North Carolina Newspapers

Net Paid CIRCULATION Last Week 2594 9%* Jflacotviun PRICE 10 Cents 70th Year ? No. 11 7 Franklin, N. C., Thursday, March 17, 1955 Fourteen Pages DINNER MEET AT CAFETERIA ON MARCH 25 Changed From Slagle Memorial; Speaker To Be Aaheville Man The Franklin Chamber of Com merce's annual dinner meeting March 25 will be held at the Franklin High cafeteria, instead of Slagle Memorial Building, as previously announced. Arrangements for the dinner are now being worked out, accord ing to Erwln Patton, dinner chair man. Tickets already have been mailed to members, who are urged to confirm reservations immediately so arrangements for the meal may be completed. Tickets for non-members are on sale for $1.50 at Perry's Drug Store, Reeves Hardware Company, and The Franklin Press. Don Smith will be toastmast er for the occasion. D. Hiden Ramsey, of Asheville, well-known W.N.C. civic leader and retired .newspaper man, al ready has accepted an invitation to address the gathering. The dinner meeting, which is expected to draw several hundred persons, this year will serve as a testimonial to W. W. Reeves, chamber president, and Frank B. Duncan, head of the Macon In dustrial Committee, for their work in bringing the Burlington In dustries plant here. Civic organizations, including the Rotary and Lions clubs, plan to attend the dinner instead of holding regular meetings that week. A number of special guests also are being invited. Among them will be Burlington Industries officials. Petition Asks Dismissal Of Patrolman Here A petition calling for the dis missal of Highway Patrolman A. A. Lewis as an officer here is now being studied by State Highway Patrol officials. Lt. Johnson, here to Investi gate the matter this week, said "several hundred" signatures are on the petition. He also said investigation shows most of them are residents of the Skeenah section. The petition does not specifi cally cite why the young of ficer's dismissal is being asked. It said, in part, . . our rea son for making the above re quest is due to the fact that we sincerely believe that he Is a man not worthy of the position he is now holding, and we think upon your Investigation of his conduct for the past sev eral months you will find that he should be relieved of his position as patrolman." Lt. Johnson did not comment on the investigation, other than to say any action will be "up to the colonel (Colonel Smith, head of the patrol)." Patrolman Lewis also declin ed to comment. Easter Seal Campaign Opens The annual Easter Seal cam paign to help crippled children will be kicked off county-wide today (Thursday) under the leadership of county chairman Clayton Ramsey. Letters requesting contribu tions already have been mailed, the chairman reports. Citizens are requested to return dona tions as soon as possible in order to speed the drive to completion. In addition to providing med ical care, the money from the sale of seals is used to provide special education for crippled children. P. T. A. Grosses $285 At Sunday Dinner Approximately 700 persons ate "Sunday dinner" with the Franklin P. T. A. in the school cafeteria. The noon meal grossed $285, according to Mrs. Dorothy Crawford, treasurer. It will be used to fix a playground at the school. ? Stmft Pk0?0 by J. P. Brady DISCUSSING MACON'S new health center at Sunday's open house are (L to R) Dr. Ben M. Drake, of Raleigh, with the division of local health administration, Jennings Bryson, of SylTa, chairman of the district board of health, William A. Broadway, of Ashevtlle, western district san itarian, H. T. Collins, local sanitarian, and W. E. (Gene) Baldwin, chairman *f the Mkoon Board of County Commissioners. Several Hundred Turn Out For New Center Open House Several hundred persons ac- m knowledged the official appear ance on the county scene of Macon's new $30,000 health cen ter by attending Sunday after noon's open house at the cen ter. In addition to local town and county officials, a number of; special guests turned out for the occasion. They included nr. Ben M. Drake, of Raleigh, as sistant director, Division of Local Health Administration, N. C. State Board of Health; William A. Broadway, of Ashe ville, western district sanitar ian; ?. B. Thomas, of Sylva, supervising sanitarian; Jen nings Bryson, of Sylva, chair man of the district board of health; Dr. T. D. Slagle. acting district health officer; Miss Ev elyn Davis, of Asheville, public health nursing consultant; and Miss Mildred Barry, of Asheville, public health nutritionist. Refreshments for the open house were furnished by home demonstration clubs and the American Legion Auxiliary. Mrs. Florence S. Sherrill, Mrs. Mar garet D. Smith, Mrs. Ralph L. Smith, and Mrs. Ralph Bradley served. Flower arrangements for the center were prepared by the Franklin Garden Club and the district nurses association. The one-story modernistic building, which has been in operation since October, was built with county, state, and federal funds. It contains of fices for the health officer, san itarian, public health nurse, ex amination and treatment rooms, and an X-ray room. Dr. Edgar Angel donated the land for the center, which is situated di rectly across from Angel Hos pital on Riverview Street. Centennial Seen Firemen carrying out cen tennial "law" Saturday by "caliboosing" some clean shaven men . . . Two men standing on a street corner, combing chest nut-colored beards with pink fine-tooth combs of a variety referred to by some of the older generation as "cootie catchers'' . . . A young man going down Town Ilill late Monday after noon ? wearing a bon net! . . . The women showing off some of the prettiest bonnets seen around here "in a month of .Sundays" . . . Joe Dawdle, with one of the thickest beards in the coun ty, ha.ving pictures made to send to a bride-to-be as an illustration of what he will look like in her April wed ding ... George Mallonee looking "real fancy" as he strutted down the street in his swal low-tail coat, swinging a cane . . . A woman, telling a friend, "I'm afraid to speak to a man anymore ... I don't rec ognize any of them." . . . Another woman, considered a leader in the community, knocking the centennial by declaring "it's the most child ish thing I've ever seen." To which a passing male replied: "Usually takes one to spot one!". . . Holly Springs Has Winning Float In Parade Saturday A float entered by Holly Springs took top honors in Sat urday morning's 4-H parade, which wound Its way through the Franklin business area as the closing feature of the local < observance of "National 4-H i Week". Second and third places went . to Patton and Cowee. Prior to the parade, a talley ( of votes placed the "Miss 4-H" and "Mr. 4-H" crowns on the heads of Miss Naqcy Cable and Tony Orr, members of the Franklin 4-H Club. A penny-a- . vote contest among kings and queens of the individual clubs : chose the 4-H royal pair, and the proceeds ($129) are ear marked for 4-H welcome signs at the county boundaries. Nancy Is head of the 4-H County Council and Tony Is president of his club. Thirteen entries were In the parade. Excluding the above listed winners, the others were Dullasaja, Higdonville, High lands, Longview, Otto, Union, totla, Franklin, Carson, and Tellico. Judging the entries were Miss Kate McGee, Wayne Proffltt, and J. P. Brady. , ? Staff Phmto bv J. P. Ht<uiy Miss Nancy Cable, "Miss 4-H", and Tony Orr, "Mr. 4-H" are shown talking; over the success of Saturday's 4-H parade through downtown Franklin. The two Franklin High students were picked to reign over 4-H festivities in a penny-a-vote contest in the schools. ASKS RETURN OF REOUESTS Will Determine How Much Polio Vaccine County To Receive Parents of first and second graders are urged to fill out requests for the new Salk polio vaccine and return them at once to the Macon County Health Department. Only 422 of the 974 requests mailed out have been returned to date, according to Mrs. Frank Shope, public health nurse. "The requests will /determine the amount of vaccine we will receive, so they are very im portant," she declared. Although it is not definitely known, the nurse said the new vaccine, which is being supplied through the . ?rch of Dimes, should arrive soon, probably in April. The vaccine will be adminis tered in the schools by mem bers of the Macon Medical So ciety, assisted by health de partment personnel. AUTO KILLS FARMER HERE Ledford Succumbs Of Injuries; D, river Is Free Of Blame A 69-year-old retired farmer and merchant, Benjamin Alley Ledford, died early Friday aft ernoon at Angel Hospital of in juries received about five and a half hours earlier when struck by an automobile near his home on US 23-441 (south). Highway Patrolman H. T. Ferguson listed the driver of the automobile which hit the man as he crossed the highway to his home at I. T. Peek, of Franklin. At an inquest con ducted by Coroner C. Jack Rag an, Mr. Peek was absolved of all blame for the accident. Funeral services for Mr. Led ford, who was a native of Clay County and a former merchant, were conducted Sunday at 11 a. m., at the Union Hill Metho dist Church in Hayesville, of which he was a member. Of ficiating were the Rev. R. L. Poindexter, the Rev. Norman E. Holden, and the Rev. Andrew Cloer. Burial was in the church cemetery. The son of the late Samuel and Mrs. Ruth Hill Ledford, Mr. Ledford moved here from Clay about 13 years ago. He had been retired for several years because of bad health. He is survived by his wife, the for mer Miss Mae Hooper, of Clay; four sons, James P. and Frank, of HayesvHle, and Harve and SEE NO. 2. PAGE 10 Sylva Physician To Address Joint Meeting Of P. T. A.s Dr. R. David Daniel, Sylva physician, will be the guest speaker at a joint meeting of the Franklin and East Frank lin P. T. A.'s Monday night. The meeting, set for 7:30, will be at the East Franklin School. Preparing a child for enter ing school will be Dr. Daniel's topic. Officers of both P. T. A.'s have extended invitations to all parents in the county who will have children enter school this coming fall to attend the meet ing. PATTON FREE OF BLAME IN WIFE'S DEATH Grand Jury Issues Statement Clearing Local Man In Case Robert A. (Bob) Patton, Franklin native, has been clear ed of any blame in the October death of his socially-prominent wife, Mrs. Louise F. Patton, in Tampa, Fla., it has been learn ed here. , In a special release March 8, a county grand Jury declared the former state senator and Macon representative "free of blame" in her death. The in valid Mrs. Patton died October 16 in a gas-filled bedroom of their mansion. Granted permission to leave the state, Mr. Patton has been living here with relatives since his wife's death. He recently returned from Tampa, where he voluntarily underwent a lie de tector test. The special grand Jury report clearing him follows, in part: "Because there has been widespread interest in the cir cumstances surrounding the death of Mrs. Louise F. Patton, we believe a public statement should be made . . . Mr. Patton has voluntarily returned to Tampa from the state of North Carolina to be further interro gated by all of us, and volun tarily submitted himself to the polygraph, better known as the lie detector. All of the results have convinced us that he is free of blame and will not be charged with any crime. The grand jury approves this de cision." Savings Bonds Sales Hit 31 Per Cent The county hit 31 per cent of its '55 Savings Bonds quota in January and Fehruary with sales totaling $73,525, according to H. W. Cabe, chairman. Feb ruary sales totaled $39,131.25. BINGO FOR JACKETS f The Monogram Club at Frank lin High plans a Bingo party in the school cafeteria Satur day night at 7:30 to raise funds for. player jackets. Highlands Asks Vote On Liquor The Highlands Board of Com missioners has petitioned for an election to set up a liquor control store in the small re sort town. Unanimously adopted by the commissioners on March 10, the petition requests Macon Repre sentative G. L. Houk to intro duce an act during the present session of the General Assem bly that would authorize the establishment of a liquor store on a vote of the people: Profits from the operation of such a store would be sliced as follows: (1) Forty (40%) per cent to the Town of Highlands general fund for public purposes. (2) Thirty (30%) per cent to the governing board or body of the Highlands Community Hos pital, a non-profit organization, to be used for general hospital purposes and expenses. (3) Twenty (20% ) per cent to Macon County for public pur poses. (4) Ten (10%) per cent to the Town of Highlands for recreational purposes. The petition was adopted by Commissioner Steve Potts and seconded by Commissioner Tu dor N. Hall. Other commission ers are Luther W. Rice, Harry A. Holt, and Carter Talley. The petition noted "a great number of people . . . have in dicated to the governing body . their desire that an elec t'on be held on the question of whether or not a town liquor control store may be operat ed. . . ." Houk Declares No Bill Unless Taxpayers Agree "I will not introduce any bill in the legislature to levy a tax without the consent of those to be taxed", said Representative G. L. Houk. when he was here last week-end. He was referring to the pe tition for legislation placing a 40-cent ad valorem tax in High lands township for the benefit of the Highlands Community Hospital. SEE NO. 3, PAGE 10 DEATH'S CHANCES DROP ? Resuscitator Arrives Here Death's chances of claiming victims of respiratory attacks ? anything from drowning to as matic sieges ? dropped this week with the arrival of a resuscitator for the Franklin Volunteer Fire Department. Purchased with the proceeds of the recent fire extinguisher sale staged by the department, the $460 resuscitator is going to become as much a part of the fire truck as the hose, ac cording to Chief A. C. Tysinger. All firemen will be trained to use the portable machine. Actually, the resuscitator Is the basis for a new rescue squad being formed within the department. When the training program is completed, "we'll be ready to operate on land and water". Chief Tysinger declar ed. A boat and motor is now available for use by the squad, he said, in the event any emer gencies arise on water. In the near future, the de partment plans another cam paign to raise $150 more to buy an auxiliary unit for the resuscitator. This unit will as sure the treatment of two per sons at the same time and also, because of long sections of hose, will enable firemen to give treatment without having to move victims. ? Staff Photo by J. P. Brady FIREMAN Sam Gibson tries out the Franklin Volunteer Fire Department's new resuscitator, which arrived this week. The S460 machine is used in treatment of most respiratory troubles. The firemen raised money to buy it with a fire extinguisher sale recently. PLANT WORK PROGRESSING, WHriT SAYS About On Schedule Despite Weather; Loopers Training With the weather picture brightening somewhat, con struction on Burlington Indus tries' $3,000,000 hosiery plant near Franklin is "proceeding moderately", according to J. P. Whltt, Jr., superintendent of construction for Daniel Con struction Company. "We are close to schedule and if the weather holds we'll catch it," he said Tuesday afternoon. April 15 is the completion date for the floor and roof of the large one-story plant, Mr. Whitt disclosed. Bad weather has hampered construction since work on the plant began in mid-December. Between 60 and 70 men were on the job Tuesday. The manufacturing floor space of the plant covers 27.360 square feet. Office space takes in 3,472 more feet, not count ing a shop and boiler and air conditioning rooms. 'Very Pleased' Meanwhile, C. B. Hussey, who is in charge of the looper training program for the plant, said he is "very pleased" with the progress of the women trainees. The program still is taking in only two women each week. Sixteen were working Tuesday. It has previously been an nounced that additional person nel, men and women, will be hired as the plant nears com pletion and prepares to go into production. Pipe Line Project Resumed This Week Installation of the new water line in south Franklin to serve the Burlington Industries plant is "progressing satisfactorily" after a slight hold-up to reroute the line, according to Water Superintendent Herman Childers. The line has been moved from US 23-441 in order not to inter fere with future highway con struction. It is now running along private property to the left of the highway. About 800 feet of pipe remains to be installed, the superintendent said, out of more than 3.000. Bid Opening For Property . Slated Monday The board of trustees of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce Monday will open sealed bids for purchase of three sections of property adjoining the new Burlington Industries plant. The sections of land were purchased in the fall when trustees of the chamber ar ranged for the plant site. A legal notice of the up coming sale may be found on Page 9 of this issue. The proceeds of the sale will be used to offset some of the $30,000 the trustees put up to cover the purchase of the tract for the plant, according to W. W. Reeves, chamber president. The Weather The week's temperatures and rainfall, as recorded in Franklin by Manson Stiles, U. S. weather observer; in Hunlan.U by Tudor V. ii;.!: nl'd \V. . V'v t.r . TV V observ er ; and at the Coweela Hydroiogic FRANKLIN Temperatures High Low Rain 68 21 Wed., Mar. 9 Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wed., Mar. 9 Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday 63 33 .16 67 54 trace 80 52 .03 75 47 .14 62 48 .10 73 47 trace HIGHLANDS Temperatures High Low Rain 64 24 52 41 .12 66 50 .19 72 52 72 50 .18 52 44 .62 66 43 .03 COWEETA Temperatures High Low Rain Wed.. Mar. 9 67 24 .09 Thursday 53 34 .12 Friday .....t. 67 52 Saturday 81 52 .115 Sunday 73 49 47 Monday 56 49 05 Tuesday 72 47