Newspapers / The Waynesville Mountaineer (Waynesville, … / Dec. 17, 1956, edition 1 / Page 10
Part of The Waynesville Mountaineer (Waynesville, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
TODAY'S BIBLE YERSB # TODAY'S QUOTATION iiSKSSH Editorial Page of the Mountaineer ? ttsrzSL? all his rood promise. Which ho promised by in these limJU?Palev. the hand W Mmm his servant.?I Kinfs ?:W. United Fund Goes Over Top The success of the United Fund, in passing the quota hy $650 is indeed gratifying. Tin result was made possible by many, many hours of hard work, carefully planned by a large group of people, who contacted an equally generous group. This is 'the second year of the United Fund here,-and for the second time the quota has been reached. Canton also went over the top in their quota by an approximate similar amount, as the organization here. The results speak well for both areas, and puts Haywood in that group of areas of the two Carolinas which "went over the top." How About Something For The Birds? With all the scientific research about us, we wish someone would hurry up with a formula which would keep starlings in their places. We might as well add noisy spar rows, too, as we go along. We note the city officials of Henderson ville are having more than their share of trout lis with the birds in the Main Street trees, and as yet, all effort to curb the birds' activities have been for naught. For many years the larger cities have been plagued with pigeons, and without any apparent success. Kverytime the subject is mentioned, some one comes up with the age-old suggestion of shooting the noisy chirpers, but that is not the ideal solution. It is not a matter ef er radicating the birds, it is just a question of keeping them in their places. Spelling Again Are our young people learning to spell as wet' as their parents? That is a question that can be debated at the drop of the hat, with people ready to ? take both s?des. After reading of the recent spelling match held at Bethel, we are beginning to wonder if there are not some of the young people who can out-spell even the best of the old timers, but needless to say, those good spell ers are the exception rather than the rule. Right along the same line of thought, the Raleigh News ant) Observer in a recent edi torial. had the following to say which is in teresting. A man energetically engaged in selling a new spelling book savs that studies a few years ago showed that stalling was the only subiect in which today's students were not doing better than their parents had done. Of course, he suggests that now all that will be changed by his new speller. For a long time now there has been a lot of talk about the young folks not being able to spell. And, according to such talk, in the old days people really could spell, and per fectly. Maybe that was so in the spelling matches in which apparently the old folks spent much time when thev were voune. But anybody, who has spent anv time in archives whore old letters and similar writings are collected to help historians, must come to the conclusion that letters in the good old days were never written bv the peoole who so greatly excelled in spelling matches. It may be that much needs to be done to improve the spelling of the young people to day. Perhaps this publisher has exactly the book to do ttie job. But the written evidence that come* down to us indicates not only that many of the folks in the good old days couldn't spell, also some charity is required to describe their scrawling as writing. Shooting Fireworks Still Violation Of Law Some yean ago, the General Assembly of North Carolina saw fit to pass a !*w prohib iting the sale Of shooting of fimcraakers in the state. Prior to thO" state law, there was such a law covering Haywood county. The Haywood law was prompted by an explosion, and death of one or two in Aahe ville one Christmas, followed by some Ray wood children being burned with firecrack ers. The law has not been repealed. However, like so many laws, it has fre quently been violated. At the holiday season the violations have become more frequent, and firecrackers have already been explod ing in many sections of the county. The episode down in Fines Creek Wednes day night, which was a narrow escape for five teen-agers, as a shotgun was fired into their truck, after a farmer had become an noyed by too many firecrackers being shot in front of his house. The investigating of ficers say they are positive none of the five teen-agers in the truck had any firecrack ers. Two other boys, pedestrians, confessed to shooting the fireworks, and also claimed, along with others, that some firecrackers were tossed from a car traveling up and down the highway. It is indeed fortunate that no one was ? " seriously injured in the incident. And it can be described as a "close call" for the young men who were just riding by enroute home, as the officers explained. From what we can learn from officers, a campaign will be waged to "crack down" on those who violate the fireworks law. The officers* are sworn to uphold the en forcement of the law, and the law says no fireworks shall be shot. So the pattern for the future is very clear. A Living Thing We hear much of rnrial discords and In justices. We should hear more of the op liortunities this country offers to neople of divers colors, creeds, and nationalities. The other day a Hindu, horn in India, was elected to Congress. One mav annrove or dis annrove of his particular partisan allegiance and his views on government. But what the Chinese World, published "in San Francisco, said of this occurrence is of much greater importance: "In the United States anv loyal citizen who devotes himself to public ser vice has an eoual chance with other Ameri cans to attain public office." It added that the new Congressman is making a trip to India ". . . to inform the people of Asia that in America democracy is a livinor. active thing. and not iust a theoretical device to serve propaganda purposes." PniH For At Last The Rrooklvn bridire is reported to have been sold manv times by sharpers to the un warv. Possibly the citv would have been srlad to have conveyed title to any of them, for onlv now. after 70 years, the citv has the bridge paid for. Incidentally, the city paid ? wire in interest the original price of the bridsre. Maybe ths experience is worth something to communities and individuals. Obligations are easily incurred these days, ami some times we fail to take the interest into ac count.?The Register-News, Madrid, Iowa. It is easv to tell a well informed man when you hear him talk ? his views are the same as yours. VIFWS OF OTHFR FOTTOHS Here's A Way To Help You Stop Smoking Everytlme we sit down and light a cigarette these days. either for pleasure or from habit, we think about all the dire threats and wonder if we should really step smoking. After all. no less an authority than Mark Twain said it was very easy to stop smoking*?he had done it hundreds of times. It only takes will power, but ours seems to last half a day or one day. or at most three days. Then It seems so much easier and more pleasant to smoke than not to smoke Of eourse. there are supposed to be various aids. Some men reach for a sweet instead of a smoke, but they pet fat. Some eat life savers or lollipops, but that always seemed rather childish Then there are those people who hide their cigarettes in unlikely places, but they spend half their spare time searching for the hidden treasure. A novel method of making oneself stop smok ing comes to lieht in the recent biography of the late Walter White of the NAACP. written by his wife. Poppy Cannon. Mr. White had tried many times to give up smoking but without success. A friend of his said: "Walter whenever you light a cigarette you-ought to say: 'Heine's to you. Jimmy Byrnes. Here's to you. Strom Thurmond. Here's to you. Senator Eastland'." The device worked and the man who was so largely responsible for bringing about the Supreme Court decision to end segregation quickly ended his smok ing. We like the idea?but with Hitler and Musso lini and Stalin all dead and Senator McCarthy de scended into obscurity, we are still wondering what names can work up a strong enough antipathy in our minds to make us give up cigarettes. At the present moment we are aerioutly considering Bulganin and Khrushchev for the Russian atrocities in Hungary, with a possibility of Ben-Curion of Israel for setting off the latest war spark in the Middle East ?Orwnftwro "DalTy rows * i a THE MOUNTAINEER Waynesville, North Carolina Main Street Dial GL 6-5301 Tb? County Seat of Haywood County Published By The WAYNESVILLE MOUNTAINEER, Inc. W. CtTRTIS RUSS Editor W. Ctrl is Ruat and Marlon T. Bridges. Publishers PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY AND THURSDAY BY MAIL IN HAYWOOD COUNTY One Ytne ? ... $3 50 Si* months ... 2 00 BY MAIL IN NORTH CAROLINA One Year 4 50 Six months 2 50 OUTSIDE NORTH CAROLINA One Year 8 00 Six months 3.00 LOCAL CARRIER DELIVERY Per month .40 Office Paid for carrier delivery 4.80 Seestid Class mat) prlvtHsas authorized at Waynaa vtDa, *. C MSMBSR or TB* ASSOOTATTT) PH*M The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use or re-trihHrafion of all the local news printed In this OawShaoer. St well as stl AP nee* dlsnstchee _MbBfley AfDHRoUB. Bee. 17, 1W6 i ' .r * SHOOTING FOR ALTITUDE' - , , ... ,i. ij,J ,.>Lu. - rt aa? A ^ ml A! Ni 1 ( |T, THIS OUt J K T WlU SO UP, / pj My Favorite Stories bj carl goerch E. W. Snipes of Edenton sent us this experience in the form of a letter, which we reproduce here with: Back in the early days of tele graphy, a telegraph office was established in the old Cobb Guirkin Rank Building .in Eliza beth City, which was subsequent ly used as a law office by Federal Judge I. M. Meek ins. A young man named John D. Sykes served as operator and bank messenger Mr. Svkes made a hobby of plating old copper pennies and other things. He had a plating machine and could make a copper penny look like real gold. "Aunt Mary" Thorineton lived at the home of Mr. Sykes. She had a regular mania for gold nunting and one of the theories In which she absolutely believed vas that if a person dreamed three nights in succession that gold was buried in a certain place, it was bound to be true. She did quiet a lot of digging, but without sucess. Despite this fact, she continued in her belief and would not be shaken from it. Mr Sykes decided that he v-ould break Aunt Mary of this troublesome and unprofitable liobbv. He took himself out to the Baptist Church burial ground and. with the aid of a spade, took up the crass in squares, prepared a small tunnel and proceeded to bury a Virginia Cheroot box full of coins. By means of a piece of riiooer unu .siriiiK. a iw'iwh secreted in the distant bushes could pull the string and cause the box to disappear within Vie tunnel. By releasing the string, the box would reappear. (This was made' possible by the use of the rubber in connection with the string.) Having made all of these prep arations, Mr Sykes went home that evening and informed Aunt Mary that he had dreamed three nights running of gold being buried in a certain spot in the Baptist graveyard. He told her that he was going to dig for it that very night, and she im mediately begged him to let her go along Mi-. Sykes. with pre tended reluctance, finally gave his permission. At about eleven o'clock that night, Mr Sykes and Aunt Mary set out. They had with them a soade. a lantern and the Holy Bible Mr. Sykes' brother-in-law. Victor Jenkins, had been told to be on the scene so he could operate the string. He had con cealed himself in the bushes by the time the treasure-hunters ar rived. Judge J. Bushrod Leieb, a most venerable and lovable Chris tian gentleman, weighing about 280 pounds, was also in on the plot, and I'll tell you about him in just a moment. Mr. Sykes proceeded to dig for the treasure It did not require long to locate it. and. upon be holding the glittering contents. Aunt Mary dropped to her knees and made a grab for it The box slipped out of her grasp and disappeared into the tunnel. Motioning Mr. Sykes to remain silent, she began reading from the Bible, and as she read, the treasure box slowly reappeared. Now we come to Judge Leigh. He had been persuaded to act the part of the "ghost" He had wrapped himself within a sheet and made a fairly presentable ghost, though a rather large one. He also carried some trace chains in his hands. Rising slowly from behind a nearby tombstone, the Judge called out: "Whooooo's after my money! Whooooooooo's after my money!" at the same time rattling the chains in a manner calculated to make one's hair stand on end. Mr. Sykes let out a pretended yell of horror. Aunt Mary took one look at the approaching ghost and dropped her Bible. Gather ing up her dress and petticoat with both hands, she was really streamlined for action. She cleared the churchyard fence fully twenty feet ahead of Mr. Sykes, who ran only a short distance and then, seeing that Aunt Mary wasn't paying any attention to him, proceeded to collapse with laughter. The old woman, despite her 60 years, never stopped until she was safely at home. Mr. Sykes bought her a bolt of pretty dress goods the next day as a peace offering but, after she learned the truth about the affair, it was a long time before he got into her good graces again. But. just a minute: that isn't all of the story. Remember that we left Judge Leigh back there in the graveyard, wrapped up in his sheet and rattling the chains. A white calf had strayed into the churchyard during the day and had gone to sleep behind the church The rattling of the chains and loud yelling woke up the calf V and it decided to see what in the world was taking place. It stole up behind Judge Leigh and then, evidently taking him for a friend, let out a low and friendly "Mooo cooooooooo!" The Judge spun around. The night was very dark but he could see this white apparition a few feet away. He didn't bother to take a second look. He put all of his 280 pounds into swift motion. With a yell he leaped over the prostrate Mr. Sykes and headed for the fence; the same fence that Aunt Mary had cleared a moment before with such agility. Fear gave hipi wings? but not quite enougn wings. He hit the top of the fence and stuck there, his trousers impaled on one of the spikes. Mr. Sykes says that never before" in his life had he heard sueh yelling. He rushed forward, liberated the Judge and then helped him home. And that was the end of the treasure hunt. It was really a double-barreled affair and became one of the most popular tales around town for a long time.' BANG-VP SPEECH A noted politican was taken aback when he received the fol lowing invitation from a citizen of his district; "We should like very much to have you make the principal address at our local Fourth of July celebration. The program will include a talk by the mavor. a recitation of Lin coln's Gettysburg Address by the president of our hieh school's senior class, your speech, and then the flae squad." The invitation was declined with thanks.?Catholic Digest Rambling 'Round By France* Gilbert Frailer There was no doubt about it, Santa Claus was getting pretty tired; "plumb wore doyn" was the way he expressed It. And he sighed wearily when he realized that there were still seven more working days before he could return to the North Pole, house the rein deer, take off his boots, and call It a 'season. He had reached the stage where the selection of gifts had become a chore instead of a pleasure. (How well we gift-givers know!) He looked over his list and gave an explosive "phew!" when he saw how many names were not yet checked off as being accounted for. Over and over he ran through his itemized record of gifts on hand and then shook his head in despair. Mrs. Santa Claus, noticing her husband's worried expression, asked: "What's the matter, honey?" Santa sent a loving glpnce in his wife's direction as he replied: "I'm in a pickle of a mess. I have hundreds of ladies yet to supply and I've run out of ideas. Have you any suggestions?" Mrs. Santa studied the query with furrowed brow then she looked up at her husband and smiled broadly. "Have you your list of what they gave each other last year?" Santa nodded his head vigor ously. "Then," Mrs. Santa continued, "reverse the list and let them get back their gifts of last Christmas." Santa hugged his wife in great relief and murmured softly: "And it will serve 'em right.^ Those halos you see floating around are on the heads of the small fry for the next week. ? To our way of thinking, the promotion idea of extending 100 vacation trips to our up-north and out-west neighbors is one of the best advertising projects that has been brought before the traveling public. The report on last year'f experiment was warmly endorsed by George Vogel. an executive of ETHOS, a public relations agency in New York. And Mr. Vogel certainly is in a position to appreci ate the value of good advertising. When one is planning a vacation, he is usually confronted with so many attractive folders, brochures and inviting pictures that he is confused and a bit awed by the alluring prospects laid before him. But with the Western North Carolina vacation itinerary all mapped out with individual destination and personal attention, the vacation idea assumes far greater attractiveness. The vacationer may have started out with the notion that he would like some fishing in Wis consin or tall mountain climbing in Maine. Lo and behold! he is handed an opportunity to indulge and enjoy both in the mountains of Western North Carolina. . What could be finer than a vacation in North Carolina? Faith is a lever that will lift the heaviest burden. Looking Back Over The Years 20 YEARS AGO J. J. Ferguson is named assist ant tax collector, succeeding Andy Grady Noland, who resigned. Fifty Haywood boys and girls are employed bv the county unit of the National Youth Adminis tration. according to Mrs. James R. Boyd. Jr., supervisor Miss Mary Anne Turner is chosen chief marshall for the fall commencement to be held at Brevard College. 10 YEARS AGO R. C. Francis is elected chair man of the 1947 AAA group Mary Mock is married to Albert Frank Hunt, II. Miss Robina Miller goes to Griffin. Ga. to spend Christmas with her sister. Mrs. George A. Niles. Mrs, Andrew Moore gives scholarships of $200 to Crossnore School in memory of her son. Dwight Beaty, student at West ern Carolina College, arrives to spend holidays. 5 YEARS AGO Haywood voters favor school bond program 2562 to 1609. W. A. Bradley is elected chair man of the hospital board. Cpl. Roger C. Woodard leaves Santa Anna. Calif, for Korea. Bernard Ferguson is district winner of the Tobacco Crops Project Contest. Florence Ann Bowles celebrates her birthd.iv with a party in the American Legion Tilall. Jolly St. Nick And Flying Reindeer Werq| Unknown LntilFamous Poem Written In 1823 By SYD KRONISH AP Nwwfeaturfs A flowing white beard, twinkling eyes, cherry red nose and a round belly like a bowlful of jelly. This right jolly old elf. of course, is our beloved Santa Claus. Almost any kid today could tell you that. But, a little over a century ago. children went to bed on Christmas Eve without visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads or thoughts of eight tiny reindeer pulling a miniature sleigh full of toys. The reason? Nobody could agree as to exactly what St. Nick looked like. That is, until Dr. Clement Clarke Moore, a profesr sor at Columbia University in New York, wrote his now famous poem that starts: "Twas the Night Before Christmas . . " Up to that time St. Nicholas was anything a parent might wish to impose on his child?a figure tall or short.* fat or thin, happy or stern. But Dr. Moore changed all that with his portrait in words en titled "A Viait From Saint Nicholas". Written for Own Children He wrote it on Christmas' Eve. 1822, for his own children. And it might have sunk Into obscurity had not Harriet Butler heard it read at the Moore home. She whs the daughter of the rector of St. Paul's Church In Troy, N Y She asked permission to read It to the children of her father's parish. She also sent the poem, minus the author's name, to the editor of the Troy. N. Y . Sentinel. It appeared there for the first time on Deo. 23, 1823. The editor. Orville Hollcy, wrote: "We do not know to whom we are indebted for the following description of that unwearied patron of children, that homely but delightful personification of parental kindness?Santa Claus, his costume and his equipage, as he goes about visiting the firesides'of his happy land, laden with Christmas bounties, but from whomsoever it may have come, we give thanks for it." Pictures Came Later It didn't appear with the author's name attached until iqj!7 when it came out in a book entitled "The New York Book of Poetry". In 1830 the Sentinel employed a wood engraver named Myron King to draw the first picture of Santa to go with their annual poem. Cartoonist Thomas Nast's version of the red garbed, pipe smoking Santa first appeared in 1869. From this beginning the Santa Claus we know today has spread all over the world. The poem has been translated into dozens of languages?creating everywhere the same picture of joy and gen erosity. the same feeling of unbounded goodfallowship represented in Its final words: "Happy Christmas to all. and to all a good night." 1
The Waynesville Mountaineer (Waynesville, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 17, 1956, edition 1
10
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75