North Carolina Newspapers

Full Coverage Established 1885 The )ldest North Car olina Newspaper West of Buncombe County. The Press assures its advertisers of complete .coverage of Macon Co. PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL INDEPENDENT VOL. LV, NO. 4 FRANKLIN, N. C. THURSDAY; JANUARY b, 1940 $1.50 PER YEAR, New M LIONS SPONSOR I JT- 7 The New Macon Theatre unnop fimnrRW In Hands Of Experienced Personnel OPENING SHOW Performances Sunday To Go To Fund For ' Aiding Blind1 'The opening of the new Maw Theatre' wiill he in the hands of the .Lions Club, as the sptnsor of a benefit performance, on Sunday, afternoon, anil eveninu, January 28. At the meeting of the Lions' Moiday evening, 'Garland Tomlin, of the -. Rabuil Amusement com pany, lessees of the theatre, prof fered the use of the building on Sunday, the day before their -'open ing picture, to the Lions to raise funds for aiding he "blind and those with Door vision. Cooperat ing with the state commission for the, blind, all Lions. Clubs have adopted this cause as" -a special ob jective. With the permission" of '.the town board, the Lions are taking ad vantage of this opportunity , to raise funds for immediate needs in Ala con county; chiefly for glasses for school 'children unable to do their work, who,s.e names are' already in the lists of the welfare department, The .management of the theatre makes clear thai it is not ' their '.intention now, or in the future, to .open, the theatre on Sundays for commercial showing of films. , The use by the Lions of the new theatre 'marks their desire to ex tend the use of their fine build- .' ing for community benefit when ever possible, ine aiiuiiorium i available during morning hours and other times not in use, for civic or benefit gatherings. The feature thai lia,s been se cured oh. this short notice is new by thai droll favorite of the ra dio Charley McCarthy, entitled "Charley McCarthy, Detective" ; of course 'supported by Bergen and ' others. News reels, a musical fea ture, and a Wall Disney Tcchni color cartoon will complete the pro gram. The hours for showing will be 2 p. in., 8:45 p. in. and 10 p. m. The hours have been arra'nged so that they will not conflict with any church services' The new Macon Theatre will be in the hands of an experienced personnel, which promises ef ficient management. The lessees of the building are Garland Tomlin and L. J. Duncan, forming the firm under the name of the Rabun Amusement company. Garland Tomlin is well known m l-'rankhn, having married Miss : - 4tj'4 f f P ii ii h lit SQil .ll y THEATRE-v "TIM ' ?iK?trlh4 'r' r GARLAND TOMLIN Snow Caused Local Schools To Close After 'being retarded one weeK in reopening .schools after the Christinas holidays, it seems' that lour days will be lost again this week due to heavy snow. Although it . is just as hard to make a cor rect prediction in this matter as it is to predict the future weather conditions, it seems that it will be Monday Jjefore schools in 'l-'rankhn , will reopen. Patrons who live in the town or near the school are sometimes uri- "ahle jo understand why scnool docs not open sooner after it snows. The high school is made up of students who live over' a wide area. Most of these high school students' are transported by buses from rural areas. Many of the bus. routes arc covered by snow and ice after all streets and important highways are safe. Due to the danger of accidents by the rural buses, all bus drivers have been instructed to wait until their routes are free from snow and ice. Although school is getting some what behind its schedule, no Sat ..,.1.... . . I i ;,. ... .... ...I c there" .re . only eight months of school, school can finish its sched ule without ' work on Saturday by a very reasonable date in May. As a matter of fact, the North Caro lina school machinery act prohibits school on Saturday unless a state of emergency is declared by the local school committee. Margaret Ingrain, daughter of the late Sheriff Ingram and Mrs. In gram. Born in Demorest, Ga., M r. fomlin has lived for. many years in Ckiyton, where for eight 'years he was local manager of the Geor gia Power company. For five years he has been in the motion picture business associated With Mr. Dun can of West Point, Ga., owner of a number of chain theatres. The firm operates the Rabun Theatre in Clayton, Ga. Clyde Gailey, the popular local manager, and Mrs. Gailey, have made a place for themselves in the community. Mr. Gailey has proven his ability to successfully carry on the growing business.. Howard Duncan, son of L. I. Duncan, is now assistant manager. Mr. and Mrs. Duncan came to Franklin from West Point, Ga., about five months ago. Hoyt Ledford has been the ef ficient operator for a decade, al most since the beginning of movies in Franklin. Miss Johnnie Nix holds the po sition of box office cashier. A high standard of pictures has been sustained by this manage ment, which . books a large pra- portion of new and first class pro ductions. - . ' I ' ' v 1 Architect's Drawing Showing the Front of the Beautiful New' Playhouse Which Will Open . i . . . Sunday . Afternoon' . V is at BLIND GUESTS TALK TO LIONS James Penland And Judge Sam Cathey Tell Of Work For Blind More Contributions For Finnish Relief Two contributions have been re ceived for the Finnish relief fund. L. H. Page left $2.00 at The Press office and James L. Averell came around with $1.00. It is understood tliit tlhtT mn triltu t tittr tton j . i nunc ana sent in direct. Miss Hester Conley Dies In State Hospital News was received here Mon day morning of the death of Miss Hester Conley, daughter of W. L. Conley and the late Mrs. Conley, which occurred in the State hos pital in Morganton on Sunday aft ernoon, where she -has been a pa tient for several years. Miss Conley is survived by her father, one sister and three broth cr. ' ' .'..', No Basketball At High School This Year Although the high school faculty includes very capable basketball coaches for "both boys and girls. there will not be any basketball at the school this year due to the fact that there is no gymnasium. The destruction by fire of the high school gym last November shattered the hopes of the student body, the local fans and the boys and girls who would have been on the teams. They had hoped for a successful season because there are a number of boys and girls in school who have had good exper iencc during past years. Although the high school audit oriuin had been used for basket' ball last year, the county board of education, who has final respon sibility of all school property in the county, deemed it unwise to use it for that purpose' any more. A regulation to prohibit its use for athletics was passed by the board. It' was pointed out that the auditorium is already used to over capacity because of all the other regular school activities. In addi tion to other objections, the use of the auditorium . for basketball would require the daily removal of chairs and other school equipment. This, it was feared, would cause a great damage to school property which could not be afforded. The student body h&s shown a very commendable attitude toward the school this year. Among other things, every home room in the hieh school building, hat partici pated in raising funds which have played a part in getting all rooms in the building painted. As a re ward for this excellent school spirit among the student body, it is hoped that a new and better school gymn will soon replace the one that was burned. Plans for this new building are now under On Monday, January 22, the Franklin Lions Club crowded . into Cagle's Cafe and after dinner heard -two blind guests tell about eye sight coaservation and progress being made to alleviate the prob lem in the state. . - ' The guests were Lion Jim Pen- land, of Haycsville, president of the Hayesville' and Robbinsville Telephone company, who introduced Judge Sam Cathey of the Ashe- ville city police court and presi dent of the North Carolina State Blind commission. Both men are blind. Judge Cathey told some surpris ing facts about North Carolina That it was one of the last states in the; union to form a state blind commission, but good progress has been made in the last 10 years. A census of the blind shows there are over 2,000 in the state, and 90,000 people need glasses to cor rect defective eyesight. One-third of these are financially unable to buy the glasses and it is people such as these that the Lions Clubs throughout te state have been help ing. lie also mentioned that North Carolina is attempting to pass a law to prevent the sale of fire works! to children, for the commis sion has found that over one-fourth of the . blindness in the state has been from this cause. In order to raise money for the Franklin Lions club to go forward with their sight conservation and other programs, several auto plate signs saying "Franklin, 1940" were distributed to each member to be sold for $1 each to Franklin citi zens. Any one wanting a Franklin plate is urged to contact Joe Dowdle or any Lion with his quota of plates unsold. Elmer Crawford, junior case worker for the state welfare de partment, was welcomed as a new member. Polio Fund Entertainments Will Be Given In County ' Several entertainments are sched-, uled within 'the next- few days in Franklin and Highlands for the benefit of the Infantile Paralysis Foundation. Lester L. Arnold, chairman for Macon county,, announces that a square dance will be given in the agricultural buildiftg1n ' Franklin Saturday night,, and 'Miss Lassie Kelly, chairman for Franklin, stated that she plans to give a bunco party on Tuesday night, January 30. Both of these entertainments, of" 'course, are contingent upon weather conditions. Jack Potts, chairman for High lands, .states that there will be a dance at Helen's Barn Saturday night, and that a movie, "Indian apolis Speedway," will be shown at the Highlands School Theatre on Tuesday, January 30, for the benefit of the fund. A combination keno and bridge party is also planned, the date to be announced later. Mr. Potts has interested the stu-- dent council at the Highlands school in the sale of "Fight (Infan tile Paralysis" buttons. Infantile Paralysis , Sunday will be observed in he Highlands churches to aid the campaign. 1 he inclement weather has great ly hampered the drive this year, but it is hoped that enough funds may be obtained to equal last year s record. BANK REPORTS BUSINESS GAIN Dividend Of 12 Per Cent Declared; Surplus . Increased Bookmobile Protect Is Sponsored By WPA In the schedule of the book mobile which appeared in The tress last week we failed to state that this splendid project was sponsored by WPA, and since the omission has been called to our ttention, we gladly make the cor rection. NO GIRL SCQUT , MEETING There will be no meeting of the Girl Scouts until after school re opens, it has been announced by. Mrs. Charles Melichar, director of the local troop. As The World Turns A Brief Survey of Current Events In State, Nation and Abroad. BRITAIN CHARGES NAZI TRAFFIC FROM U. 5. Britain has rejected U. S. pro tests against interference with the mails by disclosing evidence of "organized traffic in contraband on a considerable scale" between Nazi sympathizers in the U. S. and Germany. - . FJNNS STILL KEEP BACK SOVIETS The Finns continue to inflict heavy losses on repulsed Red Army units trying to break through to the relief of marooned Soviet di visions on flank of Mannerheira line. Red bombers iwarra over Fin. land, bombing . and machine-gunning small towns. SEA WARFARE An unusual number of ships of both neutrals and beliggerents are reported sunk with heavy loss of life during the past week. A NEW COLD "WAVE A new cold wave is reported moving over a cold-weary nation, still in the grip of- the heaviest snow for some years. Tuesday's isnow fall in this section was seven inches followed by more zero temperatures. . . (CoBtbMd m Pr Tn) At the annual meeting recently held by the stockholders of the Bank of Franklin, all directors were reelected, and at a meeting of rjirector.s held Wednesday of last week the officers were also reelected for another year. The officers and directors are as follows: W. A. Rogers, president: M. D, Billings, vice-president; H. . W. Cabe, cashier; L. B. Liner, assis tant cashier. Director, C. F. Moody, chair man; M. L. Dowdle, H. W. Cabe, W. A, Rogers, M. D. Billings, Grover Jamison, K. S. Jones. Ine banks Business during 1939 was exceptionally good, and the re port made by H. W. Cabe, cashier, to the stockholders showed the bank to be in splendid condition. The deposits at the end of 1939 totaled $290,000 as against $248,000 in 1938, an increase of $42,000. Total resources at the close of business December 30.. 1939. were $364,000, compared with $323,000 in 1938, showing a gain of $1,000. Loans to customers increased from $79,000 in 1938 to $114,000 in 1939. The bank earned during 1939 22 per cent on the common stock, and a cash dividend of 12 per cent was declared, the remainder being passed to surplus. When the bank was reorganized during the depression it was neces sary to issue $20,000 in preferred stock which was taken by the Re construction Finance Corporation in exchange for funds advanced. artd with the provision that it was to be retired as business justified. The last of this preferred stock was retired during 1939, and the surplus was increased from $20,500 to $35,000. The statement published by the bank as of December 30, 1939, show the institution to be in splendid condition, and the state ment : cprrfpares favorably with;, the reports' made y other : banks throughout the state. Macon People Attend Lord's Acre Anniversary -Rev.' and Mrs. J, A. Flanagan, Mm. Henry Slagle; Rev. R. F. Mayberry, and Mrs. J. W. C. John son attended the 10th annivessary of the Lord's Acre movement cel ebrated last Saturday by a meet ing held in the First Baptist church in Asheyille. Rural church mem bers -and pastors from the coun ties where the Farmers Federation has -sponsored this work attended. The Rev. Dumont Clarke, who directs the religious department of the - Federaiu3nv.pr'sihi4 at the meeting, which was addressed by President Hoyt Blackwell, of Mars Hill Junior college and James G. K. McClure,. president of the Farm er Federation. Many reports of churches that have successfully fol lowed the Lofti's Acre " plan were made to the gathering. HOUSE MODERN IN EVERY WAY frlas Seating Capacity Of 55 Lrected By W. C. Burrell Franklin's new Macon theatre, a playhouse thai" would do credit to( any ; city, will open its doors to the public for the first ''trine newt Sunday afternoon. The nian-aucmcnt has donated the new building for the use oL the Lions Club at this time. A committee of Lions will have charge of three benefit per formances in the. afternoon and evening. ,v , the Monday matinee and evening picture will he a premiere showing of "The Shop Around the Corner", a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produc tion, starring James Stewart, -who is fres.h from his triumph in '.'Mr. Smith Goes' to Washington"; Mar garet Sullavan and Frank Morgan, The theatre was fortunate to se cure "The Shop Around the Corn er", one of the latest film re leases, and rated by critics as splendid , and. ''one film th.at he--; longs on everybody's list." ' Work on the buildine has been' carried on day and night since Christmas except when the tem perature was too low, arid now last minute touches are being . made so that the building may be m readiness although not entirely finished in some details to ar- commodate the first performance on schedule time- Modern Structure The new, theatre 'with a seatinu capacity of 575, representing an investment of aDnroxiniatelv . 000, has been erected by VV. C'. Burrell, and leased by the Rabun Amusement company, which has operated the Macon Theatre in" its present location for the past three years. The company is owned by Garland Tomlin of Clayton, Ga., and Franklin, and L. J. Duncan of West Point, Ga. Other theatres operated by them are located in Clayton and West Point. Clyde Gailey is the local manager in charge of the theatre. Modern in every detail, with furnishings and equipment of the latest design and comfort, this beautiful building was planned and decorated by Norman F. Stam baugh, architect, of Atlanta. Ga. The building is constructed of tile and hrick on -reinforced steel, the interior decorated in striking col oring in modernistic design. The walls are "built of insulating ma terial that also assures eood acous tics. The installation of the sound projection equipment is of the lat est and most improved quality. Electric equipment and fixtures are also of ' the latest design in mod- -ern lighting systems, including spot lights of different colors controlled from the projection room. No ex pense has been spared to furnish the best technical equipment for perfect showing of films. lhe building is equipped with a modern heating system of the blower type, and air conditioned. 1 he seats are the best obtainable for luxurious comfort, in the lat est design, upholstered in velour, ine stage is built to provide for stage, shows, with footlights, scen ery tracks and lighting effects. The series of curtains of velvet (Continued on Page Tea) First Semester Honor Roll, Franklin School Following is the lienor roll of Franklin school for the first se mester: Second grade Betty Jean Wil hide, Edith Plemmons, Curley Gene Walker. Third grade Betty Williams, Mary Alice Archer, Berger Hall, Grady Green, Charles Baldwin, Carol Gene Moore, Elizabeth Anne Phillips, Marie Jennings, Janet Cochran. ' 1 ' Fourth grade Howard Horsley. Fifth -grade Mack Duncan, Vir ginia Lee Porter, Ruth Moore. Sixth grade Frances Furr, Anne Flanagan, Shirley Welch, Carolyn Long, Wilma Roberts. Eighth grade Vic Perry. Charles Fulton, Sol Sanders, Nat Macon. Mary. Frances Page. Barbara Stockton, Clell Bryant. Ninth grade Elsie BrendelL Vir ginia Bryant, Emogene Landrum, Tenth grade John Wasilik. leventh grade Osca Ledford. Otela Bryson. Henry Cabe. Post graduates Edith Cabe. Eduh Reeves, Mildred Roper. Zeb Meadows, .