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Che Summeruville News
The Official Legal Organ of Chattooga County
WINSTON E. ESPY TOM KIRWAN
PUBLISHER EDITOR
ouAL EQITS
W J
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Address All Mail to: THE SUMMERVILLE NEWS, P. 0. Box 310, Summerville, Ga. 30747
Editorials
Postal Raise Figure
Corrected
In a recent editorial the 3-year pay and
benefits’ increase for postal workers was
incorrectly said to have been 36 percent.
The increase actually was 3.6 percent per
year in base pay, plus two one-time cash
A Day For Grandparents
Parents, move over. Letting grandma
and grandpa have a hand in rocking the
cradle today may prevent headaches
tomorrow.,
Recent studies indicate that grand
parents provide a crucial role in the
healthy emotional development of
children, particularly in a rootless, mobile
society.
The neglected status of grandparents
and the elderly was a major concern for
Michael Goldgar of Atlanta, and Marian
McQuade of Oak Hill, W. Va_, both grand
parents. In 1973 they joined forces in
securing legislative sanction of Grand
parents Day. By 1978 Congress passed a
bill, permitting President Carter to pro
claim the first national Grandparents
Day, to be celebrated the first Sunday
after Labor Day. This year it falls on
Sept. 13.
According to Goldgar, executive
secretary for the National Council for the
Observance of Grandparents Day, the
event is gradually gaining in popularity
in the midst of some controversy.
Dr. Arthur Kornhaber, a child
psychiatrist in Westchester County,
N. Y., welcomes the attention given to
grandparents, even if it's just for one day.
For example, American Greetings Corp.
and Whitman's Chocolates are jointly
sponsoring Grandparents Day store
displays of greeting cards and candy.
“I can understand the misunderstan
ding on the part of the public regarding
Grandparents Day, but it's not a contriv
ed commercial holiday,"" said Kornhaber.
“Grandparents have special privileges in
different cultures, but there's no rite of
passage in America. The holiday forces us
to think about aging.”
Kornhaber, 48, has strong views
regarding the role of grandparents in
society and has authored the book
“Grandparents and Grandchildren: The
Vital Connection.”
His interest in the subject came after
working with emotionally troubled
children who had severe relationship pro
blems with their parents and peers but
not with their grandparents.
What followed was a random follow
up study of 600 grandparents and grand
children. He found that, within the group,
85 percent of the grandchildren had little
or no contact with their grandparents,
The most significant outcome of Kor
nhaber's research revealed that those
children who enjoved close ties with their
grandparents had a deep sense of history
and a commitment to their family roots.
Grandparents, as living ancestors, also
were shown to provide grandchildren
with a greater security and immunity
against conforming to the demands of
modern society.
According to Kornhaber, grand
parents offer an unpressured relationship
and unconditional acceptance, in contrast
to parents. ''Grandparents relate to their
grandchildren in a basic, sensory way.
:The emphasis is on food, emotional ties
and such practical learning skills as
fishing, hunting and gardening.”
Kornhaber regrets that there is such
little regard for grandparents in a modern
world. ““Americans are youth — and
work-oriented and we don’t place an emo
tional priority on our lives. The elderly,
however, are actually emotional guar
dians for the young.”
As he sees it, grandparents fill five im
portant roles as 1) living ancestors and
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family historians; 2) models for grand
children to emulate; 3) nurturers,
especially when children are sick or when
families are experiencing difficulties; 4)
teachers and mentors; and 5) "“wizards"
and fantasy figures.
But what about those golden retire
ment years in Florida that grandparents
envision when the children “leave the
nest?"” This is a myth that doesn’'t wash,
claims Kornhaber. "Grandparents dream
about moving, but they 're afraid to admit
they re often bored, once settled. They're
missing out on so much."”
Kornhaber even goes so far as to cau
tion parents about uprooting their
families as part of corporate transfers.
“They should stay put,”” as he sees it. "' A
few thousand dollars extra is not worth
the emotional price paid.”
For those grandparents concerned
about closer contact with their grand
children, Kornhaber is encouraged that
they now have visitation rights, which
has been upheld in court.
Apparently Kornhaber's views are
catching on, according to officials in the
greeting card industry, which has been
caught in the crossfire of the Grand
parents Day ruckus. Cards have tradi
tionally reflected social trends and peo
ple's values.
“We've found that Grandparents Day
has been well received in areas of the
country where people are aware of the
holiday's origins,” said James Semon,
assistant vice president of marketing at
Cleveland-based American Greetings
Corp.
The most popular cards are those with
verses directed at grandmother and
grandfather as a couple, followed by
those for grandmother herself.
“People hesitate to get too sentimen
tal with grandfathers, particularly since
Grandparents Day is a new holiday," said
Semon. “Traditionally, fewer cards are
sent to men for any holiday or occasion.”
He noted that one of the company's
most popular offerings is a certificate
awarded to grandma ‘‘for years of saying
ves, ves . .. to parents’ no-no's.”
Semon found it significant that
parents were buying cards for both their
own grandparents and their children's
grandparents. He also noted the
emergence of a minor baby boom — which
means a lot more grandparents.
Best of the Press
DIP UP, MEN
If it's true that the next war will be
fought in outer space, it's time we started
putting some good substantial foxholes
in orbit. — Sioux Center News
. - .
LONG ONES
The only steps remaining that
pedestrians may take to protect their
rights are fast ones. — Boston Transcript
- * ’
ONLY THING
The only thing we know of that
doesn’t suffer from being panned is gold.
— Wall Street Journal
. * -
TRUST TO LUST
Most people den't have to be led into
temptation — they can find their own
way. — Cedar Rapids Front Line
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B TOM KIRWANT
% Off The Newsdesk
Letter-Writers Should Express
Reasoned Opinion, Not Venom
We weren't surprised a few years ago
when a survey of subscribers of The News
showed letters to the editor to be a
favorite among our readers.
Folks like to read about what their
neighbors think, what they want to get
off their chest. They provide a public
forum that is unlike any other available:
You could shout from the Courthouse
steps all day long and still only get across
your message to a fraction of the folks
that could read it in the newspaper.
The New York Times prints about 10
percent of its letters. On the other hand,
we print about 90 percent of ours. What
that shows, I'm not sure.
What we're looking for, obviously, is
reasoned opinion, not poison pen letters.
Consequently, letters that are libelous per
se are not printed. We let the writer know
that we're not going to let a letter to the
editor drag us into defamation of
character lawsuit. Sometimes we suggest
changes; sometime we ask for a re-write.
But those cases are relatively few.
There are other reasons for rejecting
letters, too. We once received a letter
from a man in a mental institution. We
sent a copy of the letter to his doctor, who
explained that the fellow was severely
depressed when he wrote it.
But the most common reason for rejec
ting letters is simply that the writer
either doesn’t sign his or her name, or
wants his or her name deleted.
Our policy is that as a general rule, un
signed letters or letters in which the
writer's name is asked to be withheld are
not used. If it's worth saying, it's worth
putting your name on it.
Besides asking that readers sign their
letters, we ask that they include their
= ——-—_—E—Ug
2
25 YEARS AGO
The following are excerpts from the Dec. 1, 1955, issue of The Summerville
News.
* - .
BRRR — The first real cold wave of the season struck the Northwest
Georgia area this week. Cold air from Canada swept down Monday plunging
temperatures all over the state to far below the freezing mark.
Monday night Summerville recorded a 16 and in Rome it was even colder —
14 degrees. The thermometer hovered near the freezing mark all day Tuesday
and dipped to a low 17 again that night. However, the weather moderated
somewhat Wednesday and the weatherman promised slowly rising
temperatures to relieve the cold wave.
* * *
ONE CHANCE IN 200,000, LOCAL RESIDENT WINS AN
AUTOMOBILE — A 79-year-old N. Commerce Street Summerville man,
Austin G. Gaylor, received the surprise of his life last weekend when he was
told he had just won a brand new 1956 automobile. He didn’t even know he
was registered for the drawing from some 200,000 tickets given out by mer
chants of Rome during a trade promotion campaign.
It seems Mr. Gaylor's daughter, Mrs. Clara Belle Williams, had registered
for him and had dropped a single ticket in the box. His surprise was all the
more heightened by the fact he has never, as well as he can recall, won
anything before in his long life . ..
* - .
NATURAL GAS SERVICE TO BEGIN HERE SOON — Customers of
Summerville's section of the natural gas system should be receiving service by
not later than Dec. 15th, an informed source said Wednesday, and a few
possibly before that in some sections. The transmission line is still the main
holdup, although the system in the city is not ready yet .. .
5 -
Ad: Sand Mountain SORGHUM ‘2 Gallon 99¢; Pinto Beans ... 2 lbs. 19¢;
Boneless Ham . . . 79¢ Ib.; Koffee Kup COFFEE Ib. 69¢; and 3-lb. can FLUF
FO Shortening 53¢c. HURLEY'S SUPERETTE Phone 150, Summerville.
phone number and address. We do this so
that if a letter smells fishy, we can easily
check it out.
Letters, like everything else printed in
The News, are edited. If necessary, we
correct spelling and grammar, condense
for clarity and follow other general
editing procedures. I've yet to hear a
letter-writer call “*foul”” to this procedure’
many have expressed thanks for ‘‘clean
ing it up.”
Generally speaking, though, we try to
use a light hand when editing letters to
the editor. While a writer's style and ap
proach might be improved, we recognize
the letter's ““flavor” is important, and we
strive to retain its character.
Letters aren’t difficult to get into the
newspaper. But just as freedom of speech
doesn’t cover yelling “fire’’ in a theater,
freedom of the press also has its limits.
Responsibly exercised, letters to the
editor remain a strong and important
sounding board for everyone in the com
munity to air their opinions on issues that
affect all of us.
Best Of The Press
EVERYTHING OR NOTHING
Notice is a loan-office window: *‘For
the man who has everything and hasn’t
paid for it."” — Lisbon (Maine) Enterprise
* * *
EXPERIENCE
Seaman Sam says — ‘‘lf she looks
young, she's old; if she looks old, she’s
young; if she looks back, follow her.”” —
The U. S. Chester
ERER Ry
Facing South
A Syndicated Column
Voices Of Tradition
In A Changing Region
NEVER MET A STRANGER
HARLAN, Ky. — This is a story about my Aunt
Kotha. In order to appreciate it, it is necessary to under
stand both her family and her background.
I distinctly remember standing in our kitchen at age
12, with a registration form for my new
school in my hand, looking at the blank c
line which followed the words, “‘birth a%
place of mother.” &
“Daddy,” 1 whispered, praying 2 =
that Mom wouldn’'t overhear, ‘“do I % _
really have to put ‘‘Keck’'s Holler” on JEU'(;T‘&L
this?" . flfi!flflfl
“Why, sure,” he grinned as Mom &4 Mg M’}
stomped into the kitchen (she had - 'I"""' iz |
overheard), “It's H-O-L-L-E-R,” he St '
continued.
“Oh, Mom,” I pleaded, ‘“‘can I at least put H-O-L-
L-O-W?”
‘“Honey, just put Whitley County, that’ll do fine.”
Bless her, I thought. She always understands.
Although I never solved the mystery of the correct
spelling of “‘holler,” I often mused over it as I grew older.
It seemed logical that since Mom’s family lived in a space
between two mountains that it should have been
“hollow.”” On the other hand, being as the small farm
houses were miles apart in Keck's Holler, if an emergency
arose and you needed an egg for your cornbread batter,
you would necessarily have to ‘“‘holler”” to get your
neighbor’s attention.
Whatever the spelling was, the stories about Keck's
Holler and about Mom's family have lingered with me for
well over 20 years.
Aunt Kotha was the firstborn of my grandparents’
sometimes stormy but wonderful love affair. She must
have been born in their humble, four-room farmhouse
wearing alligator shoes and reeking of Chanel No. 5. As
the children grew, while Roland, Lucy and Pat were down
by the creek catching craw-dads or fighting over who got
to use the longest fishing pole, Kotha sat by herself under
the apple tree, wondering just how long it was going to
take Sir Lancelot to get to Keck's Holler by horseback.
Aunt Kotha had two main objectives in life: making
Lana Turner look like she had just come in from doing the
wash at the river, and saying just the right thing to make
people feel good. Even her trips with Pa to the county
seat as a small girl foreshadowed her future emphasis on
etiquette and attitude. She would stand politely on the
courthouse steps for hours, greeting completely innocent
passers-by while Pa chatted and spat with the good ole
boys in the courtyard.
As a child, Aunt Kotha rode a horse to school
bareback, but envisioned big city dreams with each
gallop. And, although Ma felt that her freshly-starched
cotton dress, high-topped button boots and her lye
soaped clean face were something to stand tall for, Aunt
Kotha used to sneak in when everyone was asleep to rub
Ma's lard on her face so as not to wrinkle prematurely.
Time passed and the bright city lights of a small
mountain town lured Aunt Kotha from the farm. She
charmed her way into a job as a clerk in a small clothing
store and set about her business of looking pretty and
becoming everybody’s darling.
As the years went by, Aunt Kotha's kindness to peo
ple was unanimously acknowledged. Never did a lady
want for a new Easter bonnet due to a lack of ready
money; nor could a child wander into the store after
school without receiving a nickel for candy at the
neighboring “five-and-dime’’ store. No, Aunt Kotha
never met a stranger and, if she did, never let it be known.
One lovely autumn afternoon, a dignitied looking lad
entered the clothing store. Aunt Kotha, being hergusua)i
corfi.xfil :filf, ;nqulred whether she could be of assistance.
otha, how are you? It’ in.”
the woman greeted her. e R
Koth‘: e‘l‘ll't'lsmr?iz'coh: w are you doing,” replied Aunt
"Tl'lank you," the le:di'o:n;‘:vo. Zc(im‘ T look{ng - well:
e ) ered, "I wasn't sure you'd
“Lord, honey, it's been awhile,” responded Aunt
Kotha politely, “but your family trades heprg a lot and 1
could never forget the Sullivans '
the'll‘:g:r;‘Sil ‘;ffit‘e P; ogressed, and both Aunt Kotha and
) ssured that they had chattered and
flattered each other sufficiently. As the lady’s k
: package
was being wrapped, Aunt Kotha, pressing her luck, tact
fully inquired about the lady's sister. ‘
::A.r'xd tell me, honey, how is Ruth?"
Rutlll."' the lady responded, with piercing eyes, ‘‘am
—DIANNE CHILES
teacher and writer
Harlan, Ky.