Newspapers / The Sun (Rutherfordton, N.C.) / March 30, 1905, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Sun (Rutherfordton, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
TMESUN Has More Than Double The Circulation of Any Weekly Paper in The Tenth Congres sional District, Comprising Thirteen Large Counties. THE SUIN Has More Than Double Hie Circulation of Any Weekly Papez in The Tenth Congres sional District, Comprising Thirteen Large Counties. VOL. 5. NO. 13. RUTHERFORDTON, N. C, THURSDAY MORNING, MARCH 30, J905. $J.OO A YEAR. mum PROGRESSIVE AND TOWN OF GILKEY, THIS COUNTY. One Of Our Largest Lumber Shipping Points. HAS SPRUNG UP LIKE MAGIC. The Warlick Lumber Company The Leading Industry Of The Place, While It Has A Number Of Others Which Would Do Credit To Towns Of Twice Its Size Her People Are Kind And Very Industrious. (Special to The Sun. GILKEY, March 25. On the South ern railroad, leading from Blaeksburg, S. C, to Marion, N. C, 20 miles south of Marion, is situated the town of Gilkey, in the county Rutherford. While this little hamlet has not paraded its noto riety and existence abroad in the land, yet, nevertheless, it is not without com mendable features and laudable indus tries. Only a few years ago, and Gilkey was an embryo unknown by anyone and not even thought of by those who lived around about it, and to whom it to-day owes its origin and existence. Like magic, it has sprung up in the wilder ness at the foot-hills of the mountains leading out from the Blue Ridge, and we find here one of the most progressive and industrious people to be found in the county. While Gilkey is but a small place, so far as its commercial strength is concerned, yet, it is one of the busiest little towns in North Carolina. We find here industries, operated daily, which would do credit to towns of twice its size. The Warlick Lumber Company is the leading industry in this town, and the one to which Gilkey owes its very existence, as it was this industry which brought new life, new energy and renewed effort upon the part of the peo ple to make Gilkey. a live and industrious town. This company is composed of capitalists from Catawba and Caldwell counties, and mOst of the company are young men, whose business capacities have made them leaders and not follow t ers in the business march of life, and the company is incorporated with a paid in capital of $5,000, with the power to increase the stock to $25,000. They began business here, in the woods, in 1899, and through the energetic efforts of Mr. C. F. Cline (who is secretary, treasurer and general manager) and Mr. W. A. Warlick (who is general mana ger of the planing mills) this industry has grown to one of the largest lumber plants in western North Carolina, and the largest industry of the kind, in Ruth erford county. They have now on their yards more than a million and a quarter feet of lumber, and handle daily thou sands of feet. They have now more than twenty-five thousa nd dollars in vested m the business and their demands in way of orders from the outside world for lumber of all kinds is greater than their capacity for filling them, and strange to say, during their existence of nearly five years, they have not spent $50.00 in railroad fare soliciting orders, nor have they spent one dime or dollar for advertising their business in the col umns of a newspaper. Wonderful, in deed, has been their success. They buy all their timber from the mills round about Gilkey, and many there be in that locality, as thousands upon thousands of feet of timber of all kinds are still growing upon the hillsides and valleys surrounding the little ham let. Mr. C. F. Cline is the moving spirit in this concern, while Mr. W. A. War lick adds much to the business by his untiring efforts and unyielding perse verance in his line. These two young men have virtually made the Warlick Lumber Company one of the most 'suc cessful enterprises ever launched in our county. Their business is not confined alone to lumber, but they buy shingles and sell them, also cotton seed meal and hulls. They employ 15 to twenty men in their business, and give employment indirectly, to a hundred or more, who are engaged in the mountain fastness, cutting timber, sawing lumber and con veying it to them . for handling. Upon the whole the Warlick Lumber Compa ny is supplying alon; felt need in this aAO itv an1 ri-m. a roMlftOrfll I Mill v J v ------- q mm r successful busftr-- ?nce is not only felt in the little village of Hit key, but on every hilltop and in every valley in the northwestern part of Ruth erford county. We find here, also, the H. M. Geer Lumber Company, which was started only eight months ago. This firm is composed of Messrs. H. M. Geer, of Gilkey, and C. F. Geer, of Rutherford ton, both of whom are wide-a-wake young business men, and have so man aged their business, as to command at this early date in their business, an en viable trade. They have only about a six or eight thousand dollar plant, ypf ; they are manipulating it in such a way as to have already worked their way in to the field of trade, and are doing a wonderful business in - lumber. They ENTERPRISING enmlov, now, only about six or eight hands at their plant, but, like the War lick Xumber Company, they are indi rectly giving employment to many hands in the forests, who are cutting timber and hauling it to the mills, which sup ply them with their stock and store of lumber. On account of their late start in the business last fall, and the unprecidented bad weather during the winter, they have not been able to get in a supply of lumber, yet their orders are now pour ing in upon them from every section of the surrounding country and now they are pressed to fill the demands made up on them. Gilkey is the largest lumber shipping Doint on the Southern's line, between Camden, S. C, and Marion, N. C, and the business done here amply justifies the railroad company in building a more suitable depot, and equiping it with tel egraph and telephone offices for the con venience of the patrons, who are daily demanding these special requisites. It is indeed very strange, tiiat this great line of railroad, covering the whole south and much other territory, would content its self and stop short with such accommodations as it now gives the peO' le of Gilkey. who are contributing so much to its interest and emolument Mr. fl. G. Howard, the Southern's agent at this place is furnished a mere "chick en coop" of a depot, in which to do the vast business of this growing town, and even in this "coop," the great Southern railroad does not furnish him even a "phone," much less a telegraph office, both of which the business of the town and the freight's received and shipped, demand. Mr. Howard is an expert tele graph operator, and it would add but little more to the expense of keeping the office here, and it would add ten fold to the railroad company's interest to do so. We would plead with the company to do its self justice and give these people the accommodations that their patronage justly merits and demands. Gilkey has three very prosperous mer cantile business houses. Messrs. E. E. Cline & Son carry a full line of general merchandise, and are extensive dealers in ties, etc. They buy and sell crossties, which is a great help to the farmers round about Gilkey, as they can thus find imploymeut in getting them out and can get all their supplies from the mer chants on demand, when the ties are de livered on the railroad. Messrs. E. E. Cline & Son carry about $4,000 or $5,000 stock of goods and have a splendid trade. Messrs. H. M. Geer & CO., dealers in general merchandise, have also a nice line of goods and do a good business. Their store is always filled with custom ers and it seems that cash is the princi pal commodity of exchange in " tliis es tablishment. Messrs. T. R. Flack & Co. , are located on the east side of the depot and have a full line of goods and cater to the wants of many who come to do their trading in the town. The U. S. postoffice is kept in their store and M. J. Sorrels is the postmaster, with Mrs. T. R. Flack, assistant. By a special act of the recent Legisla ture, a new township bas been establish ed in Rutherford county, and "Gilkey" is its name ; and the enterprising citizens of the township and the town (Gilkey) especially have voted a special school tax for the Gilkey district of 10 cents on on the hundred dollars which adds two months more to their public school which is being taught in the town by Miss Eifie Lynch, who npw has over 70 enrolled in her interesting and prosper ous school. It was reported to me, tliat only one vote was cast against the spe cial tax, and that vote was cast by a man who is not a free-holder and would not have to pay over 30 cents a year, and yet he has one child of school age and others who will soon be in the list. Gil key is proud of the fact that they have only one such a philantropist(?) in their midst. R. P. Geer's' roller mill is located in the town of Gilkey and is running on full time and recently it has added a saw mill to the plant which is a com mendable industry to the town. Dr. A. M. Edwards, located near the town, is the popular physician who ad ministers to the wants of the sick and afflicted. It is reported- that Dr. Ed waras will soon move into the city limits and become a bonifide citizen. The doc tor is a verypopular young' man and is building up a good practice in this com munity. Mr. Smart runs the blacksmith shop and can be heard each day hammering at his anvil, which goes to prove that his vocation is a lucrative one. Mrs- Keller and Mr. Bennett each run a boarding house, where the laborers employed at the industries can find lodging and board, and where every traveler can get a meal when passing. Mr. J. H. Bird is the dealer in guano and supplies the demands of the people. Many wagons were loaded with guano by Mr. Bird while we were waiting for our train the day we spent in Gilkey. , A new industry is now underway and will le in fnU opporation by sDrinsr the Gilkey Brick Manufacturing Company. i nis Company is composed of Forest City and Giikey men who well know OVATION GIVEN NOTED VISITOR. Vice President C. W. Fairbanks At Greensboro. GUEST OF NORTH CAROLINA. He Honors The State And The State Honors Him In Notable Banquet Wednesday Night His Speech Is A Peon Upon The Passinq Of Sectionalism Over 300 Guests. (Special to The Asheville Citizen.) GREENSBORO, March 22.-Three hundred guests, including Republicans of prominence from all parts of this and other States attended the banquet of the Tar Heel Club here to-night, at which Vice President Fairbanks and Revenue Commissioner Yerkes were the principal guests of honor. On calling the meet ing to order, the toastmaster, Hon. E. Spencer Blackburn, read a telegram of regret from Postmaster General Cortel you, regretting that he could not be present. The toastmaster then delivered a short address, in which he congratulat ed the Republicans of the State upon the elimination of the race issue and the dawning of a better political day in this section. TREMENDOUS OVATION. . Vice President Fairbanks followed Mr. Blackburn. There was a tremen- V -1 0W "-"V 0. OlAS.VARREH dous ovation as he arose, and after a few preliminary statements said he would not make a partisan speech. He told of the elimination of sectional lines and raised much applause by referring to General Joseph "Wheeler's part in the Spanish-American war. Republican gov ernment was ordained to promote jus tice : to secure each and all in the fullest possible enjoyment of equal rights and privileges under the law. Jwery Amer ican must stand before the law upon a plaine of perfect equality with his fel low Americans. Our laws must be in spired by a sense of Justice; let us teach the love of justice at the fireside, i the school room, in the pulpit, in the press, in the counting house, in the factory. Yes. teach it everywhere, for without justice abides with us 'government is a POLITICAL PARTIES ESSENTIAL. Let us safeguard the rights of proper ty ; protect that which honest and pa tient industry has acquired, but first of all, and better than all, preserve invio- late the rights of men of low ana mgn degree. Political parties are essential in popular government. They nave ex isted from the earliest clays oi me re public, and they will continue to the end. It is of vital importance tnereipre, that they should be highminded and pa triotic ; that they should stand for those measures which are wholesome and which tend to advance to the utmost de- their business and from every indication will make a extccess. Urjon the whole the town of Gilkey is one of the coming towns of old Ruther ford and it is only a question of time when it will demonstrate to the wona that there is within in its bounds a class of people whose energy and perserver ance are second to none and equal to any in the county. Gilkey is fast coming to the front as the greatest lumber shipping and manufacturing town in Westenr Nortli Carolina. Her people are generous, kind and industrious and will make their town one of prosperity, . " , gree the public weal. They should sup port sound and conservative policies, which are the only sure foundation of industrial and social progress and of en during national greatness. The Vice President was followed by Revenue Commissioner John W. Yerkes who delivered the longest address of the night, concluding at 11:15 amid the wildest applause. He spoke on "Political Peonage in the South." After calling attention to evi dences of prosperity in North Carolina and saying that the new structures all bore the sign, "Built since 1896," con tinued: "Your ancestors, men and women, broke away from servitude, religious and political and sought freedom of ac tion of heart and conscience here. They flung away family ties, traditions, in herited, belief, ancestral tendencies that existing conditions, dominant and ration al demanded the surrender. They obey ed the call of the present and met the demands of that present. Yet many of their children, men of high standing and admirable traits, to-day are Democrats, not because the present demands, but because a phantom, a spectre, a shade, a political bugaboo, made and used for personal and selfish interests and called "Negro Domination" frightens them from the path of known civic duty and honest political action. The result is political peonage political serfdom, thraldom to a man of straw. That spec tre, and because some say it is not re spectable to be a Republican in the South, make some of you dishonest po litically." Toasts were responded to by various guests, among them one by "Ex-Superior Court Judge Timberlake. who said in closing: "The signs now point to the nomina tion ior president iour years nence or a lib"' 0 " r ft V 4f J9 & tAIRBAIBtS ) distinguished citizen who has honored us by his presence to-night. His elec tion is just as certain, if these signs be verified, by the next national convention, as was that of President Roosevelt and I can pay no higher compliment than to say that Charles W. Fairbanks will be a worthy successor of Theodore Roose velt." A SOCIAL EVENT. Mr. Prince Entertains The Young Folks School Commencement. CSpecial to The Sun.) CHEROKEE, S. C, March 24. Mr. J. D. "Wells' school at New Hope closed last Saturday with an entertainment. One of the enjoyable features was the excellent music which was furnished by Messrs. A. J.. Williams, C, O. Painter, R. L. Hines and Robt. Westbrooks. Dr. B. B. Lancaster, A. M., Messrs. J. K Prince and Gilreath delivered some very interesting lectures. Saturday night after the entertainment Mr. J. E. Prince gave the young people a sociable. Danc ing was the chief amusement during the evening. Among the participants were: Miss Etta -May Foster and Mr. A. J. Williams, of Cherokee Springs; Messrs. J. D. Butler and James P. Hardin, of Forest City. Miss Etta May Foster returned to her home yesterday after a pleasant visit of three weeks with her friends, Misses Nona and Luna Painter. Death Of Mrs. Padgett. ' Mrs. Lizzie Padgett, wife of James Padgett, of Cliffside, N. C, died Tues day morning at her home after a short illness. Her - remains , were brought through the country and interred in Draytonville cemetery "Wednesday af ternoon. Funeral service was conducted by Rev. Mr. Felmet, of Cowpens. She was a daughter of Mr. D. J. Bright, of Limestone Mills. She was twenty three years of age and a member of the Cherokee Avenue Baptist church. The Gaffney Ledger, 24th". A PARDON THAT GAME TOO LATE "Lucky Joe" Wilson Dead When It Reached Htm. A HISTORY OF HIS CAREER. An Interesting Story Of How He Escaped From The Ashe County Jail After He Had Been Senten ced There For A Long Term. (Special to The Sun.) RALEIGH, March 25. The other day Governor Glenn issued a pardon to one "Lucky Joe" Wilson, who was doing time on the roads of Iredell county for petty larceny. Poor Joe had been sick, and the pardon was granted because it was feared that he could not live in con finement much longer. v But, alasl the Governor's clemency had been delayed too long, and when the pardon arrived "Lucky Joe" had passed to the bourne from' whence there is no record that any traveler has ever returned. This incident brings to mind how "Lucky Joe" once escaped from prison. Many years ago "Lucky Joe" was serving a term in the State's prison for larceny, the writer was his attorney and succeeded in getting Governor Jarvis to grant "Lucky Joe" a pardon. During this employment "Lucky Joe" detailed the history of how he escaped from the jail of Ashe county after he had been sentenced there for a long term for steal ing, with the promise that the same should not be made public until after his death. Death having broken the seal of confidence, here is the story as "Lucky Joe" gave it in detail. The Wilson family had been left a considerable amount of property in Ten nessee, and it was of the utmost impor tance that "Lucky Joe" should go there and look after the same.. In this view, when the relatives came to the jail to see him, the plan was concocted that "Lucky Joe" should get sick and remain so for two or three weeks, gradually growing worse and finally die. Previous to this certain persons necessary had been "induced" to lend themselves to the successful issue of the plan. After death "Lucky Joe" was to be transform ed home and kept over night, and a log representing his weight was to be put in the coffin. While the relatives of ' 'Lucky Joe" were digging thegrave wherein he was to be deposited, on one side of the grave they found a hole large enough for a man to sit up in, which had beeD made by the blowing up by the roots many years before of a very large oak tree. The finding of this cavity suggested a change in the plan. A small. excavation was made from tliis underground hole to the top of the ground, and it was cov ered so as to give air, but remained con cealed from the public. The casket was then constructed with a door on the side next to the hole in the grave, which had been carefully hidden from the public gaze. The catch of this door was on the inside and the cofiln was covered with black, and lined inside. And "Lucky Joe" feigned death and was prepared for burial and lay in state in the court house for several hours, and then he was put into the casket and tak en home by his grief -stricken relatives. There his friends indulged in a "wake" over him, and the next day he was con signed to mother earth the large con course taking a last look at the remains while the casket was lying on the studs over the open grave. As, soon as the clods commenced to fall on the plank that covered the casket "Lucky Joe" pushed open the door and crawled out into the hole and was sitting up in there long before the grave had been filled. That night the opening from the hole (MOEWL SHAVING lSOAI Forest Cityi IN. C Vc a.re agents for S6e Charlotte DaJly Observer PROVED Satisfactory Boston Mass., Jan. 25th, 1905 Mr. Chas. M. Stieff, Boston, Mass Dear Sir:- The Stieff upright piano, which you sent to the New England Conservatory of - "usic on trial last October, has proved entirely satisfac tory, and on the strength of this trial, I have decided to place an order with you for Twenty Five (25) Stieff up right pianos, same style as samples ubmitted. These pianos must be de livered at the New England Conservatory of Music on or before September 1st, 1905 Yours Very Truly Ralph L. Flanders, Manager. Charles M. Stieff Manufacturer 9f the piano with the sweet tone. Southern warerooms, 211-213 North Tryon St., Charlotte, North Carolina. C H. WILMOTH, Manager." Mention this paper. CANCER HOSPITAL p. i We want every man and woman in the United States to know what we are do ing. We are curing Cancers, Tumors and Chronic Sores without the use of the knife, and are endorsed by the Senate and legislature of Virginia. If you are seeking a cure, come here and you will get it. We guarantee our enres. The Kellam Cancer Hospital, RICHMOND, VA. 1 was made larger and "Lucky Joe" came out and proceeded to Tennessee. Ahout a year after this escape it began to be noised and rumored around that "Lucky Joe" was not dead. These tales were at first treated as idle gossip of tale-mongers, but now and then came authentic news of commission of offen ses which caused those familiar with the ear-remarks of crime as theretofore com mitted by "Lucky Joe" Wilson, to re mark "that appears like it was commit ted by "Lucky Joe" Wilson. And after awhile a man who knew "Lucky Joe" came to Jefferson, the seat of Ashe county, and maintained that he had seen f'Lucky Joe" in the flesh only a few days theretofore at a distillery in the coanty of Yadkins, going under the name of Willis Walkers. So the scent became so hot that the prosecuting attorney of the district was appealed to and he ordered the body exhumed. This was done and the coffin was found bat the hole in the ground was not found, and the mystery of how "Lucky Joe" got out, will not have been revealed until this article ap pears in print. The public at once ac cepted the fact that "Lucky Joe" was alive. Some time after this, in another county, "Lucky Joe" was- arretted and indicted for petty larceny. He was in and out of prison until his last sentence to the roads of Iredell countyr J. C. tr. HARRIS. uira
The Sun (Rutherfordton, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 30, 1905, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75