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TheTrue Citizen, Wednesday, October 3, 2012 — Page 5
Dixie Divas
Burke Happenings
THE BOOK CASES
By Ronda Rich
In this house of wood and stones that I call home, there are
books scattered and stacked hither and yon.
Some might say this house is cluttered with books but I would
never be that irreverent for cluttered seems to mean “unneces
sary” or “junk." Not one book I own would
be categorized as either.
Books spill through the rooms, start
ing on my nightstand where Bibles and ref
erence guides reside. On a leopard print
footstool by the door, there are two dozen
books, all I have purchased but have yet to
get around to reading. But I live in hope.
It’s this way throughout the entire
house, including the kitchen where you’re
likely to find at least a dozen tucked here
and there. The trail of words continue up the stairs where there,
at the head of the staircase, is the one fixture that brought the
soul to this house. It is a built-in bookcase that can be viewed
from the den below and what, once it was stacked with books I
loved and had long cherished, gave my true personality to these
sticks and stones.
There is a cabinetmaker I know, a man who is known as a bi-
vocational preacher meaning that he works for a living through
the week then preaches for the Lord on Sunday, who has helped
me in my quest to display these friends of mine. Allen Swafford
is a fine craftsman who has followed my whims and drawings to
create memorable pieces like the distressed pale olive green buf
fet in the dining room, the stunning red cabinet with glass doors
(and a hidden compartment for cook books) in the kitchen, the
carved vanity in the bathroom, the kitchen cabinets in Mama’s
house and other pieces.
But of all he has ever built and installed, it is the bookcases
that are dearest to my heart. It began with the one at the top of
the staircase. The moment, shortly after I moved in, that it was
installed, I knew I was home. I hurried to put my favorite books,
mostly biographies, memoirs and literary classics, in its con
fines. I stood back, took a look and sighed. Home. No longer
just a house. It was home.
It seemed like all the space I needed at first, after all it was my
first custom-built bookcase but within a couple of years, it was
stuffed and, meanwhile, the books were still coming. I called
Allen and commissioned an even bigger one. It was a massive
piece that ran down the wall of my office. There was a bookcase,
a desk with drawers above, and another bookcase on the other
side. When it was installed, one year just before Thanksgiving, I
was so proud.
“This,” I thought to myself, “will do me ‘til I die.”
Three years have now passed and the shelves are bulging. I
think that perhaps I should part with a few to make room for
new ones but I can’t bear the thought of that. How does one
callously give away a friend?
There will be those of you who say, “Aha! That’s why I down
load books. So I don’t have to store them.”
I download books, too, ever now and then. Sometimes when I
travel, I tuck my lightweight iPad in my tote bag and enjoy the
occasional read on it. But it’s not the same. I like the weight of a
book in my hand. I remember the smell of the library’s book
mobile that brought books to me when I was a child. I like to flip
through it and preview it, to look at the photos in a biography. I
suppose, too, I like how smart that holding a book in my hands
makes me feel.
So I’m looking around, trying to figure out where next to put
another built-in unit so it looks neat. After all, this isn’t clutter.
It’s my treasure.
Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of the forthcoming There’s
A Better Day A-Comin Visit www.rondarich.com to sign up for
her weekly newsletter.
Voter Registration Drive
Augusta Technical College will hold a Voter Registration Drive,
10 a.m.-noon, Thursday, Oct. 4 in the media center. All residents
who would like to register to vote are invited. Contact Teresa
Evans at 706-437-6806 for information on what to bring with
you.
Retired Educators
Burke County Retired Educators Association will meet, 3 p.m.,
Thursday, Oct. 4 at the Senior Citizen Center. The guest speaker
will be Mary Ann McDaniel, President of Georgia Retired Edu
cators Association. All retired educators are invited to attend.
Wimberly Yard Sale
Wimberly House Ministries will hold its annual yard sale, 7
a.m.-12:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 6, at 521 South Liberty Street
in Waynesboro. The sale will include decor, furniture, books,
clothing, kitchen items and much more. All sales will benefit the
ecumenical foundation which provides a number of community
services including an after school program.
Millen Fair-on-the-Square
Millen’s annual Fair-on the-Square arts and crafts festival will
be held, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 6 on the Jenkins County
Courthouse lawn. The fair will include a 10 a.m. parade, crafters,
vendors, food, entertainment, rides, children’s games and a clas
sic car cruise-in.
Buckhead Academy
Former students of Buckhead Academy are invited to Home
coming 2012, to be held the evening of Saturday, Oct. 6, in
Millen. The catered event will include music from the 1970s.
Further details are available by emailing Becky Reese Johnson at
becdonl980@gmail.com or by joining the facebook group. Chil
dren of Buckhead Academy. All former students, staff and par
ents are encouraged to attend.
F. Leslie Jenkins
THE BOYS WILL BE BOYS
Way back into the 1930’s, the Car was King just as it is today.
The young boys drove like maniacs just as the boys do today.
Sadly today, the girls have joined that insane parade. However,
this piece is not about cars or for that matter girls. It is about the
boys and men I looked up to and made them my heroes. Most of
them drove fast cars, but some rode horses. Some even guided
horse-drawn buggies or wagons down the road. But what fasci
nated me most about them was that they were big grown-up guys
and I was just a wee lad longing for adulthood.
I had two uncles on my mother’s side. The older one was
named Burchardt and the younger named Joe. I guess my favor
ite one was Burchardt because he took up more time with me.
Joe, on the other hand, was pretty wild. In his high school days
he was a great basketball player. In those days, there was no gym
in Sardis, so basketball was played outdoors on a clay court as
was tennis. Joe, because of his wild ways, hardly made it to his
twenty-fifth birthday. He and a friend of his were killed in a car
wreck late one night in 1935. Joe was driving. He went to sleep
and hit a mail box beside the road, and two young lives were
wasted in their prime.
Though Joe was taken young, I still had my uncle Burchardt to
look up to for many years to come. On my father’s side, I had
three uncles Tom, Brantley and Albert. Albert outlived them all
and was, indeed, my favorite uncle on that side of the family. He
played ‘shutball’ with me when I was very small. I was the
‘ShutbalT. There were many hero boys besides my uncles. I
fondly remember fellows such as ‘Pilot’ Meades, Lovett Jordan,
Jack and Arlis Bell, Milton and Bernard Hyman, and ‘Skeeter’
and ‘Dimesy’ Holland. There were many others, but my feeble
mind refuses to bring their names to my memory.
‘Pilot’ Meades, I have heard, was called ‘Pilot’ because he was
the leader of the pack or gang. Though he was the leader, I never
heard of him getting into trouble. After he married and settled
down, he spent most of his life running a cafe. Lovett Jordan
was a lad full of wild sorts until he married and settled down.
His life was cut short when his car and a freight train arrived at
the crossing at the same time. Though he has been dead for many
years, he is still stuck in my memory.
Now, the Bell boys, Jack and Arlis, went on to become medicial
doctors. Jack practiced for many years in Augusta, Georgia, but
Arlis set up a practise in Florida and died very young. I don’t
remember what happened to the Hyman boys, but they were
great baseball players in their youth. ‘Dimesy’ Holland spent his
entire life in good ole Sardis along with yours truly. ‘Skeeter’
lived in Savannah for many years, but he came back to Sardis
for a second marriage and spent the rest of his days here. I miss
all these ‘good ole boys’, and I have named just a few. There
were many more of my friends who have gone on to ‘Glory’. I
will name two more: W. L. Bargeron and Bobby Mallard. I be
came especially close to W. L. He died many years ago as did his
wife. Hazel. Both went away too soon.
This piece is probably not of much interest to most of my
readers, but I felt compelled to mention the names of these fel
lows and others who have had a great influence on my life. Of
Course the boys and men in my past weren’t the only ones to
influence my life. The list is almost endless with teachers, preach
ers, aunts and uncles, cousins and parents. But, to end this piece,
I would like to warn the youth of today of the dangers they face
driving their cars recklessly. I mentioned but a few of those young
friends of mine who died needlessly in automobile crashes. Drive
sensibly, your whole life is ahead of you.
F. Leslie Jenkins. Jr.-Burke Banter Boy
Email f291 @bellsouth.net-9-18-12
Letters to the Editor
DeLoach is right for commission
Editor:
As a personal friend of George L. DeLoach, candidate for
Burke County Commissioner, I want to urge the voters of the
fifth district to cast their votes for George.
I have known George since we were in grammar school in
Waynesboro, and I have always respected him and his ability to
serve the citizens of Burke County and the state of Georgia.
I worked for George as Waynesboro City Attorney for many
years and found him to be a very levelheaded, hands-on, conser
vative individual. As mayor, George was instrumental represent
ing all of the citizens of our community and helped the city
move forward during the tough times of the early 1980s.
He is a devoted and dedicated family man, which provides
him with the knowledge and understanding to represent the fami
lies in Burke County.
This is a crucial time in our history, and we need elected offi
cials such as George to serve our local government. I urge the
citizens to cast their votes for George DeLoach on November 6.
Gary A. Glover
Law Offices of Glover, Blount & Hyatt
Augusta
(Extxzzxx
has a new fax number.
You can now reach us at
706-526-4779.
Waynesboro Opry
The Waynesboro Opry will feature the Front Porch Blues Band
on Oct. 6. The band includes Wayne Walker on bass, John Mole
who plays electric guitar, mandolin and acoustic guitar and Luther
Gravitt who plays tenor guitar and mandolin. The band plays old
favorites from the 30s, 40s and 50s and many ballads. The band
will begin at 6 p.m. and a jam session starts around 7:30. Bring
your instruments to join in the jam. The Waynesboro Opry is
held at the Dance Academy on Liberty Street (next to Burke
Perk) every first Saturday.
Lunch & Learn
The Burke County Extension Office, located at 715 West Sixth
Street, Waynesboro, will hold a Two Buck Lunch and Learn for
adults, noon, Tuesday, Oct. 9. The topic will be low budget meals
that are quick and healthy. The public is invited, but space is
limited. For reservations, contact the extension office at 706-
554-2119. For more information, go to www.caes.uga.edu/ex-
tension/burke/.
Digital Photography Microsoft Concepts Classes
Augusta Technical College is offering two continuing educa
tion classes this fall. Introduction to Digital Photography begins
on Thursday, Oct. 4. The course costs $35. Microsoft Office
Concepts will begin Thursday, Oct. 18 and costs $70. For more
information contact Greg Coursey, Jr. at 706-437-6823.
Public service announcements may be emailed to
truecitizennews@live.com, faxed to 706-526-4779 or dropped off
at our Academy Avenue office. Our deadline is noon Thursday.
In the event of limited space, announcements will be published
on a first-received basis.
Pet Parade
& Emma”
Parents: Adam & Stephanie router
SUBMIT YOUR PET S PHOTO
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