NEW for 11/17: Letting freedom ring; Winford Lindsay; On COVID

GwinnettForum  |  Number 20.84  |  Nov. 17, 2020

REMEMBERING THE PAST: In the 1970s, members of the Parsons family of Duluth were featured at Callaway Gardens and other water ski shows around the country. A reunion tribute of the 60th wedding anniversary of their grandparents, Kate and Calvin Parsons, in 1985 at Callaway Gardens,  featured these skiers. On the bottom row are Carey Odum, Ken Odum, Mike Montgomery, Ted Andrews, Marty Flournoy, Cal Andrews, and Bill Andrews. On the second level are Kay Willis Montgomery, Betty Andrews Smith, Kathy Andrews Fincher, and Gin Willis. Cindy Odum Flournoy is on the top level. 

IN THIS EDITION

TODAY’S FOCUS: Indeed, it is time for our nation to “Let Freedom Ring!”
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Dacula, Harbins lose cherished member in Winford Lindsay
ANOTHER VIEW: Bringing you up to date on COVID-19 statistics in Gwinnett
SPOTLIGHT: Infinite Energy Center
FEEDBACK: Concerned by some going down rabbit hole with character attack
UPCOMING: Largest-ever grant to GGC comes from Goizueta Foundation 
NOTABLE: Jackson EMC donates $25,000 to Special Needs School 
RECOMMENDED: More Than You Know by Penny Vincenzi
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Savannah River, 313 miles long, forms border with South Carolina
MYSTERY PHOTO: Steeply-pitched roof of building is today’s Mystery Photo
LAGNIAPPE: FDR’s railcar now located at Duluth’s Railway Museum 

TODAY’S FOCUS

Indeed, it is time for our nation to “Let Freedom Ring!”

The Liberty Bell, Philadelphia, Pa.

By Gregg Stopher, contributing columnist

PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga.  |  “Let Freedom Ring.”

Three simple words. What do they mean to you? Many people reflexively, almost automatically, feel a sense of patriotism. Others, their mind goes elsewhere.

Stopher

But what does that mean to you, personally? Drop the predispositions and the perceptual filters by which you decipher your ongoing world (and by extension, your “worldview”).

Is it similar to mine? I must migrate to a very base level on this point. As an aging white male from the middle-class Midwest, I am a simple guy, so I seek out very simple solutions to the issues I confront on an everyday basis. So, freedom for me is the ability to choose—within certain boundaries—what I want to do that very day. And suffer the consequences therein. 

Yes, of course, we all have obligations; but we also choose whether or not to execute those daily obligations. Wittingly or unwittingly, there are always consequences, both positive and negative. Hopefully, even the accomplishments of those daily obligations, whether personal or business, bring you some measure of joy.

You garner satisfaction that you even kept going, kept the “ball in the air,” and didn’t let anyone down (at least not too much)…and despite all the obstacles placed in your path. You should be proud of that, as you are making a contribution on an individual/micro level to the betterment of your neighbors, as well as your countrymen and countrywomen (Adam Smith’s “invisible hand”). 

Previously I have commented about what the generally accepted boundaries are in a civil society (no murder, theft, assault (of any form), and there are many others). Since we are dealing with human beings, the opinions on these issues are just as numerous as human beings themselves. Those may be what we might call “debatable” limits to our daily lives with even the “fluidity” of gender, which has unfortunately become politically charged, apparently remaining undecided (as we are now confronted, at last count, is it with 78 pronouns?).

So, just what are the absolutes in society if, as it appears, that almost everything is debatable? If we are so polarized, as some would have us believe, what can we possibly agree on? 

One limit we all have is finite and ever unchanging, and that is time. Twenty-four hours in a day, 168 hours for the week. How did you spend your time? Did you choose wisely? Productively? Frivolously? 

Or “all of the above”? 

However you chose, whatever you chose, never forget that you – and you alone – experienced the privilege of choice. Why? Because you live in the United States of America, and because you don’t live in Communist China. What was that saying, “Freedom isn’t Free”?

America stands at a crossroads, as we are deciding whether we wish to devolve to a point where we choose to be controlled more and more each day by a centralized government (which, by extension, has become increasingly influenced by China). We only have roughly three weeks to decide, but my guess is the winner will ultimately be “We The People.”

“Let Freedom Ring”, an oft-cited mantra by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is defined as: “A statement that the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness should be spread across the Earth and allowed to flourish.”

Indeed, “Let freedom ring!”

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EEB PERSPECTIVE

Dacula, Harbins lose cherished member in Winford Lindsay

By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum

NOV. 17, 2020  |  Dacula and the Harbins community lost a cherished member when Winford Vernon Lindsay Sr. died on November 1.  He lived a half a year beyond age 100.

Winford was a giant of a gentleman, the son of a farming family, and Bible scholar. He may have been the last surviving Gwinnett County resident who had been a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps, prior to enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1940. After basic training, he was stationed at Lockbourne Army Airfield in Columbus, Ohio.  Later his military career would take him to Elmendorf Air Base in Anchorage, Alaska, as an aircraft mechanic and flight engineer on the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. While in service, he took classes from the University of Maryland. 

He was also sent to North Africa at Wheelus Air Base in Libya.  Among his assignments while at Wheelus was duty as the head basketball coach of the Air Force goodwill basketball team. His final military assignment was at Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois, where he was discharged in 1960. He retired as a master sergeant.

It was when he was in Ohio that he met Margie Louise Stephens, and they were married in 1944. That marriage lasted for 68 years until her death in 2012.

Lindsay

Margie and Winford returned to Georgia after retirement, and purchased Dacula Quality Grocery on Main Street, which he operated until 1974. Small grocery stores in those days require long hours. Some days Winston would get up at 3:30 a.m. to go to the Farmer’s Market to stock up on produce, or go to the wholesale grocer in Grayson, to be back by 7:30 a.m. to open the store, and usually not close the store until 8:30 at night. During those  years, he also purchased a cattle and hog farm in the Harbins area, which he continued to operate raising Angus cattle on 66 acres until 2008. 

Meanwhile, the Lindsays were mainstays of the community, and members of Dacula First Methodist Church. Winston also served from 1964 until 1991 on the Gwinnett Municipal Planning and Zoning Commission, including serving as chairman. He was also a member of the Gwinnett County Farm Bureau’s board of directors.

Winford had good health most of his life, which he attributed to hard work. 

However, when he was 84, lightning struck his tractor, which started the motor, and the tractor began rolling across the farm. Winford got in his truck and chased it. When he tried to get on the tractor, his foot slipped and he fell, and the tractor ran over him. His wife saw him waving a handkerchief, and finally got medical attention.   

When in the emergency room, a nurse frantically summoned son-in-law Phil Hall to severely-injured Winford’s bedside, thinking he was to utter his last words.  Winford told Phil: “Go over tomorrow to help (a farming buddy) pick tomatoes,” which was a Winford favorite pastime. The nurse was dumbfounded. Meanwhile, though severely injured from the accident, Winford recovered.

Both Margie and Winford spent their last years at The Bridge in Lawrenceville.

The Lindsays had four children, Winford (Buck) Lindsay Jr. of Lawrenceville, the late Thomas Carl Lindsay, Diane Louise Hall of Dacula, who now runs the family farm, and Chris Alan Lindsay of Bogart. He is also survived by five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Winston V. Lindsay Sr., 1920-2020: May you rest in peace.

ANOTHER VIEW

Bringing you up to date on COVID-19 statistics in Gwinnett

By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.  |  Social media sites are not at all accurate regarding COVID-19. This causes harmful misinformation to float around and be self-perpetuating, one reason why America is so far behind many other nations in its COVID-19 response. Our nation has the fourth largest  population but has 20 percent of the world’s COVID cases and 19 percent of its deaths (see more), a disaster for American healthcare and its people. 

Georgia has a test positivity rate of 9.3 percent versus a desired rate of under 5 percent, meaning the virus is not under control locally. Here are some easy-to-understand pandemic facts about Georgia and Gwinnett.   

  • Georgia currently has had 384,997 cases, 8,462 deaths and 33,261 hospitalizations with 6,522 ICU admissions. Just Sunday (Nov. 15) Georgia had another 2,553 cases, 51 deaths and 127 hospitalizations. (https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report). 
  • Younger people (0-30) are spreading COVID-19, sometimes to high-risk groups, such as parents and grandparents. Currently, Gwinnett County has had 33,337 of Georgia’s total cases, with 2,994 hospitalizations and 473 deaths as of Sept. 3.. In the last week, the seven-day moving average of cases in Gwinnett has increased from 131 to 182. Back on May 14, the seven day moving average was just 51; does it sound to the reader like the virus is being contained? 
  • The percentage of virus-infected Americans who die of COVID-19 is about 2.2 percent.  However, rates are much higher for seniors. In Georgia, for instance, the rate is 11 percent for those 70-79 and 23 percent for those 80+.
  • In the USA, 73 million Americans are over 60. Those with diabetes, asthma, lung disease, obesity, etc. are also at high risk. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates the number to be 41 million.  

Why the USA was not better prepared is obvious. The Obama-Biden Administration’s National Security Council constructed a 69 page “Playbook for Early Response” regarding how to prepare for and contain pandemics. However, it was never used by the Trump Administration.  

The reader must make a non-partisan evaluation of where our country stands versus other developed nations (with much better numbers) regarding our virus preparation and response. And why. 

This Administration could have done many things much earlier to prevent COVID-19’s spread. This includes establishment of a national strategic plan to fight the epidemic; accurate, coordinated and consistent  information dissemination at the Federal level; and early testing, tracing of those infected, isolation of those exposed. They could have had national directives to businesses prohibiting them from selling preventive equipment overseas and mandating that they convert production capacities to produce COVID-19 related items (masks, gloves, ventilators, and so forth).  

In addition, we needed centralized, rational national purchasing/distribution by the Federal government of PPE and supplies used to fight the virus. Instead, Trump pressured the CDC to approve an untested vaccine well before the election. 

There are many common non-scientific misconceptions about COVID-19 which still exist seven months after the virus hit our shores. Why these incorrect assumptions are so widespread must be based on who is spreading them via the news and social media.

Our hope is that now that a vaccine will soon be approved and distributed widely to us so that regardless of political affiliation, all of us will get vaccinated in the shortest possible time. 

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Infinite Energy Center

The public spiritedness of our sponsors Infinite Energy Center allows us to bring GwinnettForum to you at no cost to readers. Today’s underwriter is Infinite Energy Center, home to four distinct facilities in Duluth: Infinite Energy Arena, Infinite Energy Theater, Infinite Energy Forum, and The Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center For Art and Learning. Infinite Energy Arena has had 17 years of tremendous success hosting countless concerts, family shows and sporting events, and is home to the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators and the NLL’s Georgia Swarm.  Some past concerts include George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Beyoncé, Foo Fighters, Eric Clapton, Katy Perry, Kid Rock, James Taylor and Michael Bublé. Infinite Energy Arena also hosts many family shows including Cirque du Soleil, Disney On Ice and the Harlem Globetrotters.  Infinite Energy Forum offers patrons the opportunity to host or attend a wide variety of events, from corporate meetings to trade shows to social occasions.  Infinite Energy Theater has an intimate capacity of 708-seats and is home to many local events, family shows and even some comedians. The Hudgens Center For Art and Learning showcases a range of artwork throughout the year along with offering a wide range of fine art classes. 

FEEDBACK

Concerned by character attack with some going down rabbit hole 

Editor, the Forum: 

It was saddening to see attacks on Debra Huston’s character by those who want to now demonize any and all Republicans. Don’t go down that rabbit hole unless you want to keep this great country of ours divided. 

Surely she watches Fox News, but I bet she also watches CNN and other news stations. She and I are polar opposites on the political spectrum, but I bet if you got to know her, you would probably find she has more in common with others. We all want safe streets, I know I do and therefore I support our police and treat them with the utmost respect. Our military men and women who keep us all safe get my prayers daily to stay out of harm’s way. By the same token, I would like to see a smaller, more responsive government working for all our needs. 

Maybe we should do away with the two-party system and everyone who is eligible to run for an office, put your money where your mouth is and run and serve without any party affiliation. We also need term limits for every member in Congress, and yes, even the Supreme Court. This rancor has got to stop, especially character assassination on people you disagree with. 

Debra, I’m offering you my sincere apologies for any and all terrible things I may have written, but it was never about you personally. It was the idealists from the right who never listen or offer solutions to back up what they were saying. I believe in solid proof and rationales and if that means digging deep for answers, then I hope we can all come together to make our country even better than it already is. “One Nation, Indivisible…”

— Sara Rawlins, Lawrenceville

Dear Sara: Thanks for your comments about Debra. However, be careful, careful on eliminating the party government. Just look what happened in the unusual special election to replace a senator in Georgia, with 21 individuals mounting campaigns. That’ll always most likely mean another election for a candidate to get a majority. There are some good sides to a two-party system. –eeb

Our country faces “Safe Harbor” deadline over the election soon

Editor, the Forum:

So here’s an interesting tidbit.  

Our country is facing the “Safe Harbor” Deadline. The U.S. Code (3 U.S.C. §5) provides that if election results are contested in any state, and if the state, prior to election day, has enacted procedures to settle controversies or contests over electors and electoral votes, and if these procedures have been applied, and the results have been determined six days before the electors’ meetings, then these results are considered to be conclusive, and will apply in the counting of the electoral votes. 

This date, known as the “Safe Harbor” deadline, falls on December 8 in 2020. The governor of any state where there was a contest, and in which the contest was decided according to established state procedures, is required (3 U.S.C. §6) to send a certificate describing the form and manner by which the determination was made to the Archivist as soon as practicable.

So, this is the date by which Georgia has to have its recount done and all litigation resolved. Looks like we’ll make it. 

— Theirn (TJ) Scott, Lawrenceville

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Send us your thoughts:  We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum.  Please limit comments to 300 words.  We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length.  Send feedback and letters to:  elliott@brack.net

UPCOMING

Largest-ever grant to GGC comes from Goizueta Foundation 

Thanks to a $750,000 grant from The Goizueta Foundation, the largest private grant in its history, Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) will expand programming in Living Learning Communities (LLCs), increase student mentoring and advising programs, and support recruitment and retention strategies. 

GGC President Jann L. Joseph says: “This grant will allow Georgia Gwinnett College to reach more students and make an incredible impact on their pathway to success. We’re so grateful to The Goizueta Foundation for recognizing and supporting GGC’s goal for its students.

LLCs—residential housing programs where students study in intentionally linked courses designed around an interest or academic focus area—are common in higher education. Students who participated in LLCs achieve a higher grade point average, demonstrate improved critical thinking skills, and make a smoother academic and social transition to the higher education setting, according to a 2010 study

At GGC, learning communities were launched in 2017 and focus on first-year students with courses matched to a student’s academic focus area. GGC offers six focus areas, including business, education, health professions, humanities and arts, social sciences and STEM.

One of the programs bolstered by the three-year phased grant includes the Spanish as a Heritage Language LLC, which targets first-year students who identify as Hispanic or Latino. Reflecting the rich demographics of Gwinnett County, Hispanics are a rapidly growing student population at GGC. U.S. News and World Report ranks GGC as the most ethnically diverse Southern regional college for the seventh year in a row. In 2008, GGC’s Hispanic student population was 6 percent. Recently released Hispanic enrollment numbers are at 25 percent.

To assist incoming and current Hispanic/Latino students who meet certain criteria, The Goizueta Foundation grant will help the college offer GGC Aspirational Recruitment Scholarships and Grizzly Success Retention Scholarships.

Duluth introduces “Eat Local Bingo” to help during COVID

To help support local businesses, the City of Duluth is introducing “Eat Local Bingo.”  The first round kicks off on November 16, 2020, and runs through January 31, 2021. Support for the game is coming from local bars, restaurants, cafes, and bakeries.

Here’s how people can  play:

You must download a bingo card from duluthga.net/eatlocal

Then you dine-in, carry out, order delivery, or purchase a gift card to any restaurant on the bingo card. Each purchase must be $20 or more, and patrons must save their receipts. All purchases should be made between November 16, 2020, and January 31, 2021.

When someone gets a valid bingo in a row (5 in a row), they should submit their information online at //duluthga.net/eatlocal. They may submit one separate entry for every valid bingo. If someone crosses off every square on their card, they will receive ten entries into the grand prize drawing.

The grand prize winner will be contacted by email on February 1, 2021, and they will have 48 hours to provide proof of purchase by showing receipts. If the winner is unable to provide proof of purchase, a new winner will be selected.

The grand prize will include gift cards and gifts purchased from local businesses with a value of $250.

NOTABLE

Jackson EMC donates $25,000 to Special Needs School 

A $25,000 check from Jackson EMC will help the Special Needs Schools of Gwinnett construct a new playground and recreation field.  At the check presentation from left, front row): Randy Dellinger, Jackson EMC Gwinnett district manager; and Jamie Hamilton. On the back row are members of the Schools’ board of directors, Bev Bailey, Chris Morris, Fred Masci, Susie Collat, and Board President Mike Maloney.

Jackson Electric Membership Corporation has donated $25,000 to the Special Needs Schools of Gwinnett of Lawrenceville, a nonprofit, private school serving special needs children, to construct a new playground and recreation field for students with disabilities. 

Jamie Hamilton, the school’s director of Community and Donor Engagement, says: “This donation will enable us to build a new playground with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant equipment and safety fencing.  

“Being able to provide our students with an expanded playground and new recreation field will be a tremendous upgrade to our recreational offerings on campus.  These areas will provide our students with both physical and cognitive benefits by allowing for a mental break during the day, increased social engagement, the opportunity to manage stress and release frustrations, along with healthy levels of exercise and physical engagement.  Our students will love these new amenities and we know they will help contribute to a better experience at SNS,” addsHamilton.

The Special Needs Schools of Gwinnett provides educational, therapeutic and early intervention services to more than 70 students ranging from preschool age to young adults with developmental or physical disabilities.   

RECOMMENDED

More Than You Know by Penny Vincenzi

From Karen J. Harris, Stone Mountain: Eliza Clark has a brilliant career as a fashion editor in 1960s London.  Matt Shaw is a working-class man who meets Eliza through her brother Charles. Their passionate affair results in a pregnancy.  Eliza and Matt marry though both sides of the family have concerns. The marriage is passionate and difficult because Matt believes Eliza should give up her career and stay with their child Emmeline.  As their daughter grows, she proves to be a challenging and strong-willed child.  In the mix also is Eliza’s family home, a wonderful moderate size mansion called Summercourt that having been in the family for generations is now showing signs of decay and decline.  This book is filled with many other colorful and vibrant characters that make this an engrossing and challenging experience.  The author has a gift for making multifaceted characters both likable and unlikable and yet still have you rooting for them.

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An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (150 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next.  Send to: elliott@brack.net 

GEORGIA TIDBIT

Savannah River, 313 miles long, forms border with S.C.

The Savannah River, one of Georgia’s longest and largest waterways, defines most of the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina. The river originates at the confluence of the Seneca and Tugaloo rivers in Hart County in eastern Georgia. The confluence also forms Lake Hartwell, a large reservoir built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Savannah River

Though the Savannah itself begins in the Piedmont geologic province, its tributary headwaters originate on the southwestern slopes of the rugged Blue Ridge geologic province of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Only about six percent of the Savannah’s entire drainage basin, however, lies within the Blue Ridge. The rest lies in the Piedmont and in the Upper and Lower Coastal Plain provinces.

On a map, the basin roughly resembles an arrowhead. It encompasses 10,577 square miles, of which 175 square miles are in southwestern North Carolina, 4,581 square miles are in western South Carolina, and 5,821 square miles are in eastern Georgia. In Georgia, the basin drains portions of 27 counties.

From Lake Hartwell, the Savannah River flows southeasterly for 313 miles across the Piedmont and the Upper Coastal Plain until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean approximately 15 miles downstream from the city of Savannah. As such, the Savannah is an alluvial stream, meaning that its waters originate in the mountains and the Piedmont and flow across the Coastal Plain to the ocean. The alluvial rivers transport large amounts of sediments, which contribute to the sand deposits on coastal islands, and of nutrients that nourish life in the river.

At the U.S. Geological Survey river gauge near Clyo, in Effingham County, the Savannah’s average annual flow is 12,040 cubic feet per second, one of the largest discharges of freshwater from any river in the Southeast. (One cubic foot equals about 7.4 gallons.) The gauge at Clyo, approximately 61 miles upstream of the mouth of the Savannah, is the most downstream gauge that records river discharges. Below this point, the Savannah is tidally influenced, and conventional river-flow measurement is unreliable.

On its journey to the sea, the Savannah flows through forests, agricultural lands, large hydroelectric reservoirs, and extensive swamps. It is known for its high bluffs, some of which were the locations of prehistoric Native American villages.

The river provides drinking water to two of Georgia’s major metropolitan areas, Augusta and Savannah, and assimilates their treated wastewater. It is also a source of drinking water for the cities of Beaufort and Hilton Head in South Carolina and for many smaller municipalities in the basin. In addition, the Savannah supplies water for the Savannah River Site, which includes the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, in South Carolina, as well as for the two nuclear reactors of Plant Vogtle, a major electricity-generating facility operated by Georgia Power Company in Burke County.

On the coast, the Savannah River is the shipping channel for the Port of Savannah, the nation’s tenth-busiest port for oceangoing container ships, which is operated by the Georgia Ports Authority. Before emptying into the Atlantic, the Savannah forms a braided network of tidal creeks, salt marshes, and freshwater marshes, much of which constitutes the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, one of Georgia’s prime bird-watching spots.

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MYSTERY PHOTO

Steeply-pitched roof of building is today’s Mystery Photo

Today’s Mystery Photo is a building constructed out of wood, with a steeply-pitched roof. It might remind you of some place, or some things. Put on your thinking cap and tell us where you think today’s Mystery Photo is located. Send your ideas to elliott@brack.net, to include your hometown. 

Wow! Look at the many people who were up on Georgia places and recognized the last Mystery Photo: Barbara Myers, Snellville; Stewart Woodard, Lawrenceville; Margot Ashley, Lilburn; Elaine Still, Braselton; Wally Watson, Stone Mountain; Billy Chism, Toccoa; Judy Putnam, Peachtree Corners; Sara Davis, Lawrenceville; Doug Cozart, Peachtree Corners; Ann Serrie, Lawrenceville;  Kay Montgomery, Duluth; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; Jim Savadelis, Duluth; Gloria James, Lawrenceville; Virginia Klaer, Duluth, who told us: “The chapel was planned by Cason Callaway as a tribute to his mother, inspired by 16th century Gothic chapels, and dedicated by Dr. Norman
Vincent Peale in 1962.”

Mikki Root Dillon of Lilburn wrote: “Of course it is the chapel at Callaway Gardens! I have Pleinair painted and photographed that area many times. I participated in three weeklong Pleinair Paintouts sponsored by the Callaway family several years ago and one Georgia Nature Photography Association conventions at Callaway Gardens and thoroughly enjoyed my times there!” 

George Graf, Palmyra, Va. wrote: “Memorial Chapel was carefully planned by Cason Callaway himself as a tribute to his mother. Inspired by 16th-century Gothic chapels, it is highlighted by a variety of materials native to its region, including fieldstone quartz. Beautifully crafted stained glass windows depict pines, soft woods and hardwoods, as well as the Southern forest in a progression of seasons. The majestic sounds of the chapel’s custom-built Muller pipe organ ring out during seasonal concerts. Today, the chapel is used for small weddings as well as a non-denominational service each Sunday morning throughout the summer. Special organ concerts are played these days from noon to 4 p.m. at the Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel.  Admission to the Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel is free with general admission to the gardens; it is open year-round.

Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex., said: “Today, the chapel is used for small weddings as well as a non-denominational Sunday morning service throughout the summer months and during the Christmas season.  You can hear the majestic sounds of the chapel’s custom-built Möller pipe organ during regular concerts that are normally held each weekend afternoon.”

And Kay Montgomery of Duluth  sent in this photo remembering her days performing on water at Callaway Gardens. That’s her husband, Mike, holding the ski reins…..and Kay.

LAGNIAPPE

FDR’s railcar now located at Duluth’s Railway Museum

Between 1933 and 1940, Franklin Delano Roosevelt used this Pullman car extensively during his tenures as governor of New York and president of the United States. During its time in service, the car hauled many dignitaries including Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, W. B. Woolworth, and W. L. Mellon. This historic Pullman car on November 14 was relocated to its new home at the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth. It transported President Roosevelt past the museum’s current location while en route to the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia.

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© 2020, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett County, Ga. USA.

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