McDowell
County’s
Leading
Newspaper
MARION PROGRESS
Advertising
in the
Progress
Pays
A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE OF MARION AND McDOWELL COUNTY
ESTABLISHED 1896
MARION. N. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1940
VOL. XLIV—NO. 27
WPA Project For
New Jail Here
Given Approval
Work On $46,000 Addition
To Court House To Begin
Within Thirty Days.
McDowell county’s application
for a $50,000 WPA project for mak
ing an addition to the county court
house for a new jail has been ap
proved in Washington, according to
information received here yesterday
by I. L. Caplan, chairman of the
McDowell board of commissinoers.
Of the estimated $50,000 cost of
the addition to the courthouse ap
proximately $20,000 will be furnish
ed by McDowell county. The amount
of $26,269 has been allotted for the
project by the Federal government.
Part of the cost the county is called
upon to pay will be furnished in the
form of labor and materials.
Work on the project is expected
to begin within the next 30 days.
According to estimates, from 60 to
75 men will be employed on the pro
ject and approximately eight months
will be required to complete thework.
Plans for the project call for a 3-
story structure that will accommo
date twice the number of prisoners
and enable officers to segregate pris
oners. The work will also include the
installation of a heating system
plumbing, and electrical facilities.
News of the approval of the proj
ect by the Presid.ent was released
Tuesday from the office of Represen
tative Zebulon Weaver.
OPENING OF COUNTY
SCHOOLS POSTPONED
McDowell county schools, which
have been closed since January 23,
will not open until Monday, Febru
ary 5, according to an announcement
released here this week by N. F.
Steppe, County Superintendent of
schools. Opening:s were postponed af
ter school committeemen, principals,
and the superintendent had agreed
that weather conditions made travel
ing unsafe for children.
With the exception of seven days,
county schools have been closed
since the beginning of the Christmas
holidays. Openings were deferred
from January 1 to January 15 be
cause of flu cases that swept over
most of the county. Bad weather,
with resulting icy roads, led to the
closing of the schools on January 23.
FRANCIS MARION CLUB
TO HOLD TOURNAMENT
PROPST TALKS ON 1940
CONSERVATION PROGRAM
The Francis Marion club will spon
sor a basketball tournament to be
held in the Community building Feb
ruary 22-24, it was decided at the
semi-monthly meeting of the organi
zation last Thursday.
Truman Westmoreland and How
ard Holland were appointed to ar
range the tournament. According to
Mr. Holland, 12 teams have been in
vited to participate‘in the contest but
no answers have as yet been received
Trophies will be awarded to the win
ing team, the consolation winner, and
to individual players who distinguish
themselves in the tournament. Three
or four games are planned for each
night.
The club considered plans for the
celebration of its fifth anniversary,
The birthday is to be celebrated dur
ing the early part of March.
Grady Is Sixth
To Enter Race
For Governor
J. L. Propst, a representative of
the Agricultural Adjustment admin
istration, met with committeemen
and supervisors of McDowell county
in the courthouse yesterday and dis
cussed with them the soil conserva
tion program for 1940.
Every farmer intending to take
part in the 1940 conservation pro- i State-Wide Liquor Vote One
gram must sign to that effect in the! qj ^ ; pj
County Agent s office before April j
15, he pointed out. In addition far-j For Sales Tax Repeal,
mers will be required to tell how]
they intend to comply, he said. i
Robt. L. Jaimes
Enters Race For
State Senator
Marion Man Announces He
Will Seek Democratic Nom
ination in This District.
R. L. (Bob) James, prominent
hosiery mill man of Marion, announ
ced this week that he would seek the
Democratic nomination for this dis
trict to the State Senate in the May
primary.
Mr. James is a successful business
man and for years has taken an ac
tive part in public and political af
fairs. He has been engaged in hos
iery mill business in Marion for the
past 25 years. He was associated
with his uncle, C. F. James, until
1934, when he entered business for
himself. His plant is now known as
the R. L. James and Sons Hosiery
Mill. Since going into the hosiery
business Mr. James stated he has op
erated his mill every day and night
with the exception of Sundays.
He is a Mason, member of the Ju
nior Order of American Mechanics,
and is affiliated with the First Meth
odist church of Marion. He now
Henry Re-Elected
President Of
Chamber Body
Eckerd Re-elected Vice-Presi-
dent; Oliver Cross Resigns
As Secretary.
J. D. Henry was yesterday re-el
ected as president of the Marion
Chamber of Commerce at a meeting
of the board of directors in the Town
Hall. Also continuing in office was V.
T. Eckerd , who was elected to suc
ceed himself as first vice president.
Clarence Rabb was elected sec
ond vice-president, succeeding Dean
Tainter, and J. E. Neal was chosen
to take the place of Clarence Rabb
as treasurer of the organization.
Mr. Hugh Beam, having been elec
ted national councilor of the Cham
ber last December was chosen to con
tinue in that office.
The resignation of Oliver Cross,
secretary of the Chomber of Com
merce, was tendered, to be effective
February 15.
The directors took no action on a
refemedum dealing with the restric
tion of competition and voted to de
fer action on a referendum pertain-
serves as a member of the Board of ling to the National Labor Relations
Aldermen of Marion, having been act until the next regulkr meeting.
elected last May.
One senator
to represent the
The next regular meeting of the
Chamber is scheduled for Thursday
27th senatorial district will be nom- night at eight o’clock in the Commu-
inated from McDowell county in theinity building. The guest speaker on
primary. Other counties in the dis-: that occasion will be J. E. Coad, sec
SCHOOLS DISCUSSED BY
BEAM BEFORE ROTARY
Hugh F. Beam addressed the
members of the Marion Rotary club
at its regular meeting at noon Fri
day on the subject of the history
a'nd development of schools.
Plans were made at the meeting
for the ladies night. Members of the
club were 100 per cent in atten
dance.
Mr. Beam pointed out the poor
conditions of schools before they
were taken over by the state in 1931
The state guarantee of finances to
schools has led to better schools and
the trend is now back to the coun
ties, allowing them to vote addition
al funds to those supplied by the
state.
The average yearly cost of educa*
tion per child in Marion is now
$27.56 as compared to a state aver
age of $31.00, he said. Education
should advance, he concluded, for
Democracy depends largely on the
boys and girls now enrolled in
schools.
the
MARION HIGH MEETS
MORGANTON FRIDAY
The Marion high school basketball
team will meet the Morganton high
school in the Community building
Friday night for the first home game
for the local boys in over a week. Be
cause of bad weather three games
scheduled for last week and this week
have been postponed. These games,
with Shelby, Lenoir and Hickory,
will be played at a later date.
Tourist Trade
Worth Millions
To This Section
J. C. Baskervill Tells Kiwanis
Club 531 Foreign Cars Pass
Here Daily.
Coach Art Ditt’s boys have chalked
up four wins to no losses so far this j space of three years, the travel and
It is possible for the merchants
and businessmen of Marion to realize
additional profits of approximately
$2,907,225 a year by catering to the
tourist trade that is brought into this
section by the National Scenic high
way,” members of the Kiwanis club
were told Tuesday night by J. C.
Baskervill of the Division of State
Advertising of the North Carolina
Department of Conservation and De
velopment.
An average of 531 foreign cars a
day pass through Marion, he said.
Counting three persons per car, he
estimated the total number of out of
state persons to pass through Marion
in a year to be 581,445. “You must
realize that each of these is a pros
pective customer and he will stop
here if the town has something at
tractive to ojffer,” said Baskervill.
“There is a great need for clean tour
ist camps and hotel facilities; but
above all, he said, Marion residents
should extend every courtesy to trav
elers for the best advertisement the
town can have is to have people
speak favorably of it.
“Figures show that within the
trict are: Rutherford, Cleveland,! J^^tary of the Hickory Chamber season. They have wins over Forest j tourist business has become one of
Henderson, and Polk. The other sen-; Commerce, who, it is expected, willi^j^y^ Cliffside, N. C. School for Deaf, i the state’s biggest businesses or
ator from the 27th district will be j discuss plans and features of the! Lenoir. The Marion high girls’ j ‘crops,’ since it now ranks next to
MR. ROBINSON FIGHTING
PROPOSED ROAD CHANGE
Temperatures
Sink To Record
elected from either Polk or Ruther-i i Western Carolinas Mayors’ tour straight,
ford counties. McDowell county is • Florida on February 19=^4
allowed a senator every six years. |
Mr. James will be opposed in the |
primary by Ashby Robinson, of Old;
Fort, who has served as representa-|
tive in the house from this county j „ ... „ , .
■tftoo T> u- J V Mr. Ashby Robmson, representa-
smce 1938. Robmson announced hisl . . ^
„ J., ^4.1. 4. 1; tive from McDowell county in the
candidacy for the senate several , ^ i i ^ «
weeks a^o i session of the legislature, calls
, the attention of the people of Mc
Dowell county to the fact that the
[question of re-routing Highway No.
164 between Old Fort and Bat Cave
■ is before the State Highway and
. . T , . , Public Works Commission. Mr. Rob-
Wmtcr visited Marion during the touch with
past week with the coldest weather situation and feels that it would
I the tobacco crop in value. The 1939
j tobacco crop, including all types, had
lan estimated cash value of $121,010,-
! 000,” he said. “It amounts to three
j times the value of the state’s lint cot-
Iton crop, which last year amounted
I to about $35,000,000. These figures
LfO\^S In StflltC ^ indicate that we must not re
gard the travel business lightly in
j North Carolina and that the tourist
COLDEST WEATHER
WITHIN MEMORY
RECORDED HERE
that has
experienced in this
Methods were pointed out by Raleigh, Jan. 29.—Paul D. Grady! section in many years, according to i
be a great loss to McDowell county
i should Highway 64 be changed as
i proposed.
j‘crop’ is not to be sneezed at.”
! Numerous Towns Report “Another advantage which the
n D 1 'T : tourist‘crop’has for US here in North
Readings Below ^ero; Carolina, is that it requires no plow-
Coldest Spell Of Winter. I ing, no fertilizer, no seeding by the
i communities which harvest it, but
I like any other crop, it does require
The coldest spell of the winter, | careful cultivating and tending if we
which swept snow and sleet before!are going to reap a good harvest
it, introduced record low tempera-i fro™ it year after year. By that I
The proposed change would route, tures in some North Carolina towns 1 ™®an there must be state and local
which committeemen and supervisors; Kenly, advocating a state-wide i local observers.
could aid farmers in compliance; on liquor and repeal of At no time during the week did
^ork. jthe 3 per cent sales tax, today an-.the thermometer go above 35 de- Morganton by way Friday, causing additional suffering, i advertising if the crop is going to
^ inounced his candidacy for Governorigrees and a sub-zero low of minus: .. r>_. t. i- i !grow from year to year.”
OTA roniiP MPPTiMr 1 ^ tvt r j j j i, a i Rutherfordton to Bat Cave. Ihis Relief agencies gave out clothing,
P.T.A. MEETING North Carolina. ;five degrees was recorded by C. A. ^ ,„„rist |p,„„bers worked day and night,' “The United States Department
MONDAY AFTERNOON I Grady was the sixth Democrat to I Nichols of the Marion Fire Depart,: through Mc-land road forces kept I continuous; of Commerce and the United States
_ „ _ , A ■ i.- topping the previous 1 ment last Friday. ! Dowell county by way of Old Fort i^atch for slipoerv spots A Ruther- Travel Service have made studies ov-
•iT fr"!; number of entries^b^^ According to Mr. Nichols, high | Bat Cave, would be : f^rd county youth died after his car' er a period of years showing that of
will meet Monday afternoon, Feb. 5,, least one other person—Willis Smith and low readings for the past week - -
is expected to seek the
which is tantamount to
at 3:30 in the high school auditori- jof Raleigh-
um. Mrs. Bruce Hildebrand, program .nomination,
chairman, announces the subject for j election.
discu^ion is “How Much Home-i Q^^er candidates are Thomas E.
j Cooper of Wilmington, who an-
At 3:00 o’clock a meeting of the | yesterday, and J. M.
study group will be held in Room 5-1 Raleigh, L. Lee Grave-
B in the high school building. The.^y Mount, W. P. Horton
question, “Is Your Child Succeeding I pittsboro and A. J. Maxwell of
at School?” will be discussed Mrs. j
J. F. Jonas. This discussion will be j Q^ady’s stand on liquor was simi-
based on an article from the Parents leaders, expressed
Magazine showing that good grades].^ sessions of the Gen-
are not the only measuer of success Assembly. The prohibitionists,
in schooL Anyone interested is ^-[opponents of the present county op-
vited to attend the meetings.
SUPERIOR COURT TO
CONVENE HERE FEB.
12
The February term of McDowell
County Superior court will convene
here on Monday, February 12. Judge
Frank Armstrong will preside over
the term which is scheduled for two
weeks. Sixteen cases are listed on
the calendar for trial.
MOORESBORO DOWNED
BY PLEASANT GARDENS
Pleasant Gardens high whipped
the Mooresboro cagers in both ends
of a twin attraction Friday night
taking the girls’ game 33-19, and
the boys’ scrap, 42-31,
JOINS PROGRESS STAFF
Preston Sparrow, of Chapel Hill,
has accepted a position as news re
porter with The Progress. Mr. Spar
row was formerly connected with
The Graphic, a weekly newspaper in
Nashvil1e« N. C.
Adult education is to be introdu
ced into Jainaica.
tion system, have asserted that a
state-wide referendum would result
in an overwhelming majority against
liquor.
If elected Governor, Grady said,
he would reccommend the referen
dum at “the earliest possible date.”
“Should the people decide in fa
vor of liquor control, I pledge my-*
self ... to see that proper and real
control is carried out,” Grady said.
“Should the people declare against
liquor, I pledge myself to use every
ounce of my energy and the prestige
and force of the office of governor
to see that the will of the people is
obeyed.”
His liquor plank was the exact
opposite of that advanced yesterday
by Cooper, who said he was in fa
vor of “each county running its own
affairs.” Other candidates have not
discussed the liquor issue.
Grady said he would discuss dur
ing his campaign,* a plan by which
sales tax could be repealed “without
hindrance or disruption to any nec
essary governmental function.” He
came out flatly against the diversion
of highway funds, and advocated a
consolidation of state departmei^s
and commissions.
ran as follows:
Low i
30
25 I
32
10 1
21
-5 !
21
^ i
30
35
30
20 j
Wednesday — 24
Thursday — 25
Friday — 26
Saturday — 27 _
Sunday — 28
Monday — 29 __
Tuesday — 30 _
The continued
hardships on many residents of Mar
ion. Water pipes have been frozen
in many homes and many home
owners have found themselves
caught with insufficient fuel to fur
nish heat.
Most county roads are covered
with snow and ice, making travel
difficult and extremely hazardous.
‘It’s the coldest spell since ’17
lost. Mr. Robinson urges the people ; ^umed over. A Catawba county man the travel dollar, 25 per cent is spent
of McDowell county who are inter-' ^s frozen to death,
ested in keeping the highway No. 64, Piedmont section Greens-
at present routed, to register their, ^ Salisbury
opposition at once to the Highway i
in buying at retail; 21 per cent for
food in restaurants, cafes; 20 per
cent for hotel accommodations; 20
per cent for transportation, chiefly
He is of the opinion that it would
j be a wise move to have a representa
tive delegation of the people from
I McDowell county to appear befoi*e
cold has brou^ght I Highway Commission on the date
of hearing which is scheduled for 3
o’clock in the afternoon of February
29th.
The Progress is pleased to publish
the letter as written by Charles Ross,
Counsel for the Highway Commis
sion, to Representative Robinson.
The letter reads as follows:
“Dear Mr. Robinson:
You will recall that during the
and ’18,” said J. P. Ray, for many : last session of the General Assembly
years a resident of Marion. Mr. Ray i you were interested in the question
recalled an experience during a sim
ilar cold spell back in 1898 when, on
a trip up Buck Creek, he drove across
22 frozen streams without so much
as wetting the wagon wheels.
GOAL SET FOR POLIO
FUND MAY BE EXCEEDED
Receipts of funds indicate that
the goal of $100, set for Marion in
the drive for money to aid victims
of infantile paralysis, will be reach
ed and collections may exceed $125,
said S.J. Westmoreland, chairman of
the local committee soliciting funds,
yesterday.
of whether U. S. 64, now routed
through Old Fort to Bat Cave, might
not later be changed to go from Mor
ganton by way of Rutherfordton to
Bat Cave, and that I promised you
that if at any time this matter be
came a live issue that I would notify
you so that if you cared to be heard,
you could have an opportunity.
“I wish to inform you that the
recommendation for the rerouting of
Route 64 as indicated is now pending
before the Commission and will be
called up for discussion at three o’
clock in the afternoon on February
29. If you are still interested in this
matter and desire to be heard, I am
sure the Commission would be gla'd
to hear you at that time.
“Of course, the proposed change
does not involve the abandonment of
that section of road from Old Fort
ments and six per cent for soft
drinks, ice cream and candy,” he
said.
‘Applying this same breakdown
1-3, and Charlotte airport -3, Char- ; , w
i T i-v 4. • ;gas and oil; eight per cent for amuse-
jlotte proper 6. In the mountains, ‘ ® _ , , .. ^
Franklin saw the mercury drop to
-13 and Mt. Mitchell to -16. Ashe
ville reported 3 above and for the|
first time since 1918 the French! * u *
_ , . - 4. T> !to the $100,000,000 spent by tour-
Broad river was frozen over at Bre-1. ^ ^
lists in North Carolina each year,
" ! $25,000,000 is spent with the merch-
Raleigh had its coldest night in $21,000,000 with the cafes and
years Friday night with a low of 7 j restaurants, $20,000,000 with the
above. Durham was one above. i hotels, tourist camps and tourist
On the^ coast Wilmington had a ^omes; $20,000,000 with the filling
stations, garages, bus lines and rail-
A benefit show staged at the Mar
ion Theatre was well attended and to Bat Cave as a State route, but
many persons have responded to the
“March of Dimes” campaign.
The solicitation of fun^s is still
proceeding and Chairman Westmore
land urges that everyone contribute
before the final report is made.
roads, but the greater portion for
gasoline and oil; $8,000,000 for am
usements, chicfly movies, and $6,-
000,000 for soft drinks, ice cream,
candy and other confections.”
“You in Marion are in a position to
tap this stream of money,” he con-
reading of 14 above .and Cape Hat-
teras 19.
Other North Carolina readings:
Rocky Mount 5, Fayetteville 8, Try-
on 3, Canton 1, Hendersonville 1%,
Burnsville -5 (unofficial), Henderson
1, Brevard -10, Concord 6, States
ville 2, and Weldon 2.
High Point, with 2 above, claimed! eluded. “The state advertising brings
its lowest reading in years. | many of them into this section. It is
Unofficial but reliable thermome-; up to you to make them stop in
ters in Anson county dropped to Marion.”
around zero, lowest there since the j Lieutenant-Governor of Kiwanis
year 1918. The Great Pee Dee river;for the Carolinas, Horace Easom, of
was frozen over until late in the, Shelby, addressed the club on the
forenoon. j growth and aims of the organization,
At Boone, in northwestern North i pointing out that Kiwanis is now cel-
Carolina, an unofficial reading of; ebrating its 25th birthday.
3 below zero was recorded at 7:30j Kiwanis is building better citizens
a. m. Saturday. [through its efforts of giving, promot-
Newland, in Avery county, repor-jing, encouraging, developing, provid-
ted the official reading at 7 a. m. j ing, and cooperating, he said. It aids
Saturday to be 12 below zero. An ■ in the proper development of boys
official reading at Altamont, also in and girls, brings about better rela-
. X XV TT o Avery county, gave the lowest as 2 tions between town and conntry peo-
numberii!^*’be Sktn off and \hat Saturday morning pie, and helps to promote intema-
State number be given it instead.” j on Friday morning the reading i tional good will, he concluded.
was 12 below. j
It took 40 years to the day to build i Spruce Pine in Mitchell county re-
the Mormon Temple in
City, Utah.
Chile shipped more products to
Salt Lake j ported an unofficial reading of 8 be- j the United States last year than ta
low zero at 7 a. m. Saturday. any other country.