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MONROE COUNTY
Community
Calendar
Calendar items run free
of charge as a community
service each week as space
allows. Mail items for the
Community Calendar to
Diane Glidewell at news@
mymcr.net by 8 a.m. on
Monday.
May 5
Friends of the Barnes-
ville-Lamar County
Library Meet the Au
thors' event
On Sunday, May 7 from 2 to
5 p.m. Friends of the Barnes-
ville-Lamar County will host a
“Meet the Authors" event in
the library conference room
at 401 Thomaston St. There
are five authors on the agen
da: Paul Sinor, Demont Pope,
Emily Meadows, Crista Selsor
Stubbs & Scott Selsor, and
Krista Plarper & Kristie Watts,
There will be light finger
foods. All are welcome,
Forsyth Farmers
Market opens for the
season
Forsyth Farmers Market will
open at a new location, 94
E. Adams Street (Old Mill
Market) on Friday, May
5. It will be open every
Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
through October. Vendor
registration is available at
City Hall, 23 E. Main Street
or online at www.mainstreet.
cityofforsyth.net.
May 5 & 6
Save A Pet Shelter
Yard Sale
Save A Pet Shelter, 430
Maynard Church Road,
Forsyth will have a yard
sale on Friday, May 5,
rain or shine, from 9 a.m.-2
p.m. and Saturday, May 6
from 9 a.m. until ? There
will be furniture, household
items and more. For more
information, contact Pat C.
At 478-994-5223.
May 6
Concert on the Square
Forsyth Main Street will
present the first concert in
the 2023 Summer Con
cert Series on Saturday,
May 6 at 7:30 p.m. Start
the summer with Atlanta's
Kasper & The 911 Band on
the Square. Bring a chair,
family & friends. Only tables
rented from Main Street
will be allowed at the free
concert.
May 8
Mary Persons Chorus
Concert
Mary Persons Chorus will
present a Farewell Concert
See CALENDAR Page 2B
The Arnolds: Good neighbors in Bolingbroke
Betty and Don Arnold stand at their Bolingbroke home of 38 years with the 1st
place trophy for the best float in the first Bolingbroke Christmas parade.
By Sloan Oliver
A merica is the accumu
lated experiences of the
millions of immigrants
who uprooted
themselves, sailed across
the ocean, settled down,
and by hard work and
sheer determination built
a livelihood that was
passed down to posterity.
That’s the story of
millions of American
families. Each story
is different, each is
unique but collec
tively they tell the
story of the United States. Boling-
broke’s Don and Betty Arnold are
two of those millions who have
built a successful livelihood and
have passed it down to their family.
Fortunately for us, they are still
adding to their story.
When I walked into the Arnolds
home, Betty had various news
paper clippings (many from the
Reporter), photos, and memora
bilia of their 38 years living in the
Patestone subdivision off of Pate
Road. Prominently displayed was
the 1st Place trophy for the win
ning float they (and neighbors)
entered in the first Bolingbroke
Christmas Parade, sponsored by
the Bolingbroke Community Club
(BCC), back in 1988. Their float
was a tractor-pulled, flatbed trailer
with a group of Dickens Christmas
carolers belting out songs. Being
the last family still in the subdivi
sion from that parade, the trophy
is theirs.
A bookkeeper by trade and a
self-taught painter by hobby, when
I asked about family history, Betty
showed me one of her paintings
that explained her north Georgia
roots. It was a 4-foot linear paint
ing (painted on a 2-man handsaw)
of the 50-acre farm where she was
raised near Acworth. From memo
ry, she painted the small, Civil War
era farmhouse, wash hanging out-
side.Further on is the barn where
animals were kept and where her
daddy’s 1939 Allis-Chalmers trac
tor was housed. (That AC tractor
now sits behind their house. Sorry
collectors, it doesn’t run.)
The nearby forest and mountains
are in the background. Betty went
on to tell about the promi
nence of the Galloway family
(her maiden name) in that
part of the state. Frazier Gal
loway, a distant ancestor, was
the first white man
in Fannin County,
selling goods to
the Indians. I loved
hearing Betty’s sto
ries, but what about
Don?
With that question,
Betty showed
me another one
of her paintings
- a painting of
a small, rural
north Georgia grocery store
called Arnold’s Groceries,
located on US Hwy-41. (The
same Hwy-41 that runs
through Bolingbroke.)
Don’s grandfather owned the
store. In the early ‘60s, Betty
worked there. Turns out, Don and
Betty grew up four miles apart but
never knew each other. After high
school, Don joined the Navy and
would return to Georgia on leave.
One time, while in uniform, Don
walked into the store while Betty
was working, and that was it. She
took one look at this strapping,
young sailor and her life was never
the same.
Don spent four years in the Navy
(1962-66). He attended boot camp
at Great Fakes Naval Base in Illi
nois. As Don tells it, he got on the
plane in Atlanta; temperature was
70°, got off in Chicago at minus
20°. Brrrrrrr!!
After boot, he spent the re
mainder of his service on the
USS Hornet, a WWII-era aircraft
carrier. He courted Betty while in
the Navy. When he was discharged,
Betty told him that she wouldn’t
marry him unless he had a job. (If
only more women would make
the same demand today.) Betty’s
demand, that he get a job, led
Don to his 50-year career in water
treatment.
It was Don’s career that eventually
brought the Arnolds to Monroe
County. He first started water
treatment in Cobb County. After
15 years, he took a job in Dublin
as manager of the water treatment
facilities. Then he was hired by the
Macon Water Authority, where he
spent 18 years and earned a Class-1
water treatment certification.
Don was there during the floods
of 1994; so he saw the worst (1994)
and best of times, particularly so
after they built the new reservoir
and the state-of-art Frank C. Am-
erson, Jr. Water Treatment Facility.
His final water treatment job was
working for Monroe County -
installing meters, testing water,
extending lines, etc. a positon he
was well qualified for, especially
since southern Monroe County
gets its water from the Macon
Water Authority.
As for her painting, Betty and
Don talked about her self-taught
journey. Don would see her sitting
there doodling and then watch as
she threw her drawings away. He
pulled them from the trash and
encouraged her to start painting.
She learned to paint by reading
books, looking at pictures, talking
to artists asking them to describe
their techniques, and a lot of time
painting.
Betty learned very well, good
enough to receive numerous
awards and ribbons. Her specialty
is oil painting of leaves and flowers
- poinsettias, irises, dogwoods, etc.
Betty has won a number of blue
ribbons at the Georgia National
Fair and was named the Reporter’s
Artist of the Year in 2018.
The Arnolds are two of the origi
nal members of the BCC. They tell
of how the club started. In 1987,
Will Gibson, father of Billy Gibson
(of Glass Technologies), put flyers
around town for a community
meeting. The first meeting was
held at the fire station.
Over the years, the BCC met at
several different locations. Now it
meets at Mt. Zion Baptist Church,
the Arnold’s church. For several
years the club organized both a July
4th celebration and the Christmas
Parade. Betty, being a bookkeep
er, was volun-told that she was
voted/appointed to be Treasurer, a
position she held until early 2022,
35 years.
Today the Arnolds are retired
but very active. Betty still paints
and entered several paintings in
the fair as recently as 2021. About
10 years ago, their story came
full circle. While stationed on the
Hornet, Don wrote many letters to
Betty (She still has most of them.)
describing life on the ship, the close
quarters, work conditions, etc.
Since the 1990’s, the Hornet has
been a floating museum, docked in
San Francisco. Enroute to Hawaii,
they stopped off in California and
toured the ship.
Finally, after 45 years of hearing
all those old sailor stories, Betty
was able to walk the ship with that
young (now older) strapping sailor,
whom she fell in love with, as he
relived an earlier chapter in his life.
Sloan Oliver of Bolingbroke is a
retired Army officer. Email him at
sloanoliver@earthlink.
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• We sell BROILMASTER & BLAZE GRILLS
(Limited life long warranty on both grills)
• Gas Heaters & Gas Logs
Gas Cylinders Refilled at
Country Oaks in Bolingbroke
Competitive Pricing 4
24-HOUR
EMERGENCY
SERVICE
LOCATED IN DOWNTOWN BOLINGBROKE
8323 Rivoli Road • Juliette, GA 31046
Forsyth: 478-992-8326 • Macon: 478-474-9773
Office Hours: Monday - Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Donny McKinney, Owner - dmckinney@dmkpg.com
VOTED BEST PROPANE 2021 BY READERS OF THE MONROE COUNTY REPORTER
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HUNT
DEVELOPMENT
INC.
‘WE WANT TO HELP YOU
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Residential / Light Commercial
Locally Owned and Operated
Est. 2003
Specializing in
Customer Satisfaction
Qualifying Agent HLQA003330
License IRLC0003308
P.0. Box 525
Bolingbroke, GA 31004
(478) 256-5568
SHOP LOCAL
To advertise
your business,
call or text
DONNA
WILSON
at
478-993-5085,
or e-mail
her at
ads@mymcr.net.
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COLLISION CENTER, INC.
“By Accident We Meet”
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• CERTIFIED COLLISION REPAIR
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• SUSPENSION / BRAKES /TIRES
Hwy. 41 • Bolingbroke, GA
Fax: 478-992-8411 • tommycampbell@bellsouth.net
Hours: Monday-Friday: 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
8499 Rivoli Road • Juliette GA 31046
FREE ESTIMATES
www.glasstechmacon.com
478-993-2101 - Office
478-338-4003 - Nick
478-832-9507 - Keith
Call or Come See Us For...
• Custom Glass Shower Enclosures • Sunrooms
• Residential Glass Replacements • Mirrors
• In House Glass Cutting (tabletops, frames, shelves)