Month: June 2014

Around the Town: Who Loretta Wants to be Like When She Grows Up

loretta picturesBy Loretta Humble/Around the Town

I had a birthday this last week. Birthdays get you to thinking. I am now 76 years old, closer to 80 than to 70. That’s pretty old. I don’t feel that old, especially since I got my knee fixed. I’m ever grateful to the people living with me here in senior living in Florida, because their jocundity is contagious and they never make me feel old.

I got a lot of nice things. I got some doors, and some tomato plants, and some flowers, and a watermelon, and some money. And three birthday parties, got sung to way too many times, and was wished happy birthday on Facebook about a hundred times. I also got a card from Angie Miller, saying she wants to be just like me when she grows up. I’m not sure either one of us will ever grow up, but I loved the sentiment. And actually I wouldn’t mind being more like Angie, who is a super person herself.

I had already been thinking for some time about who I want to be like. The latest one is Betty Pogue, one of my favorite residents at Cedar Lake Nursing Home. Betty is almost exactly 10 years older than me. Betty has some infirmities which HIPPA laws forbid me to talk about, but overall she is doing great. I want to be like Betty in 10 years. She is definitely still in charge of her own life. She nearly always has a smile on her face, unless she is mad, and then that doesn’t last long. She keeps busy every day making things which she gives away, and is always on the lookout for good she can do. But she doesn’t mind straightening us out here at the nursing home when she thinks we get on the wrong track. And she prays for us. Her kids love her, and come to see her because they want to, not because it is their duty. I admire her spirit so much I’ve asked Celene Terry to use her as a model for a spunky old lady in her series of paintings of women who live their lives well. Continue reading “Around the Town: Who Loretta Wants to be Like When She Grows Up”

Ex FCC Enforcer to Speak at Cedar Creek Ham Radio Club

Hollingsworth
Hollingsworth

Radio Club press release

The Cedar Creek Amateur Radio Club will feature a former FCC Enforcer as its guest speaker via Skype at its next meeting, Saturday, July 12, at 9 a.m. at the Mabank Café.

Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, held the title of Special Counsel for the Spectrum Enforcement Division of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau until his retirement in 2008. A popular speaker at ham radio conventions nationwide, Hollingsworth visited with the CCARC last winter via Skype videoconferencing. He was such a hit with members that he will be back to tell more “war stories” about his career as chief enforcer for the FCC. Continue reading “Ex FCC Enforcer to Speak at Cedar Creek Ham Radio Club”

Hearing Set on Petition for Fresh Water Supply District in Henderson County

The County BeatBy Michael V. Hannigan

Henderson County Commissioners’ Court has set a public hearing for 9:45 a.m. July 15 on a petition to create a Fresh Water Supply District in Pct. 4 off FM 1615.

Commissioners took the action during their regular meeting Tuesday morning. According to state law, the court was required to set the public hearing.

A Fresh Water Supply District is a political subdivision of the state — a government entity — meaning it has the power to levy and collect a tax, hold bond elections, build infrastructure and is run by an elected board.

The proposed water district would be the Wilson Ranch Fresh Water Supply District No. 1. The proposed district is about 1,090 acres completely inside Henderson County, with no part in the City of Athens extraterritorial jurisdiction, according to the petition. The proposed district is made up of four tracts of land. Continue reading “Hearing Set on Petition for Fresh Water Supply District in Henderson County”

Rootseekers Learn About Betsy Ross

Pictured are, from left, Carrie Anne Wilson Woolverton, Julie Gustafson, Margaret Ann Trail. (Courtesy Photo)
Pictured are, from left, Carrie Anne Wilson Woolverton, Julie Gustafson, Margaret Ann Trail. (Courtesy Photo)

The speaker at the June 17 meeting of the Rootseekers Genealogical Society was Carrie Anne Wilson Woolverton. The meeting took place at the Tri-County Library in Mabank. Carrie was dressed in period costume of the day. Her topic was Betsy Ross.

Betsy Ross was originally buried in the Free Quaker burial ground on North 5th Street in Philadelphia with her husband John Claypoole. Twenty years later, their remains were exhumed and transferred to Mt. Moriah Cemetery in the Cobbs Creek Park section of Philadelphia. In 1975 in preparation for the United States Bicentennial, the city ordered the remains moved to the courtyard of the Betsy Ross House. In 1976, the remains of Betsy Ross and John Claypoole were exhumed and transferred a third time to the garden of the Betsy Ross House where they can be visited today. Continue reading “Rootseekers Learn About Betsy Ross”