Opinion

Opinion Column: ‘Thank you for telling me NO!’

Dink NeSmith
Thursday, September 21, 2023
My people were storytellers. I grew up listening.    I can still hear their voices: Big Dink, Mother, Nanny, Uncle Billy, Aunt Sue, Aunt Lillie, Uncle James and Uncle Johnny. And there was one of my beloved mentors, Dr. J.W. Fanning (1905-1997).    We’d go for drives in the country.

Editorial Opinion: Thumbs Up

News Staff
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Thumbs up for reporters   On the back page of this edition, you’ll see an advertisement for The Oglethorpe Echo.  The headline reads “Telling Oglethorpe County’s story since 1874!”   Yes, that’s what your community’s newspaper has been doing for soon-to-be 150 years.
The Oglethorpe Echo

The Oglethorpe Echo

Opinion Column: Thumbs up and down

Dink NeSmith
Monday, September 18, 2023
Thumbs up and down There are many ways to describe a newspaper. Here’s one: “The Oglethorpe Echo is a mirror that reflects what’s happening in the community.” Remember Clint Eastwood in the 1966 film, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?
Crawford Pizza will provide Oglethorpe County residents with another dining option when it opens. It’s across Highway 78 from G Brand BBQ. (ANDY JOHNSTON/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Crawford Pizza will provide Oglethorpe County residents with another dining option when it opens. It’s across Highway 78 from G Brand BBQ. (ANDY JOHNSTON/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

The Echo's Opinion: Positive signs

News Staff
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
If you haven’t noticed, there are positive signs in our community.   Look around.   If you’re traveling on Highway 78 from Athens-Clarke County into Crawford, you’re welcomed by a new mural on the west wall of soon-to-open Crawford Pizza.
One of my goals for the United Kingdom trip was for our grandchildren to visit the graves of some of our “Nasmyth” ancestors in Scotland. Standing with me, from left, are Stella NeSmith, 9; Hayes Wilson, 16; Smith Wilson, 10; Fenn NeSmith, 12; William NeSmith, 14; Henry Wilson, 14; Bayard NeSmith, 11; and Wyatt Wilson, 19. Several Nasmyths are buried in Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Kirkyard cemetery. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

One of my goals for the United Kingdom trip was for our grandchildren to visit the graves of some of our “Nasmyth” ancestors in Scotland. Standing with me, from left, are Stella NeSmith, 9; Hayes Wilson, 16; Smith Wilson, 10; Fenn NeSmith, 12; William NeSmith, 14; Henry Wilson, 14; Bayard NeSmith, 11; and Wyatt Wilson, 19. Several Nasmyths are buried in Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Kirkyard cemetery. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Opinion Column: Traveling to touch our family’s Scottish roots in Edinburgh

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
“Where are you from?” “Jesup.”   “Where’s that?”   “Southeast Georgia, 40 miles from the coast.”   That usually satisfies folks. Some will say, “Oh, yeah. Do you know so and so?” Indeed, I was born in downtown Jesup.
Thanks to the ingenuity of the great-grandfathers of Lamartine Griffin (Lam) Hardman V, left, and Henri Leon (Beau) Farmer IV, the Georgia Bulldogs have played between the hedges in Sanford Stadium since 1929. Today, Lam Hardman, left, is a senior at Athens Academy, thinking about UGA. Beau, right, is a junior, studying accounting, at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Thanks to the ingenuity of the great-grandfathers of Lamartine Griffin (Lam) Hardman V, left, and Henri Leon (Beau) Farmer IV, the Georgia Bulldogs have played between the hedges in Sanford Stadium since 1929. Today, Lam Hardman, left, is a senior at Athens Academy, thinking about UGA. Beau, right, is a junior, studying accounting, at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Opinion Column: Here’s how Sanford Stadium got its fabled privet hedges

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
A version of this column was first published on Feb. 27, 2013.   Gov. Lamartine Griffin Hardman was a progressive, but stern governor. In 1929 he decreed no vehicles of the University of Georgia should leave Clarke County.   Under normal circumstances, that’d be an easy rule to follow.
OCHS junior defensive back Darius Heard (No. 6) brings down a West Hall player in the Patriots’ 19-7 victory in a scrimmage last Friday. They open the 2023 season at East Jackson at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18. (LANDEN TODD/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

OCHS junior defensive back Darius Heard (No. 6) brings down a West Hall player in the Patriots’ 19-7 victory in a scrimmage last Friday. They open the 2023 season at East Jackson at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18. (LANDEN TODD/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

The Echo’s Opinion: Bustin’ through to 2023 season

Echo Staff
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Are you ready for some football?   Ready or not, it’s time to tee up the pigskin.   The Patriots will be at East Jackson High School on Friday night. And then on Aug. 25, the lights will be on in Patriot Stadium. See Page 2B in this edition for the full schedule.