wellborn my hometown

WELLBORN NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH MEETING
Dwight Stansel is a native son of Wellborn. He graduated from Wellborn school which stood where the WVFD Training Center is (Blake Lowe Building). Dwight chuckles and tells "My great grandaddy was murdered in Wellborn and is buried in Carver cemetery. The only thing I can tell you about the reason for the shooting is that my great grandmother is buried in Beulah cemetery". Then he added another smile-y. In Tallahassee they say. "What do you call a guy from Wellborn with a good looking woman on his arm"? "That is a farmer with a tattoo!"
:-)
Not so with Dwight. He is a very successful farmer, indeed, but the good looking woman who came to the WNW meeting with him is his wife Glenda. Dwight's 8 years in Tallahassee required him to be gone from his Wellborn home, farm, and family for 5 months each year. He is not a career politician and recognized people in Tallahassee who are career politicians. Dwight is grateful and humble to come back home. He has filed papers enabling him to run for Tax Collector of Suwannee County.

Dwight describes his years in the Florida House of Representatives as The Greatest of Learning Experiences. "I loved it!".
His statesmanship was heartening. "I voted my conscience and maintained honesty and integrity, never jeopardized my values, and avoided Party Politics". He was impressed with intelligence in both houses of our congress and gives the system his vote of confidence even now that he has seen it from the inside and knows how almost impossible it is to reach consensus. He adds "You gotta be honest, fair, and mind your own business".:-)

He served on the Agriculture Committee for 8 years and chaired it for the last 2 years. He told about Select Committees where he worked hard. 1. Voting process, 2. Constitution amendment process and 3. Private property rights.

In answer to a question from a listener "How do you feel about our water problems & Georgia's recent request?"
Dwight thought water would be the Big Fight when he went to congress. It wasn't.
"Water will be a war." he said. It will be about Quality and Quantity and the fight is imminent.

PECANS
Pecans are plentiful this year. Many hundreds from Geigers old pecan trees littered the dirt road( 9th ave) by their house. Since Maurice's grandaddy planted Stuarts, known for paper thin shells. Ann and Maurice hurry to pick them up before cars crush too many.
Dwight Stansel says his daddy , Bobbie Stansel, at age 87, was out picking up pecans with his cane in one hand and the rolling picker up basket in the other.
Marilyn Burnham's daughters and friends gathered around a table in her sick room with mounds of pecans to do together while they visited. Marilyn did a cup full, herself, for old times sake. Colleen says they have shelled and picked the meat out of 400 pounds of nuts so far during the vigil at her momma's bedside.

Meet Wendell Snowden who is starting a two year term as President of the Wellborn Community Association.
Born in Riverview Alabama he moved to Miami in 1958, lived in South Florida for 46 years and chose Wellbornto be the home place in June of 2004. LUCKY US!

The Snowdens plan to put roots down here. Wendell says he had enough moves in childhood years to do him the rest of his days. He tells about the day he came home from school to find his family had accomplished still another move. So he sat down on the porch to wait until somebody said "Where is Wendell".

2007, in Wellborn, he is self employed with restoring 1955,56, & 57 Chevrolets for himself and selected others as supplemental income. Twenty of his working years were with WOMETCO in their in-house print shop.
1985 he established Wendell SnowdenPrinting Inc. and ran it for seven years until his car hobby took precedence. He sold the print shop, put the money aside until they could be sure that hobby turned into business proved to be a good decision.

Volunteering is not new to Wendell and he has awards and certifications to match.
The most colorful award is his induction into the east Coast Drag Racing Hall of Fame in Hendersonville. N.C., 10/06.
The most recent (fall of 2007) is to be certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a County Mediator of Suwannee County .
He has just done his first court mediation solo, and came up smiling. He compliments our local judicial system and it's participants.

His vision for the WCA is to be a true community center capable of bringing all of our diversity together in a variety of activities.

So we have a fresh wind a-blowing in our hometwon. To God Be The Glory.

"Rev". Dale Barrett acts the part of an old time-y Circuit Rider Preacher. Pastor Jim Messer welcomes "Pastor" Dale to the Sesquicentennial Celebration
AND Donna Jolley's camera captures her mom, Louise Herman,and her sister, Barbara Olive, with Circuit Rider Preacher Dale.
P.S.
Blogger brains got rusty between blogs preventing a satisfactory "upload" of Pix yesterday.
Glad to be up and running . Thanks for reader forgivenss, please.

At the right hand top you see Ron and Esther Chappel. Like biblical Barnabus, the Chappel's encouraged your blogger to get back to blogging fun . They checked this blogspot expecting to enjoy shared afterglow from Wellborn United Methodist Sesquicentennial Celebration last Sunday. Today October 21, is picture sharing day, thanks to these two good folks.


Left side & top is Ann Geiger and Mary Jane Messer as they would have looked in 1857. Bonnie Scott and Betsy Billups created Mary Jane's costume, complete with authentic underwear which made Mary Jane thankful she did not have to go to the bathroom in 1857. Hostess Ann Geiger, our historian, and a true saver of "good stuff", found her clothes in her treasure trunk. She says widows wore black for the rest of their lives, the exception was a very young widow who wore black for a year!


This is a photo of Wellborn United Methodist Sesquicentennial Homecoming Queen Naomi Mallory Dennard with her niece Virginia Kindberg. Miss Naomi's 103rd birthday will be in March and that is the next Big Event at which she anticipates being Queen for the day.


Here are Naomi Mallory Dennard's niece Emily Robarts and your blogger looking at the Wellborn Methodist Sesquicentennial Yearbook together.


George Jack Wilson caught the 1857 spirit


Dale Barrett play acted as a Circuit Rider for the Wellborn United methodist Sesquicentennial. Dale's authentic costume belongs to George Scott whose hobby of historic reenactments called him out of town. Andy Goodwin tolled Wellborn's only functional church bell to announce the arrival of the circuit rider preacher. Many (including Rev. Jim Messer) chose to have their picture taken with "Preacher" Dale.


These photos are from Donna Jolley's camera. This is her momma, Louise Herman and her sister Barbara Olive with "Rev" Dale Barrett who in real life is the Prayer Coordinator at Wellborn Baptist Church. He is also Jinny and Jack Wilson very fine neighbor friend.