Van Zandt News (Wills Point, Tex.), Vol. 3, No. 17, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 30, 1984 Page: 17 of 19
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Van Zandt County Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Van Zandt County Library.
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• «m 4«mn Hki«4, ,
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They used to say he made everything but caskets, but last year, Billy
Gilliam of Fruitvale made an iron vault for a casket when a cement vault was
unavailable.
Gilliam operates Gilliam Iron and Welding Shop just outside Fruitvale.
"They called me one afternoon at 4 p.m. and said they couldn’t find a ce-
ment vault large enough, and needed an iron vault by 10 a.ih. the next morn-
ing," he said. He stayed up all night to get it finished, and delivered it the
next morning. "That’s probably the most unusual request I've had," he ex-
plained.
Gilliam does a lot of ornamental work, specifically window guards, col-
umns for porches, rails, winding stairs, and patio door guards in more recent
years. "We build a lot of farm gates and cattle guards and do a lot of repair
work,” he continued.
"It’s almost impossible to keep up with the repair work. There just aren’t
enough welding shops around to keep up with all the repair work,” he said.
He also makes light fixtures, candleholders, chairs, tables, fence jobs,
among other items.
He said they usually make up a lot of furniture during the winter months to
sell during the summer, but this past year, they were so busy on other things
that they didn't get very much made.
Gilliam has been in the business for 21 years. He learned the business work-
ing for J. D. Kelley in Fruitvale part-time, and the rest he learned from ex-
perience when he opened his own shop.
The hardest job he’s taken on was a set of two half-circle winding stairs for
a two and a half story plantation-style house built at Hideaway Lake. He said
it took him and an employee about a week to finish the two stairs.
He works from Shreveport to Dallas, and from the Red River to Athens,
and a few outlying areas. Some time back, he built and shipped two orders of
ice cream chairs for a man in New York City, and never met or laid eyes on
the man.
Gilliam said he's probably built more ice cream chairs than anything else,
and jokingly estimated 10,000. Later, he admitted that the 10,000 figure
would not miss it far. '
Recently he built an iron canopy entrance and rails for Andrews
Restaurant in Dallas. He explained that he really doesn’t know how people
get his name, but they always seem to find him. "It really makes you wonder,”
he said.
Gilliam also did the work done recently at the White Rose Cemetery in
Wills Point. He made the entrance gate, as well as restoring the fence and
gate around the “Sweetheart Graves” in the cemetery, dating back to 1875.
Probably the largest thing he’s built were some light fixtures for a ladies
shop in the North Park Mall. They were two tiers with the bottom measuring
eight feet in diameter, and the top measuring four feet. They ordered two of
the big ones that held 32 lights each, and four or five of the smaller matching
ones, he said.
Right now, winding stairs are popular. It seems to run in trends, just like
everything else, he said. He said he builds probably 10 to 12 stairs a year.
“They are cheaper in the long run,” he explained.
His son, Danny, works with him in the shop, and Reuben Palaous is also
employed by Gilliam. He works anywhere from four to seven men.
HOMEMAKERS
HANDYMEN
Billy
Gilliam
Fruitvale
»
Family
Dear Ann Landers: I have two problems--my parents
and my in-laws. You will probably tell me I can’t do any-
thing about either one, but perhaps if you explain why
they behave so peculiarly I will feel better.
My parents are not wealthy, but they are comfortable.
They live like misers, never spending one cent more than
is absolutely necessary. When we were growing up we
always had good food and clean clothes, but that was it.
Now, they are in their 70s, still doing all their own house
repairs and lawn work, which should be done by paid
help. Their clothes are patched and re-patched because
“they are still good yet.” We worry that Dad might fall off
a ladder and that Mom might wrench her back.
My in-laws are just the opposite. All they do is shop.
The basement is filled with canned goods, some of it
three or four years old, and still they buy more because
they can’t afford to pass up “a bargain.”
My mother-in-law has a spare room with boxes of
clothes she has never worn. One box has a shipping date
of 1981 and has never been opened. I don’t think she
remembers what’s in it.
What’s wrong with these people? Neither extreme is
normal. Please explain.-Michigan Wonderment
Dear M.W.: Your parenu are probably insecure
because they lived through the Depression and are
afraid that hard times will descend on them again. No
amount of talking will convince them that they are
“safe,” so save your breath to cool your soup.
Your in-laws are compulsive buyers. They view their
excessive spending as "saving money.” (Many bargain-
hunters are like that.) This type of neurosis is as deeply
rooted as that of your parenu, so accept them as they
are and put your energies elsewhere.
Dear Ann Landers: Our son, 19 years old, is a high
school dropout, addicted to pot smoking, can’t hold a job
and has been in jail three times in the last three years.
He lives with us and has made our home a shambles
because of our guilt and his total irresponsibility. There
has been a complete breakdown in communication. My
husband and I love him very much but feel his presence
in the house is detrimental to us and to him. We feel he
will never grow up if we continue to house and feed him.
He will not go for help and has been in three drug rehab
houses but would not stay.
Should we insist he leave? And if so, what will happen
to him? I know you don’t have a crystal ball, but is this an
instance where, like an alcoholic, the person has to hit
bottom and this is his bottom? We are frightened to put
him out on his own but our lives cannot go on with such
despair and hopelessness. What should we do?--Honolulu
Parents
Dear Parenu: You say your son has been in three
drug rehabilitation centers. My advice is to .go to the
directors of these centers and ask them to evaluate your
son and give you some guidance as to how to deal with
him. If he has been taking heavy drugs there may be
brain damage that would make it impossible for him to
make it on his own. You need to have him examined by
a neurologist to learn the extent of the deterioration.
My heart aches when I receive letters like yours—and
I get a good many. What a shame that young people
risk their minds and bodies because they want to ex-
perience everything. They pay a terrible price, and
their parenu are apt to be victims as well.
Dear Ann Landers: I appreciated your printing the
letter from the rapist who had not been caught. The man
who wrote to explain why men rape described himself as
”32, highly intelligent and a graduate of an Ivy League
school.”
His explanation that he started on “this rotten road” to
get even with a cruel and punishing mother who caused
him to hate all women made a great deal of sense to me.
I, too, was raised by a mother who beat me regularly--
once when I was nine years old for taking more on my
plate than I could finish. Although I never was inclined
toward rape, I had a terrible time relating to women in a
civilized manner until I had three years of therapy-
starting at age 25.
Rape, as one news reporter pointed out, is a highly sub-
jective act. It depends not so much on what happened,
but what the participanu were thinking at the time.
Unlike robbery, there is no money missing. Unlike
murder, there is no dead body.
Since your column is a great tool for educating the
public, will you please point out the differences in the
various state laws? I believe this would be extremely
useful, a real eye-opener, and maybe a deterrent. Thanks
for all the good you do.-San Diego Reader
Dear San Diego: The information you ask for may
be “a real eye-opener” but I doubt that it will be a
deterrent. Statistics show that even the death penalty is
not a deterrent to crime.
My source is Timothy Harper, a writer for the
Associated Press.
In the following states a rapist can get life in prison:
Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa,
Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michi-
gan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina,
Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia,
Rhode Island, Washington, D.C. In Mississippi, rape
is punishable by death.
In Alaska and South Carolina, a rapist now can get
SO years. In Montana and Nevada it’s 40 years. In In-
diana and Wyoming it’s 50 years, in Minnesota its’s 20
years and a fine of $35,000. In South Dakota it’s 25
years and a $25,000 fine.
In many states the penalties are more severe under
certain circumstances. In Arizona, for example, the
maximum sentence for rape is 14 years if no weapon is
used and 21 years if a weapon is used.
In Illinois the usual 4-to-15*year sentence is upgrad-
ed to 6-to-SO years if the victim is younger than 18 or
older than 60.
In Tennessee the sentence is increased by five years if
the attack results in pregnancy, venereal disease or a
mental breakdown.
In Louisiana the penalties may be more severe if the
victim was drank, retarded or tricked into thinking he
H she had gotten married the night before.
School lunch menus
Wills Point
Monday: Chicken McNuneu.
ketchup, macaroni and cneeae.
English pear, chocolate cake
•quarei, bread and milk:
Breakfast: Ready-to-eat cereal,
buttered toast, chilled fruit juice
and milk.
Tuesday: Frito chili pie, pinto
beans, coleslaw, cookies, corn-
bread and milk; Breakfast:
Sausage, jelly, buttered toast and
milk.
Wednesday: Steak fingers,
gravy, mashed potatoes, tomato
slice, hot rolls with honey and
milk; Breakfast: Oatmeal, but-
tered toast, chilled fruit juice and
milk.
Thursday: Grilled cheese, bak-
ed beans, lettuce leaf, pickles,
cake squares and milk; Breakfast:
Cinnamon rolls, chilled fruit juice
and milk.
Friday: Hamburgers, lettuce,
tomatoes, pickles, onion, french
fries. Blue Bell ice cream and
milk: Breakfast: Donuts, chilled
fruit juice and milk.
Grand Saline
Monday: Piua. corn, lettuce It
tomato salad, cobbler and milk;
Breakfast: Cereal, juice and milk.
Tuesday: Sloppy joe. french
fries, baked beans, pudding and
milk; Breakfast: Donut, juice and
milk.
Wednesday: Steak It gravy,
cream potatoes, green salad,
French bread, butter, fruit gela
tin and milk; Breakfast: Toast,
applesauce, juice and milk.
Thursday: Grilled cheese sand-
wich, potato wedge, pickles,
tomato, lettuce, cookies and milk;
Breakfast: Cinnamon toast, juice
and milk.
Friday: Beef taco It cheese,
ranch style beans, lettuce &
tomato salad, fruit and milk;
Breakfast: Cereal, juice and milk.
Martini Mill
Monday: Piua, tator tots, car-
rots, vanilla pudding and milk.
Tuesday: Meatloaf, green
beans, fried squash, chocolate
cake, rolls and milk.
Wednesday: Steak, gravy,
cream potatoes, lima beans, pine-
apple cookies, rolls and milk.
Thursday: Burritos, macaroni
and cheese, green salad, choco-
late cookies and milk.
Friday: Hamburgers, lettuce,
tomatoes, onions, pickles, french
fries, cake/coconut frosting and
milk.
Fruitvale
Monday: Meat loaf, whipped
potatoes, purple hull peas, angel
biscuits and milk; Breakfast:
Blueberry muffins, honey butter,
chilled juice and milk.
Tuesday: Cheese nachos, pork
and beans, lettuce and tomato
salad, peppers offered, spice cake
and milk; Breakfast: Cinnamon
toast, applesauce and milk.
Wednesday: Barbecue wieners,
macaroni and cheese, chili beans,
combread, peach slices and milk;
Breakfast: Ready-to-eat cereal,
chilled juice and milk.
Thutsday: Chicken nuggets,
creamed potatoes, vegetable med-
ley, angel biscuits, fruit gelatin
and milk; Breakfast; Donuu.
chilled juice and milk.
Friday: Barbecue beef on bun.
french fries, lettuce, tomatoes,
pickles, ketchup, brownies and
milk; Breakfast: Ready-to-eat
cereal, chilled juke and milk.
Salad bar offered to grades
7-1Z; tea offered to grades 7-18.
Edge wood
Monday: Barbecue on bun,
tater tots, okra, ranch style beans,
brownies and milk; Breakfast:
Cinnamon toast, orange juice and
Tuesday: Tostados. lettuce,
cheese, pinto beans, Spanish rice,
choice of peppers, sopaipillas,
honey and milk; Breakfast: Sau-
sage. toast, orange juice and'
milk.
Wednesday: Chicken fried
steak, gravy, whipped potatoes,
purple hull peas, fruit gelatin, hot
rolls and milk; Breakfast: Sopai-
pillas. honey, orange juice and
milk.
Thursday: Pan spaghetti, com
on cob. coleslaw, applesauce,
French bread and milk; Break-
fast: Donuu, orange juice and
milk
Friday: Hamburgers, lettuce,
tomatoes, onions, pickles, french
fries, Blue Bell ice cream and
milk. Bteakfast. Cereal, orange
juice and milk.
Canton
Monday: Teacher in service
day.
Tuesday: Beef and vegetable
soup, grilled cheese sandwich,
potato salad, cheerio ban and
milk; Breakfast: Fruit, cereal and
milk.
Wednesday: Fried fish, tarter
sauce, macaroni and cheese,
black eyed peas, buttered squash,
combread, fruit cup and milk:
Breakfast: Fruit juice, biscuit and
sausage and milk.
Thursday: Burritos with chili,
baked potato, buttered carrots,
apple bette and milk; Breakfast;
Fruit juice,' waffles, syrup and
milk.
Friday: Elementary • Ham
burger or cheeseburger, french
fries, cauup, lettuce, pickles,
onion, chocolate peanut butter
cup and milk; High School - Pit-
ta, Italian spaghetti, mixed
vegetables, garden salad,
chocolate peanut butter cup and
milk; Breakfast: Fruit, donut and
milk.
Van
Monday: Chicken fried steak,
gravy, mashed potatoes, green
beam, hot rolls, butter, honey
and milk; Breakfast: Cereal, fruit
juice and milk.
Tuesday: Barbecue on bun,
fried okra, ranch style .beans,
gelatin and milk; Breakfast: Sau-
sage. biscuits, jelly, fruit juice and
Wednesday: Meat A vegetable
soup, peanut butter or pimento
cheese sandwiches, cinnamon
rolls and milk; Breakfast: Scram-
bled eggs, toast A jelly, fruit juice
and milk.
Thursday: Fish sticks or liver,
onion rings, catsup, buttered
corn, hot rolls, butter, honey and
milk; Breakfast: Morning glory
muffins, fruit juice and milk.
Friday: Cheeseburgers, mus-
tard, salad dressing, lettuce,
tomatoes, pickles, onions, french
fries, catsup, pudding and milk;
Breakfast: Pancakes, butter,
syrup, fruit juice and milk.
Consulting firm retained
CANTON - At the
urging of Van Zandt Coun-
ty Auditor Liston Barber,
the Van Zandt County
Commissioners Court
agreed Monday to retain
an international consulting
firm to write insurance
specifications and analyze
bids on the county’s in-
surance coverage.
“It would be advan-
tageous to have somebody
like this to review your
policies and assure you that
you get the coverage that
you’re paying for,” Barber
told the commissioners
during their regular Mon-
day morning session. “Sin-
ce none of us are experts on
insurance, we need people
like this to make recom-
mendations on what they
feel we need,” he added.
Rimco Risk Manage-
ment Consultants, a Dallas
subsidiary of Tillinghast
Inc., a world wide consult-
ing firm, approached the
commissioners at their Sep-
tember 17 session to offer
their opinions on the coun-
ty’s insurance coverage.
To retain Rimco to write
up insurance specifications
and to analyze the in-
News of Men
Pvt, Lawrence L.
Lewers, son of Edith W.
and Charles W. Warren of
Route 1, Van, has com-
pleted the Army personnel
administration specialist
course at Fort Benjamin
Harrison, Indiana.
The course was designed
to provide students a work-
ing knowledge of unit ad-
ministration duties, in-
cluding files and publi-
cations, correspondence
procedures, unit personnel
actions, and basic typing
skills.
-0-
Navy Seaman Andrew
M. Bocz, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Paul D. Bocz of
Grand Saline, has reported
for duty with the U.S.
Naval Security Group
Activity Misawa, Japan.
coming bids will cost
around $2,000 to $3,000,
County Judge Sam Hilliard
said. Barber added that
the cost would depend on
how much time the firm
spent on the project.
In addition to setting up
the bidding process for in-
surance, Rimco will also
act as a consultant for legal
questions that may arise
during the bidding process
or later in the year, Barber
said.
Precinct 4 Commissioner
Carbon Smith noted that
having Rimco write
specifications would allow
the county “to have a pat-
tern to bid on.” He added,
"Conditions might change,
but our needs won’t
change."
Hilliard asked if in-
surance should be bid each
year or every three years,
and Barber replied, “That
would be one place where
they could help us. They
could tell us which way was
better."
Hilliard noted that
several county policies
come up for review in
February. 1985, ‘‘So, if
we’re going to do this, we
need to get started,” he
said. The court voted to
retain the firm, and Bar-
ber was instructed to con-
tact them.
In other business during
an hour-long session, the
commissioners:
— agreed to submit a
proposed contract with the
city of Canton for land
near the old Canton City
Lake to district attorney
Tommy Wallace for
review. The city has of-
fered to provide the land
for a new county library
building, if money for the
building can be raised
within seven years, accor-
ding to Sara Norman,
speaking for the Friends of
the County Library group.
"We’re sure we’ll be able to
get the money for an
adequate building if
everybody continues to
cooperate as they have
been," Mis. Norman said.
Hilliard said that Wallace
would need to check on
whether or not the county
could enter into such an
agreement, and if so, the
contract will be placed on
the agenda for con-
sideration.
— accepted a plat for
Phase 2 of the Woodcreek
Estates for recording pur-
poses only. Smith noted
that the road in the new
subdivision in the Little
Hope Community was up
to county specifications,
and he recommended ac-
cepting the plat.
— met with Wallace and
John Sickel, whom Wallace
introduced as the new
assistant district attorney.
Sickel will start work for
the county in two or three
weeks, Wallace said.
— agreed to distribute
copies of the proposed
county personnel policy to
all employees, noting that
changes and complaints
will be heard from depar-
tment heads at the October
8 regular session.
— approved the issuance
of an overweight load per-
mit to the Cedar Creek
Concrete Company.
Hilliard reported that the
company had posted the
required $50,000 insuran-
ce bond.
Dragline Work
Hay Baling
ROBIRT I. BOX
214-962-3130
Steel Toes
Now!
For Ladies
In California each prior felony conviction can in-
crease a rape sentence by five to 10 years.
In Colorado the sentence must be doubled if the
defendant is injured.
And now—before 10,000 people write and ask if I
believe castration would be the best solution to the pro-
blem, the answer is NO.
COPYRIGHT 1984 NEWS GROUP CHICAGO. INC.
NEWS AMERICA SYNDICATE
for work and play.
Size* 5-10 ~
Norrow/Madlum/WWa
T-, a^T
Woman's
FAIRWAY
SHOE STORE
339 N. 4th - Wills Point
iaiwiBRs
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Van Zandt News (Wills Point, Tex.), Vol. 3, No. 17, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 30, 1984, newspaper, September 30, 1984; Wills Point, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth990501/m1/17/?q=green+energy: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Van Zandt County Library.