! aHL ||[|
MURPHY
_ The Leading
vol. IL?No. 22.
FAMOUS FOLK
SCHOOL XMAS
PLAY IS GIVE?
play Is Enacted Wednes
day Night At Brasstown
Schco!
\ PKrlstmos .i
.-A mvianon ?n:
aroused attention not only in Cher
j fcee county whore it was born but i
; many places over the country w;
the Christmas play at the John i
Campbell Folk School in Brasstow
X. C., on Wednesday night, Decor
her 22. Beginning with a few scern
i some ten years ago, the plav h;
grown with the growth of the scho
until today it is a full blown Chris
mas play incorporating many of tl
traditions that have lingered in tl
mountains in song and ballad sin<
the English and Scotch-Irish pionee
came into this region about a cei
tury or more ago. Among these
the famous ballad of the Cherry tro
which bowed down its branches to tl
Virgin Mary.
The form of the play varies fro
Year to year. This winter the Here
rcenc was omitted, but an addition <
great interest was the scene of thr#
travellers who. as well as Mary ar
Joseph, could find no p!ace to rest i
'Vthlehom end plainly manifestc
th?,:C 'displeasrre rhcreat. The seer
acted as an excellent foil to the hun
hie acceptance of the lowly qtiartei
by Mary and Joseph. A wealth <
song and carol clustered about tt
performance. Visitors from tfc
north who attended the play exrfain
ed over the groat variety and unusuj
quality of the music given, for fe
trained bands of carol 1 era anywhei
have tsueh a repertoire of rare ar
choice folk music.
On the stage was a primitive re]
Tesentation of the manger, thatehc
with hay, the star burning steadil
| above. The detail of shepherds lai
terns and crooks, of royal crowi
and humble rustic offerings of she]
herds to the newborn king were pr
sented with reverent simplicity. Tl
costumes were simple, effective, ar
colorful. Especially charming we
tho angels white robes and wings ,
they sang in a harmonious trio the
word to the adoring shepherds.
shepherds leave your care of floe1
so fleecy."
Though a light rain fell in the ear
part of the evening, a large audien
was present from all the surronndii
country and the hall was as silent
in a church service. Indeed to mo
of the people present the who
presentation preached as movingly
the finest church music and sermc
The simplicity, the reverence, t
"natural charm of the actors ai
action alike made an appeal like th
of the famous Oberammergau Pl
in Switzerland.
Perhaps the finest feature of t
lit tit!
Weekly Sac t pa per iti Western North C
Murp
I TV A RIGGER FOREMA
HAVE UNEQUALI
IThe Tennessee Valley Authority's
policy of safety on its construction !
y j ;obs has boon commended b> safety!
engineers throughout the country. R<*
ecntly, Mr. Ben Clark, rigger foveman
at the Hiwassee Dam pi < ject.
and formerly rigger foreman at the
N'orris project, completed a record
that is said by some safety engineers j
to be unequalled in the field of heavy
construction.
0 Over a period of two years Mr.
[n '"lark and his crew of riggers, have
JS moved, erected, and dismantled ap- l
0. proximately ten million tons of steel
n, without a single loss-time accident
n- This work consists o.~ moving and j
es recting cable ways, derricks, bridges,!
as deel trestle work for conveyor sys-J
01 terns, and other large machinery and
;t. quii>rr.ent necessaw
"whole is that the songs once learn
become a part of the life of the st
dents of the John C. Campbell Ff
School as permanent as is the tra>
tion of the ballads in the mountaii
After the play which took place
Wednesday evening was over, t
students were still living- the atm<
nhere of Christmas- The angels we
singing their chorus on Christmas d
itself, and the hoys rising early
milk went to their work with the so
of the shepherds on their lipswould
seem as if Cherokee cour
had inaugurated a untique, bcautil
and telling Christmas celebrati
which may well become an inspirati
to thosp hevonrl mountain*?
AmonR those takinK part in
Christmas play or chorus were t
following; from Cherokee couW
h>'ell Clayton, Glenn Holland, Flai
Ia>Kan. Ralph Day, Frank Hojr
Blanche Scrogrgs, and Tom M<T.<
more; and from Clay county. Wil
Clayton, Clara Bell Brown. Walla
Maasie. Ruth Arrant, Opal Gre?
Fannie Kate Brendle.
o
Mnrphv Spools
Reopen Mon. Mornir
Pupils in the Schools of the Mut
phy unit will lay aside new Christ
mas toys for schoolboolcs Monda
morning when classes will be rc
sumcd after the holidays.
ftns&n
'arolma, Covering a Large and Poll
hy, N. C. Thursday, Dec
lN and his crew
.ED SAFETY RECORD i
construction work, he has never had
rigger fatally injured on the job,
which is an exceptional record, considering
the hazards in that kind of
work.
Mr. Ciark. a native of North Carolina,
was born in L>lesvil?e and attended
the schools there. He began
his first construction work at the
age id* lvS. on the Tallulah Falls project
in Georgia. This is Mr. Clark's
thirteenth dam powerhouse job since
1U12. While the biggest job in concrete
placement he has ever worked
on was Norris Dam. Mr. Clark says
he has worked on other jobs with
larger personnel. At the present time.
Mr. Clark has 27 riggers under his
supervision, and will probably have
more as work progresses.
It is understood that stories of this
record will appear in nationally circulated
magazines.
It ?tl
The highest educational rating is j
observed in the Clerical group. 5G per j
cent of v.-hom had finished high
(Continued on back page) j
t Urm
> ^ V* >
ntially Rich Temtnr-r in This Stair
. 30, 1937 ""$]
i his Is Annual New
Years Issue Of Scout i
This is the annual New Years j
edition of the Cherokee Scout.
With it your county paper brings
you innumerable New Years greet
ings and best wishes from the outstanding
local merchants. ^
The entire force of this paper j
thanks you for your favors of the I
past 'car and hope to serve you I
even better in 1938.
Sock Crusher
To Be Placed
On Dam Route
b
A rock-crusher will be moved to j,
| the Shoal Creek road leading to the it
Hiwassee dam vil.ape the lat'er part L
of this week to keep the road in pood
j shape for the remainder of the winter. a
hiplnvay officials said here Tuesday. '
n
inch mer.t weather has made the
lams and power houses.
" Mr. Clark states that in 25 years' 1
:e J
r" January 1 Deadline
On Vehicle Licenses
H
A final warning to local motorir.ts
was handed out b> Patrolman
111 E- B. Quinn, Jr., Wednesday when
vhe reminded the.n that "1938 tags
'?" must absolutely be displayed on
all vehicles before the> can be drivcn
after the first of the year."
I !1
*'1 don't want cn- excuses", the
officer said, "1 know them all b>
heartTags
are being sold locally for i
?f the first time this winter by J. L.
K> Hall, operator of the Woco-Pep
10 filling station in Murphy. Mr. Hall
1. will serve vehicle owners of Cheryl
okee, Clay and Graham counties.
SECOND BAPTIST
HAS XMAS PARTY
- FOR ITS CHILDREN
d
iy
A Christmas Eve party was given
1S at the Second Baptist church of Murp
phy for the children of the church.
A large nlimber attended and had a
good time. Presents were distributed,
id poems were recited by the children
ro md Christmas carols were sung. Mrs.
as Vance Wilson also gave a recitation
ir According to Hugh Hood, the Sunic
day school of the church has incicasks
ed to six classes taking care of the
young people and adults. A cordial
ly invitation is extended to the public at
ee all times to attend the Sunday schoo.
meetings and church services there.
Regular preaching dates are the
^ fourth Saturday night and Sunday of
' ? each month. The Rev. Alga West, of
Andrews, is the pastor. His subject
' ' at the last meeting was: "The Three
Greatest Gifts".
OCCUPATIONAL AN/
IS TAKEN BY EMI
ho
0(\ By SILAS F. CAMPBELL
11. Statistical Supervisor, Raleigh, N- C.
?lk For the purpose of securing more
1i- complete data concerning the occuis.
rational characteristics, educational
?n r.rd marital status of applicants regishe
tered with the North Carolina State
Employment Service, it recently unTe
dertook a survey through its 45 local
av offices of all applications in the ac
tojtiv*e file. Previous surveys have inncjdicated
that a large portion of active
applications represent unskilled occu_
jpations in which there is the greatest
nl amount of unemployment and the sur?n
vey was intended to furnish informa?n
tion that would be helpful in providing
an occupational readjustment for
? those who could profit by it. The edue
cational background and domesisv
responsibilities of an applicant both
an have an important bearing in deter,
r mining his availability for additional I
l'A occupational training. I
c0 Tho active file of applications in
,n Cherokee County contains 1,484 applications,
1265 men and 219 women.
Only 11 Negro applicants arc registered
in this county, and these are included
with the white applications.
Ijjr ' Majority Under 30
! The analysis of this file discloses
Ithat 43 per cent of the entire num!bcr
registered are under 30 years of
y jage and that 95 per cent of this num?
'her have not finished high school. Of
[the total number 1.484 registered, 90
ramous riagg
Painting To Be
Displayed Here!
The original painting by James
Montgomery Fagg, famous American
paint-r, which recently \va- accepted
by Pi e.side lit Roosevelt on behalf
of th< I*. S. Forest Service, will
I ' on display in the Court House at
Murphy Friday afternoon. De-. :J1.
The painting has been donated to
the U. S. Government by Mr. Flagg
as his persona! contribution to the
cause of fire prevention in American
forests.
The painting depicts Uncle Sam in
the uniform of a Forest Hanger,
pointing a finger toward a burning
forest, over the title "Your ForestsYour
Fault-Your Loss."
Flagg became famous during the
World War for his excellent posters
of Uncle Sam which were used to
such advantage in the enlistment of
soldiers for the service of this country.
F.agg has donated his latest
painting to a new war?the war
against forest fires, which are continuously
destroying thousands of acres
of private and publicly owned forest
land each year.
The painting will he on exhibit by
the Nantahala National Forest and is
free to the public.
Presumably as a joke, Lynn Leon,
ard, a reporter of Wenetchee, Wash.,
started a subscription list to raise
a fund for "the widow of the Unknown
Soldier." Many patriotic ejti.
zens signed up without inquiring as
to the identity of the "widow."
kLYSIS IN COUNTY
'LOYMENT WORKERS
! per cent had less than high school
training and only 4 tenths of 1 percent
had finished high school and received
supplementary training in college
or business school. The proportion
of this who had less than high
school training is practically the same
for both men and women, 9G per cent
women and 95.4 per cent men being
in this class.
The proportion of married applicants
is almost twice as high among
men than women, 37 per cent of
j whom were reported as married as
I compared to 70 per cent of the men.
Classified as to occupational skiil
irequirements, the files are divided into
8 major classifications. It appears
that 85 per cent of the total number
registered represent occupations that
are classified as unskilled or semi-1
skilled and that 98 per cent of the
applicants in this classification had
failed to finish high school.
Among the Professional, Technic.*
and Supervisory workers 88 per cent
had less than the high school training.
This is exceptionally low rating for
applicants in this group.
| Of those classified as Salespersons, !
inside and outside, 55 per cent had
less than a high school training.
Highest Rating Given
j Shoal Creel. route bad ir: several ,,
' places during the past few weeks y
j and difficulty has been faced in
nain aining traffic over it. rj
j Roy Picmmons. district engine-* .. <5
I and Grover Mauney, maintenance jr
[ uperintender:r. made the anrnmin ?\
n.ent and will be in charge of t.
! work. h
They said it would take several
days to set lip the machinery, drill R|
| the quarry which will supply the rock y
and crush it. They expect the sur- c<
| facing work to begin Monday. ^
j Although there are a number of el
quarries along the route, they uid not
state definitely which one would be n
used to supply the rock, hut said that
in all probability the Oak Park bridge ^
quarry would be used. j,
Much TV A, private and business s
traffic is maintained over the route a
from Murphy into the dam site. e
Christmas Is
Observed Here J
In Quiet Spirit *
Christmas Da.v passed quietly in j
Murphy this year. r
Amid a reverent setting created by i
special services at the local churches, c
Saturday and Sunday were observed (
in a leisurely spirit while the town ^
was blessed with son.e of the prettiest
weather seen here this winter t
Charity extended throughout the i
community as personal and organized t
gifts were made. The Charity \?
League and other local civics organ- t
izations maintained drives to give (
Yuletide presents to the poor. J
The most elaborate municipal de- (
corations ever on display were ob- 1
served here in the evenings. ^
Aithough numerous fireworks added
noise to the serene setting, few
Christmas parties were observed.
Local merchants reported a rushing
business during the several days
immediately preceding Christmas day
Edith Alley, !
13, Is Buried ]
On Thursday
Funeral services for Miss Edith \
Helen Alley, 13-year .old daughter of
Mr- and Mrs. F. M. Alley, of Peachtree,
were conducted from the Murphy
Methodist church Thursday afternoon
at 1 o'clock with the Rev. W. v
Arthur Barber, pastor, officiating, s
Interment was in Sunset cemetery, r
I Peyton G. Ivie was in charge of fun.
oral arrangements. c
Miss Alley, a popular member of.
[the sophomore class of the Murphy J a
high school, died at noon last Wednes. i
day of an attack of pneumonia i r
which she had suffered for a week- j n
Classmates acted as pallbearers (land
flower girls.
Surviving besides the parents is
I one sister, Loee. (
The increase in wages for hourly
mployt s will amout to a little more
han $o00.00(? annually, the largest
ing.e item being in the $180,000 inrea.se
given to unskilled workers
ihose rate of pay was raised from 45
o 47 Iz: cents an hour.
The boa I'd of director's action folows
six weeks of negotiating with
epresentatives of the Tennessee Valey
Trades and Labor council. The
ouiu il is compost <1 t?f representatives
>1* 13 cooperating unions affiliated
vith the AF of L.
The new wage schedule will apply
o hourly employes of labor classifications
t?n force account work
hroughout the Tennessee watershed
irea. Provision was made however,
hat when the TVA engages in wor;utside
this area, as it does occasioni.ly.
rates of pay of such employes
an be revised to meet prevailing rates
vhere they are in excess of those just
ipproved.
The TVA act prescribes that wages
>aid by th.- TVA shall be those prcai
ing in th? vicinity for similar
vork and that . mideration shall be
riven ' thos. sate which have been
btained '!i . igh lie : < agreo114'ill
hv ? ?.!-?t. ?: *
.vr.v.7v?i?u> 01 employers
ind employes.
Preparatory to holding the wage
onferenct-s this year, the personnel
lepartment. of the TVA made a surrey
of pti-vailinjr wage rates through
he area. Labor unions representing
mpioyes of the TVA a so submitted
la'.a on established wage rates.
Vrecks Reported,
No Serious Injuries
Athough numerous automobile
vrecks were reported throughout this
ection over the Christmas holidays.
10 serious injuries have been record(I.
Only one entrance has been reorder!
at one of the local hospitals
nd it was said to not have been of
serious nature.
Several minor injuries were also
cported from the use of fireworks',
nd requests were made not to shoot
ire crackers in the vicinity of the
legal bote' ?.- the serious illness
f Mr. A. J. Burrs.
f
ctXjon '
III IB Anv Paper
Ever Published
Here.
1.50 YEAR?5c COPY
?AGES OF 8000
TVA EMPLOYES
TO BE RAISED
Approximate 5 Per Cent
Increase To Become
Effective Jan. 1
The Ten: .-ss? e Va i? y Authority
Eonday < : -It-red effective Jan. 1 an
pproximatt. lv 5 per ct nt wage inifii.-i
and a 40-hour work week for
s S.OOU employes hired by the hour
i the Tennessee river watershed.
The increased wages and shorter
ours were granted after collective
argaining conferences during the
ast six weeks between the Author:y
and the American Federation ol
abor's TV A unions.
The agreement provides for time
n<l a half for overtime and even highi
wages than the scale provides, if
ecessar> to meet prevailing wages
r. similar projects in communities
utsidc the watershed area when*
VA employes are assigned to work.
<'est of the additional wages to the
VA was estimated at mori than
500.000 annually. The largest si file
inc nas" wr.s ShStV ' for unkilled
workei . \vh - rate was inieased
from 4 > to 47 1-J cert- per
The question ?f wage inerea. es for
roups among the remaining 5,500
VA enipoyes wiii be taken up in
inferences early in the new year. In
lis group are many skilled workmen*
ngineeiv and supervisors.
The recent wage conferences did
ot affect the wage siatus of oft ice
orkers, for whom a point system has
ecn adopted, and in which employes
i each classification are rated as unatisfactory,
satisfactory or umisiily
satisfactory. As an office workr
moves from one rating to a highr
one over certain periods, a wage inrease
becomes automatic.