The Cherokeean. (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 139, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 3, 1987 Page: 2 of 12
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PAGE TWO—THE CHEROKEEAN OF RUSK. TEXAS—THURSDAY. DECEMBER 3. 1987
Opinion/Editorial
Christmas is best celebrated at home
If we weren't aware of the approach of the
Christmas season, now that we're full of
Thanksgiving turkey, we surely must be aware
that tinsel time is here. Not that we needed a
reminder, what with "Jingle Bells" already
serenading us in the stores, but Rusk's Mayor
James Long has signed a proclamation officially
designating Dec. 3 as the beginning of the season.
The proclamation is not to suggest that we must
be reminded—our little folks do that job quite
well—but the document is to show a community
unity in celebrating the holiday. Christmas is
home-time and is best celebrated at home—with
our families, friends and neighbors. The recent
storm affecting our county emphasizes the impor-
tance of our relationships to those who live among
us. The season itself suggests an attitude of love,
peace and good will toward men. Now is the time
to band together for a community display of that
togetherness.
Some fine times are in store for the 1987
Christmas celebration. It amounts to more than
just spending dollars with Rusk merchants.
Community groups, including the Rusk
Ministerial Alliance, Chamber of Commerce and
the Make It Happen committee, are all involved
in promoting Dec. 3 around the square as a
brotherhood experience.
At 5:30 p.m. tonight (Thursday), a lot of
Christmas cheer is going to be kindled with a well-
planned community-wide program. See you
therel ' -sandy alien
Sandy Allen
This Side of the Fence
The commercialization of Christmas has ruined the
holiday for many folks-but not for me!
Let the whole world go bananas-spend themselves in-
to the poor house and turn the holy celebration into an
unholy orgy...as for me and my household, we'll keep it
simple and serene for the holidays. Aftewards, we'll
have sweet memories of family time together with no
"delayed billing" tospoil the pleasant aftertaste.
I love this time of year. Christmas is nostalgic and the
theme is a simple story rich with the attitudes which
make life bearable: love, peace and good will toward
others. Even for those who believe the story is just
another fairy tale, their hearts are lightened by it 1
As I walk the aisles of the tinsel ladened stores, I
know, subconsciously, that all of the decorations, the
beautiful Christmas carols and the carefully displayed
gift items are for the purpose of reducing my checking
account. The secret is to enjoy the sights, sounds and
smells-and stick to the list carefully made out with the
checkbook balance and January budget in full view. To
rephrase an old saying: "Purchase in haste, repent at
leisure."
In the city, kids can't talk to Santa anymore unless
parents shell out several dollars for a cheap instant
photo. It's indeed difficult for parents and grandparents
to overcome the pleas of kids brainwashed by TV
commercials and fancy store displays and buy sensible,
durable gifts.
There are some things which must be overcome in or-
der to keep the integrity of the holiday. Children do not
easily learn the principle "It is more blessed to give than
to receive." Neither do adults. But insist oa giving to
those less fortunate and the joy of Christmas will sur-
prisingly surface.
No, it is not easy to insist on celebrating an old-
fashioned holiday, complete with time out for
homemade sugar cookies and children' pageants, but
the alternative is to lose the meaning of the sacred
holiday, to allow commercialism to overtake us.
The best gift our children will receive Christmas 1907
is the memory of good times together. Long after the
toys have deteroriated, they'll savor the sights, sounds,
smells and the warm feelings of Christmas.
Here's to an old-fashioned Christmas!
M
%
s.
from the LION'S DEN
by E.B. Musick, Jr.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following was written by Lion
Goerge Dodd in the absence of Lion Elma Mnslck.
Food for Thought Department: "In everything give
thanks. All good things come from God."
The Lions Club meeting room was quiet and empty
this past Thursday. There was no singing, no laughing,
no program. Where was everybody? This was the day
we celebrate as Thanksgiving and all the Lions were
home with their families. There was a lot to eat, football
to watch, kids and grandkids to play with, and all that is
great but knowing the Lion members as I do, there was a
time when they stopped and gave thanks to God for what
we have. What do we have to give thanks for? All the
pages of all the books written would not hold it all.
Freedom, our families, our churches, our schools, our
jobs, our friends, and our neighbors and the list goes on
and on. When the pilgrims celebrated the first
Thanksgiving in 1820, they were pioneering the things
listed above that we take for granted. So we should also
give thanks for the pilgrims and our forefathers for
giving us the greatest country the world has ever known.
George Washington first set the day of Thanksgiving in
December and it remained until Abraham Lincoln
changed it back to November in 1863. The government
can set a date and decree it as a holiday but until it
comes down to the individual its just another day away
from the job. As each of us begins to recount God's
blessing to us personally, it should shock and humble us.
In church we sing a song, "Count your many I
name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the
Lord has done."
By the time you read this the Thanksgiving turkey will
be a skeleton and a memory Thoughts and plans will
turn to Christmas Decorations will go up in the stores,
on the streets, and soon Christmas music will fill the air
What a great time to be alive!
First Russian: "What was the nationality of Adam
and Eve?"
Second Russian: "No doubt about it They were
citizens of the Soviet Union They had nothing to wear,
nothing to eat but an apple-and, yet, they thought they
were living in paradise ."
See you this Thursday at the Southern
In the mill.. • by Elton Miller
It is not popular in every quarter these days for
someone to advocate the death penalty for a heinous
crime.
Inhumane. Unusual and drastic punishment. Against
the laws of nature. Unjust.
Is that how you would feel if the crime were against a
three-year-old who lived next door or a member of your
own family? What about the deaths at a Princeton
grocery store?
It is a fact that God called for the death penalty again-
st the kings of Israel when they were captured by
Joshua. They were hanged to trees in the forest.
Remember the "eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"
theory?
The death penalty, if given out judiciously when
there's no question about who the guilty party is, could
be a deterrent.
James Cross, a student at the University of Texas in
the years ago,killed two co-eds. He's still alive and
someday in the near future may be free to roam the
land. His victims died nearly a quarter of a century ago.
Their families were deprived of what they could have
contributed to society. Clearly, Cross should have died,
have died.
Some of the crimes are so terrible that a hanging on
the public square would have been justified. The gallows
as the answer in America's early 20th century mindset.
When Jessie James rode into McKinney in the early
days, he was greeted by friends at the old corral. The
law stood back and harmed him not. After all, James
and his brother had jolted the big railroad barons with
his schemes and holdups. Bill McFlugger (not his real
name) gyps his favorite bank or savings and loan and he
goes free, too; no one wants to prosecute.
These, of course, are two different kinds of crimes and
punishment ought to be dealt out accordingly.
A black girl murders another person and gets world-
wide sttention when she is condemned to die for her
dastardly deed. There seems to be no doubt as to her
guilt, but she is classified as a juvenile, age wise.
Demonstrations from South Africa to Denmark make
her a heroine.
The good Lord condemned seven-or, was it eight-
kings in Old Testament times for what they did to the
Hebrew children. Moses' successor had the culprits tied
up to the nearest trees Yes. in such cases, God approves
Oik Imin |i>gH Hosr In murder to really upprcciute its
.' «•< il"i f«'H It draw tn family I witnesseds
shotting one time in my hometown and have never
forgotten. Blood ran out the victim's mouth as his body
waited for a hearse to take him away. The man told a
friend: "Son, don't ever kill a man. I have never had a
peaceful moment since that day."
Our big problem in solving the sentencing situation
lies in the State Legislature. It is, of course, composed
mostly of lawyers and lawyers don't want laws they are
detrimental to their criminal clients. There should be a
definite sentence for each type crime When a Jury that
has heard all the evidence judges the crime and the
criminal, it should be allowed to assess a proper
judgment. Nochange
There are some guilty felons who do not deserve to
live. I say that as one who has covered murder trials in
courthouses from Athens. Rusk, Dallas and Henderson
all the way to Georgetown in Central Texas. An un-
biased reporter who never won a Nobel
Readers' Response...
Readers are encouraged to voice their views through
this column. When submitting letters for publication,
please follow these guidelines:
1. Letter should be clearly legible, preferably
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4. This publication reserves the right to edit any letter
submitted for publication.
Editor:
I just have to tell you and your readers what a joy it
was to come to Rusk and meet so many friendly and
helpful Eaat Texans. Early this month my brother Bob
Priest and I came to Rusk to dig into the history of our
great grandfather Mljamin Priest, who was an attorney
and judge as well as a minister in the Cumberland
Prssbyterisn Church in Rusk 1855-1884.
Everywhere we turned, people went out of their way
to help us. Fairy Upshaw and Donna Dowling in the
County Clerk's office, Rev. Gilmer snd Mrs. Lois Henry
at the First Presbyterian Church, Judge Hassell and his
staff in the District Court, Gloria Jennings at "The
Cherokeean," our relatives Margaret Priest Dickey
and Frances Smyrl-they and many others made our
visit to Rusk not only fruitful but a delightful experien-
ce. We just wanted you to know what a wonderful im-
pression your city makea-and to say thank you to all of
you.
Rusk Priest Dixon
3715 Upton Street NW
W**Mngl«>n. II 2MIIS
Dear Editor,
On 11-0-871 gave Mrs. Gates a picture and alao a write
up asking that they be put in both the Alto Herald and
Cherokeean. The picture was of the Twirling group that
performed at the Alto Arts & Crafts Fair.
The article and picture were put in the Alto Herald but
not the Cherokeean. It would seem thst since most of the
girls live in Rusk you would hsve included this in your
paper.
Its parents, grandparents and friends thst make your
paper sell.
The local news you carry in your paper always con-
sists of the same people each week.
It is seldom thst I put anything in the paper, but since
by daughter was in the picture I wanted my friends and
grandparents to see her.
In the future please consider the parents and gran-
dparents that read your paper.
Teresa Blaatea CUck
DEAR READERS:
All Information for publication is accepted with the
stipulation that it will be used as space permits. The
amount of space varies from issue to issue, depending
upon the number of pages justified by advertising.
Selection of photographs and articles for a given iesus is
baaed on many factors of editorial judgment and not two
persons, not even those trained to make such judgmen-
ts, always agree on the priority of news. It would seem
that in this case, primary factors in this omission from
The Cherokeean would hsve been (1) lack of space (S)
previous publication of photos of twirlers from this
studio group and (3) consideration of this event as
primarly Alto oriented and past tense (old versus new
news). We regret that we do not have space to include
every item turned in Since the Alto Herald carried the
article and picture, perhaps the relatives would ap-
preciate a clipping from that newspaper.
TUMBLEWEED SMITH
Part Owner oí Texas
P.O. Bos 95
Big Spring. TX 79721
(915) 263-6347
The shaky origin of
the Dallas Theater Center
Paul Baker is to theater what Frank Lloyd Wright waa
to architecture.
Thirty years ago, when books were written about the
arts, Frank Lloyd Wright wrote the chapter on architec-
ture and Paul Baker wrote the chapter on theater.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed an entire university far
a middle eastern country when he was in his 80 s Paul
Baker is now in his 70's and he is planning to film his
Hamlet ESP, in which the main characters of the play
are divided into three different parts and played by
three different actors
Paul Baker stopped in the other day for a visit and
lunch. He told me about how the Dallas Theater Center
came into being.
For some years Paul Baker had been working with a
group in Dallas to build a professional theater there In-
the middle 50's he approached Frank Lloyd Wright
about designing it. Wright told Mr Baker he was too old
to design a theater from scratch, but he had a plan he
had made in 1912 for a theater in Connecticut that never
materialized
Mr. Baker spent three years finalizing plans for the
theater, traveling back and forth between Texas and
Mr. Wright's home/office/school in Wisconsin, which
was known as Taliesin Mr Wright also had another of-
fice near Phoenix called Taliesin West, where he
worked during the winters
At one of their meetings. Mr Baker told Mr Wright
the stage entrance areas needed to be bigger, that they
wouldn't work as originally planned The stage area waa
a series of ramps and runways that went from upstage
down into the basement below Scenery had to be
brought on stage by the ramps, which Mr Baker said
didn't allow enough room Wright said he d consider it
Several months passed and Mr Baker heard nothing
but silence from Taliesin West Finally he got a phone
call to come see Mr Wright at once Mr Baker headed
for Phoenix
Previously, Mr Baker had been given the deluxe
treatment He was met at the Phoenix airport by one of
Mr Wright's assistants, who drove him back to Taliesin
West in a chauffeured Bentiey Mr Baker sal at Mr
Wright's table at mealtimes This time, though, things
were different He was met at the airport by one of the
Taliesin grounds keepers in his old pickup truck Mr
Baker threw his suitcase in the back and headed for the
Wright complex When he arrived, he was told in an
unkind manner to go to his room and w ait After an hour
or so. Mr Baker went to the dining room to get
something to eat He was practically ignored and sat at
a table by himself When he finished his meal, he retur-
ned to his room
Mr Wright s personal secretary, who had always
been most kind to Mr Baker, appeared at Mr Baker's
door to announce coldly that Mr Wright would see him
immediately Mr Baker followed the secretary to Mr
Wright 's office, w here he waited nearly an hour
When the architect came in. he said. " Baker, in all my
years as an architect, nobody has ever said one of my
plans wouldn't work The project is off The theater will
not be built Please leave the grounds at once " Mr
Baker said "Wait a minute I've put in a lot of time on
this People are depending on it Besides. I can't leave 1
have no car Somebody s gotta take me back to
Phoenix Wright walked away
Wright's son in law took Mr Baker back to the air-
port On the way. they stopped to have a beer The son in
law said, "Mr Baker, we can build the theaterandsolve
the scenery problem by putting in an elevator But we
can't let Mr Wright know about it Mr Baker said,
"Thank God'"
Wright visited the theater building in Dallas when it
was nearing completion Workers had sealed off the
elevator shaft with plyboards. saying they hadn't got to
that section yet Mr Wright accepted that He died in
1959 just months before the theater he originally
designed in 1912 had its opening
"WEEK
Tlownbefi 22-29
The Cherokeean
USPS 102-520
Texas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper,
Established as the Cherokee Sentinel.
Feb. 27, 1850
Second Class Postage Psid st Rusk. Texas 7 5 7 8 5
Published weekly on Thursdsy by
E. H. Whitehesd Enterprises.
618 N. Msin. Rusk, Tx^|i (214) C83-2257
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Outside Cherokee County $ 13 per year
Outside Texas SIA per vear
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The Cherokeean. (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 139, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 3, 1987, newspaper, December 3, 1987; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth151829/m1/2/?q=music: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.