SATURDAY, JANUARY 30TH, 7:30 PM FANNIN COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER   

The Thomason’s have been delighting audiences with their songs and stories of the Appalachian mountains for almost thirty years. Bob plays the mountain dulcimer, old time banjo and guitar, while Melody adds her wonderful clear voice to the music. Bob Thomason is an accomplished musician, storyteller and lecturer and has been making and playing fine Appalachian dulcimers since 1981. He’s performed at festivals and folk music gatherings all over the Southeast and held dulcimer building workshops from Maine to Florida.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SONGS & STORIES

1.  Are tickets required?  The event is free and no tickets required because the auditorium seats around 700.  There will be a free will offering to cover rent of the space, sound engineer, and other costs.

2.  Will my GPS know the way to this Performing Arts Center?  Just in case the all-knowing voice fails, coming north into Blue Ridge on Highway 515, turn right at first traffic light (the intersection where you see June Walker Chevrolet).  Very soon on that road you will see the sign for Fannin County High School on your right, turn there and you will see the Performing Arts Center on your left.  Turn left at the top of the hill and there will be plenty of parking in front of the Center.

3.  Where should we eat and spend the night?  There are too many great restaurants to list here and likewise many B & B’s, hotels, and cabins to rent for the weekend.  We suggest calling the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce 706-632-5680 or getting on their website www.blueridgemountains.com to choose where to stay and eat.      

KOHL’S CARES ABOUT CRADDOCK KIDS  

I am truly not much of a shopper, but when Kohl’s Department Store opened about fifty miles south of Cherry Log, I got excited.  A North Carolina educator friend had suggested checking out Kohl’s books and stuffed animals and had donated a number of them to The Craddock Center before  we even had a Kohl’s.  On my first trip to Kohl’s, there inside the front door I was greeted by smiling cats sitting beside stacks of Dr. Seuss books.  After telling the store manager about the Children’s Enrichment Program with the mission to help build the foundation for literacy in Head Start/Pre-K children in nine nearby counties, she said, “Wait here,” and disappeared.

After a few minutes she came out with a huge dolly loaded with bags of animals straight from Mr. McGrew’s Zoo!  And before Christmas she gave us enough books for all the kids we serve in the Children’s Enrichment Program in Polk County, Tennessee, as well as Murphy, Hiawassee Dam, Ranger, and Andrews, North Carolina.  Hundreds of Kohl’s monkeys also went to Dawsonville, Ga. Head Start/Pre-K and the North Carolina schools.  These animals and books are happy to have a home now and the recipients are even happier! - TLS

NEW YEAR BRINGS NEW LOGO  

January is a time of fresh starts, renewed commitments and excited energy as we begin a new year. As I reviewed 2009 there are many memorable places in the outreach of The Craddock Center where happiness and hope abounded. I feel a sense of hope every time I enter Head Start/Pre-K Centers to observe the Children’s Enrichment Program; or when new books are given to children on the Story Express; when smiles cover the faces of children as they receive a wooden toy or stuffed animal; when the gate opens at the storage facility and the next family to receive furniture drives in. I experience a sense of happy when the person on the phone who has requested utility assistance hears we can help; when folks are enjoying our cultural enrichment programs; when we can help in an emergency with a sick child’s prescription; when we hand the keys of a donated car to its new owner; when 150 preachers come from many parts of the country to a Preaching Workshop in Cherry Log. The Craddock Center board went through a branding process in the fall. Out of that process the new logo came to life reflecting the passion and emotion of all that The Craddock Center does---a constant reminder of our mission to enrich the lives of others:  Happy & Hope.  We Deliver.  - TLS 

THE BARN IS NOW GONE     

But the story continues. The barn looked like dozens of other barns in southern Ohio: shelter for animals, stalls for milking, safe places for new born calves. Storage for harness and tools, and a loft for hay. It was the loft that set this barn apart. One summer day a teenage boy stopped at the farm looking for food and shelter. “I don’t ask for wages; I’ll work for my food and I’ll sleep in the barn.” It was agreed. And so every evening after supper, the boy climbed up into the loft. There he slept and dreamed of a future, determined not to be denied a future simply because he was poor. One evening, lying in the hay and waiting for sleep to come, he took out his pocket knife and carved his initials on the rafter overhead. I don’t know how long he worked there, nor do I know how many years passed before the farmer noticed the carving. Nor do I know when and by whom the section of rafter containing the carved initials was carefully removed and taken away. I do know the initials: J.A.G., James A. Garfield, twentieth president of the United States. Soon you should begin to check your barn lofts. You see, there are graduates of Head Start and our Children’s Enrichment Program who are now thirteen years old. One of them may stop by your place looking for work, any kind of work. If you can, say Yes, but even if you can’t, he or she will move on, determined not to be denied a future simply because they are poor. — FBC  

JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS        

Tammy and I had a lovely surprise in December when a man called to volunteer.  We didn't recognize his name, but he said he knew we had the Story Express and he'd like to volunteer help that program.  Now it is unusual to have a volunteer call and want to come that same day.  But we were thrilled with his offer because we were scrambling at that point to make sure all the books we needed for the almost daily school visits were processed. It turned out this man is the father of two children in Head Start/Pre-K in Fannin County.  Just the day before he had been at the school for the Children's Enrichment Program holiday parent's gathering.  After the program they came out to the Story Express and he and his wife had watched as their kids excitedly got on the van to select their books and wooden toys.  He is currently unemployed and while looking for a job is volunteering.  He said he was so grateful for what The Craddock Center has offered his children that he wanted to give back while he had the time.  He also has volunteered to be a driver for the Story Express and to help with the furniture pickup and delivery.  He just wanted to say thanks! - TLS  

HATS ENOUGH           

During the first week of January we have had relentless freezing temperature. This morning at 21 degrees it feels like a veritable heat wave.  According to folks who have lived in Cherry Log their entire lives, the ponds that have never frozen completely will soon be ready for ice skating.  Even running water in creeks and lakes has thick ice along the sides.  It is pretty, but without a hat it is pretty miserable!  Many times this week I have thought about the generosity of one of the friends of The Craddock Center who made twenty-two beautiful warm hats for the preschool children at the Gilmer Head Start/Pre-K in Ellijay, where she lives. She was thinking she had made enough hats for each child in one of the eleven classrooms.  But when the Director saw these colorful, warm hats she quickly responded, “Oh my goodness, how did she know this is exactly what we needed for those children without hats!?  They will just appear discreetly in their backpacks today with a note to their parents that this hat is a gift from the hat angel.”  Happy & hope Nancy definitely delivered! - TLS     

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, January 30, 2010—Songs & Stories Appalachian Style—with Bob and Melody Thomason weaving dulcimer music, songs, and stories at 7:30 p.m. at Fannin County High School, Performing Arts Center Monday, March 1, 2010—Spring Preaching Workshop—9:00 a.m.–1 p.m. at Cherry Log Christian Church with Dr. Gene Lowry presenting—No charge, but reservations required at craddockcenter@tds.net Friday, March 5, 2010—Sixth Annual Helen Lewis Lecture. Silas House, Appalachian novelist, musician and environmental activist will be the guest lecturer, 7:00 p.m. Free admission with location to be announced soon.