America the Beautiful by Katharine Lee Bates

"O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountains majesties above the fruited plains. America! America! God shed His grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea." . In a prayer by Peter Marshall with regard to the Fourth of July, he states: "God of our fathers, whose almighty hand hath made and preserved our nation, grant that our people may understand what it is they celebrate. May they remember how bitterly our freedom was won. May freedom be seen not as the right to do as we please but as the opportunity to please to do what is right. Let us, as a nation, not be afraid of standing alone for the rights of men." Fly Old Glory on the Fourth. Have a picnic. Go see the fireworks on The Square in Washington. .We really need to pray for rain. Our flowers and gardens all look thirsty. .On Sunday afternoon, Tignall Independence United Method- ist Church held a reception at the church in honor of their new interim pastor, Rich Seibert, husband of Gale Seibert, pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Washington. Those attending were members of the church and the pastor's wife, Rev. Gale Seibert. .Amber Jordan vacationed in Key West, Fla., from June 19-26 with her friend, Ashley Valdez. .On Saturday, June 23, Margaret Fortson joined Glenn Hendrix of Hartwell and attended the Christening of Glenn's granddaughter, Millie May Lawrence, daughter of Ginny and Mark Lawrence of Columbus. The Christening took place on Sunday, June 24, at St. Paul United Methodist Church of Columbus. .Visiting with Louie and Vivian Wolozin Sunday, June 24, were Dale and Kathy Robertson of Dacula. .One day last week, Mrs. Ted Hudson of Monticello visited with Myrline Thornton. They spent the day in Augusta. .Pat and Amy Paul, Amanda, Caroline, and Patrick of Oxford, Michigan, spent a few days with Myrline and Jerry Thornton. Also visiting with the Thorntons last week were Jerry's friend, Lt. Col. Gaines Ward, and his wife, MiLyn, and children, Austin and MacKenzie of Okinawa, Japan, and Sara Phyllis Ward and Robert Floyd of Atlanta. .Congratulations to Ricky and Wanda Cox on the birth of a new granddaughter, Ella Renee Cochran, on Thursday, June 21. She is the daughter of Brad and Sherri Cochran of Lawrenceville. . It is looking quite bare beside and across the road from the Gammons on the land once belonging to the late Frances Duke. The timber has been cut and it has really been quite busy on Church Street. Also on down the road you can see a beautiful new home being built by Myles and Brooke Dawson. Across the road from their new home is a beautifully restored home of Brenda Hill.