Tuesday, July 10, 2012
How a new counter top and sticky glue proved not-so-much fun for a duo of cats and Marlene.
Remember our two flying monkeys, Figaro and Mystic? They are not flying so high anymore! They are pussy-footin’ instead. We had started a remodeling project last year that included a new laundry room and some changes to the old laundry room. What seemed like an easy project got wrapped up the whirlwind of our lives. We have finally gotten around to placing cabinets in the old laundry room. Snell and his cousin Charles DeLoach installed the new cabinets. They are a beautiful snowy white and just brighten the room. Plus, I really need a place to hide cat food. I have two old cupboards/pie safes from Mama’s parent’s home place in Eastman. One was built by my great-granddaddy around 1830 and the other by my granddaddy in the early 1900s. …
Thursday, June 28, 2012
In the final stage of her life, Grace Ratledge still planned to live forever.
On December 1, 2011, while trimming shrubbery, Mama decided she would cut down a small tree in a flower bed. When her lopping shears wouldn’t do the job, she got her hand saw. When the saw wouldn’t do the trick, she went to the barn and sharpened her hatchet. That did it. 93 and one-half years old. Don’t forget that half. She said she had worked hard to make every day, and she wanted credit for each one. One of her favorite sayings was “times changes all things.” On December 5, she was hospitalized with pneumonia. She had to get well. Mama wanted to get “back on the job and finish all that I have to do.” Mama never asked to go to the doctor, only when absolutely necessary. One morning she asked that I take her. I knew it was urgent. We …
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
On June 27, the birthday of Grace Ratledge, her daughter pays homage. "Mama," as she was known, died earlier this year at age 93.
"Earth laughs in flowers," by Ralph Waldo Emerson. That was one of Mama’s favorite sayings. She also loved, “Time changes all things." It's a partial quote from a Swiss linguist. This is Mama’s birthday. She would have been 94, and proud of every day of it. This isn’t typical of one of my articles. Most people believe their parents had the greatest influence on their lives. I would just like to talk to you about one of the people who had the greatest influence on my life and the lives of my son and husband — Mama. She was an affirmation of life. She did what needed to be done and didn’t admit to frailty. Whatever the job, whatever the need, Mama handled it. She had a brilliant, funny mind and determination to succeed with whatever was …
Friday, February 10, 2012
Kirstyn Burkhalter is a among the top 10 performers in 'Stars of Tomorrow.' She moves on to the final competition March 11 at the Fox Theatre.
- ARTS
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Friday, February 10, 2012
Two teenage singers from Gwinnett County will be competing in the finals of the inaugural “Stars of Tomorrow” competition Sunday, March 11. The 10 finalists include Kirstyn Burkhalter, 15, of Snellville and Jenna Bass, 17, of Lilburn. Other finalists are Lydia Flock, 15, of Atlanta; Nariah Francis, 17, of Atlanta; Lauren Hill, 13, of Flowery Branch; Lindsey Marcus, 15, of Dunwoody; Daniel Mata, 15, of Marietta; Krysta Nick, 14, of Peachtree City; Destini Shelton, 16, of Douglasville; and Marguerite Yearns, 13, of Sandy Springs. Tickets for just $15 are still available but going fast for the final competition in the Egyptian Ballroom of the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit Variety of Georgia. The winner will earn a…
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Brookwood graduate makes good in the skin care world.
When Chrissy Thomas was growing up, she wasn't thinking about going into skin care. She wanted to be a dentist, and then she wanted to be in the operating room. In March, though, it'll be ten years that she's run About Face Skin Care in Snellville, Thomas says she loves it. When she started, her daughter Ella was just three weeks old. "There's nothing else I'd rather do," she said about her skin care business. "I don't get the plastic people here. You'll never find anyone here that's really got over-stuffed lips or unrealistic expectations, but it's people that just want to be healthy and be all that they can be." She also gets to learn a lot about her client's lives, and being a social person, that aspect of the job also fits Thomas. "I …
Friday, January 20, 2012
Eric Parker takes over for Gwen Tatum, as principal of Shiloh High School.
- SCHOOLS
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Eric Parker will soon be the newest principal of Shiloh High School. The Gwinnett County Board of Education approved the appointment at its January meeting this week. Since 2009, Parker has served as the principal of Shiloh Middle School. He's no stranger to Shiloh High, however, having served as an assistant principal there from 2003 to 2006, and he was also a health teacher there for a year. In addition, Parker was an assistant principal at Richards Middle School in Lawrenceville and a health teacher at McConnell Middle School in Loganville. Before Gwinnett County schools, Parker also worked in Atlanta Public Schools and DeKalb County School System. Parker earned his bachelor's degree in health and physical education from Radford …
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Snellville native brings back a family's tradition and encourages local entrepreneurs.
Roots run deep for Snellville native Debra (DJ) Moon McGlamery. With familial connections to the Snells, Williams, and Britts, McGlamery “ended up kin to virtually all of Snellville.” Things have changed significantly since McGlamery’s early days in town. “In 1960, our population was 460 people,” she said. (That number is close to 20,000 now.) Her parents, Jean and Sadie Moon, opened Treasures for Your Home, a small home décor and furniture store in 1964 in the Snellville Shopping Plaza. They moved and reopened in the current location in 1974. Her connection to Snellville goes back further than that, however. The Moon side of her family was Cherokee Indian, the original occupants of Gwinnett County. When Andrew Jackson opened up …
Place of Seven Springs, a faith-based, nonprofit organization is moving into a new facility.
A Snellville ministry that provides assistance to families in need is moving into new facilities, but those it helps won't have far to go. Place of Seven Springs, a faith-based, nonprofit organization that runs a thrift store at 3541 Stone Mountain Highway (U.S. Highway 78) will be moving from its current location into a space twice as large, just a couple of stores down. This March, the nonprofit would have been in its current location for two years. Debbie Dowdin, who runs the nonprofit, said the store is moving into an old grocery located in the center of the strip mall that she currently leases in. For a while, she knew she needed more space for her ministry work, but the economy worked against her. "I knew that I needed more space," …
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
She's one of those people that seems to do a little bit of everything, and she's got four children to boot!
Darla Dixon is known around Snellville as a go-to person for what's happening. She's one of those people who knows that person who knows another person, and so on. Having been a resident of Snellville for the past 18 years, it kind of comes with the territory. Her four children -- 18-year-old twin daughters and boys ages 8 and 6 -- also keep her quite busy around the city. And, she also really likes Snellville. (Except, she added, the recent political tension.) "I like the sense of community," Dixon said. "It's a great place to raise a family. People are friendly. "I can make two to three new friends every time I grocery shop. In many cities, I'm sure people go shopping and don't talk to a single person." Dixon has used her personality and…
Friday, January 6, 2012
Share photos and videos of your community with your neighbors. Leave a comment once you've posted and the editor will share them.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
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Friday, January 6, 2012
Hello Patchland! We've created a place here on Patch where you can display your favorite photos. These can be photos that represent you, that represent your neighborhood, or just fun photos you'd love others to see. We're calling it "Your Neighborhood Gallery." And, we have already started for you, with a few photos from the editor's stash of photos taken at home or in the community. When you get ready, look for the "Add to Neighborhood Gallery" button. (There's one on the top right of the Snellville Patch page. And, on the top bar, "gallery" also comes right after our new "traffic & gas" tab.) Don't forget to add a few lines in the caption of your photos, so we know who the lovely folks in the photo are and what they're doing! Thanks!
Darby Terry
9:08 am on Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Your experiences make me appreciate my quiet, boring life. Although I am sure you don't miss the days of Mystic and Figaro flying through the air, I do. I guess it is because I never had that much excitement in my life. more ›