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Houston IHimu-if
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Tlsh Mims
Columnist
perry.dda@perry-ga.gov
Boys will
Be boys
A few weeks ago, I wrote a
column about the shenani
gans that children get up to
when their parents aren’t
looking. Seems that this
isn’t anything new. I
recently heard a story about
my Daddy, his brother and a
friend. This happened
about 60 years ago.
Once upon a time, three
little boys named Billy,
Dawyn and Charles were
bored on a hot summer
afternoon. With nothing to
do, they decided to walk in
the cemetery across the
road from their house. Now
they had played in the
cemetery many, many
times, but on this particular
day they noticed a little
bitty mound of dirt that
they had never seen before.
The boys wondered what
the little mound of dirt
could be. They wondered if
there were bones beneath it.
Eventually, they decided
that the little mound of dirt
must be a baby grave that
had not been marked. They
decided that no one cared
about the poor, little baby.
They decided to name the
baby and mark its final rest
ing place. They procured a
piece of marble (I didn’t get
a clear picture of how this
happened) and a cold chisel
and a hammer. Since they
could only make straight
letters, they decided that
the baby’s name must be I.
N. LANEY.
So they made a marker
for the little mound of dirt
and declared that I. N.
LANEY rested there. They
went home marveling at the
good deed that they had
done.
Nearly fifty years later,
Daddy and his brother went
to visit their old home place.
They walked in the ceme
tery across the road. Guess
what was there? A small
dusty marker. They bent
down to brush it off, and lo
and behold, there was I. N.
LANEY Daddy wondered
for a moment if they should
stop at the church to let
someone know the truth,
but they decided in the end
just to let matters lie.
I guess long, hot, boring
summer afternoons are
nothing new. Children will
always find a way to amuse
themselves. On the heels of
the baby grave story came
another story about two lit
tle boys that were bored one
afternoon when some ladies
from the church came to
visit their mother. The boys
decided to bark all after
noon. They barked at the
church ladies until they
went home.
Another time they decid
ed to play catch with their
infant sister, in her car
riage. They rolled her right
off the porch. Another time
they dismantled what was
supposed to be an aban
doned house, even pulling
the bricks from the chim
ney.
I might mention here that
if these boys had been my
children, they might not be
here with us today. Thank
goodness that my grand
mother had patience with
her sons. They grew up to
be God-fearing, law-abiding,
productive citizens, good
husbands and good fathers.
I always wondered how
my Daddy knew when I was
up to no good. Now I know.
FRIDAY,
JUNE 17, 2005
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HHJ/ Charlotte Perkins
Rebecca Nelson, Sydney Creamer, Morgan Peavy and Lauren Byrd enjoy pizza for lunch.
Westside Baptist plans weekend for women
Westside Baptist Church, 1101
Dunbar Road, Warner Robins, will
host a “Wonderful Weekend for
Women,” Aug. 26 and 28.
Dr. Rhonda Kelley, associate
director of the Women’s Ministry
Program at New Orleans Baptist
Theological Seminary in New
Perry Panthers' dynamic duo
Growing up in Perry and
coming from a poor family,
all I had was a basketball
and a bicycle. My parents,
Lee and Margaret Powell,
didn’t own a car and there
was no TV in those days, so
I practiced basketball year
round to fulfill my aspira
tion to play for Coach Eric
Staples’ fabled Perry
Panthers.
In 1944, when I was 9, my
brother Dwayne was born. I
wanted him to become a
Perry Panther, too, so I
built his first basketball
goal when he was only 2
years old. The goal stood
three feet tall. Dwayne
could barely get the ball
over the rim. For the next
15 years I spent many
hours playing with him and
helping him perfect his
skills.
I met Lee Martin for the
first time during the fall of
1953 when I was a senior on
Coach Staples’ third state
championship team. Every
day at practice I noticed a
little boy sitting high in the
stands and observing
intently everything that
went on. It was obvious he
loved the game. When prac
tice was over, I would stay
to work on my game and
this little fellow would grab
a basketball and start drib
bling up and down the
court, shooting lay-ups. His
ball handling skills and
fluid motion impressed me.
I asked, “Son, what’s
your name?”
“Lee Martin,” he replied.
Then, in answer to my
questions he told me he was
8 and the son of Wilson and
Una Martin.
I told him, “Lee, keep
this up. You have the mak
ings of a fine basketball
player.”
As Coach Staples went
out the door, he always
shouted back, “Billy, make
sure you turn out the lights
and lock the door when you
and Lee leave.”
Fast forward to the 1962
season and you find Lee
Martin, a senior, and
Dwayne Powell, a junior,
Family Faith
' ——
Billy Powell
Columnist
playing on the same Perry
team. They became the
most feared guard-forward
combination in Georgia his
tory, leading Perry to an
undefeated 35-0 record and
Coach Staples’ sixth state
championship.
This dynamic duo was
virtually unstoppable.
While Martin was averag
ing 20 points a game,
Powell was complementing
him with 18 per game. They
rarely played an entire
game as Perry overpowered
most opponents with its
lethal offensive machine.
When schools tried to dou
ble-team Martin, Powell
would break the game wide
open. When they shifted
back on Powell to cool him
down, Martin would go on a
rampage.
For opposing coaches it
was a catch-22 situation of
choosing which way to
defend the 1962 Panthers
who never tasted defeat.
Six members of this team
made the all-state team:
Martin, Powell, George
Nunn, Dennis Fike, Ronnie
Sanders and Ronnie
Griffin. Other team mem
bers were Butch Skinner,
Bobby Goodman, Ronnie
Davis, Melton Cloud,
Jimmy Dorsett and Paul
Bozeman. Sonny Wilson
was manager.
Panthers v. Poets
The most memorable
game during the 1962 sea
son was Perry’s defeat of
the Lanier Poets, who were
favored to upset the
Fun in the sun
Orleans will be the guest speaker.
She is the author of several books,
including “Life Lessons from
Women of the Bible.”
On Friday, there will be dinner,
praise, worship and a message.
On Saturday, a brunch will be fol
lowed by worship, lunch, breakout
discussion sessions and another
inspirational message.
Fourteen including
“Contentment in Crisis,”
“Financial Planning for
Retirements,” “Mothers of
Preschoolers,” “Too Busy to Make
Dinner,” and “Living will and
Panthers and break their
winning streak.
Macon’s City Auditorium
was packed to capacity.
People were sitting on the
stage, crowded around the
playing floor and standing
in the aisles.
Lanier started off double
teaming Martin. Powell
made Lanier Coach Henry
Middlebrooks rethink this
strategy when he connected
on nine straight long range
bombs and walked off the
court at intermission with
19 points.
When the Poets tightened
up their defense on Powell,
Martin went on a rampage,
also scoring 19 first half
points. Martin came back
for the second half and put
on a display of offensive
fireworks that will never be
forgotten.
Playing like a magician
on the court, he could have
passed for Harry Houdini
dressed in a maroon and
gold basketball uniform. In
fluid motion, occasionally
going into overdrive, he
dribbled around, under, and
through the Poets.
He wooed the Perry
crowd repeatedly as he sank
unbelievable shots. Just
before the horn blew ending
the third quarter, Martin
got off a quick shot behind
center court that hit noth
ing but nylon. This brought
the house down!
He continued his wiz
ardry into the final quarter
and wound up with 22 sec
ond half points. Perry had
blistered Lanier, 78 to 47.
Martin’s exhibition was one
of the finest individual per
formances ever seen at
Macon’s City Auditorium.
His 41 point outburst
would have inspired Sidney
Lanier, to write a sonnet.
Dwayne Powell returned
the following season and led
the Panthers to their sev
enth state championship in
1963. Powell averaged 29.9
points a game his senior
year- a school record, hit
over 50-percent of his field
goal attempts, and was 90
percent at the foul line—
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HHJ/ Charlotte Perkins
Summertime is Vacation Bible School time,
and 145 kids had the time of their life last
week at Perry Presbyterian Church, with a
“Faith Expedition.” Here, kids scale the
climbing wall set up along with a giant slide
and other outdoor games on the final day of
the Vacation Bible School.
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Dwayne Powell shooting in
1963 state finals. In the
background are Gerald
Spena (#3l) and Bert
Bozeman (#22)
hitting a phenomenal 50
straight free throws with
out a miss.
He became the most pro
lific scorer in Perry history
with 2043 points.
Macon Telegraph Sports
Editor Harley Bowers, in
his Jan. 6, 1963 column,
asked Coach Staples to con
trast Martin and Powell:
“There is no doubt Powell
is the better shot. But
Martin is the better floor
man,” commented Coach
Staples. “I will say this
though. It was certainly
nice to have them togeth
er.
At UGA, Martin and
Powell again teamed
together to bedazzle SEC
foes.
Coach Staples, who came
to Perry in 1933, had two
other teams with perfect
regular season records. One
was hisl93s quintet featur
ing Allen Martin (Lee’s
uncle), Horace Grimsley,
James (Preacher) Howard,
Harris Rape, Dick Edwards,
Joe Davis, Aldene Lasseter,
G. T. Pierce, Watt Rainey,
Marvin Griffin, Charles
Andrew, Donald Clark, and
Powers Lawson. Perry’s
1935 team lost to Albany in
the state finals. The other
was Perry’s 1956 state
championship team with a
Durable Power of Attorney” will be
offered.
The cost is S3O for those who reg
ister before June 30, and $35 there
after
Call (478) 785-1025 for further
information.
- From staff reports
111 y
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Perry Panther Lee Martin
scored 41 against Lanier.
In the background is Boot
Hunt (#l2)
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Submitted
Author Billy Powell, left,
Kenneth Whipple, right,
and 2-year old Dwayne
Powell holding a basket
ball in a 1946 photo.
26-0 regular season record.
The 1956 team suffered its
lone defeat in the a district
class B and C championship
game to Vienna, a team it
had beaten twice. Team
members were Sam Nunn,
Virgil Peavy, Bennett
Mauldin, Percy Hardy,
Jimmy Beatty, Ed
Beckham, Marvin Griffin,
Terry Griffin, and Ralph
Dorsett. Horace (Chance)
Evans was manager.
The indomitable twosome
of Martin and Powell and
the players before and after
them kept alive the strong
basketball tradition of the
Perry Panthers.
PAGE 7A