WATAUGA DEMOCRAT An Independent Weekly Newspaper ? Established in the Year 1888. VOU LVn, NO. 24 BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1945 Two Sections 12 PAGES $1.50 A YEAR? 5c A COPY ARTHUR E. HAMBY SUCCUMBS AFTER A SHORT ILLNESS Prominent Citizen Died Tues day Morning; Had Been 111 ? Since Saturday; Rites Thurs day Afternoon; Leader in Growth of City Arthur Edward Hamby, 56 years old, a prominent figure in the busi ness life of the city for 25 years, died at his home in Boone Tuesday morning after a brief illness. Mr. Hamby had been confined to his home for three days with what was described as a chest cold. The im mediate cause of his demise, how ever, was said to have been a heart attack. Funeral services are to be con ducted from the First Baptist Church this (Thursday) afternoon at 2 o'clock by Rev. J. C. Canipe, the pastor, and the body will lie in state in the church auditorium from one o'clock until the time for the rites. Interment will be in the cemetery. Mr. Hamby was reared in Watau Si county, a son of the late P. L. amby and Mrs. Hamby, and for the past 25 years had been an im portant figure in the growth and de velopment of the town of Boone. In partnership with W. R. Winkler, Mr. Hamby was one of the found ers of the Pastime Theatre here, which grew into the present Appa- j lachian Theatre, and was half half I owner in the enterprise until a short I while ago. He personally managed | the local playhouse for a number of years, and was extremely popular with the general public. He had other business interests here, which included the half ownership of the vommunity. Personable, generous house. He was a public-spirited citizen and his industry contributed greatly to the development of the city. Mr. Hamby was a member of the Baptist Church and evidenced keen interest in the religious life of the community. Personable,, generous and kind, he was held in the high est regard throughout this section, where he was widely known. Mr. Hamby is survived by the widow, the former Miss Mildred Critcher; one son, A. E. Hamby, | Jr., and two daughters, Mrs. Edith Hamby Mast, of Boone, and Miss Martha Hamby, a student at W.C. U.N.C., Greensboro. One brother, Don Hamby, of Newport News, Va.; and five sisters survive: Mrs. C. W. Woodward, Clearwater, Fla.; Mrs. i C. B. Craig, Cincinnati, Ohio; Mrs. j Neil Clawson, Lenpir; Mrs. Jake Watson Blowing Rock, and Mrs. Martha Blair, Cincinnati. OFFICER WARNS AGAINST FORGERS Blowing Rock Policeman S a y ? Check Thieve* and Forgers Prevalent During Holidays Chief of Police D. W. Wooten of Blowing Rock, co-operating in the U. S. secret service crime preven tion program, tc^day warned mer- 1 chants and their customers to be on guard against check thieves and forgers. During the pre-holiday season the chief said these criminals take advantage of crowded streets and overworked clerks to "reap a harvest" by stealing and forging large numbers of checks. Here are some safeguards suggest ed by Chief Wooten: . Persons who expect checks by mail should make arrangements for someone to be at home to receive them when they arrive and see that they are kept in a safe place until cashed. Merchants should instruct their employees to use greater care in accepting commercial and gov ernment checks, especially from strangers. They should be cau tioned to require positive identifica tion and make a note on the check the type of identification presented. The check should always be endors ed in the presence of the person cashing it and the endorsement should be carefully compared with the signatures on identification of fered. The employ e?P cashing the check / should initial it in order to fix the responsibility and to Liter help him remember the transaction should the check turn out to be a forgery. Every person cashing a check should always ask himself the question, "If this check is returned as a forgery, will I be able to locate the forger and recover my money?" j Said Chief Wooten: "Neither cus- I tomers nor merchants can afford to suffer the loss of a forged check when simple precautions could have prevented it. Treat your check as though it were cash. If you receive a check, protect it from thieve*. If you are a merchant, be sure you know your endorsers." i WATCH the LABEL on you* ptp?v ma II ahow? ihe dmtm your mh?rHpt1on will ?vffr* tn tablished in the opening days of the , sales. v | On Wednesday morning the floors are full of tobacco, and no less than 100 trucks are waiting to be unload ed just as soon as the initial baskets ,are sold, and the weed begin.! to move from the floor. Recent severe winter weather which last week all but stopped traffic for a time, resulted in heavy receipts here over the week-end and as the trucks filed into town, one way traffic had to exist for a period in the business district. Farmers from a Wide area in three states are coming to Boone with I their tobacco and th^tt is every evi dence of the grow in!* popularity of the local market. Observation is that the loads of tobacco are much larger this year than last, most of the loads being on standard trucks, rather than pickups and autos. Roscoe Coleman, popular ware houseman, asks that tarmers con tinue to bring their crops here for the best prices and the most cour teous, considerate attention to be found in the area. GARBEE DISTRICT SCOUT CHAIRMAN Boon* Man Nuntd HmkI of Park way District at Annual Meeting Tuesday E. E. Garbee of Boone, was named chairman of the Parkway District, , Old Hickory Council, Boy Scouts, | at the anr.ual district meeting held | in Boone Tuesday evening, while I Lee Stout, also of Boone, was re I elected district vice-chairman. Dr. j R. C. Busteed of Boone, was named ! commissioner. Prof. A. R. Smith presided at the meeting, which in spite 01 the bad weather, was attended by about 35 local citizens in addition to Scouts from Troop 41. Eagle Scout Callo way spoke on "Why I Like Scout ing," and Grady Moretz took occa sion to thank Mayor and Mrs. Winkler for the new district camp site. Mr. Franklin, discharged veteran, spoke briefly on the valeu of Scout ing to men in service. The following awards have been presented during the year: Second class 3, first class 1, star 1, life 1, bronze palm 1, merit badges 41. Twenty tons of waste paper has been collected by the Scouts of the county and 28 boys have received" the Eisenhower award for collect ing as much as 1,000 pounds. Brief talks were made by Clyde R. Greene, Hal Quincey and Gene Garbee, while the chairman receiv ed reports from all operating com mittee chairmen. Christmas Program And Open House at Elementary School The children of the Boone demon stration school will give a program of Christmas music Sunday, Dec. 16, at 2:45 in the Boone Baptist Church. Parents and friends of the school are cordially invited to come and hear the children render the story of Christmas in carols. The program will be directed by Mr. O. M. Hartsell, of the music de partment, who was recently dis charged from the army. He will be assisted by Mrs. Ennis Davis, teach er of the second grade. Immediately following the church program, the public is invited to the elementary school. Under the spon sorship of the teachers and grade mothers of the P.-T A., all rooms will be open for a short period of visita tion. It is hoped that the parents and friends of the children will make a special effort to come. Citizens Areo Asked To Feed Birds During Storm Mr*. W. M. Burwell, on behalf of the Boone Bird Club, expresses the hope that the people of the commu nity and countv will think of th* birds during tne snowy weather, when food is unavailable, and place bread scraps and other food wham the song birds may eat it Mrs. Burwell also respectfully re quests that the boys refrain tram shooting or otherwise destroying the birds.