George Hazard”s Fourth of July bash turned out to be more exciting than anyone expected, including his grandmother, Sarah Fowler!
As guests arrived at Liberty Hall, they were greeted by a large banner in red, white, and blue over the pool cabana that said “Happy 4th of July!” Just before dinner was served, George announced that he and his girlfriend, Holly Hampton, had become engaged! Just then, the sky over the pool lit up with a burst of fireworks as the sign over the cabana fell, revealing another sign that read “She said YES!”
Holly was happy to show everyone her beautiful ring, which features the center stone from George”s great-grandmother”s ring (Sarah Livingston) between two stones from his mother”s ring (the late Fran Fowler Hazard), all in a platinum setting. George proposed to Holly on the balcony of his ancestral home on Friday night. His mother had courted his father from the same balcony years earlier. Big George (George Jr.) even wrote a poem entitled “The Little Balcony Restaurant” before he married Fran.
Holly”s parents; Jonathan and Yulanda Hampton of Hartselle, Ala., were there, along with Holly”s brother, Andrew. Jonathan churned a couple of gallons of chocolate ice cream for the occasion. George”s brother, James Hazard, attended along with several friends, including his Auburn roommate, Drew Tatum, Andrew Pack, Adams Gillis, Tim Presley and Wilson Shoulders.
Dudley Swoope and his new bride, Caitlin, were there, as well as Madison Guyton, Connor Wise, Matt, Emily and Charley Fowler, and Holly”s childhood friend, Theresa.
George and Marian Hazard did such a fantastic job of decorating the gazebo and the grounds that everyone should have been suspicious of something more than a national holiday! Before dinner the younger set enjoyed swimming in the crystal clear water of Lake Bobbo, which is a five-acre spring-fed blue hole pool just below the old manse. After a formidable supper, guests were treated to a shower of fireworks over the lake which rivaled any other display in the state.
Annis and Bill Cox celebrated the weekend at their new summer home in Monteagle, Tenn., with their son”s children. This makes three homes for the Cox family at Monteagle. Included in the recent purchase was a house that had once belonged to Bill”s grandmother.
Also spotted at Monteagle were Mike and Wanda McIntyre, who were staying with Mike”s brother, Bill, and his wife, Susan. Bill and Susan”s youngest daughter, Rowanne, ran in the 10K at Sewanee and came in second.
David and Pat Curtis spent the weekend at their house on Smith Lake. Also spotted on the lake were Joe and Carol Boggess.
Traveling
Eleanor Slaughter and Cindy Rood (Junior Auxiliary of Columbus Life Members) and 16 members of the Columbus chapter of JA recently attended the national convention in Mobile, Ala. Cindy finished her year as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the National Association of Junior Auxiliaries (NAJA) Foundation and was inducted as a Fellow of the Foundation. The Columbus chapter won several awards, including the top one, the Award of Excellence.
Last year NAJA established an award called the Eleanor S. Slaughter Membership Award. This honor is given to chapters which excel in recruitment, retention and reengagement of their membership.
Eleanor was also traveling to Denver, Co., for the annual Delta Gamma convention. She is a past national officer of the sorority and was most instrumental in establishing the chapter at MSU and has also advised and helped fraternities with Rush workshops. Eleanor was recognized as being the member who has attended the most national convocations, 28 in all.
Abroad
Bill and Bobbie Boggess are still enjoying life in France. They started a Baptist church in Guyancourt, just south of Versailles, years ago and are slowly making progress. The French, like most Europeans, are not very interested in going to church. In their town of 32,000, they had 29 attendees last Sunday.
In his spare time, Bill coaches baseball. His team of 10-12 year-olds went to the French National finals and only lost 6-5, taking home second place. Their three boys — Brian, Bradlee and Benjamin — are all single and living and working in New York City. They are sharing a house, but Benjamin (23) is moving to Haiti to set-up a micro-credit program and help in the redevelopment of the country. He”s been working for World Vision near the U.N. with various diplomats. Bradlee (27) works in Manhattan for Scholastic Press. Brian (31) works as an engineer for Curtis-Wright on Long Island.
Robert Ivy got back from China in time to celebrate the Fourth with Holly on the rooftop of their Brooklyn Heights brownstone, where they watched the fireworks over New York.
Holly imported barbecue ribs from Columbus and said they were better than any she could get in the big city.
Bob Raymond is a retired French teacher. His e-mail address is [email protected].
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