The Joys Of Having A Home Town

Posted by on Jul 30, 2014 in Perry's Blog | 0 comments

By Perry Smith

One of my favorite stories goes back to my experience as I entered the 4th grade in Richmond Virginia. My father was a professional soldier. From 1935 to 1944 my family had lived in New York, Panama, Virginia, Kansas, Hawaii, California, Minnesota, Ohio, and North Carolina. By the summer of 1944, it was time to move again—this time to Virginia.

On that first day of school, at Westhampton Elementary School in Richmond the school bully stuck his finger in my chest, and said in a menancing way, “Buddy, where are you from?”

I told him that I didn’t know. He said, “Well, Buddy, you gotta be from somewhere.” Since my father’s hometown was Zanesville, Ohio, I replied, “I guess I am from Zanesville.” The bully shot back, “Where is that?” I said, “Ohio”. He then said, “Does that mean you are a Yankee?” Not understanding the implications of my answer, I replied, “I guess so.”

In the meantime, another boy had knelt down directly behind me. The bully then said, “This is the way we treat Yankees” He pushed me hard. I tumbled over the kneeling boy and landed on my head. Soon I began to think that it would be awfully nice to have a real hometown—preferably one that was in the South.

Twenty two years ago, my wife, Connor, and I moved to Augusta. At last, I have a hometown and happily it is in the South. The chances of landing on my head anytime in the future have seriously diminished, Hallelujah!

Augusta had always been Connor’s hometown. Her father (Jimmie Dyess) and her step-father ( Charlie Goodrich) were Augustans who served in the military so moving around the country was part of her life, starting in November, 1940 when Jimmie Dyess was called to active duty in the Marines.

Connor’s father and step-father as well as her grandfather, Maurice Dyess, and her uncle, Doctor Hervey Cleckley, had, all made significant contributions to Augusta and beyond. Hence, Connor has roots deep in the Augusta soil.

On 15 March, 1990, we left very chilly Northern Virginia and arrived to a wonderfully warm Augusta. The trees and flowers were in full bloom. The welcome we received from friends and neighbors was so generous that, within a few days, we knew that we had made the right decision—to make Augusta our permanent home.

Since moving here, one of my great pleasures has been my involvement in community affairs. Serving on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations has given me the opportunity to work closely with many civic-minded citizens.

In addition, I have thought a great deal about the future of Augusta. Here are two of my conclusions.

1. As the CSRA faces an uncertain future, we just cannot rely on the federal, state or local governments to solve many of our problems. Non-profit organizations generally operate more efficiently, take actions more quickly and stay closer to the real needs of our citizens than governmental administrations.

2. If Augusta is to thrive in the future, more people need to spend more of their time and discretionary income supporting good causes. Although I have encountered many generous people, some folks refuse to dig deep into their pockets to provide strong financial support to worthy enterprises. Hopefully, they will soon start making a sincere and sustained effort to help.

So what organizations should you support with your time, your creativity and your financial support? There are many that deserve assistance, but I would like to suggest three and give you a specific way to assist in each case. 1. Make a donation to The Augusta Warrior Project. Either call 706 434-1707 or go to the web site and click on monthly donation–the pay pal system is a cool way to donate painlessly. (http://www.augustawarriorproject.org/)2. Join the Augusta Museum of History and keep your membership up to date year to year. Please call the museum at 706 722 8454.
3. Purchase a seat or two for the upcoming–2 November–gala Boy Scout dinner (to be in the presence of honored guest, Medal of Honor recipient Barney Barnum, will be a special treat). Call soon– 706 7335277.

A general guideline for financial contributions to worthy civic non-profit organizations is as follows. After making your contribution to your church or temple, commit one percent of your gross income to worthy and well managed civic institutions. If you can exceed 1%, as many do, that would be grand and deeply appreciated.

Major General Perry Smith, US Air Force (ret.) serves on the boards of the Augusta Warrior Project and the Augusta Museum of History. His email address is genpsmith@aol.com. His web site is genpsmith.com

[This column appeared in the Augusta Chronicle on October 21, 2012]

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