My old boss had moved a couple hundred miles east two decades ago; I’d only seen him once in person since then.
Peter Williams died in July at the age of 63 while living in Hertford, which is where the Perquimans River feeds into the Albemarle Sound.
Like some journalists do, Peter bounced around a lot in his career, but Mount Airy was one of his longest stops. According to a column in the Perquimans Weekly, he served nearly 10 years there as editor. That’s just a bit better than the nine and a half years he spent with The News, including my first five years in the business.
Peter said in a Facebook post that he had lived in five states in his life. I know he worked at the Miami Herald early in his career. Other stops along the way included the The Daily Advance, Chowan Herald, Richmond County Journal, Washington Daily News, New Bern Sun Journal, Gaston Gazette and the Clarksdale Press Register in Mississippi.
He even posted photos on Facebook that he took in Kuwait in 2003. That happened when he was selected to be an embedded journalist while working in New Bern.
During Peter’s long career in journalism, he won many awards from the North Carolina Press Association, including a few while here at The News that he proudly displayed in his office.
When news of Peter’s death was posted to the Perquimans Weekly’s Facebook page, people soon responded with 196 reactions, wrote 65 comments and shared the post 33 times – which the small weekly newspaper says made this by far the most-followed post since it started utilizing social media.
I took a couple of computer programming classes in high school and had this idea I would become a programmer for some big company like Apple or IBM and make a lot of money.
Then while taking classes at Surry Community College, I got involved in the student newspaper, The Squire’s Voice. The work was interesting and seemed more important, more vital to people’s lives.
While working on the student paper I asked my girlfriend to marry me and then got married half a year later. I hadn’t made it yet to transferring to a four-year university for a degree in journalism when a job came open at The News .
I interviewed with Peter Williams. He could see I was young and eager, but didn’t have an ounce of experience.
He gave me an audition. He handed me the name and phone number of a World War II veteran with a story to tell (don’t they all?).
I did the interview, took photos with my terrible point-and-shoot 35mm camera and then took two or three days to write the story, instead of the 2-3 hours reporters only get before deadlines a lot of the time.
I struggled at doing my job, and Peter hounded me. Let’s just say I put him in the same category I did my drill sergeants at Fort Benning.
Raised to be a respectful person, I didn’t want to be a bother — which makes it impossible to be a reporter. I had to figure out my own way to be assertive and ask hard questions while still being myself.
Since he didn’t really have a third reporter (I surely didn’t count), Peter was busy and didn’t have time to show me the ropes. A fellow reporter named Tim Preston gave me a couple of tips, and Odell Harrold gave me even more.
After two months of being at the paper, I was at my parents’ house. I saw a stack of newspapers in the living room. Mom said she was clipping out my stories for keepsakes in case I got fired before long. Gee thanks.
I still hadn’t seen my story run on the WWII veteran. Then one day Peter came out of his office and laid the typed pages on my desk.
I read over the story, and wow. It had only been two and a half months at that point, but it was already like night and day difference in how much I knew about writing by then.
I rewrote most of the article and turned it in. Peter was very pleased with the difference, and I was so thrilled to have made my boss proud.
I told Peter years later that my first year’s salary was a paltry $17,000, and I wasn’t even worth that. I said that I don’t know why he kept me on with how bad I was.
Peter said almost all rookie reporters are that bad, but most either don’t improve at all, or take a long time to get better. He was pleased that I showed growth all along.
Maybe best of all, I am still learning about photography and do it as a hobby now. And I’ll admit that I’m a much better shutterbug than writer these days.
As much as he raised my blood pressure in that first year and a half, Peter made me better. And after I got better, he had more respect and less criticism, and we became closer to colleagues by the time we parted ways in June 2000 .
As an epilogue of sorts, I was working as the sports editor during the 2013-14 school year (when Scott Meredith broke East Surry’s career scoring record and Cassidy Joyner did the same at Surry Central).
I received an email from a prosecutor for the US military. He was asking questions about an interview I did way back in the fall of 1995.
He said that he had a copy of that story, and some claims by the soldier in the story were not possible.
Next thing you know I’m being dragged up to Illinois to testify in a court martial against a guy named Grady Nations who claimed to have earned certain certifications and a medal while in the Navy that he didn’t actually get.
When I get to the military base, I find Peter Williams there. Since Peter was the editor who read my story and published it, he was subpoenaed, too.
We had to stay overnight, then sit in a holding room all day while waiting to be called into the trial. He and I had dinner that night before and chatted while in the holding room and had plenty of time to catch up.
That was the last time I saw Peter, but at least it was quality time, not some handshake while passing in Walmart.
Editor’s Note: Community Comment is a periodic column in The Mount Airy News, featuring commentary from community leaders in Mount Airy and Surry County. The following column was submitted by county officials as a commentary representative of the entire Surry County Board of Commissioners.
Surry County Government is a hybrid of state and local services with various management structures. This column will serve as an educational piece so that citizens understand Surry County Government structure.
Departments that report to the county manager include: Mount Airy/Surry County Airport, 911 Communications, Development Services, Emergency Services, Facilities Management, Finance, Human Resources, Management Information Systems, Opioid Response, Parks & Recreation, Public Works, Social Services, Tax and Veterans Services.
The Mount Airy/Surry County Airport Authority, which is comprised of the five-member Surry County Board of Commissioners and two members from the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners, oversees the physical development of the airport, adopts rules and policies, sets fees and helps guide management decisions, while the county manages operations contractually with an airport manager.
Development Services carries out planning, zoning, permitting, inspections and code enforcement. Facilities Management oversees maintenance for all county-owned buildings. Management Information Systems manages desktop and laptop computers, software, phones, servers and technology training of all county employees, as well as public Wi-Fi locations. Opioid Response assists residents with substance abuse education, prevention and recovery efforts. Public Works runs the landfill and solid waste convenience centers in Surry County. Veterans Services connects veterans with resources that are available to them because of their service to our country.
The county manager, with advisement from the Surry County Board of Commissioners, provides directives to the departments listed above.
The following departments do not report to the county manager and county commissioners: Sheriff’s Office, Health & Nutrition Center, Board of Elections, Cooperative Extension and Soil and Conservation.
The sheriff is an elected official and manages the sheriff’s office. The Board of Health is appointed by the county commissioners and oversees the Health & Nutrition Center. The Board of Health has a specific criteria for who is on their board, including doctors, nurses, dentists, veterinarians, pharmacists and engineers. The Board of Elections is appointed and appoints a director. Cooperative Extension is a part of NC State University and helps farmers and agriculturalists in each county – the employees are appointed by NC State. Soil and Conservation has a county board, which is partially elected and partially appointed – they hire a district director. The county commissioners’ role, with respect to these departments (which do not report to them), is to provide sufficient operational funding.
These factors make county government different than city government – almost every city department head is appointed by the city manager and advised by a city council or city board of commissioners.
For more information about Surry County Government, log onto www.co.surry.nc.us. More information about cCounty government in North Carolina is located at www.ncacc.org.
Living during the first century Roman Empire, especially for Jewish and Christian congregations, had its challenges. Roman Emperor Claudius, who was the uncle of his successor Nero, had just extended the Empire into North Africa and further north into present day Great Britain. In order to make Rome more assimilated to the “many gods” that these new cultures worshiped, Claudius temporarily expelled from Rome those who worshiped only one God, the Jews and Christians.
In Cenchrea, a town close to Corinth, many of the Jews and Christians had settled in for a temporary home. While there, they met the Apostle Paul, who was organizing churches among the Jewish and Gentile believers. Among one of the Gentile believers in Cenchrea, was a wealthy businesswoman, Pheobe.
In the Greek language, the name Pheobe meant, “radiant like the moon.” As was the custom during that time, children were given names that matched their personality. Pheobe – radiant in personality gave the impression of an out-going, bubbly temperate . “Radiant” could have also given the impression that this out-going lady was blessed with a glowing beauty of appearance.
Pheobe was described as being a deaconess in the church at Cenchrea. According to Acts 6, the role of deacons was to serve tables, take care of the material needs of the church members, especially the poor and widows, so that the pastors and teachers could spend more time in prayer and study of the Scriptures. Imagine Pheobe, radiant in beauty and personality, wealthy businesswoman, took her time to wait on tables and administer what was needed to the materially poor members of the church. What humility.
In Romans 16, the Apostle Paul commended Pheobe to carry his letter to the Church at Rome, after Claudius gave them permission to move back to Rome. Pheobe, who had come to know members of the Roman Church, evidently had traveled to Rome, some 624 miles from Cenchrea, on several business trips. Paul trusted her with his letter to the Roman Church. He described her as a servant, a saint, that had taken care of Paul’s needs while he was building the churches at Corinth and Cenchrea. He said that Phoebe had been a “succourer of many.”
In the Greek language, that phrase meant “a patron, a helper, a shield from suffering, a giver of hospitality, and a provider to one in need.” Pheobe, known for her radiant appearance, personality and wealth, took the time to be a servant of many. Picture in your mind a wealthy beautiful business owner serving food to the poor, providing monetary help to missionaries, taking the time to make the long journey to Rome and hand deliver a letter to a church. Radiant, wealthy, but humble.
Pheobe became to our modern church an example of behind the scenes ministry. Imagine a local church with “Phoebes” sharing wealth to those in need, working in various charities that supplied much needed food to its poor citizens, and working in departments in the church that do not receive a lot of recognition. Our modern-day “Pheobes” willingly teach young children in the nursery or Sunday School classes or work in Vacation Bible School just because of their love of service. Our “Pheobes” willingly give monetary help so that the utility bills of the church will be paid. “Pheobes” willingly donate to mission programs so that the Gospel will be preached around the world and sometimes paying the funds for a minister to travel on a short-term mission trip.
Pheobe, “radiant like the moon,” left a legacy of generosity, and self-sacrifice to be used as an example to follow. May we remember to always thank our “Pheobes” for their services in our congregations.
My old boss had moved a couple hundred miles east two decades ago; I’d only seen him once in person since then.
Peter Williams died in July at the age of 63 while living in Hertford, which is where the Perquimans River feeds into the Albemarle Sound.
Like some journalists do, Peter bounced around a lot in his career, but Mount Airy was one of his longest stops. According to a column in the Perquimans Weekly, he served nearly 10 years there as editor. That’s just a bit better than the nine and a half years he spent with The News, including my first five years in the business.
Peter said in a Facebook post that he had lived in five states in his life. I know he worked at the Miami Herald early in his career. Other stops along the way included the The Daily Advance, Chowan Herald, Richmond County Journal, Washington Daily News, New Bern Sun Journal, Gaston Gazette and the Clarksdale Press Register in Mississippi.
He even posted photos on Facebook that he took in Kuwait in 2003. That happened when he was selected to be an embedded journalist while working in New Bern.
During Peter’s long career in journalism, he won many awards from the North Carolina Press Association, including a few while here at The News that he proudly displayed in his office.
When news of Peter’s death was posted to the Perquimans Weekly’s Facebook page, people soon responded with 196 reactions, wrote 65 comments and shared the post 33 times – which the small weekly newspaper says made this by far the most-followed post since it started utilizing social media.
I took a couple of computer programming classes in high school and had this idea I would become a programmer for some big company like Apple or IBM and make a lot of money.
Then while taking classes at Surry Community College, I got involved in the student newspaper, The Squire’s Voice. The work was interesting and seemed more important, more vital to people’s lives.
While working on the student paper I asked my girlfriend to marry me and then got married half a year later. I hadn’t made it yet to transferring to a four-year university for a degree in journalism when a job came open at The News .
I interviewed with Peter Williams. He could see I was young and eager, but didn’t have an ounce of experience.
He gave me an audition. He handed me the name and phone number of a World War II veteran with a story to tell (don’t they all?).
I did the interview, took photos with my terrible point-and-shoot 35mm camera and then took two or three days to write the story, instead of the 2-3 hours reporters only get before deadlines a lot of the time.
I struggled at doing my job, and Peter hounded me. Let’s just say I put him in the same category I did my drill sergeants at Fort Benning.
Raised to be a respectful person, I didn’t want to be a bother — which makes it impossible to be a reporter. I had to figure out my own way to be assertive and ask hard questions while still being myself.
Since he didn’t really have a third reporter (I surely didn’t count), Peter was busy and didn’t have time to show me the ropes. A fellow reporter named Tim Preston gave me a couple of tips, and Odell Harrold gave me even more.
After two months of being at the paper, I was at my parents’ house. I saw a stack of newspapers in the living room. Mom said she was clipping out my stories for keepsakes in case I got fired before long. Gee thanks.
I still hadn’t seen my story run on the WWII veteran. Then one day Peter came out of his office and laid the typed pages on my desk.
I read over the story, and wow. It had only been two and a half months at that point, but it was already like night and day difference in how much I knew about writing by then.
I rewrote most of the article and turned it in. Peter was very pleased with the difference, and I was so thrilled to have made my boss proud.
I told Peter years later that my first year’s salary was a paltry $17,000, and I wasn’t even worth that. I said that I don’t know why he kept me on with how bad I was.
Peter said almost all rookie reporters are that bad, but most either don’t improve at all, or take a long time to get better. He was pleased that I showed growth all along.
Maybe best of all, I am still learning about photography and do it as a hobby now. And I’ll admit that I’m a much better shutterbug than writer these days.
As much as he raised my blood pressure in that first year and a half, Peter made me better. And after I got better, he had more respect and less criticism, and we became closer to colleagues by the time we parted ways in June 2000 .
As an epilogue of sorts, I was working as the sports editor during the 2013-14 school year (when Scott Meredith broke East Surry’s career scoring record and Cassidy Joyner did the same at Surry Central).
I received an email from a prosecutor for the US military. He was asking questions about an interview I did way back in the fall of 1995.
He said that he had a copy of that story, and some claims by the soldier in the story were not possible.
Next thing you know I’m being dragged up to Illinois to testify in a court martial against a guy named Grady Nations who claimed to have earned certain certifications and a medal while in the Navy that he didn’t actually get.
When I get to the military base, I find Peter Williams there. Since Peter was the editor who read my story and published it, he was subpoenaed, too.
We had to stay overnight, then sit in a holding room all day while waiting to be called into the trial. He and I had dinner that night before and chatted while in the holding room and had plenty of time to catch up.
That was the last time I saw Peter, but at least it was quality time, not some handshake while passing in Walmart.
Wednesday, Sept. 6, 1950, buses rolled out of Veterans Park in Mount Airy and away from the courthouse grounds in Dobson loaded with dozens of men in sharp Army uniforms. Part of Battery A of the 426th Field Artillery Battalion, these were members of the Surry County reserve unit. They were headed to Fort Bragg to begin training in the use of Howitzers for overseas deployment.
These were among the first soldiers to leave Surry County in answer to North Korea’s invasion of South Korea on June 25 of that year. Men and women from across the region would spend the next three years on foreign soil working to keep the Iron Curtain from covering more territory.
What we know today as the Korean Conflict or War, was less focused when it was happening. I am ashamed to admit that I knew very little about the conflict before I began researching this column. Even though my Mamaw’s brother served there, most of what I knew came from the “M*A*S*H” television show.
After WWII, the uneasy alliance between western powers and Stalin’s Soviet Union grew increasingly strained. As the US implemented its Marshall Plan to rebuild war-torn Europe, the Soviets developed their own atomic weapons.
To the east China’s Civil War ended with Mao Zedong’s Communist forces rising to “resist America.”
Another military invasion was expected but many felt it would be Soviet troops pushing into Europe again.
It is such an overlooked time in our history that it is generally known as the Forgotten War. As we enter the 70th anniversary of the conflict, we’ll explore several ways it impacted regional history as many men and women from the area served in some aspect during that time.
But today we concentrate on the men who were part of the 426th Field Artillery Battalion who were placed in what was expected to be the hot spot of a coming war, Germany.
Begun as a reserve unit in 1949, three batteries were established in this part of North Carolina;’A’ in Mount Airy with a medical detachment and’B’ and’C’ batteries from Winston-Salem. Most of the men were World War II veterans, according to Robert Holder, one of only two remaining members of the local reserve unit.
Just out of high school and working as a clerk at Poore’s Grocery Store, he was encouraged to join the unit by his good friend, Jack Leach, who also worked at Poore’s.
“It would be a good experience for me,” Holder recalled during an interview at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. “And, you know, it really was. The older men, they took me under their wing and really helped me advance .”
The men were told, erroneously, they wouldn’t be deployed unless an actual war erupted so they were surprised to receive activation papers in August 1950. Many felt they had served their share of time away from families and jobs. Complaints from the men’s families prompted Congressman Thurmond Chatham of Elkin to call for an investigation.
It wasn’t just about the men’s families. These were men established in careers and businesses. Two of those who left that September morning were Mount Airy City Police Sgt. James Callahan and officer Elzvan Marion. Jeffrey Blackmon owned a monument business, his brother Zack was a Pike Electric lineman. Several were local auto mechanics. Robert Allran was assistant treasurer for the Surry County Savings and Loan.
In the end, the men shipped out and served at such an exemplary level the Department of the Army declared the group to be “the elite of the Army’s artillery.” While their accuracy was impressive, reliably able to drop an 8-inch shell from their Howitzers on targets up to 12 miles distant, it was their speed and efficiency that seems to have garnered the brass’ attention.
Once at the location they were to set up on, the A, B, and C batteries were able to dig out and place the huge gun, set up cover, communications, and other support operations, in less than five hours. Army standard for operations of this size was six-and-a-half hours.
At first some of the men planned to bring their families to Germany with them. Jack Leach, who had been at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked, explained why they all decided against that in a 2004 interview with author Randall Brim.
“I left a wife (Virginia Poore), two little children and a mean little dog,” he said, and it was hard to be away from them. “We found out they had to have a suitcase with two blankets, three days rations , and three changes of clothes for at the house. And the children who were in school were required to have one at school in case the Cold War turned hot and they would have to get out, who knows where, fast. That they would have something to take but you didn’t know where they’d go to.” He paused, obviously emotional more than 50 years later. “Well, that killed that idea very fast.”
Fortunately for A Battery, the expected push from the Soviets never came and the men all eventually came home.
Sadly, this was not the experience for the many service personnel who served on the Korean peninsula. We’ll discuss some of their stories in future columns as we mark this too-often overlooked time. If your family has letters, pictures, memoirs, or other memorabilia from those who served in the Korean War, or any other war, the museum would love the opportunity to scan them to increase our knowledge of their experiences and sacrifices. Contact our curator, Amy Snyder, at aesnyder@northcarolinamuseum.org or 336-786-4478.
Celebrating September by sowing a row or bed of Siberian Kale. Siberian Kale is a hardy cole family cool weather vegetable that will produce greens from late autumn all the way until early spring. An ounce of seed costs around $2. Siberian Kale thrives in cold weather and the cool of September nights will surely give the Kale a jump start. Plant kale in a furrow and cover with a layer of peat moss, sow the the kale and top with a layer of Vegetable-Tone organic vegetable food for a real boost for a long, productive harvest. Hill up soil on both sides of the furrow and tamp down soil with the hoe blade. If there is not much rain in September, use the water wand in shower mode for a drink of water once a week. Side dress with Plant-Tone or Vegetable-Tone organic plant food every fifteen days.
Plenty to plant in the cool weather garden plot. Why put the garden to bed when you can enjoy something green from it in all four seasons? As September arrives, the list of cool weather vegetables is abundant. You can sow rows or beds of collards , broccoli, cabbage, mustard greens, Siberian Kale, onion sets, turnips (if you sow them soon), cauliflower can also be planted. The secret of cool weather crops is: 1. Keep soil hilled up on each side of the row. 2. Feed twice a month with organic plant foods such as Vegetable-Tone, Plant-Tone, and Dr. Earth vegetable food and not pelleted chemical fertilizers. Plants need food not fertilizer. 3. Cover with a layer of crushed leaves between the rows . 4. When sowing seed or transplanting plants, always apply a layer of peat moss or Black Kow composted cow manure (sold in 25- and 50-pound bags at most hard ware stores, Home Depot, and Lowe’s) Both these products will improve your soil and are totally organic, (in other words, they add something to the soil rather than subtract something from it). When gardening, it makes good sense to do the math!
Filling summer annuals with cool weather flowers. The containers and pots of summer annuals can now be replaced with autumn annuals such as pansies, ornamental cabbage and kale, candy tuft, and daphne. You can recycle the soil the summer annuals were in by pouring the old medium into the wheelbarrow and mixing it with 50% new medium which you can purchase in 25- and 50-pound bags. Add a bag of pansy booster when planting pansy plants for a quick response. Pansies are unusual because they have “faces” on them. There are several varieties of pansies in colors of burgundy, yellow, wine, white, lavender, cream, deep purple, tan, and brown. Place them where they can receive autumn and winter sun. You can purchase pansies in four, six, and nine packs already in bloom so that you can choose the colors you prefer.
September and shorter days will add up to colorful sunsets. September is the month of the arrival of autumn and continues to bring days a minute shorter each evening. The nights are cooling off and there is a certain nip in the air on the front porch that heralds the hint of autumn. September’s low humidity and cooler temperatures can add up beautiful sunsets that will only get brighter as the month wears on. The western horizon will be adorned with pink, red, orange, yellow, lavender, blue, and purple. If you said, twelve hours, you are partially right! The other difference is that at sunrise, the sun fades out the colors of the sunrise, but at sunset, the sunset fades out the sun. Enjoy September sunsets as they become part of the glories of autumn.
The leaves are displaying hints of autumn color. The Artist of Autumn has placed His hand on the maples, dogwoods, hickories, and poplars. The reds of the dogwoods blend well with the gold, bronze, and yellow of the hickory, poplar, and maple. The mighty oaks still have green color and it will take frost to turn them brown and gold and red. With a Carolina blue sky, lower humidity, colorful leaves and glorious sunsets, autumn glory is more intense and beautiful each and every day.
Spring bulb planting time is almost here. The spring bulbs of crocus, daffodil, jonquils, narcissus, snow drops, and hyacinths are showing up in hard ware stores, nurseries, Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe’s and seed stores. You can purchase then in individual colors from bins at hardwares or in packages or netted bags in multi-colors. The see through net bags are the best way to buy bulbs because you can see and feel the bulbs and know what you are buying. Hyacinths come in colors of red, blue, lavender, pink, purple, white, and yellow. You can buy them in mesh bags of three, six, or nine bulbs. To promote their growth, buy a bag of bone meal or bulb booster. Another great investment is a durable bulb planter to make the job of bulb planting easier. When you plant bulbs, use peat moss and Black Kow composted cow manure to get the bulbs off to a good start. Before frost and ground freezes, cover bulbs with a layer of crushed leaves.
September is the season to set out collards and cabbage. The Cabbage Collard is a favorite collard variety in eastern North Carolina. The Cabbage Collard heads like a cabbage. They are cold hardy and can be harvest when snow is on the ground. Bonnie Plant Farms distributes this variety and they are available at Lowe’s, Home Depot, Walmart and most hard ware stores. They come in six and nine packs. Set them about three feet apart to allow them room to head. My Northampton County grandma would throw shovels of soil up on both sides of heading collards during winter and place pine straw between the rows. Collards were always steaming on her table at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. Keep collard plants fed with Vegetable-Tone organic vegetable food once a month during winter.
Early September is comfortable in the garden plot. There are not many insect pests, the humidity is lower, temperatures are comfortable, the sky is Carolina blue, the soil is workable, there are less weeds. There are plenty of cool weather vegetables just waiting to be sown and planted even while warm weather vegetables are still being harvested. It is a great time to enjoy the best of both garden worlds.
Making a dish of Monterey macaroni. This is a great dish for a crisp September supper. You will need one eight-ounce pack of finely shredded Monterey Jack shredded cheese, one pack Nathan’s beef hot dogs, one eight-ounce box of elbow macaroni, eight-ounce cup sour cream, one stick light margarine, half-teaspoon pepper, one pack Recipe Secrets Beef Onion soup mix, half teaspoon paprika. Cook elbow macaroni according to package instructions and drain. Spray casserole dish with Pam backing spray. Cut Nathan’s hot dogs into quarter inch pieces and stir unto macaroni. Add other ingredients and stir into macaroni. Pour into casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes until bubbly.
The Almanac for month of September. The full moon of September accrued on Wednesday, Sept. 2 and was named Full Corn Moon. Labor Day will be celebrated Monday, Sept. 7. The moon reaches its last quarter on Thursday, Sept. 10. Grandparents Day will be celebrated on Thursday, Sept. 13. There will be a new moon in the western sky at sunset on Thursday, Sept. 17. Autumn begins on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The moon reaches its first quarter in Wednesday, Sept . 23. Yom Kipper begins at sundown on Sunday, Sept. 27.
Hoe-Hoe-Hoedown: “A fishy tale” – Two men rented a boat and were fishing in a huge lake. The very first day, they caught 40 fish. As they were preparing to head back to shore, one man said to the other, “Let’s mark this spot so we will know to come back here tomorrow.” The next day when they drove up to rent the boat one man said to the other, “Did you mark the spot?” The man replied, “Yes , I put a big “X” on the bottom of the boat.” The other man said “That was a dumb thing to do!” What if we don’t get the same boat today?”
The autumn beauty of ornamental kale and cabbage. Both these ornamental cabbage and kale cole family florals will produce a colorful bit of porch decor throughout autumn and into winter. Keep them in containers near the rear of the porch for extra protection from wind and freezes and they will survive through the winter. Keep a towel handy to cover during hard freezes. They are available in colors of white, red, purple, yellow, wine, pink, and lavender as well as mint green. They can be planted in the same containers summer annuals were planted in. Ornamental kale also comes in the “curly” variety and in colors of light and dark green.
Using Flower-Tone organic flower food on autumn annuals. As you replace summer annuals with autumn annuals keep them fed with Flower-Tone organic flower food that you can purchase in three pound bags at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware and garden shops for around four dollars a bag. Spoon it onto the potting medium and stir it into the medium. Water autumn annuals once a week but not as much as you did summer annuals.
Still plenty of time to sew Siberian Kale, mustard, and mixed greens. A couple of ounces of kale, mustard, or mixed greens will sow a 50-foot row or bed or two 4×8 foot beds of greens. These greens will thrive until next spring in the cold weather garden plot. After the greens develop two leaves, apply a side dressing of Vegetable-Tone organic vegetable food and hill it on both sides of the row. Later in the season before cold weather settles in, cover between the rows with a layer of crushed leaves.
Setting out a row or bed of onion sets. Onion sets are still available and can be set out all during the month of September and will grow all during winter. You can choose from red, yellow, or white. Sow a furrow about four inches deep and three inches apart root side down. Apply a layer of peat moss in bottom of furrow, set onions, and then apply another layer of peat moss. Top with a layer of Vegetable-Tone organic vegetable food and hill up soil on both sides of the furrow. When onions sprout, apply a side dressing of Garden-Tone on both sides of the row and hill up soil to cover Plant-Tone.
Shorter days, longer nights is a part of September’s song. Autumn is less than two weeks away and we already see its calling cards. The days are getting shorter by one minute each evening, and crows are cawing all during the day. A few maples are beginning to drop their leafy harvest. When the sun goes down, there is more of a nip in the air. The dew lingers longer on the lawn each morning. A few acorns are beginning to fall signaling a later barrage on the forest floor a few weeks from now.
The summer garden plot is in slowdown mode. The nip in the September air has sent a slowdown message to the warm weather vegetables. They are still producing, but have slowed down quite a bit. The tomatoes are ripening slower, but still producing. The late summer varieties are blooming and have over a month to produce plenty of green tomatoes to store and ripen after the first killing frost. Bell and hot cayenne peppers are still producing a bumper of crop of fruits and they seem to always jump start themselves in mid -September.
Time to feed the turnip row or bed to prepare for a bountiful harvest. Turnips should now be on their way and displaying plenty of green leaves. Feed them this week by side dressing them with an application of Vegetable-Tone organic vegetable food on each side of the row and hilling up soil to cover the Vegetable-Tone. You can also use Alaska fish emulsion mixed with proper amount of water in a sprinkling can and pour on top of the turnip leaves.
Grandparent’s Day will be next Sunday. Grandparent’s play a big part in the lives of grandchildren. The things, even the small things they do for grandchildren, will be remembered by them forever. In today’s America, grandparent’s play an even bigger role in the lives of grandchildren simply because today’s grandparents live longer and have greater opportunity to teach grand-kids and encourage them and create fond memories with them and be an example for them to keep in their young minds. Fill your grandchildren’s hearts with your love that will never be forgotten by them.
The autumn leaves will soon be falling. There is a bit more color in autumn’s leaves every day as the sun shines down on them. With a certain amount of nip in the air, it won’t be long until the leaves begin to fall. Don’t let the leaves go to waste or blow away. Keep the leaf vacuum, blower, and rake handy and harvest them to use as mulch or a blanket on cool weather vegetables or ingredients for the compost pile or bin, or even construct a mulch pile. You can use crushed leaves on rose beds, shrubs, or flower beds.
Making a fresh tomato pie. This pie is made from fresh tomatoes in a partially baked nine-inch pie crust. You will need one nine-inch pie crust, five or six medium tomatoes (fresh from the garden), one finely diced onion, one fourth teaspoon celery seed, half teaspoon salt, half teaspoon pepper, one cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, one cup mayonnaise, two tablespoons sugar, half stick light margarine (melted). Preheat oven to 350 degrees and pre-bake pie shell for three minutes, and remove from oven. Place tomatoes in a saucepan of boiling water for half minute, drain water, peel and cure tomatoes, slice the tomatoes or dice and line the bottom of the pie crust with the tomatoes. Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and pepper, celery seed and onions. Mix the mayonnaise, cheese, melted margarine and pour on top of the pie. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until pie becomes bubble.
Hoe-Hoe-Hoedown: “Rich in Money, Poor in Love” – The girl was very rich, the young man was poor, but he was very honest. She liked him but that was all it was to it, and the young man knew that. One evening he felt romantic, and he said, “You are very rich.” “Yes,” she replied frankly, “I am worth $1 million and $500.000.” “Yes, and I am poor,” said the young man, “Will you marry me?” “No” said the girl. “I thought you wouldn’t” said the young man. “Then why did you ask me?” said the girl. “Oh, just to see how a man feels when he loses a million and a half in dollars,” said the young man.
In the Book of Job, the main idea was the age-old question – Why do bad things happen to good people? Job, a righteous man, lost his wealth, cattle, income, health and his ten children, supposedly within a short period of time. When he was inflicted with painful boils over his body, his wife asked him, “Why don’t you curse God and die?” Job replied, “You speak like a foolish woman.”
Most of the sermons preached about Job’s wife dealt with her foolish statement. However, when one researches the Hebrew language that was used in the writings, a different angle to the story begins to develop.
Before making a judgment about her “foolish statement,” remember several facts that Scripture has recorded. She also lost her wealth, income and all her children. Just imagine the grief and unbearable emotional pain that she endured. When she talked with Job about cursing God, remember that she was a mother in deep grief. No neighbor was with her to help her deal with her emotional pain. Not only was she in her house trying to care for the household necessities during her grief, but she was also having to care for Job in the mist of his physical calamities.
The Hebrew word “curse” was “barak,” which meant to “curse, renounce, or bless.” Job’s wife probably was not telling him to “bless God” for his calamities, but was urging him to renounce his faith in God so that Job could die and be free from his afflictions. (Remember that Job’s wife was speaking from intense grief and trauma.)
To add to her hardship, this deeply grieving mother was having to care for the needs of the men who had come to “comfort” Job during his calamities. While she cooked and cleaned, she had to listen to their critical tongues with no words of comfort for her, in the midst of her own pain.
According to ancient Hebrew culture, hospitality was a necessity due to the harsh desert climate. Travelers would be given free lodging, meals, water and whatever they needed. The Bible did not give an exact time frame concerning the length of time that Job’s wife had to care for Job’s friends, but through her grief and emotion pain, she had to cook, clean after and house the same men who were highly critical of her husband. In turn, they themselves offered no comfort for her or even offered any extra help that she may have needed during this hardship. Job’s wife cleaned after Job, cared for his needs while he was sitting outside scraping the painful boils with a broken piece of pottery. She fed and washed his body the best that she could while fighting the tears from her own eyes when listening to the outbursts from his “friends.”
However, God in His mercy ended the turmoil. He also let Job’s friends know of His anger toward them due to their self-righteous attitudes directed toward Job. Job was restored double what he had lost. Twice the amount of gold, silver, cattle , sheep and camels. His health had returned just as strong as he was in his youth. Children were also born to him, the same number as before, 7 sons and 3 daughters. Normally, only the names of the sons were listed in Biblical genealogies, but in this case, the daughters’ names were listed. Note their meanings in ancient Aramaic.
The first daughter’s name was Jemimah, meaning “little dove, bright as the day.” For Job and his wife, a new bright day had dawned in their lives.
Next, came Keziah, whose name came from the cassia plant that produced an essential oil that was used for perfume, physical healing and emotional health. Healing had come into their once grieving lives.
Last, was Keren-happuch, meaning “horn of paint,” indicative of beautiful eyes. Eyes that once were swollen from grief, were now cleansed to see beauty again.
At the end, Job and his wife enjoyed a restored, long satisfying life full of the blessings of God. Healing had come to this early caregiver.
“Unlike so many who came before me, I keep my promises,” President Donald Trump said back at the start of the year.
• One idea I liked was raising the standard deduction on income tax forms so fewer people would need to bother with itemizing their tax returns.
People spend a fortune every year paying someone else to do their taxes because it can be so complicated. If the standard deduction is higher, then saving all those receipts and printouts are unnecessary for many.
Now, folks can argue back and forth all they want about the benefits of giving big corporations such huge tax breaks — but that isn’t what this column is about. Trump ran on a campaign to cut taxes, and people voted for him in part because of that. And he delivered, whether you like it or not.
• Where we can catch Trump in coming up short is where he vowed that the huge tax cuts would pay for themselves. He said the federal deficit wouldn’t increase because corporations would reinvest in their businesses or that money would go back into the US economy .
One published report said that 80% of corporate spending went to things like stock buy-backs and dividends — not reinvesting in employees or equipment. And the boost to the economy hasn’t offset the huge loss in tax revenue.
• Foreign trade. This is an area where I praised Trump in a previous column. I mentioned how China’s government supports some businesses in ways that gives them an unfair advantage over other companies.
Trump outright said the Chinese government was manipulating the value of the Chinese yuan to create unfair dollar-to-yuan conversions.
Trump kept one promise by his third day of office when he pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Then he negotiated a new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico that he felt was better than NAFTA, created under President Bill Clinton.
• However, he also promised that under his business acumen, the federal trade deficit would drop “like you’ve never seen before.”
According to a published report, the trade deficit has actually gotten worse by 25% in the past three and a half years.
“I will build a great, great wall on our southern border — and I will have Mexico pay for that wall,” Trump vowed. “Mark my words.”
First, Mexico has steadfastly refused to pay for any wall, and Trump has found no way to force the country into it.
Second, his aides have pointed out that 100 miles of fencing have been erected during his presidency; but only three miles of that is new construction, while the rest went to rebuilding the old wall already in place.
That is all that has happened despite the government coming to a shutdown in 2018 over the issue, and then an emergency declaration letting Trump use military funding to help pay for the wall.
• What about his pledge that all 11 million undocumented immigrants “have to go” from the US?
Right before election day he toned that down to saying just the 2 million or so people with criminal records.
According to a BBC report, deportations last year totaled 267,000, which was far less than the 410,000 in 2012 under Obama. (Perhaps you could say Obama was pandering to the conservatives in his reelection year.)
• Trump told crowds he would lock up dirty Hillary for her crimes, such as using a private email server while secretary of state.
Right after winning the election, Trump backed off from that, saying the country owed her “a debt of gratitude.”
Later that month his spokeswoman said Trump would not pursue further investigation to let the nation heal.
• Where he did follow through on his words was appointing a massive number of conservative judges to various courts.
Not only did he get Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, but he has appointed almost 200 others to lower federal courts.
• Trump promised to bomb the (bleep) out of the Islamic State. He has authorized that with the US military.
He has taken credit for dropping the biggest non-nuclear bomb in history on an IS-complex in Afghanistan. And he authorized actions to attempt to drive IS out of Syria and Iraq.
In 2017 he said he formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s rightful capital and approved the move. The embassy did move in May 2018, with a permanent home soon to begin construction.
• Trump said the US allies weren’t doing enough to carry their own weight and NATO was obsolete. He was going to pull the US out of NATO.
• Trump, who never served in the military and called Sen. John McCain a loser for being captured as a POW, said that torture works so he would bring back waterboarding and other measures.
Former CIA director Mike Pompeo, who is now the secretary of state, said he would absolutely not be bringing those techniques back.
• My personal favorite was Trump criticizing Obama for playing golf while in office. He said in August 2016, “I’m going to be working for you. I’m not going to have time to go play golf.”
Then in the first 100 days in office, Trump spent more time on the greens than any president in history.
A website called trumpgolfcount.com tracks all of the president’s golf outings and has logged 276 daytime visits to golf clubs with 136 rounds of golf played.
He has taken 30 flights to Mar-a-Lago and 27 flights to Bedminster (two Trump resorts), which the Washington Post estimates has cost US taxpayers $82.6 million.
He is on pace to pass Obama’s eight-year total of golf days in just four years — and he spent much of that time at his own resorts, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
There you go, a list of some of the many promises made on the campaign trail. Look it over and see if you are satisfied with what he has accomplished.
On a hot sunny August day in 1931, at the height of the Great Depression, a whole gaggle of friends from Mount Airy gathered on the banks of the Yadkin River. They were there to help launch two adventurers on an epic journey.
Donald Rector, a 33-year old cashier at the First National Bank of Mount Airy and 22-year-old Joel “Joe” Jackson Jr., who worked in the family’s department store, had planned and mapped out a grand adventure.
They loaded a tent, two cots, fishing gear, and some water-tight containers with food, water, and gasoline onto a 15-foot, flat-bottom open motor boat and headed to the sea.
The 350-mile trip, expected to take four days, lasted six and they apparently got some impressive sunburn. They called home whenever they were able to let friends, family, and the newspapers know they were safe.
The Yadkin River has been an important feature in this region for a long time providing fresh water, copious fish, and easy transportation for the Sapona and Saura people who called this region home for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived. Archeologists estimate Native Americans were living on the banks of this river for some 12,000 years.
The Yadkin-Pee Dee watershed drains more than 7,200 square miles in North and South Carolina and continues to be a source of drinking water, irrigation and power generation today.
It also provides many opportunities for recreation from fishing, kayaking, and boating on the river, water skiing on the lakes created by power dams to hiking, birdwatching, and picnicking in the state parks and national wildlife sanctuaries its waters meander through.
Rector and Jackson were part of Mount Airy’s successful business class, a group of inter-related families who established and ran retail, manufacturing, and financial matters in the area. The Great Depression certainly impacted residents of Surry and surrounding counties, but not with the devastating effects experienced many other places.
This may have been due to careful borrowing and expansion practices frequently mentioned in news articles of the day.
Rector, a cashier at the First National Bank of Mount Airy at the time of the trip, would eventually be president of the bank and sit on the board of at least one other bank. The building, at the corner of Moore Avenue and North Main Street, houses the Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce, Visitor’s Center, and Tourism Board today.
Jackson worked at the Jackson Brother’s Department Store, established in 1916 by his father, J. Andrew Jackson Sr. and Reid R. Jackson, his uncle. In time, young Joe would become an officer of the company as well as sit on the Board of directors of the First National Bank with Rector, who was married to Jackson’s sister Kathleen — who also worked at the store.
The Jackson Bros. store was located just southeast of the intersection of North Main and Franklin streets where Mayberry Market and Souvenirs is.
There were already three major dams in place on the rivers in 1931: the 100-foot tall High Rock; Badin; and Spencer. In those places the men, sometimes with the help of power station attendants, had to take the 200-pound boat out of the water and haul her around to continue the trip.
Smaller obstacles were dealt with as best they could manage. One of the men had a camera and snapped photos along the way.
When the men arrived in Georgetown, South Carolina, on Saturday, August 8, they snapped pictures of tall-masted yachts, long freight barges, and the USS Taylor in the busy port. They called home to announce their safe arrival and they made arrangements for the “Miss Mount Airy” to be shipped home on a freight train.
Rector’s wife drove to pick them up and they headed to Myrtle Beach for a more relaxing vacation before heading home and back to work.
We are fortunate that Joe’s second wife, Virginia Burke Robertson Jackson, generously gifted an album containing pictures from this trip and other moments in his life to the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. If she hadn’t we wouldn’t know this fun and interesting story from Mount Airy’s past. Perhaps there are stories equally as interesting lurking in your home? We’d love to know them if you’re willing to share them with us.
The four o’clocks are still standing tall. The August heat and Dog Days may have slowed them down a little, but they are still showing off as we get ready for the arrival of September. No other flower seems to produce as many flowers over a whole season as the lowly four o’clock. It is no wonder that it was my Northampton County grandma’s favorite!
The season to make a batch of chow-chow relish. With the harvest of green and red bell peppers as well as plenty of green tomatoes on the vines, it’s time to make a batch of chow-chow relish to use on collard, kale, and mustard greens as well as pinto beans, ham, burgers, and hot dogs. The recipe is simple and so are the ingredients. All you need is eight to ten red bell peppers and green bell peppers, 40 green tomatoes, three heads of cabbage , and six onions. Chop up all the ingredients and run through the blender in the grate mode. Mix all the chopped, cubed, or grated vegetables together in a canner, add a full cup of salt, stir, and let set overnight. The next day, drain off the liquid and rinse vegetables in a colander and place back in the canner. In a large pot, combine four cups of apple cider vinegar, two and a half cups light brown sugar, four tablespoons pickling spices, and one cup water. Stir all and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for half hour. Pack into steriliz ed pint jars, seal, and process in a boiling water bath canner for fifteen minutes.
Curtain call for sowing a row or bed of purple top turnips. August has only one more day remaining. Make a practical use of that day to sow a row or bed of turnips. They are a root crop that needs to be sown before August ends . Plant turnip seeds by pinching two or three seed about three inches apart to allow room for the turnips to develop. Cover seed with a layer of peat moss and a layer of Black Kow composted cow manure and top with Plant-Tone organic plant food before hilling up soil on each side of the row. Once the turnips sprout, apply a side dressing of Plant-Tone every 15 days and hill up soil to the row. Water every week with the water wand when no rain falls.
Keeping records of August fogs. We hope you have been keeping a record of all the fogs and dews of August. Tomorrow is the last day of August. Keep the records and dates in a safe place. They may give a prediction of the kind of winter precip we get as we head into the months of winter.
Taking care of the roses of mid-summer. The roses of mid-summer are still beautiful and with a little bit of extra care they will continue to bloom until we have frost. Keep all spent rose blooms dead-headed. Check for beetle and mite infestation and spray to control them if necessary. Cut back long canes that do not produce any roses. Apply a layer of Rose-Tone organic rose food every fifteen days and water each week when no rain falls.
A freezer of homemade ice cream to end the heat of August. Homemade ice cream is good because nothing is as cold as homemade ice cream on a summer day. It is actually so cold, you have to consume it slowly to avoid a headache. Carolina peaches are great ingredients for a freeze of fresh peach ice cream. Use eight or ten fresh peaches, peeled, diced, and ran through the blender in puree mode, and set aside. In a large pot or mixing bowl, beat five large eggs until stiff. Add three cups sugar to the eggs and beat until creamy. Add two cans evaporated milk and one tablespoon peach flavoring or vanilla. Add the pureed peaches and mix well. Pour into a four-quart ice cream freezer container. Mix a layer of ice and a layer of rock ice cream salt, add a cup of water to bottom of freezer to prevent ice from jamming up in the freezer. Continue to add layers of ice and salt to the top of the freezer. If your freezer is electric, allow it to run until it stops. If you have a hand cranked freezer, turn the handle until you can’t turn it any more. You can “season” the ice cream by placing a towel over the top of the freezer for half hour if you have that much patience.
The crows of mid-summer are noisy and active. The crows of mid-summer are flying over the house every afternoon. They let us know we are there by cawing three times. There must be plenty of corn harvest going on and they are looking for the fields. They have plenty of roots in the area on the other side of the US 52 and that’s where they seem to be heading each afternoon. One positive things is when you see a lot of crows, the chicken hawks go into hiding.
Plenty of residue from summer harvest provides compost materials. As the month of August ends, it’s time to start stirring up a bath of compost. The harvest of summer’s bounty has produced residue in the form of stalks, vines, foliage, grass clippings, and storm debris. All these ingredients will get a pile or bin started. The grass clippings will help heat up the compost. You can also use a bag or two of Black Kow composted horse manure or several sprinkling cans of Alaska fish emulsion mixed with proper amount of water and poured over compost bin or pile. Soon the first of the leaves will be falling and they can be added to the pile or bin after running the mower over them or vacuuming them up.
The scuppernongs will soon be ripening. The autumn harvest of scuppernong grapes, those bronze-hulled unusual tasting grapes will soon be here. Their tangy taste makes them a favorite for scuppernong jelly and grapehull preserves. My grandma always prepared several batches of grapehull preserves after using their juice to make jelly. On a winter morning in Northampton County, a huge cathead homemade biscuit filled with grapehull preserves would stick to your ribs!
Enjoying the majesty of the orange Monarch butterflies. The Monarch now frequents the zinnia bed every afternoon. They really highlight these flowers with their bright orange color highlighted by white dots on a black border. Soon they will be flying south to warmer climate and it is a wonderful sight to observe them in late summer in all their majestic beauty. You could say that God used his best art brush when He painted wings on butterflies.
Getting rid of choking morning glory vines. As we move closer to the month of September, weeds such as the morning glory are making a determined effort to produce a crop of tiny seed pods to produce next year’s infestation. One seed pod can produce hundreds of tiny seeds. Morning glory vines have deep roads and long vines. When you see one growing, trace the vine back to its origin and pull it up by the roots and throw it out of the garden.
The slowdown of fireflies of summer. As we close out the month of August, the fireflies are getting fewer. The lateness of August, the cool subtle nip in the air and August fogs may have gave them a signal. We will miss their lemon colored glow and flashes and certainly hope they laid many eggs for a great display of fireflies next season.
Tomatoes are the fast food of the garden. Tomatoes are one of the longest producing vegetables of the garden. You can take the salt shaker to the garden, pick a sun heated tomato, wipe it off, put salt on it, and eat right there in the garden. A great meal in a bowl consists of chunks of tomatoes, cucumbers, cubes of lettuce, ham chunks, or bacon pieces and mayonnaise or ranch dressing with salt and pepper.
Hoe-Hoe-Hoedown: “All in the Family Tree” – As Darla was getting to know Joey and his mom and dad, she was impressed by how much Joey’s parents cared for each other. “They are so thoughtful,” Darla said, “Your dad even brings your mom a cup of coffee in bed every morning.” After a month or two, Joey and Darla were married. On the way from the wedding, Darla again remarked about Joey’s caring parents, and the coffee in bed. “Tell me,” Darla said, “Does this run in your family?” “It sure does” said Joey, “and I take after my mother!”
Editor’s Note: Community Comment is a periodic column in The Mount Airy News featuring commentary from community leaders in Mount Airy and Surry County.
March 6 seems like a lifetime ago when we left for spring break and didn’t return for almost six months. No one would have predicted that 2020 would be so challenging. I am forever grateful to the school board, administration, and staff who have been so wonderful working with students since March to make sure they continued to learn.
Learning never stopped with Mount Airy City Schools as we worked remotely with every single student to make sure they didn’t get behind this spring. We were also able to continue with athletics face-to-face this summer and face-to-face summer programs with more than 400 students on our campuses. This made a big difference in our community to make sure learning continued. We owe it to our families to make sure students are fully prepared for their bright futures.
We are now returning to the school buildings and we want to make sure we find out where students are academically, emotionally, and socially. We have additional social-emotional supports in place since many of our students have been at home for many months. A universal screener with interventions helps us find out which students may need the most support. We believe our staff are the best antidote for the issues many students are facing. Our caring staff is working hard to make sure all students have what they need to continue learning and growing as we enter the school buildings. The relationships they have had throughout this crisis continue on to this new year.
Seventy-five percent of our students have chosen to come back face-to-face this fall. We know that face-to-face is the best way to deliver education for our families. We believe that the remote options we are giving through CLASS — Customized Learning Anytime/Anywhere for Student Success — are great options for the 25%, around 425 students, that have chosen to learn at home. Each of our online options connects our students with a highly qualified teacher that delivers lessons as if they were physically in our buildings. We know that many families may choose to join us physically when they are ready and we are preparing for their return.
August 17 was an exciting day for us to begin back in our school buildings. Coming back to school in 2020 has some challenges. We know that we must keep up social-distancing, wearing masks, washing our hands, and sanitizing our buildings. We know that we must continue to have fewer students on our school buses and serve meals in safe ways to ensure we continue following health and wellness protocols. We know that we must take health and wellness seriously and work closely with our health department.
Everyone in the community can help us by wearing a mask, waiting six feet from others, avoiding large crowds, and washing their hands. This will help us keep our numbers low and keep students in school. Everyone can do their part.
The quotes from students really tell the story about why it’s so important for students to come back to the school building. One young child said that she loved SeeSaw (our K-2 online platform) but she loved school better. A high schooler said he was really excited to get back to school, a normal routine, and to see his friends and teachers. An intermediate classroom told me, “We can do this and we can do it together.” My heart is full for our students and staff that we are continuing to learn and grow together.
Teachers are the reason we are able to teach students anywhere, anytime. If you see a teacher or a school staff member please make a point to thank them for their devotion to students, their extra hard work to teach this year, their patience with processes , and their ability to navigate technology to deliver a world class education to the students of Mount Airy. Say a prayer for all educators and vote in the fall for public officials that will back additional pay and support for teachers and allocate the money needed for education to thrive.
Our Back to School 2020 plan is updated frequently. We have a great website and social media presence so the public can be a part of our educational journey. Please take some time and check out all the wonderful things MACS does for students, even during difficult times. We appreciate all of the support we have had from the community and know we are blessed to live here. https://www.mtairy.k12.nc.us/
Yes, like a lot of sports fans, I’m craving the return of football. In the meantime I’m trying to get used to this unusual NBA playoffs while keeping up with NFL offseason news.
The other day ESPN had a game story where it mentioned Paul George busting out of a slump by “scoring 35 points in 25 minutes to become the only player to score 35 in 25 minutes or less in the shot clock era (since 1954-55) , according to Elias Sports Bureau.”
I get what the writer was saying, but he kind of left off a bit of detail there. He meant scoring 35 points in only 25 minutes of action for the whole game — which is 48 minutes long, so he had plenty of rest along the way.
More impressive is that there have been plenty of people who have scored 35+ points in the first half (24 minutes) of a game.
When Michael Jordan was growing up, his idol was David Thompson, the star who led NC State to the 1974 NCAA Championship.
Thompson made an ABA All-Star Team and four NBA All-Star teams before a foot injury led to substance abuse and then a knee injury and cocaine use ended his career at just 29.
Back in his third season, on April 9, 1978, Thompson had 53 points in the first half against the Pistons. That’s right 53 points in the first 24 minutes of the game — and he may have played even less than that since I don’ t know if he took a breather. He finished with 73 points.
Well, Thompson was only 15 points behind Gervin for the league scoring title going into the final game of the season.
After Thompson lit it up like that, Gervin knew he needed to score 58 just to finish in a tie. He finished with 63, so the scoring race came down to: Gervin at 27.21 points and Thompson at 27.15 points.
Sounds crazy, right, but I can think of another time the scoring title came down to the last game of the season.
In 1993-94, Shaquille O’Neal was in his second season and David Robinson was in his prime (back when future teammate Tim Duncan was just a freshman at Wake Forest).
Robinson had been leading the league in scoring going into the final week. However, on the third from last game of the season, Shaq went off for 22-31 shooting and 9-13 foul shots to put up 53 points.
On the last day of the season, Shaq had a regular sort of game, taking 18 shots and scoring 27 points.
Robinson, on the other hand, really wanted that scoring title, and his teammates fed him the ball over and over and over.
Switching gears to the NFL, I have to say that I’m sick and tired of hearing how Aaron Rodgers had a “down season” last year.
Back in the 1920s Babe Ruth obliterated the MLB home run record by hitting 54 and 59 homers in back to back years. Then he “only” hit 41 homers in 1923.
(Keep in mind he led the league in homers in 1918 with 11 and broke the league record in 1919 with 29).
Can you imagine if the baseball writers of America jumped all over the Bambino for having such a dropoff down to 41 homers?
Did that happen? Heck no, Babe won his only MVP award that season (back in a time when it was an unwritten rule that players could only get the award once).
Say what? That’s a better season than any Panthers QB has had in 26 years of the franchise. And people are calling this a down season?
Okay, sure, Rodgers has spoiled us all by putting up seven seasons with a QB rating better than 100, and this past year was “only” 95.4. That still ranked eighth in the league.
And even that rating seems to not tell the full story. Deshaun Watson, Dak Prescott, Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo were higher despite much worse TD-to-INT ratios. Watson had 26 TDs and 12 INTs. Dak had 30 TDs and 11 INTs . Garoppolo was 27-13. Carr was 21-8.
People will say, “Yeah, but his completion percentage was tied for 21st with Ryan Fitzpatrick and a first-time starter in Kyle Allen. That’s not good enough.”
When he targeted Davante Adams, Rodgers completed 65.4% of his throws for 7.9 yards an attempt. That would put him 12th in completion rate and tied for eighth in yards per attempt.
With Geronimo Allison it was only 5.2 yards per target. With Marquez Valdes-Scantling he only completed 46.4%. Even TE Jimmy Graham didn’t help that much as Aaron completed 63.3% of his passes for 7.5 yards on less than half the yards of the league’s top TE targets.
To put things in perspective, the Panthers got eight full seasons out of Cam Newton before his foot injury last year. In his best season he only cut his interceptions down to 10. He averaged 13.4 a year.
Rodgers is being criticized for only completing 62.0% of his passes (and so was Kyle Allen) and yet Cam only had one season better than that with a career mark of 59.6%.
Rodgers had a QB rating of only 95.4, yet Cam only had one season better than that with a career rating of 86.1.
(By the way, Kyle Allen wasn’t worth keeping in Carolina after a virtual rookie year where his rating was 80.0. In 2016-17 Cam had back-to-back seasons where his combined QB rating was less than 80. But a young Allen was traded to Washington.)
Recent weeks have been filled with sadness and disturbing news. It takes courage these days to pay attention to the daily news cycle with any level of objectivity and thoughtful awareness. Which story has grabbed your attention? The story of another hurricane striking the Gulf Coast; reports of virus clusters throughout the UNC system; the process of education administrators, teachers, students (and their parents) returning to class – some in person, but most through virtual platforms; or another police-involved shooting?
These are just a few stories, and it’s all overwhelming. On top of it all, there are the messages coming from two weeks of national political conventions. In the words of Psalm 4:6, “Who will show us any good?”
The words of Psalm 4 provide a helpful tool for taking a pause. I can relate to the Psalmist’s plea for the Lord to shine upon us in this moment and upon all the deep needs our society is struggling to face. “Let your kindness, Lord , shine brightly on us.”
The struggles that are dominating the news also challenge me to turn to the reflections of modern saints who impacted history in the past century, when times were even more challenging. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of those saints. He was a pastor who became famous for his work to resist the Nazi Third Reich, and to lead German Christians to stand up for the marginalized. He was executed as a result, but even from his prison cell he wrote about the power of God’s grace to affect change. His daily effort to reflect on God’s presence made him a light in the darkness to the guards and other prisoners. Recent events make his writings very relevant.
Bonhoeffer reminds me that setting aside daily time to focus on God’s presence, to discern what is good and true and life giving, provides a way to see what is truly needed to act through the grace of God. I cannot begin to imagine what it would take to spend two years as a political prisoner in a Nazi prison for teaching fellow Christians to resist an evil government. Yet somehow, he managed to write some of his most important works from behind prison bars, while his world collapsed.
One such work is his poem, “Who Am I?” It was first published in English in 1953 (Letters and Papers from Prison). He describes the daily experience of guards and prisoners struggling for a source of his hope and light. And his own struggle to figure out how to respond, often losing track of his own self. It is largely about the questions of his soul. “Who am I? They would tell me. I would step from my cell’s confinement – calmly, cheerfully, firmly – Like a squire from his country-house. Who am I? They would tell me. I would talk to my warders freely and friendly and clearly, as though it were mine to command.”
As I ponder this moment, with Psalm 4:6-8 in one hand and Bonhoeffer’s poem in the other, I find a conversation with God. The kind of prayerful reflection that is best served by being alone on a mountain overlook, surrounded by the sounds of nature and a breeze rustling through the trees. It would take the whole day for such a trip, and there is too much in my schedule for that. Instead, I will take a long walk from my home through downtown Mount Airy and back . Praying for the homes and businesses and all the people they represent as I go.
I will consider the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is affecting teachers and students, businesses and community groups of every size and shape. I will pray about the first responders and the people in the path of Hurricane Laura – all trying to avoid harm with the added challenge of coronavirus exposure. I will give specific reflection to the college students and educators I know who are trying to make sense of the upheaval of this semester. And I will ask the Lord to grant me insight to ponder the loss and pain found in the story of another moment of violence and police-involved shooting.
Psalm 4 concludes that despite all the things happening in the world, it is God who is able to place gladness in our hearts; it is God who provides a place to dwell in safety. So, I pray for God’s safety – for the teachers, students, first-responders, and protesters. Bonhoeffer’s poem concludes that he is a victim of his own lonely questions, and that only God knows “who I am.” So, I pray, for each neighbor and each political official, to be grounded in God. And I encourage you to join me in praying often for one another as we seek God’s light.
In the midst of a horribly deadly Covid-19 Pandemic, we are also stressed by economic, racial and political crises that push, pull, divide and frighten us. These are bewildering times. I certainly don’t have all the answers. But, Perhaps we could find a bit of guidance in the last line of our Pledge of Allegiance, which declares that we are a people committed to “liberty and justice for all.”
We cherish and celebrate our freedom. I have observed, however, that freedom is the source of both wonderful opportunity and deadly danger. Think about it. Is there anything good that does not also have the potential for evil? For example, automobiles are wonderful vehicles that have enriched our lives in magnificent ways. In America, we have the freedom to drive. But, automobiles also have a horrible potential for harm. We have the freedom to drive but how we use that freedom is crucial. Freedom becomes a very complex treasure that must have some guiding principles if it is to be positive.
As I wrestle with the issue of the positive use of freedom, one thing that keeps coming back to my mind is a simple statement I was taught as a child. “My freedom ends where your nose begins.” Or, turn that around. “ Your freedom ends where my nose begins.”
I am astounded that wearing a face mask has become an issue of “our freedom.” I don’t like wearing a face mask but I am getting used to it. Wearing one might keep someone from infecting me. And, wearing one might prevent me from infecting someone else. “My freedom ends where your nose begins.” There is a standard that just might guide us toward living out, not only liberty, but also justice—and for all!
I had the pleasure of being served at the Mount Airy DMV last week. I am concerned about contact in crowds due to the Corona-19 virus. Consequently, I scheduled an appointment in this smaller town office requiring me to drive two hours from home.
The staff was very helpful and polite. I want to thank the professional, knowledgable, and servant hearted staff at the DMV in Mount Airy for their excellent service. Andy of Mayberry would be proud.
I was passing through Mount Airy this week and picked up a newspaper to see what was going on in my old hometown. Although I did not recognize any of the folks involved I could not get the story of commissioner turmoil off of my mind.
I did some research by reading the stories that led up to the August 19 issue. I would like to commend Chairman Johnson for his leadership and insightful judgement. He found out that one commissioner is probably a serious racist, one commissioner answers to only a select few supporters, one commissioner is scared to make a decision, and one commissioner really does not care.
I am responding again to quotes/misinformation presented by Mark Jones and published Twice in the Mount Airy News. The first instance occurs in the Mount Airy News article published Friday, August 14, 2020, “City Councilman criticizes Forest over masks.” The second instance is from the August 19, 2020, letter to the editor editorial written by Mark Jones.
In both Mark Jones cites the respected New England Journal of Medicine as a source supporting his opinion that masks are ineffective. He includes the NEJM as part of a body of medical journals publishing scientific research on the ineffectiveness of wearing masks. His understanding/summation of the research is incorrect. He and the Mount Airy News are writing/publishing false information. Please refer to a follow-up letter written by the original perspective authors and published by the NEJM on June 3, 2020, at NEJM.org: https: //www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2020836.
We understand that some people are citing our Perspective article (published on April 1 at NEJM.org) as support for discrediting widespread masking. In truth, the intent of our article was to push for more masking, not less. It is apparent that many people with SARS-CoV-2 infection are asymptomatic or presymptomatic yet highly contagious and that these people account for a substantial fraction of all transmissions. Universal masking helps to prevent such people from spreading virus-laden secretions, whether they recognize that they are infected or not.
We did state in the article that “wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection,” but as the rest of the paragraph makes clear, we intended this statement to apply to passing encounters in public spaces, not sustained interactions within closed environments. A growing body of research shows that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is strongly correlated with the duration and intensity of contact: the risk of transmission among household members can be as high as 40%, whereas the risk of transmission from less intense and less sustained encounters is below 5%. This finding is also borne out by recent research associating mask wearing with less transmission of SARS-CoV-2, particularly in closed settings. We therefore strongly support the calls of public health agencies for all people to wear masks when circumstances compel them to be within 6 ft of others for sustained periods.
It is clear the research and the message of the authors supports wearing masks. The letter is written/signed by professionals who are all physicians and researchers and are associated with the Harvard School of Medicine/Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and multiple other well respected scientific and public health affiliations.
Misinformation such as this should not be quoted or printed. It politicizes wearing masks, fuels the false belief that masks are ineffective, and threatens our public health.
Our city board recently had yet another special meeting met to again discuss a CIP (capital investment/spending plan). This time they gave it the go-ahead. You can see the rerun on Facebook at “the city of mount airy nc” ( 8/13 meeting). Please watch.
Our new board behaves much like the last one and that’s not good. They seem very gullible. Year after year we’ve taken in more per capita revenue than most other towns yet city management still can’t make it work even with a huge tax hike. That’s the problem and that’s the elephant in the room, but never mentioned. When there’s plenty of revenue but it still doesn’t cover, the problem points to management, and bringing in another Charlotte consultant is not the answer.
Compare these two quotes from the meeting: Commissioner Steve Yokeley said “We have professional city manager and professional department heads.” Then this quote from our city manager on how we need to keep our $100K Charlotte consultant: “We certainly need the help and experience of Mr. Carter (the consultant).” They contradict each other. They can’t both be valid. We’re a small town. It’s gullible to spend another $100K for another consultant to do what our city manager and department heads are already well paid to do and should be doing.
The now approved CIP spending/borrowing plan is essentially what Yokeley put together 3-4 years ago and has pushed ever since. Even the old board never approved it. Guess it took a $100K Charlotte consultant to help push. From what we’ve seen the CIP idea is what that Charlotte consultant usually pushes. Wonder who chose him? Yokeley’s original $42 million wish list was a combination of all the things our department heads could list. It ballooned because they were sent back 2-3 times to think of additional things (and they did).
Now the idea is to have the department heads revise and update that list. Maybe it’ll be even more. Obviously the department heads need to be involved but our board needs to control the process closely. Sadly the record shows they may not. It’s like asking people what they want for Christmas. It’s gullible to think everything listed is needed.
Our board is elected to represent and protect taxpayers. Employees don’t necessarily have that same focus, but our gullible board seems to think they do. It’s basic human nature for employees to want nice fancy new buildings and equipment (the newest city dump truck has chrome wheels). The list even includes replacing carpet if it has a little wrinkle, because they claim it’s a safety hazard. Have they not heard of re-stretching? Or is it a way to get the currently more fashionable hardwood? Millions of dollars of questionable things are on the list. Eighty-two percent of our employees live outside city and that includes city manager. They don’t pay the taxes and fees that provide their salaries. If taxes and fees go up it doesn’t affect them.
Unlike government employees, private sector employees have to be much more aware of costs and expense control. Many businesses have incentive programs that reward employees for better controlling expenses. We might suggest city do something like that too, but board gullibility would likely let it become another giveaway like “participation trophies” where everyone gets rewarded no matter what.
More gullibility: Some on our board seem convinced that spending $1.2 million on two new automated garbage trucks will save us money over a 10-year period. That’s the city estimate, but estimates are merely guesses and so much can change over 10 years. Koch has pushed this project and even suggested a new $3 monthly fee for this. If the claim is it will save money why the extra fee? Maybe they don’t believe the claim either.
The original estimate for recycling claimed if we spent several hundred thousand for an automated recycle truck and crew we’d actually make money. But that didn’t work and now we’re paying $50,000 a year just to get someone to take the stuff, plus all the city truck and crew expense.
Look at personnel. Over the past few years we’ve hiked salaries by such large amounts there’s very little in budget for anything else, yet it hasn’t solved the problem of vacancies in the police department or fire department. Maybe that wasn’t the problem anyway. The biggest farce was annexation expense years ago. It was estimated at $9.3 million but ended up over $20 million. When has a city estimate been accurate, or even close? It’s unacceptable for our board to keep betting our tax money on unreliable estimates. It’s Lucy and the football all over again yet they keep falling for it. That’s gullible. Time to wise up.
The letter about masks by the GOP chairman was interesting but of little use in helping stop the spread of the coronavirus. Just the opposite.
Yes there are reasons for people not to wear a mask—certain jobs, illnesses, etc. But to stop the spread of the virus everyone should follow CDC guidelines including wearing a mask.
When Gov. Cooper announced COVID-19 restrictions he was following science not politics. That’s why his approval rating for handling the virus is nearly 70%. Polls show a majority of Americans support their governors’ pandemic restrictions. If Dan Forest had been governor he would have reopened the state in June and the state would be in the same tragic situation as Florida and Georgia.
I find it a bit disingenuous for the GOP to talk about personal’freedom.’ This is the party that has tried for years (and is still at it) to restrict the freedom of women to choose their health-care options. And the party that tried to restrict the freedom of consenting adults to marry. And the GOP thinks wearing a mask a few times a day is a violation of their personal freedom. Even if it means saving lives.
If you choose not to wear a mask, fine but if you want to know why businesses and schools are not opening and sports are not being played look in a mirror. You’re the reason. And if more Americans don’t start following the CDC guidelines we will be in this situation come spring.
And if the president provides a vaccine by Nov. 3 (which is a political stunt) it wouldn’t make any difference. Most Republicans wouldn’t get vaccinated anyway. It would violate their personal freedom.
The morning dew becomes cold on Saint Bartholomew’s Day. Tomorrow will be the day of Saint Bartholomew. He was one of Jesus’ twelve apostles. It is a legend that on his special day, the dew’s of summer mornings begin to turn cold. This is a solemn, subtle sign that autumn is sneaking up on us.
My Northampton County grandma who kept up with August fogs to calculate snows and their amounts was also in the mornings of August in the days after Saint Bartholomew’s Day. The number of cold dew’s would determine how much and how many ice and sleet events the winter would produce. The heavy dew’s of late August pave the way for the frosts in October and November, and farther down the road ice, sleet, and frozen mud holes. This must have been what grandma had in mind as she did the math on the dew’s during the month that followed Saint “Bart’s” Day.
Legend does say the dews of mid-August get heavier and cooler. We have to guess that her formula was the cooler and heavier the dews, the greater the odds of how much ice, sleet, and frozen precipitation we would receive. We are glad that on her busy day, she had time to check out the dew.
Keep feeding your late, late tomato crop. The late, late tomato plants are enjoying relief from the days of Dog Day heat that are now in the past. They still have a lot of warm days left to produce plenty of red and green tomatoes to ripen in the house after frost comes. Keep them watered with the water wand in shower mode when it does not rain for a few days. Keep late tomatoes fed with Tomato-Tone organic tomato food or Vigaro tomato food with calcium and pull up soil on both sides of the plants to cover the vegetable food.
Setting out a row or bed of onion sets. As we move toward the end of the month of August, the soil is ready for setting out a row or bed of onion sets for a harvest all the way until next spring. Most nurseries, hardware stores, and seed stores now have onion sets in white, yellow, and red for less than $3 a pound. Sow onions in a furrow about four inches deep and three to four inches apart. Set them root side down in the furrow and cover the sets with a layer of peat moss and then a layer of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Hill up soil on each side of the furrow and tamp down with the hoe blade. Water every five days when no rain falls. Side dress with Plant- Tone every 15 days. Once the onions sprout place a layer of crushed leaves between the rows to keep soil warm and protected from frost at a later date.
Planting a row or bed of mustard greens. As we near the close of August, it is the ideal time to sow a row or bed or patch of mustard greens or mixed greens for an autumn and winter harvest. Notice that we said a winter harvest . Yes; you can enjoy a winter harvest if you cover the greens with a layer of crushed leaves on both sides of the row or bed before a heavy frost or ground freeze. Crushed leaves will not be blown away by the winds and will insulate the sod in the row or bed. You can sow curly mustard in a row or bed by itself of you can choose from a mix of rape, mustard, kale, broadleaf, tendergreen, spinach and turnip. All these varities cost the same per ounce and can be mixed in any ratio you prefer.
Plant seed in a furrow and cover with a layer of peat moss, (this will give cool weather soil a good texture when the frost and freezes arrive). It will also provide better water retention. Cover peat moss with an application of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food before hilling up soil on both sides of the furrow. Side dress every fifteen days with Plant-Tine and hill up soil after each application. Apply the later of crushed leaves before a heavy frost arrives.
Late August rains have paved way for the cool weather vegetables. Not only are the dews of August heavy, but late August showers also helping ready soil for cool weather vegetable crops. Turnips can be sown as well as greens, onion sets, collards, broccoli , cabbage, spinach, Siberian Kale, and curly mustard. Place a layer of peat moss in all furrows when you sow or plant cool weather vegetables to improve soil texture, retain moisture and promote germination.
Use Black Kow on autumn vegetables. Black Kow composted cow manure cost a little more than $5 for a 25-pound bag and will work wonders on the cool weather vegetable crops. Just spoon it in the furrow on top of peat moss and seeds for quick response. It works well to promote growth of larger turnips. You can purchase this product in 50-pound bags but it is harder to handle and move around the garden plot.
Kale is now becoming America’s favorite green. Kale is becoming popular because it has so many uses. You can make a sweet salad with its leaves or chop or grate and grind it into slaw or cook it as a pot of greens. It is very winter -hardy and can be harvest when temperatures are freezing or even when snow covers them. The very best variety of kale is Siberian Kale but there are also several other varieties that are also good producers. An ounce of kale costs about the same as other greens . Sow in a furrow and plant as you would any other greens.
Keep feeding the cool weather turnip row or bed. If you haven’t already done so, turnips should be planted soon because as a root crop, they need time to develop large turnips. If your turnips have already sprouted, side dress them every 15 days with Plant-Tine organic vegetable food and hill up soil on each side of the row. You can also give them a drink of Miracle-Grow in a sprinkling can of water and pour around base of the turnip plants.
Christmas cactus thrive on the front porch. The Christmas cactus are thriving on the front porch in a semi-sunny location. They do not like direct sunlight because it will cause their foliage to turn red. These cactus are more than 10 years old. We have two new ones that are red in color that we rooted in December and are now in containers and hopefully on their way to blooming in late November.
You can root a Christmas cactus by placing a shoot in a bud vase or bottle filled with water and place where it is semi-sunny. Keep bottle or vase filled with water. It will sprout roots in about two weeks. Leave in bottle until roots reach out toward bottom. You can later transplant it into a container of Miracle-Gro cactus-citrus potting medium. The secret of blooms in November and December is to place cactus outside in a semi-sunny location and feed once a month with Flower- Tone organic flower food. Water once a week. Bring them back inside the house in late October before first frost arrives.
Harvesting the sweet and bell peppers and freezing them. During the late days of August and all the way until frost, the green bell peppers and hot cayenne peppers will be producing their harvest. Bell peppers are easy to prepare and freeze. They come in handy in winter for recipes such as baked beans, spaghetti sauce, chili beans, hot dog chili, and other recipes. All you have to do is harvest the peppers, wash them, cut open, and remove seeds. Cut into quarter inch or smaller pieces and place in quart or pint plastic containers and place in the freezer. Whenever a recipe calls for green peppers, shake the amount of peppers while still frozen into the recipe and close the container. For hot dog chili, you can run peppers through the blender in “grate” mode while peppers are still frozen.
Freezing peppers in summer will save a lot of prep time when you use peppers for recipes during winter. You can freeze hot cayenne peppers the same way but use latex protective gloves to prevent burning your hands. Another way to prepare cayenne peppers is the old- fashioned method of using a needle and thread and string the red cayenne’s one at a time on the string and hanging it in a dry lighted area.
Making a bowl of baked beans. You can make a meal with a bowl of baked beans on a mid-summer afternoon. This recipe is truly a meal in a bowl. You will need one pound of bacon, one pound of Jimmy Dean mild sausage or ground round, two can of Van Camp pork and beans, one large bell pepper (grated in blender), one stick light margarine, one two ounce jar diced pimentos (drained), one fourth cup light brown sugar, two teaspoons of yellow mustard , half teaspoon Texas Pete, three tablespoons catsup, half teaspoon apple cider vinegar and one tablespoon barbeque sauce.
Broil bacon until crisp and break into small pieces. If you use sausage, fry, drain and mash or break into small pieces. If you use ground round, boil until tender and mash into pieces. Melt margarine and fry the grated peppers and onions in the margarine. Mix all other ingredients, mix in the meats. Pour into a 13x9x2 inch baking dish or pan sprayed with Pam baking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Sprinkle finely shredded cheese on top.
Hoe-Hoe-Howdown: “Senior Moments” While on a vacation trip, an elderly couple stopped at a restaurant on Interstate 77 to eat lunch. After they finished their meal, the wife left her glasses on the dining room table, but she did not miss them until they were several miles down the interstate. By that time, the husband had to drive another mile or two to exit. Her husband griped, fussed, and complained all the way back to the restaurant. He criticized his wife for her carelessness, forget-fullness, and thoughtless act. When they finally arrived at the restaurant, and the wife left the car to retrieve her glasses, her crow-eating husband said “While you are in there, get my hat!”
Editor’s Note: Community Commentary is a column featuring commentary from community leaders in Mount Airy and Surry County.
Do you think 100 years ago (1920) that littering was a problem? Then again let’s say 200 years ago (1820), did communities have trouble with folks who litter? It is hard to say but I think it is safe to say that this is a problem that has been around a long time.
Somehow, I think that my parents and my grandparents were more careful about litter. My ancestors were mainly farmers who were taught to use everything and packaging was different back then. A food item that was sold in a metal box was often saved to be used for something else. Today we live in a disposable society where everything that does not have a purpose is thrown in the landfill, even with increased efforts to recycle.
Of course, the 1960s (and probably before that decade) brought about movements to protect the environment. It was all about clean air, clean water and a cleaner planet. However, driving around Surry County, I often think there are many people that did not get that memo and somehow feel compelled to throw their trash out the car window.
Picture this for a moment: You are driving down one of our great two-lane roads in Surry County; the sun is shining and the sky is a great Carolina blue. Your car radio is blasting some great music and you are enjoying the ride. That all ends suddenly when you travel past an intersection and see trash thrown off the side of the road. This will ruin a perfectly good car ride. It makes me think what in the world would compel some dummy to take his fast food trash, cup , beer bottle or cardboard box and fling it out the car window? I often think to myself maybe there is a reason but honestly, I cannot think of one. Not one.
My parents were hard-working people and did not have degrees from Harvard or Yale. In fact, because of World War II, my father did not even complete high school. I grew up in the sixties and seventies and if my blue-collar Dad ever witnessed me littering, I would have been in serious trouble. Here is my shout out to all of you parents out there. Talk to your kids about littering. Let them know that it is against the law, it is ugly and it paints a terrible picture for those who travel our roads every day.
How about all of the tourists that come to our region? They come here to see the sights, spend money and enjoy our community. The message that litter sends is that people who live here do not take care of their community.
I have a theory about those who litter (and you know who you are). The actions we take as adults are often a product of how we were raised. If our parents or grandparents thought it was ok to litter, then it must be ok . The fact is that it is not ok. Let’s teach our children to respect the land and dispose of trash properly.
A few years ago, my family and I lived on a dead-end road in Surry County. I could never figure out why some people (residents and non-residents) would come down our road and throw their trash out the window. I guess they did it because they could not be seen as easily as on a main road. It got so bad that my wife would get a bag and go collect as much of it as she could.
One day I noticed fast food trash thrown by the side of the road. Part of the mess were two kid’s meal packages. I can just hear the conversation to those kids, “Johnny, give Dad your trash and I will pitch it put the window .” We can only hope that the kid would think, “Dad, why did you do that? Trash goes in the trash can!” We can only hope.
So, there is my two cents on litter. Let’s think about litter and what damage it causes. Keep a grocery bag or box in your car for trash and empty it when you need to. Teach your children or grandchildren not to litter. Those who lived in the 1970′s may remember a character called Woodsy Owl. His motto was “Give a Hoot. Don’t Pollute!”
In an Aug. 13 Mount Airy News article (City Councilman Criticizes Forest over Mask), the paper quoted aspects of my Aug. 9 statement about forced mask wearing. My entire statement was in response to a question about why most attendees at a previous outdoor Republican Party gathering were not wearing masks. The Mount Airy News scattered some of my comments throughout the article, but left out other sentences from my statement.
Wearing a mask is an individual decision, so you would have to ask each and every person. Many of us believe wearing masks is not supported by science. There are multiple articles in medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, that indicate masks are ineffective. Cooper’s order is little more than a recommendation in reality. Finally, many of us believe forced mask wearing is unconstitutional under the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution. The Surry County Republican Party believes in freedom, liberty, and science. Therefore, we support an individual’s right to decide for themselves whether or not they wear a mask.
Additionally, there are a whole host of federal laws that provide exemptions from wearing a mask. Law enforcement officers are specifically prohibited from asking an individual why they are not wearing a mask because of medical and privacy laws.
The sentences that were excluded from the Aug. 13 article are very important. These federal exemptions are provided because of medical and privacy laws that protect people who have medical issues that make mask wearing a health risk. Only impacted individuals can know what these issues may be.
Additionally, it is important to understand that the governor’s own executive order acknowledges that law enforcement officers, due to medical and privacy laws, cannot ask an individual why they are not wearing a mask.
So, it is clear, based on the wording in the governor’s own order, that wearing masks is voluntary, and each and every person must decide for themselves what to do based on their particular health needs and their own belief system. The governor was photographed marching in a protest without a mask, so perhaps he would agree with me on this one?
One of the world’s most famous proponents of masks is none other than the 79-year-old head of our National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci. On July 23, Fauci threw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals Baseball game in Washington, DC, and was later photographed, in what became a viral photo, sitting in the stands between two other individuals. The 79-year-old, who has more to fear from COVID-19 than most Americans, was not wearing a mask. Does he believe his own recommendations? Each person will have to decide for themselves.
A photo of Fauci is anecdotal. What do other medical experts say? Well, many European Countries and many American States do not require masks. There is no scientific evidence COVID-19 transmission rates are higher in these areas. If there were, the media would have trumpeted it throughout newspapers across America.
Additionally, in a peer-reviewed medical article (not a political statement issued by Fauci or another government appointee) published on April 1, 2020, in the New England Journal of Medicine, five medical doctors wrote: “We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.”
Some of the doctors quoted above have since been pressured to support widespread mask wearing. In the interest of brevity, I will refrain from including additional medical opinions that agree with the opinion the doctors first published on April 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine. It is easy to find doctors with differing opinions on both sides.
One issue that has not received enough attention is the unintended health consequences of long-term mask wearing by healthy people. What is it doing to the lungs of people breathing in cloth fibers? As we focus on a virus, what risks are associated with bacterial build-up in masks? What it is doing to children – both physically and emotionally? What are the other risks? Perhaps Fauci and others will take an unbiased look into these issues and publish this information soon.
The point is that the science is not clear on the benefits of masks, and there is evidence to suggest masks may be counter-productive or cause other harmful health side effects.
Wearing masks is an issue fraught with implications involving legal issues, privacy issues, personal freedom issues, and confounding scientific information. All these are factors each and every person must consider for themselves in deciding about wearing a mask. Far be it from me to suggest anyone wear or not wear a mask.
This gets back to my original point in the Aug. 9 statement, “The Surry County Republican Party believes in freedom, liberty, and science. Therefore, we support an individual’s right to decide for themselves whether or not they wear a mask.”
“Oh, such reports as have come to [us] to day from San Francisco! If all had gone as we intended I would have been caught [there] but I was sick and didn’t start [on time] and now I have everything to be thankful for.”
So Clara “Carrie” Woodroffe Pryor wrote to her mother, MaryAnn Woodroffe, in a letter dated April 19, 1906, the day after estimated 7.9 earthquake laid waste to the Golden Gate City.
Frank Woodroffe, one of her five brothers, was visiting from Mount Airy. He was to escort her to visit a doctor in San Jose. They’d planned to stop to visit friends on the way, friends who maintained a lodging house in San Francisco .
“You will see it all in the papers,” she continued. “Fire is sweeping the city and has destroyed several [neighborhoods]” Her friends were among the 3,000 dead, their lodging house destroyed.
Earthquakes have long been a source of fascination and primal fear for humans. Legends of the earth swallowing entire towns are the stuff of nightmares. While America has never lost a city, the New Madrid seismic event which began in December 1811 and continued until March 1812 changed the course of the mighty Mississippi.
It was a series of earthquakes, the strongest of which occurred on Feb. 7 and is thought to have been equivalent to an 8.4 magnitude quake based on the destruction and distances it was felt. That would make it the strongest such event on the North American continent known in modern times. The ground movement rang church bells in Boston, created new lakes and waterfalls in the Mississippi River, and caused it to flow backwards for a while.
North Carolina has had few significant seismic events. Earthquakes generally happen along fault lines, edges of the plates of the earth’s crust. These plates are in constant slow motion but occasionally get stuck against each other. When the force of the moving plate becomes too much , the plates shift loose of each other in sudden, occasionally violent ways causing waves of motion to travel through the earth and rock.
We are not on the edge of any plates and have no active faults so, in theory, there should be no earthquakes. And yet there have been as many as 80 events recorded since colonial times. Geologists are still working to figure that out.
Most tremors felt in here are between 2 and 3 on the Richter scale. A few, like last week’s 5.1 in Sparta and the 1916 Skyland quake near Asheville estimated to have been a 5.2, are stronger but rarely do more than pop some bricks out of chimneys, knock a few folks off their feet, and send cracks down masonry walls.
Because Surry County sits so near the Virginia border, folks in this region have felt the effects of tremors from that state as well as the Tar Heel State as was the case in March 1879 when a “heavy lumbering sound and the quivering of the earth” caused some excitement. The same again in February of 1885 when a quake centered near Wytheville, Virginia, woke those in the western part of the county up at 7 am
On Sept. 25, 1886, one of the oldest copies of newspapers that still exists from Surry County, the Yadkin Valley News reported on the tremendous shaking of Charleston, South Carolina.
Not to be outdone, Rumbling Bald Mountain, mostly quiet since her six-month activity in 1874, had experienced an earthquake in the winter of 1886. Now, nine months later, a series of “very large fissures have appeared” on the side of the mountain. This caused concern that the mountain, which many thought might be hollow, “will certainly fall or sink in” on itself.
The Yadkin Valley News, Mount Airy News, and Elkin Times report a progression of North Carolina quakes through the years; Edgecombe County, October 1895; Person County, February 1896; several in May 1897 in Surry and surrounding counties.
“A violent shock of earthquake was felt here Monday afternoon about 2,” reported the Elkin Times in 1897. “The shock was preceded by a low rumbling noise like distant thunder. People were frightened somewhat and were fearful of a repetition of the memorable night of August 31, 1886 [the date of the Charleston quake]. Some think the shock was as heavy here Monday as it was on that night.” They go on to describe doors slamming, windows rattling, and items being shaken off shelves.
That would have been the Angels Rest quake in Giles County, Virginia, north of Wythe, that damaged several homes and derailed a freight train.
Tremors are reported in Surry in 1959, several in the ’60s, and another in 2003. One a few years ago cracked concrete in the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History but didn’t do any real damage.
So it seems the shaking will continue on and off and we’ll continue to talk about the ones that came before all the while being glad they are no stronger than they are.
Keeping mid-summer coleus full of colorful foliage all the way until frost. The coleus of “Joseph’s Coat” has been producing an array of pink, yellow, red, white and lavender foliage since early June. As we reach mid-August, they have flower seeds which are lavender in color. To promote more leaves to grow, pinch off these flowers so that the strength of the coleus plant will be devoted to producing more leaves instead of flowers. Water the coleus every evening and feed with Miracle-Gro liquid plant food or a handful of Flower-Tone organic flower food every ten days. Pinch off all faded leaves.
Do not mow grass laden with morning dew. With the dews of the month of August growing wetter and cooler means that it will be lingering around longer and the sun will take longer to dry it up. Never mow dew-laden grass not only because it is wetter and cooler but it is also stickier. It causes grass clippings to stick to the mower housing as well as to your shoes and clothes. It also piles up a mess of ugly clippings to rake up. Add all this with the promotion of rust and tracking wet clippings into the house. Wait until late afternoon for the sun to dry off the dew before mowing the lawn.
Cabbage, collard, and broccoli plants are in hardware and seed stores. The cole family of cool weather vegetables are now showing up in hardware, nurseries, seed stores, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Ace Hardware. You can purchase them in four , six, and nine-packs. You can plant them even though the nights and days are still very warm. The secret of their growth is to use the water wand to cool them down each evening after sunset to refresh and cool the plants and the soil. Use the spray mode on the wand and apply a light spray around base of the plants. Here are a few hints on setting our cole family plants for productive results:
– Watch out for cabbage butterflies and sucking insects and control them with Sevin liquid mist spray.
The Holly-Tone family of organic vegetable and flower foods. The Holly-Tone family of organic foods includes Holly-Tone for evergreens and azaleas, Rose-Tone for rose bushes, Flower-Tone for all varieties of flowers and containers, Plant-Tone for seeds and vegetables and plants, Tomato-Tone for all stages of tomato growth, Vegetable-Tone for sustaining vegetable crops during growth. Plant-Tone and all the Holly-Tone family of organics are fine-textured, totally organic and clean and easy to apply. It comes in three- and ten-pound bags (the three-pound bag is easier to use). A little of it goes a long way. The bags have zip-lock openers which makes it easy to apply to seeds and plants without getting on your hands or wasting by spills. It may stink, but it is effective. It has proven itself in gardens since 1929.
The impatiens are a colorful showoff in hanging baskets. Impatiens make the most beautiful of hanging baskets. The salmon colored impatiens are the prettiest of them all. Many people don’t grow impatiens because they say they develop many fungal diseases and wilt. Much of this is caused by watering them too much, and also by not feeding them the proper nutrients, and maybe, just maybe, too much sun. An organic food such as Flower-Tone organic flower food applied to the medium and stirred in around the base of their containers will give them the boost they need. Another way to have healthy impatiens is don’t plant more than three plants per medium basket or container to prevent them from being crowded and rootbound. In a hanging basket, impatiens have room to cascade and also have better drainage.
The curtain call of the summer of 2020. On Monday, August 24, we will celebrate Saint Bartholomew’s Day. This day is known as the curtain call of summer with other calls coming slowly but surely as they pave the way into the season of autumn. Each morning the dews will get cooler as well as wetter. These morning dews will also be sticky. The days are already getting a minute shorter each evening and we have lost an hour of daylight since June 21. Sunset comes a little earlier each evening and soon we will feel a subtle nip in the air on the porch. The warm weather vegetables of summer are already in slow-down mode as the cool August dew is sending them a message that their harvest will soon be over. August is truly a month of transition of one season paving the way into another. After Dog Days a lot of gardeners are looking forward to the cool season of autumn.
Starting a row or bed of purple top turnips. Turnips are a root crop that needs to be sown this month so they will have plenty of time to produce large turnips. The most popular turnip variety is the purple top. You can sow them in a row or bed or you can scatter or broadcast the seed to form a turnip patch. A patch can sometimes become a “no-no” because it makes it harder at the time of harvest. We like rows or beds because it makes harvest easier and you can thin out turnips to promote growth of larger turnips. Another plus is that you can apply a layer of crushed leaves between rows to protect against freezes and promote a longer harvest. Plant turnip seeds in a shallow furrow about two or three inches deep and thinly spread the seed in the furrow so the turnips will have space to develop. Apply a layer of peat moss on the seed and then an application of Plant-Tone organic vegetable food. Hill up soil on both sides of furrow and tamp down soil with the hod blade. Use the water wand to spray a mist of water on the turnip row every evening. Side dress the turnips with Plant-Tone every two weeks and hill up soil after side dressing with plant food.
Trimming and feeding panda and asparagus ferns. These ferns have made the deck seem like a much cooler place this summer. They have been outside in a semi-sunny location since the middle of April. We trim them once a month and shape them up to promote new growth. All they need is a drink of water every week and feeding with Flower-Tone organic flower food every fifteen days. They thrive all summer outside on the deck and spend autumn and winter in the sunny living room.
Making a crunchy cheesy broccoli casserole. There are many recipes for broccoli casseroles, but they all have one important ingredient and that is cheese. This casserole has just that – plenty of cheese. You will need one quart cooked broccoli, one can Campbell’s cheddar cheese soup, one cup finely shredded cheddar cheese, two eggs, three tablespoons mayonnaise, one stick light margarine (melted), one and a half cups crunchy Cheetos (crushed into quarter-inch pieces). Boil broccoli until tender, drain and place in a medium bowl, add melted margarine into broccoli. Add all other ingredients except the Cheetos. Stir all ingredients together. Break or chop Cheetos into quarter inch cubes and add to the mixture. Spray a casserole dish with Pam baking spray and pour broccoli mix into casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes until light brown on top.
Keep humming bird feeders filled with nectar. The flowers of late summer are slowing down production, but humming birds are still active in their quest for food. Keep your feeders replenished with nectar by keeping feeders half full to see how much they are consuming each week . Add more if they are consuming what is in the feeders!
Hoe-Hoe-Hoedown: “Pass the gravy!” The mother had invited a host of guests for dinner that evening. At the dinner table, she asked her daughter who was 6 years old if she would like to say the blessing over the food . The daughter said, “I wouldn’t know what to say.” The mommy said “Just say what I would say.” The daughter bowed her head and prayed “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner? ”
“Meow Meow” Cat nights begin tomorrow night. Cats like these nights so well they call them by the name each night when they call out “meow meow.” Dog Days ended last week and now we have Cat Nights. Cats are creatures of the night and they nap all day so they have plenty of energy to prowl and curiously wander all night. August as the month itself, resembles the cat. On a humid August day, sometimes that desire to take a “cat nap” takes over our body . Just as cats are hard to figure out, so are the days of August as we transition into the very first signs of autumn, with plenty of daytime heat and cool dew at night. One certain fact about “Cat Nights” is we know they will be hot.
In the article “City councilman criticizes Forrest over masks,” (Mount Airy News, Aug. 14), Mark Jones, chairman of the county Republican Party, stated there were articles published in The New England Journal of Medicine which state masks are ineffective against transmission of COVID-19.
I have searched their website and have found no such article. I did find find an article that stated masks were not effective when worn improperly and one that said cloth masks were more effective than paper masks. However, I did find articles stating transmission of COVID -19 would be reduced greatly if everyone would wear a mask.
I can appreciate that different people will have different opinions but opinions should be based on facts. It appears to me science has given us the facts. Wearing masks properly can save lives.
I have threatened all my friends not to blow up my Facebook feed with a bunch of election season propaganda. I am an independent and don’t want to see all that GOP/Democrat venom.
However, one post had me curious; when I checked the facts, it turned out to be true. Or mostly true, which is saying something during an election year.
The post said that while people were arguing over masks and school openings and pandemic relief, the Democrats were trying to sneak through the most oppressive gun rights law in history.
First off, if a bill is introduced in Congress, that is public record, so it’s hard to say anything is sneaking through. Still, with our attention turned elsewhere, this could be a good time to pass controversial laws.
So what is this oppressive bill? HR 5717 — with the HR on the front immediately letting you know it originated in the US House of Representatives.
• The first change listed on the bill’s summary (www.congress.gov page) says that a license will be required not just to purchase a firearm or to carry one concealed, but to simply own one. And that license will be required to buy ammo.
Wow, that’s just straight up challenging the Second Amendment that says that the right to bear arms shall not be infringed. But let’s continue for now.
• The next step says it will raise the minimum age to buy firearms, or even ammo, from 18 to 21. Forget about plinking soda cans or shooting paper targets with a .22 rifle like I used to do with my cousins in my late teens . You wouldn’t even be able to buy the bullets.
• Next says that if you want to sell a gun to a friend you are required to have a background check first.
This would require you and your friend to go somewhere that can perform the check, such as a gun store — and you know that won’t be free.
Not to mention, this allows the federal government to in essence have a firearm registry, even though the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act of 1986 made such a database illegal.
• Next says that if you have a background check that is denied, then you have to alert law enforcement agencies that this person tried to acquire a firearm without proper permission. Sorry, Uncle Fred, but I have to turn you in for not being good enough for that pistol.
• Now we have “restricts the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices.”
I get the idea here. The shooter in Las Vegas rained 1,000 bullets down on concert-goers at a fast rate with 13 rifles equipped with “bump stocks” that could be purchased legally at the time. And I’ve seen a dual shotgun feeding drum that could hold 100 shotgun shells. I can see why that concerns a lot of folks.
On the other hand, anybody who knows anything about rifles will tell you that the word “assault” means nothing. Many boring, John Wayne-looking rifles have semiautomatic firing ability. Assault is a word assigned to the ones that look like a military weapon , but have the same firing function. If you restrict the sale of semiautomatic weapons, that could potentially be applied to any pistol or rifle with that firing ability.
• The one that cracked me up is allowing the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue safety standards for firearms and components. Really? Can you see the CPSC ruling any firearm safe?
On Aug. 5, the CPSC made WD-40 recall its X-14 Mildew Stain Remover from the market because the tile cleaner can cause skin irritation. Really? A powerful cleaner designed to get mildew off shower walls isn’t safe for skin? Wear rubber gloves!
Essential oils are used in diffusers and humidifiers for supposed health benefits when inhaled. Or they can be applied to the skin. Over the past month, several essential oil companies have had their products recalled because the CPSC has decided that all such products need child safety tops.
The commission heard of parents leaving the oils out where kids could get their hands on them, and then the kids tried drinking the products, so obviously it is the fault of the bottle maker and not the negligent parents using the oils.
For years the anti-gun lobbyists have pushed the idea that the gun manufacturers should share the blame for any misuse of firearms. The NRA and gun owners have countered that the gun doesn’t shoot people; people shoot people.
But here comes a safety commission that puts the blame on makers all the time. And this bill would give the CPSC control over firearms. See the issue here?
• Some of the other points in the bill I honestly don’t know the current laws well enough to know how this would fit in.
For example it says it would make trafficking in firearms a stand-alone criminal offense. If someone is illegally selling guns, isn’t that already a crime?
It says it removes the civil liability of gun manufacturers. What limitations are there now? I don’t actually know.
It would establish a community violence intervention grant program. Where would these funds come from? How much would it be and how would the funds be distributed?
There are a lot of people who will say that the opening phrase means that guns are only guaranteed for the military. I am not one of those people.
Remember, these were rebels who rose up against a government that they found oppressive (there’s that word again).
They believed there was a chance that the new government that they were setting up might not work and could even be a colossal failure. They feared they might have to tear that government down and start over yet again.
In order to ensure that they could remain free and not be taken over by a tyrant, the people needed to have the right to keep a weapon on hand. At least that’s my take on it. Many more educated folks than myself debate this topic all the time.
• Right now it looks like this bill isn’t going anywhere. It was introduced on Jan. 30 and on March 10 it was referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. It seems to have stalled out there.
Even if it did pass the House, it is highly unlikely to get through the Senate where 53 of the 100 seats are controlled by Republicans.
But as recently as 2013 the Democrats held the edge in the Senate so it is important to pay attention to what bills are being considered.
The past few months have been difficult for everyone. Our business community continues navigating through uncharted territory as the COVID-19 pandemic grows across Surry County. Closures, reduced operations and strict regulations on how to operate safely during a pandemic have created great strain on nearly all of the businesses in Pilot Mountain, especially those that are small and locally owned.
Despite these hardships, many in our business community have shown true dedication to reducing the risk of COVID-19 spread. Thank you for everything you are doing to keep your employees and your customers healthy and safe.
As you may already know, our region has seen a staggering increase of positive cases recently. Members of our own community have been sick and even hospitalized. I write today to ask that you take two actions to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and help our town drive down the number of cases.
First, if you have not already done so please post signs at your business entrance requiring masks or face coverings be worn. Second, please ask all of your employees to wear face coverings at work. If we are diligent about this, we can all set the right example for our community and show that we are all doing our part to protect each other, particularly our seniors who are especially concerned about health complications arising from COVID-19.
I have been contacted by many citizens concerned for the safety of themselves and their family members who say they would be more willing to patronize our local businesses if the guidelines for wearing a mask and social-distancing were better observed. Keeping case numbers low and keeping our citizens safe will be a positive for our local economy.
I call upon you to send a strong message that each of us must do our part to reduce this threat to our community. We are happy to supply locally-made, reusable masks to you if you need some, just stop by town hall and ask . We welcome you to contact us if we can provide any assistance at all as we continue to navigate this pandemic together.
My name is Delores Somers and I am a resident of Village Care health and rehab here in King. My home is Mount Airy for quite a few years now. I have been married for 41 years and my husband comes to visit me when he can always through the glass or on the phone. I haven’t had a visitor in the building for four months. No contact with outside family. We can’t even open the window to breathe the outside air.
I understand why they think they are protecting us but I’m about tired of that excuse now. People in the outside are not doing what they need to do. As a result of careless gatherings of others the virus has spread even more now. We are supposed to get a COVID test again along with employees. This will be my fourth test and no COVID in the building.
The issue here is not if the COVID-19 is going to kill us — no it’s the depression and loneliness and sadness will first. Every day that goes by I feel all of those things and more. Gov. Cooper doesn’t feel what we feel nothing is happening for us here and understand this is the last ride for all of us here. I understand but some of the others here don’t and I’m sure they wonder what happened to their family. No hugs or kisses no physical contact. Depriving people from contact with their loved ones is just as dangerous as a virus.
I see what’s happening in the news and nothing much has changed. Whatever phase we are in doesn’t work. Help us see our loved ones to. The CNAs and nurses coming from the outside get their temperature taken then so can my husband also. One visitor is what we each need to help us go on.
Never take for granted what you all have our there. You come and you go and you speak to people and you still go about your lives but we are the forgotten. We are the sad and depressed and lonely and trapped, this is not the quality of life we deserve. I do have my faith and that keeps me going. Remember all of us and hopefully we will get our visitors back in. God bless us all.
First of all, I’m a born- again Christian. Second, I’m a Southern redneck lady. All lives matter. Red, yellow, black or white — all are precious in God’s sight. I’m tired of people destroying our history and our statues. We don’t have slaves anymore. Everyone has the same chances to make something of themselves. I was raised a sharecroppers’ daughter and we didn’t have much but we had faith and love and I turned out just fine . We need to stop bashing President Trump and pray for him and our country. We do not want to become a Socialist country. We are losing our rights and our freedoms. Americans need to wake up!
The old horse drew the mail buggy through the rain down the bumpy, rutted dirt roads around Lead Mines in Wythe County, Virginia. A sudden squall drove the New River out of its banks and knocked the horse off his feet.
The swirling waters carried the buggy off the road, bags of mail floating away as driver and horse fought to keep their heads above water. The mail carrier, Vera Virginia Soyars, managed to grab hold of an overhanging branch. Sadly, the horse, mail , and buggy were all lost.
Vera was a no-nonsense 20-something when she started delivering mail. Originally from Patrick County, Virginia, her family had farming concerns there, in Wythe County, and near taught Dobson and Westfield in Surry County. She had school for a while in the 1910s but by 1920 she was a full-time letter carrier. A job she kept for more than 20 years in Westfield where she settled.
There has been a strong postal presence in the region for many years, driven not only by the many manufacturing and shipping businesses in the region but by the farmers who petitioned for postal service frequently.
A good argument can be made that the postal route, established in the 1790s from Salem to Wytheville, Virginia, played a vital role in Mount Airy’s beginning.
The route followed an ancient Native American trail that had been widened by the Moravians in Salem. They called it the Hollows Wagon Road. Settlers here called it the Salem Wagon Road. Whatever it was called, it traveled straight to the Buffalo Trail and the break through the mountains we know today as the Cumberland Gap. It was a prime road to the western settlements and Mount Airy was perfectly placed for the mail coach to rest their horses.
Mail service was costly from its beginning in 1775 and official establishment in 1792. Congress decreed the postal service needed to be self-sufficient so stamps were not cheap. After the Civil War Congress took steps to bring the cost down. Lower cost combined with the increased demand as many family members moved West and the volume of mail rapidly grew.
In 1865 there were 29,000 post offices nationwide. That number grew to more than 70,000 by 1895. Surry County had dozens scattered across the hollows and hills. Generally in existing businesses such as hotels or general stores, or in private homes, they served a small geographic area in the days before automobiles made a trip to town easier.
People in the countryside petitioned for someone to set up a post office which is how Ladonia came to be. Mrs. Cora Martin was given permission to operate a fourth class post office from her home. Offices were ranked by the amount of revenue the office generated and the number of pieces of mail.
The post office needed a name. She and her husband suggested Martinsville but the postal officials said there were already too many offices with that or similar names. Second they suggested Skull Camp for the nearby ridge but it was deemed too gruesome.
Cora had friends who lived in Ladonia, Texas, and she’d always thought the name was pretty. She suggested it and it was passed. From that day in 1888 until the office closed in 1939, the area near Lowgap was known as the Ladonia section.
Cora and another lady, Mrs. Lula Leftwich, were the only postmasters. Their pay was a percentage of their stamp and parcel post sales. The office was closed when Lula’s husband got a job in Galax, Virginia, and no one could be found to take over the office.
The Mount Airy office has a long history of moving around. Long-time local historian Ruth Minick reported that Mount Airy first received mail service in 1798 from a store front in what was then the business district near where Hamburg Street crosses the Ararat River south of town. Jonathan Unthank, Dabney Walker and James Lawrence set up a mail route.
In the 1800s, she said, “strong tradition and evidence” indicated that mail route started running out of Unthank’s plantation just south of Hamburg on Old US 52.
By 1832 the mail was delivered to and distributed from a spot “uptown” probably the Blue Ridge Hotel, Constantine Perkins’ new establishment. This was the first official record of a post office and James Tucker as postmaster, also owner of the hotel. The wooden hotel burned in 1835 but was rebuilt in bricks by new owner Thomas B. Wright who was named postmaster.
The citizens of the area were served by several locations over the decades and the revenue grew year over year as business and industry grew. In 1893, in the midst of a hard recession, the Mount Airy News reported the local office collected $9751 for the month of August ($279,308 today), an astounding figure for a non-urban area.
Dog Days will come to an end on Tuesday. The Dog Days of the summer of 2020 will end on Tuesday, but this does not mean the heat is over. The humid days of summer are still with us. The days are now getting shorter by a minute each evening and the dews are getting heavier, stickier, and linger longer each day. This, plus the presence of the mornings of fog, are all subtle reminders that autumn is much nearer than we think.
A perk-up for cut flowers of summer. To increase the life of cut flowers of summer mix two tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide in a vase of water and place cut flowers in the vase. If flowers outside begin to look droopy, mix hydrogen peroxide with water in a sprinkling can and pour around base of flowers in pots and containers. This will give them a quick boost.
Cooling off the hummingbirds of mid-summer. Mid-summer is now officially here since Saint Lammas Day occurred last week that marked summer’s halfway point. We still have plenty of summer to deal with and also plenty of hummingbirds that we can help to cool off . Even though we have plenty of flowers for them to visit (and quite a few of them are red), they still like to visit feeders, and probably because we have spoiled them! Whether you have flowers or not, keep plenty of nectar in the feeders. You can make a gallon milk jug full of nectar with three-and-a-half quarts water, adding six cups of sugar and several drops of red food coloring. Funnel it into the milk jug and keep in refrigerator. Change nectar in feeders every three days. Clean the feeders to prevent ants or wasps.
Gambling on a row of Strike green beans. It is now near the middle of August with more than two months before the first frost date arrives, even though the first frost date arriving does not mean a killing frost. This fact builds up hope and faith that a pound of Strike green beans sown in the next week or so has much, much more than a chance at producing a harvest. By boosting them along with hand fulls of Garden-Tone organic vegetable food every two weeks and hilling it into the soil and placing a layer of peat moss on top of seed in the furrow when you sow them and tamping down the contact, we should be prepared to experience an early autumn harvest. This will certainly be a worthwhile gamble.
A green bean and white corn casserole. Let’s celebrate the odds of an October harvest of Strike green beans by preparing a green bean and white corn casserole. You will need two cans of cut green beans or one quart canned green beans, one can white corn (drained), one eight ounce cup sour cream or cream of mushroom soup, one pack of Ritz crackers or saltine crackers (run through blender in “grate” mode), one envelope Recipe Secrets Beefy Onion dry soup mix, one stick light margarine, two eggs, two tablespoons mayonnaise. Mix green beans and corn and pour into a casserole dish sprayed with Pam baking spray. Mix cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, shredded sharp cheese, mayonnaise, envelope of Recipe Secrets, two eggs. Mix in with green beans and corn mixture. Run packet of Ritz or saltines through blender in “grate” mode and mix with a stick of melted light margarine. Spread over top of casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. For color and flavor, add a two ounce jar of diced pim entos (drained).
Queen Anne’s Lace gives a dainty and majestic touch to mid-summer. There is a hidden amount if royalty in the lacy white flowers of Queen Anne’s Lace that graces the meadows and roadsides all through North Carolina from east to west. Queen Anne’s Lace grows in the Midwest in Wisconsin where it thrives on the roadsides near miles or corn fields and acres of pastureland. Iowa also has its share of the lace growing around barns, covered and meadows and fields and along the long stretches of wide open country roads. The most amazing display of Queen Anne’s Lace we have ever seen was along railroad tracks outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sprawling along both sides of the tracks on a late July afternoon. Queen Anne’s Lace was my mother’s favorite flower to brighten up floral arrangements of Zinnias to place on the alter table at church on a Sunday morning. Only a loving and caring God could create such a wild flower to look so pure, dainty and white!
The Katydids are singing a prelude to autumn. The mighty oaks are alive with the songs of the Katydids as they serenade us every twilight from the front porch. Their tune has a subtle message of autumn in it. It is not a serious melody or one of urgency, but one of warning that the season of autumn is slowly approaching. The crickets in the grass are chirping their over-tune to the approaching season of autumn also. It is a soft and low melody that will get louder as the month moves along.
August is certainly a month of transition. And now that Dog Days are over, we reach into the midst of August which can be considered the month of transition from one season to another. The crickets and Katydids are singing about it. The dogwood leaves have a hint of red and covered with tiny berries. Weeds are growing faster and have to be pulled up more often. The crow population is getting noisier. The morning dew’s are getting heavier and lingering around longer each day. Mother Nature is slowly pointing us in the direction of the upcoming season of autumn.
Extra care for the tomato plants of late summer. The tomato plants that will produce a late harvest of fruits and green tomatoes to harvest before the frost comes that will ripen indoors, need a little extra care as we move into the late part of August. Keep soil hilled up around both sides of the plants after side dressing both sides of the row with Tomato-Tone organic tomato food or Dr. Earth’s tomato food. Do not water the tops of the tomato plants, but use the water want in “spray ”Mode to apply water to base of the plants. Later, as we move into month of September, apply powdered lime (calcium carbonate) around bottom of the tomato plants. Use a quart of lime to a sprinkling can of water and pour around base of tomatoes.
Late rose blooms all the way until frost. With just a small amount of care, roses can produce blooms all the way until the first frost. Deadhead all spent roses that have passed bloom stage. Spray roses for mites and insects. Apply a plant food such as Rose-Tone organic rose food. Water base of roses every four days when no rain has fallen. Trim back long canes that suck the production from roses. One positive thing about roses is you can trim them when they need it.
A rainbow of color in the August sun. A large container of portaluca or desert rose, and also known as cactus rose or rose moss, has produced colorful flowers of red, orange, yellow, white, pink, tan, wine, and burgundy flowers since the middle of May. Every day that the sun shines, there are new blooms and cactus-like foliage that cascades over the sides of the container that produces even more flowers.
Hoe-Hoe-Hoedown: “Operating Room?” A husband took his wife to a small town doctor’s office. The nurse escorted the wife to the examination room as the husband seated himself in the waiting room. For the next few minutes, he could hear the doctor barking out strange orders to his medical assistants. The husband heard, “Knife,” “Screwdriver,” “Pliers,” then “Sledgehammer.” The husband couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. He burst into the examination room saying, “Doctor, what is wrong with my wife?” The doctor replied, “We have no idea. Right now we are trying to open the medicine cabinet.”
“Try, Try, Again” Father: “You never know what you can do until you try it.” Son: “I guess you don’t know what you can’t do until you try either.”
Editor’s Note: Community Comment is a periodic column in The Mount Airy News, featuring commentary from community leaders in Mount Airy and Surry County. The following column was submitted by county officials as a commentary representative of the entire Surry County Board of Commissioners.
Filling out the 2020 US Census makes dollars and cents for Surry County citizens. Literally, by simply filling out the Census questionnaire, chances improve for citizens’ tax rates to remain low. Funding for needed services is based off the number of people in Surry County who are counted – meaning the more who fill out the Census, the more documented citizens we have. With an accurate count, we help to ensure we receive the proper share of these funds.
The Census also helps determine the number of Congressional and State representatives North Carolina has, which helps support funding decisions and future projects. Plus, as of July 23, Surry trailed Yadkin and Wilkes counties in Census response rates and we would like to improve on our numbers.
According to the US Census Bureau, which takes a national count of citizens every 10 years, the tally impacts how lawmakers, business owners and many others make pertinent decisions. New schools, new roads, new clinics and more services for families, older adults and children are determined by the Census count. Based off the numbers, hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding are allocated to more than 100 programs, including: Hospitals, fire departments, highway projects, education projects, block grants for community mental health services and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, which helps feed needy families.
The framers of the Constitution chose population to be the basis for sharing political power. The Constitution in Article I, Section 2 states: “Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers…”
So, please fill out the Census online, which is very easy. You should have received an invitation to respond in the mail by now. Log onto https://my2020census.gov and enter the 12-digit Census ID. Or, respond by mailing your completed paper questionnaire or by calling 844-330-2020. For more information, log onto https://2020census.gov.
As leaders of state high school associations work with government, education and health leaders on a safe return of sports and other activities, some have questioned why those attempts are being made as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. We believe that reasoning differs among the various levels of sport in the United States.
A recent article in a major newspaper suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic had revealed that all levels of sport in the United States are professional, asserting that finances were driving decisions to keep sports afloat. While that may be the case for other levels of sport , that assessment of education-based sports and performing arts in our nation’s high schools is not accurate. That assertion – as it relates to high school sports – was driven by the belief that schools and state associations need to conduct football programs with fans in the stands to survive.
Certainly, revenue from high school football is crucial for schools and state associations, but finances are not driving decisions to return to play. Instead, the overarching reason that high schools and state associations are working with government, education and health leaders to offer these programs is that many students desperately need these activities. The experience of playing on a high school team may be one of the only positive aspects of their lives, and the high school coach or director of a speech or music group may be the only positive role model they have.
In some cases, the opportunity to play sports is the chief motivator to attend classes, graduate, obtain a job and begin a life on their own. Regardless of whether the structure is the same as in the past, or if the same number of games are played or even if state championships occur, the continuance of these programs is crucial. And, in recent meetings with leaders of state associations, finances or concerns about state championships are not the primary topic.
In all cases, minimizing risks to students, coaches, officials and others is the No. 1 consideration in conducting high school sports. However, with students now disengaged from activities for five months, the physical health concerns of the virus must be weighed against the psychological health concerns of being separated from school and activities.
A state-by-state review of plans for conducting sports and activities substantiates the herculean efforts by state associations to offer all sports at some point during the 2020-21 school year.
The latest National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) 2020-21 Sports Seasons Modifications map indicates that 31 state associations have altered their sports offerings to some degree for the coming year. Those modifications range from states that are delaying fall sports by a few weeks, to 10 states that will not be playing football until the winter or spring seasons, and five state associations (California, District of Columbia, Maryland, Nevada, Virginia) that will not have any sports until at least December.
Decisions on re-opening of schools have impacted plans on restarting activities by some state associations. In most cases, if schools have not returned to in-person learning and are continuing in a virtual format, sports and other activities are not permitted. It appears that some states may be reconsidering that stance; however, and given the right circumstances, this could open up activities for more students.
While some schools may be forced to start classes virtually, lower-risk sports such as golf, tennis and cross country (with modifications), which are conducted outdoors and have built-in physical distancing by the nature of the sport, may be acceptable.
In addition, the NFHS is one of two organizations leading an unprecedented national aerosol study, which is providing hope for music, speech and theatre programs to be conducted indoors. Additional information on this research will be released later this week and will be made available to schools nationwide.
These tough decisions and creative plans are enacted in many parts of the country with the hope that the spread of the virus diminishes and that these programs can be conducted sometime in 2020-21. Short of a vaccine, that hope can move closer to reality if we all wear a mask, practice social distancing and wash hands frequently – three fairly simple tasks that could help high school students take the field, court or stage this year.
But the team did have two of the best young offensive talents in the whole league make a name for themselves last year. Or at least one of them made a name for himself — the other is still trying to figure out why his outstanding season didn’ t earn him a spot among the league’s top 17 at his position.
The NFL’s Top 100 list is complete now, and only one person on the whole Carolina roster made the list. Christian McCaffrey put together one of the greatest seasons in NFL history and only made #6 on the list. But that’s still better than the team’s top receiver.
A year ago, the talk of training camp was Curtis Samuel, who was getting behind defenders and bringing in long passes. But once the season started, it was second-year WR DJ Moore who broke out with a big season.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Moore started shining as soon as he stepped into the starting lineup as a rookie. He had 788 yards in 2018, but in his 10 games as a starter his production was equal to a season with 955 yards.
The Panthers lost the first two games of the 2019 season, but Moore played well. Then when Kyle Allen stepped in for Cam Newton, Moore was a forgotten man for a couple of games. But it wasn’t long until the new starter clicked with his wideout.
He had jumped up into the top four in receiving yards for the season and fifth in yards per game with 83.9 yards through 14 games.
Then against the Colts in the 15th game, Moore was injured early after one catch for one yard from Will Grier. He missed the rest of that game and the season finale.
And let’s not forget that Moore had basically a rookie at QB in Kyle Allen who struggled as most rookies do. Most of the other receivers in the top 15 in yards had stellar QBs (or at least prolific) throwing the ball to them.
Michael Thomas had Drew Brees. Chris Godwin and Mike Evans played with Jameis Winston throwing for 5,000 yards. Julio Jones had Matt Ryan, and Davante Adams had Aaron Rodgers. Michael Gallup had Dak Prescott, DeAndre Hopkins had Deshaun Watson.
The Panthers were 20th in passing yards, and Kyle Allen finished with a QB rating of 80.0, down around Mitchell Trubisky, Andy Dalton, Josh Rosen and Mason Rudolph: five guys who probably won’t be starters this year.
DJ Moore showed an ability to fight off press corners at the line, separation on routes, and great yards after the catch — living up to Steve Smith’s praise on draft night, saying that Moore was the first player to replace the talent and intensity that he once gave the team.
So if DJ was in fifth place in production before his injury with a below-average QB, then he must have been pretty danged good, right?
Well, the rest of the league didn’t seem to take notice. The NFL players voted themselves for a Top 100 list, and 17 receivers made the list. DJ wasn’t one of them.
What? He, Chris Godwin and Michael Gallup were the rising stars of the position last season (with all three between 22-23 years old). Wait, Gallup didn’t make the list, either?
Somehow Godwin made the list, despite the fact that he had Mike Evans on the other side of the field to draw help.
If DJ didn’t make the list, then who did the players think was better? (remember the list is supposed to be based on what they think will happen this coming season, not past success)
Well, reputation still got some guys on the list. Aging Larry Fitzgerald made the list at 13th of 17th receivers, despite only finishing 55th in yards per game.
Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry in Cleveland also were getting votes off past production, not what they did last year with Baker Mayfield struggling with a sophomore slump. Landry was listed as 11th at receiver, but finished 17th in yards per game. Beckham was voted 10th, despite being much worse at 32nd place in production.
Russell Wilson was the #2 choice in the Top 100, and the love continued over to his receivers — which really ought to be the other way around. Russell Wilson can make an average receiver look good.
Tyler Lockett (#12) and DK Metcalf (#15) both made the list; but Lockett was 28th in yards and Metcalf 44th.
With the Panthers going to a whole new coaching staff and a new QB (Teddy Bridgewater), DJ might not get a chance to prove everyone wrong any time soon. However, I wouldn’t bet against the determined young man.
The 95-year-old Tiffany stained-glass window on the porch of Grace Moravian Church was vandalized on May 18. When the installation team from Epiphany Studios arrived on July 28, a new page turned in the story. Restored to its full beauty, the workers meticulously went to work to return it to its home – a process that included hard work and craftsmanship over three days.
One the first day, as they put their tools away late in the afternoon, a passerby walked up to express heartfelt appreciation for the return of “Jesus the Good Shepherd.” He wasn’t a church member, but one of the many folks who enjoy walking by the window on a frequent basis. His relief was clear to see as his appreciation.
The story began on May 18, when the stained-glass window was vandalized. A suspect by the name of Jesus was later charged. In a low mental state, and angry with God, he attacked the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd late that night . The investigating officer would later discover that Jesus had been arrested early on May 19 in an unrelated incident. Once he had all the details, he confronted Jesus at the Dobson jail and was able to obtain his confession.
When the officer contacted me, we reviewed the details which can be simply explained this way: A man named Jesus, while in a terrible place spiritually and emotionally, attacked the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd on the porch of Grace Moravian Church. We both expressed the hope that now that Jesus was in jail, the Lord could get through to him to reveal his grace and love and help heal his broken state.
A new chapter in the story unfolded recently when one of our members came to his own eureka moment about Jesus. Having been enraged that anyone would seek to destroy the cherished window, he felt challenged while listening to one of our livestream services to consider an act of forgiveness. He put the matter to prayerful reflection, which led him to advocate for instigating an act of forgiveness for Jesus while he remains in the Dobson Jail.
It is strange and overwhelming how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives. Churches in many ways have been challenged to examine what it means to follow Christ while actively giving witness to the grace and love we find in our Lord. The challenge of social distancing no doubt compounded our collective disappointment at the news that our cherished stained-glass window had been vandalized. And yet, social distancing no doubt provided a place of self-reflection and prayer that inspired my friend while guiding a handful of fellow members to turn this into an opportunity to engage forgiveness.
The first thought was gathering donations to reach out to Jesus’ family. After seeking input from the arresting officer, I then learned that connection would not be possible. But the officer suggested something else. A donation campaign to raise money that was placed on a trust account at the Dobson jail, to be used for the purchase of toothpaste, and other incidentals. I was able to deliver the donation and visit Jesus. This expression of love caught him by complete surprise. He was nearly speechless. He responded in one word: “Apology.” When I asked him to tell me more, he simply said: “I am very sorry for what I did; tell the church how sorry I am.”
It gave me the chance that comes in such a moment to express the truth of the Gospel of our Good Shepherd. Truth that is conveyed most clearly through the spirit of forgiveness that Paul speaks of in Colossians 3:13 – “Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.”
“We all make mistakes,” I told Jesus, “and sometimes they can be very bad ones. But this does not have to be the end.” He seemed even more appreciative.
What a gift to share an expression of forgiveness to someone who truly appreciated it. A gift that started with an idea of one person who was originally very angry. Yet it took a group working together to make it happen. Sharing the love of Christ is not easy, but what a wonderful privilege it is.
When I look at our newly restored stained-glass of the Good Shepherd, I feel an even deeper appreciation for the many souls who have been connected to the witness of love through Grace Moravian Church for 95 years. And what joy I feel as I think about the opportunity that lies ahead of us.
Officers of the law are sworn to protect lives and uphold judicial laws to the guidelines of our state and federal system. The recent video showing the death of George Floyd continues to haunt our memory as his last words were:”‘I can’t breathe .” The degrading and brutal treatment of Mr. Floyd resulting in his death was not only unnecessary, but also reflects the systemic impacts of racial injustice in our country.
It is the sincere intent of the NAACP of Surry County and our local officials to work on eradicating such injustices. Upcoming collaborations will focus on cultural competency, educational training, as well as a review of current hiring practices and ongoing internal reviews. There is a consensus among our local leaders and authorities to address our communities’ concerns in a proactive and collective manner. It is imperative to have a culture of continuous progress as we continue to address racial inequalities.
The NAACP of Surry County is looking forward to working with community leaders and elected officials. As we continue to work through these ongoing needs, we ask our community to reach out to the local NAACP chapter of Surry County and to our local officials.
Between June 11 and June 14, five elected officials from Surry County signed a letter developed by the NAACP of Surry County. The officials signing this letter were Surry County Board of Commissioners Chairman Larry Johnson, Mount Airy Mayor David Rowe, Dobson Mayor Ricky Draughn, Elkin Mayor Sam Bishop, and Pilot Mountain Mayor Evan Cockerham.
The letter included language asserting the existence of “systemic impacts of racial injustice” and “racial inequalities.” The letter further committed the officials to “focus on cultural competency, educational training, as well as a review of current hiring practices and ongoing internal reviews .” Despite any claims to deny this, these words are taken directly from the document.
When read in totality, the letter clearly asserts that “systemic” racism occurs in Surry County and throughout America, and the letter alludes to police participation in this “systemic” problem. These assertions are false, and the leftist politically-charged response by these officials is appalling.
I presented comments on this issue on July 20 to the Surry County Board of Commissioners, and the Mount Airy News ran an article about these comments a few days later. Following the Mount Airy News article about my comments, Pilot Mountain Mayor Evan Cockerham responded to my comments with a Facebook post and Letter to the editor of the Mount Airy News. In his response, Mayor Cockerham defended his signing of the letter and downplayed the impact of the assertions made in the letter. Mayor Cockerham implied or asserted that police supported his position because he had consulted with the Police Chief of Pilot Mountain. That is one officer who serves his town under his Supervision.
Cockerham downplayed any commitment the document makes for the County to commit funds. Cockerham also glossed over any idea that the letter paints Surry County citizens as racist, and he further denied that the letter commits County and town governments to provide preferential hiring or benefits to certain groups above and beyond what is already required by state and federal law. Finally, Mayor Cockerham asserted that he had consulted his board before signing this letter.
If the Mayor did consult his board, I would challenge him to provide the public records of this meeting as required under state law. If he consulted more than two members outside the confines of a publicly held meeting with records, he violated state kaw. Where are his records supporting his assertions? I doubt he has them because he personally told me on the telephone, before he knew I was bringing this to the attention of the public, that he had only consulted one board member and the police chief. Again, if a full consultation was done, the mayor should have records to document this consultation.
As I stated on July 20 at this board meeting, there is no doubt that individuals in America are racist. If we are honest, we will admit there are racist people among all ethnic and racial groups. There is no doubt that individual police officers have committed crimes, but to imply that the majority of officers are guilty by association is dishonest, ridiculous and dangerous.
Most Americans understand that cries of “systemic racism” within our culture are false and designed to further a political agenda to change America and move it closer to the socialist ideals promoted by the Democrat Party. Most Americans have long ago learned how to live in peace and harmony and one need look no further than the election of a black president in 2008 and re-election in 2012 to prove this point. These elections would not have been possible without heavy support from white Americans.
Four members of the Surry County board have publicly stated that they did not know Commissioner Johnson signed this document. What about the four towns? At least three of the mayors (Rowe – Mount Airy, Draughn – Dobson, and Cockerham – Pilot Mountain) told me they signed this letter without bringing it before the boards they serve. They told me this before I brought it to the attention of the public. If they were honest at that time, none of the officials aired this issue in public as is required by state laws and local precedent. If they now assert that they did air this issue, where are the public records to document this? Why are officials afraid to disclose this information? They are either lying about consultation now or were lying about it before the issue aired in public.
This letter seems to commit the major four Surry County towns and the entire county government to changes in hiring practices and other administrative changes that could cost the towns and county millions of taxpayer dollars and result in reverse discrimination. Legal protections for minorities are already in place in Surry County and throughout America. Many of these “protections” give preferential treatment to minorities in terms of federal jobs, college scholarships and other government benefits. What more do these officials intend to provide?
This letter is based on a false narrative of “systemic racial injustice.” This letter was signed by weak leaders unwilling to face the tough issues of the day in public with transparency. This letter may cause untold strife and challenges to our county, towns, and residents.
All the elected officials involved should apologize for signing this letter which insults the good people of Surry County by painting them with a racist label for no other reason than to achieve a leftist political narrative. They should apologize to police officers for insulting the “systemic” integrity of those who protect and serve. This is unfair and dangerous for these officers and their families. Any leaders unwilling to take responsibility for these actions should resign immediately from their offices as public officials.
How will the Surry County noard members who have admitted they were not consulted in these matters respond? Will boards of the towns provide records documenting a legal and transparent process, or will they continue to hide what really happened here? Will all boards hold the mayors and county commission chairman accountable?
The people of Surry County deserve better from our elected officials. I hope each and every resident of the county will read the attached letter these officials signed and hold them accountable for their actions. Their political pandering to the left is appalling and shameful.
Many Americans of a certain age, like me, have wonderful memories of loading into the family station wagon and heading to the drive-in. We sat on folding chairs, dropped tail gates, or blankets on the ground and gleefully ate buckets of buttery popcorn as the cartoon hot dogs and dancing cups of soda invited us to the snack counter.
We shivered with delight as Herbie the Love Bug zipped or John Wayne galloped across the towering screens. I can still remember the odd echo and delay of the movie dialogue coming from a dozen speakers all around our car. There was a special thrill knowing we would all be up way past our bedtime — even if we often fell asleep in the back seat with our cousins before the movie ended.
Surry County had several drive-ins through much of the 20th century. The first was the Mount Airy Drive-In on West Lebanon Street across from Veterans Park. Ellis Forest was a partner in the Winston-Salem Drive-in opened in 1946. A year later he sold his share and moved his family to Mount Airy where he and a friend Lester “Leck” Davis opened the theater on March 12, 1948.
No admission was charged the first night and, even though the weather was horrible, cars were backed up to Main Street waiting to get in. They watched a Three Stooges short, a cartoon, and a Western called “The Michigan Kid.” Cars had to be pulled out of the mud by a team of mules that night but it didn’t keep people away. When the box office opened the next night they charged $1 a car and the 150-car lot was filled.
Jim “Ish” Forest, Ellis’ son, sold bottles of Coke, Pepsi, Grape and Orange Aid, walking the rows calling out “Drinks! Get your ice-cold Drinks!” Customers flashed their headlights to call him over, he popped the cap off, poured the drink, and collected 5 cents each. At the end of the day he made half a penny for each.
The concept of a drive-in movie theater was around in the early 1910s but the films were silent. Richard M. Hollingshead, of Camden, New Jersey, worked out the logistics of projection, sound, and finances in 1932. He was granted a patent for his idea in 1933 and drive-ins started popping up across the nation. Australia is the only other country where they were common though they have been novelty attractions in other countries.
The two local men opened a second theater on August 11, 1950, called the Bright Leaf with a lot large enough to hold 300 cars. Located on Boone’s Hill on the Winston-Salem Highway south of town. Just a few years later the state bought the site to expand Route 52 and the Bright Leaf was moved to the site most local residents remember just north of West Pine Street.
Don Davis, Leck’s son, became the manager of the new location when it opened. He used gimmicks to attract attention such as giving free watermelons to the first 20 cars or having a drawing for a free pony. Live music was often performed between shows apparently including Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.
Young Davis lived and breathed the theater, apparently, keeping up with the industry and trying to stay ahead of trends.
In 1955 he invested in a CinemaScope screen and made other improvements in the concession stand, restrooms and “moonlite lighting” on the lot. Both theaters operated seven days a week but on holiday weekends, they screened movies from dusk to dawn.
Like many drive-ins, they played second-run movies. A notable exception was the 1977 release “Star Wars.”
But the age of drive-ins was on the decline by then with many bowing to economic pressures caused by suburban development and a desire for the air conditioning of indoor theaters.
Mount Airy Drive-in closed in spring of 1981 after a violent storm ripped giant holes in the screen and damaged the fence surrounding the drive-in. The Bright Leaf remained in operation until Don Davis died in 2005. Former employees continued the business for another five years until the property was sold in 2010.
Given the current restrictions on entertainment wouldn’t it be nice to load into the mini van and head to the socially-distanced drive-in these days?
The aftermath of Saint Lammas Day. Saint Lammas Day was celebrated yesterday. There are several interesting facts about his special day. We think the most important event of Saint Lammas Day is that it marks the halfway point of summer and in perfect timing because Dog Days will end in Tuesday, August 11.
Centuries ago in England, Saint Lammas Day marked a harvest celebration of summer’s first fruits. A weather lore a bit connected to Saint Lammas states that “if Saint Lammas be hot and steamy, we can expect winter to be white and creamy!” That thought should cool us off a little bit with Dog Days coming to an end next week. We don’t put much stock in that bit of “Lammas” lore. We still have half of summer, all of autumn, and part of winter to go before even thinking of snow, ice, and freezes, but what a thought during the swan song of Dog Days. Another fact about Saint Lammas is that at this stage of summer, corn ripens continuously during the day as well as during the night.
In the midst of a summer of four o’clocks. My Northampton County grandma’s favorite summer flower was the four o’clock. She had a flower garden in her front yard and it was lined with borders of four o’clocks all summer long. We remember her every summer when we plant packets of four o’clocks. We don’t make a border of them, but we plant them on the edge of the Zinnia bed and at the edge of the garden plot as well as a border on the front porch to attract butterflies and hummingbirds in late evening. Our favorite thing about four o’clocks is their longevity. They put on a colorful show from mid-spring all the way until frost.
Starting seed of broccoli, cabbage, and collards. As we begin the month of August and approach the end of Dog Days, it is time to start the cool weather vegetables of cabbage, broccoli and collards from seed to get them ready to transplant to the garden in September. This is a great week to select your seed from Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, or hardware stores. Seed packets cost less than $2 and a packet of each may be all you need. When you start your seed in individual pots , save the packet labels to stick on each pot because these seed all look alike. While you are purchasing seed, go ahead and buy a bag of seed-starting medium. Do not use potting soil because it is clumpy and just does not contain what seeds need for a great start. Buy especially formulated seed starters like Jiffy, Hoffman, or Holly-Tone for best results. To start seed, use a quart or pint pot for each packet of seed. Mix the pot with the medium and add an extra handful to cover the seed. Mix with enough water to mo isten the medium. Spread the broccoli seed over the medium and cover with medium and pat down with your hand for contact with the medium. Use a spray bottle (such as Windex comes in), and spray a fine mist over the pot of seed each day. Keep out of heat of direct sunlight (preferably in the carport). Repeat process with cabbage and collard seed. In about 10 or 12 days, they will develop two leaves and be ready to transplant to individual containers of medium. After transplanting to individual containers, continue to spray with water daily. They should be ready to transplant to garden by mid-September or earlier. Continue to water with water want in shower mode daily after transplanting to garden. Side dress with Garden-Tone organic vegetable food every fifteen days. Hill up soil after side dressing with plant food.
Enjoying the Full Sturgeon Moon. Tomorrow evening, the Full Sturgeon Moon of August will rise after sunset in the eastern sky and shine down on a Dog Day late evening. It may be a lazy, hazy night, but a bright moon will shine its way down. Park on a dark Surry County country road and enjoy this bright moon.
Doing the math: August fogs compared to the snow of winter. My grandma in northeastern North Carolina always did the math when it came to comparing the fogs of August mornings with the number and inches of snow the upcoming winter would bring. She was an early riser and always up before the sun rose. Each day in August, she kept a close eye on the foggy mornings of August and whether they were thick or thin, and also the days of the fogs. She wrote down each fog and whether they were light or heavy. At the end of August, she did the math. Heavy fogs were heavy snows and light fogs were light snows. Her predictions were quite accurate for the 1950s. Certainly much more accurate than Saint Lammas and his “white and creamy” prediction mentioned earlier.
Time to go to the hardware and purchase a snow shovel. We are definitely not dreaming of a “White Christmas,” even though it is a cool thought! Now is a great time to purchase a snow shovel if you need one. One thing for sure is that there is no rush for them in the summer. The selection is great and they will not spoil. If you buy one at any season, make sure it is lightweight as well as durable.
Cooling off the birds by refilling bath. The summer sun quickly shines down and heats the water in the birdbaths. Refill the baths twice a day during the heat of August. Fill them in the early afternoon and again about five o’clock in the afternoon . When birds take baths, they splash water, making the remaining water heat up quicker as the afternoon sun bears down. Dump out the hot water before refilling with fresh cool water.
Keeping eyes on hot weather harvest of tomatoes. On hot summer days when we do not get a thunderstorm, keep a close check on ripening tomatoes. On hot days when no rain is in sight, birds in desperation will peck holes in ripe tomatoes to find moisture. To avoid this, harvest the tomatoes and place them on porch or deck in a semi-sunny location.
Making old-fashioned baked potato cakes. These potato cakes make a great meal on a summer night served with southern fried chicken and a plate of freshly sliced tomatoes and maybe some hot chicken gravy poured over these potato cakes. My mother always made potato cakes as a substitute for meat or would make them to serve along side hot dogs steamed with fried onions and homemade cole slaw. This potato cake recipe will make six cakes. In a sauce pan, cut up one large onion and dice into quarter inch cubes and lightly fry in a half stick light margarine until tender and set aside. In a large bowl, lightly beat one egg and add to the onions. Mix two cups of mashed potatoes, half teaspoon salt, half teaspoon pepper, half cup plain flour, one half teaspoon sugar. Mix all ingredients and shape into six patties. Lightly beat another egg and dip patties into beaten egg. Grease a cookie sheet heavily with Crisco Shortening. Bake at 375 degrees for twenty-five minutes, flip over and bake other s ide for five minutes until lightly brown. Place cakes on a plate lined with paper towels.
A repellent for summer’s pesky ants. When you finish grilling steaks and burgers, allow the charcoal to burn to ashes and let them cool overnight and pour them around the outside of the porch and house to prevent ants from entering the house. If ants get in the kitchen, mix water and vinegar in equal amounts in a small bowl and dip a paper towel in the mixture and wipe on counter tops, tables, and other surface areas. You can also use charcoal dust around roses to repel all kinds of crawling insects .
The Almanac for month of August 2020. The moon will be full on Monday night, Aug. 3 and will be named Full Sturgeon Moon. The moon reached its last quarter on Tuesday, August 11. There will be a new moon on the western horizon on Tuesday, August 18 and will reach its first quarter on Tuesday, August 15.
Hoe-Hoe-Hoedown: New neighbors moved into the neighborhood. A neighbor from down the street visited them. This neighbor is very concerned and told them that their dogs were up all night barking. The new neighbor said, “Don’t worry about them, they sleep all day long!”
“Under the Table” and “Going to the Dogs”: The mother caught little David feeding the pet dog that was under the dining room table at suppertime again. “David,” mother said, “You know very well you are not supposed to feed the dog from our table food.” “Yes ma’am,” David said as he hung his head. David’s mother said, “Don’t you understand why we have this rule at our house?” Little David thought for a moment , “I guess it’s because if the dog does not eat the food, the stuff will end up on the floor and rot later on.”
Don – “I’m starting a new diet the doctor prescribed.” Juan – “What inspired you to try this diet?” Don – “I’m sick and tired of being thick and tired.”
Editor’s Note: Part 2 of 2. The second column was published July 24 and is available at Dangers Love Affairs, Part 1
One day while Jesus was teaching, He was asked what was the greatest commandment. The Master Teacher without hesitation stated that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Sadly, in the culture we live in today, very few people truly pay attention to Jesus’ command. In fact, it is often ignored altogether. Many professing Christians could be described by the words of John in the pointed accusation against the church at Ephesus , “You have left your first love.” We have allowed the things of this world to become much more important to us than God.
Last week we examined three dangerous love affairs that many have developed that causes us to commit spiritual adultery. The first one we looked at was when we love ourselves more than God. The second was when we love our money and possessions more than God. The third was when we love the praise of men more than God. Today we’re going to look at three more.
A dangerous love affair can occur when we love darkness rather than light. Jesus said in John 3:19, “And this is the condemnation, that light is coming to the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil .” There are many believers today who have a love affair with secret sin in their lives. These are sins that we want to hide, not only from God, but from men.
In the Bible we see Achan who hid forbidden possessions he had taken from Jericho in the floor of his tent to keep others from discovering his deed. We see Cain who buried Abel in the wilderness hoping God would not discover his sin. Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament held back some of the money they had promised to God, hoping it would remain hidden. Many times, we find ourselves trying to hold onto secret sins instead of releasing them under the blood of Jesus Christ. We often hope they will bring us happiness, when in reality they will only bring us misery. Are you having a dangerous love affair with a secret sin that should be confessed and placed under the blood of Jesus Christ?
A dangerous love affair can occur when we love the world more than God. In 1 John 2:15 John tells us that we are to not love the world or the things that are in the world, because if we love the world the love of the Father is not in us. There are many professing believers who are chasing the things of the world instead of pursuing the things of God. Many are seeking power, position, popularity, fame, honor, or glory instead of a faithful relationship with God . Paul spoke of a man named Demas who loved the world more than Jesus. In fact, Demas even forsook following Christ.
Sadly, there are many people today that have drifted away from following the Lord and are following the world because they love the world more than God. Another example is Lot’s wife who could not walk away from a sin cursed city even while it was being destroyed by fire and brimstone. She paid a great price by losing not only the things of the world, but her family and her life.
One last example from the Scripture is the rich man Jesus spoke about who had a bumper crop and was more concerned about storing his crops than he was about where his soul would spend eternity. Many people today are desiring to accumulate and protect the things of the world. As a result, they are missing that which is more valuable than any earthly treasure, and that is a relationship with creator God. Jesus warned in Matthew 16:26 when he said, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Are you having a dangerous love affair with the things of the world?
A dangerous love affair can be when we love pleasures more than God. When Paul wrote to Timothy, warning the young pastor that “(men)… are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.” It seems we live in a world where people have put pleasures ahead of serving the Lord. People find more time to spend on recreation and pleasure than they do serving the Lord. In the Scriptures we see an example of this in King Solomon. He allowed himself to drift away from his once faithful relationship with the Lord and begin to seek satisfaction in the fleeting pleasures in this world. He wrote in Ecclesiastes that in the latter years of his life that all pleasures were vain, empty, and useless. As believers we need to be more like Moses when we ‘re told that he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Are you in a dangerous love affair with pleasures?
In the past two weeks we have examined six ways of committing spiritual adultery against God. We need to pray and examine our lives daily to see if we are flirting with or engaged in a dangerous love affair. If so, we need to pray and confess that sin, asking God to forgive us and by His Holy Spirit flee and forsake any sin keeping us from wholly loving and serving Him.
American Legion baseball (local, state, and national) was cancelled this year due to COVID-19. However, Area 3 of our state formed an independent league called NC3 American League Baseball for one year to replace legion ball for the benefit of area players and fans. It’s a great opportunity for players to represent their communities, gain valuable experience, improve their skills, and play with some of the best high school players in their area and against some of the best players in a multi-county region.
The legion schedule is fast paced with 25-30 games or more in a seven-week regular season (playing 3 to 5 games weekly). Many dedicated players are needed, probably 20 or more with many pitchers, because of the fast pace, the Area 3 playoffs, the possibility of making state playoffs, Mid-Atlantic regionals, or even the World Series on ESPN.
Typically, the better senior teams have mostly 18- and 19-year-olds, junior teams have 15- to 17-year-olds, and teams are unlikely to have a winning season with a small squad of 10-15 players or with mostly younger players.
After several years without a legion team representing Surry or Stokes in legion baseball, Stokes County Post 290 started a junior team in 2017. They continued with junior teams in 2018 and 2019 and added a senior team in 2019, and expected to have both teams again in 2020. Mount Airy started a junior team in 2019 and too quickly, in my opinion, decided to try for both a junior and senior team in 2020. This resulted in younger programs for both teams and both are finding tough competition this summer, with the senior team struggling to have enough players at some games.
This year Stokes County had ten senior legion players who had either played a shortened season of college baseball or were starting their college careers this fall, plus three to four rising high school seniors. With a potentially good core roster, they didn’t find a few more pitchers and position players to fill out their roster and regrettably cancelled a promising season.
Mount Airy senior legion draws players from all Surry high schools except East Surry and Stokes senior legion is comprised of players from East Surry, all three Stokes high schools and some of northern Forsyth. I suggest that our communities need one stronger senior legion team in order to compete with the larger areas such as Rowan, Randolph, High Point, Greensboro, Lexington/Davidson, Mocksville, among others.
Why can’t Mount Airy Post 123 and Stokes County Post 290 combine and our communities work together to sustain one stronger senior legion team rather than, as this year, have one team struggle to have enough players at their games and the other team cancel their season before it gets started?
Our communities need at least three junior teams: at least one each from Surry, Stokes, and northern Forsyth. Then, at least three junior teams to draw from in future years would maintain a stronger senior team. Improved cooperation and support is needed from all area high school baseball programs for legion baseball to be successful. High school programs will benefit from improved player skills, added experience, and sportsmanship through their players exposure to legion baseball.
Maybe we could learn how to be more successful in legion baseball if we found out how the premier teams from our Area 3 remain successful year after year. How do they attract the best high school players and graduates, and college players? How do the better teams select coaches, get support from their high school programs, attain business and financial support, get media exposure from their area newspapers, have radio stations transmit their games, have such great community involvement, and fan support? We need our communities working together, and in time our tri-county area can be one of the premier legion baseball programs. Let’s not let senior American Legion baseball in our area die.
It has taken me several days to formulate a response to the Mount Airy News report on the Surry County board meeting on July 21 (County board decries NAACP memo, July 22). In that time I have found the text of the statement in the Elkin Tribune. If it was available in the Mount Airy News, I did not find it in the on-line version. Your report of the board meeting led me to expect inflammatory language in the statement. There is none. It is a moderate call for recognition of racial inequality throughout our country and a request for collaboration to address the inequality in a “proactive and collective manner.” (By the way, using the word “collective” does not make one a Marxist.)
The statement in no way makes Surry County “look bad,” it calls for collaboration, not confrontation. And the suggestion for “focus on cultural competency, educational training, as well as a review of current hiring practices” is reasonable. Nowhere in the statement is Surry County condemned as racist. Instead, the statement is an effort to encourage the community as a whole to ensure that biased behavior is avoided. Such cooperation is important to avoid an incident such as the death of George Floyd.
It’s pretty clear that Commissioner Johnson needed to seek input from the other members of the board. I can’t help noting that the board is made up exclusively of white male individuals. Overall, a different response was needed from the board. They could have chosen to support the NAACP rather than make predictable rants in opposition. Surry County along with the rest of the country needs leaders to acknowledge problems and choose words and actions that resolve and heal. We need leaders to bridge the social and economic divide, not widen it.
May we all have the humility to seek improvement and reconciliation instead of defensiveness and self-justification.
This is the story of a love song with Mount Airy ties. It was a love that went terribly wrong for “Poor Ellen Smith.”
The body of Ellen Smith was found July 21, 1892, by Hattie Pratt as she walked to work in the laundry of the prestigious Zinzendorf Hotel in Winston-Salem. Truth be told, she didn’t find it so much as she was directed to it by a young man dressed in a dapper brown suit and wearing a black derby hat.
Hattie found the pretty young girl shot dead, blood soaking her clothing, her white apron tied to a nearby bush.
Another man soon arrived. He took the apron down and covered the girl’s face out of respect. He had also been directed by the gentleman in the dapper brown suit and the black derby hat to the scene.
Ellen, a cook for a family nearby, was quickly identified and her story was soon pieced together. She’d left her employer’s home the afternoon before and come to the woods behind the hotel to meet her young man, Peter DeGraff. The couple had been seen arguing recently. DeGraff told friends he wanted to be done with Ellen.
It was assumed that the dapper young man Hattie Pratt spoke with that morning was DeGraff. He’d had been in and out of trouble with the law for years and spent time in jail for illegally owning firearms. By his own count he had “ruined ”No less than five girls and the police had liked him for a murder about a year earlier though they could never prove it. He and his family were well known to the sheriff.
Citizens began accusing the sheriff of cowardice or of not caring about the murder of a “poor girl of bad character.”
Later, DeGraff would say he’d gone to Virginia, then New Mexico before finding a job in Mount Airy at a sawmill owned by John A. Yokley. He lived and worked here, following Winston-Salem newspapers where his name appeared on a regular basis.
In June 1893, nearly a year after the murder, he returned to his old stomping grounds and the new sheriff wasted no time in arresting him.
People closely followed the hearing and incarceration of the dapper young man whose hair was always meticulously combed. His trial was sensational but brief and the jury took only 20 minutes to return a guilty verdict. He fought the conviction to the state supreme court but they upheld the ruling and he was condemned to hang on Feb. 8, 1894.
He was visited by reporters, friends and admirers including 14-year-old Ben Jarrell who learned “The Song of Peter DeGraff” from the man himself. A song he would eventually teach to his son, Tommy, though by then it was known as “Poor Ellen Smith.”
Ballads are story songs. The ancient musical tradition allowed events in history to be recorded in cultures where few could read or write. Brought here by the earliest settlers in this region from their native Scotland, Ireland, and England, they preserved both centuries-old stories from their homelands such as the sad “Barbara Allen” that dates back to at least 1666.
They continued the practice here, immortalizing the tragic tales of people such as Frances’Frankie’ Silver, hung for the 1831 murder of her husband near Morganton; Tom Dula/Dooley, hung for the 1866 murder of his lover Laura Foster; Floyd and Claude Allen, executed after the Hillsville Courthouse shootout, 1912; the Lawsons, originally from Quakers Gap, and the horrific Christmas Day murder-suicide near Germanton in 1929.
Not all ballads are love-gone-wrong and murder. Some are about disasters such as the 1970s hit, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Trains were the most powerful thing on land in the 1800s and early 1900s. Railway accidents were major news events, and often subjects for romanticized poems and songs. These songs spanned a wide range of topics, including religion, stills, ghosts, and politics.
In the early 1900s and again in the mid- to late 1900s when there was a resurgence of interest in American folklore, people traveled through the North Carolina Appalachians finding and recording the old songs. These’song catchers’ preserved a great deal of history that might otherwise have vanished as the older generations passed on. We are forever grateful to them for collecting these fleeting and beautiful oral histories.
And, perhaps, spare a thought for poor Ellen Smith, forever 19, and forever tied to Surry County by the actions of a feckless and vain young man.
Peak season of the majestic monarch and tiger swallowtail butterflies. The zinnia bed with its rainbow of colors is a thing of beauty all by itself, but new life and color is added to the zinnias when the black and yellow tiger swallowtail butterflies and the orange, white, and black monarch butterflies visit the zinnia bed. Nothing is as graceful as butterflies floating around flowers and foliage on a warm summer afternoon.
Making a cool lemonade pie for a summer’s eve. Nothing is as refreshing as a glass of fresh lemonade filled with ice cubes, except maybe this lemonade pie. This pie is simple to prepare and will keep the kitchen cool at the same time. All you have to do is mix one large container of Cool Whip, one can (six ounces) lemonade concentrate (thawed), one can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk, two three-ounce boxes Lemon Jello. After mixing ingredients well, pour into two graham cracker pie crust and chill until firm. They will keep in refrigerator for a week if they stay around that long.
Electricity from a Dog Day thunderstorm. There is a certain amount if electricity and energy in a Dog Day afternoon thunderstorm. It goes a long way in jump-starting the summer garden plot into go-go-green mode that seems to give the vegetables a new lease on life.
Fireflies on a summer evening after a thunderstorm. Have you ever noticed that there are more fireflies after an afternoon thunderstorm occurs? Do you think the energy of a thunderstorm gives them an energy boost? Whatever the cause, we are glad to see the lawn, garden, and neighborhood aglow with an abundance of fireflies.
Keep baits and traps ready for Japanese beetles. The humidity of Dog Days is usually an invitation for Japanese beetles. Their favorite foods are grape leaves, roses, green bean foliage, and corn silks, but they will eat anything that is green. When you see just one beetle, place your traps and baits. Traps are the safest and most effective way to control Japanese beetles without harming the environment. Every other day, drop the trap of beetles into a bucket of boiling water and then pour the beetles out into the grass for birds to eat. Pour the hot water out on the driveway or street and not on the lawn where boiling water would kill the grass. Always place beetle traps away from garden, flower beds, or roses and place in areas that will draw them away from garden. When purchasing beetle traps, spend extra money and buy traps with plastic tops and bottoms that screw onto the tops. Don’t buy those with bags on the bottom that the wind will blow away.
Starting a row of mid-summer cucumbers. Believe it or not cucumbers planted in mid-July will produce a harvest if you keep them watered and fed. Good summer varieties are Marketmore 76, Poinsett 76, Ashley, straight eight, and Long green. Sow seed in a furrow and cover with a layer of peat moss and hill up soil on both sides of furrow and tamp down with a hoe blade. When they develop two leaves side dress with Plant-Tone organic vegetable food every ten days and water around base of plants when it is no rain in the forecast.
Dog Day heat and humidity stresses tomato plants. The heat, humidity, and dryness of Dog Days will cause stress in the vines of tomatoes and cause yellow bottom wilt. When you first see this occurring on the tomato plants, it will be on bottom leaves . There is a product names “Daconil” that will control this disease. Follow instructions on the bottle and mix with water. Pour in a spray bottle like glass cleaner comes in and spray around the bottom leaves where the wilt starts on a dry day with no rain in the forecast. After a rainfall, wait until plants dry and spray again. A mist is effective and much safer than a sprayer.
Songs of Katydids on a summer night. In late July, the Katydids are singing a song which is a song of future events coming our way as they sing of heavy dews that warn us that even at the height of Dog Days, autumn is just down the road and over the horizon. Another sound is the mockingbird singing a summer song with zero hint of autumn in his voice. The mockingbird sings his song to us that we should have a song in our heart in the middle of the night.
Plenty of building material for the compost pile or bin. With many vegetable crops now maturing and providing their spent vines, stalks, and residue along with corn shucks, peelings, shells, and grass clippings to heat up the compost. Now is the prime time to start up a compost heap. If you need extra heating material, toss in shovels full of Black Kow composted cow manure or a bag of Plant-Tone organic plant food or Dr. Earth’s garden plant food to heat up the compost.
A straightneck summer squash casserole. Cut eight or ten yellow straightneck squash into half-inch chunks, add one large chopped onion. Cook squash and onion together for five minutes and drain water. Combine one can of Campbell’s cream of chicken soup, one eight- ounce cup of sour cream, two cups Pepperidge Farm corn bread stuffing, one and a half cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, two eggs, one stick light margarine. Mix all ingredients together. Spray a 13x9x2 inch baking dish or pan with PAM baking spray . Pour mixture into the baking dish, top with half-cup of Pepperidge Farm corn bread dressing. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Will serve at least six.
Investing in a durable and adaptable water wand. During the dry spells of Dog Days nothing can be more handy than a durable water wand. It becomes useful because it places water directly where it is needed and is capable of placing it there in a shower, mist, stream, and many other ways with its adjustable dial of various settings. A durable wand costs about ten to twelve dollars at Lowe’s, Home Depot, Walmart and at most hardware stores.
Hoe-Hoe-Hoedown: “Wheeling It Away.” A man got a job as a night watchman in a large factory. Lately, the factory had been experiencing huge losses, so the watchman was ordered to check bags and pockets of workers as they left the factory. One evening a worker tried to leave the factory with a wheelbarrow full of newspapers. The night watchman was immediately suspicious. “Hey buddy,” he ordered, “let me take a look at what is under those newspapers.” The night watchman but found nothing but newspapers. “You see,” said the worker, “I pick up all the extra newspapers in the break-rooms and take them to the recycle plant. That way I can save a few trees and make a few bucks.”
For the next two months, the worker left every night with a wheelbarrow full of newspapers, but the watchman remained alert and he checked him every night. One evening, the watchman was called to the supervisor’s office. With any word of explanation the supervisor fired the night watchman. “Why? As long as I was on duty, absolutely nothing was stolen from this factory.” “Oh really?” said the supervisor, “Then how do you account for the fact that the recent audit shows we have lost 64 wheelbarrows?”
Editor’s Note: Community Comment is a periodic column in The Mount Airy News featuring commentary from community leaders in Mount Airy and Surry County.
Mount Airy City Schools (MACS) is celebrating its 125th year in existence. MACS is well known for academic excellence, award winning arts, and an active, awesome athletic program. We have developed a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics ( STEAM) framework that grows every child to be a problem-solver. We are known for innovation and providing a great choice for our community that educates children well. This is why so many families have chosen to be part of the MACS family.
We have added new programs for this upcoming year such as Spanish at Mount Airy Middle School, Entrepreneurship that allows students to own their own business in high school taught by Will Pfitzner, and Project Lead the Way’s biotechnology program which is part of our health science department . We know that 2020 will go down in history as a year for the ages. We will keep growing students who innovate and problem-solve. We won’t let COVID-19 stop us from doing what is best for students.
Our Back to School 2020 will look a little different because staff and students will wear masks and social distance. We will be following specific cleaning protocols throughout the day and we will have additional health and wellness staff on hand. We are bringing students back from being out of our buildings for quite some time and we want to reintroduce them to the structure and organization of school. We will provide needed social-emotional learning (SEL) support, such as an SEL screener to show how students have responded during this crisis.
Additional support staff such as social workers, behavioral programs, and extra nursing support will be in place as health/wellness and safety is our first priority. Our SROs, administrators, teachers, and staff will be ready on each campus to provide safe environments and to work with our students to reacclimate to our buildings and return to a sense of normalcy.
Face-to-face instruction will be a great thing for us as we bring our students back five days a week beginning August 17. We are at 50% capacity of our buildings when our students return and we will be able to social distance in our classrooms. We are excited that every single student can come each day to be face-to-face with a highly qualified teacher. The Back to School 2020 plan for MACS includes everything recommended by the Center for Disease Control and NC Department of Health and Human Services. We also work very closely with our local health department to provide a safe place for staff and students to return to in August.
If your family is not ready to return to face-to-face we have several other options for you. We have a menu of options that include some form of remote learning. Mount Airy City Schools offers educational opportunities that are tailor-made for today’s learners. Led by highly qualified staff and offering a full range of student support, this partnership allows students from all backgrounds and areas of interest, to customize their learning experience through CLASS — Customized Learning Anytime/Anywhere for Student Success. Every option gives your student a high quality education with a highly qualified teacher. This teacher will be their teacher and success coach to make sure that any option that isn’t face-to-face is still a world-class education experience.
Learning with CLASS would include 100% remote learning options that we have done for the last 20 years. These are high school and college courses required for graduation, community college credit or are transferable to four-year universities. Last year 65% of our high school students chose to take a college course and many of these are 100% remote. There are also remote options for K-8 that allow your child to stay home and learn from a certified teacher. At MACS we provide every child with a technology device so at any time that we have remote learning or a child just misses a day due to a dentist appointment they have their device so they can stay on track.
There are also options that include blended learning where you may want your child to attend a couple of classes face-to-face but complete their other classes online. You may want to zoom into a core class but stay at home. You may want to participate in our athletics and extracurricular activities but take your classes at home. We will cater to your family’s needs. Then, of course, if you have a medically fragile child we will work with you for the best solution for your family to make sure you can be a part of our MACS family and have your needs met this year.
We appreciate how you have worked closely with us over the last several months in this public health crisis. We want you to know that we value your feedback as we come back to school in August. We will be having a public forum in early August so you can zoom in with principals and senior leadership to have any questions you need answered. We can also be reached by email, social media or phone. We are launching a brand new website with all of our information for MACS Back to School 2020 at http ://www.mtairy.k12.nc.us. We can’t wait to have your students back with us as we move into a new school year and continue to Lead, Innovate, and Serve during our 125th year. We are looking forward to the next 125 years together.
Mount Airy News readers, I have submitted this letter to the editor in response to the article published Wednesday, July 22 (County board decries NAACP memo) in which some of the Surry County Board of Commissioners “decried” a statement signed by myself, their Chairman Larry Johnson, and every mayor in Surry county. One even said shame on us for signing it.
The person who spoke at that meeting is quoted saying that my board was not informed that I had signed the statement. This is blatantly untrue and this person has no evidence to support that. My board members will tell you that they were notified and they support the statement.
Since Wednesday, I have been contacted by members of the Elkin and Dobson boards who both said they were notified and supported the statement. Mayor Rowe of Mount Airy signed as well but he was not mentioned in the article. The statement was actually published in the Mount Airy News last month.
This person also says that the statement commits the county to spending “millions.” Of course it makes no such commitments nor does it commit any money whatsoever. It does say that we will essentially work together to continue to create a culture of understanding and bridge racial divides when possible. We will review policies to ensure that no biases exist.
This individual also claimed that this statement implies that our law enforcement has a racism problem, this is also patently false and you can see it for yourself if you go back and read the statement. In fact, the statement was brought to our own police chief for whom I have immense respect because he is willing to stand courageously with our community.
I can remember KKK rallies in Dobson, not during Jim Crow but in my lifetime. I believe it’s a loud minority, but racism still exists in our county. Being in a retail business and serving in public office, I hear things. We all do . It is time for us to be more than just not-racist, it’s time for us to stand up against it. People are fearful and hurting. We need to listen. We can always strive to do better.
Since the News did not editorialize these assertions and there was no push-back from the county commissioners I felt compelled to clear the record. This person came to a public meeting and stated that minorities are given things by our government and that they receive preferential treatment . They implied that racism simply does not exist because Barack Obama was elected. Those statements should have been a red flag for the board to do some fact-checking to substantiate these claims before attacking their chairman and seemingly every municipal board in our county.
Let’s say simply what the joint statement is: it is an acknowledgement that we need to lead. I am grateful that County Commissioner Larry Johnson, my fellow mayors, the other municipal board members, and our law enforcement have the courage to lead even when it opens us up for cheap political attacks. When things are difficult leaders call for unity. Our board felt like it was important at a time when the nation is so divided to stand for justice, peace, and reconciliation.
One day while Jesus was teaching, He was asked what was the greatest commandment. The Master Teacher without hesitation stated that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Sadly, in the culture we live in today, very few people truly pay attention to Jesus’ command. In fact, it is often ignored altogether.
Many professing Christians could be described by the words of John in the pointed accusation against the church at Ephesus, “You have left your first love.” We have allowed the things of this world to become much more important to us than God.
There are many marriages today that start off well then one of the spouses forgets to take their vows seriously and they began to allow things of the world, and in some cases another relationship, to become more important to them than their spouse. They develop a “Love affair” that separates them from their first love. There are many people today who claim to love the Lord their God, yet have developed a love affair with something that separates them from God, thereby committing “spiritual adultery.” We all need to examine ourselves whether or not we have developed a dangerous love affair that separates us from God. Are we in the early flirting stages of a love affair? Let us look at three of the six ways we can commit spiritual adultery as we walk through this life.
A dangerous love affair can occur when we love ourselves more than God. Paul wrote to Timothy to be watchful in his life, “for men shall be lovers of their own selves.” Even Christ’s followers can drift from making Him the priority of their lives . It seems to be that we are all about having our own way and our own will accomplished and have no room for God. We become filled with pride and believe that everything centers around us. We should strive to be more like Jesus as he prayed , “Let this cup pass from me but nevertheless not my will but thine be done.” Jesus loved the Father more then He loved Himself. Are we having a dangerous love affair with ourselves?
A dangerous love affair can occur when we love money and possessions more than God. Paul warned Timothy to be careful, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” We need to keep in mind there is a need for money and possessions as we go through this world, but if we put gaining them before serving the Lord, then we have entered into a dangerous love affair.
Money and possessions have turned many people away from God. Balaam is a good example of one who sold out for monetary gain. He who loved money so much, he was willing to attempt to curse God’s people. Joseph’s brothers were willing to sell him and deceive their father for money. The rich young ruler, who loved money so much, he was willing to walk away from salvation.
Many Christians are willing to sell out their faith for a lot less, sometimes it is a job promotion, popularity, or a big bank account. I read a story many years ago about a young executive who was one of two men being considered for a promotion in a major company. This young man seemed to have the new job wrapped up when the CEO of the company took this young man to the cafeteria for lunch. While going through the line the young man slipped a 5-cent pad of butter under his plate so he would not be charged for it. When they returned to the CEO’s office this young man not only was turned down for the job, he was fired. The CEO told him that if he was so in love with money that he would steal a five-cent pad of butter, he could not be trusted. Do we have such a dangerous love affair with money that God cannot trust us to be completely sold out to him?
A dangerous love affair can be when we love the praise of man more than God. Jesus taught us that if we pray in the synagogues and on the streets just to be seen of men, we have our reward. Jesus was teaching that many people are trying to please men instead of pleasing God. Many times, we do not step out on faith or follow the Lord because we’re afraid of what others might say or think. In the Bible we see King Saul had this same kind of love affair with the praise of men and it cost him the Kingdom. Paul wrote in Galatians 1:10, “Do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” Many times, we get so wrapped up with trying to gain the praise of men that we fail to honor the Word of God. Are we having a dangerous love affair trying to gain the praises of man?
We have looked at three of six ways we can commit spiritual adultery. If any of the three mentioned have become more important to us than God, then they have become dangerous love affairs in our lives. Are we involved in dangerous love affairs in our lives that is causing us to commit spiritual adultery? If so, we need to repent! (Next week we will look at the final three)
This is a response to the article concerning the commissioners and Semona Creasy’s rebuke of Chairman Larry Johnson for being open and honest about life in Surry County (County board decries NAACP memo, July 22).
I know we would like to think “Mayberry” as we are known is the perfect community, with no discrimination, no homelessness, no drug problems and full of opportunity for everyone.
Of course, no one likes to think they are totally beautiful with no flaws then look in the mirror to see a huge scar across their face. If you think systemic racism doesn’t exist in Surry County, let’s look in the mirror for a moment .
Since most of you reading this has never experienced life as a Black or non-white person, let me reveal to you some truth.
There are some fantastic officers in both the city police and county sheriffs departments, but if you are Black and driving an expensive or sporty car, you will be followed often by the police. Your tags will be run, and you will be stopped often because you’look suspicious.’
If you are Black and go shopping here in Surry County, you are more likely to be followed by store security personnel than would a group of rowdy white teenagers.
I went into a bank in Dobson not long ago to cash a check, and three cashiers came over to look at it before the assistant manager recognized me and approved the check. Guess what — I’m a Black man.
From personal experience, with extensive corporate management credentials, when applying for upper level management jobs, I was subjected to multiple’psychological’ tests to prove I could handle the job, and although I passed, the jobs were eventually given to someone with no experience or skills and white.
When nonwhites with excellent credit go to banks for loans, we are still presented with higher interest rates or denied.
If you think Blacks get punished more because we commit more crimes (that’s a racist thought), go sit in the courtroom for a few days. Full of white people who have committed multiple crimes. The difference is whites generally get a slap on the wrist or ridiculously low bond, while nonwhites get severely punished and large bonds.
No one can say all whites are racist. What we are pointing out is there are actions that have been long built into the system that provide whites with privileges that others do not have. Unless you are willing to look at it from a different point of view you won’t recognize it.
I applaud Chairman Johnson and the other leaders for being willing to at least look and see if we can improve life for everyone here. If anyone is weak or has no backbone, it is those who are afraid to examine themselves to see if there is any fault in them.
After reading the article about the County Commissioner’s meeting where a joint statement with the NAACP was addressed, I was so disappointed at the lack of progress in Surry County since I lived there as a child (County board decries NAACP memo, July 22).
Elder Craig Smith of the NAACP painstakingly approached each mayor and the chairman of the (county) board individually and explained the intent of the statement. Each signed the statement. I presume they signed it because it is a positive statement with actionable items that will help local government employees and work spaces to relate more easily with a diverse population and to include diversity in the work force. As Surry County grows, more people of different backgrounds, ethnicities, and sexual orientations will be present in the population. It is imperative that public service employees know how to comfortably relate and accommodate these populations.
Systemic racism is a fact of life across our nation and therefore not exclusive to Surry County. However, neither is Surry County exempt. Systemic racism relates to the fact that laws and norms were created by white people with the same centrally affected. In other words , black and brown people were either not considered or were considered negatively in the creation of these laws and norms. By default, this creates unfair advantage to caucasians and equal and disadvantages to black and brown people.
The fact that many white people do not recognize systemic racism or their own implicit bias is not surprising. Most people are not aware and certainly do not feel as if they have an unfair advantage. Systemic racism has been a fact for so long, that to white people it just seems normal.
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, people from all races have banded together against this type of police brutality. I am sure many of us would like to think it just happens somewhere else. However, the need to address the understanding of diversity , whether or not you think your police and sheriff’s deputies are violent, is a necessity in our shifting populations. I dare say that if Elder Craig had spoken to each individual commissioner, each would have signed the statement. The statement is not an indictment, it is a pledge of commitment to bring all residents into the natural, friendly, and southern embrace that makes Surry County unique.
For more than four months, since the seriousness of the coronavirus began to truly come to light, it’s nearly impossible to find some facet of everyday life that has not been affected. Work schedules, trips to the grocery store, doctor and dentist visits, child care, even family picnics, funerals and worship services — have all been altered. Some parts of life in America, life in the world, may never return to what we once knew as normal, even if a vaccine is successfully developed and distributed.
It is no exaggeration to say COVID-19 has become the single biggest threat to humanity since World War 2. As of Thursday afternoon, there had been more than 15.5 million confirmed cases of the disease worldwide, with 632,823 confirmed deaths caused by complications relating to COVID-19.
According to the CDC, as of Wednesday afternoon, there have been nearly 3.9 million confirmed cases in the United States, with 141,677 confirmed deaths.
In North Carolina, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, there have been 106,893 confirmed cases in the state as of Wednesday afternoon, and 1,726 deaths.
Using the state department’s figures, along with those supplied by the Surry County Health and Nutrition Center, there have been 712 confirmed cases in the county as of Wednesday afternoon, along with 5 deaths.
There is also an increasing, and concerning, body of evidence that those who survive, some of those who “recover” from the virus may suffer long-term, perhaps permanent, health issues, including heart, lung, kidney and neurological damage, along with long-term complications from strokes and embolisms being suffered by those who have COVID-19.
So it is beyond puzzling why our local elected officials have remained largely silent, or unconcerned, with the virus and its effects on Surry County residents.
Virtually every credible medical and scientific outlet has said slowing the spread is not that difficult if individuals will practice social distancing, wash their hands thoroughly and regularly, and wear a mask around others. Many have pointed to that last suggestion, wearing a mask, as perhaps the most vital step of all the recommendations.
Neither Mount Airy nor Surry County commissioners seriously entertained an order making masks mandatory within their jurisdictions prior to Gov. Roy Cooper’s June 24 order requiring face masks be worn in many public areas. Since then, they have done virtually nothing to support the governor’s order — no local ordinance to go with the statewide order, not even a resolution of support for the order.
Mount Airy commissioners, when presented with an opportunity to try to supply at least one reusable mask for each city resident, were almost hostile toward the idea until a city resident donated $25,000 for the effort (and some of the commissioners have since complained about taking the money because that resident has expressed disappointment with the city’s COVID response).
It’s no wonder both localities have taken such a laissez-faire approach, given that we have to question at least some of the local elected leaders’ commitment to COVID safety.
Staffers here at The Mount Airy News have observed commissioners in public, shaking hands, talking up close with individuals and small groups of people while not wearing a mask. We’ve seen one joking that he is immune to the virus. We’ve been in at least one county office were virtually every staffer visible was not wearing a mask, going about their business as if all is normal.
What’s particularly confusing is that our own local health care officials — Samantha Ange and the Surry County Health and Nutrition Center, along with John Shelton and the Surry County EMS department — have been adamant and consistent in their urging everyone to wear masks and practice social distancing .
At various times both our county and city officials have expressed their admiration and respect for the health department and EMS officials, have extolled their qualifications and hard work, voiced appreciation for their ability to share from their vast experience and knowledge.
And yet, those elected officials turn around and so easily ignore the very health care leaders they claim to respect.
We hope things change. First, we hope, either by some miracle the virus begins to fade, or our health care and pharmaceutical industry develops an effective vaccine much quicker than public estimates have predicted.
Second, until a miracle or a vaccine happens, we hope our local, elected officials will begin to show leadership on this issue by adding their own mask-wearing requirements to the governor’s (or at least pass resolutions of support). We hope those local leaders will begin conducting themselves as an example of how to properly respond to the pandemic — not just during public meetings, but in all aspects of their everyday lives as elected leaders. And we hope public offices under the leadership of elected officials will stop playing politics or whatever other game it is they think they are playing, and enforce mask-wearing policies on their staffers.
To do anything less is to actively endanger the very people who voted to put these officials in office. The residents of Surry County deserve better.
Post time: Sep-15-2020