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Home Journal Opinions
PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GA., 31069, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31,1970
Perry is high on the list of locations
in the state for a proposed new
Agriculture-Complex-Coliseum. The
proposed Agriculture Center, to be
financed by the State, will probably
be about a $lO million proiect
The Center will be used for
livestock shows and programs,
agriculture seminars and workshops,
state and national agriculture group
meetings and a number of officials of
the Georgia State Agriculture Dept
will move their offices and operations
to the new facility.
If Perry landed the new mulit
million dollar facility, it would mean
a giant boost in the entire economy of
the area. Not only would the
agricultural economy increase, but
the tourist business would take a
sizeable jump.
We are pleased to see the interest in
the community that has been brought
about by the possibility of Perry
getting the Center. The Houston
DEAR EDITOR
Councilman Roughton Reacts
To Home Journal Editorials
Dear D. 8.,
I am writing with regards to
your editorials, “We Agree With
Chief Dennard” and “Coun
cilman McKinley, Ho Hum,”
appearing in the Home Journals
of September 24th and
December 10th respectively.
On December Ist 1 won a post
on the City Council - thanks to
tiie good people of Perry who
want fair, honest and con
servative government.
Although I did not write to you
following the first editorial, I
disagreed with it as written and
as I understood it. I wish to state
my position and what I consider
to be good business and plain
common sense.
At the time of the first
editorial the city had two police
cars that, in my opinion, were in
an unservicable condition as
police cars. To substantiate
this, both you and 1 were
present at the December 3rd
council meeting in which the
councilman in charge of the
police department told the
council that he wanted to
purchase two new police cars
and that if the city didn’t, “the
police would be on bicycles
before long”. I do not find this
hard to believe since, in recent
months, the city had one police
car that I know couldn't even
keep up with my Datsun pickup
for times like these
It is always too soon to quit! What
an odd ststemcnt to begin 1969. But is
it odd? Let’s think together for a
moment Henry Ford’s formula for
success was simple: “When you start
a thing, finish it” There are many
excuses for quitting, and maybe only
one reason for continuing. A man may
quit because he feels the thing he’s
doing is not worth finishing. What he’s
doing may not be important, but he is.
It’s what quitting will do to him that
matters. Perhaps he loses his in
spiration. He began in waves of ex
citement; then suddenly the in
spiration’s gone. The thing doesn’t
seem worth the effort Temptation is
to quit
Maybe it won’t make any difference
to anyone else if he quits. But it will
make a great deal of difference to
himself. He’s learning to be a quitter.
It will be easier to quit next time.
When a thing goes stale, after the
inspiration is gone, that is the time to
dig in and finish the job, simply for
the sake of finishing,for the sake of
self-respect One of the clearest tests
of a man’s worthwhile ness is his
response to the uninspired moments -
how he reacts to duty - what he does
with drudgery. The fellow that
depends on inspired moments rarely
completes anything. He leaves a trail
unfinished, half-based jobs behind.
Agriculture Center For Perry
truck. At the same time, the
Police Chief had a new un
marked car as his personal one
to run errands, go to lunch, keep
at his home, on and off duty, etc.
There were some business
men who stated to me that they
agreed with council’s decision
to provide the chief with a new
personal car. They felt that
this added prestige to the city.
Perhaps you agree with this
also. I do not. I think
prestige should come only after
the needs are satisfied. In the
past the city of Perry has had a
good Police and Fire Depart
ment. We will continue to have
one if we do what we have in the
past - that of providing the men
with the best equipment, good
leadership and sound decisions
by the council. Incidently, I feel
that if the Chief had the best
interest of his men and the
citizens at heart, he would have
offered the car for use by the
force and accepted an older one.
(If he needs one.) Since the
Police and Fire Departments
fall in the area of public safety,
it is a must that equipment for
these departments be assigned
on the basis that the best
equipment will always be in use
for emergency needs of the
Citizens. Good equipment ,
sound decisions and good
leadership produce pride and a
One Minute With
REV DAN HODGES
P«»for, First Baptist Church
County Legislative Delegation, The
Perry Area Chamber of Commerce
and City officials of Perry have all
committed themselves to doing what
they can to help get the facility in
Perry.
We think the State Agriculture
Dept, would like Perry. They would
find the warm hospitality here such a
facility deserves and they would find
plenty of motel rooms and
restaurants for the thousands of
people who would be coming into
Perry each year to take part in
programs at the Center. And surely
there is no better location than Perry,
The Crossroads of Georgia.
The big question, of course, is
whether or not the General Assembly
will fund the money for the facility.
Our Legislators will be hard at work
to see what they can do about getting
the Center in Perry We think our
chances are excellent
-8.8.
high state of morale. After we
have attained these then we
could concern ourselves with
prestige.
You are the publisher of a
newspaper and lets assume for
a moment that you had more
subscriptions, ads, etc., than
you could handle because your
printing equipment was in a run
down condition. Also, lets
assume that you had only
enough financial resources
available to put your equipment
needs in a good state of
operation. I ask you, would you
remodel your building, buy new
desks, typewriters, and a new
car with Houston Home Journal
painted on the side, - all this for
prestige, or would you replace
yoqr printing equipment for
more volume and better work,
which inevitably would increase
your business?
To bring my point even closer
to home, lets assume that your
wife or daughter needed im
mediate police protection,
perhaps from molestation,
rape, or murder, and a call was
made to the police department -
a police unit was dispatched
immediately in answer to your
call, but never reached your
home because their police car
broke down on the way. What
would be your feelings then,
knowing that a “new car” was
parked at the Police Depart
ment or at Chief Dennard’s
home?
H
They stand as mute evidence of
failure. What a pity to be dogged by
unfinished business!
Men who count are those who refuse
to quit, men who never hear the bell,
men who never throw in the towel.
They’re always needed, always in
demand. Nobody wants and nobody
needs a quitter. So many times a golf
tournament is won on the last hole,
the last putt. Football games have
been won in the last thirty seconds by
a team that was losing but refused to
quit fighting. Business, industry
move with the men who know how to
see a thing through after the quitters
have dropped out.
Look long and hard at three of the
last words Jesus Christ spoke from
the cross: “It is finished!” Without
that finish, there would be no hope for
the world. In that finish there is hope
for every failure, every sin, every
need of man. In that finish is God’s
complete forgiveness; eternal life for
every man who will receive it
Something hanging over your head
now? Something started with big
ideas, great plans and now it’s faded?
Enthusiasm drained off? Tempted to
quit? Got a new idea? New in
spiration? You’ll lose that too - if you
quit now.
“Men ought always to pray and
never give up” (Luke 18:1).
Sincerely,
D. K. (Dot) Roughton
j j
Ring Out The Old Ring In The New ||
mi i ii. ■Yn.tfi’r iiiMriiTil'iMii'iiiii
jy\ axLnz *ZJ(zomj
UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL
It sounded like somebody was
trying to beat the front door down. I
opened my eyes and saw that it
wasn’t quite daylight outside, only
about seven o’clock on Christmas Eve
morning. Sick as a dog with the flu, I
managed to get a housecoat around
me and almost collided in the hall
with Lydia, who was also on the way
to the door, “I’m coming,” I hollered
weakly to stop the pounding. I
unlocked and threw open the door,
and just stood there stunned a
moment before I could holler again,
“Wayne!” I just couldn’t believe my
eyes.
He was due in on Dec. 28, but Jerry
Huff and his wife were driving down
during the night of the 23rd and asked
Wayne to come with them, and his
officer was nice enough to give him
the four extra days. It simply made
Christmas for Lydia and me, as well
as for Wayne.
In all the years of my life (never
mind how many) I’ve never before
been sick at Christmas, and I hope I
never repeat the experience. After
the fever, aches and pains left, so did
my appetite - completely. No
Christmas goodies could I eat, and
this week I’m still forcing myself to
eat a bite at a time or swallow enough
milk and orange juice to keep going.
And they taste poisonous. So if you see
a hollow-eyed reporter around town
don’t breathe too hard in her direction
or she might keel over.
I don't usually make New Year
Resolutions, but when you spend a lot
of time unable to do anything much
but think at this time of year your
shortcomings have away of rearing
their ugly heads in front of your eyes.
Maybe even sickness can have a good
purpose in life, too.
With God’s help this year I want to
HAPPENED
WAY BACK WHEN...”
5 YEARS AGO ■ The First Baptist
Church will begin two worship ser
vices on Sunday mornings. The
second worship service is being in
stituted to relieve the overcrowding
at the 11 a.m. service, it was an
nounced by the pastor, the Rev. Dan
M. Hodges...an 18 year old Michigan
boy killed in an automobile accident
lay in death here six days while of
ficers searched for his parents
vacationing in Florida... Houston
County Commissioners are launching
a countywide program of marking all
roads by placing reflective signs at
intersections.
10 YEARS AGO • John L. Hodges,
who will retire voluntarily on Jan. 1,
1961 as Judge of the Court of Ordinary
after nearly 30 years, has served
Houston County from the depths of
the depression in 1931 through the
period of unprecedented growth and
progress of recent years... Perry
■mm.
give more of myself to others - caring
about their needs is one thing, but
putting feet to those cares is
something else again. And just giving
money to causes is sometimes a cop
out, when going to see someone who is
lonely is more trouble but infinitely
more rewarding to both parties. You
see, I am no stranger to loneliness.
Therefore I think I can feel more
strongly for the lonely than can
someone who has never been there. A
person-to-person caring is the only
thing that can assuage the terrible
pangs of loneliness.
I’m afraid there were many lonely
people during this supposedly happy
holiday season. Only a merciful God
could have sent my son home early
when I felt at the bottom of the barrel
of loneliness and despair. Now I want
to tell others to remember that God
never forgets, even if we do.
Our living room has taken on quite
a domestic air lately as Lydia and I
have taken up embroidery. Not only is
it fun to do and very satisfying when
you finish something like a pair of
pillowcases, but it is something that
can be done while watching
television, when there’s anything
interesting on.
We’ve taken down the big Christ
mas tree, but our Dennis tree still
awaits his arrival on a little table. It’s
the first Christmas he ever spent
away from home, and I’m sure he
could write a book about loneliness.
Wayne’s first Christmas in service
was spent at Treasure Island, San
Francisco and he hasn’t forgotten
that, either. So many thousands of our
other servicemen were away from
home, and I pray that their next
Christmas will be spent at home with
their loved ones.
Kiwanians honored W. E. Beckham
as “Man of the Year” for community
service... Perry Jaycees played Santa
to 68 children during Christmas and
the project this year was reported one
hundred per cent successful. The
people of Perry responded
wholeheartedly to the appeal by the
Jaycees for used toys which could be
repaired, and brought in new toys and
cash to buy others.
20 YEARS AGO - Sam A. Nunn and
Hubert A. Aultman, Perry attorneys,
announced their association for the
general practice of law under the law
firm name of Nunn and Aultman
effective Jan. 1, 1951...Mi1k prices in
Perry, Fort Valley and Macon
milksheds increased to 25 cents a
quart Tuesday...At the Muse Theater
- Irving Berlin’s “Holiday Inn”
starring Bing Crosby and Fred
Astaire; next Wed. and Thurs., Bing
Crosby in “Riding High”.
Bobby
Branch
Pardon me if I don’t write anything ear
thshaking or controversial in this corner this
week. What with Christmas week and now New
Year’s upon us, I don’t feel very profound.
On top of all that, our number three child, who is
supposed to arrive in the world in February, has
been giving indications of arriving on the scene a
little early. As if I’m not nervous enough about
that, the doctor has to tell us that this one will
probably arrive in record time when he (or she)
decides it is time to face the world. Now that
worries me. I was too nervous to even get to the
hospital the last two trips... But I made it, anyway
I’ve already told my wife and the doctor that it
will be impossible for the baby to arrive on either
Tuesday night or Wednesday since those are the
two busiest days of getting out The Home Journal
For some reason, they didn’t take my orders
under advisement. They both just looked at me
sort of funny.
At any rate, I hope the paper will be back on the
regular schedule next week and we’ll get back to
even more news, photos, features and editorial
opinions... In the meantime, have a very happy
and safe New Year... You can always watch Guy
Lombardo New Year’s Eve on TV...Whoppy.
There is a letter to the editor in this week’s
paper from Councilman Dot Houghton. I want to
clarify one thing about the letter. It begins, “Dear
D. B.” in stead of 8.8. I found out that it was done
that way because Dot and some other folks have
nicknamed me “Dry Branch” thereby derivingthe
D.8....0h well, I’ve been called a heck of lot worse
than that.
Home Journal Book Review
PAPILLON
By Henri Charriere
Reviewed by Maxine Thompson
This amazing man who was convicted at the age
of 25 of a murder he did not commit and spent the
next 13 years of his life in a struggle to escape the
infamous French penal colonies is now over 60
years old and living with his wife and grown
daughter in Venezuela. It did not occur to him that
anyone would be interested in his adventures until
he read books written by a woman who had been
in prison and involved in several escapes.
He wrote his adventures in longhand in a series
of spiral notebooks, got someone to type them and
sent them to the publisher of the woman’s books.
The response was immediate excitement in the
publishing world, and his book became a runaway
bestseller in France, England, Germany, Italy,
Spain and others before the same thing happened
in this country.
The reader is taken in a direct narrative by the
author through the horrors of unjust conviction
(although he came from a good family he was a
safecracker with underworld connections and
when a goat was needed to hang the murder
charge on he was handy), through horrible prison
dungeons, through years spent in solitary con
finement, through escapes that were successful
but ended in his return to the prison from other
countries. A prisoner was often in more danger
from fellow prisoners than from the sadistic
guards, and murders were a common affair.
He was called Papillon, the French word for
butterfly, because of a butterfly tattoo on his chest
at the base of his throat, visible when his shirt is
unbuttoned at the top. In recent personal ap
pearances on television when he was asked to
comment on the fact that France rejected his book
as pure fiction, he laughed and said that he was an
embarrassment to the French government
because he revealed the horrors of their former
penal system. Papillon was the first man to ever
escape alive from Devil’s Island.
Henri Charriere’s first wife died in France
while he was in prison. He loves Venezuela and its
people, who considered a man of such character
and perserverence worth giving a chance at life
and made him its adopted son.
This book is long (434 pages) but it was well
worth reading.
“Perry’s Hometown, Community Newspaper
For The Past 100 Years’’
Hie Houston Horn Journal
BOBBY BRANCH President-EditorPublisher
Maxine Thompson, Associate Editor; Bob Hollis,
Advertising Manager; Phillip Byrd, Sports Editor;
Jimmy Chapman, Production Manager.
Published Every Thursday By
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, INC.
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