YOU ARE THERE - March 11, 1981

James Kight and Roseanne Odom were the first students to sell 10 or more subscriptions to the Soperton News, receiving "Supersubscriptionseller" T-shirts from Dennards. Half of the proceeds of each annual sale were given back to the kids. We would have done more except for Postal Service rules.

There was a special ceremony to honor Eagle Scout David Sanford.

Gary Ladue was safe at home in Vermont. He just "needed to get away for a while." The Navy veteran had previously served on a nuclear cruiser during Vietnam. He was married to Ellen Weaver, sister of Dublin insurance agent Jerry Weaver.  Gary and Jerry co-authored "The Irish Went Down to New Orleans." (If you have a copy, it may be valuable. I couldn't find it on Google.)

Windsors's column: St. Patrick's celebration in Dublin.

Ricks's column: School Taxes - A Bargain in Disguise?

Teen of the Week: Chet Cox.

Lee Gillis, Cynthia Hall, and Teresa Higgs watched Barron Gillis play tennis in a match between UGA and Penn State.

Linda Gail Claxton led the GA (Girls Auxiliary) on a walk-a-thon to benefit the Annie Armstrong missions of Tarrytown Baptist Church.

The Hall Sisters & Eddie reported on their trip to Trinidad.

Dublin Datsun Grand Opening.

Buddy L. Phillips, 73, died after a long illness.

Danny Ruis, 29, died from auto accident injuries.

Lizzie Ann Hart was 105.

Top winners in the livestock show: Kendall Mimbs, Alvin Heath, and Danny Shepherd.

"Football Considered for GSC."

William A. Ricks

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"Words of Christ" will get you to thinking and praying

There's a thingy on internet that's easily accessible called "Words of Christ".  It's on the sidebar of my blog, and I repost the daily words of Jesus most nights on Facebook. Here's a recent verse that brought on a question that I tried to answer from my own experience and from trying to know Jesus and follow him:

"Words of Christ": And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am [Christ]; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. (Luke 21:8)

The Facebook comment read: "After reading this, I wonder why the people that practice Judiasm believe Jesus was a profit. If he clearly says he is the son of God, then they should either believe it totally or reject him totally. Am I right?"

My answer: Hard question. Thank the Lord for Bible Gateway.

I believe it is a clear choice, and each person must find his or her own answer.

I searched "thou art the Christ". All 4 gospels had something to say:

Jesus Christ, Jesus is the Christ, Jesus is the Christ - the son of God, Christ, the Savior of the world, the Christ of God, Christ the Son of God, Christ the Lord, the name of the Father - and of the Son- and of the Holy Ghost, Christ, the Son of the living God.

That brash, man's man, Peter, spoke out when Jesus asked "Who do YOU say I am?" Peter said "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

It's a very personal, individual decision.

Jesus said "... this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven."

I read once that Luther finally concluded that salvation is exclusively by God, and that all man can do is want salvation, and even the wanting comes from God.

For me personally, it's a matter of heart, by faith, by hope, by love. 

This earthly existence pulls us so hard. We trust in earthly life and these frail bodies. I've been blessed by a few health problems. Illness has strengthened my belief that Jesus is the only way. I've read the Bible and respect it. I love to analyze and dissect. I love to argue and discuss - hoping to bring more clarity to myself and others. I love words and their means to communicate.

The Bible is important, but without the guidance of the Holy Spirit who speaks to our hearts and our inner selves, all the words of the whole world are meaningless.

Getting back to your comment, you have put the finger on a religious confusion that's alive in the world, and, sadly, alive in many churches. Being a good Jew is not the same as being a Christian - a follower of Christ, the Son of the Living God. 

Many, if not most, who heard Jesus were Jews and had been taught in the Jewish tradition by the religious experts (the preachers, if you will). In John 6 we find the words "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" In verse 66 it says "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him."

The temptation of Bible study, church life, and trying to walk better each day is to become a Pharisee, to become one of those people who Jesus criticized most. I know. I lived it. The temptation continues.

After so many words...

YES. It is a clear choice. We don't mealy mouth and beat around the bush with Jesus. We must accept Him or reject him. Simple, but hard. No in between. No being lukewarm.

Jesus is the good news, the gospel. All scripture is profitable, but for beginners I recommend the book of John and the other three gospels, if he or she really wants to know Jesus and who He is. Read the rest of the Bible, too, but don't get lost and confused by anything that is not of Jesus. 

Mrs. Perry in English class once quoted something like "I've written you a long letter because I don't have time to write you a short one."

William A. Ricks

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YOU ARE THERE - March 10, 1976

Vila Lee Way and her sister Pearl Walker were taking care of over 50 healthy cats at their country home.  Some were part bobcat.

Windsor's column: St. Patrick's celebration at Dublin.

Ricks's column: Suggestions for retail merchants for attracting customers.

Brenda Lee was set to perform at the Junior High Auditorium in Dublin.

The THS Beta Club held a Walk-a-Thon to benefit Muscular Dystrophy. 30 members and their advisors walked the 6.4 miles from Harrell's to Sweat's. 

Sirloin steak was $1.59 per pound at Harrell's.

William A. Ricks

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Dear Clayton...

A couple of pages from the book. See all of them at:https://picasaweb.google.com/W.A.Ricks/ SouvenirBook81980TreutlenFamilies#

Dear Clayton,

I hope you're having a good time.  Historian that you are, I bet you've been talking to everybody there. How are your parents and wife? Have you seen any of my family?  Have you had a chance to talk with President Lincoln? How about Shag White or Bo Lightning?

Remember that Souvenir Book we did on Treutlen families?  I never did thank you enough for talking me and Windsor into doing it. You did most of the work, rounding up people and even badgering some of them to get up the facts on their families and submit them.  It was one of the best things that either one of us ever came up with.

You left us too soon.  Today we have computers.  Not the primitive machines that you knew, but fast, easy to use computers in many sizes.  All that cutting and pasting is long gone.  There are scanners and software to read records and convert them to letters and characters so they can be reproduced in any size or style... instantly.  I don't have the software to "OCR" (optical character recognition), but, Lord's willing, I will.  In the meantime, this afternoon, I did the next best thing.

I did what you used to do every Saturday evening - listened to the news from Lake Wobegon.  Not on radio, but on podcasts.  You may remember a thing called internet.  It has become as indispensable as the telephone.  It can work through phone lines or through radio signals. Most people take their phones with them everywhere they go; they're wireless.  You wouldn't believe the resources for family histories. So much information is free. The best source for genealogy is called Ancestry.com, but it requires a subscription fee. Our library has several computers, just outside the local history room, which are free to the public. Your son is a frequent user of the library facilities.

It took a few hours, but I scanned (like a photograph) the pages of Book 8, the first one about local families. It's on a free website just for my pictures and pages. What this means Clayton, is the book, which is out of print (the first Souvenir Book to have a complete sell-out),  can be read by anyone in the world with internet access.

What do I mean, bragging about modern technology? Clayton, I can't begin to imagine the wonders you are witnessing where you are.

I miss you, old friend.
Bill

William A. Ricks

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January, 1902 - Last Spike Driven for MD&S

Looking for something this afternoon and opened a box I hadn't looked at for  at least nine years and found this clipping. I'm guessing it was published about January 30, 1987, as the regular feature in the Courier Herald was about "85 Years Ago". It was written by W. H. Champion, who had been editor of the newspaper many years

The Dublin Courier-Dispatch, January 30, 1902

Tuesday afternoon about 3 o'clock the last spike was driven, and the extension of the Macon, Dublin & Savannah railroad to Vidalia was completed. Nothing now remains to be done except to surface up about four miles of track. This should be finished this week and a schedule between Dublin and Vidalia can be put on.
In an editorial pointing to the railroads that Dublin had in 1902, the Courier-Dispatch told of the growth of Dublin during the prior ten years, and stated in true civic pride: "During the next ten years it is believed that the growth of Dublin and Laurens County will be more marked than in the last ten. It would not be surprising if Laurens ranked as one of the six largest in the state ten years hence and that Dublin at that time would have population of 10,000."

Very prophetic: Laurens County did become one of the top counties in the state in population.

Class, here is your assignment:
1- What was the date of that Tuesday afternoon when the last spike was driven?  We may need to celebrate the occasion during the coming January, right here in Soperton.
2- What was the population of Laurens County in the 1920 census, and what was it's state rank?  While you're looking, what was the new county Treutlen's population in the 1920 census?

William A. Ricks

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1986 Spring Practice

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March 4, 1986

I rank Marion Shaw as one of the very top educators in the Treutlen School System in my lifetime. I knew him best when he was Principal at the Primary School, but he was a good coach and, later, School Superintendent. He seemed to recognize the importance of community involvement with the schools, not only with parents, but the public at large. Here he's shown helping with Spring Football Practice.

Others that week: Walker Reunion (Mrs. Bernice was 85), GSP helicopter visit at TPS, ag ed photos, Mulberry Bush, June Wheeler.

William A. Ricks

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1981 Walker Reunion

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March 4, 1981

Bernice Walker was surprised at the Walker Reunion when she was presented a cake in honor of her 80th birthday. Left to right, front: Mrs. Bernice walker, Mrs. Georgia Hester, Mrs. Ivaline Phillips. Standing: Bob Walker, Feltman Walker, Donnie Walker, and James Walker.

Others that week: Basketball, Larry Kaase, Young at Heart, Patricia Peterson, Bill Peterson & Carl Gillis, Chandra Troup & Henry Miller, Jennifer Vaughn & Jeremy Poole at courthouse, Clayton Stephens & Donnie Cammack, David Sanford.

William A. Ricks

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1976 Honorary Chapter Farmers

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March 3, 1976

At the FFA Banquet, Superintendent Bobby Driggers and Lunchroom Chief Mary Lou Davis were recognized as Honorary Chapter Farmers by Brantley Ricks and Chuck Ellington. When we were in high school "Ma" Davis would sneak a few peanut butter cookies out the back door. While performing newspaper duties at TES I would stop by the lunchroom, where she would have saved back a few cookies for me. They were huge. One of the reasons during the 1980s I got up to 192 pounds.

Others that week: 4-H Junior Rally, Garden Club Liberty Trees, Basketball, TPS program, band at PTA, Sharon Salter, Y clubs gave magazine covers to library.

William A. Ricks

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YOU ARE THERE - March 5, 1986

Johnnie Sears Ricks, 76, died in Macon where she had lived for five years. She had served Soperton since she moved from Wheeler County in 1935, as nurse and administrator of the hospital and nursing home. She was married to J. H. "Red" Ricks.

Windsor's column: Another installment of Charles Kuralt's look at southern rural life.

Ricks's column: Ernest Camp, the "Wiregrass Poet" and editor of the Walton Tribune.  He was the great uncle of Doey and Petty Moring. He had been inducted into the Georgia Newspaper Hall of Fame in 1962.

A city election was set for March 31, the first time that council members to be elected by district instead of "at large".

Dianna Hewitt was a state finalist in the Miss American Coed Pageant.

Paul Scott and Jamey Scott wrote 4-H articles about scouting deer and firearm safety.

William A. Ricks

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YOU ARE THERE - March 4, 1981

There was  a full scale investigation of the disappearance of Soperton banker Gary Ladue. Do you remember how it turned out?

David Sanford was to be honored as Soperton's latest Eagle Scout.

Lion Bill Peterson brought Carl Gillis to the meeting as guest speaker.

Clayton Stephens administered the oath of office to Councilman Donnie Cammack.

Windsor's column: The subscription campaign.

Ricks's column: Soperton - City of 100,000.

Pine Poll: When asked opinions of the governor's race, selected answers were: Sam Nunn if he would run, Joe Frank Harris, Billy Lovett, and "Possum" Lovell.

March 6, 1931: A whole page was devoted to the "Orland School Examiner," edited by the school superintendent and son of Soperton News editor.  His name was H. M. Flanders, Jr.

Mrs. Bernice Walker celebrated her 80th birthday.

Virgil Norris (Sr.) grew a big crooked neck pumpkin.

Boys Basketball ended with a loss, 71-59, to Metter, whose only defeat of the season was to Treutlen.  Lavon Mercer must have been on the top of his game this time against John Morgan's Vikings.

William A. Ricks

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