the Stembridge Family website

Gunsmith to the Stars – a book involving Stembridge Gun Rentals

February 25, 2015 – 7:48 pm
Cory Zamora was kind enough to let me know that her book: Gunsmith to the Stars will be released next month. We have had several articles about her Father, Manuel Zamora, who worked for Stembridge Gun Rentals in the early days. I hope to get a copy, and learn a little more about a somewhat connected history. I'll post the link here for anyone interested!

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Manuel Zamora of Stembridge Gun Rentals

March 9, 2012 – 11:36 pm
The photo above is Manuel Zamora of Stembridge Gun Rentals demonstrating a gun designed for Howard Hughes. Manuel Zamora with Stewart Granger in 1952 looking over weapons for the film "The Prisoner of Zenda" [nggallery id=2]  

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Even more Stembridge Gun Rentals History!

March 5, 2012 – 11:54 pm
A gentleman by the name of Jim Ferguson wrote me last year: "I was cleaning out a home today and found a box of letters and photos dated in the 1940's. They were letters to a Frederick T. Dickie at Stembridge gun rentals at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. The photos were of lots of neat guns and of some people whom I asume are related to the gun shop. I guess I'm wondering if anyone is interested in seeing this stuff." I wrote back of course, and said yes! Here's what Jim found! [nggallery id=1]  

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a little more Stembridge Gun Rentals History

March 5, 2012 – 2:42 pm
SHORTLY AFTER THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, James Stembridge left his East Coast home and went to Los Angeles to seek his fortune. Somewhere around 1913 he met up with Cecil B. DeMille and landed a job helping him make a war movie. Mr. DeMille wanted James to coach the actors on how to act like soldiers and emulate their habits. This led to some steady work and sometime between 1916 and 1920 they recognized the need to accumulate a stock of firearms that could be used as movie props. Thus was the beginning of the Stembridge gun arsenal. Over the years, James continued looking for and purchasing guns of all make and style and he became the leading armorer for the movie industry. Even though they rented firearms to all the studios, Stembridge Gun Rental was housed in a secure warehouse on the Paramount lot until 1979. The backbone of the business ...

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Joyful Times

November 26, 2011 – 1:15 pm
It has been a great Thanksgiving, and we are looking for to the weeks ahead, as Chelsea will be back for Christmas break from Belhaven, and we have many, many jobs that pretty much all point to the true meaning of the Christmas Season. It is noce to have jobs that take us places, as we don't get out aside from them too often. One of the pitfalls of being self-employed I guess! We were able to visit with my Dad Roer Stembridge, and Betty, and also my brother Jim and his wife Heidi, and even Heather! Mike my youngest brother was a little under the weather, so we did mss him, and Ed and Beth, Chad and Tyler too far away to break away for Thanksgiving. We'll see them all at Christmas.

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Summer of Purpose!

March 5, 2010 – 12:53 am
This summer should be a great one, filled with 2 big mission trips, one to the Savannah Baptist Center with families from our church, and the other back to Kiev to run another ESL camp with Open hearts Church with Pastor Sergey Bochko and his wife Natasha. Many of the students we worked with last year will be back; plus many new students, and working adults. Oh, we also have a new catamaran that a friend from church gave us. Can't wait to get her up and running! We'll post some more updates. Lorretta and I are both on facebook, please look us up!

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Somethings happenin’ in Ukraine!

August 18, 2009 – 2:37 pm
Late last year, we heard about the call for the team that would travel to Ukraine to work with a young; but growing church. We both immediately sensed God's calling to be a part of the team. Over the next months, the rest of the team stepped forward, and we begin preparing. I had never taught ESL before; but was eager to learn, and knew much would involve the personal relationships built with the students. I also began building a relationship with my friend Sergey. He started sharing a little more about the church, and also started sending us photos. He was very interested in seeing photos of us as well, so the church could be praying for us as we prepared. It was exciting to be part of such a close knit group, with so many diverse backgrounds! We really grew close. It was so wonderful to be studying ...

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Ukraine Bound!

July 7, 2009 – 8:03 pm
On Thursday morning, the 9th of July, Lorretta, myself and an additional team of 8 will head to Kiev, Ukraine to lead an ESL Camp with 10 members of the Open Hearts Church in Kiev, and 30 Kiev University Students. The name of the ESL camp 2009 will be the 8th wonder (of the world). Each day (topic and lessons) will be based upon the 7 wonders of the world. the 8th wonder will be - "You are God's wonder (miracle)" The Ukraine is one of the many places that was "untouched by the reformation, and people there live with no real knowledge of what True Christianity really is. We hope that through our actions, and friendships, we will have opportunities to share the "hope that lies within us" Sergey and Natasha Bochko lead the Open Hearts Church, and have been doing much of the ground work for us in ...

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Springtime in the Southland!

March 16, 2009 – 9:28 pm
I for one am thankful that flowers are popping up, and there's much more activity with the birds in the morning. We can finally sit on our front porch again, and thank God for a beautiful new day! more top come...

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Letting Go

February 18, 2009 – 11:32 pm
I shared this in conjunction with a devotion I gave last weekend at the Upward Games. What do you think? Letting Go by Susan Bunts Wachtel So much of life Is learning to let go Letting go of people Who will leave long before I'm ready to say goodbye Letting go of expectations Of how I think someone should act Letting go of my will Accepting God's will for my life Letting go of a dream Without letting go of hope Letting go of sorrows Putting my hope and trust in God Letting go of my way Choosing to put others first Letting go of my sin Remembering I am dead to sin and alive to Christ Letting go of bitterness and hurt Applying the healing balm of forgiveness Letting go of envy Filled with gratitude for what the Lord has given me Letting go of hatred Walking in love Letting go of the past Living in the present Letting go of taking the easy way Willing to endure for that which is of eternal value Letting go of ...

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Resolved!

January 4, 2009 – 1:53 pm
As the new year begins, I have been thinking about resolutions, and the fact that I really haven't been that interested in declaring any, for many, many years. I just finished reading "The Holiness of God", by RC Sproul, and was re-introduced to Jonathon Edwards, who has written some incredibly powerful sermons, one of which is "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". Jonathon was a colonial American Congregational preacher, theologian, and missionary to Native Americans, and also was one to write down resolutions in a diary. He viewed these resolutions as a place for him to stand, and a compass top guide him as he made his way out. As I read through some of his resolutions, I was almost embarrassed at the thought of what my resolutions would be, He was quite serious about his relationship with God. Read some of these, and see what I mean: 1. Resolved, ...

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Advent Season

December 18, 2008 – 1:26 am
This has been a most unusual Christmas season in many years. While we decorated with many lights, and even got a live "dead" tree.... we have been celebrating the advent season like we never did before. Foe faithful Christ-followers, the season of advent is a time of layered realizations, and unfolding, on so many levels that sometimes cross time and space. We have been reading Jotham's Journeys by Arnold Ytreeide in the evenings, Ian has been the main listener, but everyone has caught enough glimpses of the powerful ly exciting tale of young Jotham and his journey to Christ. We too live in a time that there has been much revealed through the ages; yet many don't look at the truth behind what we see and hear. Christmas has become a word that means very little. This has been a season with a different focus for Lorretta and I, perhaps because ...

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Hunting Days

October 6, 2008 – 9:56 pm
Dylan and I have been involved with archery for the past 3 years. We have really enjoyed the competition, and fun that goes along with it. Actually, Dylan does the competition, I coach. This is the first year we have ever gone hunting with our bows. There's actually a lot to it, for newbies like us. We had to make sure our bows were in good shape, get some broadheads, which are the arrow tips used for hunting, and learn all about tree stands. Good for me, my Dad gave me a tree stand that he had gotten to do some limbing; but because of his bad knee had to give that up. Dylan and I both quickly ot aqquainted to putting on safety harnesses, and climbing in a tree, then pulling our bow up with us using a rope. After the 2nd or 3rd time, we began to realize some ...

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Bird Dog Breakaway

September 30, 2008 – 10:08 am
Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" This past weekend, Ian got to run his very first race. We volunteered to give out water at the first annual Bird Dog Breakaway race, sponsored by our local Center for New Beginnings, and after the main event, they had several categories for children, and Ian was asked if he wanted to run, and readily agreed! He came in 3rd place - even wearing blue jeans! It was a fun event for everyone, and the second biggest fundraiser the center has had.

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Are you a Christian or a moralist?

September 9, 2008 – 10:00 pm
written by Marcia Segelstein - OneNewsNow Columnist - 9/9/2008 Traditional Christians whose faith is based on the Bible, who believe that the way to salvation is through Jesus Christ, who believe that there is such a thing as sin and such a thing as hell, are often viewed as intolerant, overbearing fanatics. As a result, they frequently have trouble being understood, much less getting their message across.  Unwittingly they turn people off and are labeled as self-righteous. But maybe the problem isn't that they're too Christian, as their critics might say, but not Christian enough. That's one of the central themes of Dr. Timothy Keller's book, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. Dr. Keller is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, a hugely successful church which now has over 5,000 members and numerous "daughter churches" around the world. The Reason for God is WORLD magazine's 2008 Book of ...

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Interesting Stories

September 9, 2008 – 11:10 am
I just posted 2 stories (not written by me) that share a little more about Marion Wesley Stembridge, that shed a little more light on who he was, and what he did. There's actually a story going on currently involving the house he lived in. "Well, one of our past relatives, Marion Stembridge, is in the news again.  No, not because his ghost has frightened off another interloper in Marion's old house on Washington Street.  The house has been reputed to have his ghost roaming the halls since his demise back in 1953 by his own hand after killing 2 of the attorneys who were trying to put him in jail for the killing of a woman who was trying to help defend John Cooper from  Marion who was trying to get payment for a car he had sold Cooper.  By the way, that house, I think, is for sale because ...

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Marion Stembridge murders rocked 1950s Milledgeville

September 9, 2008 – 10:49 am
written by Jonathan Jackson The Union-Recorder September 05, 2008 09:42 pm Peter Dexter won the National Book Award for fiction in 1988 for his novel "Paris Trout". The book was later adapted into a screenplay, and a 1991 movie version starred Dennis Hopper and Barbara Hershey. The work of fiction, however, had roots in a Milledgeville tragedy that began unfolding almost 60 years ago. Marion Stembridge was a Milledgeville businessmen who, in addition to selling groceries, made a living as a local loan shark. These transactions were reportedly often made between Stembridge and people who could ill-afford to pay back the loans. One of these loans turned deadly in 1949. Stembridge made a loan to a man named John Cooper, who purchased a car. Cooper returned the car to Stembridge in an attempt to rid himself of the note. Stembridge and an employee named Sam Terry reportedly drove to an area of ...

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Milledgeville: A Real Page-Turner

September 9, 2008 – 10:41 am
article written by Carol Clark Special to The Washington Post Sunday, August 10, 2003; P01 "I was there the day Marion Stembridge came up the stairs, wearing that big coat with a pistol in his pocket." Bob Green, a 78-year-old lawyer, was telling me a story as I sat on a bench beneath a tulip tree in Milledgeville, Ga., waiting for the tourist trolley. "I heard the shots from my office. The whole town was aflutter," Green said, recalling the 1953 killing spree that became the basis for Pete Dexter's prize-winning novel, "Paris Trout." Milledgeville, about 100 miles southeast of Atlanta, is a small town full of big stories. The comic and the tragic, the real and the unreal, the famous and the forgotten, all blend together in the rich local lore. A young Oliver Hardy ran the projector at Milledgeville's first movie house. "He sang and danced to entertain people between the picture shows," said guide ...

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Full Circle

July 31, 2008 – 11:45 pm
Way back in 1983, I was finishing my senior year at Winder, Barrow High School,  and made an unusual friend, with an even more unusual message. His name was John Barrett, and he was an athlete. I had never had a friend quite like John  before, he was a really nice person, that listened. I had just started school in a new community, and a new state after my parents divorced. I was very lonely, and sought friendships quickly. Two friends I met were John and Wes King (yeah... the singer). They were really fun to be around, and always seemed to be happy. John was an athlete, and Wes was just plain funny! One night we were sitting at the local McDonalds, in downtown Winder, and we noticed emergency vehicles screaming down the Atlanta Hwy. We wondered what had happened, and guessed out load. We figured it was an accident. A ...

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Fatherhood and the Future of Civilization

June 14, 2008 – 5:24 pm
(awesome article from www.albertmohler.com) Will the world soon experience a return of patriarchy? That is the question raised by Phillip Longman in the March/April 2006 issue of Foreign Policy. The magazine's cover features a rather stunning headline: "Why Men Rule--and Conservatives Will Inherit the Earth." That headline would be surprising in almost any contemporary periodical, but it is especially significant that this article should appear in the pages of Foreign Policy, published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The publication of this article set a good many heads to spinning. Phillip Longman is Bernard L Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation. He is a well-respected author and researcher, whose books have included The Empty Cradle: How Falling Birthrates Threaten World Prosperity and What to Do about It (2004). In his previous works, Longman has projected how falling birthrates throughout advanced societies will lead to financial, political, social, and demographic decline. In ...

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