By Effingham Now
A wreath will be laid at 2 p.m. Saturday at the old African-American cemetery near Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Effingham County.
The public is invited to attend. The ceremony will not include the usual readings or music because of the coronavirus. Masks and social distancing will be required, according to organizer Leroy Lloyd.
The ceremony is in recognition of Black History Month. The cemetery is at 2887 Ebenezer Road, outside the Jerusalem Lutheran Cemetery and near the Ebenezer Lutheran Church and the Ebenezer Retreat Center.
It may be the burial site of 100 freed African-American slaves who died in 1865 as they crossed the swollen Ebenezer Creek, following Union soldiers.
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By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism. Annual wreath-laying ceremony slated at Old African-American Cemetery This granite marker underneath a magnolia tree marks a gravesite for unnamed African-Americans who drowned in Ebenezer Creek in 1865. - photo by Mark Lastinger/staff Leroy Lloyd pours a libation in the early portion of a previous wreath-laying ceremony. - photo by Mark Lastinger/staff
RINCON Annually since 2016, Leroy Lloyd, a former president of the Effingham County Branch NAACP, has led a public wreath-laying ceremony at the Old African-American Cemetery located just outside the Jerusalem Lutheran Cemetery near the New Ebenezer Retreat Center.
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By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism. South Effingham s Butler receives district teacher award Effingham County Teacher of the Year Kimberly Butler listens to South Elementary School third-grader Laney Archer read an essay Friday morning. - photo by Mark Lastinger/staff
GUYTON It isn’t necessary for Kimberly Butler to tell people that she thinks about her job as a language arts teacher. Her face, even while covered by a COVID-19 mask, conveys her opinion thoroughly.
Butler’s eyes glimmered with affection Friday morning while listening to South Effingham Elementary School third graders read creative stories that they penned. Fostering a love for writing in her students is her passion.
Trent Dickerson was honored as Farmer of the Year and Greg Burns of Lane Brothers Auction Co. won Agribusiness of the Year at the Effingham County Young Farmers’ annual banquet.
Also presented at the annual banquet Thursday night at the New Ebenezer Retreat Center were the Honeyridge Livestock Extravaganza winners and the Gene Hart Leadership Awards.
About 100 people attended the banquet and awards were presented by state Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro, and state Rep. Jon Burns, R-Newington.
Hickman presented the Gene Hart Leadership Awards to Macee Smith of South Effingham High School; Bentley Braswell of Effingham Middle School; Emma Connelly of Effingham Middle School; Taylor Lucas of Effingham County High School; and Makayla Davis of South Effingham Middle School.