Happy New Year Card, 1914

Rohanen School Crowded, 1921

From the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1921.

The Rohanen School now has an enrollment of 391. The eight large class rooms are crowded, and in addition to these, about 40 children are being taught in the auditorium.

A piano has been placed in the building, and Mrs. Purnell, the music teacher, has a large class of piano and violin pupils.

The teachers are entertaining the entire school at a moving picture party this afternoon.

A Christmas program will be presented as a chapel exercise Friday morning, by the pupils.

The school will close for the holidays December 23^rd and open January 2^nd.

Hatred, Contempt and Fear Is Wrong in Politics, 1901

“Partisanship More Dangerous Than Anarchy,” from the editorial page of  The Progressive Farmer, Dec. 3, 1901

Our country is not threatened by anarchists so much as (1) by the men who inflame the passions of the people for the sake of political success, (2) by the practical assumption that one’s party is to be supported whether right or wrong and that it’s wrong doing is to be condoned and if possible concealed, (3) by the spoils system whereby politics becomes simply a fierce competition for bread, (4) by political intolerance, and finally, (5) by sowing hatred and contempt and fear of men on one side by those on the other who would take their places. These menace our Republic more than materialism, more than trusts, more than the saloon, more than the dream of empire, more than anarchists. They may be put under one head—the apotheosis of party, the worship of party; and this applies to all parties.

            --Biblical Recorder

Christmastime in Hendersonville, During the Flu Pandemic, 1918

“People and Events,” from the French Broad Hustler, Hendersonville, N.C., Dec. 19, 1918

W.L. Sentell and family are ill with influenza.

Miss Ruth Childs will be home this week to spend the holidays with her mother, Mrs. R.A. Childs.

Mr. Ireland has gone to the hospital suffering with influenza.

Mrs. J.L. Forrest and son, Edward, who have been in the city hospital with influenza, returned home Saturdaya.

Mrs. J.B. Sherman, who has been very ill with influenza and complications, is improving slightly.

Mr. Vardell, who lives at the Marlboro Villa, is quite ill with influenza.

Miss Ossie Orr is quite ill with influenza and complications.

Miss Willie Carmichael, who is ill with influenza, is much improved.

G.L. Spann and family, who have all been ill of influenza for several weeks, are out again.

Mrs. C.J. Valley, who has been visiting relatives in Greenville, has returned. Her little daughter, Margaret, will not return for some time.

Miss Carson Horne motored to Asheville on business Thursday.

Miss Annie Camp has returned to her home at Inman, S.C., after a brief business trip. While in town Miss Camp was the guest of Mrs. J.F. Brooks.

Wallace Glymph, who has been in Colorado for several months for his health, has returned and for the present is at Foster Bennett’s.

Mrs. P.H. Mashburn, from Old Fort, who is visiting Mrs. E.H. Allison on Fifth Avenue, is ill with influenza.

Miss Pauline Orr, who went to Biltmore to nurse her sister, Mrs. D. P. Butler, has returned to her to her duties at Patton Memorial hospital.

Sam T. Hodges spent the week-end with his family in this city.

Mrs. George Liverette and daughter, Miss Ruth, who have been patients at Patton Memorial hospital, have returned home.

Mrs. C.W. Harty leaves Sunday for Spartanburg to visit her daughter, Mrs. Ottaway.

Born to Mr. and Mrs. William Hill, a son.

Harry Harty has returned from Spartanburg where he went recently for a few days.

Mrs. H.L. Grainger expects to leave soon for Mullins, S.C., to visit Mr. Grainger’s relatives.

Born Wednesday to Mr. and Mrs. A.F. Barber, a son.

William Penny returned Wednesday from Chapel Hill, where he has been in Student’s Army Training Corps.

Lawrence Bly returned from Fortress Monroe last week.

Mrs. Lundy, who has been with Mrs. Nixon on Fourth avenue for several months, has gone to visit her sister in Augusta, Ga.

Albert Dixon returned from A. & E. at Raleigh [now NCSU] last week.

Prof. W.S. Shitle and Prof G. W. Bradshaw will leave next week for the school superintendents’ meeting, which convenes at Raleigh on the 17^th for a session of two days. Mr. Bradshaw will return to his home in Ivor, Va., immediately after his attendance on the superintendents’ meeting.

Mrs. C.S. Blackburn and children, Clark and Mallie, have gone to Columbia, S.C., to spend Christmas with Mrs. Blackburn’s mother.

Dr. and Mrs. Little and small son Rob of Saluda motored to Hendersonville Monday to shop.

Miss Elizabeth Elsom is staying at the Kentucky Home in the absence of her mother, Mrs. P.G. Elsom from the city. Mrs. Elsom is on a visit to her son, Floyd Elsom of New York, who h is ill with influenza and complications.

Messrs. Carland, Corpening, Brittain and others returned Thursday from the camp at Chillicothe, Ohio. They would have bone across but for influenza.

Lee Allen has returned form Chapel Hill, where he was in the Student’s Army Training Corps.

William Garland is on a visit to his mother, Mrs. W.A. Garland. Mr. Garland has been attending Wofford College, which has closed on account of the influenza until January the 3^rd.

Sol Golt from Hampton, Va., is on a visit to his uncle, Abe Kantrowitz.

Miss Elizabeth Bomar returned Thursday night from Spartanburg. The schools of Spartanburg closed suddenly Friday on account of the influenza situation, which has again become serious.

Mrs. M.E. Einig and daughter, Miss Anne, who have been at the Summer Home for several months, will return Sunday to their home in Jacksonville, Fla.

Miss Bess Childs returned Thursday afternoon from Cary to spend the holidays with her mother, Mrs. R.A. Childs.

Editor J.D. Boone of the Mountaineer, with whom C.W. Davis of The News was associated for a number of years, was over from Waynesville on Friday seeking help and took back with him H.C. Curtis, who has been coming to the relief of The News quite frequently.

Mr. and Mrs. P.H. Flattery have returned from Youngstown, Ohio, and were accompanied by their son, T.H. Flattery and family and Mrs. Winton Hall and baby. They are occupying Mrs. Screven’s house and intend moving soon to Bowman’s Bluff, where Mr. Flattery has brought a farm.

Miss Ada Whitmire leaves this week on a visit through the holidays in Lenoir.

Mangum News, Dec. 22, 1921

“Mangum Items” from the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1921

The people in this section have awakened to educational needs as never before. As announced in these columns some time ago, an election to vote on a special school tax was held here Saturday. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor. There were 55 who registered. Of this number, 49 voted; two votes were cast against the tax, with 47 in its favor.

Plans are being matured to erect a modern building at Mangum, the center of the school district. Mr. Claudius Dockery of Mangum has generously offered a desired site for the school. The building will in all probability be ready for occupancy next year. The tax rate has not been determined as yet but the idea is to have an eight months’ school term.

Mr. Fletcher Lisk of Waynesville is at home for the Christmas holidays.

Miss Mattie Lee Horne of St. Peter’s Hospital, Charlotte, spent a day or two at home this week.

The Epworth League gave a very interesting Christmas Program Sunday evening with Miss Mamie Currie as leader.

Miss Mattie Johnson of Carolina College, Maxton, and Mrs. Lem B. Currie of Trinity College are expected home Tuesday night to spend the holidays.

The school will close for the holidays on Friday. There will be a concert and Christmas tree at 7 o’clock that evening.

Mr. O.G. Reynolds of Rockingham was in this section Wednesday and Thursday of last week.

            --Bob-o-link

Merry Xmas Card, 1910

The "X" in Xmas means "Christ."

 

Christmas Wasn't a Legal Holiday in 1921, So Mail Was Delivered

From the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1921.

The Rham post office will have the general delivery window open Sunday morning until 10 o’clock. The Carriers will make their rounds as usual Monday, Xmas not being a legal holiday. January 1^st is their next holiday, and as it falls on Sunday, they will have the next day, Monday, Jan. 2^nd, as a holiday, and so not to make their rounds.

Dress Advertisement from 1923 Ladies Home Journal

Local and State News from Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1921

From the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1921.

Trinity College [Duke University] is entering her third year in football with a heavier schedule. Part of the games are Guilford Sept. 30, University Oct. 12, Davidson Oct. 28, Wake Forest Nov. 11.

“Moonshine,” a horse that has cost the Government $672, was sold at auction at New Bedford, Massachusetts, the 17^th for $25. The old gray mare, which was seized by prohibition agents 15 months ago in a raid, had piled up a $672 board bill since then.

James W. Cannon, one of the South’s greatest textile manufacturers, died at his home in Concord Monday afternoon at 6 o’clock following a two weeks’ illness caused by heart trouble. He was 59 years old. His wife and 10 children survive.

All tents, bedding, beds and camping equipment of the U.S. training corps for women were totally destroyed by fire near Asheville Wednesday night at 10 o’clock. Loss $10,000 to building and contents. Miss Susanna Cocroft, national commandant, had $2,000 worth of uniforms stored, but this is covered by insurance. It is doubtful if a camp will be held next summer.

The public is invited to attend a Christmas program next Sunday morning (Xmas day) at 11 o’clock at Green Lake church. There will be songs, recitations and special music; also a talk by the new pastor, Mr. Dickson. Mr. Dickson will preach at Ledbetter’s that night.

J.M. Sasser and wife moved on Thursday of last week from Ellerbe, Route 1, to Pee Dee Mill No. 2 where his wife will resume weaving and he will do carpenter work. Mr. Sasser worked at Pee Dee No. 1 for 26 years, going from there to Roberdel where he worked one year. On last Jan. 19^th he and his wife left Roberdel and went to Baldwin’s Mill on Big Mountain Creek, where he has since been operating the grist mill. They have now come back to their old love, the mill.

J.E. McDonald gets his paper now at 359 Central Avenue, Kannapolis, instead of Charlotte.

Rev. Thomas T. Taylor has been called to a large colored church in Norfolk, with the parsonage at 430 Scott street. Taylor served the Zion church here at Rockingham for three years and while here was the leading spirit in building a handsome house of worship. He was transferred to Hamlet last year, and now to Norfolk on a call from the colored Methodists of that city.

Roseboro, between Fayetteville and Wilmington, suffered a $150,000 fire on Thursday night of last week. Seven of the principal business structures of the town and a number of offices were burned.

Rockingham Lodge No. 178 I.O.O.F. will have a special meeting Monday afternoon, Dec. 26^th, at 2:30 o’clock for the purpose of conferring the first degree on a class of candidates. All members are urged to be present. R.P. McKeithan, Secretary.

C.J. Kelly of Sanford was last Friday convicted in Federal Court at Raleigh for interstate traffic in stolen automobiles, and was sentenced to the Atlanta pen for five years and fined $5,000. He gave notice of appeal and was released under bond of $25,000. The case was begun Dec. 7^th and ended the 16^th.

Lee Hallman of Marshville, convicted of criminal assault in August at Monroe, and sentenced to 15 years in the pen, has abandoned his appeal and will begin his sentence during the first week in January.

Carey McDonald, aged 23, and his brother, Newland McDonald, aged 14, engaged in a deadly fight near St. Pauls in Robeson county Sunday afternoon. Both were struggling over a gun; the aged mother tried to get it from them, and in the scuffle, the younger boy managed to pull the trigger and the older man’s head was blown off.

The fire truck was called to the rear of the Richmond Garage last Friday night, but its presence was not needed. A Ford belonging to a man named Jacobs had caught fire, but it was put out with a small hand hose from the garage.

Wm. Henry Cole, colored youth, was bound to Jan. 9^th term of Court by Magistrate Guthrie last Friday on a charge of seduction.

J.M. Jacobs of Hamlet was taxed with the costs by Squire Guthrie at Rockingham Saturday. He was charged with violating the school attendance law; he submitted to the charge and was let off with the costs on his agreeing to keep his boy in school regularly.

The insurance of $500 on the Rockingham-Hamlet gun club shack midway between the two towns, was paid a few days ago to Mr. French. The building was burned about three weeks ago.

The Page Trust Co. of Aberdeen, Hamlet and Carthage has added another bank to its string, having closed a deal Tuesday for the purchase of the Bank of Sanford. The price is $1.50 on the dollar. The entire lot of 3,383 shares were sold.

John D. McRae of near Hamlet and Miss Nan Boyle of Scotland county were married Wednesday afternoon at 6:30 at the home of Rev. W.R. Coppedge. The bride is teacher of the Prospect school in Beaver Dam township.

Christmas for the 1,400 Patients at the State Hospital, 1913

From the Cherokee Scout, Murphy, N.C., January 3, 1913

Morganton, N.C., Dec. 25—Christmas brought its glad tidings to every one of the 1,400 patients in the State hospital here and everything was done to make a happy Christmas for the unfortunate ones.

Every patient received a bountiful supply of candies, fruits, nuts, etc., and throughout the long corridors holly and other decorations and large banners bearing such inscriptions as “A Happy Christmas” and “Christmas Greetings,” added to the happiness of the patients.

The preparation of the special Christmas dinner, which is given every year, is an enormous undertaking. More than 150 turkeys and about 200 chickens were prepared for the dinner, which will give some idea of the proportionate amount of other things it required for the meal.

In addition special entertainments and amusements were arranged for Christmas week and patients give and receive presents and a general happiness fills the entire institution.

The Hudsons Lose Their Three-Month-Old Daughter, Dec. 22,1921

From the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1921.

The hearts of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Hudson were made sad Sunday morning Dec. 18^th, when they awoke and found that God had sent His death angel and took from them their darling little three months-old baby.

The baby seemed to be well as usual Saturday night, with the exception of a cold which it had had for a few days.

Mr. and Mrs. Hudson live on route five. They came Saturday afternoon to her brother’s, Mr. John Dunn’s at Ledbetters to spend the night. Sunday morning when they got up they found the baby dead.

We know it was oh so hard to give up little Bernice, but she has gone to that sweet home, where neither pain nor sorrow can enter. We know that it is impossible to ever see her sweet little smiling face in this world again. But we have the sweet assurance that by the help of our loving Heavenly Father we can some day by and by meet her in that blessed land beyond the sky, where partings and farewell tears are not known.

The little body was laid to rest Monday in the Lovia burying ground.

May God’s tenderest blessings rest upon the bereaved ones.

“Safe in the arms of Jesus

Safe on his gentle breast

There by his love o’er shadowed

Sweetly her soul shall rest.”

            Written by a friend.

-=-=-=

Social News from Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 26, 1918

From the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 26, 1918

Mr. George Entwistle Jr., who has been at Paris Island in the Marine Corps, returned home Friday morning to spend the holidays with relatives and friends.

Miss Emma Porter, a graduate of the high school last June, and who has been at the Greensboro Normal for Women, came back to Rockingham to spend Xmas with relatives and friends. She will return to take up her duties at the Normal about the 6^th of January.

Miss Kathryn Fairley, who has been teaching in Durham in the High School, came home Friday night and will remain with her parents until Jan. 6^th, when she will return to Durham to resume her work.

Again the Great Falls Manufacturing Co. takes the initiative in securing the services of a Graduate Nurse for Great Falls Mills Village, Mrs. Maude H. Hull of Wilmington. This lady is most proficient in this line of work and will de vote her entire time to this Mill Settlement. The Gores are ever progressive, and if there is anything out of the ordinary to be had they ware more than apt to be the first to get it.

Miss Dorcty Fairley, who teaches Mathematics and Latin in the High School in Laurinburg, came up to spend the holidays here with relatives and friends Friday night. She will return to Laurinburg early in January to resume her School work.

Friends of Robin Ledbetter Jr. will be gratified to know of his steady improvement since his Toncils have been removed. He is gaining flesh every day and is feeling more like “Bob Ledbetter” than for sometime past; he now has the flu.

Miss Arabella Gore came Friday night to Spend Christmas at home with her folks. She will return to Murfreesboro on January 6^th.

Miss Kathryn McDonald went to Richmond, Va., Friday to visit her aunt, Mrs. G.G. Shannonhouse, during the holidays. She will return to Rockingham the first of next week.

Bed Springs Lost     

Lost, a pair of folding bed springs, between courthouse and Pee Dee school house. Finder please return or notify W.E. McNair.

 

$20 Million to Help the Starving and Distressed in Russia, 1921

From the editorial page of the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1921.

Congress Tuesday passed a measure appropriating $20,000,000 for the relief of the starving and distressed in Russia. This will be spent to buy wheat in America to be transported at once to the famine districts of Russia part for food and part for seed. A splendid Christmas gift from this great country to a people who are literally down and out.

Ozmer Henry's Frantic Search For The Bride's Missing Dog, 1921

“All Over a Dog,” from the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1921

The days of Atty. Ozmer L. Henry last week have been full of trouble and expense—and all over a dog. But all’s well that ends well.

On Dec. 7^th Mr. Henry went to Boston to attend the marriage of his brother, Dr. Boyce Henry of Greensboro. Dr. Henry’s bride possessed a beautiful English setter that she prized very highly. From the goodness of his heart mr. Henry volunteered to bring the dog back to Rockingham, the intention being for the bride to get her dog when she came down several days later.

Mr. Henry reached Rockingham with the dog in fine condition, and placed him in the back yard of his home, chained. This was on Monday, the 12^th. The next morning the cook fed the dog and loosened the chain so the animal could have more freedom in eating. And then church was out. That dog was kennel-raised, and as soon as he found himself free he tarried not. Like a streak, he fled. And then followed days of anguish for the brief filer and law exponent. Half a dozen cars were hired and the woods and nearby towns scoured. Circulars were printed and distributed, rewards offered. Haste was imperative—the dog must be found before Dr. Henry and bride should reach here.

Two days after his escape, the dog was found by Frank Garner, near the county home, with the chain hung in a fence. Mr. Garner had visions of the reward, and no doubt had mentally spent the money; but the dog was quicker; with a lunge the animal snapped the chain in two, and lit out across the field and into the woods beyond.

And then for three days ensued a state of affairs hard to imagine. From all parts of the county came messages to Mr. Henry that his dog had been seen in such and such a place (as a matter of fact, the dog was never a mile from the town limits.) One darkey even brought in to Mr. Henry three dogs—but they were not the English setter. Saturday night a crowd of folks chased a dog that they thought was the one wanted, over on Watson Heights and into Mr. John Thomas’ yard—only to be greeted by Mr. Thomas with the demand, “what are you people running my dog for.” No stray dog was safe hereabouts—you see, Christmas is near and a $25 reward just now is not to be despised. And so many hundreds of people became dog chasers.

Finally Sunday afternoon a party of searchers came upon the dog on the edge of Pee Dee mill pond. The dog of course ran—who wouldn’t with such a hullabaloo after him? The crowd followed in the vicinity of Steele street. The word was spread that the dog was located. Mr. Henry came on the scene. A plan of action was mapped out. Cars were stationed on different streets on the lookout. The area where the dog was last seen was surrounded, the net began to close in—and the dog promptly closed out, making another getaway through the cordon. The thoroughly frightened animal came down the street, the several score chasers in full cry before him. A fox chase could not have been more exciting. Reaching the Henry Wall premises, the dog darted across the open space, only to come full upon a high poultry fence. And this was his undoing. Surrounded, no escape in sight, it reminded one of the Old Guards last stand at Waterloo. Again the crowd closed in, and this time the dog came out loser. Dock Floyd made the final grab, but before getting a hold on his neck the dog bedded his teeth several times in Floyd’s hand. But that didn’t matter to Floyd—so long as he got the $25 reward. Mr. Henry then took the dog in charge, petted him up, calmed him and within the hour his dogship was quietly and voraciously eating the first meal since his escape six days before, and apparently is now little the worse for his answering the “call of the wild.” Mrs. Dr. Henry is once more reunited with her pet—and all’s well that ends well. But no doubt dogs will continue to be caught throughout the county until the news of the capture is spread complete.

W.H. Barton's Report on His First Year as County Agent, 1921

From the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1921

Summary of Work Performed and Results Obtained During the Past Year by County Agent W.H. Barton…Good Record

The writer [W.H. Barton] arrived in Rockingham November 30, 1920, and began his work December 1^st. The weather and prospects for cooperation of the farmers were alike damp and cold. This, however, was nothing new to an agent who had for 12 years, including the pioneer period of the old “Farm Demonstration Work” in the South, when the farmer often looked upon the county agent as an intruder, and often so expressed himself to the agent, “stuck to his bush” until fruit appeared.

As spring appeared and the weather began to warm up, many farmers did likewise. Some acknowledged their former opposition to the work, but as a whole, the agent was received as well as a businesslike set of farmers should accept new ideas—after being “shown.”

Results

The following are some of the results of the agent’s activities, either alone or in cooperation with farmers and others:

Visits made, 1,496

Miles traveled, 7,808

Calls on agent for information, 1,045

Meetings held, 18

Attendance at meetings, 2,116

Letters written, 879

News article published, 101

Circular letters sent out, 250

Bulletins distributed on request, 375

Visits to schools relating to work, 24

Boy club members exhibiting at county fair, 21

Winnings made by these boys, 21

A Jersey Cattle Association was organized and three bull blocks established. Upward of 5,000 acres of velvet beans were planted, versus about 100 in 1920. The dairy herds of the county finished under tuberculin test and all herds were declared free of this dreaded disease.

142,500 feet of terraces run (a few for each man) and six terracing machines made and farmers taught to use them. 70 demonstrations planted to Hairy Vetch versus none last year, and 20 demonstrations in sweet clover planted. 151 orchard pruning demonstrations made, and scores of insect pests and plant diseases pointed out in orchard and garden and remedies prescribed.

Upward of 1,200 bales of cotton classed and stapled by securing the cooperation of a government grader. Approximately 50 per cent of the cotton of the county was signed up for cooperative marketing, and five weeks spent in a like organization work in Anson, Union, and Moore counties. Cooperated with the County Fair Association in making the fair “the best ever held in the county.”

Some of the above doubtless would have resulted without the activities of a county agent. Indeed, all might have, and they might not. Draw your own conclusions. Without cooperation, he could have done nothing, and without cooperation, he can do nothing in the future. Cooperation with nature first and then among ourselves is the only policy that will save agriculture, save business, save the general public, boll weevil or no boll weevil. We are on the threshold of a new age in which are dawning new ideas, new ideals, new customs, and new conditions. Will it be a better or a worse age? Much, we think, will depend upon the attitude of all toward cooperation in its broadest sense.

            --W.H. Barton

Don't Wait Until January 1 To Make These Changes, 1900

Advice from Farm and Fireside, as reprinted in the Dec. 6, 1900, issue of the Watauga Democrat

Let us enter into an agreement, you and I. Let us make the compact this very minute. Let us not wait until New-Year’s day to begin.

You know how the stiff binding of our New-Year’s book keeps the leaves we turn flying back into the old position again. We want to get our compact, or “new leaf” into the rut of habit before 1901 opens. Then we can the easier and better observe it. I think I heard you agree to the proposition, which is that for one year we will not in the presence of our family, especially the children, or in the presence of any one, whether friend, acquaintance or stranger, say aught of the drudgery of the farmer, the hard life he leads, and the poor business it is.

We will not bemoan the hard life we lead. We will not denounce the farming class as a set of fools.

We will earnestly endeavor, so far as in us lies, to perceive the beauties about us. We will, by every means in our power, beautify our premises.

We will study to reduce our expenses, not by denying ourselves the comforts of life, but by studying our business earnestly, endeavoring at all times to reduce the cost of production to the lowest possible point compatible with the best product we can produce.

We will strive to increase the fertility of our farms, the excellence of our products and the quality of the live stock on our farms.

We promise all this knowing that by doing so we will contribute to the welfare of ourselves, our family and man kind. I know that several thousand have entered into this compact with me, and I know that we will earnestly endeavor to keep it. We do this because we know we will be far better and happier if we do.

Rockingham's New LaFrance Fire Truck Was Worth It, 1921

“Truck Does Good Work” from the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1921

The $12,500 LaFrance fire truck bought by the town some weeks ago demonstrated its valuableness Monday night; and convinced even the skeptical of the wisdom of the investment.

The fire alarm sounded at 3:15 Monday night, or rather Tuesday morning, the house of Lonnie Womble on Skipper street being on fire. By the time the truck arrived, the building was beyond saving, and the adjoining house occupied by Mary McFadyen, also colored, had caught. Seven hundred feet of hose had to be laid to connect with the nearest hydrant, and this hydrant was in a bottom which made the pressure so weak as to make fire-fighting a joke. But here the power of the new machine came into play. As soon as the couplings were made, the powerful pump on the truck was set to work, and instantly the weak stream was changed into one so strong as to almost knock the very shingles off the house. In a very little time the flames on the McFadyen house were extinguished.

Adjoining the McFadyen house was that of Jennie Hinson, barely ten feet away, and in close proximity were many other small houses occupied by colored people. Had not such a fire-truck been available, no doubt many of these colored houses would have been in ashes today.

Skipper street is the dividing line between the corporate limits of Rockingham. The houses were on the east side of that street and so out of town; but that didn’t matter. The town machine and fire-fighters just as readily responded and worked as though it had been in the heart of town. As a matter of fact, the only fires we’ve had since getting the truck were out of town—in west Rockingham, here on Skipper street, and several weeks ago the freighter car on the Seaboard tracks when a number of Guernsey cows form Marshville were burned.

 

$12,500 was a lot of money in 1921. Here's a photo of a restored 1921 LaFrance fire truck, restored by the Kansas Fire Fighter's Museum, Wichita, Kansas.  Kansasfirefightersmuseum.com.

 

News of the Neighbors, High Point, 1917

“Our Neighbors” from The Review, High Point, N.C., December 20, 1917

News from Old Trinity by R.L.J.

Mrs. O.W. Carr, widow of the late Prof. Carr, died at her home at Trinity last Saturday and was buried at the cemetery in Trinity Sunday evening at 4 o’clock. A large crowd attended the funeral. Mrs. Carrie Wishart of High Point, Mrs. Lula Carr of Los Angeles and Mrs. Blanche Carr of Greensboro, daughters-in-law of Mrs. Carr, attended her funeral.

Miss Carrie Phillips is home for the holidays. Miss Phillips is principal of a graded school in Granville county.

There has been a good deal of fun hunting rabbits in this deep snow.

We understand Mrs. Emma Welborn of near Miller’s Mill is going to move into the Dr. Weeks house.


High Point, Route 4 by Mary A. Clodfelter

Let us all enter into the true Christmas spirit by making others happy thru little acts of kindness or remembrance, and let us not forget our soldier boys. There are many cases of real need in every community among worthy poor people. Then there is the relief funds of the war. Millions of little children have and are starving and freezing over the seas. Just 10 cents a day will save a life, $3 a month. Shall we give to let live or for the pleasure being thanked by those who do not need it? Suppose your child was starving and freezing, what then.

T.S. Farabee killed two hogs Tuesday weighing 850 pounds; Y.C. Weavil, one weighing 413 lbs.; Bert Weavil, two weighing 450 lbs.

D.E. Clodfelter and Bob Barlow had good luck rabbit hunting Thursday.

No new cases of scarlet fever have developed at Wallburg. School at the Institute is going on by an arrangement in which those not exposed to the disease are taught in the morning and those who were exposed in the afternoon. In this way most of the scholars are at school.

The cold, snowy weather has been bad on the rabbits, being killed by the wholesale.

The writer wishes one and all a very Merry Xmas and that the little boys and girls will get all the candy and nuts they can eat. Only a few days until old Santa Claus with his sled and reindeers and jingling bells to delight the hearts of the little boys and girls.

Mrs. Alf Clinard lost a pot of lard by a dog running against it while boiling and upset the whole business.

D.E. Clodfelter and C.C. Smith scraped the snow off the sand clay road a distance of three miles.

Wilmer and Janie Clodfelter thank the editor for the pretty Christmas paper.

Mail Carrier Hayworth is back on the job this week. Some of the road is rough but he is always on time.

Dear Santa, We Need a New School, 1922

Letter to Santa from students at Rockingham High School requesting a new school, as published in the Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1922

Dear Santa Claus:

We have been very good for two years in the opera house. We have been very patient. Santa, it is about as cold up here in the opera house as it is where you live, and in the summer time it is so hot we can hardly keep still. Santa, if you were to sit in our room in May, the icicles in your beard would melt. There are very few windows in the building for light and ventilation. Santa, the noise in the street sounds like a boiler factory. Sometimes we have to stop our work until the noise is over. On one side of us is a garage and you know how quiet they are.

The lights that we use are artificial and not very helpful to the eyes. We are also very crowded in here. In Science, we are handicapped with our experiments because we do not have a laboratory. Santa, please bring us a new High School building, modernly equipped, and place it where we shall have room to p lay. Please don’t forget us, Santa.

Your friends, the pupils of R.H.S.

The State Legislature and Fishing in Richmond County, 1921

From the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1921.

The special session of the Legislature adjourned Monday night about 1 o’clock; it was convened Dec. 6^th.

A total of 523 bills were ratified into law, and scores of other bills introduced were killed. The most important of the state-wide bills was the re-enactment of the municipal finance act; the passage of the $710,000 bonding bill covering the school deficit; passage of the act to validate taxes levied by counties for the support of a six months school term, and to fix rate for 1921; passage of an act that repeals the cotton warehouse tax; and passage of an act providing the machinery for the better collecting of the auto license taxes. The Senate confirmed Mr. Watts as revenue commissioner without any fights.

Among the things that the Legislature refused to do, and killed, were the following: refusal to pass the Long ejectment bill; refusal to repeal state-wide primary law; refused to abolish or modify capital punishment; refused to repeal the penalty for non-payment of taxes by certain dates.

A bill was passed in regard to fishing in Richmond county, and a bill giving the machinery for the town of Rockingham to vote $100,000 in bonds for school improvement, and allowing the town to issue $225,000 for street improvement.

Both Senator W.L. Parsons and Representative W.N. Everett returned home Tuesday.

-=-

A Bill to Be Entitled An Act to Regulate the Catching and Killing of Fish in the Waters of Richmond County

Section 1. That it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to catch, take, or kill in the waters of Richmond county any fish in any manner whatsoever except with a hook and line.

Sec. 2. That it shall be unlawful to fish in the waters of Richmond county with seins, nets, baskets or traps, and it shall be unlawful to kill or take any fish in the waters of Richmond county by means of gigs, paddles or explosives, and it shall be unlawful to kill or taken any fish in the waters of Richmond county by shooting said fish or shooting into the waters of Richmond county.

Sec. 3. That any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than $50 or imprisoned not more than 30 days in the discretion of the court.

Sec. 4. That this act shall be in force from and after its ratification.

In a Fuel Shortage, High Point Buys and Sells Coal to Keep Its Citizens Warm, 1917

From The Review, High Point, N.C., December 20, 1917

The city of High Point is helping out considerably in the fuel shortage. Friday a car was received and went to the people in quarter and half-ton lots who were badly in need of it. The price paid was at the rate of $7.00 per ton. Twenty other cars are en route and will be disposed of as rapidly as they arrive. Many of the cities in this and other States are up against it on account of the coal and wood shortage on the market. It has been necessary for municipalities to take action so as to prevent wholesale suffering.

What the Children Wanted in 1921

Letters to Santa, published in the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 22, 1921

I want you to come see me Christmas and bring me a rifle and four packages of shot to shoot the rifle, a good plow, and all kinds of confectionaries.

I am a little boy, nine years old. I will close for this time.

Your little friend, Gus Covington

-=-

I am a little boy 7 years old. I won’t ask you for very much. Please bring me a suit of clothes and cap pistol and some caps and firecrackers, nuts and oranges and apples and candy.

Yours very truly, Benford Morse, Steele’s Mills

-=-

Will you please bring me an Indian suit, a drum, a stopper gun and a cap pistol.

Your little friend, Harlee Odom, Rockingham

-=-

I am a boy 10 years old, but I want you to bring me a knife with a chain on it and an air rifle and oranges and apples, candy, raisins, nuts and fire crackers.

Porter Sugg

-=-

Please bring me some apples, nuts, candy, grapes and oranges and a sleepy doll. I am 8 years old.

Good night, Alice Thrower, Entwistle

-=-

I am a little boy 6 years old but I will be 7 before you come. Please bring me a nice tool box, a coon jigger, a big horn, a top, a wheel-barrow and some firecrackers and sky rockets.

John Hasty Swink Jr.

P.S. If you come in time, you can eat supper with us.

-=-

Please send me a bicycle and some candy and fruit.

Margaret Dickson, Rockingham

-=-

I will write you a few lines. I want you to come to see me Xmas. I want you to bring me a little car large enough to ride in and lots of candy and nuts. I have three little sisters and I want you to bring them something too.

So goodbye, from your little boy, Louis Morse, Rockingham

-=-

I want you to bring me a nice doll, a rubber ball and fruit and candy and nuts. I am a little girl 7 years old. I am in the second grade.

Nannie Bell Millikia, Ellerbe

-=-

To Santa Claus, North Pole

I am a little boy 11 years old. I want you to bring me a Boy Scout bugle and a doughface and lots of fruits and nuts and candy.

Your true friend, Walter McNair, Rockingham

-=-

I am a boy 9 years old and please bring me a football, harp and some fruit, candy and nuts. Thank you.

Your friend, Paul Millikin, Ellerbe

-=-

I will write to let you know what I want you to bring me. I want some candy, apples, oranges, raisins, negrotoes and a dancer. I have 2 sisters and they want a doll apiece and candy and apples, oranges, and bring me what you can. I am 5 years old. I will close for this time.

From your truly friend, Thaddeus Ussery, Ellerby, Rt. 2

-=-

Please bring me a box of candy, a baby doll, a pretty string of pearls, a birthstone ring, a good story book, some apples, candy, nuts, oranges and raisins.

Your friend, Helen Grant

-=-

Please bring me a tea set, a little doll, a chair, a cradle, a doll house and candy.

Ida Willinal

-=-

Please bring me a wagon, a train, a gun, a horn, a cap pistol and a box of candy.

Ralph Willinal

-=-

Please bring me a great big doll and apples, nuts, oranges and fruit, and a ball and a pencil and tablet.

Gracie Lee Godfrey, Ellerbe

-=-

Please bring me a sleepy doll, a doll bed and carriage and some fruit and candy.

Your little friend, Louise Odom, Rockingham

-=-

Thank you for the things you brought last year. I want a pistol and some caps and a bag of marbles and a story book and a tool set and a lunch box and mother a sewing basket and father a hat and I want some raisins and some other fruit.

Your friend, Jim Dockery Williams

-=-

I want a knife and a French harp and firecrackers, candy, nuts, apples, oranges. I am a boy 8 years old.

Roy Sugg, Ellerbe

-=-

I am a little boy 9 years old. I wish that you would bring me a Boy Scout drum. I would like for you to bring me lots of fireworks and a doughface and lots of fruit.

Your loving friend, Archie McNair, Rockingham

-=-

I want some candy, apples, oranges, raisins and an air rifle. I am 11 years old. I have 4 brothers and 3 sisters. Well, as I have written enough, I will close. Goodbye.

Yours truly, Theodore Ussery, Ellerbe, Rt. 2

-=-

I want you to bring me a doll and doll carriage and some apples, oranges and candy and raisins, nuts. I am a little girl 3 years old.

Anna Bell Sugg, Ellerbe

-=-

Will you please bring me a football, an erector set and a ram rod gun.

Your loving friend, L.L. Odom Jr., Rockingham

-=-

As it is nearly Xmas I want to write you to tell you to come to see me. I don’t know hardly what I do want. I would like to have a bicycle, but of course I would be glad to have anything you will bring me. I sure want some candy, nuts and all kinds of fruit.

With love to you, from Shirley Morse, Rockingham

-=-

I want a pretty doll, a ring, and some confectionaries. I am a small little girl, ten years old, and am in the fourth grade. I have been on the honor roll once. My teacher’s name is Cousin Gracie Covington. She is a real sweet teacher and I want you to please remember her on Christmas night. Well, Santa, I will close.

Your true girl, Betsy Wall Nichols

-=-

I will write you to tell you what I want you to bring me. I want you to bring me three packages of air rifle shot, a knife, and some confectionaries. I am ten year sold, and in the fourth grade. I have been on the honor roll three months. Well, I will close for this time.

Your little boy, Floyd Wall Nichols

-=-

I will write you a little letter to let you know what I want for Christmas. I want a piano, a doll, and some confectionaries. I have been a good little girl. I am eleven years old.

Bessie Calahan

-=-

I will write you a letter to let you know what I want you to bring me. I want you to bring me a piano, a bureau, some confectionaries, a sewing box, and a doll. That is all I want for Christmas.

I will close, Lena Perkins

-=-

I will write you a little letter to tell you what I want. I want a carriage and a piano, and some confectionaries.

I will close, Your true girl, Lila Perkins

-=-

I want a doll with curly hair, a piano, pair of bedroom slippers, a basketball, a pair of kid gloves, and some confectionaries.

Your true little girl, Katherine Covington

-=-

I want you to bring me a little piano and a story book, a basketball, and a pair of bedroom slippers.

Your true friend, Dorothy Covington

-=-

I will write you a little letter to let you know what I want you to bring me. I want a doll carriage and a doll, and lots of confectionaries.

Your true little girl, Robbie Lee Ellerbe

-=-

I will write you a little letter to let you know what I want you to bring me. An air rifle, cap pistol, and confectionaries.

I will close, James Ellerbe

-=-

Please bring me a doll, a doll carriage, a story book, and lots of confectionaries. That is all I want, so I will close.

Your little girl, Katie Ruth Martin

-=-

Please bring me a sewing box, a piece of ribbon, a ring, a Christmas box, some confectionaries, and a pair of bedroom slippers for grandma, so I will close.

Your true friend, Ollie Martin

-=-

I want some fire crackers, some confectionaries, some Roman candles, a cap pistol, and some sparklers. Well, I will close for this time.

John Shepherd

-=-

Please excuse all mistakes and bad writing.

I am writing you to tell you what I want you to bring me. I want you to bring me a pair of bed-room slippers, some confectionaries, some little fire-crackers, and anything else, Santa, that you can spare. I am a little girl twelve years old and I am in the fifth grade. My teacher’s name is Cousin Grace Covington, and she is a good teacher, and I want you to be good to her. Well, I will close for this time.

Elsie Nichols

-=-

Christmas, please bring me a sweet little doll, a story book, some fire crackers, sky rockets, Roman candles, lots of sparklers, lots of confectionaries, and anything else you can spare.

I am a little girl ten years old and in the fifth grade. I have been just as good as I can be. My teacher is Cousin Grace Covington. She sure is a good one, too, so be good to her Christmas.

Your little girl, Sarah Louise Ellerbe

-=-

I will write you a little letter to tell you want I want Christmas. I want a little doll, a sewing box, a basket ball, a hat with streamers, or a tassel on the side, and some confectionaries.

I am a little girl ten years old, and in the fifth grade. My teacher’s name is Cousin Grace Covington. Please don’t forget her Christmas night. She is a sweet teacher. I have been on the honor roll twice. I will close till next Christmas.

Your true girl, Louisa Covington

-=-

I want a big doll with long curly hair. I want a pretty white straw hat on her head, and some confectionaries, and I want a necklace with a watch in the middle. I will close for this time.

Your true girl, Mary Lampley

-=-

I am a little boy 13 years old and I am in the fourth grade. I am going to tell you want I want. I want 3 packages of fire crackers, a pair of leggings, and an air rifle with some shot, a pocket knife, a rubber ball, a sky rocket, some apples, oranges, candies and nuts. Well, Santa Claus, I will close for this year.

Your friend, Luther Calahan

-=-

Thank you for the things you brought last year. Please bring me a big doll and a cart and some fruits. Please bring mother and father something too. Please bring me some nuts and a sweater and some raisins. Please bring my little brother and sister something. Please bring me a tea set.

Your friend, Ina Kelly

-=-

Please bring me a overcoat, and some Roman candles and sparklers and fire crackers. Also some fruit and candy.

From your little boy, [unfortunately, the newspaper omitted the name]

-=-

Please bring me a large doll and some fruit and sparklers, and if you can, please bring me a doll bed and carriage. Thank you.

I am your little girl, Hallie Covington Kelly

-=-

Thank you for the things you brought me last year. Please bring me a sleeping doll, some apples, oranges, nuts, raisins and candy, a ball, some story books and a tea set. Bring my little brother a gun. I am in a hurry writing this letter, so this is all this time.

Your Friend, Carrie Mae Lowe

Martha Gasque, Tireless Worker in War Effort and Influenza Pandemic, Died Dec. 17, 1918

“Mrs. Boyd Gasque Dead,” from the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, Dec. 19, 1918

Mrs. Boyd R. Gasque died Tuesday night at 11 o’clock from pneumonia. She was taken ill with influenza on the 6^th, while nursing her two sons; on the 11^th pneumonia developed, and death followed on the 17^th.

The funeral was conducted at Eastside cemetery Wednesday afternoon by Rev. G.F. Smith, assisted by Rev. W.R. Coppedge. The grave was sweetly lined with flowers and greens by her companions in the Canteen work. Mrs. F.W. Leak and Miss Long, Messrs. Perry West and Stancill Covington rendered a quartette, “When the Mists Have Rolled Away.”

Mrs. Gasque was born Oct. 6, 1878. On Dec. 10, 1902, she was married to Boyd R. Gasque, and to them survive two sons, Boyd Jr. and Robert. Also surviving are her husband, mother, Mrs. Rosa S. Johnson, and to this closely knit family is the sympathy of a host of friends who were happy and proud to call her their friend.

Martha J. Gasque’s very soul was enlisted in the various war agencies. She lent her brilliant mind, tireless energy and warm-hearted unselfishness wholly to this work. As chairman for Richmond county of the Woman’s Committees of the 1^st, 2^nd and 4^th Liberty Loans, she was instrumental in having the county go over the top. She was a steady attendant upon the Red Cross Sewing Room and a never failing worker in the Canteen at Hamlet, being Captain of one of the days served by the Rockingham chapter. She was chairman of the Women’s Committee for the United War Work Drive, and was actively engaged as chairman of the Christmas Roll Call when her untimely death occurred.

During the influenza epidemic in October she was in charge of the nourishment committee in providing soups, etc., for the sick. When her brother, Robt. L. Johnson, was sworn in on Dec. 2^nd as Register of Deeds, she was installed as his deputy clerk, and though she served in that capacity but a week, yet in that time she demonstrated that her ability was more than equal to the duties entailed.

All in all, her days were filled with work for others, and hers was ever a labor of love. She has gone before to that unknown and silent shore. A woman, sympathetic, loyal and true has gone from our midst, and in her passing we who are left behind are the losers.

“So fades a summer cloud away;
So sinks the gale when storms are o’er;
So gently shuts the eye of day;
So dies a wave along the shore.”

J.F. Harris Obituary, Henderson Gold Leaf, Dec. 5, 1901

From The Gold Leaf, Henderson, N.C., Dec. 5, 1901

Major J.F. Harris…Full of Years and Usefulness He Passes Peacefully Away…One of Henderson’s Oldest and Best Know Citizens…An Honorable and Upright Man, Loved and Respected by all Who Knew Him…Short Sketch of His Life…The Funeral Services

Maj. J.F. Harris died at his home in this place about half past nine o’clock Friday night. He had been sick but a few days and while his condition was known to be serious from the first the community was scarcely prepared for the announcement of his death.

Maj. Harris was one of the oldest and best known citizens of Henderson and one of the most popular and greatly beloved. Every one who knew him was his friend and well wisher and he cherished ill against no man. Of a genial nature and friendly disposition, and sociable in his habits he was a most companionable man always. He loved company and was especially fond of the society of young people. Though old in years Maj. Harris was young in spirit and until within the past year or two he was remarkably active and well preserved for his age. But his friends of late had observed in him the effects of advancing age. He had lost his elastic step, his love of out door exercise and sports afield, and his buoyant spirits had given way to graver and more serious mien and manner.

Had he lived until the 25th of next March Maj. Harris would have been 84 years old. Many of our readers will recall the reception given by Major and Mrs. Harris in 1898 in honor of his attaining his eightieth year. It was a most delightful occasion and among the vast number who paid their respects there was not one who appeared to bear his years more lightly than the genial host who was just “eighty years young.”

Maj. Harris was a loyal and consistent member of the Methodist Protestant church and was one of its most liberal and cheerful supporters. He took an active part in the building of the beautiful new church which adorns the lot he gave—a structure not only creditable to that denomination but an ornament to the town and pride of our people generally—and had expressed a desire to live long enough to see two things: First to see the church completed and an annual conference held in it. He was spared to see both. For some months it had been his great pleasure to worship therein, and the first funeral service that was held there was that of his brother-in-law L.B. Yancey. He saw the conference of his church held here and was one of the most active and interested workers among the laymen. And the very day it adjourned he was taken sick and passed to the great conference of the redeemed above without having left his bed.

Of the life and character of Maj. Harris we shall not attempt to speak. This has been done by another in the sketch which is published blow. The funeral was held from the Methodist Protestant church at 2:30 o’clock Sunday afternoon. The attendance was perhaps the largest ever seen at a funeral in Henderson. Many persons were here from a distance. The church was crowded and numbers of people had to stand outside. Rev. J.S. Williams conducted the service, assisted by Rev. A.R. Shaw, Rev. M.H. Tuttle and Dr. Hufham. Mr. Shaw delivered the opening prayer, Mr. Tuttle read the Scripture lesson and Dr. Hufham made the closing prayer. The services throughout were singularly impressive and appropriate. In place of any remarks of his own, Pastor Williams read the following paper which at his request was written by Mr. A.J. Harris:

John Fletcher Harris, second son of Ivey and Judith Harris, was born March 25^th, 1818, at his father’s home near Harris’ Cross Roads in Granville county, N.C. At 19 years of age he went into the mercantile business under the late Col. John Hargrove, at what was then known as Linesville. Here he and the late Maj. W.W. Vass received their first lessons in actual business affairs. After one year here he refused the offer made by Col. Hargrove to double his salary, and, in partnership with his oldest brother Wm. A. Harris, opened a store at the Cross Roads near Wiliamsboro. After remaining here for several years he went to Midway.

He was successful in these several ventures, and in October, 1842, he married Miss Martha Sledge, with whom he lived happily until her death in 1884. From this time until the end of the Civil War he devoted himself to agricultural pursuits and as an example of his success in this field there will be found among his papers $11,000 of Granville county script given him for meat and bread furnished to families of soldiers during the Civil War.

After the disasters incident to the Civil War, with depleted fortune and well nigh hopeless of bettering his financial condition by agricultural pursuits he embarked in the business of manufacturing tobacco at Tally Ho. This venture proved unsuccessful, and embarrassed by the debts contracted here and the losses incident to the war, he began after the great Henderson fire to rebuild his shattered fortunes at this place—buying a site for a store before the fires quit burning. He entered into partnership with his brothers in the mercantile business and for years they carried on the principal business of this town. Here he made his greatest financial success, and with this he closed his active business career, except the year 1886. In all his business life he lived strictly up to the Scriptural command to owe no man anything.

As a Mason for more than 50 years he was treasurer of a Lodge, receiving and paying out the moneys with a justness and exactness that always made his re-election a matter of course.

As Chairman of the County Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions his dignity and firmness rendered him popular, and his rigid adherence to rules of right made him the friend of order and the open enemy of every willful violator of the law.

As a churchman he was instantly loyal to the Methodist Protestant church. He and William A. Harris were the principal founders of Harris’ Chapel at Dabney, which church was named on account of the noble work of these two men.

The old Methodist Protestant church in Henderson found the same two brothers leading in every place for the progress of that edifice. It is needless to tell the people of Henderson what his intense zeal did for the new Methodist Protestant church for this is so recent as to be known of all.

When the late lamented John Paris was contemplating writing a history of the Methodist Protestant church, he went to the home of John F. Harris on his “Tarlton Farm” and there wrote a large part of that work that has so strongly appealed to the hearts of loyal Methodist Protestants in its portrayal of the sufferings of the founders of the church.

He was married to Miss Jennie Yancey on the 12^th day of February, 1890, and her genial and happy life was the principal cause of his prolonged youthfulness, despite approaching age.

His last public utterance, on Monday night last, was a strong appeal for the preservation and enlargement of the fund for superannuated Methodist Protestant preachers and their wives. His last church work was meeting with the Trustees for that fund, of which he was a member, and striving to add to the usefulness and strength of that organization.

Major Harris possessed a wonderful faculty of rendering himself popular with the young people with whom he came in contact. He was fond of outdoor sports and exercises and always claimed that he was enabled to shake off depressing effects of business reverses by fox hunting and the pleasures afield with gun and dog during the shooting season. Even in his later years he clung with great tenacity to his sport feeling that it kept him active and vigorous.

His honesty and integrity was of that stern, unyielding type that recalls the Puritans, and when he had the right on his side, he never stopped to bandy soft speeches in order to add weight to the side he thought right.

He scorned a so-called manhood that would shirk the payment of an honest debt by trickery or chicanery. He thought deeply, felt strongly, and expressed his opinions freely and openly. He realized that old age was upon him and was proud of his reputations for honesty and fair dealing with a just and worthy pride.

Within 10 days he said to me: “In only a short while the affairs of this world will affect me no more than does the rustling of that leaf blown along by winter wind.” He laid no claim to perfection to which he had not attained; but he was honest, courageous, faithful, true to his word and to his friends. He left no unfulfilled obligations.

His unyielding honesty, his unswerving loyalty to his church, his unceasing activity in her cause may well serve as examples to the younger generations who will look long ere they see his like again.

Asked to give an opinion of Maj. Harris, Mr. T.M. Pittman wrote this which Mr. Williams read also:

I think Major Harris was wise above the men of his day in his recognition of the fact that “a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” When he had gathered sufficient property to provide against want in old age, he retired from active business and the pursuit of riches, and gained time to know his fellowmen and to study life on its better side. His sympathies and friendships were broadened and deepened. His old age was freed from the cares of business. Rivalry, and contention, and bitterness, and suspicion, and distrust, and the disappointment that comes from the business pursuits of old men passed him by, and his end was peace. Surely wisdom is justified of her children. He could say:

“Let my setting sun at last

Find out the still, the rural cell

Where sage Retirement loves to dwell!

Let me taste the home-felt bliss

Of innocence and inward peace;

Untainted by the guilty bribe,

Uncursed among the harpy tribe;

No Orphan’s cry to wound my ear,

My honour and my conscience clear;

Thus may I calmly meet my end

Thus to the grave in peace descend.”

Maj. Harris was a prominent Mason and was buried with the honors of that Order. The active pall bearers were W.W. Rowland, R.J. Corbitt, L.W. Barnes, Dr. H.H. Bass, W.E. Moss, Owen Davis, O.C. Burt. The honorary pall bearers each bearing an exquisite floral tribute were D.Y. Cooper, R.R. Pinkston, Maj. W.E. Gary, J.B. Owen, Col. Henry Perry.

At the grave the usual ceremonies incident to a Masonic funeral were gone through with. Prof. J.T. Alderman, Master of the Henderson Lodge, officiated and read the burial rites. It was a solemn and impressive scene, made all the more so because of the life and character of the man who whom honor was being done. The Masonic ceremonies concluded, the grave was filled, the benediction was pronounced and there beneath a bank of roses the mortal part of one who had for so many years passed in and out among us and who was regarded and esteemed as few men are was left to repose in the dust from whence it came, his spirit in the presence of the God who gave it.

"Talk of the Town" from Henderson, Dec. 5, 1901

“Talk of the Town,” from The Gold Leaf, Henderson, N.C., Dec. 5, 1901

Mrs. L.D. Stainback visited friends in Franklinton this week.

More and more the shops begin to assume a Christmas like appearance.

Miss Mattie Clements returned last week from a pleasant visit to Greensboro.

Misses Daisy and Marie Williams of Littleton spent a few days in Henderson this week as guests of Mrs. J. B. Pearce.

Low rate return tickets are now on sale to Charleston, account of the South Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition.

Mrs. B.H. Burroughs left Saturday for Savannah, Ga., and after staying awhile there she will go to Florida expecting to be away some time.

Mrs. Leila Newcomb Riggsby and infant daughter returned to Durham Saturday after a 10 days visit to the family of Mr. Andrew P. Newcomb, her brother.

Mrs. Walter B. Burwell left Tuesday to visit relatives in Memphis, Tenn. Mr. Burwell will join her about Christmas, and on their return they will visit the Charleston Exposition.

Rev. John E. Wool of Oxford will preach in the Presbyterian church here Sunday. Mr. Wool is a good speaker and a young gentleman of engaging manner and agreeable personality.

H. Nutrizio is going to quit business in Henderson and go elsewhere. To close out he will offer astonishing bargains in shoes—men’s, women’s and children’s—from now until the first of January.

Hon. Jas. R. Young was here for a short while Monday. He informed us his little daughter Annie who has been sick with scarlet fever is about well again. Mr. Young returned to Raleigh on the evening train.

The advance in cotton this week as a result of the Government’s report indicating a short crop livened up things somewhere. Those who had sold wished they hadn’t and those who held were congratulating themselves.

The man who cannot buy a horse these days certainly cannot charge it to a lack of opportunity. There are plenty for sale with some variety in quality but very little as to condition. Mostly mortgage stock taken in for debt and offered at public auction.

Mr. Henry Buchan has returned from Ecquador where he has been with a large railroad contracting company since the first of the year. Did not like the country and threw up his job. He landed in New York Nov. 19^th, having been 21 days on the voyage, and is now in Canada.

Prof. Alderman is lamenting the loss of his cane. It was one he prized very highly having had it upwards of 20 years. It is a hickory stick with crooked handle and has his initials ‘J.T.A.” cut on the end. Probably left it somewhere about town and will thank finder for returning same to him.

What Soldiers Were Reading in World War II

The following link will take you to a National Public Radio article that examines what soldiers were reading in World War II. To support the war effort, American publishers reprinted titles as pocket-sized books and sent them to soldiers. They were called Armed Services Editions.

http://www.npr.org/2014/12/10/369616513/wwii-by-the-books-the-pocket-size-editions-that-kept-soldiers-reading

Mecklenburg Farmers Find Dairying Profitable, 1949

By F.H. Jeter, Extension Editor, N.C. State College, as published in the Charlotte Observer, Dec. 19, 1949

Cotton allotments, peanut allotments, wheat allotments, tobacco allotments, and even corn allotments in some counties, are causing North Carolina farmers one headache after another. What to do about them? How to use the land released from these cash crops? What to do about tenants who must be displaced if some profitable way of using the land cannot be found? These are just a few of the perplexing questions faced by North Carolina farmers as they start another year.

Most farmers have finished harvesting all the 1949 crops and most of them have planted all the winter crops they will use this winter and next spring. Some folks will have to change their farming practices in 1950. Many others should change.

Farm management experts say that it is a good thing to make a definite farm plan for 1950. This plan should include a selection of crops to be grown in 1950; a selection of the particular fields on which the crops will be grown; selection of the amount and kind of livestock that can be grown and fed; selection of the amount of grazing crops, grain, hay, and other feeds that will be needed; choosing the soil conservation practices that will be followed so as to earn all the payments that may be coming to your farm; determining the new buildings and the fencing needed; and the farm machinery. This planning should not only include the things to be done, says Dr. Brice Ratchford, but also when they are to be done. For instance, one man said he would need a new hay storage shed and he has set February as the proper time to build it.

It pays to have a plan. The man who rushes into the 1950 season with not plan at all may find himself facing all kinds of difficulties….

E.M. Brown of Charlotte, Route 3, Mecklenburg County, says that soybeans have been helpful to him. He planted 42 acres to the comparatively new Roanoke variety this year. Of the 42 acres planted, 27 acres were seeded in rows and the other planted broadcast with the grain drill. The beans were fertilized with 400 pounds per acre of a 2-12-12 fertilizer mixture.

Mr. Brown did all of the work himself, using modern tractor-drawn machinery to plant, cultivate and harvest. He hired a man to tie the sacks of beans as they were combined. He harvested a little over 1,000 bushels of beans from 38 acres, or an average of 27.5 bushels an acre. Last year he sold his entire output as seed for $3.25 a bushel. If he sells the beans this year at the market price for crushing for oil, he will get around $2 a bushel. Anyway you figure it, Mr. Brown stands to clear $1,500 from his beans. He also figures that his soil is being improved by growing the soybeans. Looking forward to 1950, Mr. Brown says that with a smaller cotton crop generally over the South and therefore less cotton seed, the price of soybeans and should improve.

Frank and Eugene Hodges, brothers and dairymen of the Newell Community in Mecklenburg County, have found out that cows pay well, especially when the cows are fed properly. These men milk about 65 head of Holsteins and they sell about a ton of milk every day. R.C. Laney, assistant farm agent, says that if you want to see a beautiful sight, drive out to the well-kept home and farm of Hodges Brothers.  Mr. Laney says it is a sight you will never forget. Get there about 10 o’clock in the morning and the chances are that you will see these 65 animals silhouetted against a background of green alfalfa. The brothers have 50 acres in alfalfa and they graze the cows a part of each day on a part of this 50 acres. Usually, the cows have access to about 10 acres at a time.

That’s the way to make money, say these two men. Have good cows and feed them with the best feed that can be grown. There is no better crop than alfalfa for hay and grazing, and North Carolina soil will grow just as good alfalfa as can be grown in Kansas, Oklahoma, or anywhere else.

Mecklenburg dairymen are fully aware of the fact that the great war-boom market for milk is gone. They know that prices will be lower and competition keener in the future. That’s why they are adding silos and producing and saving so much of their feed on the home farm. That’s also why they are keeping records and finding out which cow pays the most for the feed she is given.

Brawly Brothers, in the Robinson Church section of Mecklenburg County, have been keeping these herd records for one year. They know what their individual cows are doing in the way of producing profitable milk. Out of 20 cows on test, they had five to officially produce over 18,000 pounds of milk last year. Three produced 20,000 pounds. Only one cow in this herd produced less than 10,000 pounds of milk last year.

Records kept by Mecklenburg dairymen are also used to determine if their herd sires are any good. If a sire proves that he can transmit high milk production to his daughters, then he is a valuable animal to keep on the farm. George Hoover, Hodges Brothers, Joe and Crosby Dunn, W.T. Harris, Brawley Brothers, and Morrocroft Farms are all keeping such records so as to prove the value of the sires that they are using. Then, too, when a new cow comes into a Mecklenburg dairy herd, she is placed on test. Careful records are kept of her feed intake and her milk production, with the amount of butterfat in the milk. If this cow does not produce as she should in the face of the evidence, then she leaves that herd.  This is the way that Mecklenburg dairymen cull their non-paying animals.

When Public Education Was a Priority in North Carolina, 1923

An introductory paragraph from  "Eastern North Carolina: Where Prosperity is Perennial," a booklet published in 1924 by the Eastern North Carolina Chamber of Commerce. The booklet is online at http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/ncencyc/ncencyc.html.

No state in the Union has made such rapid increase industrially, agriculturally, and educationally as North Carolina, during the recent years. Her growth sounds more like a fairy tale than it does real facts. But it is a fact just the same. In 1900 expenditures for education in North Carolina amounted to less than a million; in 1923 the expenditures total $23,000,000.00. In 1900 the expenditure for new school buildings was less than $41,000.00; in 1922 it was more than $6,000,000.00. In 1900 the average value of each school house was $150.00; in 1922 it was $4,500.00. In 1900 the average length of public school term was 73 days; in 1922 it was 143 days. In 1900 North Carolina had about 30 high schools; in 1923 she had 475. In 1900 the percentage of illiteracy in North Carolina was 29.4; in 1920 it had been reduced to 13.1, the white race being only 7.1.

Ag. Extension at N.C. State Says Raising Hogs May Be Profitable in Eastern North Carolina, 1924

“Eastern North Carolina: Where Prosperity Is Perennial,” published in 1924 by the Eastern Carolina Chamber of Commerce. Might farmers be able to raise hogs in Eastern North Carolina? The North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service says yes. The entire publication has been scanned and placed  online as part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Documenting the American South program. You can read the entire brochure at http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/ncencyc/ncencyc.html

Possibilities in Pork Production
By W. W. SHAY, In Charge Office of Swine Investigation

The possibilities of profit from the production in North Carolina of pork of a high quality are exceeded by those of no other state of which we have made a study. Peculiar circumstances of which advantage must be taken in order that the maximum of profit from business may be enjoyed, make this so.

There is a very pronounced and fairly regular seasonal trend of the price of hogs. This trend is caused by fluctuations in the supply, and supply is influenced by the season of the year. Owing to the usual severity of the winters in the corn belt not many pigs are farrowed at that time in that locality. As a result the supply of finished hogs decreases at a time of the year corresponding with the time when winter farrowed pigs are or should be ready for market, and owing to this decrease in the supply the price trend rises, reaching its crest for the year about September first as a rule.

A study of the average price of hogs for a period of five or more years will show the truth of this. The average difference in the Chicago price of hogs during the months of December and September taking a period of twenty years was: September $9.35, December $8.00 or $1.35 in favor of early marketing, therefore the proper marketing of North Carolina hogs takes into consideration this seasonal advantage over the corn belt hog.

But that is not the only price advantage the North Carolina hog of good quality has over the corn belt hog. Ninety-eight per cent of the hogs received at Chicago travel east, either on foot or as pork products, and for that reason the eastern market averages from 75 cents to $1.00 per hundred pounds higher than the Chicago market for similar hogs. Here then is a combined difference in price of over $2.00 per one hundred pounds in favor of the corn fed North Carolina hog.

Owing to the fact that the average yield of corn per acre in North Carolina is less than 25 bushels while the average per acre yield for Iowa is over 40 bushels there is a belief that corn cannot be raised as cheaply in this State as it can in Iowa, and that is true when the question is considered from a state-wide standpoint, but--on land of similar fertility and adaptability to the use of modern machinery, and there are thousands of acres of such land in North Carolina, owing to cheaper labor, less investment, and lower taxes, it is possible to raise a bushel of corn as cheaply in North Carolina as it can be raised in the corn belt.

The question immediately arises: Why then not raise more corn when the price is at present $1.25 per bushel? While it is true that at the present time, in many counties of the State the price of corn is $1.25 per bushel, there are other counties where it may be bought for considerably less than $1.00. Again it is the old question of supply and demand--in one county there is a shortage, in the other a surplus--and a material increase in the amount of corn produced in the county where the price is high would immediately result in a material drop in the price, and owing to the limited demand it would be difficult to dispose of the crop.

Owing to the fact that 51 per cent of all of the millions of hogs arriving at seven of the largest markets of the United States travel east, an increase in the number of hogs raised in North Carolina would not be followed by a serious price break providing they were sold at a time when the markets are not flooded with hogs from the corn belt.

We are not trying to prove that there is any profit in raising hogs on land that will not yield over fifteen or twenty bushels of corn per acre--there may be a way of making a decent living on such land--but it is not through raising hogs. The raising of hogs, however, and keeping on the farm much of the fertilizer value of such crops as are raised, will help to put such a farm on a paying basis.

Why, then, is not the production of corn fed hogs a profitable side line of North Carolina farming? Consider well before answering for during the last two years it has proven very satisfactory on over 200 farms where demonstrations have been conducted by The Extension Service and the results arrived at through the use of scales in weighing over 3,000 hogs and the feed eaten by them in twenty-two counties.

12,612,808 Acres Untilled Land in Eastern Carolina

The 1920 census showed that there are in the 46 counties covered by this organization, 12,612,808 acres of land that aren't being cultivated. There are 3,180,732 acres that are being cultivated, which represents about one fourth of the total area under cultivation.

Wonderful Opportunity for Somebody

The total value of the crops of Eastern Carolina will reveal what a wonderful opportunity there is here for new settlers. The total productivity of the land under cultivation, represents only a small portion of the wealth that is really here. There are millions of acres not producing that would produce in the same proportion as those acres that are producing. Thousands of acres of this land don't even need drainage. They are ready for the plow and can be had at a reasonable price.