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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1990
Page Off Opinion
A Well Deserved Honor
Thursday has been proclaimed
as David A. Perdue Day by Perry
Mayor Barbara Calhoun to honor
Houston County’s retiring School
Superintendent David Perdue.
This is a well deserved honor for
the man who has led our school
system for the past 20 years and the
Home Journal is proud to add a
word of praise for this great
Houston Countian as he nears
retirement.
Perdue was elected to the high
office of Superintendent in 1960 and
assumed the position in January,
1961 after having served as a
teacher and principal in Houston
County for some ten years.
Prior to becoming an educator,
Perdue served his country as an
officer in our armed forces.
As a teacher and principal,
Perdue was an Inspiration to many
of his young students. He was the
kind of leader that his students
could and did seek for personal
advice and guidance as well as
learning text book facts.
He was firm and fair to all and
almost every student admired him.
When he sought elected office, it
was only natural that his former
students supported and voted for
Let’s Unite Behind Our Officials
The Perry City election is over
and our citizens have spoken.
We have elected a man to serve
on our City Council for the next two
years.
The winner in Tuesday’s election
may or may not have been your
candidate, but as the old saying
goes, he is our Councilman, now!
The people of Perry were lucky
to have three good men seeking to
serve our community. Each of
them had their special talents and
Tis the season to be jolly!
Thanksgiving has come and gone.
Can Christmas be far?
All one has to do is ride through
Perry or any of the neighboring
towns and you know it won’t be long
before the jolly ole man from the
North Pole will be making his
annual journey to Middle Georgia.
My family and I, along with
thousands of other Perryans, are
beginning to get the Christmas
spirit and are looking forward to
the big events of Christmas at the
Crossroads.
We moved to Perry last week and
still have many boxes left to un
pack, but Mary and the kids are
going around humming Christmas
tunes and mentally placing the tree
and other holiday ornaments in our
new home.
You hear a lot of folks wishing for
the Christmas spirit of years past,
and I guess I’m guilty of that same
thing, but really, I think I enjoy
Christmas more now than I did as a
child.
Its true a lot of faces of loved
ones are missing from around the
tree each year and occasionally a
lump will form in my throat at a
memory from years past, but I
wouldn’t trade this upcoming
Christmas for any that I’ve ever
had.
For those loved ones that are
missing from today’s celebration,
pays pays
now snmsK .~”■•■ -' - | lator
him and continued to elect him
everytlme he came up for re
election.
As Superintendent, he guided
Houston County’s schools through
its greatest growth period and
gained a national reputation as one
of this country’s greatest educators
and superintendents.
Perdue’s roots are in Houston-
County and his love for this county
and its people showed in his at
tention to and his development of a
really outstanding county wide
educational system.
After more than 42 years of
service to public education, 20 of
these as superintendent of our
school system, David A. Perdue,
did not seek re-election and will
retire at the end of this year.
Perry, Houston County and in
deed, all of Georgia, will miss his
devotion to public education, but all
of us who came in contact with him
and his programs are better
educated because of him.
As Perdue enters his well
deserved retirement next January,
the Home Journal joins with
thousands of other Houston
Countians in saying, “Thanks, Mr.
Perdue, for a job well done!”
skills that they were willing to give
to our City.
Now that the campaign is over,
let us unite behind the victor and
support him as he starts the heavy
tasks ahead. We may not always
agree with him as he votes on the
many issues that will come before
the Council during the next two
years, but instead of viciously
criticizing him, give him your
advice and comments to aid him in
making the difficult decisions
ahead.
there are new ones borned during
the past few years.
Next time you hear someone
long for the “good ole Christmas of
past years’’, ask him would he give
up his children or grandchildren
that he enjoys today for those good
ole days before they were borned.
Most of us are enjoying a higher
standard of living this Christmas
than at any time in the past. In the
“good ole days” as we celebrated
Christmas, we wept for our
fathers, brothers and sons in the
foxholes during World War 11,
Korea, and Viet Nam. We suffered
as we saw a child with polio
struggle to enjoy his few toys Santa
had brought.
We shared baskets of food with
the less fortunate who would have
gone hungry without it because our
government had not developed a
concern for its citizens with the
food stamp and other welfare
programs.
In the “good ole days" we didn’t
have double digit inflation, but
very few people had triple or even
double digit incomes.
Maybe the good ole days were
good, but they are also old and we
didn’t have a lot of the things that
we now take for granted.
I personally would not want to go
back to the good ole days. There’s
too much good about today’s days.
Keep in mind, today is tomorrow’s
“good ole days”!
PAGE 4-A
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“It Goes With The J0b...”
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With Thanksgiving over, it is
time once again to face what is, for
me, the best and worst time of the
year -- the gift-buying season.
It is the best feeling in the world
for me to give someone I care about
something that I know they’ll
absolutely love. And then, to be
there when they open the package
and to see their delighted reactions
to what they see in the box fills me
with that same delight. It is times
like that when I feel like, not only is
it better to give than to receive, but
it’s more fun, too.
Unfortunately for me at least, I
don’t often get delighted reactions
when people open gifts I give.
Instead of squeals and cries of glee,
I usually hear a long pause and
then, Oh-uh-thanks.”
Shopping for Christmas gifts is a
painful experience for me. I
wander aimlessly down aisles of
stores, a list of names in my hand,
for hours.
Then I get something to eat and I
watch the store Santa Claus
terrorize the poor children. And
just before the stores close, I run in
ON SECOND THOUGHT, DADDY t THINK
THE ECONOMY 15 THE MOST
ISSUE '
and grab the nearest items and
rush to the checkout counter. After
I get home, I decide who will be the
lucky recipients of the motley
assortment of “gifts” I have just
bought.
I began shopping in this way
after several years of buying
people “what they want but they
just don’t know yet that they want
it.” My mother, as I remember,
always got the worst presents -a
plastic trash can, a french fry
maker, an ornate butter dish, and a
pocket fishing rod (I’m serious).
The only gifts I ever give that
people genuinely like are ones I
have made myself. A few years
ago, I made several gifts, and
everybody was so appreciative -
not only were they impressed by
the time and effort I had spent
making something for them, but I
believe they were genuinely
pleased with the product.
I would make some gifts again
this year, but most of the people on
my gift list are the same every
year, and I only know how to make
one thing. I doubt if anybody’d
want two macrame ashtrays.
<_bq
Thanksgiving has come and gone and I am
reluctant to let go. There is so much to do bet
ween now and the end of the year and I’m not
ever ready. So like the left over turkey and
dressing, I’ll just complete my lists of “thanks”
and take up these days that come as nearly one
at a time as possible.
You know there is a lot of good done in our
community by many organization and each one
has a specific project to support. Right now the
Pilot Club has taken on the enormous job (they
call it Lite-A-Lite) of buying components for a
heart stress test machine for our hospital. Now it
is going to take a bunch of money, SSOOO to be
exact and it must be gathered together this
month. Those ladies who stand out from the
crowd when on occasions they wear their green
aprons do just about everything you can think of
to make money for their projects and generally
do OK. Now here is our chance to help them out
and also buy the equipment for the hospital by
sending a check as a memorial, honorarium, or
contribution to Mrs. Norma Wilson, chairperson
of the project, TODAY. I’m thankful for the Pilot
Club, and all other such clubs in Perry.
Newcomers to Perry may not know about PAL
(Project Agape Love) but here again is a
community effort to aid those in need at
Christmas. Food, personal items, toys, most
anything useful is needed. Some of the things
that fill the basket have to be bought so any
contributions may be mailed to Maxine Marshall
at the Bank of Perry. Maxine serves as treasurer
of the PAL committee. The last word I have is
that Rev. Dan Ariail is heading the committee
and I feel sure he would be encouraged by
anyone who called and offered assistance. He
may be reached at the First Baptist Church. I’m
thankful for people who volunteer for community
projects such as this.
I’m thankful too, that we live in a community
that joins together like last Wednesday night.
The sanctuary of the Perry Presbyterian Church
was filled as people from all churches joined in a
Thanksgiving Service. And we’ll have that op
portunity again Sunday evening for the Can
dlelight Service on the Court House Square; then
again in the spring for Holy Week services and
later in the year for the Praising. These are
things I enjojyseeing the people as much as the
programs, rm thankful for the people who
spearhead these committees.
Now there are some little nitty gritty things
that I must not close out my list of thankfuls
without including -- like hot water which I was
surprised at not having when I stepped in the
shower this morning; Salt, what a difference it
makes in my food; an alarm clock which keeps
me from sleeping all day; pens that can be found
near the telephone; newspapers, I like to read
them from everywhere, and they can be used for
so many things when you’ve finished reading;
trading stamps, they are so collectible; a good
sleeping couch for pre-bedtime naps; warm feet
in the bed with me; for a good pair of bi-focals
that don’t bother me around the ears; and for
folks who say they enjoy this column, regardless
of what I write.
And that’s my list, folks!
The Houston Home Journal
OFFICIAL ORGAN CITY OF PERRY
AND HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, SINCE l«70
1010 CARROLL ST., P.O. DRAWER M, PERRY, GA., JIOOO
R.F. ( BOB) JONES
Editor - Manager
ANGELA MARTIN EMILY MONTGOMERY
News Reporter - Features Classified Ads Circulation
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