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Ihe Houston Home Journal
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Bobby Branch, President-Editor-Publisher mKA mmNML
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Official Organ City Os Perry And Houston County, Georgia
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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL THURS.. OCT. 17. 1974
\- m J
Next week is “Industry Ap
preciation Week” in Perry, sponsored
by the industrial development
committee of the Perry Area
Chamber of Commerce.
The Home Journal proudly salutes
our local industries and all those
people in industry that turn out right
here in the Perry area some of the
finest products manufactured
anywhere in the world.
Industrial growth has been the key
to Perry’s progress over the years
and new industry in recent years has
really helped put Perry on the map.
One of the high points of next
week’s “Industry Appreciation
Week” will be a special focus on
Medusa Cement Co. (formerly Penn
Dixie). Medusa officials and the
entire board of directors will hold
their fall meeting in Perry next week
and a series of luncheons among local
industrial and civic leaders will top
Our Forest Products
Never in the history of National
Forest Products Week (October 20-
26) has this event held more
significance for the American people
than this year.
With (he energy shortage as a vivid
reminder of the importance of wise
natural resource management and
use, the nation would do well to look to
the forest products industry. Modern
forestry practices emphasizing
sustained-yield techniques have
immeasurably enhanced the
productivity and value of U.S. tim
berlands. Global consumption of
wood products may double by the
year 2000, and recreational needs
should triple. Under the multiple
land-use concept, the challenge can
be met. The problem comes with
those who persist in setting ever
Young Americans will have to
hustle to leave a record of ac
complishment to match that of the
two preceding generations, according
to Dr. Eric A. Walker, president
emeritus of Pennsylvania State
University.
For example, the “oldsters”
created a healthier world. Young
adults no longer have to fear such
scourges as typhus, polio, diphtheria,
smallpox and many other dread
diseases. The older generation fought
and won man’s grisliest war to end
— V
§Re i\ Dan Ariail
First Baptist Church
SOFT ANSWERS
A soft answer turneth away
wrath.
-Proverbs 15:1
► I )
There is a sense in which we
are all like balloons: the more
puffed up and inflated with
self-importance we become,
the more likely it is that the
slightest pin prick will make
us explode.
In her book Yankee From
Olympus. Catherine D Brown
(ells that in a biography of
Justice Oliver Wendell
Holmes there is a brief in
cident which occurred late in
his life. One day Mr. Holmes
looked lor a book in his library
Industry Week
Young People
and could not find it where he
thought it should be.
He made an uproar and
spoke harshly to everybody in
sight. Mrs. Holmes, in her
characteristic way, said
nothing, but looked at him in
that sharp fashion which she
used on such occasions.
The justice went on to court,
and when he returned, the
book was in its place on the
shelf where he himself had left
it Above it was a small United
Stales flag, and undernath it
PAGE 4-A
off the week.
Medusa, the newest of Perry’s
industrial leaders, is a progressive
leader in the cement field and from
what we can learn the Medusa of
ficials are well pleased with Perry
and the plant operations here.
We proudly salute all the industries
of Perry, large and small, our
community relies heavily on our
industries and they are all doing an
outstanding job.
We salute: Tolleson Lumber Co.,
Inc., Pabst Brewing Company,
Continental Can Company, Quilted
Textiles, Kellwood Company, Perry
Veneer Company, Mullins Homes,
Inc., Medusa Cement Company,
Magee Carpet Co., National Motor
Coach Co., and National Chassis Co.,
and all the others. They are a vital
part of our community and we ap
preciate what they do for the com
munity.
—B.B.
larger chunks of forest lands aside as
wilderness areas for use by only a few
hardy, backpacking individuals. As a
leading wood producer, the U.S. must
insist upon pursuing a policy of
scientific harvesting, processing and
reforestation on a massive scale.
National Forest Products Week is
an excellent occasion to throw public
support firmly behind the wood
products industry in its timely har
vesting of commercial U.S. forest
lands while simultaneously meeting
recreational and wildlife needs under
multiple-use management. After all,
wood products are one of the
necessities of life and, with proper
supervision, a renewable resource
which has the potential to serve
mankind indefinitely.
—B.B.
the tyranny of Hitler and his ilk. They
knew the Great Depression and
hunger and unemployment and
vowed a better material life for their
children, So far, they have delivered
it. Dr. Walker cites many other
achievements of the two preceding
generations of Americans and con
cludes that if today’s generation can
do as well it “...should be able to solve
a good many of the world's remaining
ills." That is a good thing for our
young people to keep in mind.
—B.B.
was a sign in Mrs. Holmes'
scripl: "I am a very old man.
I have had many troubles,
most of which never hap
pened.''
Probably one of the
profoundest philosophers
among us today is Charles
Shultz’ character Charlie
Brown. One day he had
evidently incurred the
displeasure of several of the
little girls in his neighborhood,
tor they were making a
concerted effort to shout him
down. He replied: “You’re
right. You’re absolutely right
and 1 apologize As they
walked away, he turned to the
reader with a smile and said:
"My soft answer hath turned
away a whole bunch of
wrath."
Jesus made the statement
that the meek shall inherit the
earth Just think of all the
(roubles which our world
could avoid if we had had just
a few more soft answers and a
little less sword-rattling
W&mKm A/
"Why Wilbur... You Old Son-Of-A-Gun, Y0u...”
r " "
The Slanted Side
By Joe Hiett
. X
V \ y
The “new” Houston County
Hospital Authority chairman, Mayor
Sherrill Stafford of Centerville, last
week announced committee ap
pointments. At the same time Staf
ford formed a couple of new com
mittees and enlarged the responsi
bility of another. I like his choices for
committees. Jim Dooley for instance
is “just right” as head of the finance
committee, since he is comptroller of
the huge Pabst plant near Perry. The
other choices seem to have been
made with the logic of putting the
right man in the right job.
I particularly am enthused about
one or two of the “new” committees.
The Patient Care and Auxiliary
Services one-woman committee of
Mrs. Eleanor Granum can be one of
the most useful of all. Too many times
a dehumanizing influence has been
present in public services. It seems
that patients now have an advocate on
the board. This is g00d... for the
patient, and for the hospital.
The Emergency Room-Ambulance
Service committee, staffed only by
John Lovejoy, is also needed. These
two “headache” portions of hospital
service need attention. Hopefully
inefficiencies in both can be
corrected.
Stafford urged newsmen not to
judge the Authority too harshly and
to, in effect, give them a “learning”
period. Okay, Sherrill, but we’re
watching and keeping notes.
I took a bus ride last Friday to
Albany and back with the Westfield
Hornets football team. It was quite an
experience. On the 75 mile ride to the
Deerfield Knights stadium, there was
almost total, complete silence,
broken only by Coaches Marvin
Arrington and Percy Hardy
discussing ways of controlling the
crucial contest with Deerfield. Oh,
yes, also breaking the silence every
now and then was snores... from
Hornet running back Matt Mellette,
Impossible Dream
If everyone were practical all of the
time, many great things that have
been done would never have been
tried. Would Charles Lindbergh even
have attempted his solo trip across
the Atlantic in The Spirit of St. Louis
if he hadn’t believed in something
that the average person at the time
would have said was impossible? But
Lindbergh landed in Paris, and the
world was never the same again.
Americans, inspired by that historic
flight, were asked just 14 years later
to man the greatest air armada the
world had ever seen, the U.S. Air
who slept most of the way... on the bus
floor. (Deerfield must have wished he
had stayed asleep.)
The raucous ride back to Perry was
completely different, since the
Hornets had won a convincing 26-11
victory. It began as the bus pulled out
of the parking lot, as unmelodic
chants of “We’re number one” rose
from the rear of the bus. If Westfield
had lost, silence would have been the
order on the way back.
The Hornets aged busdriver,
“Ralph”, who sports a ten sizes too
small visored cap, soon became the
object of catcalls, as he laboriously
tried to shift gears. A horrible grin
ding sound ignited calls of “Go,
Ralph, Go”. The old but wise Ralph
soon got things going his way and the
bus crept back toward Perry.
About ten miles south of Cordele,
coming up Highway 257, the Blue Bird
bus came across a battered gray
pickup. The obviously inebriated
pickup driver started weaving from
side to side of the road, several times
going several feet off the pavement.
Then, came the approaching
headlights of ten autos.
Head Coach Arrington shuddered,
calling, “I can’t stand it. I ain’t
looking!” Arrington’s fears were
almost proved correct as the pickup
missed oncoming cars by no more
than seven or eight inches.
From the rear of the bus came,
“Ralph, I’ll bet you can’t make it
around him.” From the center came
a retort, “I’ll bet he doesn’t try.’’The
second oddsmaker won, as wise old
Ralph hung back till the weaving
truck turned off. A few minutes later,
about 12:30 A.M. the bus pulled into
the fenced Westfield School parking
lot, to be met by about thirty cars.
By the way, Ralph is not the
busdriver’s true name, and is also an
alias. Rumors are that the busdriver
is a refugee from that barren land in
Clarke County known as the Clarke
County Cow College... the University
of Georgia.
Force of World War 11, The “im
possible” age of the atom and space
came next in fast succession, and the
world moves on.
Progress now often seems to be
carried forward by teams of people.
But somewhere at the heart of things,
there is always an individual who can
believe in impossible things, and
then, usually with a lot of hard work,
dedication and skill, make them
happen. It is this kind of individual
who. in the final analysis, still moves
the world forward.
—B.B.
BOBBY
BRANCH 1
out ON A ' “ r
branch ** J
Good Cops
As most readers of this editorial page know, I
have long been a supporter of our local police. I
still am. I always will be unless I am shown some
sound proof that they have not performed their
duties as they should. I have criticized the police
at times but for the most part I have taken their
side in many, many controversies over the past
few years because I felt they were right and the
criticism was unjust and unwarranted. I stand by
that and I always will until I am proven wrong.
I have covered the “police beat” in Perry for
almost 10 years. I have grown to know a lot of
cops, most of whom I respected; some I did not.
The police have always cooperated with me on
stories when they could and I with them, when I
could. I have tried to be fair with the cops and
the people they protect. ...All of us. What I have
said leads up to what I really want to say.
I have known Jim Hooks for a number of years,
even back when he was a trooper with the Georgia
State Patrol before becoming a special agent with
the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He is today a
young cop but he has risen over the past few years
from state trooper to lieutenant on the G. 8.1. Ht
has achieved this because of his dedication to his
job and primarily because he is a darn good cop
that works at his job 24 hours a day with tireless
dedication that is indeed rare in men in their
respective professions these days.
I have covered crime stories in the Perry area
in which I have seen Hooks go without sleep or
rest for 2, 3 or 4 days until he got his job ac
complished. The thing that stands out most about
Lt. Jim Hooks is his relentless attitude towards
sticking completely “to the book” and to the
in a case he is investigating. Jim Hooks is a good
cop and that means a lot —He may even be a
“Super Cop”.
About two years ago, the police committee of
the Perry City Council decided it was time the'city
needed a detective on the police force. They went
straight to the department here and choose, a
uniform officer who had shown his dedication and
skills as a policeman for the milestone job in
Perry. They picked Eddie Findley. They could not
have made a better choice.
Detective Eddie Findley has developed into an
outstanding investigative officer and a cop who
continues to grow in his job to become more and
more of an asset to the Perry Police Dept. Fin
dley, like Lt. Hooks, has a keen sense of duty to his#
profession and the right attitude towards the law
of the land. He does his job thoroughly but he does
it within the limitations of the law. Findley goes
for convictions with his arrests and not
arrests. I look for Detective Eddie Findley to go a
long way in the law enforcement profession, and
he should...he, also, is one of a rare breed of men
we need more of in this country with the rising
crime rate and complete dis-respect for the laws
of this land.
By the way, if any of you young men reading
this column think you might want to be a cop, then
set your goals on that but first think about this:
The pay is lousy, the hours are long and hard, the
criticism is constant, the pressure is intense—all
that plus the fact you could be shot down in cold
blood at anytime you are performing your job.
Dedication? Yes. That’s what it takes, and thank
God we have men like Lt. Jim Hooks and
Detective Eddie Findley, along with many other
cops, who are willing to pay the price and take the
chance so that we can function in a relatively safe
and secure society in Perry and elsewhere.
A Cat Dies
$
A piercing scream from the street broke the late
Sunday afternoon silence and brought me
springing from the sofa in the den out the back
door to investigate. The first thing I saw was our
middle son standing in the street crying and then I
spotted our Siamese cat wrothing in pain. She had
been hit by a car. In the next two minutes, she died
there in the street.
All the children had gathered by this time and
the tears were flowing freely. Becky, trying to be
strong in the face of the sad event, finally broke
down herself and I headed to the vacant lot ad
jacent to our house to dig a grave. Once the burial
had taken place, the children erected a grave
marker and the sadness in their faces grew
deeper and deeper.
Every pet we have ever had has either been
stolen or felled by a motorist. But this was the first
time any of the children had been actual witnesses
to such an event and it was a trying moment on
them as they had to battle their emotions to face
up to a very stark reality...death.
Sunday night supper was quiet without the usual
conversation about some events of the day or
which program on television would be the best tW
watch.
But things perked up Tuesday when another cat
was brought home and it eased considerably the
deep hurt among all the boys over the loss Sunday.
I guess I will roll around in my mind a long time a
couple of things said by one of the boys right after
the cat was killed Sunday and another observation
made when the new cat arrived “Why did it
have to happen to our cat?” he asked...and...“lt’s
too bad you can’t get another person to replace
somebody that gets killed like we did a cat.”