Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6B
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2008
Banks optimizes space for gardens
BANKS RAISES HIS VEGETABLES
Henry David Banks, Homer, is shown standing beside his tomato
plants and cantaloupe vines that he has planted in two old bath
tubs. Banks said this takes up little space and the lattice keeps the
vines off the ground and away from the groundhogs.
Photo by Sharon Hogan
BY SHARON HOGAN
Banks County’s Senior
Magistrate Judge, Henry David
Banks, has definitely learned to
make the most use of a small
space when it comes to his gar
dening.
Banks said he went to the gro
cery store in early spring and
saw that the price of squash was
$1.29 per pound.
Banks said, “I am not pay
ing this I will plant some of my
own.”
And that is just what he did. He
planted his squash in his wife’s
flowerbed along the side of his
driveway.
Banks said, “My wife didn’t
like this very much.”
Now he has squash vines that
are waist high. Banks said he has
already picked about eight gal
lons of squash thus far.
Banks said he started thinking
about a way that someone with
a small area could still do some
gardening and he came up with
the idea that he could take two
old bathtubs he had, fill them
with potting soil and plant veg
etables in them.
Banks said he also had a prob
lem at his house on McDonald
Circle, Homer, with the ground
hogs eating plants that are on
the ground. So he put the bath
tubs up on a cement picnic table
beside his house and placed lat
tice sheets around the tubs for the
vines to run on to keep them up
off the ground.
In one bathtub, he put tomato
plants and in the other he planted
cantaloupes. He will soon reap
the benefits of both of these.
Gardening is just one hobby
that Banks enjoys. Banks said he
was in the landscaping business
for a time before he was a mag
istrate judge.
He has many flowerbeds in his
yard that he enjoys working in.
Banks said he likes to watch
the birds in his yard enjoying
the bird feeders and this year he
planted some hummingbird vines
near the front of his house. Banks
said when the blooms appear on
the vines the hummingbirds will
come to them.
Banks also enjoys woodwork
ing and one of the things he
builds is bird feeders.
Banks said, “I put glass around
the ones I build so that the birds
can see the food inside.” Banks
said he likes to sit and watch the
birds when they are eating.
Banks has built a variety of
items in his woodworking shop.
He has tables, shelves, lamps and
bowls, just to name a few.
One lamp he has in his house
was made out of wood from a
tree that was in the yard of the
home where his wife of 60 years,
Eudora, grew up. Banks said
when the land for the Applebee’s
at Banks Crossing was being
cleared he was able to get some
wood from a large tree that she
and her sister played on as chil
dren.
Banks made both his wife and
her sister a lamp from the wood.
Mrs. Banks said, “My sister
cried when they cut the tree
down and she cried when she
received the lamp.”
Banks, who served as magis
trate judge for Banks County for
16 years, said he is enjoying his
retirement.
Banks said he likes to deer
hunt. At the age of 81 he still
climbs into his deer stand when
he goes hunting. He also likes
fishing and Banks said he and
his family enjoy spending time
at their lake home on Clark Hill
Lake outside of Elberton.
The Bankses have two grown
sons, four grandchildren and one
great-grandchild.
Banks grew up in the Banks
Crossing area and he has a lot
of information about the early
years in that area. Banks said
he remembered when Hwy. 441
was first paved and when 1-85
was built through the area.
Banks enjoys talking about the
early years and the way things
have changed around Banks
County.
Family Fun Center
User Tag * Arcade Games
Inflatables
S \ f
Spider ZorieHMm
2 HOUR UNLIMITED PASS!!!
$
|Q QQ ^ly 4, 2008 Only,
I 1 per person.
Includes: Go-Karts, Bumper Boats, Mini Golf, Tornado Ride, Rock Wall, Bumper
Cars, Spider Zone, 1 session of laser tag and one bucket of balloons for water wars.
All riders must meet height and safety requirements. No cash value and no substitutions. ^
Closed-in shoes required for go-karts. Socks required in inflatables.
-Available!,
706-335-3866
Book Your
Summer
^^Urties No^^
40155 Hwy. 441, Commerce, GA 30529
Located at Interstate 85 at exit 149 just past the Wal-Mart
www.funopolisfamilyfuncenter.com
Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sun. 12 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Donna Sikes
An Honest
District Attorney
For a Change
Donna Sikes has more
experience -17 years -
than ANY other candidate
for District Attorney.
• An ‘Open Door, Open Books’ policy
Taxpayers will know how their money is
being spent
• A Drug Court program for Barrow, Banks
and Jackson Counties
Let’s get smart about fighting the drug war
• Extra Training for Law Enforcement Officers
To help make sure that no criminal goes
free on a technicality
Paid for by: Donna Sikes for District Attorney
Vote Donna Sikes
July 15
Republican Primary