Newspaper Page Text
Barfcsmt TrcgrEss-^rgus
J. D. Jones Publisher
(1908 1955)
Doyle Jones Jr. Editor and Publisher
(1955-1975)
MRS. MARTHA G. JONES PUBLISHER
VINCENT JONES EDITOR
OFFICIAL ORGAN, BUTTS COUNTY AND CITY OF JACKSON
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.
One Year, in Georgia $6.24
Si\ Montns. in Georgia $3.91
Editorials
A More Beautiful City
First, you take a red brick
courthouse, surround it with
emerald green grass, give it four
entrances, paved walkways, the
usual Confederate monument and
surround the whole with four
streets running at right angles, the
customary variety of stores with
their architectural and aesthetic
variances, and you have a typical
county seat town.
But then you break the
monotony of the statue and
walkways with colorful flowers,
suspend hanging flower pots from
corner lamp posts, place attractive
planters in the business district to
catch the shopper’s eye and blend
in an occasional bench to relieve
his tired feet, and then you have an
atypical county seat town named
Jackson. Part of the beauty not
visible is the fact that these
A Cause for Alarm
The Board of Commissioners
expressed alarm and consterna
tion, as they rightly should, at the
cost of operating the emergency
ambulance service for the County
during the month of March.
During that month, the cost of
this service to the taxpayers was
almost SIO,OOO. In addition, those
taxpayers who had to use the
service were hit with a double dose
of bad news, having to pay higher
fees than formerly for ambulance
trips to out of town hospitals and
clinics.
Hopefully, steps have been
taken to bring the cost of county
ambulance service down to more
reasonable levels. But the jury still
remains out on the entire question
of switching the ambulance service
from a private to a public
contractor and the public will
The Press Is Pressed
There is cause for concern in
the growing number of newspaper
mergers, and take overs, by chain
operations that are more often
interested in profit than in the
progress of a community.
This trend towards newspaper
chains, and away from hometown
ownership, has accelerated greatly
within the last few years until now
25 chains control more than 50 per
cent of the daily circulation and a
total of 75 per cent of all daily
circulation is controlled by chain
operations.
The vitality and challenge
growing out of strong competition
is another missing link today and of
1,500 cities with daily newspapers,
less than three per cent have local
competition. This is a far cry from
the days when Atlanta had three
major dailies and all of them had
reader appeal.
The days of the independent
journal with its editor passionately
dedicated to the good of his
Advance Subscription Rates, Tas Included:
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kU * MEMBER-1977
One Year. Out-of-State ~..57.28
Months. Out-of-State $4.16
improvements were made with
federal funds at no cost to the
taxpayers of Jackson.
As attractive as these recent
improvements in downtown Jack
son are, they are but a preview of
things to come. For there is anew
spirit abroad in this city, a spirit
born of necessity, of the knowledge
that progress, growth and a more
beautiful Jackson are all indis
solubly bound together.
The City and County govern
ments, working in closer harmony
than they have for years, the
BCABC committee, the Chamber
of Commerce, civic groups and
individuals are excited about
changing the face of Jackson,
sprucing it up and reaping the
economic benefits therefrom.
Yes, Jackson is more beautiful
today than yesterday. But it will be
even more beautiful tomorrow.
monitor the matter .with a great
deal of interest.
The situation seems fraught
with potential for the federal
government, whicji is so adept at
initiating play-pretty programs, to
step in and offer free ambulance
service for every citizen. After all,
if it can deliver the mail (RFD),
why not add the female, too, and
throw in the children?
The only hooker is that if Uncle
Sam got into the ambulance
business in Butts County, it would
require four Rolls-Royce ambu
lances and sixteen full-time
employees. And an annual budget
of at least $200,000.
And that would be cause for
alarm. ’Tis much better to
patiently wait for the kinks to be
ironed out, while we can still be
masters of whatever fate befalls
us.
community may not be near an
end, but they are severely
threatened by this movement
towards concentration and fatter
corporate profits.
For small town America, the
gravest loss would seem to be the
independent spirit of a hometown
publisher, along with the specter of
absentee ownership and its
accompanying handicaps of inac
cessibility, non-responsiveness and
lack of community concern.
Home-owned newspapers and
family-owned farms helped build
this country and there is a vital
need for both in the vexing and
troublesome days that lie ahead.
The family farmer and the
country editor have both been
accused of being stubborn. But no
one ever successfully challenged
their independence or their right to
assert it. They were, and are, free
voices in a free America. And they
both have the right, and the need,
to be heard.
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
The Last
Straw
BY
VINCENT JONES
This is the time of year
when that particular, and
peculiar, brand of genus
known as the Soil Scratcher
emerges from winter hiber
nation and begins the annual
rite of breaking the earth’s
crust for the purpose of
planting seed therein.
Unlike other branches of
the order of Scratchers, the
Soil Scratcher engages in his
avocation on a part-time
basis for only one-half of the
calendar year.
The Back Scratcher (poli
tician) plies his trade daily,
swapping favors for votes.
The Soul Scratcher (minis
ter) engages the devil in
daily combat, shepherding
his flock so as to avoid the
tempter’s snare. The Plain
Scratcher (businessman)
has to scratch every day of
his life to maintain his credit
rating and reward his labors
with a small profit.
The term Soil Scratcher as
used in this context is not
applicable to the full-time
farmer, but refers to the
Spring gardener who at
tempts to slay inflated food
costs with his hoe.
More often than not, his
arithmetic is just as crooked
as the rows he lays off. He
can take $5 worth of seed, SSO
of fertilizer, 500 man-hours of
labor and grow a market
basket of vegetables with a
value of $18.75 and tell the
world how smart he is.
At times the fates conspire
against him. Voracious
weeds steal the fertilizer
from his precious plants;
hordes of bugs descend on his
plot and begin chewing on the
choicest vegetables; rain and
drought get their seasons
mixed up and always come at
the wrong time.
On his late afternoon
gardening sprees, the tele
phone always rings at least
three times, and the race
across the back yard bridge
is swift and hazardous. He
would suggest to his friends
not to call at that hour but a
Soil Scratcher expects no
quarter, and gets none, from
those who cannot empathize
with his pursuits. After all, a
real gardener would be in his
garden that time of day.
His more learned friends,
and especially those who
majored in economics, al
ways clobber him with the
fallacy involved in making
such a tremendous output of
capital and labor for such a
meager production. He
notes, however, with some
degree of satisfaction, that
they always seem to enjoy
those green beans and red
tomatoes he shares with
them.
You can’t explain the Soil
Scratcher any more than you
can explain the golfer. It
doesn’t make much sense,
really, to place a little white
ball on a tee, take out a long
stick with an iron shaft and a
wooden head and flail it into
the distance. Then, walk to it,
take out another stick with
an iron head and swat it
again. Finally, take a little
flat-surface stick and roll it
into a tin cup. Then, do it all
over again for another 17
holes. It makes no sense
indeed, except to a golfer.
Scratching in the soil,
putting seed, fertilizer, labor
and love into a garden may
not make much sense to
those who have never tried it,
or those unfortunates who
were born without a true love
of the soil.
But to the Soil Scratcher it
is a little bit of heaven on
earth, a relaxation from the
cares of the day, a provider
of some food and a whole lot
of satisfaction. Give him a
hoe, blue sky above, green
plants beneath, and the
absence of a ringing tele
phone, and you have one
contented individual who
isn’t going to get involved in
any kind of devilment for a
couple of hours at least.
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A Stroll Down
Memory Lane
News of 10 Years Ago
The Van Deventer Glee
Club and String Band will
give a concert Sunday in the
school auditorium.
Mrs. E. A. (Madgia)
Godsey is retiring after 20
years with the Central
Georgia Electric Member
ship Corporation.
Kenny Duke is the state
champion in the two-mile run
with a time of 10:16 in the
State meet at Jefferson.
Kenny also won second in the
mile, while Albert Smith won
third in the pole vault at 12’
3”.
Six employees of the Indian
Springs plant of Avondale
have been cited for their
outstanding work perform
ances and helpful sugges
tions. They are Lamar
Thurston, Bob Fincher, Mrs.
Mary Dunn, J. O. King, W. L.
Norsworthy and George W.
Lawson.
G. Alton Colwell has been
promoted to Cashier at the
Mclntosh State Bank.
Richard Johnson has
joined the Jackson Police
Department as a radio
operator.
Deaths during the week:
Henry W. Turner, Jr., 50; L.
D. Gray, 66; Julian Price, 59;
Mrs. Ada King Grammer, 73.
News of 20 Years Ago
Johnny Rivers and J.M.L.
Comer will be making an all
expense paid trip to Cuba,
thanks to Johnny’s winning a
magazine subscription con
test.
The Rev. Virgil Bryant,
pastor of the Oak Park
Presbyterian Church in
Montgomery, Ala., has
accepted a call to the
Jackson Presbyterian
Church.
David Ridgeway, president
of the Butts County Jaycees,
has been named secretary
treasurer of the Fourth
District Jaycees.
Tom Gregory, former
publisher of The Eatonton
Messenger, has been named
’executive secretary to Gov.
Marvin Griffin, succeeding
Ben T. Wiggins, recently
named by the Governor to
the Public Service Commis
sion.
Curtis Gaye, valedictorian
of the 1957 Henderson High
graduating class, has been
awarded an engraved certif
icate and a year’s subscrip
tion from the Reader’s
Digest.
Warren Haisten, of Haisten
Brothers Funeral Home in
Griffin, has been named
president of the Georgia
Funeral Directors Associa
tion.
Deaths during the week:
William Thomas James, 81;
Mrs. Lula Willard, 83; Henry
Folds.
News of 30 Years Ago
Work is being pushed on
the new home of Mr. and
Mrs. P. H. Weaver on West
Third Street.
The Jackson Manufactur
ing Company, which makes
men’s pants, is advertising
for additional workers. Work
on piece basis can bring up to
$30.00 a week, the adv. said.
Willis B. Powell, who has
operated a toy shop at Indian
Springs for several years,
has sold the business to a Mr.
Lewis, of Forsyth.
A history of the Flint
Judicial Circuit, one of the
oldest in the state, will be
given by Col. L. P. Goodrich
when the Bar Association
meets Thursday at Indian
Springs.
The Towaliga Garden Club
met at the home of Mrs. W. S.
Weaver. Mrs. Harry Ridge
way won first in arrange
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 1977
ment and Mrs. E. D. Patrick
first in the specimen class.
Miss Hattie Buttrill was
hostess at a dinner for Mrs.
S. B. Kinard on her birthday,
which came on Mothers’s
Day. Mr. and Mrs. Bert
Kinard of Macon, and their
children, Stevie and Marilee,
came up for the occasion.
Deaths during the week:
Samuel Asbury Maddox, 43.
News of 40 Years Ago
The Jackson public schools
will close their year on
Friday with commencement
exercises. Sara Evalyn
Compton is valedictorian of
the graduating class and
Annie Lou Wyatt, saluta
torian. John Roy Patrick will
give the Valedictory in the
grammar school, with the
salutatory by Martha Gas
ton.
The Butts County Histori
cal and Archaeological So
ciety was organized Friday
night with Mrs. John E.
Lane, president; P. H.
Weaver, vice president, and
Mrs. Willis Powell, secre
tary-treasurer.
Rep. W. E. Watkins went to
Atlanta Saturday for an
“informal” session of the
General Assembly and to
hear an address by Gov. E.
D. Rivers.
The Farm Market on West
Third Street is now open and
offers all kinds of fresh
vegetables and baked goods.
The Larkin D. Watson
Chapter, United Daughters
of the Confederacy, is having
a silver tea in honor of their
thirty-sixth anniversary.
At the Junior-Senior recep
tion Friday evening,
Catherine Thornton and Olga
Hammond offered vocal
solos; Thomas Boone, a
piano solo; Sara Boone, a
toast to the seniors, to which
Harriet Suffridge responded.
Miss "Bitsy” Redman toast
ed her alma mater and
Stewart Head gave a toast to
Supt. D. V. Spencer.
Deaths during the week:
Eugene W. Carroll, 59, and
from 1911 to 1913 the editor of
the Jackson Argus.
News of 50 Years Ago
The Jackson public schools
will close their year with
commencement exercises on
Tuesday. Rose Ellen Career
will give the valedictory
address and Virginia Smith
the salutatory.
Volume was light Friday
for the fourth visit of a
poultry car to Jackson. Less
than 1,500 pounds of poultry
was offered, netting pro
ducers $300.28.
V. M. White purchased two
registered Jersey calves
from A. M. Pace for his sons,
Van McKibben and Wilmer
White.
Dr. M. P. Jarnigan, of the
Georgia State College of
Agriculture, says that one
cow recently produced milk
products equal to the value of
73 acres of cotton.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank
Behnke and daughter, Mel
lie, of Durand, Mich, have
settled in Butts County and
will engage in dairy farming.
Myrtle Thaxton is valedic
torian of the Jenkinsburg
school and Dodson Bankston,
salutatorian.
Deaths during the week:
George Washington Bunn, 81.
Editors Quoteßook
Courage leads starward,
fear toward death.
Senaca
FtjTFQJFRI
Bt Mrs. Ctrxtv Brown
Vacation time is nearly
upon us. This year I plan to
take an extended European
tour, a quick trip to Africa,
and a cruise around South
America. If I am not too tired
after those excursions, I shall
fly over to Japan for a week
or two!
Actually, I’ll probably end
up camping out in a
mosquito-infested camp
ground dreaming about the
Riviera. My children always
look eagerly forward to their
“vacation” whereas I “look
eagerly forward” to sand in
all our clothes, soggy peanut
butter sandwich picnics and
insect spraying episodes. I
can remember Mother say
ing that she always felt like
she had accomplished some
thing when “all the little ones
were old enough to go to the
bathroom by themselves,
bathe themselves and feed
themselves.” I have dis
covered, however, that the
problems are only just
beginning after the above
listed have been accomplish
ed even at summer vacation
\;w£% ‘Whatsoever
Things’
By Donald E. Wildmon
SAYING? OR DOING?
Let me tell you a true story.
Once there was a church that wanted to construct anew
building. Inquiring around as to who they could get to do a
certain job in that construction, they were given the name of
a certain man. The officials of the church called the
gentleman, asked him if he could do the job, and settled on a
pay scale.
When the building work had gone far enough for this man
to come begin his job, the church officials had to call him
about three times to get the man to the construction site. He
held up the progress about two or three days. After he got to
the site and got on the job, he was met by the church
minister. The minister remembered meeting the gentleman
before at a downtown store, and remembered that the man
had impressed him as having an excellent knowledge of the
Bible. Upon recognizing the man, the minister was sure that
the church had gotten the best man for the job.
After the man had finished with his part of the job, he
sent the church a bill. The bill was considerably higher than
the amount that had been agreed upon, but the church said
nothing and paid the man the full amount. They thought
perhaps that this was to cover part of the labor to be done in
the future.
When it came time to call the man back to do the next
phase of his work, it took several phone calls to get him to
come. He again held up the progress of the other workers.
But finally he came, did his job as he worked very slowly.
And the other workers managed to work around him.
During this time the minister of the church was surprised to
find out from the man that he was a teacher of a church
school class in another church.
When it came time to call the man back a third time and
get him to do his work so the finishing touches could be put on
the building, he was very slow about responding. The church
officials called him several times, and each time he promised
he would be there the next day. Getting near to the scheduled
date that the building was to be used, the officials explained
the situation to the man again and he promised them he
would be finished so they could move in as scheduled. He
came to the building, worked a short time, and left. Finally,
in desperation, the church officials called another man to
finish the job. They postponed their date of occupation of the
building since it was apparent that the inefficiency of the first
man meant the building could not be occupied on the
scheduled date.
Now the second man who came to do the work evidently
didn’t know much about the Bible, didn’t teach a church
school class, cussed nearly as much as a sailor, and smoked
like a garbage pit. But he came promptly when called,
worked quick and efficiently, stayed overtime to speed the
progress, and presented the church with a very reasonable
bill. A week after the scheduled date, the building was
occupied. The first man happened upon the job just prior to
occupation, saw the other man had been hired, went home
and sent the church another bill in an amount far more than
the agreed upon amount.
“Not everyone who says, ’Lord, Lord,” but he who
does...’’said the Galilean. Now my question is, which one of
these fellows came nearer to living what the Galilean taught?
BUDDYRUFF
Half the crime im this couhirv
|9 DOME &i RIDE FROM 10 TO I6f ,
/KIPS FROM 6mo }
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time.
I have never yet gone with
my children on vacation
when all of them stayed well.
There was always at least
one in the crowd who either
developed a strange new
rash or an unusual itch of
some kind. As far as
"nevers” go, I have never
yet gone with my children on
vacation when all of them
wanted to do the same thing:
usually there was a vote for
swimming, a vote for the
amusement park and a vote
for fishing. Children never
seem to agree on things of
this nature.
My husband and I have
decided to take a vacation by
ourselves this year, as well
as one with the children. I
can just hear us now': Him:
"No, I don’t want to go out to
eat - I want a peanut butter
sandwich.” Me: “Do you
think we should call again
and check on the children?”
Him: “No, you’re going to
drive the baby-sitter crazy -
it's only been ten minutes
since you called!”
Happy Vacation to All!
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