Mattie’s Corner
Today is Monday April 9,2012. The birthdays for the week are: Apr. 9: John Price, Marcelle Hughes and Stacy Mc-Swain. It was the birthday of C.A. Manning, Chet Hribal and J.T. Gafford.
Apr. 10: Wanda Ramsey, Rick Lane, Heidi Helander.
Apr. 11: Pat Bradshaw, Dessie Hooper. It was the birthday of Bill Bowlin, Hinkle Shillings and Mrs. Bill (Lyle) Shillings.
Apr. 12: Twins Diane and Winston Warr, Ned Ross, Donny May and Sandra Yarborough. It was the birthday of Virginia Palmer and Beth Wise, the grandmother of Deborah Dellinger Young.
Apr. 13: Marguerite Holt Lavender, Alva Samford, Rhonda Schmutz, Jane Helander, Stephen Kimbro, Herbert Perley and Mitzi Dellinger.
Apr. 14: Wardlow Lane III, John C. Rogers Jr., Greg Gardner, Sally Watson Soderquist and Lesa Sanders. It was the birthday of Delton Chandler, Fred Hudson Sr. and Charles Bradshaw.
Apr. 15: Karen Bowlin, Kristi Ihlo, Rodney Schmutz, Monica Motley, Randy Snow and Clifford Roy Lowe. It was the birthday of Louise Wilburn and Lois Barbee.
Apr. 15: Wedding anniversary for Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Christian.
Apr. 16: Charles Eberenz, Shirley Ann Parker and Doug Lampley. It was the birthday of Libby Batson, Mrs. L.C. Eddins, Clyde Lyles and Beverly Choran Hurst.
••••••• I hear from Mitchell and Catherine Ramsey in Ruston, La. quite often. His father was Donese Ramsey who was on the coaching staff at CHS from 1946 to 1956 along with Mitchell Jetton and Travis Bush.
In 1951, the co-captains of their football team were William Carroll and Curtis Kimbro.
Michael would like to hear from Center friends who remember him and his family. The address is Michael Ramsey, 2513 Briarhill Drive, Ruston, La. 71270.
••••••• I had a long phone conversation Monday with Scott Watson at his funeral home. He wasn’t busy at that time, and he told me of a trip that he and his family had made several years ago in the western states. They were eating at a restaurant in Utah and one of the staff asked where they were from. Scott replied “Texas.” “From what part of Texas?” the man asked. Scott said, “We’re from a small town called Center.”
The man was quick to say “Oh, I know where that is. One time when I was working for a national television station in Houston, I along with others from the station were sent to the Center radio station to interview Mattie Dellinger and her talk show, I’ll never forget it.”
The Party Line had many 15 minutes of fame in those days, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
••••••• Mrs. C.C. Locke (Inez) was another benefactor to the youth of Center. She and her husband gave gifts in May to every graduating senior. For the boys they gave a new white shirt. The boys could go by Polly Mercantile Store and select one. I can’t remember the girl’s gifts. She also treated the whole class to the Rio Theatre for a movie.
••••••• The City of Center water department working crew has been repairing my water meter located near the street. Someone drove over the embankment and crushed the meter. It also broke a pipe leading into my water line. My line was repaired but it didn’t hold, and water leaked into the street and then gushed and spewed. So, it is fixed again, and I hope my water bill won’t be too much.
When the work was finished, John Green, one of the young men who was working on the break, came to my door to report. He said he remembered me when I had the Party Line and that he called in often as a little boy.
I asked him if he got picture show tickets for saying John 3:16 and he said he did. I asked him if he could still recite it and he stood there like a little boy and said it perfectly. This opened the way for us to talk about the Bible and its rewards. He quoted lots of scriptures and told of his Christian life. John 3:16 was the first Bible verse that he memorized as a child. It’s one you don’t ever forget.
••••••• Something of interest: enclose a number of your address labels in your letters. They make it easier to address your reply envelopes.
Please enclose some of yours when you write to me, and I’ll send you some of mine. We all get an abundance of the labels from all the organizations. I appreciate mine!
••••••• I’ll keep repeating the dates for the 2012 Center Homecoming, October 19-20. The 1962 class will be the honored class this year as they celebrate their 50th. A few of this class includes Buster Bounds, Charles Delaney, Jerry Griffin, Newton Johnson, Joan McCary, Jimmy Matthews, Margaret Ann Nix, Vickie Warr and Joe Yarborough.
That looks like a good working crew to put on a big celebration at our October Homecoming.
••••••• Help your child to memorize John 3:16. You won’t be sorry you did.
••••••• I’ve thought of another old saying that was used often: “Don’t trouble trouble, til trouble troubles you.”
••••••• Jackie Grant of Center wrote me an interesting letter this week relating to Marguerite Wallace Adams of Lukfin.
Jackie read in this column where I had mentioned a long-ago beauty shop in Center as Marguerite Adams Beauty Parlor.
Jackie is a niece of Marguerite’s, and she said at age 96 her aunt still works in a beauty shop called the Lemon Tree which she and her son Ted Adams owns.
Jackie collects these columns and takes to Marguerite and Ted, who she said loves to read them.
Marguerite’s husband was the late Pascell Adams, a brother of Syble Adams Holt. Jackie is not the only Wallace relative still living in Center because there is Bud and wife Billie Wallace, a sister Sue Hagler and a brother Joe Wallace and wife Jimmye in Joaquin. A sister Marsha Askew lives in Nederland.
I’m thinking that their father was a brother to Dr. C.B. Wallace, the Center dentist.
••••••• I read that women are getting memberships in all the previous men’s organizations like the Rotary, Lion’s Club, fire departments, fire fighters and others.
I wonder how long it’ll be before women make an attempt to be a member of the Masonic Order. Of course, we have the related order of Eastern Star.
••••••• I watched the tornado and storm on TV that was in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, and it was frightening. Many of us have close kin and friends in that area that we were concerned for.
I talked with granddaughter Denise in Mesquite after the storm had passed. She and her husband Shepherd work in Dallas. During the storm she said she and some of the workers stayed in the stairwell for an hour.
Her daughter-in-law attends college in Arlington and made it out safely. They were not hurt and no damage to their home.
I also called and talked with Ava Nell Lane Christian in Euless, Texas. She was alone when she saw the storm approaching, so she ran to her neighbor’s house next door.
She said she grew up in the James Community where most people there were scared of storms as they had had a bad one in 1929 or 1930 that nearly wiped out the community. She and her family went into a storm cellar when she was young.
Avanell’s home wasn’t damaged, and her husband Wayne soon returned home so she was ok and appreciated my concern for her.
••••••• Chris Watlington has an interesting subject this week on pet peeves. He invites folks to contact him with pet peeves to be used on his KDET radio show.
I wish we had more publicity on this as it might improve some of the little peeves that we all harbor. For instance, one of my little annoyances or peeves is for an audience of adult women and men to be address as “you guys.”
Write me some of yours and I’ll print them.
••••••• Many of our friends are dying as time marches on. Virginia Rogers death April 3 brought back memories of when she and her husband Dr. Jim Rogers, the dentist returned to Center. They purchased and restored the old antique Huntington home in Shelbyville. Later, they purchased the Duke Taylor home in Center and restored it.
Dr. Jim, the son of James G. and Minnie Jewel, built his dental office on Cora Street and didn’t live too long after that. That office is now owned by Dr. Danny Paul Windham and the restored Taylor home is owned by Larry and Marilyn Ballard.
Virginia’s grave in Oaklawn is there with the James and Minnie Jewel family graves. Dr. John Rogers of Center is a first cousin to the late Dr. Jim as their fathers were brothers.
••••••• Last week I received two Easter cards on the same day. One was from the Grace Sunday School Class of the First Baptist Church signed by all the members.
The other was from a women’s dorm and all the women there signed their name. The difference was this dorm was at Gatesville prison.
Both groups signed their names, and each gave the same type of Christian message. I thank the women at both these groups for remembering me. It humbles me.
••••••• – Mattie