Opinion

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)

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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)

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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)

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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.
Cameras and laser speed detectors were installed in Oglethorpe County’s school zones in the spring and are being used as schools start back this month. (ANDY JOHNSTON/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Cameras and laser speed detectors were installed in Oglethorpe County’s school zones in the spring and are being used as schools start back this month. (ANDY JOHNSTON/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

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The Echo’s Opinion: School’s in, slow down

Echo Staff
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Swoosh!   Just like that, summer is gone. Where did it go?     Seems like we celebrated the Fourth of July last week, but we didn’t.    Bells have rung at Oglethorpe County schools.    That means our community’s roads and highways are filled with traffic.
For dress-up day at Orange Street Elementary School in 1979, Alan chose to be a newspaper reporter. The choice proved to be prophetic. Today he is chairman of the board of Community Newspapers Inc., headquartered in Athens.

For dress-up day at Orange Street Elementary School in 1979, Alan chose to be a newspaper reporter. The choice proved to be prophetic. Today he is chairman of the board of Community Newspapers Inc., headquartered in Athens.

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Opinion Column: Happy 50th birthday, Alan!

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Dear Alan:   Do you remember our bouncing down a dirt road in a tiny Nissan truck, and we were having a father-son conversation?    You were 10, and I asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”   “Ummm, I can tell you what I don’t want to be.”   “OK, what?”
(DINK NESMITH/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

(DINK NESMITH/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

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Opinion Column: Uncle Bud almost spit out his false teeth

Dink NeSmith
Thursday, August 3, 2023
Step back into the 1950s, when you were lucky if your rabbit ears could pull in three TV channels.   Rabbit what?    There was a time when rural folks sat on their front porches — after working from “can to can’t” — and entertained themselves without 987 channels.
Stacks of The Oglethorpe Echo sit in plastic bins at the U.S. Postal Service’s distribution center on Olympic Drive in Athens. (DINK NESMITH/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

Stacks of The Oglethorpe Echo sit in plastic bins at the U.S. Postal Service’s distribution center on Olympic Drive in Athens. (DINK NESMITH/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO)

The Echo’s Opinion: Reasons for the delivery snafu

News Staff
Thursday, July 20, 2023
Dear readers,   First things first. We are grateful for your loyalty to this community’s 149-year-old newspaper.    Now, why didn’t you get your mailed edition of The Oglethorpe Echo last Thursday? Here’s the answer: The U.S. Postal Service goofed. Big time.
New York Yankee legend Mickey Mantle met Gov. Zell Miller in 1991. The Hall of Famer introduced his new friend at a fundraiser, and The Mick left his notes on the table. Zell snared the script and had it framed, along with a photo of the two. On July 13, he read it to his visitors. The former governor and U.S. senator laughed when he read the last line: “Yog and Zell remind me of each other, not as dumb as they seem.” (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

New York Yankee legend Mickey Mantle met Gov. Zell Miller in 1991. The Hall of Famer introduced his new friend at a fundraiser, and The Mick left his notes on the table. Zell snared the script and had it framed, along with a photo of the two. On July 13, he read it to his visitors. The former governor and U.S. senator laughed when he read the last line: “Yog and Zell remind me of each other, not as dumb as they seem.” (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

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Opinion Column: Zell and Shirley Miller were happy to be home

Dink NeSmith
Thursday, July 20, 2023
Marine.    Husband.   Father.   Grandfather.   Great-grandfather.   Teacher.     Editor.   Mayor.     State senator.   Lieutenant governor.   Governor.   U.S. senator.   Lobbyist.    Fox TV contributor.     New York Times best-selling author.
The Cook & Connelly law library has 4,800-plus volumes. When Larry Walker asked Bobby Lee Cook if he had read all of those books, the famous trial lawyer said, “Most of them. But our young lawyers just get their answers from computers.” (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

The Cook & Connelly law library has 4,800-plus volumes. When Larry Walker asked Bobby Lee Cook if he had read all of those books, the famous trial lawyer said, “Most of them. But our young lawyers just get their answers from computers.” (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

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Opinion Column: Bobby Lee Cook: One of America’s most feared, revered trial lawyers

Dink NeSmith
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Note: What’s one of the easiest things to do? Procrastinate. What’s one of the hardest things to not do? Don’t procrastinate. In 2013, Larry Walker and I quit procrastinating and launched a Legends Tour. All three legendary friends — Bert Lance, Bobby Lee Cook and Zell Miller — are now gone.