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Wednesday, January 3, 2001 Remembering past Prime Timer stories By
JANET McGREGOR As the Prime Timer pages roll over into a new year, I thought I would take a trip through the Prime Timer pages past. I've profiled many of your neighbors and friends in these pages through the years. Hopefully you've gotten to know many new Fayette Countians, too. I've tried to share important and not so important events that are of interest to those 50 and older. Back in the early years of the Prime Timer pages I was introduced to the Southland Chorus at the Southside Senior Expo. I took my grandmother, Louise Adams, to the Expo, where she was serenaded by Chorus members while they practiced before going on stage. I was impressed by the time they took to "flirt" with her, and with their singing talent. This great group of Barbershop singers has been featured numerous times through the years. In 2000 the Chorus honored me by making me an honorary member. Another Southland has been regularly featured in the pages the Southland Nursing Home in Peachtree City. I've been a guest for Ms. Nettie Knight's 100th, 101st, 102nd and 103rd birthdays. This neat lady always has a smile for visitors and friends. For a number of years I've enjoyed participating in many other events at Southland the annual July 4th Wheelchair Parade, picnics with the Peachtree City Kiwanis and the annual Ms. Southland contest are just a few of the fun activities. We've won a number of awards for pictures and articles about Southland Nursing Home also. As a long-time supporter of many local charities, I've tried to showcase charity events whenever possible. The annual Heart of Gold Golf Tournament sponsored by Gold's Gym was highlighted in late 1999 and 2000. The annual Endowment Committee for the Cultural Arts benefit, hosted by Designer Furniture Showrooms in Peachtree City, was featured in 1999. Fayette Senior Services, a non-profit agency in Fayetteville, has claimed a lot of space in the Prime Timer pages. Fayette Senior Services, Fayette County Bank (now Regions Bank) and I were the impetus behind the Prime Timer pages. The Citizen, a strong community supporter, soon made the section a regular feature one that is still going strong. I've made many friends and learned quite a lot about the community we live in as I've written these pages. I wrote about former POW Joe Maloy, a longtime friend, in 1998. I had known Joe while a member of the Peachtree City Running Club. However, I did not know just how special he was until I learned his history. Joe carried the Olympic Torch through part of Peachtree City in 1996. In the hand holding the torch, he carried a piece of paper with then name of fellow POWs. In 1995 I became involved with the effort to raise money to build Wesley-Woods of Newnan-Peachtree City. Those efforts, the subsequent ground-breaking and other events have been noted in these pages. We opened the doors of Ashley Glen Assisted Living in Peachtree City, Azalea Estates in Fayetteville and Dogwood Forest in the Prime Timer Pages. We've shared many trips with members of the Heritage Club, formerly the Prime Timer Club, of Regions Bank. I've written about numerous other senior groups and their activities. The Gathering Place in Peachtree City and events hosted by the Kiwanis Club and the Rotary Club have been featured. We all got to know Red Holmes and his business, Custom Glass Etching, as well as his many miniature donkeys in these pages. Red has gained a few llamas and sold a few donkeys since we wrote the story in 1998. We also learned about Hollis Harris and his family, Jan and Catrina Krakeel, J. D. and Varner Holmes, Jim and Ellen Steinbach and many others. We met the Nigro family four generations of golfers through the Prime Timer Pages. Some of those I've written about are no longer with us. Lillie Trice, winner of the 1998 Ms. Southland contest, Colonel Hugh Quarles and Charlie Harper are three I met through the Prime Timer pages who we've lost in the past few years. There is no way to possibly mention all of the special people I've met and written about in this section. Glen and M.T. Allen, Jim Price, Mac and Annie McMenamin and Don Hogg with the American Legion, are just a few of the people I've enjoyed getting to know better partially as a result of the stories in the Prime Timer pages. Maybe in the year 2001 you'll see a profile about one of your friends or neighbors or possibly, you'll be the focus of a story!
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