TRANSYLVANIA
IS—
An Industrial, Tourist,
Educational, Agricul
tural and Music Cen
ter Population 12,241
The Transylvania Times
A State And National Prize-Winning Newspaper And An A.B.C. Paper
TRANSYLVANIA
IS—
The Land of Waterfalls,
Mecca for Summer
Camps, Entrance to
Pisgah National Forest
and Home of Brevard
Music Festival
Vol. 58; No. 51
★ SECTION ONE ★
BREVARD. NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1948
* 20 PAGES TODAY ★
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
C. OF C. HOLDS IMPORTANT MEET
*★★★★★★★★★★★★★* ★ ★★*★★*★* ★ * <r
To Hold Special Election Here This Saturday
SUCCESSOR TO
MRS. E. L. McKEE
TO BE ELECTED
Democrats Nominate W. H.
Crawford. G. P. Fergu
son On GOP Ticket
POLLS OPEN 6:30-6:30
There will be a special electior
in Transylvania and four othei
Western North Carolina counties
to choose a successor to the late
Mrs. E. L. McKee, senator-elect
from the 32nd district, on Satur
day, Dec. 18.
According to Frank Duckworth
chairman of the Transylvania coun
ty board of elections, all the pol
ling places in the county will be
open from 6:30 a m. to 6:30 p.m
The same registrars and judges will
serve for the special election that
served in the November general
election, it is reported by the
chairman.
Last Saturday W. H. (Gudger)
Crawford, Sylva business man,
was named the candidate for the
special election by the Jackson
County Democratic Executive com
mittee. Mr. Crawford defeated E
L. McKee, 13 to 5, in the commit
tee voting. He lost to the late
Mrs. McKee by one vote in the
May Democratic primary.
Republican leaders Monday nom
inated Gola P. Ferguson, of the
Speedwell section of Jackson coun
ty, as their candidate to oppose
Mr. Crawford. Mf. Ferguson is a
farmer, a former sheriff and three
times he represented Swain coun
ty in the state legislature, accord
ing to Lewis P. Hamlin, district
chairman.
A sample copy of the ballot can
be seen on page five of The Times
this week.
Chairman Duckworth explains
that North Carolina law does not
provide for filling this important
vacancy in any other way except
by election. “Since the coming
—Turn To Page Eight
TAYLOR IS ELECTED
CONSUL COMMDER
Succeeds Ayers As Head Of
WOW. Other Officers
Are Named
J. Fred Taylor was elected con
sul commander of Balsam Camp
No. 116, Woodmen of the World,
at the last regular meeting suc
ceeding J. I. Ayers. The new com
mander is a member of the local
fire department and is head of the
job printing department at The
Transylvania Times.
Other new officers were also
elected at the last meeting and
installation will take place at the
first meeting in January.
New officers are J. I. Ayers,
past consul commander; J. B. Sow
ell. advisor lieutenant; E. H. Mc
Mahan, banker; Lewis J. House,
escort; Jim Rigdon, watchman;
Joe "Whitmire, sentry; and C. H.
Trowbridge, auditor.
CALENDAR OF
EVENTS
»• - - - - ■■ - ~— ■■ ■*
Thursday, Dec. 16 — Glee club
concert at Brevard college, 11:00
a m. B & PW Christmas party at
Country club, 7:00 p.m. Lions
Ladies’ night at Gaither’s cafeteria,
7:00. Installation of Masonic of
ficers, 7:30.
Friday, Dec. 17 — Garden club
meets with Mrs. Brown Carr at
3:30 p.m. Junior play at Brevard
high school, 8:00 p.m. American
Legion square dance at 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 18 — Special
election for state senator. B & PW
club to distribute toys to needy
children.
Sunday, Dec. 19 — Attend the
church of your choice. Fellowship
supper at Methodist church, 6:30
p.m. Christmas cantata-pageant at
Presbyterian church, 7:30.
Tuesday, Dec. 21 — Fidelis class
party at Baptist church, 8:00.
Wednesday, Dec. 22 — Rotary
—Turn To Page Five
Only Eight More Shopping Days
Til Christmas, Stores Are Well
Stocked, Open Thurs. Afternoon
Thomas Elected
GILL THOMAS, Brevard busi
ness man and active Mason, was
elected Worshipful Master of
the Dunn’s Rock Masonic lodge
here. He succeeds E. L. Happ
and will be installed Thursday
night.
THOMAS ELECTED
MASTER OF DUNN’S
ROCK LODGE HERE
Winchester And Parrish Are
Wardens. Jenkins And
Henderson Re-elected
Gill Thomas, popular Brevard
business man, will be installed
worshipful master of Dunn’s Rock
Masonic lodge Thursday night,
December 16th, at 7:30 o’clock.
Mr. Thomas is a salesman for
the Brevard Wholesale company, a
past worthy patron of the Eastern
Star, member of the board of di
rectors of the Brevard Kiwanis
club and chairman of the board of
deacons of the First Baptist
church. He is also an officer in
the lodge of Perfection of the Scot
tish Rite bodies in Asheville.
The newly elected and appointed
officers will be installed by Dr.
Maxwell E. Hoffman, of Asheville,
Grand Master of Masons in North
Carolina. Leon English will serve
! as marshall.
Other officers who will be in
stalled are D. H. Winchester, senior
warden; Ralph Parish, junior war
den; A. N. Jenkins, treasurer;
Henry R. Henderson, secretary;
Vernon P. Fullbright, senior dea
con; Joe E. Duckworth, junior
deacon. The following were ap
pointed by the master elect and will
also be installed at the same time:
Theodore McCrary and Briscoe
Whitmire, stewards; Ansel Hart,
tyler and Rev. B. W. Thomason,
chaplin.
E. L. Happ. retiring master, urges
all members to attend this impor
tant meeting, and a cordial invi
tation is extended to all visiting
masons.
Santa Will Return To Bre
vard Saturday. Invitation
Is Issued Shoppers
With only eight more shopping
days ’til Christmas, Brevard stores
are well stocked with Christmas
merchandise and local merchants
are expecting trade to pick up
sharply as Christmas day approa
ches.
To better accommodate gift seek
ers, local stores, with the excep
tion of the * grocers, will remain
open this Thursday afternoon and
next Thursday afternoon. Begin
ning Friday evening of this week
and continuing through next Tues
day evening, local stores will re
main open until 8:00 o’clock. The
three nights preceding Christmas
next Saturday, they will stay open
until 9:00 o’clock for the conven
ience of the last-minute shopper.
All stores here will take a holi
day on Christmas day and the
Monday following.
Assortments in the stores here
have been larger this year offering
shoppers a greater latitude of
choice and several merchants re
port that their lay-away business
this year has been brisk.
S nta Claus will be back in Bre
lvuid Saturday to mingle with the
children and visit in the stores.
Speaking for the local mer
chants’ association, which each
year sponsors the Christmas trad
ing event. President Alex Patter
son yesterday repeated his invit
ation to all Brevard’s trading area
to do their buying here. Local
merchants this year are doing their
utmost to please shoppers in the
hope that in this way they can win
additional regular customers, he
said.
Brevard Lions Will
Have Xmas Party
The local Lions club will have
their wives and sweethearts as
guests at a ladies night party at
Gaither’s cafeteria this (Thurs
day) evening beginning at 7
o’clock.
Dr. E. O. Roland, president, said
that while this would count as a
regular meeting no business would
be transacted and no formal pro
gram has been arranged.
Emphasis, he said, would be on
informality and fun. A door prize
will be given and a number of
others will be awarded. The demon
tail-twisters, he said, would be ex
tremely active during the evening,
which means that there will be a
good deal of hilarity and perhaps
some chagrin on the part of some
members, according to Dr. Ro
land.
ON WESTERN JAUNT
Hale Siniard, one of the owners
of Star Taxi, is on a western jaunt,
having taken a party of people to
California. A card received from
him yesterday morning by The
Times said the trip to Crescent
Beach, Calif., was 3,335 miles. Mr.
Siniard said they traveled through
a gold mining area and saw a salt
plant and lots of other interesting
things.
Brevard Gl’s Allotted Four More
Pre-fa bs, Total Of 42 Received
The Brevard GI Housing com
mittee, Inc., has been allotted four
more pre-fabricated houses which
will arrive in the next few days,
Cecil Hill, the executive secretary,
announces today.
“After the first of the year,
there will be other prefabs avail
able for veterans who can pay
cash,” Mr. Hill says.
“These are better houses than
those we received in the first al
lotment,” he continued. Each one
comes equipped with a gas stove,
hot water heater, a circulating
theater, kitchen cabinets, etc., it is
1 stated.
The most recent allotment of
four makes' a total of 42 granted
to Transylvania GI’s. “We have re
ceived more than any other coun
ty the size of Transylvania in the
Southeast,” the secretary explains.
Owners of the four new ones
are William Neill, Walter McNee
ly, Scott Galloway and Van Tins
ley. The houses are being sent to
Brevard from Liberty Homes,
Charleston, S. C.
Persons interested in getting a
prefab after the first can contact
the secretary or any member of
the executive board. Other mem
bers are Raymond F. Bennett and
Charlie Russell.
“EVERYTHING IS
IN ORDER HERE”
MAYOR REPORTS
Only One Case In Court.
Very Few Arrests
Are Made
By STAFF WRITER
“Everything is in order in Bre
vard,” according to reports this
week by the mayor and members
of the Brevard police department.
A look at the court records and
the number of arrests here re
cently substantiates their conten
tion.
In mayor’s court Monday morn
ing there was only one case to be
tried. “This isn’t the first time
that court recessed quickly because
of the lack of offenders,” Mayor
S. E. Varner stated.
“Just the other day,” he con
tinued, “one of our leading citi
zens stopped me and said that
this was the first time you could
n’t buy whiskey in the city limits
of Brevard,” the Mayor comment
ed.
“All these things are brought
about by an efficient and alert
police department,” he declared.
And the mayor deserves a lot
of credit for a cleaner, safer and
prettier town, too.
TO DISTRIBUTE
TOYS SATURDAY
Members Of B & PW Club
Busy Completing Project
For Needy Tots
Members of the Business and
Professional Women’s club have
been busy during the past few
weeks on the toy project for needy
children, and all toys donated have
now been repaired and are ready
for distribution Saturday, it was
announced by the chairman, Dot
Poole.
Each committee chairman has
been responsible for workers in the
shop each evening, and it has been
estimated that enough toys for
some 300 children have been re
paired.
The Toy Shop committee today
expressed appreciation to the Bre
vard merchants who have donated
toys. It was pointed out that many
of the local stores have given toys
that are in excellent condition and
not in need of any repair.
The chairman also stated th?d
I she wished tc thank Smathers Man
! ufacturing company and the pres
ident, Paul Smathers, for repair
ing the tricycles.
Letters have been sent to par
ents inviting them to pick up the
toys at the shop Saturday. Mem
bers of the club will be on duty
to distribute them at the shop lo
cated next to the post office.
Prevent Fires At
Yuletime, Chief
Merrill Stresses
To protect the lives of children,
and grownups also, Chief Dan
Merrill recommends these safety
precautions for the holidays:
1. Set up the Christmas tree
away from stairs and heating and
lighting fixtures and anchor it se
curely with the butt in a pan of
water. Discard all evergreens
promptly after Christmas.
2. Use non-burning ornaments
on trees, and room decorations and
costumes that have been treated
to make them fire resistive. The
solution used for this purpose con
tains nine ounces of borax and
four ounces of borac acid to one
gallon of water. Application by
steeping in warm solution is pref
erable, but dipping, brushing and
spraying can also be used. The
fabric then should be drained and
hung up to dry.
3. Avoid all use of lighted can
dles. Instead, use sets of minia
ture electric lights that are identi
fied as safe by the label of Under
writers’ Laboratories on the wires
or by carton markings. People in
pageants or processionals should
carry electric candles run by flash
light batteries.
—Turn To Page Eight :
C. of C. Officials For Next Year
Pictured at the left, above, is JOHN SMITH, local barber and
charter member of the organization, who was elected president of
the Brevard chamber of commerce by the directors Tuesday night.
Mr. Smith tied with VERNE CLEMENT, right, who withdrew in
favor of Mr. Smith and was unanimously named vice president.
Christmas Vacation Will Start
In Schools, At College Friday,
Special Church Services Slated
SEVERAL SCOUTS
ADVANCE AT LAST
COURT OF HONOR
Next Meeting Set For Feb
ruary 11. Will Be Held
Every Other Month
Several Transylvania Boy Scouts
were advanced at the court of
honor here last Friday night at
the First Baptist church and four
boys received merit badges. A
large crowd, including the Girl
Scouts and Brownies, attended the
meeting, which was climaxed with
the showing of a technicolor film
on “Orientation.”
It was decided that the next
honor court would be held on Feb
ruary 11, and that the courts would
be held every other month instead
of monthly.
C. M. Douglas made the second
class award to James B. Brown,
of troop No. 9. Lewis Hamlin made
the award of first class to the fol
lowing: Dean McDarris,troop No.
2; Homer Cox and Kenneth Par
ker, of troop No. 9.
Receiving merit badges were
the following Scouts: Homer Cox,
home repairs; Ray Talley, physi
cal development; James E. Brown,
swimming; and, Kimsey Jackson,
swimming. Rev. W. G. McFarland,
district chairman, made the pre
sentations.
Jack Trantham, chairman of ad
vancement in Transylvania, pre
sided over the court of honor.
Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Sprott and
daughter, Beverly, will leave this
week end for Leland, Miss., to
spend Christmas with Mr. Sprott’s
parents.
Teachers To Receive Pay
For Entire Month Of
December
Christmas observances will mark
the traditional holiday season
here beginning this week end with
all county schools and churches
having their annual programs.
Transylvania schools will dose
Friday for a two weeks’ holiday
and pupils will not be required to
return until Monday, January 3rd,
Supt. J. B. Jones states.
Christmas programs and parties
will be held in the elementary and
high schools on Friday. The jun
ior play at the high school will be
Friday night and a holiday dance
for the teen-agers Saturday night
will complete the high school stu
dents’ observance.
Supt. Jones announces that Tran
sylvania teachers will be paid for
the entire month of December in
stead of the first 17 days, as pre
viously told. “I’m sure this is wel
come news,” he commented.
Brevard college students will
leave at noon Friday and are not
required to return until January
3rd, the same opening date as that
of the public schools. A concert of
Christmas music will be given at
the college Thursday morning by
the Greensboro college glee club,
and a Christmas dance will be
held in the gym Thursday night.
All churches in Brevard have
planned Christmas programs. The
annual musical program was given
at the Baptist church last Sunday
night and a special musical pro
i gram will also be given Sunday
morning under the direction of
Mrs. Elma Randall, former choir
director. The Presbyterians will
give their annual cantata Sunday
night, and the Methodists will
have a Christmas fellowship sup
per Sunday night. The Christmas
Eve service will again be held at
—Torn To Page Fom
Successful Fire Drills Held In
All Brevard Schools Monday
Highly successful fire drills were
held in all the Brevard schools
Monday afternoon by Fire Chief
Dan Merrill, it is reported today.
“I want to personally thank the
teachers and principals for their
fine cooperation,” the local fire
:hief stated.
A total of 240 pupils completely
cleared the primary building in
57 seconds, while 435 were march'
Jd out of the new junior high
school building in 55 seconds.
‘These drills were timed by a stop
vatch and the time taken for each
s accurate and remarkably low,”
Mr. Merrill continued.
The intermediate school build
ing, housing 320 pupils, was clear
ed in one minute flat, as was the
high school building with a total
of 400 students.
The fire chief also conducted a
drill in the new Rosenwald school
building, and 186 students orderly
marched out in 60 seconds.
“We are well pleased with the
results of Monday’s drills, and I
want to once again thank the teach
ers and principals for fire preven
tion work and safety program in
the schools,” Mr. Merrill conclud
ed.
1949 WILL BE BIG
YEAR IN HISTORY
QF LOCAL GROUP
Smith Elected To Succeed
Jerome. Other Officers
Are Chosen
PREPARING FOLDER
Extensive and elaborate plans
for promotion, publicity and gen
eral welfare of Brevard and Tran
sylvania county were discussed by
members of the new board of di
rectors of the chamber of com
merce Tuesday night at the city
hall.
The meeting was highlighted by
the election of officers for the new
year. John Smith, well-known bar
ber here and charter member of
the organization, and Verne Clem
ent, former state senator and ac
tive civic leader, were nominated
for president. The outcome was a
tie vote, and Mr. Clement declined
the nomination in favor of Mr.
Smith. The board then decided tO'
name Mr. Clement vice president.
Mrs. Ralph R. Fisher, who has
served as executive secretary for
many years, tendered her resig
nation, which the board refused to
accept. She was unanimously elect
ed to serve for the ensuing year.
C. M. Douglas was re-elected as
recording secretary, and S. E. Var
ner, Sr., was named treasurer
Others Elected
Raymond F. Bennett was re
elected as representative on the
hospital board. Lewis Hamlin wilt
again represent the chamber of
commerce on the community coun
1 oil, and representatives to the Bre
| vard Athletic and Recreation as
sociation are as follows: Raymond
F. Bennett, George Wheeler, John
Eversman, Curtis Kelley, R. E.
Lawrence and Alex Kizer.
In going out of office retiring
president, Jerry Jerome, said he
appreciated the fine cooperation*
and spirit during the past year and»
—Torn To Page Five>
BOB BOLT NAMED
JAYCEE PREXY
Work Of Civic Group Dur
ing. Past Year Is High
lighted At Meeting
Bob Bolt was elected president
of the Brevard Jaycees at the meet
ing Tuesday night in Gaither’s
cafeteria. He succeeds Charlie
Himes. President Bolt is superin
tendent of grounds at Ecusta Pa
per corporation.
As a Jaycee, the new president
has an outstanding record. He is
a charter member of the local or
ganization, served as vice presi
dent in 1947 and secretary in 1943.
Lloyd Burhans was elected first
vice president, and Ray Swink,
second vice president. Russ Poole
was named secretary, and treas
urer is George Perkins, Jr. The
members of the board of directors
are J. F. Cox, Doyle Wells, John
Ford, David Sams and Charles
Himes.
New officers will be installed on
January 11 at Gaither’s cafeteria.
The new president announces
that Jaycees will continue their
civic projects in 1949, participat
—Turn To Page Eight
Times Will Publish
Christmas Edition
On Next Wednesday
Next week The Transylvania
Times will publish its annual
“Christmas Greetings Edition,”
and will feature appropriate
messages from business firms,
industries and individuals.
All advertisers are urged to
cooperate with The Times in
preparing and getting their copy
in early. The paper will go on
the news stands at the usual
time on Wednesday evening,
Publisher Ed M. Anderson states.
He also states that it is not
too late to send The Times to
friends as a Christmas gift. An
attractive card, telling by whom
the subscription is sent, will
accompany the issue next week.