NWO Kids’ Korner .......................................17

Now, more than ever, I savor partaking of my morning “fix” from my beautifully flowered cup. After rehashing these youthful morning glory memories and perusing Amazon and eBay, I discovered my milk glass treasure is worth much more than I paid for it – I probably purchased my little cup for 25 or 50 cents at a yard sale, not dreaming it was an antique!

During WWll, coffee, as well as many other staples, was rationed. Thus, the root of the chicory plant was processed and added to different brands of favorite breakfast brews. Our troops overseas deserved the best, as they were on the front lines fighting for our freedom, so they were naturally treated to 100% pure, rich coffee. Mama and my older brothers gladly drank their chicory-laced mixture – black, hot and sweet!

Sugar was also scarce, but our mother did without other things so that we could always have plenty for making her delicious pies and cakes. Saccharin tablets (a sugar substitute) were always on our table during the war years. Mama used the little white pills that “fizzed” when dropped into a hot cup of liquid, but I thought it tasted nasty. With plenty of Jersey cow milk available, my young siblings and I drank “white” coffee, mostly milk with a small amount of the brown, freshly perked brew – and several spoonsful of sugar. We often floated a crusty biscuit in the concoction and enjoyed a complete breakfast in a cup (though ham, eggs, hash browns, gravy, etc., were always available!).

We have seen shortages of many items in stores during this lasting pandemic, but if you struggle to do without your creature comforts, be glad you were not yet born in the ‘40s. We had our own home-churned butter, but some folks had to make do with government-issued bags of plain lard with a small round circle of food coloring in the middle. When you mashed and kneaded that coloring into the lard, it became yellow. It wasn’t butter, nor was it margarine – it was colored lard.

Well, back to the sugar shortages in the years of war when I was a child. Everything was purchased with government stamps issued in a book to each family member. We knew people who knew others in power who helped them buy things illegally. There were some acquaintances who bragged about purchasing sugar by the 100-pound bag. We, of course, would not have had that kind of money, and would not have tried to break the rules. But with careful planning, we ate well and enjoyed having our sugary treats.

I was too little to remember, but my brother Bill told me the story of when he and my sister, Jewell, stole a whole 5-pound bag of sugar from the kitchen. They dragged the cloth bag of sugar to the small alcove at the bottom of the stairs and shut the door. Later, in looking for the little thieves, Mama opened the door that led to the stairs. There sat my sister and brother, each with one corner of the cloth sugar bag in their mouth, sucking away and getting all the sweetness they could, until caught. Never a dull moment at our house!

There was a time when I drank my coffee black and it wasn’t decaf – that was before an ulcer intervened. I got hooked on coffee creamer – no sugar – and still look forward each morning to “white coffee” (like in the olden days!)

Friends, enjoy your expensive lattes – my morning glory cup filled with Folgers decaf coffee and I are doing just fine, thank you…

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will be out of quarantine.”

The temporary closing of Revolution Academy on N.C. 150 marks the biggest back-to-school disruption reported in Guilford County. As of last Thursday, Aug. 26, 242 students, including 99 student athletes, attending Guilford County Schools (GCS) were quarantining, according to Superintendent Sharon Contreras.

Five of the GCS cases were linked to students attending school, Contreras told reporters in a briefing last week. By contrast, many of the positive cases among Revolution Academy staff and students may have originated in the school, although the exact cause isn’t known, according to Sauer.

As of last Friday, Aug. 27, 14 of 43 staff members and 13 of 640 students at Revolution Academy had tested positive for the virus, Sauer said. Some students were still waiting for test results, raising the possibility of more positive cases, she said.

“We had staff development and it spread among the staff,” Sauer said in an interview last week. In an email to parents explaining the temporary closing of the school, the principal said two ill staff members had not tested positive for COVID, but “other staff members have tested positive or are quarantining due to exposure … and there exists the possibility of an outbreak in the building.”

Parents, students and staff attending an open house at the school Tuesday, Aug. 17, may have been exposed, according to Sauer. The school also hosted parent orientation meetings. Others may have been exposed on the first day of school, she said.

“You can’t exactly trace it,” Sauer said. “It’s impossible to know because (COVID-19) is so widespread in the community.”

Fewer than half of the people who attended the open house wore masks, according to the principal.

“There were a lot of people at open house not wearing masks,” she acknowledged. “It was supposed to be in-and-out, come-and-go teacher meetings. I think that changed people’s behavior somewhat.”

Following GCS’ guidance for the start of the academic year, Revolution Academy is requiring people to wear masks in the school building, Sauer said. However, masking wasn’t universal on the first day of school, partly because some staff members and children had sought exemptions from wearing masks due to medical, behavioral and other issues.

“We are following the Guilford County mask mandate, which allows exceptions,” said Sauer, estimating that fewer than 100 staff members and students had filed applications seeking exceptions. Revolution Academy isn’t requiring documentation to justify the exemption, she said.

A report of the school’s closing posted on the Northwest Observer’s Facebook page last week drew a range of reactions, with parents debating the effectiveness of the school’s precautions. Others differed over the efficacy of masking.

“There is legitimate debate about whether masks work,” said Sauer, explaining that she wears a mask until she becomes dizzy.

“Our school’s philosophy is that we are not the parents,” she said. “What we’re trying to do as a school is understand that for some people there are really downsides to masks that outweigh any positive. We are following all of the mandates. But we are trying to do it in a way that respects people’s medical and behavioral issues.”

In a letter to parents last week, Sauer identified more than a dozen precautions put in place for the reopening of Revolution Academy. Air-cleaning ionizers are being installed in the school’s heating, ventilation

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and air conditioning system, and “the building will be aggressively cleaned daily,” she said.

The number of visitors, volunteers and parents eating lunch with their children will be limited, according to the letter. All people entering the building will have their temperature checked.

“Assemblies will be held outside, where the virus is less likely to spread,” Sauer said. “Student desks will be distanced when possible.”

Elsewhere, a spot check of several northwest and northern area schools found a relatively small number of students under quarantine, due to exposure outside of school. As of last week, the numbers ranged from fewer than five to about a dozen, according to principals.

While Summerfield Charter Academy is requiring masks and limiting visitors, it’s allowing parents to walk their children into the building in the morning, Principal Rudy Swofford said.

If COVID-19 cases continue rising, more restrictive measures are possible, he said.

“It’s frustrating,” Swo ord said. “ e biggest part of the frustration is we didn’t think we’d be frustrated this way. When we were making decisions about school operating in July and early August, we weren’t going to be operating under these types of restrictions.”

At Northern Guilford Elementary School, students are walking outdoors to change classes in rooms with exterior doors. Principal Robert Richmond added the precaution this school year, on top of steps that carried over from last year.

Those include spreading children across the school’s property for recess and requiring walks outside of the building to give children and teachers a break from masks, Richmond noted.

The reopening of school “feels very normal,” at Northern Guilford Middle School, said Principal Karen Ellis.

BI-RITE ...continued from p. 1

and the huge fresh produce section.

In his typical fashion, owner David Wrenn raced around the store greeting customers, helping locate items and tracking down prices.

“This is our soft opening,” Wrenn said as he passed by. “We’ll be doing a grand opening in October. Still, there’s so much excitement here today and I’m very

“Everyone is thankful to be in the classroom,” she said. “Students are wearing their masks and walking in a straight line down the halls. No one seems to be bothered by any of these events.”

At Oak Ridge Elementary School, students are allowed to go through the lunch line, but, like last year, are required to eat in their classrooms. If conditions allow, students are going to rotate back to eating in the cafeteria, Principal Penny Loschin said.

“Masking has not been an issue,” she said. “For our kids, it’s just part of their attire. They know that in order for us to be in the building and to be safe we have to wear our masks.”

At Northwest Guilford High School, staff occasionally “has to remind students to put their masks over their noses,” Principal Ashley Young said.

“The kids have been wonderful,” she added. “They just want to be in school. Whatever your thoughts are, this is going to be the safest way for our students and our staff. They are getting it done.’’

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Gene Shelton and his wife, Gwynn, 888-716-WAKE were exiting the new store with their groceries when Wrenn stopped to greet ACCEPTING MOST MAJOR INSURANCE PROVIDERS. them. The Sheltons have been shopping at Bi-Rite for 46 years and were eager to see the new offerings.

“It’s great,” Gene Shelton said. “I never realized it was gonna be like The Northwest Observer • Totally local since 1996 this but, man, it’s a supermarket sure enough.” SEPT. 2 - 15, 2021 31