Newspapers / The Catawba County News … / July 18, 1916, edition 1 / Page 1
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The : Ma wton Emga yTMK XXXVIIL NEWTON, N. C, TUESDAY, JULY 18, 1916. NUMBER l i ' . .. - CATAWBA COIMY DEVASTATED BY A TREMENDOUS FLOOD Greatest Rain Storm in the Recollection of Any Man Sweeps Over All This Part of N. C. CATAWBA RIVER FORTY FEET ABOVE NORMAL Every Bridge Over Stream is Destroyed Together With Nearly All the Other Bridges in the County and Lookout Dam Gives Way Town Isolated From All Points by Destruction of Wire, Rail and Public Road Commnication Loss Runs Into Hundreds of Thousands. A wan! ana hna ;tirm moving north west from Charleston, S. C, covering most of South Carolina XT il " cutting' across iNorin iaro- with the Charlotte section as a center, caused the greatest rainfall on record Friday night and all day Saturday, putting every stream far out of bank and causing the most destructive riood in the history of this coun ty. There is no way of accurate ly measuring the rainfall but vessels in the open measuring from IS inches up were filled with water. The Catawba river rose in wild fury with a giant freshet that swept the river clean of barriers and hurled six great bridges from their high-placed beds, cutting its way around the Catawba end of the Lookout dam of the Southern Power company and liberating a lake of water 10 miles long. The Horseford, Moore's ferry, C. & N-W., Southern. Buffalo Shoals and Mooresville bridges are all gone. Down the South Fork eyery bridge went bv the board, it was reported yesterday, except Simp son bridge near R. L. Shuford's. Sandy Ford. Fingers and Ram seurs bridges are all gone. The Brookford bridge was cleaned away and $100,000 damage done to the Brookford cotton mill and community. The power house there was washed away. BALES COTTON GONE At Rhodhiss the dam broke and the cotton warehouse with over 2ou bales of cotton went down the river, the house riding as steady as a boat while a string of cotton bales bobbed their way to nobody knows where. Dwell ings, some live stock, countless logs and a forest of trees uproot ed from the banks all were seen sweeping-down the stream that in its flooded might was a thing of terror to people standing safe ly on the hills. COMMUNICATIONS CUT The Southern and Carolina & Northwestern, the Southern Power company, the phone and telegraph companies wre all put out of commission. The first break in the Southern occurred near Oyama Saturday when no trains passed after No. 22 going &ast. Towards Asheville not a bridge on the railroad between tare and Marion and in the fountains it was supposed that the track had been cut every where, thono-h no xrnvrl fnnlrl hp received of what really had hap pened. East of Newton the river bridge of the Southern at Cataw ba, built in 1901 after the flood of that year had knocked the bndge out, held until after 8 0 dock Sunday morning when a Pa't of it collapsed and a little later the rest of it went over. 1 he Rreat steel structure was fewept off its immense concrete Pillars.! bedded 30 feet beneath the bed of the river, bobbed up aain, sank, and reappeared, and stf'eI "timbers" were heard gapping and cracking as if in -a Krip ot a giant. These heavy "-uu.s can be retrieved, having "'eu no great distance from ine ,r rl low banks of the river the track is reported as gone, with cuts washed through here and there. C. & N-W. HARD HIT. The Carolina & Northwestern was hit throughout its entire length. There is no communica tion possible anywhere. The Catawba river bridge above Hickory, a fine steel structure that has stood for many years, was knocked from its piers. Be low Newton the track in low places was submerged, the low to bridges and telling of the es cape of the river at Lookout dam, a feeling of impotence seized on people. Never before had this part of the world experienced such a visitation. In May 1901, and in August, 1908, there were floods which broke records that had stood for fifty years, but this time the records set by those great floods were smashed, and people wondered. Floods afar off had been read about, stories of millions of loss and the loss of life had been heard of in distant places, and it was impossible to experience the feelings that come with such a blow "at home." This time it come home to this part of North Carolina and there has been a "feeling like a funeral" as one expressed it. With no mails, no wire com munication, no trains, and the town cut off completely from any word of the outside world and only rumors to go upon, Newton has been in a frame of mind! VARIOUS LOCAL NEWS ITEMS Minor Happenings Around Town and in the County and Notes of Interest To Home Readers Lincoln court was postponed yesterday and may not open i today, on account of the drought. R. L. Shuford's ice cream' plant with 400 gallons of cream frozen was in the flood but the cream Ttept o. k. : i Newton never had so much to talk about as yesterday, and every man, black or white, who came from the dam or anywhere on the river, was surrounded by a crowd. Superior Court Closed Saturday Superior court came to an end Saturday for the term and the following cases were handled: S. Wilkinson, executor James Connor, vs. M. O. Connor and others. M. O. Connor adjudged in contempt refusing to vacate property, and fined $5 and sen- tensed to 30 days in jail unless Carnival Man Comes But Law Against Him John Pope Drowned in South Fork River The reunion committee got hold ! Jonn FPe a young man of 21, of a carnival man showing at i Ilvm m the Zion church commu Warsaw in the eastern part of ! nity near the Forks of the South the state, last week, and he came' Fork river was drowned Sunday here and made an offer of $200 whiIe wading with another into he vacates property and stays off of it, by July 22. He was one of "the defendants and after Sheriff Isenhower had put him !off the property in Mountain Creek, which had been sold, he The township road commis-' went right back on it. sioners held a meeting yesterday j D. K. Fry and C. E. Cole vs. and made an inspection; of the:W. A. Abee and wife, judgment roads; and the county commis- j for $114.50. Appealed. Dr. Ches sioners will meet this morning, ter Jenning. executor Mrs. E. C. and both boards will immediate-: Thornton, vs. M. E. Thornton ly take such steps as they can to and R. W. Curtis, judgment for repair the damage to roads and $15000 and various amounts bridges. awarded other creditors. cash to the committee for the concessions and privilege of showing in town for reunion. He i has a carnival of six shows and a free act, and is said to have a good show all around. But im mediately the committee ran 1 1 ... tne river, toward a bridge, it is said. He stepped into water over nis reach and went down. His body was recovered Monday morning and will be buried at Zion Tuesday, A second death by drowning against the recent ordinance pro- was reported last night when hibiting carnivals within 300 feet People from Mt. Creek said Jim Brotherton s son lost his life in the Catawba while trying to get out a bale of cotton. of a dwelling or a church, enacted, after the committee had been promised, it states, the privilege of having a carnival here reun ion day. The show man left town : and the committee threatens to; throw up its job and quit. Mer- j chants interested point out that i : the burden of the exnense is px- Prop-j.p4.pj fn Up noifl hv thPTTi nnH The big sale of Abernethy & f rt and ,iron tks in Burling- j they think they ought to be al never before experienced; and it! Thompson, started Saturday, is , S . Dy receiver j lowed any privilege they can get, is with no cheerful face that the l and yesterday in spite of the !or 7'5UU' and this sum wasor-jof cutting the expense down, town and county faces its water-1 fact that the town was cut off dered applied to the indebted- j Th that th do not in K,l i j u a I frnm tho nmint tliavQ u-nva nei,i aS iar as it WOUId toUUKeu, ueuiajiKieU WUllU. All;"""' wu) ini cic aviator soariner over thn count v's i many people in the store. Read F. M. Williams vs. Improved u a u..u JL. Asbury Park, N - ; uudiu, uui me cummiiiee wants expanse would see the green corn of a thousand mud-covered and all but black-! again the sample offers of goods. valleys j The teachers' institute will wholly iopen Monday and will he con- bridge at Maiden stripped of its ruined; he would see the bridges ' ducted by Professor Knight of girders but the cross ties held to ; the total cost of which will run Trinity College and Miss Elliott the rails so that one could walk j into the tens of thousands, dis- j f rom the eastern part of the state, across. It was hoped to get this I mantled and carried away, and j The institute is to last two bridge yesterday. On below ! down the course of the Catawba j weeks, Professor Long, superin Maiden the road was cut to j he would see only a path of de-j tendent, notified the teachers pieces. Trainsrequire an indefinite j struction such as that stream has ! by card Saturday, but owing to length of time and it may be several weeks before another train runs. No mail reached Newton after No. 11 ran Saturday and the carriers could not make their rounds Suturday, but yesterday while Numbers. 2, 3, 4 and 5 attempted to serve as many patrons as possible, none Order of Heptosophs, resulted in j to a verdict tor the plaintitt. In! this case the plaintiff was a! member of the order and had ! paid assessments on insurance for many years until the order put all its old members in a class to themeselyes and raised their rates. The verdict is for $1,006. 37 and costs and appeal was tak- en. K. K. Williams ot Asne- know "what's the use?". A Capture a Deserter. Saturday night Sheriff Isen- jhower and Jailor Gilbert did i some nifty work in catching a ; deserter from the army, after jhe had dodged for more than i three years, in and out of New jton, during which time he had j married here. His name is ! Edward Megill and he is from J, He enlisted in January 1913, and deserted in ;May, 1913, at Fortress Monroe. meeting of business men may beJanuary th-g year he gecured held to take some action. Resolutions of Respect. Whereas, the Supreme Archi- of the Grand Master of the lodge Eternal above, and by our faith and trust in Him we know that could make their entire routes, j which must have been the waters No. 1 couldn't operate at all, be j which overwhelmed the lower ing unable to cross Clark's creek j cotton mills. Yesterday morn where Battle bridge used to be. j ing, although the impounded This stream carried off that! water had rushed away all night, bridge and all others on it except there was still an immense pond the one at Clarence Ikerd's. It left. Ves Covington, a colored reached from hill to hill and pre- man living near, said 204 cotton sented a specacle never seen in its valley before. Part of the naufli" ra t rircx ntr 111 iro iviL-q 1 11 -i -j 1 11 " !ine ue"uP m ma,ls 11 13 Pi'ooaoie ville appeared as chief counsel fifty feet at lookout gone j that there will be much delay. for the piaintiff, with McCorckle Sunday morning at 10 o'clock j The back water from the & Moose, local attorneys, and 50 feet of the concrete dam at j South Fork invaded some of R. his very .fine handling of the case, Lookout broke loose, up-ended j l. Shuford's stables at Oakwood ! which rested on law points only; and fell into the flood, and the j dairy farm, and drove out his was the subject of much favo-a-liberated waters roared th smashing the wing dam on the !was lost. Mr. Shuford himself In state vs. Claude Crider, the i he fioeth all things well; Catawba sine, and sending down ,toc xt,,.v nA,irf nrrlovorl fho Wir canf tr V.oi wnereas, we tne ' r V CLJ W CI LCI UU U11U ill iCtt LUil ; WUl V- UiUVl KJ J t?vlll WW HIV -!- the stream the immense flood Qnf,irdav nnH rhVln't a-ot hnmP Stonewall Jackson Training I atawDa ioage, jno. tilLSunday af terrooiaishea. a car .school, and this means that he came around by Hickory for him. must remain until 21, unless the Clark's creek visited the barn i governor shortens the time, of Henry McCorkle, the colored In I. E.. Zerdon vs. James La farmer, and sent his cattle and zos, a non suit was entered, a hogs to higher ground. Little stor- compromise being made, iesof similar nature are plentiful, j M. A. McGinnis and H. F. i Jones vs. the Drexel Furniture ! license under the name of Joe 1 jW, McDonald, giving his moth jer's name as Catherine Mc j Donald, and her name is Cath i erine Megill. and New Jersev as tect of the Universe in his good- his residence. His bride was ness and wisdom saw fit to re- Miss Ora Lee Ganes of Newton. imove trom our midst our beloved! and nnP .Tamps Jnnp? witnpAri brother, Dr. Thomas Walter 1 the license. Rev. Parker Holmes Long, who departed this life officiated. Megill had been dodg Junell, 1916, we bow in hum-iing in and out and dodged in ble submission to the divine wil 1 Saturday night. He was one to members A. place in lodge this fill aeross the bottoms was wash ed away with the bridge and it will cost a tidy sum to put that road back into shape. GUESSING THE DAMAGE Crop damage throughout the county cannot be estimated. Peo ple guess a million, two million, and then do not know whether they are near the loss. Bottom crops are supposed to be abso lutely ruined, while uplands were washed very badly. The corn crop will certainly be vastly re duced when the harvest is count ed. Locally there was no special damage. Streets were cleaned of surface, cellers filled with water, the local water pumping station submerged, stopping the operations there, and the town has been in darkness. The Ca tawba cotton mill has been stop ped by the lack of power but the Clyde and Newton mills have their own steam equipment and tried to start yesterday. The Ridgeview and Fidelity hosiery mills, save for small gas power in the first, are idle. The roof that didn't leak Sat- nrdnv and Sundav was a roof right. Stores and dwellings were damaered. several citizens having simply to move out. New houses were worse than old ones, The Enterprise building was flooded, and no work possible The Palace barber shop in the building was abso intplv drowned out and the bar bers couldn't shave a face. "FEELING LIKE A FUNERAL" Hundreds of Deople motored to the river all day Sunday, watched it with fascination, im pressed by the marvelous display of elemental strength, measured its rapid rise. Sunday and Sun- in bales were counted, and 45 bales j Caldwell Cochran company's retrieved all of which again got ' h:v nnnni snip nnt inst. in away save six. time to make a head-on collission From the dam to the hillside ! .virn fup finnfi vpr rhpv RniH washed out it is said there is a j goods Saturday in all that rain space as long as the original dam j and yesterday people who are and that if the company builds! nnf HanntPd hv floods ramp to . . .111-1 n back, it must buna a dam equauy j buy The saie win be carried first. Keports 01 icrht as reDorts came , 'w.ua, WI1C1C iHC I vv,7 -a reruns four miles along the confirming the vast destruction as long as the dynamiting the wing dam to let the flood through were denied yesterday. Rev. Carroll Smith was at the scene at 5:30 Sunday afternoon and he said it was only comparable to the rapids at Niagara Falls. ALL BRIDGES GONE Every bridge down the river, Rozzles Ferry, the Seaboard and Interurban at Mount Holly, the public road bridge, and the Bel mont bridge of the Southern, have washed away. On the lat ter bridge Sunday evening 25 men were trying to keep the driftwood away, when the bridge went out, taking them with it. Three wrere rescued but one died later, and all day yesterday six others were in a tree, while the Southern officials offered $1,000 rrl for p.ach. it was said. X T v 7 People coming back in cars last evening said that there was so much water around Mount Holly that "we didn't have no flood at all up here." Mountain Island cotton mill is reported as washed away. COTTON MILL DAMAGE So many stories were afloat vesterday it would be impossible to gather them all and today half that is written may be knocked up by fresh and accurate reports but tales told yesterday of cotton mill damage down tne nyers were fierce. Monbo mill was said to be a total wreck, with thf water over the East Monbo plant. Long Island was half full oe water before the dam burst at Lookout, Elm Grove at Lincoln ton was flooded, the creek bridge gone, several houses washed Co., were awarded $712.61 and interest from January 1, 1915. Williams, Shelton & Co. were awarded verdict for $1,060 and interest fromJulyll, 1916, against Brown, Cornelius & Co. W. H. Clark vs. Wade I. Cald well defendant cited to appear i November 3 to be examined con- j cerning his property and its . ap- j plication to a judgement obtain 1 ed last court against Mr. Cald I well. right along. The South Fork river washed away several wheat crops while it was at it Saturday and Sunday. Among the farmers who lost a lot this way was Will Shuford, Maryin McCombs here yes whose barn with oOO bushels erd from Mountian Creek said went down the river- Another that the degtruction of the Mon. man lost wheat and several cows. bo mm wag Qne Qf the awf ullest Friday morning Mrs. Clyde ' things a man ever saw. "When Rowe was hostess to the club, the building begin to give it wail Readings were given by Mrs, C. ed and made noises as if it were L. Everhardt and Miss Grace human. It was a sight to see Gaither, and Mrs. Albert Gai- j the whole thing go," The place gave a vocal solo and Miss Mary j Was utterly wiped out, he said. Hardister an instrumental selec- j Long Island was damaged but tion. Refreshments were served j stands, as does East Monbo. He I by Misses Kate Warlick and ! heard that at Mountain Island a Mary Gaither. j number were drowmed trying to ; get out. All up and down the awav and two churches. South-! river, he said, the scene is terri- & A. M. wish j minutes of our jpression of our high esteem inj i which we held him as one wrho ! lived the teachings of Masonry in his every day life; Therefore be it resolved: I. That in the sudden taking away of Bro. Loug, our lodge has lost a true and worthy brother, our town an highly esteemed; citizen, and our community a noble physician, whose absence we mourn and whose place int our hearts can be filled only by I the recollection of his kind na- j ture, his many virtues and his; nobility of character; ! II. That we extend to the be- j reaved family our heartfelt) surprised man when the officers took him. They had letters say ing he was around Newton and had married here, and had been of j looking for him several months. F. Thev e"Pt thp. usual $50 reward . the j Megill was in the 69th company cx I of coast artillery. J, W. Setzer of Smithfield, who, with Mrs. Setzer, has been visiting relatives in Hickory, was here yesterday with his brother. J Clerk Tom Setzer- He, like all j else, is waterbound for a time. He is in the real estate and truck- 1 ling Dusiness and very success ! f ul. He is trying to locate dairy j and stock men on several large tracts of land adapted to such i purposes. Drum Family Reunion. Newton, Rt. 2. -There will be a double familv reunion and sympathy and commend them birthday celebration at the home to the tender mercy and loving of Monroe Drum, Olivers cross care of the Supreme Architect, j Saturday the 29th. in who in his wisdom and goodness honor of the 57th birthday of T. knoweth all things, doeth that! T. nnfi n p Drum, twin broth- which is best for all; ers, and also of the 33rd birth- III. That a copy of these reso-!day of Monroe Drum. All friends lutions be sent to the family of j relatives and neighbors are in- side's dam and went down, and electric plant hie. In the Monbo store, he water was re-! said, they had left $400 in money 1 1 mi ? u ; u aanA cfArioc and SiUU in notes, ine river was I II I I I r-l 1 1.1 f 1 I T. Ill II II. kLLUIlU IjVX ilo ' falling fast yesterday but fcstill 10 to 15 feet above normal. in the other mills on the South Fork. More than 200 cotton mills on the power system were stopped by the lack of juice. Real Estate Sale marooned on island Saturday July 29 A farmer named Hedgepeth In this issue Stamey & Rut-i- t t ilpdcrp nresent the biggest land I I I I H I fill :i r I i I l I I I I L , IJ1JIIV I i - land,with his wife and 10 chil- sale ever pulled off rfoiv rnf nflp or.fi ! countv. It will be Sunday af ternood his people ; day the 29th and there is certain ro,r. ppt, in thpir home, with i ly no finer estate proposition the waters in 10 feet of the crest j Catawba county than this Rowe the deceased, to The Newton Enterprise, Catawba County j baskets. News and Orphans Friend for; publication, and that a page of our records be inscribed there with, sacred to his memory. J. A. Young ) vited to come with well-filled I This is the first newspaper j in America to be printed by a 'saw mill. It is not a perfect n'J ri L r, Diece of wTork bv any means, but J. B. Leonard in uatawDa held Satur- m of the hill, his barn and outbuild ings washed away, but they es caned. There were several property. As a place for a home or as an investment, it appeals to everybody. Be sure to keep houses at Long Island in a fiat I the date in mind and come to the into which eddy water poured ;saie. which began floating and men in . a ranoe went arounu, ia.si.eneu to them and anchored Miss Agnes Puette, one of the ' teachers in the Caswell Training; school at Kinston, called to her ; lilAll 11 UVllvl A, kJJ vii Hindoo ui 1 u u nc o n li 4.4. may he live - and prosper, her mother. Mrs. S. F. Puette, , , . , , , reached Hickory too late to get over the river and came here to i be with her aunt, Mrs. G. W. Cochran, until travel is possible, j t, you must admit, does very well for a saw mill product. What we mean is that the mo tive power is furnished by a gas oline wood sawing outfit belong ing to Elbert Deal, Esquire, and With no electricity and a cold and idle ! linotype standing like a corpse under a shroud of oilcloth, we are setting type by hand amid ! the fearsome din of a eras engine The Virginia Dare Book club'backed up to a rear window and met Tuesday with Mrs. Loy Sig-Lnnnprtpri w;th the nress hv a were mag-1 mile ofbelt) In a dry spell like this, you got to get back to first rones them to trees. Tne nne nome 01 Jason Sherrill at Sherrill's Ford with all its contents went down stream. Accidents will happen, but the best regulated families keep Dr. Thomas' Eclectic Oil for such emergencies. Two sizes 25c and 50c at all stores. advt. mon The decorations nolias and roses. Readings from O.Henry were given by Mrs. ther gave also a recitation. A vocal solo with guitar accompan iment by Mrs. Albert Gaither was enjoyed. Refreshments were served. Harsh physics react, wean the bowels, will lead to chronic constipation. Doan's Regulets operate easily. 25c a box at all stores- advt. principles, and that's where we landed yesterday, and were glad to do it. But, Oh, you Mergan- thaler and Oh, you electric juice we pine for your return. A healthy man is a king in his own right; an unhealthy man an unhappy slave, For impure blood and sluggish liver, use Burdock Blood Bitters. On the market 35 years. $2.00 a bottle.
The Catawba County News (Newton, N.C.)
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July 18, 1916, edition 1
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