Watauga Democrat An Independent Weekly Newspaper Established ^fn 1688 and Published for 48 years by the late Robert C. Rivers, Sr. PUBLISHEE ON THURSDAYS Subscription Rates INSIDE WATAUGA COUNTY One Year _.$1 50 Six Months _ 1.00 ? Four Months .75 o Ikes ide watauga county One If ear _ $2.00 Six Month* 1.50 Four Months 1.00 Payable in Advance Notice to Subscribers In requesting change of address, it ia Important to mention the Old as well as the NEW address. R. C. RIVERS, Jr. - Publisher Cards of Thanks, Resolutions of Re spect, Obituaries, etc., are charged tor at the regular advertising rates. Entered at the poctoffice at Boone, N. C., as second dass mail matter. Ha basli of our soranment Miu the ?pinion of the people, the very first ob ject should be to keep that rt*ht. and were It left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers. or newspapers without gov eminent. I should not heel tate a moment to choose the latter Bui I should mean that every mat should re ceive these papers and be capable of reading them " ?Thomas Jefferson. Thursday, jan. 31, 1946 GOOD SERVICE v*? ' r| ,, In connection. with the agitation concerning the condition of the sec j ondary roads In the state, it is in teresting to Qrtt that so far as we have; been abu^to learn, Watauga | and Ashe are the only counties in i this section of the state which have been able to' maintain operation of |3l th* schools during the severe winter weather, which has damaged the roads to a degree unknown since the inception of the good roads pro gram in the state. Due to the diligence of the district highway maintenance engineer, Mr. C. A. Hayworth, and Mr. E. Ford King, county road supervisor in Watauga and Ashe counties, the roads have, been kept open all through the rigid weather of the past three months, and no schools have been closed during this period. Working day and night, Sundays and holidays, since before Christ mas, local highway emjfcoyees have b?.?y''afel? to keep the roads open, and' maintain normal traffic in the lata* of unprecedented weather con iMuih. For this fine service, our Sal' highway officials and em ployees' deserve the commendation Jtjf. the people of this area. The rec ord they have made during the se vere weather hasn't been duplicated in the state, so far as we know. CHINESE NEW YEAR Saturday, February 2, will be the first day of the first moon after the sim shall have entered Aquarius, which, as United China Relief points out, means New Year's Day for mart than one- fifth of the earth's peoplal - -?* "This date begins the 4643rd year * ?f one of the oldest recorded human ljWUllca, that of the Chinese people. w4&jnay prove the dawn of the most 7 fcpportant epoch in all their long ?tiktory, holding as it does the prom ise of peace, progress, freedom and a chance for the good life for the hiSn'dradf of millions of China. Tl^rCBinese year is reckoned by the old lunar calendar, which di vides the year into twelve months, the length of each month based on the moon's journey around the earth, rather than on the earth's trip around the sun. The moon's journey takes twenty nine and a half days, so in China some months are assigned twenty nine days and others thirty, to make a year of 354 days. The dif ference between the lunar and our solar calendar of 365 days is adjust ed every two or three years when the Astronomical Observatory of China declares an extra month, thus decreeing Chinese leap year. Chinese history has been recorded from the first year of the reign of the Yellow Emperor (2696 B. C.) LESSSUGAR IS PREDICTED FOR NATION Washington, Jan. 29 ? Representa tive B. J. Jonkman, of Michigan, said today that the sugar shortage ia about to become "seriously won?." He blamed officials heifer ? now weigh over MO pounds and are making better than average gains on the Dyer, Ky.. farm of Charles Lucas. They are locking forward to March t, when at leaal one new arrival la expected In the family. The "quads" weighed only M to M pounds at birth, bat now are above average weight. The tender In the photograph la Miss Maoreen C^lne I THE EVERYDAY COUNSELLOR J Rev. HERBERT SPAUGH, a D. | | The most certain thing in life is change, and yet that is the most dif ficult thing for most of us to accept. The circumstances of life and our attitude towards them change daily. Some months ago I related a beau tiful old Jewish legend which was given me by a correspondent, which I am giving again by request. Shortly after his coronation, King Solomon announced a great banquet for his chief officers of state and military leaders. Two weeks be fore the event he called in his most trusted advisor and gave him a strange assignment. The King said he wanted a ring to wear on his hand, for a double purpose. Should prosperity, popularity and success come upon him to such an extent that he became proud and forgetful of God, a glance at this ring should remind him of his danger. Should trouble and adversity so descend upon him that he would despair, then by looking at the ring, he would be reminded that God is "a very present help in trouble. The more he thought of the im possibility of the task, the more frantic Solomon's advisor became. With only a week left, he turned to an old jeweler in the city of Jerusa lem. He explained his assignment. The old man told him not to worry, that he would provide the necessary ring in one week's time. True to his promise, on the open ing / _ r /. /A i State College Hints For Homemakers When thawed before cooking, poultry cooks more evenly and with greater economy of fuel. It may be thawed slowly in a re frigerator. A three or four pound bird will take overnight or longer to thaw completely, or it may be thawed at room temperature, in which case it should be watched closely. Once thawed, cook poultry without delay because thawed meat is more perishable than meat freshly killed. Don't try to hurry thawing by soaking the frozen meat in water, hot or cold. Soaking causes loss of good juices. I * ? ? Sometimes a room hides its light not under a bushel but under layers of dust Even a very thin film of dust can obscure considerable light, household management specialists say. If your home suddenly looks dim and gloomy, it may need a little ex tra dusting and polishing of all light' centers, lamp bulbs and shades, win dows and mirrors as well as all dec orative objects. Dust often clings to volatile oil from cooking or smoke which has settled on light bulbs, windows and mirrors. Washing is usually a bet ter way to remove greasy dust than dusting. White spots on varnished furni ture may be caused by standing water, hot dishes or alcohol, accord ing to wood experts and furnishings specialists. If the spots are ?light, they may be removed simply by rubbing with camphorated oil or oil of pepper mint ? get 10c worth at the drug store. Or they may disappear when the surface of the furniture is wash ed with a mixture of 1 quart of warm water, 3 tablespoons of boiled linseed oil, and 1 tablespoon of tur pentine; then dried with a soft dry cloth, and rubbed with furniture polish. For more severe white spots a mixture that may be used is salt and salad oil. Dip the finger in oil, then in salt, and rub. Repeat until the spot disappears. Then dry and pol ish. Or use a paste made of pow dered pumice and linseed oil, and rub over the spot with the finger or soft cloth until the spot disappears. Don't rub too hard ? you might re move the varnish. ? ? ? A good tailor does not press wool completely dry, for it scorches very easily. 'Rather, he lifts the wool garment from the pressing board while the last bit of steam is still rising from it. Then he pats or beats out that little whiff of steam with his hand. This keeps the wool from having a hard-pressed look. ? * * It is a good idea to be particular will admit the fallacy of seeking higher wages when production is at a standstill, that ... | Thomas: Don't try to be funny. I guess we have to issue the same old statement. Have you got a fresh copy? Anderson: You mean the one headed "Conferees Fail to Agree" or "Conference to Be Continued"? Thomas. Haven't we got any oth ers? My members are getting fed up&rith those. Anderson (thumbing through pa pers) : Let's see . ? well, here's one we haven't used for a month ? "Con ferees Explore Areas of Agreement" Thomas: Okay, give them that one. And next time let's go home earlier. I've been missing out on 30 percent of my sleep. about the cloths used for pressing. When using new material for this purpose, wash and rinse it thorough ly so that not a bit of starch or sizing remains. Keep the cloths clean always and wash out every trace of scorch, if by any chance the iron gets too hot. A scorched cloth can discolor the garment under neath. Absorbency depends on the amount of pile or loop surface a towel has. The more pile yarns to the inch the greater the drying pow er. Long loops make for a soft flul ry towel, but for good wear too long loops are not advisable. Loop* about one-eighth inch long are con sidered a desirable length. A good bath towel is one that ab sorbs moisture quickly, and doe?n't hang on the rack soggy and heavy for hours. That's the bather's view point ? and a very sound ot?e. Bat there are also other factors to be considered when you shop for tow els. DON'T MISS OUR PYREX WARE COUNTER ! DOUBLE -DUTY CASSEROLE Two smart gifts in out. Practical too, th? covet keeps food warm ot serve* as separate pit plate, foodi bake fester in Pyrex were ? end teste better! 2 quart site ? only PYREX UTILITY DISH A gift she'll use a dozen ways. Cooks small roasts, hot breads, rolls, biscuits, and desserts. Ideal for candy and brownies. The handiest dish in the F/\jl kitchen. I01A in. six# JV/r PYREX CAKE DISH Not ice th? convenient glass han dles! Bakes perfect layer cakes or doubles lot meats, vegetables and other baking. Washes easily A pair makes a lovely 1% F A gift. Each .... only ^ Jr PYREX PIE PLATE Just think how proud she'll be of her pies in this smart trans parent Pyre* Pie Plate. She can watch crusts come to a crisp, flaky brown. 9% inch rt J . site only I.Jr FARMERS HARDWARE & SUPPLY COMPANY BOONE. N. C.