The Mt. Olivet Methodist men really went all out on their annual Sweetheart Banquet last Saturday night. The church was beautifully decorated with a Valentine theme.

The menu was their standard – grilled pork chops, baked potatoes, baked beans with plenty of bar-b-que pork mixed in. Mt. Olivet ladies always provide the desserts. Besides door prizes, Susan and Cecil Ingram gave a lively skit on an interview with Moses.

Wednesday night Bible Study was cancelled because of flu. Hurston and Brucie Newcomb have flu. Martha Jo Child Hall is very ill with many issues including flu.

Friendship and kinship have bridged so many of our community together. Such is the case of Shady Grove Baptist about five miles east of Mt. Olivet. The Perkins, Masons, Lawrences, and Palmertrees (my daddy’s family) are some of the families I remember.

I played the piano there under a brush arbor during a revival, and couldn’t have been over 12 or 13 years old. The arbor was erected in front of where the present church sits. I would love to hear from someone who remembers that time and provide me with the correct date.

The late Tracy Perkins was a walking history book and knew every detail of the history of the church.

The person that I still miss the most from that community is James Perkins, our grandmothers were half-sisters. We never really knew what kin that made us, but we claimed kin. His demeanor never changed, he treated everyone the same, and would lend a hand to anyone in need.

He is one of the people I think of when I think of the epitaph on Patsy Cline’s monument: “Death cannot kill what never dies.”

Being superintendent of the crew that cut the right-of-way under the power lines for TVEPA, I kept a running argument with him for always “clawing up” only one side of the trees on my farm. I love my trees, and they looked so ugly.

Once I had a Cypress tree that began to grow up into a power line. I thought it might be some sort of risk, so I called TVEPA to have someone come out and perhaps cut it. James said, “Lord have mercy, boys. If Donna Traywick is going to let you cut a tree, get out there before she changes her mind!”

Friends and family have kept us informed of the condition of Bro. Tim McMillan, the current pastor of Shady Grove.  We want him to know that we are keeping him in our prayers.

Mt. Olivet Volunteer Fire Dept. is in desperate need of a few good men (and women!) who would like to join their force. They meet at the fire station the first and third Mondays of each month at 7 p.m. Gary Hartman, the competent fire chief, keeps every details of the department running smoothly. They have four trucks, one of which was given by the County, the others they have purchased with money they collected from donations and fundraisers.

Mt. Olivet community is growing and the need for good fire protection is also growing. Many people don’t know that our insurance rated depends on how sufficient our fire department is. They also serve other communities as needed.

The Community Action Committee will meet Saturday (Feb. 16) at 2 p.m. at the church to start a community wide visitation program. With so many out with the flu, chairman Mike Houpt will keep us posted as to whether he will cancel or not.