( ■, ’ ’
^ Fairgrounds Are
Being Placed In
Condition
'^ Prerything Is Made Ready
t- ' For Annual Exposition
t Here Next Week
■ Sl.
g TRACK BEING GRADED
Galaxy of Attractions Offered
5 to Visiting Thousands
At Fair
T-
In anticipation of the ninth
annual exposition of The Great
fo *^6 held here next
■p' irtel^^itember 18 through 22.
the fairgrounds and all buildings
hare been placed in first class
condition t o accomodate the
thousands who are expected to
attend.
The grandstand has been plac-
In good condition and the free
•t stage has been refloored. All
alls and concession booths
ave been painted and necessary
repairs have been made on the
fence.
In preparation for the profes
sional automobile races to be
held on Saturday, last day of the
-fair, the track has been regraded
and the race track fence repair
ed and replaced. Frank Austin,
pii^ideiy known race driver, has
J supervised the conditioning of
the track.
The exhibit hall is being deco-
.rated and arranged for the
' myriads of farm and home ex
hibits, in addition to a number
of attractive commercial booths.
” The buildin.gs and grounds are
Pasadena,” Calif.—Upton Sinclair (above right) Socialist author
turned Democrat, is the target of all political eyes as he makes plans
for his fall campaign for election to California governorship on the
Democratic ticket. At th=> left is Sheridan Downey, Sacramento attor-
Sinclair’s running mate for lieutenant-governor.
ney,
Contractors Here To Begin Work On
North Wilkesboro Postoffice Building
Picks Snake
With Tomato
being arranged for the aecomo-j
dation of a large crowd, which |
' Is confidently expected by fair'
officials. Comfort and conven
ience have been kept in mind in ,
E the preparatory work for this an
nual exposition. j
Meanwhile, plans for ail the:
attractions have been completed j
’ and a gala time is being stored
i away for fair visitors. 1
Tuesday, first day of the fair ;
tiCll be school children’s day, at,
wh’iA-tIme all school children 1
will be admitted without charge
apd with a special ticket for the _
rides and shows on the midway,
which will be occupied by .Marx
Greater Shows.
Marx Greater Shows is the
biggest midway attractions ever
k engaged tor The Great Wilkes
K Fair. The many rides, shows and
B concessions will fill all available
f. midway space in the fairgrounds.
- Exhibits
i Farmers and housewives of
r" Wilkes and adjoining counties
i are making ready to compete for
the attractive cash premiums of-
i fered by the fair. Cash is Some
s' thing everyone can use to good
^ advantage and for this reason
t exhibits should exceed those of
^ last year by a wide margin.
For entertainment of fair vis
itors ther© will be a big parade
^opening day with a regiment-
\and from Port Bragg, the
V. >1. Holbrook, former
Wilkes eoimly resident now
living in Darlington, Md..
s nds The .lournal-l’atriot an
account of a ino.st interesting
ineideni:
•'.V few days ago a man here
in Darlington was pieking to
matoes w hen lie reaehed under
a vine for a big tomato and
eanie up with a big «H>per-
head snake in his hand. With
th, snake firmly in his gnp
he called to a fellow worker,
who cut off the snake’s head.
Neither of them were bitten.”
Work on Excavation Will Be
gin In Few Days; Be Com
pleted By May 1st
Getting Ready
For Auto Races
Members of the firm of Lund-
berg-Richter, of Occanport, N. J.,
contractors for the erection of
the North Wilkesboro postoffice,
arrived here today and are mak
ing preliminary arrangements
for beginning work on North
W'ilkesboro’s postoffice building.
. A. M. Lundberg, member of
I the firm, and J. J. Stimpson, .sub
contractor for plumbing, looked
ov'er the postoffice site on C
_.street this morning and stated
that work on the excavation may
begin by the middle of this week.
They will move their temporary
' office from New Jersey to this
I city and erect an office adjacent
I to the site of the postotfice
I building.
' Beginning work on the build-
i ing will be an occasion of glad
Nationally Known Race Driver! •>! ill.
Here Supervising Grading
Track For Fair
city, who have been seeking a
postoffice building for several
I years. Mr. Lundberg stated to-
W. L. Darracott, official start-' day that the building should be
er and track manager tor the i completed by May 1st.
Gray Auto and Air Racing Asso-! The postoffice is a project of
ciation, arrived in North Wilkes-
horo last Thursday to complete
final arrangements for the auto
races to he held here Saturday,
September 22nd. last day of the
Great Wilkes Fair.
the Public Works Administra
tor and labor will be furnished
from the National Re-employ
ment office here. It is calculated
that the demand for labor on the
city water works project, the
situa-
fall and
a
—
jpb
CCC camp at Purlear and a com-^
pany of light artillery from Fort; race day.
Bragg, along with floats by local j Frank says he is enjoying
business firms. > wonderful climate
A big free act program each
Mr. Darracott stated that only j postoffice and on highway pro
regulation racing cars and ex-jjects will do much toward allevi
perienced drivers will be allowed, ating the unemployment
to compete in this burst of speed I tion here during the
for gold and glory. j winter.
Frank Austin, nationally: At the present time the con-
known race driver who comes; trading firm of Lundberg-
direct from his home in Daytona ] Richter is completing a war de-
Beach. Fla., is also in town with i partraent building at Fort Mon-
his Morton Butt special awaiting I moth in New Jersey. Thirty-
' three postoffice buildings have
been constructed under Mr.
wonderful
! ity here and
and
wants to
the
hospital-
make a
afternoon and night,
every night, balloon
and free acts galore make pros- i
fireworks. practice spin on the local course
A crew pf workmen have been
Lundberg’s supervision during
his career as a contractor.
The postoffice building here
will be constructed on th© orig
inal plans drawn up by the treas-
^ts"for Tgood fair very bright i working for several days, getting j ury and postoffice departments
* . . .1 J arift will be modem in every re-
Indeed, according to information
gained from W. A. McNeill, pres
ident and general manager, and
Wallace, acting secretary, foe size oval.
Graders have removed all
this speed course in condition for
the highest speed possible will be
made and maybe a new record
J.
^uto Dealers Club
In Meeting Thursday
the
and
spect. The contract calls for fur
nishing labor and materials and
erection of the building for $45,-
600.
■The North Wilkesboro Auto
mobile Dealers’ Club, recently
organized here, held an Interest-
l^g meeting at the Princess Cafe
.on Thursday evening.
Dealers and salesmen from
Yadkin Valley Motor Company,
Hafer Chevrolet Company, Motor
Service Company and the Wilkes
^uto Sales Company
grass and .smoothed out the track
in general and fences have been
I replaced and a new coat of paint
I all around so some mighty fast
I things are expected from the
dare devils who compete here.
W. A. McNeil, president of the t> tw u a x t»-i_ v>
Great Wilkes Fair, has arranged
the greatest racing program
were pres
ent. The program consisted of a
"^general discussion of fair trade
practices and the automobile
cede.
The next meeting will be held
OS Thursday evening, September
fetO:
^ACCIDENT INJURIES
ARE FATAL TO MAN
Wadesboro, Sept. 7.—Robert
fj. Turner, well known Anson
I f^rmar. died today about one o’-
rdock In a hospital at Verobeach,
I Fla., from Injuries he received In
' en sutomobile accident last Sat-
fc^rday near the Florida town.
Associational
B. Y. P. U. Meet
ever to be presented here and is
expecting large crowds from this
section of the state.
New Addition Is Being
Built To Service Station
tist Church Sunday After
noon, Sept. 23
Foster & Allen, local contrac
tors, are now en.gaged in build
ing an addition to their service
station occupied by the C. & C.
Service station on Ninth street.
The extra room when the ad
dition Is completed will be unti-
lized as storage space for Good
year tires which are carried ex
clusively by the C. & C. The addi
tion will enable the service sta
tion to carry a larger and more
complete line of, tires for their
many customers in thia.county,
Brushy Mountain associational
B. y. P. U. meeting will be held
at Pilgrim Baptist church near
Congo on Sunday afternoon.
Sept. 23, according to an an
nouncement made today.
All churches in the Brushy
Mountain Baptist Association
that have B. Y. P. U.’s are urged
to send representatives and all
who are Interested in the work
are invited to attend. The pro
gram in full will be announced
later.
School Opening
Date Uncertain;
Awaiting Buses
Discarded Buses Will Be Sent
Into Wilkes After Other
Schools Open
NO CONTRACT BUSES
State Says Cost of Contract
Transportation Cannot Be
Furnished
No date for opening of high
schools and central elementary
schools in Wilkes can be set at
the present time, it is learned
from county school authorities.
Meanwhile, Wilkes schools
must wait to open until the other
schools in the state are under
way, at which time discarded
buses from other counties will
be sent to Wilkes, according to
information gained from those
who have been in conference
with state officials.
This situation arose of the re
fusal of the state school com
mission to pay the cost of con
tract transportation in Wilkes
and refusal of the county com
missioners to provide $2,000 to
help the state defray the differ
ence in cost between transporta
tion with county-owned buses
and contract lines, the county
taking the position that the state
is bound by the statutes to pay
operating cost of the schools.
With neither side of the con
troversy showing any signs of
weakening i* appears that the
schools U3’:r, transportation in
Wilkes rr.-it ’.vait until other
schools open and the surplus, or
discarded, buses can be sent in
to Wilkes for use this year.
It is pointed out that this ar
rangement will be very unsatis
factory and will ,be a great han
dicap to the schools of Wilkes.
The class of buses will be those
in need of so much repair that
they have been replaced by new
buses in the county where they
have been used.
Wilkes was one of the dozen
counties in the state with not
enough buses to carry on trans
portation and Wilkes and Tyrell
are the two counties which have
not made arrangements to help
the state carry on transporta
tion.
It is possible, however, that
some more satisfactory arrange
ment can be effected before the
schools open.
Many of the elementary schools
which have no transportation
are now at work.
School Gym Is
Ready For Use
Is One of Best School Gym
nasiums In State; C. A.
Ritchie Is Coach
Mr. James Jackson, of Duke
University, is visiting his sister
here, Mrs. B- D- Finley. Mr.
Jackson and Miss Mary Gwyn
Williams attended the funeral of
Miss Jenjj Coltran© In Concord
Thursday.
V*.
North Wilkesboro school’s
gymnasium is ready for use on
the occasion of opening of the
1934-35 school term, it was
learned today.
It is recalled that tlie gym
nasium for the city schools here
was a eWA project, erected with
eWA labor throughout.
The gym floor has recently
been sanded and placed in first
class condition for use. 'The
various courts are well equipped
and the lines have been painted
during the past few days.
Ritchie Coach
C. A. Ritchie, a graduate of
Davidson college, was employed
as science teacher in the schools
this year to fill the vacancy in
the high school faculty caused by
the resignation of H. V. Over
cash, who is now with the North
Wilkesboro branch of the South
ern Public Utilities company.
Mr. Ritchie will be coach and
athletic director. He has had
considerable experience In this
line of work, having been assist
ant coach at Troy high school
for two years. He comes to the
city highly recommended as a
teacher and athletic director, ably
fitted to coach football and bas
ketball.
He is a first lieutenant in the
reserve corps and has been in
complete charge of a CC camp
near Fort Bragg for some time.
Mrs. W. E. Colvard returned
Sunday to her bom© near the
city after a few days’ visit with
her sisters, Mesdames W. R.
Jones and Bess Crltcher, at Fur-
ches, Ashe county.
Carl Coffey, Myrlh Mathis,
Robert Greene, Lester Boyd
Victims of Tragedy Sunday
CH^tin^The Gre&t Str&e
Mr. Coffey’s Plane
Crashes In Field
Near Clingman
Coffey, Mathis and Greene
Killed Instantly; Boyd’».
Injuries Fatal
COUNTY IS SHOCKED
Washington—These are 24-hour working days for Francis Gorman
(above), chairman of the strike committee of the United Textile Work
ers’ Union, who keeps in touch with field directors throughout the
vast textile areas.
Strike Leaders Call On Organized
Labor To Help In Textile Walkout
Charlotte. Sept. 9.—Southern
strike leaders tonight called on
all southern members of organiz
ed labor to lend their support to
the general textile strike, and
announced defiance of Gov. Ibra
C. Blackwood's pronouncement
against “flying squadrons” in
South Carolina.
In a statement at Greenville,
S. C., southern strike headquart
ers, George L. Googe, of Atlanta,
southern director of the Ameri
can Federatlon-'l)f Labor, asked
that organized labor throughout
the area for “all possible sup
port” that can be given “without
joining th© strike.”
Blackwood Is Defied.
A statement from southern
headquarters said Governor
Blackwood’s proclamation a-
gainst “unlawful obstructions
and assemblages’’ to disperse by
noon yesterday or face a declar
ation of a state of insurrection.
would not cause flying squad
rons to cease visiting mill after
mill in South Carolina, a strong
hold of strike resistance.
The headquarters statement
said pickets “will turn out at
dawn tomorrow at practically
every mill in the south as an in
tensive effort as the strike ent
ers its second week.’’
The rallying cry, “Remember
Honea Path,’’ was passed down
the strike ranks as leaders were
apprised that wholesale attempts
to re-open mills would come to
morrow.
Individual persuasion was rap
idly taking the place of “flying
squadrons’’ in the union’s plan
of attack, however, the latter
were being re-organized today,
more as scouting squads than as
Mr. Coffey Was Member rtf
Prominent FamUy; Others
Well Known In County
the storm troops which closed a
The most shocking tragedy In
recent years to North Wilkesboro
and Wilkes county occured about
five o’clock yesterday afternoon
when four men were killed as
Carl Coffey’s Stinson cabin mon
oplane crashed in the Clingman
community in eastern Wilkes.'
The dead are:
Carl Coffey, 35, pilot, of this
city.
Myrth Mathis, 43, farmer of
Roaring River route 2.
Robert' Greene, 27, merchant
of Ronda route 2.
Lester Boyd, 26, mechanic at
Yadklnvllle.
Plane Crashes
The exact cause of the tragedy
may never be known, there be
ing no survivors. The plane took
off from the local airport about
4:30, carrying the three passeng
ers to their home neighborhood
near Cycle and Clingman. Ethel
Gray, age 11, saw the plane
crash after it had circled over
the community and started to
climb, suddenly nosing over and
crashing into the earth.
The plane was a twisted mass
of steel and fuselage when peo
ple of that vicinity rushed to the
scene and pulled the four man
gled and crushed bodies from the
wreck. Coffey, Mathis and
Greene were killed instantly.
Boyd was brought immediately
to the hospital here, where he
died at 8:10.
From the position of the
wreck it was gathered that one
wheel of the plane struck the
earth first, causing the plane to
make an almost complete som
ersault. The theory has been ad
vanced that engine trouble may
have caused the crash, due to
the fact that the plane did not
burn, notwithstanding the tact
hundred mills In the Carolinas
alone last Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday.
Interestii^ Meet
Pomona Grange
City Schools
Opening Today
that the gasoline tank was burst-
Degree Team From Alexan
der County Confers 4th De- j
gree; Convention Talked
Classroom Work Begaii This
Morning; Formal Openings
Wednesday and Friday
Wilkes Pomona Grange held a
most interesting meeting Wed
nesday night at the courthouse
with an attendance of around
100 Grangers. The meeting was
Schools of the North Wilkes
boro city administrative unit
ed and the wreck almost saturat
ed with the inflammable fluid.
This indicated that the motor
was not running when the crash
occured.
Was Able Pilot
Mr. Coffey was regarded In.
I aviation circles as being a moat
able pilot and his plane was in
I first class condition. He intro-
j duced aviation in Northwestern
North Carolina seven years ago
I when he purchased a plan© and
' since that time had owned and
operated a number of ships. He
had never had a serious acci-
opened today with what appears ' dent during his long career as an
to be a record for opening
and prospects bright for
day I aviator.
the I H® planes as a means
one of the most successful ever successful year in history. \ transportation in his business
held by the Wilkes Grange from
the standpoint of Interest and
attendance.
A degree team from th© Alex
ander County Grange was pres
ent and conferred the fourth de
gree.
The convention meeting the
latter part of this month in Lum-
berton was discussed and a com
mittee was named to draw up a
formal invitation for the 1935
Grange to be held here. Several
members of the Wilkes Grange
are planning to attend the state
convention this year.
WILKESBORO P.-T. A.
TO MEET THURSDAY
Regular September meeting of
the Wilkesboro Parent-Teacher
Association will be held at the
school auditorium Thursday aft
ernoon at 3:30. All .members
and other interested school pa
trons are urged to attend the
meeting.
Mr. Hunter B. Keck, Jr., left
a few days ago to re-enter ...the
University of Richmond, Va. He
is th© son of Mr. and Mrs. Hupt-
er B. Keck of this city.
Classes were organized
morning and students were sup
plying themselves with textbooks
this afternoon.
On Wednesday morning at
8:45 a formal opening for the
elementary grades will be held
and all Interested patrons are
asked to attend. An Interesting
program regarding the school is
being arranged.
On Friday morning at -8:45
will be the fromal opening pro
gram for the high school. This
also will be a public program for
the patrons of the school.
Following is the complete list
of teachers:
First grades—Miss Sam John
son, Miss Sallle Outlaw, Miss
Emma Koon; second grades—
Miss Emma Eller, Mrs. Susie H.
Williams. Miss’Beatrice Pearson;
third grades — Miss Elizabeth
Finley, Miss Etta Turner: fourth
grades—Misa Editl) Williams,
Miss Ruby Blackburn: fifth
grades — Miss Kathryn Trout
man, Miss Mable Hendren; sixth
grades—Miss Doris West, Miss
Gertrude Gilliam: seventh grades
(Continued on page me^
this I activity throughout the south
and had made cross-country
flights. He held transport and
commercial pilot licenses.
Prominent In Business
He was a son of Mr. and Mrs.
C. D. Coffey and was associated
with his father and brother, C.
D. Coffey, Jr., In the firm of C.
D. Coffey & Sons, engaged in the
automobile, tire, petroleum
products distribution business in
this part of the state. He was
prominently connected with a
number of the leading business
firms in North Wilkesboro. Ho
was a member of one of Wilkes'
County's best known and mpat
highly esteemed families.
A Civic Leader
In addition to bis active bos$- ^^
ness Interests Mr. Coffey was ’
civic leader here. For two . yean
be was District Commissioner
for the Boy Scouts and wsa a.
member of the local Boy Scout
Court of Honor. He sponaorM '
the first .movement -tori|3oyJ
Scouts in North WilkosUoro;
bout ten years ago, financing tko
building of the first Boy Scoot
(Continned on imie four)
* —-i~