Amber Anthony Fox, daughter of Linda and Gene Anthony of Washington-Wilkes, was on a flight from St. Louis, Missouri, to Columbus, Ohio, with a stop-over in Atlanta last week. She was seated beside a 60-year-old man and they began chatting. Amber told him that she lived in Columbus now, but Washington, Georgia, was her hometown. He said, “Oh my gosh. You won’t believe this, but I lived in the St. Joseph Catholic Home in Washington from the time I was five years old until I was 11 years old.” He went on to say that his family was from Savannah and his mother died when he was five years old, leaving five little boys. His father could not take care of them but wanted desperately to keep them all together. So they were sent to the orphanage in Washington. They lived there for six years until a time when some relatives could take them in. . . . You always find somebody from “home.” It’s uncanny. (For those of you too young to remember the St. Joseph Catholic Home, it was located in what is now the Washington-Wilkes Parks and Recreation Center on Lexington Avenue.)

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Two Washington-Wilkes ladies have significant birthdays this week.

Mary Wright Blue was 105 years old on Monday, February 15, and enjoyed visits from family and friends. . . Mabel Ware Johnson celebrated her 95th birthday Wednesday. Both are amazing ladies. Mabel was honored at the First Baptist Wednesday night supper with a birthday cake and balloons. During the weekend, escorted by son, Arvid Johnson, Mabel attended every one of the activities of the Sons of the American Revolution’s Revolutionary Days in Washington-Wilkes. The snow didn’t stop her from seeing everything she wanted to see. At one of the stops she had her picture made with George Washington.

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Charles (Bubba) Hopkins, native Wilkes Countian now living in the Atlanta area, has been named recipient of the Heart of Gold Award to be presented by the Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities. The award honors him for his life work with children and families and will be presented on April 20 at Emory University Conference Center in Atlanta. WSB-TV honored Charles Monday with a nice segment about the award and his work. The program can be seen on WSB-TV’s website, www.WSBTV. com

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An e-mail from Vera Anderson of Wilkes County asks for some assistance. She needs to find out what the temperature was for the week of July 16, 2008. She says that they had stain put on their house during that week and it has faded and they are needing the temperature information for the stain company, so that it can be redone. “I really hope to hear from someone,” she says. “I’ve sent emails to Channel 6 and Channel 12 and they haven’t even acknowledged my request.” . . . If you have any information that would be helpful, call The News-Reporter and we will pass the information along to Mrs. Anderson.

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Gas prices are on the rise again. From west to east on U.S. 78 through town, prices range from $2.59 to $2.65.

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Snow is the big news from last week. It was beautiful, and so still and quiet. It started about two o'clock Friday afternoon and fell gently on through the night. It was not wet. It was a dry and fluffy snow, and many snowmen were seen around town Saturday morning. Most people measured it as four inches, a few, five inches. . . . We had had some rain earlier in the week and Sonny Johnson at Tyrone said he had 3.7 inches. Norris Ware on Hill Street. had .5 of an inch.

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Joey Fievet at Fievet Pharmacy says that his pharmacy is nationally accredited and bonded with the American Board for Certification in orthotics, prosthetics, and pedorthics. “We worked for over a year to receive this accreditation,” Joey said.

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The Sons of the American Revolution's

Revolutionary Celebration in Washington-Wilkes was successful with many people in town for the various activities. The attendance may have been hampered a little by the snow, but there was still a good attendance. The parade marched in the snow, and the skirmish took place in the remaining snow in Fort Washington Park. The activities scheduled for the Kettle Creek and War Hill area were held at the Pope Center because of the snow. . . . The Colonial worship service at the First Baptist Church had a good attendance and a good program.

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Thank you so much to those of you who send me items for this column. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness and how much it helps me.

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I see signs on lawns and in front of churches that read "Pray for America." . . . . Billy Hopkins on East Robert Toombs Avenue has a different one in his yard. You might want to check it out.

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The renovation of the Wilkes County Courthouse will probably get underway soon, and from what I know about the plans, it's going to be really nice. . . . I wish there was money to restore the old jail. It's such a classy and classic old building. But I'm just glad to have the renovation of the courthouse. . . . People ask me from time to time, "Weren't you afraid to live so close to the jail?" (I grew up almost next door to the jail.) No. I don't remember that any member of my family was afraid. Even my skittish Mama said she didn't figure that any escapee would hang around the jail and the houses around the jail, but would be long-gone trying to get as far away as they could. . . . Besides, there were nice and interesting people who lived on the first floor of the jail. The sheriff usually lived there with his family, and we enjoyed playing with the children in the family.

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