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People
& Places Archive
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A
Touch of Charm in the Country
If Carol Alexander wasn't at her restaurant cooking and hosting lunches and special events for the customers she considers as close as family, she would be home cooking for her husband and four children. "Cooking has always been a joy for me," she says. "And I can't imagine doing anything else."
George Hitz has been looking at the world through the lens of a camera for more years than he can count. "I started somewhere around 1945. Or was it '46?" He paused for a moment as if the exact date might come to him, but then it didn't seem necessary to be that precise. "It was only a hobby, you understand. I just had a little box camera and started taking pictures."
As
a special release during Black History Month, the Alabama Folklife Association
is proud to announce the publication of Judge Jackson and the Colored
Sacred Harp by Joe Dan Boyd. The author chronicles the life of
Judge Jackson ("Judge" was his given name) as he progressed
from a penniless sharecropper to a prominent landowner in Ozark, Ala.
Boyd specifically focuses on Jackson's role as publisher in 1934 of a
small volume of religious songs, written by and for African Americans
in the style of the venerable shapenote book, The Sacred Harp...
George
and Mary Watkins didn't plan on settling in Winnsboro. Their retirement
plans included a Greyhound bus they'd purchased with the intention of
making it into a travel trailer: They were going to join the throngs of
full-time RVers who travel the country at their leisure. They had all
the plans and materials to renovate the interior of the bus and were going
to do that in their spare time until George retired from General Electric
where he worked as a Chief Engineer...
"Neighbor to Neighbor" WEWIN, Winnsboro's Elderly Want Independence and Nurturing, continues to reach out to seniors. Associated with the Living at Home/Block Nurse Programs (LAH/BNP) WEWIN is a small non-profit organization with the mission to "do whatever it takes" to help older people 65 years and up stay in their homes and avoid premature institutionalization...
At
age six Michelle Kokko was taken from her parents and adopted out along
with the rest of her brothers and sisters. For many years afterward, all
she had were mental images of her biological family and a strong desire
to someday be reunited. Years later, she got her wish and got in contact
with all her brothers and sisters. "It took a long time to track
them all down, but when I did it was quite a reunion," she said with
a broad smile...
Teen
Challenge Ranch
God-Centered Rehab
On an eighty-acre working ranch just seven miles out of Winnsboro, young
men from age eighteen through twenty-two fight the demon of drug addiction
in a highly structured environment that promotes a personal relationship
with God as a vital part of the treatment program...
The California white rabbit that made her home under the porch steps of Precious People Child Development and Learning Center now has a name. She is called "Precious," which seems a good choice since she has become sort of a mascot for the Center...
When
Precious People Child Development & Learning Center relocated to its
new home at 826 W. Broadway, the staff didn't know they already had one
resident. The weekend before the grand opening, the Director, Suzette
Russom, and her mother were cleaning up in the yard and noticed a hole
next to the steps with mounds of dirt around it. They filled in the hole
with leaves and smoothed the dirt over it, quite pleased when they were
finished with how nice it looked...
Nothing
beats the opportunity to talk about the business you love; especially
if that opportunity involves thousands of potential viewers.
On January 2, Joan Hallmark of KLTV Channel 7 spent some time at R.H. McCrary Hardware store where Robert and Shirley Watters introduced her to the history of the store and special points of interest...
Oaklea
Mansion
A Bed & Breakfast Inn
Starting with the name "Oakley" Norma Lea Wilkinson set out to make her Bed and Breakfast something out of the ordinary. "I've always been a romantic and I wanted to make this a romantic get-away."
PHW
Installs More Efficient Air Conditioning Systems
With the assistance of R.H. McCrary Co. and Glenn Engineering Co., and old incinerator that was used to burn medical waste in Presbyterian Hospital of Winnsboro was recently removed and a new evaporation condenser for the old air conditioning system was installed...
Melvin
Parton, who prefers to be called by his middle name, Leon, has gotten
involved in an interesting cause. With his partner, John Fennell, he is
on a campaign to get a plaque with the inscription "In God We Trust"
hung in every classroom in Wood County. "Then when I'm done with
that, I'll do another county," he says.
In
Winnsboro, Texas, the landscape is covered with golden yellows, vibrant
reds, and striking oranges. The colors of autumn are at their peak this
week. Check in at R.H. McCrary Co. for directions to some of the most
beautiful scenic autumn spots in East Texas. The following pictures were
taken from some of these areas...
Winnsboro
has had a real treasure in The Bakery & Cafe and the two women who
own it. Barbara Hums and Barb Richert bought the old bank building almost
eight years ago and invested a great deal of time, effort and money to
remodel the building and create their specialty business. They have also
embraced this city, the people, and the various business, civic, and cultural
organizations. Perhaps that is why they are so dismayed at the recent
City Council decision to eliminate downtown parking spaces to add turn
lanes at the intersection of Broadway and Main. A decision they find surprising
considering that all downtown merchants signed a petition against this
solution to the problem of traffic congestion...
Just a few miles out of Winnsboro on Highway 852 is a little artistic oasis called Bent Pine Gallery. Owned by Georgia Lange, the Gallery exhibits and sells pottery, sculptures, and jewelry that has been created by Ms. Lange or one of a number of other artists...
Watters
Wins in Nine Nation AFSAM Championships
NORTH
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Senior Airman Nathan Watters of Winnsboro, Texas was
one of several members of the U.S. National Guard's All-Guard team competing
at the 12th Annual Armed Forces Skill-at-Arms Meeting, October 4-13 at
Camp Joseph T. Robinson in North Little Rock...
So
maybe you don't have use for a beautiful quilted wall hanging or a hand-painted
floor-cloth with some of the cutest bunnies you ever saw. You can still
by a ticket for the Adopt A Pet fall fund-raiser and know that that dollar
went to a good cause.
Adopt A Pet is not financed by any municipal, county, state, or any other government agency, relying completely on donations to operate. Proceeds from the raffle, which will run until October 31 to coincide with Autumn Trails, will help the WHUS Adopt A Pet organization continue to offer its services to abandoned animals in the Winnsboro area...
Sallie White lives in a modest frame house on Washington Avenue in Winnsboro, Texas. To some who record the lives of important people for historical reference, there may not seem much of importance to say about Ms. White. But her life is significant enough. This year she celebrates her 104th birthday on September 6.
Those years haven't always been easy. "I come up hard," Ms. White says, and maybe that's what made her strong enough to live well all these years...
