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Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Opinions
Ruffin’s Renderings: Champ and Sara
BY MIKE RUFFIN
ruffinml@gmail.com
he year 2021
marks the one
hundredth an
niversary of the births of
Champ and Sara Ruffin.
He was born on July 25,
1921, she on September
13.1 want to honor them
in this centennial year of
their births.
Champ and Sara were
many things. Champ
was a Yatesville native,
a World War 11 veteran,
a textile mill worker,
a Baptist deacon and
a men’s class Sunday
School teacher—among
many other things. Sara
was a Barnesville native,
a World War 11 widow
of sorts (her fiance
was killed in France in
the days following the
Normandy invasion), a
textile mill worker and a
children’s Sunday School
teacher—among many
other things.
Most importantly—
from my perspective at
least—among the other
things Champ and Sara
Ruffin were, they were
my parents. 1 refer to
myself as an only child,
but technically I wasn’t
one. They had another
son two years after I was
born, but he—his name
is Stanley—lived only
a few hours. So, for all
intents and purposes,
1 am their only child. 1
am honored to hold that
status and to
carry on their
legacy.
The truth is,
though, that 1
don’t know the
extent to which
I actually live
out their legacy.
1 certainly share
some physical
features with
them. 1 look
and talk like
my father. 1 have lots of
moles like my mother (1
know—TMI. But facts are
facts).
But 1 don’t think
like they did. Sara had
a deep faith, but she
wasn’t a deep thinker.
Champ thought some
deep thoughts, but they
were more
conservative
than the deep
(and shallow)
thoughts that 1
think.
1 suspect
that my mother
would be con
fused and my
father bemused
by the ways my
mind works.
This raises
the interesting question
of how their continu
ing presence in my life
might have affected my
developing intellectual,
ethical, and moral per
spective.
But they (involun
tarily) checked out very
early in my process, so
there’s no way to know.
1 do think that Champ
and Sara left me a
spiritual legacy that 1
perpetuate. My theology
is more open and my
ethics are more accept
ing than they could ever
have imagined theirs
(or anyone else’s) being,
but that’s not what I’m
talking about. I’m talk
ing about having faith in
God.
Champ and Sara’s
faith shined in many
situations, but it shined
especially in the ways
they dealt with the can
cer that afflicted her for
years and that eventually
took her life.
It shined in their trust,
in their hope, and in
their perseverance. It
shined in their refusal to
succumb to bitterness,
despair, or desperation.
It shined in their consis
tent belief that God was
with them, loved them,
and would help them
make it through.
1 think—1 hope and
pray—that the kind of
trust in God that Champ
and Sara Ruffin pos
sessed, practiced, and
exhibited lives on in me.
If it does, that is
enough.
Mike Ruffin is a Barnesville native
who lives and works in Macon. His
new book, Praying with Matthew,
is available at helwys.com and at
Amazon.
LETTERS T<
THE EDITOR
Heart broken over
Flat Shoals closing
New Hebron vicar seeks suggestions, help
PHOTO BY MARK CACERES
New Hebron Church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2017 and has
recently experienced issues that will cause services to be held without electricity for the rest of
the year and many months into next year. Suggestions and help with the issue are sought.
PHOTO BY SKIP BUTLER
Dwain Penn portrays A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
The New Hebron Baptist Church vicar has performed as many
Biblical, historical and literary characters inside the historic
church over the years as well as other venues.
As 1 see posts and
read articles about the
blocking off of access
at Flat Shoals, my heart
breaks. This is a place
that has not just my
heart but my husband’s
and my kids, my sisters,
my nieces, my nephews,
my bonus kids, my best
friends, etc. 1 am so dis
gusted how people look
down on us ‘non river
property owners.’
1 have stayed clear
of the discussion pages
because 1 feel like it’s
a waste of my time but
it is just so sad that us
Pike citizens can no lon
ger even dig our toes
into the river or just
hop into our kayaks. My
kids were raised on this
river. We have taken our
dog Flint’s ashes and
spread them there.
We have put in at
Flat Shoals (as we
picked up more trash
on the arrival than you
could fathom) more
than a hundred times
in just the last couple
of years. My boys have
had their own kayaks
for years and love Flat
Shoals! They know it
like the back of their
hands (so they think).
Most of us citizens
are not the littering
people we are thought
to be. I know good and
well me and my family
pick up so much trash.
If something is floating,
we paddle straight to it
and throw it in the boat
until we hit a trash can.
So to take a spot away
from so many families
who treat that ramp
like we would our very
own yard or home is
pathetic. There has to
be a better way and not
a way where it seems
you’re looking down on
us ‘non river property
owners.’
As the vicar at his
toric New Hebron Baptist
Church, 1 wanted the
residents of the county
to know that minor
changes with the third
Sunday, 3 p.m. services
will be made for the next
nine months or so. Ser
vices will be held without
electricity. It was my
initial thought to close
the church entirely until
recovery can be made,
but since so many visi
tors [no resident mem
bers since 1998] enjoy
the rustic ambience of
the church, the aspect of
no power may not be an
inconvenience.
The church, built in
1908 using heart-of-pine
wood and electrified in
1940, has been a stalwart
of integrity with minimal
upkeep beyond custo
dial work and exterior
paint jobs every decade.
However, for perhaps 30
years now, going back
before my arrival, a few
places in exterior walls
at the foundation have
been breached allowing
squirrels access to the
attic. People of faith tend
to believe that all animals
are innocuous, allowing
cohabitation in a build
ing. But the innate neces
sity for squirrels to gnaw
combined with electrical
wiring may be a recipe
for disaster.
Thirteen months ago
when 1 heard the loft crit
ters, 1 asked a Concord
resident about a solution.
He mentioned a friend
that used to do that work
but is no longer available.
One pest control com
pany advertises wildlife
service, but 1 have heard
that success is tenuous
at best.
The church currently
has two funds in escrow,
one to rebuild nine win
dows and the other to
paint the church exterior.
These projects will have
to be postponed to clear
out the attic. Not only do
the squirrels have to be
evicted and prevented
from returning, but
enough attic debris must
be removed to determine
if any wiring has been
damaged.
However, a master
electrician may be able
to use a circuit tester
to determine wiring
integrity. The last time
someone ventured into
the attic was the electri
cian for the 2012 Lawless
movie to disconnect the
fans and remove them
from the sanctuary ceil
ing for filming. I didn’t
think to ask him what
he discovered up there.
Molena resident and
electrician Ted Richards
installed the church
ceiling fans circa 1991
and he informed Pastor
Bill Lawrence the church
used the best commer
cial electrical wiring back
in 1940.
In fact Lamar EMC
through the REA project
may have installed the
wiring as a public service
to churches. Safety for
the building and its oc
cupants is crucial above
new windows or paint
ing.
Are there any other
churches in Pike, espe
cially old rural struc
tures, having similar
problems? Please let me
know so we can pray for
each other. And if anyone
has suggestions or ideas,
those will be welcome,
too. Contact me through
mail, email or phone: P.O.
Box 101, Concord, 30206,
newhebronbc@hotmail.
com or 770-567-4113. It’s
that important.
SINCERELY,
DWAIN W. PENN, VICAR
JESSICA BENNETT
SPECIAL PHOTO
This is a view of the Flint River as it flows toward the Flat
Shoals bridge where an access ramp was recently blocked.
Pike County
Journal
Reporter
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
P.O. Box 789
16026 Barnesville St.
Zebulon, Ga. 30295
770.567.3446
The Pike County Journal
Reporter is the official
organ of Pike County, the
cities of Zebulon, Molena,
Meansville, Williamson
and Concord. It is
published weekly by
Hometown Newspapers
Inc. Second class
postage is paid at the
Zebulon, Ga Post Office.
Publishers: Walter and
Laura Geiger; staff:
Jennifer Taylor,
Brenda Sanchez and
Rachel McDaniel.
AT PIKE
BY BWAIN W. PENN
100 YEARS AGO
November 11, 1921: For the second year in
a row, S.E. Shackelford of Pike County won first
premium for the Pike County display at the Fair in
Macon. The honor paid $800 cash.
75 YEARS AGO
November 14, 1946: Bids were submitted at
the Lamar EMC office for 200 miles of new lines in
eight counties including Pike. Once approved and
lines are staked, there will be 43 miles of new lines
in Pike to serve 130 new members.
50 YEARS AGO
November 12, 1971: Attendance in the Pike
County school system was very good, well above
the average daily attendance in the previous ’70-
’71 school year. This was good news since most
of the state school funds received are based on
average daily attendance.
25 YEARS AGO
November 13, 1996: The close Meansville vote
tally on November 5 overshadowed the national
re-election of Bill Clinton. After three recounts and
two unclear ballots disqualified, Dan Hamrick won
over mayor Tom Burns by a vote of 47 to 46.