Peace Dude! Happy Hippie Day!
August 15, 2009
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the first day of Woodstock music festival. The residents of Century Care Center celebrated on Friday with Hippie Day — compete with tie dye t-shirts and lots of lighthearted fun.
Pictured above and below: Hippie Day at Century Care Center. Pictured inset: Longtime Century Care Center resident Myrtle Bray. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lending A Helping Hand: Church Provides Free School Supplies
August 15, 2009
A Century church provided free school supplies to scores of children Friday morning.
Dozens of children at time lined up at Abundant Life Assembly of God with their school supplies lists to receive the items they need for school.
School starts Monday, August 24 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Pictured: Free school supplies were handed out Friday at Abundant Life Assembly of God in Century. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Green Named New Coordinator For Learn To Read Of Century
August 13, 2009
Patsy Green of Bluff Springs has been hired as the new volunteer coordinator for Learn to Read of Century.
Green, a retired educator, has served as a volunteer for the past few years at Learn To Read, teaching adults reading skills.
“It’s a very good program,” she said. “We are all aware that some folks come through school and can’t read. I’m so happy that this program gives people the opportunity to learn to read.”
Learn to Read of Northwest Florida is a non-profit adult literacy program in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties that provides free one-on-one tutoring in basic reading and writing, GED preparation and English as a second language.
As a Learn to Read volunteer, Green has spent the past couple of years teaching a man in his early 30’s to read. Green said he is now getting a job after improving his reading skills.
“Reading was a big confidence boost that contributed to him getting the job,” she said.
She takes pride in another of her student’s accomplishments.
“Learning to read allows him to read his Bible,” she said. “He was excited that he was able to read two pages of his Bible Monday night at his Bible study.”
Green is a native of the Century area. She was, in fact, born in the former hospital building that now houses Learn to Read of Century. She is graduate of Century High School, Pensacola Junior College and the University of Florida. She taught at Century Middle School, Century Elementary and Carver/Century K-8 School for a total of 30 years, interrupted only by a one year leave to attend Auburn University for a M.Ed. in specific learning disabilities and a five year period to be home with her sons.
After her retirement from Carver/Century, she has, in addition to tutoring for Learn to Read, privately tutored a math student; substituted at Carver/Century, Byrneville Elementary and Westgate School; volunteered at Carver/Century; and served as leader of TOPS #125 of McDavid.
Patsy Green and her husband David reside in Bluff Springs. Sons Marcus and John now live and work in Pensacola. She is a member of Grace Baptist Church in McDavid where she serves as youth leader, serves as assistant youth director for the Baptist Missionary Association of Northwest Florida and is coordinator of the L.J. Stewart Baptist Camp.
For more information on Learn to Read of Century, call (850) 256-0880.
Jay Hospital Foundation Awards Scholarships
August 13, 2009
The Jay Hospital Employee Foundation has awarded three college-bound students with $1,000 scholarships to help with their school expenses.
The 2009 recipients are Christi McNaughton, Jay High School; Tia Shallow, Pace High School; and Adam Fuqua, W.S. Neal High School.
The foundation offers scholarships each year to students in high schools located in the Jay Hospital service area including Jay, Northview, Flomaton, Central, W.S. Neal, Flomaton, Century, Milton and Pace.
Grades, class rank, ACT scores and volunteer hours are considered in the selection process. To ensure fairness, students’ names are not included on the selection roster.
The Jay Hospital Employee Foundation also provides assistance to employees in need, contributes to disaster recovery and supports local charitable organizations including the American Cancer Society.
Pictured: Jay Hospital Employee Foundation scholarship winners Christi McNaughton, Jay High School; Adam Fuqua, W.S. Neal High School; and Tia Shallow, Pace High School. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Angel’s Outreach Works To Help Fellow Teens With Basic Needs
August 12, 2009
Sometimes, it takes an Angel to notice the basic needs of people around them and to step up and make a difference. That’s the story behind Angel’s Outreach, a program started by local student Angel Mitchell, 13.
Most people take basic items like a toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant for granted. When Angel noticed that some of her peers, especially at her church, did not have those basic personal hygiene items, she started “Angel’s Outreach” to lend a helping hand. Bimonthly, Angel distributes personal hygiene items to those in need.
“Upon seeing a need in the lives of her peers, she responded immediately, selflessly and compassionately,” said Leslie Johnson, a youth pastor at Angel’s church, Abundant Life Assembly of God in Century. “These necessities, often taken for granted by many, are not available to the teens of many struggling families in North Escambia.”
“I saw kids at church and school that needed these items,” Angel said Tuesday night as she packed items in plastic bags to be distributed at a Wednesday night church service. “It’s a good thing to help them, and I hope it will get more kids to church, draw them to church.”
Most items come from a donation box or monetary donations to Abundant Life Assembly. Sometimes Angel purchases the items with her own money.
“It is not very often that I, as a youth minister, see teenagers with this level of compassion,” Johnson said. “Angel has shown that it doesn’t take great financial resources to help others who are in need. It only takes a heart for the people to make a difference. There are not many like her, so willing to give of herself.”
Angel, who will be a freshman this fall at Northview, started her program last spring. Her distribution now includes 50-75 bags of hygiene items bimonthly to children and teens in her church and community.
Donations are accepted for Angel’s Outreach at the Abundant Life Assembly of God at 8040 North Century Boulevard. For more information, call the church at (850) 256-5227.
Pictured: Angel Mitchell, creator of Angel’s Outreach, packs bags with basic hygiene necessities to be distributed to less fortunate teens. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Relay For Life Gets Ready For 2010 With Birthday Bash
August 12, 2009
Planning for the 2010 Century Relay for Life got underway Tuesday night with a birthday bash.
The American Cancer Society’s latest advertising campaign calls the organization “The Official Sponsor of Birthdays…because a world with less cancer is a world with more birthdays”.
Susan Diamond will be taking over as Century Relay event chair from Paula Jernigan because Relay for Life limits a person’s service as event chair to two years.
An early bird Relay team registration event is planned for 7 p.m on September 22, most likely at the Century Ag Building on West Highway 4. More details will be posted here on NorthEscambia.com as the date draws closer.
Pictured top: A Tuesday night birthday bash celebrated the beginning of planning for Century’s 2010 Relay for Life. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Masland Employee Cuts Pony Tail To Help Rely, Locks Of Love
August 10, 2009
A Masland Carpets employee had a haircut at work this week, helping a child in need and the American Cancer Society at the same time.
The Masland Carpets Relay for Life team sold chances for one person in the Atmore plant to cut inventory control analyst Jim McMorris’ 12-inch pony tail for the Locks of Love program. Each chance was a donation to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life.
McMorris’ wife Jennifer has cancer, and they decided that this would be an opportunity to help both Relay for Life and Locks of Love.
Maria Hixon, who works as a creeler, won the chance to give McMorris his haircut. His pony tail was sent to the Locks of Love program, a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.
“She was nervous and kept asking Jim if he was scared, but I’m sure he wasn’t,” Susan Gunn, Masland human resources assistant, said. “He did have an appointment a few minutes after the cut with (Atmore hairstylist) Hazel Strawbrige to get his hair adjusted.”
Pictured top: Masland employee Maria Hixon cuts the 12-inch pony tail of fellow employee Jim McMorris for the Locks of Love program and Relay for Life. Pictured inset: A Masland engineer measures the pony tail. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia’s Roots Found In Molino; UWF Uncovers Historical Site
August 9, 2009
Escambia’s roots have been uncovered in Molino, along with evidence of habitation thousands of years ago.
The University of West Florida archaeological field school has wrapped up a successful summer dig last week, uncovering evidence of the San Joseph De Escambe Spanish mission dating back to the 18th century in Molino.
The Mission San Joseph De Escambe was established upriver along the Escambia River — which, along with Escambia County, actually took its later name from the mission near Molino. The Apalachee Indian settlement with about 75 residents is well documented, according to archaeologist John Worth. It was established in the 1740’s. A Franciscan missionary was stationed by the Spanish at the village along with 15 members of a Spanish cavalry unit until about 1757.
The village was led by Apalachee Chief Juan Marcos Fant until it was destroyed during a Creek Indian raid on April 9, 1761. The village and the church were at least partially burned during the raid. Following the raid, the residents moved down the Escambia River to what is now downtown Pensacola.
The mission was uncovered by the UWF archeology students under the leadership professor Dr. John Worth. Worth spent years digging through historical records before the actual digging in Molino began.
The missions settlement is believed to have included a Spanish missionary church and a small Apalachee Indian village. Evidence of the buildings was discovered during the summer field school, including a wall that appears to have been a post-on-sill construction type that was commonly used on French colonial sites. It has also been documented in Pensacola’s Spanish presidios. UWF archeologists said the Molino site also included an apparent floor structure on the inside of the building.
While the walls have deteriorated over time and appear to the casual observer to be nothing more than darker soil, UWF students found almost 40 wrought iron nails in their original positions. In what was called an “amazing” find, students uncovered a wrought iron nail still embedded in piece of wood (pictured left), the remains of a beam or post where the nail was hammered about 250 years ago.
One of the wall areas discovered was considered substantial, possibly part of the Spanish Calvary barracks or the actual mission church.
In addition to the 18th century Mission San Joseph De Escambe, UWF archeology students uncovered evidence of much earlier prehistoric life along the river in Molino. The oldest item found was a spear point dating between 1,200 and 3,900 B.C.
Friday was the final official day for the UWF field school, with students spending 14 hours wrapping up their research and filling holes. A few students will return next week to finish some final documentation and fill the remaining excavations.
The mission site was located near Yuhasz Road near Fairground Park. The entire site is on private property and is not open to the public.
For more information on the project, visit pensacolacolonialfrontiers.blogspot.com for the project blog. Also see two previous NorthEscambia.com articles:
- UWF Archeology Uncovers Possible Spanish Mission Evidence In Molino (July 21)
- UWF Digging For The Past In Molino; 2,000 Year Old Artifacts Found (June 29)
Pictured above: UWF Archeology students carefully sift through soil while they search for artifacts near Molino. Pictured bottom inset: A wrought iron nail in a fragment of wood from about 250 years ago. The excavation below shows evidence of two walls (the darker overlapping areas). NorthEscambia.com and courtesy photos, click to enlarge.
Photos On The EDGE: Molino Church Wraps Up VBS
August 9, 2009
Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Molino held their Camp E.D.G.E. Vacation Bible School last week.
The church averaged just almost 50 children and over 50 volunteers each night during the adventure filled week.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Community Outreach: Children At Bratt Church Wash Cars For Free
August 8, 2009
Children at the First Baptist Church of Bratt held a free community car wash Friday.
Pete Amerson explained that the car wash was for the community — a chance for the children to do something for the community and spread the Gospel at the same time. First to fifth graders washed cars and stood by the side of Highway 4 with handmade signs advertising their event.
Pictured top: Children at the First Baptist Church of Bratt held a free community car wash Friday afternoon. Pictured inset: Advertising the event. Pictured bottom: Anna Lee, 5, decided to cool off with a hose during the car wash. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
