An annual rite of autumn concluded Saturday as Mr. Clyde Brown, our WHEO Critz weather spotter, and his freinds and neighbors made the last batch of molasses of the fall season. I attended three of the molasses making sessions under the sturdy shelter at Mr. Brown's Railroad Ln. residence and thoroughly enjoyed this nostalgic experience. The 83-year-old Mr. Brown and his friends and neighbors are doing our community and the Blue Ridge Mountains region a favor by laboring to preserve the dying art of making molasses. We need to carry onas man of the traditional folkways as possible. And there is nothing as sweet as the smell of molasses cooking on a blazing fire creating an aroma that fills the air on a crisp autumn morning.
In the final molasses cooking of the year on Sat., Nov. 24, Mr. Brown and his friends made about 18 gallons (it takes 10 gallons of cane juice to make one gallon of molasses) of beautifully colored, mouth-watering molasses that just beg for a biscuit. In all, 4 batches of molasses were cooked at Mr. Brown's house this year yielding about 65 gallons. If you'd like some, call Mr. Brown and 694-7608. The cost is $10 per quart but they are well worth it. That may sound like a high price but it is very reasonable considering the labor and expense of making molasses.
I am amazed at the amount of time and labor required to produce this syrupy sorgum used to deliciously smother a buttered biscuit or, as some prefer, buttered cornbread. The process involves planting, cultivating, and harvesting the cane...grinding the juice from the cane...and then cooking the cane juice over a wood-fueled fire, skimming the residue frequently, to produce the molasses. It takes about 8 hours to cook the cane juice down into the final product and to get it to just the right thickness. Then, comes another time-consuming process, pouring the molasses into the glass jars (which are quite expensive, by the way). Mr. Brown, his dear friend Wilbur Walker, and their friends, neighbors, and helpers make some of the finest molasses I've ever tasted. I appreciate the finished produce even more knowing how much work goes into it.
However, a molasses-making session at Mr. Brown's is not all work by any stretch of the imagination. A lot of good down home fellowship goes on under that cozy shelter beside Mr. Brown's farmhouse in Critz. Typically, Mr. Brown and a whole host of guests (many of whom hear about it on the radio) engage in fascinating conversation, joking, story-telling, and other merry making as the molasses is cooked and skimmed. Perhaps most enjoyable is the feasting that goes on around the fire. The "molasses makers" always bring plenty to eat. Sometimes, Mr. Brown cooks up a big pot of pinto beans and cornbread that is enjoyed by those who stop by. Often, someone will bring a pound cake, a pie, or another dessert to add to the meal. Yes, even though it is hard work, molasses making is a whole lot of fun, and a throw back to the past when neighbors took time to visit and to really enjoy life to its fullest. In these fast-paced, impersonal, and complicated times in which we live, we often neglect the best things of life, like our relationship to others, especially our neighbors. When it comes to good friends and neighbors, Mr. Brown and his friends from Critz and around Patrick County are "thicker than molasses"!
Until next time, may God bless you with a "great day"...one as rich and satisfying as a jar of Mr. Brown's slow-cooked molasses!
Richard
Monday, November 26, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Think to the Thankful!
"I've got so much to thank Him for....God has been so good to me"...so goes a familiar gospel song by one of my favorite groups, the Southern Prophets. Indeed, we all have much for which to be thankful. We have been blessed far beyond what we as imperfect, sinful human beings deserve by a gracious Lord God Almighty who is always willing to grant His children unmerited favor because he loves us far beyond our ability to comprehend.
As I count my blessings this Thanksgiving season, I am grateful first and foremost that Jesus shed his blood on Calvary's cross to free us of the bondage of our sins. I am joyfully thankful too that by faith in Christ I have the hope of enjoying eternity in the paradise of Heaven reunited with loved ones some of whom have already been called home to be with God.
I also express my gratitude for a loving and supportive Christian family, for the many friends who never cease to amaze me by their expressions of loving kindness to me, for the opportunity to be a proud and patriotic American and to live in the most wonderful place among God's creations, Patrick County. I am so thankful too for those courageous soldiers who have been willing to give their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms and the relatively high quality of life that we are blessed with in this country and even more so in this county!
I am thankful to be relatively healthy at age 56 and for the 16-year-old donor who gave his heart a decade ago that I might continue to live when death seemed certain. I am also appreciative of the fact that I am able to work to support myself and to make my living doing what I love to do, radio broadcasting. In that regard, I say 'thank you Lord' for the faithful listeners who tune in to "The Great Day in the Morning Show" every morning and whose encouragement keeps me focused and energized when the stresses and demands of the job make me weary and worn physically and mentally. What a blessing you are! Yes, you, my listeners, are among the many blessings that I am counting this Thanksgiving and always. You are more than just listeners, you are my friends and a part of my family!
I pray that God has blessed each of you as much as He has me. Happy Thanksgiving!
A thankful heart,
Richard
As I count my blessings this Thanksgiving season, I am grateful first and foremost that Jesus shed his blood on Calvary's cross to free us of the bondage of our sins. I am joyfully thankful too that by faith in Christ I have the hope of enjoying eternity in the paradise of Heaven reunited with loved ones some of whom have already been called home to be with God.
I also express my gratitude for a loving and supportive Christian family, for the many friends who never cease to amaze me by their expressions of loving kindness to me, for the opportunity to be a proud and patriotic American and to live in the most wonderful place among God's creations, Patrick County. I am so thankful too for those courageous soldiers who have been willing to give their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms and the relatively high quality of life that we are blessed with in this country and even more so in this county!
I am thankful to be relatively healthy at age 56 and for the 16-year-old donor who gave his heart a decade ago that I might continue to live when death seemed certain. I am also appreciative of the fact that I am able to work to support myself and to make my living doing what I love to do, radio broadcasting. In that regard, I say 'thank you Lord' for the faithful listeners who tune in to "The Great Day in the Morning Show" every morning and whose encouragement keeps me focused and energized when the stresses and demands of the job make me weary and worn physically and mentally. What a blessing you are! Yes, you, my listeners, are among the many blessings that I am counting this Thanksgiving and always. You are more than just listeners, you are my friends and a part of my family!
I pray that God has blessed each of you as much as He has me. Happy Thanksgiving!
A thankful heart,
Richard
Friday, November 16, 2007
Dispelling a Rampant Rumor!
As a veteran of more than 30 years in the broadcast industry and an employee of WHEO Radio, on a non-continuous basis, since I was 16 years old (the year was 1967 when, as a student of the former Stuart High School, I first obtained employment here), I am naturally concerned about the future of this radio station that I love and that has provided me a source of income and a means of making a living for much of my professional life. Having graduated from Virginia Tech in 1973 (working my way through school by coming home on weekends to a job at WHEO), I have also worked for the County of Patrick, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Patrick County Public Schools Division over the years, but I have always found myself coming back home to my beloved native Patrick County when I have lived elsewhere and to this radio station for my employment.
As everyone knows, WHEO Radio is for sale by the current owner. This is a fact! What is NOT a fact, as of this date, Nov. 16, 2007, is the rumor that WHEO has already been sold. That is FALSE!!!! NOT TRUE. A MYTH. A MISSTATEMENT. A TRUTHLESS RUMOR (as most of them are) that I want to put to rest right now. WHEO has NOT BEEN SOLD as of this writing nor is the sale of the station imminent at this time, according to owner Jamie Clark.
Being an employee here, such false rumors that circulate in our community are a bit upsetting to me. I believe that when the station is ultimately sold, the management will have the decency to tell its faithful employees first without us having to hear about it on the street. I suggest that you think first before repeating idle rumors that sometimes are hurtful to persons who have a real stake in the situation at hand, in the case of the radio station or anything else. Relax folks, we will make a public announcement if and when this radio station is sold. WHEO is blessed with dedicated employees, and I am proud to be among them, who work untold hours in a very fast-paced, stressful, and, of late, uncertain environment trying to serve the people of Patrick County that we love as best we can. The major reason why I work at WHEO is that I love the people of Patrick County and, realizing that this community needs this radio station desperately, I want to serve them to be best of my ability providing ACCURATE information and community-oriented programming and entertainment. In light of that dedication, I think it is unfair to the employees of WHEO to hear these false rumors because we deserve to know about the future of our station FIRST!
I am praying that God will bless this radio station and that, no matter who owns WHEO, it will continue to provide community-oriented, local radio programing, and that it will continue to provide employment for me and other dedicated employees who, especially in my case, have much of their lives as well as their livelihoods invested in this great little radio station that is such a treasure to this community.
Until next time, may God bless you with a "great day"!
Think before you speak, shine your heartlight...
Be a beacon for our community,
Richard T. Rogers
As everyone knows, WHEO Radio is for sale by the current owner. This is a fact! What is NOT a fact, as of this date, Nov. 16, 2007, is the rumor that WHEO has already been sold. That is FALSE!!!! NOT TRUE. A MYTH. A MISSTATEMENT. A TRUTHLESS RUMOR (as most of them are) that I want to put to rest right now. WHEO has NOT BEEN SOLD as of this writing nor is the sale of the station imminent at this time, according to owner Jamie Clark.
Being an employee here, such false rumors that circulate in our community are a bit upsetting to me. I believe that when the station is ultimately sold, the management will have the decency to tell its faithful employees first without us having to hear about it on the street. I suggest that you think first before repeating idle rumors that sometimes are hurtful to persons who have a real stake in the situation at hand, in the case of the radio station or anything else. Relax folks, we will make a public announcement if and when this radio station is sold. WHEO is blessed with dedicated employees, and I am proud to be among them, who work untold hours in a very fast-paced, stressful, and, of late, uncertain environment trying to serve the people of Patrick County that we love as best we can. The major reason why I work at WHEO is that I love the people of Patrick County and, realizing that this community needs this radio station desperately, I want to serve them to be best of my ability providing ACCURATE information and community-oriented programming and entertainment. In light of that dedication, I think it is unfair to the employees of WHEO to hear these false rumors because we deserve to know about the future of our station FIRST!
I am praying that God will bless this radio station and that, no matter who owns WHEO, it will continue to provide community-oriented, local radio programing, and that it will continue to provide employment for me and other dedicated employees who, especially in my case, have much of their lives as well as their livelihoods invested in this great little radio station that is such a treasure to this community.
Until next time, may God bless you with a "great day"!
Think before you speak, shine your heartlight...
Be a beacon for our community,
Richard T. Rogers
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Prayer Request
Your prayer requests are always welcome on "The Great Day in the Morning Show," and today I have one of my own. Please raise your hands to Heaven and pray for my stepfather James "Spot" Ray, who is recuperating from a "minor stroke" at Forsyth Memorial Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC. I visited him Sunday (Veterans Day) and he seemed to be doing better. He was alert, without pain, talking normally, and enjoying the care he was getting from the pretty nurses. Lucky guy!
Despite the fact that my stepdad is doing much better, he will remain in the hospital a bit longer for tests. So keep him in your prayers please. If you would like to do so, please send him a get well card. The address is James S. Ray, 603 Salem Highway, Stuart, VA 24171. I am sure he would appreciate your thoughtfulness, and so does the family.
Spot is a great guy! He is a very soft-spoken, gentle Christian man who has his priorities in order. He loves God and puts the Lord first in his life, followed by his beloved family, his church family, and his friends and neighbors. He never has a bad word to say about anyone and always tries to help people as best he can even though in his mid-80s it isn't as easy as it once was. I remember that when my aunt Ruth was living, he carefully and honestly managed the money of my mother Willie Mae Ray's blind sister, Ruth Crannell, making sure that every penny was accounted for and that she had everything she needed. He would go grocery shopping for her once a week, deliver her groceries and put them away for her. That is typical of the thoughtfulness and kindness that are his hallmarks. I wish I had many of his qualities. He has always been a great role model that I try to follow despite the fact that I often fall short of his genuine goodness. I'll keep trying.
In addition to his wonderful personality as a Godly man, Spot is perhaps the best tomato grower in Patrick County. He prides himself on his crop each year and tends to them like a mother nurturing a newborn babe. Some of the other tomato growers in our area consider his tomatoes the benchmark of excellence. To me Spot's 'maders are the best and so is he. God bless him!
Let me also ask that you continue to keep Sheriff David Hubbard in your prayers. Saturday's "Stars of David" benefit at Hardin Reynolds Memorial School in Critz raised over $18,200 (including the more than $5,000 we raised during a WHEO radio-thon for David a week earlier). Benefit organizer Herbert Conner says that when money from several other sources of funds (raffle, etc.) are eventually tallied in the total raised during this benefit will likely reach about $20,000. That is unbelievable. What a great outpouring of love and respect for our unfortunate retiring sheriff who has been seriously ill for many months.
The "Stars of David" Benefit was very well attended. It was a blessing to fellowship with so many caring Patrick Countians who never fail when it comes to assisting the less fortunate and persons in need in our community. I am so proud of the people of Patrick County. No one so lovingly and overwhelmingly responds to calls to help their neighbors like the people of our county. This is a quality that seems to be unique in our community and one that we certainly want to maintain as we seek to serve God by serving others. Thanks Patrick County for so graciously responding to our calls for assistance to help David and Gayna Hubbard and their families meet their tremendous medical bills.
I would like to thank all who made the benefit for David so successful, including Herbert, Tina, and Catherine Conner, the Patrick County Sheriff's Department, members of the benefit organizing committee, businesses that donated merchandise for auction or use at the benefit, the musicians who donated their time and talents (Tammy Newman, the Singing Directors...Kelly, Ruth, and Donald, the Country Boys, One Accord, the Southern Prophets, Cornerstone Grass, and the Conner family, all those who bid on auction items, made donations or any sort, WHEO listeners who raised more than one-quarter of the projected $20,000 Hubbard Benefit fund-raising total in another highly successful radio-thon for Hubbard on Nov. 2nd, the many people who attended the benefit and prayed for its success, and most of all, I thank God for blessing the benefit, and for the opportunity to live in a county where the people are the best in the world. No wonder we call this wonderful place "God's Country."
As we observe Veterans Day, let's all express our heartfelt appreciation to those courageous military men and women who have served and are now serving our country with distinction and who are helping to secure the liberties that we as proud Americans cherish. God bless our Veterans and our great country!
May God bless you with a "great day." Until next time, seize every opportunity to serve others and shine your heartlight on a world filled with darkness...
Be a beacon,
Richard
Despite the fact that my stepdad is doing much better, he will remain in the hospital a bit longer for tests. So keep him in your prayers please. If you would like to do so, please send him a get well card. The address is James S. Ray, 603 Salem Highway, Stuart, VA 24171. I am sure he would appreciate your thoughtfulness, and so does the family.
Spot is a great guy! He is a very soft-spoken, gentle Christian man who has his priorities in order. He loves God and puts the Lord first in his life, followed by his beloved family, his church family, and his friends and neighbors. He never has a bad word to say about anyone and always tries to help people as best he can even though in his mid-80s it isn't as easy as it once was. I remember that when my aunt Ruth was living, he carefully and honestly managed the money of my mother Willie Mae Ray's blind sister, Ruth Crannell, making sure that every penny was accounted for and that she had everything she needed. He would go grocery shopping for her once a week, deliver her groceries and put them away for her. That is typical of the thoughtfulness and kindness that are his hallmarks. I wish I had many of his qualities. He has always been a great role model that I try to follow despite the fact that I often fall short of his genuine goodness. I'll keep trying.
In addition to his wonderful personality as a Godly man, Spot is perhaps the best tomato grower in Patrick County. He prides himself on his crop each year and tends to them like a mother nurturing a newborn babe. Some of the other tomato growers in our area consider his tomatoes the benchmark of excellence. To me Spot's 'maders are the best and so is he. God bless him!
Let me also ask that you continue to keep Sheriff David Hubbard in your prayers. Saturday's "Stars of David" benefit at Hardin Reynolds Memorial School in Critz raised over $18,200 (including the more than $5,000 we raised during a WHEO radio-thon for David a week earlier). Benefit organizer Herbert Conner says that when money from several other sources of funds (raffle, etc.) are eventually tallied in the total raised during this benefit will likely reach about $20,000. That is unbelievable. What a great outpouring of love and respect for our unfortunate retiring sheriff who has been seriously ill for many months.
The "Stars of David" Benefit was very well attended. It was a blessing to fellowship with so many caring Patrick Countians who never fail when it comes to assisting the less fortunate and persons in need in our community. I am so proud of the people of Patrick County. No one so lovingly and overwhelmingly responds to calls to help their neighbors like the people of our county. This is a quality that seems to be unique in our community and one that we certainly want to maintain as we seek to serve God by serving others. Thanks Patrick County for so graciously responding to our calls for assistance to help David and Gayna Hubbard and their families meet their tremendous medical bills.
I would like to thank all who made the benefit for David so successful, including Herbert, Tina, and Catherine Conner, the Patrick County Sheriff's Department, members of the benefit organizing committee, businesses that donated merchandise for auction or use at the benefit, the musicians who donated their time and talents (Tammy Newman, the Singing Directors...Kelly, Ruth, and Donald, the Country Boys, One Accord, the Southern Prophets, Cornerstone Grass, and the Conner family, all those who bid on auction items, made donations or any sort, WHEO listeners who raised more than one-quarter of the projected $20,000 Hubbard Benefit fund-raising total in another highly successful radio-thon for Hubbard on Nov. 2nd, the many people who attended the benefit and prayed for its success, and most of all, I thank God for blessing the benefit, and for the opportunity to live in a county where the people are the best in the world. No wonder we call this wonderful place "God's Country."
As we observe Veterans Day, let's all express our heartfelt appreciation to those courageous military men and women who have served and are now serving our country with distinction and who are helping to secure the liberties that we as proud Americans cherish. God bless our Veterans and our great country!
May God bless you with a "great day." Until next time, seize every opportunity to serve others and shine your heartlight on a world filled with darkness...
Be a beacon,
Richard
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Patrick Countians: Neighbors Helping Neighbors!
On Friday, Nov. 2nd, Patrick Countians again demonstrated that they are the most caring, concerned, and compassionate people on the planet! In less than 2 hours, the faithful listeners of WHEO's "The Great Day in the Morning Show" graciously responded to my requests for assistance for a neighbor and friend in need by donating and pledging more than $5,000 to help defray the astronomical medical bills of Patrick County Sheriff David Hubbard who has been forced into retirement by an unfortunate illness. Remarkably that amounts to more than $2,500 per hour that was donated to this very worthy cause.
What is even more remarkable is the fact that county citizens magnificently responded to this call for help, even though gasoline prices are soaring again, country taxes are due in about a month, Christmas shopping season is about to begin in earnest, and economic times are still tough in our community. That speaks volumes about the good heartedness, brotherly love, and genuine humanitarian concern of the trusty people of this place we lovingly call home, our Patrick County. It also shows the respect that the people of our county have for Sheriff Hubbard and their gratitude for his efforts to protect our lives and property as the county's chief law enforcement officer for many years. It is wonderful to see people put aside politics and to come together in unity when their is a need in the community to be met.
I am sure that God will bless many times over each one who contributed their hard-earned dollars to make this the latest in a continuing series of successful radio fund-raising efforts on WHEO over the past 40 years. Tens and even into the hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised for many deserving causes through these radio-thons on WHEO, and the loving citizens of this very unique county are to be commended for making it happen! I am proud of each and every one of you for your support as we seek to help to address needs in our community through our radio station. Thank you from the depths of my heart!
As the WHEO radio fundraiser aired on Friday, Sheriff Hubbard continued to receive tests and to be treated for his very serious illness at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville. Members of the Patrick County Sheriff's Department who spoke with him and his wife Gayna during the weekend said that the Hubbards are very touched and most grateful for the love and support show them by their neighbors and fellow Patrick Countians. They were amazed at the magnitude of the efforts being made to assist them in these troubled times in their lives. David, Gayna, and their families would like to sincerely thank you all for your loving kindness, Patrick County.
If you have not yet honored your pledge, please bring your donation to our WHEO studios or take it to Naomi Pilson at the Patrick County Sheriff's Department or mail it to: Naomi Pilson, 202 Bob Kat Lane, Stuart, VA 24171. The $5,050 total raised on WHEO's "Commuity Conversation" Friday will serve as a good start for the community-wide "Stars for DAvid" Benefit for Sheriff Hubbard that will be held Sat., Nov. 10th from 1-8 P.M. at Hardin Reynolds Memorial School in Critz. The event will feature auctions (regular and silent), raffles, the acceptance of donations, and live entertainment by the Patrick County High School Praise and Worship Team, Tammy Newman, The Singing Directors, Kelly and Ruth Ratcliff, the Country Boys, One Accord, the Southern Prophets, Cornerstone Grass, and Tina, Herbert, and Catherine Conner, who, with the assistance of David's co-workers at the Sheriff's Department and many friends, are leading the effort to organize the benefit. Please plan now to come out and support this tremendous fundraising benefit and enjoy the entertainment, fellowship and food (hotdogs, chips, desserts, drinks...and, oh yeah, Richard's pinto beans (there'll be plenty, we have a hundred pounds on hand).
Let's keep praying for Sheriff Hubbard and his family and plan to attend his benefit on Saturday in the HRMS multi-purpose room. For more information, call me at 694-3388 or the Conners at 694-4578. And thanks again for the heartwarming experience during Friday's radio-thon! I am so deeply touched by the goodness and graciousness of the dear folks who inhabit "God's Country," our dear country of Patrick!
Until next time, may God bless you with a "great day"! Help light a world full of darkness...
be a beacon!
Taking pride in Patrick,
Richard
What is even more remarkable is the fact that county citizens magnificently responded to this call for help, even though gasoline prices are soaring again, country taxes are due in about a month, Christmas shopping season is about to begin in earnest, and economic times are still tough in our community. That speaks volumes about the good heartedness, brotherly love, and genuine humanitarian concern of the trusty people of this place we lovingly call home, our Patrick County. It also shows the respect that the people of our county have for Sheriff Hubbard and their gratitude for his efforts to protect our lives and property as the county's chief law enforcement officer for many years. It is wonderful to see people put aside politics and to come together in unity when their is a need in the community to be met.
I am sure that God will bless many times over each one who contributed their hard-earned dollars to make this the latest in a continuing series of successful radio fund-raising efforts on WHEO over the past 40 years. Tens and even into the hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised for many deserving causes through these radio-thons on WHEO, and the loving citizens of this very unique county are to be commended for making it happen! I am proud of each and every one of you for your support as we seek to help to address needs in our community through our radio station. Thank you from the depths of my heart!
As the WHEO radio fundraiser aired on Friday, Sheriff Hubbard continued to receive tests and to be treated for his very serious illness at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville. Members of the Patrick County Sheriff's Department who spoke with him and his wife Gayna during the weekend said that the Hubbards are very touched and most grateful for the love and support show them by their neighbors and fellow Patrick Countians. They were amazed at the magnitude of the efforts being made to assist them in these troubled times in their lives. David, Gayna, and their families would like to sincerely thank you all for your loving kindness, Patrick County.
If you have not yet honored your pledge, please bring your donation to our WHEO studios or take it to Naomi Pilson at the Patrick County Sheriff's Department or mail it to: Naomi Pilson, 202 Bob Kat Lane, Stuart, VA 24171. The $5,050 total raised on WHEO's "Commuity Conversation" Friday will serve as a good start for the community-wide "Stars for DAvid" Benefit for Sheriff Hubbard that will be held Sat., Nov. 10th from 1-8 P.M. at Hardin Reynolds Memorial School in Critz. The event will feature auctions (regular and silent), raffles, the acceptance of donations, and live entertainment by the Patrick County High School Praise and Worship Team, Tammy Newman, The Singing Directors, Kelly and Ruth Ratcliff, the Country Boys, One Accord, the Southern Prophets, Cornerstone Grass, and Tina, Herbert, and Catherine Conner, who, with the assistance of David's co-workers at the Sheriff's Department and many friends, are leading the effort to organize the benefit. Please plan now to come out and support this tremendous fundraising benefit and enjoy the entertainment, fellowship and food (hotdogs, chips, desserts, drinks...and, oh yeah, Richard's pinto beans (there'll be plenty, we have a hundred pounds on hand).
Let's keep praying for Sheriff Hubbard and his family and plan to attend his benefit on Saturday in the HRMS multi-purpose room. For more information, call me at 694-3388 or the Conners at 694-4578. And thanks again for the heartwarming experience during Friday's radio-thon! I am so deeply touched by the goodness and graciousness of the dear folks who inhabit "God's Country," our dear country of Patrick!
Until next time, may God bless you with a "great day"! Help light a world full of darkness...
be a beacon!
Taking pride in Patrick,
Richard
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
