The Era-Leader from Franklinton, Louisiana • 9

The Franklinton LA-VVednesday October 17 2001-Page 9 LA State Library offers free reading for Senior Citizens Hostesses for the October meeting of the Waverley Club were from left Jennifer Green Marilyn Richardson Julie Foret and Gayle Foret The meeting was at the Waverley Club Rock House There are no better memories It never occurred to me When I was a young mother that I would even nc around for the 2(X)1 Fair much less he working hard as we prepared for the Special Edition in The Era-Leader Certainly I never contemplated working for a newspaper laboring long and hard to out the Fair Edition" But here 1 am just days before the 88th Washington Parish Fair doing all of the above My first Fair experience was in the early fifties just 10 months after I married and moved here I was seven months pregnant and my mother-in-law wanted everyone in the parish to know she Sy Moggie Sickham getting ready to have her first grandchild She was positive it would be a girl(it was) because that was her dream having reared two noys She bought me a bright red maternity sweater so that it was impossible to hide my condition and personally escorted me all over the Fairgrounds to meet everyone she knew There was no one she didn't know or at least pretend to know Despite being on exhibition I remember catching Fair Fever which was not a malady but a prediction for the future I have never missed a Fair since I have sloshed through mud gotten painful sunburns almost frozen gotten on rides that required all the courage I could gather worked on parade floats misplaced my kids breathed a ton of dust eaten a ton of hamburgers and onions been in traffic jams shaken hands with the Oak Ridge Boys and heard first hand Lee Greenwood singing Proud to Be An American" long before the Twin Towers attack when it took its place beside Bless America" and Grace" as an all-American mantra Can you believe Lee Greenwood was here on our stage in person? I have thrilled to my children's and grandchildren's art work and writings posted in the Education Building and their excited anticipation when the Fair approached I've spent enough money to have purchased several Rolls Rovces and eaten enough 'boiled peanuts and funnel cakes to require several gallons of antacid I have come home dirty and exhausted ith three dirty and exhausted kids cleaned up and perked up and headed right back to the Fair I have worked long shifts in the Big Kitchen and taken pictures by the dozens for the newspaper Part of my job and my pleasure was to cover the Queen Contest Senior Promenade and Baby Contest all an integral part of our Fair But mostly I have loved watching the throngs of people from the tiniest babies in strollers to the 103 year old Rosa Williams when Jane Rester handed her a bouquet of roses as a winner in her category I have loved the Mile Branch and watching Mr Hennesy cut slices of the big round cheese the 4-1 1 kids grooming their prize animals to show the face aimers and dozens of delighted children trying to catch hub-les on the playground Etched in mv memory are the friends I once sat with around the FHS hand booth doling out quarters to our kids a few at a time lest they stay gone too long Etched in my memory is a collage of nearly half a century of sights sounds smells tastes and feelings tnat arc the Washington Parish Fair There are no better memories The State Library of Louisiana is launching a cam- Eto reach out to older lianians with an outstanding free service designed to help those with visual or physical impairments who are unable to use regular books The Library provides reading materials in a variety of formats books on cassettes large print books and Braille to those with either a permanent or temporary visual or physical disability Library is engaged in a statewide public awareness campaign reaching out to seniors and others who would greatly benefit from a collection of more than 120000 items to which we regularly add new and popular titles says Lt Gov Kathleen Babincaux Blanco who oversees the Slate Library in the more than a dozen different catalogs to assist professionals and caregivers working with seniors Institutions as well as individuals serving the visually or physically handicapped are eligible for the services including nursing homes senior centers and retirement communities For further details on the program for both groups and individuals call the State Library of Louisiana Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped at: 1-8100-543-4702 or in Baton Rouge call 342-4944 or check out the Library's web site at: wwwstateliblaus Department of Culture Recreation and Tourism service is entirely free to rejg-istered patrons including the materials the machines on which to play the recorded information and postage to and from the The books and magazines cover a variety of topics including health and fitness for seniors rights of older adults mysteries and classics westerns and history how-to books retirement activities and travel bestsellers and biographies romances and poetry music and foreign language titles and religion Washington Humane Society October 27 Fair Flags on sale throughout October October is Fair month and the public is encouraged to display their Fair flags throughout the month of October who have always enjoyed reading can continue to do so even if they have a vision problem or cannot physically handle regular printed books" says State Librarian Tom Jaques 'This campaign is an effort to reach senior adults who have had a decrease in sight or physical dexterity The Talking Book program offers to people who can see regular print hold a book or turn a page an opportunity to continue The Library has available resource materials including to have social oil So I sat before the children and told them the story of Conrad a cobbler of shoes who dreamed that Jesus was going to isit him the next day Excitedly he prepared his house for the occasion but the next day only an old man without shoes came by He quickly gave him a pair of his finest Then a hungry lady stopped by He quickly fed her still anticipating a visit from Christ Then a' evening approached a lost buy stopped at his dwelling The man rushed him home then returned disappointed that Jesus had not visited He cried "Why is it Lord that your feet delay Did You forget that this was the day Then soft in the silence a voice he heard: "Lift up your heart for I kept my word Three Members of the Washington Humane Society (both young and old) meet around the kitchen table at the home of Karen Graves to plan the society's Annual Boo Thank You" The social is to show gratitude to current supporters and hopefully to recruit some new ones The Wine and Cheese Social will be held on Saturday evening from pm October 27 at the Graves home on Goodyear Drive Jan Applewhite Humane Society president will introduce the group's newest patron Citizens of Washington Parish for Conservation and its president Genevieve Brannan of Franklinton Also scheduled to speak is Era-Leader columnist Moggie Bickhain The WHS extends an in vita tion to all animal lovers to share their "wicked Witch and Dessert" For information or directions call 732-2463 or 732-9371 What we was in the book of Isaiah The verse explained that God has known us even before we were born and He knew the number of hairs on our head The verse always reassured me as I grew up that even if I did not know myself completely at times God alw ay did anil hen I had made some poor choices his perfect plan was still present hovering above my head even if it was beyond my understanding 1 think 1 was try ing to use this verse to comfort myself about everything that was happening in the news As it turned out I could not find the verse The twins and I spent hours thumbing through four different Bibles and concordances I called three different people Official Washington Parish Fair flags may be purchased at 2 locations in Washington Parish In Bogalusa flags are available at Dunaway's Custom Sceen Printing In Franklinton flags can be purchased at Johnnie's Sports Shop (f Tales From a Prehistoric Housewife can teach our children How can we teach our children about hate: hate that kills and rejects freedom and the lifestyle we have raised them in up until these days of dishevel? This has been a question 1 have tossed around in my head for several days now without being able to come up ith an answer It is hard to explain something that you do not even understand yourself Lately with the terrorist crises I have had many unanswerable questions thrown in my direction by my children Last week our pastor the Rev Percy Frazier asked that I conduct the children's moments for Christian education appreciation Sunday Ithought of various topics and settled on one of my favorite verses that I was almost certain who know the Bible well and for some reason this small verse was hiding from me or so that is hat I prayed that night hen I went to bed frustrated The next morning I decided to simply paraphrase the verse but as I was walking out the door I remembered a devotional book I had not read in a while and grabbed it to see if the verse would be covered in it Flipping through the pages as I walked down the hallway my hand stopped on the verse in Matthew your neighbor as ourself" One of the most important lessons 1 remembered learning as a child was the Golden Rule and instantly I realized that was what I was suppose to talk about that morning times I came to your friendly door: three times my shadow was on your floor I was the beggar with the bruised feet 1 as the woman you gave to eat I was the child on the homeless street!" And in the rushing moments of getting out the door I caught a glimpse of that perfect plan that hovers above us when God whispered in my ear that we cannot teach our children about hate We can only teach them about love God is Love Gillie Foremen.