The gates to Panola Mountain State Park are nestled under tall grey pines in the northern parts of Henry County. The park is situated just off Highway 155. If you’re not on the lookout for the park, you’ll miss it in the blink of an eye. I’ve visited the park a number of times for picnics and bike riding over the years. However, this summer was the first time I’d actually climbed to the top of Panola Mountain. Panola Mountain sustains a fragile ecosystem upon its broad granite shoulders. Intricate mosses and lichens grow slowly on the face of...
Maclovia Cribbs – Military Matriarch
Long time Henry County resident, Maclovia (Mac) Cribbs, was born nearly 93 years ago in Pharr-San Juan-Alamo, a small rural community in the Rio Grande Valley. Her parents, Martin and Maria Cavazos, immigrated there from Mexico in the early twentieth century. The youngest of six, Mac learned early about hard work from her father, an irrigation canal horse rider responsible for lifting the irrigation gates to allow water to flow and irrigate vegetable and fruit farms in the Rio Grande Valley. The Cavazos family, like many others during the Depression era, was very poor. Her parents, and the children as...
Sarah’s – Country Soul Food At Its Best
Regardless of your age, you most likely have very fond memories of days gone by when your family gathered around the dinner table to enjoy home cooked meals prepared by your mother. There’s just something very special about a home cooked meal that transcends cultures and ethnicities from any region across the nation. It’s no wonder restaurants serving meat and vegetables have always been a popular place to take the family for a nourishing meal. Restaurant owners use words like Home Cooking, Country Cookin’ and Soul Food to connect with that special place in the minds and hearts of...
Freedom In The Water
The hollow echoes of a natatorium are a distinct sound. They can only be heard by a few. The first ripples of the water are made by the dedicated…the determined. These athletes begin their mornings far earlier than most – and their parents even earlier. They are committed. Committed to a life of swimming. Most of us have fond childhood memories of playing in a pool or lake: the endless games of Marco-Polo and Sharks and Minnows, jumps, flips, cannon balls and belly flops off the diving board. There was always ‘the one’ relative that could create more waves than...
Gifts From The Hands Of A Master Sculptor
Breathtaking sculptures, whimsical memories, a dynamic arts center … all treasures for generations It was with big, rough, friendly hands that Andy Davis created art. And, as hands figure prominently in a sculptor’s work, so hands are celebrated in his shop. On two huge sliding doors in his Hood Street studio in McDonough, Davis placed a reproduction of Michelangelo’s iconic The Creation of Adam, with the great hand of God on one door reaching across to Adam’s hand on the other door, their index fingers almost touching: God giving life to man. Andy Davis believed in man giving life...
A Life That’s Gone To The Birds
McDonough retiree continues learning as she peers at life through a long lens In retirement, Anne Davis has hardly slowed down. Instead she’s found herself whole-heartedly pursuing a new passion: God’s winged creatures. Davis, a McDonough wife, mother and grandmother, was surprised to discover a stimulating life in capturing images of some of the creatures she scarcely noticed in her busy 20 years as a Rockdale County primary school educator. It all began six years ago with a thoughtful gift. “When I retired, my co-workers gave me a retirement party and presented me with money they’d collected,” Davis said. “They...
When A Seed Is Planted
Could a 10th grade history class really change your life? For Mallory Thomas, that is where her journey began. Her final project in the class was to do a report on Kenya. “After doing the project, I knew I was going to be there someday,” says Mallory. (She has just returned from her third mission trip to Kenya. It seems to have created a lasting impact.) Mallory began attending Strong Rock Christian School in 2007 as a part of the inaugural group of students. She remembers it being a great year because everyone was brand new and just waiting for...
Salvation Army – A Slightly Different Path
The bus rolls out at 6:50 a.m.. Thirty minutes later 45 kids pull into Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy. They are from all over the United States, all different ages, yet connected by parents that answer an unusual calling. As such, these children support one another, connect with each other, understand each others struggles and challenges because all their parents have chosen a slightly different path. These are the Salvation Army children. Their parents are currently in training at the Salvation Army College and campus in downtown Atlanta. Originally opened in 1938, its mission is to train and ordain ministers...
All-Around Example
Self-driven Henry County student alumnus draws up winning play to reach goals, serve as role model – A paltry 0.08 percent. That’s it. Two spots behind a decimal point percentage worth is what kids donning the football pads each time late in summer have by way of a chance to make it to the National Football League. Most people have a better chance of hearing “Come on down” on the Price is Right than football players do of hearing their name called by the commissioner of the NFL. But what if you were one of the select few who did...
Gathered ‘Round The Table
Gone are the traditions so many of us grew up with. Formal dinners and fancy place settings….Arriving at your relatives home to find their dining room table adorned with china, crystal, silver tableware and cloth napkins….All decked out in anticipation of a bountiful plate covered in delicious food. The ladies buzzed in and out of the kitchen wearing lovely aprons and carrying serving dishes to and fro. Everyone would gather around the table, say grace and dig in. The conversations that followed are what so many memories were made of. We have fallen away from many of these traditions. I would guess that most...