AMERICA First, Last and Always The Sylva Herald The Herald A dedicated to progressive Service to Jack son ... A progressive, well balanced county. VOL. XXI, NO. 5 SYLVA, N. C., THURSDAY, JULY 4, 1946 $1.50 A Year?5c Copy Unit of Communities Is \ Formed By Civic Group Western Counties Will Combine Efforts For Regional Improvement Representatives of Chambers of Commerce and other public groups from four Western North (Caro lina counties met at the Jarrett Springs Hotel last Thursday eve ning in a move to organize Western North Carolina Associated Com munities for the purpose of bet tering the counties with respect to civic matters of regional interest. f The move, begun by the Ashe ville Chamber of Commerce, is designed to include the counties of Buncombe, Henderson, Transyl vania, Haywood, Swain, Chero kee, Clay, Graham, Macon, and Jackson and representatives from the Cherokee Indian Agency and tribe, Government" Services IncT, ,? from Fontana, and Western North Carolina Teachers College. Each unit will be entitled to one vote. Charles Ray of Haywood, ap-' pointed temporary chairman of the j group, was the principal speaker | of a round-table discussion held i to state the problems of the west- | .ern counties and how best to solve! them. Mr. Ray cited the work that j had been done by a former group of similar purpose, the Western ? Nurth Carolina Advisory Commlt tee, which was instrumental in the development of the Great Smokies National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway, but which expired with the advent of the war due to short ages in construction materials. "The effect of all our counties together is better than any one couny working alone," Mr. Ray declared, and added that: "Tour ists a?e interested in the region as a whole, not in any individual town." A motion was then made to or ganize th* Chamb^r.^c and other civic groups into one unified organization. It was car ried unanimously. The group adopted the name of Western North Carolina Associated Communities, set its next meeting .for the tenth of July in Bryson City, and prepared to contact the counties whose representatives were not present at the meeting. The unit appointed C. M. Doug las of Transylvania its temporary secretary. The group formed a statement of intentions which follows and is to be approved or modified at the next meeting: "The object of this organization is to unite the mem ber counties into an association equipped to regularly elect offi cers and appropriate by-laws that shall work for and promote the betterment of Western North Carolina with respect to all civic matters of regional interest which ?Continued on Page 4 tECTURE ON CANNING IS GIVEN AT SCHOOL Miss Margaret Murphy, home economist of the Educational De partment of a nationally-known jar company, gave a lecture and demonstrations on home canning at the Sylva High School cafeteria last Friday afternoon. Miss Murphy emphasized the importance that food conservation 'and canning held during the war, uand she asserted that conserva ition and canning are just as im portant as the peace is being set tled. The lecturer then proceeded to demonstrate the oanning process of various types of vegetables, and .warned her audiences of using in ferior jars in canning. She said that a good standard canning jar should be used in order to mini-1 mize the danger of breakage, and that all jars should be sterilized before 'being used. Miss Murphy then proceeded to j can some tomatoes by heating them in order to drive out the air. She then placed them in a jar, poured in the juice in which they were cooked, sealed the jar, and I placed them to heat further on a rack in a kettle. She explained that tomatoes should be heated after the sealing rather than be fore in order that the vitamin C would no escape into the air. Later the speaker demonstrated the canning of peas, beans and corn, warning that peas and corji shouldn't be packed into the jars, because they expand. Green boans, she explained, should be packed tightly because they shrink. The meeting was arranged by Miss Martha Barnett, associate FS \ supervisor, and Miss Jose phine Johnston, home demonstra tion ^gent for the county. Local O. P. A. Office To Continue Operation Dan Tompkins, head of the lo cal O.P.A. offices, has announced that they have -been notified by Theodore S. Johnson, district di-j rector from the Raleigh office, to continue as usual until further no tice. Mr. Johnston, stated in his bul letin release "All boards should continue to schedule and conduct conferences and negotiate settle ments with respect to any viola tion which occurred prior to July 1, 1946." Sugar rationing and Meat Slaughter control remain in ef fect, since these are signed by the Second War Powers Act which was renewed by the President on June 29, 1946. Many Self-Employed Vets File Claims Under GI Bill In Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, served by the Bry son City local office, 178 self-em ployed veterans filed claims for self-employment allowances under the G. I. Bill of Rights in the first five months of this year, it is learned from information supplied by R. Fuller Martin, acting chair man of the State Unemployment Compensation Commission. These claims are filed by World War II veterans who are in busi ness for themselves and whose net income from their business for any month is not as much as $100. If a self-employed veteran earns nothing or less than $.100 net dur ing any month, he may file a claim hot later than the 20th of the month following, for $100 or for enough to make his total net in come much as $100; More than 95 percent of the self-employed veterans filing these claims in the State are farmers and the bulk of them report little or no earnings during the growing season or un til harvest and marketing time. In the same five months and in the same four counties 1520 new veteran claims for unemployment allowances were filed indicating that during this period 1520 vet erans were unemployed at the time they filed their claims. These veterans claiming Serv icemen's Readjustment Allowances for unemployment must first ap ply for jobs. They must be able to work, available for work and willing to take any suitable job' offered) them, except that, under the G. I. Bill of Rights, if a veteran is able to work when he files his! first claim, but illness or other, disability prevents his weekly re porting to the local USES office in person, he may delegate a rep resentative to file later claims for, him. On a State-wide basis, it is found that just about one veteran out of I every four inducted into the serv ice had filed claims for Service mens' Readjustment Allowances by the end of May, and also, on a State-wide basis, it is revealed that considerably more than an average of two inductees came from non-agricultural activities for every one inducted from agri culture. Early this year 351,146 had been inducted into the armed forces from North Carolina, an es timated 105,185 coming from ag riculture and 245,961 from non agricultural activities. It is estimated that early in this year, 2053 had been inducted from Jackson county, 785 from agricul ture and 1268 from non-agricul ture. RURAL LIFE MEETING WILL BE HELD NEXT i TUESDAY AT CHURCH A Rural Life meeting to be held for the purpose of discussing the relationship between good farm ing and good religion will be held ' in the First Baptist Church in Syl- i va next Tuesday morning at ten o'clock. Ministers, farmers and agricul- j tural leaders are invited to attend. There will be singing, a devo tional led by the Rev. W. N. Cook of Webster, a talk by the Rev. Vladimir E. Hartman of the Coun cil of Southern Mountain Work- I ers, and an illustrated lecture en- ' titled "God, Man and the Land" i by Dr. Aaron H. Rapking of the j Tennessee Valley Community De- j velopment Program. A free lunch will be served after i the program, and following the lunch hour there will be a farm tour conducted by Miss" Josephine Johnston, Home Demonstration1 Agent, M. L. Snipes, county farm agent, and W. B. Collings, farm management supervisor of the Test Demonstration Program. The Rural Life meeting is one in d series of meetings being held jointly by the Council of South ern Mountain Workers, the Agri^ cultural Extension Service, and the TVA in fifteen Western North I Carolina counties. First Cars To Arrive By Rail Reach Local Dealer A sight that is very rare trans pired at the local depot last Thurs day afternoon as workers unload ed two brand new automobiles from a freight car. The cars, shipped out of Atlanta on the 25th, are the first 1946 mod els to arrive in Sylva by rail. They were consigned to a local dealer. WNG WEEKLY PRESS ASSOCIATION HOLDS MEETING IN MURPHY More than publisher met i.i Murphy last 1 Friday and Saturday for the regu lar meeting, ctf the Western North Carolina Weekly press Associa tion. A banquet von Friday evening! featured a talk bv Albert S. Hardy, publisher of the Gainesville (Ga.) News, who praised Ed Anderson, publisher of the Transylvania Times, and Miss Beatrice Cobb, v r publisher of the Morgfmtun News Herald, for the work they have i done in securing more national' advertising. Miss Addie Mte Cook, president of the association, acted a* chair- j man of arrangements tor the meet ing with sever? 1 town and coun- | ty organizations and individuals j cooperating. Activities at thg con Terence in- ? eluded tours of Hiwassee Dam, a talc mine, the Naval Ordnance Experiment Station, Nantahala, Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, j and other points of interest near Murphy. Representing The Sylva Herald were Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Gray and ' Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Bird. I - ? ' I Ratchford Conducts School, In Record-Book Keeping C. B. Ratchford, farm manage- ( ment specialist of the North Caro- ' lina Extension Service, conducted a record-book school ia&t Friday afternoon at the courthouse for farm men and women keeping books in connection with the TVA. ! Mr. Ratchford touched upon rious problems that have ansen regarding the keeping of the books > and answered a number of ques- J tions brought up by members of. the audience. Sixteen individuals attended. I Founder's Niece Makes First Visit To Sylva Since 1898 By LARRY W. MULL > "The story connected with the naming and -founding of Sylva reads like a fairy tale," says Mrs. Margaret L. Medd, niece of the late E. R. Hampton, founder of Sylva. Mr. Hampton, she explained, along with a youthful stranger, William D. Sylva, who came to have a place in the hearts of the people in the community of Web ster, erected the E. R. Hampton home on the site where the Caro lina hotel now stands. Mr. Hamp ton then petitioned the U. S. Post office department for a post office which was obtained. Mr. Hamp ton asked his little daughter, Mae, what name would be suitable for the new Post Office. She replied, "Sylva." Mrs. Hampton said that the post office was named, so it would be Sylva. Mrs. Medd states that on March 9, 1889, the growing community of Sylva was chartered as an incor porated town by the General As sembly of North Carolina. This, however, is her first visit to Sylva and Western North Carolina since 1898. She is accompanied by her husband, William H. Medd who is a retired Naval Warrant Officer, a veteran of the Spanish American War, World Wars I and II. He j has completed five active years i service. They reside at Wilming- j ton, Delaware. Mr. and Mrs. Medd came here by way of Fredericksburg, Va., where they were visiting Mrs. Herman Bryson, daughter of the late Hon. E. R. Hampton, who is with her husband at Mary Wash ington College. The Medds cele brated their fortieth wedding an niversary on May 14, 1946, in Asheville where they were mar ried. The couple plans to spend two. or three months vacation in and around Asheville. Mrs. Medd was the former Miss Margaret L. Moore, better known to older residents in Sylva as "Madge." She used to spend the summer months with her aunt, Miss Hattie Hampton, in the horrm of E. R. Hampton. According to Mrs. Medd, E. R. Hampton established the first printing press and published the first newspaper, The Jackson ?Continued on page 8 SSk M MRS. MARGARET L. MEOD j , 1 Second Quarterly Conference Convening At Cullowhee The second quarterly local church conference of the Cullo- ; whee Baptist church met Tues- j day night, July 2. Reports were made, from the | unit organizations of the church ' and business reports given. | Legion Will Sponsor Ball ! Game With Canton Team The William E. Dillard post 104 of the American Legion will spon sor a softball game between the ; Canton American Legion team and the Sylva All-Stars on the thir teenth of this month at Mark Wat- i son field at 8:00 p. m. Admission prices will be ten and twenty-five cents, and the pro ceeds will be used by the local I post toward the construction of a memorial building. I ! SOFTBALL STANDINGS | Softball standings in the Smoky Mountain Athletic Association are as follows: Reed's Grocery: Won 4, Lott 1. Ptperboard: Won 3, Tied 1, Lott 2. Tannery: Won 3, Lo?t 3. Cherokee: Won 3, Lott 3. Webster: Won 2, Tied 1, Lott 2. Lions: Won 1, Lott 5. S0SSAM0N S... in Sylva Survey Shows No Merchants Anticipate Big Price Changes POTEET ANNOUNCES' LIONS COMMITTEES Roscoe Poteet, Lions Club presi dent, announced the,list of theyor ganization's new committees for the coming year. Each group has a chairman and works under the direct supervision of one of the; vice-presidents, who are T. Wi*lt?*| Ashe, Roy Reed and Woody j Hampton, first, second and third J vic#-pr e$i den t, res pec t i v e 1 y. The committees follow: Attend- j ?nce: Claude Jones, chairman, VV. T. Brown and Joe Clyde Fisher; Constitution and By-Laws: Hugh Monteith, chairman, Adam Moses. and John Parris; Convention: Fe- j lix Picklesimer, chairman, Law--J rer.ce Reed and Ray Cogdill; Fi nance: J. E. Buckner, chairman, Howard Ball and Dexter Hooper; i Membership: Joe Popplewell, Joe I Deitz and R. H. Green; Program: A. H. Bryson, Hugh Monteith, Woody Hampton and W. C. Hen- t nessee; Veterans Service: T. Wal- i ter Ashe, chairman, George Lee,; Joe Popplewell and Johnny Ech- i ols; Lions Edudcation: J. A. Bry- j son, O. E. Brookhyser and Dillard Coward; Grub: Lawrence Reed. Roger Dillard and Gudger Fort ner. ? Boy Scout: W. C. Hennessee, chairman, Alliney H. Bryson, i Claude Campbell, Dennis Barkley,1 J. F. Corbin, Homer Davis and I O. E. Brookhyser; Social: Boyd Sossamon, chairman, Felix Pickle- i ? imer and Rudy Hardy; Boys and 1 Girls: Dennis Barkley, Homer Da- | vis and Claude Campbell; Citizen- J sh.p: Howard Crawford, chair- ' man, Ernest Fitzgerald, John Hen ? on and Walter Jones; Sight Con servation: W. T. Wise, ehainnrn, C. M. Wan en -i..,. I'rank C ford; Publicity: Cloyd Richnrdx- n, ? chairman. Fieri Williams and" F:*;?nk Fricks; Civic Improvement: j B, E. Harris, chairman, S. B. Can- I no:i, W: Iter Ashe ar 1 W. F. Wil- ! so:.; HcmI:': and Welfare: Adam M >. es, J. i\ Stovall and C';u l Bu chanan; ('.;mnui!!.!y Bet:? moni:! C. M. Crawl', i (I, chairman, W:ilter Hartm.tnn, J<><- Dcitz anil Roy Rte !; Educat: ?n: C. E. TV.ir, Jr., | J. I). Moore an 1 R >y Reed; lUc.e- I ation Activities Grayson Cope, 1 chairman, Juhnny Watsoij, E. Wr.' Allison and George Lee. Sylva Musician Is One Of Five From WNC To Make New Recordings Wallace Swann of Sylva is one of the five musicians from Western Nortyi Carolina to make five re cordings in the studio of radio sta tion WWNC and have them re cently released by the Westerner Recording Co. of North Hollywood, > Calif. Other musicians included in the group are the Carolina Moun tain boys, Joe and Edgar Press ley, and James Haney of Canton; j and "Smiling" Red Raper, of \Iur- j phy, the "hillbilly" troubadour whose songs have made him pop ular in Western North Carolina. These artists have appeared in the annual folk festival held each year in Asheville. | The records were made at the | request of the Westerner Record ing Co. and include "Little Indian I Maiden," "Letter from Mom," Wa ibash Cannon Ball," "John Henry," and "Johnson's Ole, Gray Mule." i These records are now on sale at Sossamon's Furniture Co.. 1-Sgt. Thad B. Deitz Is Transferred l-Sgt. Thad B. Deitz, son of Rev. and Mrs. Thad F. Deitz and hus band of Mrs. Viola Thorpe Deitz, j ha^ been transferred from Fort Barrancas, Fla., to Fort Bliss, Tex as, where he will attend an anti aircraft school. When he finishes I his training he will report to At- [ lanta. Mrs. Deitz will be with her! mother, Mrs. Lela Thorpe, during that time. Rites Held For Mrs. Franks Mrs. Emma Sorrells Franks, 60, of Gay, who passed away Sunday afternoon, was buried on Monday afternoon at Savannah Cemetery. PARADE TODAY WILL Highlight fourth ..Plans lor a fire deprrtment sponsoi Fuuit{,>1 July celebra tion lor tnis week are complete as a parade ot iloats is scheduled to take place this morning at 11 o'clock. Tne parade Will begin from the ' school grounds, proceed down Main street and return to its point of origin. A number of iloats have been sponsored by several local merchants to take part in the pro cession. The Carolina Amusement Com- 1 pany will bo on the midway dur- j ms the remainder of the week. .Free acts, lirework^u- greased pig and greased pole-climbing con- j tests have been announced by the j fire department and are scheduled ! for immediately after the parade > today at Mark Watson stadium. ! . American Legion To j Sponsor Dances At Community House Beginning July 9 tne Willi;,m K. Dilkird post of the American Lo- j ?**4-1?sponmr a?rinnrc 0:11 h \seek on Tuesday at the Commu- ? with Wallace Swan and his musi- j nity Houi>e with Wallace Swann ' and his musicians furnishing the i music. All proceeds derived from these j dances will go to the building fund i ot the American Legion for the j proposed memorial building. Rosary College Catholic I Group Completes Talks The Catholic Evidence Guild <i jift n>u in T;.'? nual sireet-teacning tour in Sylva '/.st Saturday aiternoon. T-iiej underyri'liKite g*l stu d?'nN accompaniM ;,>y tw , nom l?l,r ?1 !!'in l.iculty members de les e; eh summer if'. Sy,\ i, H ysDM Ci!y, Franklin, a:vi Ah U-w, ;or tin; p:irp TT"t l ? ii'.L:ie nt'ne ..l u>?n-C'ith 1 l;i pablie a - t ) the *' ; e, aims i M (i , i i1 f) t y ,, | ; i ? C. ? t.!' ? i. r C i 1 ? 11' I' 1 Tile group will be in Bry.-.-n City through this week, then oMinue to Franklin and Andrews. 1 iie group is the fPA that p..r*.s 1 emain frozen '<> their prices of 1041 and eai !y liMU A dealer ir. -p. re parts said th.-t pr^es will remain t;i^ same as under the OPA as far as he is concerned, but n wholesale buti.-t will naturally meat; higher retail prices. An Automobile dealer asserted that the pi ices of new cars will certainly take a swing upward, but when supply catches up with de mand, there should be lower prices. "It will knock out the auto mobile black market," the dealer said, and will settle discrepancies between auto prices. For example, under the OPA a used 1942 model sold for nine dollars more than a new 1946 model, he informed. An investigation into the rent ing of rooms revealed that few if ?Continued on page 4 Sylvans Keep Cool As U. S. Forces Juggle Hot Potato Although the Navy and Army of the United States were preparing to carry out a test of the atom bomb on^i fleet of ships late Sun day afternoon, about 9 a. m. Mon day, Bikini time, Sylva people re mained relative calm and took what may be a historic event, without much ado. The streets, drug stores, and cafes were filled with people, and the curbs lined with automobiles. Some had their radios going in an effort to hear the blast, and the radio commen tators as they described what was taking place. It was July 1st across the inter national date line where a fleet of 73 vessels lay in the water off Bikini. Some 34,000 people, scien tists and military were nearby as Operation. Crossroads reached its climax after months of prepara tion. Devices had been installed to test the effects of this new, dreaded explosive on ships, army and navy material, and a selec tion of live animals' tethered aboard the combat and transport ships. Clouds of smoke billowed up to 34,000 feet height in the flash that followed the explosion. When it settled down preliminary exami nations of the damage to the tar get showed two transport ships >unk, a destroyer capsized, and a large number of other vessels damaged, with no visible destruc tion to the heavy capital ships. Some of the animals remained alive in the center of the target. The Navy considered the bomb drop succe%ful. Eligible Farmers Desiring Pea Seed Are Urged To Report To Office Of AAA D. C. Higdon, chairman of the Jackson county AAA committee announces that the association has received a shipment of Austrian winter pea seed and that farmers wishing to seed peas for a winter cover crop should come by the AAA office and see if their farm is eligible to receive these seeds on their 1946 allowance. Mr. Higdon urges all farmers seeding Austrian winter peas to inoculate the seed to secure a good stand. This inoculation can be bought cheaply at almost any seed store. The peas come in 100-pound bags, and anyone wishing to have a bag broken will be required to furnish his own bag.