December 2010
The Christmas Issue Tyrrell County’s Country Magazine Published monthly in print and online
December 2010
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December 02-05, 2010
A River Town Christmas ! ! Celebrating this 12th annual event, River Town Christmas will take place in and around Columbia, NC from Thursday, December 2nd to Sunday, December 5th. The weekend will be filled with tree lightings, baking contests, one-of-a-kind shopping with Downtown Merchants, holiday open houses and a Bazaar in Columbia Theater. Plan your weekend with this old-fashioned holiday event. And don't forget, Santa will be arriving on Friday evening at the lighted boat parade and visiting in town on Saturday at the parade and for personal visits after the parade at the Columbia Theater!
Kids of all ages, get your lists ready!
December 2010
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2010 River Town Christmas in Columbia, North Carolina Thursday, December 2, 2010 Ringing in River Town Christmas – Church Bells Memorial Tree Lighting at the Tyrrell County Visitors Center NC Governor’s Volunteer of the Year Award at the Courthouse Tyrrellinean Tree Lighting at the Courthouse
5:00 – 5:15 pm 5:00 – 5:30 pm 5:30 pm 5:45 – 6:15 pm
Tyrrellinean Club hosts Hot Chocolate and Doughnuts Holiday Decorating Contest Awards and Band & Choral Program
La Posada – Hispanic Celebration of Holy Family Looking for Lodging
6:15 – 8:00 pm
Meet at the Waterfront Gazebo – Columbia Town Commons
Down Town Shopping & Restaurants Open Friday, December 3, 2010 ECA Culinary Arts Contest – Entries due at the CES office
12:00 noon
Gingerbread Houses due at the Columbia Theater
Kids’ Movie at the Extension Office SANTA COMES TO TOWN during Lighted Boat Parade
3:30 – 5:15 pm 6:00 pm
at the Columbia Waterfront
Christmas Bazaar at the Columbia Theater Ten Thousand Villages Exhibit & Sale at Pocosin Arts Gallery Down Town Shopping & Restaurants Open
5:00 – 8:00 pm open until 8:00 pm
Saturday, December 4, 2010 Breakfast with Santa at the Library 8:30 am Pocosin Arts’ Basic Stone Setting Workshop for jewelers and metalsmiths 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Christmas Bazaar at the Columbia Theater 10:00 am – 6:00 pm ECA Culinary Arts Contest – Ribbon Ceremony 10:00 am Culinary Arts Contest Entries – on Display at Columbia Theater
Holiday Singspiration at the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church Christmas Open House at The Brickhouse Inn Christmas Parade (3:00 pm line-up at Columbia High School) Pictures with Santa at the Columbia Theater Lighted Boats at the Columbia Waterfront Docks Carriage Rides around Downtown Columbia starting on Main Street Live Nativity and Open House at Columbia Missionary Baptist Church Down Town Shopping & Restaurants Open
1:00 – 3:00 pm 3:00 – 6:00 pm 4:00 pm 4:30 – 6:00 pm 5:00 pm 5:00 – 8:00 pm 5:00 – 7:30 pm
Sunday, December 5, 2010 Pocosin Arts’ Basic Stone Setting Workshop for jewelers and metalsmiths 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Christmas Open House at Somerset Place on Lake Phelps 1:00 – 4:00 pm Holiday Concert by Columbia Band and Chorus at VanHorne Auditorium 3:30 pm December 2010
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Assembly of Praise Children Chorus Columbia Elementary Chorus Columbia High School Chorus Esther Koo Ethel Jackson Jackie Harris Sandy Acres Freewill Baptist Church ScupperSong Sound Side Freewill Baptist Church Tessi Hollis Willie Mack Carawan Zion Grove Disciples Church December 2010
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PUBLISHERS: INGRID & NELI LEMME / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: SUNNY LEMME
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Quote of the Month
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“I love Christmas, not just because of the presents but because of all the decorations and lights and the warmth of the season.” Ashley Tisdale
DEAR READER
For That Hard to Shop For Person on Your Christmas List!
The Columbia Lion's Club has the perfect gift for that hard to shop for person on your Christmas list! And the gift keeps giving all year long! For a small annual fee, the Lions will put out an American flag in the recipient's yard on the following holidays: President's Day Memorial Day July 4th Flag Day Veteran's Day December 2010
We sure got us a Christmas gift that keeps on giving. Actually we got him just before Thanksgiving and he ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog! Our son Dom almost ran over the puppy that was infested with fleas, had an ear infection and other problems which we fond out later at the vet’s office. I The flag will be put out the afternoon before the holiday and removed the afternoon after the holiday. Fees are: 3' x 5' flag $25 per year - 1' x 1 1/2' flag - $10 per year. Contact Rhett White at
never owned a dog, my husband did. I never thought that I would ever own a dog that would actually live in my house. We do now. We love lil’ Banjo and he seems to like us. He is one cute fellow, but needs a lot of walking and walking - or we clean up the mess. Merry Christmas to ya’ll! xox Love Ingrid, Neli and Sunny
252-796-4966 or Tyrrell County will David Furlough at appreciate your support! 252-796-0658 to place an order or for more information. The recipient of this gift will be very happy and the blind and visually impaired of www.ScuppernongGazette.com
Teens of the Month Homecoming Queen & King 2010 Savannah Westover and De'Andre Wavy Spencer
December 2010
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...On the Board Walk... Couple of the Month
Trey and Rebecca Liverman
Baby of the Month
Kolbie Danielle Spruill born October 26, 2010
Lady of the Month Ms. Sue Spivey
Man of the Month
Mr. Steve Bryan
Website of the Month: Pocosin Lakes Friends www.pocosinlakesfriends.org
Organization of the Month Pocosin National Wildlife Refuge
Artist of the Month Carver Rick Smith
Kid of the Month Ryan Worten
December 2010
Teens of the Month
Homecoming Queen and King Savannah Westover and De'Andre Wavy Spencer
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CHRISTMAS IN COLUMBIA: THREE GENERATIONS OF MEMORIES BY BARBARA SNELL KREBS Christmas is fast approaching, along with the ever-present feeling of too much to do, and too little time to do it. Buying gifts, putting up the decorations, cooking goodies to be shared, cleaning the house before the relatives arrive … the list sometimes appears endless. But when things seem most overwhelming, that’s exactly the time when one needs to slow down, take a deep breath, and enjoy Christmases past. And not just your own past! Each generation has its own delightful memories spanning the years and melting them away. So are you with me? Great. Then grab a delicious hot chocolate, put the Christmas CD in the Bose, curl up with that warm blanket on the sofa and let the movie reels in your mind take over. For the Snell family, the first film begins with Collon Snell, Jr. Looking back to his childhood on the farm in the 1940s, no December 2010
Christmas was complete without the extended family gathering. “These days, you’re lucky to get just the immediate family together,” he said. “But back then, everyone came to greatgranddad’s (James Britton Snell) house. That included aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews – everybody!” It was not unheard of to have 30-plus people show up for Christmas dinner. As he reminisced, he recalled how “unbelievable it was to see so much food on the tables.” And just where did you seat all those folks? “All around the house,” which included the kitchen table, the dining room table and, of course, the “children’s table,” conveniently located in another room so the adults could enjoy a relaxing dinner among themselves without all those silly children underfoot. This was not a problem, though, because the children were certain they were getting the best deal. Being in a separate room meant you could giggle more, talk louder, eat with your mouth open to gross out your cousin, and generally have a more fun meal without all that pesky adult supervision. But as much fun as the extended family meal was, there was another component to Christmas
that Collon remembers well. If it was Christmas, then that meant it was time to butcher the hogs. Everyone shared in the work, and later the meat. The division of labor ran along gender lines with the men butchering the hogs and doing the outside prep work (cutting, scraping, rendering lard, etc.) while the women ran the kitchen, cleaning cuts of meat sent indoors and preparing them for sausage or the smoke house or the freezer. They also made sure that lunch was made for all the relatives who were helping out. It was always a long day, no matter how many hogs were butchered. If you were lucky, it was a sunny, warm (for December) day. If not, well, it didn’t matter. The family was gathered, so the work went on. Everyone helped, “even the little ones could be put to work,” Collon recalled – running pans of meat and seasonings back and forth, scrubbing pig’s feet, helping Grandma crank the meat grinder to make the sausage. Fast forward to the next generation. It’s now the ‘60s and ‘70s. Barbara Snell Krebs, Collon Jr.’s daughter, remembers the hog killings, as that was still a part of the holiday tradition. But it was a smaller crowd now, just the immediate family with only www.ScuppernongGazette.com
Fo r g e t t h e Hot Wheels. If you look carefully, you can see the tinsel-type Christmas tree peeking out in the background.
This lard ladle saw many years of service at Christmas time hog killings. James Britton Snell carved his name on the “spoon� portion and the date, Dec. 17, 1907, on the handle.
December 2010
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one hog being butchered. But other than the reduced size of the gathering, the other details hadn’t changed much. The men still worked outside, and the women still presided over the kitchen. The kids still scrubbed pig’s feet (and you weren’t done until Grandma had decided the feet were indeed clean) and served as runners between the two groups. But it was the ‘60s after all. That meant the look of the Christmas tree had changed a little. Instead of a fresh-cut tree hauled in from the woods, we were a modern family with a manufactured tree. As a kid, I had no idea that most people considered fake trees, especially the tinsel ones, to be, ahem, tacky. I just knew that as it stood tall in its base, its shiny tinsel limbs shimmered in the living room, sending sparkly reflections to all corners of the room. And at night, what could be cooler than watching the tree change colors as the motorized light wheel turned? Green, pink, blue, in an endless light show, bathing the tree in day-glo colors that only a kid could love. However, it wasn’t all about the tree. There was also the Christmas Eve service at the Sound Side Missionary Baptist church. This was the church that my grandparents, Collon, Sr. and Alethia Snell attended, so December 2010
naturally, it was where our family spent our Christmas Eve nights. The children would present the Christmas story, wrapped in their bath robes with a towel tied around their heads. At least that was how I understood that Joseph and the shepherds dressed way back then. There would be lots of singing – Joy to the World, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Silent Night, Away in a Manger, and many others – sung by the congregation, sometimes in the key that rose from the piano, but sometimes not. It didn’t matter. It was about worshipping the baby Jesus and being there with your family. And then came the moment you waited for – Santa’s arrival. He came with many loud “ho, ho, ho’s” and bearing a brown paper sack that contained a candy cane, a box of raisins, several apples and oranges and some walnuts. I always gave the walnuts to my parents, but it didn’t take me too long to finish off the rest of the bag’s contents. Years later, I was spending Christmas Eve with my grandparents. They went to the church ahead of me. When I finally arrived, even though I had lived away from Columbia for many years, time seemed to have
melted. The usher took one look at me, and pointed to a pew about midway up. “Your folks are sitting up there.” I smiled, thinking “Yes, you can go home again.” And it played out just as I remembered – the play, the songs, and even Santa and his gift bag. The contents had not changed. I kept the walnuts this time though. The millennia has come and gone, and we’ve moved on to the current day. The next generation is now making Christmas memories in Columbia. Even though Colette Krebs, my daughter, doesn’t live here, she has spent enough Christmases in Tyrrell County to be making her own mental movies. So what does her Christmas film look like? Well, it’s missing the hogs. The last family hog killing took place in the early ‘80s, long before she was born. But, to her, it’s still about the family gathering. “I like Grandpa’s little tree,” she stated. “The little tree with the big pile of presents underneath!” That’s a pretty good description. She likes the contrast of such a small tree – a tabletop model, standing barely two feet tall, at most. But beneath this tiny tree and spilling out onto the floor all around it, sometimes dwarfing the tree itself, are gifts for the www.ScuppernongGazette.com
family. She gets to play Santa and hand out the presents to those gathered, and then there’s not much noise except the sound of ripping paper and ooh’s and aah’s. Hugs are often given for a particularly good gift.
ya? By Barbara Snell Krebs
Colette Krebs stands in front of the “tiny tree with the big presents.”
And what is Christmas without a food memory? For her, it’s the traditional holiday feast – Grandpa’s famous fish fry. Yes, you read that right. The Albemarle Sound is right out the front door so what do we want with a turkey anyway? Forget the dressing, don’t worry about the cranberry sauce, but do pass her some more of the rock and flounder. So when the holiday madness gets a little too hectic for you, don’t forget to take that deep breath, relax and put on your own special Christmas memory movie. Hand me the caramel popcorn from the Christmas gift tin, will
December 2010
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Tyrrell County’s Annual Fall Bazaar The Greater Tyrrell County Chamber of Commerce sponsored the Tyrrell County Fall Bazaar on November 13, 2010 at Tyrrell Hall. Vendors with antiques, arts and crafts, homegrown and hand-made items, flea market and yard sale items participated once again. The Breakfast Bake Shop was sponsored by the Columbia Medical Center . Lunch of soup and sandwiches was sponsored by the Inner Banks Hotline. Proceeds will be used for community activities supported by the Chamber of Commerce. Photos by Neli Lemme
December 2010
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Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife
Tyrrell County’s Annual Fall Bazaar
Photo by Neli Lemme December 2010
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Tyrrell County’s Annual Fall Bazaar
December 2010
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Lady of the Month Ms. Sue Spivey Economic Development Coordinator, STEP Coordinator, Town of Columbia, NC and Executive Director, Greater Tyrrell County Chamber of Commerce
Tyrrell County’s Annual Fall Bazaar
Man of the Month Mr. Steve Bryan Owner and director of Bryan Funeral Service and always volunteering wherever and whenever he can
Photos by Neli Lemme
December 2010
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Stone Setting with Tim Lazure Come take a two-day workshop with Tim Lazure to learn how to set stones. During this stone setting boot camp, Tim will run you through the basic steps of bezel setting, and demonstrate different ways of tubesetting faceted stones. He will then cover how to flush set faceted stones and teach you how to make to your very own flush setting tool. After covering these three types of settings, the workshop will then explore ways to make more creative settings using nontraditional objects such as shards of beach glass, pieces of coconuts, buttons, and other found objects. Although it is designed for individuals with basic metalsmithing knowledge, such as soldering and fabricating, this workshop will provide a very thorough explanation of stone setting that is suitable for beginners!
Tools/Supplies to Bring (if you have them):
Jeweler's saw & blades, Bench pin, Files, Wire snips, Burnisher, Calipers, Solder, Pin Vise, Flex shaft, Any object you want to set. You may purchase from the instructor, or bring: a cabochon stone, bezel wire, copper or silver to solder bezel to, 3 mm faceted stone, 3.5 mm thick walled sterling silver tubing, 2 mm faceted stone, #51 drill bit, 1.9 mm stone setting bur, 2.9 mm stone setting bur
Tuition: $140
Supply Fee payable to Instructor, (The instructor will have some materials and stone setting kits available for purchase, including: faceted and cabochon stones, bezel wire, tubing for tube setting, small pieces of copper, stone setting burs and a drill bit) Click Here for a Registration Form, Registration & Payment Due: Friday, November 19th, 2010) Email, Mail or Fax us your Registration Form with payment or call Pocosin Arts at 252-796-2787 to register by phone. Email: hilary@pocosinarts.org http://www.pocosinarts.org December 2010
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Artist of the Month Rick Smith of Columbia
Rick Smith showed his wonderful wood carvings and unique drift wood art at the Mattamuskeet Decoy and Waterfowl Festival at Mattamuskeet High and also at the Down East Arts & Craft show in Swan Quarter. He is a great supporter of Pocosin Arts. MORE on UNCTV <
December 2010
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WANDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TALKING TRASH BY WANDA CHERRY ! As I approached my dirt lane, several weeks ago, I saw what I thought was an eighteen wheeler blocking my entrance, but as I got closer ..it was four GDS, military green, roll-out carts! SO..Three neighbors and I were issued new trash cans from the County and General Disposal Service. They ARE real nice, but real BIG! The cans would be ideal IF we lived near the main road, but that's not the case. ! Guess I could use mine for shade in the summer and heat in the winter...I AM TRYING to look on the BRIGHT SIDE, but I got the bejeebers scared out of me one night as I looked outside and saw a bear standing at the bottom of my steps...only to discover the
December 2010
next day it was just my new gift from my home town. Lol! ! I want to talk some trash about my FREE $115.00 garbage can/ receptacle..rather Dempsey Dumpster. To make a short story LONG...I'm old! I live fifty or more of MY stone throws from the main roadside pick up point... And two stone throws from my backyard to my dirt lane in front of my home. My dilemma is getting this monster from point A to point B and BACK! Under the new contract," trash will not be picked up unless it is in the provided containers". It was all I could do to bring my mom's and my new roll-out carts home..EMPTY. Friends and family have offered ideas of what might work for mom and I, but it seems each.. so called... solution has a down side. Bungee worked on the first trash pick up by attaching it to the real tailgate of the truck and rolling/bouncing it out to the road....
! I didn't take out trash the second time and the third trash day... I unloaded the container..wrestled the empty can onto the back of my pickup truck...threw the garbage bags into the back of the truck and them put the trash back into the can at the end of the lane. This was starting to feel like the TRASH was TAKING ME OUT instead of the other way around! ! My 89 year old mother is starting to fill her container up now...so in 2013, Lord willing, me or someone else will have to take her 98 gallon roll-out cart to the main road. I don't want to sound like Oscar the Grouch, but the bottom line is.... it would have been nice to have had a choice...BIG CAN....little can. ! Mom and I have talked about selling our homes..moving into one of the containers and using the other for a single car garage. ANY other suggestions? Submitted by Ms. Barbara Fleming
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December 2010
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Baby of the Month Kolbie Danielle Spruill She was born October 26,2010
December 2010
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Kid of the Month: Ryan Worten
December 2010
Note from the Editor-in-Chief: Riding a bike without a helmet is dangerous! www.helmets.org/stats.htm www.ScuppernongGazette.com
Like the rituals of the holiday season, the history of Christmas cards from the White House is ingrained in timehonored traditions. With the passing of each era, these traditions have been modified and expanded upon by United States Presidents of centuries past and decades of recent. From Franklin Pierce to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, from Andrew Johnson to Lyndon B. Johnson, from George Washington to George Bush – these are all Presidents who have made their mark on the heritage of celebrating Christmas in the White House and on the long-standing tradition of Christmas cards being sent from the United States Chief Executive. WhiteHouseChristmasCards.com was created to capture these accounts and provide narrative for wondering minds interested in the history of Christmas cards as they pertain to the White House and each President.
of our earlier presidents, there is very little documented information regarding Christmas celebrations or traditions they or their families may have practiced. However, whether it is because he was a prolific letter-writer or that
THOMAS
JEFFERSON Since Christmas did not become a national holiday until 1870 during the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, it is not surprising that the exchanging of White House Christmas cards was not a yearly presidential custom during the very early history of our country. For most December 2010
scholars have accumulated a wealth of information on his life from painstaking research, there is more information describing Christmas celebrations of our third president, Thomas Jefferson, than any of our other Founding Fathers who became president. This information reflects both the time Jefferson
spent as president in the White House and at his famous Virginia home, Monticello. Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 to Peter and Jane Randolph Jefferson. Young Thomas began his schooling at the age of nine, studying French, Latin and Greek. Several years later, he took up science and history as part of his classical education. The family lived in Albemarle County, Virginia until the death of Peter Jefferson, when the family moved to a new home, which later became famous as Monticello. Even though in the mid-18th Century Christmas was considered a normal workday, Jefferson always considered the day (even in his youth) as a time of “merriment” and “The day of greatest mirth and jollity.” Monticello became known as a place where friends and family got together to celebrate Christmas and where Jefferson would feel happy enjoying his favorite Christmas song, “Adeste Fideles” (“Oh. Come All Ye Faithful”).
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Jefferson courted and then married Martha Wayles Jefferson, a widow, a week after Christmas on New Year’s Day in 1772. Although they had six children (five daughters and a son), only the daughters Maria and Martha lived past early childhood. After only 10 years of marriage, Jefferson became a widower following the death of his wife, most probably from complications giving birth to daughter, Lucy (who died two years after her mother). By the time Jefferson became president almost 20 years later, he would have spent Christmas in a forlorn and lonesome mood had it not been for the joyous visits from his grandchildren. As president in 1805, six of his grandchildren and 100 of their friends – invited by Secretary of State James Madison’s wife, Dolley, who acted as official hostess – made for a tremendously enjoyable holiday party at which Jefferson played the violin for the dancing children. Christmas celebrations at the Jefferson White House were festive affairs where delicacies and local American foods were served. Joyful Christmas partying continued at Monticello in 1809 following the end of the Jefferson presidency earlier that year. Celebrations at December 2010
Jefferson’s beautiful home included social intercourse amongst friends and relatives and the serving of a Christmas favorite, mince pies. The hanging of Christmas stockings and the decorating of evergreen trees had not yet become the norm like those traditions are today. Although he was a slave owner, Jefferson’s abolitionist leanings ensured that those slaves he owned were treated fairly, as is evidenced by the slaves being allowed to have a Christmas holiday respite for a few days each year. With normal, everyday responsibilities set aside, slaves could travel to and from the Jefferson mansion to visit friends and relatives. For those staying at Monticello for the holiday, slaves were able to enjoy fresh meat instead of the usual cornmeal and pork. Music added to the gaiety of the holiday as well. It has long been believed by many historians (and disbelieved by many as well) that one of Jefferson’s slaves, Sally Hemings, who for many years served his daughters and his family in various capacities, bore six children who were fathered by Jefferson, himself. Although there is no direct proof, we can only speculate as to how many of these children were included in the Christmas celebrations at either
the White House or Monticello. Had the Jefferson family acknowledged the Jefferson/ Hemings union from its inception and had the relationship amongst all those involved been one of family and closeness, imagine the size of their Christmas gettogethers and all the Christmas cards that would most certainly have been exchanged between the families for all the years since! Arguably, Thomas Jefferson could very well be considered one of the most brilliant Americans who ever lived. In addition to being president for eight years during a crucial period in the United States’ young existence, he also served as our country’s second Vice President, the first Secretary of State, ambassador to France, governor of Virginia, writer of the Declaration of Independence, and the founder of a major university. In addition, Jefferson was a lawyer, an architect, and an inventor as well as being an expert in archeology, gourmet cuisine, and fine wines. President Kennedy remarked at a gathering of 49 Nobel Prize winners in 1962: “I think that this is the most extraordinary collection of talent…ever gathered at the White House – with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”
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Thomas Jefferson received his education at the College of William and Mary for a two-year period beginning in 1760. He graduated with highest honors after studying philosophy, mathematics, and metaphysics, as well as French and Greek. His curiosity in many areas knew no bounds, as he also showed an interest in the readings of Tacitus and Homer and did his best to become proficient in playing the violin, all this while oftentimes studying 15 hours a day. After graduating with highest honors from William and Mary, Jefferson became a lawyer after being admitted to the Virginia bar in 1767. Thomas Jefferson was an “idea man.” While practicing law and serving in the Virginia House of Burgesses, he wrote his first published work, A Summary View of the Rights of British America, which proposed that the British Parliament had no authority over the colonists, who should be allowed to govern themselves. These radical thoughts provided the theoretical December 2010
basis for what became one of Jefferson’s greatest accomplishments, as the writer of the Declaration of Independence, the wording of which was approved by the new United States Congress on July 4, 1776. Had the exchanging of Christmas cards been the custom around that time, most of the 56 signers of the document would undoubtedly have relayed written
Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s estate and plantation located in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he hosted many lavish Christmas celebrations before and after his presidency. Christmas wishes to each other later that year, as would have been the certainty that there would not have been any Christmas greetings between England’s tyrant, King George III, and the independenceminded signers of the Declaration!
It was during the years following the United States’ break from Great Britain that Jefferson served in the Virginia House of Delegates, as Virginia’s governor, as a member of the Virginia state legislature, as minister to France, and as Secretary of State under President George Washington. It is certain that no matter what important office Jefferson held or how far he traveled, he always looked forward to the end of each year so that he could celebrate the Christmas season and exchange gifts with family and friends. While Secretary of State in 1791, Jefferson received a letter from daughter, Maria, describing books she and her sister, Martha, had exchanged the previous Christmas: “Last Christmas I gave sister the Tales of the Castle and she made me a present of The Observer.” After the end of his term as Secretary of State and after spending several years at his Virginia home, Jefferson ran for the presidency against John Adams, but lost. However, because he came in second in the electoral vote count, he became Adams’ vice president. www.ScuppernongGazette.com
Four years later, however, Jefferson and DemocraticRepublican Party member, Aaron Burr, each obtained the same amount of electoral votes in the presidential election; Jefferson, after 36 ballots, was voted in by the House of Representatives, with Burr to serve as his vice president. Considered one of our greatest presidents, Jefferson’s accomplishments during his two terms included the purchase of the Louisiana territory from France, doubling the size of the United States; Lewis and Clark’s western expeditions (which took the explorers away from their families through two Christmases), exploring the justobtained Louisiana territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean; and the winning of the First Barbary War, the country’s first major overseas war victory. In all that he did, Jefferson tried to maintain his political and moral philosophy, not only for the country itself, but also for America’s citizens. He believed that each person has “certain inalienable rights,” which could not be taken away whether a government existed or not. He also believed in equality for all
December 2010
people and was a proponent of states’ rights. Based on his nature, it is not surprising that Jefferson remained active after he left the presidency in 1809. His main achievement was the founding of the University of Virginia in 1819, something he had been planning for several decades. His realization for the school was based on the idea that it would be a place where students could study subjects different from what was being taught in other universities at a price affordable for almost anyone. Using his architectural skills, Jefferson has been credited with the designing of all the buildings, gardens, and grounds as well as the layout of the entire campus. Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826 along with fellow Founding Father and 2nd President, John Adams). Ironically, this date was also the 50th anniversary of the adoption of Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, the document which historians readily believe is perhaps the most important document in our country’s history.
DID YOU KNOW
Did you know that Abraham Lincoln requested cartoonist Thomas Nast to create a special Christmas-themed illustration for the cover of Harper’s Weekly that linked holiday celebrations to the ongoing Civil War? Nast ended up creating the standardized image of Santa Claus as we know it today, which we relish in thousands of unique Christmas cards designs. Did you know that during the first year of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s three-term presidency, the White House received so many Christmas cards that they had to hire a staff just to handle all the incoming mail? Did you know that Eisenhower, himself, painted six of the eight Christmas gift prints that he gave to his White House staff each holiday season? www.whitehousechristmascards.com So for all of you history buffs and Christmas cards fanatics, enjoy the information provided on this site and if you know of any important facts that we (they) accidentally omitted, please share them in the comments field.
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Salamander of Tyrrell County by Joie Spencer Here are some pics of a salamander that I caught. I have never seen one like this before here in Tyrrell Co. I caught it in the River Neck/Soundside community. I looked it up on the internet and found that it may be what is called a marbled salamander and is native to this area. Somebody recommended I send it to you for your magazine.
Joie Spencer Tyrrell County Inspections Dept. PO Box 449, 106 Water St. Columbia, NC 27925
Phone 252-796-4128 E-mail joies@tyrrellcounty.net
Thank You Joie
December 2010
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MOSSBERG YOUTH 20 GAUGE-MODEL 505
!
come in and pick up their tickets or I'll be glad to deliver them! Leaders - Please check the list and let me know what kids are in your clubs that don't currently have tickets. Here is a list of 4-H'ers (& leaders) that currently have tickets: Katie Woolard - 10 tickets
Tyrrell County 4-H has raffle tickets available for a Mossberg Youth 20 Gauge-Model 505. Tickets are ONLY $1.00. Robin Fleming with Fleming Properties has donated this gun and 4-H will receive 100% of the profits! ALL money will go towards scholarships for Tyrrell County 4-H Summer activities & camps. The 4-H'er that sells the most raffle tickets will be rewarded a $25.00 gift certificate to use on the summer activity of their choice!! Drawing will be held Friday, December 17th, 2010.
Ellie Woolard - 10 tickets
Please contact me or any 4-H'er on the list to get your tickets TODAY!! I'll be happy to go deliver your tickets to you!
Margo Lilley - 20 tickets
Parents - If your child's name isn't on the list, please be sure to let them know they need to
Nathan Emmons - 20 tickets
December 2010
EJ Spencer - 10 tickets Quinton Reynolds - 10 tickets Buddy Swain - 10 tickets Katrina Stone - 10 tickets
As you can see we only 22 people helping to sell these tickets! Imagine what we'll get done when EVERYONE helps out!!
Hannah Swain - 10 tickets
Thanks for your continued support!
Grace Swain - 40 tickets
Bridget E. Spruill
Karli Hollis - 10 tickets
Extension Agent
Frank Winslow - 50 tickets
4-H Youth Development
Danelle Davis - 10 tickets
Tyrrell County Center
Wyatt Swain - 20 tickets
North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Saige Roughton - 20 tickets Sam Clough - 20 tickets Dawson Jones - 50 tickets Stephen Spruill - 40 tickets Megan Jones - 10 tickets
P.O. Box 209 Columbia, NC 27925 Phone: 252-796-1581 Â Bridget_Spruill@ncsu.edu http://tyrrell.ces.ncsu.edu
Catherine Smith - 10 tickets Jonathan Smith - 10 tickets
Megan Spencer - 10 tickets
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IN FLANDERS FIELDS BY WILLIAM R. WEST
November 11, 1918, was a momentous day for the Western world and a fateful day in my maternal uncle, Billy (William Thomas) Beasley’s life. Uncle Billy was a doughboy, a member of the United States Army “Fighting Wildcats,” in a trench in France. World War I was precipitated by a chain of events. On June 14, 1914, Gavrilo Princep, a Yugoslavian nationalist, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, grandson and heirapparent to Emperor Franz Josef of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Because Serbian military men were involved in the plot, Austro-Hungary declared war on Yugoslavia and Serbia. Russia, siding with the Serbians, declared war on the Austro-Hungarians. Germany, going to the aid of their kin, the Austrians, declared war on Russia. France, honoring a treaty with Russia, then declared war on Germany and Austro-Hungary. England, going to the aid of France,
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declared War on Germany, and like dominoes, the nations joined the fray. The United States shipped aid to the English and French and German U-boats attacked U.S. shipping, so the U.S. declared war on Germany. War I had raged for four years and millions had died. The same few yards of ground between opposing trenches had been won and lost time and time again. Ground-shaking, rolling artillery barrages had buried the living and the dead and then uncovered the corpses again. Machine guns mowed down rows of charging men as efficiently as Ken Cherry’s combines mow wheat on a June afternoon. Mustard, phosgene, chlorine and other gases had seared lungs, blinded eyes, and killed the promise of nearly an entire generation. The odds of leaving the trenches alive and unwounded were poor. On that November morning, Uncle Billy and the men in the trench had been told that they would “go over the top” and charge across no man’s land to attack the German lines. The attack was to begin precisely on the eleventh hour.
Just a few moments before the whistle was to signal the attack, there were sounds of cheering from the German lines. They climbed out of their trenches, singing, dancing, cheering, and waving. They had learned before the Americans that an armistice was to be signed between the warring nations on the eleventh hour. The men of both armies joined in the no man’s land between the trenches. Men, who a few moments before would have killed each other, shook hands, exchanged cigarettes, embraced, sang and danced together, and killing was the farthest thing from their thoughts. As a young boy growing up in Tyrrell County I remember a feeling of awe when the American Legion, the former doughboys who had survived the killing fields, paraded by with flags and heads held high on Armistice Day. There was a small, red, paper poppy in the lapel or shirt pocket of nearly every man, who with bared head, watched those parades. The paper blossoms, made by wounded veterans, represented the wild red poppies that grew on the graves of the fallen in France and Belgium. www.ScuppernongGazette.com
Marvin Cahoon sold those paper poppies every year at the Scuppernong River Festival. In 1984, on a trip to East Africa, our group had a layover at a small hotel in the countryside just outside of Brussels, Belgium. That afternoon, my roommate and our guide, Dr. Christopher Schuberth, and I rambled along the nearby roads through ripening wheat fields. I saw bright red poppies blowing among the wheat. Tears ran down my cheeks and there was a lump in my throat, when I remembered uncle Billy’s close call and a poem written by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel
John McCrae that I had learned in school: “In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row, that mark our place; and in the sky the larks, still bravely singing, fly scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, loved and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders fields.
If ye break faith with us who die we shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders fields.” Uncle Billy returned home uninjured but Lieutenant Colonel McCrae died in the poppy fields. Red poppies still grow in Flanders fields but how many remember those who lie there?
Bill West
Take up our quarrel with the foe: to you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high.
The American Legion Post 182 sponsored a Ve t e r a n s D a y Service at the Madge VanHor n Auditorium on November 11, 2010 at 11:00 am. Guest speaker was Sergeant Major Tony Rose, USA, retired, 9/11 survivor and rescuer. The Tyrrell County Community Chorus gave a wonderful concert.a special tribute in
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Couple of the Month Trey and Rebecca Liverman
dressed as Gum Neck farmers Alvin Smith and Joe Livermen. Joe is Trey's father. The event was the Gum Neck church of Christ's Fall Festival held on Sat. Oct 30th. 2010
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SCUPPERNONG Gazette 436 Bridgepath Road Columbia, NC 27925 Tyrrell County www.ColumbiaNC.com www.ScuppernongGazette.com 252-796-4513 nelip@mac.com If you like to purchase a print magazine, please log on to http://www.magcloud.com and search for Scuppernong Gazette
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