Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by the Oconee Historical Society.
About The Oconee enterprise. (Watkinsville, Oconee County, Ga.) 1887-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 2022)
FEBRUARY 24, 2022 THE OCONEE ENTERPRISE A3 Commissioner reflects on lifetime of family farming MAKING SENSE OF INVESTING Mark Thomas shares an old family photo. From left, the late Howard Thomas, Mark Thomas and Andrew Thomas. [Submitted photo] by Morgan Phillips “It’s eight generations that’s been on this farm,” said Mark Thomas, a member of the Oconee Board of Commissioners and local farmer. Thomas was bom in 1960 into the cotton-farming lifestyle. The Thomas family farmed cotton until 1972, and Thomas would help his grandfather, JA. “Jimmy” Thomas, with unclog ging the cotton gin and unloading the cotton wagons. “When he was running the cotton gin, I would come down as a kid and just watch what was going on,” Thomas said. “I remember this one time, my grandfather had some cot ton stopped up in one of the cotton gin pipes ... and so I went through this little trap door and unstopped the pipe while the gin was running.” When Thomas’ father started growing peaches in 1956, he helped with those too. “As a young child, I was very involved in the peach orchard. I’d pick the peaches and spray them and prune them and fertilize them,” Thomas said. “At one of the roadside stands in Watkinsville ... I was sell ing peaches by myself at 8 years old.” As Thomas got older, things on the farm got tougher. “It was just really difficult times, and so my dad said, ‘I want to make a deal with you that ... I’ll pay for your college if you will work on the farm for free,”’ Thomas recalled. So, Thomas and his brother, Mitch, Ooqkee CbBW-r set off for college at the University of Georgia. For spending money, the brothers cut and sold firewood and sold barbeque on the weekends. “We had a pig farm at that time,” Thomas said, “so we would kill our own pigs and dress and clean them, and then we would sell the cooked meat.” Because Thomas and his brother did so well selling the barbeque, Thomas’ father, Howard Thomas, started Hot Thomas BBQ in 1984. But Thomas always knew he want ed to return to the family farm after college. “My goal was to come back to the farm, but at the end of my college time, my dad said that because times were so difficult, there wasn’t any income on the farm for all of us to be here,” Thomas said. So Thomas went to work for an EMC and stayed for five years. Thomas came back to start a con struction business and to start work ing on the farm again. The farm kept pulling Thomas back. “A lot of people always tell you that if you’ve never been on a farm and smelled the dirt being turned [and] the hay being processed ... it’s just a scent you can’t get anywhere else,” Thomas said. “For me, it’s a big gratification in being able to plant crops and watch them grow and see your livestock grow.” Once Howard Thomas passed away, Thomas and his wife took over the farm in 2011 and switched to rais ing cattle, growing ornamental trees and planting a dove field with wheat and sunflowers. In 2012, the seed warehouse next to the cotton gin was turned into an event venue. The idea came when Thomas’ cousin wanted to get mar ried in it. “At the time, it was just a ware house full of junk ... so we cleaned the thing up,” Thomas said. “After the wedding, we decided since we had all this nice stuff in here, we’ll go ahead and start using it.” The cotton gin remains untouched with the original equipment inside, except for the addition of two dressing rooms. Even now, Thomas spends 20 to 30 hours a week working on the farm, and it’s lessons he learned from his father and grandfather that help him do it. “They taught me that you have to be a visionary thinker because you’ve got to be able to see in advance what might happen with a crop,” Thomas said. “Another life lesson was just to learn from your mistakes.” Thomas will be 62 years old next month, and keeping the farm in the family continues to be a concern. “I’m getting to that point where we’re trying to figure out how to continue on,” Thomas said. “I would like to see this farm contin ue to be part of our family.” Thomas said the farm has made a lasting impact on him. “It brought me closer to nature and the appreciation of what God’s created,” Thomas said. “It’s also taught me to understand that things are never going to be the way you think they are, that you’re going to have to go through some trials and you’re going to have to figure out how to ... survive through the good and bad times.” Stocks Mutual funds Bonds Government securities CDs Money market funds IRAs Tax Advantage Bonds ...and much more. Call or stop by today! Serving the Oconee and Athens area for more than 22 years! Financial Advisors • Watkinsville Wesley Scott 706-769-1156 ■U Maury Adcock Kfea 706-310-9057 www.edwardJones.com Member SIPC Edward Jones MAKING SENSE OF INVESTING From aardvarks to zircons, sell your stuff in OJlir ODantrr iEntrqjnar Athens Under the Lights TeenPact teaches students faith and civics Last Friday, a handful of kids from Oconee County got in the car at 8 a.m. and traveled to Atlanta. This was because TeenPact was in session at the Capitol. TeenPact is a leadership course for ages 8 to 12 in which kids learn about government, pub lic speaking and how to be a leader. But this is not the kind of event you just show up for. There is a strict dress code and homework you need to finish before you go. The homework consists of a campaign fact worksheet, another Molly Ann McLean Young Scholar about one of the three branches of government and you have to write your own bill. Some are silly and some are serious, but both have a chance at being debated in the TeenPact mock legislature. In the mock legislature, students get a chance to debate and speak on their bills, while other students can ask questions and make amendments to a bill. There is a lot more to TeenPact than just the homework. First thing you do when you get there is worship and study your Bible. You get to do a prayer walk inside the Capitol, stopping at places like the Governor's Office and outside of legislative offices. You also learn about how a campaign is run and participate in small groups. Finally, you have lunch at the Capitol cafeteria. Most kids get really excited for TeenPact because it's really fun, and it is also a Friday you don't have to be in the classroom. If you haven’t been to TeenPact, you should go. Now for the animal joke of the week. Why do fish live in saltwa ter? Because pepper makes them sneeze. Molly Ann McLean is a sixth grade homeschool student in Oconee County. Opinions expressed are those of the writer. Flag Football Georgia's Premiere Flag Football League for athletes in Pre-K through 8 th grade, with the emphasis on promoting a competitive, confidence building, non-contact experience for both boys and girls of all skill levels. For more information visit us at www.uaflag.com. AlMiLs THE Floral Fun CONTINUED FROM PAGE At But this isn’t a solitary or silent activity. Snippets of conversa tions go on between the ladies, and it hangs in the air like nostal gic cologne. “My grandfather used to grow flowers,” Linda Greene said to the group. Jo Ann Dow was one of the first to finish her bouquet. She smiled like a child at the finished product. The Floral Fun Class is making its comeback after two-and-half years of COVID-19, which left many unable to attend the class. Anderson said the class had recently lost one member and another had moved into an assist ed living facility. The ladies that remained were simply grateful to be there. They remained fearless. They are emerging back into a world where a virus hit their gen eration the hardest. “For the two and half years [of COVID-19], that’s the thing they missed most—interacting and being with one another while making the flowers,” Anderson said. The Senior Center has been doing the Floral Fun Class for a few years now, and Anderson said the Meals on Wheels recipi ents cherish the bouquets. “Every driver will tell you that the [recipients] love getting the food, but they look forward to our flowers,” Anderson said. In honor of Valentine’s Day and National Kindness Day, each participant was given a bouquet of roses to take home with them. The others bouquets were left on a cart to be delivered to the Meals on Wheels recipients the next day. Anderson said that when there are excess flowers, she takes them to a nursing home or gives them to some of the drivers who deliver the meals. “It’s a circle of giving,” Anderson said. Linda Greene cradles a yellow flower while making a bouquet. [Photo by Morgan Phillips] Oconee County Senior Center • 9 • • • Invites You to Support • MARCH • "The 20 th Annual March For Meals" * • F O R • • Fundraising Campaign • MEALS • Your donation of $25 provides lunch for 1 person for 1 week which improves the • • • • WITH MEAL5#WHEELSt« health and quality of life of an older adult in our community. DRIVE THRU $5 HOT DOG PLATE Please help us reach our goal of LUNCH $5,000 in 30 days. 706-769-3979 Please call to reserve All generous donations can be mailed to: your plate for: Oconee County Senior Center 3500B Hog Mountain Road Watkinsville, GA 30677 MARCH 25, 2022 11:30AM-1PM or call 706-769-3979 to pay by card. DRINKS & DESSERTS $1 Jo Ann Dow, left, has finished her bouquet while Pat Anderson, right, helps her put it into a festive plastic bag. 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