Reunion Reflections: Basking in the Afterglow

Sentinel photo/Janie Holbrook Authors displaying their books at the 2008 Dyer-Souther Reunion:

Seated: Dr. Eva Nell Mull Wike (The Matheson Cove in the Shadow of the Devil's Post Office); Ethelene Dyer Jones (The Singing in the Wood and Mother and Child Reunion); Dr. Tom Lumsden (Nacoochee Valley); Sylvia Dyer Turnage (Micajah ClarkDyer and His Amazing Flying Machine; Choestoe Story and other books);

Standing: Dr. Joe Turner (High Humor of the Hills); Charles H. Souther (From the Mules and Wagon to the Space Shuttle); Keith Jones (Mother and Child Reunion, with his mother, Ethelene and an 8-disk CD recording of the collected poems of Byron Herbert Reece). Not pictured (absent because of his mother's illness), William Clyde Collins, Jr. (The Last Deer Trapper.)

The annual Dyer-Souther Reunion is now history, an event of Saturday, July 19, 2008.

Held at Choestoe Baptist Church that some of our ancestors helped to found in 1832, the gathering of 163 people rejoiced at being together, at seeing new faces joining our number, at the sheer pleasure of family and roots and heritage.

The theme of this year's reunion was "Meet Our Authors." We invited those we knew in the "clan" who had written books. Seven were present to sign their books and to talk about the stories that had inspired them to write history, comedy and poetry.

Absent was president of the association, Bill Collins, whose book, The Last Deer Trapper, also was featured, by vice-president Keith Jones reading a story from "The Deer Trapper." Dr. Joe Turner, Dr. Eva Nell Mull Wike, Dr. Tom Lumsden, Sylvia Dyer Turnage, Charles Souther, Keith Jones and Ethelene Jones were present and folks enjoyed talking to them and getting signed copies of the author's books. Reports coming in by e-mail since the reunion term the event "fun and enjoyable," and "I loved hearing the authors."

All the long journey back to my present home in Milledgeville gave me four hours to reflect upon the reunion. Many thoughts went through my mind.

I thought of the "In Memoriam" period of our reunion program. Each year the list of our honored dead who have passed in the last year seems to increase. It is a solemn time of remembering. We recall going to school and church together, keeping in touch spasmodically as the years roll by, enjoying a once-a-year reunion when family ties are renewed. Maybe seeing them as "looking over the windows of heaven" to see us below is only a fanciful idea I have of re-identification with our beloved departed. But I imagined that "great cloud of witnesses" Paul the Apostle writes about. I see them applauding us. They are happy that we still remember the important virtues of family togetherness. The reunion was a little preview of heaven right here on earth.

Our honored dead who passed during the last year were James Perry Dyer (1923-2008), Anna Mae Dyer Burnett (1922- 2008), Harry Vaughn Dyer (1929- 2007), Carolyn Collins Kelly (1950-2008); James Vaughn Dyer (1916-2008), Connor Andrew Brock Carmichael (3 months, 2007), Dr. Howard Van Ness Morter (1916-2007), Opal L. Sullivan (1917-2007), Clara Belle Collins Duckworth (1919-2008), Raymond Sullivan (1919-2007), Robert Edward Moose (1970-2008), John Chester Dyer (1932-2008), Clinton Samuel Kelly (1927- 2007), Pearl Souther Smallwood (1919-2007) and Francis Homer Hunter, Jr. (1922-2007). These had a relationship to members of the Dyer-Souther family: Mildred Ensley Brown Turner Haigler (1930-2007) and Ruby Gibson Shook (1916-2008). We sang together "Amazing Grace" after standing in tribute as names were read.

I missed people who were not present. Mrs. Dora Hunter Allison Spiva has been our "oldest present" since the death of our historian emeritus, Watson Benjamin Dyer. Had she been present this year, at age 103, she would have received again the "eldest present” certificate. Mrs. Dora, Aunt Dora, Teacher Dora, know that we missed you. The reunion just wasn't the same without you. Several of her nieces and nephews, usually present, were not in attendance. This segment of our family line was sorely missed.

The oldest present was Mrs. Irene Coker Brown, widow of Emory Brown. At age 99, she amazed us all by her keenness and ability to walk on her own. She is a tower of fortitude and inspiration.

The youngest present was little Maddox Kidd, two-and-one half week old infant of Jessica Kidd. Proud grandmother Deborah Rich Leach and proud great grandmother Ann Rich were present to see this newest member of the clan receive a certificate. This family descends through Nancy Dyer Rich.

Roma Sue Turner Collins, having recently sustained a fall and serious bone breaks, was in the Northeast Georgia Medical Center at Gainesville in intense therapy section. Her husband Clyde, and her son, Bill (president of our Association) were in Gainesville visiting Sue. We missed you - and prayed for you. Edna Ruth England Rich was thoughtful enough to bring a huge "get well" card to be signed to take to Sue.

The "farthest distance" people were from Hawaii- our cousin Linda Nahser Beadle and her husband Wes. They came by way of Wetumpka, AL where Linda's sister, Sandra Nahser Gilley and her husband, Scott, joined in the entourage to bring the girls' mother, beautiful Kathleen Dyer Nahser to the reunion. I needed a camera in hand when mother and daughters stood together talking to me. They formed a trio of classic beauty, poise and love. Thank you, Linda, for traveling so far to the reunion!

My "children" from Liberia, West Africa were present, Magdalene and David Sunday-gar. But we could not count them as "traveling farthest." They have lived in Gainesville since 2000. David earned an AA from Gainesville College and a BS in Business Administration from North Georgia College. He is now in seminary working on his master's degree. They plan to return to Africa after David completes his education. Ethelene and Grover met David when they went to Africa for a mission trip in the summer of 1986, and they have kept in close contact with David since. "It's a small world, after all."

Many were present for the first time, and we heartily welcomed them to the gathering. We expect to hear from them and to see them back in forthcoming years.

The food was unbelievable. Thanks to those who volunteered to get the tables spread with the most delectable-looking food imaginable. Somehow, a food serving committee was not appointed this year. Volunteers, you know who you are, thank you! You came through with flying colors.

In business session, Reid Dyer was elected vice-president. The other officers remain the same: Bill Collins, President; Janice Lance, Secretary; Marie Knight and Lee Knight, Treasurers of New Liberty Cemetery Fund; Ethelene Jones, Historian and Newsletter Editor; and these named officers are also trustees, as is Keith Jones, who has served for several years as vice-president. Joe Dyer remains as an advisory member of the Trustees. A committee appointed to draw plans and implement the monument honoring Elisha Dyer, Jr. was given to Reid Dyer, Harold Dyer, Lee Knight, and Ethelene Jones, Historian. We heard that $11,000 is now in the cemetery fund drawing interest for upkeep and care of the cemetery, and the newsletter/ reunion fund has a balance of $2,600, with some bills current for postage and newsletter distribution. Edward Dyer reported that the Dyer Family Bible is now on display at the Union County Historical Society in a lovely display case. Edna Ruth England Rich told the group of the Historical Society's latest project, the "history cards."

The miles rolled away and I left the beloved mountains of Choestoe behind. But the reflections of a day at the reunion will remain as a sweet aura surrounding me for the next year. I will bask in the afterglow- until we meet again.

c 2008 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published July 24, 2008 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Charles Roscoe Collins: His Life and Times (Part 2)

Paying tribute to a man whose life was characterized by service to others is easy. Such a life was lived by Charles Roscoe Collins (1907- 2000). He wore many hats: son, husband, father, teacher, school administrator, lover of history and preservationist. On the other hand, writing such a tribute is hard. Everything can't be included, and there's the outside chance that some of the most important contributions of the person will inadvertently be omitted.

Go back to this column for July 4 to read the beginning account of this man, born in the hills of Choestoe to James Johnson Collins and Margaret Ann Nix Collins, the youngest of their six children. Charles Roscoe, better known as "Ros," made his appearance in the Collins home on September 20, 1907. He lived a full and productive life of over nine decades. He didn't stumble over obstacles but saw them as challenges to overcome.

By way of education, he went to Choestoe School near his home, walking from his home over a mile in all sorts of weather. He often recalled some of the outstanding teachers who early-on influenced him to be studious, pursue knowledge, and consider teaching as a career for himself. Following Choestoe, he boarded at the Blairsville Collegiate Institute. There he played on the basketball team, practicing on an outside court, and going to competitions as their coach, the Rev. Harry Smith, could garner transportation to take the outstanding team to Dahlonega, Gainesville, Demorest and elsewhere. He graduated with honors from the Blairsville Collegiate Institute in 1927.

It was a long distance from Choestoe in the mountains to Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Roscoe packed his meager belongings in a "cardboard suitcase" (as he termed his traveling bag). He wore, on that long trip, a "linsy-woolsy" suit made by his cousins, Avery and Ethel Collins, from wool sheared from sheep, and woven into cloth on their hand loom. Then they tailored a suit--pants, jacket and vest- out of the sturdy material. "I was warm in that suit," Ros said, and it served him well for years as his best dress-up suit. I once saw him hold up the brown pants, died that color from oak bark, as he made a talk on mountain ingenuity and crafts. That old wool suit and the pants became symbols for Roscoe Collins for the "make-do" road of his young manhood.

Mr. Charles R. Collins points out the memorial window at Choestoe Baptist Church honoring his parents, James Johnson Collins and Margaret Ann Nix Collins.

He rode on the top of a load of logs over Neal Gap to Gainesville, then caught the train on to Macon, Georgia and Mercer University. He said that the Rev. Harry Smith helped to arrange a scholarship for him at Mercer University to pay some of his tuition and board. Roscoe worked, too, as he studied, to make ends meet. He spent two years at Mercer, but did not get his Bachelor's degree. That was to come later. He had to stop his education for awhile and begin his teaching career to earn some money to continue. His first teaching job of consequence was in the Hall County Public Schools at Gainesville, Georgia.

Some of Roscoe's kinfolk had moved to Colorado seeking a more economically-secure way of life. There they worked on large farms or ranches, purchasing their own when they earned enough money. All of their stories sent back home by letters enticed the young man Ros Collins to go to Colorado. While there, he did odd jobs for a living and attended the Colorado State College of Education in Greeley, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938.

Back in Georgia, Roscoe taught school, becoming the first principal (and also a teacher) at the Town Creek Consolidated School. He told me of walking the several miles from his father's farm to get to Town Creek early enough to build the fires in the heaters in each of the four classrooms. He was still wearing that linsy-woolsy suit he took to Mercer away back in 1927. It kept him warm as he walked on cold days. His evaluation of his years of teaching and administering the Town Creek School was that he taught some of the brightest young lads and lassies there of anywhere in his 40+ years of teaching.

Ros enjoyed telling people that he had "taught in the four corners of Georgia and many places in between." He had a long stint in St. Mary's, Georgia. On his 90th birthday (September, 1997), I was present to see a large motor coach bus full of people who had been his students travel to Blairsville from St. Mary's to honor Mr. Collins, to testify to his influence on their lives. All had a good time remembering. It was exhilarating just to be a part of that big birthday party and to hear the heart-felt accolades.

On June 4, 1940, Charles Roscoe Collins and LaVerne Cheshire (a fellow teacher) were united in marriage in Lakeland, Florida. She was a daughter of Robert and Minnie Lemack Cheshire. Ros and LaVerne continued their careers as teachers, he clocking up more than 40 years at his retirement and she having 35.

Their daughter, Becky Ann, was born August 7, 1947, and adopted by Ros and LaVerne when she was a baby. When Becky Ann grew up, she married Garland Moose of Suches, Georgia. Ros and LaVerne delighted in their three grandchildren, Rodney, Robby and Carrie. Becky Ann, like her parents, became a teacher.

As he continued to teach, Roscoe took classes at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he earned his Master of Education degree in 1948. He went back to Mercer University in the summer of 1952 to take a course commonly called then a workshop for in-service educators. I was a student at Mercer University at the time, working on the last requirements for my Bachelor of Arts degree. As good fortune would have it, Roscoe and I were both students in that summer workshop. Roscoe, in his joking way, liked to call the workshop classes, which were over a three-week period from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon with only a short break for lunch, the "Paw-Paw Patch" classes. That was because we had to come up every day with innovative ways to teach, and one day Roscoe and I together "performed" the song, "Way down yonder in the Paw-Paw Patch!" We could barely refrain from laughing as we sought to show how rhythm, music and action help to reinforce younger students' learning.

Although I had known Roscoe Collins all my life, and we were neighbors (and cousins) on Choestoe, that summer workshop at Mercer University made us life-time friends. We discovered our common interests in history and family roots, as well as education. He retired long before I did, but after my retirement, my husband Grover, he and I took many "historical" treks together so that he could point out significant milestones, like the Logan Turnpike and the Mule Springs Camp. We also made trips to visit the Rev. Harry Smith in Forsyth, Georgia. We had a lot of time to talk and to appreciate history.

He had a distinguished career in education in "the four corners of Georgia." His service to his home county of Union included being teacher, basketball coach, principal and county school superintendent. After 42 years as an educator, he retired in 1972.

c 2008 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published July 10, 2008 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.