Daily Archives: 12/20/2016
Courier Obituaries 12-21-16
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YMCA soccer sign-ups set to open next month
PICKENS — The Pickens YMCA will open registration for the Bethlehem Ridge Soccer Club’s spring recreational soccer season from Jan. 1 through Feb. 10.
The program is open to kids ages 4-15. The season will begin the week of Feb. 20 and end on April 29. All games and practices will be held at the Pickens YMCA.
Registration can be completed at the Easley, Pickens or Powdersville YMCA branches, as well as online at pcymca.net . Sponsorships and volunteer coaching opportunities are also available. Contact the YMCA at (864) 878-8380 or email Clarissa Suttle at clarissa@pcymca.net for more information.
YMCA officials believe children need to be a part of something bigger than themselves to help strengthen values, sportsmanship, leadership skills and the importance of relationship building and diversity. The YMCA soccer program allows children to actively develop individually through healthy competition in a positive and encouraging environment.
Pickens PD bringing active-shooter training to Upstate
PICKENS — The Pickens Police Department and the ALICE Training Institute have teamed up to bring ALICE Instructor Training to Pickens Middle School on Dec. 28-29.
The two-day instructor course is designed to teach proactive survival strategies for violent intruder or active-shooter incidents. The goal of the ALICE program is to provide individuals with survival-enhancing options for those critical moments in the gap between when a violent situation begins and when law enforcement arrives on scene. The registration fee for the training is $595 per person and can be completed online at alicetraining.com.
ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate and is a useful strategy for everyone: law enforcement, schools, universities, hospitals, businesses, and places of worship. Completing the ALICE Instructor Training course provides individuals with certification in ALICE Training and allows them the opportunity to bring ALICE strategies back to their places of work. Additionally, registrants will gain access to exclusive ALICE resources.
ALICE is in line with recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
County Officials sworn in
Five Pickens County officials re-elected last month were sworn in by Judge Perry Gravely, right, last Thursday at the Pickens County Courthouse. Pictured alongside family members during the ceremony, from left with hands raised are coroner Kandy Kelley, auditor Brent Suddeth, treasurer Dale Looper, sheriff Rick Clark and clerk of court Pat Welborn.
Rocky Nimmons/Courier
Memories of days of Christmas past
Right after Thanksgiving, Uncle Walter would come home from town with all the ingredients for the Christmas fruit cakes.
There were always two — one white fruitcake and one dark one. The white fruitcake was for Mama, because that was her favorite. It had golden raisins in it and sliced almonds instead of dark raisin and pecans. Chopping up all the fruits that went into those batters took several people sitting around the kitchen table in that old kitchen. The candied fruits had to be sliced thinly. Grandmama couldn’t abide big hunks of fruit in the batter. Everything had to be done to her level of excellence, and everything was checked before being folded into the thick, rich batter.
We never had to buy pecans, and many a Sunday afternoon was spent cracking pecans and carefully removing all pieces of shell, picking out the nut meat. And each half had to be checked to make sure it wasn’t withered or dark.
We used kitchen shears to cut everything up.
Children were good for that. Also, any available child was a willing pair of hands and legs made for running errands and bringing bowls, spoons and ingredients to the table.
And the aroma from the old oven once baking began was like no other.
That first whiff of baking fruitcakes brought Christmas into the house.
After the cakes were cooled, they were wrapped in clean dish towels and stored in cake tins in the pantry. Every afternoon Uncle Walter would open up the tins and pull back the dish towels from the cake tops. Then he’d pour a little homemade wine into a glass and slowly dribble a couple of tablespoons of the wine over the top of each cake. After this operation was complete, he’d tilt the glass up and finish off the rest. We just assumed that was part of the process. The cakes had to ripen at least three weeks before they were to the point where they were judged ready for slicing.
And then the countdown to the last day of school began.
Oh how we longed for that day. There was an electrical current running through classrooms coming straight from excited children. We’d make our list and devise ways of getting presents for the others. Many of our gifts were homemade. Fudge was a big one, and of course Woolworths in town furnished an array of items affordable for small pockets.
I still have the tin box with the picture of a sailing ship on top I bought Uncle Walter for Christmas from the dime store. It cost 25 cents. I don’t remember this, but the tag is still stuck onto the bottom of the box. I keep tape and other small items in it now. Uncle Walter used it for cuff links and tie clips.
The bubble lights were always carefully packed up every year and brought back out each Christmas. When Matt plugged them in, we’d wait anxiously to see if they still lit up. It was such a relief if they did. They’d come from the Sears store in downtown Fayetteville, the shopping mecca of the region, and it was 40 miles one way.
We only went to Fayetteville for major purchases, perhaps only twice a year. We’d go in the fall for school clothes for the new year. And on occasion, when some necessity was unavailable in Laurinburg, the closest town with stores, we’d make a special trip to Sears in Fayetteville.
They had the only escalator within a hundred-mile radius, and while the adults shopped we spent our time riding up and down. It was a real adventure for farm children who never saw any lights other than those from the stars.
Just before Christmas was a time when we traveled to Fayetteville. They had to take us with them, because we couldn’t be left at home alone, so it’s just as well we spent our time there on the escalator, ignorant of what they were buying.
Because the most spectacular thing about our Christmases was the surprises. Those crack-of-dawn Christmas mornings made irreplaceable memories we take with us down through the years.
Merry Christmas everybody.
Courier Letters to the Editor 12-21-16
The Pickens County Courier gladly accepts letters to the Editor. Letters must be no longer than 500 words. All letters must be signed, including first and last name, address and phone number in order to be considered for publication. Only the name and city where you reside will be printed. Submission does not guarantee publication. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. No slanderous or obscene material will be accepted. Letters to the Editor and columns do not necessarily the Courier’s opinion. Send letters to news@thepccourier.com
Tidbits to put you in the holiday spirit
The holiday season has arrived, and millions of people across the globe will be celebrating Christmas with their families and friends. The following are some interesting tidbits to share with your loved ones this holiday season.
• Each year, more than three billion Christmas cards are sent in the United States alone.
• In 350 AD, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birth of Jesus Christ. Many historians and theologians have surmised that Christ really wasn’t born this time of year, thanks to imagery and information from the Bible.
• Christmas carols began as an English custom called “wassailing.” Individuals toasted neighbors to a long and healthy life.
• Despite the common tale that three wise men paid homage to baby Jesus, the Bible never specifically calls out a number. Similarly, there’s no specific indication that they visited the infant Jesus. Their visit may have occurred when Jesus was older.
• Santa has his own official postal code. It’s H0 H0 H0.
• The song “Jingle Bells” was originally written for Thanksgiving and not Christmas. People loved it so much that the lyrics were changed to fit Christmas.
• Christmas trees typically grow for 15 years before they’re cut and sold. This means the trees sold today were likely planted in 1999.
• Christmas was not declared an official holiday in the United States until June 26, 1870.
• Before turkey, the traditional Christmas meal served in England was a pig’s head and mustard.
• Male reindeer tend to shed their antlers in the winter. This means Santa’s reindeer are likely female.
• Many people may be less inclined to stand under mistletoe waiting for a kiss if they knew what “mistletoe” means in the ancient Germanic language. It literally means “dung on a twig,” for the bird who eats the berries and then leaves seeds in droppings to propagate new plants.
• Each holiday season, PNC Wealth Management calculates the costs of the gifts in the song, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” The price index for the gifts went from $12,673 in 1984 to more than $24,000 in 2011.
The evolution and many faces of Christmas
Many people prepare for the arrival of Christmas months in advance. The first traces of wrapping paper and decorations arrive in stores as early as September, transforming the holiday into a much more secular celebration than its modest Christian beginnings.
Despite Christmas being an important date in the lives of today’s Christians, the holiday failed to gain prominent status until relatively recently. Research indicates that as late as the 19th century, Christmas was not even a legal holiday requiring a day off from work. That’s why 19th century readers of the classic Christmas tale, “A Christmas Carol,” were not shocked at Bob Cratchit having to work on Christmas Day. The United States Congress used to meet on Christmas Day because it was not a national holiday. In 1836, Alabama became the first state to officially recognize Christmas, but it didn’t become a legal holiday across the country until June 26, 1970.
Today’s Christmas celebrations include traditions from around the world. Some ascertain that it was the Church’s doing to schedule Christmas at a similar time to the pagan festivals, such as Saturnalia, that took place during the winter months. But many biblical scholars argue that this was not the case. Some pagan influences, such as holly and mistletoe as well as the burning of a yule log, have long been a part of Christmas traditions.
Santa Claus is one of the more recognizable symbols of Christmas. He is based on St. Nikolas of Myrna, an area that is part of modern-day Turkey. St. Nikolas is the world’s most popular non-Biblical saint and is one of the saints most portrayed by artists. Early depictions of St. Nikolas show him as a stern man who delivered his share of discipline. Eventually, those depictions changed to show a figure more associated with generosity. Throughout history there have been characters from around the globe, such as the Viking deity Odin, who were precursors to Santa Claus. Myth states that Odin rode his eight-legged flying horse in the winter. Odin gave out gifts to well-behaved children and punishments to those who misbehaved. Children would fill boots or stockings with treats for the flying horse.
Regardless of the origins of Christmas, today it is hard to deny that Christmas is a commercialized success. It is a national holiday not only in the United States but also in other areas of the world, and it is best known for the tradition of giving presents to others. In fact, many people head to the stores well in advance of the Christmas holiday to purchase all of the presents on their shopping lists. The shopping season tradition may be traced back to the time of World War II, when it was necessary to mail gifts early to the troops serving in Europe so that they would be able to open them in time. Merchants realized that this concept could be used when gifting troops as well as private citizens, reminding shoppers to make their holiday purchases early so they could mail them to relatives near or far. As a result, the advanced shopping season was born.
Although many people feel Christmas begins when the first bag of tinsel appears on a store shelf and ends when the last present is opened on Dec. 25, the true religious holiday does not coincide with merchant schedules. While most people are bustling to and from department stores and malls, Christians are participating in Advent, which was traditionally a solemn season of reflection and fasting. Christians are supposed to spend Advent preparing for the birth of Jesus Christ and the joy that ensues during the weeks leading up to Dec. 25.
Similarly, the joyous time of Christ’s birth is a day of celebration that does not end on Dec. 26 but continues for 12 days until the Epiphany, also known as Little Christmas, when Magi were reported to have visited the infant Christ and give him gifts. Although the more traditional day for gift-giving would seem to be on the Epiphany, by the time that day arrives many people have already taken down their Christmas decorations.
Christmas is a holiday steeped in many different traditions, and many people have their own ways of celebrating all through the month of December.
1897 Editorial
In 1897, Manhattan 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to The Sun, a prominent New York City newspaper, asking a question that was on the minds of curious youngsters of her day, just as it continues to be today: “Is there a Santa Claus?”
One of the paper’s editors, Francis Pharcellus Church, took the opportunity to craft an eloquent and moving response that still inspires hope and faith more than a century later. The editorial — originally printed in the Sept. 21, 1897 edition of The Sun — is known as the most reprinted editorial ever to run in any English-language newspaper. It appears in its entirety below.
We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:
“Dear Editor—
“I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
“Virginia O’Hanlon
“115 West Ninety Fifth Street”
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.
We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
Liberty Lions poster contest winners
Each year, Lions clubs around the world sponsor the Lions International Peace Poster Contest in local schools and youth groups. The art contest encourages young people worldwide to express their visions of peace.
For more than 25 years, millions of children from nearly 100 countries have participated in the contest. The theme of the 2016-2017 Peace Poster Contest is “A Celebration of Peace.”
Students ages 11-13 were eligible to participate, and 129 Liberty Middle School art students participated under the direction of art teacher Elaine Snell.
This year’s Liberty Middle School Peace Poster Contest winners are, front row, from left: first-place winner Natalie Marcengill (8th grade), third-place winner Skyler Clayton (6th grade) and second-place winner Hannah Kelley (8th grade).
Back row: Snell, Liberty Lions Peace Poster Contest chairman Oscar Thorsland, LMS principal Dr. Tim Mullis and Liberty Lions Club president Jean Thomas.
