It is hard to see things grow old. The front street of Millen has been renovated and repaved. It certainly looks a lot better from outward appearances, but despite all the cosmetic improvements, it is not the same street I remember from my childhood and youth.

Gone are numerous businesses that used to line the street. Brooks 5 & 10, Wade’s Drug Store, Millen Pharmacy, Hodges Department Store, Maxwell’s Department Store, The Vanity Box, The Bank of Millen, Pal Theater, Brooks Chevrolet, Avret’s T.V. repair shop, Wilson Hardware and Furniture, Stephens I.G.A., The Joybelle, Lee’s Department Store, to name a few, are no longer there. Only The Charm Barn, Neal Hardware, Dwelle Insurance and The Millen News still remain.

I wish I could make things new again. I wish I could shake the dust from the past, open my eyes and see the sidewalks filled with people and the street lined with vehicles. I wish I could walk through those businesses and see the familiar faces of the past - Dr. Wade behind the prescription counter; Dr. Hillis and Pete Mills Sr. busy filling prescriptions with “Hunk” overseeing it all; Robert Stephens checking out groceries; John Brooks walking the car lot; and Ruth Warren greeting customers.

But there is no going back and old things cannot be made new again. And I can’t help but wonder what memories our children and youth of today will have of this community when they are grown? Will they recall Millen and Jenkins County with pride? Are they making memories now that will remain with them a lifetime?

I hope our children and youth of today will recall how Millen and Jenkins County never gave up when hard times hit. I hope they will tell their children of how our citizens worked together to breath life back into a community hit hard by the loss of jobs. I hope they, too, will have the opportunity of recalling memories of crowded sidewalks and businesses along the front street. I hope they will stroll down Cotton Avenue in their mind’s eye and recall how the community moved forward and used the lessons of the past to build a better future.

Cotton Avenue is looking good. Let’s make some memories!

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Beginning next week, The Millen News will close at noon on Fridays.

To accommodate the new work schedule all news items will be due by 5 p.m. Thursdays. Items submitted after the deadline will be held for a later edition.

The only items that will be accepted on Mondays will be classified ads, legal ads obituaries and display ads. Classifieds and legals are due by 11 a.m. Display ads are due by noon. Obituaries will be accepted up until the time of publication.

We appreciate your cooperation in observing the new deadline.

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Happy birthday this week to: Cheryl Adams, Evelyn Shackelford, Krissi Lane, Keith Lee, Raeanna Glisson, Kelsey Fleming, Cindy Bragg, Kay Green, Michael Pickett, Brenda Burke, Roger Brinson, Deborah Bennett and Caleb Wilson.

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Military Active Duty List: PFC E3 Jeremy Johnson, U.S. Army, 59th Quartermaster Company, Ft. Carson, Colorado; Lance Cpl. Adam Lanier, U.S. Marines, 8th & I Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.; E-4 Sr. Airman Roy Davis, U.S. Air Force, RAF Molesworth, United Kingdom; Cpl. Patrick Barnette, U.S. Marines, 29 Palms, California; Sgt. Adam Demshar, 44th Signal Battalion, Baghdad, Iraq; Cpl. Lee Ogden, U.S. Marines, Camp Pendleton, CA; E5 Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Naples, Italy; Senior Airman Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Stuart Burrus, U.S. Air Force, Osan AFB, Korea; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, T. Hood, Texas; Capt. Donald Slade Burke, 735th Air Mobility Squadron Detachment 1 Commander, Richmond Royal Australian AFB, Richmond, Australia; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 48th Brigade, 118th Field Artillery, Iraq; Petty Officer 3rd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Petty Chief Officer Andy D. Crosby, U.S. Navy, Elroy Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Battalion-Augusta, Persian Gulf ; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18th MEDCOM, 121 General Hospital, Seoul, Korea; Jeffrey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kauffman, MM3 59/E-Division, A-Gang, Norfolk, Va.; Cpl. Larry Lamont Clark, U.S. Marine Corp, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Baghdad, Iraq; Khan Young, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, Persian Gulf; Robert Milton Jr., E-3, U.S. Army, Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Ga., Mission Kuwait; Arnold R. Mosley, 2nd Lt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and Debra A. Mosley, Tech. Sgt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and SPC Charles “C.J.” Amerson, U.S. Army, Louisiana.