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Viewpoints □ur Views Thanks, Mr. Ray The long-time community service of Richard Ray has come to an end. Ray. who died May 30 in a Macon hospital, spent much of his adult life serving the people of the mid- state. A Perry area busi nessman. Ray became interested in politics and was elected to Perry City Council. Alter a few years, he was ready for more and was elected mayor. Rav gained exten- sive almost on the job training as an aide to U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn for 10 years. That preparation helped him better serve the needs of the Third District as U.S. Congressman for 10 years. Always. Ray put the needs of the people he represented first. He cared, lie wanted to help. He expect ed to do something to make our lives better. He did. He represented the com munity well. He worked hard to ensure the militaiy installations in the district were preserved. He served with the agriculture commit tee and worked to help local farmers receive fair treatment. As a veteran of war, Ray understood the needs of his fellow veterans. Richard Ray will be remembered as one who served and one who cared. Godspeed, sir. Good-byes are possible Perry City Manager Skip Nalley faces a decision within the next Few days which will likely alter his rela tionship with the Perry City Council. While he has not yet seen the offer, members of the Upson County government will extend to him an offer to become their county manag er. For Nalley. the decision means changing jobs, entering a slightly different form of civil service, and learning the ropes in a new situa tion. For him. the advantage is he will be “at home” where he lives and where he has connections. We anticipate that should the offer from Upson County be as reported. Nalley will take the offer and be on the road home soon. Should that be the case, we wish him well. He has served the city well. His professional manner is a credit to him. lie has taken an interest in serving the community. Good luck with your decision, Skip Nalley. If you go. we’ll miss you. Good luck, graduates School days are over for hundreds of Houston County seniors. Some have already walked across the stage, the others will complete the process by June 7. With that walk across the stage comes a major change in life. No longer will they be in the cocoon of school at home with mom and dad. Now they enter new worlds - whether they pursue more education, work or other service, their lives will never be the same again. We wish the new graduates luck in their process of decision. We hope they make the kind of decisions which will prepare them to become the citizens and leaders of tomorrow. Houston Homo Journal P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll St. • Perry. Oa. 31069 email homejmOhom.net (912) 987-1823 (voice) • (912) 988-1181 (fax) Boh Tribble President Jj Johnson Editor and General Manager Ellen T. Green Advertising Director Phil Clark Sports Joan Dorsetl Lifestyles Torey Jollev News and Classified Alline Kent Spoils Pauline Lewis Lifestyles Rob Mead ...News and Circulation Charlotte Perkins News and Composition I'Uula ZiiititH'ruiiiii Bookkeeping Ray Richard Ray never forgot the people at home The Sunday morning head lines stunned me. Richard Ray was dead. .Just as the Home Journal went to press last week, I learned that Ray, 72, was in a Macon hospital with heart problems. When I met Richard Ray almost 15 years ago. he impressed me with his honesty and his willingness to answer questions on the spot. Ray impressed me with the fact that while office staff trav eled with him. they weren't “handlers'' as is often typical of aides to elected officials. Ray sometimes ran into a buz/ saw because of his hon esty. I remember one press conference in Fort Valley a dozen or so years ago when the questions turned very angry. The good congressman field ed the questions with the patience of Job and promised answers to everyone. Ray was the sort that if he didn’t know the answers, he would return to Washington, find the answer and let you know not six months later, but then. 1 always appreciated that about him. I also appreciated the fact he represented his district well in Washington. A man of working class beginnings, Ray under stood the problems facing farmers and small business operators. He had faced the challenges of having enough money to make payroll and pay taxes. He also recognized the importance of the military in his district which included both Fort Benning and Robins Air Force Base. He had experience with mili tary affairs while working with U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn. When Ray arrived in Washington on his own. he immediately set out to protect the military installa tions in his district and to maintain'a solid fighting force. Before?'going to Washington on his own, Ray had worked his way up through the ranks. First as a Perry City Councilman and later as Mayor. Ray established a histo ry of serving his constituents. He had a solid reputation of looking out for the folk who put him in office. Just mention a problem and he was ready to Summertime and the living is good in Perry When does summer begin? On the final day of the school year, of course, and that day is almost here. Do you remember what it was like to be a child and hear that last bell on the last day of school? 1 wonder what kids today would think about the kind of summers we looked forward to so eagerly no air condition ing. no television, no computer games, no malls, no grownups willing to stop what they were doing and drive us anywhere. (“That’s what you’ve got feet for.") Of course, it could be an educational experience for today's children. In a couple of days they’d probably be bored enough to go outside and start trying to figure out important things like how to catch a bum ble bee in a Mason jar without getting stung, or how to build a treehouse out of the remains of an old chicken coop. They might even walk five or six blocks to visit a friend or organize some serious unsu pervised recreational events like that old bone-breaker, "Red Rover.” If anybody's got any funny Our Policies Unsigned editorials appearing in larger type on this page under the label Our Views reflect the posi tion of the Houston Home Journal. Signed columns and letters on this page (and elsewhere in this news paper) reflect the opinions of the writers and not nec essarily those of this newspaper. Signed letters to the editor are welcomed. Please limit letters to 300 words and include addresses and a telephone number for verification purposes. Letters are not published without verification. Letters should be sent to P.O. Drawer M. Perry. Ga.. 31069 or brought to the newspaper office at 807 Carroll St.. Perry. Our liability for an error will not exceed the cost Page 4A Wed., June g. IMP H . -TT' Johnson A Home Journal Editor listen and to stand in the gap to resolve the matter. When Ray would come to the district for visits, he always took time to visit the small com munities of the Third District. The people there were as impor tant to him as the power bro kers in the cities he served. Likely as not, he'd set up shop at the local diner and lis ten to the needs of the people. His aides would take notes and Ray would say he would follow up on the matter. Election results every two TH€ PfAA/UT GAUtRV OK, SAM! WE RETURN STOLEN NUCLEAR SECRETS. IN 200/. FULLY ASSEMBLED! Charlotte g|F~ ~ Perkins Home pi Journal Staff IJU stories about the way F’erry kids used to spend all those long hot summer days bark in the 40s and 50s, I'd love to hear about them. Was there a drug store with fountain cokes and Captain Marvel comic books? Did the grownups sit on front porches in the evening fanning themselves with funeral parlor fans while the kids chased lightning bugs or sat on the front steps telling Little Moron jokes? What was it like in Perry back then? 1 mean the stuff that never got into the paper? The number's 987-1823. Now, on with our trips through Perry's past, gleaned from the pages of the Houston Home Journal. 25 Years Ago of space occupied by Ihe error. We cannot be res|xjnsiblc for the return of pictures or submitted materials unless a stamped, return address envelope is included. Our Goal The Houston Home Journal is published proudly for the citizens of Houston and adjoining counties by Houston Publications Inc.. Perry, Ga. Our goal is to produce quality, profitable, community oriented newspapers that you. our readers, are proud of. We will reach this goal through hard work, leapiwork. loyally and a strong dedication toward printing the truth. Member of Georgia Press Association and National Newspaper Association. Houston Han Journal years indicate he did his home work. He looked after the needs of the citizens of the Third ' District very well. Most of all about Richard Ray 1 think I enjoyed the fact he would finish the questions and then just talk with people. From time to time, when he was in town, he would drop by the newspaper office and Just sit down to visit. “How are things in Perry," he would begin, and then we'd talk about what was going on. The relationship was not one of a serf talking to his lord, but of equals. He had real interest in the people and what he could learn about them to serve them better. I’ll miss Richard Ray because he put the humanity in his elected roll. He didn’t go to Washington, get a driver and forget his way home. He remained Richard Ray, former councilman and mayor, and Petitions were circulating in Houston County, calling for a referendum to change the county seat to Warner Robins. There was considerable mys tery about the source of the petitions. The Houston County Schools banned John Steinbeck's “Of Mice and Men." Three board of education members admitted that they hadn’t read the book, and a fourth said that “he had his reasons” for not wanting the book in the schools. What did the young people think of the banning of a Pulitzer Prize winning writer? Nobody reported on that, but my guess is that all the teen agers were out at the Perry Drive-In watching that week's feature movie. “Tower of Screaming Virgins", which was rated R. And no. 1 am not mak ing any of this up. The Sorrell Club members distributed “grandmother charms" to the newest grand mothers present Mrs. William Barfield. Mrs. Otis Gunn, Mrs. W.E. Mullins, Mrs. H.E. Smith and Mrs. W.A. Whitehurst. Miss Terry Tolleson graduat former exterminator. ••• Ray’s dealt) to heart disease brings a cold chill of reminder to me. Most of us who have sur vived a heart experience con sider ourselves very lucky to be here and to have a second chance. Sometimes we do a better Job of taking care of ourselves than others. We forget we are getting older and have experienced some distress. We continue to work as if we’re 35 and still have hair, and hair with color. I know. I’ve done the same thing. 1 am guilty as charged. To those who haven’t experi enced heart problems, I gently encourage you to watch your diet, watch your weight, quit smoking, and get some exer cise. While nothing can prevent a heart attack or heart disease, good living goes a long way toward slowing it down. © 2001 * o o & ed from Brenau College. Moody Motors advertised a 1974 2-door Maverick sedan, pale blue with white sidewalls, for -53.134. Piggly Wiggly was selling Maxwell House Coffee for 79 cents a pound. • •e 40 Years Ago Mrs. Mvrtle Buckner resigned her job at Robins Air Force Base to work full time as bookkeeper at the Vanity Shop, which she owned in partner ship with Gladys Culpepper. (Both ladies are now enjoying a life of leisure at Autumn Terrace.) Mell Tolleson spoke to the Kiwanis Club about a new method of preserving lumber. He was introduced by Wendell Whipple. Nancy Roper. Raleigh McCroskev and Anita Ray hon ored Marilyn Holland with a lin gerie shower at the home of Miss Roper. Summer hats were S 3 at the Vanity Shop, and the Colonial Store was selling pork chops for 39 cents a pound. Bill Hafley was sworn in as "tail twister " of the Perry Lion’s Club. “Congress shall make no law respecting an estab lishmenl of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: or abridging (he freedom of speech, or ol the press, or of the right ol the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Your right to read this news paper is protected by the First Amendment to the United Stales Constitution. The Houston Home Journal (IfSPS 000471) Is published weekly for $21.40 per year (Including sales tax) by Houston Publications Inc., 807 Carroll St., Perry, Ga.. 31089. Periodicals Class Postage paid at Perry, Ga. POSTMASTER : Send address changes to the Houston Home Journal, P.O. Drawer M, Perry. Ga. 31089. ISSN: 1078-1874.