Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography
This blog is for my insights on life, the Bible, hiking adventures with my grandson and whatever is important to me
For this week’s challenge I dug into my archives to share some throwback photos of things one might choose to “Just Do It.”
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge:Nike-Just Do It
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
What is SCSPA? They are letters on a couple of my dad’s memorabilia from his high school days. You may wonder what they actually stand for as did I when I first saw them. Let me tell you, they stand for South Carolina Scholastic Press Association. I never knew my dad was apart of the South Carolina Scholastic Press Association. He never talked about his time growing up in South Carolina. The only part of South Carolina he shared was when he brought our family on vacation to visit his parents and his brother and sister. We visited Great Falls, South Carolina, where his parents lived, approximately every three to five years.
However, I am not discussing our vacations in this post. I am discussing the SCSPA and his small role in it.
The South Carolina Scholastic Press Association promotes responsible scholastic journalism in South Carolina. We educate, evaluate and empower students and advisers who work with middle and high school literary magazine, newspaper, and yearbook programs in the state.
What I only learned recently is that my dad was a part of the Great Falls Hi-Times newspaper staff. He served as the school newspaper’s business manager. I found this interesting, my dad never talked about his school days. I thought it was cool to discover his involvement in this aspect of his high school.
The school newspaper business manager oversees the operations of all business-related operations of the Hi-Times, but will primarily be responsible for the promotion and tracking of advertising sales.
A few of my dad’s responsibilities were:
A bit of History of SCSPA
“It all began as the journalist begins- with people, an idea, an empty page. Today, after more than half a century, the idea expands toward fulfillment as the pages are filled with a history. It is a story of people working toward excellence- people tending toward an ideal that promises to shine far, far into the future. It is a story of youth yearning toward an expression of truth. It is the story of the South Carolina Scholastic Press Association.”
SCSPA’s 50th Anniversary Booklet: The First 50 Years
The SCSPA holds annual fall and spring conferences which currently draws more than 600 participants. Not sure how many participants there were in 1947, only that my dad was one of those participants for the spring conference.
Students as well as their advisers from schools all over the state attend the annual SCSPA conference. It honors outstanding students and advisors during the spring conference. It recognizes contributions to scholastic journalism through awards and scholarships.
My dad’s attendance would have been an honor and recognition for his participation in his school’s Hi-Times newspaper. Through his memorabilia I am learning more and more about my dad and what his life was like before I came into existence.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.
This is a hard one to decide which photos to choose, there are so many which hold precious memories and special moments that money could never buy. How to decide, that is the question?
From 1975:
My Family from 1986 through 1999:
These represent happy memories in the beginning. The last photo was taken at my eldest son’s high school graduation & it was the last time we were together as a family. Everything changed from that point on, but I still loved him.
From 1994:
From 2019:
From 2019:
From 2020:
These were taken in February of 2020 when I went on a Royal Caribbean Cruise to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. I went with my sister-in-law’s sister, Monica, however, she tended to stay in the cabin more than wandering around. I chose to make the most of the trip enjoy myself, which I did. I had a fabulous time on and off the cruise ship.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge (CFFC)— MasterCard – There are some things money can’t buy…
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Color vs. Black & White
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge -Contrasts
Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Photo Credit: ©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
Location: The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
What is a library card? A library card is a card provided by a library so that library patrons can borrow a variety of materials including books and magazines. A library card is often required if a person wants to take advantage of other library services as well. Public libraries issue library cards free of charge to people who live in the library’s city but require patrons to pay for replacement cards.
The early libraries were non-circulating libraries. That meant that patrons needed to use the book or books in the library, and could not check out any books to take home for usage by themselves or their families.
In the 19th century, a free public library movement began. Before 1850, libraries consisted of subscription collections for members only to use. The first known publicly funded library was established in Peterborough, New Hampshire, where in 1833 the town meeting voted to use a part of the state literary fund for the support of schools instead to purchase books for a free town library.
However, the free public library movement really began in 1849, when the New Hampshire legislature authorized towns to levy taxes for the establishment and support of public libraries.
When did library cards become necessary? With the public library movement in the 19th century, it became necessary to register users who were permitted to borrow books and connect those users with the borrowed items. Originally this was done with cumbersome ledger systems, with each page representing a borrower and the books borrowed (and returned) listed.
The above library card was issued to my mother with an expiration date of May 1955. My mom was avid reader all her life. I do not remember going to a brick and mortar public library in my grade school days. Where we lived a bookmobile came onto our street approximately a long block away from our home. I do recall going into the bookmobile and being allowed to check out books 📚 to bring home to read. In the beginning, my mom would accompany my brother and me to the bookmobile.
As you can see the contrast from the San Diego Library Card from the 1950’s and the present day Library Card, there are several differences and yet they both serve the same exact purpose. That of allowing someone to check out various materials such as 📚 to take home to peruse at their leisure.
I have had several library cards over the years and have taken great pleasure in checking out books, movies. I also enjoyed the ability to use the libraries resources and computers for family research, search for jobs or for whatever purpose I needed at various times.
How about you? Do you or have you owned a library card? A library card opens the world to a vast resource of knowledge.
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro Max
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Ocean, Blue, Shore, Sand, Sky, Water, White
Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge
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Tina of Lens-Artists Photo Challenge
Photo Credit:©️Deb L. Waters
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts. I appreciate y’all.
Today in America we as a nation celebrate the United States Flag. Flag Day is also referred to as National Flag Day.
Elizabeth “Betsy” Ross is contributed with making the first American flag. In 1776 she was presented with a sketch of a flag which would feature 13 red and white stripes and 13 pointed stars. At this time she was asked if she could create a flag that would match the design on the sketch. Ross agreed with few minor changes, including arranging the 13 stars in a circle. On June 14, 1777, Congress officially adopted the Stars and Stripes as the national flag.
Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States which occurred on June 14, 1777 by a resolution adopted by the Second Continental Congress. It also marks the birthday of the U.S. Army which congress authorized as “the American Continental Army” on June 14, 1775.
Did you know there exists a proper etiquette that should be followed when choosing to fly The United States Flag?
In America today, many celebrate Flag Day with parades, essay contests, picnics, and ceremonies. Many of these activities are sponsored by Veterans groups, schools, and various groups. Some parades are organized and take place on the Saturday before Flag Day and usually held downtown in many cities across America. One such group that sponsors Flag Day celebrations is the National Flag Day foundation. Its goal is to preserve the traditions, pride, and respect that are due the nation’s symbol, Old Glory.
The above flags were taken across the United States in a few select states which I have had the opportunity to visit. These states include Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
Do you celebrate Flag Day? If you live outside of the United States of America, does your country have a flag day? How is Flag day celebrated where you live?
Photo Credit: ©️Deb L. Waters
God Bless. Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all.
Fandango’s One Word Challenge – Related
God Bless. Thank you for going back in time with me. Memories are a wonderful blessing. Remember, I appreciate y’all.
Photo Credit : Deb L. Waters
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Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge
Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome #123
God Bless. Thanks for enjoying my trip down memory lane. I appreciate y’all.
My maternal grandfather served in the U. S. Army during World War I. These are photographs of his service in the military. I treasure the photos as there are a link to a slim part of our family history.
Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome #118
God Bless. Thank you for sharing my memories. I appreciate y’all.
What is my earliest memory? That is a good question. I wish I could say I remember everything, but that would be nearly impossible. Our minds, especially mine, tend to have selective memories.
That being said, I do remember parts of my childhood. I remember living on South Meadowbrook Drive in San Diego, California. I remember playing outside all day. Playing baseball in the neighbors backyard. Part of the time I would play with Mary a few doors down from me, but mostly my brother & I would play with the three boys next door. We’d all play outside all day without question. Never had a desire to be stuck indoors. We’d play baseball, basketball, freeze tag, hide-n-go seek, and whatever else we could. We’d ride our bikes up and down the street, around the block, and sometimes up to the school on Saturdays; just to play on the playground. There were no fancy skate boards for us. We’d take the wheels off of street skates & attach them to scrap boards to make our skateboards. Those were such fun times.
I also remember all the girls wore dresses to school. Pants were not allowed until around my ninth grade in junior high school. Yes, my school was a junior high not a middle school. We moved after I was promoted from sixth grade to seventh. I didn’t know anyone in our new neighborhood or my new school. Therefore. I tended to ride my bicycle by myself, walk to and from school by myself carrying my books in my arms. I don’t recall backpacks back then.
I remember always having Sunday dresses that were only worn for church. We went to church every Sunday morning, every Sunday evening, and on Wednesday evenings. There was always Church worship and Sunday School. In the evenings after Sunday church worship, the youth would gather at a members house for a time of fun. In the summers, we would meet at someone’s house that had a pool so we could swim and splash around. Occasionally, we would meet at Mission Bay. Those were fun times. That’s where I learned how to water ski. No matter what activity we enjoyed, there was always singing & a short devotional.
There are more things I remember, but then that would be like writing a memoir. Too much for a single post.
One thing I remember and treasure from my early days, are given a love for the outdoors, the enjoyment of camping & hiking, and being taught about the live of Jesus Christ and His wonderful mercies.
God Bless. Thank you for taking a trip down memory lane with me. I appreciate y’all.
