Page Two
THE CHATHAM BLANKETEER
December 5, 1934
The
Chatham Blanketeer
Editor-in-Chief Claudia Austin
Assistant ( Hoyt T. Hambright
Editors ( A. R. Plaster
Circulation j R. G. Chatham, Jr.
Managers ^ Stauber Plynt
Chief Reporter John Sagar
{Leona Darnell
Club Reporters..-A Bessie Gilliam
*Madie Austin
Weaving Catherine Brannon
Spinning & Carding
Pauline Morrison
Shop, Dye & Power Plant
Elizabeth Underwood
Spooling & Burling Fay Reavis
Wool Dept Pauline Masten
Napping & Wash Room
Dorothy Norman
Finishing Dept Hallie Ball
Shipping Dept Margaret Taylor
Night Force Earl Conrad
Old Mill Sherman Newman
Winston Office Roxie Bowen
Elkin Office...-Marjorie Greenwood
The Man Who Follows
One day an old umbrella mend
er with his bundle of skeleton
frames and box of tools knocked
at our back door, and we gave
him a job. As he sat on his box
in the sun mending the broken
and torn umbrella, we noticed
that he seemed to take unusual
pains, testing the cloth, carefully
measuring and strongly sewing
the covers.
“You seem unusually careful,”
we remarked.
“Yes,” he said, without looking
up. “I try to do good work.”
“But your customers would not
know the difference till you were
gone,” we suggested.
“No, I suppose not.”
“Then perhaps you expect to
come back this way again some
day?” we ventured.
“No, I shall probably not come
back.”
“Then why are you so particu
lar?”
“So it will be easier for the
man who follows me,” he ans
wered simply. “If I put on shod
dy cloth or do bad work, my cus
tomers will find it out in a few
weeks, and the next old umbrella
mender that comes along will get
the cold shoulder, the stony stare,
the bulldog and the gate.”
When he had gone we reflected
on what he had said, and this
thought occurred to us: The lot
of all who labor with their hands
or their brains for a living would
be easier—many of the problems
which worry the manufacturer,
the merchant, and the profession
al man, would solve themselves—
if only the simple philosophy of
the old umbrella mender were un
iversally practiced—if all earnest
ly tried to make it “easier for the
man who follows.”—Copied.
ORIGIN OF THE
NAME “TAR HEEL”
Two Words Were Once Laden
With Derision For the People
To Whom It Applied
Few of us living today remem
ber when North Carolinians were
not called Tar Heels, and were
not proud of the title, but original
ly the two words were laden with
derision for the people whom it
served as an appellation.
Long before the colonies gained
their independence the British re
ferred to the citizens of the pro
vince of Carolina as Tar Heels.
The term was applied to the poor
er classes who labored in the
state’s triple industry of “tar,
pitch and turpentine.” The belief
is that these poor workers in
naval stores went without shoes,
and tar, lying about loosely,
would stick to their heels.
Gradually the name came to be
applied to all classes of people in
the colony and later in the state,
and it was not until the Civil War
that Carolinians no longer re
sented the term as an expression
of contempt.
Dr. Kemp P. Battle, former
president of the University of
North Carolina, has told how the
epithet spread. “In the early
years of the Civil War, about Jan
uary 1862, some Negroes in Miss
issippi were playing a game in
which a copper coin was placed in
the middle of a ring. Each
danced up to it, and if he could
pick it up with his foot and dance
with it out of the ring, he could
have it. One darkey won it so often
that the crowd became suspicious
and one shouted ‘dat nigger has
got tar on his heels!” He was
searched, and there was the tar.”
The North Carolina boys took
it good humoredly and declared
that the Virginia troopers would
run away in a hot fight, but that
the Carolinians would stick firm
ly because they had tar on their
heels.
Zebulon Baird Vance, speaking
before North Carolina Confederate
troops in the spring of 1864 in
Virginia, is the first who gave the
term an honorable connotation.
Vance was campaigning for gov
ernor of North Carolina and most
of the soldiers were eligible to
vote.
“I hardly know how to begin,”
he said. “I cannot call you fellow
citizens because we do not live
here. I cannot call you fel
low soldiers for while you are un
dergoing the hardships of camp
life, I am comfortably at Raleigh
with three meals a day, and I am
not a soldier. But—I can and will
call you fellow Tar Heels.”
Major A. W. Graham, a Con
federate veteran, who heard Gov
ernor Vance deliver this speech,
said that for a moment or two it
did not meet hearty response.
Vance paused, then suddenly the
soldiers caught on. As one man
they rose with a thunder of
cheers. The words “Tar Heel”
were enobled with brotherly love
and idealism. Since that day the
name Tar Heel has been honored
and respected by all who love the
Tar Heel State.
L. H. C. Club of Elkin
L. H. C. CLUB NO. 2
Our regular weekly meetings
have been held in the foreman’s
room each Thursday evening this
month with a good attendance.
Since we have been studying the
Women of the Bible, our pro
grams only consist of a short de
votional exercise conducted by
a member and a business meeting
followed by our lessons, taught
by Miss Austin. The lessons are
being thoroughly enjoyed by our
group and we feel that a great
deal of good is being derived from
them.
Our quilt top has been finished
and $15.00 has been added to our
treasury from the sale of names
to go on it.
L. H. C. CLUB NO. 1
The most interesting program
of our Club year was given on
Thursday night, Nov. 22nd, when
Misses Carolyn and Margaret Lil-
lard rendered a program on “Mu
sic Appreciation.” After a talk
by Miss Carolyn Lillard on the
“History of Music” several vocal
and piano numbers were rendered.
The numbers rendered were selec
tions from different countries and
folk music. Each girl left feeling
that she had learned something
long to be remembered. This is
the third of a series of programs
we are planning to have leading
on up to Christmas. Art, Health
and History are yet looked for
ward to.
Tuesday evening, Nov. 27th our
regular Thanksgiving program
was enjoyed. Each girl brought
a Thanksgiving gift to be given
to a family we are interested in.
The program consisted of pa
triotic songs and a Thanksgiving
story was told by our leader. Miss
Austin. Much interest is being
manifested by the girls who are
going out for basketball practice.
We are looking forward to a
good girls’ team this year.
Charlie Dixon telephoned the
theatre box office the other
night and asked: “Can I get a
box for two?”
A puzzled voice replied: “We
don’t have boxes for two”
“Isn’t this the theatre?” asked
Charlie crossly.
“Why, no,” was the reply, “you
are talking to Voglers, the un
dertakers.”
Elizabeth: “Didn’t I tell you
to notice when the soup boiled
over?”
Thompson: “I did. It was ex
actly half past ten.”
WINSTON OFFICE
“THE OLDEST COUPLE”
Older people like to tell of
their years of service, the good old
days, and things that used to be.
As one of these pass away if it
can be said that they were faith
ful in some service for forty, fif'
ty or sixty years we will stand
with hats off and bowed heads in
honor of a life w'ell used.
Recently the writer met a very
old couple that you might like to
hear about. After asking to see
them and Mrs. J. E. Jones of this
city had been kind enough to
bring them in Mr. Highsmith, her
father who is eighty-six years,
began this story.
‘My father lived near Wilming'
ton, the farm being about two
miles from the town. We raised
sheep and I remember when we
would take the wool to Elkin and
father would tell the man that
he wanted some of those good
blankets made with that wool. It
was nice wool, came off my fath'
er’s sheep. When I was married
he gave me those two pairs of
blankets. We were proud of then^
and took good care of them, but
we used them every year, they
were so warm and comfortable-
I had to but in the telling o*
this story to ask who the
was and how long it had been.
“Chatham, but I can’t remen^'
ber his given name. I don’t
member just when those wer®
woven but I was married in 18^2
and father gave them to us at
that time, they may have beeP
woven a year or two before, but
they were not used until then.”
I looked at the two pairs
blankets that have completed si^^'
ty-two years of service, white
a headend of pink and browri
stripes, very pretty and in P^r'
fectly good condition, except
binding was worn away, and the
ends are a little ragged.
Mr. Highsmith looked at the^^
as if they were an old friend,
are using them now and they
all we need unless the night is
unusually cool.”
SIXTY-TWO years of active
service—are we not proud of Our
Chatham Blankets?
BIRTHS
Rev. and Mrs. Richard Pardu®
announce the birth of a son,
J., Jr., October 20, 1934, Swa^
Creek.
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Ciyd®
Minnish, of Winston-Salem, ^
daughter, November 27th.
mother and baby are doing nicely-
CARD OF THANKS
Mrs. Earl Holbrook and childrer^
wish to thank the employees o
Chatham Manufacturing Conj'
pany and the Lucy Hanes Chat'
ham Club for their kindness
help during the death of thd*
husband and father.
f