Newspaper Page Text
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THURSDAY. DECEMBER 17. 2020 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 11A
Rally
A Pickens rally, sponsored
by the local group, "We the
People," was held on the
courthouse lawn in Jasper on
Sunday afternoon.
Between five and six
dozen people showed up to
voice their frustrations with
what they perceive to be a
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"fraudulent, illegitimate, and
unconstitutional" presidential
election.
In opening comments,
Larry Brown, one of the or
ganizers of the rally, ex
pressed his hope that "Those
people in Atlanta hear us,"
with his words addressed to
Georgia's elected officials
and also to poll workers in
Fulton County. Fearing their
voices were not being heard,
Pickens County Tea Party
member, Anita Jones, dis
playing her “Stop the Steal"
sign, expressed her displeas
ure that there were no local
elected officials at Sunday's
rally.
Believing that officials
and the media are discount
ing evidence of fraud, Jones
added, "There's more than
enough evidence," and she
hoped that state officials
would investigate. Gathered
among the Christmas decora
tions on the courthouse lawn,
which on Sunday were sup
plemented with political
signs, Trump banners, and
American flags, many of
those gathered offered simi
lar viewpoints.
Some comments offered
by those attending included,
"For four years, President
Trump had our backs. Now
we've got his" and "How
could the president, who re
ceived more than 10 million
more votes than he received
in 2016, lose this election?"
There were no counter
protesters at Sunday's rally.
The run-off election for
the two U. S. Senatorial seats
in Georgia is now less than
three weeks away, and many
of those attending the Pick
ens rally expressed concerns
about fraud in that election.
As he stood among those at
Sunday's "Peaceful Protest,"
Randall "Zen" Pendley said,
"If Kelly and Perdue don't
win, we're in deep trouble."
Early voting for the run
off began on Monday.
Weather
looks do not project snowfall.
“Snow forecasts are generally not
predictable more than a week in ad
vance,” according to their 2021 re
lease.
According to the NOAA outlook
for December 2020 through Febru
ary 2021, issued October 15, the
greatest chances for warmer-than-
normal conditions extend from the
Southwest to the Gulf states and
into the Southeast. They predict
modest chances for drier conditions
in southern Alaska, and from Cali
fornia across the Rockies, Central
Plains and into the Southeast.
"With La Nina well established
and expected to persist through the
upcoming 2020 winter season, we
anticipate the typical, cooler, wetter
North, and warmer, drier South, as
the most likely outcome of winter
weather that the U.S. will experi
ence this year," said Mike Halpert,
deputy director of NOAA's Climate
Prediction Center in the NOAA
statement.
NOAA issues their long-range
predictions three months out.
Acting NOAA administrator
Neil Jacobs, Ph.D., explains how
they arrive at their outlooks.
"NOAA's timely and accurate
seasonal outlooks and short-term
forecasts are the result of improved
satellite observations, more detailed
computer forecast modeling, and
expanding supercomputing capac
ity," he said.
“Light winter, ” says The Old
Farmer’s Almanac
Like NOAA, The Old Farmer’s
Almanac also predicts a warmer,
drier winter for our region. Unlike
NOAA, they do make predictions
about snowfall.
Their forecast shows precipita
tion will be “below normal from
Delmarva [middle Atlantic coast]
into North Carolina; in the southern
Appalachians, Georgia, and Florida
from the Ohio Valley westward to
the Pacific and southward to the
Gulf and Mexico; and in western
Hawaii and above or near normal
elsewhere.”
Specifically, for the Appalachi
ans through the Southeast (which
includes most of the Carolinas and
Georgia), snowfall will generally be
below normal. They predict winter
will be “warmer than normal, on
average, with the coolest periods in
mid and late December and
throughout January.”
The Old Farmer’s Almanac, es
tablished in 1792, “employs three
scientific disciplines to make long-
range predictions: solar science, the
study of sunspots and other solar
activity; climatology, the study of
prevailing weather patterns; and
meteorology, the study of the at
mosphere,” and “predict(s) weather
trends and events by comparing
solar patterns and historical weather
conditions with current solar activ
ity.”
They say this season’s prediction
is based in part on “Solar Cycle
25.”
“Cycle 25 is expected to also
bring very low solar activity. Al
though such minimal activity has
historically meant cooler tempera
tures across Earth, we believe the
recent warming trends will domi
nate in the eastern and northern
parts of the nation this winter, with
only the Southwest being colder
than normal.”
The publication claims to have
an 80 percent accuracy rate. Their
predictions are made up to 18
months in advance. They identify
18 regions in the U.S.
Could be wet, says The Farmer’s
Almanac
The Farmer’s Almanac, unlike
the other two entities, predicts a
“chilly, showery” winter in the
south. They call this the “Winter of
the Great Divide,” with snow up
north, droughts in the west, and
temperamental weather in between.
"The Southeastern part of the
country, excluding the Tennessee
Valley, will experience average pre
cipitation levels with temperatures
chillier than normal overall.”
While younger than The Old
Farmer’s Almanac, The Farmer’s
Almanac is still over 200 years old,
established in 1818. Their “closely-
guarded” 200-plus year old weather
prediction formula is what they say
“sets them apart” from other
sources.
This formula was developed in
1818 by the publication’s first edi
tor David Young. Over the years,
his formula was changed slightly
and now is “both mathematical and
astronomical.”
“The formula takes into consid
eration things like sunspot activity,
tidal action of the Moon, the posi
tion of the planets, and a variety of
other factors. The only person who
knows the exact formula is the
Farmers’ Almanac weather prog
nosticator who goes by the pseudo
nym of Caleb Weatherbee. To
protect this proprietary and reliable
formula, the editors of the Farmers’
Almanac prefer to keep both
Caleb’s true identity and the for
mula a closely guarded brand se
cret.”
Editors deny using “any type of
computer satellite tracking equip
ment, weather lore, or groundhogs.”
The publication claims to be 80-
85 percent accurate. They make
predictions “several years” in ad
vance for seven climate zones in the
U.S.
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Train
a period spanning the late
1950s to early 60s. “There
are a handful of things that
are out of place in that time-
frame.”
In the area to the right
that’s meant to represent Vin-
ings, Ga. where he lived
much of his adult life, a few
of the shops are named after
his children; a tiny General
Lee (Gibson is a passionate
Civil War buff) walks along a
sidewalk chatting with an
other pedestrian; a miniature
model of a 90s model BMW
he owned is parked on one
street.
On the other end of the
set, Pickens residents will
recognize a miniature version
of the marble quarry in Tate,
a railroad tank car painted
with the Huber logo, and just
up the tracks an apple farm
with tiny trees and apple
pickers on ladders. The apple
farm is also named after one
of his children. Everywhere
you look there’s something to
see - a fly fisherman enjoy
ing his afternoon and just
downstream a couple going
for a dip.
“I remember as a young
kid, maybe three or four, we
would go down to a place
near Washington Union Sta
tion and watch trains,” Gib
son said as he excitedly
showed me how the switches,
lights, and other features of
the set worked. “I loved
trains, and even then I could
identify the electrics from the
steam engines from the
diesels.”
For Christmas, when he
was five, he got an American
Flyer toy train, “which was
hard to come by in those days
because the war was still
going. But those events are
what started my interest.”
When his father was sta
tioned at the Pentagon in
1947 Gibson and his father
started building a layout for
their own model. Through
that experience, Gibson
learned how to wire, and how
signals and electricity
worked.
“It was a practical educa
tion in electricity, but I also
loved riding trains as a kid. I
just loved everything about
them.”
Gibson’s mother was from
Texas and they would travel
by train from Washington,
where they lived off and on.
When his dad was stationed
in Germany they had to pack
up the model set and keep it
in storage several years.
“When we returned from
Germany I was headed to
college and didn’t have a
place to set it up,” he said.
Fast forward several years
and Gibson, who was a mili
tary pilot and later in life a
Delta pilot, returned home
from Vietnam to his wife and
children in Atlanta.
“I reconstructed the set the
best I could remember, but
my kids were bored to death
with it,” he said laughing.
“So stupid me, I said, ‘I’ll
show you,’ and I took it down
and sold it. That was dumb
because I sold it for a song.”
He subscribed to Model
Railroader magazine and on
layovers at Delta would find
model train set displays to sa
tiate his interest. He recalls a
display at the Cincinnati Gas
& Electric and another in
New York that made big im
pression.
“I was excited that when
we decided to move to Big
Canoe we could have a train
room because we’d have
enough space to do what I
wanted with it,” he said.
Gibson conceptualized his
model, but hired Steve
Worack, owner of Circuitron
out of Chicago, to build the
custom set.
“I liked Steve’s resume,”
he said. “His company builds
supposedly the best switches
in the model railroad busi
ness, he knows DCC sys
tems, and several years ago
he did this huge remodel of a
set at the Chicago Museum
of Science and Industry. Very
impressive.”
Gibson flew Worack to
town and they took a driving
tour of north Georgia to
scope out the terrain - includ
ing the marble quarry in Tate
and orchards in Ellijay - and
the project was underway.
Gibson painted some of the
trains himself in a paint booth
adjacent to the train room;
The rest of the set was com
missioned.
But that was 15 years ago,
“and I’m just getting too old
to do repairs - I’m 80 years
old and don’t have many
years left.”
That’s, in part, why he de
cided to donate the set to be
displayed in the historic Tate
Depot, which is now over
seen by the newly-estab
lished Stewardship
Committee for the Tate His
toric Depot.
“I would love to see it en
joyed by the community, and
have it be something where
kids can learn about trains
and electronics, and hope
fully attract some people to
Tate to enjoy other things in
town,” he said.
In addition to the train set,
valued at several tens of
thousands of dollars, Gibson
has agreed to donate $10,000
to have it dismantled and re
located.
“It’s a big project,” he
said. “It’s in eight pieces and
they are all very large. It’s a
job for sure.”
Inspired by the marble quarry at Tate, this two-level section will be one Pickens residents are familiar with. The quarry
replication is at the rear as a coal train snakes around two water towers headed in that direction.
Anything over $10,000
would have to be funded lo
cally, but Pickens Commis
sioner Becky Denney, who
sits on the depot committee,
said they want to do what it
takes to get it to Tate.
“This is a phenomenal do
nation,” she said, “and we are
going to do whatever we can
to make it work. We are so
grateful, and see this as being
a wonderful asset to the com
munity. We can see school
children field trips there, and
so many other possibilities.”
The committee has had
numerous meetings about the
train and is trying to hammer
out best placement as well as
a timeline for the project,
which they hope to fast track.
There is currently power at
the depot, but no heat or air,
which Denney said they “are
working on.”
She noted that they plan to
apply for grants in the future,
and that the train donation
could be used in lieu of
matching funds for some of
those grants. The committee
is also accepting other dona
tions from the community for
their ongoing efforts.
Gibson said he is hopeful
things will work out, and he
can share his lifelong love of
trains through the donation.
“I’ve gotten so much en
joyment out of this, and I
think and hope others will
to,” he said.
A look down one street of one section of Gibson’s train set. This section represents Fin
ings, Ga., where he lived much of his life.
Gibson’s set is intricate and detailed, with a story behind every car and building he
used.