Lawrence Burton says he had a hankering for some barbecue last week and he headed for Washington Food Market. Randall Denard, the owner was not there and when he asked Greg (Denard) if everything was okay, Greg told him that Randall has retired after 61 years of being in the meat business. Randall began his training and experience with Adrian Marshall at the Washington Market on The Square in the building which now houses Scarborough’s. Lawrence says Greg pointed to a butcher’s block that was moved when Randall relocated the business to the present location at 1010 East Robert Toombs Avenue. Greg said that it weighed about 600 pounds when it was moved, and they estimate that it weighs about 300 pounds now after many years and much use.

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The late Troupe Mercer Harris Jr. was featured in the current issue of The Christian Index, the Georgia Baptist Convention newspaper. The article focused on the Troupe M. Harris Jr. Scholarship established in his honor for college students majoring in fine arts and in his memory following his death in 1998. Troupe was director of music at the First Baptist Church for 44 years, retiring in 1996. He not only served as director of music for the church, he taught piano to hundreds of students in the public schools. As church music director he directed the Primary, Junior, Youth, and Senior choirs; wrote music and directed bell choirs for all ages, and directed ensembles from his choirs. For two years during the early years of integration of Wilkes County Schools, he conducted the high school choral group, winning superior ratings in state competition both years. The scholarship has benefited more than a dozen students in their quest for fine arts degrees.

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Here comes another round of early deadlines for which we will need your help. Monday, September 6, is Labor Day and The News-Reporter and Radio Shack will be closed that day. Deadline for all classified advertisements, legal advertisements, society news, and retail advertising will be Friday, September 3, at 5 p.m. for the September 9 issue. Community correspondents are asked to slide their news under the door by 11 a.m. Monday morning (Labor Day). Deadline for all other news is Tuesday, September 7, at noon.

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Avola Callaway had a surprise in the mail a couple of weeks ago. She received a copy of an article which appears in the August issue of Tennessee Cooperator from a high school friend in the 1940s, Robert McCullough, vice-president of the Faber-Castell Corporation in Tennessee. The article was about

Allan Callaway, a Wilkes County native from Rayle who moved to Shelbyville, Tenn., in 1993, and his tremendous success with walking horses. Allan is usually working with 85-95 horses and “has produced more than an astounding 100 world champion Tennessee walkers, adding to an already impressive count of 40 before he relocated to Tennessee,” according to the article. About his success, Allan says, “It’s simple. If you want to become successful, you have to put your best players, cars -- or in my case, horses -- on the field. Great coaches surround themselves with great players. I am only as good as the horses I train. . . . I really enjoy what I do.” Over four decades, he and Karen, his wife of 39 years, along with their sons, John

Allan and Bill, have created a stellar reputation as top-shelf trainers in one of the sporting world’s most competitive fields.

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If the Braves keep going the way they have for the past several weeks, they may make it to the World Series. They beat Chicago 16-5 Sunday. They have recently won most of their games coming from behind and scoring in the eighth, sometimes ninth, inning to win the game. They didn’t pull it off Saturday and Chicago won 5-4.

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Lisa Franklin brought me a great picture of a group of staff and employees of Almar Manufacturing Company. The picture is about two feet wide and has about 200 people in it. Unlike many group pictures, all the faces in this picture are recognizable and several of us here at The News-Reporter (and elsewhere) have had fun trying to see how many we recognize. In the picture is Jeff Franklin’s grandmother, Margaret Alexander, who was one of a carpool of ladies from Elberton who came to work at Almar. We think maybe the picture was made in the late 1950s of 1960s. On the front row, center, are founders Alfred and Margo Moses, Nathan Tannenbaum, and an elderly man that none of us recognizes. If any of you readers who worked at Almar want to see the picture and see how many you can identify, we would be glad to have you come take a look. Some of them that we have recognized are (sometimes I use maiden names, sometimes married names): Ruth Rogers, Agnes Hendrix, Priscilla Maxwell, Ninelle Rogers, Holly Williamson, Rhetta Cofer, Eleanor Corpier, Lois Nunn, Christine Vaughn Smith, Priscilla Callaway, Lois Patterson, ?? Dawson, Margaret Fuller, Annette Caldwell, Sam Bradley Eva Rorie, Emily Baston, Gene Burton, William Echols, Bill Hendry, Bill Dozier, and Billy Hall.

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Rain last week is hardly enough to report. Tyrone got .8 of an inch; Hill Street, .9 of an inch; and Lexington Avenue .6 of an inch. It has been all around us, but I guess we just haven't been "paying the preacher."

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Don't forget when you are shopping to read labels and buy American made products instead of foreign made. Many of the American made ones are cheaper than the foreign ones.

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