One of many of the beautiful explosions as we launched the fireworks into the night July evening to celebrate our country's birthday.
July 4th Event
The country's birthday provided us with a cool evening and clear skies. About 40 or more of us gathered at the community center for hot dogs and hamburgers prepared on the grill by Jim Earnhardt. After dinner, we played BINGO, offering candy bar prizes, several with a $10 notation on the back, which meant money in the pocket--both of the big winners were among the younger of those present. Just before 9 p.m., we moved outside for our fireworks extravaganza, with Jason Freeman as our lead coordinator and fireworks lighter. It is hard to believe that Gerton did not make this year's USA TODAY's list of top ten places to go for fireworks!. After the grand finale, parked cars along the way were seen pulling away into the night.
The new Welcome Benches (including Mel's Bench) have been installed at our Azalea Gardens by the Little Library. On the first day of their new installation, someone stopped by and left two big bags of books. Thanks to this mystery donor. From those bags, we have placed ten new children's books into the library. Recent activity included Eric from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Gwen from Lakewood, Colorado. (courtesy: S. Boone)
I sit here in a semi-dark hospital room and look out into a lighted hallway as the world goes by. This is the surgical floor of a metropolitan hospital. Evening has come, and the sights and sounds are slowing down. From this perspective, I can see clearly. The world is rarely what you think you see.
First ones, crossing the doorway: A large powerfully built man, I'd guess to be in his late thirties, slightly stooped, walks alongside a small woman, in hospital gown, and sock feet. This man works for a living; not behind a desk, but by this back. Maybe he wrangles car tires, or is in construction, or on a road crew. He is not handsome. His countenance is quite formidable and unapproachable. The woman is plain, not remarkable on the outside. This man has his hand at the small of her back, barely touching her, but gently, there to catch her if she stumbles. Something about this harsh man, and this unassuming woman spoke to each other on a "heart" level. Each seeing something in the other no one else did. When he looks at her, his face softens and she smiles.
Soon, a silver haired man, gown and sock feet, passes by. He looks uncomfortable pushing a walker, but on either side, two strapping men, walking slightly behind. They quietly walk with him as he labors to do what he
has been told to do to recover. The younger men, in jeans, and boots, look like they came as soon as the hay was put up, the cows milked, and chores done for the day. There is no question, the silver-haired family patriarch was, is and always will be the head of the family. The men are not talking, but their presence is strong and respectful. Their father would be there for any one of his family, and they are there for him.
Next across the viewfinder, a couple, mid-twenties, passes by. They go the opposite way from the others. These two are both in running shoes, shorts and loose tee shirts. You might think they are visitors except they have passed no less than ten times so far. They hold hands as they speed by. They are too anxious to leave but too wired to sit still and wait. Someone they love is here, maybe in surgery, but coming soon.
A white-haired lady slowly crosses in front of the door frame. A nursing assistant walks with her. This nurse is a younger man, but he knows patient care. I know his name, and I am proud that I do. I reflect back on a long day for they work twelve-hour shifts here, but he is not impatient, nor anything but kind. All of the nurses here know patient care. They know each patient they work with deals with pain in different ways: some snappish and demanding, others quiet and meek. Never do they make a patient feel less than the most important one they care for.
Like looking at a light catcher, that twists just slightly, and a new perspective is seen. Lying in a bed in the dark, having others handling your basic needs, your world shrinks, and it would be easy to feel sorry for yourself. The view shifts, and the light exposes a whole new world. Many lives are just like yours, only different, and you begin to count your blessings.... Love, caring, kindness, family, friends, home, neighbors, community.
(Ed. Note: The community welcomes Matt Parmer to the Gerton Post Office. In his own words below, Matt tells us a bit about himself. If you haven't already met Matt, step in and introduce yourself)
Down the Road toward Bat Cave you will see several signs that indicate that goats are at work. If you pass by at the right time of day, you can see two or three goats somewhere along the edge of the dead kudzu line. They are busy making sure that the kudzu stays dead. The invasive plant is often thought to be out of control. It may take a while, but the goats' work appears to be making a difference!
Thanks from the Mel Freeman Family:
We wish to thank you for the wonderful bench that the center has given in memory of Mel. He would have approved of it and would have been proud that you placed it in memory of him.
Mel loved Gerton and the community center and so do we. --Claudia and Family
(ed. note: the UHNGCC gave a gift to the renovation project of Citadel Square Baptist Church in Charleston, S.C., in Mel's memory)
We wish to thank you for the memorial gift that was given to our church in memory of Mel. Hopefully this will help hasten the renovation of our sanctuary. This was Mel's project as he was in charge of it.
He considered it a privilege to serve Gerton through the community center. As you all know, he loved the mountains. We consider it an honor the way we have always felt loved and accepted in Gerton.
---Love, Claudia and family
The Butterfly Garden beside the pavilion in Chestnut Hills is best seen from the pavilion itself, where all kinds of butterflies can be seen going about their daily pollinating business. (courtesy: S. Boone)
Jason, Mary, and Eric Freeman were all winners at the Bingo portion of our community July 4 celebration.
The Echo is published bi-monthly throughout the year by the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Club. You can access the online blog at www.gertonecho.blogspot.com or pick up a paper copy at the Gerton Post Office. News is always welcome; pictures, too. Please submit to Editor Margaret Whitt at mwhitt@du.edu or 625-0264. Photographers: Sylvia Sane, Shirley Boone, Frankie Tipton, Jean Bradley.
Officers for 2014: Margaret Whitt, President; Lynn Morehead, Vice President; Becca Hathaway, winter secretary; Lana Roberts, summer secretary; Sylvia Sane, treasurer. Board members include Jim Earnhardt, Claudia Freeman, Jean Bradley, and Jim Sane.
Calendar of Events
August 30, Saturday - GERTONFEST VI
Pancake Breakfast - 8 - 10:30 a.m. $4
Silent Auction - 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Cake, Pie, Cookie, Brownie Sale - 8 a.m. until gone
Inflatables for kids - 1 - 5:30 p.m.
Team Spelling Bee - 3 p.m.
Pancake Breakfast - 8 - 10:30 a.m. $4
Silent Auction - 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Cake, Pie, Cookie, Brownie Sale - 8 a.m. until gone
Inflatables for kids - 1 - 5:30 p.m.
Team Spelling Bee - 3 p.m.
Music - Bob Stepp and Friends
Bar-B-Cue - 5 - 7 p.m. $8
TRIVIA BOWL - 7 p.m. - First Ever. Prizes
September 10, noon, Wednesday - Ministry of Hope's 15th annual Fall Luncheon, noon. Silent auction begins at 11 a.m.
Montreat Assembly Hall. Margaret Whitt - 625-0264 for tickets
September 16, Tuesday - 6:30 p.m. Community Covered Dish.
Program: Karen Hudson-Brown on the Clavichord
September 18, Thursday - 3 p.m. Tea Cup High Tea - Get your tickets NOW. $15.
Call Patty Tanner at 625-4189
October 21, Tuesday - 6:30 p.m. Community Covered Dish.
Bar-B-Cue - 5 - 7 p.m. $8
TRIVIA BOWL - 7 p.m. - First Ever. Prizes
September 10, noon, Wednesday - Ministry of Hope's 15th annual Fall Luncheon, noon. Silent auction begins at 11 a.m.
Montreat Assembly Hall. Margaret Whitt - 625-0264 for tickets
September 16, Tuesday - 6:30 p.m. Community Covered Dish.
Program: Karen Hudson-Brown on the Clavichord
September 18, Thursday - 3 p.m. Tea Cup High Tea - Get your tickets NOW. $15.
Call Patty Tanner at 625-4189
October 21, Tuesday - 6:30 p.m. Community Covered Dish.
President's Note
As fall settles into the gorge, we have much to be thankful for--many days of good weather, gardens, flowers, and the natural beauty of the gorge all around us. And, most of all, the ongoing good will of neighbors and friends, who continue to reach out to one another in the good and sad times.
Birdie's Cafe was another amazingly successful weekend; we raised about $1,700, the most ever! Our thanks go out to Helen Brown and the whole cast, who came from near and far, to share their talents with us. Thanks, too, for those who came forward to set up and take down the staging: Jack Mumpower, Jim Earnhardt, Dave MacDonald, Stan Mobley, Billy Gaines, Gene Earnhardt, Sylvia and Jim Sane, Meg Mumpower, Barbara Earnhardt, Gene Earnhardt. To Dave Scoggins, who painted the doorway when Helen requested. To Lynn Morehead, who organized the props, and controlled the lighting. To Patty Tanner and Virginia McGuffey, who sold tickets. To Ruth Hudson, who provided the artwork for the programs. To Lana Roberts and Sylvia and Jim Sane, who sold refreshments and hired the Birdie's Cafe backdoor workers to make those chocolate cakes. To those who made the cakes and did all the other things when asked to help out.
We organized our first, in a long time, high tea--thanks to Patty Tanner, Virginia McGuffey, and Margaret Colwell, who spearheaded the event. Thanks to Bonnie Moore for making the tickets. Thanks to Sylvia Sane, who never stopped shopping for the cups and saucers.
Thanks to all those who have committed their time to the GertonFest as volunteers. Thanks to Roberta Pope for making us new curtains for the library inside the center.
Life goes on here in the gorge, and the best thing about the last half century here is that the spirit of community good will remains high. We are happy to live here and happy to know and work with one another. It is, after all, the best way to continue on...and on.
I look forward to reporting next time on how well our community does in the western regional competition with other clubs. But we are, as we know, already a winner.
Margaret Whitt
As fall settles into the gorge, we have much to be thankful for--many days of good weather, gardens, flowers, and the natural beauty of the gorge all around us. And, most of all, the ongoing good will of neighbors and friends, who continue to reach out to one another in the good and sad times.
Birdie's Cafe was another amazingly successful weekend; we raised about $1,700, the most ever! Our thanks go out to Helen Brown and the whole cast, who came from near and far, to share their talents with us. Thanks, too, for those who came forward to set up and take down the staging: Jack Mumpower, Jim Earnhardt, Dave MacDonald, Stan Mobley, Billy Gaines, Gene Earnhardt, Sylvia and Jim Sane, Meg Mumpower, Barbara Earnhardt, Gene Earnhardt. To Dave Scoggins, who painted the doorway when Helen requested. To Lynn Morehead, who organized the props, and controlled the lighting. To Patty Tanner and Virginia McGuffey, who sold tickets. To Ruth Hudson, who provided the artwork for the programs. To Lana Roberts and Sylvia and Jim Sane, who sold refreshments and hired the Birdie's Cafe backdoor workers to make those chocolate cakes. To those who made the cakes and did all the other things when asked to help out.
We organized our first, in a long time, high tea--thanks to Patty Tanner, Virginia McGuffey, and Margaret Colwell, who spearheaded the event. Thanks to Bonnie Moore for making the tickets. Thanks to Sylvia Sane, who never stopped shopping for the cups and saucers.
Thanks to all those who have committed their time to the GertonFest as volunteers. Thanks to Roberta Pope for making us new curtains for the library inside the center.
Life goes on here in the gorge, and the best thing about the last half century here is that the spirit of community good will remains high. We are happy to live here and happy to know and work with one another. It is, after all, the best way to continue on...and on.
I look forward to reporting next time on how well our community does in the western regional competition with other clubs. But we are, as we know, already a winner.
Margaret Whitt
End of Day Perspectives
by Bonnie MooreI sit here in a semi-dark hospital room and look out into a lighted hallway as the world goes by. This is the surgical floor of a metropolitan hospital. Evening has come, and the sights and sounds are slowing down. From this perspective, I can see clearly. The world is rarely what you think you see.
First ones, crossing the doorway: A large powerfully built man, I'd guess to be in his late thirties, slightly stooped, walks alongside a small woman, in hospital gown, and sock feet. This man works for a living; not behind a desk, but by this back. Maybe he wrangles car tires, or is in construction, or on a road crew. He is not handsome. His countenance is quite formidable and unapproachable. The woman is plain, not remarkable on the outside. This man has his hand at the small of her back, barely touching her, but gently, there to catch her if she stumbles. Something about this harsh man, and this unassuming woman spoke to each other on a "heart" level. Each seeing something in the other no one else did. When he looks at her, his face softens and she smiles.
Soon, a silver haired man, gown and sock feet, passes by. He looks uncomfortable pushing a walker, but on either side, two strapping men, walking slightly behind. They quietly walk with him as he labors to do what he
has been told to do to recover. The younger men, in jeans, and boots, look like they came as soon as the hay was put up, the cows milked, and chores done for the day. There is no question, the silver-haired family patriarch was, is and always will be the head of the family. The men are not talking, but their presence is strong and respectful. Their father would be there for any one of his family, and they are there for him.
Next across the viewfinder, a couple, mid-twenties, passes by. They go the opposite way from the others. These two are both in running shoes, shorts and loose tee shirts. You might think they are visitors except they have passed no less than ten times so far. They hold hands as they speed by. They are too anxious to leave but too wired to sit still and wait. Someone they love is here, maybe in surgery, but coming soon.
A white-haired lady slowly crosses in front of the door frame. A nursing assistant walks with her. This nurse is a younger man, but he knows patient care. I know his name, and I am proud that I do. I reflect back on a long day for they work twelve-hour shifts here, but he is not impatient, nor anything but kind. All of the nurses here know patient care. They know each patient they work with deals with pain in different ways: some snappish and demanding, others quiet and meek. Never do they make a patient feel less than the most important one they care for.
Like looking at a light catcher, that twists just slightly, and a new perspective is seen. Lying in a bed in the dark, having others handling your basic needs, your world shrinks, and it would be easy to feel sorry for yourself. The view shifts, and the light exposes a whole new world. Many lives are just like yours, only different, and you begin to count your blessings.... Love, caring, kindness, family, friends, home, neighbors, community.
(Ed. Note: The community welcomes Matt Parmer to the Gerton Post Office. In his own words below, Matt tells us a bit about himself. If you haven't already met Matt, step in and introduce yourself)
Introducing Matt Parmer, Our New Man in the Gerton P.O.
I moved to Gerton in November 2013, so I am a new resident. I moved in with my fiancee, Millie Mestril, who, along with her longtime best friend Bobbie, run Peaceful Quest Retreats. I moved to North Carolina from Florida in 1998 and earned my BA in History from UNC-Charlotte. I taught high school Latin for a year in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District. In 2005, I began teaching the sport of fencing. I am a Navy veteran and served as a hospital corpsman with the 3rd Marine Air Wing. I paid and worked my way through college with the GI bill and working in retail and as a Corrections Officer for the NC Department of Corrections. I started with the Postal Service at the end of July, and I like it so far.
I have National Gold and Bronze medals in Saber (one of the Fencing weapons). I have been to Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Western Australia, Greece, Amsterdam and the People's Republic of California. I have driven across the country from coast to coast three times and up and everywhere in between. I used to rock climb when I was younger. I have a Great Dane named Titan and two cats named Tex and Milk-face. I build and paint models and enjoy table top war games and online video games. I have over 3,000 books and recently taught myself algebra, next is geometry and trigonometry, then calculus. Why? Because I am terrible at math and have always avoided it. However, I like physics and astronomy and want to be able to understand the math behind astrophysics. Plus, I like a challenge.
I will be adopting a now 7-month-old little girl named Cali Rose within the next year, and she has become the light of my life. I do not have kids of my own, but I have always wanted them. Now the universe has contrived to bring one into my life, and I intend to make the most of it.
Good Bye From the Jenkins Family:
Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Club & Gerton
residents:
Meris and
I both wanted to take a moment and say thank you for the last five years we
have been able to spend in the community while serving the faith family at
Bearwallow. By now most of you have
probably heard that Meris and I have moved.
Our last Sunday at Bearwallow was July 27.
At the
beginning of August we moved to Mebane, N.C., where I have accepted the call to be
the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church Haw River. Even though we have been called away, Gerton
will always hold a special place in our hearts as we have many delightful
memories of the church and the community.
Of the ten years we have been in ministry, five of them have been at
Bearwallow. Both of our children were
born while we were ministering at the church, and we will always have many
friends and extended family in the church and community.
As God
has sent us to Haw River, we know that God is sending someone special to
Bearwallow and the community of Gerton.
We know and pray that we will be hearing many wonderful things from
Bearwallow and the Gerton community in the near
future. From the bottom of our hearts,
thank you again for all that you have done and are doing. We look forward to coming back for a visit
soon.
Sincerely,
Jonathan,
Meris, Mackensie & Kaleb Jenkins
A Review and Moments from "Birdie's Cafe"
“BIRDIE’S CAFÉ” Serves Up Four Star Comedy Fare
“Pure fun!” one playgoer said as she left the Upper
Hickory Nut Gorge Community center after seeing Gerton’s playwright Helen Brown’s fifth comedy, “Birdie’s Café.” The comedy definitely was
“pure fun”—dress rehearsal and the performance nights, July 24-26. Still-chuckling attenders left with smiles on their faces, actors beaming at
compliments their audience members paid as everybody shook hands before filing
out into the night.
The fifteenth summer play was a Community Center
fundraiser. Many of the actors have played roles in all of them. Set in a small Florida town bus station near the Georgia state line, Southern dialects and food
served as authentic background details—which included a three-layer chocolate
cake badly mangled by a dingbat waitress (Pam Lewis).
Debbie Hill played Birdie, good-hearted terrific cook
and café owner, who took in the lost and woebegone, including a British scholar
(J.D.Nappi), whose English ways and manners clashed
with Southern ones, at least for a while; a way-overdue pregnant woman (Sara
Moore) longing for her husband overseas; and Psalm CIV (Michael Hurst), a
dyslexic bright young man Birdie had welcomed into her home. Viola Leach (Ruth Hudson), dressed in a long patched dress, could
hire out as a one-woman band for local events: her washboard, spoon and bells
served as musical background for ‘singing for her supper,’ as well as leading
the entire audience in a rousing version of
“Good Old Mountain Dew.” Sadie and Zane Moore played bratty
bus-fatigued little sister-brother; Jacob Lyda played
a deadpan bus driver used to all kinds of on-and-off bus snafus.
Rounding out the cast were Letha Mae Patterson (Ruth Ann Nappi), Birdie’s daughter and
waitress being courted by Gilbert Sullivan (Brian Bloxsom), a truck driver
fervently hoping to open his own barbeque restaurant; and Grover Atkinson (Don Lewis), a district
licensing inspector, willing to overlook a few guidelines for a good bowl of Birdie’s stew and a slab of lemon pie.
Lynn Morehead patiently, patiently served as sound,
stage, and prop master. Jack Mumpower, Jim Earnhardt, Billy Gaines, Stan Mobley, Dave MacDonald, Gene Earnhardt, and Paul Smith helped to both set up and break
down the set and movable stage.
Oscars and Emmys probably don’t exist for homegrown
plays and local actors, but
Will Shakespeare would have been pleased and tickled
with this production, audience participation often a part of his
comedies. “Pure fun” was what he—and Gerton’s Helen Brown—were both after. And
‘pure fun’ surely happened with “Birdie’s Café” in
Gerton.
--Barbara Earnhardt,
reviewer
Helen Brown welcomes the audience and calls actors to place. Letha Mae has empathy for Betty Ann.
Grover calls attention to Birdie's unusual hairnet!
Birdie lets the kids know they better just behave.
Viola comes ready to sing for her supper. Letha Mae offers hungry Lurleen some food.
Letha Mae helps CIV pack his deliveries while Mr. Wellington waits for tea. (all play pictures courtesy: Frankie Tipton)
Tea Cup High Tea
High Tea is returning to the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Center on Thursday, September 18, at
3 p.m. Patty Tanner is heading up the event, with help from Virginia McGuffey and Margaret Colwell, Roberta Pope, Lana Roberts, Toni Eastman, among others. Jackie Palmer, Margaret Whitt's sister from Lancaster, South Carolina, retired caterer, is also arriving to be helpful.
Elegant music will be heard from our guest artist, still under negotiation. Lake Lure has graciously offered to provide tables and white folding chairs to add elegance to our tea room.
For the last several years, community members, led by Sylvia Sane, have been collecting tea cups and saucers. For $15, the bargain price of the tea, which will include tea, sandwiches, savories, and sweets, also includes the tea cup. Participants may sit where they choose and take home the tea cup. Many of the china cups are collectible items. We have room for 68 people. Please call Patty Tanner at 625-4189. Tickets will be sold until we have a full house or the Saturday before the tea, September 13.
We look forward to seeing you and a guest at the high tea cup tea when exquisite high living returns to Gerton proper.
Neighborhood News
Thanks for Scholarship:
Dear Gerton Community Center,
Thank you so much for giving me the honor of receiving the scholarship this year. Your support and generosity have been such a blessing to me and my family. I have enjoyed being a part of the Gerton community since I was a little girl, and I look forward to many more opportunities to be in the future.
Thank you so much for giving me the honor of receiving the scholarship this year. Your support and generosity have been such a blessing to me and my family. I have enjoyed being a part of the Gerton community since I was a little girl, and I look forward to many more opportunities to be in the future.
Thank you so much and God bless you!
Love, Gracelyn Perry
Love, Gracelyn Perry
Karl Bradley, at over 6' tall, holds onto the tallest sunflower, close to 10' tall, in the Bradley patch.
Becca Hathaway was the honored guest at a baby shower held on Sunday, August 24, at the center to pre-welcome Samuel Holt Hathaway into the world at the end of September. Becca's mom and sister came up from South Carolina to join 20 local guests from the community who delighted in good food and oohed and aahed at the cuteness of new baby things! Later John and John Solomon came to help carry home the goods in the Hathaways' new truck!
Thanks from the Mel Freeman Family:We wish to thank you for the wonderful bench that the center has given in memory of Mel. He would have approved of it and would have been proud that you placed it in memory of him.
Mel loved Gerton and the community center and so do we. --Claudia and Family
(ed. note: the UHNGCC gave a gift to the renovation project of Citadel Square Baptist Church in Charleston, S.C., in Mel's memory)
We wish to thank you for the memorial gift that was given to our church in memory of Mel. Hopefully this will help hasten the renovation of our sanctuary. This was Mel's project as he was in charge of it.
He considered it a privilege to serve Gerton through the community center. As you all know, he loved the mountains. We consider it an honor the way we have always felt loved and accepted in Gerton.
---Love, Claudia and family
The Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach Food Pantry Statistics for
April-June, 2014 reads this way:
96% White/Causasian;
4% African American. 51% Male, 49%
Female.
34% 0-l7 years old; 58% 18-64; 8%
65+. The average number of individuals served
per month is l34; the average number of households served is 41.
Mary Chambless Zeigler, 88, of Orangeburg, passed away on Monday, July 7, 2014, following a brief illness. A private family graveside service was held Thursday, July 10, in Four Holes Baptist Church cemetery, with the Rev. Tom McElhaney officiating, directed by Thompson Funeral Home Inc. in Orangeburg.
Mrs. Zeigler was born June 30, 1926, in Florence, a daughter of the late Minnie Till Chambless and the late George W. Chambless. She was a member of Four Holes Baptist Church, where she was an active member of the WMU, Sunday school and the JOY Group. Mr. and Mrs. Zeigler were married on July 4, 1945, and enjoyed 69 years together.
Survivors include her husband, Roland Lee “Buster” Zeigler Jr. of Orangeburg; two sons, Roland Lee (Bonnie) Zeigler III and Roy C. (Susan) Zeigler, both of Orangeburg; six grandchildren, Lee (Kim) Zeigler of Concord, North Carolina, Gabe Zeigler of Columbia, Karla (Caleb) Steedley of China Grove, North Carolina, Lauren (Dain) Schurlknight of Cordova, Kim (Vernon) Murphy of Orangeburg and Lee (Cori) Williams of Atlanta; nine great-grandchildren, McKayla and Jillian Zeigler of St. Matthews, Noah, Grayson and Sophie Steedley of China Grove, Payton and Prestan Schurlknight of Cordova, Kaylee Murphy of Orangeburg and Tison Williams of Atlanta; a sister, Opal C. O’Cain of Orangeburg; and a number of nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Four Holes Baptist Church, 1622 Four Holes Road, Orangeburg, SC 29115.
Mrs. Zeigler was born June 30, 1926, in Florence, a daughter of the late Minnie Till Chambless and the late George W. Chambless. She was a member of Four Holes Baptist Church, where she was an active member of the WMU, Sunday school and the JOY Group. Mr. and Mrs. Zeigler were married on July 4, 1945, and enjoyed 69 years together.
Mary and Buster so enjoyed Chestnut Hills and
Gerton. Mary often said living here was the best investment they'd ever made.
She loved visiting with Margie down at the store, and hugely enjoyed dining out
with friends here. Anyone who was lucky enough to taste her homebaked cakes or
cookies counted themselves lucky--she was a splendid baker and cook. She and
Buster used to oversee the preparation of enormous beef roasts--they'd deliver
them and meat thermometers to Gerton friends' homes to be roasted in home ovens,
and then Mary and Buster would pick up the cooked meat to carve for Community
Club fundraiser suppers. Both Zeiglers contributed in many ways to the quality
of life here in Gerton.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Four Holes Baptist Church, 1622 Four Holes Road, Orangeburg, SC 29115.
If you know someone who would like to consider earning the GED (high school equivalency exam), classes are being offered through Isothermal Community College and held at Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach (2594 Memorial Highway) in Lake Lure. All classes are FREE. They will be held on Monday nights, from
5:30-8 p.m. Please call Mary Stroman (at Outreach) at 828-625-4683 or Ruth Hills (at Isothermal) at 828-395-1489 with questions.
Food for Kids
Week-end food boxes provide breakfast, lunch, and 2 snacks for Saturday and Sunday. Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach has a 3 week menu, with foods listed below, and boxes are ready for pick-up on Thursday afternoon and Friday.
Week-end food includes:
Large boxes of cereal; single serve oatmeal packets; small packs of raisins
chunky soup; saltine crackers; mac and cheese boxes; tuna; chef Boyardee; string cheese; fresh fruit; granola bars; pudding; small packages of cookies; peanut butter; jelly; bread; large bottles of water.
Week day lunch supplies include:
Cold cuts; cheese; bread; chips; fresh fruit, or small easy-open canned fruit; juice boxes; small packages of cookies
If you bring something from this list to our monthly dinners, we will make sure the donations are delivered to the Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach site in Lake Lure. Food insecurity is a real problem in our community, and the effect on children can lead to other more serious social and behavioral problems.