' I Elkin 'I
"The Best Little Jown
in North Carolina"
VOL. No. XXIX. No. 40
FLOOD DAMAGE HERE ESTIMATED AT HALF MILUON
N. Wilkesboro Hard
Hit As Yadkin Rises
To New Levels There
BLAZES BREAK
OUT; DESTROY
v LARGE PLANTS
Property Damage Estimated
at Two Million
500 ARE SAID HOMELESS
Landslides Block Highways
Over All of the Moun
tain Area
j
DEATHS ARE REPORTED
According to reports reaching
here. North Wilkesboro seems to
have been harder hit by the ram
paging Yadkin than any other
town in the river valley. The
floods, which rose to record
heights, swept over the lower sec
tion of the town and damaged 14
industrial plants. Two large
plants, the Home Chair company
and International Shoe company's
tannery, were destroyed by fire
which broke out as a result of the
flood. Property damage in the
town was estimated at $2,000,000,
and Mayor R. T. McNeill of
North Wilkesboro, estimated that
for Wilkes county alone the
property damage would reach
$10,000,000. He said that 500
were homeless and that 2,500 were
out of employment. The city
called on the American Red Cross
and aid was scheduled to have
reached them from that source
late Wednesday. In the mean
time those who were destitute
were cared for by residents of
the community who suffered less
serious hardships. The town, iso
lated by lack of telephone and
telepraph communications, was
also without water and light.
There were no reported deaths
from the town, but three people
were unaccounted for, according
to Mr. McNeill.
Other stories of the devastat
ing effects of the flood waters
from other sections of the north
western part of the state tell of
harrowing experiences and es
capes.
Landslides blocked highways
over all of the mountain area.
Pour people were reported crush
ed to death in two landslides near
Boone. Several others were in
jured.
The raging torrents in some
places picked up houses and toss
ed them around like match boxes,
according to witnesses. Hunderds
of bridges were swept away.
An estimated 15 or 20 persons
were, drgwned in Elizabethtown
in Watauga county, a community
of 200 or 300 people.
Linville, summer resort, report
ed considerable damage, but no
casualties. Montreat and Ridge
crest, church assembly grounds,
(Continued on Page Six)
Get Vaccinated,
Conserve Water
Is Advice Here
The Slurry county none will
be in Elkln Friday from 10:00
a.m. to 5:00 pjn. to adminis
ter vaccines to all who desire
it, it was announced Thurs
day. The local health office is
located upstairs at the City
Hall.
There is no need to boil wa
ter for drinking purposes, It
was announced, the county
health officer having inspected
the local filtering plant and
found it to be okey in every
' way.
It was urged that Elkln resi
i dents use no more water tban
absolutely necessary due to the
fact that many pipes are open,
, caused by the wrecking of
: (buildings, and a water short
| age is fescsd.
THE ELKIN TRIBUNE
Mayor Issues
Warning Against
Looting Here
Mayor J. R. Poindexter is
sued a warning Wednesday af
ternoon concerning looting fol
lowing the record-breaking
flood.
Mayor Poindexter stated
that every person caught car
rying off anything of any na
ture that did not belong to
him would be arrested and
prosecuted to the full extent of
the law. Police were instruct
ed to keep a close 'lookout for
vandals.
Due to the extremely heavy
damage wrought by the flood,
merchandise, equipment of
various sorts, building mate
rial, etc., have been moved
from flooded buildings into the
open. Some reports of loot
ing late Wednesday afternoon
led to the Mayor's warning.
SEES FIANCEE
LOSE HER LIFE
Yadkin River Claims Pretty
Bride-to-Be of Harnett
County Man
COUPLE WAS ELOPING
(Picture on Page Seven)
Yadkinville, Aug. 15 —(Special)
| —A harrowing tale of how he
watched his fiancee being torn
from his grasp and engulfed in
the swollen backwaters of the
Yadkin river was told here early
yesterday morning by Wade Gil
bert, 24-year-old man of Angier,
Harnett county, after he was res
cued from the Buck Creek bridge
this side of North Wilkesboro.
The victim was pretty blond
haired Opaline Smith, 18, also of
Angier, who was on the way to
Blowing Rock with Gilbert to
spend their vacation. They were
to have been married shortly.
Gilbert said.
Gilbert, brought to Yadkinville
by Solicitor Avalon E. Hall early
this morning and given treatment
at the Yadkin Clinic, told in a
stUl shaky voice how the tragedy
happened.
"We approached the creek
bridge from the east side heading
into North Wilkesboro, about 2
o'clock this morning," he said,
"when I noticed a small amount
of the flbod waters on the bridge.
As I started across I could feel
the impact of the water hitting
the floor boards and the motor of
the car.
"The car drowned out as a re
sult. I finally managed to get
the car started again in a few
minutes, and backed two or three
(Continued on Page Six)
JONESVILLE
WATER FAILS
Electric Service Is Restored
Thursday to Yadkin
Town
HOUSE WENT UPSTREAM
Jonesville, after being without
water and electricity Wednesday
and Wednesday night, saw electric
service restored Thursday morn
ing, but had no water Thursday]
afternoon, it was reported.
A house on the Jonesville side
of the river, owned by Luna Shores
and located near the end of the
old bridge, was picked up by the
water, but instead of being taken
down stream, was backed up
stream about 200 feet and de
posited on a new site.
Due to its location, Jonesville
escaped the full fury of the flood.
Yadkinville and Boonville were
still without electricity at last re
ports.
n EY^/lDf) rT f\rin Top photo shows the record flood of • Wednesday at its
AZLLt/AL/ I LAJ\JLf peak shortly before noon Wednesday as the angry Yadkin
did an estimated half-million in damage to Elkin alone. This photo, made from the top
of the Sydnor-Spainhour building, looks southeast. At left may be seen the top of the
Carolina Ice & Fuel Co. At extreme right is the Elkin Bottling Company building. Bot
tom photo shows wreckage of buildings, gas storage tanks and other debris which was
banked against the Hugh Chatham bridge. Elkin is in the background. This photo was
made before the flood reached its peak.—(Tribune Photos.) (Other flood pictures on
pages 4, 9 and 12.)
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Elkin People Take
Disaster In Stride
As Flood Rolls On
The flood that couldn't happen
again—the much talked about
flood of 1916—played a repeat
performance in Elkin Wednesday,
only more so.
But despite the fact that the
muddy, swiftly rising waters of
the Yadkin were busy wreaking
an estimated half million dollars'
worth of damage in EUkin alone,
Elkin's citizens, many of them
suffering direct loss, couldn't be
gotten down.
One man was overheard com
plaining in mock seriousness that
he had two handkerchiefs in the
laundry, while a couple of other
people spent part of their time
standing MI Bridge street at
tempting to hitch hike to Jones
ville over a thoroughfare that,
was many feet under water.
But Elkin is like that. The
choicest crop of original jokes
ever to be raised here grew out
of the failure of the Elkin Na
tional Bank. And Wednesday's]
flood, as great a disaster in losses
as the bank's failure, failed to
bring a depression in spirits, al
though everyone realized Its
seriousness. Folks Just seemed to
take the attitude that there was
nothing that could be done about
it, so why run around with a long
face?
One story that was making the
rounds concerned a negro man
who was aiding in removing
property from one of the doom-
ELKIN, N. C„ THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 1940
Ed buildings down in the bottom. I
Due to the rapidly rising water
he took off his trousers and shirt
—all he had on—and laid them
on dry ground. Then he entered
the building and started work.
The water rose rapidly. So
rapidly, in fact, that spectators
had to throw rocks against the
building to warn those inside to
get out.
The colored man came to the
door. All around him swirled
muddy water. Somewhere be
tween him and Burch Station
were his shirt and pants!
L. O. Meed, of the Carolina
Ice & Fuel Co., did what he
could at the ice plant. Then, as
the water rose higher and high
er, he left the scene and spent
part of the morning sitting in his
automobile, parked in front of
The Tribune office. He didn't
seem particularly worried, but he
asked members of The Tribune
staff several times if the ice plant
was still there? And if he could
have delivered all the orders for
ice he received while sitting there,
his plant would probably have
had to run overtime.
Down on West Main street at
the creek bridge motorists insist
ed on'attempting to drive across
the bridge, although the street
and bridge were flooded. As fast
as the cars would hit the water
(Continued on Page Six)
JUDGMENT IN
CASEFRAMED
Conditionally Grants Joint
Petition in Dam Case to
Modify Order
WAY IS STILL BARRED
Judge Allen Gwyn Tuesday
night at Winston-Salem framed
a judgment in the Yadkin coun
ty-City of High Point dam case
which conditionally granted the
joint petition of the city and
county for a modification of a
restraining order to the extent
that they could enter into a
transaction for lands.
Judge Qwyn said his judgment,
when it has been signed by the
parties, will in efect "turn green
one of the two red lights" facing
High Point in its procedure with
construction of a hydroelectric
dam. But, he pointed out, High
Point must turn green the other
light before it can proceed.
Second "red light'' facing High
Point is a restraining order ob
tained by J. W. McQuinn, a High
Point taxpayer, Duke Power
Company, and others on which a
petition for modification will be
heard in Guilford superior court.
This restraining order was grant
ed on the theory that High
Point's acquiescence to federal
power commission license and
jurisdiction in its original plans
for the hydro-electric project was
illegal inasmuch as the Yadkin
(Continued on Page $Ux)
Water Goes 18 Inches
Higher Than In 1916;
Storage Tank Burns
WHITE SWAN LAUNDRY GOES OUT
Water Rises So Rapidly That Many Are
Caught Napping; Yellow Flood Enters
Many Basements of Main Street
Buildings; CCC Boys Prove
Big Aid in Removing
Property
RIVER IS NOW BACK IN ITS BANKS
Topping the 1916 flood by nearly two feet, an angry Yad
kin river Wednesday sent a swirling torrent of yellow water
roaring through Elkin to do damage estimated at half a mil
lion dollars. i
Numerous families were made homeless by the flood,
while filling stations, oil storage tanks and several large
buildings were swept away. The South Bridge street ap
proach to the old bridge across the Yadkin went out as the
flood reached its crest.
Early Wednesday morning the flood waters were begin
ning to flow across South Bridge street at its lowest point
in front of the large, modern*
building housing the White Swan
laundry. A few hours later the
laundry building had been swept
away, as had the R. L. Church
filling station, Coke Marion's
Esso Service, a cafe and num
erous other buildings nearby.
So swiftly did the water rise
that those affected in the lower
side of town had to work fast to
save anything. The Elkin Motor
Car Company, local Ford dealers,
managed to clear their building
of new cars and cars in their re
pair department. Their used car
lot was inundated so quickly that
few cars could be gotten out.
Families living in the upper
story of the building housing the
Elkin Bottling Company were
evacuated as the water steadily
rose to new levels.
As the yellow, flood waters
crept relentlessly upward, mer
chants on Main street worked
frantically to clear their base
ments. All along the street clerks
and volunteers, including boys
from the Elkin CCC camp, work
ed like beavers to move stocks to
upper floors. But even then
much damage was done as the
Yadkin moved in.
In the J. C. Penney Co. base
ment, and in other basements on
either side the water stood sev
eral feet in depth. The Smithey
store, on lower East Main street,
saw their basement flooded al
most to the street floor, and wa
ter ran in the front door on the
east side of the building. Con
tents of the basement, which
consisted of general merchandise,
sugar, fat meats, feed and other
stocks, were a total loss.
On the west side of the square
along West Main street, num
erous stores reported flood dam
age to their basements. The water
entered the basement store of
Sydnor-Spainhour, flooding it to
a depth of over a foot. Due to a
slightly higher elevation the Sur
ry Hardware Company escaped
flooding of their basement, but
water was in the basements of
Eagle Furniture Company and
Hayes & Speas to a depth of
several feet.
The swiftly moving flood wa
ters made a shambles of the Elkin
Lumber and Manufacturing Com
pany, washing away huge stacks
of lumber, and carrying build
ings down stream. One ware
house, filled with lumber, was
lodged against supports of the
new bridge.
Surry Hardware also suffered
tremendous loss of lumber and
building material. Their ware
houses, located to the rear of
the store, lacked only a few feet
of being completely inundated.
Things were happening fast as
, the angry river gained momen
' turn. A large gasoline storage
, tanir of the Texas Oil Company,
; located next to the White Swan
, Laundry, tilted slowly over and
' went out about the middle of the
( morning. It was carried to the
I mint-ham ball park where it
1 lodged against the grand stand,
i a few minutes later it blew up
i when it was said to have come in
L contact with live electric wires,
sending a huge column of blank
smoke high into the heavens. The
Elkin
Gateway to Roaring Gap
and the Blue Ridge
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
spreading gasoline flamed upon
the crest of the water, igniting
the grandstand. Firemen answer
ed the alarm but were unable to
do anything due to the surround
ing water.
In the meantime other gas
storage tanks located In the river
bottom pulled anchor and start
ed moving down stream. They .
didn't go far, however, before
lodging in a mass of wreckage
and debris against support of the
new bridge. Gasoline leaking
from them spread a highly in
flammable skim upon the water
and police and highway patrolmen
worked for a half hour clearing
the new bridge of spectators. A
carelessly flipped cigarette could
have wreaked untold damage had
it fallen near the tanks.
Yeoman service was rendered
reuHn merchants and the Chat
ham Manufacturing Company by
CCC boys. Working like Trojans,
they assisted in removing mer
chandise from the basements of
F. A. Brendle & Son, Cash &
Carry, and wool from the Chat
ham storage warehouse. A car
load of sugar, on a siding at the
rear of Cash & Carry, was emp
tied of is contents in 15 minutes
by boys of the CCC. No praise
could be too high for them, was
word from everywhere.
The Chatham Manufacturing
(Continued on Page Six)
I Flood and Things
: Cause Tribune
To Be Day Late
The Tribune is exactly one
day late this week, having been
delayed by conditions caused
by the flood, including lack of
L power and delay necessitated
in getting plates made of the
pictures of the flood which this
issue contains.
The Tribune cameraman
spent practically all of Wed
nesday photographing the
flood from every vantage point,
wading almost waist deep in
the water and climbing over
buildings to get the best possi
ble shots for Tribune readers.
Once these pictures were de
veloped, power failed and It
was late in the afternoon be
fore the pictures could be -
printed. However, once this
was done, another staff mem
ber started to Winston-Salem
wi th them to have printing ,
piates made. Leaving Elkin at
8:00 p. m., he reached Win
ston-Salem at 12:30 a. m„ af
-3 ter having to detour around by
Lexington when he found the
Yadkin river bridge, east of
Yadkinville, closed,
i Upon reaching Winston-Sa
-1 lem it was necessary to get the
engraving shop staff oat of
: bed. He arrived back in Elkfci,
t via Lexintton, Thursday morn
ing.
> In addition to the flood pte
-1 tuns on the front page, other
; Ptotares win be fotsad on pages
: is. •,
J