TAUGA DEMOCRAT
EVERY THURSDAY BY RIVEi-3 PRINTING COMPANY
R C. RIVERS, iK. PUBLISHER
An Iafeyendont WmU/ n emtfftM
a lad puMMso* lor 40 /mt> kjr dw lata Robert C. Riven, Sr.
''<|S5 ?
I K SUBSCRIPTION RATES
raar. ?3<0; Ma moot*. *1.80; lour Monti*. $140; Outaid#
c metOu, SI. 75; four moo tin, $1.2*
> ngf . -jcft ?
I? la requeuing ehanfa of iMriu, it U important to inmttoe
Holiday Hazards Of Th6 Home
In hundreds of North Carolina homes
this December the holiday spirit will be
dampened to a large measure by the oc
currence of home accidents and injuries.
According to information made avail
able by the State Board of Health the
number of home accidents increase i dur
ing December, along with those on the
farm, on the highways and in Industrial
activities.
During some holidays, it is pointed out,
the major hazards seem to be bn the high
ways or in recreational areas. Christmas,
however, is unique in that it is baaicallv
a festival which is observed in the home.
During the month of December 1954 a
total of 120 North Carolinians lost their
lives in home accidenta. Almost 40 per
cent of these deaths occurred right at the
height of the Christmas season. During
the month home accident injuries were
estimated at over 18,000.
It is estimated that 480 North Caro
linians faced 1953 permanently disabled as
a result of home accident* which occurred
in December, a greater number than were
^permanently disabled from polio In the
State during the entire year of 1954.
Fire, strangulation and falls accounted
for the major part of the Christmas deaths
last year, in the order listed. Firearms,
poisoning, burns also accounted for some
of the 120 deaths listed as preventible.
Home's the best place to be, especially
during the gay Yuletide, but it isn't neces
sarily the safest place. Householders
would do well to take every precaution
against those accidents which would mar
the joyous Christmas season. It is espec
ially important that the bright Christmas
trees (without which the holidays would
be pretty drab), be made safe as possible,
and it's a good idea to keep the tree aliva
by placing the butt in moist earth or
water. Otherwise it can easily provide
the fuel for a flash fire which might
prove disastrous.
The Scott Suggestion
Senator Kerr Scott, practical dirt farm
er, and friend of the folks, is a man of
action, and believes in trying to do some
thing about the present slide in farm pros
perity. -?
The man from Haw River proposes a
?tiding scale of price supports, the smaller
operator getting one hundred per cent of
parity, with lesser amounts going to the
large producers.
The Hickory Daily Record offers these
apt comments on the Scott proposal:
"Whether such a plan could be drafted
and made to work is the sixty-four thou
sand dollar question, but it is more or less
in line with a suggestion made not too
long ago by Hie Record. At that time, we
commented that acreage controls and price
supports which meet the needs of the
?mall farmer would enrich the big-scale
operator; and that price scales fixed to the
minimum needs of the large farmers
would not afford enough protection to save
the individual, small-scale operator.
"Senator Scott says that he has borrow
ed the principle of the graduated income
tax lawt, as the framework of his plan,
and in view of its having withstood court
tests, a farm price support measure em
bodying this same principle might also be
upheld. .
"The real crux of the matter, as we sec
it, is whether the small family farm unit
is to survive, or whether we can afford
to sacrifice it to obtain cheaper food which
the large-scale producer cata offer. We will
concede that the big producer, following
the pattern set by industry, can produce
food cheaper, but we think it would be a
national tragedy to abandon the small,
family-sized unit. We also know, from past
experience in the industrial world, that
big industry is just as hungry for hand
outs and protection, in the form of subsi
dies and tariffs, as the small producer
and many times more powerful in in
fluencing Congress to obtain them. The
reliance on the big producer might not
in the end reduce the cost for the nation.
"For these reasons we are inclined to
look with friendly eyes on Senator Scott's
proposal. We would like to explore the
idea further and hear it argued by sympa
thetic leaders In the farm field. And until
the present administration comes up with
its promised plan to aid the small family
unit farmer, the Scott suggestion appears
to us to be promising."
Thought On Mountain Dialect
By H. CLAY FEREE in Winaton-Salem Journal
The old Tar Heel mountain dialect la hoeing
a hard row nowadaya. The consolidated school,
radio and television are making heavy impact
?gainst the patoia of the hills. One still can hear
?ome folks in the hills say "ain't" for "isn't"
or "arent" (the virtue of "ain't" is that it can
be used for either). "Thar" for "there," "saft" for
"?oft," "ourn" for "ours" and "gwine" for "going."
But the younger, better schooled generations are
(radually coming to talk more and more like
the children of New York, Detroit, San Francisco
and Boston. And even where the dialect lingers
It is being alloyed with the argot or Jargon of
Megalopolis.
Lena Marie Shull, of Asheville, chairman of the
Poetry Council of North Carolina, is keenly inter
ested in preserving not only the dialect but tfco
Character patterns, life philosophy, religious fer
vor and way of life of Southern mountain people.
In her latest book of poems: Fire on the Moun
tain (Banner Press, Emory University) she ure
ses t* a unique collection of dialect verse which
deals with their customs, superstition and faith,
ia it she presents sharp, clear vignettes of moun
tain life and human character, such as:
.Yuh eat poke?
Greens is made by the Good Lord! ? /
Reckon notfcin is better.
Cooked along a ham bone. . . .
.... Groans now.
That's sumpthin'!
Pull up s cheer,
Take a load often yer feet;
if Boat yer hat ? mite; /
You're goon* hove yuh a square meal
What puts manor in yer bona*;
You ool poke? y M \
Mrs. Shull fhowi (kill in writing dialect verse
in rhyme but she uses this technique rarely,
feeling that auch treatment alwayi diitorti and
tenda to soften the rugged directneu of the
mountain people** conversation. Her collection
contain* more than SO monologues touching prac
tically every phaae of life among the families
who still live in the isolated valleys and coves of
the Blue Ridge, the Great Smokies and the Oxark
mountains.
In them one encounters many phrases familiar
to those who know the Southern mountains, such
as "right smart piece"; "light and come In";
"Jowl for luck, pea* for thrift"; "aaanfras root
thin** your blood"; "Pretty panel ?' yarba";'
"money doan' grow on tree* in her patch";
"itchy foot"; "clean ?? I whistle"; "all nrale up
like a hop-toad"; "loofcy thar"; "little bitty";
"way fur back"; "proper weddin"; "no fundcr. "
The homey little poem* are njlit* with moun
, tain word* like "heerd," "*eed," "quair," "plumb,"
"youngun*," "git," "hit" (for "it") and many
other "Chaucerian" term*. Most of the word*
and phraae* in these poetic sketches appear to
be properly used, although some do not apply
to North Carolina hill country word usage. For
example no Tar Heel mountaineer ever refers
to a stream at a "crick." He speaks of a "creek"
with the acceat on the long "a." Bat these are
minor points. Mrs. Shall has perforated on the
whole ? distinctive cultural service in caUfcing
and preserving in her fanes the peculiar idiom
of the highland people. And aba doe* a good
deal more; in her cketche* the also portrays with
clear, sympathetic insight the qaalttiaa of char
acter which gives to the livee of many of our
southern mountaineers an uplifting and Inspiring
RIGHT ON THE B1
By
ARGENTINA'S
RETURN OF
"LA PRENSA"
TO OWNERS
:"WB
Stretch's Sketches
By " STRETCH " ROLLINS
6AFE DRIVING DAY WASNT ? Last Thursday
was proclaimed by the President as "Safe Driving
uay, ana was ai aea ana aDev
ted by every form of publicity
known to mu. But it will, it
teems, have to be labeled a
failure.
Sixty-nine persons met
death on the highways, ex
actly the same number as on
Thursday, November 17. Just
another Thursday to the na
tion's motorists.
,The No. 1 culprit is, of
course, the driver, but there
it also an interesting angle on
the new ear*. Gadgets have been devised to help
decreaie the accident rate, audi aa safety belts,
built-in radar, etc., but they're "eitras." More
power, greater apeed, (aster getaway, and finger
tip control are all ".standard equipment."
But latest safety features? Optional.
MOTORING MANNERS? The age of chivalry
isn't dead after all, I thought one day recently,
as the man in the car ah?ad stopped to let a lady
driver back out from the curb. His gentlemanly
act impreaaed me ao much that I even forgot to
honk my horn at being held up a few secondi
myself.
Then the disillusionment. Was it a aimple act
of courtesy? Uh-uh. He wsnted her parking
apace. (And was I burned up then! I wanted It,
too.)
BUY WORDS? A writer says the ten most dis
taiteful words in the moderti American vocabu
lary to him are glamorous, socialite, celebrity,
tycoon, luxurious, gimmick, know-how, pitch,
and any word ending in "-ama."
But without them, glib motion picture and tv
ballyhoo artists would be practically tongue
tied. (Which may be his reason.)
WHAT WE WANT?? Is it merely a reflection
of the public taste in entertainment that most
tv shows are based either on human misery, hu
man depravity, or human greed?
THE BREAKING POINT? I watch the fights
on tv religibusly, but my better half (the term,
beside* being accurate, is a form of appeasement
for using her in the col'm) looks upoA them,
perhaps rightly, as a disgusting and unnecessary
display of brute force, totally devoid of enter
tainment.
So last Wednesday night when she arose to
leave the room as is her wont when the boxing
bout comes on, I ventured to remark that it was
a title fight and should be a good one. adding
that the contestants were Tony DeMarco and
Carmen Basilio.
"Oh," she oh'd from the door, "one of those
free-for-alls, huh?"
(Y'see, she figured such names couldn't pos
sibly belong to only two guys, and? well, so long,
I was leaving, anyway.)
From Early Democrat Files ,
Sixty-Years Ago
December I, IMS.
Mr. and tin. E. S. Coffey have returned from
Atlanta, and seem to be highly pleased with the
Exposition.
Capt. T. J. and T. F. Coffey started a few
days since for Virginia, where they go to buy
horse* for the Southern market.
On Wednesday Sam R. Newland of Lenoir shot
and killed W. F. Steelman in the harness shop
of Henkel, Craig ft Co.
Sutherland Seminary, under the management
of Prof. W. H. Jones, has Jin enrollment of 132
pupils this session, and the prospects are good
for a much larger enrollment next year.
Col. Jonathan Horton, who was born on the
38th day of February, 1800, died November 29,
aged 18 years, 8 months and 3 days. . . . Col.
Horton represented Ashe county in the legisla
ture for several year* before Watauga county
was formed, then repreeented Watauga county
in both branches of the Legislature, being the
first representative front Watauga county. . . .
He was also an elector on the Henry Clay ticket
in 1844. ... He was a Colonel in the Civil War
and participated in the seven days battle around
Richmond. . . .
Monday morning the sad news reached town
that Robert Shearer, one tl our best cltiiens, was
dead. He attended the funeral of CoL Horton
Sunday at Three Forks. ... He was stricken
about midnight. . . . fte was buried yesterday
morning near his aid home
ThirtyNine Yean Ago
December ?, 1?1?.
Work is progresalng on the large gymnasium
near Newland Hall. It stands on the brink of an
artificial lake, and when completed will be the
beauty spot of the entire school property.
Cel. Arthur, the historian, is still a very sick
man. Wednesday he is very low, and there are
tears be via Mt nsrvive many hern. (Later:
Mr. Arthur died after our forms were closed.)
Prof. W. L. Winkler ?u in to iee u? Monday.
He tells us that he and his wife will leave for
Florida between now and Christmas. . . .
Clyde Phillips has opened a pressing club in
the office of Jeweler Bryan.
Rev. Mr. Adams attended the Baptist State
Convention in Elizabeth City this week.
Valle Crucis item: Mr. W.' H. Wagner, who
is Henry Ford's representative here, has sold a
number of cars to our people.
Fifteen Yearn Ago
December 5, 1M*.
The Mountain Burley Tobacco warehouses
opened their first sales of the second season
today and initial baskets sold brought an aver
age of 20 cents per pound. ... By the {lose of
the sales today it is expected that 290,000 pounds
will have been sold.
The annual Appalachian football banquet will
be held Monday evening. . . Russ Hodges, sports
commentator from WBT,- Charlotte, will deliver
the principal address.
Hiram P. Dougherty, 82. one of the oldest
citizens of the dtp, died Wednesday, after a tew
days illnaaa with a heart ailment. . . . Funeral
details have not been arranged, but services will
be held at the Boone Baptist church, it is said. . . .
Hurry lip To See Niagara
(Macon Telegraph
Geologists art generating lota of excitement
over tba possibility that Niagara Falls will be
come nothing more than a series of rapids la a
"short time "
1W scientist* explain that the falls are reced
ing to a strata *1 soft rock and once that point
is reached tho water will cut through and form
a series of rapids. 1 .
A "short time," geologically speaking, may be
about 1,000 jreara.
So, hurry up If you want to see Niagara Falls
as Ihcy an.
KING STREET
By ROB RIVERi
' AUTO TAGS . . . USfcD TO BUY EM HEBE
One can't come by a new automobile tag until the first o
the year, it now appears, which maybe is the way it should
have been all along. . . . But when we do get the little tin
plate, it will be bigger, with a maximum of two letters and
four numerals, in line with the national standardization pro
gram, and we will have only one, for the rear, instead of a front
and aft placement as la currently the case. . . And, as you might
have guessed, the colors will be the same, good old black and
yellow. ... In this regard it finally happened ? the thing that
might have been expected? a Neighboring State, South Carolina,
comes out with the same color combination, which will likely
confuse the enforcers ho end. . . . We have been unimpressed
by the fact that the North Carolina auto plates carry in small
letters across the bottom7, "Drive Safely." ... If you're close
enough to read it on the open road, you're just about rear-ended
the car ahead. ,
FUNNY THING, about thirty years ago one could buy
an automobile license at the Taylar Motor Company,
where Swofford's Tire Stqfe now stands, and it hasn't
been over fifteen years, we think, since the Cook
Nichols Motor Co., handled the tags at their place
where Winkler Motor Co., now stands. ?. . Or anyway
that's our recollection. . . . But when the town grew
and expanded till it almost cracked the seams, one
has to send down the mountain for his auto tags, or
order them direct from the Bureau in fealeigh.
TUBKEYS SOUGHT . . . GEESE LESS PLENTIFUL
Fellow from down the mountain seeks turkeys for the De
cember trade. Say# he bought several hundred in Watauga be
fore the Thanksgiving holidays, and that there are perhaps
others for the market. . . . The turkey is an integral part of the
year-end festivities, and his upbringing has come to be a big
industry over the country. . . . However, we didn't know that
any considerable number of them are being produced locally.
. . . Used to be that the turkeys and the geese, were driven to
the market along the roads of the day, and the thing seemed to
be in the case of the former to keep 'em quiet along the way,
so's they wouldn't take to the air. . . As for the geese, which
are fast vanishing from the farmyard scene, it seems, it always
struck us as funny that they were referred to, not as so many
geese, but as so many "head," ai in the case of horses and cattle.
BBIGHT LIGHTS . . . HABBINGEBS OF THE YULE
The Ohristmas lights, it seems to us, are prettier
than usual and those responsible for the decorations,
and their installation, are to be congratulated for pro
viding this colorful introduction to the Yule season,
and the festival of joy. ... At the same time the store
windows are resplendent with their decorations, be
speaking the mountains of gift merchandise within the
shops. . . . The shopping season has been ushered in
with brilliance and gaiety, and the retail district has
never been as inviting. . . . Our merchants are insist
ing that shoppers fill their gift lists early, and avoid the
congestion which ordinarily makes orderly shopping
difficult during the last hectic days.
THE GBEEKS HAD THE WOBD FOB IT
The name Watauga did not come through the Indians which
were supposed to have inhabited this area, according to some
information we gathered from Miss Beatrice Cobb's column in
the Morganton News-Herald. . . . We'd always understood that
the word actually meant "beautiful waters," and that some
savage with an eye for the shimmer of the water in the moon
light, grew pensive and profound and came forth with Wa
tauga. . . . Miss Cobb's understanding is, however, that it is
actually a Greek word, meaning "broken waters," so named,
no doubt because of the rapid flow of the mountain streams
over the rocky terrain, which constantly churned and broke the
surface of the brooks.
So This Is New York
By NORTH CALLAHAN
The farmer had come a long way
to aee New York arid now that he
was here, he waa taking it la fast.
Already he has covered Times
Square as thoroughly aa he usually
did his back 4-acre patch, and now
he looked for new fields. It waa
early morning, as he caught the
subway downtown, not realizing
that this waa the subterranean
hazardous hour. Betow ground, the
job-going mob rocked and rolled
him. At Wall Street, h? finally
emerged, never to be the same
again. His shoes were (Cuffed, his
overcoat ruffled, his tie awry, and
under hia crumpled hat, beads of
sweat stood out on his honest brow.
"Dadburned if I've ever seen any
thing like M since Jim Stevens'
hogs broke through my fence and
almost clobbered me," be was
heard to mutter darkly. "And at
least, thev weren't ground hogs!"
They tell a story here about the
Texan, the Californian and the
New Yorker who were talking
about the hereafter. The New
Yorker gave as his opinion that
when the Lord returns to this
earth, it would be aa a New York
er; the Calif orniaa said surely He
would be a Californian. IV big
Texan studied his companions for
a moment, then said, "Why fellers.
I don't aee why the Lord would
want to change."
Where I grew up. stables were
used for hones. Not so in many
instances here. Just off lower 1th
Avenue Is a little street named
Washington Hews which was one*
inhabited by nags, not cata. The
stablea were rather fancy, however.
such hones as those of the cele
brated Mrs. Astor. When the fine
four-legged fellows were replaced
by leas pleasant but faster motor
transportation, people fixed up the
abandoned stables and moved in.
So there they are now and some of
them prominent. Grover Whaler
lived there before he got affluent
and moved uptown to Park Ave
aue. It is presumed that these folki
eat ordinary human food, but it
seemed to me on loking at the row
of residences, that there is still I
rich, lingering atmosphere of eon
and hay about the place.
My neighbor, Harry Nims, a dia
tjnguiahed lawyer and qationai
authority on trade marks, says that
the country lairyer is perhaps th<
moat useful citizen in the commun
ity, active in church, school boar<
and lodge, etc, Mr. Nims points out
trials are now so complicated, s<
dreary and so expensive In tim<
and money that the public avoidi
them whenever poaaible. Mo*
court officii** owe their position
to politics, he adds, and the litigan
with no political connections ma;
have litle chance in court. Mr
Nims aays lawyer* resist an]
change in their methods ? a situa
tion, he feels which ia shamefu
and should be remedied.
A man by the odd name of Ra;
Vir Den left the local scene pel
manently recently. His fir*t Jol
was a* a printer's devid on a week
ljr newspaper in Wheeler, Indians
Be came to New Yost 40 year
?fa. smitten by the big city, sam
ia a choir, turned to Wall Street
then ia the depression, changed ti