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 <<f j
Rosary College, River Forest, 111., j
< omplc. it'fi a \v ot.iv i>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
l<ve, ad(lies>es 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 f<jui rh that has
been invited to speak .n this area
during the summers by Father
Ambrose Ruhr backer of Wayne
ville.
The students who presented the
talks are Vary Virginia Doyle of
Rockford, 111., Marjorie Malay of
Gas City, Ind., and Georgeanne
Dunne of Oak Park, 111.
The faculty members on the
current trip are Sister Hilaire and
Sister Marie Williams.
Will Mean Climb In
Costs To Consumer
In Asheville the mayor urged
landlords not to raise rents. In
Washington Chester Bowles fore
cast that the cost of living will
double within twenty days if the
prices of commodities continued
their present rise. In Chicago cat
tle prices had leaped 25 per cent
above the OPA ceiling.
A survey in Sylva showed that
almost all of a group of merchants
and other business men inter
viewed did not expect to increase
prices unless wholesale prices rose
or overhead took a climb.
One grocery buyer stated that -.
he would purchase "just enough
ttr get~by on" il" prices did rise,
and he said that he believed that
there "will be rises in the prices
of scarce items, anyway." *
The manager of a general mer
chandise store voiced the belief
that the public is not enough aware
of the significance of the govern
ment's removal of subsidies, which
will be instrumental in forcing
prices up, but he asserted that he
didn't think they would stay up
for ! /:g. "They will level off
quicker th in if wo had?retained
OPA," was his idea.
Another manager of a gener*.
merchandise store said that prices
will doubtless go up in some lines,
but that scarce items will become
mure plentiful. Rayon, for exam
ple, will increase in price, but
when the production of this staple
is increased, prices will come
down, opined the manager.
Restaurant owners anticipate no
increases at present, but an in
crease in the wholesale prices of
foods will naturally mean an in
C'Oase in 1.1*? prices of meals.
.?? . o! puce vor.ti yls
should incr?ase the production of
auto spate parts appreciably.
The.-e commodities have been ex
tremely scarce due to the. insist
ence Oi the <>PA 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.