Newspaper Page Text
Viewpoints
Our
Views
Traffic jam
With more than 35,000
people gathered at the
Georgia National Fair
grounds for the
Big*Bang*Boom fireworks show
and thousands more parked on
U.S. 41 and other surrounding
roads, traffic slowed to a crawl
before and after the show.
Traffic congestion of this sort is a
natural result of the success of this
outstanding facility, but it also
proves once more the need for the
new 1-75 interchange now under
construction south of the Fair
grounds.
Once completed, this interchange
will provide a second route to the
Georgia National Fairgrounds, as
well as opening up a substantial
area to economic development.
It won’t be open in time for the
1999 Georgia National Fair, but it
is expected to be open in 2000.
That’s something to look forward to
the next time we find ourselves
stuck in traffic in that part of town,
whether the cause is thousands of
motorcoaches, thousands of fair
goers or thousands of middle Geor
gians celebrating Independence
Day.
Hornet pride
Eight Westfield athletes have
been named to Georgia Indepen
dent Schools Association all star
teams.
These outstanding young people
will play in the games held at the
First Presbyterian Day school July
22 and 23.
They aEebaura.' * s-t
Hartley, 'Robert Causey, fchad
Ekey, Matthew Lee, Trevor Jones,
Robbie Heaton and Jared Shell.
Two Westfield coaches, Athletic
Director Ronnie Jones and Assis
tant Football Coach Jamie Watson
have also been selected to take part
in the football games. Westfield
girls basketball coach Billy Sellers
will be the assistant girls coach.
Best wishes to all, and congratu
lations on this outstanding achieve
ment.
Tough laws
Effective July 1, 1999, Georgia
child safety restraint laws have got
ten tougher.
Now, if you’re caught driving with
a child who is not safely restrained,
you will be fined SSO for first
offense and SIOO for the second
and subsequent offense, and you
will have a point added to your dri
ving record for the first offense and
two for th second offense.
Remember. It only takes 15
points in a 24-month period to
have your driver’s license suspend
ed.
It’s something to think about.
Following the law is the right thing
to do to keep your children safe
and to keep your drivers license!
Have your own opinion?
The Home Journal welcomes let
ters to the editor from our readers.
It’s easy to write the newspaper a
letter.
Put your thoughts together on
paper and send them to the Home
Journal at P.O. Drawer M, Perry,
fax them to (912) 988-1181 or
email them to homejm@hom.net
Don’t forget that signature!
Houston Home Journal
P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll St. • Perry. Ga. 31069
email homejmOhom.net
(912) 987-1823 (voice) • (912) 988-1181 (fax)
Bob Tribble . President
Jj Johnson Editor and General Manager
Ellen T. Green Advertising Director
Phil Clark.... Sports
Joan Dorset! Lifestyles
Tony Jolley News and Classified
Aliine Kent - Sports
Pauline Lewis Lifestyles
Rob Mead News and Circulation
Charlotte Perkins ..News and Composition
Paula Zimmerman Bookkeeping
Holiday weekend brings joy of family fun
What a grand time my family
and I had last weekend. My
mother came in from Wichita
Falls, Texas to visit with us for
a couple of weeks. We grilled
out, worked in the garden, and
attended the Big Bang Boom
July 3.
I love the Fourth of July. I
love the firework shows, the
parties, and the fun. However. I
respect the holiday. It repre
sents our freedom or indepen
dence from tyranny. How grate
ful I feel when surrounded by
red, white, and blue flags.
Looking at the situation in
Kosovo, I feel both sorrow and
gladness. I feel sorrow because
of the devastation. The
Looking back to 100 years ago in Perry
I went up to our hot and
dusty attic a few days ago to
bring down the next bound
volumes from 25 years ago and
1 got sidetracked and never
found it.
Instead. I came back down
stairs with the 1899 bound
volume of the Home Journal
which is just a delight to read.
The oldtime newspaper writ
ers enjoyed waxing eloquent,
and their writing captures
those early days with style and
grace.
So, even though I know
there's nobody out there to
remember these particular
good old days, here are some
gems from iOO years ago this
week in Perry.
On July 6. 1989, the Perry
baseball team had just gotten
whupped twice in a row. (I’m
pretty sure from some other
historical reading that these
were grown men. not school
boys.)
First the Henderson team
beat them 12 to 5.
“The Perry boys know how to
play good ball, but they didn’t
give a good exhibition of such
knowledge last Friday," the
anonymous sports writer
noted, adding that The visi
tors played very well."
Just after that game, the
Byron ball team challenged the
Perry team to a match, and at
10:30 the next morning, they
arrived “in a wagon drawn by
four gaily decorated mules"
and beat the Perry teams 18 to
5.
During the same weekend,
the veterans of the Houston
Volunteers, Company K, 11th
, 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. Parry. Ga.. 31069
or brought to the newspaper office at 807 Carroll St..
Perry.
Our liability for an error will not exceed the coat
Page 4A
Wed., July 7. 1999
Torey
Jolley
Home
Journal
Staff
destroyed villages, the mass
graves, and the horror of mine
fields left behind. Armed sol
diers patrolling the area. 1 feel
sorrow for the children who are
forced to grow up with those
things as memories.
Charlotte
Perkins
Home
Journal
Staff
Georgia Regiment, CSA, met in
the oak grove of William M.
Barker and enjoyed “barbe
cued pig prepared in Mr. Bark
er’s inimitable style" along
with the “choicest viands."
They were entertained by a
group of young ladies who
sang “When the Roll is Called
Up Yonder.”
Other social events included
a meeting of the Thursday
afternoon club at the home of
Mrs. James S. Brunson. The
report indicated members
enjoyed her hospitality.
“The afternoon being
extremely warm, “ the report
said, “the refreshments of ices
and cake made the afternoon
one of the most delightful
ever."
Miss Marie Nunn’s class in
the Perry Methodist Sunday
School was planning a picnic
at Norwood Springs, and Mrs.
Ida Rogers had invited a group
of Perry young people to a
Fourth of July picnic at Nor
wood Springs. (Does anybody
know where Norwood Springs
might be?)
On to the business scene:
Most of the bigger advertise
ments back then were from
of space occupied by the error.
We cannot be responsible for the return of pictures or
submitted materials unless a stamped, return address
envelope is Included.
Our Goal
The Houston Home Journal Ls 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, teamwork,
loyalty and a strong dedication toward printing the
truth.
Member of Georgia Press Association and Nation
al Newspaper Association
Jmßt . ..
Houston Horn Jem#
I grew up with ice cream
cones, parades, a beautiful
home, and loving family. I had
toys and clothes (my mother
tells me I was spoiled rotten). I
never had to fear traveling from
one place to the other because
of mine fields. 1 only saw sol
diers on base or with their fam
ilies, not patrolling the area.
I feel sorrow for those little
children who will grow up with
twisted views of freedom. They
will believe it is normal for
armed soldiers to be on their
streets. They will believe it is
normal to watch for mine field
warnings.
As I watched the fireworks
during the Big Bang Boom and
Macon, but those that were
from the Perry merchants were
definitely good reading.
There was not a lottery back
then, but W.D. Day, a mer
chant, came up with his own
game of chance. Here’s how he
described it.
“I have placed in my store a
handsome oak money box con
taining S2O in silver. I have
had made a number of keys,
some of which will unlock the
box. With every cash purchase
of $1 will be given a key
attached to a tag. The keys can
be tried the first week in Sep
tember and the holders of keys
that unlock the box will be
given $5 as a present."
Day also informed the public
that he had received the first
carload of shoes ever shipped
to Perry. They were mostly $1
a pair.
Fred M. Houser, billing him
self as "wrecker of high prices"
was offering rib sides, hams
and hamlets for sale. L.F.
Cater had ladies’ “dress
goods", including piques,
lawns, dimities, organdies,
French Nainsook and Persian
lawn.
L.M. Paul’s had a new stock
of buggy harnesses, saddle
pads, halters and buggy
whips.
And finally, a note from the
city government:"The Mayor
and Aldermen met and voted
that no one shall ride a bicycle
on any of the sidewalks of said
town on Sunday after this
date.”
listened to the music, 1 was
filled with pride and gratitude. I
am proud our country is free.
That freedom cost us more than
dollars and cents. Remaining
free continues to cost even
more. I enjoy going places with
out caution, buying things I
want, and knowing I am free.
As the “Star Spangled Ban
ner" played and the fireworks
burst in the night sky, hun
dreds of thousands of people
stood. The sight was awesome.
Everyone was at the Georgia
National Fairground and Agri
center for a good time and, yet,
at that moment, we all knew
the price paid for that privi
lege.
Bob
Tribble
Home
Journal
President
Another look at
local newspapers
This will be the third and
final column I will write about
community newspaper pub
lishing. I can hear you now.
“Thank goodness,” you say,
“Enough is enough!”
Thank you for hanging in
there these three weeks as we
make our final effort to help
you, our readers, better under
stand what your community
newspaper is all about.
Matthew Arnold once wrote,
“America is the chosen home of
newspapers."
Despite the presence of the
electronic media, America is
still the chosen home of news
papers and will continue to be
as long s we produce quality,
community oriented newspa
pers. Thomas Wolfe once said,
“Americans love their newspa
per." He was right. Most folks
in the communities we serve do
love their newspapers.
Your community newspaper
must be the guardians of the
First Amendment on the local
level, just as the national press
must assume that responsibili
ty on the national level. The
First Amendment protects the
rights of those with whom we
disagree as well as the rights of
those with whom we agree. We
should never forget that.
Pastor Martin Niemoller was
imprisoned by the Nazis during
Hitler’s rule and wrote the fol
lowing. “First they came for the
socialists and 1 did not speak
out because I was not a social
ist. then they came for the
trade unionists and I did not
speak out cause I was not a
trade unionist. Then they came
for the Jews and 1 did not
speak out because I was not a
Jew. Then they came from me
and there was no one left to
speak out for me."
A free press exists for the
rights of the people and we
must be unyielding when we
act to protect the public’s right
to know. There is little room for
compromise on this issue.
Over the 35 years plus I have
been privileged to be in the
newspaper business, our com
munity newspaper editors,
including myself, have faced
some trying times for printing
what we believed the people
had a right to know.
We have been sued, threat
ened with suits, cussed at, had
our lives threatened, lost
advqjtisers and had gossip
spread around our communi-
Continued on page SA
“Congress shall make no law respecting an estab
lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exe;. z
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the
press, or of the right of 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 States Constitution.
The Houston Home Journal (ÜBPB 000471) is
published weekly for $21.40 per year (Including
sales tax) by Houston Publications Inc.. 007 Car
roll St., Perry, Ga„ 31060. Periodicals Class
Postage paid at Perry, Ga. POSTMASTER : Send
address changes to the Houston Home Journal,
P.O. Drawer M. Perry, Qa. 31060. HMN: 1076-1874.
w*.