• 'lf. '
■■ ASHE COUNTY k* -■ -
is the air-conditioned section, of
North Carolina whose altitude
ranges from 3,000 to 5,500 feet
above sea level. Twenty-five miles
of the PARKWAY run through
the county.
VOLUME 9 NO. 43
Plans To Get REA Cold Storage Plant Nearing Completion
Church Is Found “Not Guilty”
In Ashe Superior Court Tues.
Sensational Trial Required 5
Days To Complete. At
tracted Big Crowds.
Clifford Church, Warrensville
filling station operator, was
found not guilty of murder in
connection with the fatal shoot
ing of his wife last July, in the
Ashe superior court Tuesday af
ternoon.
After deliberating less than two
hours, the jury rendered its ver
dict of not guilty at two o’clock,
thus ending one of the most sen
sational trials in the history of
this county.
For the first time in many
years, an extra two-day session
was required to complete this
trial that turned out to be an out
standing legal battle.
In his charge, Judge Felix Al
ley told the jurymen that they
could find Church guilty of first
degree murder, second degree
murder or not guilty.
No one could assuredly predict
what the verdict would be and it
was a tense moment when Austin
Houck, acting as foreman for the
jury, announced “not guilty”.
Church, it seemed, was per
haps the only man in the court
room who was sure of that ver
dict and he rushed over and
thanked all of the jurymen, the
judge, his attorneys and even So
licitor McMichael w r ho waged a
great fight to convict him.
Throughout the entire trial
Church sat back of his formidable
array of attorneys, looked to
wards the jury box and displayed
no emotion whatever.
The presentation of evidence
was completed Saturday at noon
and that afternoon. Attorneys Ira
T. Johnstcn and Ed Gingham pre
sented ~ their arguments to the
Ali w?? con
sumed by speeches to the jury
and Tuesday morning Judge Al
ley delivered his charge.
Testifying for the State, which
sought to get a first degree con
viction. were Sheriff Ed Miller,
John Burkett, Roy Ashley. Price
Blevins, S. A. Dotson. Ray Miller,
a brother of Mrs. Church; Iva
Jean Rimer, 12-year-old daugh
ter of Mrs. Church’s; Mrs. Cenie
Jones and others.
Sheriff Miller testified that on
the night of July 23, Mrs.
Church’s body was found lying
across a bed in the Church home
at Warrensville with a bullet hole
through the right eye and her
head in a pool of blood.
He said Church was intoxicated
and was crying, saying that his
wife had committed suicide. He
said there was no gun near the
body or in the room and that
Church refused to tell where the
gun was. He stated that Church
was placed under arrest and that
he tried to escape, but was caught
on the bridge and brought to jail.
En route to jail Church fought
and cursed the officers and the
Sheriff quoted him as saying that
he would not get over 25 years.
The next day a pistol was found
under an adjoining house and one
bullet had been fired, he said.
Dotson, of Galax, a fingerprint
expert, testified that he found 7
prints on the pistol 'and that all
(Continued on Page Eight)
FIRST TOUCH OF
WINTER IS FELT
Winter’s first icy blast was
ftelt here on Saturday when
the thermometer took a sud
den drop and a typical West
Jefferson wind arose. Sunday
remained unusually cold for
this time of the year and on
Monday the thermometer
dropped below freezing.
Snow was reported on
Whitetop for the first time this
year and the trees on Negro
mountain w T ere covered in an
icy mist. Tuesday also re
mained cold, but yesterday old
man Winter took a breather
and the temperature arose
slightly.
Service stations reported a
rushing business, getting cars
ready for winter, while local
merchants noted an increase in
the sale of blankets, heavy
winter clothing, stoves. Coal
dealers have been busy mak
ing deliveries for the past few
days.
® lie Otai :1 Jo s I
$1.50 a Year Out of County
FOUND “NOT GUILTY”
ill. ,:A • <
In one of the most sensational
murder trials in the history of
Ashe county, which ended Tues
day, Clifford Church was found
not guilty of murder in connec
tion with the fatal shooting of
his wife last July. (Photo by Mil
ler Ingram, staff photographer.)
Caldwell Mutual
Is Given Final
Sum Os $52,000
All Construction To be Com
pleted Soon. Directors
To Meet Saturday.
Allotment of <a final $52,000 for
the completion of the Caldwell
Mutual corporation was recently
made the Rural Electrification
Administunt’ ,n in W">' ington.
In addition to completing the
project by erecting Ines to mem
bers living in 1,000 feet of the
main lines. $42,000 of this sum
will be used to defray certain ex
penses connected with the initial
operation of the project which
cannot be covered by the con
struction loan.
This extra expense developed
as a result of not getting current
in this vicinity and of later hav
ing to purchase it from the Duke
Power Company and thereby
making necessary the construc
tion of a heavier line from Lenoir
to Sparta, all of which was not
anticipated in this original allo
cation, Supt. G. F. Messick ex
plained yesterday while in town.
Construction on the additional
REA lines in the four counties
started this week and will be
completed within a short time.
The Caldwell Mutual corpora
tion, previous to the $52,000 al
lotment, had been allocated $905,-
000 to build 780 miles of line to
serve 4,202 members in the four
counties in this state and John
son county, Tenn., and $118,400
to finance house wiring and
plumbing installation.
The board of directors of the
Caldwell Mutual will meet in Le
noir Saturday, in regular session.
Mr. Messick yesterday said that
the load on the lines is not as
large as he wants it to be, but
that the company is operating in
the “black” and not in the “red”.
He said that there are very few
complaints relative to rates now
and that the Caldwell Mutual has
about the lowest REA rate in the
country.
Roosevelt Severely Criticized
Bv Premier Molotoff Os Russia
MOSCOW. Premier Molotoff
Tuesday chided President Roose
velt for lending Fink nd the “mo
ral support” of the United States,
in effect warned the Finns to
come to terms, and notified the
world that Russia is drawing
closer to Germany and Japan,
once partners in the anti-comin
tern pact.
In an exhaustive report on Rus
sia’s new foreign policy, the pre
mier and foreign commissar told
more than 1.100 deputies attend
ing the extraordinary joint ses
sion of the soviet council that the
United States’ move to repeal its
arms embargo would “intensify,
aggravate and protract” the
European war.
Salient points in Molotoff’s 85-
WEST JEFFERSON, N. C.
HAS MANY FRIENDS
io . S JI
B
|HF ft
Scores of friends of Dr. B. W.
Tugman, shown above, made ap
peals to Judge Alley for leniency.
Trial was concluded last week
and suspended sentence passed
Saturday.
2-Year Suspended
Sentence Is Given
Dr. B. W. Tugman
Appeal From Many Friends
Causes Judge to be Len
ient. Eldreth Tried.
After approximately five hours
of deliberation, a jury rendered
a verdict in the Ashe superior
court last Friday, finding Dr. B.
; W. Tugman, well known West
, Jefferson physician, guilty of an
! attempt to perfom an illegal ope
i ration on Jessie Bledsoe, of Wa-
I goner community.
j Saturday afternoon Judge Fe
j lix Alley over-ruled a motion to
; set the verdict aside on the
grounds that there was no evi
dence to support it and made a
lengthy talk explaining his posi
tion in the case.
He said he was going to be len
ient because of appeals from a
large number of friends of Dr.
Tugman’s. “Dozens of men have
come and talked to me about this
case and to make a long story
short, it looks 'as though every
. body is for him,” he declared.
“I couldn’t sleep well last night
for worrying about it . . . Here is
a man who has one great weak
ness and I don’t know whether
he can conquer it or not, but I
hope so. I am a judge who be
lieves that the highest thing of
the law is to save men -and not
to destroy them.”
He then described the parable
of the Good Samaritan and later
read one of Edgar Guest’s poems
about being a good neighbor,
which brought tears to the eyes
of many spectators and two law
yers in the courtroom.
“I propose to take care of the
public on one hand and the de
fendant on the other,” he asser
ted. The judgment was as fol
lows:
That Dr. Tugman pay the cost
of court and be placed under a
i suspended sentence of two years.
I The sentence specifically prohi
' bits him from receiving fees or
rewards from the practice of
medicine and from using intoxi
! cants for a period of two years.
Eldreth Gets Off Light
I Roscoe Eldreth, who submitted
I (Continued on Page Eight)
minute speech were:
1. Struck at President Roose
velt for “intervening” in Russia's
negotiations with Finland “in
contradiction of the United
States’ policy of neutrality.”
2. Declared Russia was unable
to understand Finland’s refusal
of a mutual assistance pact simi
lar to those which made the Bal
tic states of Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania virtual protectorates.
3. Denounced Great Britain
and France for carrying on the
war with Germany for the pur
pose, he said, of safeguarding
their colonial possessions.
4. Said “there can be no ques
tion of restoring Poland” and that
it was “absurd to continue the
(Continued on Page Eight)
THURSDAY, NOV. 2, 1939
Phipps Is Elected
Chairman Os Ashe
AAA Committee
Succeeds R. W. Hardin. J. C.
Little Chosen Vice Chair
man. Gambill, Member.
RICH RE-ELECTED
The Ashe county soil conserva
tion committee for 1940 was lec
ted at a meeting of the delegates
from the six farm communities in
the county, held in the court
house Monday morning.
J. R. Phipps, well known Silas
Creek farmer who has served on
the county committee for two or
three terms and who was vice
chairman last year, was selected
as chairman, to succeed R: W.
Hardin, of West Jefferson.
The other members of the com
mittee are J. C. Little, of Clifton,
vice chairman and J. W. Gambill,
of West Jefferson, member. J. C.
Goodman was elected first alter
nate and H. H. Burgess of Obids,
second alternate.
The new county committee
then met and re-elected County
Agent C. J. Rich secretary and
Mrs. Mary Grant, treasurer.
All of the delegates and new
committee members highly prais
ed the work of Mr. Hardin and
expressed deep regret that he has
been suffering With heart trouble.
The committee will meet in
the near future and map out a
complete program for 1940.
In the election of Mr. Phipps,
it was pointed out that C. G. Den
ny will automatically become
chairman of the Jefferson com
munity committee to take Mr.
Phipps' place and W. O. Ashley
will become vice chairman of the
Creston community committee.
Eye Clinic Was
A Big Success
Around 60 Patients Were Ex
amined Here Monday
And Tuesday.
Many children of Ashe county
were given an opportunity for
better eyesight, in the free clinic
held here Monday and Tuesday
under the sponsorship of the Jef
fersons Rotary Club and the wel
fare department, in cooperation
with the State Commission for
the blind.
During the two-day clinic about
60 were examined free of charge,
and were given perscriptions for
glasses where they were needed.
Orders for the glasses were taken
by J. L. Jackson, representative
of the American Optical company
of Bristol. Arrangements have
been made by the welfare de
partment for these glasses to be
purchased at a very low cost,
which must be paid when the
glasses arrive here. Notices will
be mailed out as soon as the
glasses arrive and those who are
to receive them are asked to
have the necessary funds on
hand.
Dr. Milo H. Fritz of the Duke
University hospital, was in
charge of the clinic here. He was
assisted by Miss A. Ruth Penney,
social worker of the State Com
mission for the blind, members
of the county health and welfare
office.
The clinic which was the first
of its kind to be conducted in the
county, was held in the basement
of the West Jefferson Methodist
church. Rotarian Gwyn B. Price
furnished milk for all the pa
tients while the Woman’s Club
served fruit and sandwiches for
the lunch.
Miss Ruth Tugman. superinten
dent of the county welfare de
partment said that she was grati
fied with the response as well as
the splendid co-operation of indi
viduals and organizations in mak
ing the clinic a success.
TO MAKE PLANS FOR
BURLEY TOBACCO VOTE
Farm agents and their assis
tants and committee members in
this section will attend a district
meeting in Asheville next Mon
day to map out final plans for
conducting a burley tobacco ref
erendum on November 21, as is
announced.
C. J. Rich, H. D. Quessenberry
and G. B. Price and probably J.
R. Phipps will attend from this
county
Celebrate Mrs. Joines’ 91st Birthday
r - 1
* tMF mw
Shown above are a group of relatives and friends of Mrs.
Nancy Joines, who recently celebrated her 91st birthday.
Mrs. Joines is sitting on the bumper of the car. Standing to
the right is her oldest son, Rufus Joines. The man to the left,
wearing a dark suit and hat is Walter Joines, son of Rufus
Joines. Mrs. Orie Greer, a great grand daughter, is also
shown in the picture. Mrs. Joines has 7 children, 26 grand
children, 41 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grand
children. She was born and reared in Alleghany.
Many Ashe Teachers Planning
To Attend District Meeting
John A. Faw, 47 Is
Suicide Victim
John A. Faw, 47, of Greens
boro, committed suicide Tuesday
morning by firing a .22 calibre
automatic pistol bullet through
his head. The body was found in
a locked closet in the barber shop
of which Mr. Faw was manager,
by the other employees of the
shop when they reported for du-
Mr. Faw was a native of this
county but had lived in Greens
boro for 31 years. He is a bro
ther of Mrs. W. A. Williams of
West Jefferson.
He is survived by his wife, a
son, John A. Faw, Jr., a daughter,
Miss Joan Faw, all of Greens
boro, and one sister, Mrs. W. A.
Williams, West Jefferson.
The funeral services were at
Forbis and Murry Funeral Home
at o’clock on Wednesday after
noon and burial was in the Green
Hill cemetery.
Funeral Held For
A nee Ayers, 72
Funeral service was held Fri
day for Ance Ayers, well known
Crumpler farmer who died at his
home on Oct. 26. A large num
ber of friends and relatives at
tended the funeral conducted at
the Healing Springs Baptist
church with Rev. Edgar Denney
in charge. Burial followed in the
Healing Springs cemetery.
The deceased who was the son
of Wilcum and Sarah Lewis Ay
ers was born at Ore Knob, Nov.
6, 1866. He has been engaged in
farming practically all of his life.
He is survived by his wife and
one sister, Adaline Gualtney.
Will Start Bang’s Disease
Eradication Program In Ashe
A bang's disease eradication
campaign will be launched in
Ashe county tomorrow.
Dr. C. W. Wilder, veterinarian
,of the United States Bureau of
Animal Husbandry, arrived yes
terday and will start testing cat
tle for bang’s disease.
Last spring the county commis
sioners passed a resolution, agree
ing to furnish a helper for this
testing work.
During the last session of leg
islature, an act was passed “to
assist in the control and eradica
tion of bang’s disease” and the
commissioners agreed to comply
with it, and thereby to receive
the co-operation of the U. S. Bu
reau of Animal Industry.
According to the law 1 , all fe
male cattle, six months old or
over and bulls of any age, must
be tested.
Dr. Wilder stated that he will
notify farmers a few days before
he is to visit their farms for test
ing iand requests that they co
operate by having their cattle as
sembled or confined in a barn so
that there will not be any ex-
SI.OO a Year in Ashe County
Meet In High Point Tomor
row. Several Schools May
Be Closed in County.
A large number of Ashe coun
ty teachers and principals are ex
pected to attend the 17th annual
convention of the Northwest Dis
trict Teachers' Association which
will be held in High Point tomor
row and a good many schools will
be closed for the day, Supt. J. B.
Hash stated yesterday.
Every teacher in the county
is privileged to attend the annual
convention and to close school on
Friday in event of such attend
ance, he said. Those who do not
go are expected to teach as us
ual.
A delegation from each central
high school has been urged to
attend and it is believed that
Ashe will be well represented.
A full day’s program has been
arranged, starting at 10 o’clock
in the morning.
The presidents of the county
units will hold a banquet in the
Sherton Hotel tonight and Prof.
R. E. L. Plummer, Ashe presi
dent. is planning to be present
on this occasion.
T. E. Story, former principal
of the Wilkesboro school, is
president of the association and
will preside. Several outstanding
educational leaders will deliver
addresses, including Dr. Elbert
Fretwell, of Columbia University.
Dr. Julian Miller, editor of The
Charlotte Observer, will also
speak.
The senior high school build
ing in High Point will be head
quarters for the convention, but
group meetings will be held in
several other schools in High
Point.
In this district are 15 counties,
including Ashe. Alleghany, Wa
tauga and Wilkes counties.
tensive delay in making progress
with the work.
Dr. N. B. Tyler, also of the
United States Bureau of Animal
Husbandry, was in the county
yesterday, assisting in making
plans for the
Dr. William Moore, state veteri
narian, has ordered that “no fe
male cattle six months or over or
bulls of any age, shall be allowed
to be driven, transported or al
lowed to stray into the county of
Ashe except upon official per
mission from a duly authorized
quarantine inspector in 'accord
ance with the livestock sanitary
I laws and regulations of the
North Carolina Department of
Agriculture”.
Dr. Tyler explained that if it is
: found an animal has bang’s di
sease, the animal will be killed
and the owner given regular beef
prices for the animal by his de
partment.
i Mr. Webster, district health
sanitarian, highly praised this
' progam and declared that it is
(Worth a great deal to the farm
' (Continued on Page Eight)
JOIN STORAGE CO-OP
All farmers are urged to join
the Blue Ridge Cold Storage Mar
keting Co-operative. Complete in
formation is available at the farm
agent’s office, Join at once!
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY
Farm Co-Op Being
Organized Rapidly;
Application Made
Will Also Be Marketing Cen
ter for Produce, Fruits,
Poultry and Meats.
MANY HAVE JOINED
Plans for the establishment of
a Blue Ridge Cold Storage Co
operative plant and marketing
center, tu be located at West Jef
ferson and constructed through
the co-operation of the Rural
Electrification Administration,
are now nearing completion, it
was announced yesterday.
Last night Gwyn Price, a di
rector of the Caldwell Mutual
Corporation; Max Wilson, attor
ney of REA co-op and Senator
W. B. Austin left for Washington
where they have an appointment
with REA officials this morning
at 9:30 o’clock to perfect prelimi
nary application plans, which
have already been pending.
Congressman R. L. Doughton,
who is a member of the proposed
cold storage farm co-op and who
is keenly interested in its es
tablishment, made the appoint
ment and will assist in securing
approval of the application for
a large loan and the allocation of
the money.
G. F. Messick, superintendent
of the Caldwell Mutual Corpora
tion, states that this is the first
application in North Carolina
that has been made to REA for
such a plant and that he believes
it will be approved.
“The value of an institution of
this kind to Ashe and surround-
I ing territory is unlimited and it
I will also increase the income of
i the Caldwell Mutual as well as
! the farmers,” he declared.
I It is reported that over 200
| farmers and business men in
Ashe and Alleghany counties
have already made application
for membership in the proposed
Blue Ridge Cold Storage Co-op
! erative and that every effort will
be made to secure at least 100
more farmers.
The big project is being spon
sored by the Jeffersons Rotary
Club and the Ashe county farm
agent’s office, through the co-op
eration of the Caldwell Mutual
'Corporation, and a large number
of Rotarians, farmers and school
: principals are assisting in secur
ing memberships or stock sub
scriptions.
For the past several months,
Gwyn Price and other farm lead
ers and members of the Rotary
Club have been discussing the
vast possibilities of a cold stor
age plant and marketing center
in this county and have been
studying the REA plan of assis
tance, but organization activities
have only been underway a short
time. The success made thus far
is phenominal, Mr. Price said.
At a meeting of the Rotary club
last Thursday night, Mr. Price,
chairman of the cold storage com-
I mittee, made a report and out
; lined detail plans for organiza
i tion.
Congressman Doughton was
1 present and made a splendid talk
in which he said this proposed
project offered farmers a won
derful opportunity to increase
their income through co-opera
, ting together in the maketing of
j their products and in the holding
of those products, including veg
i etables, poultry, meats, fruits and
i seeds, with a cold storage plant.
(Continued on Page Eight)
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results o nr action.-
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