Newspaper Page Text
Two Towns Named Gadsden
(Reprint from VFW
magazine.)
Future maps of Viet
Nam will show, sand
wiched among the Bien
Hoas, Tan Dongs, Duc
Hoas and innumerable,
other oriental place
names, a stranger
dubbed “Gadsden.” This
village with the Ameri
can-sounding name is
in many ways unusual.
Spawned by the happy
confluence of almost
every emotion peculiar
to man, Gadsden, Viet
Nam, may have drawn
more printer’s ink in the
past year than any place
of comparable size on
earth.
The idea, or more aptly
the dream, of building a
village for Vietnamese
war refugees was first
unveiled to the public
on the evening of May 1,
1966 at the City Audito
rium in Gadsden, Ala.
The auditorium was
packed for the V.F.W.’s
annual Loyalty Day pro
gram. Fulton Lewis, Jr
was the principal speak
er and delivered an in
spiring address, but
those who were in at
tendance will remember
that a young man,
reared and educated by
the V.F.W. National
Home, stole the show;
and a minister, just
back from Viet Nam,
spoke of the hope that
a village could be built
in that ravished land to
provide shelter for a few
of the homeless.
In this atmosphere of
patriotism the idea was
embraced at once by
those present. The
mayor accepted respon
sibility for receiving do
nations and coordinat
ing the project with the
23rd Artillery Group,
Gadsden’s adopted out
fit in Viet Nam. The
Gadsden Times gave the
project considerable
publicity in the begin
ning and kept plugging
Hyden On Dean’s List
Bill Hyden has been
named to the Dean’s List of
Emory College of Emory
University.
The Dean’s List was in
augurated during the 1959-
60 school year to recognize
students of outstanding
Il I
■ ■ » — -
o.l' irsferJKi
“Gold Medallion apartments
give Valley Park tenants
what they want...
quality, comfort, convenience.”
Jim Bible, Augusta
Builder, Realtor, Developer
“No single feature contributes as much to the
quality of my apartments as electric heating
and cooling,” reports Mr. Bible. “This applies
to my own apartment, as well as to the others
I build.”
His wife, a talented interior decorator, shares
his enthusiasm for total-electric living. She
explains, “I can use lighter colors and save my
clients money on redec orating.”
Mr. Bible continues, “With Gold Medallion
apartments we can give people all the electric
advantages: heating, cooling, cooking, lighting
and water heating. Quick rental has proved
that tenants appreciate the superiority of the
total-electric concept.
“In this section of Georgia, people look for
the Gold Medallion. If they don’t see it, they
ask for it.”
The Gold Medallion: symbol of practicality
and prestige. You’ll find it on the handsome
dwellings built by Jim Bible.
GEORGIA POWER COMPANY
* Alabama's City's Namesake in Viet Nam#
away when donations
lagged.
Even before the first
houses were completed
in Gadsden, Viet Nam,
news media in many
states picked up the
story. One of the most'
unusual things about
this refugee village is,
in this age of varying
opinion, all publicity
has been affirmative.
So much so, in fact, that
individuals often ask
just how the idea was
conceived and why it
prospered.
Who can know the
true source of an idea?
What inspires individ
uals to pool their re
sources to achieve an
uncommon goal? Per
haps a great speaker
speaks, a companionable
thought appears; but
before a spark can
ignite, the tinder must
be placed with care. The
people of Gadsden were
in the mood for an ex
traordinary undertaking
when the refugee village
idea was presented to
them.
Near the peak of re
bound from several bad
years economically after
World War 11, outstand
ing civic, educational
and political leadership
has inspired the people
of Gadsden to a new
high in personal, civic
and national pride.
This pride in and loy
alty to America moved
the city of Gadsden,
when draft card burn
ing and demonstrations
for peace were rampant
in many areas of the
country, to adopt an
outfit serving in Viet
Nam. When the adopted
sons of the 23rd Artil
lery Group were asked
what could be done for
them their answer was
loud and clear: “Give us
anything that will help
relieve the misery of the
South Vietnamese war
refugees.”
scholastic achievement.
Among requirements for
honor list is a B-plus aca
demic average.
The student is the son of
Dr. and Mrs. W. U. Hyden,
11 Simmons Street, Trion.
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GADSDEN, VIET NAM
The tile and concrete homes of Gadsden, Viet Nam,
look like some American suburb from the air. More
than 100 homes will be built. The large building in
center foreground is a dispensary. Behind it, a
school and playground are planned.
First it was food and
clothing gathered in
Gadsden and distributed
in Viet Nam by the 23rd.
The success and cooper
ation experienced in this
venture paved the way
for efforts to build
homes for as many fam
ilies as possible.
Since the number of
lives that may be
brightened by this one
attack on human suf
fering is so small, when
compared to the astro
nomical area of need,
one individual from a
city which considered
sponsoring a like project
suggested that this
unique venture in hu
maneness can reach
about as far towards re
lieving suffering in Viet
Nam as removing one
cup of water will accom
plish in an effort tp
empty the seven seas.
It is very doubtful,
however, that any vet
eran who has served in
a war zone will accept
this attitude. In fact,
there is nothing that
gets to the American GI
quite so quickly as being
forced to ignore the
cold, hungry and home-
a-' '
HbilwwS s ' -i J™
e SI
The heavy afternoon rains of last Friday
afternoon caused this and considerable
more damage to Roy Fleming’s Standard
Station south of Trion. During a heavy
downfall a trailer loaded with carpets had
to hit his brakes quickly to avoid hitting
a car about 2:30 p.m. Losing control in
front of the station, he ran over the curb,
crashed the station and a Corvair con
vertible owned by Terry Hall, pictured.
Joe Hall, Terry’s younger brother, was
seated in the small car as Terry was fill-
Farrar Is Jamboree
Host Corps Member
Two outstanding Eagle
Scouts, Robert N. Farrar, of
Summerville, and Eric C.
Barton, of Cartersville, will
represent the North-West
Georgia Council, Boy Scouts
of America, at the 12th
World Jamboree which will
be held at Farragut State
Park in Idaho, August 1-9,
to celebrate the 60th anni
versary of Lord Baden-
Powell’s experimental Boy
Scout Camp on Brownsea
Island, off the coast of Eng
land.
Farrar and Barton will
join a large delegation from
Region VI, Boy Scouts of
America, comprising North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia and Florida. More
than 10,000 men and Scouts
from more than 100 coun
tries are expected to attend
the international encamp
ment.
The local delegates will
travel to Chicago by plane
and then will board a spe-
less victims of war.
Members of the 23rd
Artillery Group know
full well that their ef
forts can do no more
than produce one thin
ray of light on a vast
sea of darkness, but they
are justly proud of their
contribution to Gads
den, Viet Nam.
Theirs was and is the
extra duty: locating a
site, acquiring the nec
essary machinery,
teaching untrained
hands to use strange
tools. They serve as
diplo mats, supervisors
and administrators with
equal zeal and acumen.
Having requested an op
portunity to brighten
just one small corner,
do what they could
where they were, their
determined drive to ac
complish this herculean
task has never faltered.
Even after being re
assigned stateside, Gls
who helped build Gads
den, Viet Nam remain
very much a part of the
fraternity. Each believes
that the people of South
Viet Nam must be con
vinced by visible deeds
that America is inter-
ing it with gas. Joe was not hurt but the
car, knocked some 30 to 40 feet backwards,
was heavily damaged. A Standard Oil Co.
gas truck close by filling the station tanks
was narrowly missed as damage to the
front of the station and pumps will reach
an estimated $5,000. The big truck, owned
by Vickery & Co., of Dallas, Tex., driven
by Joe E. Brunson, of Houston, Tex., was
not badly damaged and the driver, unhurt,
left soon after the accident heading south
for Texas.
cial train for Yellowstone
National Park after touring
the "windy city.” They will
arrive at the Jamboree site
about July 30 and will return
to Atlanta August 12.
Farrar will be a member
of the host corps, having
passed the qualification to
speak fluently a foreign lan
guage. He is a student at
Chattooga High School and
is the son of Mr. and Mrs.
Archibald Farrar, Sr. He is
an officer in Troop 7, spon
sored' by the Geneva Mills,
Inc., Summerville Division,
and he attended the Phil
mont Scout Ranch in New
Mexico last year.
Barton is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. Richard Barton, of
Cartersville. He attends Car
tersville High School and is
a member of the Camp Sid
ney Dew staff this summer.
He is an officer in Troop 18,
sponsored by the Cartersville
Lions Club and is a grad
uate of two junior leader
ested in their welfare as
well as the strategic
geographical po s 111 on
they inhabit before the
conflict can be con
cluded in favor of the
free world.
From a firsthand point
of vantage, members of
the 23rd have come to
feel very strongly that
people to people aid is
the most effective
weapon America can
mount against the Com
munists.
Gadsden, Viet Nam is
still under construction
With homes built almost
entirely of tile and con
crete, it is new and clean
in decided contrast to
nearby villages. By the
end of 1966 some 65
dwellings and a dispen
sary had been completed
and occupied. Before its
first anniversary, May 1,
1967, 100 or more homes
were expected to be fin
ished with more dwell
ngs and at least one
school under construc
tion. But the list of re
quests for quarters con
tinues to grow much
faster than living units
can be provided.
Actual construction
including making tile
for the walls, is per
formed by the refugees
themselves. Total cost of
material to erect a two
room unit is about S7O.
Tentative plans call for
building, as funds be
come available, units to
house and public build
ings to accommodate as
many families as can
find employment in the
area.
Gadsden, Viet Nam is
definitely not being
built as a staging area
for long term recipients
of charity, but rather as
the extended arm of
American tradition at
its best, saying to a
neighbor who has lost
all that we will help put
a roof over your head
and you can take It
from there.
Dog Walks Home
...842 Miles
A German Shepherd dog
has walked from Cleveland,
Tenn., back to his original
home in Scranton, Pa. And
that is a long 842 miles I
A Cleveland man said he
got the dog from his son in
Scranton about the first of
April and brought the dog
to Tennessee. The German
Shepherd left around the
the first of May.
The Cleveland man got a
call last week from a neigh
bor of his son in Pennsyl
vania, saying that "Sandy”
was asleep on their front
porch. The neighbor recog
nized the dog as the one
their next door neighbor had
given his father.
That’s a dog-gone long
trip tor a dog.
training courses while he
was a member of the South
Florida Council at Miami.
Both delegates are paying
their own expenses to the
international encampment.
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. Savings
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