Newspaper Page Text
Issue 52 Thursday, DECEMBER 28, 2017 The Voice of Crawford County Since 1921
also serving Byron and Peach County
County gets PlanFirst designation certificate
Adrian Wood, center, from the Georgia Department of Communi
ty Affairs, attended last week’s meeting of the Crawford county
Board of Commissioners to present them a certificate for being
designated a PlanFirst Community. This is a three-year designa
tion and is beneficial to the community in many ways including
reduced loan rates and being able to apply for certain grants ev
ery year. A grand celebration has been planned for all designat
ed communities for January in Atlanta. Commission Chairman
Paul Chapman, center accepted. Commissioners Blassingame,
Spiders, Thomas and Braswell well all in attendance.
2 Sections, 10 Pages One Dollar
Welcome to Crawford County
A meet and greet ice cream social was held last week for
the new 4-H program director Sarah Greer. Greer is pictured
in back with some of the students in the 4-H program. See
next week’s edition to learn more about Crawford County’s
newest 4-H program director and be sure to welcome her to
Crawford County.
Life of service is a real gift to the community
BY LINDA REYNOLDS
The Georgia Post
On Saturday, December
2nd there was a ribbon cut
ting in Roberta marking the
donation of the Dr. Orlando
G. Balcos home and medical
office building to Crawford
County Historical Society
in memory of his beloved
wife, Elvira Lucas Balcos. “I
always knew that was the
right thing to do. I did put
it on the market for a while
to see if it would sell, but in
the end, I knew that it would
be a gift to the community
where I lived and served
for 40 years. My wife
would have liked it,” he said
sincerely. “The Historical
Society will take care of it.”
Although Balcos lived and
worked in the community
for many years, not many
know of his early life in the
Philippines. He was a small
child when the Japanese in
vaded his homeland in 1942
and Gen. Douglas MacAr-
thur swore to return. When
MacArthur fulfilled that
promise in October 1944, he
became a hero to the coun
try and the United States,
a symbol of hope. “He was
my hero and I thought of
America as the land of milk
and honey, the best demo
cratic country in the world,”
said Balcos. His family was
poor; his father worked as
an overseer in a rice planta
tion to support his mother
and the five children, “But if
someone asked my father for
anything, he would give it to
them, I saw it with my own
eyes,” he said proudly. His
mother and father worked
together managing the only
rice mill in their hometown.
Business was good and he
was later asked to come to
the big city and employed
as a supervisor for most of
the employees at a newly
established university. After
several years he was pro
moted to Chief of Personnel.
That meant that the Balcos
children would have access
to education, not something
to be taken lightly in his
Dr. Orlando G. Balcos
former country. In fact, out
of the five siblings, three be
came doctors, one a dentist
and one a pharmacist.
Balcos met his wife, Elvira
while she was working as
a dietitian at the hospital
where he was working. He
served in the Philippine
Army as a Captain in the
Medical Corp and was even
sent to Vietnam to treat
South Vietnamese troops in
rural and remote areas 1971-
72. After much discussion
with his wife and family, he
decided it was time to emi
grate to America.
“My parents said they
would miss us, but it was
our decision,” he said with a
touch of wistfulness, “They
knew this was a great op
portunity.” With a daughter
and a few suitcases, they
left their homeland for
Athens, GA where he had
a cousin. “We stayed with
him for a short time, but we
were lucky to find jobs at a
local hospital and we began
to build an American life.”
After a year, their middle
son was reunited with them.
Balcos passed the medical
boards necessary to practice
medicine in Georgia and
their third son, Jonathan,
was born. Within five years
the rest of the family became
citizens as well.
“At first we thought we
would live in a city,” said
Balcos, “But we liked small
town life.” He commuted
from Athens to Milled-
geville for a short time
while searching for a place
to settle and call ‘home’. In
Properly Donated to
Crawford County
Historical Society
In Loving Memory of
Mrs. Elvira Lucas Balcos
Plaque noting the dedica
tion.
one of the medical journals,
Balcos came upon a list of
under-served communities
that were looking for doctors
to come and settle. They
toured Georgia visiting the
various communities and
meeting with city officials,
and in 1975, settled in
Roberta. “They were sure
I’d leave after one year,”
he laughed, “But instead I
promised I’d make Rober
ta home, and I practiced
medicine here for 40 years.
I don’t think that happens
anymore. When I was close
to retirement, I tried to re
cruit another doctor to come
here, but they ah want to be
in the bigger cities.”
Balcos now lives just south
of town in a home he built
with his beloved Elvie. His
sister in law, Flora, lives
there also, but will return to
be with family in the Phil
ippines in the next year or
so. Daughter Joyce lives in
Athens, son Orlando II lives
in Smyrna, and son Jona
than lives in Stockbridge.
He has three grandchildren.
He’s only been back to the
Philippines about five times
in the past 42 years, most
recently with the Philippine
American Medical Associa
tion of Georgia on a medical
mission in the indigenous
part of the Philippines. “I
like to serve people, to help
humanity,” he stated very
simply. An understatement
if ever there was.
FAMILY PRACTICE
836-3103
Sign from Dr. Orlando G. Balcos, doctor’s office.
The house donated to the Crawford County Historical Society on Wright Avenue decked out
for Christmas.
A plaque was presented to Dr. Balcos to go on the building at a ribbon cutting during
Dhristmas festivities in rlnwntnwn Rnherta.