North Carolina Newspapers

vtaugas Democrat I5VMY THURSDAY IT RIVHS MINTING COMPANY, OK C. RIVERS, JR., PUBLISHER Watauga added on to important to meatie* the Mil natter, under the act of Concren BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, JULY 13, 1901 iWork For Men On Relief Much as has the old WPA been ma ligned, We have apells of thinking the system was better, even with whatever leaning on the shovel handles was done, than the direct grants system of aiding those who otherwise can't get along. And in Oregon they think so too and are requiring able-bodied men on assist ance rolls to work on public projects and the policy is attracting inquiries from all parts of the country. The program began in January 1959 in Polk county. Public welfare recipi ents were put to work clearing brush along county roads. Other counties soon began similar programs. Last winter the program reached peak proportions, with 29 of the State's 36 counties using 1.S00 men to work on county roads, parks and woodlands. The program is used only when other work is unavailable for persons on relief, and most of the men, it is said, are entirely willing to work, and get a credit of one dollar against their general assistance grant for every tour they work. The program it Mid to stimulate better work habits for men who have been idle for long periods and improve* their morale and that of their families. At any rate a great number of letters, most of which commend the program, have been received by the State public welfare commission, said Andrew Juras, assistant administrator. The letters are from professional welfare workers, gov ernors, legislators, other officials and private citizens. Off hand opinion would be that a man able to do some sort of work, would in the long run enjoy a more normal life, and have a decidedly better out look if be could return to the feeling, that, after all, he's fetching home the beans and bacon, or doing a good share of it, rather than following the shade from day to day, while the time for the arrival of the public assistance check re luctantly rolls around. V. .... . Driving No-Hands Among the wonders which are in the making, to make living even softer, is one which will permit one to sit in his automobile and rush through the coun tryside, no hands, while the highway Itself does the driving. Announcement comes that the feasi bility of automatic highways is about to be made by the Federal government. The projects will cost fifty million dollars and be in operation within two years. Word is that the electronic road would provide automatic control of cars that use it. Equipment to steer, accelerate and brake will be attached beneath the car when it enters the highway. A one hundred mile strip on two inner lane! of the 41,000 mile interstate sys tem now being built would be set aside for the project. The exact site of the test hasn't been selected. Automatic lanes, one each way, will be separated by guard rails from the conventional four lane roadbed that will flank them. The objective of the con trolled lanes is to provide safe transpor tation between cities at higher speeds than the general maximum of 65 to 70 mties an hour now in effect on freeways. It is believed that this will increase the carrying capacity of the highway and thus eliminate the need for more and more expensive roads as traffic increas es over the years. And, of course, it might enable those who loiter along busy highways at thir ty-five to get in the groove, get to their destinations in a normal length of time, and still have the pleasure of looking over the countryside, a pleasure that is denied those of us who try to keep pace with the tempo of the traffic when we get on the open road. And we'd suppose that the flirting back and forth from one lane to another would be avoided when electronics take the wheel. Teen Drivers rvn^^. A- u. kr 1 _ _ _* a -i.a.1 i dc uiwensnnj ivews releases a siuuy of the academic, driving and social habits of twenty thousand Junior and Senior High School youngsters in the United States and Canada by a national insur ance company, and the meat of the thing provides interest: ? The poorest students are those who drive their own automobiles. Grades start to suffer when the car is used more than two days out of a five-day school week. Those who use the car at least four days are more than twice as likely to be D or worse students than the two day users. The best records are made by students who confine their car use strictly to week ends. ? Good students who yield to the car craze suffer the sharpest drop in grades. ? The longer a car has been used, the less the chance of a boy or girl's being a good student. ? By far the greatest scholastic dam age occurs when a High School Junior ODiains a car. ? Among student* with neither car nor job there are twice as many A and B students as among students having jobs and cars. Aside from these correlations, the study noted what most teen-agers, their parents and friends already know: The involvement rate of youthful drivers in automobile accidents is about twice as high as the average adult's and the se verity of their accidents is consider ably greater. "Parents limply must realize the urg ency of exercising more authority over their teenagers in the matter of how and when they drive," the report concludes. And this is not to say that there Is not a high percentage of first class driv ers among the teens. As a matter of fact they have been trained in school to operate under the wheel. But tta>i figures speak for themselves. Middle-Size Autos (Hiekory Daily Record) ajvawv me uust which wu created when the new, 1961 model automobiles arrived has settled, news Is released that it won't be long until the 1062 models are heading our way. We are delighted to hear that prac tically all of the makes are shedding their fins, and the general rule will be "middle-4aedM or "family-sized'' cars. In other words, assurances have been issued by the manufacturers that moat of the 1962 cars will fit into our old ga ragfes. Nevertheless, the word is that there will be a %ide variation in specifica tions and styling, as the auto builders vie with one another tn attempting to hit on a truly popular model ? one that wtll send sales soaring. According to a correspondent who went to Detroit to get the latest Infor mation directly from the "horses month," the indnatry's new ntyffpg for IMS it not as restrained u this year, wmu tins are passe, except for Cadillac, there are said to be razor-like blade treatmenta, with chrome capping, to accent silhou ettes. It ia also acknowledged there will be a little more chrome and a little more horsepower among the twenty-five name platea to be offered for 1962. However, the industry ia not returning to the era of "flash and firepower" against which customers rebelled. Following the lead of the Ford Motor Company, the rest of the industry is switching to cars that will have to be lubricated only at 30,000-mile interval*. There also will be more built-in safety features such aa padded dashboards, heavy cushioned headiinera and attach ment points for front-eeM belts, for which there has been a growing demand since the industry agreed to supply them at or near cost. Britain: 'I Say, Mate ? Is She Annoying Yon?1 ' r?u<> ? * ? j SOME LOCAL HISTORICAL SKETCHES From Early Democrat Files Sixty Yean Ago July 11, 1M1 Work on the new Methodist church at Blowing Rock has been resumed. The Dougherty Bros, are doing considerable work on their build ings of late. "The Lenoir News" says that Mrs. Williams, of Hartland, N. C? is carrying the mail between that place and Lenoir, while her hus band, th? contractor, is attending to the farm work. This is the first woman that we have heard of work ing for Uncle Sam in this capacity. Solicitor Spainhour and family, of Morganton, have been in town for the past week. They were trav eling by wagon and buggy; having a most delightful trip, camping out, fishing, etc. They came through Wilkes, Grayson county, Va., Alleghany, Ashe, on to Wa tauga, and left on Tuesday for their home, via. Llnville. They have been out near a month and report a very enjoyable time. The third term of school at Wa tauga Academy will open on Mon day, August the 3th. We are told that the prospects for the next term are most flattering. We are told that friend T. P. Adams, of Silverstone, is contem plating buying property and mov ing to Boone. There is always room for such men as "Dock" Adams in our town. The infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Bea Edmlaten, of Blowing Rock, died of whooping cough last week. Cherries are ripe, and the small boy is happy. Mr. Porter Sigmon, of Lenoir, is now holding a case in the "Demo crat' 'offioe, and it aeems that he is well up in the art of "type sticking." It Is indeed a little odd for us to have some help, but may be we will get accustomed to it. And by the way, we will now try to give our delinquents an occa sional call. Be ready for us, boys, we are coming. John McGhiania, who was so seriously hurt by ? Negro in Cald well county some time since, con tinues to Improve, and we learn that he will be brought back to Watauga soon. Judge Councill left Sunday for Newtoa, where he is holding Ca tawba court this week. Thanks to Mr. Lee Cook, of Lin ville, for remittance covering ar rears on two subscriptions He writes: "I am a Mitchell county Democrat Send both papers on." TTilrty-Nine Years Ago Jaiy IS, 1*22 The Critcher Hotel is being thoroughly painted, and when com pleted it will present a very nice appearance indeed. The big build ing has bee (^thoroughly worked over, and haa all modern conven iCDCM. / The beavtiful little houae, built by the Watauga Furniture * Lum ber Co., for a Fourth of July float, haa been purchased by Mr. M. P. Critcher, gives a pretty site near the hotel, aad will be used as a play bouse for his children. Hie little building is a fine piece of carpenter work and la a splendid advertisement for the company, : Mr. J. t. Flliley, of North Wilkes bcro, known and admired by all Wataogana, It a visitor la Boone, and says hia chief pleaaure here will be ia meeting and striking haada eace mora with friends of former years. .He will be at the Hotel after Sunday. He is now be ing entertained at the home of B. J. Councill. Mrs. John P. Hagaman, of Le noir, returned to her home Monday after a visit of ten days to her native county. While here she and her three sisters, Mesdames Maggie Ward, Eliza Hodges and Mattie Dougherty, who spent most of the time together, went to the Adams grave yard, had the plot thorough ly cleaned, and then decorated with loving hands, the graves of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Zach Adams. Mrs. Dougherty is from Maryville, Tennessee. Mr. Julius Roubinowitz, who has been connected with the David son Department Store since it was opened here, was married in New York City on the 30th to Miss Alice Silverton, of Philadelphia. He has returned to Boone to look after some business here, his bride to come later. Contractors Poe & Triplett, of Lenoir, arrived Monday evening, bringing with them teams and equipment, and earth was broken for the large administration build ing at the Training School. It is located just west of the old Wa tauga Academy, and will have a frontage of two hundred feet on the Boone and Blowing Rock turn pike, and will be, in the main, three stories high. The showery weather continues. Mr. McCoy Moreti and family of Charlotte, are visitors to relatives in Boone and other parts of the county. Fifteen Years Ago July 11, 1946 Summer school enrollment at Appalachian State Teachers Col lege assumed pre-war proportions last week, with the news that 803 ?re now in attendance at the local institution. John Milton Barlow, of Creston, died Sunday at the home of a son, Mr. Hal Barlow, of Boone, after a long period of illness. He was 69 years old. R. W. Watkins, athletic director at Appalachian State Teachers Col lege, has been reappointed by Gov ernor R. Gregg Cherry as a mem ber of the State recreation com mittee for a four-year term begin ning July 10. Mr. Watkins has served one year in this position. Mr. and Mrs. Bill Bingham of Pinnacle, N. C., spent last week with relatives in Boone. Mr. Bob Agle, manager of the Appalachian |nd fastime Theatres, is in States Villc today where he is attending tht meeting of managers of all the theatres in the Sams chain. Dr. F. E. Warman, pastor of the Advent Christian Church and mem ber of the faculty at Appalachian State Teachers College, remains ill at Watauga Hospital, and hid condi tion is deacribed as critical. Mrs. Joe Crawford and son, Billy, -returned Friday from a month's visit to Morehead City and Nags Head, N. C. While at Nags Head they attended the opening performance of "The Lost Colony." Recent visitors at the home of Representative and Mrs. S. C. Egg era were: Mr. and Mrs. Fitts, two children, and Misa Christine Egg ers, Philadelphia; Mrs. Laura Yount and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Ever ett Drum, Hickory; Representative R. V. Alexander and family of Cooleemee. Just One Thing By CARL GOERCH AFTER ANOTHER It was a brief, rather curt note. We had sent a gentleman in Greensboro notice of tbe fact that his subscription to The State mag azine had expired. In a few dayi the letter came back with the fol lowing notation at the bottom: "So has the subscriber." Tommy Royster of Oxford, says that the charter of the Town of Oxford shows that when that place was incorporated, the corporate limit! extended in each direction one thousand yards from the cent er of the courthouse, which would form a complete circle. And then Tommy adds: "Just a few years ago, in a law suit in this county, a Superior Court lodge changed the corporate limits of the town by a few yards. The survey, from which the tax listing of real property is made on the tax books of Oxford, used the center of the courthouse door as the starting point. A portion of a certain gentleman's residence ? his front rooms and the front porch ? were within the corporate limits, according to this survey. The Su perior Court judge ruled that the corporate limits should be from the center of the courthouse ? and not from the center of the court house door. This change relieved the gentleman of the burden ef city taxes aasesaed against his front rooms and porch " Biweekly, means once every two week*. Ri monthly, means once every two months. Biannfally, means once every six K months. Every once in a while somebody pops up and wants to know what man has the shortest name in North Carolina. So (ar as we know, it's Mr. Ek, who lives up in Asheville, and is in the insurance business up there. This isn't original; somebody sent it to us a few days ago, and we tho'ight you might like to read it: WOMEN BAD MEN want their women To be like cigarettes, ? Just so many, all slender and trim In a case . . . Waiting in a row To be selected, set aflame, and discarded . When their fire has died. MORE FASTIDIOUS MEN Prefer women like cigars. These are more exclusive . . . Look better and last longer, If the brand is good They aren't given away. GOOD MEN treat women Like their pipes; And become more sttached to them The oiimr they become. When the flame is burnt out . . . They still look after them. Knock them gantly (but loving ly) And csre for them always. NO MAN MARES HIS PIPE. Personal nomination for the ug liest sounding word in the English language ? SPLOTCH ' Especially when you sort of drag It out KING STREET By ROB RIVERS Preacher's Diary . . Historical Notes We have heard the otdthners of another era talk of Rev. I. W. Thomas, an early-day Baptist preacher in this section. . .. Mrs. Nancy Alexander, whose column in the Lenoir News-Topic provides some of our favorite reading, has been publishing some items from the diary of Rev. Mr. Thomas, which reaches back to the days before he came to Boone. The early lay ministers exercised great influence in the settlements, where their saddle bags yielded books and newspapers for the families they visited. . . . They preached and conducted prayer meetings hither and yon without set salaries and without too much hope of a monetary stipend at all. . . . They ministered to the ill, tilled the soil, labored as craftsmen, and became counsellors and leaders In the far flung neighborhoods they served. . . . Rev. Mr. Thomas' diary gives an insight into the activities of these early day ministers, a measure of their faith, and some interesting his torical sketches. ... We reprint some of his notes: 1883 Nov. 8: Reached our new home in Boone. Trust we will be contented. The Lord be with us. May 11: Worked very hard, planting, plowing and a belfry on the Academy this week. June 11: Today I qualified as Superintendent of Public ' Schools of Watauga county and examined S, G. Blackburn, and granted him a certificate. June 27: This evening I closed my school in Boone. Have taught about eight months out of the past nine. June 29: Today my wife and I read the Gospel by Mark to an old colored sister who came to our house, expressly to get us to read to her. She seems to be a good Christian. May 6: Have been attending court, trying to- sell religious books. Have been right successful. Received $10.00 at a very needy time. May 25: Had a meeting of the local board for the Normal School here. I was chosen Secretary of the Normal at a salary of $15 for the term. I am poor and needy, and the amount, though small, will help me support my family, while I attend the Normal to better prepare myself to discharge the duties of County Supt. Oct. 18: Spent most of the past week mending and making shoes. I love to provide for my family. . Aug. 31: Tonight we experienced a heavy earthquake shock. It is the first I ever felt, and it excited me very much. I thought of the end of the world. 1889 March 4: This is the day President Harrison Is to be inaugurated. May he make us a good President. April 19: Went to Post Office. Mr. Dougherty gave me a petition to circulate among the people of Boone to retain him as Postmaster and let me do a good deal of the work. Don't know how it will terminate. May 16: Helped some in P. O. Ploughed and planted corn. Tonight went to see Brother Spainhour. He wants me to take the editorship of the Watauga Democrat. I can't do it. Must try to serve the Lord. June 25. Worked on building a safe for the court house till noon. Then went down to Widow Norris' and married James Hayes and Ann Norris. Former 60 years old; latter 56. Large crowd present He gave me $1. . Oct. 18: Preached at Yadkin Church to a good congre gation. A number of brethren met me from Lower Creek and Lenoir, to consult me about taking those churches and mov ing there. I agreed to this, if called, and would move next spring, if they liked me and I liked them. Spent night with A. E. Nelson, had prayer Nov. 8. This week's Topic informs me that the church in Lenoir has called me to her pastorate. Nov. 19: Got home tonight from Baptist State Conven tion in Henderson. Heard I had been called to the care of Lower Creek Church. Dec. 2: Spent day at courthouse with Board of Education. Received $61.25 for my services as county superintendent since last June. December 3: Received a letter from State Mission Board at Raleigh informing me of my appointment as missionary for Lenoir. May the Lord direct me. Uncle Pinkney (MacKnight Syndic.te) H/S PALAVARIN'S DEAR MISTER EDITOR: It may be that I'm gitting a little impatient, but it seems to me this cold war business with Russia is gitting as one-sided as a drunk's hat. The American tax payers is footing most of the bills but it looks like this country ain't got much more say-so in the thing than a hog's got at a hog calling contest. I was reading last night where the United Nations has estimat ed the budget fer the Congo at $120 million this year. But Rus sia, that can finance big armies and missiles and trouble-makers all over the world, including the Congo, has refused to pay a dime of H. In the end, the American taxpayers will git the honor of paying most of it. We've give away so much money fer foreign aid to coun tries all over the world that most of them now thinks it's a perma nent arrangement sent down from Heaven. Fer Instant, when we trimmed our handout to India last yrar ole Nehrue hollered louder than ? calf tied out at milking time. It looks to me like we got to RM&e a stand someplace. Mister Editor, or the bats in the belfry is going to eat the bee in our bonnet. AjkI when we make our stand this tim, I hope they don't have no Valu River stuff in it. This thing of fighting with one hand tied behnd our Iwek ain't the kind of war the United State* fight*. It just bleed* u* down, and make* us spend a dollar to their dime, without sitting no place. On th< home front, I see by the paper* where the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in the Congress pre dicts that prices will "edge up" ? little this Fall. It seem* to me they ha* been edging up fer *ome time now. About the only thing holding iteady i* lea-going yacht* and Cadillac cars. About onct a month everything else "levels off at a new level. Sooner or later we're going to run out of level* and git into orbit. And sometime* a feller 'can find plenty of troubles right in hi* own house. Fer Instant, my old lady come in last night from a meeting of the Home Demon stration Club and I made the bad mistake of asking her what they talked about. "The bone," she say*, and afore I could git out the door she wa* going into detail*. "We decided," she says, "that the man in the houae ain't carry ing his part of the home work." This is treason. Mister Editor, and I aim to find out If any tax money is going Into theae club projects. I've writ to my Con gressman In no uncertain terms.. Ill let you know which way he dodges on this one. Yours truly, UNCLE PINKNEY.