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M A Prize Winning Georgia Newspaper Celebrating 100 Years of Service”
The Houston
Home Journal
BOBBY BRANCH President-Editor-Publisher
MAXINE THOMPSON Assistant Editor
WOFFORD SINYARD Production Manager
Published Every Thursday By
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, INC.
C. OGDEN PERSONS, Vice. Pres. LEWIS M. MEEKS, see.-Treas.
Entered At Perry, Georgia Post Office 31069 As Second Class Mail Matter
We Don’t Need Special Session
Governor Lester Maddox seems to
be determined to call a special session
of the General Assembly this summer,
or at least he acts like he wants the
session held.
We hope the special session never
comes about. It would be an added
burden to the taxpayers of Georgia,
and besides this is a political year
when all the legislators are up for re
election in the fall and we have doubts
as to just how much they would ac
complish in a summer session just be
fore election time.
The Governor’s reasons for calling
the special session are for the estab
lishment of a state bonding commis
sion which he says will save the state
around 35 to 40 million dollars on in
Rock Music Festival Coming
We can’t get too excited about the
prospect of a rock music festival be
ing held near Perry. Plans now call
for the festival, which is supposed to
attract between 100,000 and 300,000
young people, to be held on the Fourth
of July weekend at the Middle Georgia
Raceway near Byron.
We think it’s fine for young peo
ple to enjoy their type of music and
we don’t even see anything wrong with
them “doing their thing” as long as
they stay peaceful. But we have seen
already what has happened at similar
rock festivals in other areas of the
rTerrepf; TO THE] i
UETTERS)|ditoR i
Dear Mr. Branch
1 thank God for young men
like our own L. Cpl. Stephen
Smith now overseas His letter
to the editor lat week renew
my faith in our young genera
tion.
To me he is a true “Young
American" standing up for our
flag and our America,
Let’s all write to him and
say a sincere "(hank you" and
a prayer to God to keep him
safe.
From a 100% American
Dear Mr. Editor:
1 would like to take this
opportunity to thank WPG A
and it’s sponsors for spon
soring the Atlanta Braves
baseball games. I am almost
13 and am an avid Braves
fan and listen to all the
games. It has helped hearing
the games, since 1 have trou
ble in receiving Macon or
Atlanta during the night.
Even though the Braves
games are not broadcast dur
ing the day, I don’t mind
since T can get Macon during
the day.
Thank you WPGA and your
sponsors for sponsoring the
games. Keep up the good
work!
Sincerely yours,
JOE NADEAU
Editor. Home Journal
The dictionary defines
"Volunteer" as ‘one who en
ters into or offers himself
for, any service of his own
free will.’ What Webster
leaves out of the above des
cription is that he or she is
also a as any par
ticipant in the recently-or
ganized VOLUNTEER SER
VICES PROGRAM in Geor
gia can testify. Conducted
locally by the Houston Coun
ty Department of Family
and Children Services. This
program is part of a state
wide effort to help solve the
problems generating and
perpetuating welfare depen
■
terest rates in a 2 year period. We
think it would be fine for the state
to have such a commission and we feel
that Georgia taxpayers certainly de
serve any savings they can get. But
the thing that worries us is the fact
that the whole special session idea
smells too political.
We just don’t think the legislators
and Governor Maddox (who is already
knocking heads with Lt. Gov. George
T. Smith) can really get anything ac
complished in a special session this
summer.
We hope the special session idea
fades away. There’s enough going in
the state during this hot summer with
out an added attraction.
—B. B.
country. Some of the things disturb
us deeply, such as the prevalence of
hard drugs and marijuana at the festi
vals.
No doubt the festival will be held
and there will be thousands of young
music fans coming into this area from
all over the country. We just hope the
rock music fans conduct themselves
in a proper manner. We feel for the
police enforcement agencies on that
weekend Besides all the holiday traf
fic and accidents they’ll have to watch
over all the cats “doing their thing”
at the rock festival.
B. B.
doncy. The 1967 Amend
ments to the Social Security
Act. authorizing recruitment
ol outsiders to participate in
organized social services to
the poor, have made such a
volunteer program possible
tor the first time in the his
tory of tlic Federal ■ State
Welfare program. It is part
ol the growing recognition
within welfare circles that
money alone is not enough
to cure poverty and that in
terested community non-pro
fessionals can provide many
services that overburdened
caseworkers cannot
Although only a few
months in existence, the lo
cal program has already
produced tangible contribu
tions from groups and indi
viduals. Twenty-two women
are each currently donating
a minimum four hours per
week into r ing elementary
school children who need
"catch-up" help in Warner
Robins and Perry schools.
Principals and teachers re
port pupil progress as a re
sult. and it is hoped that
the fall program will involve
more tutors and reach more
schools and children.
Other phases of the volun
teer program include trans
portation, home counseling,
and "friendly visits" to local
nursing homes. Several peo
pic have become involved in
the much • needed task of
making home calls to wel
fare families, attempting to
help these people manage
money and households bet
ter while encouraging them
to take advantage of local
services and educational pro
grams available. After years
of a self perpetuating pover
ty cycle, finding a job or
obtaining an education are
often out of reach without
this personalized attention.
Some volunteers provide
transportation to welfare re
cipients, insuring that they
are able to get to medical
or other appointments. Mil-
eage is paid for such serv
ices by the State though
jnany Volunteers do not re
quest it. One man gives of
his time and carpentry skills
to help complete home re
pairs. A popular aspect of
the program is the “friend
ly visitor" who calls on one
or more persons in a local
nursing home, again bring
ing that important aspect of
individual attention to the
forgotten elderly.
Several church, social, and
military groups have be
come interested in setting up
various recreational and ser
vice projects in nursing
homes; these range from a
monthly birthday celebra
tion to a bingo game and
"shampoo and set” services.
Mrs. Connette Gayle, local
coordinator of the Volunteer
Services program, states that
many more projects and
needs can be met through
this program with the only
limits being time, talents,
and imagination. Any group
of any size or age or any
individual desiring to parti
cipate in this growing com
munity effort is urged to call
her at the Department of
Family and Children Serv
ices. 9872373, Proud of
Houston County’s response
so lar. she hopes that many
more volunteers will join
the cl toil to fill these tre
mendous needs.
As the dictionary says, a
volunteer is one who gives
of his own free will, but we
add that he is also one who
receives much in return.
Xew friends and contacts,
a sense of satisfaction from
knowing you are useful, and
a feeling of community in
volvement are but a few of
the rewards to a volunteer.
With welfare services being
spot-lighted both nationally
and locally, this program
provides a unique opportun
ity for the ordinary citizen
to learn more about poverty
and welfare while contribu
ting to the solution of its
problems.
ALICE A. MACK
\ olunteer Worker,
Dept, of Family and
Children Services
Watch Perry grow.
" WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING
f
I
J\K axinz
What Would You Have Done
Some years back a couple of young
Perry men who are now well known
pillars of the community were making
some summer money measuring land
for a government agency. For the ben
efit of the uniniated, under the crop
allotment program, if a farmer was
allowed to plant 30 acres of peanuts
or cotton, for example, and planted
31 acres, when his land was measured
and the overage was discovered it had
to be plowed up.
The two, who had been good
friends for a long time, talked and
joked their way across one field after
another, tallying their findings. The
sun was hot and their spirits had cool
ed down a bit and they had remained
silent for a while, when the tall fel
low, walking steadily along with his
head down looking at the ground,
heard his short friend snickering.
Knowing what a joker he was, he did
n’t pay any special attention but kept
on walking. Moments later, he realized
that some sort of structure lay in his
path.
He stood up straight right at
the open doorway, minus even the
croaker sack curtain often used, of an
outhouse in which a farmer’s wife sat
enthroned.
“Good morning, Mrs. he
said, completely unabashed, and walk
ed on as if this were an everyday oc
curance .while his friend nearly roll
ed on the ground in hysterical laugh
ter from a safe distance.
The wife of an elderly gentleman
who is semi-retired and known to be
quite witty unost of the jokes he tells
are on himself) recently cooked some
sausage for breakfast and decided it
didn't smell just right. She set it aside
and fixed something else for the meal.
Later, she added some dog food to the
sausage, stirred the mixture together
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** * Houston Home Journal ** *
well, and left it on the stove in a pan.
After a while her husband wandered
throught the kitchen, saw the pan full
of food, still warm and with a delight
ful aroma, and spooned himself out a
dish full and ate it. Just as he was fin
ishing, his wife came in, saw what he
was eating, and in a horrified voice
said, “That was the dog’s food!”
He sat there quietly a minute. “All
right,” he said, “call the dog in and
I’ll apologize to him!”
A lady walked down the street to
her neighbor’s house and knocked on
the door. When it was opened, the liv
ing room drapes were drawn and no
lights were on, so she could just make
out what appeared to be a big bath
towel wrapped around the lady’s head.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I'll come back lat
er. I didn’t know you were shampoo
ing your hair.”
“I happen,” was the icy reply, “to
be trying on my new Easter bonnet.”
Quite a few years back, a young
man finally got a date with a young
lady who didn’t seem too impressed
with him in the first place, and he was
very shy in the second place. They
went to a movie, and he kept shifting
around trying to get settled comfort
ably in his seat. Somehow, the toe of
his shoe got caught in the crack of the
seat ahead, and when he tried to yank
it out, an excruciating pain shot up
the calf of his leg and he fainted dead
away.
The usher brought wet cloths and
revived him. and helped him out to the'
car. He felt about two feet tall
the girl had to drive them to his broth
er's house, who in turn had to drive
both of them home.
He never dared ask her for another
date.
I
\
Bobby
Branch
PERRY CITY COUNCIL has decided to set a
referendum and let the people make up their minds
whether or not the city should get completely into
the library business. The Council hasn’t set a date
yet but things are going to have to move along
fast for the library because the County Commis
sioners need the basement space now being used
by the library.
I hope Perry voters decide in favor of the city
building a library. We already have a fine library
here and if the folks that run the library had big
ger and better facilities, we can have an even bet
ter library.
A good library is an important facet of a com
munity and I want to go on record here as support
ing the move underway to build a library we can
all be proud to own.
MAYOR MALCOLM REESE has a busy sche
dule to say the least. Between running Security
Federal and the City during the day, his nights are
taken up with regular council meetings, called coun
cil meetings, civic club meetings and other meet
ings. And besides all that, he usually comes back
down to City Hall at about 11 o’clock at night to
check on everything ... A man could turn gray
under those conditions. Mayor.
TOM WILLIAMS, former baseball player for
the University of Georgia and now a Bassett Furni
ture Industries Representative in the state, can
show anyone how to jog a mile on the beach. Wil
liams, now known as the Perry Flash, came up
with a jogging secret last weekend that I have
never thought about before . . • WALK and breathe
a lot.
RICHARD GOODROE, Perry realtor and insur
ance man, is a true believer in Home Journal ad
vertising. He ran an advertisement a couple of
weeks for 200 acres of land and a man on the
Island of Guam in the South Pacific saw the ad
and bought the property. It’s a true story ... I
wouldn’t put you on . . . Just ask Richard.
COUNCILMAN GENE SMITH hangs right in
there when it comes to saving a buck for the city.
At the Council meeting the other night, Council
man John Barton recommended the City sell a
used tractor to the Perry-Fort Valley Airport for
S3OO. All the Councilmen voted to sell the tractor
at that price except Smith. He had gotten an ap
praisal on the tractor for $305 and that was the
amount he wanted the City to get for the tractor
. . . . Everyone figured old Gene would come off
the five bucks, but he didn’t.
SCHOOL’S OUT this weekend and all the kids
are going to be everywhere .... So watch out for
them when you’re driving . . . They forget some
times that the street is primarily for cars.
Dateline
!
Washington
By Congressman
Jack Brinkley i
Charles Dickens in A TALE OF TWO CITIES
wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst
of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of
foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the
epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it
was the season of darkness, it was the spring of
hope, it was the winter of despair.”
Can it be that our country is like that?—A
land of plenty borrowing upon the future; a Christ
ian nation with more crime than any country in
the world; symbolized by strident minorities hav
ing more knowledge than wisdom.
While pondering these perplexing anomalies,
during a Sunday morning drive in Georgia on
Mother’s Day, I heard Paul Harvey’s radio com
ment on his version of what ails our young peo
ple. First pf all, he was careful to correctly point
out that only some are ailing. He compared youth
to guided missiles or rockets with miles and miles
of complicated wiring. He observed that should a
missile guidance system fail, the rocket would self
destruct, and that the same thing eventually hap
pens to a young person with a faulty guidance sys
tem.
And, in response to claims that parents were
always responsible for what their children became,
he said that while this must be substantially true
such a complicated guidance system developed in
young people must be grounded on a Higher Being
in order to successfully perform His concluding re
mark was that parents must set the example and.
as he put it. “at the risk of sounding corny, there
must be in this Nation a return to God.
This admonition also commends itself to the
guidance system of the Nation. The teachings o
the Book of Proverbs, in combination with a little
sweat and backbone, would go a long way towar s
curing that which ails our country.
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