Newspapers / Marion Progress (Marion, N.C.) / May 29, 1941, edition 1 / Page 1
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1 MARION PROGRESS I A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE OF MARION AND McDOWELL COUNTY ESTABLISHED 1896 MARION, N. C., THURSDAY, MAY 29, 1941 VOL. XLV—NO. 44 Graduates At High School Are Inspired Dr. W. T, McFall, Asheville, Gave Inspiring Address Be fore 33 Marion High Seniors "Strive with enthusiasm and will power in any undertaking," was the essence of a splendid address made to the 83 students of Marion high school who were graduated Wednes day evening. The speaker, a young man with dynamic personality, was Dr. Walter T. McFall, dental special ist and a ' renowned speaker, from Asheville. Dr. McFall mentioned the import of physical, spiritual and mental de velopment to every youth. He com mended them on their achievement thus far, and encouraged them, each one, to accept the challenge of to day, developing every sense to a well rounded proportion. The speaker particularly urged all to stand firmly for their own convic tions and strive for the best and the happiest goals in a spiritually mo tivated life. The salutatory address was offer- j ed as a welcome to all who filled the auditorium at high school by William Alley. Miss Emily Holton, highest honor student of her class, rendered the valedictory. Four scholarship medals were pre sented by High School Principal K. ] C. Holland. Senior award was presen ted to Emily Holton, junior award to Ruth Hawkins; sophomore, J. B, Walker, freshman, Elaine Penninger Mr. Holland also presented four citizenship medals to William Alley, eleventh grade; John Wellman, tenth grade; Sophia Justice, ninth grade; Catherine Ballew, eighth grade. Two athletic awards were made to Robert Gibson, best boy athlete, and Helen Smarr, best girl athlete. Music awards went to Virginia Mae McCall, and Henry Leonard. Certificates for outstanding schol astic achievement were awarded to Emily Holton, William Alley, Vir ginia Mae McCall, Edith Margaret Grant, Kathleen Miller, Vernon Ra der, Reid Good and Lawson Stiles, Jr. Diplomas were presented to the graduates by Supt. Hugh F. Beam, superintendent of city schools, who congratulated the group and bid them success and God speed. The High School Band favored with several selections during the program. Dr. Bray Baccalaureate Speaker Exercises preceding the com mencement day were opened on Sun day evening with baccalaureate ser vice on Sunday evening. The audito rium at the Marion high school was well filled for this occasion. Rev. B. F. Bray, pastor of the First Baptist church, preached a beautiful sermon to the graduating class, "Fol lowing the Old Paths." His text was found in the sixth chapter of Jere miah. mere is out one patn, ur. jsray emphasized. "The world cannot be made right until it follows the paths as laid out in this old prophecy, 'Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.' " Dr. Bray was assisted by Rev. W. A. Jenkins, pastor of First Method ist church, who read the Scripture, and Rev. C. W. McMurray, pastor of (Continued on last page) POUR FOUNDATION OF NEW HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASIUM Actual construction work started on the addition to the Marion high school Tuesday when the concrete was first poured for the foundation for the new gymnasium. This workj will be completed this week and on Monday steel construction will be started. Inside the school building repair work on the part destroyed by fire is well along. The new offices at the front are finished and Superinten dent Beam, and his staff are now sit uated therein. Ceilings and floors in several class rooms and the hallway are yet to be done. Work will be speeded materially as soon as sessions are ended and it is believed all work will be comple ted this fall. MERCHANTS MEET TO PLAN BETTER BUSINESS Marion merchants are consider ing what is necessary to keep busi ness active and on the upward trend during the summer. This evening they convene in a meeting to dis cuss the trends, the possibilities and the probable developments and will institute a plan to energize business and buying. The meeting will be a supper at 6:30 to be held in the Community building. All store owners and mana gers are urged to attend. A publicity campaign ia in pros pect which will acquaint residents of this community with the impor tance of buying now before possible cost increases, and of buying at home where increased money circu lation means more wealth. It is planned to hold a better bus iness drive during July. All merch ants are asked to become interested, attend this meeting and join the movement. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOLS OPEN HERE ON JUNE 9 Daily Vacation Bible schools will be conducted in three churches here during the week June 9-13. First Baptist church, First Methodist church and First Presbyterian church will hold their separate schools at this time. These Bible schools will be divided into three departments and conduc ted similarly for beginners, for jun iors and for intermediate pupils. City's Regime Is Reorganized By Wilkinson Dr. Jonas Named Mayor Pro Temj Erwin Remains Police Chief; Other Offices Filled.! Mayor Jay F. Wilkinson called the newly elected board of aldermen in to their first business session on last Thursday night and appointed new committees for the two-year term. H. D. Bishop will be chairman of the street and light committee. As sisting him will be W.K.M. Gilkey and R. B. Smith. The cemetery committee will be S. W. Blanton, chairman, and Dr. J. F. Jonas. By election of the board Dr. Jonas was chosen as mayor pro-tein. Other appointments as accepted by the board were H. D„ Biahop, treasurer; E. R. Keeter, superinten dent of water and streets and build ing inspector; Robert Teeter, city clerk; R. W. Proctor, city attorney; E. R. Keeter, tax collector; Charles A. Nichols, caretaker of the city building. Lee W. Erwin was re-elected as chief of police and it was ordered that the present force be retained. C. E. Bolick was elected fire chief and H. D. Bishop and R. B. Smith were selected to represent the board of custodians of the firemen's fund. The board agreed to investigate the necessity of a street light in the hollow beyond Sweeney Hill on an uncharted street. NEAL CALLS MEETING TO ORGANIZE U. S. O. A committee will be formu lated this Friday for the pro posed drive of the United Ser vice Organization in McDowell county. A public meeting is called for 3 o'clock that after noon at the Community Build ing to organize. Representatives of Service and Social clubs in Marion are requested by Chairman W. W. Neal, Jr., to be present. The public also is invited to attend and join in this campaign. McDowell County is asked to attain a goal of $500 in this drive. This will be contributed to the $11,000,000 to be used by U. S. O. to lease fully equipped club buildings that are being "built by the Govern ment outside of the camp areas for recreation centers for the trainees. Mr. Neal requests the inter est and support of every resi dent in the community. Campaign To Open Here To Aid Army Men McDowell Asked To Raise $500 To Furnish Recreation al Facilities For Trainees. The United Service Organizations for National Defense, Inc., has ex tended its appeal into McDowell county. This unit, conceived under a federal program, is designed to af ford the service trainees at Army camps a unified program of enter tainment by erecting recreation club buildings outside of the cantonments to provide these much needed facili ties for the boys when off duty. Governor Broughton has taken a definite interest in this program and has appointed a chairman in each county to organize a committee to raise funds for this purpose. W. W. Neal, Jr., has been designated to take the lead in this county. Mr. Neal, accompanied by W. D. Lonon and Carter Hudgins, attended a meeting in Greensboro last week to receive instructions to institute a drive in McDowell for funds. Mc Dowell's allotment in this nation wide drive for $11,000,000 is set at $500. The campaign here is to be opened June 3 and will continue for ten days. Mr. Neal has already contac ted service clubs and service groups here and has asked that each supply | a representative to serve on a gener-j al committee. Kiwanis, Rotary, the; Legion Units, Francis Marion and i Pilot clubs have been asked to re-| spond. On the evening of the opening day of the drive this committee will be convened at a public dinner to for mally launch their campaign. The public will be invited to attend and learn the infinite need behind this effort. Mr. Neal explains how impossible it is for youth^ at the camps to find recreation and conveniences in the neighboring small towns. It is not possible, he stated, for towns of 2, 000 to 5,000 population to handle some 20,000 or even 40,000 men off duty for an evening or a week-end. The United Service Organization, supported by the Salvation Army, Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. A., National' j Catholic Community Service, Jewish j Welfare Board, and National Trav elers Aid Association, i3 taking the | initiative to see to the interests of i the men in camp. J The campaign will be conducted from house to house, beginning next Tuesday. Headquarters here are to be established in the community building. MAYOR DETERMINED TO END SPEEDING IN CITY The drive in Marion against speed ing and illegal parking, as ordered by Mayor J. F. Wilkinson, is being started this week, officers are erect ing permanent signs in the business section to note the speed limits and parking areas and time limits are already posted. Mayor Wilkinson warned last week that a drive would begin at once to eliminate the dangerous practices here of breaking the motor vehicle laws, and stated yesterday that Chief of Police Erwin and his force are now under orders to pa trol the entire town, and to arrest all reckless drivers. The drive is a permanent one. The police are instructed that they are not to relinquish their vigilance at any time. Mayor Wilkinson is de termined to stop this dangerous practice before a fatal accident oc cura in Marion. $6,000 LOSS IN FIRE NEAR SEVIER STATION j Fire destroyed a sawmill near Se ier station early on Thursday morn ing of last week. The loss was esti mated at about $6,000. M. L. Good} lumber merchant there operated the saw mill in con nection with hia lumber business. No insurance had been placed on the plant. The origin of the blaze was not determined. It was confined to the mill structure and an adjacent lum ber pile. Machinery therein was a to tal loss. May Decide To Purchase Site For Bible Camp Trustees Board To Propose Final Plans At Lutheran Picnic This Sunday. All congregations of the Luther an Church of North and South Caro lina and Georgia are especially in vited to attend the picnic that the Southeastern Lutheran Laymen's League is holding next Sunday at Camp Yonahnoka, the site proposed for the Lutheran Bible Camp. It is an outing part iculariy tore veal the advantages of the camp and the grandeur of thia site. Camp \ o nahnoka, located between Grand father Mountain and Linville Falls, one mile south of Linville, and boun ded on three sides by Linville Riv er, has been a private girls' camp and is an ideal 30-acre location. There is every likelihood that there will be some decision made during this outing as to the leasing of this camp for the proposed Bible camp site. A board of trustees has recently been selected to decide the matter and these will propose a plan during the day to appeal for support if such a move is made. This board is com posed of Vernon T. Eckerd, presi dent of the League, of Marion; Rev. J. L. Summers, Wesley Spencer, C-rover Herman and George McEeel of Hickory, C. A. Burgdorf, 'of j Charlotte, and Fred Hildebrand, of j Augusta, Georgia. It is stated by the Rev. Paul A. I Boriaek, of Marion, a member of j the board of governors, that there is probability of the fact that) a decision will be reached during! this day to acquire the lease of the camp site immediately. The lease pe riod will extend for one year, during which time the Lutheran Laymen's League will be privileged to the use of the property and the option of purchase. Interest in this project from the congregations of the Southeastern area will help in the decision of the trustees, who are empowered to pro ceed in the matter. An elaborate display of pictures and scenes pertaining to the Inter national Convention of the Luther an Laymen's League at Fort Wayne, Ind.„ June 16-17, is being arranged by the board of governors, of which Rev. P. A. Boriaek, of Marion, is a member.. This will be shown at the picnic Sunday. POPPY DAY RETURNS FOR LEGION AUXILIARY $118.50 Prom one of the best Poppy Day collections ever received here, the Auxiliary Unit of McD-owell Post No. 56, American Legion, will have $116.50 as a fund to use this year for welfare work. Girls of the community worked hard with the women of the Auxili ary. Miss Helen Wilkerson won first prize among the sales force for her returns. Sarah Jane Miller and Lau ra Watts Crawford were tied for second, Misa Virginia Keller was third. Sales from Chnchfield, under the direction yof Miss Marguerite Wil son, amounted to $30. The Auxiliary has expressed its appreciation publically to W.' D. Lonon for use of the store building where the headquarters was located during the drive Saturday, and to Richard F. Blanton for use of the guns and other military equipment that decorated the front window. PROPERTY VALUATIONS INCREASED THIS YEAR McDowell county is worth $17, 112,357. This is the unofficial figure obtained from the office of the Coun ty Commissioners. The revaluation of property here this year reveals the assessment fig ure to be $358,358 above that of 1940. Marion Township, the largest of the 12 townships in the county, has an assessment valuation of $7,386, 081. This figure is $234,588 above that of last year. The City of Marion has a valua tion for 1941 of approximately $3, 307,731, which is $112,533 above that of last year. BOOKMOBILE WILL BEGIN TRIPS THROUGH M'DOWELL COMMUNITIES ON JUNE 10 The bookmobile, which is being established to serve McDowell coun ty residents with free books and magazines to read, is scheduled to make its first trip Tuesday, June 10. The service, provided by the coun ty commissioners, will bring a public library to the door of every home in the county. The headquarters for this motorized library will be the Marion Public Library. The policy of distribution and loaning of the books will copy that of the Marion library. The bookmobile will contain at the beginning a collection of about 700 new books for both adult and ju venile readers. Magazines of all sorts will be included also, when a collection can be made. Donations of magazines to this en terprise are being solicited. These will be received now at the Marion Public Library or will be called for by the bookmobile. Mrs. Anne C. Hawkins, who is in charge of the public library work here, will appre ciate such contribr tions. Her office is in the court house. A schedule of stops prepared for the bookmobile will cover the county about once every two weeks. Six sep arate routes are to be established. Three routes will be operated each week. Miss Dorothy Atkins has been se-j lected to operate the bookmobile, j Mrs. Havvkina will accompany her at | first and will provide an assistant j later. City Solons To Clamp Down On Tax Delinquents Unpaid Accounts Main Topic In Special Session; Sewer System For Clinch field. The Board of Aldermen of 3VIar-| ion in a special meeting Tuesday ev- j ening issued notice to all persons' who are delinquent in their taxes, and water or sewer rentals as well, that steps will be taken at once to; collect. Due notice of such delinquencies j has already been issued'to every in-1 dividual and a collector wil\ be hired to visit those who fail to make pay ments. Action will, thereafter, be taken if such accounts remain un-i paid. Mayor Wilkinson and the new board are seriously undertaking to put the town on a businesslike basis. Every utility account and tax delin quency is being investigated and it j is believed that their action will be I fully appreciated by the residents here in keeping these accounts up to date. Notice is also given that tax, discounts will be effective on pre payment of 1941 tax bills. In June the discount will amount to 2 per cent of the bill. For every month thereafter the discount will be re duced % pei cent until the end of September. A sewage disposal project is pro posed for the community of Clinch- j field and is quite acceptable, as ex- ] (Continued on last page) MARION MAN INJURED IN UNUSUAL ACCIDENT John Gibbs will be released from Marion General Hospital this week though only partially recovered from injuries sustained in an unusual ac cident last Friday. Mr. Gibbs was sitting in front of the filling station he operates on Highway No. 70 near Marion when a car swung into the driving space and pinned him against the wall of the building. Clarence Sutton, of Marion, driv er of the car, when questioned by •Sheriff Grady Nichols and Highway Patrolman C. A. Beard, stated that I he swerved into the open space to avoid an approaching car, and his brakes failed to take effect in time. Gibbs was injured on his side, which necessitated a slight opera tion, and suffered from shock. Sutton was arrested and held by the sheriff for two days, pending the outcome of Gibbs' injuries. He was released under $500 bail Sunday. 125 Complete Studies In City Grade Schools Four Schools Announce List of Elementary Graduates; Hold Commencement Programs. A total of 125 pupils who have completed elementary work in the several schools of Marion were grad uated in separate exercises held dur ing the past week. Each school con ducted appropriate exercises sepa rately for their own graduating class. East Marion Graduation Graduation exercises at East Mar ion last Friday evening saw a class of 26 receive certificates for com pletion of Seventh grade work. Su perintendent H. F. Beam again made the presentation. The valedictory address was made by Betty Jo Flack, outstanding stu dent in the graduating class. A play "In Wonderland" was pre sented by members of the class as entertainment during the program. It was a fairy story based on educa tion into which the class history and class prophecy were woven, and the formality of graduation conduc ted in a final scene. Those graduated were: Ruby Al lison, Betty Jo Brooks, Mildred Burnett, Ray Condrey, Donald Clay ton. Doris Carver, Doris Davis, Imo gene Elliott, Gladys Finley, Betty Jo Flack, Mafra Gouge, Devue Hall, Hazel Kelley, Ernest Ray Krause, Inez Lawing, Charles Mask, Roberta Moody, Kathryn Odom, Ray Poteat, Ray Pitman, Pauline Poteat, Gene va Rumfelt, Ella Swann, Ralph To rtey, Kenneth Toney, Inez Willis. ClincKfield l^Tjest Class Clinchfield school graduated the largest number of pupils from the seventh grade this year. A class of 51 received certificates presented by Superintendent H. F. Beam. The ex ercises were held in the school audi torium Tuesday afternoon. Billy Walker rendered the saluta tory address. The valedictorian was Raymond Hawkins, whose class aver age for the year was 97 per cent. Billy Walker's average was 96. The program consisted of a piano duet by Margaret Ledbetter and Ma bel Copeland, declamation by Jack Greene, Tonette numbers, reading by Ada Mae Lindsey and chorus numbers. (Continued on page 4) OLD FORT PRINCIPAL ELECTED TO HIGH POST Stephen A. McDuffie, principal of the Old Fort high school, was elected Monday evening to become principal of the Paw Creek school district in Mecklenburg county. Coming from here so highly rec ommended. through County Superin tendent N. F. Steppe, Mr. McDuffie was unopposed in the selection and he was the unanimous choice of the Paw Creek district school committee. Mr. McDuffie started his profession at Barnesville after graduating at Wake Forest and doing post gradu ate work at University of North Car olina. He then went to Wingate and later became head of Pineville dis trict in the Mecklenburg system, From there he came to Old Fort where he has been principal for six years. LARGE NUMBER OF CASES LISTED FOR TWO WEEKS TERM OF SUPERIOR COURT The June term of McDowell Su perior Court will open Monday, June 9, with Judge Allen H. Gwynn pre siding. The first week will be devo ted to the trial of criminal cases and the second week, beginning June 16, to cases on the civil calendar. The criminal docket has a number of cases including one indictment for voluntary manslaughter and several others for attempted homi cide. The docket includes a number of cases of larceny, forgery, drunk en driving, transporting liquor, as sault, etc. Outstanding among the twenty seven cases listed on the civil calen dar is that of Mrs. Alma Crawford versus Marion Buick Company. This is a $5,000 damage suit for the death of Ernest M. Crawford which occurred in an automobile accident last December.
Marion Progress (Marion, N.C.)
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May 29, 1941, edition 1
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