Geor
gia State.
He volunteered for the Marine
Corps and served six months un
der a reserve program. He
worked at Morrow-Powell Clo
thing Co., in Griffin and South
ern States Equipment Corp., in
Hampton. Reese became inter
ested in Marine flying and vol
unteered for the cadet pro
gram.
He left for duty in Vietnam
July 6. He was serving with the
223 Marine Attack Squadron in
the First Marine Aircraft Wing.
The unit had been awarded the
Presidential Unit Citation for Its
combat record.
Lt. Reese’s father is a charter
member of the American Busi
ness Club, Griffin Chapter, and
a Sunday School teacher at the
First Baptist Church.
i
Weather:
FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN
AREA — Rain likely to con
tinue tonight. Wednesday partly
cloudy and cooler.
LOCAL WEATHER — Esti
mated high today 52, low today
46, rainfall .54 of an inch; high
Monday 54, low Monday 39;
sunrise Wednesday 7:26, sun
set Wednesday 5:34.
finances at their monthly meet
ing this morning.
They pointed out that the co
unty had an unexpected expen
diture of $50,000 this year when
it purchased the city’s half of
the old hospital property on Sou
th Eighth street.
Chairman Moss pointed out
that the county gets some $1,900
a year from the state as a de
preciation allowance from the
State Welfare Department. Be
sides that, the state shares half
the cost of maintenance and re
pairs, the commissioners point
ed out.
If the county kept the building
and property as is, eventually
EAKLY CHRISTMAS
NEWCASTLE, England (UPI)
—Mrs. Jennie Rootham bought
a used sport coat at a rummage
sale a month ago for six pence
(six cents). Recently, she found
185 pounds ($444) in notes rolled
up in an Inside pocket of the
coat.
Mrs. Rootham said she’s
planning a big Christmas.
cashing checks:
Don’t let yourself be hurried;
all strangers are not crooks, but
most crooks are strangers; che
ck passers try to work fast; al
ways have the check endorsed
in your presence; insist on posi
tive identification (Social Secur
ity cards are no good); look for
forged credentials; printed che
cks can be forged; hesitate on
any alteration; be suspicious if
the check is for more than the
amount of the sale; payroll
checks usually end in cents;
don’t be bluffed by strangers,
ask questions; record identifica
tion on back of check (date of
birth, driver’s license number,
name as it appears on driver’s
license); record description if
you have misgivings or if check
passer leaves in a hurry.
The Police Department spok-
GRIFFIN
Griffin, Go., 30223, Tuesday, December 3, 1968
$1.2 Million Sought
For County Water
\ \ WSSr W ' I
■ Wl ■ Bb i v B
. 1 Uk -Jia
(Griffin Daily News Staff Photo)
‘TVb More Homework’
Carole Gilstrap (1) and Fran Doolittle as they will appear Thursday night in a
scene from “No More Homework.” The play will be presented in the Griffin
High auditorium beginning at 8 o’clock. Members of the Dramatics Club will be
featured. Admission is 50 cents for students and $1 for adults.
the purchase of the city’s half
would pay for itself, Chairman
Moss said.
The city sold its half interest
in the property to help finance
the relocation of the Griffin Po
lice Department to the Civil De
fense building on the North Ex
pressway.
Long range plans call for the
city to construct some addition
al prison space at the Spalding
County prison where city priso
ners can be kept. Eventually the
city hopes to phase out its pri
son facilities at the city hall.
People Misusing
County Dumps
If abuse of six county garbage
dumps continues, they may
have to be closed, according to
County Commission Chairman
Jack Moss.
He said at the commission’s
December meeting this morn
ing at the courthouse that new
signs would be erected for the
dumps.
esman also reminded shoppers
to put packages in the trunks of
their automobiles where they
will be out of sight. He also war
ned the shoppers to keep their
automobiles locked.
The pre-Christmas shopping
season is one of the prime oper
ating times for thefts through
counterfeit bills, forgeries, shop
lifting and slim-slam operations,
he said.
Abortion Report
How has Georgia done since its liberalized
abortion law went into effect seven months ago?
Watch for this UPI report in Wednesday’s
Griffin Daily News.
Ga. Tax Collections
Show Steady Rise
ATLANTA (UPI) — Georgia’s
tax collections continued a
steady increase in November,
maintaining an edge on the
growth rate of the nation. In
come was four per cent over an
ticipated collections.
That Monday was the word
from State Revenue Commis
sioner Peyton Hawes, who re
ported collections jumped 15.2
per cent for last month over
November 1967.
Using the sales tax as a bar
ometer of economic health,
Hawes said Georgia is still
The signs will state that tne
small dumps are for hohsehold
garbage only.
The dumps were not designed
for discarded refrigerators, sto
ves, automobiles, old roofing
and other heavy material, the
commissioners said.
The county is in the process
of removing such material that
has been left at the dumps, the
commissioners said.
Several people, who donated
land for the county to use as
small dumps, have complained
to the commissioners that they
are being misused.
The problem of what to do
with such things as old cars,
stoves, refrigerators and such is
being discussed, the commission
ers said. They said they were
attempting to work it out.
Car Falls;
Kills Youth
Harry Douglas Chambers, 17,
of Seago Drive, was killed short
ly after noon today when a car
fell on him.
Funeral arrangements will be
announced by McDonald Chapel.
Vol. 95 No. 287
ahead of the national growth
rate. He said sales tax collec
tions for the month rose 14.9
per cent.
Georgia’s economy, he said,
is "healthy with nothing to be
alarmed about."
But he added, if the state is
to "carry forward, we are going
to need a sizeable increase in
the collection of taxes or we’ll
be in bad trouble.”
The November income of
more than $63 million brought
collections for the first five
months of the fiscal year up
11.8 per cent over the same
period last year, comfortably
surpassing the 7.8 per cent gross
rate needed to finance the cur
rent budget, he said.
Except for corporate income
and tobacco taxes, all other
categories rose for November,
Hawes said.
Griffin State Patrol
Already Has ‘Booster 9
The Griffin Post of the Geor
gia State Patrol may already
have one of the 71 additional
cars Gov. Lester Maddox said
Monday that he would put into
action to try to curb the state’s
rising highway death toll.
The new car at the Griffin Post
is beige and has only the signs
on the sides and back. It does
not have a red dome light and
is not the uniform color of other
cars.
Gov. Maddox said he was
“hurt and shocked” by the 34
deaths recorded on Georgia’s
highways over the long Thanks
giving holiday.
He also said that he will requ
est that the dome light be re
moved from one uniformly mar
ked car at each of the state’s 42
patrol stations.
Sgt. R. H. (Hamp) Holcombe,
commander of the Griffin State
Patrol Post, said he did not
know what would be the outcome
of a meeting planned between
Gov. Maddox and the state’s top
safety officials.
Sgt. Holcombe said that he had
received no orders about using
the new car without the dome
light and uniform color or about
removing the dome light from
one of his regular cars.
Gov. Maddox said that some of
the cars to be put into service
would be borrowed from super-
No Tax Raise
Involved In Plan
If a federal grant and loan of
more than a million dollars for
Spalding county are approved,
they could finance about 71 mil-
Fire District
Bill To Be
Drawn Up Soon
Spalding County Commission
ers plan to meet with Spalding
County lawmakers sometime
this month to work out a fire
district proposal to be submitted
to the General Assembly.
Spalding voters approved a
constitutional amendment last
month which would permit the
county to set up fire districts.
The amendment provided that
citizens in the fire districts wou
ld have to approve in a referen
dum any tax levy for fire protec
tion before it can be provided.
The commissioners said they
would meet with Rep. Quimby
Melton, Jr., Rep. Clayton Brown
and Sen. Robert Smalley some
time during the month to work
out a proposal.
The enabling legislation must
be approved by the General As
sembly.
Griffin Woman
Reported
Missing
A Griffin woman has been
reported missing by her broth
ers, according to the Griffin Po
lice Department.
Officers said Mrs. Betty Will
iams Heath, 28, of Griffin, who
has been working in Atlanta and
Macon, has been missing about
five weeks.
When last seen she was driv
ing a 1968 Pontiac GTO. It is
white and bronze and has a Bibb
County tag.
Mrs. Heath was born and
raised in Griffin. She was des
cribed as being five feet, three
inches tall, weighing 130 pounds,
having brown eyes and blonde
hair.
Anyone knowing her whereab
outs has been asked to contact
the Griffin Police Department.
visory personnel, who will also
start patrolling Georgia roads
and highway Inspection and saf
ety education facilities.
“We can no longer take chan
ces by not using every availab
le car, man and piece of eq
uipment to patrol the high
wayh,” Maddox said.
One of the 34 fatalities was re
corded in the five county Griffin
area. An 11-year-old Negro boy
was killed in an accident Sun
day afternoon at 5:10 in Lamar
County.
The. Griffin patrol area includ
es Spalding, Butts, Lamar, Mon
roe and Henry Counties.
Sgt. Holcombe said slick tires
was the cause of the accident.
He also said slick tires had been
attributed as the cause of a
number of other recent acci
dents in the Griffin area.
The toll for the state is 89
higher than it was for the
same period last year. So far
this year, 1,587 people have died
on the state’s highways. Last
year the toll was 1,498 for the
same period.
The toll for the Griffin area
is three more than last year. The
fatality Sunday raised the toll for
the year to 54 as compared with
51 for the same period last
year.
Gov. Maddox said that troop-
es of water lines in county ar
eas.
Spalding County Commission
ers reviewed the status of the
water money application this
morning at the final regular
meeting of the year.
Spalding’s application through
the Housing and Rural Develop
ment (HUD) calls for a grant
of $488,000 and a loan of $771,-
600, bringing the federal money
request to $1,260,000.
This is the county’s latest and
current effort toward expanding
water lines. Several tries for fe
deral funds have been made be
fore but without success.
A total of 730 county water
customers would be needed to
handle the latest request, com
missioners said.
The county would have to go
through the motion of a bond is
sue but in the net result, the tax
payers would not have to have
their tax bills increased, accor
ding to Chairman Jack Moss.
Repaying the loan wouldn’t
cost the taxpayers a dime, Moss
said.
Commissioner David Elder
said that money collected for
water bond retirement would
have to be used for that purpo
se but he said that the county
could cut somewhere else td
make up the difference.
He explained that the water li
nes proposal could be worked
out so that revenue from its op
eration would retire the bonds,
thus eliminating the necessity of
a tax hike.
Commissioner Z. L. Wilson ag
reed that the proposal could be
worked out to be self-liquidating.
Should the federal loan be ap
proved, the commissioners said
they would have ask for a bond
issue to retire the debt. But they
emphasized throughout their dis
cussions, that it would not mean
a tax raise.
In the last analysis, the water
program would be self-support
ing, the commissioners said.
Spalding’s application for the
water money is pending and the
commissioners are awaiting a
decision before proceeding.
They feel that providing wa
ter to county areas is one of the
main keys to helping this area
continue to grow and develop.
ers riding in the cars marked
only with signs on the sides and
back would “not be spotted in or
der to catch people who are skill
ed at seeing them far out.”
Maddox also said Monday that
he would ask for money for
more troopers and equipment
for the state patrol as well as
accelerated highway construc
tion funds.
Country Parson
-
“Share all thoughts —-
friends will help you enjoy
the good ones and stamp out
the bad ones.”