Left to right: Harry Hinely (on mule), Hugh Hinely, Jud Hinely, Frank Hinely, J. Bruce Hinely (my grandfather on the stump) and their father J. Horace Hinely (my great grandfather). They are using a purchased apparatus used to remove stumps from the ground by digging away some of the soil around the stump with shovels and attaching a cable to a winch with a long shaft which was attached to a larger stump as anchor. A mule team walked in circles eventually working the stump from the ground. This is being done in what is now a field across the road from my home.
This week I looked back to see when I actually penned the first Echoes of Effingham. The accompanying photo was the subject of the first column on February 24. 2006. That was almost twelve years ago. That would be over 600 submitted articles or captioned photographs published. I took off a few months when my mother died, which will be 2 years ago on January 30th. For a few months last year, I did not submit columns due to illness. On special editions, I often wrote an extra column while Pat Donohue was editor when requested. Looking back it seems hard to believe that it has been nearly 12 years.
Please bear with me as my health issues and those of my father may prevent me from writing every week for a short while. I ask for your prayers and thank you for your kind words of encouragement and your photographs and stories you shared with me over these eleven plus years. I still have lots of material and yes, I plan to write these stories that I collected information for just as soon as I am able. Thanks very much.

After 24 years, I will no longer accept Memorial Donations for the American Cancer Society. Checks for Memorials will no longer be processed in the county. We have discontinued the annual Memorial Service. If you would like a Memorial Plaque for a loved one in Effingham Hospital, contact me and I will assist with that. It has been my pleasure to serve our community and the ACS in some capacity for about 35 years. Your donations or Memorial gifts can be sent to: American Cancer Society, 201 South Main St. Ste. A, Statesboro, GA 30458. Please make the check out to The American Cancer Society. Susan Exley 912-754-6681.