Newspaper Page Text
Page A— Wednesday, December 8, 2021, The True Citizen
OPINIONS
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
The Pledge Of Allegiance
1 pledge, allegiance, to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which
*it stands, one Nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
LOOKING BACK
{this week in Burke County history}
10 YEARS AGO-DECEMBER 7,20ll
Jerry Blash was hired as the Waynesboro Police Depart
ment’s new lead investigator. The Dublin native had 16
years of experience in law enforcement, mostly with the
Milledgeville Police Department.
Waynesboro Exchange Club members paid tribute to Mary
Ann Johnson who had volunteered at the club’s annual ex
hibit hall for 35 years.
Caleb Tenhuisen, Taylor Martin, Nicole Rachels and
Bobby Gay represented the Burke County chapter of the Fu
ture Farmers of America in the Farm Business Management
Career Development event held at Southeastern Technical
College in Swainsboro.
25 YEARS AGO-DECEMBER 12,1996
Terry Elam was named president of Augusta Technical
Institute. Formerly the vice president of economic develop
ment programs, he succeeded Jack Patrick who retired after
20 years in the post.
Bob Hammond was appointed director of the newly re
opened Burke County Museum. He succeeded Angie Fee
who resigned in August.
Brian J. Flournoy, 21, of Coleman Fane in Waynesboro,
was apprehended by police in Fort Fauderdale, Fla. in con
nection with the armed robbery of the Bank of Waynesboro
on Nov. 25.
50 YEARS AGO-DECEMBER 8,1971
A total of 14 candidates were vying for four posts in the
Waynesboro city election Dec. 14. Candidates for mayor
were Paul S. Stone, Roy F. Chalker, Jr. and W.H. Walters.
Candidates for city council included Herman Fodge, Charlie
Economos, Ray Brown, R.A. Fewis, Ralph B. Willis, Cecil C.
Hammett, Emestean Parsons, Billy Tinley and F. Allan Jones.
Family Dollar Stores, a discount department store chain,
opened a new store in Waynesboro on Seventh Street in the
building formerly occupied by Piggly Wiggly.
70 YEARS AGO-DECEMBER 13,1951
John T. Palmer, Sr. retired as chairman of the local draft
board and from several other public posts because of poor
health. He had served overseas during World War I.
George Holloway defeated incumbent Roy O. Kelley
to become the new Mayor of Midville. Also elected were
council members Robert E. Evans, Guy D. Drew, Dr. Preston
Yarbrough and Hugh Roundtree, Jr.
James E. Day opened a new Western Auto Store in
Waynesboro. The new business was located on Fiberty Street
between Pint chuck’s and Walker-Brooks 5 & 10.
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P.O. Box 948 • 629 Shadrack Street
Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
Telephone: (706) 554-2111 • Fax: (706) 526-4779
Published every Wednesday by The True Citizen, Inc.
Periodical Postage Paid at Waynesboro, Georgia (USPS
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Publisher Publisher
1945-1970 1970-
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Don Lively
It sits on the sill of my kitch
en window, rarely used but
within reach and within sight
whenever I need it to be.
It’s just an old knife.
A very old knife, long and
pointy.
It used to belong to Daddy.
I watched him cut up all the
fixings for his famous catfish
chowder many times using
the knife. The fish and the
potatoes and the onions were
sliced and placed in a rather
precise fashion in Daddy’s cast
iron Dutch oven, and the same
knife was used for each of the
ingredients.
Several years ago, long after
Daddy had flown off through
the eastern sky, I found the
knife hanging in his old barn.
The wooden handles had long
since rotted away and the metal
was stained and rusted.
But it was Daddy’s chowder
knife.
So, I rescued it.
I sent the knife to my friend
Bruce, a knife maker and a re
storer of metals. Bruce cleaned
and blued and polished the
knife and replaced the handles,
turning the dull, rusty old relic
into a sharp and useful imple
ment.
I use the knife, occasionally.
Mostly though, I just like
having it.
It used to be Daddy’s.
Now it’s mine.
I’m a shooter, not much of a
hunter these days, but I do love
to shoot.
I was standing in my back
yard plinking away with my 22
rifle. It had been a while since
I bred it and I was once again
very pleased at how accurate
it is.
It hasn’t always been mine.
When I first moved into my
house, over ten years ago, the
family threw me a housewarm
ing party, the first one of my
life. My cousin, Uncle Mike
was there and he gave me the
22, along with a story. The rifle
was given to him by his late
Dad, affectionately known to
me as Uncle Cuz. It was given
to Uncle Cuz by another older
cousin, known throughout my
family as Uncle Hayward.
Uncle Hayward and I had a very
close friendship. He often took
me dove or quail hunting, and
he took me to my first Georgia
Bulldogs football game. Mike
was aware of how close I was
to Uncle Hayward and he knew
that I would cherish the rifle.
He was right.
The rifle once belonged to
MINE
Uncle Hayward, then Uncle
Cuz, then cousin Uncle Mike.
Now it’s mine.
It’s just an old Coca Cola
bottle.
There were probably thou
sands of them exactly like
the one that sits on the mantle
over my bedroom fireplace. It’s
made of thick, sturdy glass, un
like today’s cheap plastic jobs.
It held exactly six and a half
ounces when it was full and,
because it was reusable, and
because there was a three-cent
redemption on each empty,
there’s no telling how many
times the bottle was refilled and
how many folks were refreshed
with the sweet liquid from in
side the bottle.
So, you might ask, what
makes the bottle so special?
Well, I’ll tell you.
The bottom of the bottle is
stamped with the name of my
hometown.
Back in the day, Coke was
bottled right here in our neck of
the woods and each bottle bore
the town’s name. I had looked
for a local Coke bottle for years
with no luck. Apparently the
few that survived became col
lector’s items. I looked all over
several antique and junk stores
but never found one.
Then my Uncle Y.T. died.
Unbeknownst to me, he had
two of the bottles and his fam
ily, having become aware of
my search, gifted me with one
of them.
The antique bottle once be
longed to Uncle Y.T.
Now it’s mine.
On the north porch of my
house there sits an ancient
cast iron kettle, probably once
used for rendering lard by my
Grandma. Somehow it ended
up at Daddy’s house and I often
told him how much I admired
it. One year when my kids and
I were visiting the homeplace
at Christmas, Daddy took me
outside and gave me the kettle.
I hauled it back Out West where
it lived with me until I moved
back to the Blessed South
where the kettle now has its
own place on the porch.
The old kettle used to belong
to Grandma.
Now it’s mine.
An old knife.
A scratched up but accurate
old rifle.
A simple Coca Cola bottle.
A cast iron kettle that has ren
dered no lard for many decades.
None of them are worth much
of anything to anybody else.
But you couldn’t buy any of
them from me for any price.
Because they once belonged
to my kinfolk, all beloved to
me,
Now they’re mine.
Michael N. Searles
RUNNING SHOES
We are a people on the move
with about 60 million people
engaged in running, jogging
and trail running. One hundred
and fifty million of us walk, jog
or run for fitness.
Covering and protecting
our feet in the activity of run
ning extends back to 1832
when Wait Webster patented
the process of adding rubber
soles to shoes and boots. The
Spalding Company developed
the first shoes specifically de
signed for running in 1852. The
shoes were very expensive and
generally used by high-profile
athletes. While additional fea
tures were added through
out the next several decades,
the rise of competitive sports
demanded shoes that were
more specialized. Adolf Das-
sler, regarded as the father of
modem mnning shoes, gained
acclaim when they were worn
by 1936 Olympic champion
Jesse Owens.
Millions of Americans own
one or more pairs of mnning
shoes. While many of them
are gathering dust in a closet
or under our beds, they remind
us what we should be doing.
Another reason has developed
to make those mnning shoes a
part of our life. The United
States is on track to have more
shootings in 2021 than any
recent year on record. Every
day, 316 people are shot in the
United States including 106
who are shot and killed, 39
are murdered, and 64 die from
gun suicide with others shot
under different circumstances.
Americans love to shoot their
guns on gun ranges, in their
backyards, in the woods, and
on the streets of our country.
About 12 billion shots are bred
across America each year or
about 33 million on average a
day. It is noteworthy that fire
arms are the leading cause of
death for Americans of all ages
and the second-leading cause
of death for children under the
age of 19.
These statistics may seem
disconnected from running
shoes but they do relate. At
any point in our day, we may
hear or see a gun being fired.
Several days ago, an incoming
passenger at the Hartheld-Jack-
son International Airport in At
lanta was awaiting a bag search.
There were heightened ten
sions since 391 firearms were
seized at Hartsfield-Jackson
airport in the first nine months
of 2021. The owner reached
into the bag being searched
and grabbed a firearm. In the
process, the gun went off caus
ing chaos among the travelers.
This action temporarily caused
the delay of flights for the next
two hours. While no serious
injuries occurred, the incident
caused people to ru,n resulting
in three minor injuries. The
scenes at the Atlanta airport
were reminiscent of what hap
pens in malls, theaters, schools,
sporting and concert events
across the country. Shots ring
out, people panic and ran and
folks are injured and sometimes
killed.
It is inevitable that at some
point we could find ourselves
in a similar situation. It can
begin with rumors of a school
disturbance and fighting at a
local business. This recently
occurred at Burke County High
School where someone was led
to send a message to the school
suggesting gun violence. While
we read about things of this
nature in other places, they can
and do happen in small towns
like Waynesboro.
While no one apparently
was in danger at Burke County
High, law enforcement officers
arrived prompting a partial
shutdown and the canceling
of classes the next day. After
the shooting of four students
in Michigan, approximately
40 schools were closed due to
intense student anxiety and/
or threats. The loss of school
time, unnecessary hours of po
lice surveillance, and parental
worries generated reactions
that no school system desires.
Unfortunately, we have come
to expect incidents of this na
ture. The belief that we must
live with guns to have freedom
has consequences. Since gun
ownership is an accepted re
ality, another item should be
kept nearby. We need a good
pair of running shoes to make
a fast getaway, CPR training
and knowledge of the location
of first aid kits. In a danger
ous and unpredictable world,
you never know when training
and foreknowledge may help
a fallen runner along the way.