Columns

Labor Day has evolved into backyard cookouts, long weekend getaways and saying goodbye to summer ... But what is the true meaning of Labor Day?

Back in Sept. 5, 1882 the first Labor Day Parade in New York City was a time for workers to call attention to 10-hour workdays, sweatshops where people were working for pennies an hour, children were working for excessive hours under poor conditions. Samuel Gompers, the first President of the American Federation of Labor, who insisted on better pay and better working conditions, insisted that a laborer was more than a mere producing machine. Gompers was a Jewish immigrant who simply wanted a better life for the American worker.

Our dog Sadie found us over eight years ago. We didn’t know we needed a dog until she came along and set us straight. She moved with us to Grand Cane, settling into the small town life more easily than I did. She loved the trips to the farm and all the small town gatherings at our house. Then she met Ruger.

Let me back up a bit. John has never had a puppy. As a kid, Billy and Sue brought home several dogs, but they weren’t puppies. John’s parents had compromised his childhood because they’d never given him the experience of raising a puppy. I assured him he hadn’t missed much—just cleaning up messes, drooling, training the animal to relieve himself in the proper place.

“Honestly, honey, if you’ve raised a child, you’ve done all the things you would have done if you’d raised a puppy.” He wasn’t convinced.

DeSoto Extension Agent

Dos and Don’ts in the Garden During Droughts

It’s beginning to look like fall all around us as plants go into survival mode during this heat wave. Temperatures continue to soar, and the rain is nowhere to be found. Plants have several strategies to survive during droughts and cope with heat stress, both of which are conditions of water scarcity and high temperatures.

You will notice many trees right now with yellowing and browning leaves. Some trees have dropped their leaves altogether. This is survival mode. In addition, heat stress can lead to the browning or scorching of leaf edges and surfaces. This is often due to the disruption of regular cellular processes caused by extreme temperatures.

Si, Senor Maccarones con Queso e Taco – suena muy bien! Pam Bello has this great sounding dish on “My Recipes” this week and I was flirting around with trying it but the cheese sauce part sounded a little daunting to me. Yes, I am sauce challenged. I’ve tried and tried to do scratch sauces and gravies but it just doesn’t happen for me, I mean even when I do my big Thanksgiving spread I always buy 2 cans of turkey gravy.

“Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Ecclesiastes 8:11 NKJV Why is breaking the law so rampant today? Why is there no respect for officers of the law? When I read the above verse and read it again I am convinced that here is the reason we are experiencing lawlessness in our country. Our country’s authority figures have an arrogant attitude toward God and toward the law. Our government is playing favoritism with people that love breaking the law. Politicians give excuses for the actions of the wicked. Perpetrators go free and the victims are left to suffer and live in agony and fear. Government officials and politicians don’t care about civility, about rules of order and the care of fellow citizens.

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vine; though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior,” (Habakkuk 3:17-19) The sound like some of the days, which we are living…tough times, hot days. My fig trees are looking bad and may be dead already. My blueberry bushes have turned brown and look dead. I have not been able to get out and water things since my heart surgery. I am feeling better this morning. I go some to the Fitness Center to walk and have a cup of coffee and there see friends. We have had no rain in a long time but God is in control. I will trust Him and honor Him. I go to church on Sunday and preach to the folks there to bring hope and faith in God in these times or any time.

Well, it’s getting close to election time again and it’s very important to get out and vote. If you are not registered do it now. It’s too late to dig a well when everyone has passed from thirst. Let no one tell you, “Don’t worry about going to vote; it’s not that important”, because they are going to do whatever they want to do. We must never believe that lie because it’s one of the biggest lies every told. One thing is true; if you don’t vote then don’t worry about how government is run. The devil has many tools but a lie is the handle that fits them all. He is on the job day and might and no one can top him making troubles. Never let the negative opinions of others place a value on what is important to us.

Homemade Breadcrumbs

We often find a recipe that calls for breadcrumbs. Whether it’s adding them to a meatloaf or hamburger patties or using them as a coating for chicken or porkchops, it always helps to keep some handy. But what if you don’t have them? That should never be a problem. You can make your own!

I love to bake bread, but we can’t always eat it fast enough. Rather than waste it, I cut and crumble up what’s left to make my own breadcrumbs. Once they are cool, I place them in a jar with a lid and put them in the freezer until I need them. And I have discovered that homemade breadcrumbs taste better than store bought!

Ingredients: 1 loaf Day-old Bread (if you do not bake your own bread, consider a loaf purchased at a bakery. A French Baguette or an Italian loaf works well.)

“What shall I render unto the Lord for all of His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 1116:12,13) I fell so blessed. I was able to return to the Fitness Center this morning and there meet with family and friends, get a cup of coffee, and walk around the track. In the past week I had spent five days in the hospital (two in Mansfield and three at Willis Knighton Pierremont for heart attack and surgery.) I had to miss church last Sunday and didn’t get to preach but this next Sunday I am planning to be back. I have the sweetest group of people.

Over the past several years I have written articles about many men and women that have had profound influence on the City of Mansfield and on DeSoto Parish. They should all be remembered but none would, in the opinion of this writer, be more deserving than Dr. George A. Ritchey.

Dr. Ritchey was born in Enterprise, Ms. and later attended Pearl River Com. College in Poplarville, Ms. where he lettered in football, baseball, basketball and track. He was converted while a student there in 1926. He later attended Mississippi College in Clinton, Ms. where he played football and pastored two churches in Duncan and Friar’s Point, Ms. He continued his education in the ministry at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. And graduated from there with a Masters of Theology degree in 1933. He earned a Doctors of Philosophy degree in 1935 while a student at Louisville, Ky. and was a pastor of a church in Paragon, Indiana.