Living



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When a Southern girl calls a man “Honey” it means that she either likes him or can’t remember his name. 

No one would have been invited to dinner as often as Jesus was unless he was interesting and had a sense of humor.  ~ Charles Shultz

Honesty means integrity on everything.  Honesty means wholeness, completeness; it means truth in everything- in deed and in word.  ~ Orison Marden

Integrity is the glue that holds our way of life together.  
~ Billy Graham 

marylongSALUTE TO GRANDFATHER:Lt. John Robert Todd received his West Point Diploma at graduation exercises held at the Point on May 25, 2013; his major was Chemical Engineering.  John gave his first salute after his graduation to his grandfather, Robert Norton of Lawrenceville.  Robert Norton was a prisoner of war for 86 days in Stalag Luft#4, Germany during WWII.

John Todd will be stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia for a short time then he will go on to Ranger School in Dahlonega, Georgia.  John’s mother is Janet Norton Todd, a Lawrenceville native and graduate of Central Gwinnett High School; John’s father is John C. Todd and he and Janet are Dallas, Texas residents.  Their daughter, Mary Charlotte (Lottie), is a senior at the University of Virginia where she is majoring in Economics. 

BEST CONTEST IN GWINNETT

On Saturday July 13, 2013 judges and guest gathered at the CHEW restaurant located in the old railroad station on North Clayton Street in Lawrenceville.  The occasion was the annual home made ice cream event and the judges chose the best tasting entry along with the ones that placed second and third according to the judges taste test.  Linda Moore and Linda Henderson coordinated the event; judges were Bob and Marie Beiser, Mary Long and Shelby Jack.  (Shelby Jack was selected as Miss Georgia National Miss for 2013).  Marie Beiser and Bob are retired Gwinnett educators and Marie also serves on the Lawrenceville City Council.  Mary Long qualified as a judge because of her sincere devotion to eating ice cream.  The ice creams judged were butter pecan, strawberry cream, German chocolate, cherry and vanilla.  The cherry ice cream made by Ann Boyd placed first.  Selecting a winner was not easy for all entries were delicious.  Some of the judges had to make several trips to the freezers to compare flavors and make sure that cherry won; the Butter Pecan and Strawberry Cream tied for second place.  A peach ice cream entry came in after the judging was complete; however, the judges sampled the entry and said that another making of the concoction should be entered in the 2014 contest.

The Chew Restaurant in Lawrenceville is open on Saturdays and Sundays to serve delicious home cooked, southern food prepared by Landy and Linda Henderson.  The gift shop is opened from 9 until 4 on Saturdays and handcrafted items are for sale there. 

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

The Gwinnett County Public Schools will take applications to become a member of the GEWS Oversight Committee.  This committee will provide curriculum feedback to the school system and deadline for submitting and application is September 16, 2013.  For information visit www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us.

CONGRATULATIONS

• Lawrenceville residents Joel and Martha Darsey will celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary on Saturday August 3rd, 2013 at a drop in reception at the Central Baptist Church.

• Terese Danner and Krisinda Dean, counselors at Level Creek Elementary and Heather Heigl and Ginna Smith counselors at Puckett’s Mill Elementary have been selected by the American School Counselor association for outstanding service to students.  

• Gwinnett County ranks fourth in a measure of health outcomes in a study by an Atlanta Regional Commission.  The commission found that Forsyth County is the healthiest county in the state.  

• Jan Burke, Snellville’s controller has received an Award of Financial Reporting Achievement by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.  This award was presented because Snellville’s annual financial report has been judged to meet high standards.  To read the report: www.snellville.org.

• Greg Holley was recently appointed to the Georgia Structural Pest Control Commission by Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black.  SPCC is made up to seven members, four of which are enforcing rules set forth by the Structural Pest Control Act.  In 1966 Holley founded Zone Pest Solutions Inc. in Lawrenceville, Ga.  He has served as president of his company for 17 years.  Gregg Holley is the son of Reverend Lamar and Jean Holley of Lawrenceville.  He and his Dedie have twin sons, Jake and Sam and a daughter, Anna. 

LAWRENCEVILLE REUNION

Long time residents, LHS graduates and friends gathered in the Lawrenceville First Baptist Church Community Center for the annual reunion on July 6, 2013; arrangements were made for the covered dish luncheon by Norma Bennett, Sarah and John Briscoe brought drinks for the crowd of 70.  Mayor Judy Johnson led in prayer before the delicious meal was served; one of the favorite dishes was Jean Biggers’ sweet potato casserole.  Some favorite dishes were the caramel cake made by Norma Bennett, the Class of ‘48 chocolate cake brought by Blanche Emerson, the cake that Linda Oakes and Phyllis Hood made and another favorite was the slaw that Esther Edwards made. 

Those who signed the attendance register for the 2013 Reunion were Sarah and John Briscoe, Bill and Anita Fowler, Linda and Eddie Oakes, Jimmie Sosebee, Benny and Jeanette Bramblett, Betty Jo Reepe, Jack and Darlene Craig, Morris Langley, Dwight Williams, Charles and Shirley Whitehead, Barbara Moore, Louise McMillan, Jean Turner, Phyllis Hood, Blanche Buchanan Emerson, Mary Arnold, Blondine and Charles Cooper, Bernice Bruce Raybon, JoAnn Clark, JoAnn Yancey Smith, Yvonne and Dick Keel, Yvonne Baker, Robert Norton, Robert and Grace Cain, Jo and Marvin Brownlee, Jack and Peggy Britt, Jimi Haney, Bill Medlin, Irl Chrisope, Annelle O’Kelly, Barbara Chadwick Williams, Aubrey Daniel Sensibar, Gene and Sarah Lowry, Lawrence Davis, Hoyt Caylor, Victor McKelvey, Martha Frances Hutchins, Brenda Sue Davis, Jimmie Ruth Young Swanson, Ed and Janelle Walton, Jack Webb, Judy Jordan Johnson, Sonny and Barbara Wooten, Ruby Beard, Esther Edwards, Jean and Robert Biggers, Norma Bennett, Farrar Atkinson, Myrna Fountaine Davis, Mary and Dean Long.  

The 2014 Reunion will be held on Saturday July 5 at Lawrenceville First Baptist Church.

LAWRENCEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL - CLASS OF 1956 REUNION

The Lawrenceville High School Class of 1956 met on Thursday, June 6 for a covered dish lunch at the John and Sarah Briscoe Farm in Commerce, Georgia.  Those who attended this annual event were Jimmy and Carolyn Patton Alford, Doug and Evelyn Chadwick Carlisle, Jimmie Ruth Young Swanson, Johnny and Barbara Haney Fricks, Arthur and Duane Holcomb Long, Kenneth and Carolyn Hood, Rodger and Barbara Chadwick Williams, Larry and Fern Herrington, John and Sarah Dunson Briscoe.  

Members of the Lawrenceville High School Class of 1956:  James Emory Baggett, William Langley Bell, William Jerry Brooks, Shirley Faye Brooks, Mae Belle Cannon, Barbara Ann Chadwick, Evelyn Frances Chadwick, Darrell Cicero Clack, William Robert Clack, Maurice Donald Cooper, Jo Ann Davis, Randell Millard Davis, Linda Leigh Dowis, Freddie Ronald Dodson, Sarah Rogers Dunson, Bobby Glenn Edge, Parker Harlan Edmonds, Donna Allene Fortune, Edna Lorene Fountain, Lionel Kelley Hamilton, Marjorie Jewell Haney, Barbara Jean Haney, Larry Webster Herrington, Vivian Mae Herrington, Patricia Ann Hodnett, Vivian Duane Holcombe, James Victor Hood, Jr., Kenneth Hopkins, William Robert Mahaffey, Trudie Maebell Mercier, Gary Eugene Mitchell, Judith Virginia Mundy, Jimmy Ray Oakes, Frank Barron Osborne, Mildred Grace Parks, Carolyn Patton, Jane Audrey Raney, George Gainum Robinson, Martha Robinson, Helen Louise Sells, Raymond Charles Sells, Donald William Smith, Bruce Randolph Still, Jimmie Ruth Young, Willard Turner Swanson, June Audrey Wages, George Webb, Shirley Beatrice Turner, Doris Deanna West, Esther Martha Wilkerson.

Abraham Baldwin College 1998 Reunion
reunion 440
From the left: Dean Long, Charles Daughtery, Marvin Giddens, George Rowan, Robert Golden, James Sutton, Leona Carter Upchurch, Eleanor Gaskins, Lavern H. Purser, Arthur C. Layton, Gladys Dunn, Robert Harrison, Howard Pridgen, Albert Bryan, David Dean, Gerald Cowart, William Harrell, Delmas Rushing, Nan S. Rushing, Wava B. Beard, Martin Price, Clarice H. Bell, Neal Johnson, Joe Ben Powell, Wilma R. Tillman, Barbara D. Eason, Joe Porter, Cromer Adkins, Dan Bacon, Louis Parker, John Stewart, Zack Williams, Arthur Morgan, Lavelle Webb, Herbert Ingram, Chuck Almand, John W. Adams. Note: J.W. Benefield, for whom the Elementary School was named and former Gwinnett County School Superintendent was an ABAC alumnus and many from Gwinnett were students there. ABAC is a junior college and many students finish two years there and transfer to UGA.
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Central Gwinnett High School 2013-2014 Football




Now that my first batch of grandchildren is embracing the first stirrings of Patriotism, I very recently wrote, directed and produced a 3 act play that lasted under 10 minutes, even counting the 2nd act musical number from”Little Mermaid.” I had standards:

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Lawrenceville High School Class of 1936


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"We must all hang together,  else we shall all hang separately." 

~ Benjamin Franklin at the signing of the Declaration of Independence 

"The North is not a place; just a direction out of the South."

"If we had more hell in the pulpit, we would have less hell in the pew."  ~ Billy Graham 

'Duty, Honor, Country" ~ The West Point Code 

"In God We Trust" ~ United States Motto,  Adopted July 30, 1956
marylongThere were 7,615 students who graduated from Gwinnett County Public Schools in 2006; in 2013 there were 10,556 graduates, the largest number of Gwinnett Public Schools graduates in the history of public education in Gwinnett.  

JULY EVENTS: 

• On July 4,1776 the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence and John Hancock signed it. Signers from Georgia were George Walton, Lyman Hall and Button Gwinnett. 

• Presidents born in July include Calvin Coolidge born at Plymouth Notch, Vt. On July 4, 1872; John Q. Adams, born at Braintree (now Quincy) Mass on July 11,1767. 

• President James Garfield was shot on July 1, 1881. 

• Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on the same day, July 4,1826. Adams was the second President of the United States and Jefferson was the third President. 

OLD NEWS FROM  OLD NEWSPAPERS 

• The News-Herald July 14, 1906: “Prof. F.B. Maddox and Miss Geneva are teaching at Meadow.”

• The News-Herald July 8,1912: "Ex sheriff James G. Brown has been chosen Chief of Police for Lawrenceville to succeed William S. Brand and he is now wielding the club for the city. Witt Cole remains night watchman." 

• The News-Herald July 11,1912: "The Bank of Lawrenceville has paid a semi-annual dividend of 4%”.

• The News-Herald, June 15, 1905: “Dewitt, Jones of Norcross was awarded First Honor at West Point Graduation.”

• In the July 17, 1913 issue of The News-Herald there was a section of news from a part of Gwinnett County known as Lonesome Valley: “The ice cream supper at Mr. HF Ewings Saturday was enjoyed by all present...Some of the citizens down here are wanting to change the name of our town to Pea Ridge. However we see no need of such a movement.”

• The Gwinnett Journal June 3, 1916: “Miss Lilye and Frank Rhodes  motored to the mountains on Wednesday afternoon.”

• The News Herald August 27, 1931: “Mrs. HT Tanner and Mrs JW Edmonds of Dacula were hostesses at a  birthday dinner Sunday for Mrs. HT Tanner’s mother, Mrs. AR Clack of Auburn.”

• The Gwinnett Journal July 6, 1937: “The Lawrenceville office of the Railway Express Agency handled a shipment of 1800 baby chicks Tuesday and not a faulty chick was found in the lot.”

• The Gwinnett Journal reported on October 1, 1929: “The first game for the Duluth football team was on September 30, 1939.”

• From the Gwinnett Journal July 2, 1941: “Mr. Hilyer Cooper bought out the Woco Pep Service Station located on Crogan Street in Lawrenceville, on the corner across the street from Williams Drug Store.”

• The July 23, 1941 edition of the Gwinnett Journal there were 14 cases of Infantile Paralysis in Gwinnett County.

• The News-Herald, May 1, 1958: “Colonial Stores opens Gwinnett’s first supermarket in Lawrenceville. The store is located on South Clayton Street opposite the First Baptist Church. George Bailey of Lawrenceville is the grocery manager; Gene Cheek, produce manager; Howard Duncan, meat market manager.”

• The News-Herald, June 19, 1958: “Mrs. George Bagwell retired from teaching at Lawrenceville Primary School after teaching 53 years.”

• In June 1960 the New-Herald  reported the following graduation from Hooper/Renwick High School in Lawrenceville: “Bennie Anderson, Calvin Brown, Sarah Cooper, Mary Alice Echols, Annie Harrice, Claude Harris, Maynard Harris, Forrest King, Hazel King, Betty Mathis, John Maxey, Will Nell Moore, Odessaa Scalles, Sue Simpson, Blen Smith, Louis Vines and Andrew Williams.”

CURRENT EVENTS

• Dr. David Chappell preached at the Lawrenceville First Methodist Church as minister for the last time on Sunday, June 9; a reception was held in his honor and even the Baptists regret to see Davis leave Lawrenceville. He will go to Brentwood, Tennessee.

• Due to an error (mine) in the June 2013 Road Runner the Hooper-Renwick graduation year was listed as 1913 instead of the graduation on 2013. Hooper-Renwick was organized in 1945, it was a 3 room building with 4 teachers led by Professor JP Howard of Athens and the first commencement ceremony was in 1945 at Pleasant Hill Church.

• The annual Lawrenceville Originals Reunions was held on July 6, 2013 in the Fellowship Room at the Lawrenceville First Baptist Church.

• Hope Rogers the 2009 Valedictorian and STAR student at Parkview High School will attend Princeton University next  year. Hope is the daughter of Ronald and Lee Rogers, PH.D. Hope is a member of Phi Beta Kappa Society and she was chosen the Outstanding Humanities Student in the Honors Program at UGA.

• Liz Forster has been named Director of the Gwinnett County Library System.

• On June 8 the Beta Rho chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society welcomed Gwinnett County Educator Aimee Burgamy, former Gwinnett County Teacher of the Year, as speaker for the June 2013 meeting. Aimee is the first recipient of the Great American Teacher Award given in 2009/2010; she was a Fulbright Scholar in Japan and worked with children in Costa Rica. The June 8 meeting also awarded the annual Legacy Grant to Ashley Braswell who will pursue a degree enabling her to work with special need students.

Lawrenceville High School Class of 1936
Lawrenceville High School Class of 1936
Members of the Lawrenceville High School Class of 1936 (Photo loaned by Mary Lou Davis): Tom Arnold, Jr., Paul Austin, Alice Brown, JB Bailey, LaMerle Christian, Watson Craft, Mildred Davis, Marion and Margaret Ewing, Kathleen Ethridge, Frances Fortune, Winnie Green, Tifton Green, James Hart, Carolyn Hale, Frances Hewatt, Robert Jacobs, Catherine Johnson, Rhodes Jordan, Violet Johnson, Florine Johnson, Harold McKelvey, Sara Murphy, Woodrow Murphy, WL Nix, Jr., Mary Frances Pirkle, Sara Lois Perry, Benson Roberts, Clarabelle Ralston, Mary E Sims, Ruth Smith, Vernelle Thompson, Felton Thompson, Elouise Wages. Mildred Wages, Annette Williams, Billy Williams, Camie Simpson. The mascots for this class were Dottie Allison and Lloyd Pass. Some members that we could identify were: First row: ___, ___, Vernell Thompson, Frances Fortune, Annette Williams, ___, Winnie Green, Catherine Johnson. Second row: ___, Mildred Whitlock, Harold McKelvey, Felton Thompson, ___, ___, Mildred Davis, Sara Lois Perry, ___, Rhodes Jordan, ___, Watson Craft. Third row: ___, ___, ___, LaMerle Christian, Woodrow Murphy, ___, Kathleen Etheridge, ___, ___, Benson Roberts, Clarabelle Ralston, WL Nix, Jr. Can you identify the people where we have blanks? This photo is shared on our facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gwinnett.citizen if you would like to tag relatives. Also, you can comment below.
Grayson Rams

loraleebeardMy regular visits to Our Gwinnett County School clients leaves me amazed at the level of cleanliness in our schools. Grayson High School, my “home school” is a stellar example. However during our recent time there, the unthinkable happened: no air condition in July. While the county staff scrambled to repair, I thought about ancient times when there was poor air conditioning and cell phones were really large.

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