VOL. XXXIX, NO. iG
k-. .
!w.r7graggdied
MONDAY NIGH
Mayor of the Town and Leader i
Business, C?vic and Church C?
clcs Succttmbs to Pneumonia; Ij
terment Tuesday Afternoon
VV. R. Gragg. mayor of the tow
of Boone, one of the most prominei
leaders in local business, fraternc
church and civic circles, died at h
homo Monday night about 12 o'cloc
following an illness of several da}
with pneumonia. Funeral servict
were conducted from the Baptii
church Tuesday afternoon at 4:3
by Rev. P. A. Ilicks, assisted b
Rev*. C. H. Moser. Short tribute
were paid to the deceased by I. C
Greer, W, D. Farthing and B. I
Dougherty, following which intej
ment was in the town cemetery. Th
floral offerings were profuse an
bore testimony to the esteem i
which the deceased was held. H
was 44 years eld.
Mr. Gragg first came to Boone a
a student in the Appalachian Trail
ing school, in the early days of. ths
institution, having been reared nee
Foscoe in the foothills of the pranc
father mountain. In 1008 he eslal
lis'ned his permanent home here, fo
lowing the election in which he ws
chosen register of deeds for Wa1
auga county. This office he filled i
such an acceptable way that he wa
re-elected five times, declining: t
enter the race in 11)20. In that yea
he, together with other local bus
ness men, established the Wataug
, Lumber & Furniture Company, an
L he was the active manager of tha
J corporation until the time of hi
death.
During the score of years Ml
Gragg resided in Boone he was eve
active in behalf of the commo
good. An especially devout cbureli
mar., he had been superintendent o
the Baptist Sunday schol for man
years. He was an enthusiastic Ma
son, and had been elected and n
elected as master of the local lodg(
He was a Shvincr a lid counsellor o
the Jr. (). U. A. M..here. He ha
served different terms as mayor o
Boone, which position ho held at th
time of his death. He was a lead
iing spirit in all lines of useful er
deavor and no man could be mor
sorely missed.
u:?,
?T" t "fc" ^ .??!'
children, as follows. Bernice, Ines
Hazel, Hoy, Victor, Fred, Nadinc
Joyce and Kathleen.
Members of Watauga Lodge Nc
:273, A. F. & A. M., and the Iocs
Shine clul> acted as honorary an
active pall bearers.
CHARLIE MINTON KILLED
WHEN TRUCK OVERTURN:
Charlie Mir.ton, of*Elk township
i aged about :15 years, was killei
I about 2:30 Monday afternoon whei
* a truck in wfcich he was riding turn
cd over on the Boone Trail high
way about ten miles west of Nort'
Wilkesbor. Minion's head wa
crushed and death was thought t<
have been instantaneous. The drive
of the truck. Wingate llamby, o
"Wilkes county, and another passen
ger, Mrs. William Miller, also o
Elk, were only slightly hurt.
At the coroner's inquest held a
Wilkesboro Monday night, Hamb;
stated that his brakes failed t
work, causing him to take a curv
at a high rate of speed and forcinj
the truck off the road and into
somersault. He was freed and th
accident was declared unavoidablt
Mr. Minton is said to be survive!
by a wife and six children.
DOUG BERNHARDT DIES
J. Douglas Bernhardt, clerk o
court of Caldwell county, died las
Thursday night from pneumonia
which followed a fall several day
before in which he was seriously in
jured. In descending the steps a
the Caldwell Power Co. building h
in some way lost his footing are
plunged through a plate g.ass doo
at the foot of the flight. The los
of blood was so great that his recov
b ery seemed doubtful; however, h
1 was showing improvement when th
pneumonia developed.
Mr. Bernhardt was the son of Mi
and Mrs. J. M. Bernhardt and wa
well and ravorably known in Boori
Virgil D. Guirc has been appointei
by Judge James Webb to fill the un
expired term of the deceased a
clerk of the courts
CLAUD GRAGG FLU VICTIM
Claude, 14-year-old son of Mi
George Gragg of Rutherwood, die
AA ~ ? -J , f -at- - ff-r - ? J
ixuiu tut; L'xiecis u
pneumonia fllowing flu. In term en
-was in the Critcher graveyard in th
Bamboo section Tuesday. Clau
-was the youngest son of the Grag
family, was a bright and well like
youth and his family has the sympt
thy of all.
A HAPPY NEW YEAR
Week after week during the pas
year we have chronicled your arhiet
ment and recorded your triumph:
rejoiced in your success and sol
rowed with you in your bereav<
ments.
Now We start a New Year toget.1
er, and the best wish we can mak
for you is that we may hear sue
news of you as it will be a deligl
to pass on to others through thes
columns.
A Happy New Year to you all!
IMRHF
'. :'. -V if.,
;
A Non-Partisan Nev
BOONE,
~ j
| Boone's Mayor Dead ']|
d of
n W. BOY GRAGG wi
BEAUTIFUL SERVICES J"
;s HELD IN BETHLEHEM
'* Bethlehem, Palestine, Dec. 24.?
|^| This little town of the nativity was
)-j the scene of impressive services last
I- night as thousands of tourists and ^
[s natives visited it to partake in sol- (|a
J, emn Christmas celebrations. co
Ls Hundreds of automobiles, their
0 headlights making one great shaft of !
}' light, blocked the road over a great j ^
a distance. ? nj
tt i At the church of the nativity the.!
it heads of the ttelhlehcm municipality.
3 and other prominent persons headed . }"
| by choir boys intoned hymns for two j ,,(j
j hours and then followed in proces-lw'
1 :sior: to the grotto while along the |
n j steps and walls black-robed nuns I
l" ' knelt in silent prayer. After cere-1 Sa
1 i monies at the grotto by the patriarch ] te
V | the procession left the grotto by the ; fo
l" opposite side.
The neighboring Franciscan church j
was packed with crowds from the f
? late afternono. At midnight the ?
^ Latin patriarch, clad in a purple ^
* robe, entered the Franciscan church 'u
3 and celebrated holy mass in the ex
presence of the governor of Jerusa- ce
" lem and the consuls of the Catholic
c powers, remaining in prayer until
this morning when a new poirjtificiaf I wi
3 mass vs as begun. se
The night was beautiful and | fa
f> clear with a bright moon and shin- i im
ing stars adding to the impressive-j en
1 ness of the ceremonies.
Ij
" WALDORF-ASTORIA HOTEL ! ch
IN NEW YORK TO BF. RAZED j pn
.. | fo
5! The Waldorf-Astoria hotel, one of j [jj;
the most famous hostelries in the '
>, country, has been sold to the Bethlc- ! n*
d h m Engineering corporation and]
n i will be razed during the coming
~ ] year to provide a site for a 50-story j on
N offices structure. The price paid for|nij
s I the famous New York hotel was said ' thi
0 i to be close to $15,000,000. 1 lit
r j ! l a]
f DR. W. C. TYREE KILLED 1 u'|
" IN AUTOMOBILE WRECK
Dr. W. C. Tyree, pastor of the
y I First Baptist church of Lenoir, was m:
o j killed almost instantly 'Thursday di<
e j night when his car collided with a Jj
s I uuck on Liie u urn am nignaw lour i
11 j miles south of Oxford. Mrs. Tyree, | J1^
" i who was with him, was bruised but! rCj
j ' not seriously hurt. They were on ! ?p'
| their way to Oxford to spend the j
holidays with relatives. Dc
f!c. P. MILLS IS WINNER OF
t| DURANT PROHIBITION PRIZE clt
3 j
s i Major Chester P. Mils of New 1,0
-1 York, former federal prohibition ad-1
t, ministrator for the Kew York dis- "K
e 1 trict, hns been announced as winner J?"
;1; of the Silo,000 prize offered by \Y. J."1
rjC. Durant for the best and most
s, practicable plan for making- the ISth "u
- amendment effective. ?
e| of
eS FOR INFLUENZA s?(
| Editor Democrat:
' i For the benefit of your readers,
s ' 1 submit the following most wonderI
l"u. i'la prescription: -tr
^ : "Pui the patient to hod?give no *et
-1 food?plenty of water, plenty of Bo
s I fresh air; no purgatives, keep warm
! with. bed clothing. Give juice of 'aJ
j from five to fifteen grapefruit daily. 1,1
' Between times of grapefruit (not ne
:. with it) give bicarl.onate of soda;
d first dose teaspoonful in glass of in
f water, then quarter of teaspoonful L'?'
t in glass of water every three or a?l
o four hours." c1'
d According to the highest authorig
ty on influenza?Dr. McKensie, the I
d influenza germ develops in an acid
i- iiiuuiuiii, me Douy is renaeren ai-j ?
kaline by grapefruit and soda, which |
is absolutely true' and his prescrip-1 j,
tion was met with complete success
!(. when the influenza scourge of 19181919
was running its course. '
B. W. PENDLETON'.
J> St. Petersburg, Fla.
MRS. ELLIS COFFEY
Mrs. Ellis Coffey of the New
i-1 River section died at her home Mon-jcu
e | day from pneumonia. All the mem-;
h ] hers of the family were ill and
lt: ithout assistance and she died as a'
I result of exposure in aitcmpti: g to i
' ! provide food for the children. Fur-i
I ther than that The Dehiocrat has no j ?
I details. : th
JGA
irspaper, Devoted to the
WATAUGA COUNTY. NORTH Ci
IR. MILLER BUYS
KRAUT FACTORY
:w Owner Plans to Erect New I
Building and Add Additional Ma- ,
chincry for Canning Fruits and !
Other Vegetables
Mr. W. F. Miller, of North Wilkes-|
to, has purchased the Watauga
raut Factory from the Blue Ridge I
irmers Association. The deal was j
nsummated last week, hut the |
lount of the purchase price was!
t made public. Mr. Miller has been
crating the plant for some time
ider lease.
Mr. Miller is quoted as saying he
tends to make some very extensive
iprovemente in the plant, including
e construction of a brick building,
stallation of modern machinery,
id additional vats, for canning
ans and other vegetables, in addi
>n to the manufacture of kraut.
It is said that the entire output
the plant during the past season
as sold in advance and Mr. Miller
said to want at least GO acres of
aut cabbage produced for cutting
>xt year. i
LOCAL AFFAIRS
I
Mr. and Mrs. Turner Ilendrix of |
j.inoKc, va., are spending some!
iys visiting with relatives in this j
mmunity. . I
Mr. Hugh Watson, medical student
Richmond, Va., is spending a!
w days with his mother, Mrs. Min-j
e Watson.
Miss Ruth Coffey, director of!
ano at Jonesboro College, Jones-1
no. Ark., is rspending the holidays
th her mother, Mrs. E. S. Coffey. |
Mrs. Jomes Rivers of W inston-1
Jem, accompanied by her daugh- j
r, Sarah Rebekah, is visiting home
Iks here.
I
At a meeting of the town board
aldermen to he held Thursday
ening, January 3, a man wll he ap-1
in ted as mayor to fill out the un- j
pired term of W. R. Gragg, de- j
ased. The term erpires in May.
Young Edgar Bingham remains ill
th pneumonia but his condition
urns to be more satisfactory. His I
ther, Attorney T. E. Bingham is j
iproving from an attack of influza.
Mrs. Jeptha Bingham and two |
ildren have been seriously ill with j
eumonia. Gat-pst. St.'.rmntinn i*?_ 1
re we go to press is to the effect!
at Mrs. Bingham's condition is!
:ely slightly improved although she i
mains very ill, while no change is
ted in the cases of the children.
The Democrat office was closed
day and Tuesday so that the force
ght be at home for Christmas and
is issue comes out half size and a
tie late. In publishing it we are
coring under handicaps, one of
lich is the illness of the editor,
d doubtless many items of interest
II have to be left out. i
I
Hon. Roderick Butler, congress-j
in-elect from the eastern Oregon;
strict, spent Christmas day with I
5 mother, Mrs. W. R. Butler here. I
ie eminent young man promises \
mself a longer visit here should
sre be sufficient time between the \
*ular term of congress and the*
ecial term. He was accompanied
>m Butler, Tenn., by his brother,
m Butler.
i
With five unburicd bodies of local!
izens Christmas morning, the day
is marked by a sadness such as is
t remembered before l>y the old- ,
. citizen. The day was spent i
>stly in visiting among the sick and |
Iding funerals for the dead, while ;
?. younger generation desisted j
>m the usual round of holiday
irriment and sorrowed with the j
reaved. No disturbance worthy j
note has been reported in this .
tion.
SIMS-WALKER
Married Sunday evening. Miss:
inie Lee Sims of the Grandfather
tion, to Mr. Linncy Walker of
one. The bride is a graduate of 1
? Normal school and is very popu- j
locally while Mr. Walker is one
the most prominent young busiss
men of the city, being associatwith
his father. Will C. Walker,
the jewelry business. The young;
uple will reside in their newly'
quired home a mile west of the I
y
I
l ain't the guns nor armament, i
nor funds that they can paytut
the close co-operation that
makes them win the day?
L airs't the individual nor the
army as a whole,
tut the everlastin' team-work of
every bloomin' soul.
?Kuayara lupimg. |
! tnpouib)c
Magistrate: '"Did you cail the ae-i
ser a rouge and a thief?"
Witness: ""Yes, your honor, I did."!
Magistrate: "And did you call hirai
liar and a cad?"
"Witness: "No, yer honor, I didn't1
a man can't remember every- i
ing."?Everybody's Weekly.
Best Interests of Northwe
VROL1NA. THURSDAY. DECEMBER
| Towir'/" Oklost
COL. W. L. I
MRS. T. E. BINGHAM DIED
HERE MONDAY EVENING
i Mrs. Bingham, wife of Attorney
j T. E. Bingham of this city, passed
away Monday everting at eight,
j o'clock following an illness of sey- ]
oral days with pneumonia, which was
induced by influenza. She was 37 J
years old ami died on th<i eve of j
her twentieth wedding anniversary.
I Interment was hi the Bines counter.1- :
j one mile west of Boone Tuesday aft- ;
ernoon, a short funeral service
having been conduced by Rev. P. A. [.
i hicks gnu Kev. tj. H. Aioser. \ j
Mrs. Biri&ham was a daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. L. M. Trivett and was
well known throughout this section, 1
whore she bad a wide circle <?f
friends. No better woman has lived :
I in the community and her death has ij
caused much sorrow* <
Surviving are a husband and eight
childrc n.
COVE CREEK NEWS ITEMS
Sugar Grove, Dec. 2d?The fall
term of the Cove Crock high schoolC
closed on Friday, December 21, for
the Christmas holiday ; and wili open
for the spring term Mondav, Janu-j
:?ry 7. j?
Mioses Grace Blaloek, Constance j
Shouns, Winnie Tho;\-her&\ Mis. i
Kate R. Curtis and T. S. Moore,
members n-F Hi" o&kUaI l
... ovnyyi itkiiiiy, 1c11 |
for their respective homes Saturday
and Sunday to spend the holiday r '
season.
Wiley Swift, who has been spend 1
ing some months with his grand- <
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Enoch Swift, j
has gone to his home in Greensboro
for the holidays. i
Miss Blanche Gorton, who is <
teaching public school music in the
Moss Hill high school, Kinston, is; '
Spending hci- vacation with her par-j
ents, Mr: and Mrs.. D. F. Horlon.
Mr. and Mrs. James Mast left !
Sunday to visit Mrs, Mast's parents >
in Wilmington. <
Mrs. Mattic- Bingham Shaeffer arid j
children of Knoxville are spending
the holidays with her mother, Mrs.
Nan Bingham.
Grady Tester, Howard and Ralph j4
Walker, all of Berea College. Ky.,
are home for the holidays. j
* ' i
CASE OF TULAREMIA IS jl
FOUND IN CAROLINA 1
The first case of tularemia, or j i
"rabbit disease," was reported in ] j
North Carolina, was that with which j 1
Mrs. John Caviness of Randolph
county, was afflicted. Mrs. Caviness i
contracted the disease while skinning
a rabbit. A few drops of blood
from the animal, wheih was affected
by the disease, got into Mrs. Cavi-1 j
ness' blood through a scratched place >
on her hand. Her arm and hand be-i \
came swollen out of all proportions, j <
and the swelling reached her shoul- j ]
dor. She suffered considerably |1
from fever. However, her condition . i
is showing improvement. I j
I,
BLACKMAN-COMER
Married in Selma on Saturday '
night, Miss Hazel Blackmail of that <
city to Mr. W. E. Comer of Boone.
The bride is a former student of the t
Normal, while Mr. Comer is the i ]
local member of the law firm of
Trivette & Comer. The couple will
make their home for the present
with Mr. and Mrs. G. K. Moose in i
Daniel Boone Park.
i
3CRJ*
st North Carolina
27, 1028
Cit izen Dead
'.RYAN
-QUIRES WANTS HIGHWAY
TO SMOKY MOUNTAIN PARI
To !hf Ii iirlni'., - ..nni
mission in a scenic highway alon
the crost of Uic Blue Ridge moui
tains, connecting the Great Smok
Mountains National Park with Vii
p-inia and the north, and to persuad
the state department of eonserv*
Lion and development to take dVc
the forest fire protection ir. the par
area until the govcrmne:.! took pvc
the land, Mark Squires, chairman o
llie Park commission, was in Rntcig
iast week, says the News and Ot
server. He root with some sue cos
in both ventures.
The highway commission, said Mi
Squires was told- that when Vii
?inia was ready to bliihi its sectio
?f the proposed mountain top roac
North Carolina would probably b
ready to build its part. "Such
road would Ik- the greatest sceni
Tghway ir. the country.' declare
Mr. Squires. Route If is the onl
late highSvay now touching tli
pa. k area.
The department of conservatio
and development agrees to ask th
>en?rnl assembly for $5,000 to b
used in fort st fire pteyentiori in tlx
park area. Forest fire prevention i
usually paid for half 1>\ the slat
iw! half by the Counties but as th
state buys the land, preparatory t
turning it over to the federal gov
ariiment the counties lose inheres
and the entire burden teiiiporaril
"alis upon the state. When the lan
is turned oyer for the park, the fed
?ral government will bear the tote
.'ost of forest prevention.
Over GO.000 of the 214,000 acre
Df the park is under cor.deinnatio
for title, said Mr. Squires and a
cotin. decisions come down in th
ommisbioneFs favor, the land is be
ing bought with increasing speec
Mr. ^Squires is just back from Wast
:v?gton where he endeavored to g
congress to appropriate an addition
il $50,000 for the topographical sni
oy of the area, $6.5,000 having al
ready been appropriated. The appro
>riat5oii bill has already passed th
louse but Mr. Squires hopes that th
;enate will tack <?n his appropriation
is ar? amendment and that it wil
lass when the bili goes back to th
louse.
\UTO LICENSE SALES
GOING SLOW AT LENOI1
Lenoir, Dec. 26.?Sale of auto
nobile licenses for 1029 is goin;
Tell, manager of the local branc
>f the Carolina Motor Club. Th
Lenoir office will serve, not only L
lor and Caldwell county, but ad
iacent counties of Watauga an
\very, this being the only office i
his immediate section.
The Lenoir office opened Decen
3tr 1st. License tags may be use
311 the cars now. and all autpmobil
iwners are urged to purchase thei
ags promptly and avoid the las
minute rush.
Now if the farmers could onl
beat those words into plowsharesLeesbury
(Fla.) Commercial.
vT
rrVJG CKtvTS A COPY
[iCOL W L BRYAN ~
CROSSES THE BAR
! Town's Oldest Citizen and its First
Wlz.? or Passed Away Thursday
MoL-ning After Illness With Influenza;
Was 32 Years Old
\
CM. W. L. Bryan, the town's oidi
est inhabitant and one of the pioi
ricer business men of this section,
died at his home here last Thursday
morning following an illness with influenza
and general debility. He
was 32 years old. Funeral services
were conducted at the home Friday
[ afternoon by Rev. P. A .Hicks of the
Baptist church, and the remains
were interred in the private cemetery
on Green Heights.
Mr. Bryan was the first mayor of
Boone, having look over the duties
of that office when the legislature
inLornnrntoH it -???} if- t
-i ? ?< ?juvu 110 uuuil|
claries in 1871. Since that time he
! had been elected mayor a number of
. times. He was the first, man to con
j duct a mercantile establishment on
i any considerable scale here and
! operated a hotel here in the early
) days. Mr. Bryan was proud to trace
! his lineage back to the family of
; Daniel Boone and was the most out
standing local historian of this sec!
lion, being an encyclopedia of facts
; and figures relative to early Wat|
auga days. He assisted Mr. .1. P. Ar;
I bur in the preparation of the mat
ter for the History of Watauga
Cobnty sonic years ago, and is like:
ly as much responsible for the pub|
ligation of the book as was the aufhor
himself. He possessed a wonderful
memory, was a good conversationalist
and was early sought by
tourists and others seeking knowli
edge of bygone days.
in 10) 1 Mr. Bryan erected a
) monument to Daniel Boone near the
Normal school at a snot where the
' famous pioneer was supposed to
hav camped on his pilgrimage
_ | through htis section. The structure
carries a slab commemorating the
; trail blazer as well as one as a meC
mo rial to iis builder.
1 The pioneer citizen had watched
the growth of the town from the
l~ days when rabbit hunting was in
g vogue along the main street until it
l~ ! developed into a thriving little city,
v j and his going leaves a vacancy-that
- cannot be filled. He was a consist
e ' ent t o Howe r of the Baptist faith,
i_ ; having been one of the founders of
| the Boone Baptist, chiireh. It was
j. j constituted in 1882, Thomas J. and
t , j W. C. Coffey also being charter
' members. He was also a member
' ! of Watau,ra Lodge A. F. & A. M.
b Surviving are four children, B. R.
>- Bryan of Boone; Mrs. Cora Council!,
is | w)io is now residing here; J. H.
| Bryan of Edmonton, Canada, and
r. | Mrs. ?T. C. Fletcher of Lenoir, all of
.. ; whom were here when the end came,
n j with the exception of Mrs. Fletcher,
j \vhd is seriously ill.
e HENDERSON YOUNCE PASSES
H j Mr. Henderson Ybunce, 76, died
? j suddenly at his apartment in the
? j Shipley building oh Depot street
y : Monday evening. A brother whom
e he had not seen for many years was
spending the day with him and he
n was busy preparing supper when he
e was stricken, lie complained of a
1 pain, slumped to the floor and when
1 a nhvsieian arrived war? nrrmnunopH
e idead.
si Mr. Youncc was a native of this
o 'county but had spent the most of his
e life ih the far west", coming here
o i from Oregon the past summer. He
i. had acquired many friends here and
t expected to make his permameht
' home in Boone. Funeral services
were held and burial at Todd Toes[
j d?*y'
Mr, Yunee is survived by a widow
d | and two sons.
s ?929
|! Another leaf falls from the tree
s of Tir?ie--ahd 1929 is with us.
Seeing tlie old year out and hailthe
new one is a merry event
1-i that at the same time contains a
?- i deep element of tragedy. It reminds
>tfus that time is fleeting. Yet 1928
- was a year so rich in accomplish
meats and adventures, and so niark-jed
by progress and prosperity, that
; we surely cannot complain of its
e : brevity.
e : This was the year of the twenty-.
^ 1 fifth anniversary of flying; and the
1 ; year of the thrilling, epoch-making
L> j journey of the Graf Zeppelin. This
! was a year in which the good will
j among nations was furthered as
<never before?a year of peace and
11 friendship.
I This was the year when "sound"
/tiid talking motion pictures gerw
g! out of their infancy, when the in
.-.vemuun 01 me roooi or mecnamcai
h i man save promise of a future lessene
ins of the labor of men, when new
! machines like the combine harvesi-!
ter were invented to lighten the
d strenuous tasks of the farmer,
n ; In this year radio was used to an
extent never before even approached
l- ?as in the vast nation-wide hookups
d ; of political utterances,
e The advances in radio, science,
ir transportation, medicine, social wel>t
fare and intellectual fields during
1 the past year have been many and
j varied. The gains made in every dev
partment of human activity makes
_ us envision 1929 as a twelvemonth
i of still greater progress.
I