McDowell
County’s
Leading
Newspaper
MARION PROGRESS
Advertising
in the
Progress
Pays
A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE OF MARION AND McDOWELL COUNTY
ESTABLISHED 1896
MARION, N. C., THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 5. 1940
VOL. XLV—NO. 6
ITDOWELL FARMER
SENraCEDT05-7
YEARS IN PRISON
Cowan Found Guilty In Supe
rior Court; Williams Senten
ced For Manslaughter.
SINGING MEET DRAWS
LARGEST CROWD HERE
Hunter Cowan, McDowell farmer,
was sentenced in McDowell Superi
or court here Tuesday to serve five
to seven years in state’s prison on a
charge growing out of the shooting
of Ping Francis, negro, near here
about three weeks ago.
Francis was said to have been shot
through the chest and was at the
point of death for several days. The j Charlotte. The program consis-
shooting was said to have occurred
at the home of Logan Francis,
The second McDowell county sing
ing convention of this year, held herd
in the Marion high school auditorium
last Saturday night and all day Sun
day, drew the largest crowd in the
history of the organization, stated A.
H. Mitchem, president of the conven
tion, this week. The crowd packed the
auditorium, the halls and the steps of
the school building and hundreds
went in and out of the building Sun
day. Musicians and visitors were wel
comed to the convention by Mayor
Zeno Martin of Marion.
The meeting drew musicians from
several states and the program was
highlighted by selections by the
Stamps-Baxter quartet from Ashe
ville, the Melody Boys from Hickory,
a Cherokee Indian quartet from
Jackson county and the Rangers
brother of the wounded man, on the
night of August 12, following a
heated argument between the two.
Cowan entered a plea of guilty
before Judge William H. Bobbitt in
Superior court.
A plea of involuntary manslaugh
ter was accepted in the case of
Charles T. Williams, of the Grassy
Creek section, who was charged with
murder in the death of Charles Mc
Kinney, of Little Switzerland, in an
automobile accident near here July
7. The defendant was sentenced to
one year in state’s prison, suspen-
ALDERMEN SET
TAX RATE FOR
TOWN AT $1.60
Total Budget Of $93,000 Ap
proved For Operation Of
Marion Government.
The Marion Board of Aldermen
adopted a $93,000 budget here yes
terday for the operation of the town
SCHOOLS OF CITY
UNIT BEGIN FALL
TERM ON SEPT. 12
Outside Classes To Be Held
At Central High; Principals
To Meet Saturday.
Marion city schools will open their
doors for the fall term next Thurs
day morning, September 12, at 9:00
of Marion for the fiscal year 1940-! o’clock. Children at the central high
ted of religious music, spirituals, In
dian music and new and popular
songs. Solos, trios, quartets and
group singing led by professionals
were presented during the conven
tion.
A broadcast over radio station
WWNC of Asheville was presented
direct from the convention hall Sun
day afternoon between 1:30 and 2:00
o’clock.
OfRcers of the convention were re
elected for another year, A. H.
Mitchem being chosen president,
John C. Burnette, vice-president,
arid A. B. Ruppe, secretary-treasur-
er. The next convention will be held
have not been selected.
Marion residents and organizations
assisting in arrang^ing for the con
vention were: Walter J. Cartier, the
McDowell Chamber of Commerce,
Teachers Association, J. L. Early, C.
ded on condition that he pay the in Marion in April, of 1941. The ex-
court costs, pay part of McKinney’s. act time and place of the meeting
hospital and funeral expenses, be on
good behavior for two years and not
operate a car for two years.
Joe Heafner and Clyde Pruett
were sentenced to three-year prison
terms upon pleading guilty to rob
bery of Blanton Grocery company
of Marion of a quantity of groceri
es, cigarettes and other merchan
dise June 11.
Lloyd Henry of Marion, accused
.of—attadcmg -Sheriff Grad; Nichols,
and Deputies Jim Roland and W. O.'
Gibbs with a shot gun here last
22^ pleaded, guilty and was placed
under a six-month sentence, suspen
ded on payment of court costs and
two years good behavior.
CleV^e Young, found guilty of
transporting and sale of illegal whis
key, was sentenced to 90 days and
41 and set the tax rate the same as
last year—$1.60 on the hundred dol
lars valuation.
The total estimated property val
uation for Marion was $3,198,195.
Funds provided for the different
departments of the town govern
ment were divided in the budget as
follows:
General government, $7,200; po
lice department, $5,800; fire de
partment, $2,400; street and sewer
department, $12,200; debt service,
school will assemble at that time in
the auditorium for announcements.
According to City Superintendent
Hugh F. Beam, temporary arrange
ments for outside classes at the cen
tral high school are the same , as they
were last year. Two high school
classes will be held in the elementary
school building, two in the Presbyte
rian church and two in the Methodist
church. These arrangements are ex
pected to continue until the fire-
damaged parts of the high school
$45,200; cemetery, $500; water de-jhave been repaired.
partment, $5,000; and improvements
to town property, $15,000.
F. O. C. Fletcher of Asheville has
been employed by the town as audi
tor for the fiscal year 1940-41. He
has recently been employed in pre
paring the budget.
WORK OF DEMONSTRATION-
CLUBS GIVEN AT MEET .eheduied'then:
Pupils at the high school will {>e
assigned to classes on the opening
day of school, according to Principal
H. C. Holland. Registration was held
at the close of school last spring and
during the summer months pupils
were sectionalized with one excep
tion. Members of the eighth grade
will be required to register on Sep
tember 12 and their classes will be
A county home demonstration ag
ent offers assistance of many kinds
to rural families and lays particular
emphasis on 4-H club work, stated
Miss Jean Steele, McDowell demon-
High school principals of the city
unit will have their first meeting of
the year Saturday, September 7, in
the office of the superintendent. The
MITCHELL HALL
WILL BE NAMED
FOR J. Q. GILKEY
Raleigh, Aug. 29.—The confer
ence hall at Mount Mitchell
game refuge will be named in
honor of the late John Quince
Gilkey of Marion, it was an
nounced here by R. Bruce Eth
eridge, director of the depart
ment of conservation and devel
opment.
A bronze plaque will be erec
ted to Gilkey, member of the
board of conservation and de
velopment from its reorganiza
tion in 1927 until his death.
Gilkey was personally respon
sible for the construction of the
Mount Mitchell conference hall
which will bear his name.
^theridge said that the board
hopes to have the bronze plaque
ready for dedication by the
third week in October, tenta
tive date for a board meeting
at Mount Mitchell.
The plaque will read: “Gil
key Memorial Hall, erected in
memory of John Quince Gilkey,
conservationist and faithful
public servant. Born May 15,
1874. Died July 3, 1940.” A
profile of Gilkey will be en
graved in relief on the plaque.
Etheridge and Commissioners
Coleman W.* Roberts of Char
lotte and Charles E. Ray, Jr.,
of Waynesville^ constitute the
committee on the Gilkey memo
rial.
60,500 GUARDS
TO BEGIN YEAR’S
DRILL SEPT. 16
Citizen Army Mobilized By
Roosevelt; Units To
Drawn From N. Carolina.
JURY SAYS PART OF
NORTH COVE SCHOOL
SHOULD BE CONDEMNED
Washington, Sept. 2. — War De
partment officials prepared today to
induct 60,500 national guardsmen
from 26 states into the army Sept.
16 for one year of training.
President Roosevelt issued the
call—^the first of a series that prob
ably will bring all available members
of the guard into the army within a
few months — late yesterday under
the national guard mobilization law
which he signed Tuesday.
The first guardsmen called for
service will be the vanguard of the
preparedness army of 1,200,000 sol
diers planned by the high command.
Under the law the guardsmen can be
used for service anywhere in the
United States, its territories or pos
sessions, including the Philippines.
But there was no indication any of
the men called- would be sent beyond
the limits of the continental United
States.
Mr. Roosevelt announced that he
plans to increase the 60,500 called'
for September 16 to 76,6^—^the full
peace-time strength — by voluntary
enlistment as soon as possible.
The citizen-soldiers, many of
whom have just completed intensive
war games, will be drawn from New
, - 'f'’' McDowell county grand jury, New Jersey, North CaroUna,
meeting will begin at 10 o’clock a„d Superior court,, South CaroUna, Georgia,
Paul O Nafe Hueh F Beam Bea- + i, f program for the year will, J- m ft n ' Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico,
raui u. iNaie, iiugn J. ceam, «ea-jgtration agent, as guest speaker at|L„ in the older portion of the North Cove , t.
man Lumber Co., the Marion Parent-1 regular weekly Kiwanis meetine i j - j m j ' ^ i 1 school buildine be condemned at i ado, Washmgton, Idaho, Ore-
~ ’ ■ • • - - _ - _ ,tne regular weeKiy Kiwanis meetmg Monday and Tuesday of next week Duilding De condemned a^lgon, Montana, Wyoming, New Hamp-
Tuesday night. I schools of the city unit will receive I ^^^e, as it is “absolutely unsafe Delaware
B. Morgan and A. B. Ruppe.
UBERTIES PROTECTED. _ .
BY COURTS, JURIES
JUDGE STATES HERE
The American system of trial by
courts and juries protects civil liber
ties in the United States that are not
enjoyed by the people of many na-
Miss Steele stated there are ati^n necessary supplies for the open-1 use.
present 15 adult home demonstra
tion classes in McDowell with ap-
~ 25D women «nrolI^.
Topics of mutual interest are dis-
cu^ed at meetings of the classes, the
ladies this year studying home fur
nishings. Demonstration work has
been carried on in McDowell coun
ty for about five years, she said.
Miss Steele was introduced to the
tions today stated Superior Court g Homewood, pro-
Judge Wilham H. Bobbitt of Char-,^^_^ chairman for the meeting.
mg. '
The first teachers meeting. will be
held in the central high school audi
torium September 11 at 10 o’clock
a. m.
BELK-BROOME COMPANY
OBSERVES 9TH BIRTHDAY
The Belk-Broome Company of
Marion celebrates this week its ninth
I anniversary of continuous service to
the trading area of Marion.
The store was established here in
I Massachusetts,
Illinois, Missouri,
Pennsylvania, Cali-
The report stated ttot ^ »i">il.r | Connecticut, Virginia,
complaint was made by the grand: Arkansas
jury serving at fte September t«m work' of assembling the
of Superior court m 1939, and that
no action had been taken In the mat-1 ^
^ strictly a state militia — until the
The jury recommended “that,
are inducted into the fed-
proper authontiM rebuild the bus^^,^,
house for the Moffltt Hill school chil-|^^^ guardsmen below the rank of
dren m the Old Fort school district i
and that the sheriff investigfate the
they have dependents or are essenti-
destruction of the old one." al to an important war industry, and
Reporting the courthouse and jaili^j^j^
I to be in fair condition, the records
of minors and justices of the peace ^
nizations to full peace strength.
The 60,500 figure mentioned by
and six months on the roads, the lotte in addressing the grand jury at | F. Steppe, superintendent ofi;
latter sentence suspended on two tlie beginning of a two-weeks cnmin-1 introduced as
years good behavior. al-civil term here Monday. I h f th 1 h
Elmer Muse was sentenced to one Judge Bobbitt outlined the func-l^ ° ^ f t fh | Since that time its business
'"'ar in state’s prison for forgery. tions of various courts in trying de-| ^ more than doubled, the estab- . , ^ -
Marshall Clay and Douglas Pear- fendants for felonies and misderaea-1 “ 7 \ V it ^ p , the ne jishnent has been remodeled and ‘hat 92 prisoner were at the proclamation refers to the mainten-
... (law assistant of R. W. Proctor enlarged, new departments havejP'-ison camp and that sanitary condi-! strength at which the guard has
Dinner was served by ladies of thei^e^n added and the sales force has!«»"s there were excellent. hitherto operated. An intensive re-
Methodist church. increased.
! Belk-Broome now draws business
MARION GROUP ATTENDS i from many counties adjoining Me
son were found not guilty of driving
drunk.
Clyde Moody was ordered to serve
six months on the roads, suspended
on payment of court costs and a sum
each month to his wife and children,
for abandonment and non-support.
Tom Ward was found not guilty
of embezzlement.
BOARD SETS DATE TO
CONSIDER POOL ROOM
An application for a license for
the establishment of a pool room in
Marion was considered by the Board
of Aldermen here Tuesday and ac
tion on the matter was deferred un
til later in the month to allow op-
IH>nents of the plan to register their
complaints or protests.
The application has been made to
the aldermen by Dula Hawkins of
Marion.
Tuesday, September 17, has been
set as the date for the board to act
on the license application. Protests
against the granting of the license
will be received before that time.
S. S. CONVENTION
AT CHERRY SPRINGS
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
. The Sunday School Convention of
the Blue Ridge Baptist Association
will be held at the Cherry Springs
Baptist Church next Sunday after
noon, Sept. 8, at 2:30 o’clock, A. C.
Leonard of Cross Mill, acting presi
dent, presiding. An interesting pro
gram has been prepared. Representa
tives of the Clear Creek, Old Fort,
Cross Mill and Cherry
nors. Justice of peace courts try pet
ty misdtfmeanors and may impose'
maximum sentences of 30 days in
jail or $50 fine. Such courts may find
probable cause against defendants
charged with more serious crimes and
send them to higher courts for trial,
he said.
Defendants charged with any mis
demeanor may be tried in county
court and the court has "additional
power to find probable cause in fel
ony cases and send defendants to
higher courts for trial, he stated.
Before a defendant may be tried for
a felony a true bill in the case must
be returned by the grand jury or
probable cause must have been found
in a lower court.
Judge Bobbitt explained the power
of presentment available to the grand
jury by which it may advise prosecu
tion to right some wrong in the com
munity. He requested the jury to in
vestigate county offices and institu
tions to discover possible violation
of criminal laws.
Law is the plan by which discip
line is sought, he said, and in Ameri
ca it is based on the preservation of
civil liberties.
RAZING OF TANNING
PLANT IS STARTED
Old Fort, Aug. 29.—A two-story
building of the Union Tanning Com
pany here, damaged when struck by
lightning about eight years ago, is
being torn down and machinery is
being shipped to a plant of the con-
ern at Kingsport, Tennessee.
Six railroad carloads of the ma-
Springs chinery already have left for the new
churches will participate in the location. Meanwhile, the building
meeting. At this meeting, the annu-{housing the extract plant is being
al election of officers for the ensuing ^ left intact, although the company
associational year will take place. | has not operated either structure
All Sunday Schools of the 30 j since the lightning struck years ago.
churches of the Association are ex-1 The extract plant is being kept
pected to send delegates to this > available for possible future opera
meetfng. Itiona, it was pointed out.
to be in good shape, the jury stated, Roosevelt in his mobilization
By Tuesday morning the jury had | to'bring units in the
passed on all bills submitted to it.j7g gg9 anticipated during
I
DEDICATION EXERCISES j Dowell and has become an impor-
jtant firm in the commercial life of
Marion residents attending the 1 Marion and the county,
dedication ceremonies at the Great) Vernon T. Eckerd, manager of the
Smoky Mountains National Park on! store, has been its manager since it
Monday afternoon at which Presi- j was established in Marion,
dent Roosevelt delivered the dedi-| In announcing the ninth anniver-
catory address included Mr. and j sary celebration Mr. Eckerd ex-
Mrs. W. W. Neal, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. pressed his appreciation for the sup-
W. W. Neal, Jr., and Mr. and Mrs. 1 port and pleasant relations he had
J. G. Neal, who were all members of j experienced during the past nine
Governor Clyde R. Hoey’s party at years and pledged himself to con-
the ceremonies. j tinue the best of service to the pub-
Among other Marion residents at-j lie through Belk-Broome.
tending the dedication were Walter!
J. Cartier and J. M. Lancjister, Jr., NORTH COVE SCHOOL
as official representatives of the Me- BEGINS FALL CLASSES
Dowell Chamber of Commerce.
Brief addresses were delivered
during the exercises by Governor
Hoey and Grovernor Prentice Cooper
of Tennessee. Master of ceremonies
was Secretary of Interior Harold L.
Ickes.
ELECTRICIAN INJURED
AT WORK NEAR MARION
Owen Green, Marion electrician,
was badly burned about the face and
on both arms last Friday when he
came in contact with high tension
wires while working in East Marion.
The injured man was taken to the
Marion General Hospital where his
condition was this week reported to
be improving.
HURT IN WRECK
Roderick W. Cartier, son of Wai
ter .Cartier of Marion, was injured
in an automobile wreck near Char-
Classes were begun at the North
Cove school yesterday, after other
schools in the county had been in
operation since Thursday of last
week. The delay in starting the North
Cove unit was caused by flood-dama
ged roads and wasKed-out bridges in
that section which have made travel
difficult. Roads had been repaired
sufficiently yesterday to permit the
safe transportation of children.
All other schools in the county
opened their doors on schedule last
Thursday. Enrollments at the schools
were said to be - somewhat higher
than last year.
ENROLLMENT GIVEN
FOR COUNTY SCHOOLS
Enrollments as announced for the
county schools are as follows:
Old Fort, high school 191, elemen
tary, 601; Pleasant Gardens, high
school 148, elementary, 429; Nebo,
lotte last Saturday. His injuries were | high school 92, elementary 264; Dy-
not serious, but the car which he was sartsville 119, Sugar Hill 135; North
driving was damaged considerably.
Other members of th$ party were
shaken up but not injured.
Cove, high school, 58, elementary
192; Glenwood, high school 171, el
ementary 272.
Foreman of the jury
Harris.
Austin J.!
FOUR ARE INJURED IN
HENDERSON AUTO CRASH
Old Fort, Sept. 2.—Four persons
of New York City who had been vis
iting relatives here were injured in i LARGE ATTENDANCE
the next two weeks.
Mobilization of the guard units will
keep abreast of the schedule previ
ously set out by the military authori
ties in their drive to man the $10,-
000,000,000 armament program.
i
an automobile accident near Hender
son, it was learned.
The party left Old Fort Sunday.
The four, all patients in a Henderson
hospital, are Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Turner, » young daughter, Barbara,
and Miss Agnes Noblitt. Mrs. Tur
ner has a broken arm and internal
injuries, Barbara, thrown from the
car, has a broken arm. Miss Noblitt
received a broken arm and a broken
leg and Mr. Turner escaped with mi
nor hurts.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Noblitt, par
ents of Mrs. Turner and Miss Noblitt
and Mr. and Mrs. Garfield Turner,
parents of Mr. Turner, and Leonidas
Rhinehardt left Old Fort to be with
the injured persons.
AT NOBLITT REUNION
LOCOMOTIVE FALLS INTO TOE
RIVER, ENGINEER MISSING
The annual Noblitt reunion was
held last Sunday at the home of
Georga Noblitt on Crooked Creek.
This year’s g^athering was attended
by about 110 members and friends
of the family from Western North
Carolina and nearby states. It was
the largest attendance recorded
since the beginning of the annual af
fair several years ago.
The morning exercises were held
at the nearby Noblitt cemetery, the
resting place of the ancestors of the
Noblitt family of Western North
Carolina who first settled in the
Crooked Creek section about 1789.
At noon the family gathered at
the home of Mr. George Noblitt
where a picnic lunch was spread un
der a giant oak and the remainder of
the afternoon taken up by a varied
progrram.
Erwin, Tenn., Sept. 3.—Two loco
motives making up a double header
freight train were derailed 35 miles
south of here today and one plunged
into the flooded Toe River, pinning
Engineer John Sifferd, of Erwin, in ^
the wreckage. Rescue workers were September 6th,
MEETING FRIDAY NIGHT
TO FORM WILLKIE CLUB
attempting to recover his body.
Fireman C. T. Davis escaped-from
the cab and swam to safety. He suf
fered only bruises.
G. C. Mattox, engineer on the oth
er locomotive, also suffered bruises.
The wreck occurred on the tracks
of the Carolina; Clinchfield and Ohio
railroad. Besides the two engines,
six of the freight cars were derailed.
for the purpose of organizing
Willkie for President club.
SPEAKS IN HICKORY
Walter J. Cartier, secretary of
the McDowell Chamber of Commerco
made a short talk at a concert gfiven
by the Hickory high school band in
Hickory last Friday night.