THE MARION PROGRESS
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY THE
Mcdowell publishing co.
MARION, N. C.
TELEPHONE 64
S. E. WHITTEN, Editor and Proprietor
Entered at the Postoffice at Marion, N. C.,
as second class matter.
SUBSCRIPTION RATE:
One year $2.00
Strictly in Advance.
KEEPING FAITH
The 1948 Christmas Seals, which are being
distributed by the McDowell Tuberculosis
association, under sponsorship of the Marion
Junior Woman's club, show a young boy ex
pectantly awaiting Santa Claus before a fire
place from which three empty stockings hang.
It is a typical night-before-Christmas scene
dn America. The boy knows that Santa Claus
will come. He always has. There is no reason
to doubt this year.
Yes, on Christmas morning the stockings
"will be full. The boy's faith will be rewarded.
Will the faith of the tuberculosis associa
tion in the people of this community likewise
be rewarded when Christmas comes?
The association depends entirely upon pro
ceeds from the annual sale of Christmas Seals
to support its work.
When the Christmas Seal Sale closes De
cember 25, the association will know whether
at will have the finances to continue its activi
ties for the coming year, to expand its services
which benefit every resident of McDowell
county.
The association has kept faith with us for
several years. We must keep faith with it by
the generous purchase of Christmas Seals to
enable our tuberculosis association to continue
its campaign against this deadly disease.
WATCH YOURSELF—PHYSICALLY
About the only time that the average citizen
of McDowell county pays any attention to his,
or her, physical well-being is when illness or
accident puts them in bed.
This is, unfortunately, the truth in regards
to most persons. It is a reflection upon the in
0 telligence that men and women are supposed
to have.
The neglect of the body is only comparable
to our negligence in regards to mental powers.
lEvery individual has abundant opportunity to
improve intellectually, but few of us bother
jourselves to do so.
When it comes to the realm of spiritual
improvement, the average individual goes into
complete eclipse, except in exteremely rare
and trying moments. Those of us who believe
in the possession of a soul know full well that
our spiritual growth is possible and most of
us believe that it is the great function of human
-^existence.
In spite of this belief and the faith that
moves us along life's highway, we carelessly
drift along without bothering very much about
principles or the lack of them. Few of us at
tempt to guide our daily lives by the eternal
."verities that we profess to accept. This is a little
bit foolish, when one begins to reflect upon it.
The encouraging thing about individual
growth is that it requires no committee meet
ings, no m^ss purpose and no assistance from
other people. It is one job that the individual
can plan and complete upon personal initiative.
rThe only question is, "When will it begin?"
APPLIES TO MARION
A community, like an individual, gets rich
i>y selling more than he buys.
If the reader will consider McDowell county
as a unit, the fact remains that to become
rricher, it must export, that is, sell more than
it imports, or buys, from other parts of. the
Tworld.
For that reason, when one spends money
at home, the tendency is for a larger propor
tion of the sale price to remain in local hands.
TThe assists in the ultimate enrichment of the
entire community. Money sent out of town
seldom comes back. It should not be so spent
unless there is not another alternative.
December is a good month in which to drive
carefully. If you have managed to live this long,
iwhy not try to last out the year, at least.
The merchants of the nation expect a big
holiday trade. It will be visible in Marion too.
Buying Christmas Seals is a habit that every
citizen should continue.
LEARN THE ART OF LIVING
The people of McDowell county usually
can be counted upon to give generous financial
support to their school system and the cause
of education in general.
For many years, they have been cojivineed
of the economic value of education. While
there was a time, during the depression years,
when education failed to insure profitable
employment, there is general recognition of
the fact that education improves an individual
and makes a more efficient human being.
There has been, perhaps, a failure to under
stand clearly that education is not an end in
itself, but a means to more complete living for
the individual. Some teachers, in fact, have
become so enthused over methods and improve
ments in the educational system that they have
lost sight of the fundamental purpose of educa
tion itself.
Teaching technique has been perfected to
a considerable degree, the distribution of intel
ligence has been increased and the knowledge
of human beings greatly advanced through the
ages. Nevertheless, there sometimes seems to
be somehting of a failure to develop the wis
dom necessary to make intelligent individuals
or to apply knowledge intelligently to the prob
lems of living itself.
Some modern psychiatrists attribute many
of the mental ills of the present day to the dis
parity between abstract knowledge acquired
and education as to how to use it in the art of
living. Because, with all our intelligence, few
of us know how to live and, therefore, many
suffer physical breakdowns.
RELIGION GOES TO SCHOOL
Religion today is increasingly coming down
out of the pulpit and going into the market
place and the forum. Symptomatic of the times
is the Institute for Religious and Social Studies,
described as "a scholarly and scientific fellow
ship of clergymen and other religious teachers
who desire authoritative information regard
ing some of the basic issues now confronting
spiritually minded men."
Established ten years ago at the Jewish
Theological Seminary of America in New York,
the institute has since founded extensions in
the Chicago and Boston project of having the
specific- topic at each weekly meeting presented
by three speakers—a Protestant, a Roman
Catholic, and a Jew
There is understandable fear in some quar
ters that religion may be watered down to a
social gospel" which is more ethical than
spiritual. Certainly religion must always ad
dress its spiritual influence direct to the heart
of the individual. Yet in so far as the individual
is molded humanly by his environment and the
social forces of his times, religion is compelled
to understand and meet the challenge of these
forces. Many clergymen particularly deplore
the churches' failure to have reached out more
dynamically to the labor movement.
The day of the hermit saint is over—though,
as Emercon said, the saint may seek privacy
for ends the most public and universal, and
man must still meet privately with his God.
Never, in fact, was it more important to "enter
into thy closet"—the quiet inwardness of pray
er—and "shut thy door" on the world's clamor.
Yet there is also the inescapable command to
"go . . . into all the world." Spiritual vision
cannot flinch from the utmost complexities,
responsibilities, and challenges of today's so
ciety. There is a social gospel, too.—Christian
Science Monitor.
I
COLLEGES AT NEW PEAK
A total of 2,408,307 students is reported by
1800 colleges, according to the Federal Office
of Education, which says that this represents
a peak for the third successive year.
The fact that veterans' enrollment dropped
from 1,122,738 for 1947 to 1,021,041 for this
jyear is interpreted to mean that the influx of
: veterans under the GI Bill of Rights has passed
; its peak and that a leveling^off process is
i underway.
Reports from all over the nation, from many
i institutions, are that the veterans have done
|
splendid work, and in many cases, the average
is better than that of other college groups.
Naturally, the veterans had to maintain a good
record to keep their pay and housing benefits
but, with few exceptions, they have behaved
ithemselves exceptionally well,
i
Lest you forget: A subscription to The
Progress makes a most acceptable Christmas
gift and one that keeps on giving.
A happy spirit is the greatest possession that
'comes to man, regardless of his wealth or lack
of it.
This is the time of the year for hunters to
be careful.
Your money won't do much good when you
are dead. Put it to work now.
Death takes no holidays—watch your
driving at all times.
OUR DEMOCRACY byM.t
mmmmhwmrnmmmmmmm
Anticipating the coming winter weather., men in our
SNOW BELT STATES ARE NOW SETTING UP SNOW FENCES.
THROUGH THEIR WORK AND FORESIGHT, ROADS AND RAILWAYS
WILL BE PROTECTED FROM DRIFTING SNOW THAT MIGHT y ,
OTHERWISE DISRUPT TRAFFIC AND VITAL COMMUNICATIONS ... .//k
MEN AND WOMEN THROUGHOUT AMERICA, anticipating
FUTURE NEEDS, ARE SETTING MONEY ASIDE REGULARLY
IN LIFE INSURANCE... TK^C JGH THEIR THRIFT AND
FORESIGHT, THEY ARE PROVIDING "SNOW FENCES" FOR
THEIR FAMILIES - GUARANTEEING THEM A SAFE
AND SECURE TOMORROW•
Looking Backward
From The Progress Files
November 30, 1922
"The County Board of Education
has the greatest program ahead of
it for the next eight or ten months
that it has ever had for the same
length of time. Within the next few
months three ijandsome and modern
school buildings will be completed.
The money has been secured and the
Board is ready to go ahead.
"The new East Marion- school
building will probably be the first
to be completed; in fact operations
have already commenced. This build
ing when finished will be one of the
best in the State. It will compose
twelve class-rooms, office, library,
reading rooms, domestic science and
manual training departments and a
large auditorium of nearly one thou
sand capacity will provide an as
sembling room for the population of
this growing community. This build
ing is to be furnished throughout
with modern equipment and is to be
complete in every respect. This'
building will be the result of a cam
paign for better schools which
brought about an election for an'
issue of $60,000 of bonds.
"In the Stroudtown community a
modern building will be commenced ;
as soon as plans be adopted. A bond
election was carried last June. The
money has been realized from the.
sale of these bonds, and the school1
' s
authorities are planning to build a
building that will take care of the
district for some time. It is to be |
of sufficient size to provide eight i
or ten class-rooms, an assembly hall,1
I
office and library. If nothing pre-;
vents, the building will be completed j
before beginning of another school
year.
"Probably the most forward step
ever taken for better schools in Mc
Dowell county was put forth at a
recent meeting of the Board of
Education when several schools of
the North Cove township were con
solidated and arrangements were
made for the construction of a mod
ern building for this section. For,
some time there has been a growing:
demand on the part of the progessive
people of the North Cove section for
modern school advantages. These
people have not been satisfied with
the small one and two teacher
schools, giving instruction in the
common school subjects only. They
find it unsatisfactory to send their
boys and girls to other communities
for high school advantages. They
are willing to pay for education,
and arrangements have been made
for the erection of a modern school
building in this section. Work on this
building will begin in the early
spring in time to have it ready for
the fall opening of school.
"With the completion of the
above three buildings MtDowell
county will rank well with any coun
ty in the State in the matter of
school buildings. A recent report
j from the State Department of Edu
cation places McDowell with the
highest counties in educational mat
ters. If it is to maintain its high
rank it must go forward and keep
pace with those other progressive
counties that are seeing to it that
all their boys and giiis are given
the best that can be afforded in
the way of training for life's work."
LAUREL HILL
"Nebo, Rt. 1, Nov. 28—J. B.
Walker spent several days last week
in Rutherford county.
*
"Herbert Foster of Shelby spent
a few days here recently with friends
and relatives.
"J. M. Walker, Jesse Price and
Miss Beatrice Walker motored to
Spindale last Sunday.
"Lee Whitener is spending some
time with relatives in Rutherfordton
and Spindale.
"L. G. Price made a business trip
to Marion Monday.
"Edgar Price of Shelby spent a
few days here recently with home
folks.
"Mrs. M. L. McCurry is spending
a few days with relatives in Marion.
"Guy Walker and Burgin Cooper
of Spindale were visitors here the
last of the week.
"Miss Mattie Walker, who holds
a position at Spindale, spent the
week-end with homefolks.
"Z. V. Whitener and family of
New House visited the former's par
ents, Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Whitener,
the first of last week."
MOTOR VEHICLES; MORE
THAN 100,000,000 TURNED OUT
In the fifty-five years of its exist
ence the automobile industry has
turned out more than 100,000,000
vehicles. The industry now employs
directly or indirectly more people
than any other business in the world.
More than 9,000,000 persons in the
United States are employed in mak
ing, selling, servicing or in the
commercial use of motor vehicles.
Today more than 40,000,000 motor
vehicles, including motor trucks, are
roling the street sand highways of
this nation.
Smokey Says:
f TWNGS OMCH PRE B6U.Y »N THt \\j
WOOP5.AT TMt5 TIM6 OF T>*
SO Puba* woch it** M«enes! J
Dead leaves, grass and twigs catch
fire easily at this time. Think be
fore you throw a match out your
car window!
TALL TALES
Bv ELIZABETH WHITTEN
Ebbrywhere I'b been dis pas week,
peeble had codes. Last week when
I was just getting over a cold and
it had reached the chest stage I
answered the phone in a bass voice.
"That you Ed?" a voice asked.
"No. this is Whitten's residence,"
I rumbled back.
"Sorry, Sir," the voice said,
"wrong number."
Commenting' on a plaid skirt I
was wearing, a visitor in the office
one day said, "you know that re
minds rne of a story.
"A man sold a friend a chame
leon. Several days later he asked
how the chameleon was getting
along. The friend joyously ex
claimed oh, that was a wonderful
thing. I put him on black and he
turned black. Then I put him on
white and he turned white, I put
him on pink and he turned pink.' He
sighed dolefully and concluded,
'but I put him on Scotch plaid and
the dem thing busted all to pieces."
This happened last Christmas and
I wrote it in this column the wreek
afterwards, but I enjoyed it so
much that I believe it will stand
another laugh this Christmas.
Two men were in a crowded store
at Christmas jostling through the
crowd with their gloves and scarfs
smothering them in the stiffling
heat. Their arms were loaded with
packages and others in the crowd
were elbowing thern and punching
packages in their eyes, noses and
mouths.
One of the men sighed and turn
ing to the other said, "wouldn't you
like to be out in a great, big, wide
field—all by yourself ?"
Philosophic Cook
Judge: I notice that, in addition
to misappropriating $500, you took
a considerable quantity of valuables
in the form of rings, watches and
other trinkets.
Prisoner: Yus, sir; I remembered
that money alone don't bring happi
ness.
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"Now How Did I
Ever Get in This
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rm carrying part of my own
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•
J. H. TATE
Phone 120-X Marion, N. C.
EXECUTRIX NOTICE
1 Having qualified as Executrix of
the estate of Dr. D. M. Mcintosh,
Sr., deceased, late of McDowell
• County, North Carolina, this is to
notify all persons having claims
! against the estate of said deceased
S to exhibit them to the undersigned
at Old Fort, North Carolina, on or
1 before the 12th day of November,
1949, or this notice will be pleaded
in bar of their recovery. All persons
indebted to said estate will please
make immediate payment.
This 10th day of November, 1948.
MRS. BERTHA McINTOSH,
Executrix of estate of
Dr. D. M. Mcintosh, Sr.
Advertising is good for business.