Saturday, May 18, the Kiwanis Club of Athens, Henderson County 4-H Council and Troop 11 Life Scout Justin Jones is teaming up with area businesses to make improvements to Kiwanis Park located off Prairieville Street in Athens.
Members of the Kiwanis Club of Athens will be on-hand giving-a-hand to the youth in the community who have made the park a priority for their community and volunteer service improvements.
Justin is working on his Eagle Scout Project which involves various improvements to the park, including repairing and repainting picnic tables, working on a new drainage system for one muddy pavilion area and improving the mulch Continue reading “Help a future Eagle Scout improve Kiwanis Park”
Friends and fellow members of the Fitness Plus class help Vera Jernigan (front and center) celebrate her 90th birthday. Jernigan exercises regularly and is an active volunteer. (COURTESY PHOTO)
Vera Elizabeth Parsons Jernigan of Malakoff celebrated her 90th birthday this past month. The vivacious nonagenarian is going strong both as a member of the local exercise class Fitness Plus and as a member of the ETMC Athens Auxiliary.
“I’m sure exercise helps keep me going,” said Vera, who was treated to a party by fellow Fitness Plus members.
“Vera is really a special person,” said fitness instructor Sandy Curran. “She’s been a member since we started the class in 1990.”
Jernigan was born on April 20, 1923, in Auckland, New Zealand, to two Salvation Army officers. The fifth of six children, she was orphaned rather early in life when both her mother and then her father died within two years of one another. At the age of 16, she went to work at the Auckland Post Office to support herself while rooming with her married eldest sister. Continue reading “Vera Jernigan makes 90 look great”
Wanda Richardson, left, and Roberta Davis arrive at their final county courthouse on March 1, 2013. (COURTESY PHOTO)
By mvhannigan
A book was the inspiration for Wanda Ola Richardson’s latest adventure.
“A county courthouse stands not only as the center of government, but also as the center of civic pride. Some with stately towers and arched doors or windows, some with high brick chimneys and mansard roofs, some in modern concrete and glass, the 254 courthouses of Texas provide an invitation to public life, a testament to the ideal of justice, and an introduction to period architecture,” reads Dr. Mavis P. Kelsey’s book, “The Courthouses of Texas.”
After reading the book, the 91-year-old from Cross Roads and her daughter, Roberta Davis, had an idea.
“We decided between the two of us that we were going to go see those courthouses,” Wanda said.
Early this month, the pair finished the eight-year odyssey to see every courthouse in the state.
The set up, with Wanda as the navigator and Roberta the driver, was very familiar. The two women have visited all 48 contiguous states together.
“That was the problem, we ran out of states. We had to find somewhere else to go,” Wanda said.
In fact, she has been to 11 countries — several courtesy Uncle Sam and the U.S. Army — and at least seven islands as well.
“When they put in a bridge, I will go to Hawaii,” she said.
Roberta, who was part of many of those trips, spent several years living in Scotland and exploring Europe.
These are two ladies with some serious miles on their visas.
Using “The Courthouses of Texas” as their inspiration and with Wanda keeping records in a small notebook, they started their latest travels on April 29, 2005 in Fairfield with the Freestone County Courthouse.
They finished March 1, 2013 in the Terrell County Courthouse.
The rules were simple. Both mother and daughter had to be there and a photo had to be taken.
One small problem cropped up when they realized some of the photos in the book were more than 20 years old.
“The courthouse picture, we’d be looking for it but the trees (in the book photo) would be little,” Roberta said.
There was also the Texas weather to deal with.
“Sometimes in our travels we’d run across tornadoes coming through the town,” Roberta said.
“Three times they happened the night before and we’d see the courthouse then next day,” Wanda said.
It look like they wouldn’t finish in 2008 when Wanda experienced an irregular heartbeat, but she was soon back on the trail.
In all those years, they never had an accident. Wanda knows the reason why.
“I accepted Jesus as my savior when I was 16, after my daddy’s death,” she said. “I wouldn’t think of making a move without Him. Always when we are making these trips, we’d say thank you at every meal and pray that he would continue to take care of us.”
She says God has also taken care of her with her family and her three children who dote on her: Roberta, Lila Berry, and W.C. Richardson Jr.
“Nobody was blessed with family like I am,” she said. “I am well taken care of.”
But “taken care of” doesn’t mean “wants to slow down.” Wanda is still planning.
“(Roberta) said she wasn’t going anymore, but I’m going to think of something,” she said.
David Moss is looking to make one of those life-changing trips.
David, a freshman at Eustace High School, has been invited to the prestigious National Youth Leadership Forum to be held in Washington, D.C. The forum which deals with law and crime scene investigation is scheduled for July 9-14.
Since 2000, there have only been five other students from Eustace who have attended this event, but David will be the first to attend the Law and CSI forum.
He has been aiming for a career in the law since he was 6 years old, his mother said.
Trips like this can be costly, however, and this one is no different. David is working to raise the nearly $3,000 needed. That includes $1,795 for tuition and $825 for travel expenses, plus a little extra for the required wardrobe.
David will be holding a bake sale and car wash at First Baptist Church in Eustace from noon to 4 p.m. April 6.
To help David, please contact Andrea Copeland at 903-603-6178 or email [email protected].
The Pinnacle Musical Society gave their debut performance for the Pinnacle Women’s Club on March 14th and received a standing ovation. Pictured, from left, are Leslie Mullins, flute; John Magee, violin; and Debbie Ellsworth, piano. (COURTESY PHOTO)
Special to HCN
The Pinnacle Women’s Club was treated to a performance by the Pinnacle Musical Society on March 14, at the Pinnacle Club. The Pinnacle Musical Society, or as they refer to themselves, “The PMS”, is composed of three members: John Magee, violin; Debbie Ellsworth, piano; and Leslie Mullins, flute. These musicians often perform at various Philadelphia theater events and are acclaimed in the region.
John Magee opened the program by explaining “nobody orchestrates music for violin, flute and piano; consequently all the arrangements have been written by ourselves.” He added, “We have been playing together for about two and a half years, because, for us, it is fun to play with other musicians. Our objective is to foster live music here at the Pinnacle.” The PMS has provided several musical evenings for neighbors and friends, but this was their public debut.
The music chosen for the program featured a variety of musical styles. Included were: Annie’s Song written by John Denver; The Swan written by the French composer Camille Saint Saens; Unchained Melody written by Alex North; Consolation #3 by Franz Liszt; Lara’s Theme by Maurice Jarre; Can Can by Jacques Offenbach; and The Allegro by Wolfgang Mozart.
John Magee began violin lessons when he was 6 and studied for 12 years. He played in the Blackpool Symphony Orchestra in his hometown of Blackpool, UK. After moving to the US, John played with an Irish group, and with a pick up country band in California for about three years. For many years before moving to the Pinnacle Club, he played only casually. When he met two musical neighbors, Debbie Ellsworth and Leslie Mullins, he asked them to join him in playing for fun.
Leslie Mullins began studying the flute when she was 12, and played through high school and college. While living in New York, she was a member of The Rockville Centre Concert Band, The Kismet Temple Shrine Band and The Rockaway Five Towns Orchestra. Leslie said “my passion is classical music, but I enjoy playing all types of music”. She is currently a member of The Tyler Community Band.
Debbie Ellsworth took piano lessons in Kansas until her mid-teens. She played at her church, (when her arm was twisted) and accompanied both vocalists and instrumentalists for recitals and UIL competitions. Debbie stopped playing for many years, until John encouraged her to join his small group. She is glad she did, “I am really enjoying it”.
Janet Noblitt, PWC Program Chair, was the inspiration behind this delightful musical program. The three musicians received a standing ovation and Janet said “we are delighted with their performance. We will need to do this again.”
