Overheard, out and about, Mrs. Grundy sees all, tells all

Mrs. C.R. Grundy

Published Friday, June 5, 2009

Peeping through my Venetian blind, I spotted Miss Cora Covington, coming over the way from Covington Hall with what looked like a cobbler in her hands. I thought, “No, it can’t be a dewberry cobbler”; but it was! Glory! I invited my friend right in, and we sat down and had some with ice cream on top. My, it was good!

I told Cora about visiting Myrtle Ruth (Everage) Welch (Mrs. Theo Welch) at Andalusia Manor June l, her 98th birthday. In came Anna Lois Nall with homemade chicken and dumplings, Irish potatoes, purple-hulled peas, squash, and a big bouquet of pinkish oakleaf hydrangeas and daylilies, picked by her and Dot (Barfoot) Hudson, who brought in creamed corn and a pink hat and some slices of pound cake made with real butter by Mary Jo Mount, who had made the cake for Dot’s family when Dot’s mother passed away. In came Gertrude Nelson with a pretty card and a new blouse for Myrtle. In came Peggy Chesteen with smiles and joy, and in waddled the Portly Gentleman with candles, a custom-made pound cake from Dean’s, topped with cream-cheese icing and decorated with pink roses and green leaves, and in his hands, a gift of Oil of Olay. No sooner had these gathered than a cake from Myrtle’s son Mark was spotted on a table; and in came two of the staff with a bucket of white daisies, sent by Myrtle’s nephew, Dan Shehan of Savannah, and a vase of yellow roses from her niece Ruth in Pensacola. The candles were lit and “Happy Birthday,” sung; and Myrtle blew out the candles!

Zelmer Jones and the Portly Gentleman motored up to the fifth-Sunday singing at Good News Baptist Chapel in Rose Hill last Sunday afternoon. Ronnie Driver, retired superintendent of Covington County schools, led an hour of singing from Mull’s Singing Convention No. 7. Accompanying at the organ was Retha Jackson; at the piano, Jill Maddox. At the end of the service with great joy Jay Driver, pastor, baptized two men, who had professed their faith in Christ publicly.

The Portly One said it was the best singing he had heard since he visited Cedar Grove Church of Christ.

Patricia Grace served lunch to a capacity crowd last Sunday in her Amazing Grace Cafeteria in Dozier. Among those enjoying the good home cooking were Jerry “Bing” and Sally Hall and his son Roy, who has recently moved back to Andy from Atlanta, Don and Scarlett Parsons, Johnny and Eloise Syler, and Dr. Wayne and Lenora Johnson. Selections included homemade chicken and dumplings, butter beans, fried bread, creamed corn, Boston butt, fried chicken, baked chicken, green beans, squash, fried okra, collards, roast, wild rice, a variety of desserts, fried pies, lemonade, and tea.

Miss Dora Covington tells me that Sally Patton-Hall’s first children’s book (ages 4 – 8), “The Cat Who Could Tell Time,” is nearing publication. Mirror Publishing has asked Miss Sally to illustrate her 28-page book in color. Miss Sally wrote the story about four years ago and “stuffed” it into a box, not guessing its current success.

The Portly One was rocking on the porch at David’s Catfish the other day, enjoying the sunshine and breezes, when up came Lee (Brown) Watkins, a former student. With her were her husband Alan, his mother Betty Watkins, and his and Lee’s sons, Alec and Turner, both very well-mannered, young gentlemen. Alan finished at the Andalusia High School in l980; Lee, in l982. They now live in Roswell, Ga., and had come home to attend Lee’s niece’s graduation in Dothan.

The Portly One was soon joined by Mike Jones, retired reading teacher at A.H.S. The two rocked and talked at least two hours about this, that, and everything.

The A.H.S. Class of 2009 enjoyed Senior Class Night Monday, May 4, in the Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church. This is a tradition going back to the early decades of the last century, the times of the seniors’ great- and great-great-grandparents. Before anyone now working at or attending A.H.S. was born, the Methodist church was used and this activity organized. Wow!

Seen, having lunch at Off the Square Café, were Esker and Ann Thomasson, and Joey and Penney (Riley) Watson, and their sons Riley and Dalton.

Seen at C.J.’s Grille were Dr. Dale and Jane Gunn and their granddaughter, Savannah Dale Reach, visiting from Tuscaloosa. Savannah studied recently with the Rockettes in New York City and with the Royal Ballet in London.

Also seen were Don and Scarlett Parsons with their daughter Kellye Sharpe, her husband “Key,” and their children, Bren and Brady, celebrating the end of school.

At a table nearby were Suzanne Foshee, Debbie Posey, Kim Pugh, and Donna Walker. These “Fabulous Five” meet on each other’s birthdays, buy dinner for the birthday girl, and present gifts. This day’s honoree was Kim Pugh, decked out with jewelry galore! The fifth “Fabulousette” was Jenny Rogers, unable to attend this time.

Miss Dora Covington told me about attending the Spring Piano Recital of the pupils of Mary Clyde Merrill the afternoon of May 28 in the Baraca Chapel of First Baptist Church.

Potted palms and a spring bouquet arched behind the Ann Martin Memorial piano, centered at the altar. With shutters open, the chapel was lovely as the setting sun lingered through the pastel panes. Flowers given by the Portly Gentleman to Mrs. Merrill were laid upon the grand piano.

Playing were Ivory Rabren, Anna Grace Thomas, Jeremy Boyd, Mary Morgan Pierce, Bren Sharpe, Edie Alexander, Hampton Glenn, Kennedy Thompson, Emily Pierce (who also played a duet with her sister), Allie Yant, Heidi Cross, Emily Theus, Brady Sharpe (even his mistakes sounded good!), and Katie O’Brien.

Miss Prissy Primme, the English teacher, told me that she attended several recitals recently and wanted to recommend to the public that good manners dictate that one should not leave a recital after his child’s performance but should wait to the end out of respect for others.

Awards Day was staged May 22 in the auditorium of A.H.S.. This year’s Student Government Association officers were honored – Clara Bass, president; Nate Mack, vice-president; Kanesha Leslie, secretary; Tara Ward, treasurer; and Joshua Huggins, parliamentarian.

Next year’s S.G.A. officers were installed by Miss Clara Bass, her officers, and Joni Brannon, sponsor – Nate Mack, president; Amber Anderson, vice-president; Samantha Hill, secretary; Shan Demmings, treasurer; and Evan Brooks, parliamentarian.

Beth (Tillman) Wilkes announced her retirement from the Andalusia High School May 29 after 27 years there, teaching business and marketing classes and serving as co-op coordinator.

Mrs. Guy H. “Buddy” Wilkes was graduated from A.H.S. in the l976 Bicentennial Class and went on to Lurleen B. Wallace Junior College and Auburn. She and Mr. Wilkes have been married 29 years and have four daughters, Rebekah (Mrs. Zac Lollar), Sarah Anne, Mary Beth, and Rachel.

They attend Bethany Baptist Church.

“It’s been a wonderful experience,” said Mrs. Wilkes of her career, and added that it has been “so nice to work with local businesses through co-op.”

To celebrate her retirement, her sister, “Babs” Mikel, and Babs’s husband Dwight sponsored a family party May 28.

Mrs. Wilkes’s “hall buddies,” Perry Dillard, Angie Grimes, Marcus Taylor, Brian Seymore, and Daniel Bulger, gave her a set of earrings to match a Sorrelli necklace with a pendant cross, given her at lunch May 28 at C.J.’s Grille by the Career Tech Department, Jenny Pitts, Donna Cauley, Delores Boyd, Anthony Mikel, Debbie Posey, and retired colleagues, Barbara Posey and Kennith Mount.

The faculty of the Andalusia High School ended the academic year with a luncheon in the new school library May 29, the last day of school for most teachers. C.J.’s Grille catered the affair. The two retiring teachers, Amy Spurlin and Beth Wilkes, were honored with monogrammed silver trays. Cafeteria manager, Carolyn Johnson, also retiring, was given a gift certificate.

Word comes that Bill Spurlin of David’s Catfish has met his literary idol, Sonny Brewer, well-known Alabama author, living in Fairhope.

I understand that seniors at the Andalusia High School were released from school several days prior to graduation this year and last. Miss Prissy Primme, the English teacher, shook her head in disapproval, saying, “Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop.”

Colonel Covington tells me that a coalition opposed to gambling in Covington County is forming under the leadership of Dr. Fred Karthaus, pastor at First Baptist. An assembly met May 26 at First Baptist to discuss the issue. Judge Jerry Stokes was prominent and agreed to serve as spokesman. The group was asked to meet with the county commissioners at 9:30 a.m. June 8. All kinds of rumors were circulating.

Bill Dannelly, son of our former, legendary editor, Ed Dannelly, stopped by to visit our current editor, Michele Gerlach, recently. He and his family were enjoying a sentimental weekend back in Alabama and the “Dimple of Dixie,” seeing old friends and old sites.

Seen at Tabby D.’s for lunch were Judy Holmes, Maggie Shelley, Qumi Huckaba, Abbie Taylor, the Mysterious Lady, Esker and Ann Thomasson, and J. D. Shakespeare.

The Portly Gentleman was bragging on the good cooking, especially the fried green tomatoes, cabbage, rutabagas, butter peas, grilled chops, and baked chicken.

Stephen T. Caton informs me that a senior party honoring Christopher Land Gatlin II and Heather Valley Cross was attended May l6 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Willis (Christopher’s mother and step-father) on Sutton Road. Guests dined on boiled shrimp and crawfish. Heather’s father, Mr. Jeff Cross, worded the blessing. Guests also swam and watched videos of the seniors’ past school years.

I want to thank Stephen for this good report and to remind others that they are most welcome to send me tidbits of news, especially nice things people do, and any senior parties.

I am sad to learn that Barnes and Noble bookstore in Montgomery plans to close.

Mary Studstill gave me a call the other day to share the sad news that a mutual friend, William Thweatt, had passed away in North Augusta, S.C. Later in the day I drove over to Savannah Terrace to tell Lee Olive (Rodgers) Steele, who grew up near the Thweatt family. The Thweatts lived at 408 South Cotton, the house originally built by Mr. and Mrs. Maloy; their son Jim Maloy was born in the front bedroom. Lee Olive and I talked about Mr. Milburn Thweatt and his wife, Mattie Pearl (O’Neill) Thweatt, and their five children, William (the eldest), Mary Catherine, Robert, Dorothy, and Joe, the only one left.

Little Dorothy with reddish-gold curls accidentally cut herself about the age of 10 and died from blood poisoning. Lee Olive and other little friends of Dorothy served as honorary pallbearers, Maxine Adams, and the sisters, Jane and Flora Underwood, among them.

After the burial Mr. Thweatt came in from work in the middle of one day and began fingering the keys on the family piano. Dorothy had been a pupil of the piano. With tears trickling down his face, he said, “Those precious, little hands will never play again.”

Little Dorothy is buried in Andalusia Memorial Cemetery.

Lee Olive and I talked of the other children. William outlived two wives and had one son. Mary Catherine was never married. After her death she was cremated; I hear that her ashes were scattered in the Gulf of Mexico. The story is often told locally of how she “set her cap” for Johnny Mann, who ran Mann’s Cleaners; but he was in love with another. Robert was in poor health his last years. He was married to Mary Sample, who remarried after Robert’s death. They had no children. Joe lost his first wife, Becky Fletcher, to cancer. I think he remarried. He had two children. His daughter took care of her Aunt Mary Catherine in her dying days.

Birthdays this past week included those of Edward Elgar, the English composer whose “Pomp and Circumstance” has enticed graduating seniors down the aisles at commencements for who-knows-how-many ceremonies and years (at A.H.S. alone it has been used each year since l946); Thomas Hardy, an English novelist and poet; and Jefferson Davis, only president of the Confederate States of America. Today is D-Day (l944), one of the most significant battles in World War II. Next week come the birthdays of Robert Schumann, German composer; John Howard Payne, who wrote “Home, Sweet Home” as part of an opera, Clari; and Charles Kingsley, English clergyman and novelist who wrote “Young and Old,” a poem of youth and old age.

A mother-daughter dinner the evening of April 2 in the home of Mary Ashley Wise on Grand Oak Drive honored Karlyn Pugh, graduating senior at the Andalusia High School. Sponsors included Joyce Paul, Theresa Portemont, and Sandra Pugh.

The Sub-Deb Club’s annual dinner for high-school seniors was attended the evening of April 8 in the Andalusia Country Club in its North Room. Hostesses were Kay Hugghins, Cindy Pollock, Sherry Tillman, and Nancy Williams.

A graduation party honored Charlotte Patterson, Alex Short, and Reid Taylor the evening of April 23 at Mrs. Sam Starr’s house on East Three-Notch Court.

Ashley and Gina Woodall hosted a celebration for Mary Beth Arrington, A.H.S. Class of 2009, Sun., April 26, at l p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce. Both pedicures and manicures, as well as ice cream and chocolate-covered strawberries, were offered the guests.

A brunch honoring Charlotte Anne Patterson, A.H.S. graduating salutatorian, was hosted April 25 at 520 Meadowbrook Drive by Mrs. Tobias Atkinson and Mrs. Robert O’Neal.

A graduation dinner honoring Blanche Alverson the evening of May 2 at l805 Cedar Road was hosted by the Hobsons.

Kayla Wells and Emily Ricks, “sweet, girl graduates,” were spotlighted May 3 with an afternoon tea at the home of Wyley and Elaine Ward on East Three-Notch Street. Sundresses were required. Co-sponsoring were Pat Amerson, Rebecca Jeffcoat, and Karen Ward.

A swimming party was organized for Senior Karlyn Pugh the afternoon and evening of May l0 down Highway 55 South. Balloons marked the house. Hostesses were Mary Ashley Wise and Jennifer Scherzinger.

An ice-cream sundae party delighted Miss Shelley Smith, A.H.S. senior, Sunday afternoon, May l7, at the Andalusia Country Club.

Jeremy Wiggins, son of Kip and Rita (Duncan) Wiggins, was treated to a senior party Friday evening, May 22, at 22843 Mill Creek Road, the home of his grandparents, Hinton and Linda Wiggins, who served as hosts along with friends, Ronnie and Lynn Capps. Supper included barbecue, beans, slaw, dirty rice, and a graduation cake with two pictures of Jeremy, one, his l996 Tiny Tots graduation photo; the other, Jeremy in his 2009 “cap” and gown. Jeremy was given cash by his hosts. He and his guests played dominoes and “dirty Bingo,” similar to “Dirty Santa.” The covered patio was decorated with balloons that spelled 2009 and displays about Jeremy’s life. His classmates signed a picture frame for Jeremy to save as a keepsake. Jeremy closes out the Wiggins – for a while – at A.H.S.; his uncles, Wade and Judd, finished at A.H.S., as did his older brother Joshua (2006) and his grandmother, Linda Harrison.

Gabby Shiver, “sweet girl graduate,” was center of attention at a pool party given in her honor Saturday, midday, May l6 at the home of Doug and Kim Rabren on Five Points Road in Dozier.

Summer Jordan, graduating senior, was guest of honor the afternoon and evening of May ll at a swimming party at Rawls Point in Gantt, hosted by Leigh Brown, Sherry Buck, Cindy Hobbie, and Bobbi Page.

Seniors Shelley Smith, Josh Huggins, and Marlee Fuqua were singled out the evening of May l2 at Power South (the old REA) Point A Lodge for a “grillin’ good time.” Sponsors were ReNay Smith and Sandy Neal.

Bright Beginnings Preschool was the setting for a graduation celebration the evening of May 2l for D’Amber Chambers, Shan Evans, Alyssa Johnson, and Leslie James, who, with their guests, enjoyed fried catfish cooked by Billy Jo Stallworth. Hostesses were Lela Bradley, Angela Crittenden, Sara Evans, and Bertha Johnson.

Seniors Christopher Kelly and Brent Shiver were honorees the evening of May l6 at Power South (old REA) Point A Lodge for supper and band music.

The l964 auditorium of the Andalusia High School was filled Friday night, May 29, by 7:00 p.m., for graduation exercises.

Chairs covered in red cloth lined the stage for the seniors. Two white urns atop white pedestals, flanking the stage, were filled with a variety of greenery, accented by ribbon grass. The central lectern, given by the Class of l984, based on one built by Comer B. Shehan and used from l979 – l983, was fronted with the class flower, the white rose, in the silver urn given by the Class of l979.

Guests were made to stand outside in line until 6:l5 p.m. before being allowed to enter, something new.

John A. Beasley, math instructor, played the piano for the prelude (“Trumpet Voluntary,” assisted by Sophomore Ava May, trumpetist), vespers (“Gaudeamus Igitur,” sung by Angie Sasser, science teacher, Class of l972), processional (“Pomp and Circumstance”), national anthem (directed by Mrs. Sasser), special music (“Halls of Ivy,” sung by Mrs. Sasser), alma mater, and recessional (Verdi’s “Grand March” from Aida, used now for 40 years). Mr. Beasley has played 30 years for commencement.

D’Amber Chambers, president of her class and valedictorian, too, led the pledge, worded the president’s greeting, and delivered the valedictory.

The salutatory was given by Charlotte Anne Patterson.

Both young ladies gave excellent, sentimental. and tearful addresses to an appreciative audience.

Dr. Beverly McAnulty, superintendent of the Andalusia City Schools, encouraged the seniors to enjoy the moment and reminded them that she had begun her job four years ago when they entered the high school.

Dr. Daniel Shakespeare, principal in his seventh year at A.H.S. and a graduate of the school, delivered a dramatic speech and then awarded diplomas, assisted by Donna Glisson, assistant principal.

Nicole Jackson directed the ushers, Anna DeSchepper, Jessica Smith, Cambrie Barnes, Kayla Landreth, Kaitlin Holley, Ashley Freeman, Elissia Taylor, Anna Bay McCord, Sam Fairley, and Callie Marie Crigger.

Greetings and prayers to Emma Locke from Judy, Jane, Stephanie, and Joe.

Fare thee well, gentle reader.