Dedicated To Service For Progress (Ehernkfp ?>rnut EADING WEEKLY NEWSPAPER IN ???.. " ^ Our Aim: ? A Butter Murphy ?r ? -w?r ^ ^ ^ ^ t mer County THE LEAPING WEEKLY NEWSPAPER IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. COVERING A LARGE AND POTENTIALLY RICH TEURITORY VOL. 25.-NO. 28. MURPHY. N. C. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY ?. 1941 3? COPY-SI * PER YRAR WPA BEGINS WORK ON EXHIBIT HALI. AT FAIR GROUNDS $12,332 Project To Be Completed By Late Summer WPA crew of about 20 men begam excavation work last Friday pre paratory to laying foundation; for the new exhibit hall on the leal fair grounds. Concrete pouring is expect ed to be under way by the end of ?his week. The building is expected to be completed in time for the next County Fair. The $12,332 project was approved oy the WPA last November, but workmen had not been avilable until this time to begin the actual work. Larger crews will be added as the work demands, and completion of the project is frseen in August or Setp < ruber. L. E. Barnett. district WPA sup ervisor who has charge of this work, and a Raleigh official conferred with County and Fair association officials Tuesday on arrangements to go a head with the construction work. Materials for the present stages of construction are ready for use and other materials will be brought in as needed. Machinery and men are being called to the job as fast fts they are needed. The new exhibit hall will be a stone structure 65 by 110 feet, to be located along^tha upper side of the fair ground*, nhir the back entrance The building will have hardwood floors so that it can be used as a gmnaslum for school athletic class es and activities, dances, and general community use. Plans also call for a steam heating plant to be installed under one cor- j Jier of the building, and a small basement for storage purposes. There will be entrances on either side, and at one end a small wing will be add- I <d later for use as dressing rooms when the building is put into use as a gymnasium. The project calls for the erection of additional cattle sheds, new fences and possibly a grandstand. Various improvements to the entSi* fair wounds are also included in the plans. ?-o EPISCOPAL SERVICES Services at the Church of the Messiah, Episcopal, will be held at ? P. M., next Sunday evening by the Rev. Rufus Morgan. Sheriff Loads Calves Too Heavily in Truck; Three of Them Die Three calves dead was the price paid by Sheriff Townson for loading too many into a track for the Knox- I ville market one day last week. All told sixteen calves ranging in age from one month to five montl-s old were in the truck which was loaded at the Townsend farm near Marble. By the time the truck re ached Andrews three of the calvei were dead or in a dying condition. The dead calves and four othero were unloaded. Then the truck pro ceeded on to Knoxvllle. The value of the calves lost was about $35.00. 0 T. and N. C. Railroad Bought in Entirety By W. T. Holland When Alderman and lumberman W. Turner Holland of Andrews was a little bit of a shaver Santa Claus brought him a tin "steam engine" a tin coal car and a couple of tin pas senger coaches. The whole business was less than three feet long and there were no tracks to go with it. The train wouldn't run. either, unless you pushed it?but young Holland thought it was grand. He shoved it around the house and in the yard until he wore out the wheels. Also he announced to his family, that when he grew up he was going to be a railroad man. He wasn't sure wheather he would be a conductor or an e*steeer.~He thought that maybe he'd be both. Well, that boyish announcement has come true;?for on January 20. Mr. Holland became sole owner of the entire Tennessee and North Carolina Railroad. The system covers 26 miles of track between Andrews and Hayesville, and the new owner already has begun improvements which will make it 100 per cent ef ficient. Incidentally he plans to change the former schedule of run ning whenever the engineer and crew got ready to a couple of round trips every day except Sunday. May be, if business warrants, the trains will operate Sunday too. Although the line is a single tracked, the trains can pass each other by using a switch, at Peachtree. The road equipment consists of two engines, two coal cars, two flat cars, a caboose and one passenger coach. The road will carry no pas sengers, however, and so the pas senger coach will be torn down and converted into another flat bed car. There also is a machine shop, com (Continued on Back Page) Ground Hog Appears; Verdict A Mystery -But Usually He's A Rotten Prophet Wee Willie Groundhog followed his age old custom, and came out of his hole on Sunday to make his an nual prediction regarding the weat her for the next si* weeks. The time honored rule is that if he is able to see hi? shadow, he dives back in his hole to sleep for six weeks more. Those six weeks are supposed to contain plenty of oold weather, and then some. If. on the other hand his little body casts no shadow, he stays out. and Spring is supposed to be Just around the corner. Last year Mr. Groundhog was 100 Per cent right. He came out on Feb. 2. as per schedule: stayed out just a few seconds and then went back. "It's gona to be cold" he murmured in groundhog language?and brot her* and Sisters, he sure spoke a J^mrthful. RveryboiTr- iri these parts **? thai. Whether he stayed out or went I back in his hole on Sunday is a mat ter of doubt. Some say he could see his shadow early in the morning. Others say that he might not have come out until mid-day. when the skies were gray, and there was not a shadow cast in all the County. Whatever Mr. Groundhog did. his actions should not be taken seriously, for the record book shows him to be a rotten prophet. In the last 50 years he has been more than 50 per cent wrong. In 193P 'or Instance, he stayed out. and those who believed in him pre pared for an early spring. That made it Just too bad for them, because we were needing fires in April. In 1M8. on the other hand he dived back in his hole?and slept through one of the nicest and ear liest springs in a dec ado He missed It in 1937 too. All told, he's over-rated. WHAT OUR LEGISLATURE IS DOING Editor's Not?:?This la thr fourth | of a series of werkly snnimrin on | the activities of the 1941 General I Assembly. Taxation, as usual, occupicd a pro- I minent place in the Legislature last ' week, with emphasis on gasoline and j auto license taxes: and with substan- I tial changes proposed in collection and foreclosure A bill which would allow local units to dispense with tax certificate sales, and assign the lines, was re ported unfavorably. Another measure setting a limitation of ten years from due date of taxes on foreclosures to enforce tax liens on real cSUte, pd.v> td its second reading in the House. Auto license fees would be revised by a bill to fix fees for trucks and trailers used for agricultural pur poses art $5 and $2 respectively. An other bii: would exempt trucks used in national defense projects from all contract hauler fees, if used within a radius of 30 miles of the defense project. Gasoline used in school busses would be exempted from tax, as well as gas owned by a licensed distribu tor and destroyed by cartastrophr under two other bills. Automobile junk yards would be licensed by the State, with charges ranging from $600 to $10 under an other bill. This measure would pro hibit counties, cities and towns from such yards at all. Hospital care for highway acci dent victims would be provided un der the terms of a proposed act which would set up a fund by addine 50 cents t:> the cost of auto tag li censt.-v Persons injured in any high way accident would have their hos pital bills paid out of this fund to the extent of $3 per day. for a maxi mum of 21 days. Under the terms of a highway bill, the State Highway Commission would be directed to construct or im prove. or both, roads connecting the county seat with the largest town in the county, where the county seat is not the largest town. A bill, endorsed in substance by the administration, would prohibit the sale of fortified wines" in all counties not operating ABC stores. A measure was offered to allocate the entire $1 additional cost in cri minal cases, half of which has been going to the SBI and the Statistics Division of the Justice Department, to the Law Enforcing Officers' Be nefit and Retirement Fund. Another measure would authorize State Highway patrolmen to execute warrants issued by J. P's anywhere in the state without indorsement. A third law enforcement bill would make madatory a jail sentence of at least five days for second and sub sequent offenders convicted of driv ing while under the influence of li quor or drugs. A fourth would per mit the issuance of search warrants for gambling on lottery tickets, books, papers and documents. Another measure designed to ex pand and improve the public school system would allow the State School Commission to provide for a twelfth grade where requested by the County Board of Education. The institution of msrrriago would be accommodated by a bill extend ing the time for physical examinat ion for seven to thirty days before date of presentation of cer.'ificate and requiring non-residents to un dergo the physical examination re quired of residents, and by a measure arranging for the marrying official to give copies of the marriage li cense to the couple at time of mar riage. Under another bill Maternal Be (Conliirard on Back Pace) Rough Road Riles 'cm; They Borrow Scraper ?and Land in Lock-up Mr William Ball and Mr William Newman, both from distant parts, both employed at the Nantahala Dam. and both living in the remote fastnesses of Granny Squirrel Gap. T were trudging their way to town, cel ebrating a day off. They were walk ing ui. and the road, u new one. was plenty rough. Taint right. Bill." quoth Newman. "What ain't right. Bili?" asked Ball Why. this here mountain goat trail they rail a road". Newman ex PmmTmu. "ilr'o au lull ui iuxnps 1 leel like I'm on a roller coaster. Some thin' oughta be done." "Yeah." quoth Mr Ball, "?but what?" They trudged along in silence un til. all of a sudden, they came upon a huge serapcr belonging to Gregory and People, road contractors. The scraper was standing idle, and the same idea hit the two Williams at the same instant. "If you can't drive her. I can." said Bill Newman. "I can?but let's (Continued on Back Page) O Legion Seeks Vets For New Service if War Comes Again Veterans of the first World War may serve again: if and when we get into the present cnflict. The Ame rican Legion has prepared a quest ionnaire in which all former soldiers I are asked to state just what services they are best qualified to offer. The questionnaires have been sent, to Winslow Mclver. secetary of the legion post in Murphy, and to the Legion Hut. in Andrews. All veterans whether members of the Legion or not. are asked to contact whichever place is more convenient, and fill out the blanks which will be sent to Department Headquarters, for future references. The listing of qualifications is ! NCT compulsory. Neither does it I obligate the vetran to accept a call ' for his services, should one come. It | is merely a voluntary means of pre j paredness, to be used "just in case." No military duty is involved. FAHALYSIS FUND DRIVE IS SUCCESS IN THIS COUNTY Birthday Ball Most Colorful, Largest In History of Event Cherokee county responded spl endidly to the campaign for funds to fight infantile paralysis rturint: the past few days The largest con tribution came fr-m the birthday dance vhich grossed $193 00 while smaller amounts were deriiA-d through the march of dimes drive With all expenses taken care of. a net amount of $100 is already ac counted for and later returns arc expected to bring this amount to $150 as this county's contribution to the Flfci't Infantile Paralysis fund President Rossevelt's birthday was celebrated in the most enjoyable and successful br.ll in its history in the county Saturday night as crowds turned out from all this section for the two dances held in Andrews. More than 150 couples attended not including entertainers and per sons aiding in staging the affairs. Although the aances were started earlier than usual, because the date fell on Saturday night, the crowds were really responsive. Visitors came from several adjoining counties tend towns and two states to join the fes tivities. H. Bueck. chairman of the March of Dimes and Paralysis fund drives in this county, expressed mild elation at the apparent success of the cam paign. Dancing to the music of Vincent Wright and his twelve piece band the crowd seemed to gain enthusiasm as the two dances progressed in the gaily, but appropriately, decorated, decorated gymnasium and Youth building. The gym contained a large crowd at all times during the dance, while square dancers kept the Youth building's walls bulging, as they danced four sets to the music of the Marble string band. The costumed presentation of old English and Danish folk dances by members of the John C. Campbell Folk school. Brasstown. at intermiss ion of the round dance, proved to be the feature entertainment presented (Continued on Back P?je) Tom Mauney Tells of Strange Day; Believe It Or Not, He Vows It's True Let it be said, at the very beginn ing that the Scout does NOT vouch for the truth of what follows. The tale is told by Tom Mauney, tireless I demon of internal revenue collections I and equally tireless with rod and gun. The other day, Mauney says, he and Georgia friend were hunting on a farm near Hiawassee. Reaching the top of a hill, they saw an old man plowing in the valley. "We can't hunt here,, said Mauney "there's the owner of this farm, and hell run us off." "Oh no. he won't!" said the other sportsman. "That old fellow can't run anybody, anywhere?he's stone Wind." "I don't believe it" Mauney said, "because that old man was plowing a straight furrow without even a stumble." So my friend took me over and introduced me. Sure enough, the old man had been blind for nearly 50 years. He sarid he never had any trouble getting around the farm, though, because he could still re member where everything was. "He told me he was 78 years old? and then he invited us up to the farm house, to meet his dad We went, and found the father?who was 98?chopping logs for firewood." "While we visited a hound dog came lazing up. He sniffed at me. and I noticed that his toe nails were three about three inches long I asked about the animal." V/ell sir, according to the 98 year old gentlemen, he had hit that dog over the head with an axe, when the animal took a fit. and had thrown him 80 feet down an aban doned mine shaft, believing him dead. He explained that the sh?ft was used as a grave for anything that died on the place?mules?chic kens, anything, because throwing the bodies down was easier than digging. "Eight months after the dog had been thrown down the shaft the 98 year old father said, he was passing the shaft when he heard a whining. He couldn't see the bottom of the shaft, but the noise kept up. and so finally he got a foot rope, tied a basket on one end. and let the bas ket down." "When he hauled it up. the dog was inside: a little thin, but other wise healthy. He said the animal evidently had survived the blow from the axe. and had kept alive by eat ing the carrion thrown down." "He said the dog's toenails had been normal when he was thrown down the shaft. He added that he believed they had grown to three inch length because the shaft gave the dog only a few feet to move * round in."

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