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The Official Legal Organ of Chattooga County Georgi *:‘“4 ’
WINSTON E. ESPY DAVID T. ESPY, JR. TOMMY L N
PUBLISHER GENERAL MANAGER EDITOR }.
WILLIAM T. ESPY SUBSCRIPTION RATES
ADVERTISING MANAGER WA G
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The Espy Publishing Company, Inc., will not be responsible for errors in advertising beyond
cost of the advertisement. Classified advertising rate 9¢ per word, minimum $1.75. Card of
Thanks, Memoriams, etc., same as classified advertising. Display rates given upon request.
Address All Mail to: THE SUMMERVILLE NEWS, P. 0. Box 310, Summerville, Ga. 30747
Editorials
A Giving Community
Chattooga Countians are some of the
most generous people in the world. All one
has to do is look at what has been done in
the last few weeks to help the less for
tunate among us.
Church members have dug deeply in
their pockets to help dozens, and perhaps
hundreds, of children have a happy
Christmas. They have provided food and
fellowship for numerous families. The ac
tivities of some churches and members
have been published in The News. Without
a doubt, many more went on their yule
rounds, known only to themselves and to
the people they helped. {
Veterans of Chattooga always throw a
big Christmas party for literally hundreds
of youngsters and their parents. The vets
and their spouses, many with grand
children, have made sure that toys were
bought for the big event.
Masons throughout the county raised
more than $2,000 to provide a good, well
rounded meal for at least 120 families last
weekend and platters are due to be
delivered today to another 30 people,
mostly elderly people living alone.
School clubs have made donations of
food to the needy.
The Summerville-Trion Optimist Club
A Beacon For All
The probability was infinitesimal that
the birth of a tiny baby 2,000 years ago
would be remembered by millions of peo
ple centuries later.
But Jesus of Nazareth, born in the
obscure village of Bethlehem was no or
dinary child. He was the Son of God.
Only a brief mention is made in the Bi
ble of Jesus when he was a youngster and
there is no scriptural record covering His
life until He was about 30 years old. But
the circumstances surrounding His birth,
His three years of teaching and healing
and His death are covered in detail in Old
Testament prophecies and in eyewitness
reports in the New Testament.
His birth is fascinating to millions of
Christians and even many non-Christians
pay tribute to the humble origins of the
Christ child.
Luke’s vivid account of Jesus’ birth is
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31 YEARS AGO
The following are excerpts from the Dec. 20, 1958, edition of The Summer
ville News.
* * *
THE ANNUAL CHRISTMAS service of the Summerville Presbyterian
Church will be held Sunday at 11 a.m. The annual Christmas candlelighting
service and installation of officers will be held at 7:30 p.m., featuring the Junior
and Senior Choirs. Following, groups from the church will carol throughout
the community.
* * *
A MEETING OF THE North Georgia District Convention of Ruritan Clubs
was held at the Dixie Hunt Hotel, Gainesville on Dec. 1. Delegates attending
the convention were Leroy Massey, president; Vance Storey, secretary; Henry
Chappelear, director; and J. D. McNeil, delegate.
£ s ¥
PLANS ARE ALMOST complete for the annual Chattooga County
Christmas party to be given to needy families of the county on Dec. 23, star
ting at 1 p.m. at the Memorial Home. A meeting will be held at the Memorial
Home Friday night to package gifts.
¥, &, ¥
THE WESLEYAN SERVICE GUILD of the Menlo Methodist Church is
sponsoring a live nativity scene in front of the church for three nights preceding
Christmas. The scene, produced with the help of church members, will be seen
from 7 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 22, 23, 24.
Out-of-County Rates ‘ "y
Available On Request ¥
Published Every Thursday By
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At Summerville, Ga. 30747 ')
PUBLICATION NO. SECD 525560
A Prize-
Winning
Newspaper
once again made Christmas better for
numerous youngsters and organizations
with substantial donations to community
projects this year.
A Cloudland couple donated more than
$12,000 worth of new toys to be handed
out to poor youngsters for Christmas.
Few, if any, gifts from a single person or
couple in Northwest Georgia topped that
generosity.
Then there are school classes of young
children who have ‘‘adopted’ residents of
Oak View Nursing Home to make sure
they would have a better Christmas this
year.
Individuals throughout the communi
ty have taken on personal projects of mak
ing sure other individuals were helped dur
ing this time of celebration. Most remain
anonymous.
The birth of the Christ child will be
celebrated Friday. The generosity and love
expressed by hundreds of people in our
community for others who are down and
out is a reflection of the love that God had
for each of us when He sent His only
begotten Son to this earth almost 2,000
years ago.
Truly, the spirit of giving is alive and
well in Chattooga County.
a soaring, poetic epic of God’s love. It still
inspires mankind and at least once a year
it compels individuals to live on a loftier
plane.
His message of loving obedience to
God’'s will is one that shall outlast
eternity.
Without His death on the cross, His
birth would have been meaningless to
humanity but without His birth, the cross
wouldn’t have been possible.
Chattooga Countians will pause Friday
to remember the birth of the tiny Baby
who grew up to become the Savior of all
who would offer Him loving, faithful
obedience.
In the face of ever darkening events on
the face of our old earth, the star that
sparkled brightly in the East long, long
ago is still a beacon for all who would ap
proach the love of our eternal Father.
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Memories Are Special
MEMORIES are the gossamer of life.
They are our immutable and sometimes
unforgiving measures of joy and despair,
of times never to be seen again physical
ly. But they are as real and enduring as the
seasons and the starry skies of heaven.
We tend to relegate bad memories to
the dungeons of our mind or to search out
the few bright glimmers of difficult times
and polish them until they shine and
sparkle. The good memories — well, we
cherish them again and again. They even
improve with time and a few
embellishments.
Christmas is a time for memories, to
recall a childhood forever gone.
#llOO R
THE FIRST pulled from the dusty files
of Christmas Past was when I once tot
tered into our big living room, sleepy-eyed
and a bit dazed. The fireplace was burn
ing big chunks of glowing coal, casting
dancing figures of light against the floor
and walls. In the corner in front of a win
dow was the most beautiful cedar
Christmas tree in the world. Its glowing
multi-colored lights revealed all sorts of
goodies and toys from Santa. But,
somebody had to point out that Santa had
devoured a slice of cake and downed a cup
of coffee during his brief visit.
I wondered on occasions after that how
Santa managed to slip down our chimney
without getting scorched. But I didn't
think about it too much. He was Santa,
after all.
* * *
MOTHER AND daddy probably got
just as much enjoyment during that
Christmas as their only son. Maybe more.
Hazel and Helen probably had a ball, too,
but I fear my memory is hazy on that
point. There were toys to play with and
candy to eat. A tiny boy couldn't be too
On The Funny Side
By Gary Solomon
Dr. Christmas .
CHRISTMAS came early at my house
this year. e - ;
I once wrote that the two ugliest words
in the English language are ‘‘school
lunch.” If that’s true, then the two most
melodic must surely be ‘‘no cavities.”
Last week I said my goodbyes to those
dear to me and headed to the dentist’s of
fice for my semi-annual checkup and
overhaul. But surprise of surprises, all was
well.
* * *
THE HYGIENIST spiffed everything
up with a little Turtle Wax, the dentist
poked around here and there with a metal
prod to be sure there weren't any exposed
nerves, and my mouth was pronounced fit
as a fiddle. It was over in less than 30
minutes.
If anyone tells you the age of miracles
is past, send them my way and I'll set 'em
straight.
It wasn't always this easy. As a kid, I
went to a dentist from the old school, Dr.
Linus *“When in Doubt, Drill”’ Tenderpulp.
Viewpoint
By Tommy Toles, Editor
preoccupied at Christmas about what his
older sisters were doing.
Then there was the electric train set.
How marvelous. All you had to do was
plug a cord into the wall, put the engine
and cars on the track and turn the control
knob. It was great fun causing the engine
to speed and derail. The peculiar electrical
odor given off by the control box when the
train was running will always be
associated with Christmas.
* * *
THEN THERE were the Christmas
morning breakfasts. In many cases, Helen
and Herman would drive to Alpine and
we'd all celebrate the holiday together.
Mother could cook the best breakfasts.
But I was always in a hurry to eat.
Adults just took too long. They liked to
talk too much. When there were gifts to
be opened after breakfast, an anxious —
and greedy — boy didn’t want to be kept
waiting.
* * %
MOTHER ALWAYS liked to save the
paper and ribbons to use the next
Christmas. She still does. But I always
seemed to tear into my gifts with the
energy and carelessness of a miniature
tornado.
Many Christmases were to come and
go, some at home and.more after I went
out on my own. Most have been enjoyable
but none will ever match the first
Christmases of a young boy who was lov
ed by his mother and dad and two older
sisters.
* * *
THAT’S WHY memories are so
precious. Tomorrow, I'll open my giftbox
of holiday memories once again and savor
each moment of happiness.
May each of you do the same.
. . Aarrggh!
DR. TENDERPULP was the first den
tist I recall who advertised ‘‘painless”
care. Not until I was an adult did I read
the fine print and realize it only
guaranteed that the good doctor would
feel no pain. His patients, meanwhile, were
on their own.
Dr. Tenderpulp’s first question to me
when he walked into the room was always
the same: ‘‘Are you going to be a man to
day, or do you want novacaine?’’ To him,
novacaine was a waste of time. He once
commented to his hygienist, Helga Tartar
ton, that he could excavate or extract 14
percent more teeth a day if he didn’t have
to wait for the deadener to kick in. From
then on I requested a double dose just to
throw him off schedule.
* * *
HELGA, alias Alvin H. Tartarton, was
no Miss Manners herself. She was big and
foreboding, with a tattoo on her right
forearm which read, “‘Death to Decay.”
After doing a bit of prospecting of her own
see ON THE FUNNY SIDE, page 5-A
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Guest Column
By Richard H. Fink
Freeze Spending!
WHILE WALL Street has shown us a lot of ups and
downs lately, Congress is singing the same old tune: raise
taxes to cut the deficit. Even some national commentators
have taken up the chorus, arguing that tax increases would
show investors that Washington is serious about cutting
the deficit.
The real debate is about how to best prevent a reces
sion and promote economic growth. Yet the fans of tax
increases would have us believe that the way to encourage
production is to penalize it through higher taxes.
* * *
OF COURSE the federal deficit is a problem, because
it soaks up money that could be used for job-creation and
private investment. However, it does not measure the full
cost the government imposes on the economy, for taxes
too drain resources out of the productive sector of the
economy to be spent on legislators’ pet boondoggle
projects.
Fortunately, there is a way to cut the deficit and leave
more money in the taxpayer's pocket: a federal budget
freeze. If Congress and President Reagan simply stopped
increasing spending, the budget would be balanced in just
three years.
* * *
THE BUDGET freeze does not involve magic or
“‘creative’’ accounting gimmicks. It would quickly wipe
out the deficit because tax revenues are already schedul
ed to rise dramatically over the next few years due to
economic growth and previously-legislated tax increases.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that tax
revenues will rise by about SSO-billion each year in the near
future. Fiscal year 1988 began on Oct. 1, even though Con
gress has not yet passed a budget. If Congress and the
president hold spending in this fiscal year to its level in
fiscal year 1987, next year's deficit would be about sll3
billion. That's s3l billion below the Gramm-Rudman-
Hollings deficit reduction target. It is also $44 billion
below the deficit in the budget package Congress spent
most of the year assembling, all without a tax increase.
Talk about a ‘“down payment’ on the deficit!
* * *
IT GETS EVEN better in future years. A three-year
spending freeze would generate a $26 billion surplus by
1990. We could finally begin the process of reducing the
national debt, which hangs like a millstone around the
necks of generations yet to come.
‘What's the main obstacle to a budget freeze? The fact
that Congress loves to spend money. Though President
Reagan has presided over the largest peacetime tax in
creases in America’s history, deficits have grown because
Congress has consistently increased spending. Every time
congressional leaders promised spending cuts in exchange
for some tax increases, they reneged on their part of the
deal.
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AS THE ENACTMENT of laws like Gramm-Rudman
shows, however, many legislators know that the game can
not go on forever. A freeze offers them a practical way to
control their spending habit.
Special interst groups oppose the freeze, raising their
snouts from the public trough to complain that the
Republic will collapse if they do not receive their
customary spending increases. They know that a spending
freeze would force them to fight each other instead of gang
ing up on the taxpayer. That may be bad for them, but
it’s all the more reason for the average citizen to favor the
freeze. In effect, we citizens would be telling special in
terests that they should all simultaneously cease and
desist their raid on our wallets.
* * *
CONGRESS COULD try to reduce the deficit by rais
ing taxes, a strategy that in the past has only fueled higher
spending and deficits, and now threatens to throw the
economy into a recession. Or, legislators could simply stop
increasing spending and watch the deficit shrink. It is in
deed a sad commentary on Washington that many even
consider this choice a difficult one.
* * *
(Richard H. Fink is president of Citizens for a Sound
Economy, a 250,000-member independent public interest
group located in Washington, D. C.).
—
LIFE
Life is just an everlasting struggle to keep money com
ing in and teeth and hair and vital organs from coming
out. — Alabama Bay Breeze