Newspaper Page Text
Christmas Party Hosts Are
Urged To Control Drinking
In any group of ten people,
one probably has a drinking
problem and can’t drink
alcohol without serious re
sults.
Three out of ten people
don’t choose to drink alcohol.
Yet, alcohol has become so
socially acceptable that
alcoholic drinks will be
offered at most holiday
CAROLING
old as Christmas J Wj
Sounds in December heard on every street corner and over
every radio station in the land make it abundantly clear that caroling
is as much a part of Christmas as the traditional tree, the exchanging
of gifts and Santa Claus himself.
Caroling is nearly as old as Christmas itself since it was the
second century that the Bishop of Rome urged his people to “sing
in celebration of the birth of our Lord”.
However, St. Francis of Assisi,
who lived in the 13th century, is
regarded as the father of caroling
as we know it today. St. Francis
of Assisi, other clergymen and
perhaps court musicians com
posed carols that told of the birth
of Christ and the joy that event
brought to the world.
Caroling fell into disrepute in
the 17th century. In spite of their
religious overtones the singing of
carols was forbidden by the Eng
lish Puritans. Those who later
colonized America carried that
disapproval with them.
!n the spirit of this festive holiday,
we extend sincere thanks and warm
wishes for a truly old-fashioned Christmas.
SUPERIOR CLEANERS
the joy of the holiday season be
with you and your family
now and throughout the year to come.
Thanks for your kind generosity.
V.-,
Hall’s Standard
Service Station
parties.
“Courtesy and good man
ners are the keys to a party
where everyone has a good
time but gets home safely,”
says Charles Methvin, alco
hol problem specialist with
the Department of Human
Resources.
“By following a few do’s
and dcn’ts that are really
It wasn’t until Restoration in
1660 that caroling was permitted
again by the Puritans and the cus
tom slowly revived in England
and this country as well.
The most familiar of the carols
we sing today were composed in
the 18th and 19th centuries. In
1703 - “While Shepherds Watched
Their Flocks”, in 1708 “Joy To
The World”, in 1739 “Hark! The
Herald Angels Sing”, in 1818
“Silent Night”, and in 1868 “Lit
tle Town of Bethlehem”.
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
common courtesy, people
can keep their social gather
ings from resulting in
tragedy,” says Methvin who
is assistant to the DHR
Mental Health and Mental
Retardation Division direct
or.
“Always serve appetizing
non-alcoholic beverages as
well as alcoholic ones, and
don’t make the non-alcoholic
drinks conspicuous. If you
serve an alcoholic punch,
serve the same punch
without alcohol. Soft drinks
like ginger ale and Cola
don't immediately tell every
one that that person isn’t
drinking.
“If you are the host, don’t
be a ’pusher’,” says Methvin.
“It should be just as
prestigious not to drink as to
drink, so don’t encourage a
guest who ridicules a
non-drinker. That ridicule
may make someone take a
drink that he may be very
sorry for later.”
Serving food along with
alcoholic beverages is im
portant to keep people from
becoming too intoxicated.
“Food is a great equaliz
er,” says Methvin. “It solves
people's oral needs and helps
their bodies to absorb the
alcohol. A general rule is that
a person can safely drink one
ounce of liquor or one can of
beer an hour without becom
ing intoxicated enough to
exceed the legal limit. Of
course this rule varies
according to a person’s size,
age. and physical condition.”
Besides offering food
throughout the evening,
Methvin suggests serving a
late night breakfast or snack
before the guests leave if
they are tipsy. “It is a myth
that black coffee can sober
up a drunk,” says Methvin.
“It just makes a wide-awake
drunk.
"The guest who feels ill at
ease or left out is often the
person who drinks too much.
Try to make your guests feel
comfortable and keep every
one involved in conversation
and activities. Watch out
especially for anytone who
you know is taking medica
tion.
" If you drink, don’t drive,' is
something that Americans
just don’t take seriously
enough," says Methvin. “In
Denmark, it is pretty easy to
tell who is the driver at a
LEGENDS THROUGH WSB&
THE AGES^|^!J^jß
Christmas itself, many historians believe, may have had its
origin in ancient Greek and Roman festivities to observe the mid
winter change of seasons. The use of greenery at Christmas also
grew out of ancient Greek and Roman customs. Holly, for example,
was a favorite decoration of the Romans, who made lavish use of
green boughs and garlands to honor Saturn, their god of agriculture.
The ancient Druids called the
plant mistletoe “all heal.” They
believed it had the power to mir
aculously cure disease and coun
teract poisons.
A French legend tells how the
Christmas rose came into being.
A little girl, accompanying the
shepherds on their way to see
Christ Child, was sad because she
had no gift to offer. The angel
Gabriel appeared and, taking pity
on the child, caused a beautiful
Slleioice
\oPh/JI I celebrates the
A coming of Christ ,
I we re J°* cc an d give thanks
I — f or our many blessings.
Beckham’s
High Levels of
PCB Found
In Game Birds
The Georgia Department
of Natural Resources (DNR)
has advised against eating
wood ducks, mallards and
woodcock from the Coosa
River-Floyd County area
because high levels of PCB
(polychlorinated biphenyl)
have been found in these
birds.
Investigation by DNR
showed that the PCB levels
exceeded the limit of five
parts per million recom
mended by the federal Food
and Drug Administration
(FDA).
The director of DNR’s
Game and Fish division,
Jack Crockford, said, “I am
not surprised at these
findings, in light of the PCB
levels discovered in fish
taken from streams in this
area.”
Crockford stressed that the
warning does not apply to
game birds in any other area
of the state.
Other wildlife tested in the
Coosa-Floyd area showed
there were either trace
amounts of PCB or that the
chemical was in such small
amounts so as to be
non-deteetible.
Among these species tested
were squirrels, bullfrogs,
beavers, rabbits, snakes and
muskrats.
parly. They simply choose
someone at the beginning of
the evening to drive and he or
she doesn’t drink anything.
That way everyone can have
a good time, whether
drinking or not drinking, and
know that they will return
home safely.
“Danes just don’t drink
and drive because if they get
caught, they serve a jail
sentence. Unfortunately, in
this country, our laws are not
strict enough to prevent
drivers from drinking.”
Since some people do drink
more at this time of year, be
a good host and help your
guests help themselves.
Courtesy and common sense
can help keep your party
from ending in tragedy.
white rose to spring from the
ground. Overjoyed, the little girl
plucked the bloom, which she
took as a gift to the Infant Jesus.
A fourth-century bishop of Tur
key, Saint Nicholas, was the real
life predecessor of Santa Claus.
According to legend, he dropped
a bag of gold coins down a chim
ney into a stocking which a poor
girl had hung by the fireplace to
dry: hence our custom of hanging
Christmas stockings.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1976
rnrtTY
PHSSMtS
By
Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
Public Information Office
Factory Built Fireplaces
Want the atmosphere and
warmth of a fireplace without
the expense of having a mason
come in and build one? Or, do
you have a fireplace, but no
adequate chimney to go with
it?
Many people have found the
answer to these questions by
purchasing factory built fire
places and chimneys. They are
relatively low in cost, easy to
install, and if carrying the la
bel of a nationally recognized
testing laboratory, have been
evaluated for safety.
Underwriters Laboratories’
fireplace testing program, be
gun in the mid 1950’5, has ex
perienced more widespread
use as the popularity of fac
tory built fireplaces v>as in
creased.
These units are divided into
two types: fireplaces and fire
place stoves. Fireplaces are de
signed for mounting into or
against a wall, or in a comer.
Therefore, UL engineers in
stall the fireplace, complete
with chimney, in a plywood
enclosure. Then, a series of
tests are run to make sure that
the unit will not overheat sur
rounding combustible materi
als or emit poisonous gas and
smoke during its normal oper
ation.
The evaluation goes beyond
normal situations, however. A
“flash fire” is induced, during
which the flames and smoke
must not escape from the fire
box area.
A factory built fireplace
must also be strong. The fire
box and chimney are loaded
with weight to see if they can
stand the stress. In another
test, a 20-lb. sandbag is swung
at the chimney three times. If
the chimney breaks up, it
fails the test. The same applies
when it is subjected to a pull
ing force.
Certain types of weather
can obviously have an adverse
effect on the strength of the
chimney. Wind and rain tests
are conducted to check out
this possibility. Heavy winds
can damage the chimney as
sembly, while water seeping
into the fireplace can cause it
to burn improperly.
Free standing factory built
units, or “fireplace stoves”, are
scrutinized through a com
parable test program. In ad
dition, the unit is tipped in
different directions to deter
mine its stability.
Jfr' (7
Ml I ■ w M IF u
js-Si’K) U® ?7p jRK T : f-- A wish for all mankind... f ( f \j|f
M! L J I W/ ;0 fry may the light of His love shine
' U for you all through the Yuletide.
CITY PHARMACY
Ga. Power’s
Rates Compare
Favorably
A recent study of typical
residential power rates,
released by the Jacksonville,
Fla. Electric Authority,
reveals that Georgia Power
Company’s rates are among
the lowest in the country.
Of the 59 systems surveyed
across the country, only one
other system charged a rate
lower than Georgia Power in
the 250 kilowatt-hour cate
gory.
In the other usage cate
gories, Georgia Power
charges less than do most of
the other 58 systems in the
survey.
For the 1,000 kwh user,
Georgia Power’s rates to the
consumer ranked near the
lowest, 55th on the list of 59
systems surveyed.
KxpSz Classes I
I drawing and paint
\ for children and adults. |
I \For wore information call /I
Carole Lawre
115 ~
|.THE EVER POPULAR
.gfe “MESSIAH”
This is the season of “Messiah” performances and “Messiah”
sing-ins, and articles about “Messiah”, as it has been every year
at this time back to 1742, the year that the most popular choral
work ever composed received its premiere.
Stories about its composition are part of the mythology of
music: George Frederic Handel had fiinshed the “Messiah” in
1741, the year before the premiere. The exact make-up of the
orchestra at the premiere is unknown.
Handel had accepted an invitation to give a subscription
series of oratios, including anew one (which turned out to be
“Messiah”) for a local charily. The stories about his composition
of the “Messiah” had him locked into his Dublin apartment
working 24 straight days. It was said too, that he ignored food
and sleep, to get his music on paper.
Handel returned to London and was in charge of the first
performance there. It was this performance that the king intro
duced the custom of standing for the “Hallelujah” chorus.
“Messiah” was the backbone of Handel’s subsequent oratio
seasons, and the work also was played all over England.
The last piece of music that Handel heard was the “Messiah”
performance in London on April 6,1759. Mortally ill, he attendea
the event, went -home, took to his bed and died a few days later.