Monday is Pearl Harbor Day. Sixty-eight years ago on December 7, 1941, we were all shocked to hear the news on our radios that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands doing tremendous damage and taking the lives of thousands of United States military men and civilians. It was a day that all of us living at that time will never forget. I was just nine years old, but I remember it vividly. It was on Sunday, and we all gathered around the radio where we spent most of the day listening to the accounts of the devastation. . . . Journalist Tom Brokow has called those war years and the aftermath "The Greatest Generation," and it was truly a time of bravery and sacrifice for every American, especially those in military service.

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Donna Bennett and her threeyear old son Jake were featured on the front page of The Augusta Chronicle's "Black Friday" shopping guide on Thanksgiving day as they examined Christmas ornaments on a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. The Augusta paper reported that sales were up and booming with wrap-around lines around some stores all night, waiting for the stores to open. The Athens Banner-Herald, on the other hand, reported that sales were down and shoppers were not many. . . . There were a lot of people shopping in shops around The Square in Downtown Washington Friday. In fact, in a couple of stores, customers could hardly make their way around.

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Tuesday's Downtown Candlelight Shopping brought many Wilkes County people as well as a lot of out-of-town people to town. There were large groups from Thomson and Augusta, according to one report.

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Charlie Burke, Margie and Kip's son, has been named an operations supervisor with the U.S. Census Bureau which will be conducting the 2010 census. The job is fulltime and Charlie will be located in Stone Mountain.

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Sunday, December 6, is the time for the 'Tidings of Great Joy' concert, a gift to the community from the Washington Little Theater. The concert at the Bolton Lunceford Playhouse on North Alexander Avenue is free and will begin at 3 p.m. The program will feature music by Ruth Berry, cello, and Kevin Pollock, piano. 'Tidings of Great Joy' is a concert which celebrates and reflects on the importance of music during the Christmas season. We could all probably use a little lift to get us in the Christmas spirit. Christmas is just three weeks away.

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HE gave HER two tickets to the performance of "The Rockettes" at the Fox Theater in Atlanta for HER birthday. THEY left Washington- Wilkes early Sunday morning with plans to attend services at HER mother's church in Norcross, have lunch with other family members after the service, and then continue on into Atlanta to see the Rockettes. When they were on 285 in Atlanta, SHE decided to get the tickets out and look at all the details on them and set the GPS for directions. It was then that SHE discovered that the tickets were not for November 29, but were for the next Sunday, December 6. Not to be outdone, they went on to Norcross, the church, and lunch, and then came home. . . . They plan a repeat performance this Sunday, except that this time THEY plan to arrive at the Fox Theater on the right day.

. A commercial advertising the Christmas Tour of Homes is being

aired on Channel 6 Augusta this month. It's very short and you'll miss if you don't watch out. The commercial shows it snowing on The Rider House.

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Dr. Mark Waters, well-known Washington-Wilkes history buff and authority, has received notice that his second article about the events of April-May 1865 in Washington, Ga., regarding the Confederate Treasury and Richmond, Va., bank assets, is to be published in the December issue of the Surratt Courier newsletter. The newsletter is published monthly by the Surratt Society, an affiliate of the Surratt House Museum and the Maryland- National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Clinton, Maryland. The newsletter has both national and international circulation. The latest article by Mark is titled "The Missing Confederate Gold: Raid at Chennault, Georgia, May 24, 1865," and details the events surrounding the midnight raid and the disposition of the $450,000 silver and gold coins -- mostly gold. (This would be about $9 million in today's value -- $3.6 million is still missing.) Mark's first article, "Confederate Treasury -- the final Disposition," was published in the September 2007 issue of the Surratt Courier and reprints are available (free) at the Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce or the Washington Historical Museum.

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When Little Roy Lewis and Lizzie Long and Friends had their "pickin' and singin'" program at the Metasville Schoolhouse on Thanksgiving night, they had a surprise visitor join them. Country Music/ Blue Grass artist Earl Scruggs showed up and participated in the program to the delight of everyone present.

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The Christmas Tree of Love sponsored by the Wills Memorial Hospital Auxiliary to benefit the hospital is having its fund-raising program during November and December. Donations in memory or in honor of loved ones and friends to light the tree are $5.00 each. Donations may be mailed to 120 Gordon Street, Washington 30673.