Newspaper Page Text
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FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY 11, 2005
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Tlsh Mims
Columnist
[XTry.dda@perrv-ga.gov
Good manners and
right conduct
Look back over the last
couple of generations. We
have had some great
achievements, particularly
in the sciences. Medical
advances enable us to live
longer, more productive
lives. Technological super
highways transport us
beyond our immediate
world into the great beyond.
But at what cost does all of
this come? Have we forgot
ten who we are?
Several years ago, my
grandmother gave me one
of her school textbooks,
copyrighted in 1918. The
title is Good Manners and
Right Conduct. This was a
subject taught in school.
The forward states that the
aim of the book is to “estab
lish in the pupils the habits
of thought and of conduct
that will make them helpful
members of society.” The
lesson plan advises that
courtesy be a matter of
everyday concern, with
instruction being given as
lapses occur.
There is a list of helpful
reading for the teacher, with
such titles as Ethics for
Children, Conduct as a Fine
Art, The Making of
Character, and the Primer
of Right and Wrong.
Chapter titles are
Generosity and Self-
Sacrifice, Service, Courage
and Self-Discipline,
Honesty, Efficiency,
Trustworthiness, Manners
and Things Worth While.
The Manners section is
fascinating. Many topics
are covered, ranging from
Don’ts in Dress to Etiquette
of the Hat to The True
Gentleman. Several situa
tions are set up as plays to
encourage the student’s
participation in the lesson.
This was apparently a
very serious subject. My
grandmother graduated
from high school at the age
of 15 and began her adult
life. She drove the family
car and started college that
same year. She married my
grandfather at 17. They
were married for 50 years.
She’s been widowed for 23
years. She is the greatest
lady that I’ve ever known.
Was I ready to embark
upon my journey as an adult
at fifteen? No way. I could
barely dress myself. Did I
know how to keep house?
Absolutely not. I’m not
sure if I knew the appropri
ate way to conduct myself in
public. That came much
later. But I can look at my
grandmother, ever the lady,
and see where her lessons
were invaluable.
The biggest classroom dis
cipline problem in 1928 was
a young man’s failure to
remove his hat when in the
presence of a lady, and the
beginning trend of young
women to wear high-heeled
shoes. Page 247 of Good
Manners and Right
Conduct is devoted to high
heeled shoes. It says, “Do
not wear high-heeled shoes.
They are not suitable for
schoolgirls. They are not
comfortable. They throw
the foot forward and pinch
the toes. They are not good
for the health. They are not
becoming. They make you
look very awkward.”
Really, this was a very seri
ous social problem of the
See MIMS, page 7A
day. If only we could be so
lucky. Somewhere, we’ve
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submitted
A mission team from Looking Unto Jesus Ministries recently four days in Reynosa, Mexico, where they held a
revival and offered daily ministry in the Maranatha Evangelistic Center Church. Shown here (from left) are Wade
Conklin, Perry; the Rev. Daniel Guerra; the Rev. Wes Moye of Macon; Evelyn Wells Pendergrass and David
Phelps of Perry; Susan Lantrip of Lizella; Kevin Lyles of Macon and Melanie Moye of Milledgeville. They also
carried mattresses to be used in the children’s jail.
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submitted
Boys from the children’s jail in Reynosa are shown here with David Phelps of Perry standing in front of some of
the new mattresses they received. The mattresses were donated by All For Jesus Ministries in Americus. It was
Phelps 17th mission trip to Reynosa.
The ghost ol Nimrod Jackson lives on
During the 1860 s, a
young man named Nimrod
Jackson, born circa 1845
into slavery, worked for the
Southwestern Railroad at
the Byron flag stop.
Nimrod’s job was to supply
wood for locomotives stop
ping there. According to
Atlanta and Macon newspa
pers, railroad officials
thought so highly of
Jackson’s dedication and
workmanship that they
named the flag stop
“Jackson Station” after
him. The settlement was
referred to as Jackson
Station until 1874 when
founder Dr. C.H.
Richardson officially named
it Byron after his favorite
poet, Lord Byron.
Later in life Nimrod
became a master well dig
ger. In 1910, Nimrod was
working 65 feet down in a
well on Green Avera’s farm
near Byron.
While he was hammering
away at old boards and
replacing them with new
wooden braces, a large vol
ume of dirt broke loose,
catching Nimrod’s feet
between the planks. The
supports above held, but
Nimrod’s legs were hope
lessly trapped. His helper
couldn’t pull him up with
the windlass, so he went for
help.
Rescue efforts continued
for six days. An estimated
4,000 people came to wit
ness rescue operations.
Women brought food and
Nimrod was fed regularly,
but as time wore on he
began to eat sparingly. An
A mattress mission
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Billy Powell
Columnist
extra coat was sent down to
keep him warm in the chilly
depths. Nimrod always
answered cheerfully that he
was comfortable but stated
he “sure would like to get
out.” Nimrod had a reputa
tion of being a heavy
drinker at times, but he
refused to accept a drink of
whisky offered him, even
though a doctor advised
him to drink it to guard
against pneumonia. Nimrod
felt too close to his Maker to
imbibe.
On the sixth day, the res
cue team dug a new parallel
well. They planned to dig
across to the old well, pull
Nimrod out and raise him
back to safety. Suddenly, the
unexpected happened, the
dirt walls above him col
lapsed and eight feet of
sand piled on top of
Nimrod, hopelessly burying
him alive.
Farm owner Green Avera
sought the advice of
Superior Court Judge W. H.
Felton on what should be
done. Judge Felton decided
that the risk would be too
great to attempt to recover
the body, so he ordered that
the well be filled and that
Nimrod remain buried
there. The well site is locat
ed on the Hancock Farm off
the old Macon Highway.
Many in the farming com
munity believed in ghosts
and would not venture near
the well after sundown.
After the well had been
filled with dirt, a sinkhole
appeared atop the old well.
The farm hands believed
that Nimrod’s ghost came
out of the well, leaving a
depression in the sand.
One of the tenants, Seaborn
Wilder, had covered the
depression (where
Nimrod’s ghost exited) with
loose boards. Unbeknownst
to Wilder, one of his hens
had made a nest beneath
the boards.
One evening as the sun
disappeared over the hori
zon and the shadows of
night crept in, Wilder was
standing with his back to
the old well. He inadver
tently stepped backwards
on the boards and in the
process crushed the hen.
Out came the hen in the
dead of night squawking
loudly and flapping wildly
around his head. Wilder
thought it was Nimrod’s
ghost. It frightened him so
badly that he ran into a tree
trying to flee. It was quite a
while before Wilder’s
nerves settled down.
The Bible has its own
ghost story in I Samuel 28:
7-25: King Saul went to a
witch at Endor. He asked
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the medium to call up
Samuel from the dead. Saul
was a war with the
Philistines and felt that
God had abandoned him.
When Samuel appeared,
Saul asked him what he
should do. Samuel’s appari
tion told Saul, “Because you
did not obey the voice of the
Lord, the army of Israel
would fall into the hands of
the Philistines.” In the
ensuing battle with the
Central
Baptist
k moves
ft Sunday
WARNER ROBINS - The
congregation of Central
Baptist Church will leave its
location on Watson
Boulvard, and move into its
brand new church this
Sunday. The new 90,000
sq.-ft. three story facility is
located on a 155-acre site at
intersection of Lake Joy
Road and the Russell
Parkway. The first worship
service in the new building
will begin at 10:30 a.m.
Along with having new
facilities, the church will
expand worship services,
offering six weekly worship
series. On Sunday morn
ings, beginning Feb. 20,
there will be a contempo
rary service at 9 a.m. and a
traditional service at 11
a.m. There will be an
evening service, “Sunday
night Alive!” that will focus
on prayer, testimonies, mis
sions and a renewed empha
sis on the ordinances of the
church, as well as youth and
children’s music. Single
adults will also launch a
separate worship service on
Sunday nights. Both of
these evening services begin
at 6:30 p.m. and will begin
on Feb. 20.
Central will also be shift
ing from the traditional
prayer meeting on
Wednesday night to a full
worship service, and offer
ing a number of exciting
programs for youth and
children, starting Feb. 16.
See CENTRAL, page 7A
NIMROD JACKSON
BYRON DEPOT
Philistines, a wounded and
beleaguered Saul took his
own life. David replaced
Saul as king of Israel.
The subject of ghosts and
summoning the dead is
addressed in Deuteronomy
18:10. It condemns necro
mancy (seances with dead
spirits), fortune-telling, and
astrology. Such supernatu
ral practices are enemies to
true religion and endanger
moral and spiritual values.
6A