And Yet More Sad News! ::

From Benny Laney:

Do not like to be the one to pass this along , but knew you would want to know. Ray Robinson's Mom passed away this afternoon. Right now it looks like visitation will be Friday night and the funeral Sat. am, but nothing is final at this point. They are meeting with the funeral home in the morning.

[update]
From this morning's The State:

Ruby Blackwell Robinson
CAMDEN - Funeral services for Ruby Blackwell Robinson, 87, will be held Saturday, January 3, 2009, at 2:00 p.m. at Hermitage Baptist Church with burial to follow in Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Rev. Condy Richardson will officiate. The family will receive friends Friday, January 2, 2009, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Kornegay Funeral Home, Camden Chapel. Memorials may be made to Hermitage Baptist Church Building Fund, 814 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Camden, SC 29020 or Hospice of Kershaw County, 200l W. DeKalb Street, Camden, SC 29020.

Ruby Blackwell Robinson, wife of the late Andrew Robinson, passed away December 30, 2008. She was born in Ridgeway, SC, to the late William Charlie and Florrie Player Blackwell. She was a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She adored her family. She was a graduate of Columbia Business School and retired from State Farm Insurance. Mrs. Robinson was a devoted member of Hermitage Baptist Church where she was lovingly known as “Mrs. Ruby.” She was a dedicated Sunday School teacher for 22 years of the Gleaners Sunday School Class.

Mrs. Robinson is survived by her children, Charles Andrew (Mary) Robinson, Joyce (Dean) Swofford, Ray Carlton (Becky) Robinson and Sylvia (Wayne) Watkins, all of Camden; grandchildren, Andy (Laura) Robinson, Shannon (Denny) Orr, Amy (Parker) Young, Neal (Brook) Robinson, Ryan Bowers, Josh (Katie) Bowers; great-grandchildren, Kennedy and Jordan Robinson, Anne Charlotte and Sarah Beth Robinson, Denton Orr, Jackson Young, Georgia Grace Young, and Lacey Bowers, Heath Bowers, Tanner Bowers, Austin Bowers, Jesse Wayne Bowers and Andrew Bowers; sister, Lenora Lloyd of Columbia; numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by brothers, Carl Player, Basil Lee and W.C. Blackwell, Jr.

A special thanks to Dr. Carl Kearse, Dr. Michael Roberts, Hospice, and to caregivers, Brenda Stokes, Isabelle Gaskins and Liz Earles. Thank you for the many calls, cards and visits during her illness.

Kornegay Funeral Home, Camden Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.

Online condolences may be sent to the Robinson family by visiting www.kornegayfuneral.com.

From Helen Harter Sheorn ::

Just wanted to let you know that Larson Jaenicke's mother passed away last weekend. Larson and his brothers will be in Camden this coming weekend.

I saw this in the on-line edition of The Camden Chronicle-Independent and wondered if this was the case given how few details were in the obit:

Peggie Jaenicke
Margaret "Peggie" Jaenicke, 93, of Camden, died Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008.

Services are incomplete and will be announced by Kornegay Funeral Home, Camden Chapel.

Our condolences and our thoughts are with the family!




[update]

Margaret Jaenicke
CAMDEN - Margaret “Peggy” Ball Jaenicke of Camden, South Carolina, died December 21, 2008, in Ashland, Kentucky, while visiting her son Kurt and his family. Peggy was the wife of the late R. Walter Jaenicke, the youngest child of Bertram and Lulu Quinn Ball of Yonkers, New York, and the beloved mother and grandmother of three sons and six grandchildren.

Before her marriage to Walter, Peggy received her bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and was employed as a food editor for Good Housekeeping Magazine and by the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson. Peggy and Walter were married after Walter’s service in World War II and ultimately moved to Camden in 1948 where Peggy resided until her death.

After her sons were in their teens, Peggy began a new career as an elementary school teacher in the Kershaw County Public Schools. She was noted for her innovative teaching techniques and made lasting friendships but most importantly committed to helping her students realize their full potential. When Peggy retired after over fifteen years of teaching, she continued to volunteer as a tutor to disadvantaged children.

Peggy was also actively involved in various community organizations. She was a founder of The Camden Players, a local theatre group. She was instrumental in the 1960’s in helping bring mental health facilities to Kershaw County. She was an ardent supporter of Kershaw County’s Fine Arts Center. Peggy was also a long-time member of Bethesda Presbyterian Church which she attended regularly.

Peggy had a special and close relationship with each of her six grandchildren, even though they were physically separated by great distances. Those relationships grew with frequent visits by her grandchildren and the families’ annual vacation at Pawley’s Island, South Carolina.

Peggy was preceded in death by her husband, Walter, her parents, her siblings, Ruth, Will, Emerson and Louise and is survived by her sons, Larson (Carol), Douglas (Alison), and Kurt (Carla), her six grandchildren, Matthew, Julie, Graham, Hannah, Dan and Leah and many nieces and nephews.

Graveside services will be held Saturday, January 3, 2009, in Quaker Cemetery at 11:00 a.m. A celebration will be held following the service at Peggy’s home. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to either the Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County, Inc., 810 Lyttleton Street, Camden, SC 29020, or to Bethesda Presbyterian Church, 502 DeKalb Street, Camden, SC 29020.

Kornegay Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Online condolences may be sent to the Jaenicke family by visiting www.kornegayfuneral.com.

Server Problems

In case anyone is looking for some of the photographs over on the right sidepanel, the server out in Arizona seems to be down this morning and I have submitted a trouble ticket. These guys are very good and I only remember a couple of problems in the past which were quickly resolved.

[update] Server is back up and running now!

Sad News To Pass On!

From Danny Stuber to Buster:

Buster, just a short note to let everyone know that Chad Merrill's father passed away about 9:30 am this morning (Sunday) in Greensboro,N.C. fron congestive heart failure. He is my wife's uncle! They are returning the body to Camden tonight and I think the funeral will probably be sometime Wednesday. Hope you will pass this along to our classmates and teammates.

Thanks!
Dan Stuber

[update]From today's The State:

Willard Merrell
CAMDEN - Funeral services for Willard Hampton Merrell, 85, will be held Tuesday, December 30, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. at Hermitage Baptist Church with burial to follow in Forest Lawn Memorial Park with Masonic rites. Rev. Condi Richardson and Mark Hopkins will officiate. The family will receive friends, Monday, December 29, 2008, from 6-8:00 p.m. at Kornegay Funeral Home, Camden Chapel. Memorials may be made to Hermitage Baptist Church Building Fund, 814 Jefferson Davis Highway, Camden, SC 29020.

Mr. Merrell died Sunday, December 28, 2008. Born in North Charleston, SC, he was the son of the late Thomas Lyttle and Jennie Lee Davis Merrell. Mr. Merrell had retired from DuPont and he was a life member of Hermitage Baptist Church where he was a former deacon, Sunday School teacher, choir member, and a member of the building committee in 1953 when the current sanctuary was built, and has held numerous other positions within the church. Mr. Merrell was also a member of Kershaw Lodge #29.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Lois Blackwell Merrell of Camden; son, A. Chad Merrell of Greensboro, NC, and his wife, Jo; grandson, Dr. Chad T. Merrell of Greensboro, NC, and his wife, Patricia; great-grandson, Preston Hampton Merrell and great-granddaughter, Mary Grace Merrell. He was predeceased by brothers, Roy Everette Merrell, Jack J. Merrell and Thomas Lyttle Merrell, Jr.

Kornegay Funeral Home, Camden Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.

On-line condolences may be sent to the Merrell family by visiting www.kornegayfuneral.com.

Christmas Eve ::

Watching It's A Wonderful Life and looking forward to 24 hours of Ralphie's longing for his Red Ryder Carbine in A Christmas Story!

"You'll shoot your eye out, kid!"

I love it and can't get enough every year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Everyone have a safe and joyous holiday season!

Posting to all sites will be sporadic for the next couple of weeks. I have long overdue computer maintenance to do and I usually manage to totally screw something important up. I always recover, but it takes time! I have a new video card to install and I'm hoping to upgrade the operating system.

Space Shuttle Endeavour On The Return Trip To KSC ::

Over the western United States as photographed by my co-worker at Dryden, Carla Thomas, in a F-18 chase plane. Carla had the good fortune to photograph the launch of Endeavour on STS-126, The landing in California, and the return of the orbiter to Florida. I'm envious since our center, Marshall Space Flight Center, is essentially a research and development site and we seldom get to do any of the really cool stuff!

Jim Ring Blows His Horn! ::

In Atlanta this past Saturday night:








And his thoughts on the occasion:

I filled in on trumpet with Steve Jarrell and the Sons of the Beach at the Christmas party for the Metro Atlanta Automobile Dealers Association held at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Rupert's Orchestra played the first and third sets. We played the second set. There were about 500 guests in attendance. I was the only non-professional musician on stage. And I had a ball.

I added the emphasis and I'm happy for him!

A Tree Grew In Camden! ::

I shot this earlier in the year somewhere down by the revolutionary war village recreation.



I have a friend who searched for years for the perfect tree to photograph. He really wanted something to rival George Tice's famous tree photograph.



My friend came pretty close, but his image will never be as famous as the Tice image above.

I did a photographic workshop with George Tice many years ago: he is an interesting fellow!

DPZ Vision Plan For Camden ::

I've been following this with interest for a while and note that the Camden city council apparently will be seriously considering DPZ's plan. From The Chronicle-Independent:

Camden City Council will officially consider adopting a vision plan drafted earlier this year by Duany Plater-Zyberk (DPZ) focusing, primarily on reinventing the downtown business district. Council decided to add consideration of a resolution adopting the plan for Tuesday's agenda during a work session Thursday.

The decision came after a lengthy discussion with DPZ's Tom Low over next steps -- what council and the city should do first to get the ball rolling.

"We received official word from (Camden City Planner) Shawn Putnam regarding your top points," said Low.

That list, as Low said he understood it, focuses on creating a downtown management organization, mixed use development projects, establishing a mix of housing types, re-growing the downtown retail market and establishing a downtown entertainment venue.

I downloaded the entire plan this afternoon, but I haven't yet had a chance to go through it in any depth, but, on first glance, I have some doubts about the feasibility of the recommendations although I support many of the conclusions.

Of course I have few dogs in this hunt, but I do own a bit of property in Camden and I care about the future of the town in which I spent a good portion of my formative years. I have long been dismayed by the loss of the old stores and I could not bring myself to visit Burns Hardware when it was going out of business given my memories of it when I was a kid! I still can vividly picture in my mind how Zemp's Drug Store looked inside with its magazine rack and soda fountain. I had more than my share of cherry cokes in there!

I'll have more thoughts to share on the DPZ Vision plan as soon as I have a chance to digest it.

Jim Ring: Going For The Gold ::

And I can't tell you how happy I am to hear this:

I can’t believe this is happening to me.

As recently as two years ago, when asked by my high school classmates if I still play my trumpet, my answer was always no. In 1971, after experiencing years of great things because of music, I packed the old horn away. I decided playing music for a career would be a very risky and difficult path to take and a normal family life would not likely be in the cards for me. I had lots of great memories attained through music….the high school championships under the direction of Bill Basden, my stint as an army bandsman in which I ultimately ended up in the recording band for American Forces Network Radio – Europe and, while stationed stateside in Virginia, played in what many felt was the second best R&B band in Virginia at the time. We were the Rotations Band and Show (The #1 R&B band in Virginia in the late sixties was Bill Deal and the Rhondels). Those memories would be enough. It was time to move on. Over the next thirty-six years, with the exception of about a three month period in 1991, my horn just sat in its’ case.

In early 2007 Steve Jarrell, one of the guys I played in the Rotations with, organized a 40th anniversary band reunion. If Steve’s name sounds familiar to you it’s because he is a two-time inductee in the Carolina Beach Music Hall of Fame. I pulled the horn out, blew into it and what I heard I wouldn’t wish on any band director anywhere. It was terrible. But I worked hard at it and by the time of the reunion I was good enough to play for maybe thirty minutes without embarrassing myself.

But the bug had bitten and I wanted more. I joined a band that broke up three days after my first gig. Then I joined another band that broke up last September but is now reorganizing.

In the meantime Steve and former Rotation keyboard player Gene Wells have been moonlighting doing a two man show that is greatly enhanced by the use of computers. About a month ago they asked me if I’d be interested in playing four jobs in three days during Thanksgiving weekend (Friday-Sunday)….in the area of the Bahamas known as the Abacos. I went and couldn’t believe what a great time I had. This past Friday Steve called me and asked me to fill-in on trumpet with his regular band, Steve Jarrell and the Sons of the Beach, this Saturday night. I’ll be flying to Atlanta this Saturday afternoon (December 13) to play one one-hour set at the Georgia World Congress Center. We’ll be staying at the Omni Hotel.

I really find it hard to believe all this is happening to me at age sixty-one but I’m really soaking it in and “enjoying the moment” to the max. My guess is all of us from the class of ’65 thinks about his or her mortality from time to time. With some exceptions, we don’t know how much time we have left in our lives. So maybe my message here is to enjoy every moment you have left doing the things you really love to do. You don’t get a second opportunity.

Happy Holidays Everyone.

Jim

I added the emphasis in the last paragraph, but I second Jim's message here. I know that my photographic output has increased tremendously in the past few years and I find myself looking at my surroundings differently.

I'm hoping to get an update from Jim soon on show details. I'm about 2 1/2 hours away from Atlanta and could conceivably make the show if it is public.

[update] Jim doesn't have the details right now, but he thinks it is a private party and will feed me more details as he gets them. I'll keep you posted.

[latest update] Jim passes on the news that this is, indeed, a private function so there will be to trip to Atlanta this weekend for me although I do need to make a trip to see some friends. That will have to wait 'til after the first of the year!

Social Networking ::

I opened a Facebook account a couple of years ago and never did anything with it until just recently. Somehow in the past few days my friend Margarita found this account and sent me a message so I have been updating my Facebook page and I have been reconnecting with some Camden High classmates as well as family members who have Facebook pages. In the past couple of days I have gotten, and shared, messages with Helen Harter Sheorn, Sandra Hughes, Paul Rowell and Delores Cole Adams. Facebook seems to be a great way to keep in contact and I'll be posting some links to Facebook pages over on the right in a few days.

If any others have Facebook pages let us know!

A Photograph ::

Actually this was taken somewhere out around Cassatt last year on one of my trips where I revisited some sites of my long ago youth.



I have long been fascinated by these roadside monuments at the scene of accidental deaths of loved ones and I have a growing collection of images. I don't know who Marty Shirey was, but I probably knew some of his relatives who lived in this area. The smaller crosses at the foot of the larger one lead me to think that maybe this scene saw the death of a family.

This is near where my stepfather had an accident which we always felt eventually led to his fatal heart attack.