Margaret Miller

Each set includes a 6-foot sleeping mat, a sitting mat and a pillow.

Turning Trash Into Treasure

BY MARGARET MILLER

Plastic grocery bags are considered by some to be a nuisance. In many municipalities, they are not recyclable, so they are difficult to dispose.

However, there is a local group of women who use these bags to create sleeping mats for the homeless. They call themselves the Plarning Angels. Plarn means plastic yarn made from plastic bags.

The Plarning Angels were created when Cecile Peters saw a news account of high school students creating mats from plastic bags as an extracurricular activity. In 2019, she gathered some of her friends, who have loving and kind hearts, to work on this project. They taught themselves how to create yarn from the bags and how to crochet mats and pillows. The timeconsuming activity consists of collecting bags, cutting them into strips, creating plarn balls and crocheting the materials into mats and pillows.

It takes around 1,000 bags and one month to complete a set. A set consists of a 6-foot sleeping mat, a sitting mat and a pillow. The sitting mat and pillow are rolled into the larger mat, with straps attached for easy transport.

“We do the preparation process throughout the year to have the finished products ready for the fall season,” Peters said. “The sets are given to organizations during the months of November and December.”

The group has donated sets to the Cherokee County Homeless Veterans and Project U First. According to Peters, the feedback from recipients is always a pleasant shock.

“They seem surprised when they see the finished products and feel the soft texture,” she said. “They are very grateful and appreciative.”

For more information, or to be part of the project, email c2aka@yahoo.com. For simple, step by step directions on converting plastic bags into sleeping mats, visit www.youtube.com.

Margaret Miller has been a resident of Cherokee County for the past decade. Her writing hobby led her to become a columnist for community and daily newspapers.

BLACK

HISTORY MONTH

Each year, History Cherokee celebrates Black History Month by bringing to light significant people and places of the African American community over the decades. Here are some snapshots from its #BlackHistoryMonth Facebook posts through the years. Special thanks to History Cherokee for providing historical information.

For more details and posts like these, follow @CherokeeCountyHistoryCenter on Facebook, or visit www.historycherokee.org.

Feb. 15 Lecture With Marshall Shepherd

Join History Cherokee with Marshall Shepherd for a compelling lecture and discussion, “The Extreme Weather-Climate Gap: A Discussion at the Intersection of Race, Income, Vulnerability and Resilience.” It’s a great opportunity to learn about contemporary topics during Black History Month. The free event begins at 7 p.m. at the Rock Barn in Canton. Register at https:// historycherokee.org/events.

@DrMarshallShepherd @marsh4fsu

Cynthia Durham

Priscilla Strickland

In 1956, Cynthia Durham and Priscilla Strickland were the first African American students to integrate Cherokee High School. These young women wanted to broaden their educational experience, and after much discussion with their family and the principal of the school, the two decided to attend Cherokee High. In the book, “Cherokee County, Georgia: A History,” the two recalled being treated poorly on their first day.

“I remember us coming in one of the back halls and coming down the hall. It was as if everyone in the school had converged there, and as we walked down the hall, they backed out of the way,” Strickland said.

Although the women recalled difficult times, they both agreed they had no regrets being the first to integrate the school. Teachers Doris Yarborough, Bill Teasley, Sarah Donley and Helen Mauldin were fondly remembered by the two students for their support during that time.

Medical Detachment Mobile 40th

As we tell the stories of Cherokee County’s AfricanAmerican community, we wanted to share this photo from our collection. This is the Medical Detachment Mobile 40th in France during World War II (Black Company, also listed as Truck Company).

Back row, in the middle is Technician Fifth Grade Walter Keith; front row on the right is Cpl. Willie Jones; back row, second from left is Pfc. William Brown; front row, second from right is possibly Raymond A. Foster. Walter Foster, father-in-law of George Emerson, is in the back row on the right.

The 1958 sixth-grade class, first row, from left: Robert Johnson, Patricia Tanner (Tanny), Emma Cantrell, Mary Davis, Johnnie Burgess, Lula Paden, Estell Lay and Delores Foster. Second row: Sammie Holmes, Joe Keith, Sammie Roper, Thomas Holmes, Gussie Pickens, Gene Pitts, James Patrick (Patrict), Wayne Keith and John McMickens.

Ralph J. Bunche School

Around Cherokee County, we know Ralph J. Bunche as the namesake of the Ralph J. Bunche school. Bunche is known for his work as a peace mediator; he became the first Black American to win a Nobel Peace Prize in 1950.

Bunche started as a segregated high school that was integrated in the late 1960s. However, the history of the school dates back nearly a century prior. Hickory Log School is believed to have been started in 1870 on land donated by Amos Keith. The original Hickory Log school later became the Cherokee County Training School, and was then replaced by Ralph J. Bunche.

Gertrude Herbert served as the first principal in 1956, and students from Canton, Waleska and Woodstock attended the school. Students living within 1.5 miles of the school would walk, and students living farther away took a bus. Students participated in fine arts programs on the district, regional and state levels, winning several first- and second-place honors in drama, music, track and basketball.

The school is still in operation today, serving Head Start, pre-K and preschool students.

History Cherokee is a nonprofit organization engaged in the collection, preservation and interpretation of Cherokee County. Through strong community partnerships, relevant educational programming, intentional collecting practices and historic preservation advocacy, we strive to: • Serve as a trusted community resource for Cherokee County history. • Inspire our audience to become empathetic and engaged citizens in their communities. • Cultivate a love of learning and understanding about our shared past. History Cherokee will be opening the much anticipated Cherokee County History Center in 2022. The History Center will engage with Cherokee County’s rich and diverse past through comprehensive and interactive exhibits, as well as serve as a cultural epicenter dedicated to preservation, research and education.

Bee Hive Maintenance classes are offered in quarterly sessions. For registration and more information, visit woodstockparksandrec.com.

Feb. 17

Winter Feeding: What and how to feed a late winter colony; journal keeping. March 26

Bee Package Installation: Installing bees into a hive with a queen. April 21 Here We “Flow”: Managing a hive during peak nectar flows. May 19 Swarm Management: How to reduce a swarm loss. June 16

Sweet Rewards: Harvesting honey. July 21 Summer Dearth: Colony needs during heat, drought and nectar dearth. Aug. 18 Colony Pests: Take care of the bees that will care for your winter bees. Sept. 15 Autumn Chores: Queenless hives, mite counts and food stores.

Oct. 20

Preparing for Winter: Winterizing hives. Nov. 17

Monitoring Feed Levels: Using feed supplements. Dec. 15

What’s Buzzin’?

Beekeeping is Booming in Woodstock

In June 2021, Woodstock was certified as a Bee City USA, joining many other cities across the country in improving their landscapes for pollinators. Jamey Snyder, Woodstock’s recreation operations manager, and Shannon Sorescu, Woodstock Community Garden’s beekeeper, are committed to educating others in beehive creation and maintenance. Sorescu is teaching classes as part of the 2022 Bee Hive Maintenance series, and gives insight into her background and the message she’s sharing.

How did you get involved with Woodstock Community Garden and become the beekeeper?

I am a resident of the city of Woodstock, and I got involved with the community garden in 2020 by becoming a member with a leased plot. During that first year, I made friends with several other members and talked about my bees I had at home, and the idea was taken to Jamey Snyder, who put the plan into motion.

Describe the 2021 community garden harvest.

We had a sweet honey harvest last year! We received 5 gallons of honey from one hive. I decided not to harvest all of the honey so that the bees would have their own honey supply for the winter. If I had taken it all, we would have had 10 gallons, but then the bees would have needed heavy feeding of sugar syrup for the winter. The harvested honey was distributed to the community garden members, and everyone said it was some of the best honey they had ever tasted! We harvested the honey in June, right after the spring flowers, so this honey was a clover/wildflower blend. It had a light aroma and a complex floral taste.

How did you learn to keep bees, and how has that impacted your teaching style?

I learned mostly from books and online videos. I had a mentor who also was available to help me when I had questions. I am a hands-on learner, and I believe that is how I would describe my teaching style as well. Bees are different from any other agricultural animal — you really have very little influence over what they decide to do for their colony.

Beekeeping should really be called bee watching. A beekeeper must become familiar with the signs of a healthy colony versus a struggling colony, and learn how to quickly provide what the colony needs to sustain itself. I think the best way for anyone to learn the art of beekeeping is to find a mentor first, and follow that mentor throughout an entire season to become familiar with the bees’ behavior. That is the main reason we are offering the hive maintenance classes this year.

What is your favorite thing about keeping bees; how would you encourage others?

At first, I thought honey was going to be the best part, but that quickly changed! My favorite thing about honeybees is their democratic society. It is fascinating to watch how they work together. Every decision they make is for what is best for the colony, not the queen, not the brood; the colony’s survival is the primary goal. The way they communicate with each other, their amazing ability to perform so much work while being so small, and their instinct to know what is needed in the colony is an inspiration to me to look beyond myself and see that I am here to serve my community. My words of encouragement to someone starting out would be, there are no mistakes. You will feel like you have failed when your bees swarm, or you lose a queen, or your bees die, but those are not mistakes. They are very valuable learning experiences, and you should learn from the bees.

What is the biggest take-away for participants?

I hope my class participants will come away with a better understanding of the biology of honeybees and that their role as a beekeeper is to support the hive, not manage it.

How has beekeeping grown in Woodstock, and what does the Bee City USA certification mean for residents?

I think beekeeping is on the rise in our city. In September, there were several participants in an informational session about what it takes to start beekeeping. There also is a new, local club based out of Canton (Etowah River Beekeepers) that supports local beekeepers. The Bee City certification will have the greatest impact on residents in the area of reduced use of pesticides and more organic, natural practices for supporting our local pollinator population. Woodstock’s Parks for Pollinators Committee has many projects that will be noticed at local public parks and areas to support our native pollinators. These projects and the reduced use of mosquito spraying and pesticides/ herbicides will benefit residents’ health and will be aesthetically pleasing when visiting these public areas.

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