Opinion

As Baxley prepares to mark a momentous 70 years, the story of the Summerall family – Jack and Mariah, and their descendants – is not merely one of personal milestones, but of deep and abiding community involvement. Their journey through seven decades has been inextricably linked with the growth, challenges, and triumphs of Baxley itself.…

My youngest son, Jacob, and I got to work out in this heat several days last week. It was brutal to say the least. I do enjoy summertime, but the older and fatter I get, the more I realize I’m not necessarily built for these hot conditions. When I was younger, there was a comedian…

The Outlaw’s Prayer is a song by Johnny Paycheck released in 1976. It is one of my personal favorites as it resonates with the “outlaw” persona reflecting on the struggles and finding grace in a life of hardship. The Outlaw (Johnny Paycheck) goes into the big fancy church having a rough appearance of long shaggy…

I came from a broken family. There, it’s finally in the open. My dad was in the Navy. I was born on an Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. My parents divorced, lived in separate states and both remarried all before I was five years old. Fast forward through my life making the shared custody,…

As the countdown to the 70th Summerall Family Gathering continues, our series illuminates another profound aspect of their enduring legacy: the extraordinary matriarchal strength that has woven through generations of Summerall women. From Mariah herself to her daughters, granddaughters, and beyond, these women have been the resilient anchors, the nurturing forces, and the quiet pioneers…

“It is Well with My Soul” is a hymn written by Horatio Spafford in 1873 after personal tragedies struck. He was inspired to write the lyrics while crossing the Atlantic Ocean following the loss of his four daughters in a shipwreck. His wife Anna survived the sinking of the SS Ville du Havre and sent…