The Office Cat
Miss Fanny's sub stays busy
Washington-Wilkes continues to have a steady influxof tourists to our town which has been as beautiful as I have seen it in my many years. Jo Randall has been filling in as tour guide for Miss Fanny who is outof town for a month. She has had tour groups or individuals almost every day for the past two weeks and sometimes two or more groups in the same day. She hosted a group of quilters from Dunwoody last week. They stayed two days and were especially interested in antiques, and of course, quilts. They visited the home of Ginny King and Skeet Willingham where Skeet gave them a tour of their restored home and the many antiques in the house. They also visited Pam and Rod Eaton's home and gleaned much antiques information from Pam. They also "sampled all the food around The Square" and visited all the shops. . . . There was a couple from England who was staying at Holly Court Inn who toured our town and just about every week there are groups from Savannah Lakes near Mc- Cormick, S.C. . . . A group from Canada wanted to know "What are carpetbaggers?" . . . A couple from Texas, celebrating their wedding anniversary, toured another day. A large group from Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., guests of John Harvey and Laverne Edwards, was in town Saturday for a tour -- and the Red Hat Ladies are scheduled for a visit Friday.

ƒ Wasn't it a thrilling sight to see Wednesday with the Georgia and United States flags flying around The Square along with the flags of 26 countries. The flags represented the countries who were participating in the Tour de Georgia which began its ride here Wednesday. The flags were provided by our own Ruffin Flag Company on Water Street.

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When the Tour de Georgia race is over, the cable and satellite network Versus, Comcast Channel 61 in Washington, will provide playback coverage of the tour on Sunday, May 4, from 2 to 4 p.m. You may want to tune in and see if you see yourself -- if you came Downtown for the event. . . . Tourism Director

Ashley Barnett, who did a superb job of coordinating the Tour de Georgia event, says that FSN South, the nation's largest regional sports network, reaches more than 12 million cable and satellite homes in seven states in the Southeast, and SportSouth reaches more than nine million. Ashley says that the regional and worldwide television coverage should increase the attraction of Washington-Wilkes as a tourist destination. "The coverage will expose Washington-Wilkes to millions of viewers across the Southeast, which is our best tourist market by far," she said.

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Kay Poplin called to tell me that Austin Rhodes of Austin Rhodes Talk Show fame on Augusta radio, came with his wife Sunday to visit her mother who is a patient in Wills Memorial Hospital. Kay says that they were overwhelmed with the "Gone With the Wind" mural on the

Retro Cinema building on Spring Street and with the Cinema itself. She says that he "raved" about it on his talk show Monday.

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Tom and Gail Duggan will be starring in the musical comedy "I Do! I Do!" during Mother's Day weekend at the Bolton Lunceford Playhouse. Paying special tribute to mothers at the Sunday matinee, the theater will have "Bring Your Mama Day." Any mother whose adult "child" brings her to the matinee will be admitted free. . . . The show is set for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, May 8, 9, and 10, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, May 11 (Mother's Day), at 3 p.m. Reservations are being accepted by calling 706-678-9582.

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What sounded like a gunshot behind the Washington-Wilkes Elementary School Monday brought calls to 911 and police to the area. It turned out to be a transformer which "blew out" and caused power outage for the area until it was fixed.

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Margie Burke picked strawberries at Creston Farms in Wrens Monday and I got to taste one. It was the best and sweetest strawberry I have ever tasted. . . . I heard that they may be picking again and selling them at the Relay For Life event next week.

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Edith Lindsey read the item in last week's column from Mary Virginia Blackmon about Mule Day in Columbia, Tennessee. Edith lived in Hohenwald, Tennessee, which is in the area of Columbia, and has attended Mule Day. She says it is indeed a big, big event, bringing thousands of visitors to Maury County the first week in April. She suggested that some individuals or committee from Washington-Wilkes might attend that Mule Day and gets some ideas for the one here.

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Dot Branham came by with a necklace she has that is made from chinaberry seeds! The seeds have been tinted yellow, green, pink, orange and maybe other colors, and the necklace is really pretty. She doesn't remember where she got it but does remember that as children her friends and family dyed the seeds with crushed sumac and poke berries and strung them along with kernels of corn.

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It's funny now, but it wasn't funny Saturday! It was 9:45 a.m. and guests were expected at 10 a.m. at the home of Mark and Emilie Waters for a bridal shower for bride-elect Laura Baldwin. Hostesses were Emilie, Patricia Burton, and Lynn Simmons. Somebody turned on the new chocolate fountain so that it would be ready when guests arrived. The fountain erupted like a volcano, spewing that delicious concoction all over the hostesses, the walls, the table, the linen tablecloths, the floor, and anything else in its reach. Screams were heard all over the house! Somehow, they managed to get everything cleaned up and back in place before the guests arrived. Emilie replaced the new fountain with her older, smaller one, and the party got underway.

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As part of the Washington-Wilkes Arts Foundation's music festival, the Friendship Community Choir from Athens will present a concert at the First Baptist Church here Sunday afternoon, May 27, at 3 p.m. The choir is directed by Kevin Kelly, whose claim to fame in Washington- Wilkes is that he is Peggy Barnett's nephew. He's also Director of Music at the Friendship Presbyterian Church in Athens and this is not the first time he has brought his choir to Washington.

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Judy Coxwell, teacher at the Washington-Wilkes Elementary School, was named president of the prestigious sorority for teachers, the Alpha Theta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, at the Saturday meeting of the teachers in Oglethorpe County. . . . I have known about Delta Kappa Gamma for a long, long time. You couldn't know or have the late Esalee Jordan Burdette for a teacher without hearing about her beloved sorority. I wonder how many Delta Kappa Gamma programs and membership lists I typed for her as a high school student. And then after we bought The News-Reporter, we helped her compile and print her annual state Delta Kappa Gamma yearbook and deliver them to Macon for her. Congratulations, Judy.

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Here at The News-Reporter we get lots of complaints (especially on Thursdays) and a few "thankyous." I'm sure this is true in other businesses. There are some people that we want to shrink from when we see them coming. There are others whom we are glad to see. One of these good ones is Lairee Myers Rodgers. She comes in with a big smile and "running over" with compliments for The News-Reporter. She knows us, our children, and what each one is doing, and she is happy when we have good fortune. As my Mama used to say about some folks, "She can talk the horns off of a Billy Goat," but we don't mind listening because we know she is sincere. Thank you, Lairee.

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