r ?
BOONE
SKETCHES
By J. C. R.
??????????i
\N OPINION IIKVERSED
On occasion this column has voiceil
disapproval of the Federal Emergency
Relief Administration ... of the
mariner in which millions and millions
of good American dollars are
cast out, even as pearls among swine,
to an unworthy, unwashed, and oftentimes
upappreclativc population
but those remarks were made
wlien winds were mellow, and the
rays of Sol tempered the daylight
hours--when a single blanket brought
comfort at night . . when the har-!
vest was in its midst and food plen- j
liful. I
? ? ? I j
Bui mercury has skidded down
the thermometer's tube to the !
rero regions . . . the western blast '
carries a bitter sting . . . .Mother '
Earth is cloaked in white . . . moun- '
l..;? nr.. 1,1/u.br.l ...ill. .1-:...
. . Ring Winter has clutched (he '
northwest highland* In an Icy Krip. 1
and opinions formed and expressed ?
in the pleasant atmosphere of rar]}
fall arc publicly reversed as the '
imagination conjures desolate pic- Jlures
of poverty and suffering in '
hack-wash cabins . . . pictures of
undernourished kids and piucltfaced
mothers hovering around the *
embers of a dying fire ... of bare '
feet and tattered backs ... of bel- 5
lies that "cry aloud" for bacon and *
beans ... of shuck beds with flimsy
coverings ... of the misery that 1
walks hand in hand with the storm! I
* * * *
There are hundreds and hundreds 4
of good-for-nothing husbands and fa- ^
there, whose indigence anct general jf
cussedness deprive iots and lots of |1
families of daily bread and bare necessities
of life. They, along with J
their alleged dependents, have become?t
a galling bunion on the benevolent I
shoulders of our Uncle .Samuel! Ad- n
witting that the overwhelming ma-1 j
jority of the aforementioned parasites [ v
is worth not one damn . . . stoutly!
advocating the chop-block for more'n j,
half of them . . . and heartily con- j c
denuling the hoggish tactics of those \
whose existence comes from the toil j t
of industrious countrymen ... all ofj,:
these things are a pleasurable privilege
. . yet a foolish sentiment |we'll
call it that, anyway) overwhelms us .
when the blizzard strikes . . and we j ^
we thank Clr??] that tlm RiV n?*c? i'm I
Washington has a deep-seated fondness
for "human values" . . . that
there IS an Emergency Relief Ad- y
ministration . . . that millions and '
millions of dollars ARE being spent '
in a conscientious (perhaps wasteful) 1
effort to alleviate suffering . . . that
there's salt pork, and blankets, and
overalls, and fiour, ami food orders 1
being scattered here in Watauga . . . 1
for it's awfully cold weather! I1
* * * *
WOI LDST THOr ADMINISTER? j"
Mrs. Thomas O'Berry, czarina of | the
North Carolina Relief Admin- j
ritratiou, was somewhat flabbcrgas- t
ted ... at least it sounded that j v
way . . . Wednesday afternoon,when
the Sketch Man long-distanced her 1
office for information regarding the x
appointment of an overlord in the
five-county unit which includes Watauga.
Missus O'Berry can talk jx
. . . just like a machine-gun can
shoot . . . but at listening to a hill- j
billy journalist, she's not what a | *
feller would call a finished hand!
"Has a relief administrator been c
appointed for Watauga, Ashe, Al- 2
leghany, etc.?'* we anxiously in- :
quired . . . and hack over Mr. Bell's *
singing wires came a brisk reply: 3
"We're employing only trained
social workers?those who have i
a technical knowledge of the prob- n
lenis at hand!" In a voice none (
too steady, we sought to assure j,
the good lady that our ambitions (
ran not toward the exalted office
of a food-hander-outer . . . that we y
merely craved a bit of news for
The Watauga Democrat. "Oh, you
are with the newspaper?I see?but
we're seeking outside administrators
. . . persons trained in relief
work!" . . . and the O'Berry vocal
organisms were just a wee bit
strained, so to speak. "We'd like
to know, for the benefit of our
readers, whether or not an administrator
for this section has been
named?" . . . we tried again. "No,
not yet," came the reply, "but only ;;
trained persons . . ." Just at this
point we gave up the ghost, and 1
uttered a feeble "Goodbye!"
9 9 ? *
If there resides amongst these blue
mrumfnlnn o V. I onnial
wu>uiiiaui?t a tiigiii^-uawivu oui-iai
worker . . . one who has an unlimited
knowledge of those peculiar technicalities
which surround the dispensation
of cotton blankets, rancid beef,
doubtful eggs, and denim overalls . . .
we'd suggest that he or she test the
thoroughness of that education by
asking Mrs. Thomas O'Berrv a simple,
every-day question on the telephone!
FIFTH SUNDAY MEETINGS
Mr. S. C. Eggers, promotional committee
chairman of Three Forks Baptist
Association, announces that a
number of Fifth Sunday meetings arc
being contemplated for December 30.
Churches desiring a special program
for that date should get in touch with
him at once.
WA1
An Ii
VOLUME XI .VI, NUMBER 24
CHRISTMAS TRADE]
HEAVIEST IN YEARS'
SURVEY REVEALS
Chicigo; San Francisco and Kafisas
City Report Tremendous Increase in
Holiday Buying. St. Louis Reports
December Business Thirty Per Cent
Over 1933. Shop Keepers of Nation
Carry Optimistic Smiles.
Chicago - The swiftest flow of
Christmas spending in year.* is swirling
in on the nation's merchants. j
A survey Sunday showed Christ-1
mas trade in many cities was at the |
nghest pitch since 1929 or 1930, and j
I'ligcu Ort nlgn us oe A-3 per cent i
ibove last year.
Department stores and mail order j
louses bristled witli bullish enthusiism.
ami predicted even sharper gains
is the holiday approaches.
In Chicago, in San Francisco, and
n Kansas City, the question "how
;ood is Christmas business?" brought
he unanimous answer:
"Best in years!"
And with the burst of trade came
ncrensed employment, all along the
ine, with 500 department and gift
itore employees added recently in
<ansas City.
Washington, with its influx of New
Deal workers, made claim to leading
he nation in improvement in Christnas
sales over lust year, with a genual
25 per cent gain over the same
.veok a year ago. The number of gov -1
irntuent workers there have increased j
rom 64.000 to 92.000 in a year.
Good In Texas
In Dallas. Clifton r?inz, president of i
lie Retail Merchants Association
here, said increased sales "thus far
ire substantially belter than the same
:eriod in 193:1. and have virtually
Sped out tall: of hard times."
In St. Louis, where business is 25
er cent ahead of last year, me.rluints
reported that a striking fcaure
of the season is the appeal bet-1
er quality goods has made to the j
ustomer.
San Francisco, where the gain has
I ready been from 10 to 20 per cent.,
[>oked for a "buying* boom' before
Christmas which would shatter recrds
of several years.
Salt bake City department store
managers reported Christmas busiicss
was 25 to 40 per cent better than
ast year and that buying began ten
lays sooner than in 1934.
Stores Crowded
Estimates of the gain this year over j
933 in Minneapolis ranged from 101
o 25 per cent vith all executives rcorting
stores crowded with shoppers.
The same story was told by Indianpolis
store managers with a report
bat "luxury lines and toys are sellng
more readily" than last year.
Many stores in Portland, Maine,,1
cere caught short of help in the un-!
xuected increase in Christmas busi
less, with estimates of the first
reek's buying set as high as 30 per
:ert more than last year. There, too,
tore operators reported the demand
vas for better grade goods than last
ear.
Frank I. Mat field, president of the
tcrugg3-Vandervoort-B.arncy Co. in
5t. Louis, said Christmas sales (be
ipenirig week were about 2o per cent
ibove last year's and that the "most
loticeable tendency is tiiat people are
:uying better merchandise than last
ear."
Leon Mandel, of Mandel Brothers
n Chicago, said "we are very much
incourageJ by improvement in the
Christmas business so far this year.
Vpparently we vill have the best
thristmas business since 1930.
\1RS7 BLACKBURN
DIES AT AGE OF 78
Great Aunt of Sheriff Howell arid
Sister-In-Law to Bate Manley 15.
Blackburn Buried at Todd Saturday.
Five Children Survive.
Mrs. Rhoda Blackburn, age <8
years, prominent resident of the
Todd community, died at the home
of a son. Air. isci ni;u:Kjiuj jr, vvIUII
whom she had been living, on last
Thursday.
Funeral services were conducted
from the home by the Reverends C.
F. Wright. F. L. Smith and H. L.
Winkler on Saturday and interment
was in a neighIrorhood cemetery.
Surviving are five children: W. E.
Blackburn, Morganton: Marvin
Blackburn, Elizabethton, Tenn.; E. D.
Blackburn, Todd; Mesdames Sally
Ray, Oxford, Pa., and Cieo Hopkins,
Elizabethton, Tenn.
Mrs. Blackburn was the former
Miss Rhoda Howell and was a great
aunt of Sheriff A. V. Howell of Watauga
County. She was married tc
Mr. Alex Blackburn, eldest brother
of the late lamented Manlcy Black
burn of Boone, and had been wid
owed for about six years. She war
prominent in her home community
J where she wa3 surrounded by a hosl
of friends.
ldependent Weekly Newi
BOONE, WATAUGA CC
I Princess Conies Home
WKKSp :HW
1 .ffijy ^ '-rm^'New
York.?Princess Alexis Mdivani.
former Barbara Huttcii of the
American Woolworth millions, is at
home for a visit. She denies that
there has been a rift between the
prim e and herself.
NIGHT FIRE RAZES
SPR0LES Df ELIM
Heavy Losses incurred as Blaze Dc
stroys Boone Home of Mrs. Elizabeth
Sprole.-.. Home I 11 occupied.
Origin rs nt Vet Determined,
The ten-room frame dwelling o
.v,8. Kiizahoth sprolcs is in ashes a
the result of an early morning blaz
Monday. ih? origin ot which h;ts no
been determined Tlio siren was souti
de<i at 2 o'clock a. m., but ticrure th
volunteer department had reached Ui
promises, the flame had made sue
headway that there was no chance o
saving the dwelling. A nearby build
ing, also the property of Mrs. Sprolei
was saved by steady streams of wa
tor.
Loss of Three to Five Thousand
The house was unoccupied at th
time of ihc conflagration, was a com
paratively now building and excel
lently constructed. The loss has bee
estimated at from three to five thou
sand dollars, little or none of whic
is covered by insurance.
There had been 110 recent fires i
the building and it is thought the
the blaze might have been the resui
of depredations committed by nigh
j prowlers.
I Avery Balsams to Be
Used at WKite Hmist
Santa Cinus will come to the Whit
I House this year under two tret
I transplanted from Avery County, a<
J cording t > a story in last week's Ai
cry Herald, which continues:
"Arrangements were complete
| this week to take two symmetric;
[balsam firs from Avery County I
| the White House lawn where the
Swill serve as Christmas trees durir
Ute Tuletide holidays.
"E. C. Robbins, nationally know
uurser yman, has received the contrai
for the two trees which were to 1
taken to Washington late last wee
by L. C. Clark of Newlancl.
"One of the trees is to be take
from the picturesque home of Mr. ar
Mrs. A. W. Ray of Newland, and tl
other is corning from the attract!'
lawn of Charlea Baird, county atto
r.e.v,
"The entire section for hundreds i
miles around had been combed f<
the past several months for tre
which would suit the purpose (tl
best Christmas trees in the country
and ute honor fell to Avery County
j "Clark and a crew of workers we
starting to remove the 25-foot tre
wit'i enough sod so that tliey cou
be transplanted to the White Hou;
lawn ana live, il was estimated tn;
each tree would weigh at least thr<
tons."
Wataugans Will Attend
Baptist S. S. Conferenc
Mr. S. C. Eggers, local transport
tion organizer for the Baptist Sund;
School Conference, which is to be he
in Raleigh January 1-4, is anxio
'hat Watauga County make an e
cellent showing at the meeting.
Mr. Eggers states that North Ca
olina churchmen believe that this w
be the greatest Sunday School co
' vocation held in the world in 1035, a
if attendance exceeds that of the fo
previous conferences, it will be t
1 largest Sunday School gathering ev
' to have been held in the world.
An attendance of 5.000 outside
Raleigh is expected by officials, a
' Mr. Eggers urges a fuli delegati
. from Watauga. Those who intend |
t ing from Watauga are asked to co
municate with Mr. Eggers.
A DE
Bpaper?Established in the
IUNTT, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSD.
j MITCHELL SOLON TO]
SPONSOR BILL FOR
GAS EXECUTIONS
Capital Punishment Under Discussion
In Capital City Following Triple
Orgy of Death In Electric Chair.
Opponents to Death Penalty Take
/iuvuiiiu^ 01 .'V^luii ion. i oner
News from the State Capital.
By M. H DUNNAG A N
(Special Correspondent)
Raleigh, N. C.?Capital punishment
in all of its gruesomcncss has been
under discussion extensively in recent
days and is expected to reach to the
1935 General Assembly in some fashion.
following electrocution of three j
white men at State's prison last week
and soon after electrocution of three
negroes.
Also, Dr. C. A. Peterson, Spruce
Pine, Mitchell County legislator, has
said he will introduce a bill to provide
for lethal gas chamber executions,
in place of the present electric
chair. A few states have the gas
chamber. Some still have hanging on
the gallows, while the majority have
the electric chair.
Bascom C. Green, 44, his son, Lester.
22, and his son-in-law, Robert E.
Black, 26, paid the death penalty
last Friday for murder of T. C.
Barnes, cashier of a Taylorsvilie bank,
about a year ago. when the three
men and Mike Stefanoff, foreign
born, held up the bank. Stefanoff had
3 previously been electrocuted. A few
J weeks before three negroes were electrocuted
for murder,
i firings Up Age-Old Question
These electrocutions and Dr. Peterson
s proposal will bring up the whole
matter of capital punishment, with
i uie uKeiy suggestion tnat it oe aooi-1
f ished. People generally, except those i
who come in contact with one of the
_ first degree capital crimes?murder,
arson, rape and burglary?apparenty
Lhii.lv the death penalty should be
abolished. When they or members of
their family become victims, they be^
come ardent advocates of capital pun?
ishment, usually.
People who oppose capital punishment
often, dub it legalized murder
anil say it should not be permitted.
Tliey forget the crime often, as well
as the aim of the law to prevent a
person given to murder, or the other
crimes^ from again preying upon socfety.
/hit the abolitionists can stir
up lots of sentiment.
' FUNERAL HELI) FOR
j LANTA ADA HODGES
It
Former Watauga Girl Thought to
Have Been Victim of Foul Play. Fh- ;
neral at Smitliport Monday. Body !
Found Near Baltimore. Aid. i
0 ?
Funeral services were conducted at j
Sniithport Baptist Church in Ashe j
>s County Monday for Lanta Ada Hodg- j
es, former resident of Watauga coun-'
. ty, whose lifeless body was found ]
near Baltimore, Md., the week previous.
An uncle, Rev. E. C. Hodges,
l of Boone, conducted the services and
was assisted by Reverend B'ackt0
burn. Interment was in that coih'-v
munity.
| Surviving is the father, Mr. R. L.
i Hodges, well known in Watauga,
! where he was reared, six brothers and
-tjsix sisters: Gurne.v Hodges, of West
ie Jefferson; Robert Hodges and Oti3
k Hodges, North Fork, Va.; Charlie W.Hodges,
Raven's Ford. N. C.; How-h
ard W. Hodges, Franklin, N. C.; John
id Hodges, Rugby, Va.; Mrs Lester Cox,
ie Shulls Mills, N. C.; Mrs. W. G. Dil 'e
linger. Ivenith Square, Pa.: Mrs. E.
r- R. Taylor, West Jefferson; Hazel, Adeline
and Mildred Hodges, of Rugby,
of Va.
or According to such meager informs
mation as The Democrat could seie
cure, the body had apparently been
). dropped from a car near Baltimore,
and the official verdict was that she
re had met a death of violence. No pares
ticulars, however, are available as to
Id how she was supposed to have been
se slain.
at Miss Hods-es was an admirable
-C young lady and a member of the
Smithport Baptist Church. She had,
it is understood, been employed in
Baltimore.
e Dough ton Works to Aid
a- Local Potato Growers
iy
id Attorney Wade E. Brown, chairman
us of the Watauga County Agricultural
x- Committee, is in receipt of a letter
from Congressman Robert L,. Doughir
ton in which it is stated that he is
ill exerting every effort in trying to find
n- out what can be done in Washingnd
ton for the relief of mountain potato
ur growers.
he Mr. Daughton says he has had the
cr matter up for several days with the
Relief Administration and the Deof
partment of Agriculture, and that he
nd will communicate further with the
on committee shortly.
;o- Through Mr. Doughton the org&ni
m- zation is endeavoring to stabilize the
potato market.
' - - ?
* ' - , , .
MOCI
Year Eighteen Eighty-Eigh
?lY, DECEMBER 13, 1934
For Social Justice B
Detroit, Mich.?The Rev. Charles P?
E. Coughlin, Radio Priest, has
launched a new party. its name is tl \
American Union for Social Justice, wi
He has issued invitations for mem- lis
bers and outlined a plan for chap- or
ters in every county, city, town and in
state. The enrollment Is without fee n
and supported only by voluntary
contributions.
DEATH COMES TlTlS
MRS. J. P. BOOGHER!::
fo
Aged Resident of Blowing Rock Sue- (jj1
cumbs to Attack of Pneumonia. >
Body Taken to St. Bonis for Interment.
Six Children Survive. ~a
ha
Mrs. John P. Boogher, 85, for the ^
past, twenty-six years an esteemed
summer resident of Blowing Rock,
died at her home there Tuesday after ?
an illness of four weeks. Direct cause v'
i IU
v/i t?vi ucmiou ?ao given ao {jiicuun;- 1
nia.
The body is being token to St. J''
Louise, Mo., for interment, and i3 be- u
ing accompanied by two daughters, '
Misses Ethel and Eiise Boogher of
Blowing Rock and St. Louis. Four 5
other children are listed among the
survivors: J. Silver Boogher, Kansas 17
City, Mo.; Ernest H. Boogher, Seat- A
tie. Wash.; Mrs. A. W. Stone, Tampa,
Fla.; John P. Boogher, St. Petersburg,
Ela.
Mrs. Boogher, who was born in
Baldwin County, Alabama, in 1849,
was well known to many Watauga c
County people, particularly in the region
about Blowing Rock, where the
deceased lady spent the most of a
quarter of a century of her life. She
and her daughters. Misses Ethel and 011
Elise Boogher, have for years oper- h!
atcd one of the most popular hostel- J"?
ries on the mountain top. and she en-1'''
joyed a well deserved popularity with c'
the traveling public as well as the tl
natives of this section. Her kindly ft;
and charitable disposition, together
with other characteristics possessed j"
wu.v uy v--iii wuiii?.?iivyu, uauscu ?
'.:<? to be held in general esteem. rc
tr
Watauga Experiences v<
First Heavy Snowfall *
| Preceded by an eight-inch anow->
fall, Watauga County experienced thai"
coldest weather of the season Tliurs-j*
day night when mercuiy in the vicin-1
ity oi' Bonne dropped close to tlie'rj
zero mark, readings of from 3 to 6
above having been reported. High ?
winds accompanied the frigid wave
and whipped the heavy snowfall intoj
drifts in every sheltered nook and
cranny. Highway maintenance forces
were kept busy Monday night and p
Tuesday keeping the lanes of trans- j.
portation open and traffic has pro- ,
ceeded without interruption. j
The snow began to fall Sunday C
night, continued through Monday and o
scarcely abated during the day Tucs- c
day, although greatly lowered temperatures
prevailed. Wednesday mor- .
ning the sun broke out and by noon (
rapidly rising temperatures were be- c
ginning to melt the snow on the sun- jj
ny side of buildings. ?
Last Returns From
Red Cross Roll Call
The Red Cross Roll Call drive,
which closed Thanksgiving Day, has
keen described as an unusally successful
one, more than two hundred
members having been secured. This
represents an increase of more than
100 per cent over last year.
Chairman J. D. Rankin gives the
following list of members turned in
from Blowing Rock: Dr. C. H. Berryman,
Glenn Coffey, Mrs. H. C.
Hayes, Mrs J. H. Winkler, Martha
' Teideman, Dr. Mary Warfield, Mrs.
Dloyd Robbins, Mrs. David Milton,
Mrs. Norma Gragg, Dave P. Mast,
1 Mrs. Gene Story, W. W. Williams,
Paul Bingham, Russell Henson, W. D.
Farthing, Winfred Winkler, Smith
? Hamlet, Mrs. W. L. Holshouser; Mrs.
Dean Bingham. Boone.
Mrs. David Milton, In addition to
; her regular dollar membership, made
a donation of $19.00. i
I AT
$1.50 PER Yl^AK
?
OONE SHOPS ARE
GLOW AS HOLIDAY
EASON ADVANCES
'rehunts Have Vied With One Another
in Making City an Ideal
Christmas Shopping Center. Aggressive
Publicity Program, Coupled
With Financial Improvement, Bodes
Greatly Increased Trade.
Windows resplendent with dccora?ns
svnonomous with the holidays;
ight light, evergreens and artificial
ow providing a background for the
jplny of every sort of gift St. Nieh13
could crave with which to fill
i bag, the shops of Boone are all
t for what their proprietors believe
iy be the largest Christmas trade
joyed in this city since the depres>n
placed a finger in the retail jackt.
Merchants have outdone themselves
is year in providing Christmas
ires, and whether an individual gift
it requires an automobile, a radio
a five-cent doll, or most anything
between, it can be adequately filled
the old home town.
Advertising Lineage Increases
Further than that, the business men
e telling folks about their merchanse
this year with increased adveraing
lineage and direct mail pieces,
supreme effort being made to connce
the most skeptical that Boone
the logical shopping center not only
r Watauga County but for people
adjacent sections of the bordering
unties.
The Democrat loday carries mesgeS
from a large number of the
siness houses of the town, designed
pecially to facilitate the work of
iristmas shopping, and a large nunir
of other business houses will come
rward next week with offerings
liclv by their nature- are most
ofitably publicized later.
It is hoped that the mountain peo
e will take advantage of the oppornities
being offered them by the
ogi-csaivc merchants of Hoor.c, do
eir shopping early and economical,
and by all means trade at home.
IRE FIGHTERS
TO REVAMP TOYS
lildrcn of Town Who Have Discardd
Toys Asked to Donate Them to
Needy Ones. Kanquet for Department
Next Tuesday.
Children of the community and the
itlying communities as well who
lvc toys which have passed their
iy of usefulness or which have been
scaided, are asked by Pat McGuire,
lief of the local tire department, to
nder them to the destitute, children
ir Christmas. Mr. McGuire asks
lat the toys be brought to the city
ill or to him personally as early as
possible in order that tlicy may bo
^paired in ample time to make glad
le hearts of other children on Christlas
morning. Those finding it incontinent
to go to the city hah may
smmuhicage direct with Mr. Mcu
ire.
At the same time it is announced
lat local firemen will be hosts to the
lowing Rock Fire Department at a
ancmet at the Danie) Boone Hotel on
ext Tuesday evening.
loone Youths Arrested
By Federal Officers
North Wilkesboro. -Bill and Cecil
lumgamer, giving their residence as
ioor.e. were arrested and placed in
ail here Thursday night by Federal
tcvenue Agents Leonard Roupe, J.
Fortner and L. T. Jones on charges
?f transporting liquor on which Fedral
taxes had not been paid.
The young men were carrying six
gallons of liquor in their car when
hey were apprehended by the oPfi:ers.
Their car was confiscated. Preiminary
hearing was held before U.
1. Commissioner J. W. Dula and bond
vas fixed at $500 each.
I BUSINESS f
| HOUSES ... i
who for one reason or an- 5S
other do not carry Christmas rRj
messages in The Democrat ij?j
this week, are reminded that jjg
the next issue goes to press #3
g? as usual the afternoon ahead
W of tlie date line?December rfe
Jij 19th?and will reach practl- J?>
Ijfe cally all county readers on ?*?
the 20th. thus allowing three |
gw more shopping days after the rtS
jut offerings are before the peoSji
The publishers are anxious
to go as far as is possible in ffift
preparing ads and relieving jfik
S3 the shop-keepers of this ex- sg
Kj tra burden when desired. ri;