As the Patrick County High School football, volleyball, and golf teams begin their seasons, many citizens are working to generate public support for PCHS athletics and to raise funds to benefit the high school. These groups should be commended for their work to raise our community's "Cougar Consciousness", a spirit of community support and pride in our PCHS teams.
This enthusiasm for PCHS athletics was apparent Friday night as the Patrick County High School Alumni Association hosted a tailgate party before the Cougars took on cross-the-border rival North Stokes High in a preseason game that served as a tune-up for this Friday night's regular season opener against Carroll County at home. "We're here looking for another great season (last year the PCHS football team finished as the Piedmont District runner-up and went to the regionals)," said Rickie Fulcher, President of the PCHS Alumni Association, adding, "we're excited to be here and be a part of it."
"We're staying busy," said Fulcher, noting that the PCHS Alumni Association, formed just a couple of years ago, is conducting fund-raisers for various PCHS projects. The alumni organization has already raised money to provide scholarships, upgrade the sound system at John D. Hooker Field, and to install a utility shed at the field. The group's main project now is to raise money for renovation of the PCHS auditorium, an ambitious $100,000 project that is being supported by other groups in the community including the Patrick County Partnership for the Arts.
As part of the fund-raising activities, the Patrick County Cattlemen's Association served steak sandwiches at the tailgate party and the PCHS Alumni Association served hotdogs and hamburgers during Friday night's 59-22 victory by the Cougars over North Stokes in a scrimmage game for the Cougars and an official regular season game for the Vikings.
"We want everyone to think of us as an organization that's here to help other organizations," said Fulcher of the PCHS Alumni Association. For more information, visit www.patrickalumni.com.
"There seems to be a lot of community involvement now," said Fulcher with regard to work being done by the alumni association and other groups to support the Cougars academic and scholastic programs and our public schools in general.
Another key supporter that is raising "Cougar Consciousness" is the newly-renamed Patrick County High School Cougar Club (formerly the Athletic Boosters Club) which is guided by Kelly Witt. I am scheduled to interview Kelly and the school system's new activitities director Todd Purdham this week.
In his newly-created position, Mr. Purdham will oversee the PCHS athletic program and serve as the coordinator of athletics throughout the Patrick County Public School System, working closely with Recreation Director Clyde Crissman.
Always know as a baseball power, the Patrick County High School athletic program, fueled by rising "Cougar Consciousness" in the community, is emerging as comprehensive, well balanced operation that fields teams and individual athletes that are highly competitive in all sports.
Be a "Cougar Conscious" cheerleader! I urge you to don your green and gold and come out Friday night, Aug. 29th, to cheer for the Cougars as they go against a touch Carroll County team in their regular season and home football opener. Go Cougars!!!
Until next time, may God bless you with a "great day"!
Richard Rogers,
A proud Patrick patriot
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Where's the Beef?
Clara Peller, the little old lady who gained fame in the 1984 advertising campaign for Wendy's Restaurant in which she inquired "Where's the Beef?", would have exclaimed "Eureka" (Greek for "I have found it.") if she had visited Salem United Methodist Church in Patrick County Saturday night (8/16/08). Grilled to savory perfection by chef Wilbur Walker of Critz, the beef was in plentiful supply at Salem's annual $25 per person steak dinner.
Pastor Sarah Doss and the congregation of the beautiful 182-year-old little country church welcomed a large crowd of hungry patrons that filled the church fellowship hall to near capacity during much of the 2 and 1/2-hour dinner. What a lovely church and a friendly bunch of members.
My friend Wilbur Walker told me that he and assistants Chris Caviness and Tom Doss, the pastor's husband, grilled more than 125 steaks that were cooked to order by each of the people who enjoyed the feast. The tender, juicy steaks were huge 1 and 1/4 inch hunks of expertly grilled meat 'dripping with love' and bursting with flavor, and were served with baked potato, 7 layer salad, apple and pineapple casserole, Texas toast, team, lemonade, coffee, and a wide variety of desserts including coconut pie, banana pudding, pecan pie, and many more. The meal was well worth the wait as chefs sought to grill every steak to the exact doneness requested by each customer, many of whom come to this event year after year.
In addition to grilling an excellent steak, Wilbur Walker is also widely noted for the blackpot chicken that is another of his signature dishes. He and the Patrick Springs Ruritans cook up to 800 pounds of blackpot chicken each fall at the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival at Ferrum College. Wilbur also teams up with his dear friend and mine Clyde Brown, WHEO's Critz weather spotter, to make molasses from the cane that they raise each autumn. "He's a pretty good cook," said Mr. Brown of his pal Wilbur.
Wilbur enjoys cooking at the church dinners that Salem United Methodist Church holds regularly. Each of these nearly monthly dinners is planned around a central theme...Tex-Mex, Puerto Rican, Italian, etc. Wilbur has been cooking since the mid-1970s when he learned to make blackpot chicken from his uncle in Franklin County. A member since he came here from Franklin County in 1974, Wilbur finds great joy in being a member of Salem United Methodist Church. "There is a lot of love here," said Walker, adding boastfully "we have the best cooks in Patrick County." After enjoying one of Wilbur's mouth-watering steaks Saturday night, he may not have been just 'shootin' the bull' when he made that tongue-in-cheek claim!
Thanks to Pastor Sarah Doss and everyone at Salem United Methodist Church for your gracious hospitality. Special thanks to my buddy Wilbur Walker who always brings me back blackpot chicken from Ferrum each year and remembers me in many other kind ways. Wilbur gave me a free ticket to Saturday night's dinner which I appreciate very much. I must say, though, that I worked for my meal because, like most places I go on weekends, right after I eat, I am transformed into "Richard on the Road" doing interviews and gathering information for my radio news features. My Saturday night visit to the steak dinner at one of Patrick County's oldest churches resulted in a 3-part series of "Richard on the Road" reports titled "Salem United Methodist Church: a Praying Church" (and, as Pastor Doss says, "an Eating Church") that will air this week.
Until next time, may God bless you with a great day!
At your service with love :O),
Richard
Pastor Sarah Doss and the congregation of the beautiful 182-year-old little country church welcomed a large crowd of hungry patrons that filled the church fellowship hall to near capacity during much of the 2 and 1/2-hour dinner. What a lovely church and a friendly bunch of members.
My friend Wilbur Walker told me that he and assistants Chris Caviness and Tom Doss, the pastor's husband, grilled more than 125 steaks that were cooked to order by each of the people who enjoyed the feast. The tender, juicy steaks were huge 1 and 1/4 inch hunks of expertly grilled meat 'dripping with love' and bursting with flavor, and were served with baked potato, 7 layer salad, apple and pineapple casserole, Texas toast, team, lemonade, coffee, and a wide variety of desserts including coconut pie, banana pudding, pecan pie, and many more. The meal was well worth the wait as chefs sought to grill every steak to the exact doneness requested by each customer, many of whom come to this event year after year.
In addition to grilling an excellent steak, Wilbur Walker is also widely noted for the blackpot chicken that is another of his signature dishes. He and the Patrick Springs Ruritans cook up to 800 pounds of blackpot chicken each fall at the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival at Ferrum College. Wilbur also teams up with his dear friend and mine Clyde Brown, WHEO's Critz weather spotter, to make molasses from the cane that they raise each autumn. "He's a pretty good cook," said Mr. Brown of his pal Wilbur.
Wilbur enjoys cooking at the church dinners that Salem United Methodist Church holds regularly. Each of these nearly monthly dinners is planned around a central theme...Tex-Mex, Puerto Rican, Italian, etc. Wilbur has been cooking since the mid-1970s when he learned to make blackpot chicken from his uncle in Franklin County. A member since he came here from Franklin County in 1974, Wilbur finds great joy in being a member of Salem United Methodist Church. "There is a lot of love here," said Walker, adding boastfully "we have the best cooks in Patrick County." After enjoying one of Wilbur's mouth-watering steaks Saturday night, he may not have been just 'shootin' the bull' when he made that tongue-in-cheek claim!
Thanks to Pastor Sarah Doss and everyone at Salem United Methodist Church for your gracious hospitality. Special thanks to my buddy Wilbur Walker who always brings me back blackpot chicken from Ferrum each year and remembers me in many other kind ways. Wilbur gave me a free ticket to Saturday night's dinner which I appreciate very much. I must say, though, that I worked for my meal because, like most places I go on weekends, right after I eat, I am transformed into "Richard on the Road" doing interviews and gathering information for my radio news features. My Saturday night visit to the steak dinner at one of Patrick County's oldest churches resulted in a 3-part series of "Richard on the Road" reports titled "Salem United Methodist Church: a Praying Church" (and, as Pastor Doss says, "an Eating Church") that will air this week.
Until next time, may God bless you with a great day!
At your service with love :O),
Richard
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Congratulations Wood Brothers!
Congratulations to the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team! After struggling for much of the season and failing to make the field for several races for the first time in their storied history, apparently the team is turning its season around. With promising young Australian driver Marcos Ambrose behind the wheel, the Wood Brothers' no. 21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion finished a remarkable third in the Sprint Cup road course race at Watkins Glenn, N.Y., on Sun., Aug. 10th.
It was one of the team's best finishes in years. The last victory for Wood Brothers Racing was in 2001 at Bristol with Elliott Sadler behind the wheel.
What was even more remarkable about this top 5 run was that Ambrose, who started dead last, worked his way through the field from the 43rd positon to finish 3rd in just his third Sprint Cup race. Ambrose is a "road racer extraordinaire," said one ESPN announcer after Sunday's Spring Cup race. The strong run in the Wood Brothers Ford was part of a great weekend for Ambrose. Driving for another team, he piloted the STP Ford to victory in Saturday's Nationwide Series race, his first NASCR victory.
Sunday's performance marked the second week in a row that the Wood Brothers have been very competitive. Bill Elliott drove the Wood Brothers entry to a 20th place finish in the Spring Cup race at Pocono Speedway on Aug. 3rd.
It looks like the team's hard work is paying off and its run of bad luck in recent years is turning around! Again congratulations to Wood Brothers Brothers racing on their recent success. Even though the team was forced to move from its Stuart shop to the Charlotte, N.C., area several years ago in an effort to remain competitive, members of the team still call Stuart and Patrick County home and maintain residences here. I see Glenn and Bernice Wood of Stuart and other family members in the Coffee Break quite often. As pioneers of the sport of auto racing, the Wood Brothers have done much to promote our community and I extend my personal appreciation and congratulations.
It was one of the team's best finishes in years. The last victory for Wood Brothers Racing was in 2001 at Bristol with Elliott Sadler behind the wheel.
What was even more remarkable about this top 5 run was that Ambrose, who started dead last, worked his way through the field from the 43rd positon to finish 3rd in just his third Sprint Cup race. Ambrose is a "road racer extraordinaire," said one ESPN announcer after Sunday's Spring Cup race. The strong run in the Wood Brothers Ford was part of a great weekend for Ambrose. Driving for another team, he piloted the STP Ford to victory in Saturday's Nationwide Series race, his first NASCR victory.
Sunday's performance marked the second week in a row that the Wood Brothers have been very competitive. Bill Elliott drove the Wood Brothers entry to a 20th place finish in the Spring Cup race at Pocono Speedway on Aug. 3rd.
It looks like the team's hard work is paying off and its run of bad luck in recent years is turning around! Again congratulations to Wood Brothers Brothers racing on their recent success. Even though the team was forced to move from its Stuart shop to the Charlotte, N.C., area several years ago in an effort to remain competitive, members of the team still call Stuart and Patrick County home and maintain residences here. I see Glenn and Bernice Wood of Stuart and other family members in the Coffee Break quite often. As pioneers of the sport of auto racing, the Wood Brothers have done much to promote our community and I extend my personal appreciation and congratulations.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Food, Fellowship, and Fund-Raising Go Together!
Let's fact it. We live in a relatively poor county where fund-raising by dedicated volunteers helps to generate many of the funds needed by many community organizations in order to serve our citizens. We are certainly blessed by the spirit of volunteerism and the let's-get it done attitude of citizens that pervades our county. In that regard, a healthy combination of food, fellowship, and fund-raising are a common weekend activity for Patrick County churches, clubs, civic, and community organizations. This past Saturday, for example, 3 Methodist churches in Patrick County conducted events of this sort, and "Richard on the Road," a hungry Baptist, attended all of them.
My first stop, shortly after 8 a.m., was at Providence United Methodist Church which serves breakfast to the public on the first Saturday each month to raise dollars for the church building fund. I was warmly greeted by Pastor David Westmoreland and members of the congregatoin, who served a mouth-watering home-cooked breakfast (complete with eggs, sausage, biscuits, 2 kinds of gravy-regular and Kevin Polachek's spicy "Northern" version, apples, blueberry bancakes, coffee, juice, jellies, and jams). The church does not charge but accepts donations from their patrons after they've enjoyed their meal. Why, if your put a $20 bill in the basket, it would still be a bargain for this breakfast along with all of the good fellowship that goes with it.
Pastor David pointed out that this event is part of the church's outreach ministry, noting that it had just hosted as special guests the Adam Willard family of 5 that lost its mobile home in a fire last week and is residing temporarily in the Penny House in Patrick Springs. I commend the "church with the big red doors," as I often call it, for its community-mindedness, hospitality, and an excellent breakfast.
After my breakfast wore off several hours later, I decided to have a lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs with my friends at Concord United Methodist Churchh, site of a Saturday morning yard and bake sale. Sure Concord is famous for its delicious homemade ice cream, but members of this little country church are as good on the grill as they are with the ice cream freezer. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived around midday, a heavy thunderstorm had abruptly forced curtailment of this fund-raiser. Although I didn't get lunch, I did get a news story! Senior member Jesse Mae Vernon and her grandson Keith Vernon told me that Saturday's fund-raiser had been planned to raise money for a new project in the church's outreach ministry. Members of the church are preparing packages that will be sent to our troops abroad (especially those from Patrick County) later this month. Jesse Mae and Keith said the church wants to let our soldiers know that they are loved and supported back at home. I commend Concord United Methodist Church for this wonderful effort to reach out to our troops on foreign battlefronts with loving kindness. Let's all keep America's soldiers and military personnel in our constant prayers! By the way, my Concord friends, I'll take a rain check on the lunch I missed! :O)
My third and final church visit of the day came Saturday evening when I attended the 14th annual Pig Pickin' and Gospel Singing, a summertime tradition at New Hope United Methodist Church. Member Henry Ayers said the event offers wholesome family entertainment and raises money for the church's Lord's Acre fund. Member Shirley Collins added that although the crowd was off a little this year, the event attracted a large number of hungry people. I'll say! Here's proof! By the time I got in line for a take-out about 2 1/2 hours after serving had begun, all of Burton Conner's barbecue...200 pounds of it...had been consumed by the ravenous crowd...every bit of it! Thus, for the second time that day, uncharacteristically, I had missed a meal! Fortunately, for me, however, I'd eaten earlier that afternoon at the annual volunteer appreciation banquet for Patrick Share and the Patrick County Community Food Bank (I commend the volunteers of these organizations). What a spread...barbecued chicken, regular barbecue, barbecue with mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, roles, coleslaw, sweet tea, and coconut pie and pound cake for dessert.
Still I missed two out of the three church meals that I attended. Oh well, I'll have many more opportunities in months to come to indulge as Patrick County churches, clubs, civic, and community organizations offer food, fun, and fellowship to aid in their very worthy fund-raising efforts.
Until next time, you have all of my love and a prayer that God will bless you with a "great day"!
Your "Great Day in the Morning Show" host,
Richard
My first stop, shortly after 8 a.m., was at Providence United Methodist Church which serves breakfast to the public on the first Saturday each month to raise dollars for the church building fund. I was warmly greeted by Pastor David Westmoreland and members of the congregatoin, who served a mouth-watering home-cooked breakfast (complete with eggs, sausage, biscuits, 2 kinds of gravy-regular and Kevin Polachek's spicy "Northern" version, apples, blueberry bancakes, coffee, juice, jellies, and jams). The church does not charge but accepts donations from their patrons after they've enjoyed their meal. Why, if your put a $20 bill in the basket, it would still be a bargain for this breakfast along with all of the good fellowship that goes with it.
Pastor David pointed out that this event is part of the church's outreach ministry, noting that it had just hosted as special guests the Adam Willard family of 5 that lost its mobile home in a fire last week and is residing temporarily in the Penny House in Patrick Springs. I commend the "church with the big red doors," as I often call it, for its community-mindedness, hospitality, and an excellent breakfast.
After my breakfast wore off several hours later, I decided to have a lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs with my friends at Concord United Methodist Churchh, site of a Saturday morning yard and bake sale. Sure Concord is famous for its delicious homemade ice cream, but members of this little country church are as good on the grill as they are with the ice cream freezer. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived around midday, a heavy thunderstorm had abruptly forced curtailment of this fund-raiser. Although I didn't get lunch, I did get a news story! Senior member Jesse Mae Vernon and her grandson Keith Vernon told me that Saturday's fund-raiser had been planned to raise money for a new project in the church's outreach ministry. Members of the church are preparing packages that will be sent to our troops abroad (especially those from Patrick County) later this month. Jesse Mae and Keith said the church wants to let our soldiers know that they are loved and supported back at home. I commend Concord United Methodist Church for this wonderful effort to reach out to our troops on foreign battlefronts with loving kindness. Let's all keep America's soldiers and military personnel in our constant prayers! By the way, my Concord friends, I'll take a rain check on the lunch I missed! :O)
My third and final church visit of the day came Saturday evening when I attended the 14th annual Pig Pickin' and Gospel Singing, a summertime tradition at New Hope United Methodist Church. Member Henry Ayers said the event offers wholesome family entertainment and raises money for the church's Lord's Acre fund. Member Shirley Collins added that although the crowd was off a little this year, the event attracted a large number of hungry people. I'll say! Here's proof! By the time I got in line for a take-out about 2 1/2 hours after serving had begun, all of Burton Conner's barbecue...200 pounds of it...had been consumed by the ravenous crowd...every bit of it! Thus, for the second time that day, uncharacteristically, I had missed a meal! Fortunately, for me, however, I'd eaten earlier that afternoon at the annual volunteer appreciation banquet for Patrick Share and the Patrick County Community Food Bank (I commend the volunteers of these organizations). What a spread...barbecued chicken, regular barbecue, barbecue with mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, roles, coleslaw, sweet tea, and coconut pie and pound cake for dessert.
Still I missed two out of the three church meals that I attended. Oh well, I'll have many more opportunities in months to come to indulge as Patrick County churches, clubs, civic, and community organizations offer food, fun, and fellowship to aid in their very worthy fund-raising efforts.
Until next time, you have all of my love and a prayer that God will bless you with a "great day"!
Your "Great Day in the Morning Show" host,
Richard
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