GwinnettForum | Number 21.45 | June 15, 2021
ON A 1,409-MILE BIKING TRIP on the West Coast, we get this photo of John Upchurch of Duluth, on a mission to see close up a part of the states he had never seen before, and to raise money for his favorite charity, Riding for Onesies. For more details, see EEB Perspective below. (Photo by David Kim.)
TODAY’S FOCUS: Life returning to normal all around us; enjoy your summer
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Gwinnettian returns after pedaling 1,049 miles on West Coast trek
ANOTHER VIEW: Many newspapers are losing robust editorial voices
SPOTLIGHT: MTI Baths Inc. of
FEEDBACK: More on bocce ball and the pleasures that the games gives
UPCOMING: Gwinnett recycling gets new impact via Every Bottle Back program
NOTABLE: Brenau University nursing programs gets re-accredited
RECOMMENDED: The Performance of Becoming Human by Daniel Borzutzky
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Clayton McMichen gains early fame as Old-Time Fiddler
MYSTERY PHOTO: Check out today’s Mystery Photo of a Swinging Bridge
LAGNIAPPE: Contemporary painting of a tavern in Norcross now on display
CALENDAR: Photos, “From Russia with Love,” at Grayson Library through July 31
Life returning to normal all around us; enjoy your summer
By Debra Houston, contributing columnist
LILBURN, Ga. | Life is returning to normal. Can you feel it? The vaccinations have taken hold, and we’re slinging off our masks. It has been a beautiful Georgia spring, and we’re looking up, gazing at blue skies again.
The miracle of the vaccine has allowed us to escape the cocoon of our homes, and we’re giving ourselves permission to plan, travel, and socialize. Many have attended family graduation ceremonies and are looking forward to summer vacation.
My niece, Ysenia Medina of Loganville, graduated from South Gwinnett High School in Snellville on May 29. She plans to become a neonatologist, a doctor specializing in newborn care. She’ll start Georgia State University in the fall.
On the Sunday after her graduation, my husband and I attended a party in her honor. Elisa, her mom, cooked a spread worthy of ruining my diet, temporarily. Her dad, Wes, is serving overseas, and we hope he was able to see her graduate via YouTube which broadcasted it live.
Ysenia Medina, right, receives her diploma from South Gwinnett High School Principal Dorothy Jarrett.
My nephew Corey was also at the party and described his research in DNA and other topics I feigned to understand. I also got a hug from Briana, Ysenia’s sister, who is an aspiring artist at 13, and from sisters-in-law, Debra and Betty, and my oldest brother, Stan. We had a lot of catching up to do from our “down time” during COVID.
I haven’t been to the beach in eons, having twice gone on historical tours in Virginia and then nowhere last year. I wanted to book the Greyfield Inn on Cumberland Island, but after phoning, we discovered it was filled up. A call to a Gulf Shores resort yielded the same, so we made reservations in August after school restarts. I hope you’ve made reservations if you plan to travel.
The pandemic has offered us a unique perspective on life — and death. I wrote about my father-in-law succumbing to COVID, but I’m sure he wouldn’t begrudge his family a break from grief. If COVID taught us anything, it’s that anything can happen. Live a purposeful life with an open heart and refuse to be mired in fear. (Enjoy more by turning off cable news.)
Our economy is poised to explode, and our kids are smarter than we are! The media should highlight achievers — especially minorities — instead of always emphasizing those who consciously choose the wrong path. Regardless, we must offer our children love and encouragement.
So, kick back, relax, and have a wonderful summer.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Gwinnettian pedals 1,049 miles on West Coast trek
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
JUNE 15, 2021 | A Gwinnettian arriving Monday from San Francisco, Calif., has a good reason to be tired….after riding a bicycle from Anacortes, Wash. (at the top of Washington state) to San Francisco, 1,049 miles in 23 days.
He’s John Upchurch of Duluth, who was riding to raise funds for his favorite charity, Riding for Onesies, a collective impact initiative through Gwinnett Building Babies’ Brains. It’s a 501c3 with money raised going through the Gwinnett Schools Foundation. It’s this fund’s first public fund raising effort.
Pedaling for the first 14 days with John was David Kim also of Duluth, another advocate of early learning, and a cyclist.
We caught up with John Friday morning (June 11) in Gualala, Calif., his second night in a hotel room after a grueling ride on Thursday of 64 miles, his longest of the trip. Most nights were spent in campgrounds or parks, with two nights in a KOA cabin.
Why the trip? “I’m turning 60, and wanted to take this trip after a friend’s son did it. I’ve never seen this part of the world, and what better way to do it than on a bike.”
His favorite charity
John adds: “In Gwinnett we have 60,000 kids to age 5, and we find that 52 percent of them are not ready to enter the first grade. We want to raise awareness of early learning to get these kids ready for school.” So far John has raised $2,869.
John is associated with Scholastic Images, working with Gwinnett schools on their caps, gowns, jackets, images, etc. He is married to Marie, a teacher at Burnett Elementary School, and has two grown boys, and one grandchild.
Of his biking journey, John says he expected it to be hard. “We average 45-50 miles a day, depending on how steep the ground is. We have been lucky in that we had rain only one day, in Washington. There’s beauty at almost every turn, such as in the big redwoods, for three days. And other than traffic, there have been few problems, with roads mostly having wide shoulders and people used to bicyclists here. The logging trucks can be a problem, but they are the best drivers, giving us plenty of room. Our biggest problem is no phone signal, since I am with a company that doesn’t have good coverage here.”
Biking can be lonely
Luckily, there’s been no problem with his bike. “It’s a Surly Disc Trucker touring bike, made in the USA. With saddlebags front and back, plus the handlebars, its total packed weight is 85 pounds.”
One of his best surprises was when stopping for a sandwich in Elk, Calif., and enjoying it with the local postmaster. “She suggested we visit the nearby western most point in the USA at Manchester Bay. We wouldn’t have done that without her advice.”
As for food, “It’s whatever you can get at a convenience store.” He’s drinking Gatorade Lite, which gives additional electrolytes, for refreshments. “In Washington and Oregon, we had a lot of clam chowder, which was good, since it was cold there, down in the mid 40s at night.”
A surprising part of the trip for John: “I haven’t looked at news for three weeks, and it makes me feel so peaceful. That’s been nice. And I’ve really enjoyed the people I’ve come into contact with. It gives me a good feeling about America. People I’ve seen are truly good folks, not mean and angered.”
- To learn more about the trip, go to: https://buildingbabiesbrains.com/riding-for-the-onesies/. Be sure to scroll down to “View Previous Daily Rides,” and follow the biking down the West Coast.
(It appears the most recent upload on the website is from last Thursday. Here are links to the most recent rides which should be updated on the website soon: June 11 | June 12 | June 13.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Many newspapers are losing robust editorial voices
By Andy Brack
Publisher, Charleston City Paper
JUNE 15, 2021, Charleston, S.C. | Pick up a newspaper in many towns in South Carolina and you’re likely to find something missing: a robust editorial page.
Over the last few years, editorial pages have been dying as big media organizations with an eye to profit made cut after cut, relegating many pages of opinion to shadows of their former selves. Blame it on greed. Blame it on the rise of social media or Internet competition. But one thing is clear – a reduction in opinion is not a good thing for communities that want to remain vibrant.
“A newspaper without a good editorial voice is a newspaper with a fairly weak soul,” said Ferrell Guillory, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill media professor and former Raleigh editorial writer.
“Newspapers don’t demand that people agree with them, but are a principal instrument in setting a community’s agenda,” he said. “And so when you lose that voice, you lose part of its identity, part of the soul of a community.”
You don’t have to agree with what’s said on an editorial page. What some writer professes might make you spit up your morning coffee. But that’s what a good community newspaper is supposed to do – to challenge readers to think and give them information that they can use to make informed decisions about their town, county, state and nation.
Newspaper editorial pages are just as important to democracy as bills, votes and public meetings. A good local newspaper with a thoughtful, sometimes cantankerous, editorial binds a community. Without a good editorial and watchdog voice, communities drift, relying too often on big personalities, chambers of commerce or something else for leadership. Throw a newspaper into the mix and you have a calming and vigorous voice that can spearhead change for the good.
“The community and newspaper depend on each other,” Guillory said. “The community has important decisions to make. An editorial page helps the community come to grips with the big issues facing them. And part of the way we do that in a democracy is debate.”
Unfortunately across America, local newspapers are dying. A new study by UNC-CH shows more than one in five newspapers have closed in the last 15 years. In South Carolina, Allendale County has no newspaper. In neighboring Georgia, 28 of 159 counties have no newspaper. Across the country, nearly half of 3,143 counties have just one newspaper, usually a small weekly.
But just as alarming are “ghost” newspapers that are shells of what they were. Compare The State in Columbia or the Greenville News in Greenville, both vibrant and thick newspapers 20 years ago, to today’s product, now owned by big corporations. Despite good journalism still coming from local reporters at those papers, the daily newspaper feels flimsy. Their editorial voices have dimmed.
Editorial voices from newspapers are a vital component to help people vent, share ideas and find common ground. But for editorial voices to do their jobs to be a glue for communities, media owners have to stop killing them off.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
MTI Baths Inc.
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s featured sponsor is MTI Baths Inc. of Sugar Hill. MTI Baths is a manufacturer of high-quality acrylic and engineered solid surface bath products, including whirlpools, air and soaking baths; lavatories; shower bases; and kitchen sinks. MTI’s patented Fill-Flush® and Simple Touch® whirlpool cleaning systems are the best on the market. MTI now offers engineered solid surface–countertops and sinks. Every product is custom-made to order and shipped within seven business days. We are now operating in an additional manufacturing plant of 38,000 square foot. CEO of the firm is Kathy Adams, while Russell Adams is president.
- Visit their web site at http://www.mtibaths.com/.
- For a list of other sponsors of this forum, click here.
More on bocce ball and the pleasures the games gives
Editor, the Forum:
Duluth has a bocce ball court at the top of the town green. Free to all; just bring your own stuff.
I believe the developers of the Sweet Octopus restaurant built it.
— K.J. “Kelly” Kelkenberg, city councilman, City of Duluth
Editor, the Forum:
Memories! My favorite Italian restaurant on Long Island, N.Y., was a charming place, decorated like a farmyard, with delicious food, a delightful staff, AND a bocce court— in the center of the dining room! Waiting for your food was a pleasure…we played bocce instead of grumbling, and hung out in the lounge so we could get in an extra game. Fond memories!
— Keni Woodruff, Lithonia
Editor, the Forum:
I was introduced to bocce while living in Boston while in college as it was a popular pastime at many Italian social clubs that I was occasionally invited. Tremendous, low-impact game of skill and fun that requires about 60 feet of level ground. However, that is about 50 feet more level ground than can be easily found in all of north Georgia!
— Joe Briggs, Suwanee
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, and include your hometown. The views of letters are the opinion of the contributor. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net.
Gwinnett recycling gets new impact via Every Bottle Back
Households in unincorporated Gwinnett County now have access to recycle more, thanks to a grant from The Recycling Partnership, with financial support proved by American Beverage’s Every Bottle Back initiative.
The Recycling Partnership’s $100,000 grant will deliver an estimated 8,400 new recycling carts to unincorporated households across the County, unlocking more than 2.7 million pounds of new quality recyclables that can then be transformed into new products and packaging.
Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson says: “We are very pleased and grateful to The Recycling Partnership for the generous grant to enhance our recycling efforts. In Gwinnett County, we believe in recycling. It reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills, conserves natural resources, prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect raw materials, saves energy, and strengthens our economic security. We’re looking forward to seeing an increase in recyclables in Gwinnett County because of this grant.”
Any household in unincorporated Gwinnett County is eligible to request a new recycling cart provided by the County. To receive their free recycling cart, residents of unincorporated Gwinnett County can simply respond to the postage-paid mailer they receive, submit a request online at gcsolidwate.com, or call 770-822-7771. If you already have a recycling cart, the County encourages residents to continue using it to recycle and place it at the curb for collection on their assigned day.
Schelly Marlatt, executive director of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, says: “We are honored to work alongside the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners and The Recycling Partnership to take curbside recycling in Gwinnett County to the next level.”
In addition to providing new, large, lidded recycling carts, The Recycling Partnership and Gwinnett County have launched a recycling education campaign encouraging residents to Know What to Throw by recycling the right things, the right way, an initiative designed to improve curbside recycling across households in unincorporated Gwinnett County. The campaign is expected to reach the County’s near 200,000 households and will include a mailer that informs residents about what to recycle and how to request a recycling cart, billboards, social media, and other education and outreach initiatives to help households recycle the right things the right way.
Juneteenth celebration to be June 19 at Rhodes Jordan Park
Join the United Ebony Society of Gwinnett and Gwinnett County Government to celebrate Juneteenth with a day of fun for the entire family Saturday, June 19 at Rhodes Jordan Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m..
Juneteenth is the oldest celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. This year’s Juneteenth festival includes historical presentations, performances, music, games, and food trucks. Rhodes Jordan Park is located at 100 East Crogan Street in Lawrenceville.
Brenau University nursing programs gets re-accredited
Brenau University has been granted 10-year accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education for its Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and post-master’s certificate in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner programs.
The reaccreditation of the BSN and MSN programs and new accreditation of the post-master’s certificate comes after a two-year review process that began in the fall of 2019. That was followed by an on-site evaluation of the Mary Inez Grindle School of Nursing in the Ivester College of Health Sciences in September, 2020.
In granting full accreditation for the maximum 10-year period, CCNE determined that Brenau’s programs met all four of its standards for program quality and effectiveness, including mission and governance, resources, curriculum and program outcomes. CCNE also found no compliance concerns in any areas for the programs, which are accredited through September 2030.
Troy Heidesch, director of the Mary Inez Grindle School of Nursing, said the CCNE accreditation is a powerful representation of the quality of Brenau University’s nursing programs. “This is what happens when excellent faculty, robust student services, clinical placements with leading-edge health care partners and teamwork meet the quality education and exceptional students at Brenau.”
Heidesch said Brenau is in the process of getting an initial accreditation for its Doctor of Nursing Practice program, with site visits scheduled for October.
Gale Starich, dean of the Ivester College of Health Sciences, said the CCNE accreditations exemplify the Mary Inez Grindle School of Nursing’s mission to prepare professional nurse leaders by challenging students to be globally aware, embrace lifelong learning, enhance health and be extraordinary practitioners of the art and science of nursing.
- For more information about the Mary Inez Grindle School of Nursing at Brenau University, visit brenau.edu/nursing.
The Performance of Becoming Human by Daniel Borzutzky
From Karen J. Harris, Stone Mountain: Daniel Borzutzky’s The Performance of Becoming Human is a poetic journey through the lives of people caught in the maze of trying to improve their lives. He offers stark and bleak pictures of not only those who attempt to leave home countries searching for hope but also those caught on the lower rungs of U.S. society with little hope for surpassing their lot. Some of the poems are laced with Spanish language phrases which enhance the mood and flow of the text and the meaning of it. Raw, poignant and fluid, the17 story/poems will reach into the reader’s mind and imagination sometimes with startling effects.
- 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
McMichen gains early fame as old-time fiddler
Clayton McMichen became one of the most successful and respected fiddlers to gain experience and exposure at the Georgia Old-Time Fiddlers’ Conventions, held in Atlanta from 1913 to 1935.
McMichen was born on January 26, 1900, at Allatoona, in Cobb County. With a father who played fiddle and a grandfather who played banjo, he showed an interest in music at an early age. By the time he was11 years old, he was playing the fiddle and eagerly learning the ancient tunes that had been handed down in his family. His first documented appearance at the Atlanta fiddlers’ conventions was in 1922, when he won second place for his rendition of “Arkansas Traveler.”
On September 18, 1922, a mere six months after Atlanta’s first radio station, WSB, went on the air, McMichen and a group of his musician friends, calling themselves the Home Town Boys, made their broadcast debut. They soon became one of the most frequently appearing acts on the station, and their programs, featuring a mixture of fiddle tunes, popular jazz numbers, and familiar ballads, provided entertainment for WSB listeners over the next four years.
In 1923, at a fiddlers’ contest in Macon, McMichen won first place with his fiddling ability, and a newspaper reporter covering the event dubbed him “The North Georgia Wildcat.” The epithet stuck, and McMichen’s future fiddle bands became known as the Georgia Wildcats. Between 1926 and 1930 McMichen recorded with Gid Tanner‘s famous Skillet Lickers, an influential Atlanta-based old-time string band. Modern critics have given McMichen much of the credit for the success of the Skillet Lickers, citing his jazzy but polished fiddling. McMichen himself criticized some of his fellow Skillet Lickers band members for being “about thirty years” behind the times in their musical styles and repertoire.
On January 13, 1931, McMichen made what was apparently his last appearance on Atlanta radio with a broadcast over WSB. He subsequently worked on various radio stations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Midwest, and in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was a member of the Grand Ole Opry. McMichen settled in Louisville, Ky., where, for many years before his retirement in 1955, he was heard regularly on local radio and television stations. During the last ten years of his professional career McMichen led his band in Dixieland jazz arrangements that met with enthusiasm among his audiences.
McMichen was rediscovered during the 1960s folk music revival, and for several years he made appearances on college campuses and at bluegrass and folk festivals around the country. Although known primarily for his performances on stage, radio, and records, McMichen was a songwriter of considerable talent. Some of his compositions that gained wide acceptance among country musicians were “My Carolina Home,” “Dear Old Dixie Land,” “Peach Pickin’ Time in Georgia,” and “Georgiana Moon.” He died in Battletown, Ky., on January 3, 1970.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to http://georgiaencyclopedia.org
Check out today’s Mystery Photo of a swinging bridge
Today’s Mystery Photo shows a swinging bridge….way above crags and water far below. Note its long path to the other side of the hill crag on the right. You may know where this is and what it’s called. Send your answer to elliott@brack.net to include your hometown.
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex. was one of two people who identified the previous mystery. He wrote: “This mystery photo is of the bronze Fallen Soldier Battlefield Cross statue, part of the Johns Creek Veterans Memorial Walk in Newton Park, Johns Creek, Ga. There are many different versions and derivatives of the Fallen Soldier Battlefield Cross statue, and many of them are available for purchase in varying sizes online.
“This particular statue is situated in the “Never Forget Garden” along the Johns Creek Veterans Memorial Walk, a world-class memorial dedicated to veterans, their families and supporters, in Newton Park. It is the fourth-largest veterans’ park in the USA to honor veterans who died in war. The statue depicts an AR-15, a helmet with a ‘Kevlar’ covering, and a pair of Sand Goggles, which are typically used during combat in the Middle East. It was commissioned by William M. Camden, the ‘Faithful Navigator’ for the Fourth Degree Order of Knights of Columbus, and representing the All Saints, Mary Our Queen and Saint Andrews parishes of Gwinnett County. A plaque below the statues is entitled ‘ALL GAVE SOME – SOME GAVE ALL.’. As to the question “What artist compiled this sculpture” … well, that’s up in the air, with several artists creating similar works.”
George Graf of Palmyra, Va. also identified the statue location, adding: “I’m working on trying to find out the sculptor artist and any other info.” The photo came from the camera of Mollie Titus of Peachtree Corners.
* * * **
It is with sadness that GwinnettForum passes on the information that the wife of George Graf, Diane, of Palmyra, Va., died last week after a long illness. See her obituary at top right of this page. We send George and his family our condolences.
Look at this contemporary painting now on display at the Norcross Galleries and Studios, formerly Kudzu Arts Center. It’s Laurenthia Mesh’s conception of the Iron Horse Tavern in downtown Norcross. The gallery is open Fridays from 12 to 6 p.m., and on Saturdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Phone is 770-840-9844 and the website is www.kudzuartzone.org.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Photographs of Russia by Frank Sharp of Lawrenceville will be on exhibit at the Grayson Library, 750 Grayson Parkway, through July 31. Entitled, “From Russia with Love,” these stunning, colorful photos show Sharp’s ability to capture scenes in a thoughtful, unique manner. Hours at all Gwinnett libraries are 10 a.m. through 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday;10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday; and noon until 5 p.m. on Sunday.
It’s summertime! Gwinnett’s outdoor pools and aquatics centers are now open. Our aquatic centers offer water play structures, giant water slides, picnic areas, and more. Gwinnett Parks and Recreation also offers private, semi-private, and group swim lessons and private rental opportunities. All pools are accessible for people with disabilities and are safe, supervised, and open to residents of all ages.Visit GwinnettParks.com for locations, hours, and rules.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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