The Farmers Market on the edge of Fort Washington Park behind the Wilkes County Courthouse was a great place to be Saturday morning. As advertised there was a big variety of things to buy and lots of samples. There was kudzu jelly, chickens, eggs, heirloom vegetables, tamales, breads, pear relish and jelly, pita bread, plants, many kinds of vegetables, and Tink's beef burgers, among other things. There were several little girls there with items which they had crocheted, such as hats and coasters. . . . Connie Danner had small green eggs which she said her grandcihldren like to have for breakfast when they spend the night. Then, in honor of Dr. Seuss, they can say they had "Green Eggs and Ham" for breakfast. Check them out this Saturday morning. It's lots of fun.

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The Fall Cruise-In on The Square will be this Saturday (September 12,) from 6 to 9 p.m. It's a good chance to see many old vehicles, and latest restored vintage vehicles. There are new ones too. It's a funtime. . . . And you can eat supper there.

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Mercer and India Harris are singing the praises of the Washington Fire Department after one of their rental houses on Liberty Street caught fire last week. Mercer says the fire department arrived in a minute after the call was made and saved the house from being a total loss. It's like Mercer says, Washington has had a tradition through the years of having an outstanding fire department, and it pays in many ways. One of the firemen has said that the Washington department has a reputation as being one of the best in the state and that they have visitors come just to see what we do have.

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Leah Partridge of Lincolnton is a superb opera singer. She will be singing with the Atlanta Opera Company this fall and winter and will be singing "The Star Spangled Banner" at a Braves game sometime this month. She is the niece of Rachel Pharr of Washington.

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Donna Cram is a newcomer to Wilkes County and says she really loves Wilkes County and Georgia. Donna has a business called Feathered Acres where she raises and sells chickens, including Rhode Island Reds, Partridge Rocks, and Plymouth Rocks. She also sells eggs. She is from Rhode Island and spent some time in the Thomson area a few years ago. When she got back to Rhode Island she decided she didn't want to stay in that cold and icy climate but wanted to come back to the South. She spent lots of time on the Southeast Coast, trying to find what she wanted. After four trips to Wilkes County she decided this was it. She lives in the Aonia area. You can see her chickens at the Farmers Market on Saturdays.

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Jasper, a Whippet (dog) owned by Lisa McCall Florence, took runnerup honors in the Parade of Pooches in the Park last week in Madison. Jasper was one of the dogs shown on four pages of pictures in the writeup about "Dog Days of Summer" in the Morgan County Citizen. Lisa is the daughter of Edythe McCall of Washington-Wilkes. There were all kinds of awards made during the show. Proceeds from the show will benefit the Companion Animal Rescue Inc. in Morgan County. That might be an idea for a benefit for the Washington-Wilkes Animal Shelter.

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Peggy Barnett, our outstanding book-reviewer for The News- Reporter, is home from her annual summer in North Carolina, and we're glad. We have been using some of her book reviews from years past while she was gone. It's nice to have nice fresh ones back.

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Billy Thornton has recorded and reported rainfall and temperatures for the National Weather Service for many years. His report for August shows an average high of 89.8 degrees; average low, 67.6; and a total of 4.55 inches of rain.

. Two weeks ago in this column, I told you about Connie Zello, probate clerk, finding an interesting old book among some old papers. Connie's husband Tim, who owns Washington Antiques in downtown Washington, brought the book for me to see and I have had a great time with it. I have already written about some of the things I found in the book. This week is about a section titled "Wilkes County's Contribution to World War II," by the late Marion Colley Boyd. Miss Marion and the late Miss Kathleen Colley were sisters and lived in the Robert Toombs House when I was a child, a teenager, and as a young adult. Miss Kathleen was the librarian at the Mary Willis Library and influenced the readings of many a Wilkes County child. . . . Miss Marion's story begins: "World War II came to every crossroads in Wilkes. It entered the door of practically every home, from the simplest to the most pretentious, and drew from its fireside some beloved son or husband or close relative. With scarcely an exception, every family cherished its Service Star. Many parents were called upon to part with several sons and in some windows as many as five stars showed the sacrifice that war had demanded of that household. . . . The service boards on the Courthouse lawn give the names of 1,157 men of whom 809 were white and 348 black. (The name of each one is listed in this little book.) . . . The first organized unit to enter the war from Wilkes was the 214th Coast Artillery, originally Battery B, 1st Battalion of the 264th. This Battalion was organized by Col. J.E. Stoddard March 7, 1930, as a National Guard Unit, and later reorganized by him on November 25, 1940. Seventy-five men went from Wilkes to Camp Stewart near Savannah with this contingent." . . . The book also contained a section of advertisers. Tim (Zello) was intrigued with the telephone numbers most of which were just two digits. Rees Seed and Supply Co.'s number was 92; Meadows Brothers Groceries, 11; Washington Dry Cleaners, 83; and Greene Drug Store, 60. Other advertisements in- cluded Shine Laundry, McGill Truck and Tractor, Drake Funeral Home, Wilkes Theater, Long's Repair Show, Pope Manufacturing Co. H.C. Jackson Lumber Co. Clark Gresham Furniture, Corry-Wynne Drug Co., Armour's, Jackson's Grocery Store, Garrett Furniture, Lindsey Chevrolet, Johnson Dry Cleaners, Harold L. Blum, A&P Store, Ellington's Jewelry Store, and others.

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On the cover of the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (GEMC) Georgia magazine is a picture of four Washington-Wilkes students who were selected from Rayle EMC as delegates to the 2009 Washington Youth Tour of Washington, DC. These students are Jacob Eskew, Jessica Murphy, Joshua Fant, and Josh Fair. Inside the magazine are pictures of each one of these students with Congressmen or Representatives and quotations from interviews with each student. The students were selected for their leadership abilities and received more training in leadership during the week.

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Also in this issue of GEMC Georgia was a section on "Honoring heroes -- a tribute to Georgia's World War II veterans." I didn't see any Wilkes Countians named but for you members of First Baptist Church, a former interim pastor, Jim Austin of Rome, was pictured with his wife

Madeline. An account is given of how Jim as a young 18-year-old participated in D-Day on June 6, 1944, and later on Utah Beach.

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