GwinnettForum | Number 25.83 | Oct. 24, 2025
TO AID HOMELESS: The City of Lawrenceville and Impact46 will work together to address homelessness through compassion, innovation, and collaboration. This building at 179 Plainview Drive will be renovated to provide eight apartments. For more detail, see Upcoming below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Gwinnett resident heads 173 year old engineering society
EEB PERSPECTIVE: After reading this, perhaps a jingle will hit you!
SPOTLIGHT: Gwinnett Place CID
FEEDBACK: Nostalgic, remembering what she liked about newspapers
UPCOMING: Lawrenceville plans rehab of building for homeless
NOTABLE: Tidal Wave’s Charity Day nets Annandale $347,227
RECOMMENDED: The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Carpet industry mainly in four North Georgia counties
MYSTERY PHOTO: Wooden pathway
LAGNIAPPE: The cost of an NFL hot dog
CALENDAR: Braselton’s Artisan Festival will be Oct. 25-26
Gwinnett resident heads 173-year-old engineering society
(Editor’s note: a Gwinnett resident is the new president of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Here’s what she writes about this long-standing organization.-eeb).
By Marsha Bomar
DULUTH, Ga. | The American Society of Civil Engineers is a 173-year-old membership society of professionals who plan, design, build, construct and operate all forms of infrastructure. With more than 160,000 members in 177 countries, individuals work in the public, private, non-profit and academic arenas.
Together with staff, members produce many codes and standards that promote health, safety and public welfare in the built environment. Technical content is developed through nine technical institutes, covering architecture-engineering, geotechnical, environment and water resources, transportation and development, utility engineering and surveying, coastal/ocean/ports/rivers, engineering mechanics, structural engineering, and construction.
The Center for Technical Advancement houses the committees that deal with resilience, sustainability, forensics and other cross-cutting topics. ASCE is most well-known in the advocacy arena for The Report Card on America’s Infrastructure which was instrumental in the passage of the Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Law known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Activities of the organization include supporting Sections and Branches across North America and around the world. In Georgia, there are four branches: Northeast, South Metro, South Georgia and Savannah. In 2024, the Georgia Section produced an Infrastructure Report Card. Monthly meetings feature speakers on topics related to all of the infrastructure projects and programs around the state.
Dedicated volunteers work on technical matters, but also provide tremendous support for STEM outreach (k-12) as well as College clubs and chapters. Students participate in many local activities but also have the chance to compete in Student Symposia. Events at the symposia include Concrete Canoe Races, Steel Bridge building, Timber Strong home building, Sustainable Solutions and much more. In the 2025 competition season, more than 10,000 students participated, including those from the U.S., Canada, China, India and Mexico.
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is part of the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine. NAE was formed in 1964 to formalize the engineering leadership in the nation, as part of the legacy with the National Academy of Sciences established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the government on issues related to science and technology. Members are called upon to provide their expertise in a non-partisan, objective and independent manner to inform discussions of national importance. The work also includes informing the public about the important contributions of engineering. The Academy also promotes STEM education through their programs Engineer Girl and Engineer Teen.
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After reading this, perhaps a jingle will hit you!
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
OCT. 24, 2025 | Radio jingles (songs) used to be a good way to sell products. Back when commercial radio stations were dominant, before television or today’s Internet, radio jingles promoted many commercial products. Most of my generation easily remembers them. You may often sing along or hum those popular jingles.
It all began out of St. Paul, Minn., in 1926, when Wheaties, the breakfast cereal, suffered a decline in sales. They hired a local barbershop quarter to sing these lyrics on radio. It went like this:
“Have you tried Wheaties? They’re whole wheat with all of the bran.
Won’t you try Wheaties? For wheat is the best food of man,”
They’re crispy and crunchy the whole year through
The kiddies never tire of them, and neither will you.
Just trrrry Wheaties, the best breakfast food in the land.
That put Wheaties along on its life which went on to become as we know it today, the “Breakfast of Champions,” with one famous athlete after another on the front of its box.
Growing up in Georgia, Coca-Cola was our favorite cold drink. But Pepsi, a North Carolina product, had a better jingle.
Pepsi Cola hits the spot
Twelve full ounces, that’s a lot
Twice as much for a nickel too.
Pepsi-Cola is the drink for you.
Nickel, nickel, nickel, nickel….
We love the double meaning of this jingle, sung for emphasis: “Twice as much and you get more, too!” That’s a reminder of its size, in case you overlooked it, and it’s directly aimed at its major competitor, Coke, which was served then in only six ounce bottles.
Then there was Chevrolet jingle, sung by Dinah Shore:
Drive the Chevrolet through the USA, America’s the greatest land of all.
On a highway or a road along a levee, the performance is the sweetest, nothing can beat us, life is so sweeter in a Chevy.
So make a date today to see the USA, and see it in your Chevrolet.
Let’s list some other classics we bet you remember:
- “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.” (Coke).
- “Plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is.”(Alka-Seltzer).
- “Double your pleasure, double your fun, with double good, double good, Doublemint Gum.”
- “Brylcreem, a little dab will do ya. Brylcreem, you feel so debonaire!”
- “I’m a Pepper, he’s a Pepper, she’s a Pepper, we’re a Pepper, wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper, too?” (Dr. Pepper).
- “My dog’s better than your dog, my dog’s better than yours.” (Kennel Ration).
- “I’m stuck on Band-Aid brand ‘cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me.”
- “You’ll wonder where the yellow went / When you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.”
- “Halo, everybody, Halo! Halo is the shampoo that glorifies your hair.” (Shampoo).
- “Snap, what a happy sound, Snap Crackle Pop.”
- ‘I’d love to be an Oscar Meyer wiener….”
- And then on television, there was housewife Ann Miller disrobing into a dance costume to sing “Make way for the Great American soup” for Campbell’s Soup.
Perhaps reading through these catchy tunes, a jingle popped into your mind. Do you have one that is your favorite?,
Ah, what memories!
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Gwinnett Place CID
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s underwriting sponsor is the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District (CID). It is a self-taxing district that uses additional property taxes to accelerate infrastructure improvements, security enhancements and economic development initiatives. The CID is leading the effort to expedite mobility, quality of life and job creation strategies for the benefit of businesses, employees, and visitors to Gwinnett’s central business district. Through partnerships with Gwinnett County Government, the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, the State of Georgia and others, the CID has a proven track record of improvements that are transforming Gwinnett Place. While the Gwinnett Place CID comprises less than one percent of Gwinnett County’s landmass, the area has a $15.9 Billion annual economic impact on the state of Georgia. Representing seven percent of all Gwinnett County jobs, the district’s 2,054 companies and 28,688 workers produce $7.5 billion in sales each year and $2.1 billion in earnings (wages + benefits). For more information, visit GwinnettPlaceCID.com and VisitGwinnettPlace.com.
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Nostalgic, remembering what she liked about newspapers
Editor, the Forum:
On the news the other day I saw that newspaper companies are closing their doors for good because of the high cost of keeping them running and printing the paper around the country.
I have loved reading the newspaper since I was a little kid. My grandfather, Nuel Songer, worked for the Miami Herald. I also had two uncles who worked for the Herald. As a boy, my dad had a paper route around the Coral Gables area.
What makes me sad about losing the printed word on newsprint paper will be things like the comics (I loved Lil’ Abner, Dick Tracy, Peanuts and a lot of the new ones like Family Circle). As I got older, I would read the editor’s page and letters to the editor. I was even featured in my hometown paper’s social section when my dad’s boss’ wife threw a fancy afternoon tea for my elopement. I eventually loved reading obituaries, those who had interesting stories. The funnier, the better.
But now, newsprint won’t be there for those of us who don’t mind the ink getting all over our hands. I cherish all those items I have cut out of the newspaper. I have saved them in books. But those won’t last forever either. I’m sure they will get tossed when my children and grandchildren clean out the stuff I have accumulated over the years, once I have gone.
– Sara Rawlins, Lawrenceville
Wants permanent return to standard time
Editor, the Forum:
First, Daylight Savings Time (DST) ends November 2, not begins.
Second, let me cast a huge YEA! vote for moving the clocks back to Standard Time and leaving them there, permanently.
So-called “Daylight Savings” time is an enormous ruse. It saves nothing, but merely moves an hour of daylight from one end of the day to the other. It accomplishes nothing except giving millions of people “poor man’s jet lag” twice a year from adjusting the time.
Most people don’t remember it, but the United States tried year-round DST in the 1970’s and the uproar was tremendous. The biggest squawk was regarding the very dark and cold hour of the day that children had to board school buses in winter. The experiment lasted only one year.
It is well past time to end this farce and stay on Standard time.
– Robert H. Hanson, Loganville
No way he’s bending his only knee to a king
Editor, the Forum:
At the No Kings rally in Oklahoma City, the city’s newspaper, The Oklahoman, interviewed Brian Wofford, an Army vet who was wounded during the Iraq War. Wofford, wearing his green service coat, explained why he chose to attend.
He said, “I was willing to die and lost my leg fighting for their rights. There’s no way I’m bending the only knee I have left for a king here in America….I can’t sit by while rights are being trampled and ignored. And people are pushed and treated like second class citizens.”
In response to the No Kings rallies President Trump aired an AI generated video which showed him with a crown on his head flying a jet while dumping excrement on a No Kings rally.
Whenever we think Trump couldn’t go any lower, he proves us wrong.
– John Titus, Peachtree Corners.
Democrats have issue staring them in the face!
Editor, the Forum:
The stated policy of every Democrat seeking the presidency should be that the first thing they will do is demolish the Trump ballroom and restore the East Wing of the White House and the White House grounds to their pre-Trump state.
Period. It’s the easiest layup in the history of politics. Trump’s transformation of the People’s House into a presidential palace is undemocratic. Presidents are not kings. Erasing this monstrosity is a fundamental statement about the right-ordering of our project in self-government.
Why is this so hard? Why haven’t Democrats already laid out a marker on this?
Oh, and one other question: Is the East Wing teardown and creation of a new structure that dwarfs the existing White House the kind of thing someone does with a rental?
– Michael Wood, Peachtree Corners
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Lawrenceville plans rehab of building for homeless
The City of Lawrenceville and Impact46 celebrated the grand opening of the F.I.R.S.T. Housing Center, marking a major milestone in the city’s efforts to address homelessness through compassion, innovation, and collaboration.
Located at 179 Plainview Drive, the Center transforms a 70-year-old brick building into eight private, apartment-style units offering transitional housing for men experiencing homelessness in Lawrenceville and greater Gwinnett County. One of the units is fully ADA-accessible, ensuring the Center can serve residents with mobility needs. The building has been fully renovated with new plumbing, walls, windows, and air conditioning, preserving its historic character while giving it a new purpose. The Center is scheduled to open in early November 2025.
The F.I.R.S.T. Housing Center provides a place to live free of charge for men referred through the Lawrenceville Police Department and other community partners. Upon entry, each resident completes a psychosocial assessment with a licensed clinician and works with a case manager to develop an individualized plan for stability and long-term success. Residents may stay up to 89 days while accessing counseling, workforce connections, and other supportive services through the Lawrenceville Response Center (LRC), operated by Impact46.
The City of Lawrenceville owns the property and serves as landlord, while Impact46 operates the program and manages services through the LRC. The Center’s name, F.I.R.S.T., stands for For Intensive Response and Supportive Transitions—principles that guide its mission and daily work.
“The F.I.R.S.T. Housing Center reflects Lawrenceville’s commitment to addressing homelessness with both compassion and accountability,” said Mayor David Still. “It’s a place of transition—helping men move from crisis to stability with dignity and renewed opportunity.”
While there are shelters and homes for women, children, and families in the county, there have been none dedicated to single men, which is a gap the F.I.R.S.T. Housing Center now fills. The program’s non-congregate housing model, featuring private apartments supported by wraparound care, provides the stability needed for residents to rebuild their lives.
Jen Young, executive director of Impact46 says:. “Lawrenceville has chosen to set a higher standard for how we respond to homelessness.This project is proof that when a city leads with vision and compassion, partners from every sector rally to make change possible. Together, we’ve transformed a neglected property into a place that restores dignity and hope for men rebuilding their lives.”
The F.I.R.S.T. Housing Center is the result of a collaborative partnership between the City of Lawrenceville, Impact46, and a network of community, nonprofit, and faith-based partners. The initiative was supported by federal HOME-ARP grant funding administered through Gwinnett County and matched by local resources.
Key partners include ViewPoint Health, the Lawrenceville Co-Op, Georgia Center for Opportunity, Streetwise, and the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia, along with neighborhood and faith-based organizations and foundations whose generosity helped make the project possible.
Tidal Wave’s Charity Day nets Annandale $347,227
Tidal Wave Auto Spa’s 17th Annual Charity Day in September has raised a record-breaking $347,227 in support of longtime nonprofit partner Annandale Village.
Kayce Pearce, chief development and marketing officer at Annandale Village says: “We are deeply grateful for the generosity of Tidal Wave and their patrons. This incredible charitable investment strengthens our mission to provide care, support, and opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries.”
Located in Suwanee, Annandale Village is a nonprofit residential community serving adults with developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries. One of only three nonprofits in the United States providing a full continuum of care, Annandale offers lifelong residential services, two day programs, and respite care for area families across its 55-acre campus.
Tidal Wave’s Charity Day, held this year on September 19, gives 100 percent of its funds to nonprofits. Half of each location’s proceeds benefit a local nonprofit of their choosing, while the remaining half supports Annandale Village. There were 295 participating Tidal Wave locations across the United States this year, making it the company’s largest Charity Day to date.
Tidal Wave CEO and founder Scott Blackstock says: “We are grateful to everyone who came out to Tidal Wave to support our Charity Day event. We’re proud to make a difference for these incredible organizations during Charity Day and raise funds that help them to continue the important and impactful work they do within our communities.”
The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka
From Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill: In this German classic, a young man named Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to discover that he has mysteriously changed into a huge bug. This story – famous for inspiring many interpretations -is about how Gregor and his family react to his change. As Gregor adapts to his bug state, he nearly forgets all his humanness. However, his compassion for his family seldom wavers. Unfortunately, his family members are so repulsed and angered by his ‘metamorphosis’ that they virtually ignore him. Eventually, they abandon the notion that this bug is really their Gregor at all. This is a sad tale but an eye opener. I think the story could be a metaphor for how some families fail to cope with the dramatic changes of an elderly person who can no longer function adequately, and who no longer seems to be the person they once knew and loved.
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Carpet industry mainly in four North Georgia counties
“Like a story-book romance reads the history of the colorful tufted textile industry.” So the Tufted Textile Manufacturers Association boasted in its 1950 directory. “No other industry,” according to the trade association, “can boast so phenomenal a growth all within the lifetime of its founder,” Whitfield County native Catherine Evans Whitener. Whitener had revived the handcraft of tufting in the 1890s.
The craft spread like wildfire, and by the 1920s thousands of men and women in north Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee had created a thriving cottage industry in the production of tufted bedspreads. In the 1930s mechanics adapted surplus industrial-grade Singer sewing machines from the New York garment trades for use in the burgeoning industry. The new tufting machines speeded the industry’s conversion from home manufacture to factories and encouraged it to move toward mass production.
The carpet industry remains heavily concentrated in Georgia in the 21st century. Unemployment rates in Whitfield, Murray, Gordon, and Bartow counties (the heart of the carpet district) were consistently among the lowest in the state.
Around 1950 old spread-making firms like Cabin Crafts and brand new maverick companies like E. T. Barwick Mills (based in Chamblee with mills in Dalton and Lafayette) began using tufting machines to cover the entire surface of a room-sized piece of backing material with raised tufts of yarn. Working primarily with cotton, the new manufacturers could produce carpets that resembled woven goods.
The new tufting process was much more efficient. A tufted cotton carpet sold for about half the cost of a similar woven wool product. Cotton carpets were of poorer quality, however, and woven manufacturers derided the new products as glorified bedspreads.
Du Pont helped the new industry solve this problem by introducing bulked continuous filament (BCF) nylon in 1957. Georgia tufting companies had already begun catching up with woven manufacturers even as they worked with inferior materials. Du Pont’s nylon fibers proved comparable to wool in performance but remained inexpensive. The marriage of the new production technology with synthetic fibers like BCF nylon created an economic boom in northwest Georgia.
During the late 1980s and 1990s manufacturers found a solution to the vexing labor shortage; Hispanic workers, many of them illegal immigrants, began moving to the Dalton area in large numbers. As Georgia’s carpet industry entered the new millennium, a large portion of the mill workforce consisted of Hispanic immigrants (no reliable numbers existed as of early 2000, but estimates ran from one-quarter to one-half).
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia article online, go to https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.orghttps://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/carpet-industry/
Wooden pathway
Here’s a wooden walkway leading to an interesting looking building. Where is this scene? Bonus points: What’s the building’s significance? Hint: It’s in the United States. Send your guess to ebrack2@gmail.com.
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas, told us: “Today’s mystery photo is of the Looking Glass Falls, located in the Pisgah National Forest near the town of Brevard, NC, approximately 25 miles southwest of Asheville. The main falls are 60 feet tall and fed by the Looking Glass Creek, which flows off the Blue Ridge Escarpment.
“Unlike many other waterfalls in the area, a unique aspect of this site is its easy, year-round accessibility, making it one of the state’s most accessible and photographed waterfalls. In winter, ice formations around the cascade create a crystalline wonderland, while in summer, visitors often wade in the cool plunge pool below.
“If you look at these falls in the photo, you may be wondering why they are called Looking Glass Falls? The name comes from Looking Glass Rock, a nearby granite monolith that glistens like a mirror when icy water coats its face in winter. Early settlers were captivated by the reflective quality, and the name ‘Looking Glass’ soon extended to the surrounding creek and its iconic falls.”
Others with the right answer were George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; and Stewart Oglivie, Rehobeth, Ala.
- SHARE A MYSTERY PHOTO: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Click here to send an email and please mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
The cost of an NFL hot dog
According to NFL Memes on Facebook, the least expensive hot dog at an NFL stadium is … wait for it … in Atlanta: just $2. You can get five at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the price of one in Buffalo, Oakland, San Diego and Los Angeles.
Braselton’s Artisan Festival will be Oct. 25-26
Deutsche Klassic German car show will be in downtown Norcross from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 25. There will be over 250 classic German automobiles on display, including BMWs, Audis, Porsches, Mercedes Benzes, Volkswagens, and Opels, car enthusiasts will enjoy a polka band and traditional German cuisine.
Braselton’s Antique and Artisan Festival will be October 25 and 26, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The largest antique festival in the series takes over downtown for two days of shopping! Explore 300+ vendors featuring handcrafted goods, repurposed items, home décor, boutique, and local art. Enjoy tasty food, live music, and a pet-friendly scene!
The Gwinnett Stripers are partnering with Dippin’ Dots to host Boo! at the Ballpark, a community Halloween event at Coolray Field on Saturday, October 25. It will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Parking and entry are free, but fans must secure their tickets online in advance. The all-ages event, running from 1-5 p.m., includes trick-or-treating on the main concourse; costume wiffle ball, hay rides, tie dying; and more holiday fun, plus lots of food and drink. For local businesses or organizations that would like to get involved in trick-or-treating, call 678-277-0321.
Film Screening: Pride and Prejudice, and Zombies, as part of the Gwinnett Reads Jane Austen series, will be at the Suwanee Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library on October 29 at 3 p.m. Enjoy the afternoon movie and popcorn, celebrating the 250th birthday anniversary of Jane Austen.
The 13th annual Georgia Military Veterans Hall of Fame induction ceremony and banquet will be held in Columbus, Ga. on Saturday, November 1, 2025, beginning at noon at the Saint Luke Ministry Center (301 11 Street). This annual event is open to the public. For reservations, reply no later than October 25 to Debbie.Freeman77@Gmail.com or call 706-575-9173 (after 5 p.m.).
The fifth annual Harvest Festival is Lawrenceville’s homegrown music and arts fest featuring national acts and favorite local performers! It’s on Saturday, November 1, from noon. to 6 p.m. on the Lawrenceville Lawn as the festival celebrates everything autumn. Save your jack-o’-lanterns for The Great Pumpkin Smash and enjoy other nostalgic games and contests! This free family-friendly event features a wide range of activities and entertainment. Take a stroll through the marketplace, to shop for locally made crafts, goods, and other artisanal products and indulge in an array of fall-themed food and beverages.
The Gwinnett Symphony will present a Shostakovich program at its November 2 program at Discovery Theater at 1335 Old Norcross Road Lawrenceville at 7 p.m. It performs Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 conducted by Gregory Pritchard. It is paired with Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, conducted by Misaki Hall, winner of the 2025 International Conductors Workshop and Competition. The second half highlights the rising talent of the Youth Orchestra performing cinematic and dramatic works by Newbold, Grieg, and Stravinsky.
Small Business Book Club will meet on November 3 at noon at the Snellville Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library. Join us for insightful discussions and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs. This month’s selection is Your First CFO: The Accounting Cure for Small Business Owners by Pam Prior.
Gwinnett Reads Jane Austen series continues with a film screening of Pride and Prejudice. This will be November 6 at 11 a.m. at the Lilburn Branch of Gwinnett County Public Library. Join us for a movie and popcorn, celebrating the 250th birthday anniversary of Jane Austen.
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