photos by angelina bellebuono

It began with tears for some. After all, leaving Mom alone all day isn’t an easy task.

For others, the excitement eradicated any fear they had of facing the day. This, after all, was the first day of a new beginning, a new school year and, for some, the first day of a new life. Welcome to Wednesday, Aug. 17 at Morgan County Primary School.

Printed in the August 11, 2011 edition.

Have you seen a movie where the Amish or other rural folks have a barn-raising? Harrison Ford once appeared in a film, "Witness," and the scenes where the Amish volunteered to help a neighbor “raise a barn” was a great contrast to his normal life as a Philadelphia homicide detective. We saw a lot of folks volunteering here in Madison to build a home for Anaiah Rucker. It was an uplifting event to see so many put aside their agendas and do something for a neighbor.
There are stories like that going on in our community on a continuing basis. Some months ago I wrote a story about the faith journey of Rev. Jeff Rogers who along with his congregation is building a new church on Highway 441 at Morris Road. Well slap me on the head, but I entirely missed one of the great stories of the Summit Church and how they are actually building their new sanctuary.

Madison Artists Guild celebrates Gary Hudson

One hundred Madisonians gathered at Madison’s Town 220 last Thursday evening, for the Madison Artists Guild’s revealing of “Art Lives: Work from the 70’s, California and New York.” The exhibit showcases acrylic on canvas work by Gary Hudson, renown abstract artist and former local, through Oct. 30. Hudson, an abstract painter, was a dedicated artist who found the ability to express himself through his medium at an early age. Hudson’s persistence motivated him to create works worthy of exhibition at establishments like the La Jolla Museum of Fine Arts, La Jolla, Calif. in 1969, and two shows at the Reese Paley Gallery in Soho, New York in 1970 and 1972. Hudson’s work was also showcased in a number of different shows including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Annual Painting Exhibition, 1969 to 1970, the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, “Lyrical Abstractions,” April, 1970; “American Painting 1970,” Indianapolis Museum, Wichita Museum, and Cleveland Museum, 1970; “Out of Sight” Museum of Fine Art, San Diego, Calif., 1972; "Four Painters," Berthot, Hudson, Whitten, Quaytman, Poidexter Gallery, New York, 1973; "Monumental Paintings of the ‘60s," San Diego Museum of Fine Art, Calif., 1974; and "34th Biennial Exhibition of Contemportary American Painting," Corcoran Museum, Washington, D.C., 1975. Gary Hudson was among a group of artists in the 1960s and 1970s who were identified as “lyrical abstractionist” painters.

Printed in the August 11, 2011 edition.

Printed in the August 4, 2011 edition.