NOTICE: The holiday schedule calls for the next GwinnettForum on December 28.

TODAY'S ISSUE
New Year's event set for downtown Lawrenceville this year
By Jay Markwalter
Executive Director, Lawrenceville Tourism and Trade Association
Special to GwinnettForum.com

(Editor's Note: a native of Savannah, Mr. Markwalter is the executive director of the Lawrenceville Tourism and Trade Association, with a goal to help promote Lawrenceville as a destination place for shopping and dining.. He lives in Athens where he has been involved for several years in "Athfest,"assisting the Athens, Music, Arts and Kids Festival with booking, merchandising and promotions. -- eeb.)

DEC. 21, 2004 -- Gwinnett families will have a great opportunity to ring in the New Year with their families on December 31 this year, when Lawrenceville Rings, a family-oriented New Year's Eve celebration, produced by the Lawrenceville Tourism and Trade Association (LTTA), is held on and around the Historic Courthouse Square from 6:30 p.m. until midnight.

Markwalter

Music venues, lots of food vendors, storytelling, puppet shows and crafts for kids, fun for youth, and a spectacular pyrotechnic countdown for the New Year are just some of the plans for the evening.

Several Lawrenceville restaurants on the square will be serving food and there will be several food booths on Perry Street. The Flying Saucer will be hosting an evening of jazz entertainment featuring Andre Bennett and several shops will be open and plan to have entertainment through the evening, as well.

We've designed the event to appeal to the people who are looking for something fun their family can do together on New Year's Eve that's close to home, but there are several venues that will appeal to adults.

Beginning at 8 p.m. entertainment directed at adults will include listening and dancing upstairs in the Historic Courthouse to the Big Peach Band, an Atlanta swing band that will delight those who enjoy big band music from the 30s and 40s.

For fans of country music, the Ryan Casper Band will perform at 145 Perry Street and Soul Purpose will delight their audience with sounds of the 60s and 70s at the former Johnson Hardware on Crogan Street.

The Collins Hill Community Theatre will perform a Broadway Music Review in the First Baptist Church gymnasium with the first performance beginning at 7:30 p.m. There will be continuous entertainment in the Courthouse Gazebo throughout the evening.

The Historic Courthouse still will be decorated for the holiday season. Attendees will want to check out each room downstairs where Christmas trees have been set up by local decorators. The Train Room will delight children with toy trains that run through miniature villages. The new Gwinnett County Veterans' Memorial Museum also will be open for viewing until 9 p.m.

Art on exhibit includes artists from Buford's Tannery Row in the Historic Courthouse and the 101 Art Market on Crogan Street.

The evening will culminate with a Countdown to 2005 that will include pyrotechnics by Pyrotechnico, a metro company that has produced shows for the Super Bowl, the Democratic Convention this year and the upcoming Peach and Gator Bowls.

There is no charge for the event although donations will be accepted at several of the venues, 50 per cent of which will be given to Hi Hope Service Center and the Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry. There will be a small charge for some activities, such as the climbing wall, the mule-drawn hay ride and face painting.

There's more information on our new website www.visitlawrenceville.com, as well as information on upcoming events right here in Gwinnett's county seat.
Y'all come!!

ELLIOTT BRACK
Diligent in life, old friend achieved unexpected success
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

DEC. 21, 2004 -- A liftetime friend passed away recently. He was one of the most successful persons I have ever known, though he struggled to complete high school. Many classmates would never have considered him a candidate for success. Modern teaching methods might have helped him.

His name was Ernest Frederick Otto, 69, of Macon. He was buried December 11 after an unexpected death from congestive heart failure.

Over the years, we had not kept up with each other closely, as we went our separate ways. We had seen each other over the years at school reunions, and a few other times. However, finding myself in Macon while my wife was attending a ladies' function recently, it was my pleasure to re-connect and have lunch with him.

Otto

I marveled to hear of his 48 years of marriage, his family, his experiences and his recent health frustration. I felt badly that he seemed overly-concerned about his health, as doctors were having a difficult time diagnosing what was wrong with him. They had several theories, and had given him extended medical tests. Still, it was evident he felt uneasy about his health.

He had become a machinist and welder, mastering these intricate trades with uncanny ability. In effect, he was a master craftsman. My alma mater, Mercer University, had routinely had him in to lecture to the engineering students on the technicalities of machine parts. That floored me, and I was quite proud for him.

Others would later tell me of his expertness in this field, as he kept up with the latest developments. They said, "He could build anything with iron or steel," citing a deck at his home, which itself is its own work of sturdiness….and art.

Frederick was most proud of his son, now an environmentalist, with whom he shared the love for the outdoors, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, Little League, etc. Frederick was even his son's Scoutmaster, leading the troop on extended hikes to the backcountry, and on expeditions to the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. This sort of activity was a natural talent for him.

He and his wife also had a daughter, their first born, who had cerebral palsy, and still lives, though now in Augusta. He continued to visit with her until the very end, and often spoke of her.

Frederick's minister knew him well, as he served as a deacon and leader at his church. He talked at his funeral of his courtesy and outgoing personality, especially to the "senior" women of the congregation. His proper German parents had trained him well, and this showed up in his politeness and friendliness.

At our recent lunch, Frederick admitted that he had never finished reading a book. Returning home, I sent him a copy of Terry Kay's book on fishing, The Valley of Light. In a telephone call before he died, Frederick told me that he was into the book, but had not finished yet. He wanted to return it. "Finish it before you return it," I told him. I suspect he did not have time to complete it before his death. But he was still working on it.

Though no deep reader, when it came to explaining his illness, he could speak in lengthy medical terms. He would cite specific technical references, that far surpassed most others' understanding.

Frederick Otto is an example of what solid, channelized work, studiously applied, plus an attitude of openness and helpfulness, and a kind personality, can achieve in life. More than anyone I know, he was a success as he went about his time on earth. His life is a model for us all.

Ernest Frederick Otto, 1935-2004: may you rest in peace.

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The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is the Aurora Theatre, Gwinnett County's First Choice for Professional Theatrical Entertainment. The theatre is located in historic downtown Duluth and is committed to producing quality, professional theatre for all of North Georgia. The 2004-2005 Master Season includes: Neil Simon's comedy Last of the Red Hot Lovers; Das Barbecü, a country western Ring Cycle; Hometown Holidays, now in its 9th smash season; Jamie Pachino's coming of age drama, Waving Goodbye; the romantic play Enchanted April; and 4 Guys Named Jose and una Mujer Named Maria. In this season of giving, at $49.95, mini season tickets make the perfect gift. To purchase individual tickets, season tickets or for more information, visit their website at www.auroratheatre.com or call 770-476-7926.

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FEEDBACK
12/21: Wants enforcement officers to do duty on political signs

Editor, the Forum:

What will it take for Gwinnett County and surrounding city ordinance enforcement officers to either remove the political signs still remaining from the last elections and/or fine those individuals who have overstayed their welcome along our roads and streets? How unfortunate that with enforceable sign ordinances clearly in place, there continues to be those in authority that for some reason look the other way and/or conveniently focus on other priorities.

Appropriate actions pertaining to this issue should be a top priority for all county and city-based ordinance enforcement officers who value their positions as effective stewards and/or caretakers of our county and citywide ordinances. Over the years, Gwinnett County has been recognized for many state and national awards including those bestowed Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful for their passionate and unyielding commitment to beautification and orderly cleanliness. Ordinance enforcement officers should be committed to the same cause coupled with keeping their jobs.

As taxpayers and dedicated citizens, we are often called on by various county and city organizations to do more in helping to build a better quality of life for all Gwinnettians. To the various county and city ordinance enforcement teams in and around Gwinnett County, we now call upon you to kindly have all unauthorized signage quickly removed from our roadways and streets so that we can continue to feel that all Gwinnett County employees are united in a single quest for excellence while maintaining a balance and responsibility toward the quality of life in Gwinnett County and the surrounding cities.

-- Tony Arakawa, Berkeley Lake

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

• An invitation: What books have you enjoyed? Send us your best recent book along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus what you plan to read next. --eeb
  

ENCYCLOPEDIA TIDBIT
12/21: Joel Hurt responsible for many of Atlanta's landmarks

Joel Hurt (1850-1926), an Atlanta businessman in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was involved in real estate, insurance, and streetcars. He attended Auburn Methodist College in Auburn, Alabama, for one year and then attended the University of Georgia in Athens, graduating in 1871 with a degree in civil engineering.

Hurt moved to Atlanta in 1875. He founded and sold a real estate company. Hurt organized and managed the Atlanta Building and Loan Association. In 1882 Hurt established the Atlanta Home Insurance Company, acting as its secretary. And in 1889 he organized the United Underwriters Insurance Company and acted as its president. He later merged the two insurance companies and served as president of the Atlanta Home Insurance Company from 1906 until 1914, when he sold the company to the Fireman's Fund Insurance Company of San Francisco.

The East Atlanta Land Company was established in 1886. This Hurt business financed the Atlanta and Edgewood Street Railway Company in the same year. In 1891 Hurt electrified and consolidated the six streetcar lines in Atlanta, forming the Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway Company.

Hurt was responsible for the construction of three buildings in Atlanta. The Equitable Building, built in 1892 and razed in 1971, was the first fireproof office building in the South. In 1911 he built the Atlanta Theater, the first fireproof theater building in the South. The Hurt Building, completed in 1926, was the 17th-largest office building in the world; still standing at 160 Pryor Street, it remains a distinctive Atlanta landmark.

Hurt initiated the first streetcar line to run from his office buildings to the first planned suburb in Atlanta, Inman Park, named for his friend and business partner Samuel M. Inman and developed by the East Atlanta Land Company. In 1902 Hurt organized the Kirkwood Land Company, which bought the northeast section of Atlanta and developed another suburb, Druid Hills.

Hurt was one of the incorporators of the Commercial Travelers Savings Bank, which he reorganized in 1893 to form the Trust Company Bank of Georgia. Hurt died in 1926 in Atlanta.

• To access the Georgia Encyclopedia, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
  

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Character, ability to think, still needed in society

"During my 87 years I have witnessed a whole succession of technological revolutions. But none of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or the ability to think."

-- Park Bench Statesman Bernard Baruch, a native of Camden, S.C.

• Another invitation: What's your favorite saying? Share with others through GwinnettForum. Send to elliott@gwinnettforum.com.
  

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