Friday, June 14, 2019
Tifton, Georgia
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TIFTON NATIVE/CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER DIES QUIETLY IN TEXAS
DALLAS AREA SURPRISED TO LEARN OF WILLIE LUDDEN'S EXTENSIVE CIVIL RIGHTS EFFORTS IN 1960s MISSISSIPPI
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An
unsung hero
of the
1960s civil rights movement
, who was
born in Tifton
, was
laid to rest
earlier
this week
in
Andersonville National Cemetery
.
Willie B. Ludden Jr.,
81, died
May 22
in
Grand Prairie, Texas
, just outside
Dallas
. He had
lived quietly
in
Grand Prairie
for more than
32 y
ears.
"For
decades
, he
lived among us
. Yet
none of us knew him
. Or even
knew of him
,"
Robert Wilonsky
wrote in a
recent column
in
The Dallas Morning News
.
"We
did not know
that this man, who
taught high school history
in Grand Prairie,
had been
an
NAACP field worker
and
youth organizer
throughout the
Deep South
in the
1960s
. We
did not know
that this man, who
drove cabs
in
South Dallas
for two decades,
had been
an
officer
in the
Army
yet
wasn't allowed
to
lead white troops
," Wilonsky wrote.
"We
did not know
that this man, who wanted to be a Dallas police officer,
had been part
of the
landmark Woolworth lunch counter sit-ins
in the
spring of 1963
and that he
led marches and protests
and
organized college students
. Or that he was
repeatedly beaten and jailed
,
charged
with
'obstructing sidewalks'
when all he wanted was for the men and women and children who looked like him to
be able to sit
at the
same places
where
white people dined
."
But, as the
Dallas Morning News
points out, Ludden's
civil rights work
is
well-documented
in
history books
, in faded
civil rights-era lawsuits
, in
police records
, in old
newspaper clippings
and in old Associated Press
photos
showing
Ludden being beaten by police
in
1963
in
Jackson, Miss.
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A
New York newspaper reported on
April 6, 1964, that "after
four minutes’ 'deliberation' March 26, an
all-white jury in
Jackson, Miss., found
Willie B. Ludden, NAACP youth field secretary,
guilty of
'parading without a permit.' He was the first of 310 persons to be tried in connection with an
anti-segregation demonstration held last spring.
Ludden did
win quashing of a
charge of perjury springing from the
claim that
he had been beaten by a cop. The
cop’s story was that
Ludden merely 'ran into my club,' " the newspaper reported.
Ludden, a
Savannah State College graduate, was an
NAACP youth organizer for the organization's
national office who
worked alongside civil rights leaders
Roy Wilkins and
Medgar Evers, the NAACP's field secretary for
Mississippi.
Ludden was
one of the
last people to
see Evers alive, who was
assassinated on
June 12, 1963, in
Jackson.
At
Ludden's memorial service in
Texas,
Angela Luckey, president of the
Grand Prairie NAACP, said that when she found out
Ludden lived there and
no one knew, "it
disturbed my inner peace," she is quoted as saying in the
Dallas newspaper.
She read a
letter from
Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen praising
Ludden as "a
man who made a difference in this
world."
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TROOPERS WORK 50 WRECKS WITH 30 INJURIES IN TIFT
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During
May
in
Tift County
, troopers with
Tifton Post 13
of the
Georgia State Patrol
investigated
50
traffic accidents resulting in
30
injuries.
Troopers
issued
433
traffic citations in
Tift County
during May including
six
arrests for driving under the influence,
163
speeding citations,
123
seatbelt violations and
28
child-restraint violations.
Troopers say they issued
478
warnings to
motorists
in in the county.
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ANNUAL WATER DRIVE FOR FIREFIGHTERS UNDERWAY
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During the
hot Tifton summers,
firefighters can
suffer more than others. That's why a
Tifton woman has once again begun her
annual effort to
collect bottled water and
sports ade beverages for
Tifton firefighters.
"Think about being in the hot sun wearing
75-plus pounds
of thick, hot, heavy turnout
gear
! Now, think about doing that for
an hour or longer
at a time with sweat pouring off of you – every piece of clothing you are wearing under your gear can be wrung out like a rag full of water! You begin to get a
headache
, and things start getting
blurry
, then you start to get
nauseated
,"
Nicole Taylor Casey wrote on social media.
"Can you picture a
fireman
doing and feeling this to
save
you or your loved one or your property?" she wrote.
Casey's
9th Annual Water and Gatorade Drive is underway through
July 31. She is asking local
individuals, companies, churches and civic organizations to
donate c
ases
of
water, Gatorade and Powerade
for
local firefighters
.
The bottles may be
dropped off at
Tifton Fire Department locations: The M
ain Station on
Forest Avenue; the
West Station on
Carpenter Road; and the
North Station on
Tift Avenue/ Highway 125 North.
Casey also may contacted at
229-326-0691 to have the bottles
picked up.
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ROTARY CLUB HEARS ABOUT KUMON CENTER
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Naeem Kahn
told the
Rotary Club of Tifton
on
Wednesday
about the
Kumon Math & Reading Center
in
Tifton
.
After his
daughter
attended the program in
Warner Robbins
for
three years
– and his trips there and back
twice a week
– he decided to obtain the
franchise
for a center in
Tifton
.
Since it opened, it has grown to serve
100
students with
145
subjects registered. The program uses what
Kahn
calls
"old math,"
and his instructors work with clients
one on one
, but they
don't call it tutoring
.
"We
encourage
them to
find answers themselves
." Students are moving
two to three years ahead
of grade level, he said.
The
program
is
"not highly expensive,"
Kahn said, at
$135
a month for students to attend
twice a week
at
30 minutes
at a time.
In the photo, Kumon director Naeem Kahn, at right, stands with his employee Sangitce Patel and daughter Eshal Kahn.
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Dr. Vincent Keesee, left, at the Valdosta exhibit's opening reception with Tifton's "Queen of Arts" Syd Blackmarr.
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TIFTON ARTIST WORKS ON DISPLAY
AT VALDOSTA ARTS CENTER
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The
paintings
of Dr.
Vincent Keesee
of
Tifton
are currently being
exhibited
at the
Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts
in
Valdosta
.
Most of
Keesee's art
depicts various aspects of
Southern culture
. He
taught
art classes at
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
for
30
years before
retiring
. His works have been
exhibited
throughout the
South
.
Keesee's exhibit
opened with a
reception
on Monday. His work is
on display
in the
Turner Center's Sallie & Harmon Boyette Gallery
at
527 N. Patterson St.
in
Valdosta
.
The exhibit runs through
July 23
, and
admission
is
free
. Gallery hours are
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays
, and
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
. The gallery is
closed Sundays and Mondays
.
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TIFT COUNTY 4-H SHARPSHOOTERS COMPETING
IN NATIONAL BB GUN CHAMPIONSHIP
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The
Tift County 4-H SharpShooters
, one of the
top 64 BB gun teams
in the
nation
, is making its
11th trip
to the
Daisy Nationals
in
Rogers, Ark.
, in a few weeks.
The
4-H team
members have been conducting
car washes
to help
raise money
for the
trip
.
The 64
top BB gun teams
from across the
nation
will be in
Arkansas July 3-6
for the annual
Daisy National BB Gun Championship Match
, known as the
Daisy Nationals
.
The
five-meter, four-position match
features
seven-person teams
(five shooters and two alternates)
ages 8 to 15
that are competing for the
national championship
.
Youth competitors will
shoot
the
four positions
of
standing, kneeling, sitting
and
prone
with the
Daisy Model 499B Champion BB gun
.
The
Tift County team
is among teams from
17
states.
Each competitor
is required to
complete
an
extensive written test
that comprises
20 percent
of their
final
match
score
. The
test
covers
gun safety, technique
and
match rules
.
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'BUG HUNT' AFTER DARK SET FOR JULY 12
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Adults and children may search for
buzzers, crawlers and creepers
during the
"History After Dark Series Bug Hunt"
from
8:30-10 p.m. July 12
at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College"s
Ga. Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village
.
“Guests of the
Bug Hunt
program will take part in an
outside excursion
discovering the
wonders of nature
on a Friday night,” said Historic Village Supervisor
Gina Beckman
.
“We’ll explore a
variety
of
insects
that come out at
night
, offering the chance for children and parents alike to connect with a section of
nature
that we often forget.”
The event will take place in and around the museum’s
Langdale Nature Center
. It will feature a
glow hike
,
mothing activity
and
bug-themed snacks
, including
edible insects
. On the glow hike, guests will be provided
glow sticks
and
UV flashlights
to search along the nature trail for
glowing, nocturnal insects
. Mothing offers guests an opportunity to discover the
evening cousin
of the
butterfly
, the
moth
.
Museum staff will use
lighting
and different
attractants
to
entice
the
moths
closer, allowing a prime viewing opportunity. Guests also have the chance to
try edible insects
such as
crickets
and
ants
. For the
less adventurous
,
snacks without legs
will be
provided
.
The
Bug Hunt
is part of the
“History After Dark”
program series which provides guests the opportunity to experience the
museum after hours
. The series features
evening programs
throughout the year on a
variety
of
topics
and
immersive activities
.
A
limited
number of
tickets
are on
sale
for the event. For information, call
229-391-5205
or visit
www.abac.edu/museum
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YOUR WEEKEND
...at a Glance
FRIDAY, JUNE 14
- Platform Watercolors Exhibit by Sean P. Callahan of Key West, 10 a.m., Plough Gallery, Tifton
SATURDAY, JUNE 15
- Wiregrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-Noon., Ga. Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
- 80th Annual Miss Georgia Forestry State Pageant, Teen, 3 p.m.; Miss & Ms., 7 p.m.; TCHS Performing Arts Center, Tifton
SUNDAY, JUNE 16
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HAVE A YARD SALE?
Inform Thousands of Your Neighbors
through the TIFTON GRAPEVINE!
Place your Yard Sale
in this space!
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TO ADVERTISE YOUR YARD SALE HERE, CONTACT US at
Fees are $1 per word, paid in advance
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JUNE 5
Jeanette Sumner Carson, 80,
Tifton
Effie Lee Vickers, 85,
Alapaha
Cherrie Jean Davis, 74,
Ashburn
JUNE 7
Laura Edith Brogdon, 93,
Nashville
Lawrence Joseph "Buck" Kelly, 75,
Nashville
Wanda Ann McDonald, 65,
Fitzgerald
Steve Smith, 64,
Fitzgerald
JUNE 9
Timothy Mark Owens, 45,
Tifton
David Lucius Jones, 58,
Tifton
JUNE 10
Marvin Hugh "Buck" Holcombe, 93,
Nashville
Mary F. Dassie, 72,
Sumner
JUNE 11
Ester “Lenard” Ellis, 78,
Tifton
Leon C. Pettiford, 78,
Tifton
Grace "Pete" Sutton Lindsey, 91,
Nashville
Arthur W. “Art” “Butch” Killough, 75,
Fitzgerald
Robert L. "Bob" McCall, 84,
Ashburn
JUNE 12
Wiley “Wayne” Montgomery, 76,
Tifton
Wynell "Nell" Hancock James, 91,
Sylvester
Geneva Taylor, 100,
Sparks
JUNE 13
Brother Willie Thomas Heath, 77,
Nashville
Wendy Marlin,
Sylvester
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Tifton Grapevine
e-published every Tuesday and Friday
Frank Sayles Jr.
Editor & Publisher
Bonnie Sayles
Managing Editor
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A Service of
Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC
,
Tifton, Georgia
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