Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. MAY 25. 2023 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9A
From the Progress files
Turning Back
The Pages
A Good Citizen Fays His Taxes
Present at the courthouse recently when the L&N Rail
road delivered a $29,953.65 tax voucher for their 1957Pick
ens County taxes were, left to right, E.H. Blackwell, tax
commissioner; Clark Dunn, Division Passenger Agent
L&N Atlanta; T. W. Holley, county school superintendent;
and Roy McCravey, local L&N agent delivering the voucher
to Mr. Blackwell. Included in this voucher is almost $10,000
for Pickens County schools and in addition city taxes were
paid to Jasper and Talking Rock. [Note: This photo and
caption appeared on the front page].
Obituaries
Christopher
Thompson
Christopher Blake
Thompson, 32, of Acworth,
Georgia, passed away Tues
day, May 16, 2023 at Well-
Star Kennestone Hospital.
He was born December 25,
1990 in Gwinnett County
Christopher is survived
by his mother and step-fa
ther, Robin and Stephen Taylor of Acworth; brothers, Daryl
Andrew Thompson of Warner Robins, Nathan Anthony
Thompson of Gwinnett County; grandparents, Betty Dobbs
of the Hinton Community, Patricia Thompson of
Watkinsville; uncles, Bill Thompson of Watkinsville, Cory
Thompson of Watkinsville; aunts and uncles, Jessica and
Tristan McKeown of Marietta, Kathy and Chris Bright of
Paulding County; step-grandparents, Rick and Sandra Taylor
of Lilbum; uncle and aunt, Rick and Tonya Taylor of Buford.
Several other family members also survive. He was pre
ceded in death by his father, Nathan Ashley Thompson.
Services were held at 2 p.m., Sunday, May 21,2023 in the
Chapel of Roper Funeral Home with Reverend Jess Posey
officiating. Christopher was cremated.
Arrangements are entrusted to the staff of Roper Funeral
Home and Crematory.
Donald Perry Sr.
Donald B. Perry Sr., 87, an Air Force Veteran of Jasper,
Georgia passed away on May 17th, 2023.
Inurnment will take place at Georgia National Cemetery
at a later date.
Care and Trust was placed with In Their Honor of Jasper.
Anthony
Chiavarini Jr.
Anthony L. Chiavarini Jr., 85, a Marine Corps Veteran of
Fairmount, Georgia passed away on May 19th, 2023.
No services are scheduled at this time.
Care and Trust was placed with In Their Honor of Jasper.
Progress news from 1958
Part of “Review of Jasper and Pickens 1957”
From January 1958
Pickens County has 650 miles of public roads.
Last year 15 miles were paved and 8 miles under
contract. Bom at Roper Hospital were 116 ba
bies, 50 girls and 66 boys, 1 set of twins, 34
deaths, and 1,611 patients were admitted. At Tate
Clinic 188 births with 87 girls and 101 boys. The
town has 500 water customers and 591 tele
phones. The county has 375 farmers. Of that
number 115 use the ACP program for cost shar
ing with government.
Pickens Talent on TV
Three others participants in the county local tal
ent contest a few weeks ago appeared over sta
tion WLW-A T-V last Sunday afternoon. They
were Terry Trippe, who sang “Just Bom to be
Your Baby,” and was accompanied at the piano
by Mrs. Glenn Burgess. Kay Townsend sang,
“Sailor Boy,” accompanied at the piano by Julia
Robinette. Tim Pritchett in a pantomime demon
strated Ricky Nelson, a recording star.
Potato House to Be Open
Starting the 1st of January the Potato House
will be open the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each
month through April. The potatoes in the house
are at their best from now until May. Be sure to
utilize your potatoes this year. There are around
1300 bushels of sweet potatoes in the house this
year and if we follow the customary way over
100 bushels will be left in storage. The potato
house will be open each first and third Saturday
from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Philadelphia Over 100 Years Old
Philadelphia Baptist Church was constituted
on February 16, 1850 by Elder Robert Jordan,
Elder John Lyon and Elder Wm. M. Roper. Serv
ices were first held in a school house where Mrs.
W.T. Jones now lives on Old Federal Road High
way 5. Later it moved to Philadelphia school
house at present location, where services were
held until about 1898.
Tate Drug Store Robbed
Last Sunday night an unknown party or parties
broke into the Allred-Jordan Dmg Company at
Tate. They stole an electric mixer, about $10 dol
lars in pennies and a few minor dmg items, but
no narcotics were missed.
William
Blackwell Jr.
September 4, 1927 -
May 16, 2023
U.S. Veteran
Mr. William "Junior" Blackwell Jr., 95, of Jasper, passed
away Tuesday, May 16, 2023 at his residence.
Mr. Blackwell is survived by his wife, Frances Blackwell
of Jasper; sons and daughter-in-law, Michael Blackwell of
Jasper, and Steve & Rhonda Blackwell of Ball Ground;
daughter and son-in-law, Jean & Charles Noland of Jasper;
daughter-in-law, Christi Blackwell of Gainesville; brothers
and sisters-in-law, Jerry & Brenda Blackwell of Jasper, Roy
& Gail Blackwell of Jasper, and Joe & Darlene Blackwell of
Collinsville, AL; sisters and brother-in-law, Sue Tatum of
Canton, Joyce Davis of Omaha, NE, and Patricia & Jerry
Norbeck of Tampa, FL; sister-in-law, Faye Blackwell of
Jasper; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Friday, May 19,2023
at Cagle Funeral Home Chapel, with Rev. Don Cagle and
Rev. Greg Cagle officiating.
Interment was at Sunrise Memorial Gardens following the
funeral service.
Pallbearers: Coleman Noland, Andrew Noland, Nick
Blackwell, Cody Blackwell, David Lind, and Adrian
Woodruff.
The family accepted flowers or donations can be made to
Veterans Park in Jasper.
Cagle Funeral Home is honored to serve the Blackwell
family.
Harry Chambers
Harry J. Chambers, 79, a Navy Veteran of Jasper, Georgia
passed away on May 14th, 2023.
Inurnment will take place May 25th, 2023 at 11:30 a.m.
at Georgia National Cemetery.
Care and Trust was placed with In Their Honor of Jasper.
Roderic Shea
Roderic D. Shea, 66, a Navy Veteran of Jasper, Georgia
passed away on May 19th, 2023.
No services are scheduled at this time.
Care and Trust was placed with In Their Honor of Jasper.
Marcus
Millwood
Marcus L. Millwood, 71, of Chatsworth, Georgia passed
away on May 19th, 2023.
Visitation and a service was held in the chapel of In Their
Honor on May 23rd and May 24th, 2023. Interment took
place May 24th, 2023 at Cherokee Memorial Cemetery.
Care and Trust was placed with In Their Honor of Jasper.
Joyce Johnson
Memorial services for
Joyce C. Johnson, 78, of
Newell will be held on Sat
urday, June 3, 2023, at Mor
rison’s Crossroads
Community Church.
The family received
friends at Benefield Funeral
Home in Wedowee from 5-8
p.m. on Tuesday, May 23,
2023.
Mrs. Johnson passed away Saturday, May 20, 2023, at
Redmond Hospital in Rome, Georgia.
Survivors include: two daughters, Robin Lavallee of
Newell and Cindy Watson of Acworth, GA; one son, Greg
Johnson (Pam) of Wedowee; one grandchild, Trae Johnson;
and two sisters, Carolyn Stancil of Taylor, TX and Jean Riner
(Ron) of Durham, NC; and several nieces and nephews.
A Pickens, Georgia native, Mrs. Johnson was bom on
February 17, 1945, the daughter of Ferman and Cairo Dens-
more Cantrell. She was a member of Crossroads Community
Church in Morrisons Crossroads, Alabama, and she worked
as a paramedic for North Fulton EMS before retiring. Mrs.
Johnson loved being a part of her community and sharing her
love for Jesus. She was preceded in death by her parents;
her husband, Denham “Doc” Johnson; and a son, Darrel
Johnson.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.bene-
fieldfhwedowee.com.
Jenny England
Jenny C. England, 63, of Adairsville, Georgia passed
away May 15th, 2023.
No services are scheduled at this time.
Care and Trust was placed with In Their Honor of Jasper.
Ruby Matthews
Ruby S. Matthews, 92, of Jasper, Georgia passed away on
May 17th, 2023.
No services are scheduled at this time.
Care and Trust was placed with In Their Honor of Jasper.
Donations sought to open new history center
photo/North GA Mountains History Center
(L-R) NGMHC Board members Susan Morgan, Carolyn
Wilkins, Mike Volk, Jan Murphy, Kathleen Ingram.
Submitted by
North GA Mountains
History Center
Who cares about preserv
ing our history? We care.
North GA Mountains His
tory Center’s (NGMHC)
board of directors believes
that we need to preserve our
local history. Let’s not lose it
or forget it.
Having several locations
that can exhibit our local his
tory is ideal. Pickens cur
rently has the Old Jail
managed by the Pickens His
torical Society which beauti
fully captures the life of the
past sheriffs and history of
the jail. The Tate gymnasium
is managed by the Marble
Valley Friends in Tate, which
keeps it pristine and soon the
Pickens Visitor Center will il
luminate the history of the
marble industry when it
opens its museum later this
year.
Local historical buildings
are continually at risk. The
North GA Mountains History
Center wants to expand and
capture what’s special and
unique about our past.
There’s an opportunity to cel
ebrate and strengthen the
Pickens County community
through its history and her
itage. History often is the
unifying thread of a commu
nity, providing a point of
pride that ties it together.
NGMHC is still searching
for the ideal location to house
the artifacts and exhibits it
will be collecting. There will
be a military museum inside
the center, which will house
an extensive collection of
military artifacts and memo
rabilia. NGMHC will be cre
ating a state-of-the-art space
to engage visitors and resi
dents. In the meantime, we
are creating educational pro
grams and will be offering
historical tours.
To accomplish this, we
need an outpouring of finan
cial support from the Pickens
community. For example,
when the Cherokee Histori
cal Society in Canton de
cided to expand their
outreach and services, they
needed a larger building to
accommodate their expan
sion. The Cherokee Histori
cal Society raised over $1.3
million from private donors
and the local government to
purchase a building and cre
ate a state-of-the-art history
center. Cartersville has nu
merous museums and history
centers. The Booth Museum
in Cartersville was named
USA Today’s 10 Best Peo
ples’ Choice Award for best
art museum in the country
three years in a row. We’re
hoping to do the same.
With community support
and with the collaboration of
the Pickens Visitors Center,
we can have a first-class his
tory center that proudly por
trays our past and honors our
veterans.
We need generous finan
cial donations to achieve this.
To donate directly or become
a member or sponsor, go to
our website at
www.thenorthgamountain-
shistorycenter.org. If you
have any questions, be sure
to reach out to us at 678-310-
7887 or email us at northg-
amountainshistory@gmail.co
m.
Will you help us?
