Five of the Big Cotton Mills in Spray Have Been Purchased, 1910

From the Thursday, June 23, 1910, issue of the Watauga Democrat.

The purchase by Marshal Eield & Company of five of the big cotton mills at Spray may have a far-reaching effect on the cotton mill business in this section. For a long time there have been whispers of a certain mill merger and this may be the beginning of such a thing. With the electrical trust in charge of the power and combinations getting control of an entire milling center there are vast possibilities that may develop.—Raleigh Evening Times.

Word Finally Reaches Community of Soldier's Death in the Philippines, 1900

 “Abner C. Farthing Dead” from the June 7, 1900, issue of the Watauga Democrat

The sad intelligence has just been received by mail from the Philippine Islands that Abner C. Farthing died there about six weeks ago. The particulars of his death and the esteem in which he was held as a soldier will be best conveyed by the following extracts from a letter written to his father by the Captain of his company.

                                San Pablo, P.I.

                                April 8, 1900

C.S. Farthing, Esq., Hattie, N.C.

Dear Sir:--It is with the deepest regret that I notify you of the death of your son Abner. He died in the hospital here today of measles and dysentery after an illness of nearly a month. He had been troubled with dysentery for some time and when measles was added to that, it proved fatal. He will be buried here tomorrow in the military cemetery with appropriate honors by his company in which he was well liked, and in which he served faithfully and will and to the credit of his country.”

Here follows the closing of the letter:

“It is impossible for me to find words in which to express my sympathy for you and your family. Suffice it to say that ou have lost a good son and I a faithful and courageous soldier.

                                Yours respectfully,

                                C.H. Hilton Jr., Capt. 29^th Infty. U.S.V., Carndg, Co. B”

The young and old alike of this community have been saddened and shocked by the news of Abner’s death, not having previously heard of his illness.

The writer has had intimate relations with the deceased as a schoolboy and had a high opinion of him as a thoughtful, studious youth. He was open-hearted and frank and as a pupil I never knew him to be guilty of a really mean act. Truly a noble youth has been sacrificed to an ignoble cause. May the good Lord comfort the bereaved parents and bless this lesson of mortality to the good of the deceased, are the heart-felt wishes of the writer.

                                --W.S. Farthing

Five Horseless Carriages Race From New York City to Seattle, 1909

On June 1, 1909, five horseless carriages lined up at New York City Hall (illustrated below) to begin a cross-country race. Would the Acme, the Shawmut, the Itala or one of the two Model-T Fords win? Would any of them make it all the way to Seattle, Washington? Twenty-two days later, the Model-T crossed the finish line, arriving in time for Seattle’s Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exposition. The winning company placed the following account in an advertisement in The Southern Planter, 1944.

“President Taft Gave the Starting Signal” from a 1944 advertisement in The Southern Planter.

It is June 1, 1909. For weeks the papers have been full of the exciting news. Now, before the New York City Hall, five ‘Horseless carriages”—an Acme, a Shawmut, an Itala and two Model-T Fords—stand hub to hub.

Anxiously mechanics make final adjustments.  Then, from the White House, President Taft flashes the starting signal. And America’s first transcontinental auto race is under way.

West of St. Louis 7-day rains had turned the country roads into quagmires. Across the prairies and in Colorado average speeds were cut to 10 miles an hour.

At Cheyenne, Wyoming, the big Itala quit the race. The others plowed on. Near the summit of the Cascades they fought their way against towering snow drifts.

Days later, Ford Car Number 2—the winner—entered the gates of Seattle’s Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exposition. It had crossed the continent in 22 days and 55 minutes, with New York air still in the two front tires!

As he awarded the trophy cup, Colonel M. Robert Guggenheim said: “Mr. Ford’s theory that  a light-weight car, highly powered…can go places where heavier cars cannot go, and can beat heavier cars costing five and six times as much, on the st3eep hill or on bad roads, has been proved.

“I believe Mr. Ford has the solution of the problem of the popular automobile.”

The proof of that no longer rests in a single car which won a race, but in the 30 million cars and trucks Ford has built since then. And today millions of them are providing reliable, economical transportation for wartime America.

Meanwhile the inventive genius and the precision skills associated with the name Ford continue to serve the nation in the mass production of giant aircraft and other means to victory.

In the days of peace ahead, Ford’s resourcefulness will again produce soundly-engineered motor cars, priced within the reach of the largest number of people.

Boone's 4th of July Celebration to Feature Aeroplanes, 1922

Celebrate the 4^th at Boone, Aeroplanes, Band and Real Patriotic Addresses” from the June 8, 1922, issue of the Watauga Democrat, Boone

Two U.S. Army Aeroplanes to Boone for 4^th Celebration—Lenoir American Legion Band of 30 Men Also Contracted for That Day

Word was received from Senator Overman of Washington, D.C., and Col. Bowley of Camp Bragg that two Army aeroplanes of the war time type will be sent to Boone for the 4^th of July celebration. The Watauga post, American Legion, who are sponsoring this day are sparing no time or expense to make this the biggest and best that has ever been held in this section, the aeroplanes being just a part of the many novelties and amusements.

The Lenoir American Legion band of 30 professional musicians and of exceptional ability have been contracted for and will help make this day long to be remembered by young and old. Patriotic addresses, ball games, races, sports of all kinds and amusements of all kinds are being signed up from day to day and will be published as soon as they are certain that they will be here.

Board of Trustees of Jefferson School Honors William L. Scott, 1922

Resolution adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Jefferson School, Jefferson, N.C., May 3, 1922

Be it resolved by the Board of Trustees of the Jefferson School, Jefferson, North Carolina,

That whereas, Professor William L. Scott, the President of the Jefferson School and its active head for the past nine years, has signified his intention to sever his connection with the school at the close of the present session and not accept re-election as President,

And whereas, the board of trustees is deeply sensible of the great service President Scott has rendered the school and is highly conscious of the loss the school is sustaining by his departure:

I.That we extend to Professor the united heart-felt thanks of the school’s backers and friends, far and near, for the faithful, earnest and splendid service that he has given during the past nine years. He has labored unceasingly, in season and out of season, for the development of an institution that will serve the boys and girls of his own mountains. He has laid his heart and his life unreservedly on the altar erected by the Western North Carolina Conference and called the Jefferson School. By precept and by example, he has been an inspiration to the pupils who have sat at his feet. From him they have learned high Christian ideals of life and have gone out to other institutions and into the world nobler and truer and more Christ-like men and women because Professor Scott has been their teacher. Many of them, inspired and encouraged by this man, have given their whole lives to the service of the Master. They have lighted their torches at the flame Professor Scott has kept burning and have gone out to make brighter their world and to be a blessing to Western North Carolina:

II. That we, as the managers of the Jefferson School, say unreservedly that Prof. Scott has served the school better than any other could have done. Through discouragement and financial difficulties, he has kept his place loyally at the helm, and proved to Ashe county and the surrounding section that true-hearted and God-fearing teachers can make a great school without fine and elaborate equipment. He has served his church in such a way that we can apply to him the plaudit our Master gave another long ago: “He has done what he could.”

III. That from our hearts we wish for him and his family health, happiness and success in his new field of labor; and along with our loving wishes goes our deep regret that we are losing him and his excellent service and he carries also our unending gratitude for all  that he has done for the school, for the town, for Ashe county and for Western North Carolina—a work that we verily believe will bless a far-flung space and unborn generations.

IV. That a copy of these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of our Board; that copies be sent to the Ashe Recorder, the Watauga Democrat and the North Carolina Christian Advocate for publication, and that a copy be presented to Professor Scott as a token of our love, our thanks, and our good wishes.

(Signed)               Juo. F. Kirk, Pres.

                                G.L. Park, Sec.

                                T.E. Wagg

                                W.H. Worth, Treas.

                                J.D. Thomas

                                W.E. Johnson

To Dad...With Love, Families in Randolph County Area

From "To Dad...with love," published June 24, 2014, online at http://courier-tribune.com/living/dad-love. In honor of Father's Day, The Courier-Tribune of Asheboro printed tributes written about fathers in the community. The tribute below was written about Obed Reitzel by his daughter, Winnie Reitzel Allred. Other fathers remembered by the newspaper include Ford Coleman by Gayle Coleman; James Upton by Doris Pope of Asheboro; Robert Edwin "Ed" Bass by Wilkes Macaulay; Elton Caviness by Trisha Caviness Ballance; John David Allred by Tim, Janine, Danny, Sharon and Pam; Gerald Steven Cagle by his sister Susan C. King; Jeff McDuffie by Jordan McDuffie; Joseph William Belle by Laura Davis; Isaac (Ike) Brown by Charlene Brown Welch; Edsel Hicks by Bradley Hicks; Donald Yow by Trisha, Gregg, Macey, Kynley and Will; Tony Brown by Brandy Brown; Dock Swaney by Carolyn Tysinger, Darrell, Jerry and Todd Swaney; William Henry West by Mabel West Pike; Rancie Lee (Bud) Moore Jr. by the McNeill, Moore and Lamb families. I hope each of these tributes finds its way into someone's family history. 

My father was Obed Reitzel of Randleman. He was a World War I veteran. When we were growing up, he liked to move around a lot. He worked in textile and also was into mining. He worked in the coal mine in Bluefield, W.Va., also in the Egypt coal mine in Cumnock, N.C., in Lee County; also in the talc mine in Robbins, N.C.

He helped my mother, Mary Reitzel, with canning and washing clothes. Together they raised five children. He was the son of Michael Armstead and Alice Harrell Reitzel of Randleman. 

Don't Worry, Illiterate White Men Will Still Be Able to Vote, 1900

“No White Man Disenfranchised” from the June 7, 1900, issue of the Wilmington Star

With the hope of building up opposition to the constitutional amendment, its opponents, led by Senators Pritchard and Butler are trying to make illiterate white voters believe that they will be disfranchised if the amendment is adopted. They know that there is not a particle of truth in this, but they are asserting it and playing this as one of their big cards in the game. They know that under this amendment every white man in the State who is now entitled to vote will continue to be a voter, and they know, too, that every white boy who comes of age before 1908 and registers will become a voter and continue to vote. After 1908 it will be necessary for those coming of age to be able to read and write, but this gives ample time for every white boy growing up to learn to read and write.

What transparent folly it would be for men who are contending for white supremacy to disfranchise their own people and leave the ballot box open to the negroes. The assertion carries its absurdity with it.

But they say it will be declared unconstitutional because it discriminates against the negroes. This is not true. It does not discriminate against the negroes, for any negro who was entitled to vote in 1867, in this or any other State, or the lineal descendant of such negro, will be entitled to vote, so that there is no discrimination on that ground. There may be very few of these, but the fact that they are not barred from voting knocks out the discrimination objection.

There is not the slightest danger of that section being declared unconstitutional by the courts, without so declaring the other section, for they are so coupled that they must stand or fall together. This is in accordance with the opinion of courts on germane questions and is the opinion of the ablest lawyers who have studied this question.

Economical Wedding, 1900

From the June 7, 1900, issue of the Watauga Democrat

George Kocher of Exeter and Miss Ettie Baird of Lake town married themselves yesterday to save the expense of a minister, and will spend the $5 thus saved in staring housekeeping.

The groom is 58 and the bride is 38 years old. After paying 50 cents for a marriage license and discovering that a minister was an expensive luxury, they called Thos. Harding, a constable, and Commissioners; Clerk George Doyle as witnesses, and quietly announced themselves as willing to be married and then declared that they were married form that moment.

This form of marriage is legal in Pennsylvania.

Grace Noll Crowell Poem Published, 1935

Poem by Grace Noll Crowell in the June, 1935, issue of Carolina Co-operator

She had so little in her house

Of that which money buys,

Plain things they are, but Oh, she is

Strangely beauty-wise;

She hides the old worn wood of chairs

With bright paint, smoothly spread;

Her table is an orange flame;

And dull blue is her bed.

Her small yard yields for love of her,

Her little orchard bends

Beneath its gold and scarlet fruit;

The birds are all her friends.

She brings armloads of beauty in

To brighten every room;

A bowl of fruit, light-spangled here,

And there a mass of bloom.

And her small house is lovelier

With God’s paint, and her own,

Than almost any other house

That I have ever known.

                                --Grace Noll Crowell

Should U.S. Help Russia Re-Arm? 1946

An editorial from the June 10, 1946, issue of The Robesonian, Lumberton, considers whether helping Russia rearm her military machine might cause problems in the future. It did, of course.

According to some realistic interpreters of present trends, the appeasement policy of America toward Russia bears a strong resemblance to the policy pursued for years toward Japan, and is likely to have a similar result. It was argued then that Japan meant no harm, that we just didn’t understand Japan and must try to understand the Orientals better and all would be well. So we sold scrap iron to Japan and Japan returned it to us at Pearl Harbor and later. We are now helping Russia to re-arm and re-equip her vast military machine while we are reducing ours far below wartime strength.

And we are told that we just don’t understand Russia, that she means no harm, would not dream of attacking the western allies. And Soviet agents are everywhere, and some of the wise observers of international events are wondering if at least some of the strikes that have been plaguing and weakening this country since V-J day are not due to the subtle propaganda of these same ubiquitous Soviet agents.

Home Demonstration Women Help Battle Tuberculosis in North Carolina

Why were Home Demonstration women volunteering at and promoting chest X-rays? Before the discovery of an antibiotic that was effective against tuberculosis, the disease was a serious health problem in North Carolina. Chest x-rays could uncover the disease.

The following is from a “Cooperative Program Between the North Carolina Tuberculosis Association and the Organization of Home Demonstration Work” in North Carolina. The poster is an example of an educational aid used in the discussion of prevention. It is from a county health department in Troy, N.Y. For more information on TB in North Carolina, the N.C. Museum of History has an online exhibit at http://ncmuseumofhistory.org/exhibits/healthandhealing/topic/13/ and Western Carolina University’s Digital Heritage has an article on sanitariums online at http://digitalheritage.org/2010/08/sanitariums/.

The Problem:

The public lacks necessary information about tuberculosis, a disease with a high death rate. Cases are often discovered late and a large number of unknown cases exist throughout North Carolina. When TB is discovered, patients face long waiting lists for expensive treatment. People fail to recognize the seriousness of the problem, and that recovery is slow. When the disease is arrested, patients and families need help adjusting and to keep the disease from reoccurring.

The Tuberculosis Association will consult and furnish printed materials, visual aids, speakers, background information, and sessions with home agents.

Home Demonstration agents will attend training and arrange programs on tuberculosis to be presented to home demonstration club members at one meeting a year, preferably in October or November.

Home Demonstration Club Members and Health Leaders can (1) see that families at the “end of the road” know of facilities available and are encouraged to use them; (2) help arouse public sentiment to promote necessary facilities; (3) In some cases, help getting persons to clinics; and (4) help patients when they return home so that they can maintain their health and not have to return to the sanitorium.

Aims Through Adult Education:

--To give public the general facts about tuberculosis, its causes, prevention, and treatment.

--To develop desirable attitudes toward the disease which will call forth habits and practices necessary to prevent its spread.

--To inform the public of the local situation and what facilities are available to combat it.

--To urge maximum use of present facilities and create a desire for obtaining whatever is needed for better casefinding, treatment, rehabilitation, and family service.

Tuberculosis Association Executive Committee:

Kemp D. Battle, Rocky Mount, President; Dr. H.F. Eason, Wilson, Vice-President; Elizabeth Smith, Goldsboro, Secretary; T.W. Steed, Raleigh, Treasurer; Dr. M.D. Bonner, Jamestown; Dr. Derwin Cooper, Durham; Rowland L. Garrett, Elizabeth City; Mrs. W.T. Smither, Winston-Salem; Frank W. Webster, Raleigh, Executive Secretary.

Field Secretaries:

C. Scott Venable, Western District; Nelson W. Stephenson, South Central District; Anne Mann, Northeastern District; Sarah Peatross, Southeastern District; James Thomas, Northwestern District; Mrs. Velma T. Joyner, Negro Health Educator

County Level:

A tuberculosis association is organized in the following counties: Alamance, Beaufort, Buncombe, Burke, Carteret, Catawba, Cleveland, Craven, Durham, Duplin, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Hertford, Lenoir, Mecklenburg, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Pasquotank, Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Rutherford, Stanly, Wake, Warrant, Wayne, and Wilson.

Home Demonstration State Staff

N.C. State College, Raleigh--I.O. Schaub, Director; John W. Goodman, Assistant Director; D.S. Weaver, Assistant Director, Ruth Current, State Home Demonstration Agent; Anamerle Arant, Northwestern District Agent; Mrs. Esther G. Willis, Southwestern District Agent; Lorna Langley, Northeastern District Agent; Nell Kennett, Western District Agent; Mrs. Verona Lee J. Langford, Eastern District Agent; Mrs. Mary McAllister, Southeastern District Agent; S. Virginia Wilson, Nutritionist; Pauline Gordon, Home Management Specialist

A&T College, Greensboro—Mrs. Dazelle F. Lowe, Western Negro District Home Agent; Wilhelmina R. Laws, Southeastern Negro District Home Agent; Mrs. Ruby C. Carraway, Northeastern Negro District Home Agent; Mrs. Bessie R. Ramseur, Negro Subject Matter Specialist.

County Level:

A Home Demonstration Agent serves in each of the 100 counties, and a Negro Home Demonstration Agent in 46 counties. There are 79 assistant home agents.

I.O. Schaub and Jane McKimmon In the News, June 1937

DEAN I.O. SCHAUB, director of the State Extension Service, who introduced principal speaker Harold d. Cooley at the Annual Meeting. Dean Schaub has served as public director of the Cotton Association for the past three years, and on the day of the annual Meeting General Manager Mann read a communication from Governor Clyde R. Hoey reappointing Dean Schaub to the post he has filled so well.

DR. JANE S. McKIMMON, assistant director of the State Extension Service, who was nominated as director-at-large of the Farmers Cooperative Exchange at the annual meeting. In making the nomination, Mrs. E.L. Shearon of Wake Count y declared that she thought the farm women of the state should have more representation in the FCX as well as in other farm organizations. The 2,500 assembled farmers and farm women signified their agreement by a rising vote.

North Carolinians Don’t Recognize Their Own State Flag, 1910

From the Thursday, June 23, 1910, issue of the Watauga Democrat.

Judge George P. Pell’s suggestion that the county commissioners keep a North Carolina State flag flying over the court house during the sessions of the superior Court was a good one, and we trust that the board will lose no time in following it. It used to be the custom to have a State flag draped behind the judge’s bench and that custom also should be revived. The people of the State should revere its emblem and, as Judge Pell stated, the sight of the flag is well calculated to instill and foster the sense of patriotism. Too few North Carolinians know their flag when they see it.

Home Demonstration Club Work, June 1938

“The Woman’s Touch or What Club Work Means to N.C. Farm Women” by Jane S. McKimmon, State Home Demonstration Agent and Assistant Director of Extension, N.C. State College, in the June, 1938, issue of Carolina Co-operator

Mrs. J.M. Kerr, Beaufort County, invited guests to her home on June 3 to see a demonstration of how to mix concrete and make a flag stone walk.

Mrs. A.N. Corpening, Caldwell County, is enjoying a water supply as the result of her son’s labors, with the exception of installing the fixtures.

Stanly County women are interested in club buildings and three clubs have been working during the past two months on improvements.

Mrs. J.B. Ivey of Charlotte discussed native varieties of flowers and shrubs that could be used effectively in landscaping grounds at a garden party which was given by the County Federation of Home Demonstration Clubs in the Agricultural Extension building in Mecklenburg County recently.

Camden County home demonstration club women have planted 350 dogwood trees around their homes since last November, reports Mary Teeter, home agent of the State College Extension Service.

Retired Extension Agent Founded State Fair's Village of Yesteryear and the Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts

Mary Cornwell of Wayneville, retired Extension home economics agent, creator of North Carolina State Fair’s Village of Yesteryear, and founder of the Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts, received the Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Award in 1989. Her work as an agent with the North Carolina Extension Service in Cherokee and Haywood counties from 1942 to 1976 introduced her to mountain crafts.

“During the ‘40s she helped relocate families displaced by the Tennessee Valley dam projects Fontana and Appalachia.

And it was in Cherokee County that she met homemaker and crafts-woman Laura Warner, sister of Penland School of Crafts founder Lucy Morgon, and learned about crafts through her and the John C. Campbell Folk School at Brasstown.

“Mrs. Warner called me the first day I was there,” Miss Cornwell said. “And she said, ‘What do you about crafts?’ I said ‘I don’t know a thing, but I want to learn.’ She said, ‘God bless you, I’m on my way to see you.’

“And here she came driving a T-Model Ford. She walked in the office and gave me a bunch of necklaces with pewter crosses. And it created my interest.”

In 1949 she moved to Waynesville as Haywood County Home Demonstration agent, and two years later was asked by State Fair Director J.S. Dorton to create the Village of Yesteryear, which would be devoted to mountain handicrafts and craftspeople demonstrating the old crafts.

The Village of Yesteryear, Mary Cornwell recalled, began with 14 craftspeople from Cherokee, Haywood, Yancey, and Watauga counties in a small slab building 14 feet by 20 feet with two tables. Today more than 100 craftspeople demonstrate and explain their work in a permanent spacious brick structure.”

For the rest of this article on Mary Cornwell, go to http://digitalheritage.org/2012/12/mary-cornwell-1989/

Local News from the June 7, 1900, Watauga Democrat in Boone

“Local News” from the June 7, 1900, issue of the Watauga Democrat, Boone

Fine growing weather. Corn hoeing is now on in full blast.

The boarders are beginning to arrive at Blowing Rock.

Edward Bach, general manager of the Elk Knob copper mines, was in town this week.

County up the kids and get ready for the census enumerator—that is, if he has not already called.

Mr. Murray P. Critcher leaves this week for Linville with his horses, vehicles, etc., and will open a livery stable at that place.

The fruit crop in the mountains is simply immense. In fact, the crop is too heavy in many localities for the timber to bear it.

Mr. F.P. Curtis and family of Butler, Tenn., was in town this week on their return from a visit to Mr. Curtis’ father in Wilkes county.

Prof. B.B. Dougherty returned Tuesday from Mossy Creek, Tenn., where he delivered an address at the commencement at Mossy Creek College.

On last Friday quite a number of the young people of Boone and vicinity picnicked at Blowing Rock. A most splendid dinner was served and a very enjoyable occasion is reported.

D.B. Dougherty was taken ill in Tennessee and was forced to abandon his trip to the Louisville Reunion. He returned home yesterday, and is feeling some better but is still rather feeble.

Our new Presiding Elder, Rev. Mr. Renn, seems to be making a most favorable impression on the people. The Quarterly meeting at Fairview is reported as the best they have had for many years.

Hon. W.B. Councill and wife returned yesterday from Milwaukee, Wis., where Mr. Councill has been on legal business. On their return they stopped over in Chicago for a number of days, and at other points of interest on the route.

W.C. Ervin, Attorney for the Carolina and North Western railroad, informs us that the survey has been made eight miles down the mountain in the direction of Lenoir from Cook’s Gap, and that the surveyors are highly pleased with the route so far. This puts them over the hardest part of the line and is confidently believed that the survey as made will be adopted by the company.

Old friend Pat Crisp of Lenoir was nominated on last Saturday by the Republicans of Caldwell county as a candidate for the Legislature. Mr. Crisp is a very clever gentleman, but he is on the wrong side to succeed in Caldwell this year.

Quite a number of extra papers are being sent out from this office, but they are paid for by the Carolina and Northwestern Railroad Company. So if one is sent to you, it is sent for the purpose of laying before you the railroad matter that will appear in our columns from week to week.

The Zinns-Bach Mining and Lumber Co., has again begun operation at their mines at Elk Knob with a good force of hands, and the property will be developed as rapidly as possible. Attorney Edward Bach has been elected General Manager of the business to succeed E.F. Zinns. The suit that has been pending between the members of the company has been satisfactorily compromised, and we trust there will be no further trouble.

The railroad mass meeting was largely attended by our people on last Monday, and the entire gathering was very enthusiastic for a railroad, provided, however, it comes through Cook’s Gap and passes through the county. This is one time the Republicans, democrats and all men of all parties have come together, and under proper conditions the bonds will be voted. This is not a political measure, and we hope none of our people will so consider it, but work for the road in every way possible, as we are bound to have one before our county can ever make any very great improvements. The road we must have.

On the Democrat's Slate in Watauga County in 1900

“Democratic County Convention” from the Watauga Democrat, June 7, 1900, Robert C. Rivers, editor and proprietor

On Thursday of last week the Democrats of Watauga county met in convention at the court house in Boone, and after the regular business of nomination of a full legislative and county ticket has gone into the with the following result:

For Representative—Edgar S. Coffey

For the Senate, 30^th Dist.—Wiley H. Swift

For Sheriff—W.L. Hendrix

For Register of Deeds—Calvin J. Cottrell

For Surveyor—Jones C. Greer

For Coroner—Thomas F. Cook

County Commissioners:

Hugh A. Dobbin

Will W. Holsclaw

James P. Taylor

The convention was largely attended, and harmonious in every respect, there not being the least quibble of any kind in the nominations….

The following resolutions were drafted and unanimously adopted:

We the Democratic party of Watauga county, in convention assembled to hereby affirm and reiterate our adherence to the principles of the great Democratic party, and we do hereby resolve:

1^st. that we will use our best efforts to promote the cause of good government, and denounce and contradict in unmeasured terms the false doctrines of the present campaign which are being promulgated by the Republican leaders.

2^nd. That we heartily endorse the action of the legislature of 1899 in taking steps for the betterment of the dominant race whereby a large portion of the colored race in North Carolina are to be eliminated from politics.

3^rd. That we endorsed the enactment of the election law as passed by the last legislature, and believe it to be just and fair.

4^th. That we heartily endorse the platform and principles laid down by the Democratic State Convention which assembled in Raleigh on the 11^th day of April 1900, and we believe that the nomination of Hon. Chas. B. Aycock by said convention was a wise and good choice and that he will make a prudent an deficient executive of whom the whole state will be proud.

5^th. That we do most earnestly endorse the candidacy of Hon. E.F. Lovell for Congress in this district, and if nominated we pledge to him our hearty and undivided support.

A further resolution was passed giving Capt. Lovill the privilege of selecting his own delegates to the congressional convention to be called hereafter.

Respectfully submitted, T.P Adams, J.C. Fletcher, T.L. Lowe, Committee

Bigger Isn't Better, 1946

“Danger in Bigness” from the Editorial Page of the Monday, June 10, 1946, issue of The Robesonian, Lumberton

Speaking the other day at little Washington college in Maryland where he received an LLD, President Truman said that “small towns are the best towns and small colleges and universities suit me best.” He said further that he would “rather see hundreds of small insurance companies than one large one, and 100 small steel corporations than one U.S. Steel Corp., and a hundred banks than one National City bank.  Small companies give a number of good men opportunities.”

The President certainly has something there, all the way through. The News and Observer, quoting Mr. Truman’s remarks recalls that the last Justice Brandeis, being asked “What is the greatest danger in America?” replied, “Bigness. I think this country is great on account of its small educational institutions more than anything else,” and quoted with approval Garfield’s idea of a college, “a bench in a log house with himself on one end of the bench and Mark Hopkins on the other.” His idea on that was that “Mark Hopkins was famous as an educator because he was an individual educator.” The Raleigh paper adds:

Truman and Brandeis saw the dangers as Theodore Roosevelt saw when he was heading toward his Progressive party. He saw oil and tobacco monopolies impoverishing the small oil producers and tobacco growers, and the consumers, and began the prosecution that resulted in their conviction under the anti-trust laws. There is need of pressing to a conclusion the strengthening of the anti-trust laws, a repeal of the law exempting the over-big fire insurance trust, and the killing of the house measure to exempt railroads from the anti-trust laws. One of the evils of bigness is that it tends to monopoly, and Brandeis was an inveterate foe of all monopoly.

President Truman the week before had found it necessary to crack down on bigness of labor union bosses who by the rail and soft coal strikes had brought disaster upon the American people. Bigness is the trouble with the labor unions. Their leaders have challenged the authority of the government itself. Strikes against the welfare of the people have approached the point of revolution, largely as a result of legislative and judicial acts of the past decade.

Labor unions if broken up into small units could be a great blessing. They have gotten too big, just as oil and tobacco monopolies got too big and powerful and had to be trimmed down to size.

It would be a healthy thing for the unions as well as for the country to have the powers of the big unions curtailed by remedial legislation.

Watauga County's Reaction When Rowan County Sends Them a Missionary, 1900

From the editorial page of the Watauga Democrat, June 7, 1900, Robert C. Rivers, editor and proprietor

Miss Lucky from Rowan county is in our midst as a missionary. She is looking up the benighted and illiterate communities with the hope of doing them good. No doubt this lady came here with the purest and best of motives, but we must say—and are proud that we can say it—that if she is looking for a destitute community in Watauga county she will never find it. Our people, in some parts of the county, are deficient, educationally, but they are all in touch with the gospel. We don’t think that there is a single person in Watauga county but could, with little effort, attend Sabbath school every Sunday—and most of them do it. The Sunday School literature of the different churches is used all over the county, and we must think that Watauga, according to its size, has as many churches as any other county, and as a rule, they are so well attended.

We always welcome strangers who come in our midst, and the more of them the better, but we have never yet felt that we needed missionaries. The same great God who rules and watches over the great cities gave the Bible to the inhabitants of the mountains and minds to read it. Yes, our people live well and die well and what more can we ask.

Stories from Across North Carolina, June 1919

“N.C. State News: A Digest of Everything Worth Knowing About Old North State Folks and Things” from the Friday, June 27, 1919,  issue of the Elizabeth City Independent

The three-year canning club record of Miss Tazzie Dean and her two sisters of Granville County is considered an unusual achievement by the United States Department of Agriculture. On one-fifth of an acre in this period of time the girls have earned enough from their canned vegetables to remodel and paint their home and buy new furniture; to pay half the expenses of one girl in college for two years, and to pay a part of the cost of a new automobile. In addition, they supplied the family table with garden products, all from this plot of ground.

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Sheriff J.E.C. Bell of Vance County has been indicted on a charge of gambling. The case is now being tried in the courts of the county.

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Ed Coley, charged with criminal assault on 11-year-old Glady Stanberry, whose disappearance from her home in Nash County occasioned much alarm last week, has been bound over to the Superior court without bail. Coley was a laborer on the Stanberry farm.

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Edward Kidder Graham Jr., son of the late President Graham of the University of North Carolina, has been adopted by the trustees of the University, who will care for and educate the boy as a memorial t his distinguished father. The boy’s mother died two years ago.

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Paul Wagner of Newton, a member of one of the Agricultural Extension Service poultry clubs, has a flock of 15 hens which have laid 1,108 eggs in four months from Feb. 1 to June 1. Wagner has realized a net profit of $33.40 on his small flock, or an average gain of $2 per hen.

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The combined exhibits of several United States Government departments will be shown at the State Fair to be held in Raleigh in October. This material will include photographs, charts, and miscellaneous samples from the Department of Agriculture, Trophies of the Great War from the War Department, and models of ships with all sorts of navy equipment from the Navy Department.

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North Carolina Masons celebrated Tuesday, June 24 as St. John’s Day at the Oxford Orphanage. Many members of the organization were present at the exercises, which included a barbecue and the presentation of the Grand Lodge Memorial to Past Grand Master Claude L. Pridgen of Kinston.

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Rev. Joe Johnson, pastor of the colored Church of God and Saints of Christ in Wilson was assaulted in the pulpit last Sunday by a member of his congregation armed with a knife. Parson Johnson beat off his assailant with a chair, and both were fined in police court next day.

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To meet the great and increasing demand for competent highway engineers in North Carolina, the State College at Raleigh has created a new department of highway engineering, which will be a suibdivision of the civil engineering department. All this year’s graduates in civil engineering are going into State highway work.

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The tax rate for the city of Durham has been fixed at $1.50 per $100 property valuation for the coming year. Due to the economical administration of the city government, a surplus of about $11,000 has accumulated. Salaries of the city clerk and city auditor were increased, and the city tax collector was placed on a salary basis of $2,400 per year.

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The National Prisoners’ Relief Society is endeavoring to have the Department of Justice investigate prison conditions in North Carolina, following a recent investigation by the North Carolina prison board, by whom charges were declared groundless. The board likewise denies that prisoners reporting cruel treatment were severely punished.

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The city commissioners of Raleigh have decreed that public dancing in that city must be above reproach, but they are uncertain just how to cope with the quivery “shimmie” and other ultra-modern dances which they argue are being carried on in an objectionable manner. It is suggested that a police matron be present as a chaperone at each dance.

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Two bold burglars recently entered the home of Miss Corrinna Rogers of West Durham and at the point of a pistol made her submit to being gagged, blindfolded and tied hand and foot to the bed, after which they ransacked the room, appropriating $75 in currency. Miss Rogers was found and released by the cook early in the morning. The robbers have not been apprehended.

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A red flag was raised at the naval air station at Morehead city one night last week, and as a result four sailors are locked in the guard house awaiting trial for mutiny. The trouble is said to have arisen over discontent among the men due to the cancellation of discharge orders. The flag has been sent to Washington for finger print tests.

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Stripped utterly naked and with a 5-ounce bottle of poison lying two-thirds empty besides her, Vassie Thompson, 35-year-old white woman was recently found dead in a vacant house in Raleigh. The woman has long been addicted to the use of drugs, and when under their influence was possesses of an insane mania to tear off her clothes. She has a son in France.

W.W. Andrews Talks About Farming and Politics, 1935

“A Fireside Chat” with G.M. Mann, General Manager of Carolina Co-operator, as published  June, 1935

This month Mr. Mann is visiting the home of W.W. Andrews near Goldsboro in Wayne County. Mr. Andrews represented his county in the State Legislature in 1929 and again during this past session, and from the 1935 Legislative manual we glean the following information: Born in Wayne County, October 14, 1886. Attended rural schools and Guilford College. Farmer. Member Democratic Executive Committee. Methodist and member of the Board of Stewards since 1930 and chairman of this group in 1934. Member Belfast School Board for 15 years and chairman for past five years. Member of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Cotton Growers Co-operative Association.

The Writer: It would not do for me to live here, Mr. Andrews, as crazy as I am about trains—why with the track this near to me I would just be looking at trains all day long.

Mr. Andrews: You’re wrong—you’d soon tire of them and you wouldn’t even see them when they passed.

The Writer: You certainly have one thing around your home that every farmer should have—a grape arbor.

Mr. Andrews: I expect a lot more farms will have them now after what the 1935 General Assembly did.

The Writer: That’s mighty fine looking tobacco land over there.

Mr. Andrews: Yes, Mr. Mann, we do very well with tobacco and we have in times past done very well with cotton.

The Writer: I just don’t see how you have been able to keep your farming operations going as you have with the many things you have done on the outside, as shown in the little booklet entitled “Who’s Who In the Legislature.”

Mr. Andrews: Well, Mr. Mann, lots of this credit should go to my wife and 21-year-old son who assume the responsibility of running the farm when I’m away. There are three things I think every man ought to devote a little time to—and these are, first, the church in his community, next is the educational development of his community, and the next is the political side of his community and State. The trouble of the whole business is that too many of us stand off and say let the other fellow do it.

The Writer: You certainly have done your part, Mr. Andrews. Incidentally, I believe you were one of the first to get back of the cooperative movement.

Mr. Andrews: Yes, I believe in the cooperative movement. It is the only salvation of the farmer. Of course, all of us know that mistakes have been made, yet I am proud of what the Cotton Association has accomplished, and it is a living example of what can be accomplished in other things.

The Writer: I, too, have been interested in the co-operative movement ever since it started, and even before any cooperative was formed in this State, and what gives me encouragement is that men such as yourself are willing to throw their support behind it. Of course, the trouble is that enough influential men are not willing to assume the role of leadership.

Mr. Andrews, I believe you were a member of the agricultural committee and also honored with a most important chairmanship during the recent Legislature, and though I know it is hard on you, I am frank to say that I am glad that a man of your ability and sympathy was named chairman of the committee on State hospitals. If there is any class of people who need sympathy and tender consideration, it is those who have had the misfortune to be placed in these institutions.

Mr. Andrews: Well, Mr. Mann, it was a hard job and a task that I did not feel worthy of, but I did do my best to lighten the sufferings of those confined in our institutions, then I am glad that I had the opportunity of serving. I do wish, Mr. Mann, that more of our citizens would think not only during the Legislature but throughout the year about those less fortunate ones and would have constructive criticism to offer and especially let us know if they have any reason to believe those confined to the hospitals are not being treated as they should be.

It seems to me that we should be able to provide without any quibbling enough money to carry on the work of these institutions in an efficient way.

The Writer: Mr. Andrews, it has certainly been a joy to run out and talk with you, and I certainly hope that The One who does all things wisely will give you a bountiful harvest this season to repay you for the sacrifices you made to stay in the Legislature.

Mr. Andrews: Thank you, Mr. Mann. I am always glad to have you come by when you are in this second and if I can do anything to help you in the cooperative work, I want you to call on me.

If you don’t come before, be sure and come during the grape season—and bring Mrs. Mann with you.

The Writer: Thank you, Mr. Andrews—we will certainly try to do that. You know Mrs. Mann feels like Goldsboro is her home. She went to high school there—I won’t tell you how many years ago for she might beat me up!

The Death of 'O. Henry' William Sidney Porter, 1910

“A Brilliant Genius” from the Thursday, June 16, 1910, issue of the Watauga Democrat.

The death of “O. Henry,” whose real name was William Sidney Porter, removes one of the most brilliant story writers in America. Only 45 years old, he had won fame as both story writer and playwright. He was born in Greensboro, was a nephew of the late Treasurer J.M. Worth, showed talent as a writer while a boy drug clerk in Greensboro, and spent several years in Texas and in Mexico, where he was a cowboy and later newspaper reporter. He had the genius to be able to convert his experiences into really interesting stories. It was this gift that gave his first claim to fame. He preserved his identity, and not even his relatives knew who “O. Henry” was until a few years ago.

Like most Tar Heels who win fame elsewhere, his heart turned back to North Carolina. His second wife was a talented Buncombe writer and their marriage was a romance. O. Henry planned to do his future work in North Carolina—his native land—and looked forward to a long and happy career. His countrymen believed he would win greater fame, which would add to the glory of North Carolina.

His death in the midst of large usefulness is nothing short of a calamity.—News and Observer

Happy Father's Day

News Briefs From Watauga County and a Poem From the Editor, 1910

From the Thursday, June 23, 1910, issue of the Watauga Democrat.

The Misses Beaty of Courtney, Yadkin county, who were here attending school left for their home Monday on account of the frail health of a young sister they brought with them. They hoped she would improve, and as she did not, they returned home. We trust she will ere long be restored to perfect health.

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On last Friday, A.B. Hatchet of Inman, S.C., former supervisor of the Spartanburg division was instantly killed at Marion by an engine. It seems he did not hear the whistle and therefore did not leave the track. He was crushed horribly.

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Mr. H.E.C. Bryant, Washington correspondent of the Charlotte Observer, has tendered his resignation to the Observer company and after July 1^st, will be connected with the Missoulian, a daily paper of Missoula, Montana. Red Buck, as he was often called, had in some capacity been connected with the Observer for 20 years and is one of the state’s best newspaper men. The paper he goes to is a Republican paper, organ of United States Senator Joseph M. Dixon, himself a North Carolinian and graduate of Guilford college. We regret his going away.

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Mr. J.L. Scot, manager of the Monroe Oil Mill, says the Monroe Enquirer, has made some biscuit out of flour from cotton seed and flour from wheat, half and half, and the bread is good, has not of that cotton seedy taste you would naturally expect it to have. The southern Cotton Oil Company has a mill in Charlotte—the only one in the world which makes cotton seed flour. Cotton seed will yet bring a dollar a bushel—it looks like. The man who said that a person can live and live well given cotton seed alone is not such a dreamer after all.—Our Home

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Who weeps with you when you are sad

And laughs when you are glad

And smiles when you are mad?

The editor.

Who has to be both kind and wise

And never (hardly ever) lies,

And when he does creates surprise?

The editor.

Who owns a heart as well as cheek,

Possessed of spirit proud yet meek

And lives on 40 cents a week?

The editor.

--Clinton Chronicle

Local News From Lumberton, June 10, 1946

“Local News” from the Monday, June 10, 1946, issue of The Robesonian, Lumberton

Mrs. I.L. Pope and daughter, Mrs. C.A.D. Eakes, returned Thursday from Waycross, Ga., where they went several days ago to attend the wedding of Mrs. Pope’s granddaughter, Miss Betty Monroe. While in Waycross Mrs. Pope fell and broke her hip and spent several days in the Ware County hospital, where she underwent an operation. She came back by train to Hamlet, where she was met by her son, James D. Pope, and brought by ambulance to Lumberton. She is confined to bed at her home on Winona avenue, and is reported to be getting along as well as can be expected. Mr. Pope and Miss Lina Gough, returned from Waycross last Tuesday, and Mr. Eakes had returned earlier.

Mrs. Copeland Edmonds of Mullins, S.C., is a guest of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace O’Neal at their home on E. 7^th street.

Mrs. A. Rupert Collens and children Rupert Jr., Tommy, Danny, David, Dixie and Alice have gone to Ocean Drive Beach to spend the summer at their cottage there.

Mr. and Mrs. Burney Fink and children Aileen Louise and Barbara Janice moved Friday from Wilmington to a residence at 305 E. 18^th street, formerly occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Sol Sater. Mr. Fink succeeds Mr. Sater here as owner and manager of the Polly Ann Shop.

Mr. and Mrs. Joe Hill Barrington Jr., who have been visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Barrington, here, and her parents in Red Springs, went today to Myrtle Beach for a few days stay. They expect to return Thursday to Chapel Hill, where he is a student at the university of N.C.

Mrs. Dennis W. Biggs and her sister, Miss Esther McNeill, who was a member of the Sedge Garden school faculty near Winston-Salem, have returned from Crescent Beach, where they spent 10 days at the Biggs cottage. Miss McNeill is a guest here in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Biggs.

Miss Ruth Biggs of Greensboro, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D.W. Biggs, was hostess at a house party during the week-end at Crescent Beach at her parents’ cottage. Her guests included Miss Louise McLeod, Luther Dew and Jimmy McLeod of Lumberton. Chaperones were Mr. and Mrs. Tom Phelps of Morehead City.

Capt. and Mrs. L.B. Townsend left Sunday for San Francisco, Calif., where he will be stationed, after spending a few days here visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. T.M. Burney, and his father, L.B. Townsend Sr. Capt. Townsend was formerly stationed at Fort Monroe, Va.

Mrs. George S. Willard Jr. and little daughter George-Anne of Wilson are spending a few days here guests in the home of her parents Mr. and Mrs. T.M. Burney.

Mr. and Mrs. Lee A. Daniels have returned to their home at Lowe from the Baptist hospital, Winston-Salem, where they went for a check-up. They were accompanied there by Mrs. C.F. Olson, who went on to Kernersville, where she visited friends.

An announcement of an engagement sent in from Proctorville cannot be published because the writer failed to sign his or her name. If the writer will let The Robesonian know who is responsible for the item, it will be glad to publish it.

H. Franklin Biggs and Jasper C. Hutto went to Wrightsville Beach today to attend the sessions of the annual convention of the North Carolina Merchants association. The sessions of the convention will extend through Tuesday. Mr. Biggs is secretary of the Lumberton Merchants association, representing the Lumberton area.

Jane Blake, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Blake of Lumberton, has the distinction of having a perfect attendance record at choir practice at the First Baptist church here for the second consecutive year, having been present and on time at every rehearsal and performance of the junior choir. Jane is the only one out of all four choirs at this church who has this distinction, which entitles her to a second bar on the sleeve of her vestment. Peggy Sullivan wins second honor, having been absent only once, and Bonnie Rae Wilson wins third place, with only two absences during the year.

Mrs. J. Odum has returned to her home in Lumberton from Thompson Memorial hospital, where she spent a few days.

Election of officers at American Legion Post No. 32 was not held as scheduled at the meeting of the Post Friday night, but was deferred until a later meeting this week because of the small attendance.

Mrs. Grady Byrd entered Baker sanatorium Sunday night for treatment.

Mrs. B.F. Bodiford is confined to her home because of illness.

Philmon Leggette, student at Duke university, spent the weekend here with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Leggette. Jimmy Hooten of Woodbury, Ga., who has been a guest in the Leggette home since Thursday, went to Duke with Philmon for a few days visit.

Miss Carolyn Dukes, who has been a member of the Lindley Junior high school in Greensboro, arrived home last night for the summer.

Joe M. Dietzel, who was released t inactive duty form the army several months ago with rank of lieutenant colonel and who has been in Lumberton since that time with his wife, the former Miss Frances Caldwell and small son Joe Jr., went Sunday to Chapel Hill to enter U.N.C. A former student, he plans to study civil engineering for two years. He was accompanied to Chapel Hill by Mrs. Dietzel and Mrs. Gene Wilson, who returned last night.

Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Maples and daughters, Mary Anne and Jane Allen, attended a reunion of the Maples family at the home of their uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Maples, in Pinehurst Sunday.

Rupert Wilkerson, Jack Huggins, Bobby Harris and Misses Ruth Marie Adams and Joyce Brission went this morning to Maxton to enter summer school at P.J.C. They plan to commute daily.

Miss Margaret Wilkerson, who was graduated at Flora Macdonald college in May and who is now supply secretary to President Bedinger there, spent the weekend with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. F.M. Wilkerson.

Misses Margaret and Frances McKinnon, twin daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Graham McKinnon Jr. of Barnesville, are spending this week with their grandmother, Mrs. Graham McKinnon Sr.

Among Lumberton people at Wrightsville Beach during the week-end were Mr. and Mrs. G. Badger McLeod and son, G.B. Lt. J.W. Henderson, and Jimmy McLean.

Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Pittman and son, Dannie, and Mrs. Willie Pittman and granddaughter, Carolyne, left this morning on a two-weeks’ trip to Milwaukee, Wisc., where they will visit Mrs. Richard Lampien. Mrs. Lampien is Mrs. Pittman’s daughter and Mr. Pittman’s sister.

P.J. Faircloth of Lumberton, Rt. 5, announces the marriage of his daughter, Lucille, to Earl Washington Merritt, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Merritt of Red Springs, on April 21 in Dillon, S.C. The couple is making their home near Red Springs.

Cecil Smith, who has been employed in the composing room of The Robesonian for 12 years, has resigned, effective today, and plans to enter the grocery business at a brick building now under construction on East 7^th street. He expects to continue part-time job work with The Robesonian. In his new business, he will be assisted by his father, H.R. Smith, who has had several years’ experience in selling groceries and fruits. Robert Goss of Wilmington succeeds Mr. Smith as printer.

Allow the Post Office to Deliver Parcels and Break the Express Companies’ Monopoly, 1910

From the Thursday, June 9, 1910, issue of the Watauga Democrat

Whenever the bill for the parcels post comes up in Congress there is a great outcry about the country merchant. A parcels post it is said will ruin the country merchant. The country merchants are not making the outcry. It is the express companies. They overcharge the country merchants and oppress them to the full extent of their opportunities and then get behind the country merchants to protect their monopoly.

The parcels post would not hurt the country merchant. On the contrary, it would enable him to do an order business for his patrons and retail country products in the cities. A vast amount of food goes to waste on every farm at a time when people in the cities have to pay big prices for it. The cost of transportation and distribution is too great. A family in London makes an arrangement with a farmer to send a dozen fresh eggs by mail every morning or two. Boxes for this purpose are made and the cost of carrying a dozen eggs from any part of England to the front door of a house in London is 5 cents. The London family can buy a pound of fresh butter this way, and other articles of food can be obtained in the city by this quick and inexpensive method. Both the consumer and the farmer in this country would profit enormously by this plan.

In England the post office seems to be conducted for the convenience of the people. In the United States one of the main objects seems to be the emolument of the railroads and the protection of the express monopoly.—Baltimore Sun

300 WW II Vets Not Allowed to Vote in Cherokee, N.C., 1946

“Clark Orders Probe of Refusal to Register Cherokee Indians” from the Monday, June 10, 1946, issue of The Robesonian, Lumberton

To Investigate Protest of Indians, Including 300 War Veterans, That they Were Denied Registration for Primary

Washington, June 10—Attorney Tom Cark today ordered a complete investigation of complaints that some election officials are refusing to permit North Carolina Cherokee Indians including 300 war veterans to register voters.

Clark said the civil liberties section of the justice department’s criminal division will make the investigation.

He said this action follows complaints filed with the department of justice by the American Legion’s Steve Youngdeer post at Cherokee, N.C. The complaints were made in a letter signed by the post commander and four members.

“It is claimed by the Youngdeer post representatives,” Clark said,” Clark said, “that among the Indians deprived of their right to register are 300 honorably discharged veterans of World War 2.

“The complaints further allege that efforts to register were made during recent registration periods by some wounded Indian ex-service men but they were not allowed to do so. It is also contended that the rejected applicants to register are qualified to vote under the North Carolina Law.”

CCC Projects in North Carolina, 1933-1942

You’ve probably appreciated the work of the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps even if you didn’t realize who had done the work. The men worked on Blue Ridge Parkway tunnels, the Cape Hatteras Light House, Fort Macon State Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Hanging Rock State Park, Jones Lake State Park, Mount Mitchell State Park, Singletary Lake State Park, South Mountains State Park, and William B. Umstead State Park.

The CCC had 66 camps in North Carolina, employing nearly 14,000 men. For a list of Civilian Conservation Corps projects in North Carolina, see http://ccclegacy.org/CCC_Camps_North_Carolina.html

Also see http://nchistorytoday.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/civilian-conservation-corps-established/ for an article on the CCC in North Carolina.

Dr. Harley Jolley, retired Mars Hill College history professor, wrote That Magnificent Army of Youth and Peace: The Civilian Conservation Corps in North Carolina, 1933-1942.

Street Paving and Removal of Benches Discussed, Hendersonville, 1914

“City Commissioners Meet” from the June 4, 1914, issue of the Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad Hustler, Hendersonville, N.C.

Consider Street Paving, Resting Benches, News Stands, Etc.

The paving of Sixth avenue, clearing Main street of all benches, news stands; preparing for the city deeds covering advertised property for taxes, and safety gates at the depot were among the questions discussed by the city commissioners Thursday night.

J.R. Hill headed a delegation of property owners on Sixth avenue, urging the importance of paving this street. It had been estimated that it could be paved from Main to Justice street for $18,000. A petition signed by the majority of the property owners was filed a week previous. The board decided to take the proper steps toward paving the street. It is likely that the avenue will be paved beyond Justice street as S.J. Harris stated that seven out of 10 property owners had signed a petition to extend the improvement.

John L. Orr was granted a permit to erect a nine-room house on Willow street.

The board discussed at some length the question of permitting news stands on two corners of the street near the post office and placing of benches along Main street for the accommodation of the weary ones, for which a subscription had been raised by Dr. L.B. Morse. The board took the view that the benches would prove more of a nuisance tan a luxury or accommodation to the class of people for whose comfort they would be placed; that they would be occupied by negroes, loafers, vagrants, hangers-on, foul-mouth and tobacco-spitting brigades, hence they decided to clear the street of benches now resting thereon and not permit new ones installed.

Commissioner Freeze reported that Capt. J.W. Bailey had assured him that the Southern railway would have a flagman at the depot crossing, beginning June 1, thereby obviating the necessity of safety-gates. The board decided that such protection of the public would be inadequate and that it would be well to advise the state corporation commission that the city desires a hearing on the matter.

The city attorney will be instructed to make the proper procedure toward deeding to the city property bid in at tax sales during the past two years. (that’s how it read, but obviously something is missing)

To Elect Officers

The city commissioners in annual session Thursday night of this week will elect a number of school trustees and officers on the city pay roll, including a secretary, four policemen, plumbing inspector, business manager, fireman and possible a health officer.

The work of the past year will come to a close, thus necessitating the election of officers. According to the commissioners, there is no push and jam of applicants for the positions, which are filled by the following:

Business manager, George W. Justice.

Secretary, Howard Miller.

Policemen, J.W. McCarson, chief; E.L. Thompson, T.C. Williams, Otis Powers.

Fireman, J.H. Clayton.

Plumbing Inspector, S.H. Johnston.

Six school trustees will be elected. The board is composed of the following: A.F.P. King, T.W. Valentine, K.G. Morris, R.C. Clarke, S.J. Justice, J.F. Brooks, C.E. Brooks, U.G. Station.

While there is a sentiment among the commissioners to elect one or more women to serve on the board, it is likely that this step will not be taken this year, since sentiment for the service of women is not strong enough to suggest the necessity of their appointment.

It is understood that J.H. Jordan will be an applicant for the position of business manager, which has been filled by Mr. Justice since the establishment of this office one year ago. It is reported that Mr. Johnston will also have opposition.

Poem by Grace Noll Crowell, 1935

Poem by Grace Noll Crowell in the June, 1935, issue of Carolina Co-operator

She had so little in her house

Of that which money buys,

Plain things they are, but Oh, she is

Strangely beauty-wise;

She hides the old worn wood of chairs

With bright paint, smoothly spread;

Her table is an orange flame;

And dull blue is her bed.

Her small yard yields for love of her,

Her little orchard bends

Beneath its gold and scarlet fruit;

The birds are all her friends.

She brings armloads of beauty in

To brighten every room;

A bowl of fruit, light-spangled here,

And there a mass of bloom.

And her small house is lovelier

With God’s paint, and her own,

Than almost any other house

That I have ever known.

                                --Grace Noll Crowell

Canton Man Escapes Quarantine in State of Washington, 1914

“Haywood County Leper Said to Have Eluded His Guards” from the June 4, 1914, issue of the Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad Hustler, Hendersonville, N.C.

John R. Early Made Escape

 (Waynesville Courier)

John R. Early, who formerly lived at Canton and worked for the Champion Fibre Company, is reported to have escaped from quarantine in the state of Washington where he was detained as a leper. The case of Early has been one of national interest. The man is suffering from skin disease and the doctors who have examined him have differed as to whether it was the dread disease of leprosy or something else. With the doubt existing, Early has been detained for a number of years.

Some few days ago a Canton man received $5 from Early in a letter saying that Early had stolen it from him while they were in the army together. This was the first direct news received of Early in some time, and was followed by the dispatch telling of his escape from the quarantine station.

Hear Eisenhour's Orders to Troops on D-Day, June 5, 1944

On June 5, 1944, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower orders the massive Allied Expeditionary Force into action. His invasion order was broadcast, and you can hear it on the History Channel’s web site at:

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day/speeches

Hendersonville Promotes City and Encourages Tourists and New Residents, 1914

“More Than Half Million Dollar Expenditure in Hendersonville—Glimpse of Progress in 1914” from the June 4, 1914, issue of the Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad Hustler, Hendersonville, N.C. The following story is from a special edition distributed outside of North Carolina to encourage tourism and the growth of the area.

Hendersonville, one of the most popular and rapidly growing cities in that portion of Western North Carolina, far-famed as the “Land of the Sky,” is the county seat and largest town in Henderson county and has a population of about 4,000, the county having approximately 20,000 inhabitants.

Over Half Million Dollars in Improvements

Improvements and developments of various kinds aggregating a total of more than half a million dollars have recently been made and are in the process of making, serving to show that Hendersonville is a wide awake city with many advantages to attract investors and seekers of health, rest and recreation and that the community is filled with a progressive people who have had a vision of the almost unlimited possibilities of this section.

Indications on every side point to a Greater Hendersonville, as will be shown by the list of improvements with estimated cost herewith.

Good Roads and Streets

The county has awakened to the importance of better roads and the city people have been imbued with a spirit for better streets, thus affording greater comfort and pleasure for home people and tourists who are permitted to see within a short distance of Hendersonville some of the finest scenery in the worlds.

For the accommodation of visitors, hotels and boarding houses are being built, thus providing for an additional number of tourists each year.

Numerous Amusements

Amusements of various kinds may be had by the thousands of people who visit Hendersonville each summer, among them being: Boating in the numerous lakes around Hendersonville, the equal of which cannot be found near any other mountain town in this part of the country, fishing in the cool pure mountain streams, hunting in season, automobiling and horse back riding, mountain climbing, street car riding on two systems, and bathing in the only bathing beach in Western North Carolina.

An Educational Center

As will be seen by articles elsewhere in the Democrat, Hendersonville is becoming a great educational center, three preparatory schools, two for boys and one for girls, having been established during the past year. The rural schools and the Hendersonville graded schools are making rapid progress, which assures the residents of this section and those who contemplate moving here that the educational side of life in this community has no occasion for neglect.

Real Estate Shifting

Real estate in Hendersonville is rapidly changing hands with growing prices. While the prices are in advance of those in cities not possessing the many unrivaled advantages of Hendersonville, it is reasonable to presume that they are lower than they will ever be again for there is great demand for building lots, trucking gardens, farm and orchard lands.

Space will not permit here a detailed enumeration of the excellent advantages of Hendersonville and community, some of which are outlined elsewhere in this issue, but the list of building operations given herewith will serve to show that Hendersonville and the whole of Henderson county is up and doing, and the detailed mention of these improvements make one of the most interesting chapters in the rapid growth and development of Hendersonville, one of the most popular summer resorts in America and a place that is becoming better known advantages as a winter resort.

It is impossible to get a complete list of improvements completed and underway, but t the request of the Democrat, H.C. Meyer, member of the firm of Meyer & Stillwell, architects, has carefully and painstakingly prepared the following bearing upon the development of Hendersonville and community:

(By H.C. Meyer)

The following facts and figures were compiled after a careful canvass of the field which they cover, and are offered with the hope that they will fully acquaint our people with the almost phenomenal transition which Hendersonville is now undergoing. From the data, it will be apparent that the amount of construction work far exceeds that of any previous period in the history of the city.

A serious study of this progress bulletin should fill our progressive people with pride in their past, pluck in their present, and firm faith in their future.

The estimates for the various items are based on information obtained from the most reliable sources available.

Buildings Now Under Construction or Recently Completed

U.S. Post Office—4th Ave. West	$62,000
Fassifern Girls’ School—Asheville Road	15,000
J.W. Bailey House—7th Ave. W.	14,000
Park Hill Annex—6th Ave. W	14,000
Blue Ridge School for Boys—Fruitland Road	10,000
Carnegie Library—King St.	10,000
Henry Hyder Building—Depot	7,000
D.S. Pace Building—Depot	6,000
Dr. Egerton Residence—5th Ave. W.	4,900
Mrs. Gover Bungalow—5th Ave. W.	4,800
Dr. Kirk House—Crab Creek St.	4,000
W.M. Bacon Residence—2nd Ave. W.	4,000
Dr. Howe Residence—Flat Rock Road	4,000
Chas. N. Wrenshall Residence—Hyman Heights	4,000
Highland Lake Club Improvement—Highland Lake	4,000
Singletary Residence—Above Laurel Park	3,500
Calvin H. Oak Residence—Fleming Street	3,500
J.H. Patterson Residence—6th Avenue West	3,500
Walter Lambeth Residence--Kanuga Lake	3,500
Community Club Building—King St.	3,000
D.S. Pace House—4th Ave. W.	2,500
T.L. Durham Residence—Buncombe St.	2,500
John L. Orr House—Willow St.	2,500
W.D. Bryant Residence—6th Ave. W.	2,500
Mrs. Watson Residence—Laurel Park	2,500
Walter B. Smith House—Laurel Park	2,000
Lentz Residence—7th Ave. West	2,000
Miss Addie Timmons Bungalow—Laurel Park	2,000
G.V. DeVault Residence—Laurel Park	1,600
W.A. Smith Jr. House—Laurel Park	1,600
Barnwell Residence Remodeling—South Main St.	1,500
	$208,300
Miscellaneous Buildings	$12,000
Total	$220,300

                               

City and County Road Improvement Work

Hendersonville Township	$50,000
Henderson County	25,000
Hoopers Creek Township	20,000
Edneyville Township	12,000
General Road Fund	10,000
Private Subscriptions	5,000
Steel Concrete Bridges (Co.)	5,000
Drain Tile	2,000
Total	$129,000

Street Paving, Sidewalks and Other City Improvements

5th Avenue Paving	$50,000
3rd & 4th Avenues	22,000
6th Avenue	20,000
Temporary Increased Water Supply	2,000
Sewers, Fire Hydrants, Grading, Culverts, Etc.	2,000
Cement Sidewalks	1,000
Cemetery Improvements	2,000
Total	$99,000

Mountain Home Co., of St. Petersburg, Fla., at Hillgirt

Main Club House—Start in July	$18,000
Seven Cottages—Start at once	10,000
New Railroad Station, Etc.—Appropriation made by Southern Railroad	10,000
Water System—Now and under way	2,000
Total	$40,000

Hendersonville Light & Power Company

New Dam, Machinery, and other Power Equipment—Ready July 1st	$15,000
New Poles and Other Maintenance Work	1,000
Total	$16,000

Laurel Park Improvements

Quarry Machinery	$2,000
Additional Rolling Stock, Car Barns and other work	3,000
Miscellaneous Bungalows, Cottages, Etc., in addition to those listed under Building Construction	3,200
Road Improvements	800
Additional Amusement Features	800
Total	$9,800

Grand Total: $514,100

In addition to the above items, there are a number of substantial building propositions and other important enterprises and developments contemplated, the outlook for the consummation of which is decidedly favorable.

While a great deal of inconveniences will perhaps be experienced because of the vast amount of work going on during the summer season, the impression of real progress which it will undoubtedly make upon our visitors should be of tremendous advertising value to the city.