CIRCULATION 2809 Net Paid Last Week JRattroiwi PRICE i 10 Cents 71st Year ? No. 31 Franklin, N. C., Thursday, August 2, 1956 Fourteen Pages They Came-They Stayed-They 'Conk-ered' Highlands As the sun peeped over the ridge yesterday (Wednesday) morning a rakish assortment of "human beans" started romp ing up and down the main stem of Highlands. These odd crit ters, who had swelled into thousands by mid-morning, turned ? rreaa .nan rnouj out from all over the country to help the resort town cele brate "Hillbilly Day". The "Parade of Hillbillies" was staged in the morning, the afternoon featured a string band contest, and a street dance and the crowning of the "Country Squire" and "Highlands Belle" occupied the night hours. Opening Of Folk Festival Tonight Solidly backed by a talented variety of entertainers, the fifth annual Macon County Folk Festival opens tonight (Thursday) "under the stars" In the Franklin High Stadium, for a three-night run. Performances will get under way at 8 each night and will continue "until the entertain ment runs out, or gives out," according to members of the sponsoring Franklin Junior Chamber of Commerce. Advance registration by en tertainers has been "encourag ing", it is reported, and the festival is shaping up nicely. Competition will be limited to amateurs living inside .Ma con County and the contests will cover most musical instru ments, singers, buck dancers, dance teams, string bands, and specialty acts. Three square dance teams al ready have registered, along with more than 20 Individual entertainers. Cash awards will be made to the winners in each event, In addition to ribbons. "Panhandle Pete, the One Man Band", who pitched In to help the local Jaycees stage their first festival, will again be on hand as the show comic. Several string bands also are working up comedy acts for presentation between those competine for prize money. Music for dance teams, sing ers, and buck dancers will be provided by the "Black Rock Mountain Boys", an outfit headed by Harry Roberson, of Otto. The band currently has a radio program over a Cor nelia, Ga., station. Admission to the festival will be 25 cents per person. The proceeds are earmarked for the Jaycee civic betterment; fund. Annual Baptist Association Meeting Slated August 9-10 August 9-10 are the dates for the 53rd annual meeting of the Macon Baptist Association, largest church group In the county. Three churches this year will host the two-day gathering, ac cording to the moderator, the Rev. M. W. Chapman. On the opening day, a session will be held at the Burning town church and that night a special service is planned for the Iotla church. The Cartooge chaye church will be the scene of the meeting the second day. Houk Back From Raleigh; Amendment Vote Sept. 8 Macon Rep. G. L. Houk re turned Saturday from Raleigh where he and other members of the General Assembly ap proved several pressing mea sures, including the Pearsall Plan, a piece of legislation de signed to meet the school seg regation problem. The special five-day session, called by Gov. Luther H. Hodges, was the shortest in the state's history. It ended Friday at 4:44 p. m. Most significant action taken by the Legislature, Mr. Houk said, was the passage a con stitutional amendment embody ing the "guts" of the Pearsall Plan. This amendment, along with others passed by the lawmakers in regular session, will be sub mitted for the approval of the state's voters in a general elec tion on September 8. The two-point amendment would allow: (1) state-paid tuition grants to send a student to private school if his parents object to his attending a racially mixed school, and (2) local option elections on the closing of local schools if conditions become intolerable. The Senate passed the pro posed amendment to the con stitution 49-0 and the House, 106-2. At W. N. C. Open Meet ? Zickgraf Breaks Records Franklin's lanky swimming star, Bill Zickgraf, broke four records Friday in Asheville in turning in the top individual performance in the W. N. C. Open Swim Meet. The 6' 3", 185 pound tank man, who is a varsity swimmer at the University of North Car olina, set new marks in the men's open 50-yard free style, 100-yard free style, 100-yard breast stroke, and 100-yard back stroke. In the 50-yard free style, "he broke the existing record of 27.1 seconds with a blistering 25.3. He clipped two whole seconds from the 100-yard free style mark, swimming it in 1:02. In toppling the 100-yard breast stroke record, Bill was clocked at 1:12.7. The old mark was 1:15.1. He churned the 100-yard back stroke event in 1:11.5, shaving the old record of 1:14.6. Bill also racked up a third place in the men's open div ing event, although he is not considered a diver and does not place any emphasis on it in his training schedule. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Grant Zickgraf, he is a rising Junior at U. N. C. The W. N. C. competition is sponsored annually by the Commerce. Bill was sponsored Asheville Junior Chamber of by the local chamber. Burn i ma m ? rr?M sun Photo Bill Zickgraf . . . Record Breaker The '56 theme Is "The light of the World is Jesus". Reports Planned Reports on local and state levels will feature the sessions Mr. Chapman said. Among state officials expect ed here to give reports on the first day are Morres Grapt, ol Thomasville, editor of Charitj and Children, who will report on the orphanage; Dr. L. L Carpenter, of Raleigh, editor of the Biblical Recorrer, who will speak on the activities of the publication; Dr. Richard K. Young, of Winston-Salem, whose talk will feature work at the Baptist Hospital; Dr. M. A. Huggins, of Raleigh, general secretary of the Baptist State Convention, who will discuss the cooperative program of the convention; Dr. Julian S. Hop kins, of Raleigh, secretary of evangelism, whose topic will be on that phase of church work; and Dr. Bruce Whitaker, of Raleigh, secretary of the Bap tist Student Union department, who will speak on B. S. U. ac tivities. Local reports in these fields SEE NO. 2, PAGE 10 Siler Family Reunion Slated Here Saturday Silers from here, SUers from there, there'll be Silers from just about everywhere when the clan that helped pioneer this area shows up in Franklin this Saturday for its 105th "family meeting" without break. This year's gathering ? al ready officially under way with the arrival of several members from out of town ? is slated for Slagle Memorial Building. Host and hostesses are the Rev. A. Rufus Morgan and his sis ters, Mrs. Esther M. Freas, of Franklin, Mrs. Anna M. Barr, of Charlotte, Miss Lucy C. Mor gan, of Penland, and Mrs. Laura Warren, of Murphy. More than 200 Silers are ex pected to be ort hand. And, if past meetings are any indica tion, they'll come from more than a dozen states and several foreign countries. And all ages, from infants to several nona genarians, will be represented. One important feature of the business meeting of the clan will be the election of a chair man to succeed the late C. S. Slagle. Last year, the family marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Weimar Slier, progen itor of the Macon County Silers. While this year's will be the 105th gathering of the clan, it is the 104th annual one. Early in its history, the family met twice in one year when the date for the get-to-gather was changed from January to late summer. Jury Is Still Deliberating Boy's Murder Trial Verdict * New Singers, But Old Song A new grand jury is singing an old song. The old tune Is "A New Courthouse For Macon County", a favorite of grand juries for more than a quarter century. In filing its report of condi tions of county facilities Tues day afternoon with Judge Zeb V. Nettles, the grand jury made the following observations about the present 73-year-old court house: "We have examined the courthouse and find all offices crowded for room. Rest rooms are not sanitary on account of room. Some county records have no fire protection. Some win dow screens need repairing. The entire grand jury recommends a new courthouse." A committee found the prison camp in "good condition" and another observed that the coun ty jail is "very neat, clean, and orderly", but made three spe cific recommendations: 1. Replace four commodes not SEE NO. 4, PAGE 10 Trade Promotion - Dinner Is Slated Plans for promoting more trade here will be discussed by merchants and other business ? men of Franklin at a dinner , meeting next week. The gathering is set for 6:45 ? p. m. Wednesday (August 8) at . the Cartoogechaye School. > The Franklin Press will be r host ffjr the occasion. All the newspaper's regular ' display advertisers are invited. ; In addition, a representative of any business in this community, ; Interested in trade promotion will be welcomed. Persons planning to attend, however, are requested to notify The Press ? phone 24 ? by not later than Monday, Aug ust 6, since it is necessary to know in advance how many to prepare for. In addition to the business discussion, a brief program of entertainment is planned. ? It Was Just About A Decade Ago, Judge Mettles Remembers Nearly a decade ago, a young Superior Court judge suggested streamlining county government here by replacing the old county courthouse with a new, modern building. Monday morning, that same judge, in the same courtroom, in the same old courthouse re peated this suggestion, but this time tempered it with some rather pointed remarks. Recalling his courtroom sug gestion of many years ago., Judge Zeb V. Nettles declared that the 73-year-old courthouse is "totally inadequate". "I made that statement al most 20 years ago," he told the grand jury, "and I make it again now." If the citizens are to have pride in their county, they are entitled to a new courthouse, he said. "I think that your county does not regard this matter in the way it should," the judge declared. Pointing to inadequate stor age facilities in the old struc ture, Judge Nettles said a fire would result in "endless litiga tion" since most of the county records would go up in smoke. He cited an instance in another county where a courthouse burned and described the con fusion that followed in attempt ing to check titles and records as "a terrible thing." He said the expansion of county government means simp ly that "you are going to have SEE NO. 6, PAGE 10 Was It An Inquisitive Finger That Did It? Firemen think an inquisitive figure might be responsible for a false alarm last Thursday about 9:45. The alarm was turned in at the call box on a pole near the courthouse. Since the protective glass over the alarm button has been out for several years, they think someone couldn't resist the temptation to prod the but ton. Mrs. Purdom Sweeps Local Flower Show For 2nd Year For the second straight year, Mrs. E. S. Purdom, of Wayah Valley, has walked off with top honors in the Franklin Garden Club's annual flower show. The colorful show, held Fri day and Saturday in the high school cafeteria, saw Mrs. Pur dom duplicate her last year's achievement by winning the Ribbon winners are listed on Page 7. sweepstakes award and the tri color award in the arrange ments division. T. M. Deckman, of Gneiss, took the tri-color award in the horticulture division. Praises Show A nationally accredited judge, Mrs. C. K. S. Dodd, of Sara sota, Fla., who took in the show unofficially, described it as a "wonderful show" and "one that showed great and splendid in terpretation" of the theme, "A Mountain Garden". Judging the event, which at tracted more than 200 exhibits from 56 exhibitors, were Mrs. W. T. Duckworth, of Asheville, Miss Ann Albright, of Waynes ville, Mrs. Arthur A. Pearson, of Fletcher, and Mrs. J. R. Hurley, Mrs. J. R. Pate, and Mrs. A. W. Bottoms, all of Canton. Prior to judging Friday morning, they were entertained at a luncheon at the Franklin Lodge and Golf Course. BULLETIN James Dudley Mathis was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and was senten ced to 3H to 5>? years at a first offender camp. The jury still had not arrived at a verdict yesterday (Wed nesday) at 2 p. m. in the trial of 17-year-old James Dudley Mathis, who is accused in the June 12 rifle slaying of his father on a mountainside in the Cowee section. Following .an hour's charge, Judge Zeb V. Nettles turned the case over to the jury at 12:30 and it retired behind closed doors. At 1:05 the judge called the jury back to the courtroom, and, upon learning that a ver dict still had not been reached, recessed until 2 o'clock with an explanation "we don't want to starve you gentlemen to death". The state is seeking a second degree murder or a voluntary manslaughter verdict. Youth Impassive Throughout the trial, the youth has been Impassive. He has stared off Into space, yawn ed, looked the courtroom over from floor to ceiling, played with a rubber band he found on the floor, probed his finger In a hole In the railing behind his chair, and scraped the soles Ma this of his shoes. Shortly before the lunch recess, he leaned over to ask Deputy Van Frazier the time. Officers testified during the trial that James Dudley admit ted accidentally shooting his father, mistaking him for a groundhog. The body of the elder Mathis was found slump ed over a 12-gauge shotgun near a groundhog hole. A .22 SEE NO. 5. PAGE 10 By-Pass Into Georgia Open The construction by-pass be tween Franklin and the Geor gia state line is now open to traffic, although the new sec tion still has to be gravelled. According to George Byrd, of the state highway shed here, the by-pass will not be marked by the state because It cannot be classed as a detour around the new highway project on US 23-441. A detour, he explained, must adequately carry all kinds of traffic. The new by-pass is ac tually a net work of narrow county roads running through the Clark's Chapel and Hick ory Knoll sections and could not handle heavy traffic, he said. A section of about six-tenths of a mile had to be opened up by highway maintenance crews near Otto to complete the by pass. It is this section that still must be gravelled, Mr. Byrd said. The by-pass was opened to provide relief for those work ing and doing business in the immediate N. C.-Georgia area. A state marked detour runs through Highlands. ? Pr*M Stall Layout A total of 69 blue ribbons were awarded In the Franklin Gardeit Club's annual flower show Friday and Saturday. Checking over the winners are