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PAGE 6A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 25. 2021
March of the Toys, Toys for Tots Christmas Parade Dec. 3
After the parade, Santa and Mrs. Claus will meet with
youngsters on the stage in city park, as dozens of cosplayers
portraying superheroes, princesses, holiday villains, and
more, meander through the park. Photographs with Santa
and the cosplayers are free of charge, so be sure to bring
your camera. , _ w ,
By Larry Cavender
Progress Contributor
Most everyone is familiar
with the Dr. Seuss story
about the Grinch who stole
Christmas. During the 2020
holiday season, a Grinch, dis
guised as a despicable char
acter named COVID,
stealthily stole into Ball
Ground to steal away the
small town's Christmas joy.
The annual March of the
Toys, Toys for Tots Christ
mas Parade - an event which
epitomizes the holiday spirit
in North Georgia - was can
celled because of Coro-
noviras concerns.
However, just like in the
Dr. Seuss story, when Christ
mas was saved and joy re
turned to Whoville, there is
joy this year in Ball Ground
because the parade will re
turn, even bigger and better
than before the pandemic. It's
almost enough to make ones
heart grow three sizes too
big.
Each year, in the down
town heart of Ball Ground,
the population of the commu
nity grows three sizes bigger
The grand marshals for
this year's parade will be a
"tag team” effort, as the
Steiner Brothers, Rick and
Scott, will share the honors.
The Steiners are world fa
mous as the seven-time tag-
team champions of World
Championship Wrestling.
Before the parade beginning
at 4 p.m., the Steiners will
sign autographs at Barrel
House Coffee, downtown.
when revelers, estimated an
nually at six to seven thou
sand, descend on the town's
Main Street to share the joy
of this event. The parade is
one the largest and most pop
ular holiday events in North
Georgia. The parade will fea
ture the usual marching
bands, Shriners, twirlers,
dancers, princesses, super
heroes, dozens of floats, trac
tors, antique cars, as well as
Mickey Mouse, the Peachtree
Clown Alley, and the Red
Devil Clowns.
Of course, the parade is
the centerpiece of the festivi
ties, but the event is tndy an
event, because there is much,
much more than just the pa
rade. There are holiday ven
dors, model train displays,
cosplayers as superheroes,
autograph sessions, and
unique dining and shopping
experiences as downtown
businesses offer extended
hours throughout the day and
evening. The parade begins
at 7 p.m. but the festivities
begin at 4 p.m. on Friday,
Dec. 3.
"I do encourage attendees
to get to the event early," said
Tim Cavender, the parade
chairperson. He added, "We
have had an unbelievable re
sponse this year regarding
being a participant in the pa
rade. This is an awesome
event that the whole family
can enjoy."
The grand marshals for
this year's parade will be the
world-famous Steiner Broth
ers. Rick and Scott Steiner
are seven-time tag-team
champions of World Champi
onship Wrestling as well as
being two-time champions
with both the World
Wrestling Federation and the
IWGP Japanese wrestling or
ganization. Before the pa
rade, beginning at 4 p.m., the
Steiners will sign autographs
and be available for photo
graphs at Barrel House Cof
fee, downtown.
Other highlights include
the S-Gaugers Atlantic Coast
Line Model Railroad Club's
large model train display at
the Old Masonic Building at
the comer of Main Street and
Old Dawsonville Road. The
electric trains will be running
until noon the day following
the parade. Also, vendors will
be selling Christmas orna
ments, holiday candy,
wreathes, soaps, wood signs,
leather goods, home decor,
and more.
As previous parade-goers
can attest, the March of the
Toys, Toys for Tots Parade is
the only parade in which
snow follows Santa down the
street as the Jolly Old Elf
makes his appearance. After
the parade, Santa will meet
all the good little boys and
girls on the stage in City
Park, where gathered around
him in the park, will be Cos
players portraying super
heroes, princesses, and more.
Photos with Santa as well as
with your favorite fictional
characters are free of charge,
so don't forget to bring your
camera.
In fact, all the events are
free of charge. However, you
are encouraged to bring a
new, unwrapped toy for the
Toys for Tots Campaign. Col
lection boxes for the toys will
be available in City Park and
along the parade route. To
leam more, including where
to park, visit www.marchof-
thetoysparade.com or go to
the March of the Toys Parade
Facebookpage.
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Plants of the Southeast
Persimmon” Diospyros virginiana
Photo/Linda Lee
When they are FULLY
ripe, the Persimmon fruits
are delicious, not only for
humans, butfor a variety of
critters. If you've never
tried one, you must.
By John Nelson
University of
South Carolina
If the fruit be not ripe it
will draw’ a mans mouth to
much torment. - attributed to
Captain John Smith of
Jamestown
Indeed, it is very, very
true. The unripe fruits of Per
simmons are hard and green,
slowly ripening to a beauti
fully frosted pink-orange.
Before they are ripe, the
fruits are inedible: they are
extremely bitter (some use
the word "astringent").
I have bitten into an un
ripe fruit, just to see what it's
like, and of course, the inside
of my mouth turned into a
sort of medicinal electric
cardboard taste, a taste that
took a long while to go away.
Another time, and on one
of my class field trips, I in
vited a student to bite into a
persimmon. Not knowing
any better, he did, and was
similarly treated to terrible
cardboard mouth. I still feel
guilty about doing that, and
have vowed never to play a
trick on a student again.
(Well, not that trick anyway.)
Persimmon (Diospyros
virginiana) is a common tree
from New England into the
Midwest, and south through
all of Florida, and over to
Texas. It is usually a small, or
"medium" sized tree, al
though one of the largest in
the world is over 120' tall,
right here in central South
Carolina.
Its bark is rough and
checkered, broken into dark,
scaly blocks, much like what
you see on a dogwood tree.
The leaves, 4-6" long, are
deep green in the summer
(somewhat chalky on the
lower side) and they turn a
brilliant yellow or orange-red
in the fall.
Interestingly, wherever a
leaf has been chewed on, by
a bug or something, or other
wise wounded, the tissue
right around the wound turns
black. (Always.) The trees
are either male or female,
bearing unisexual flowers.
The wood of this species
is dark, hard and very
durable. In fact, during the
era of King Cotton, this tree
was an important source of
loom shuttles in mills. (You
can just imagine the dust,
whacking and clattering that
went on all day.)
This species is entirely
confined to North America,
but it has about 200 close rel
atives, in the same genus, in
Africa and Indonesia, some
of which are prized for their
fruits which are often avail
able in markets. (One other
native American species
grows in central Texas.) All
of these species are members
of the ebony family... and it
is the true ebony tree, whose
dark, hard wood has histori
cally been the source for
piano keys.
Persimmons aren't very
picky about where it grows,
and it does well in a variety
of settings and soils. The
combination of handsome
bark, attractive foliage (sum
mer and fall) and fruit make
this an excellent choice for
the home landscape.
Back to the fruits. When
they are FULLY ripe, the
fruits are delicious, not only
for humans, but for a variety
of critters. If you've never
tried one, you must. They are
ready to eat when they are
soft, almost mushy, and you
can gather them from the
ground. Just brush the sand
and any bugs off and remove
the seeds. There are plenty of
recipes out there for ripe per
simmons, including savory
puddings, bread, and even ice
cream.
©JohnNelson2021
[John Nelson is the retired
curator of the A. C. Moore
Herbarium at the University of
South Carolina, in the Depart
ment of Biological Sciences, Co
lumbia SC 29208. As a public
service, the Herbarium offers
free plant identifications. For
more information, visit
www.herbarium.org or email
johnbnelson@se.rr com.]
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