Jack Frost came calling in Washington-Wilkes Monday morning. If you got up early enough, you saw his handiwork in low-lying grassy areas, along the sides of streets and roads, and on your car. And wouldn't you know! Grandview had a big share of that frost.

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Tanner Tree Service has been cutting and taking down two very large oak trees in the front yard at the Tupper-Barnett House on West Robert Toombs Avenue. It has been a big deal with the street blocked for two -- maybe three -- days and traffic re-routed. Thinking the Washington- Wilkes Comprehensive High School Homecoming Parade would begin at the Parks and Recreation Center and come right by where they were working, Michael Tanner cut a big hole in one of the trees. He made big sign saying "Confederate Gold Found Here" and placed it above the hole. His plan was to get inside the tree which was hollow, wear mask, and stick his head through the hole while throwing gold-wrapped candy to anybody who came by and to "clown around" with parade participants. But the parade came down Spring Street to The Square. So Michael put on his mask, got inside the tree and just joked with anybody who came by. The stunt attracted a lot of attention.

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After the election: Vadah (Mrs. George) Hale brought me a clipping from Progressive Farmer which said: "A politician should have three hats. One for throwing into the ring; one for talking through; and one for pulling rabbits out of if elected." . . The saying was attributed to Carl Sandburg. . . . Betty Reese, who is an exceptional cook and entertainer, told me about receiving a fruit cake slightly larger than a cupcake the week before the election. Betty says that a longtime friend in Tennessee always mails her a large fruitcake for Christmas about this time of the year. This year, the friend included a note which said, "This is my Obama cake which you will be receiving in the next four years if he gets elected." . . . The friend later mailed her the full-size cake.

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At First Baptist Church and Sardis Baptist Church members are very fond of Rev. John Mark Carpenter and his wife Betty, who live at Chestnut Mountain near Gainesville. He served as interim pastor at both of these churches and he and Betty are fondly remembered by their many friends. Ruth Rogers saw the couple turning in at McDonald's Monday morning and hurriedly pulled in behind them for a short visit. The Carpenters were on their way to First Baptist in Augusta to attend the Fall Convocation of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. They send best wishes to their many friends in Wilkes County.

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David Russell, who among other things, weaves corn shuck chair bottoms at Mule Day, was doing his thing with the corn shucks at the Hart's Square Festival in Hickory, N.C., last week. A man approached him and said that he had just watched an episode of The Woodwright's Shop with Roy Underhill on Public Broadcasting about a man who could weave chair bottoms out of corn shucks. David replied that he was the weaver and that Underhill had asked him to be on the last show of the 25th season of the program. The man looked puzzled and said that David didn't look like the man on the show. David replied that he guessed it was because he had shaved off his beard. The man shook his head and walked off. David's not sure if he believed him or not.

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From reports of travelers, gas stations outside of Wilkes County have gas cheaper than Wilkes. Monday morning, gas prices in Washington- Wilkes ranged from $2.37 to $2.39. per gallon. On a trip to North Carolina last weekend, Sparky and Mary Newsome bought gas in South Carolina for $1.89. Chris and Tara Townsend paid $1.98 per gallon in the Atlanta area; and Daniel Newsome bought gas on Highway 316 from Athens for $1.95.

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Tina Bailey was browsing in a little shop in Helen recently when she bought a striking drawing of

The Fitzpatrick Hotel and other buildings in Washington-Wilkes. She showed me the print of the hotel and said that it came from ChrisArt -- Artwork by Chris McLaughlin. The drawing shows every little detail of the intricate construction of the hotel and also of the Master's

Wildlife building. Sketched in front of the building is an old-style panel truck with "City of Washington" painted on the outside. There is also a sketch of a old model car -- maybe a Packard. Information on the back of the drawing says that the artist has been drawing since childhood in 1967. He currently lives in Lawrenceville and has done projects with The Fox Theatre, The Georgian Terrace, and The Varsity in Atlanta. Tina says she plans to give the drawing to Sokun and Guillaume Slama at The Fitzpatrick. The date on the back is 2005 and Tina is wondering what brought him to Washington- Wilkes.

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Priscilla Maxwell, our longtime community correspondent for the Tyrone area, is back writing the news this week. Priscilla has had a very difficult time for the past two years with medical problems, including heart problems and hip replacement. She is doing much better and expects to have her final hip surgery on November 24. We wish her well.

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Does anybody besides Kip Burke have tomatoes in November? Every day that he brings me one, he says, "This will probably be the last one." But they keep coming and he brought me one Monday.

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Eleanor and Steve Blackmon have returned from a trip to Prague, Czechoslovakia, where they visited their daughter Myra and Tom Holland who are living there temporarily while doing some interesting work. (Tell you about that another time.) Eleanor brought me many e-mails and blogs that she has received from Myra. I've got to read them and absorb them before can share some of the information. Since it's right after our United States election, I will tell you of one incident which Myra observed. She kept seeing a truck driving around the area carrying a big sign with the names of presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama in big bold letters. It took a while but she finally got a little information. It seems that people in Czechoslovakia or most any other country "over there" don't care too much for politics and elections in their own countries, but do keep up with what is going on in the United States. I will tell you more when get a chance to read what Myra has sent. She's a journalist, you know, and likes to write!

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I received the nicest surprise in the mail Friday. Madeline Heard Poteet who is a Wilkes Countian living in Texas sent me several interesting publications about marbles. Most of you readers know how like marbles. One of the publications was an elaborately produced little magazine called "American Profile." In it was an article titled "Marbles by the Millions." The article was about a family-owned company in West Virginia, using the name Marble King, that literally makes marbles by the millions. It described the process from digging up various items of colorful glass, such as perfume bottles, broken vases, and discarded headlights, to the final process of producing marbles. . . . Madeline describes her husband Eddie as "an avid collector ge orgia of mar bles and be l ongs to a c ouple of clubs," in clu ding the International Association of Marble Collectors. She sent me a copy of the fall newsletter. In it I found a little corner called "Marble Related. . ." which told about how the Poteets also had a collection of marble related items, such as an old handkerchief that says "I play marbles on Tuesday, boy!" Another item was a jigsaw puzzle of three boys shooting marbles, closely watched by their Beagle. . . . Madeline is the daughter of Cary and Jewel Heard of Tignall. They moved to Texas a good many years ago.

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The News-Reporter's annual Christmas tree featuring babies born to Wilkes County families during 2008 and whose announcement appeared in The News-Reporter will be featured in the December 25 issue of the paper. Grandchildren whose announcement appeared in the paper will be eligible for inclusion on the tree with sign-up beginning on Monday, November 17.

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