TAUGA DEMOCJfVT
ISSUED BVttY THUMDAT BY RIVEW f
R. C. RIVERS, ?, PIT" -
As Independent Weekly
Published tor M yean by the tote
SUBSCRIPTION KATES
K'" In Watauga County: Om year, $2.50; six month*, $1 JO; (our month*. $1.00. OatiUto Witadfi
i f County: On* yew, *100; til month*. ?175; tour month*. $1 28.
NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS? In re?ue?tiag chins* of aidm*. R I* important to mention the
OLD. a* well a? the NEW addfta*.
Entered at the poetoffice at Boom, IV. e., u MMad daa* ?JD matter, under the set of Cwgyeta
of March 1, IBM. ??; . g- , :
"The basis of our government beta* the opinion of the people, the very first objective should be
to keep Hut right, and were It left to ae to decide whether we should have a government with
out newspaper*, or newspapers without government, I ahould net hesitate a moment to etooa*
(be latter But I ibould mean that *very man should receive thaee paper* and be capable at
them."? Thoma* Jefferwm. ,
IRC To Expand
Good newi come* with the announce
ment that the International Reiiitance
Company will build a ten thouaand
square foot addition to ita manufactur
ing plant in Boone.
Work is expected to start right ^way,
and contractors are of the opinion that
the project can be completed in about
three months.
This expansion amounts to a nearly
30 per cent boost to the IRC facility in
this city, with resultant advantage as to
the employment potential of the plant.
Incidentally this increases IRC's over
all plant facilities in the United States
to nearly five hundred thousand square
feet, of which about 100,000 square feet
have been added in the past eighteen
months.
The Boone division produces power
wire wound resistors, fuse resistors, se
lenium rectifiers and diodes, high fre
quency and high voltage resistors, volt
meter multipliers, resistance strips and
discs and printed circuit resistors.
We are delighted to know that IRC
has found in Boone a favorable situation
in which to operate one of its manu
facturing plants and that its growth has
already justified such a large expansion
program. This would indicate that IRC
has found here good neighbors, an ade
quate amount of quality labor, and good
treatment at the hands of local people
and government. It is a happy situation
that claims made for the community
when the plant was being secured have
been Justified.
We congratulate IRC on the success
of their Boone division, and are glad
that it has been possible for them to
conduct a growing manufactory here.
The IRC payroll has contributed greatly
to the health of the economy of the city
and county, and we shall hope for their
continued growth.
Horn Blows Saturday
Horn in the West, Boone's outdoor
drama, which has survived all the ups
and downs which most of such ventures
have experienced, will open again Sat
urday night for what its sponsors believe
may well be its crowning year.
The play has been reworked, portions
of the script re-written and there is
unquestioned improvement. Also the
musical score has been improved upon,
it is said, and the whole tempo of the
production has been quickened and
sharpened.
For the opening night a group of news
papermen are to be the guests of the
Horn, "both at dinner and at the theatre,
and it might be a good notion to annu
ally set aside the opening night as "press
night," when some special recognition
could be given to the members of the
fourth estate from this and other areas.
Incidentally, the Democrat takes oc
casion to offer a word of welcome to the
visiting members of the press, and feel
sure they will enjoy the cordiality with
which they will be greeted both at the
banquet and at the Horn.
Horn in the West, it is now believed,
has weathered its greatest financial
atorms. Last year thoae who had signed
the three hundred dollars notes guran
teeing its performance, didn't have to
pay a cent and the notes were returned
to them. Of course the drama is the
recipient of a State grant, which en
abled it to go forward without local
assistance, due to improved attendance,
perhaps better business practices and an
improved production!
Indications are that better business
will be accorded the drama again this
year. It has become an important part
of summertime in the Boone, Blowing
Rock and Linville scenic triangle, has
kindled interest in the history of the re
gion, and again shows how Boone people
work as a unit in promoting and sus
taining worthwhile public causes.
For A Safe Fourth
The National Safety Coundl opened a
double-barrelled Fourth of July safety
campaign aimed at traffic accidents and
drownings.
"Everyone deserves a safe, happy
Fourth of July holiday," said Howard
Pyle, NSC president. "It is up to all of
us to help make this possible by elimi
nating accidents on the highways and
waterways of our nation.
"Though traffic accidents are still
the nation's prime killer, they were out
numbered in some states by drownings
over the last Fourth of July holiday."
Last year's Fourth of July holiday
traffic toll was 440 lives. Drownings and
boating mishaps claimed 100 lives. Oth
er accidents, including fireworks, fire
arms, heat exhaustion and falls killed
more than 100 persons.
"The Fourth of July Is almost always
celebrated outdoors," Pyle said. "This
means travel, swimming and sporting
events, coupled with their inherent haz
ards. To get the most out of all these
activities we must remember safety ?
safe driving and safe play means going
by the rules for the protection of your
self, your family and others."
Pyle stressed two points:
1. Everyone learn to swim. It's the
best possible insurance against drown
ing.
2. Install and use automobile seat
belts for all driving, near home and on
tripa.
"Seat belts will reduce injury and help
save lives in case of accidents," said
Pyle.
"But the need for accident prevention
? before the fact? cannot be stressed
too strongly," he said.
"On this 189th anniversary of the
signing of the Declaration of Independ
ence, let us all strive to frse ourselves
from the tyranny of accidents."
Dr. Fred M. Dula
(Lenoir N?wa-Topic)
i^enoir ana uus enure area bas been
shocked and saddened by the Hidden
passing of Dr. Fred Mast Dula. This
native son of Caldwell was one of Le
noir's most active citixens and also most
widely known.
In addition to the outstanding record
wkich be bad made in his profession, he
had contributed most commendable ser
vice to his city through several terms on
the Lenoir City Council. He was most
conscientious when it came to Uckling
problems affecting the people of the
city and when he beaune interested in
various projects he worked on them
with tenacity and left no stone unturned
to carry them to completion. He was a
very frank man .And left no ooe in
doubt as to where Ito stood on any and
all matters.
Dr. Dula had little time for hobbiea
but enjoyed politicking and golf. He had
been a member of the Lenoir Rotary
Club and the Masons, and other organi
zations through the years.
Lenoir has been fortunate to have had
such community leadership in a man
whose dedication and love for this city
and area has never been questioned. It
is a pity that Lenoir and this area has
lost a man of Dr. Dula's force and
qualities at a time when it osuld have
been,, expected he would serve for many
more yeart. He wiU be greatly misted
by his family, a host of friends from
far and near and ? wide circle of ac
quaintance* in this aid other wwiwen
ities.
The House That Jack Bnilt
FaB m wm- *? .Mr
SOME LOCAL HISTORICAL SKETCHES
From Early Democrat Files
Sixty Years Ago
Jme 21, 1901
The iplendid sale which I am
having on ladies' and misses' trim
mad hati is proof of their popu
larity. H. C. Miller, Todd, N. C.
The hardest rain of the season
fell in this vicinity on last Satur
day, accompanied by loud peals
of thunder and vivid flashes of
lightning. It was simply a most
terrific thunder storm that lasted
nearly twelve hours with hardly a
cessation. Bridges, fences, etc., in
town, that withstood the recent
high water, were swept away and
gardens, etc., were badly damaged.
The storm, however, seemed to be
local, as the river only three milea
from town, was not much past
fording.
Prof. Dougherty Is adding much
to the appearance of his home by
erecting neat palings around it,
and doing much other work on
the premises.
We are asked to announce that
there will be a picnic at the 'dou
ble rocks' on the turnpike, three
miles from town on next Saturday.
The people generally are invited
to attend, taking baskets of dinner
with them. A nice time is expect
ed.
Mr. W. V. Calaway is now pre
pared to furnish you any kind of
lumber you want, either dressed
or rough. Call on him, at Shulls
Mills, N. C.
Miss Mary Cole Boyden has re
turned from Greensboro, where she
attended the State Normal last
session. ?
A carload of corn is at Newland
and Watson's that will be sold in
limited quanties at 80 cents per
bushel.
Mr. 0. L. Coffey has been quite
sick with flue but is better now.
Iteau from Shulls Mills
Meadows are looking fine; small
grain it good, and there ia about
a half crop of apples in this neigh
borhood.
Mr. J. A. Woodie has about two
hundred head of sheep on his land.
Mr. Lee Coffey, son of S. W.
Coffey, was thrown from a horse
and was badly but not seriously
hurt.
AiwrtiiSB^st
"You never can toll what a wo
man will do next."
"1 can." "Well, what?" "Talk."
"That's it ? a woman will talk and
tell her friends of the wonderful
cures made by Johnston's Sarsa
partlla. We must thank the thou*
ands of noble women in this coun
try for making Johnaton's Saraa
parilla (quart bottles) famous."
Thirty-Nine Years Ago
June 29, tan
Captain and Mrs. B. L. Smith
of Forest City, are visitors with
Mrs. Smith's sister. Mrs. J. D. Ran
kin. Captain Smith is sn instruc
tor in the Summer School.
Rev. Mr. Cotton, of the Anti
Saloon League, will preach at the
courthouse next Sunday at 11 a. m.
It Is hoped that all the citisens
of the community will bo out to
hear Mr. Cotton. He will alao
speak at the Baptist church at
Blowing Rock Sunday night at ?
o'clock.
We regret very much to hear of
the death of the knv. John J. L.
Chureh, which occurred at his
home at Tamarack a few days
since. This old patriarch will be
sadly missed, as hi baa been a
familiar figure In Watauga county
for many yttft May his he a
peaceful reit.
Blowing Rock wax filled to over
flowing la*t week end with touriiti.
The remainder of the needed
material for the completion of the
new Methodist Church in Boone
ia being delivered on the grounds
aa rapidly as possible, and it is
the hope of the committee that ac
tive work on the building will be
gin within the next few daya, but
aa it is getting so late in the sea
son, they will be content if they
can get the maaaive structure en
closed and the auditorium complet
ed by winter.
The hay crop in Watauga is
now, much of it, ready for the
scythe or sickle, and the crop is
heavy. However, the showery wea
ther is much against harvesting it.
? Mr. J. M. Moretz has Just fin
ished setting an acre and a haH
to celery on the lands of Hr. R. H.
Greene. He took great pains in pre
paring the ground, and, as Wa
tauga's climate and soil are ideal
for the growth of celery, we expect
his to make good in his efforta to
raise it for the markets.
Mr. Alvis Hadley and Miss Lucy
Vannoy, both of North Wilkesboro,
were happily united in marriage at
the Baptist parsonage last Thurs
day evening. Rev. F. M. Huggins
officiating.
Governor Morrison ordered a
special term of court in Wake
county to begin July 3 for the trial
of R. G. Allen, J. H. Hightower,
and H. H. Masaey, officers of the
defunct Central Bank and Trust
Company on charges of embezzle
ment. Judge W. A. Devin has been
designated to hold the court.
Fifteen Years Ago ,
June 27, IMC ?
John F. Kennedy, 29, son of Jo
seph P. Kennedy, former U. S.
Ambassador to Great Britain, and
hero of naval fighting in the Pa
cific, has announced his candidacy
for the Democratic nomination to
Congress from the 11th district,
Boston; Mayor James M. Curley
gives up his seat at end of his year.
Mrs. J. D. Owen who has been
spending some time in Salisbury,
Spencer, and Winston-Salem, has
returned to the home of a daugh
ter, Mrs. Louis H. Smith and Mr.
Smith.
Mr. Frank F. Smith, son of Mr.
and Mrs. W. M. Smith, after serving
over three years in the U. S. Navy,
first in the Armed Guard and later
as executive office on the LST WO,
in the Pacific, is now located in
Auburn, Alabama, and connected
with the Aalbama Polytechnic In
.stitute, in the School of Forestry.
In a wedding of charm and
beauty Sunday afternoon, June 18,
at the Methodist Church in Valle
Grucis, Miss Mary Hazel Farthing
Jtecamt the bride of Howard W.
Mast Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Ben Miller left
Wednesday for Lancaster, Pa.,
where they formerly lived, and
will spend a few days with friends
there.
Dr. Len D. Hagaman, who prac
ticed medicine in Boone, prior to
his admission Into the Navy, will
return to this city July 1, and re
establish* his medical office in the
Boone Drug Co. building, it was
learned Monday.
Planes are landed by radar in
test at AAF all-weather field.
Sheriff Oscar H. Haynes, of
Webster Parish, Shreveport, La.,
father of Mrs. Jack Hodges of
Boone, is in a hospital in that city
as a result of having been shot by
escaped convict, George A. McGee,
as the sheriff tried to secure his
arrest. McGee was killed by the
officers at the home of a sister,
Mrs. Virgil Jones, after a gun battle
in which tear gas bombs were also
used. Sheriff Haynes was shot in
the left side with a .22 calibre
?rifle, and information reaching
Boone is that his condition is im
proved. Mrs. Hodges is with her
father.
Just One Thing
By CARL GOERCH AFTER ANOTHER
Since this happened in a small
Piedmont town and the principals
might be identifed, well repeat it
without names. But this little
town has a "character"? a confirm
ed and improvident loafer, with
little learning but lots of wit.
He was leaning against the fill
ing station while the tourist was
getting his gas tank filled. The
tourist, a real sharp traveler, was
making sarcastic tracks about the
village ? how many theatres did It
have? And where was the nearest
bar? and so on.
"How many millionaires do you
have In this town?" he asked.
"Oh, there's lots of us," said the
local yokel calmly.
Beginning in 1840, every presi
dent elected in a year divisible by
30 died in office.
(Harriaon, 1840; Lincoln, i860;
Garfield, 1880; .McKinley, 1900;
Harding, 1020; FDR, 1840.)
The superstitious have already
decided that the man elected vice
president in 1880 will be the more
important man on the ticket.
Lag enforcement note:
When ? stranger came into the
Watauga fettlementa of North Caro
lina before the itate of Tenneaaee
was formed, he waa asked to ac
count for his being there. If hia
explanation was not aatiafactory,
he was required to give bond
for good behavior, or to leave.
We asked of D. M. Calhoun if he
knew of any schools where the
"crop holiday" system was still
used, and he said he didot. Mr.
Calhoun, superintendent of Bla
den's schools, said parents nowa
days were too concerned about
their children getting the maxi
mum benefit from their school and
were unwilling to interrupt their
studies.
Until recent years, some rural
schools would "take in" during
July or August for several weeks
of classroom work. Then when
farm work became heavy and the
children were needed at home,
school would suspend until the
work was done. These holidays
varied according to the type erop
to be handled. Ia tobacco sections.
It might be in September; ia a
cotton county, it might be during
cotton picking time in November..
king1street_
An Anniversary . . Years Of Happinew
This edition of the Democrat rounds oat seventy-three
years of continuous publication, seventy-two of which have
been in our family, and occasionally when these anniversaries
come around, we look over our shoulder at as many of
these years as Ve can remember, and at such times we
can recall few unpleasantries ? the lane back is lined with
happy memories of doing the things we wanted to do all
along, and of sunny days with loyal friends and congenial
acquaintances.
Many of those who patronise Boone's oldest business
establishment perhaps don't know that the newspaper was
founded by J. F. Spainhour. later of Morganton, July 4, 1888,
and that exactly one year later Bob Rivers, Sr., quit his
carpentering over at Linville, and became publisher, with
no experience, and little to go on except the certain knowl
edge that if hard work at the type cases and farming in spare
time would do the trick, Boone would have a newspaper,
even if it was a small single sheet. . . . D. B. Dougherty,
father of the noted Dougherty Brothers, served as editor
in those days of fist snd skull journalism, when newspapering
was completely personal and if the best advertiser quit, the J
good earth in back always brought forth the food for the
family.
In those days when a neighborhood lad sometimes
learned to set type and worked a few weeks, but which were
generally without payroll at all, when if there had been
an income tax it woyld have clean missed our dad, and when
the nearest the Federal government ever got to the people
was through a revenuer or a deputy marshal or the village
postmaster, there were no complicated machines to get out
of kilter, no tax forms, no payroll reports, no labor laws
and it was a matter of one standing on his own two feet
and banging out a living, without fear or favor. . . . The
Democrat was twenty years old when the first automobile
chugged up the street, was nigh thirty when the oil lamps
gave way to the incandescents and forty before the publisher's
sittin' room echoed with his first cracking erratic radio. . . .
Five hundred pounds of newspaper would last our dad about
three months, a twenty-five pound bucket of ink would likely
black the sheets for half a year, the hand-set typecases would
have to be re-filled every few years, and Mrs. Etta Horton
could sew a new tympan cloth on the frisket of the old Wash
ington hand press when the occasion came up. . . . There
was no typewriter and dad tranferred the news items and
editorial material direct into type. . . . Court week, the
Confederate reunion and the county singing fetched in the
most folks, while a Sunday afternoon baptizing in Winkler
Creek near the J. W. Farthing home lined the banks of the
cool, clear stream. . . . The buggies and the hacks and even
the bicycles brought summer visitors to Blowing Rock, and
oftentimes the publisher was called from his corn crop or his
hayfield to meet some dignitary from afar.
They were good days. Money was scarce but the house
holds along the street relied on their gardens, their milk
cows, and their swine for a living, and the general store
wasn't relied upon solely for our food. . . . The local and
county folks read the paper, visited the old newspaper office
where they got some additional State and national news from
our pop, one of the very few people in town who had daily
newspapers. . . . The Charlotte Observer, Raleigh News &
Observer and the Atlanta Constitution arrived a few days
late and were avidly read by the yellowish flame of the oil
lamp on our center table. . . . The Democrat had no desk
when we can first remember, and our dad carried his "saving
letters" in bis hip pockets and receipts and the like in his
vest.
And when times changed, we are grateful to say, one
thing remained unchanged ? that is, the willingness of the
people to support the Democrat, which they have done
through thick and thin, through days of tragic sorrow, and
through times of contentment. . . . And as our family rounds ?
out six dozen years of newspapering in the community, and
as we pause for a brief look backward, we thank you, your
fathers and your grandfathers and all, for your help and most
of all for your friendship and many evidences of good will.
. . . That's what's made the long road back such a happy
plac^ to travel.
Uncle Pinkney
(MacKnlght Syndic.*) HIS PALAV ARM'S
I aim to come through Inde
pendence Day thia rear without
a scratch. My plana call (er let
ting in a rocking chair on the
front porch and rocking with the
grain. I might git a muaquito
bite or two but that'll be pritty
good compared to all the broken
bones 111 be reading about in the
papera.
Back when I wit ? boy it
wasn't so dangerous to venture
out of the house on July 4. We
had a old mule named Jerry and
he had a heap of faulta but he
never turned the buggy over on
account of rounding ? curve at
BO mile a hour. And they wasn't
no T-cent road tax on hie oats
Pa would hitch up the wagon
and we'd all go to town on In
dependence I>ay. First off, we'd
go in eome store that waa open
and git a nickel's worth of eheeee,
? ten-cent can of sardines and
? box of crackers and then we'd
all eat like a hog. Nowadays If
a family wanta to come to town
and eat like a hog, they'd have
to sell a hog to git the money.
I waa reading a piece in the
papers about a feller named E1
wood Haynea and his contribution
to Independence Day. On July
4, 18M. at Kokomo, Indiana, ole
El wood cranked a one-horse-pow
er, two-cycle engine on a rubber
tired buggy and took off at 1 mile
? hour.
When El wood twitted (he mnk
that Independence Day, he itarted
aomepun. The piece aaid a atone
marka the place where America's
first gasoline automobile sputter
ed off down the road. And I
reckon. Water Editor, they is a
million stonea today in this coun
try erected In memory of folka
who haa died by that device in
the pursuit of happiness oh In
dependence Day.
Of course, I ain't hankering to
go back to them days of crackera
and aardinea and ole Jerry. But
sometimes I do git right home
sick to pick up a newspaper and
read where the big arguement of
the day la aomepun gentle like
gitting off the gold atandard.
Back in them daya the papera
was full of discuaaiona about
thinga. Now everything ia a ar-.
guement. In a discusaion folka
exchange ideaa but in a argue
ment they juat awap ignorance.
You could have a real diacuaaion
around a store counter eating
crackera and sardines. Around
these new-fangled eating places
today, about all you git ia ?
arguement.
Talking about arguementa, I
see where two writers is having
? arguement on how many wim
men a man can love at the same
time. I don't know nothing about
wimmen, but I know men, and
I'd aay that if a feller haa a han
kering fer wimmen he can love
at many as time, opportunity,
and wimmen permita.