Toombs County Magazine Fall/Winter 2018

Toombs County

Finding America

Her math skills led her to America where Inna Edwards was surprised to find that life is good.

A Marché aux Puces

Two women from different paths share a love for unique treasures at their French-style market.

The Miracle of Grace

With only a few weeks to live, Margaret Collins walked into a miracle.

Queen of the Game

RTCA football kicker and Homecoming Queen Hannah Keene’s positive message: just be yourself.

“It’s an honor to serve you and your families. Stop by and visit with us today!”

Left to right: Dr. Stewart Hamilton, Dr. Kacy Morris, Dr. Rick Kimbrel

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MEET OUR PROVIDERS

Left to Right: Kate Wall, FNP-C, Candice Purvis, PA-C, RD, LD, Etta Boss-Cole, M.D., Archie Kirkley, PA-C, Molly Minter, FNP-C, and Laura White, FNP-C

Not pictured: Claudio D. Machado, M.D.

12 | STEM Takes Root in Onion Country

Attallaka Harris-Williams focuses on integrating science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs in local schools.

24 | Ranch Life

Growing up out west and around his veterinarian grandfather gave Tim Roose a deep appreciation for life on the farm.

34 | The Eyes of the Heart

By capturing glimpses of the past in her paintings, artist and VHS teacher Elizabeth Wolfe connects to family she never knew.

44 | Finding America

Inna Edwards never dreamed of coming to America, but when a visit here dispelled her misconceptions and offered her a future, she decided to make it home.

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Rialto...True. Authentic. Italian.

With roots in a New York dairy farming community, Kris Eisenhut found his way South to give Vidalia a little taste of Italy.

68 | Queen of the Game

As the kicker for Robert Toombs Christian Academy’s football team, Hannah Keene is a role model for girls who love sports.

78 | The Miracle of Grace

Margaret Collins is a giver, but when death was at her door, she learned to be a receiver... of miracles and God’s grace.

88 | Skills to Save the World

Mark Montfort teaches local students the many benefits of agriculture education.

98 | A Marché aux Puces Like None Other

Two women from different paths create a French inspired market in the heart of Lyons.

108 | Changing Lives with Education

As academic education program director for the Georgia Department of Corrections, Jennifer Irvin sees first-hand how education can make a difference.

115 |

Paper Napkin Interviews

Local restaurant owners share the inspiration behind their businesses, their goals for the future, and some of their “go to” recipes.

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120

120 |

Coming Together

Inspired by memories of their son, Darrell and Ty Ann Copeland built an event center to celebrate joyful occasions.

144 | Last Words

Small town life can have its disadvantages, but it’s still what we call home.

focus on health

11 | Are you 45 or Older?

This is for You. New recommendations aim at reducing colorectal cancer occurrences in young adults.

About the Cover

98

every issue

125 | Main Street Lyons

126 | Local Marketplace

128 | Downtown Vidalia Association

130 | Hometown Happenings

134 | Chamber of Commerce

136 | Scenes of Toombs

Inna Edwards had an idyllic childhood in St. Petersburg, Russia, surrounded by beautiful buildings, culture, art and a comfortable lifestyle. But as a young adult, times became more difficult. By the time the Russian economy collapsed in the late 90s, Inna began to see hopelessness in her neighbors. During a visit to America, Inna discovered an opportunity to work in the University system and eventually met Dr. Darel Edwards of Vidalia. Here Inna Edwards is shown with Tom, one of her two dogs.

A taste of home

“We enjoyed our visit with you. We are sending a care package from home with some pasta, spaghetti sauce, and olives.” The email was from our friends Dent and Marsha Temples who, while visiting Rome, had met us for dinner. Tommie gave me a puzzled look....after all, these are the primary things we’ve eaten since our temporary job opportunity in Rome.

A few days later, we were thrilled to receive the package. We laughed because instead of pasta and sauce, the Temples had actually sent bags of butterbeans, blackeyed peas, cornbread and grits–all things that I miss and have been unable to find in the Eternal City. Needless to say, we had a feast that night. My kids literally only wanted to eat butterbeans and cornbread for two days.

A few weeks later, my sister visited with her family and brought stories and laughter and good times like old times. Then came Shirley Somers and her daughter Savanna. We had a couple of nice evenings catching up over dinner, and I think we talked their ears off because it was so good to connect with people we know and to converse in English.

After that, we had a visit from Tommie’s brother Clint, his wife Teri, who is one of our writers, and their grandchildren. It was Thanksgiving week, and Romans do not celebrate Thanksgiving, so I wasn’t sure what to do about that. “Well, we have to have Thanksgiving,” said Clint. As he headed out to our local butcher shop to find a turkey, Teri and I searched the grocery store for anything that resembled corn meal. Good Southern dressing always starts with corn bread. With pocket translator in hand we searched the aisles, translating ingredients for an hour until we came up with the closest thing we could find – “corn flour” for making polenta. We also had to substitute gouda and provolone for cheddar and Velveeta in Lluuanna’s famous mac and cheese recipe. Clint of course, returned with a pork loin and a huge turkey breast that he seasoned with my Italian spices. We all wondered if we could pull this off without our usual ingredients, but a few hours later my house smelled just like “home.” Each of the dishes were fabulous. We are even talking about making optional notes to the family cookbook. This is proof that sometimes compromise works well.

It was a different Thanksgiving for sure. But it was good. It made me realize how important it is to be flexible and to enjoy the giving of thanks no matter where you are. Each of these visits has helped us feel closer to Toombs County, and in return, we have been able to share Rome with our friends. It’s a weird place to live in between two entirely different cultures, but ultimately the relationships you foster are what keep you anchored.

This issue of TCM is one of my favorites. It has been a delight to work on these stories and to think about all of you who make South Georgia great. In the daily grind, it is easy to take your community for granted, but from my viewpoint, Toombs County, you are the most special place on Earth! thankful,

Stephanie Williams Executive Editor

To share a story, send a note, or just get information: toombscountymagazine@gmail.com • (912) 293-0063

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Are you 45 or older? This is for you.

New recommendations aim at reducing colorectal cancer occurrences in young adults

now recommend that doctors give patients a wider range of test options to choose from, in hopes that more choices will result in more screenings.

WHAT ARE THE RECOMMENDED SCREENING TESTS?

Several options are now available for CRC screening. There are differences among the tests, but the most important thing is to just get screened.

Stool Tests

NEW AGE RECOMMENDATIONS

• People at average risk of colorectal cancer should start regular screening at age 45.

• People who are in good health and with a life expectancy of more than 10 years should continue regular colorectal cancer screening through the age of 75.

Some things you would rather avoid in life, but when it comes down to it, you know they are important. Colorectal cancer screening is one of those things. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth most common non-skin cancer in America, and the second-leading cause of cancer deaths. Over 140,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with CRC in 2018. The good news is that CRC can be caught early and treated with positive outcomes, simply by following a screening regimen.

With incidence rates rising sharply among younger adults and new technology available, the American Cancer Society (ACS) recently moved to update their guidelines for colorectal screening. Two of the more significant changes to the guidelines include age recommendations for testing and more testing options for patients.

WHY THE CHANGES?

According to research by ACS and the National Cancer Institute, incidence and mortality rates for adults 55 years and older have shown a decline since 2000, largely due to early detection from screening measures. In contrast, adults younger than 55 have shown a sharp increase over the past 20 years. After reviewing their own research data, the ACS Guideline Development Committee concluded that a beginning screening age of 45 instead of 50 for adults of average risk will result in more lives saved. The ACS committee also researched the available tests that are used for CRC screening. They took into consideration advances in technology, patient sensitivity, and the pros and cons of each test and how it prevents or helps find cancer. With individual preference in mind, the guidelines

Due to improved technology, stool tests can more accurately detect DNA mutations or signs of blood that may indicate cancer. This is a huge relief for those who refuse to have a colonoscopy. However, most doctors feel that seeing is believing, and if you have an abnormal stool test, the recommendation is to complete the screening with a colonoscopy anyway. The types of stool tests include:

• Fecal immunochemical test every year

• High-sensitivity, guaiac-based fecal occult blood test every year

• Multi-target stool DNA test every three years

Any positive stool tests usually warrants a colonoscopy.

Endoscopic or Imaging Examinations

Endoscopic procedures can be in-depth requiring preparation and sedation, but they do reveal what can’t be seen with a stool test–small polyps that may pose a threat of developing into tumors later on. Colonoscopy prep is also easier than it used to be. If you dread the prep more than the procedure, talk to your doctor about different options. Visual exams include:

• Colonoscopy every 10 years

• CT colonography every five years

• Flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years

“We hope that the new age recommendations and screening options will reduce incidence rates and catch the disease early enough to improve outcomes for more patients,” said Dr. Kurt Hofmann of

• People ages 76 through 85 should make a decision with their medical provider about whether to be screened, based on their own personal preferences, life expectancy, overall health, and prior screening history.

• People over 85 should no longer get colorectal cancer screening.

You are considered Average Risk if you DO NOT have:

• A personal history of colorectal cancer or certain types of polyps

• A family history of colorectal cancer

• A personal history of inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease)

• A confirmed or suspected hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome, such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or Lynch syndrome (hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer or HNPCC)

• A personal history of getting radiation to the abdomen (belly) or pelvic area to treat a prior cancer

Vidalia Surgical Associates. “But reaching that goal starts with the patient. The screening you choose is not quite as important as just making the effort to get screened.”

To find out more about CRC screening or to make an appointment for your screening, call Vidalia Surgical Associates at 912.538.9977 Remember, screening is a test to find an asymptomatic abnormality before it becomes a problem.

STEM takes root in Onion Country

RENÉE MARTIN

How do we create hunger for learning in our

children?

It’s a valid question. But the more critical question may actually be: How do we maintain hunger for learning?

Children are born with an innate sense of curiosity. They are all scientists by instinct. Children naturally want to discover and experience the world around them from the moment they enter the world. But between those early years of exploration and middle school adolescence, learning often becomes something to endure rather than to enjoy, and simple childlike fascination is replaced by what must be learned to pass a test. Attallaka Harris-Williams believes that the key to restoring a child’s hunger for learning is through STEM.

STEM camp helps jump start kids' imaginations and teaches them to think outside the box. When they realize that math, engineering and science can be "fun," students become more receptive to learning about the many fields of study these subjects encompass.

“STEM,” said Attallaka, “is the integration of science, technology, engineering and math into all the other disciplines. It’s a culture, a way of reasoning. STEM is adding that additional component to education to make the kids think, to explore and investigate on their own.”

Attallaka has always been on the cutting edge of positive change. “I was the first black drum major in Toombs County after integration” (1987-1988). She was in the first class of graduating seniors from Toombs County High School (formerly known as Lyons Senior High School). Attallaka is also the first African-American to hold a district-level position as the Toombs County School System's STEM coordinator.

But teaching wasn't Attallaka's initial goal. After high school, she went to Georgia Southern University where she graduated with an undergraduate degree in printing management. She then moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to take a position with Quad

Graphics, “the largest privately held printer in the United States at that time.”

It only took one incident to convince Attallaka to make a career change. “I was on call twenty-four hours a day, and I got called into the plant in the middle of the night. I looked at my son Allyn in this little carrier on my desk and in my mind, I fast forwarded six years and thought, ‘What if I got called into the plant in the middle of the night and he had school the next morning?’”

Attallaka reasoned that teaching school would enable her to be on the same schedule as her son. By entering the educational system, she would also be continuing a thirdgeneration tradition. Her mother, Alfredia McManus, was an English/Language Arts teacher in Toombs County for twenty-five years. Her grandmother, Dorothy F. Davis, was a librarian at J.D. Dickerson for many years.

Attallaka’s interest in STEM was first ignited by the words of her technology education professor, Dr. Creighton Alexander. “He taught us that technology education was for every child regardless of their abilities, and it sparked something in me.” STEM wasn’t for a certain group of kids. “There is something for everyone in STEM. It’s something every child can do.” The only prerequisite is having a healthy dose of childlike curiosity.

Attallaka taught middle school technology education in Clayton County for five years before coming to the Toombs County School system in 2006. Since that time, she has made advancing and integrating STEM throughout learning a personal goal. In 2008-2009, she was awarded “Advisor of the Year” by the Technology Student Association. In 2014, Attallaka transitioned to the high school to teach engineering technology.

Since becoming the district STEM coordinator and Advisor for TSA (Technology Student Association), interest and participation in TSA at Toombs County High School has continued to grow. Students compete with other high schools across Georgia. “We do things like

robotics, architectural design, computer-aided drafting, video production, and web design,” she explained. The organization has competed at state twice. The goal of TSA members this year is to compete at nationals in Washington, D.C.”

One of the most common complaints teachers hear from students is that they can see no relevance in what they are required to learn and what they will need to succeed in real life. STEM helps make that connection for many. Just about every job imaginable has some component of STEM from technology, health, medicine, education and agriculture to carpentry, plumbing and electric services. “It’s not just cyber security jobs,” said Attallaka, “although they are unquestionably plentiful right now.” In the past her high school students have “jobshadowed” at local industries like Chicken of the Sea and Meredith Industries with professionals and technologists including Nancy Palmer and Natasha Farmer.

Last year, Attallaka invited STEM-related professionals from under-represented demographics to speak to her Engineering Applications class to convey a “This could be you!” message. “It is a message I was raised not just to believe in but to live out,” she said. Of the four participants, two were women and two were minorities.

In 2017, Attallaka also held the first STEM summer camp. “We had 19 third through fifth grade boys and girls participate in the three-day camp the first year, and 24 came to the camp in 2018. The kids came from Toombs County, Sally D. Meadows, Robert Toombs Christian Academy and Vidalia Heritage.” For three days, kids explored STEM education through activities and experiments.

The camp was a community effort and was made possible because of donations from businesses and people including Handy Andy, Wilkes Office Supply, Chick-Fil-A, Zaxby’s, Alysa Marsicano, Plant Hatch Women in Nuclear, Cameron Asbell and Matthew Stembridge of Ohoopee Regional Library and Wendi Sikes. “Matthew Stembridge and Cameron Asbell from Ohoopee Regional Library come down every year and help. They are awesome,” said Attallaka.

Rotating through the different areas of STEM, kids learned “simple computer coding” for the math portion. For science, “We talked about the different types of owls and the food chain, then put on gloves and took owl pellets apart to see what the owls were eating. We identified and classified the bones and little skulls we discovered,” said Attallaka. What kid wouldn’t want to do that to learn science?

For the technology portion of STEM camp, kids learned about electricity by putting together electronic kits. They also learned to research a subject, which is an important part of learning in technology. “We had an animal theme this year. Everybody picked a small animal to research their habitat and characteristics. Children made dioramas to depict what they had learned. For engineering, we did a lot of building with K’Nex,” said Attallaka.

Since the youngest of my four children is now twenty-

“What good is an idea if it remains an idea? Try. Experiment. Iterate. Fail. Try again. Change the world.”

–Simon Sinek

Attallaka started

F.L.A.M.E.S. (Females Learning the Application of Math, Engineering and Science) for girls in third to fifth grade. The group meets quarterly at Ohoopee Regional Library to participate in projects aimed at sparking interest in subjects like math and science. Attallaka hopes to change the stereotype that girls can't enjoy or perform well in these subjects.

ABOVE Attallaka's desire for STEM programs to succeed means educating adults as well as children. She looks for ways to expose teachers to STEM techniques they can use in their classrooms. Recently, she hosted a workshop for local teachers to learn more about using robotics in the classroom.

eight years old, I’d never heard of K’Nex. What I discovered was that K’Nex takes Lincoln Logs and Legos to a whole new level. As I looked through the many variations of the construction toy system, I wondered if perhaps the doorway to new invention is as simple as “play.”

Play. Curiosity. Essential keys to the future.

I thought of Thomas Edison. When a reporter once asked him how it felt to fail 10,000 times while trying to invent the light bulb, he replied, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” All that it took was one discovery to light up the world. But before the one, there were 10,000 tries. Too often our children learn to judge success by a high grade rather than to see value in the journey of learning. Trial and error can often be a better teacher than memorization of facts. The one problem missed on a test is the one that will never be forgotten. STEM is about the journey of learning, reasoning, critical thinking, and problem-solving. When faced with issues without answers, the future may very well depend on these qualities.

As I envisioned the twenty-four kids at STEM Camp this past summer building and creating with K’Nex, digging through owl pellets and classifying bones, I thought of more inventors and scientists like Einstein and Tesla. I also thought of Mary Anderson, the inventor of the windshield wiper, and Marion O'Brien Donovan, the inventor of the first waterproof disposable diaper. (She should have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for saving the sanity of mothers worldwide.) Of course, the list of amazing women inventors is extensive, which leads me to another important project for Attallaka called F.L.A.M.E.S.

“F.L.A.M.E.S. stands for ‘Females Learning the Application of Math, Engineering and Science'

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and is for girls in third to fifth grade.” She meets with the girls in F.L.A.M.E.S. quarterly at the Ohoopee Regional Library. “The purpose of F.L.A.M.E.S is to spark more interest in STEM than regular science class alone to get them to see how things are interrelated. There’s a cultural attitude toward girls. You’ve seen the research. Girls outperform boys in math and science at young ages, and then as they get older, boys take over, and the gap starts widening. I try to dispel the myth that girls aren’t good in STEM [subjects] and change that mindset.

“I have a personal understanding of what it is like to be the only African-American, the only female or the only African-American female in certain fields,” said Attallaka. “I understand the importance of exposing girls to traditionally male-dominated areas. There is a disproportionate representation of females in STEM-related fields. Girls only need exposure and encouragement to pursue these fields if they are to dispel the myths and break out of the stereotypes and antiquated thinking.”

One of the many projects girls in F.L.A.M.E.S. have enjoyed involved a buoyancy experiment. “We took a bucket of water and had the girls predict which of a group of items would float, which would sink, and tell why or why not. Another experiment involved first reading a version of Humpty Dumpty. Then we had an egg drop contest where they had to make a container

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that would keep an egg from cracking when it is dropped from the top of a ladder.”

Attallaka's support of STEM doesn't stop with students. “I look for opportunities to expose other adults and educators to STEM education as well,” she said. Whether she's making presentations during a professional learning day or hosting a free coding workshop for teachers, Attallaka is proving that all teachers can incorporate STEM concepts into their classrooms.

“Most STEM jobs have not yet been created,” said Attallaka. We have only to look down at the cell phone next to us to understand just how fast technology can change the world. Creativity and inventiveness

depend on the imagination of our children. Information is only part of learning. As principles of STEM are integrated into other disciplines of education, exploration and knowledge can help breathe life into our children’s educational experience, and Attallaka HarrisWilliams is doing all she can to help make that possible in Toombs County. UTCM

In addition to being the Toombs County School System's STEM coordinator, Attallaka is also an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Phi Delta Omega Chapter and serves on the board of Becoming Sharpe, Inc.

TOP Attallaka with her three sons Jordan, Allyn and Cameron. ABOVE Attallaka's TSA (Technology Student Association) students compete against other Georgia high school students in areas like robotics, architectural design, computer-aided drafting, video production and web design.

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Think your body is a lost cause? THINK AGAIN

Studies show that a healthy lifestyle with a good diet and moderate exercise can help control weight, reduce body pain and disease, increase mental capacity and provide a more confident attitude toward life and relationships. So how do you gain a healthy lifestyle? It all starts with understanding how your body works to fuel itself. Fad diets and improper weight training can actually do you more harm than good, which is why A Health Revival has developed a more educated approach to body maintenance that puts you on a path for success.

Will you lose weight with our plan? Yes. Will you starve yourself or have to completely give up

your favorite foods? No. A Health Revival teaches you how to be in charge of your healthy lifestyle and how to make choices that provide long term benefits. There are no pills, no shakes, no 3 hour workouts. Instead, we offer recipes, tips, educational tools and daily support in an app you can maintain on your phone as well as daily coaching with a real person.

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For years I struggled wtth drug addictions, and an eating disorder, depression and an overall terrible self image. Most people would never have known how much I struggled because I hid it well, but inside I was dying. It's still hard to believe my life is so different today. I have a healthy relationship with food, my body, and my inner self. If I can get here so can you. Together we can and we will. look forward to taking this journey with you

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My personal journey of losing 50 pounds along with moving away from toxic circumstances is why I get your pain, and I am ready to help you move forward toward a place that feels right for YOU!

I lost my job because I was unable to perform the duties associated with my position because I suffered from constant fatigue. My former athletic self decided to join A Health Revival. Now many pounds lighter, I am excited about new options for me. I have stayed with the program 9 months now and have lost over 50 pounds. Try it for free for 14 days and you will see how easy it is and the amazing coaching and support of the community is like nothing else you will experience. –Deb R.

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Life

Evan Collins Certified

Coach /CF

BY RENÉE MARTIN PHOTOS BY DAPHNE WALKER

RANCH LIFE

BY TRADE, TIM ROOSE

WORKS IN THE MEDICAL FIELD, BUT HIS HOBBY OF RAISING BLACK ANGUS CATTLE STEMS FROM A HISTORY OF GROWING UP OUT WEST AROUND HORSES AND A VETERINARY GRANDFATHER.

Raising Angus cattle may seem a strange hobby for a nurse anesthetist, but the cows were actually a birthday gift for Tim’s father. His father farmed a little as a young boy and even worked with a rancher’s cows for a while, but as an adult, he lived and worked in the city. When Tim’s father became ill, he moved his parents to Vidalia and built them a house on his land.

“For my father’s birthday, he said, ‘I’ve always worked for someone else and taken care of someone else’s stuff. I’d really like to have something of my own.’” At the time, Tim kept a few limousine cows just to eat the grass in his fields. His good friend, the late Dr. Garbutt, suggested he get his father a few Black Angus cattle.

“Black Angus are so docile, you can usually walk right up and pet them,” said Tim. Dr. Garbutt had another bit of advice for his friend that would prove to hold true. “He said do ‘grass-fed, all natural, no steroids, no antibiotics. It’s the wave of the future.’ He called these ‘Hippie Cows.’” Dr. Garbutt died a few years later, but Tim took his friend’s advice and has been raising “hippie cows” ever since.

Slowly, he thinned his herd of Limousines and bought six head of Black Angus from Waycross, Georgia. All six were pregnant at the time. “My dad would go out in the golf cart and feed them by hand. He was in hog heaven.” Tim bought a Black Angus bull and “the next thing we knew, we had twenty-four, then forty-eight.”

Before there was Roose Angus Ranch, Tim bred and raised horses—Appaloosa horses. “Native American Indians out West loved them because they were small and stocky and could run forever. They were known for their endurance.” His love for horses began as a young boy growing up in Butte, Montana. “We lived in town, but my dad’s best friend, Bob Murphy, had a horse ranch. I would hitchhike out there and back when you could do that and not be scared of getting murdered.” He smiled slightly, but it was true.

“His place was like a ‘dude ranch’ where people came and rented horses to ride. Bob Murphy was extremely smart with horses. He was like one of the first horse whisperers. He was a calming force around them. Bob never hit a horse. I learned a lot from him. I would

go out there to clean the tack and get everything ready for the customers. I was basically free labor,” laughed Tim. “But I got to ride the horses when people weren’t there.”

During the summer months, Tim stayed with his grandfather in Parsons, West Virginia. “My grandfather, Irvin Cox, was a veterinarian. I stayed with him in the summers from the time I was six or seven until his death when I was 13. He was a Renaissance man. He graduated during the Depression with a degree in veterinary medicine and couldn’t get a job. So, he went back home and farmed and worked in a tannery to supplement his income until he could get his veterinary business going. He did a little bit of everything. He would come to your house and sew up both people and horses. He would do a C-section on your dog and then set your son’s arm. He was quite a guy. Back in the Depression, people didn’t have money, so he would have five pounds of bacon or something like that left on his porch for payment.”

When Tim would visit his grandfather, the veterinarian would rig the car with four by four pieces of wood so Tim could reach the pedals. “He hated to drive,” said Tim. “I would drive him to all of these little calls all over town to check on horses and cows and pigs and everything else. We were pulling calves and setting animal’s legs. We were doing a little bit of everything. I learned so much from him too.”

Tim remembered one day in particular when he was driving his grandfather around. “I saw a flashing red light behind us. Back then, the police car had only one red light on top like Barney Fife. I was maybe nine years old. The policeman came up and spoke to my grandfather. He asked him how he’s doing. The whole time I was sweating thinking I was going to jail. Finally, he asked, ‘So this is your grandson?’ My grandfather nodded. ‘Well, you be careful,’ he said, and we drove off.”

Tim went to nursing school in Bozeman, and then to Utah for a P.A. degree. After Utah, he went to Kansas and got his Nursing Anesthesia degree. When he returned to Montana, he said, “They had closed the hospital where I was from, so I decided to look for some place with no snow.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t like the snow. There was nothing Tim loved more than snow skiing. In fact, he loved it so much that when he was in nursing school in Bozeman, he would set up his class schedule so he could ski in the morning before class and then go back to the slopes after class and ski until dark. But after several knee surgeries and finally, a total knee replacement, it didn’t take a degree in the medical field to know his skiing days were over. After that, Tim saw no enjoyment in sticking around in a place with a bunch of snow. A job offer brought him to Vidalia in 1985. And thirty-three years later, he still calls Toombs County home.

Tim no longer raises Appaloosa, but he and his wife Rita share the duties of raising the Black Angus cattle, goats and ducks at Roose Angus Ranch near Alston.

Tim Roose grew up in Montana where his love for animals began. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT When he was young, Tim spent summers with his grandfather Irving William Cox, who was a veterinarian, and his grandmother Strawdie. Tim's grandfather's first veterinary hospital. After Tim moved his parents to Vidalia, he bought his father some Black Angus cattle as a birthday gift. For years, Tim raised and bred Appaloosa horses. Tim with his first horse in 1959.

“My kids, Terra and Travis, were young when we first moved here,” said Tim. “I wanted to get them involved in something. I don't know why I picked pottery for Terra, but I thought maybe she would like that.” But something that happened at an outdoor stage play in 1990 during Vidalia’s centennial celebrations, would bring an unexpected change of plans. “The horses were being kept behind the stage, and all the people running across the stage in costumes and the crowds of people had the horses spooked. The guys wrangling the horses didn’t know what to do. The more nervous they got, the more nervous the horses got. I thought, ‘Somebody is going to get hurt.’ I told my daughter, ‘Let’s go over there and help these guys.’ I showed her what to do, and we got the horses calmed down. They asked if I would stay on and help, and I did that for two or three days. After that, my daughter was bit by the ‘horse bug,’ and I couldn’t have been more thrilled.”

Tim bought an Appaloosa mare and her colt from an excellent bloodline in Sumter, South Carolina. “I bred her with what they call a ‘Few-spotted Appaloosa,’ in Kite, Georgia, which is black and white, and that’s how we really got started.” He leased some land from a friend and started looking for a place of his own. In 1992, he found 52 acres on Center Road going toward Alston. Tim started repairing

fences and had the house gutted to rebuild and remodel. Except for the “twenty-one automatic transmissions and a bunch of old cars” he had to move, it was the perfect place for “Spotted R Ranch.”

An Amish group down the road came over and asked if he needed a barn. “I said, ‘Yes!’ and they cut about sixty trees off of my land and took them down to Doodle Hill Saw Mill.” He gave them a design for exactly what he wanted, and with the rough-cut lumber and “a ball of string,” they built him the perfect barn. “To this day, it’s perfectly square.”

In the years that followed, “My daughter competed at the State Fair and other competitions and did very well,” said Tim. “But they kept working in the medical field in the family. Terra just passed her boards to become a Nurse Practitioner, and Travis is the director at the Cath Lab at Meadows Regional Medical Center in Vidalia.”

Today, Tim’s wife Rita keeps a few goats in the barn, but his horse training days are behind him. “If you’re going to ride horses, you’re going to get bucked off. I’ve broken some ribs, but after a total shoulder replacement, I knew my days of training horses were over,” he said.

Roose Angus Farms is a partnership. Both Rita and Tim do the work, which is “not glamorous. It’s dirty, hard work,” said Tim. “We’ve had multiple broken bones and stitches

too much.

from a scared horse or cornered heifer with a newborn calf.” Rita is also a registered dental hygienist (RDH) and has worked for more than nineteen years with Darby Dental Services, which is owned now by Dr. Jeremy Wood.

Even though his father has since passed away, Tim continues to raise Black Angus cows. “I work at the hospital, so I can pay for my hobby.” He laughed. “It’s just a great way of life. I really enjoy it.”

With the move toward grass-fed beef, we’ve learned much more about the way an animal’s diet affects the nutrient content of the meat. It could really be said that what the cow eats, we eat. You don’t have to be a hippy to know that “all natural, no steroids, no antibiotics” is just better for you.

“Angus beef is very tender,” said Tim. “Grass feeding improves the quality of beef and makes the beef richer in Omega-3 fats, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and CLA (a beneficial fatty acid named conjugated linoleic acid). Anyone can come out and buy one, as long as you buy the whole cow. Most of the personal sales come from Savannah, Metter, and Warner Robins.”

Selling the cows for beef helps maintain the population and keep the farm going, but for Tim and Rita, ranch life is a happy life. UTCM

For more information about the ranch, visit Roose Angus Ranch on Facebook or their website at rooseangusranch.com.

Tim learned that Black Angus are very docile, making them easy to care for because they don't mind being handled

In addition to cows, the Rooses have goats on their ranch.

Artist Elizabeth Wolfe's oil paintings capture glimpses of the past and reveal stories of her family–including those she never knew.

the eyes of the heart

BY TERI R. WILLIAMS | PHOTOS BY LILLIAN MORSE BURTON

you an Art major?”

“Are

asked the Professor teaching the Art Appreciation class.

Surprised, Elizabeth shook her head. “Pre-med.”

“Well, you should be,” she said, as she stood before the self-portrait Elizabeth had done for an assignment in her class.

Elizabeth was going to become a doctor. It was a goal she could certainly achieve. She was a good student, and she loved science. But in the quiet recesses of her mind, Elizabeth remembered telling her parents as a child that she wanted to grow up and be an artist.

BELOW Elizabeth and her husband Casey, a home health nurse, were living in Atlanta when he heard about a job position in Elizabeth's hometown of Vidalia. Soon the two were back here, and Elizabeth found herself teaching in the Vidalia school system.

When Elizabeth started her third semester as an art major, her parents, Doug and Rhonda Harrison, did not attempt to dissuade their daughter. She knew they hoped her career choice would be something that would provide a bit more financial security, and they weren’t alone. Elizabeth was sensible. She didn’t want a degree in something that would not provide enough income to even cover the cost of college. But going to school and living in Athens, Georgia, had opened her eyes to many more career choices for Art majors. “I realized an art degree doesn’t necessarily put you in a box with only a few options,” said Elizabeth.

She had worked at The Davis House Photography Studio in Vidalia while in high school and assumed she would do well in graphic design or photography. But it took only one drawing composition class to remove any doubt that her gift was in drawing and painting. “Some of my art professors were semi-famous. They were really awesome. I feel really lucky in having them.”

Elizabeth’s parents were quick to recognize their daughter’s artistic talent. More importantly, they saw her joy in following her passion. “Now, nobody thinks I should have been a doctor,” said Elizabeth, smiling.

When it came time for the BFA art students to prepare for their “Exit Show,” Elizabeth got a call. “The guy over it contacted me and said, ‘You really need to be in the show.’ You're only supposed to be in the Exit Show if you are a BFA graduate, and my major was in AB Studio Art.”

As a part of the Exit Show, Elizabeth spent her last semester painting in a studio in downtown Athens. “We were all in one building, but we had little individual studios to work in. I enjoyed the studio and spent hours and hours getting lost in the pieces.”

Most of the pieces she painted were from old 4 x 6 black and white photographs of her mother’s family. The photographs come from a time she could only imagine. But that’s exactly what art is about: the ability to imagine the unseen, which is the very definition of hope.

“One of my first oil paintings,” said Elizabeth, “was of my papa and my daddy holding puppies when my daddy was a little boy. I realized while doing it how much I loved ‘spending time’ with my papa, who had passed, and my daddy, who was back home. It was a special time thinking about and appreciating two people that I loved very much.” From that point on, Elizabeth knew she was “hooked.”

“There's just something about old pictures that makes them special,” said Elizabeth. “It's so easy to take a picture now. Just about everybody has an

iPhone. Modern pictures are all digital and easily reproduced, but these old photographs are tactile and one of a kind. But when I go through the boxes of my mama and daddy’s old family pictures, each one that was taken was deliberate. Each one captured something beautiful.”

Many hours of Elizabeth’s childhood were spent playing on the land where some of these stories took place. As a child, she heard bits and pieces of stories, some of family she never knew except in these stories and images in old photographs. “I was not as concerned that the paintings looked like the people in the photographs as much as that they ‘felt’ like them. Painting their pictures was a way for me to connect with them.” And something about that spoke to Elizabeth’s creative soul.

“My mama has always amazed me,” said Elizabeth. “The things she has shouldered with such strength and grace. She has always given so much of herself and loved her family fiercely. Having her as my mother makes me want to be a better person every single day. By making this small series for my Exit Show, I wanted to pay homage to a few of the family members that played an important role in her personal history.

“Although I never met some of these people, they were still part of my life because their stories were told and re-told throughout my childhood. They were like my personal celebrities; I loved, admired, and respected them, but they were always just out of my reach. Over time, their stories became intertwined into my story. Creating this series became a way to meditate and spend time with loved ones that were lost.”

Elizabeth graduated from UGA in 2015 with a double major in psychology and studio art with

a concentration in drawing and painting. She and her husband Casey, a home health physical therapist, married in 2016 and were living in Atlanta when they got a call. “When our friend, Kate Shiver, called about a job opening, I was surprised when my husband applied for it.”

Even though Elizabeth hoped to return home to be closer to family at some point, she never dreamed the opportunity would come so soon. “I was surprised how quickly Casey fit right in. He’s going into people’s homes and meeting people. He knows more people here than I do, now.”

Elizabeth planned to go to work, but before she could even put in an application, a job literally came to her. “I was at a shower on a Saturday, and someone asked if I might be interested in teaching at the middle school. I said, ‘Maybe.’ Dr. Reid called the next day. At 8:30 Monday morning, I went for an interview. At 1:00 she called and said, ‘You have the job. There’s a staff meeting at 2:00 and open house at 5:00. School starts Wednesday.’”

Artist Insight Elizabeth shares her thoughts on some of her paintings.

OPPOSITE TOP This is a photo of my grandfather on my daddy's side. The painting shows my daddy as a child with his daddy who we called Papa. He was a great man and a true patriarch of the family. I loved him very much. He passed away when I was 14 years old, and the family was forever changed. My daddy reminds me of him so much. They are both wonderful examples of what a man and father should be.

OPPOSITE BOTTOM LEFT This is my mama's Aunt Rena (short for Lorena). She and my grandmother were very close. Her daughter and son were always considered to be my aunt and uncle on Mama's side since she was an only child. I have heard so many stories about her... how beautiful and funny she was, and how much she was loved by everyone who knew her. She passed away in a car wreck with her newborn baby when my aunt and uncle were very young. She and my grandmother were from the Andrews family in Darien. My mama always talks about her pretty green eyes and auburn hair that made her so beautiful. So, in this painting, (which was based on a black-and-white photo), I tried to give her that coloring.

OPPOSITE BOTTOM MIDDLE This one is a little less sentimental than the others. It is an old photograph of my daddy's uncle and his son at a parade. I love their expressions and the nostalgia of the photograph!

OPPOSITE BOTTOM RIGHT This is my great-grandmother, Josephine Winge Odom. She was the only grandmother I knew on my mama's side. Visiting and spending time with her as a child really shaped me into the person I am today. She lived across the street from my mama and helped raise her. She passed away when I was in 3rd grade... the first loved one I ever lost. We all loved her dearly.

Since she had already had a B.A. degree, she just had to pass the GACE (The Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators) and begin a program for certification. Within four days of “maybe” being interesting in teaching school, she was teaching social studies to a classroom of middle school students at J.R. Trippe.

Elizabeth never planned to become an elementary social studies teacher, but she had hoped to one day teach art, although she never imagined it would be so soon. She knew the art teacher at VHS, Erin Banks, was an incredible art teacher. “I figured she would teach until she retired.” But Mrs. Banks was also an amazing mother with three young children and had decided that year that she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.

When Mr. Sharpe called and told Elizabeth that Mrs. Banks had suggested her for the position, she said, “I was shocked and grateful, although my next thought was, ‘This is going to be a lot different from teaching social studies to middle schoolers.’” Of course, art was Elizabeth’s passion and the best teachers are those willing to learn new things.

In July 2018, just before the start of her new venture as the Vidalia Comprehensive High School Art teacher, Mrs. Banks, who now graciously serves as Art Curator for the art displayed at Elements Bistro and Grille, presented Elizabeth’s paintings from her time at UGA. The showing was a town favorite.

There is a Bible verse that reads, “I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling—that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones!” (Ephesians 1:18 The Passion Translation). It takes an illuminated imagination to see the story of hope and love in an old photograph. Even in the darkest stories shadowed by memories of loss, there are threads of love. It only takes the illumination of the eyes with love to see a beautiful thread of love. It’s a thread so full of beauty, it takes the imagination of an artist like Elizabeth Wolfe to bring it into the light and share its beauty with the rest of us. UTCM

ABOVE Elizabeth in her classroom at the new Vidalia High School.

ONE UNIVERSITY. THREE CAMPUSES.

With more than 140 degree programs, Georgia Southern is responding to workforce needs in Savannah, the region and the state.

GeorgiaSouthern.edu

Finding America

BY TERI R. WILLIAMS PHOTOS BY DAPHNE WALKER, BREWTON-PARKER COLLEGE AND INNA EDWARDS

INNA EDWARDS NEVER DREAMED OF COMING TO AMERICA. LIKE MANY RUSSIANS, SHE WAS CONTENT IN HER BELOVED HOMETOWN, BUT WHEN A VISIT HERE DISPELLED HER MISCONCEPTIONS AND OFFERED HER A FUTURE, SHE DECIDED TO MAKE IT HOME.

It was a crazy proposition, but Inna’s friend had lost all hope. She was not alone. Even though history points to a progression of events that led to the collapse of the Russian economy on August 17, 1998, the end came suddenly.

“We went to bed one night and woke up the next morning to everything priced six to seven times higher,” said Inna. “Banks shut their doors. When they reopened, all our money had disappeared. Grocery stores emptied.”

As the weeks and months passed, desperation and fear turned into hopelessness. Each day brought another story of a suicide. “Parents killed kids and then hanged themselves because they didn't know how to feed them. It was horrible,” said Inna.

She closed the travel agency she had been managing in Kurgan as travel came to a halt. In the months that followed, her only focus was on survival. After a couple of months, everything in the pantry was gone. “I had a friend who had a friend that farmed somewhere outside of the city. He gave her some potatoes, and she brought me a bag.” Inna and her two collies survived on those potatoes. It was a kindness she vowed never to forget.

Even though times were hard, Inna never expected to leave Russia. “I had a beautiful childhood in St. Petersburg,” said Inna. “I had a wonderful school. Beautiful. Our school was founded by Peter the Great’s daughter. That was a very old school and an extremely beautiful building, 18th century with marble steps and very beautiful rooms. It was a beautiful environment. It’s downtown so I could walk to it. And every Wednesday our history teacher would take us to the Hermitage for classes. You don't even realize that people from all over the world come just to see the Hermitage, and it was a part of my childhood.” Education in Russia was free, but it was still difficult to get into a university. “In the Soviet Union, they decided, for example, how many engineers they would need for this year, and that’s how many students would be accepted to balance the number of students with the number of jobs. When I was growing up, everyone wanted to be an engineer. So I decided, I can do that. It was hard to get into the technical university at that time. You had to take an exam, and only one out of sixty-four applicants for engineering students was accepted.” After getting a masters in engineering and working as an engineer, Inna went back to school for a post-masters in patent research. “At the time, I thought it was so interesting to work with those people who had new ideas.”

Inna’s father, Nikolay Medvedev, was a high-ranking Naval officer and over the entire

“We can kill our dogs first and then kill each other.”

Russian fleet at one time. His ship, the Ristna, carried the first equipment in the world capable of communicating with satellites. After serving as the Ristna’s Captain and other Soviet vessels for over thirty years, Inna’s father was sent to Angola to represent Russia’s fishing fleet and work out terms of agreements. “Angola has a big port in Luanda.” Inna’s father retired from service in the late 80s after Mikhail Gorbachev came into power.

One of Gorbachev’s reforms was restricting the sale of vodka, wine, and beer. “You have to understand vodka is a tradition in Russia. It is a part of our culture and its rituals. Imagine,” she said, “It would be like Italy restricting the sale of wine. I was living in Moscow at the time, and I saw people standing in line for miles and miles with their vouchers. Often violence would break out in those lines.”

The vouchers became liquid money for everything. “If you wanted work done, people didn’t want money,” said Inna. “They would work in exchange for vodka vouchers.”

Gorbachev’s message of “perestroika” (restructuring) and “glasnost” (openness) brought praise from the West, but for many in Russia,

the way change was executed wasn’t always just. “My father’s bank accounts were blocked, and my parents lost everything,” said Inna. Inna’s father not only suffered financially but psychologically as he watched the great Russian Naval fleet he had given his life to build slowly begin to dissipate. In 1997, Inna’s father died suddenly of a stroke. He was only sixty-seven at the time. “He was always so healthy and strong. It made no sense.”

Two years later, her mother, Lyudmila, died suddenly of a heart attack without warning. In the midst of economic crisis, Inna had to bear the loss of both parents, an aunt, and a cousin. (The cousin was murdered.) In addition, after eighteen years in a “very bad marriage,” Inna was in the process of a divorce. “I was young when we married, but I should have been smarter. I should have walked away when he said he would kill himself if I did not marry him.”

With no food or money, Inna took a voucher for a trip to Egypt she had received from the travel agency. “People had stopped traveling to Egypt because a German tourist group had been captured and killed in a terrorist attack there recently.” The voucher

Inna says she had a "beautiful childhood in St. Petersburg [Russia]." Her father was a high-ranking Naval officer for the Russian fleet. As she got older, she traveled extensively. When economic crisis brought devastation to Russia, Inna learned English from audio tapes while she walked her dogs. Eventually, she moved to America and got a job teaching at Georgia Southern University.

“You know, there were so many lies about our countries between us in the Cold War and even after. I was growing up thinking I was so lucky I am in the Soviet Union and not in America. The only pictures I saw of America as a child were of homeless people sleeping on the streets. I thought, ‘We have nice apartments in Russia, and people in America are all homeless.’”

not only provided airfare but also accommodations and great meals. “They were trying to get tourists to come back after the attack. I had nothing, so I thought, ‘What worse could happen?’ Anyway, I always wanted to see Egypt.” Inna smiled.

The hotels in Egypt were practically empty. “Armed soldiers followed us everywhere in a van to show us they were there to protect us. After a couple of days, you stopped thinking about them. It was crazy, but the beach was beautiful, and for two weeks I ate wonderful food and rested.” While there, Inna was taken out to the Great Pyramids. “Not everyone could climb through the small tunnels to the top. It took me about an hour, but it was an interesting adventure,” she said.

Before the economic crisis, Inna had traveled extensively throughout Europe. Most places understood some Russian. While traveling in Sweden (thanks to another travel voucher), Inna was offered a job teaching. She had no intention of leaving Russia, but when she returned home, she said, “I studied French in University, but I realized it might be helpful to learn English.” (English is taught in most

schools and widely spoken in Sweden as a transcultural language.)

When Inna returned home, she traded her washing machine for twenty lessons of English on “some nice tapes from a friend who was teaching English at a university.” Even though her friend seemed to have a nice job, she had not been paid in months. “At that time, people didn’t get their paychecks for sometimes nine months at a time.” Her smile was brief, her eyes spoke of sadness. “You know, I almost forgot some of these things. Some things you don’t want to remember.”

Inna took her dogs on long walks as she listened to the tapes. “The tapes on English were a lifesaver for me. You have to keep your mind occupied in times like that. You can’t let depression get into your bones. I was scared with all that was happening with my family. Things were getting worse instead of better. One of my friends who was a doctor said, ‘Inna, when you feel like that grab yourself and stand in a cold shower until it passes.’” The cold water was just harsh enough to bring Inna’s attention back to the present and her desire to survive.

A NEW BEGINNING

With her divorce finalized and her only son entering his first year of university in St. Petersburg, Inna decided to use another travel voucher to America, a place she had never had any interest in seeing. She smiled. “You know, there were so many lies about our countries between us in the Cold War and even after. I was growing up thinking I was so lucky I am in the Soviet Union and not in America. The only pictures I saw of America as a child were of homeless people sleeping on the streets. I thought, ‘We have nice apartments in Russia, and people in America are all homeless.’”

Inna soon realized that she was not the only one with a distorted belief of life outside of her own country. “When I came to America, people seriously asked me if we had TVs in our homes and if bears walked down our streets. Many people still don’t even know that Russia went to space first in 1961.”

During her visit, Inna met others from her country who had found work in America. With no money and nothing left, she saw no future for herself back in Russia. One of her new friends in the Russian community told her about an incentive in the state of

Georgia that paid for tuition for graduate school to anyone who would teach middle or high school math. “In Russia, you can’t go to school past the age of thirty-five. I was surprised because I was already forty-two. I thought, “I could do that.”

Even though Inna had two masters and what would be the equivalent of a Ph.D. in the United States, she would need an education degree. “I sent my documents to some kind of agency, and there was no equivalent for some transcripts of my classes.” Her first idea was to get a masters in math education even though her actual education was higher. But

first, Inna would have to pass the G.R.E., a graduate admissions test. The math would be no problem. But the English was another thing altogether. Those few lessons she had received in exchange for her washing machine were basic at best. “My English was horrible,” said Inna, “and I barely passed that part. Thankfully, I could understand and read more than I could say.”

Inna was accepted into the College of Education at Georgia Southern University and started classes. Almost immediately, someone came to one of her classes and escorted her to meet with Dr. Yingknang Hu,

Inna and Darel met through a mutual friend while she was teaching at Georgia Southern. Not long after, they married at Sweetheart Circle on the GSU front campus.

the Graduate Program Director for the master’s program in Mathematical Sciences. Dr. Hu had just learned of Inna’s G.R.E. math scores, which were on a genius level. “He wanted to recruit me for his department. I told him my English was not good enough. I should study English first. He said, ‘You don’t need English to teach math.” She laughed. “Dr. Hu was from China, and although he could write it okay, he could not speak very good English either.”

The only problem with this change was that Inna would have to pay tuition. Dr. Hu was so determined to have this mathematical genius on his staff, he hired her as a student assistant in the math lab, which helped pay off a student loan. In 2003, Inna finished her thesis while teaching her first college algebra class at Georgia Southern University.

Two years later, I was her student, a forty-threeyear-old mother of four going to college for the first time. My admission test scores on the math section were not genius. In fact, my test scores resulted in two semesters of “pre-algebra” before they would even let me in the door of a college algebra class. But I was the kind of student Inna was there to save. During those three years she had worked in the math lab, Inna concluded that most students, especially girls, perceived math as a subject they inherently could not do well. “It was different for me when I was growing up. Everyone liked math. I realized that this belief in America was a mentality.” Inna made it her mission to shift the perception from “loving or hating math” to “loving to learn,” regardless of the subject. “Then you will see success,” said Inna.

This past spring, Inna retired from Georgia Southern University and took a position at BrewtonParker College in the division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Department.

The first day in her class, she wrote her name on the board. We were all relieved when she said, “But you can just call me Ms. Smith.” Although I did not decide to change my major from writing to math, I give credit to Inna for teaching me that “working hard” is not the same as being “unable to learn.” (Of all my classes, I am the proudest of my A in college algebra. Inna proved her point with me: Learning, even math, is an attitude.)

LOVE UNEXPECTED

If it hadn’t been for the car accident, things might have gone differently. The semester had just begun. In fact, it was the first day of classes. “My son came to visit me from Russia, and I’m driving him around Statesboro.” Inna had just

pulled up to a stop sign when a student behind her in a big truck slammed into the back of her small Toyota. A doctor Inna went to for a neck injury from the accident said, “I have a friend you need to meet.’”

Inna lifted an eyebrow. “Do you know how many times you hear that when you are single? If you are single, always somebody is trying to fix you like you’re broken.” We laughed. She said, “I was getting more involved in our department. They were like a second family for me at that time. I was able to travel some. And now I had a little grandson. I was going to Russia during vacation to see him, playing with him, and pushing him in a stroller everywhere. I have a happy single life at that time. And I think, you know, I was not good at marriage.

Darel and Inna enjoy traveling, especially to Russia where they visit Inna's three grandchildren. They have also become avid photographers on their journeys capturing amazing pictures of the places they have visited.

I’m better to teach math and stick with what I’m good at.”

But the doctor’s persistence won out, and Inna agreed to let him share her phone number with his friend, Dr. Darel Edwards, an Optometrist in Vidalia. That was in April 2009. By the first of June, Dr. Edwards had proposed. Two weeks after he gave Inna a ring, he showed up at Georgia Southern at the end of Inna’s classes that week and said, “Would you like to go out? Do you have a nice dress to wear?”

“I was teaching that summer, and I was so tired, but I said, ‘I guess so.’ I went home and changed and he drove me back to Sweetheart Circle at Georgia Southern. He said there were some friends of his there he wanted me to meet.” Darel’s friend was a minister. He was there to perform a wedding: Inna and Darel’s wedding. Ironically, it was June 26, 2009, the very same day Inna had first arrived in the United States ten years earlier.

THE REST OF THE STORY

Sladkevich: The name immediately caught Inna’s attention for two reasons. First of all, it was an extremely rare uncommon surname in Russia. Secondly, it was her maternal grandparent’s surname. Inna was responding to a former student on LinkedIn and saw the name, but it was the picture that made her catch her breath. “The man looked just like my grandmother,” said Inna.

From the information listed, she learned he was the head of the technology department at Haifa University in Israel. She made contact, and the two exchanged information and pictures. He told Inna that his

grandmother was from a small town in Russia about fifty miles from Veliz, Inna’s grandmother’s home.

“Veliz was the town where a German SS Division killed so many people, especially Jews during WWII… They started to ‘practice’ genocide in Veliz in 1941. First deal was to put about 300 Jews in an old pig house, keep them in there for a week without water and food and then burn people alive,” said Inna.

These were stories she learned in school, not at home. But the few stories she does recall hearing in her home are compelling. “My grandfather, Ivan Ulyanovich Sladkevich, was a nobleman. His father died when my grandfather was young. [My grandfather] had to help his mother to run the family business and raise the younger brothers during WWI. My grandfather had one older brother, but he was an officer in the Army of the Russian Tsar, involved in the war. That older brother ended as a colonel. Under the threat of Bolsheviks, he agreed to work with them and then was executed by Stalin's regime.

“When the communists came to power in 1917, they came to my great-grandmother’s house. It was a very nice house, the biggest house in town. They said, ‘Tomorrow morning, you pick up and empty this house because we want to have this house for our Communist meetings. She said, ‘Where could I go?’ She had some children with her.

LEFT Inna and Darel enjoy visits with her son's family including grandchildren Vlad, Liliana and Mathew. BELOW Inna with Darel's granddaughter Grace.

My grandfather was already married or about to get married at the time. They said, ‘If you will not move, you will find their heads in that ditch.’ So in one night, she picked up what she could and left.

In 1941, when the Germans invaded Russia, Inna’s grandfather was captured and shot. “The Germans made children and women watch how they kill their men,” said Inna. “My wonderful grandmama and another woman decided that night to get the bodies of their husbands and bury them. When she jerked the body of my grandfather from the pile of bodies, he started to move. A German bullet had gone through his left shoulder, but he was alive. She used ash from coal to heal him.”

Even though Inna spent much of her childhood with her grandparents in Veliz, she had no knowledge of Jewish ancestry. “When you start your life several times over again, you lose so much.”

The professor from Haifa suggested that Inna’s grandfather might have converted. “He said, ‘Most Jews were trying to hide their roots.’ I remember they had so many visitors and so many friends. But when you are a child, you don't pay attention to what grandparents say. I do remember my grandfather was very smart. He remembered all the poems he learned in school.”

“Why don’t you do a DNA test?” I suggested to my former college algebra professor. It was something she had already considered. I shared with her that I had only recently discovered that I have Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors somewhere down the line through a DNA test. A few weeks later, the results of Inna’s DNA test gave proof to European Jewish ancestry somewhere in her family line.

There are traces of the past in us all. Science proves that the experiences of our ancestors are woven into our DNA, each story an opportunity of redemption. Although Inna didn’t understand it at the time, she remembered how her grandmother would be frightened if a car drove up suddenly. For Inna, the memory of those last months in her homeland are still haunting. “I always keep something pushed back in the pantry,” she said.

In the spring of 2018, Dr. Inna Edwards retired from Georgia Southern and took a position at Brewton-Parker College in the Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences department. Inna and her husband enjoy traveling together and have become amazing photographers in their own right. Inna’s three grandchildren Vlad (16), Liliana (10), and Mathew (6) enjoy regular visits with their Babyushka (Grandmother). UTCM

Your small business is a big deal to us.

Starting a new business can be a dream come true, but it’s also hard work. Ben and Kristin had a vision of bringing an ice cream shop to downtown Lyons. With four decades of experience, Altamaha Bank and Trust turned their vision into reality. We value every relationship, and our dedicated staff look forward to helping you secure a bright future. Stop in and see us today!

CEO Brent Sammons with The Edkin Family (Ben, Kristin, and Jack) and Loan Officer Sam Marsh

Rialto True. Authentic. Italian.

BY JACKSON SHARPE

FROM A DAIRY FARMING COMMUNITY IN NEW YORK, KRIS EISENHUT FOUND HIS WAY TO VIDALIA WHERE HIS WORK ETHIC, RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE AND CULINARY SKILLS BROUGHT A NEW FLAVOR TO THE SOUTH.

Behind

Just outside, Vidalia business owner, Anita Estroff, curiously wandered by on the sidewalk. Her daily walk included a new habit of catching sneak peaks at the mysterious restaurant. Despite her best guess, she had no clue who the new neighbor was. Kris frequently caught glimpses of Anita peering through the papercovered windows as he renovated. He couldn’t help but ask himself, “Who is this crazy lady?”

One day, Anita caught her big break. Kris had left the front door ajar. Anita’s curiosity

marched her right inside, and she finally blurted, “What is this place?” Kris pitched her his concept for a family-friendly Italian restaurant called Rialto. From there, Kris and Anita became fast friends. Anita and her husband Donald now frequently dine at Rialto.

Rialto’s roots were born years before at the foot of the Alps Mountains. In Italy, Chef Roberto Decio was cultivating his culinary expertise. His journey would lead him to Vidalia where he’d become head chef at Rialto. Just across the Alps from Italy in 1929, Kris’s grandfather left his home in Switzerland to immigrate to the United States. Kris’s grandfather married an American woman, and they became a dairy farming family in Waterville, New York, a community of less than 2,000 residents. Waterville’s culture was heavily influenced by an Italian immigrant population, which meant close-knit families and a passion for food.

the covered window front in downtown Vidalia, Kris Eisenhut was making headway on renovations for his new restaurant.

Kris Eisenhut quickly outgrew the building space for the original Rialto's and moved to the present new location on Jackson Street.

A first generation American, Kris’s father Jim was a legacy dairy farmer following in his Swiss father’s footsteps. At the age of eighteen, Jim had taken a loan from a neighbor to buy his own farm. He quickly established the Eisenhut name as prominent in the dairy farming community. Jim’s farm in East Hill, also known as Eisenhut Hill, was picturesque with waves of green pastureland interspersed with patches of forest. Photographs of the Eisenhut farm were even used in the background of the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Before Kris Eisenhut ever imagined owning a restaurant, he was milking cows, putting out hay for horses, and farming the land in Waterville, New York. Kris grew up in upstate New York’s vast dairy farm and rural countryside, which is not what comes to mind when most people think of New York. Only having been to New York City twice, Kris was more accustomed to 5 o’clock mornings and round the clock farming than city life.

Kris’s mother Carol was a full-time nurse and mother with cooking skills unrivaled. Together, Carol and Jim raised their children in a farming community, so Kris, his two brothers, and sister had lots of farm friends to keep them entertained after long hours of work. Some of Kris’s friends' families owned restaurants, so Kris flittered around gleaning the essentials of the food industry. On Sundays, he often cooked and sold BBQ chicken on the side

of the road to make extra cash.

Kris and his mother Carol spent many hours in the kitchen cooking together. Not only did her culinary skills imprint on Kris but also her gift of hospitality. However, at the age of seventeen, Kris lost his mother, drastically changing his world. Waterville became a place he needed to get out of, and he set his sights on Scottsdale, Arizona, where his sister Jill lived. Jill Eisenhut worked at the Marriott 5-star, 5-diamond resort where Kris found a job as a server. With his dairy farm work ethic, Kris quickly rose in the ranks from shift supervisor to restaurant manager. He even won Marriott’s President’s Award for saving the life of a choking restaurant patron. Strangely enough, the woman he saved was from Rochester, New York, only a few hours from Kris's hometown. Bill Marriott, who is the

Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Marriott International, flew down to present the award to Kris himself.

After five years at the Marriott, Kris heard a new restaurant was looking to build a concept around ChineseAmerican fine dining, and they needed a talented restaurateur to introduce the concept. Kris interviewed with Paul Fleming, owner of Ruth’s Kris Steakhouse, and restaurant owner Phillip Chiang. From there, Kris became the first training manager of P.F Chang’s. Kris traveled across the country training staff as each new P.F. Chang’s opened its doors. Within 25 years, P.F. Chang’s had 208 establishments in the Unites States alone.

During his time away from Waterville, Kris’s heart increasingly pulled towards his family back home. Kris

Kris hired Roberto Decio, who is originally from Northern Italy, as Rialto's Chef. Inspired by where he grew up, Chef Roberto's emphasis is on clean tastes and fresh ingredients rather than heavy spices.

knew his dad was getting older, and his nieces and nephews back in New York didn’t know much about their Uncle Kris. Waterville was calling him home.

On the East Coast, P.F. Chang’s was developing another restaurant, Pei Wei, where Kris earned his Chef’s Coat and could cook any and everything on the menu. Although the East Coast was closer than Arizona, it still wasn’t close enough, so he decided to move back home.

In Waterville, opportunity awaited. A woman was selling her restaurant, The Dinner Bell, and Kris remembered having breakfast there as a kid. For the past 25 years, Kris had been helping to establish the high standards of the Marriott and P.F. Chang’s, but now was his time to envision his own restaurant concept.

Inspired by his rural upbringing, Kris renovated The Dinner Bell and called it the The Kountry Kafe, a homestyled, biscuit and gravy serving, fish-fry Friday’s restaurant. It was the culmination of his childhood. Their clientele catered mostly to local farming families, and lunch crowds flocked to their fresh burgers on homemade buns.

Kris became involved again in Waterville’s community and renewed his interest in a few of his childhood hobbies like dirt racing. As a teenager, Kris saved his allowance and worked to buy his own racecar. Other than food, one of his greatest loves was the dirt tracks. Even though he wasn’t

racing like he used to, the social aspect kept him engaged. His friend Tony Stewart, a well-known driver, was just one of many friends he met at the dirt races. It was there Kris met another friend, Kevin, and together they decided to cosponsor a sprint-car race team. Kevin was originally a welder but had a family background in the restaurant business, so before long, Kevin was helping Kris at The Kountry Kafe.

The next three successful years passed quickly, and Kris’s longing to be home was wearing thin. With each passing brutal winter, Waterville’s charm faded with the bitter cold. Kris was used to the warmth of Scottsdale. When Kris was in Arizona, he had trained and sold barrel-racing horses and was involved in rodeos. Through rodeoing, he met a friend named Linda Jett, who happened to be marrying a man from Vidalia, Georgia.

Linda was engaged to Dr. Ronald Mosley, and Kris flew down to be in their wedding. Linda quickly introduced Kris to small-town Georgia. The mild winters and sweltering summers were as hot as Arizona and much more tolerable than New York. Vidalia began charming Kris with its personality. Kris’s cooking talents were not wasted on Linda either. After every visit to Vidalia, Kris left Linda with a month’s supply of home-cooked Italian dinners. It wasn’t long before Linda and Dr. Mosley began begging Kris to open an Italian restaurant in Vidalia, and their begging paid off.

Ready for change, Kris escaped New York’s bitter winters, and along with Kevin, he made the move. The first step was to put out an advertisement: “Italian Chef Needed.” Robert Decio, having recently moved from Italy to marry a woman from Uvalda, answered his ad. As the pieces fell in place, Linda and Dr. Mosley were ready to financially pave the way as investors for Kris, and Rialto came to be.

Envisioning a quaint, Italian eatery with just a few tables, Kris remodeled the former Canapé restaurant into Rialto. The downtown location was just big enough for what he imagined, and Vidalia received Rialto with wide-open arms.

and here they open doors for you,” Kris says. After a time of booming business, Rialto quickly outgrew their first location and moved beside the downtown courthouse for larger dining and kitchen space with room for a full bar.

“When everybody talks about Rialto, they talk about the service,” Kris says. Training in 5-star and 5-diamond resorts under the guidance of Jeff Allred and Kristine Denencort, Kris knows quality service. Before any waiter ever gets on the floor, Kris personally trains him or her. Although his experience in fine dining has prepared him well, Kris credits his mother as his true inspiration for hospitality. “She was like the sunshine,” Kris

“In New York, people slam doors in your face,

says. “And if she were here today, she’d probably want to be my hostess and welcome everyone and make sure they were taken care of.”

Kris’s dad flies down twice a year to see Kris and reminds him, “Don’t take too many days off work.” He never quits emphasizing the same work ethic that has brought the Eisenhut family prosperity for many generations.

Most Italian restaurants are influenced by Southern Italy, which serves dishes laden with spices like oregano, basil, or sage. However, Chef Roberto is from Northern Italy, which emphasizes freshness and quality ingredients. Rialto’s dining experience is truly authentic, setting it apart from other Italian restaurants.

“At Rialto, everything has a clean taste,” Kris says. Not only does Rialto make every dish to order, each ingredient is carefully selected. All of their cheeses, meats, and olive oils are imported from Italy. Rialto’s authenticity is palatably Italian. “When you eat here, you are tasting Italy,” Kris says. Their popular dishes have even won awards. “Our masala won Best 100 Plates of Georgia two years ago, and we also won Best Eggplant Dish in Georgia.”

A few menu items are inspired directly from New York, like the

“Chicken Riggies,” slang for rigatoni, which originated in Utica, New York, where Kris’s mother grew up. Also, their wine slushies are a popular bar item. “I’m the only one who knows the recipe and how to make them,” Kris says. “I had to beg several wineries to give me the recipe, and someone finally did. No one else has those around here.”

Despite delivering the experience of fine dining, Rialto is a come-as-you-are, familyfriendly restaurant. “Some people think we are high-end. We are not. Come in flip flops if you want,” Kris says. Some diners have asked why Rialto doesn’t have white linen tablecloths. Kris says, “We purposefully have the checkered picnic tablecloths. Kids need something they can spill spaghetti and make a mess on.”

One of Kris’ favorite things to do is to meet new customers, and they often say, “We’ve never eaten anything better!” Rialto brings a piece of Italy to Vidalia, and to keep the experience authentic, Kris hopes to travel with Chef Roberto to Italy one day. With Rialto’s success, Kris envisions expanding Rialto’s concept to another city, but where is yet to be known.

Although Kris is passionate about

Italian cuisine, he couldn’t refuse leaving his upstate New York signature on Vidalia as well. Kris and Kevin opened The Kountry Kafe in the old Rialto, which for them, is like a little piece of home. The authentic farmstyle, country breakfast is made to order, serving from 6:00-2:00 seven days a week. His downtown neighbor, Anita Estroff, is happy to have Kris back on the block.

Rialto’s authenticity and hospitality already have created a dining culture where many guests are “regulars.” Some drive weekly from Baxley, Macon, Hazlehurst, Claxton, and other surrounding areas. As an Italian restaurant, Rialto considers their guests family, and whether it’s great food or fond memories, you’ll always be taking home plenty of leftovers. UTCM

Queen of the game

SHE'S RECEIVED A FEW STARES AS THE GIRL KICKER FOR ROBERT TOOMBS CHRISTIAN ACADEMY'S FOOTBALL TEAM, BUT HANNAH KEENE IS JUST DOING WHAT SHE DOES BEST: LIVING LIFE WITHOUT FEAR OF JUDGEMENT. AND THAT MAKES HER A true Queen.

ifyou see me at a high school football game, I am there for one of only two reasons: to hear the band play (because my son-in-law, Noah Bullard, is the brilliant, talented Toombs County High School Band Director), and/or to see my granddaughter, Ava Bullard, a TCHS cheerleader. But if I were to attend a football game for any other reason, it would definitely be to see Hannah Keene kick for the Robert Toombs Crusaders.

When Hannah came home from school her sophomore year and told her parents that Robert Toombs Christian Academy (RTCA) Head Football Coach Thomas Smith wanted her to kick for the football team, her dad, Chris Keene, was very vocal about his thoughts on the matter. “My dad thought it was great!” said Hannah. Of course, Chris Keene was also the one who encouraged his daughter to try out for the wrestling team because he was certain his girl could take down at least a few of her competitors. (And he was right.)

Hannah’s mom Sheri on the other hand, was a little nervous. But after a game or two, she was won over by the respect both the team and the opposing teams showed her daughter as the kicker both on the field and off. Not only because of her gender but because “roughing the kicker” is frowned upon. In fact, it’s against the rules of the game even in the big leagues. In an online article for Business Insider by Tony Manfred, “According to the rulebook, kickers and punters are technically ‘defenseless’ players at all times. That means they can't be hit in the head or neck, and can't be blocked with a helmet-first hit, even if they are trying to make a tackle on a return. They have all the protections that a quarterback who just threw the ball has, at all times,” (December 19, 2013).

Of course, things don’t always go as planned. Hannah never planned on being the quarterback, but the two times there was a “bad snap and the ball went over our holder’s head,” she didn’t hesitate to run back and grab it.

“Did you get tackled?” I asked.

“They didn’t hit me hard,” she smiled. “They just kind of picked me up and set me on the ground.”

Hannah is clearly not interested in being anyone or anything other than herself. In fact, she wears her hair down in the games to make sure there’s no mistaking that she is a girl. And while others gathered around the argument and debated what girls should and should not do, Hannah was making GISA (Georgia Independent School Association) history her junior year of high school with a 32-yard field goal in overtime that sent the Crusaders to the state championship in 2017.

Hannah isn’t the only girl on the football field these days. On February 1, 2018, Refinery29, “the leading global media company focused on young women,” published an online article entitled, “The Football-Playing Homecoming Queen Breaking The News Cycle: Julia Knapp is reshaping the way we think about football.” Julia Knapp, a star player on her school girls’ varsity soccer team, was also her high school football team’s kicker. “In October, Julia was crowned offensive player of the game and voted homecoming queen in one night.” The article includes the names of other young high school girls making history on the football field these days:

Toni Harris made headlines — and history — when she was offered

Hannah with Head Football Coach Thomas Smith.

an athletic scholarship to play safety at a Kansas college. (Becca Longo, a kicker, became the first woman to receive a scholarship to play at a DII school last year). A 42-yard missile made quarterback Holly Neher the first girl at her school — and perhaps in the state of Florida — to throw a touchdown pass this fall. In December, K-Lani Nava became the first woman to play in a Texas state high school football championship game.

On September 28, 2018, Hannah joined this great list of history makers as she was escorted onto the football field at RTCA by her father during halftime. Still in her football uniform, the crowd cheered as the kicker of the football team was crowned Homecoming Queen. It was a night to be proud to be from Lyons, Georgia.

In addition to football and wrestling, Hannah runs track and plays for the RTCA soccer team. She has played soccer for the Toombs County Soccer Association soccer traveling team since she was nine-years-old. “If it wasn’t for [The Toombs County Soccer Association],” said Sheri, “she would not have had the opportunity to become the great kicker she is today for the RTCA Crusaders.”

ABOVE Hannah isn't interested in being anything but herself. She even wears her hair down during the games because she wants people to know she's a girl.

Hannah is also part of the Toombs-Montgomery Youth Leadership program, Meadows Regional Medical Center (MRMC) Medical Staff Youth Advisory Board, and on the FCA leadership at her school. When asked if she had a favorite subject, she immediately responded, “Math! I’m a math fanatic.” Hannah is dual enrolled at STC where she is currently taking a college biology course. Football is not in Hannah’s plans beyond high school. She wants to play college soccer and become a physical therapist. “I shadowed one of our athletic trainers at the school, Bailey Thompson Brooks, my freshman year,” said Hannah, “and I loved it.”

Her priorities are firm: God, family, and sports. When I asked if she was babysitting her younger brother whom she had brought along for the interview, she said, “Not really. He’s my best friend. (I might have teared up just a little at that point.) I mean, come on. This kid would make any parent proud. Not just because she can kick a soccer ball or a football–whichever is on the field at the moment–but because her character and choices make her story an honor to tell.

It should be obvious at this point that this is not an article about whether

PHOTO BY THE DAVIS HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO

girls should be allowed to play high school football or any other “boys sport” (although if I could kick like Hannah, the thought of making over $4,000,000 on average as a kicker in the NFL might certainly be tempting). What this article is about, as Hannah so perfectly stated, is “girls doing whatever they want to do” without stopping to question “if

everyone else thinks it’s something they should or should not do.”

Would I have let one of my daughters play football? All three are grown up and married now, but if you know Anna Bullard, Erin Banks, and Ruth English at all you are laughing hysterically at the very thought of anyone “letting or not letting” them do something they set their heart to accomplish. Don’t get me wrong. Not every path a child wants to follow should be encouraged. That’s about as ridiculous as believing that as parents we have the perfect plan figured out ourselves. No one is that good. I’m of the opinion that we all need the wisdom of the sages (your grandma) and an ear to the heart of God. That said, I agree with Hannah. We should all do whatever is in our heart without regard to what everyone with an offhand opinion thinks about it. If a child is willing to put in the work it takes to be good enough to be asked by the

ABOVE Hannah was selected for Homecoming Court, but she also needed to play in the game that night. At halftime she was escorted by her father onto the field in her football jersey and was crowned Homecoming Queen.

football coach to join the football team, it’s time to get out the horn and start to holler.

To be perfectly honest, I did not want any of my children, including my son Micah to play football. It wasn’t just that I didn’t get the whole yards thing or why the clock seemed to randomly run sometimes and not at other times. Watching my kid get hit by really big guys made the potential for a concussion a little too real for me. But when Micah decided it was something he wanted to do in the ninth grade, I was at every game. Thankfully, it only took one year for him to decide he preferred hunting and fishing to getting knocked around and run over. And if he had made a different decision, I would have been there for every game with a shaker and a horn and a prayer.

After Hannah’s winning kick on November 15, 2017, that sent the Crusaders to the playoffs, a reporter from WJCL asked Coach Smith about the girl on his football team. Coach Smith quickly responded: “I’ve got a little girl, and I hope she one day grows up to be like Hannah.”

I’ve got nine grandchildren: seven are girls. And Coach Smith is right. It’s an honor to have Hannah Keene as a role model. Not simply because she’s an amazing kicker and plays for the RTCA football team, but because she fearlessly follows her heart. UTCM

LEFT Hannah with her dad Chris, mom Sheri and 9-year-old brother Rylan whom she calls "her best friend."

The Miracle of Grace

BY TERI R. WILLIAMS PHOTOS BY DAPHNE WALKER

RAISING A HOUSE FULL OF CHILDREN–BOTH HERS AND OTHERS–MARGARET COLLINS LEARNED HOW TO BE A GIVER. BUT WHEN A DEATH SENTENCE LOOMED AT HER DOOR, SHE LEARNED TO BE A RECEIVER...OF MIRACLES AND GOD'S GIFT OF GRACE.

According to the MRI, the neurologist felt certain that Margaret Collins had a glioblastoma brain tumor. “It was basically a death sentence,” said Debra, the oldest of Margaret’s five children. “Any treatment option at that point would only treat her symptoms. He said she might have a month to live.”

It had all happened so quickly. The first time Debra realized her eighty-two-year-old mother wasn’t quite herself was in January (2018). “Mom and I usually take my grandkids snowboarding once a year. This year, the trip was in January. We go up to North Carolina or wherever we can find a mountain with some snow on it. When we got there, I noticed that Mom wasn’t herself. Instead of going out with everyone, Mom sat in the hotel room or sat in the car while everyone got out to take pictures.”

Even though her behavior was uncharacteristic, Debra thought perhaps her mother was just tired. But when she became disoriented on the way home, her daughter knew something was wrong. As soon as they were home, she took her mother to the doctor only to have every test come back normal.

But Margaret continued to worsen. Within only a few short weeks, she was confined to a wheelchair. Finally, she was sent to a neurologist, and she was sent for an MRI. “The tumor was so large that it had shifted her brain and caused her right eye to bulge,” said Debra. “She had complained about her eyes hurting. Now we knew why.”

Margaret was not the typical eighty-two-year-old by any means. For her eightieth birthday, she asked for a kayak. “She went kayaking five times last year,” said Debra. “She cuts her own grass and wouldn’t hesitate to run get on the tractor out there if she had a need for it.”

But then, Margaret Collins could never be called ordinary by anyone.

When Margaret married in 1955, the only change to her name was from Miss Collins to Mrs. Collins. To add to the irony, both Margaret and her husband J. B. grew up in Collins, Georgia. “We didn’t know each other growing up. We met at church. We finally figured it up that we were maybe sixth cousins,” she laughed.

Margaret asked for a kayak for her eightieth birthday and has been enjoying it regularly ever since. She has spent most of her life caring for others, so there isn't much that slows her down.

Margaret returned to Chicago with J. B. where he was working at a hospital. “He was drafted, but because he wouldn’t carry arms, they had to find him service work,” said Margaret. At the end of his two years of service, they returned home and soon found work in Vidalia. J. B. went to work at the Ford dealership and Margaret at Oxford industries in the shirt factory. By this time, they had two children, Debra and Ellis. “At first, we lived in the projects [government housing]. We were just getting our feet on the ground financially,” said Margaret.

In 1960, J. B., his brother Lamar Collins, and a friend, Earl Witt, started an upholstery business called Witt and Collins Upholstery. Not long after, J. B. heard about a piece of property that was for sale in Ailey, Georgia. “We couldn’t afford the whole thing at that time, so we just bought three acres of it at first. It was $50 an acre.” In 1964, they built a house on their new property. By that time, Mike and Cindy had been born. In 1974, Lisa, the baby of the family, finished the pack.

Late one evening while Margaret was working in her yard, she looked up to see two young men walking toward her on the dirt road in front of her house. As they got closer, she realized it was two of her nephews. “They had walked and hitchhiked all the way to my house from Lakeland, Florida. The hems of their pants were ragged from the long walk. The boys were 13 and 14 years old at the time.

The boys asked their Aunt Margaret if they could stay with her. “I told them, ‘On one condition. You have to go back to school.’ Both had already dropped out of school.” They agreed, and the small three-bedroom house already filled with five children of their own made room for two more.

Two weeks later, Margaret got a call from the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS). “They asked if we would take in three more of the children?” Margaret didn’t see how she

could possibly commit to three more children. She had a full time job at the factory, and the children were nine months, two, and three years old. Two weeks passed, and she got another call. “They said, ‘Ms. Collins, we really need for you to take these children. You’re their family.’ I said, ‘Well, I’ll talk to my husband.’” Margaret already knew he would say the obvious and agree with her that it just wasn’t possible. As soon as J. B. came in from work that night, she told him about the call. He said without so much as a pause, “Well, yes, we’ll take them.’”

With a half-smile, she said, “It was not what I expected to hear.” Margaret and J. B. went to Lakeland, and overnight seven children turned to ten. Margaret quit her job at the shirt factory and drove a school bus for Montgomery County to give her more time at home.

Four years later, the children’s biological parents moved from Florida to Mount Vernon. “They pulled the two older boys back into their home. I’d gotten them to the twelfth grade, anyway,” said Margaret. “I felt thankful for that.” A year or so later, she said, “DFCS gave the younger three children back to the parents.”

It wasn’t like Margaret didn’t already have a house full with her own family to see about. But instead of considering herself free from the responsibility of caring for children other than her own, she thought, “I had taken care of these five children for ten years and it was something I wanted to do. I thought, ‘Why not check into becoming a foster parent?’”

Margaret and J. B. went through the process, which included

Margaret with her dog Samson.

The importance of family

TOP Margaret married J.B. Collins in 1955, and together they had five children: Ellis, Lisa, Mike, Debra and Cindy. MIDDLE Margaret on a hayride with her grandchildren. Margaret and J.B. added to their family when they adopted Jr. and D.J. BOTTOM Margaret with some of her grandchildren. Margaret with some of her closest friends.

taking thirty-six hours of training. That was over forty years ago. On March 22, 2017, the Georgia House of Representatives passed House Resolution 674 “Recognizing and Commending Margaret ‘Nanny’ Collins” for her service to foster children in Georgia. No one knows just how many children she has provided with a home and, most importantly, a heart full of love.

In 1999, Margaret and J. B. adopted two young (foster) boys in their care, Junior and D.J. The brothers were both legally blind. Until they graduated from high school, Margaret drove them to Macon at the beginning of every week, so they could go to a school for the blind and picked them up again each Friday.

Margaret has a distant memory of her diagnosis with breast cancer followed by a mastectomy that same year, but it is only a memory in the shadows. On July 4th, 1999, Margaret and J. B.’s three-year-old grandson Jonathon drowned. The loss was devastating for all. A few months later, J. B. suffered a major heart attack from which he never fully recovered. He passed away on March 13, 2000, at the age of sixty-six. A few months after Margaret lost her husband, she had open heart surgery to remove blockages.

Now left with the two young boys that she and her husband had adopted to raise on her own, Margaret said, “I don’t know what I would have done without them. They would get out in the yard with me and help pull weeds. Anything I asked them to do or to learn, they would try.”

Margaret continued to pour her life into her foster children for the next fifteen years alone. She was eighty-yearsold when her last two foster children, a sixyear-old boy and thirteen-year-old girl, were adopted by family members in Missouri. But being eighty-yearsold did not seem reason enough to stop working as a bus monitor for Vidalia City Schools where she helped care for handicapped and mentally challenged bus riders.

Generations of love

In addition to the many children she has fostered, Margaret has eleven grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren creating many generations of family.

When the neurologist told Margaret’s children that the radiologist felt certain the findings on the MRI was a glioblastoma brain tumor, they were in shock. “He wanted to send her immediately to Savannah for a biopsy, but it was the end of the week. She had to wait through the weekend,” said Debra.

On Sunday morning, Margaret got ready for church. They were late, and the service had already started. “My sister Cindy was helping her get into the church. She opened the doors, and they had just started down the aisle when the Pastor said, ‘Cindy, can you get Margaret up here? We would like to pray for her,’” said Debra.

As Margaret was walking next to her daughter, she said, “I remember closing my eyes for just a second.” In the next second, what looked like a

cloud of a powdery substance appeared in front of her. Immediately, someone or something gave a sharp clap in the midst of the substance, and it scattered like smoke until it disappeared. At the same moment, Margaret felt something wonderful go all through her body. She was startled when no one else reacted and realized that she alone had witnessed the phenomenon. Margaret continued walking to the front of the church. No one had yet prayed. No one had touched her, but she knew she had indeed been touched and healed.

The following week, Margaret went to Savannah for the biopsy. “They told us it would take five days for pathology to come back,” said Debra. Five days passed, and no call came. “On the sixth day, I got an email from the doctor's office that said they just wanted to let us know that they were going to run pathology again. And that's when it clicked. I thought, ‘Mom’s on to something. There’s something going on here.’ On about

the 11th day after the biopsy, I got a call from the doctor in Savannah. He said, ‘I just want you to know that the tumor is not a glioblastoma.’ Yes, there was a tumor. But instead of one month to live, the doctor said, ‘It’s lymphoma, and it’s highly treatable.’”

It was all Margaret needed to confirm in her heart that she had experienced a miracle. She took scriptures from the Bible and held them as truth in her spirit, a part of the triad human makeup more powerful than her mind or soul. Some might question why Margaret’s diagnosis was changed, and the tumor not completely removed. And while others ponder such questions, Margaret continues to give thanks for a miracle.

After six rounds of chemotherapy and only one left to go, another MRI was ordered. “The MRI looked ‘postsurgical,’” said Debra, “as if the tumor had been surgically removed. It was completely gone.” She smiled.

Some may credit Margaret’s

Margaret has no doubt that a miracle took place in her body. After just six rounds of chemotherapy, the tumor was completely gone as if surgically removed. Her experience is a testimony of God's love and grace that each of us has access to.

experience simply as karma. If anyone deserved a good turn, surely it is the woman who had enough love left after raising ten children in a small threebedroom house to keep on loving and giving her life to children in the foster care system for over forty years. But Margaret would tell you otherwise. Karma has never been her judge. Grace has been her constant companion whether faced with triumph or tragedy. Unlike grace, karma is based on works. Simply put, karma means you get what you deserve. But in Margaret’s spiritual relationship with God, there is no room for performance-based religion. Her faith has never been in her own goodness, but in God’s love for her. There’s a verse in Hebrews 4 that says, “So now we come freely and boldly to where love is enthroned, to receive mercy’s kiss and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness” (vs. 16 The Passion Translation). When Margaret encountered that cloud of smoke on the Sunday between a death sentence and a biopsy, she simply positioned her heart to agree with whatever God had done in her body in that moment. On Monday, September 17, 2018, Margaret listened as the Oncologist confirmed what she already knew. The results of another MRI confirmed that whatever was there is there no longer.

We hear a lot of talk these days about legacy. Margaret’s children, Debra Daniels, Ellis Collins, Mike Collins, Lisa Joyce, Cindy Fountain, her adopted sons, D.J. and Junior Collins, as well as her eleven grandchildren, five greatgrandchildren, and the countless number of children for whom she has cared have all been given an inheritance that is greater than any possession in this world. It’s an inheritance of incredible love and strength that she continues to share with us all. UTCM

Skills to Save the World

Figuring out

to

the

Mark Montfort started out at the University of Georgia as a prepharmacy student. It took only one semester of physics classes and sitting inside the chemistry lab from morning ‘til dusk to decide it was not for him. Whatever he did, it was going to be outside. As a young boy, he worked with his uncles’ cows and greenhouses.

Although Mark played and enjoyed sports when he was younger, he was more interested in working when he got to high school. His first landscaping job was cutting lawns while still in high school. While his friends played varsity sports, Mark was pulling a trailer behind his truck with a mower, a truck for which he worked and paid. He found his rightful place on the Ag side of campus his second semester at UGA.

His last year of college, Mark did an internship with a national landscaping company called Ruppert Landscape, Inc. “Ruppert Landscape was the company that designed and installed the landscaping for Olympic Park,” said Mark. “I worked in Olympic Village and Olympic Park during the preparation and during the Olympic Games.”

how

feed

world, reduce poverty, and increase job security are hot global topics. Mark Montfort is teaching local students ways to tackle these issues by starting with the principles of agriculture.

He was also part of the crew that went back in and fixed the hole made by the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.

Mark graduated in December 1996 with a degree in horticulture (nursery and landscaping) and went to work with the Morrell Group as an Operations Manager. With a team of thirteen men, they maintained landscaping for high-end commercial properties as well as in downtown Atlanta. It took about a year of city living to convince Mark that there wasn’t quite enough fresh air and green grass in the big city for his taste. When a card came from UGA that said, “Use your degree to teach Ag education,” he decided to go back to UGA for his masters degree in agriculture education.

One day in class, one of his classmates mentioned a job opening at Toombs County High School. “He had just finished his student teaching there and said it was a great place to work. The only reason he wasn’t applying for the position was because there was an opening for an Ag teacher in his hometown of Hazlehurst.”

Five people from UGA drove down to Lyons to interview for the position. “I didn’t really come with the idea of taking the job,” said Mark. “I’d just never done an educational interview and thought it would be good experience.” That

was on a Friday. Monday morning, he got a call from the principal of TCHS, Mr. Hardy, telling him that he got the job. Slightly taken aback, he said, “Let me think about it for a day or two.”

Mark actually still had a few classes to take, but that wasn’t the main issue. The main issue was that he was engaged to a flight attendant for Delta. “It was not exactly in the plans to move south.” But something about the job felt right. He moved to Lyons in 1999, even though it meant a drive twice a week to Douglas at night for those final classes. By the end of the year, he was offered a contract, which did not go over well with the flight attendant who believed he would certainly come to his senses and return to Atlanta at the end of that year in Lyons. But in that year of teaching, Mark had fallen in love with the people of Lyons. “They had accepted me and brought me into their homes. Somebody had me over for supper just about every night.”

As one might imagine, the engagement ended. And just in time. Little did Mark know that falling in love with the people of Lyons would lead to meeting the girl of his dreams. Her name was Alexis, and she was doing her student teaching at TCHS Mark’s first year as the Ag teacher.

“Ms. Alice McDonald was the RVI [Related Vocational Instruction] instructor at the time. She became like a mom to me. She took me under her wing and helped me learn the ropes.” And like any good mama, Ms. Alice wasn’t going

The Agricultural education program helps students learn skills they can use in the workforce and helps them understand the importance of agriculture on a global level.

to let Mark miss his chance. “Just ask her to go somewhere with you that’s Ag related,” she suggested, which is exactly what he did.

Mark and Alexis’ first date was a ride to Uvalda to help an Ag student pick out a cow. “We walked through the pasture with this kid, Chris, and talked to him about what to do and how to care for the cow. After we picked one out, we got it loaded up and took it to his house.” That date led to another, and in July 2001, Mark and the new Home Economics teacher at TCHS were married. The next several years were quite busy. School and after school were all the same when it came to caring for the kids that came through their classrooms.

For Mark’s first nine years, he taught Agriculture Mechanics, which included welding, woodworking, electrification, electrical wiring, and small engine repair, Animal Science, and Horticulture as a “single teacher department. Mr. Donnie Mann was the young Farmer Teacher and a true mentor and friend to me in my early years,” said Mark.

Mark and Alexis have two young children, Dallas (4) and Savannah (2), who are already learning to appreciate agriculture from their parents. In addition to teaching school, Mark owns a professional landscaping business. He learned many of his landscaping skills from his years of working with national landscape company Ruppert Landscape, Inc.

When he was preparing to teach small engines his first year of teaching, he realized there wasn’t much with which to work. “I went over and introduced myself to Mr. Johnny Jones at Johnny’s Repair and told him what I was needing. As we talked, he said, ‘If I can ever help you out, let me know.’ He was in FFA [Future Farmers of America] in school and even named some of his Ag teachers. Those Ag teachers, he said, were the reason he had his own business today. I told him we could probably use a little help, and it would be great to have him come to our class.”

Mr. Jones did come to the Ag class at TCHS, and Mark learned as much as his students from him. In fact, Mr. Jones still comes to the Ag class from time to time. And just as importantly to Mark, it was really the start of a lifelong friendship.

It was a summer school class that took him back to where he first started with landscaping in high school. “Back then, kids could take a summer school class to get ahead. It wasn’t just for kids who had failed a class. I had nine kids signed up for a landscaping class. I think I had six

girls and three boys. I was trying to figure out, ‘What can I do with these kids in four weeks?’”

The answer came through an unexpected opportunity. “Cindy Reddick was building her house and called because she heard I did landscaping,” said Mark. “It was the perfect solution to both the question of what to do for summer school and how to help out Cindy.”

Mark and his students designed and installed the Reddick landscape job, Cindy paid for the material, and the kids were paid for their labor during the four-week summer school course. And—to top it off—Cindy made a substantial donation to the FFA chapter at TCHS. The kids not only got hands-on experience, they were paid for their work and got credit for the class. Over the years, Mark’s landscaping company has helped many students looking for summer work. In fact, one of his fulltime employees is a former student from fifteen years ago.

Agricultural Education not only teaches students skills they can actually use in the workforce but also provides understanding of the vital importance of agriculture both nationally and globally. In an online edition of Advanced.org, 2015 Virginia teacher of the year, Agricultural Education middle school teacher, Jaclyn Ryan, writes, “…we need agriculture to survive. If you eat, you need agriculture. If you wear clothes, you need agriculture. If

The FFA at Toombs County High School is an extension of the Ag program and provides opportunities for leadership, further learning, and participation in regional, state and national competitions.

LET THE GLOW GIRLS HELP YOU

you take medicine, live in a house or write with a pencil, you need agriculture.”

Every single school in America should teach agricultural education. Even now, our own Tommie Williams from Lyons, Georgia, is in Rome, Italy, representing the United States at the United Nations agencies, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Program (WFP). As Minister Counselor of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Tommie meets with world leaders to discuss global agricultural issues like how to feed the world in the midst of war, famine and population explosion. Before Tommie was a State Senator, he was a farmer. And after he was a State Senator, he went back to farming. This time, he planted olive trees and harvested the olives for olive oil. I’m of the opinion that the qualification for his position (and every other position in government if anyone’s asking), ought to be that you’ve put a seed in the dirt and ate what it grew.

According to www.ffa.org, Agricultural Education involves three important components: Classroom/Laboratory instruction (contextual learning); Supervised Agricultural Experience programs (work-based learning); and Student leadership organizations (National FFA Organization, National Young Farmer Educational Association and National Post-secondary Agricultural Student Organization).

“Through our FFA program, we take the skills we teach in class and use them to compete in regional, state, and national competitions. If they’re learning floral design in class or welding, or whatever, they get to go to competitions where they have to apply those skills. Over the years, I’ve had students advance to State and Nationals, but mostly I’m proud of the many students who have excelled locally as good citizens in our community,” said Mark.

This past October, twenty-five students from TCHS traveled to Indianapolis for a four-day FFA convention. “We have three students this year receiving their American FFA degree, which is the highest honor an FFA member can be bestowed: Chasity Denmark, Stormy Knight, and Jackie Swaringim.” These trips are not limited to those who are going to compete. Any member of FFA is invited.

The benefits of Ag education are not just for those who can or want to work in agriculture. “It doesn’t matter if they are working at Hardees or cutting grass, we're teaching communication skills, life skills, and finances. We try to teach them a lot of things through FFA that will help them throughout life.”

As the student population and Agriculture program expanded at TCHS, more Ag teachers were needed. Joey Montford is now the Forestry teacher and Young Farmer Advisor, Tommell Wilcox teaches Agricultural Mechanics, and Mrs. Beth Galloway is the middle school Agriculture teacher. “Our department has grown quite a bit over the years,” said

“...we're teaching communication skills, life skills, and finances. We try to teach them a lot of things through FFA that will help them throughout life,” said Mark.

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Mark. “When I first came, we didn’t have a middle school Ag program. Each teacher can focus on their area of greatest expertise, but we all work together as a team,” said Mark.

A walk into the TCHS 96x30 fully-automated greenhouse leaves no room as to where Mark’s specialty lies. According to the time of year, students will grow flowers and/or vegetables. First semester students get things started, and second semester students keep it going until the greenhouse is filled with beautiful plants and flowers including Emerald Queen, Boston, and Macho ferns, which are a community favorite. By the end of March, the huge plants are ready for sale. The cost of plants and flowers range from $1 to $35. In addition to ferns, last year’s plants grown and sold included Elephant Ears, purple Angelonia, the leafy vine Pothos plant, Lantana, Canna Lilies, Peruvian, Wandering Jews, and others. Vegetables grown included tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, jalapeno, corn, onions, bell peppers and banana peppers.

The greenhouse at TCHS is usually full. According to the season, students will grow flowers or vegetables. One semester of students gets the plants started, and the next semester will continue to take care of them through the growing season.

“Sometimes we'll plant a garden outdoors. We grow a lot of lettuce in the tower gardens. It’s similar to hydroponics and basically uses a mineral water or nutrient water solution that just drips down over the plant roots. There's no soil whatsoever. We’ve also grown vegetables for Mrs. Theresa Standard’s Family and Consumer Science class, special meal functions as well as provided some to be served in the school lunch program,” said Mark.

Another asset to the Agriculture program is the Toombs County Ag Center. “There’s something going on down there several times a month,” said Mark. “4-H also uses the building. Our State Ag Ed people host competitions there as well. We host a couple hundred competitors and spectators each year in September at the Ag Center for competitions in everything from floral design to livestock exhibits, tractor operations, meats evaluations where students identify cuts and qualities of meat.”

The motto of FFA is simple: Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve. None of that is possible without teachers like Mark Montfort. Through the years, former students have returned to thank him, sometimes starting out with an apology for giving him such a hard time back in school. But even then, they want him to know that his words and his work made a difference in their lives.

By the end of each school year, Mark will have taught from 150 to 180 kids. At the end of twenty years, that adds up to a lot of kids. Imagine the potential for job careers for students who can grow plants and vegetables, arrange flowers, identify cuts and qualities of meat in the grocery store, fix a car, do electrical work, know how to manage a forest and diagnose disorders in trees as well as cut and weld metal. The future of our communities just might depend on those with these important and practical skills.

UTCM

Marché

like none other aux Puces

Asa small child, Susan went to Mass with her father in Schenectady, New York, four times every Sunday. The history teacher and talented organist, Philip Joseph de Gonzague, required his daughter to pay attention in only one Mass. During the other three, the shy young girl channeled the tones and energy of the pipe organ as she sketched her drawings.

Susan’s grandparents immigrated to America from Canada. French, one of Canada’s official languages, was their first language. “Their children had to teach them English after they came to America,” said Susan. Like ghosts in the shadows, the past travels with us in our DNA. Although the roots of her French ancestry seemed only an echo from a distant past, the name de Gonzague was a constant reminder of an unknown heritage filled with French art, architecture, music, food, and fashion.

Hundreds of miles south in the small rural town of Jesup, Georgia, a ten-year-old girl named Brenda was playing at the home of a relative. “Playing” at her relatives’ homes meant cleaning, organizing, and decorating, and there was nothing she loved more. Even at such a young age, she instinctively felt the warmth of some colors and the boldness of others. Brenda was fully aware that the atmosphere in a

Two women from different paths of life–but with the same passion for beautiful treasures–join together to create a unique French-style market in the heart of Lyons.

home could be shifted simply by rearranging a room. “It was such a great feeling to know that I had made a difference,” she said.

Brenda’s mother, Millie Wilson Tyre, was born in 1915 and was forty-years-old when Brenda was born. The experiences of the early 20th century left its mark on a generation, but for Millie the world was as beautiful as you were willing to work to make it. Millie not only knew how to survive with little, she knew how to make the little so beautiful you hardly took notice of what you didn’t have. “She was a wonderful homemaker and made decorating look effortless,” said Brenda. “She helped both her family and my father’s family survive during hard times. She was so frugal, it was incredible what she could do with a dollar. With $40 a week, she would tithe, buy groceries, our clothes, and everything else we needed.”

When Brenda’s mother decided it was time for the family to move, her father said, “We would need a down payment to do that,” certain the discussion would end there. Brenda’s mother pulled out the $5000 she had saved with only that $40 a week and after taking care of everything else.

While Brenda rearranged furniture and brought new life into the homes of relatives, Susan learned to lay block, work with wood, and even run wire. “I didn't have many friends because I was so introverted, and we moved around a lot,” said Susan. “My father got into a little real estate. He would fix something up and make it beautiful and then we would move on to another house. He had a knack for interior design. But just about the time I got up the nerve to say

BELOW The French Flea has a little of everything from furniture to art and decorative items. They even sell homemade macaroons.

hello to somebody at school, we would move. My uncles were all carpenters, painters, electricians and masons, and I learned how to build things from them.”

The two women could not have traveled on more different paths. Like her mother, Brenda used her abilities to help others, which led to creating window displays at Sullivan’s, an independent clothing store in Jesup, and going beyond her work as a salesperson at Penney’s Department Store on Broughton Street in downtown Savannah. Perhaps she didn’t yet realize the extent of her talent or she might have marketed herself. But she never promoted herself. She didn’t need to. A gift in the heart that is kind with willing hands to work will always make room for itself.

In 1985, Brenda married Bert Driggers. Three years later, Bert took a job at Meadows Regional Hospital, and they moved to Toombs County with their young son Will, who was eighteen-months-old at the time. As Will got older, Brenda helped friends here and there with redecorating or rearranging. Word quickly got around. Without really planning to turn it into a business, Brenda soon had lots of work. “But it never felt like my ‘niche,’” said Brenda. As much as she loved it, her mother’s frugal nature ran deep. What Brenda really enjoyed was finding the treasure in the old and restoring it to life again. Buying new things for people just felt like a weight of responsibility rather than an enjoyment.

ABOVE Decorating and arranging things comes easy for Brenda Driggers, but she especially likes giving old things new purpose.

Brenda went to work part time for her friend, Peggy Matheson, at Panache, a great gift and home decorating store in Vidalia (now closed). The store provided the perfect setting for Brenda’s creative spirit and helped her stay in the know with fashion and design trends.

While Brenda was busy with family and life in South Georgia, Susan joined the army right out of high school following in the steps

of her father. “In 1981, I was stationed at Fort Stewart,” said Susan. “When I set my foot in Georgia, I knew I was home. I had to go to South Korea for a year, but the minute I got out in 1985, I visited my parents and then moved to Buckhead.”

From 1990 to 1996, Susan served as a Deputy Sheriff in Cobb County. After the structured environment of the military, it was work she enjoyed. “I liked being able to protect the public,” said Susan, “but the politics of the job were enough to make you want to pack up and move to the mountains and open up an antique store.” We all laughed because that’s exactly what she did.

Susan opened Trevor’s Antique Store, which she named after her cocker spaniel. “I buried my head in the sand for several months. I didn’t even open a newspaper or turn on the TV.” Susan poured herself into building displays, buying and selling antiques, and sketching. “I would sit in the back of a mule sled, and people would bring their dogs for me to do pencil sketches of them. I must have done at least one hundred of them.”

Six years later, Susan sold her antique store and went into the plantation shutter business. By that time, she had quite a collection of animals, which included llamas, miniature donkeys, dogs, and a miniature pet pig named Sophie. If sketching was her escape and creative outlet, nature and animals were the connection with the world that kept her rooted. In 2012, Susan found a 1920s farmhouse in Metter, Georgia, in great need of repair that included land enough for her four-legged companions. “The idea of saving the old farmhouse with its high ceilings and beadboards took hold of me,” she said.

As Susan brought the rooms of the old farmhouse back to life with antiques and pieces of primitive folk art, she realized she had all this stuff in storage that didn’t fit. “I had all this bear, moose, and fish stuff from North Georgia. I didn’t want to put it in storage so I decided to rent a booth from one of the antique stores in Lyons.”

Brenda’s friend, Marla McDonald, had rented a booth at the same antique store. “She told me, this is something you will love. You need to get a booth,” said Brenda. Marla

For years, sketching was Susan's creative outlet, and she would often sketch customer's animals at her antique store in North Georgia. At the French Flea, she set up an easel and began painting with oils and acrylics. Many of her works are found for sale throughout the store.

I’ve always loved the before and after feeling of something recycled, especially something that would have otherwise been thrown away or sent to a landfill,” said Brenda.

was right. “I loved it. I could do anything I wanted with my booth. I could fix it up, and when I wanted, tear it all down and do something different with it. It was so much fun.” She especially enjoyed giving something old, worn out or outdated a new beginning. Like her mother, Brenda had that special power to resurrect something old with new life. “I’ve always loved the before and after feeling of something recycled, especially something that would have otherwise been thrown away or sent to a landfill.”

As Brenda and Susan’s two different paths converged at the antique store, a mutual respect and friendship formed. With Brenda’s ability to visualize new arrangements and ideals and Susan’s skill that could turn those visions into reality, the two made a great team. In 2018, their creative collaboration became The French Flea. Ironically, it was Brenda who said, “Let’s do a French theme.” She smiled, adding, “You know, French is trending.”

As Susan searched for the right combination of words that would reflect the nature of their new venture, she stumbled across the name of a place in Paris called The French Flea. According to Wikipedia, “A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of bazaar that rents or provides space to people who want to sell or barter merchandise.” And wasn’t that what this was, after all? A “Flea Market” of sorts where people could come sell their goods from booths? Although stories conflict about the etymology of the phrase, the two that stand out both reference a place in Paris, France, for the source of “Marche aux Puces,” meaning “Flea Market.” Of course, to add to the irony, the city of Lyons was named for Lyon, France, and means “City of Lights.”

The French Flea opened its door on February 17, 2018, on U.S. Highway 1. Unlike many stores of its kind, there is a fluidity throughout the

Where

large space that somehow connects the many booths while keeping each one’s individual expression. After the store opened, Susan returned to her artwork with new inspiration. Instead of sketching dogs and other animals, she put up an easel in the store and began to paint. When you see her artwork throughout the store, it’s hard to believe that she has only recently added acrylic and oil painting to her many artistic achievements. But then again, her name is de Gonzague, and

this is the City of Lights, after all. Even with so much to see and enjoy (and buy!), The French Flea defies the cluttered image of “flea markets” and “antique stores.” From the beautiful counter in the front envisioned by Brenda and built by Susan from two to three-inch heart pine boards to the soft gray walls and various booths filled with old treasures resurrected for a second (or third) new life, the store is bringing new light and life to the city of Lyons.

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CHANGING LIVES WITH EDUCATION

SHE DIDN'T ENVISION BEING AN EDUCATOR, BUT NOW, AS ACADEMIC EDUCATION PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR THE GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, JENNIFER IRVIN HAS REALIZED HOW TRULY GREAT AND REWARDING THE GIFT OF EDUCATION CAN BE.

He was a prisoner at Wheeler Correctional Institute and had a special education background on a fourth-grade level. The only reason he’d been invited to his fellow inmate’s graduation ceremony was because the guy had no family attending in which case he was permitted to invite another inmate. The prisoner certainly had nothing better to do. To tell the truth, it was not the idea of getting his own GED, but the free pizza after his friend’s ceremony that convinced him to enroll in the classes for himself. He never expected to actually succeed.

“He told us, ‘I just didn't know that I could be anything more than a dumb kid,’” said Jennifer Irvin, who stepped into a new position on April 1, 2018, as Georgia Department of Corrections Academic Education Program Director.

Six months later, the inmate not only had his GED but was working as a teaching assistant for other inmates. He was also selected for the Auburn Dog Program, an intense dog training program sponsored by Auburn University.

After serving his time, the man was released. “That’s been three years ago,” said Jennifer, “and he’s kept a job and has not returned to prison. He told us, ‘Education has made me a completely different person.’”

In Governor Nathan Deal’s 2015 Inaugural Address on January 12th entitled, “A new term, a new vision, a new mandate,” he stated:

Approximately 70 percent of Georgia's inmates don't have a high school diploma. If their lack of an education is not addressed during their incarceration, when they re-enter society they’ll have a felony on their record but no job skills on their résumé. I’m here to tell you, an ex-con with no hope of gainful employment is a danger to us all.

… Our prisons have always been schools. In the past, the inmates have learned how to become

better criminals. Now they are taking steps to earn diplomas and gain job skills that will lead to employment after they serve their sentences.

Jennifer never imagined herself working to fulfill the Governor’s mandate for the Georgia prison system. In fact, she never even planned to pursue a career in education. Perhaps all the many hours she spent in her childhood pretending to teach her dolls to read and write should have been a clue. And perhaps it was obvious to her third grade teacher, Cindy Jones, when her young student asked for all the extra worksheets for her imaginary “classroom.” Even so, Jennifer felt certain, “Nobody actually wanted to be a teacher,” simply because it wasn’t something many of the teachers she’d known portrayed as a career they enjoyed. And whatever she chose as a career, she wanted to enjoy it.

Jennifer graduated from Toombs County High School in 1997 and earned her degree in communications from Brewton-Parker College (BPC). She worked for Channel 46, a local TV station during most of her college years where she did “some of it all–from news reporting to producing and directing.”

Many of the news stories she covered were schoolrelated. “I loved it because I enjoyed being with the kids and covering whatever they were doing,” said Jennifer. After college, she took the position as the Executive Director of the Ohoopee Regional Council for the Arts (ORCA). Her job was to develop and promote the arts for both adults and children in the ToombsMontgomery area. But to Jennifer, it was more than a job: It was a mission to change the lives of the children in her community. “We brought in some great theater companies to perform in all the elementary schools in the area. Our kids got the chance to see some awesome plays they might not ever have had the opportunity to see.”

Even then, Jennifer did not realize that her career path was always headed in one particular direction.

She just did what came naturally in whatever she did as she utilized her gift of leadership with a heart for education. But her gifts were obvious to her longtime friend, Charlotte Matthews, who worked as a literature teacher at TCHS at that time. When a position in her department became available, Charlotte convinced Jennifer to apply. “She told me that through the ‘Teach for Georgia Incentive,’ anyone with a bachelor’s degree could start teaching as long as you took a couple of college courses and passed the Praxis within a certain amount of time,” said Jennifer.

In 2002, the same year that she married her husband, Jason Irvin, she started teaching literature at TCHS, and she had her teaching certification within the year. But Jennifer didn’t stop there. When she realized how much she actually enjoyed teaching, she continued with her education. Over the next months and years, she received a master’s degree in Curriculum, an Education Specialist degree in Teacher Leadership, and her Doctorate of Educational Leadership. She also added several more state teaching certificates to her list of accomplishments.

Jennifer taught high school Literature at Toombs County High School for the next ten years during which time she would serve as Department Chair. She was chosen as the Teacher of the Year in 2010 and recipient of the STAR teacher award on two separate occasions. She was also named among the top 10 finalists in the Georgia Teacher of the Year program. In 2013, Jennifer took the administrative role as an Assistant Principal at TCHS.

The following year, she accepted a position as Principal at Wheeler Correctional Facility, the largest prison in the state of Georgia with approximately 3,000 inmates. Once again, it was a career path she never imagined for herself. “I never saw myself working in the prison system,” said Jennifer, “But I figured the experience would look really interesting on a résumé. I thought I could do this for a year and move on to a job as principal of a school.”

What she hadn’t planned on was loving the work. The fulfillment of teaching people hungry to learn was almost a culture shock after teaching high school students. “Kids go to school because they have to or their parents will get in trouble,” said Jennifer. “It’s sad to say, but many kids don’t want to learn. They don’t even want to be there. These inmates choose to come. They want to change the odds for themselves. They want to be able to walk out of those prison doors with job skills. Ninety-five percent of those incarcerated will return to society. The whole purpose of education in the prison system is to enable the inmates to get a GED and vocational trade so that they don’t come back.”

Governor Deal had good reason for concern. Georgia is the eighth largest state, “but we are the fourth largest prison population,” said Jennifer. There are plenty of theories of “why” if you’re just looking for something to blame: cycles of poverty; single mothers raising children alone; felons for father figures; lack of education that prevents moving up the pay scale or even to procure a job.

“When you can’t read and write, it’s hard to fill out a job application,” all of which “wears down morale. They don’t think they can succeed. That's what I hear so much. So many say, ‘I just didn't know that I could learn. Nobody told me I could succeed.’”

It didn’t take long for someone to notice just how efficient and effective Jennifer was at her job. When former Assistant Commissioner for Inmate Services, Buster Evans, came to tour Wheeler Correctional Facility, a privately-owned facility by Core Civic, and observed the effectiveness of having principals in the prison education program, “he was so impressed, he went back to our Commissioner and said, ‘I want to do this with the Georgia Department of Corrections,’” said Jennifer. “They created positions for the Southeast, Southwest, and the

OPPOSITE PAGE

Jennifer gets great support from her husband Jason, who runs Beckum Automotive, and their son Logan.

North region.” Jennifer accepted a position as Principal over the twenty-three facilities in the Southeast.

In Jennifer’s first year in her new position in the Southeast Principal position, her goal was to administer 1,000 GEDs. From July 1st when she started until the end of the year, she said, “We got 1,200. The next year, the goal was 2,000, and we got 2,300. This year, the goal was 3,000, and we were able to finish the fiscal year with 3,016,” said Jennifer. For each one of those who have earned a GED, the possibilities for the future have been changed forever.

Thankfully, Governor Deal was not alone in his desire to change lives in the prison system in Georgia. “We partner with technical colleges and some businesses in Georgia,” said Jennifer. “We can offer several different vocational and technical programs that include things like welding, diesel mechanics, electrical repair, grounds maintenance, and even beekeeping."

A criticism Jennifer has heard from time to time is “Why does a prisoner get the opportunity for a free

Some may view educating prisoners as an unnecessary privilege, but the Georgia Department of Corrections believes if they can improve a prisoner's education, that prisoner is more likely to return to society as a productive citizen with job skills and less likely to return to prison.

ABOVE Prisoners who choose to take education classes can graduate with a GED.

education when I had to pay my way through college?” Her response is not without understanding. “I have student loans, too,” said Jennifer. The difference for these inmates, she explained, is that she believed that she was capable of success. The disadvantage for many is in what they believe. When a person’s belief about his or her ability to succeed is changed, that person is empowered to change his or her choices, which affects all of society.

“If we can give these people the opportunity to become a productive citizen, isn’t that the overall goal?” asked Jennifer.

On April 1, 2018, Dr. Jennifer Irvin was promoted to Academic Education Program Director by Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) Commissioner Gregory C. Dozier. According to the GDC website, “Dr. Irvin will be responsible for all academic education programs, which will serve to prepare incarcerated students for career technical opportunities to ensure successful reentry.”

A few weeks earlier, Jennifer had watched over a hundred inmates graduate with a GED at Smith's State Prison in Glennville. Joined by Georgia’s State Commissioners, she looked on proudly. Yes, it was a career for which she never planned. And yet, the plan was always in her heart. UTCM

"He who opens a school door, closes a prison."

-Victor Hugo

Don’t Miss What’s Happening in Uvalda

A sister city to Lyons and Vidalia, Uvalda is a farming community proud of its heritage. Each year Uvalda hosts its Uvalda Farm Festival in March with fun and entertainment for the whole family. But the festival is just one of the things Uvalda has going on. With an active mission to expand and prosper this 107-year-old town, the community has taken on an ongoing beautification program made possible by donations and hands-on help from local individuals and businesses. Visit Uvalda to see all the great things that are happening, and mark your calendar for March 23 to enjoy the Farm Festival!

TAPPAS

DATE OPENED: November 2017

OWNER: Eneas Salati

TYPE OF FOOD SERVED: Brazilian, French, Southern

MOST POPULAR MENU ITEMS: Homemade breads, fresh salads, and She Crab Soup

GOALS: To increase the menu items and to one day serve breakfast

TASTE OF PHILLIE

DATE OPENED: 1998

OWNERS: Mattilyn, Monica, Lakeshia, and Lashanda, daughters of Matthew Bright

TYPE OF FOOD SERVED: Italian / Southern

MOST POPULAR MENU ITEMS: Mrs. Pie

(Chicken and Steak Cheese Steak Sandwich)

GOALS: To open several franchises within the next 2 to 5 years

WHERE TO FIND IT

201 West Main St, Vidalia

(912) 403-3012

Sitting under a canopy and listening to the fountain and the birds, you suddenly get an amazing smell of fresh bread coming out of the kitchen and you know you got there at just the right time. It’s always a hard decision – do you go with the Turkey & Havarti on homemade bread? A salad with fresh greens, balsamic, and blueberries? What about the Brazilian Black Bean Soup? It’s impossible to decide, but the one thing I always know for sure is that I must save room for a slice of one of the homemade cakes in the dessert display or maybe even a sweet roll, which gets sold out as fast as it gets out of the oven.

Monday thru Friday 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Eneas, the Chief Soup Maker and Sandwich

A rather unassuming building on McIntosh Street houses a small, takeout only restaurant that greets you with the sizzle of onions and peppers on the grill and the rhythmic chop, chop, chop of the steak and chicken. The meats are finely minced, mixed with your veggies of choice and a final crazy amount of cheese. Of course, there are other deli items on the menu like an Italian Hoagie and Corn Beef, but the cheese steaks are what makes this place. Matthew, a man with a smile as big as his hoagie rolls, says that the “Mrs. Pie” is his most popular dish and is named after his wife “…because she’s my chicken and my steak.” He will tell you that what makes his place unique is that “We trust in God with everything we do. We cook by faith and feel.” He gets his food influence and talents from being raised by his mother and aunt and 50 years of making sandwiches with his brother and then his late son. Not only is his food special, but he also throws in a side of words of wisdom and good influence to the neighborhood, his 13 kids and 27 grandchildren.

WHERE TO FIND IT

114 McIntosh St, Vidalia (912) 537-8759

Hours: Tues, Thurs, Sat – 11-8 / Weds 11-6 / Fri 11-10

Designer, is proud to say that everything he makes is fresh and from scratch, all the way down to the soup stocks. Mama Carmen Engle has all the magic bread and cake skills. Being raised in Brazil, Eneas comes from a long line of fabulous cooks, but it is with great pride that he tells you his mother’s cooking has made him what he is today. Between the two of them, life is very delicious on West Main Street.

Facebook @ Tappas

A Taste of Phillie is notorious for its cheese steak sandwiches loaded with chopped grilled steak, vegetables and lots of cheese, but it also has other deli sandwiches you don't want to miss.

Lorenzo Riggins achieved his dream of having his own restaurant. He created a comfortable, inviting environment with a soothing jazz theme. You'll find specialty sandwiches, soups, salads and delicious baked items on the menu.

DOWNTOWN BISTRO

DATE OPENED: 2009

OWNER: Lorenzo Riggins

TYPE OF FOOD SERVED: American

MOST POPULAR MENU ITEMS: Chicken Salad and Fruit Coleslaws

GOALS: Would like to expand and own another location

It’s kind of like walking into another world while you’re still in the midst of Downtown Vidalia. The lighting is low, and there is the faint sound of jazz music playing in the background. Beautiful art is hung all over the walls, a piano is sitting in the corner, and the most charming courtyard with tables in the back leads to the alley. And then there’s the smell – it always, no matter what time you go in, smells like chicken soup. You absolutely cannot ask for a more comfortable and inviting place to meet for lunch. The menu consists of many different types of sandwiches, soups, salads, and at least three homemade cakes sitting under glass domes on the counter.

WHERE TO FIND IT

101 East Meadows St, Vidalia (912) 537-7727

Monday – Friday 11-5 / Saturday 11-3

Lorenzo was raised by his grandmother and was so influenced by her cooking that, as an adult, he dreamed of having his own restaurant after working for years in bakeries. He not only caters special events outside of the bistro, but he also hosts bridal and baby showers as well as small events that quite often include live music. He is a great supporter of the downtown scene and is always a willing participant in anything to support our community.

Facebook @ Downtown Bistro & Catering

www.bistrovidalia.com

THE WHALE’S TAIL

DATE OPENED: 1982

OWNER: Agnes Crosby

TYPE OF FOOD SERVED: Seafood

MOST POPULAR MENU ITEMS: Fried Shrimp

GOALS: To be there as long as the good Lord allows her to be.

EL MEXICANO

DATE OPENED: June 2016

OWNER: Greicy Perez and Alex Perez

TYPE OF FOOD SERVED: Mexican

MOST POPULAR MENU ITEMS: Burrito

GOALS: To stay exactly where they are.

WHERE TO FIND IT

675 S. State Street, Lyons (912) 246-4613

Tuesday – Sunday, 10-9 p.m.

Stuck on the end of the Open Air Market / Service Station on the corner of US#1 and Hwy #178 sits a tiny Mexican restaurant with a full parking lot. Somehow, you know by just looking at it that it’s good, authentic food, and you would be right. The brother and sister team started the restaurant 2 ½ years ago because of their love for cooking, and their reputation for fresh food certainly precedes them. Alex fondly remembers that his big sister began cooking and taking care of all her younger siblings when she was just 7 years old. He speaks of her with great pride and love as he does their partnership at El Mexicano.

Facebook @ Restaurante

El Mexicano

It’s a very comfortable atmosphere with large red booths and the amazing combination of smells coming from the kitchen. The tortillas, both corn and flour, are homemade, and, after one bite of them, you taste the difference. But it’s that crazy, over-sized burrito that gets you coming back for more. All of their portions are very generous, and when you top them with their salsa, cheese dip, and some sour cream? Well, let’s just say you need to wear your expandable-waist pants because you’re going to leave there full and happy.

A visit to The Whale’s Tail isn’t like you’re going to a commercial restaurant. It’s more like Mrs. Agnes invited you over for dinner because she just got a nice mess of shrimp in fresh from the coast, and she feels like company. Seriously, it’s just like that. Agnes, 86, is very proud of the business she and her late husband John created so many years ago, and she wouldn’t change a thing. They started out at The Wigwam at the foot of the Altamaha (1956), then The Anchor at Gray’s Landing (1976) and in Baxley (1978) before settling on their US#1 spot.

WHERE TO FIND IT

6118 US Hwy #1 South, Lyons (912) 565-7769

Thursday – Saturday / 5-9 p.m.

Agnes learned most of her cooking skills from her mother-in-law, but she says that she and John began their lives cooking for others simply because John loved to fish and share his catch. She still does all the shopping and peeling and battering of the shrimp; she can also be found back in the kitchen overseeing the 100+ served meals a night. The menu is full of choices such as oysters, flounder, catfish, and, of course, shrimp – prepared any way you can imagine. Agnes refers to herself as being “…gifted as a good old domestic.” Trust me, she’s much more than that.

Agnes Crosby serves up a side of Southern love in her kitchen, which feels just like going home.

Greicy Perez and Alex Perex are the borther-sister team behind El Mexicano restaurant in Lyons.

The Recipes

Deep Fried Drunken Turkey

provided by Taste of Phillie

Ingredients:

5 bay leaves

2 large diced onions

3 cloves of smashed garlic

1 cup of diced celery

Lawry’s Seasoned Salt & Poultry

Seasoning to taste

½ pint of Hennessy Cognac

12-14 lb. turkey, defrosted

Salsa

provided by El Mexicano

Note: Alex gave me no measurements for the ingredients of his salsa because when you’ve been cooking for so long, you do it all by feel. Recipes such as these are more according to taste than anything else but I think you’ll get the gist of it.

Ingredients:

Onions

Chicken Stroganoff

provided by Tappas

Ingredients:

4 pounds of chicken breast – thinly sliced

8 oz. butter

16 oz. chicken broth

½ tsp black pepper

2 tsp. fine salt

2 cans of light cream (Nestle, found in the Mexican aisle)

1/3 cup of good scotch

Directions: Season the chicken with the salt and pepper, and sauté in butter until light colored. Cover with the chicken broth and let cook on low temperature until the juices have evaporated. Turn the temperature up to medium-high and add the scotch, stirring until evaporated. Add the cream stirring for 30 seconds. Cover and remove from the stove, letting it rest for 5 minutes. Serve over rice with a side of fresh, sliced tomatoes dressed in red vinegar and olive oil.

Directions: Rub the inside of the turkey with poultry seasoning (to taste), and then insert the bay leaves, onions, garlic and celery. Generously rub the outside of the turkey with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt (to taste) and inject it with the cognac. Cover well and refrigerate overnight. Fry as usual.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

provided by Downtown Bistro

Ingredients:

3 cups of sugar

3 sticks of softened butter

6 room temperature eggs

3 cups of cake flour

1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

A dash of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at time until each is well blended. Add flour 1 cup at a time, and when well incorporated, add in salt and vanilla. Pour into a well-greased and floured tube pan, and place on top rack of a 350 degree (pre-heated) oven. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes and remove from pan.

Cilantro

Large can of whole, peeled tomatoes Dash of salt

Minced garlic (“…just a little bit, not too much”)

2-3 jalapeños in vinegar (found at the Mexican grocery)

Directions: Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor for about 4-5 seconds.

Orange Salad

provided by The Whale's Tail

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. can of crushed pineapple, drained

1 11 oz. can of mandarin orange slices

1 cup of miniature marshmallows

1 6 oz. pkg of orange flavored gelatin

1 8 oz. container whipped topping, thawed

½ cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions: In a large bowl, mix together gelatin, pineapple, mandarin oranges, marshmallows, and optional nuts. Gently fold in whipped topping. Chill well before serving.

coming together

Darrell and Ty Ann Copeland dealt with tragedy by building an event center that celebrates the joyful memories of their son while bringing happiness to others.

BY TERI R. WILLIAMS

there is an emotional tie that sometimes exists between a land and its people. The Irish called the ancient stories about the people and the names of places, “dindsenchas,” which literally translates “topography.” The physical land and the stories of its people were so connected they were considered one and the same. Blogger Janice Cantieri wrote about a similar example of this in National Geographic’s Wildlife section on December 15, 2015. “In Kiribati,” a group of islands in the central Pacific Ocean, “a family’s connection with its land is extremely intimate and touches every aspect of life, including love. Even the language expresses this link; kain abau, the phrase for one’s spouse, roughly translates to ‘you belong to my land.’” For Darrell and Ty Ann, 73 acres of land embody memories with their son Calem.

When Ty Ann and Darrell Copeland lost their only child on October 23, 2016, they were lost in grief. Loss is always difficult, but to lose a child, regardless of age, is a tragedy beyond words. Calem had already served four years in the U.S. Army, two of those years in Afghanistan. At the time of the accident, which was an accidental shooting, he was working as a security officer at Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Power Plant. As his parents struggled to move forward, Ty Ann’s brother, Terry Dorsey, made a suggestion. “You know what would be good out there? A wedding venue or a party house.”

“I didn’t think too much about it,” said Ty Ann. But when she mentioned it to her husband, she was surprised to hear he thought it was a good idea. The land, which included a twelve-acre pond and a thirty-acre spring-fed pond, held many memories of time spent hunting, fishing, swimming, jet skiing in the pond, mud bogging and riding four-wheelers with their son Calem. Building a place where people could gather there for whatever the occasion felt right. A venue would allow Ty Ann and Darrell an opportunity to share their son’s joy of life with others. A place to gather could create many opportunities for the sounds of laughter and love to fill the silence in Calem’s physical absence.

The Gathering Place sits among the Copeland's 73 acres of land. An event space and outdoor chapel are perched on a 30-acre pond providing a scenic venue for weddings and parties.

In July 2017, the Copelands began construction. Ten months later, The Gathering Place had its first wedding. Since opening, there have been more weddings, several bridal showers, a gender reveal party, wedding anniversary celebrations, and family reunions.

The purpose of The Gathering Place was never about money. Instead of an overwhelming financial burden for newlyweds and their families, Ty Ann and Darrell purposed to make their wedding and event venue affordable for anyone. “We want to be a blessing to the community,” said Ty Ann.

Directly in front of the thirty-acre pond, a covered pavilion filled with old church pews provides guests with the perfect outdoor chapel. For wedding receptions and other indoor events, there is a heated and air-conditioned building fully furnished with tables and chairs for 100 guests. In addition to a full kitchen for catered events, the building offers men and women handicapped-accessible restrooms, a bridal suite for the bride and bridesmaids, which is a large changing room with a make-up counter, and an additional private restroom for the bride. Outside, there is an area for a D.J. and a dance floor.

“We made a circle drive to accommodate the elderly or handicapped,” said Darrell. “Guests can pull right up to the front and drop someone off before they park.” 400-watt LED

lights allow guests to walk to and from their vehicles with ease. With several acres, guests never have to be concerned about parking space.

“Someone asked about family parking motorhomes here who were coming from out of town for a wedding,” said Ty Ann. “As you can see,” she said, turning toward the wide-open fields, “there’s plenty of room.” The Copelands also plan to add a small cottage for overnight stays in the future.

As guests to The Gathering Place top the hill and round the curve, three tall crosses come into view. 2 x 6 boards are nailed onto the center cross with the names of loved ones as a way to honor their memory. The crosses bring comfort to the Copelands as a reminder of the promise of eternal life.

The land that holds such sweet memories with their son continues to write new stories on Ty Ann and Darrell’s hearts as they spend time with their fouryear-old grandson Caiden, who is Calem’s son. And with each occasion that is held at The Gathering Place, we also share in the gathering of stories of love and redemption—a reclaiming of all that is good in the simplicity of enjoying life with those we love.

UTCM

For booking or more information, visit The Gathering Place of Lyons on Facebook or call 912-314-9942.

Memories of time spent with their son Calem, who passed away in 2016, inspired the Copelands to create a place that would celebrate his life and bring joy to others.

Main Street is the Place to be!

The Lyons Main Street program understands how important a downtown area can be, so we work to improve our Main Street every day. In addition to helping new businesses locate, issuing facade grants, planning networking opportunities and coordinating beautification projects, we help host and plan a variety of events to engage the community. Take a look at some of this year’s fun-filled events. And if you missed one, make plans to attend next year! All events have their own Facebook page so make sure to like them, and visit us regularly at www.lyonsmainstreet.com to see what’s happening in your downtown

Check Out these upcoming Lyons Main Street Events

Tales from the Altamaha “Fables, Fallacies & Unfounded Fears”

April 26 & 27, May 3 & 4. 2019

Southeast Georgia Soap Box Derby

May 3 & 4

Don’t miss this year’s Tales from the Altamaha production of Fables, Fallacies & Unfounded Fears, which portrays the lives and stories of people living along the Altamaha as described by the essays of Colonel T. Ross Sharpe. This annual production is full of humor and fun...and many stories we all can relate to.

Let Main Street help you locate

your new business!

Fun for kids of all ages, the annual Soap Box Derby held at Partin Park in Lyons gives racers a chance to build their own cart and see how fast they can travel down “Derby Hill.” Many of these racers have gone on to compete on the national level making this one of the best derby events in the Southeast.

If you enjoy meeting new friends and being active in your community, Lyons Main Street is the place to be! All of these events are sponsored locally and run by volunteers.

Tales from the Altamaha

Soap Box Derby

Vidalia Main Street Shop Local. Eat Local. Spend Local.

New Director Prepares for Exciting Year

by Tonya Green Parker, Executive Director

As a local girl, I was super excited to take on the role of Downtown Association Director. My roots are in Vidalia and I’ve always known the value of community involvement and volunteerism. Since being hired, I’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness, encouragement, and support I have received and I thank those of you for that! Paula has loved and worked hard for Downtown for 19 years; I plan to continue the same. That’s pretty easy to do since we live in such a great community. The DVA board of directors and other committees have worked hard to facilitate events, promotions, and other things to make our city inviting to our citizens as well as visitors.

In the online world we live in, our community is so lucky to have so many great brick and mortar stores with so much to offer. Really there’s no need to go to bigger cities or shop online, Downtown Vidalia and beyond is where it’s at! We have so many neat advertising campaigns promoting Shop Local. Eat Local. Spend Local. My brain is constantly running on new ways to keep

the good things we already have going…and of course make them even better. We have some exciting plans for the coming year and we look forward to sharing them with you all.

2018 Board of Directors

President

Tish Holland

Vice President

Wendi Cason

Secretary

Heather Mead

Treasurer

Bill Bedingfield

Sandy Dixon

Greg Hudgins

Rhonda Jones

Don’t miss what’s happening downtown....

Kelly Wingate SPOOKTACULAR

Your community will thank you.

To the merchants, our members and community…as the Main Street Director, I have always had your best interest at heart and done my best to help everyone. As my journey comes to a close, I will never forget our accomplishments, memories and hard work that has gone into making DOWNTOWN

VIDALIA ASSOCIATION & VIDALIA’S MAIN STREET great…Let’s keep VIDALIA “great”. My final dream is, my successor will have this passion, and our work will not be in vain.

It is my prayer and hopes

Vidalia will continue to be great community and will maintain a viable downtown … I will always be a MAIN STREET girl…

See you DOWNTOWN OR BEYOND.

Love you all, Paula

www.vidaliaga.gov/dva

COFFEE BEFORE HOURS AT MARY’S INTERIORS

VETERANS LUNCHEON (PICTURE COURTESY OF THE ADVANCE)

Hometown Happenings

2018 Business Expo

Vidalia Community Center

Do you know who’s doing business in your community? The Toombs-Montgomery Chamber of Commerce’s annual Business Expo is a great way to find out. It’s an opportunity for local businesses to let consumers know about the products and services offered in our area. It’s also an excellent opportunity to see how the Chamber is working hard to make our community great!

Hometown Happenings

Lest We Forget – 9/11 Memorial Meadows Street Park, Downtown Vidalia

This patriotic memorial service commemorates the anniversary of a tragic day in the lives of Americans. Even 17 years later, most people remember exactly where they were when they heard the devastating news of the attacks. This services remembers those who lost their lives and our country’s triumph over hate and fear.

Hometown Happenings

Those attending this annual event enjoyed wine tasting, food samples and jazz music by Play of the Game Band and Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers. If you like wine and jazz, add this fun event to your calendar for next year!

Savour Vidalia Wine & Jazz Festival Stage at City Park, Vidalia

Hometown Happenings

The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival

Partin Park & Downtown Lyons OCTOBER

This fun family event started with a local barbecue contest, street dance and fireworks on Friday night and continued with music contests, a quilt show, arts and crafts, a classic car show, and professional barbecue awards on Saturday. Professionals brought their best barbecue recipes and sauces to compete for $20,000 in prize money at this KCBS & Georgia BBQ Championship event.

Hometown Happenings

OCTOBER

Trick or Treat Night

Toombs County

No matter what age you are, Trick or Treat night is always fun in Toombs County. We captured some of the thrills from the DVA sponsored Spooktacular in downtown Vidalia to the Lyons FUMC trunk or treat...and a few in between. It was a boo-tiful night for family fun in our hometown.

Investing In Our Community’s Future

Community Bucks Program

Purpose: To promote growth for Chamber members and encourage shopping locally.

How it Works: Community Bucks are simply gift checks. Anyone may purchase Community Bucks, but only Chamber members may redeem them. Community Bucks are readily available in $10, $15 and $25 increments. We can accommodate special orders in varying increments. Please give advance notice for large or special orders.

We include a list of participating Chamber members with each gift check purchase. Approximately 70 Chamber members accept Community Bucks. Recipients can purchase just about anything: food, clothing, gift items, etc.

Become a Chamber Member

To prepare, develop, and promote our businesses and community for economic growth. The Toombs-Montgomery Chamber of Commerce works full time to provide benefits and programs to help your business grow stronger. We are in business for businesses. Being a member of the Chamber is one of the smartest business investments you will make. Call us today to become a member of your chamber!

photo by | LiLLian Morse burton

Scenes of Toombs Co.

it’s finaLLy faLL ya’LL! a change of season is one thing we can aLL reLate too because we experience it together. whether we witness a hurricane storMing through our county, enjoy waking to a coLd snap or find ourseLves sweating profuseLy at a footbaLL gaMe, the experience of weather is our coMMon denoMinator. it aLso sparks great conversations during sunday dinner taLking about the weather is often how peopLe connect and friendships are forMed. and, what we taLk about as neighbors is not nearLy as iMportant as the act of just having a conversation. this faLL enjoy the change of season in

Toombs County,

and enjoy taLking about it with everyone you Meet!

photo by | LiLLian Morse burton

Winter is an etChing, spring a WaterColor, summer an oil painting, and autumn a mosaiC of them all.

– stanley horoWitz

photo by | Joe Claroni

photo by | tom brodnax

photo by | hayden brantley

photo by | Joe Claroni

photo by | Milizabeth Mann

photo by | Daphne Walker

SubMit your favorite Scene of tooMbS county to reDDoorDeSign01@gMail.coM

photo by | Diane Mixon

photo by | MeliSSa Wright

photo by | Diane Mixon

and all at once summer collapses into fall.

photo by | himal patel

photo by | lillian morse burton

–oscar Wilde

photo by | J.d. rogers

TCM Facebook Contest Winner

LAST Words

Life in a Small Town

It was 1978, and I was 15 yearsold getting ready to finish up my first year of high school. I was living in a suburb of Chicago when my dad said to me, “Hey, how would you like to be a Georgia Peach?” I screamed internally and replied, “I would not.” Within a few months, I found myself heading to Vidalia. I was angry, and as I’m sure you know, hell hath no fury like an angry teenager. With this move, my life as I knew it was over forever.

Needless to say, I literally refrained from speaking to my parents for almost two weeks unless it was absolutely required. Yeah, we had a nice, big house, and dad promised to build me a swimming pool, but I was still a miserable brat who had no desire to acclimate to small town life. I was forced to start school with only a few weeks remaining in the year, so I could meet friends to hang out with during the summer. This was no easy feat being a Midwestern Catholic with a funny accent. It took well over a year for me to accept that this was not a bad joke, and I was here to stay until I was old enough to get the heck out on my own. Amazingly, that was never to be the case because now, 40 years later, I find myself a full grown, plump and happy Georgia Peach.

Small town life is different, for sure, and I miss more things about living in the Midwest than I can count. I miss the options. I miss the museums. I miss the shopping, the culture, the food, and the change of seasons that happen when they are supposed to. And yes, I sometimes even miss the snow. I still thoroughly despise the humidity here and the ridiculous amount of bugs; these things will likely never change for me.

In 1988, when I married my country boy, he forced me into a life of dirt roads, no sidewalks and no pizza delivery. We even had to put

our garbage in the back of a truck and take it somewhere. But, before too long, I began to officially transform. For example, there was the day that I had just finished walking and had gotten way too hot, so I stripped down to my underwear and hosed myself off in the privacy of my back yard. At the same time, my dog found a baby deer and emerged from the woods with it in her mouth. I managed to free the deer and began running toward the house, half naked, holding it over my head like baby Simba in The Lion King. You know you don’t see that happen in the big city every day. Then there was the incident with the badly injured chicken that showed up, and I desperately needed to put it out of it’s misery with a brand new gun that I had no business using. At almost point-blank range, I shot at it 4 times and missed, so the husband had to come home from work to deal with it. I had nightmares about that chicken for weeks.

My in-laws taught me a thing or two about being a country girl, and my father-in-law specifically got a big kick out of teaching the city girl a thing or two. During my inaugural corn-creaming session in their tiny farmhouse kitchen, I was trying to get the hang of scraping the cob to get the cream when Poppy showed up and offered me a very sharp knife from his overalls. After a few minutes, he laughingly shared that it was the same knife he used to remove the man-parts from his hogs just a few minutes before. These are not lessons that I ever imagined I would learn.

Eventually, I learned how to drink sweet tea, how to put up vegetables, and only recently how to make an edible biscuit. I will probably always prefer a “Yankee Dumpling” over a southern one, a glass of cold milk over tea, and hot beets with copious amounts of butter, salt & pepper over

creamed corn. And, I still gag at the thought of eating okra, sliced tomatoes, and any form of green. The only seafood that I’ll eat is a hushpuppy. I know hushpuppies are not officially seafood, but it’s the only time you eat them so why not just say they are?

My grits must have cream cheese and must have milk in them. By all that is holy, please do not give me anything pickled except pickles. Not only do you guys–sorry, I mean ya’ll–pickle everything, but you know you will put pickles on things that pickles just don’t belong on.

I have also learned how to paddle a canoe and how to pee in the grass –ONLY when necessary–without getting my socks wet. And yes, I prefer tennis shoes and socks over sandals because getting my feet dirty is not good. Same with swimming in the river or the ocean. Just ewww.

I still visit my Chicago family, and I still love it. I get a renewed spirit and energy with every trip. While I am usually very sad after returning, I have found that the simplicity of life in the South cannot be beat. We move slower, we talk in cursive, and our daily requirements are not much. We know everyone in the grocery store by name (or reputation), and I can assure you that doesn’t happen up North. People there don’t wave at each other “just because,” they don’t say “yes ma’am” and “no sir,” they don’t pull over for funeral processions, and you will more than likely never hear them trying to figure out who that boy is that’s dating their daughter by asking who their mama and daddy are.

When I sit on my back porch, listening to the owls, watching the dogs run, and the sun set beneath the pines, I’m pretty sure I made the right decision to stay put so many years ago. There’s no place like home and this is definitely and finally my home.

No matter where you go in the world, the best place to be is sitting on a back porch in South Georgia.

Ann Owens is a writer, creative genius, entrepreneur, mother, and wife who enjoys pondering what makes the world click.

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