Georgia Magazine - January 2014 - (Page 48)

It's My View EMC memories A collection of readers' favorite 'Viewpoint' columns from GEORGIA Magazine BY JUNE B. ANDERSON Back flap 3.15 Spine .8125 U.S. $19.98 ' It's My View . a. Great for gifts! It's My View W life hen Paul Wood writes about modern for in his monthly "Viewpoint" column GEORGIA Magazine, his plainspoken to reflections are often laced with references up in the small lessons he learned while growing town of Natchitoches, La. columns to One has only to read a couple of in family, gain an appreciation for a life grounded a. n a. Ga. 2011 By Paul Wood Ga. ' Ga. t' A collection of readers' favorite 'Viewpoin columns from GEORGIA Magazine By Paul Wood Membership Corp. President/CEO, Georgia Electric faith and education. distinction: Small towns in the 1950s had one was often The character of the town's youth their mission shaped by adults who accepted, as to responsible in life, putting every child on a path a time when and successful citizenship. It was mantra of every "Remember who you are" was the to be small-town mother, a cautionary warning you walked out the on your best behavior when never forgot door to meet the world. A teenager "put you on that anyone in the community could report." you'll In Wood's column, "Good vibrations," 'n' roll was remember growing up when rock not always born, perhaps with parents who did I should get a understand it. In "My mother says sense of raise," you'll discover Paul's purposeful and "What's humor. In "The parade of our time" about the it all about," he waxes philosophical tough and meaning of life. In "Good friends stood by you times," you'll think of someone who has plenty of when the going was rough. He also job, patriots advice for graduates looking for a families seeking celebrating the Fourth of July and their children. a more meaningful Christmas for on how elected There is also considerable comment all make government work better at officials could the considered levels. Hardly any subject escapes opinion of Paul Wood. columns This collection of readers' favorite past; it is a is more than a nostalgic look at the lessons Wood reminder that many of those early as they were learned are just as applicable today believes in mid-20th-century America. Wood that, when every person possesses a unique gift capacity to discovered and cultivated, has the the reader change the world. At the very least, light is apt to find Wood's insights a helpful vex our for understanding the problems that America. complicated world in early 21st-century More than 100 of Paul Wood's top "Viewpoint" columns in a 6-by-9-inch hardcover book of 200-plus pages! (Contined on back flap) Copies are available for $19.98, including shipping. Mail your check for $19.98 per copy to: GEORGIA Magazine/Viewpoint, P Box 1707, Tucker, GA 30085, or go .O. online to www.georgiamagazine.org to place your order and be billed. Order your copy now! My order/"Bill me address": Name Address (No P.O. Boxes) City / State / ZIP Email Address Phone County T he winter months always transport me to my youth in the 1960s and '70s in my hometown of Monroe, where most winters my parents, Fred and Amy Rose Briscoe, and I could count on at least one ice storm. We lived seven miles out of Monroe in Between, so named because it was situated six miles from Loganville and six miles from Monroe. We lived on a side road a mile from "downtown" Between, so we were really out in the sticks! This was proven when that January or February winter storm would hit. Our quiet country road was lined with a variety of trees, mostly pines, whose boughs would be laden with the beautiful frozen precipitation. Although the ice was lovely, it was heavy, and the tension would cause limbs and electrical wires to snap. Without warning, the power was gone. The Walton EMC (Electric Membership Corp.) switchboard must have looked like a Christmas tree with continuously blinking lights. Equipment and technology back then were not what they are today. Sometimes it would be days before our co-op was able to restore power way out at our house. Send gift copy to: Name Address (No P.O. Boxes) City / State / ZIP (Use additional sheet for more gifts.) Total Copies Ordered: Total Payment Enclosed: Make check payable to and mail to: GEORGIA Magazine/Viewpoint, P.O. Box 1707, Tucker, GA 30085 48 June Briscoe (now Anderson), 5, and her mother, Amy Rose, brave the winter cold outside their home in Walton County in 1959. More online at www.georgiamagazine.org Now that I live in the region serviced by Sumter EMC in Americus, I am grateful that times have changed. If and when there is an outage, not due to winter storms, but hard rain storms and high winds, we hardly have time to gather our candles or ﬂashlights, grab a newspaper fan in summer or start up the kerosene heater in winter before the lights are burning brightly again, the dishwasher is sloshing, and the HVAC starts purring. During my growing-up days in rural Walton County, we had unvented gas space heaters, unsafe to use at night, so we used electric blankets. They were warm and served their purpose well-until an ice storm hit. We had the good fortune of owning quilts lovingly crafted by some ancestor, and when we lost power, my mother would layer them on me in my little twin bed. One year in particular, in my late teens, one such winter storm hit. I think we were without power for about four days. My father had lost one leg to cancer when I was in high school in 1972. I'm sure he felt helpless, although there was little he could have done. My mother warmed canned soup, opened with a manual can opener, on the gas heaters. In a few days the power was back on, and the indoor camping trip was over. Those days are gone, and so are my parents, but the memories linger as somewhat dear to my heart. I am grateful, very grateful, that the EMCs are still around with their advanced equipment and dedicated service people, very capably taking care of us in every season. June B. Anderson is a book author and member of Sumter EMC. She is married to Cal Anderson, and they were both born and raised in Walton County. They have two married children and two grandchildren. GEORGIA MAGAZINE http://www.georgiamagazine.org/ViewPointBook.aspx http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - January 2014

Georgia Magazine - January 2014
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Liberty Notes
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar of Events
Currents
Georgia’s Energy Outlook
Crossing the Line
Meet the Long Family
The Washington Youth Tour
Tips for College Freshmen
Around Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
My Georgia
Snapshot

Georgia Magazine - January 2014