ReleaseWire Connect

First Law of Survival: “Whatever comes out of these gates, we’ve got a better chance of survival if we work together. Do you understand? If we stay together we survive.” Russell Crowe

Notes on Quotes: “I have known a life of sorrow, I have borne a heavy load,…Soon the hill will be ascended; It is only One Step More.” Jere Hoar, Body Parts, New York Times Book Review Notable Book

Notes on Quotes: "We are dangerously close to becoming an outsourced nation." Gordon Mercer and Marcia Mercer

Notes on Quotes: “What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What happened to the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? In many ways we have lost our compass and we don’t know if we are coming are going. Where have all the leaders gone?” Lee Iacocca

Law of the Local Church: “The local church is the hope of the world, and its future rests primarily in the hands of its leaders.”

Things did not look good for George Washington. The year was 1777 during the time of the American Revolution. The Valley Forge winter was harsh with over 2,400 of the troops stationed there dying of disease and hunger. Soldiers were mostly volunteers and often left to take care of matters back home. Armaments and weapons were lacking and food was scarce. Washington remarked that the path to their winter camp at Valley Forge was covered with the blood of troops without boots or clothing.

Notes on Quotes: “Failure is taking the path everyone else does; success is making your own path.” unknown author

Graduate with Honor and Distinction: In 1928 our Pi Gamma Mu Honorary President, Rear Admiral Richard Byrd, carried our Pi Gamma Mu flag to the Antartic in his famous exploration trip of adventure because he believed in honoring outstanding students. Today we are celebrating 86 years of honoring outstanding students!

Notes on Quotes: “Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. It comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.” John Wayne

Shirley Ridge was a founding board member of the Folk Heritage Association of Macon County. Shirley is no longer living but her words remind us that heritage is a living thing. Our Appalachian folk heritage comes alive every year at the Franklin Folk Festival, an event we recently covered in our column in the Franklin Press in Franklin, North Carolina. We come together with the practitioners of our region’s crafts, music, dance, food, artists and literature and feel a certain homecoming as we experience traditions passed down over many generations.