Weather as of late has everyone looking to the ground for nuts

We had two killing frosts this past week, which got about everything, I believe.   Everyone I know is picking up nuts right and left, since there is a big crop this year.  All that wind we had the other week really brought them down.  When I was growing up we all went up to grandma and granddaddy's almost every Saturday and would spend the day picking up nuts, if the weather was right.  They had a good sized pecan grove and it is still producing nuts as Sally will attest as she, Tony, and other family members are busy picking them up.  Since we wanted to make the most of our day, Daddy would sometimes climb the pecan trees and would shake them by bouncing around on the limbs or jumping up and down on them so that the nuts would literally rain down.  You could just kneel down in one place and fill up a bucket in no time.  I favored picking up the Stewarts, since they were bigger, and would make your bucket fill up faster! Grandma would give each of us a crocker sack with our names on it to put our nuts in and whenever people would stop off the road to buy nuts, she would take turns by getting some out of each of our sacks so she could keep the money straight as to whose was whose.  We made some good money picking up nuts.  I still had some of my money when I went to college and it came in handy.  In the book, "The Ideas of a Plain Country Woman," she tells that the pecan money was the womenfolk's money!  For a housewife it was nice to have some spending money of your own to use for Christmas, etc.  My Grandma was indeed a good ole plain country woman who had a lot of sense!!  I so wish she was here, still.
We congratulate Julie Bruce Thompson as she was named Newton County's System-Wide Teacher of the Year.  Congratulations!  Julie teaches the fourth grade at East Newton Elementary School in Covington.  She will now represent Newton County in the state level Teacher of the Year Competition later this year.
We also congratulate Tommy Cochran of the Swords community and a member of the Buckhead Coffee Club as he has retired from 40 years at Georgia Pacific.  He was honored on Friday night at the Madison Chop House with a retirement dinner where his family, other relatives, and former co-workers and bosses came to wish him well.  The man who first hired him years ago also came and all spoke very highly of him of his work through the years.   Tommy, may you have many more years of relaxation, fishing, and enjoyment!
Brownie and Tammy Wilson honored their daughter, Maggie, and their new son-in-law, Steve Lamb, with a barbecue at their home on Saturday evening.  Many friends, relatives, and neighbors of the young couple enjoyed Crowe's Barbecue with all the fixings and a wonderful array of desserts prepared by  Tammy Greenway.  Everything was decorated beautifully with fall decorations of haybales, pumpkins, burlap, and fall flowers.   Maggie and Steve are making their home with her parents until their house is completed there behind her parents and grandparents, Rip and Emelyn Wilson.   We welcome this new couple to our Fairview community!
We also want to wish Jack Hanes, a former Fairview community member, as he celebrated his 84th birthday this past Thursday with his family at his daughter's home in Winterville.   Happy Birthday, Jack!
Sally Porter and her sisters and brother Andy celebrated their mother's, Mary Ainslie's, 85th birthday last week with a dinner out in  downtown Madison.  Happy Birthday, Mrs. Ainslie, and may you have many, many more!
The Godfrey community had a great turnout for their barbecue on Saturday and it was a beautiful day for it.  In fact, they say it was their biggest one ever!  It was delicious!  Chances were sold to raffle off one of Thelma Moon's caramel cakes.  She is another woman who can really make a good caramel cake!  Roger Bruce was the lucky winner of the cake!  Congratulations!  I know they will really enjoy that!  The Godfrey folks really appreciate everyone coming out and supporting them; it was very much appreciated!
Tommy and Raynor Cathey along with Michelle Cathey of Tucker flew out to Texas this past weekend where they attended Jake Harris' baptism on Sunday morning.
On Sunday morning at Bethany Baptist, Gladys and Ben Watson of the Source of Light Ministries were honored at a farewell dinner after church in the fellowship hall complements of Annette Eaton with one of her fabulous meals of turkey and dressing with all the trimmings; just like Thanksgiving!   There were around 40 present.  Gladys and Ben will be leaving around the first of December  to Oklahoma to a retirement home there, where they will be making their new  home and will be closer to some of their family.  Ben will still be associated with the Source of Light Ministries, posiibly in their discipleship school or online courses as well as still working with some of the current courses at SOLM, so they will still be busy.  They will be missed here and at Bethany where they were very active.
Sally and Dan Porter traveled down to Perry on Saturday (they made it this time!) to watch their grandson, Jake, play in his football game.  Jake was named to the All-Star team for his age group.  Congratulations, Jake!
Peyton Kenny of Acworth spent the weekend with her grandparents, Sarah Nell and Steve Craig, on Porter Road.  Her twin sisters are doing good.
On Saturday, Chuck and Janice Phillipi, Jason, Rebekah, and Grayson Kilpatrick, Jonathan, Jenna, and Cooper Phillipi along with Nell Porter enjoyed lunch at the Madison ChopHouse.
Curtis and Joyce Eaton spent a few days here last week with Frank and Mary Eaton.
The Porter boys all showed livestock this past week in Louisville, KY. at National shows.  Will and the Morgan County 4-H Dairy Judging team finished 13th in the nation.  Will placed fifth in the Holstein category and made top 10 of all the other breeds.  He was also 12th high individual scorer for the nation.  That is quite a showing!  Ben and Shannon also traveled to Louisville where Ben showed his lamb in the North American International Livestock Show.  He placed 6th in showmanship out of 43 in his class.  That is quite a showing also!
Katelyn Messer, daughter of Johnny Ray and Penny Messer, was one of the senior softball players recently honored on Senior Night of the Morgan County Softball Team's year end banquet  last Tuesday night.  Katelyn had a good year with the team!
Pastor Vanhorn and wife Sue of Trinity Baptist Baptist Church visited Nell Porter at the Madison House and Frances Brewer at Oconee House Friday. Also visiting Mrs. Brewer on Friday were Mary Ellen Shannon and Nancy Mitchell
The event, "Art at the Rock," an annual juried art show and marketplace will be held on Sat., Nov. 17th from 10 - 4 and on Sunday from 11:30 - 4 p.m. at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center pavilion.  Diane Davies of Buckhead will have a booth with her beautiful pottery that she has been working on all year at her studio on Apalachee River Road, in addition to many more artists and craftsmen.  On Sunday you can also eat at the fabulous Rock Eagle Dining Hall buffet that will be open in the dining hall.  They will have a lot of beautiful items for sale.
All the dairymen and their wives are reminded of the annual spouses night of the Morgan County Dairy Association that will be held on Monday, Nov. 17th at Bonners Restaurant in Buckhead.

Printed in the November 15, 2012 edition