Scott, Bounty, Viva, Brawny, etc., you get the idea. When did paper towels replace hand towels and aprons in the kitchen and elsewhere in the house?

As a child, I do not remember paper towels in the home. Mama used a dish towel to dry the dishes and she kept another cloth towel on the rod by the sink to dry her hands. She used the dish cloth to wipe down the table after each meal. If her hands were just damp from a rinsing in the sink, she dried them on her apron. Old, ripped up sheets, worn out bath towels, and thread bare tee-shirts were used to clean up larger messes. All of these were washed weekly and hung on the clothesline to dry.

It was not until the mid 1960’s that I remember buying rolls of paper towels. Even then the sheets were not used for every little clean up. Sometime in the last half century, the paper towel became an essential in almost every American home or work place.

Do you still use handkerchiefs, dish towels and dish clothes, wash clothes, hand towels, aprons, or worn out clothes for cleaning? When did American become a disposable society?

Backroads of Virginia Reception

Guests entered the floral decorated Pamplin Depot Community Room to the sounds of chamber music as they ventured into the “Backroads of Virginia” acrylics by local artist Diane Hindenlang last Saturday evening. The Pamplin Area Legacy Supporters (PALS) hosted the reception and Wendy Richardson organized the art exhibit.

Diane spoke about how she loved Virginia and the paintings that moved her. She asked the musicians to perform an a cappella number for her. The quartet put down their violins, viola, and cello and sang first one number and then another when “again” rang from the seats. “Beth, Benjamin, Caleb, and Mariam Thompson added to the beauty of Diane’s paintings by filling the community room with music.,” comments PALS member Regina Schwabe.

About 40 guests mingled with the artist and musicians, enjoying refreshments and conversation. Several of the paintings will soon have new homes as a result of sales.

Diane commented, “Last night overwhelmed me! Such beautiful, kind people. God bless everyone who made it happen.”

Community Communiqué

The Kitchen Light Community Dinner will be on Thursday, July 23, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Glenn Memorial Baptist Church in Prospect.

The Glenn Memorial Senior Adult Ministry will host their senior meal on Friday, July 24, at 6 p.m. Bring a covered dish or two and a friend to enjoy an evening of good food, fellowship, and musical inspiration from Mr. and Mrs. Willis Foster and Mr. and Mrs. Michael Yoder.

Cowboy church will be held at Prospect United Methodist Church, 707 Prospect Road, on Saturday, July 25. There will be a trail ride at 2 p.m. with the chuck wagon at 6 p.m. Please bring a dish to share as well as a two liter soda. Music and a message will follow. You do not have to participate in the trail ride to enjoy the food and fellowship. If you have any questions, please call Pastor George Schaefer at (434) 352-4273.

Rob and Alison Hicks of High Point, NC, are the proud parents of Avonlea Blythe Hicks, born on July 1. Paternal grandmother is Sheri Hicks, of High Point, and great-grandparents are Kenneth and Bettye Brisentine, of Prospect.

Last Friday, Cindy F. Scheu and daughter Sabriel Scheu and mother Ann Greene travelled to Wytheville to the home of her husband Ian’s mother. Cindy and her daughter then travelled home to Key Largo, Fla.

Edith Vaughan and daughters Deb and Diana Vaughan, of Northern Virginia, travelled to Mooresville, N.C., for the wedding of Brittney Collins and Jeremy Marklin. Brittany is the daughter of Harold William Collins Jr.

Please keep the following people in your thoughts and prayers: Fred Floyd, Dorothy Womack, Julian Covington, Johnny Bollinger, Betty Meadows, Betty Jean Bolt, Gary Fiscus, and Vicki White.

Sympathy is extended to the family and friends of Gloria Ruby Marshall.

“God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.” – Martin Luther

If you or your local organization has news or announcements to share with the community, please call Edwina Covington (574-6576) or email her at ecovington@centurylink.net with the subject line Elam-area news.