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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Ppide of the Panthers: Virgil Peavy
When legendary basketball
coach Eric Staples of the
Perry High Panthers instruct
ed his defense to block out
opposing offensive players
from getting between them
and the goal on rebounding,
Virgil Peavy took his coach
seriously. Virgil was a solid
rock around the basket. At 6-
foot, 2-inches in height and
220-pounds of pure muscle,
once he established his posi
tion under the goal, it was vir
tually impossible to keep him
from getting the rebound.
Defense was not his only forte
for he could score at will.
When Sam Nunn, Jimmy
Beatty, Percy Hardy, Bennett
Mauldin, Marvin Griffin, Ed
Beckham or William Harrison
passed him the ball on the low
post, Virgil would fake one
way and then spin the other,
shooting a deadly accurate
jump shot over his defender’s
outstretched arms. Scoring
20-points a game was nothing
for Virgil.
He also could knock the
cover off a baseball. I recall
playing baseball with him
when he was a freshman and
I was a senior. One night
game at the old Perry baseball
field, Virgil, batting left hand
ed, swung hard on a fastball
thrown by the opposing pitch
er and knocked the ball over
the scoreboard that stood just
inside the right field fence.
The ball was still rising when
it cleared the scoreboard. It
Let your children learn from their own mistakes
QUESTION: My chil
dren love to do things for
themselves, but they
make such messes that
it’s easier for me to do
the things for them. I
just don’t have the
patience to see them
fumble with stuff. Do you
think I’m wrong to step
in?
DR. DOBSON: I think you
are wrong, even though I
understand how you feel. I
heard a story about a moth
er who was sick in bed with
the flu. Her darling daugh
ter wanted so much to be a
good nurse. She fluffed the
pillows and brought a maga
zine to read. And then she
even showed up with a sur
prise cup of tea.
“Why, you’re such a sweet
heart,” the mother said as
she drank the tea. “I didn’t
know you even knew how to
make tea.”
Oh, yes,” the little girl
replied. “I learned by watch
ing you. I put the tea leaves
in the pan, and then I put in
the water and boiled it.
Then I strained it into a cup.
But I couldn’t find a strain
er, so I used the flyswatter
instead.”
“You what?” the mother
screamed.
The little girl said, “Oh,
don’t worry, Mom, I didn’t
use the new flyswatter. I
used the old one.”
Well, when kids try their
hardest and they get it all
wrong in spite of them
selves, what’s a parent to
do? What mothers and
fathers often do is prevent
their children from carrying
any responsibility that could
First hand knowledge
When Sadie and Louie
moved into the neighbor
hood, the possibility of our
getting to know each other
was questionable. Though
they appeared to be sociable,
I had heard a lot about
“their kind.” They are dif
ferent from others in our
immediate community. In
fact, different from any I
had ever come in contact
with. Television programs
often portray their breed as
vicious killers, not to be
trusted.
Eventually, I gained
enough courage to stroll
down the street, with hopes
of becoming acquainted.
Sadie and Louis were not
alone so there was no reason
to be uncomfortable in car
rying through with my
intentions. Following intro
ductions, the friendly couple
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Billy Powell
Columnist
landed well over 400-feet
from home plate and rolled
close to the Hawkinsville
highway. ‘How did that kid do
that?’ I marveled. It was the
most prodigious homerun I
have ever seen at Hickson
Field.
Virgil, playing for legendary
coach Herb St. John, was
good enough in football to
earn a scholarship to the
University of Georgia.
Although an injury cut short
his collegiate football career,
he excelled in the classroom,
becoming a whiz in mathe
matics and statistics, two aca
demic disciplines that pro
pelled him forward into his
career at the Center for
Disease Control (CDC) in
Atlanta.
There he consistently
amazed physicians and public
health officials with his
knowledge and grasp of epi-
Dr. James Dobson
Focus on the Family
www.family.org
result in a mess or a mis
take. It’s just easier to do
everything for them than to
clean up afterward. But I
urge parents not to fall into
that trap.
Your child needs her mis
takes. That’s how she
learns. So go along with the
game every now and then
even if the tea you drink
tastes a little strange.
• • •
QUESTION: Isn’t it our
goal to produce children
with self-discipline and
self-reliance? If so, how
does your approach to
external discipline
imposed by parents get
translated into internal
control?
DR. DOBSON: There are
many authorities who sug
gest that parents take a pas
sive approach to their chil
dren for the reason implied
by your question: They want
their kids to discipline them
selves. But since young peo
ple lack the maturity to gen
erate that self-control, they
stumble through childhood
Earline Cole
Reflections
marybob 17@juno.com
disproved all hearsay about
“their kind” so far as they
were concerned.
There is a tremendous dif
ference in these two
Doberman Pinchers and
those I have seen on televi
sion, or heard others talk
FAMILY&FATTH
demiology. In recognition of
Virgil’s contributions, the
Epidemic Intelligence Service
Alumni Association of the
CDC annually sponsors the J.
Virgil Peavy Memorial Award.
Virgil married Connie
Murphey of Roberta. They
had three sons: Jimmy, Jeff,
and John and eight grandchil
dren: Tara, Lindsey, Kayla,
Jenna, Wes, James, Michael
and Brandon.
The family resided in
Tucker. Virgil retired from
the CDC after 30 years of dis
tinguished service, and dur
ing retirement he continued
teaching statistics to public
health officials at Emory
University. He contracted a
blood disorder that caused his
body to produce excessive red
cells, and was ill for a number
of years. Virgil went home to
be with the Lord on Feb. 27,
2003.
Ten days before his death,
Sam Nunn and Horace
(Chance) Evans visited him at
his home in Tucker. On
March 17, 2003, Sam wrote a
letter to his 1956 classmates
describing his visit with
Virgil. Selections from that
letter follow: “Virgil wanted
his classmates to know he
loved them ... Obviously the
end was near, but Virgil
inspired us with his faith and
courage.... Boot Hunt had vis
ited before our visit and had
taken Virgil a scrapbook
about our high school
without experiencing either
internal or external disci
pline.
Thus, they enter adult life
having never completed an
unpleasant assignment, or
accepted an order that they
disliked, or yielded to the
leadership of their elders.
Can we expect such a person
to exercise self-discipline in
young adulthood? I think
not. That individual doesn’t
even know the meaning of
the words.
My belief is that parents
should introduce their chil
dren to discipline and self
control by any reasonable
means available, including
the use of external influ
ences when they are young.
By being required to behave
responsibly, children gain
valuable experience in con
trolling their own impulses
and resources. Then as they
grow into the teen years,
responsibility is transferred
year by year from the shoul
ders of the parents directly
to the children. They no
longer are required to do
what they have learned dur
ing earlier years, in the hope
that they will want to func
tion on their own initiative.
To illustrate, a boy should
be required to keep his room
relatively neat when he is
young. Then somewhere
during the mid-teens, his
own self-discipline should
take over and provide the
motivation to continue the
task. If it does not, the par
ent should close the door
and let him live in a dump, if
that is his choice.
In short, self-discipline
does not come automatically
about. The comparisons
substantiate a lesson in life
that we are all aware of.
Opinions cannot be estab
lished on nationality, race,
denomination, or other sim
ilarities. Neither can we
rely on hearsay. First hand
knowledge is the key to
establishing friendships.
What better example of
first hand knowledge than
Nathanael’s question of
Phillip. “Can there by any
good come out of
Nazareth?” to which Phillip
replied: “Come and see.”
(Reference John 1:43-51)
Established on first hand
knowledge Nathanael found
himself a friend whose
nationality proved to be of
lesser importance
Jesus of Nazareth a
friend to all.
% s
VIRGIL PEAVY
days... Virgil talked a lot
about Fessor Staples and the
important role he played in
our lives ... He was moved by
the support of his church and
many friends ... He was proud
of his boys and very grateful
for Connie’s devotion and love
...At the funeral, Boot Hunt
captured the Perry High
School days and others spoke
of Virgil’s outstanding leader
ship at the CDC and in the
community.”
Sam ended the letter with
these stirring comments:
“Virgil’s final words to
Horace and me after we
shared a prayer was a mes
sage to his classmates. Virgil
said, ‘Tell all my Perry friends
to those who have never
experienced it. Self-control
must be learned, and it must
be taught.
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Virgil^M KjHK W-
Peavy
playing s k
basketball
and classmates I’m okay.’ By
that he meant his faith in God
had prepared him for his
death and he wanted his
friends to know that. I know
that all of you will agree with
me when I say Virgil was a lot
more than OK.
He was a leader of the class
of ’56; a leader at the
University of Georgia; a
leader in his community and a
leader at the CDC. He taught
all of us much more than
math—he taught us how to
live, how to lead, and how to
die with courage and faith.”
In closing I shall never for
get Perry playing the unde
feated Valley Point team for
the basketball championship
of Georgia in 1956. Perry was
behind at intermission. At
halftime Coach Staples deliv
ered an unforgettable pep talk
to the team, as Sam Nunn will
attest. Perry came out for the
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80903.
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second half with great inten
sity and blew Valley Point off
the court, winning by a lop
sided score of 81-52. Leading
the scoring was Sam Nunn
with 27 points and Virgil
Peavy hitting for 20 points.
Percy Hardy also scored five
critical outside baskets for 10
points. Jimmy Beatty stopped
Valley Point’s high scoring
Charles Spooner with out
standing defensive play. Virgil
was named the tournament’s
“most valuable player.”
There was never a game
where more was at stake or
Perry received a greater test.
That night Virgil Peavy and
his teammates rose to the
occasion, defeating what
many observers thought to be
the superior team. That feat
exemplified the irrepressible
competitive spirit we call
Panther pride.
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