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3axkson TrngrESS-^rgus
J. D. Jones Publisher
(1908-1955
Doyle Jones Jr. Editor and Publisher
(1955-1975)
MRS. MARTHA G. JONES PUBLISHER
VINCENT JONES EDITOR
Published every Thursday at 129 South Mulberry Street, Jackson,
Georgia 30233 by The Progress-Argus Printing Cos., Inc. Second Class
Postage paid at Jackson, Georgia 30233.
Address notice of undeliverable copies and other correspondence
to The Jackson Progress-Argus, P.O. Box 249, Jackson, Georgia 30233.
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
mOtIATION Ftm4H im
rrt.rr.il Gi NNA SUSTAINING
tUI MEMBER-1975
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Editorials
Bluebirds Aren't Blue at All
Isn’t it strange how a dull day
can suddenly turn bright when the
irridescent blue of the male
bluebird’s wings flash across your
vision, in sharp contrast to the
jonquils and the narcissus over
which they fly.
Each year, they return to the
Jones housing project which
annually sends forth about 10 or 12
of their number to brighten the
heart of some other bluebird
lover. First, the male to scout the
Hail to Those Who Serve
It is an indisputable fact that
oftentimes those who serve the
public interest in the most selfless
manner go unrecognized, without
ever hearing the plaudits of a
grateful public ringing in their
ears.
Part of the blame for this
exclusion should rightly fall on the
newspapers and other news media,
who sometimes fail to say
“thanks” for those who render
such valiant service.
The Jackson-Butts County
Rescue Squad has been formed and
begun operation. James Shaw and
Virgil Pace will serve as
co-directors of a 19-man team of
volunteers who are trained
and ready to perform yeoman
service in almost any imaginable
emergency situation.
How do you recruit 17 men and
two co-directors to perform such
thankless tasks as dragging for
drowned bodies, rescuing the
unwary from the bottoms of old
Congratulations to
Avondale Employees
Employees of the Indian
Springs Plant of Avondale Mills
win this week’s Tip-of-the-Hat
award for continuing their fine
safety record into 1976.
During the entire calendar
year of 1975, there was not a single
lost-time accident incurred at this
plant. In fact, for the last four
years, there has been only one
accident resulting in time lost from
the job.
Such a record requires
meaningful safety training pro
grams and the installation of safety
equipment on all machinery rated
as hazardous by the insurance
underwriters.
But, in the final analysis, it
requires good, loyal, dedicated,
alert employees who work on the
job rather than dream.
In his remarks at the barbecue
honoring employees for their
TELEPHONE 775-3107
OFFICIAL ORGAN
BUTTS COUNTY AND
CITY OF JACKSON
premises and test the box. Then,
the female wo soon wil begin the
nest preparation for the first hatch.
Invariably, bluebirds will nest
twice in one year and lay five or six
eggs in each of the two hatches. In
rare occasions, they will use the
same box for both nestings.
But they bring color, and the
promise of Spring and a vision of
loveliness that is a joy to behold.
And they bring sunshine on even
the bluest of days.
wells, searching through frigid,
sleety nights for a missing child, or
performing hundreds of such
thankless tasks while the rest of us
snuggle closer to the open fire or
the heat register?
You don’t recruit them, really.
They volunteer. They’ve got to be
made out of the right stuff to care
enough for their fellow man to
relieve his suffering, or soften his
sorrow.
And so we say THANKS to
James Shaw and Virgil Pace and
their 17 Minutemen who care
enough to serve and who make this
community a better place because
of their service.
And thanks also to John
Chiappetta who, along with James
Shaw, directed the Civil Defense
effort in this community for years.
There is no greater love than
that which compels a man to place
his comfort, his convenience, his
very life in jeopardy to help his
fellow man.
safety record, Avondale Mills
Board Chairman Donald M.
Comer, Sr. recognized this fact
and paid tribute to the individual
employees who achieved this
admirable record.
In talking with several em
ployees, it. was readily discerned
that they have a deep and abiding
love affair with Mr. Comer and
talking with this kind, warm,
affable gentleman, one can
understand why.
Perhaps the employees main
tain their excellent safety record
because they would not want to let
Mr. Comer down in his desire to
attain, and maintain, accident-free
operations everywhere in his 21
plants.
And just perhaps they feel he is
as interested in them keeping their
fingers as they are. Which he is.
And is there any better motivating
influence than that?
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
The Last
Straw
BY
VINCENT JONES
Possibly no issue of
modern times has the
politicos fence-straddling
and pussy footing like that of
gun control.
The Second Amendment
to the Constitution of the
United States says, “A well
regulated Militia, being
necessary to the security of a
free State, the right of people
to keep and bear Arms, shall
not be infringed.”
This Second Amendment
was ratified December 15,
1791 along with nine others
and forms what is known as
the “Bill of Rights.”
It would seem this should
be the first premise to be
considered, whether defend
ing or condemning gun
control, as you are speaking
of a constitutional right
guaranteed every citizen.
The second premise we
would interject, and admit
tedly it is our own and not
guaranteed by anyone other
than the author, is that no
person other than a legally
authorized, duly-constituted
law officer or agent in
performance of his duties
should be permitted to carry
a concealed weapon.
We find abhorrent the
idea that any citizen,
possessed of sls for a license
and presumed sane and
harmless, should be able to
obtain a permit to carry a
concealed weapon on his
person.
Would you feel any more
safe in a theater seating 500
people to know that at least
100 patrons were licensed
pistol-toters and had loaded
weapons ready for some
self-proclaimed emergency?
You wouldn’t find any more
hardware on a military post
and at least the weapons
there would be exposed and
not hidden from view.
When you speak about
the good guys being licensed
to carry concealed weapons
and the bad guys being
denied that privilege, you’re
dodging the issue. The bad
guys carry them now, don’t
they?
And who is going to take
them away under our present
system of ham stringing the
police to the point where they
have to say, “pretty, please”
before asking a subject if he
will please submit to a
search?
We don’t need control of
the sale of guns, or even
control of the ownership of
guns. We need control of the
USE of guns.
Any criminal, be he punk
or professional, who uses a
gun in the commission of a
felony of any type, should be
sentenced to a mandatory
20-year straight sentence,
with no time off for good
behavior or political connec
tions.
This punishment should
be swiftly, surely and
impartially administered.
About 20 or 30 administra
tions and once the word got
around that the good guys at
least were aroused and
meant business, there would
probably be a significant
drop-off in the pistol-under
the-nose robberies and rapes.
Someday and soon, an
aroused public is going to get
a belly full of these
quick-on-the-trigger Charlies
who delight in showing their
superiority with a pistol in
your face and death only a
finger squeeze away.
Our society today is
obsessed with the idea of
protecting the rights of the
accused, with little or no
concern for the rights of the
victim. It is the kind of legal
mind twisting that you would
not think could happen in a
free country and, of course,
is not worthy of the framers
of our Constitution or some of
the great legal minds that set
the course of justice for
many years in this country.
Why should we crowd the
already overburdened court
dockets of this country with
petty cases involving a man
carrying a gun without a
license?
The answer lies in not
giving licenses at all to carry
concealed weapons. Let’s
A Stroll |m j
Memory Lane
News of 10 Years Ago
Bill Curry, former Georgia
Tech football star and
currently with the Green Bay
Packers, will be the principal
speaker at Jackson High
School awards night banquet.
Rowland Walker, 33, of
Atlanta drowned Sunday
afternoon at Jackson Lake
while attempting to swim
across a cove in the
Tussahaw Creek area.
S. L. Johnson has been
named Henderson High and
Elementary School’s
“Teacher of the Year” for
1966.
From “It’s This Way”
column of Doyle Jones, Jr.:
Mother, “Tommy, what are
you doing, darling?”
Little Boy: “Nothing
much, mom. With you and
God and Santa Clause
watching all the time, I can’t
do much.”
Charles Theodore Adams,
60, of 355 East Third Street,
Jackson, died at his resi
dence Tuesday night.
News of 20 Years Ago
Jackson High’s girls bas
ketball team lost 78-56 to
Forsyth County in the
semi-final round of the State
Class B tournament. Jackson
High’s Jan Raven, who
scored 40 points in the two
games she played, was
named to the all-state Class
B team.
The Macon Sheiks will play
for a dance Friday night at
the Jackson High gymna
sium. Bird O’Neal, Jr. of
Jackson is a member of the
orchestra.
James Thornton won $34 in
the Treasure Chest Appre
ciation Day program of
Saturday.
Jackson High’s band, led
by Henry Tate, made a good
showing at the Region II
music festival in Warner
Robins. Scott Coleman, alto
saxaphone, and Mary Saun
ders, clarinet, received su
perior ratings.
Deaths during the week:
John C. McClendon, 77;
James C. Killebrew, 86, and
Mrs. Vassa Cawthon Lamb,
58.
News of 30 Years Ago
Announcement was made
this week that H. M. Moore
and C. E. McMichael have
acquired all of the stock in
the firm of Etheridge-Smith
Company. Organized in 1882,
the firm is one of the oldest
mercantile establishments in
this section of the state.
Brigadier General Marvin
Griffin, adjutant general of
Georgia, will address the
Jackson Kiwanis Club on
March 19th.
Eugene Anderson, author
of the “Around the Circle”
column of the Macon
Telegraph, reported recently
that a building boom is
occurring at Indian Springs.
Jackson High and Griffin
High are to square off in
debates. The affirmative
team from Jackson will have
Hazel Duffey and Jeff
McMichael and the negative
team will be represented by
Carolyn Ham and Beverly
Compton.
Charles Boyer and Lau
reen Bacall were starring in
“Confidential Agent” at the
Dixie Theater.
News of 40 Years Ago
James H. Buchanan, mem-
free the hands of our law
officers and let them protect
us. They can and will do it if
we give them the proper
tools, legal backing and
public support.
THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1976
ber of the Ford dealer firm of
Spencer-Buchanan, Inc., has
been appointed agent for the
Pan-American Oil Company
in the counties of Butts,
Monroe and Henry.
For the ninth year, Prof. D.
V. Spencer has been named
superintendent of the Jack
son Public School system.
Seniors making the honor
roll at Jackson High included
Dorothy Barnes, Vera Ed
wards, Robert Garner, Mar
garet Huie, Frances Hyatt,
Margaret Lummus, Ruth
Plymale, Virginia Smith,
Nelle Taylor and Lucile
Vaughn.
Deaths during the week:
Richard C. Pulliam, 78; Mrs.
G. C. Moore, 51, and Mrs. J.
T. Atkinson.
News of 50 years ago
The Butts County Harvest
Festival Association was
organized and immediately
announced plans for a
Harvest Festival here this
fall. Judge S. J. Foster was
named chairman; J. D.
Jones, vice chairman, and O.
A. Pound, secretary and
treasurer.
Willis B. Powell, secretary
of the Sarasota, Fla. Cham
ber of Commerce, has
resigned and announced his
intention of moving to Indian
Springs for permanent resi
dence.
Carmichael’s Georgia
Grocery had Stokely’s No. 2
can Corn for 10 cent and five
bars Octagon Soap for 19
cents.
Ford Motor Company had
their cars priced at $290 for
Runabout; $3lO for Touring;
SSOO for Coupe; $520 for
Tudor Sedan, and $565 for
Four door Sedan. The closed
car prices included a starter
and demountable rims.
They Would Have Been Proud
BY SHELIA PAYTON
Miami, Fla. Herald
Staff Writer
They would have been proud—
Arthur and Polly. Pleased to see
their years of labor had borne such
fruit.
Pleased to hear the fine young
voices filling the auditorium
with song.
Pleased to see the young
professional people carrying them
selves with such dignity and
speaking with such eloquence.
They also might have been
embarrassed by all the fuss, all the
words of praise for something they
did because it needed doing.
But they were not there to hear
the words or music. Arthur Mays
died in 1971. His wife Polly died in
1965.
Their legacy lives on.
And those who reaped the
benefits of that legacy gathered
together Sunday at the Goulds
school that bears their name to say
thank you and to pay tribute during
this annual observance of Black
History Week to those who
struggled here.
There was no school for black
children when Arthur and Polly
Mays moved here from Flovilla,
Ga. So they started one in the
church they helped organize in
1914.
Mays had six weeks of formal
schooling and his wife had
completed the fourth grade, but
they knew the importance of
education.
They helped each other learn
reading from the Bible and worked
out math problems with each other.
They donated land they owned
to the School Board to build a
LETTER TO EDITOR
To answer your questions,
“Do you find certain words
so obnoxious that they haunt
your nightmares and wake
you at midnight with their
utter insensibility?” I would
have to say no. However I do
get those effects from some
editorials I read.
‘Unisex’ is not a third sex,
just a word thought by a
MALE fashion designer to
promote his fashions.
‘Ms.’ is a title used by some
women who prefer not to
state their marital status
every time they sign their
name, or just to shorten the
title. Perhpas, instead of
trying to replace ‘Mrs.’ and
‘Miss’ with ‘ms.’, they should
have added ‘Mas.’ for
unmarried men and desig
nated ‘Mr.’ for married men
only.
Also, you asked, “Why not
a chairlady or a chairms for
a feminine chair occupier?”
I guess because you don’t
know what a ‘Ms.’ is and
‘chairlady’ still represents
one sex, so chairperson could
stand for man or woman.
Would it also be
“butchery” to amend the
constitution to read “All
people are created
equal
Peace on Earth,
Good will toward men,
and women,
Candace Carmichael
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Congratulations on your
acceptance of the editorship
of the Progress-Argus. A
more talented writer and
newspaper man could not
have been found to assume
this demanding position.
The City of Flovilla pledges
to you its support, and a
continuation of our policy of
open government.
If we can ever be of
assistance to you, your
family, or your staff please
call on us.
Yours very truly,
Charles T. Huggins, Jr.
Mayor
school for black children living
between Florida City and Howard.
They bought a bread wagon
from the Holsum bakery, which
was then located in Homestead, to
transport the children to and from
school, which covered grades 1-8.
Mrs. Mays took the older
children to the only black school—
Carver in Coconut Grove.
When the school board refused
to provide buses for the children,
the Mays scrimped and saved
enough money to buy three new
buses from Detroit. They paid the
bus drivers out of their own
pockets.
Though the school board
refused a request for gasoline to
run the buses, the Mays did not
give up. Eventually, the school
board did provide transportation
for the children.
Mrs. Mays collected books
from friends and other books were
donated by the Redland school.
With the help of others in the
community, the Mays provided a
five-cent lunch to students made
from bread donated by Holsum
and produce from their own farm
and grove.
In 1951 anew school was built
and named Mays Senior High
School, at 11700 Hainlin Dr. in their
honor. The first class graduated in
1954, others followed.
So they returned, some of these
graduates, teachers, lawyers,
social service program heads,
counselors, college students, work 1
ing people—to say thank you for the
chance to learn.
Arthur and Folly would have
been pleased.
—The Miami Herald, Monday,
Feb. 9,1976
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
May we take this means of
expressing the appreciation
of 18,000 FFA members in
Georgia for the coverage and
support you gave the
organization during National
FFA Week, February 21-28.
Although a small note of
thanks may sound cold and
formal we say “Thank You”
most sincerely. Your interest
in the local FFA chapter as
well as the statewide
organization is noted.
Youth that most often
make news today are the
small percent that devote
their energies to destructive
rather than constructive
projects, thus it is most fit
ting and encouraging to see
newspapers such as yours
who recognize these young
people who are our leaders of
tomorow.
We trust that the FFA
program will continue to
produce citizens in keeping
with this year’s theme of “A
Future For America - FFA.”
Sincerely,
J. E. Dunn
Executive Secretary
Georgia Association FFA
\our
roots.
Take stock in America.
Buy U.S. Savings Bonds.