I PP
Established 1885
The Oldest North Car
olina Newspaper West
of Btrncombe County.
Full Coverage
The Press assures its-v
advertisers of complete
acoman
INDEPENDENT
coverage of Macon Co.
PROGRESSIVE
LIBERAL
VOL. LV NO. 5
FRANKLIN, N. C. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY I, 1940
$1.50 PER YEAR
DEATH CLAIMS
JAMES T. MOORE
Widely Known Merchant
Passes Monday
Afternoon
: James Telanas Moore, 89, died at
his home one mile north of Frank
lin .Monday afternoon at 5 o'clock.
He had been ill for two weeks,
but a stroke of apoplexy early
Monday morning was the imme
diate cause of .death.
Mr. Moore was a son of Thomas
1'. 'and Elizabeth Higgins Moore,
Who moved to this county from
Rutherford comity when he ' was
an infant. His parents first settled
at lotla, but later purchased the
home where Air.' Moore has lived
since he. was two years of age.
He would have been 90 years old
on May 24.
Mr. Moore was the oldest mer
chant in Franklin. He began clerk
ing in different istores here when
he was 22 years old, and in 1890
went into business for himself. He
retired in 1932 and has since de
voted, himself to various interests
around his home.
Wa. Widely Known
James T. Mcxre was widely
known throughout Macon county
and Western Xorth Carolina as a
man ,of isterling integrity, whose
word was good and whose deal
ings were straightforward at all
''finies.'' He was one among the old
est members of the Franklin
Methodist church and a charter
member of the Franklin lodge of
the Junior Order. Hc took an ac
tive interest in all civic matters
and did .much toward the growth
of franklin.
On April 1, 1880, Mr. Moore
was married to Miss Mattic Sher
rill, of Kobbinsville, and had he
lived until April .1, they would
have celebrated their 00th anniver
sary. v-
Funeral services were conducted
on Tuesday afternoon at 3 o'clock
at the Franklin Methodist church.
The Rev, 1. C" Roberts, "pastor,
was in charge, assisted by the
Rev. J. A. Flanagan, pastor of the
1 ianklin Presbyterian church. In
terment was in the Franklin ceme
tery. ,. Pallbearers were : Wade Arvey,
Walter W. McDonnell, Truman
Moody. Lester S. Conley, Henry
W. Cabe and George D.ean.
Surviving, besides the widow, are
four children, two daughters, Mrs.
Lily Pierson, of Highlands, and
Miss Mary Jo Moore, of Franklin;
Two sons, W. T. and John Moore,
of Franklin; four grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren.
The funeral was largely attend
ed and there were many beauti
iiil floral offerings.
RAY VILL HEAD
FINNISH DRIVE
J. Frank Ray, of Franklin, -has
been appointed chairman of the
Finnish relief campaign for Macon
county by Hon. J. C. B. Eringhaus,
nf Raleigh, former governor of
North Carolina, who is state chair
man. North Carolinians are expected
to contribute $50,000 to $75,000 to
the fund, and headquarters have
been established in Raleigh from
which the campaign will be direct
ed. :
Former President Herbert Hoov
er is at the head of the national
organization, and has already dis
patched $000,000 to the Finnish
government. This money was all
contributed by American citizens.
These contributions are for civil
ian relief food, clothing, fuel and
medical supplies for those whose
breadwinners are at the front, and
for the women, children and in
alids who have been moved from
the cities to escape Russian bomb
ing raids. ' '
Mr. Ray states that he will
place contribution boxes in busi
ness houses in Macon county and
will also solicit funds by subscrip
tion list and will use every effort
id make this county stand well up
' in the list in the amount of money
contributed to this worthy cause.
Contributions may be sent or
handed to Mr. Ray or left at the
office of The Franklin Press or
. given to any member of the Macon
county post of the American Le
gion, and the money will be
promptly forwarded to headquar
ters. Make checks payable to Fin
nish' Relief Fund, Macon County.
The Press will gladly print the
names of all contributors and will
publish any matter sent in which
will aid the campaign.
Many Attend
Opening Of New Theatre
- . Last Sunday
The benefit performances spon
sored by the Franklin Lions Club
which opened the beautiful new
Macon Theatre last Sunday after-,
noon and evening' were largely at
tended and netted a nice sum for
the blind aid fund of the club.
All who attended were lavish in
their praise of the comfort, beauty
and convenience of the new play
house. It undoubtedly ranks with
the best in the state, and is bet
ter than can be found in many
towns much larger than Franklin.
The management . is scheduling
pictures of the highest class, and
many oif them are shown here be
fore they are run in the nearby
cities of Asheville. and Atlanta. The
new sound equipment, artistic light
ing effects, good music and gor
geous curtains add greatly to the
enjoyment of the performances ;
and the new theatre will no doubt
be more popular than the old with
the people of the county and the
summer visitors.
The performances last Sunday
were given after a majority of
the town board had signified their
approval, though the board took
no official actione m the matter.
There is no ordinance in Franklin
at the present time prohibiting
Sunday moving pictures, and it was
stated that the program last Sun
day was in no sense an effort to
start the showing of commercial
moving pictures on the Sabbath.
NEW OWNERS AT
SCOTT GRIFFIN
Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Bryson
Take Charge And
Change Name
Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Bryson, of
Spruce Pine, who purchased the
Scott Griffins hotel a year ago,
took charge ( today (February 1.)
The name of the hotel will be.
changed to Hotel Bryson.
Mr. and Mrs. Bryson are ex
perienced in the hotel business,
having successfully operated hotels
in Alabama and at Spruce Fine.
They have many friends among
former patrons, both traveling men
and summer tourists, which will be
an asset, not only to the hotel
but to Franklin. They propose to
sustain the same high standard of
service and efficiency that won for
them success and popularity in
their other hotels. Some of their
former employees have accompan
ied them to Franklin for work in
their new .hotel. An entirely new
personnel of trained workers has
been employed. '',
In coming to Franklin, both Mr.
and Mrs. Bryson are returning to
their native county. Mr. Bryson is
the son of the late Mr. and Mrs.,
James Bryson, of West's Mill.
Mrs. Bryson is the former Miss
Laura Wild, daughter ' of the late
Mr. and Mrs. Posey Wild, of
Burningtown, and sister of Mrs.
Frank Jarrett, ?of Jarrett Springs
hotel, at Dillsboro:
The hotel, built in 1926, con
tains 30 rooms on the second and
third floors - of the building. The
first floor is occupied by .the hotel
lobby, Perry's Drug Store. People's
Market and the City Barber Shop.
Kx tensive alterations and im
provements are planned for the
interior of the building by the
new owners. The rooms will be
redecorated and six additional
shower baths installed. A small
laundry will be operated on the
roof garden for the hotel linen.
Mrs. C S. Brown, whose effi
cient management of the Scott
Griffin since 1928 has won well
earned success. ' will remain in
Franklin and devote her time to
the management of the Peoples
Market a husines that she DUr-
chased from Cecil Pendergrass
about a year and a halt ago:
Box Supper For
Finnish Relief Fund
A box supper and cake walk will
be given at the agricultural build
ing Friday, February 9, for the
benefit of the Finnish relief fund.
Chairman Frank Ray has announc
ed. Music will be furnished by the
Anderson-Carpenter string band.
There' will be no admission
charge. All ladies are requested to
bring boxes and cakes. Cakes will
be auctioned off for the prettiest
girl. Everybody come and have a
good time.
Much-needed moisture counter
acted some of the damage to citrus
fruit crops in the Rio Grande val
ley caused by recent freezing
weather.
Snow
''
7J
k fc A49iM., ff,V M r -.1 M X U v'i
ij i r u inert r
. v" '
Looking west on Harrison Avenue towards Trimonf mountain. Home
Ashe home (right.) Post cards of the two snow scenes in this issue
Miss Buena Dryman, 69
Passes Tuesday Afternoon
Miss Beuna Vista Dryman, 69,
died at her home near Otto Tues
day afternoon about 3 o'clock. She
had been in ill health for the past
year, but an attack of pneumonia
which developed Sunday was the
immediate cause of death.
MisiS Dryman was born on Aug
ust 15, 1870, and spent her entire
life in the Smithbridge township.
She was a daughter of the late
Mr. and Mrs. George N. Dryman,
and since her father's death, she
and her two . maiden sisters, jiave
continued to live at the trymali
old home place. She was a mem
ber of Asbury Methodist church.
Funeral services were held at
Asbury church Wednesday after
noon at 2 o'clock, with the pastor,
Rev. ). C. Swaim in charge. Burial
was in the church cemetery. .
Pallbearers were : Joe Bradley,
Claude Cabe, Harve Wiggins, Ras
Cabe, Claude Bradley, and Harley
Bradley.V
Surviving are two sisters, Miss
Mary Dryman and MisS Lillie Dry-
man, a twin sister.
The road leading to the high
way from the : Dryman residence
was in such bad condition, due to
istiow and ice, that the hearse
could not enter, and a tractor had
to be used to draw a wagon con
taining the casket for three-fourths
of a mile to the pavement." .
Special Stamp Series
To Be Issued Soon
T. W. Porter, postmaster, has
announced the early issuance of a
special (Series of stamps in the
Authors', group that will be of
special interest, to collectors. The
Franklin office will have these
stamps for isale as follows: 1-cent,
Washington Irving; 2-cent, James
Fenimore Cooper, on sale Janu
ary 30: 3-cent, Ralph Waldo Em
erson; 5-cent, Louisa May Alcott;
on sale February 6; 10-cent. Sam
uel Clemens, on February 14.
The po&toffice department of the
government requests the coopera
tion of local, educational authorities
in planning programs and activities
in the schools dealing with the life
stories and accomplishments of
these notable Americans that are
receiving, recognition in: this spe
cial series of postage (Stamps.
As The World Turns
A Brief Survey of Current Events In State, Nation
and Abroad.
BATTLE OF WORDS ,
On January 31 the three war
leaders. Chamberlain of Great Brit
ain, Daladier of France and Hitler
of Germany, spoke over the air
to their own people and to the
world. . "i
.. Chamberlain sought to win the
sympathy of neutrals. "It is Ger
many," he said, "who threatens the
existence of states too small and
weak or too near them . . . we
have never sunk a neutral ship."
Hitler made vague threats stat
ing. "England and France will get
the figtt they asked for."
Daladier told the French nation
Scene on Harrison
, ...
.
1 ,jMt?
Oldest Merchant.
JAMES T. MOORE
Greatly Esteemed Citizen of
Franklin Who Died Monday
Afternoon
W. P. Beaupre
Passes Here At Home Of
Daughter
Walter Pease Beaupre,. 95, died
Monday, January 29, at the home
of his daughter, Mrs. Viola Carr,
on Riverview street, after a few
weeks' illness.
The funeral was held on Tues
day afternoon, Rev, C. F. Rogers
officiating. Interment in the Frank
lin ' cemetery.
Pallbearers were: Charles Meli
char, James L. Averell, Harley
Dunbar, T. T. Hall, John Hamer
and J. R. Bradley.
Surviving, are his widow; one
son, J. O. Beaupre, of Delta, La.;
two daughters, Mrs. M. M. Cos
tello, of San Diego, Calif. ; Mrs.
Viola Carr, of Franklin, and five
grandchildren.
' Mr. Beaupre was born in Chilt
ensburg, Ontario, Canada, and came
to Franklin with Mrs. Beaupre a
few months ago from his 'home
in Delta, La., to reside with his
daughter, Mrs. Carr. who is an
employee of the Nantaliala forest
service. .
J. O. Beaupre has been with his
parents and sister during the ill
ness and death of his father.
that the country must expect hard
knocks in "the total war that can
not be long in breaking." He plead
ed for increased armament output.
All three Speeches made claims
of ultimate victory and were de
signed to bolster home morale.
'..:
BRITAIN TAKES
OVER SHIP INDUSTRY
Today Britain takes over control
of the entire ship building industry,
and will requisition cargo liners
to help defeat Nazi U-boat and
aerial drives. Thirty-two ships were
reported sunk last week, belong-
(CoBtUMMd OB Pr Six)
Avenue
W1!' MM
o lltfi
Photo by Crisp Studio
of Mrs. J. W. C. Johnson, (left);
will be on sale by Crisp's Studio.
Cold Weather Causes
Low Water In River
During the extreme cold weather
of last Week, when the ther
mometer went below zero on sev
eral days, and as low as 17 below
on one day, the Little Tennessee
river and all of its tributaries
above Franklin became so frozen
that the flow of water in the river
dropped to a Very low volume.
"On January 25, the flow in the
river at Lake Emory, at the Frank
lin power plant of the Nantahala
Power and Light company dropped
to about 80 cubic feet per second,"
according to Joel Tompkins, engi
neer of the company. "This is the
lowest flow recorded by the com
pany since it acquired the plant
from, the town of Franklin in 1933.
This flow was so low that there
was enough water to just turn
one water wheel, without making
any power. For nine hours that
day the power plant produced no
power at all, and during this time,
the entire supply of power to
Franklin and vicinity was brought
in over the transmission lines of
the company from the large plants
at Santeetlah and Tapoco. If the
connection with these large plants
had not been available, . it would
have been necessary to cut off all
electric service in Franklin and
vicinity for at least several hours
that day," Mr. Tompkins stated.
Continuing. Mr. Tompkins told
a representative of The Press that
on several other days during the
cold spell the river dropped to
this isame low flow but did not
stay low as long. However, the
flow was too low to supply enough
electricity' for Franklin and vicin
ity, except during hours late at
night, so that a considerable por
tion of the necessary electricity
was brought in over the transmis
sion lines of the company.
During the extreme dry weather
of the past few months, the river
has been too low on many occa
sions to make- enough electricity
to supply the load, but even dur
ing the dryest months, the river
was not as low as during the rec
ent sub-zero weather. -The
lake was covered with ice.
At the bridge in Franklin, the
river was covered , with 4 to 5
inches, and ice skating was enjoy
ed by a number of people.
Esteemed Colored Man
Dies In Goldsboro
'M. D. Billings recently ' received
a telegram announcing the death
in Goldsboro of . R. B. Watts, for
mer principal of Chapel school
Prof. Watts retired two years ago
on account of ill health. He was
much beloved by his pupils, a
wise leader of the colored people
of Macon county and held in, high
regard by all. Interment was held
in North Wilkesboro.
Mrs. Brown Will Have
Auction At Hotel
Mrs. G. S. Brown, who has giv
en up management of the Scott
Griffin has a surplus of house
hold, necessities that she is coiner
to . sell at auction on Saturday
afternoon in the pool room of the
hotel. ,
MAN SAWS OUT
OFMiPNJAIL
Tom Williams Cuts Bars
And Gets Down On
Blanket Rope
Tom Williams, of the. Betty's
Creek section, who was being held
in the county jail to await trial at
the April term of surpcrior court
on a charge of slaying Miss Edna
lloilgins, 18, last 'December 24,
escaped from jail before daylight
Tuesday morning.
John Dills, deputy sheriff, jvho
lives in the jail building, did not
learn of the escape, he said;- until
about 8 o'clock when. sorti$ one on
the outside drew his attention to
a blanket rope that extended from
a second floor window to near the
ground.
Williams had obtained " saws
from some source, had sawed two
iron bars, and let himself down
from the window by an improvised
rope made from blankets.
Deputy Sheriff Dills and other
officers began a widespread search
for the escaped prisoner, but he
was still at large Wednesday.
Williams is alleged to have fatal
ly wounded Miss Hodgins during
a disturbance at his home.
Miss Hbdgins, who had been en
gaged by the Williams family to
do house work, became frightened
by the disturbance, grabbed Wil
liams' three-year-old child and;
rushed into the yard. Williams al
legedly pursued her and, as she
ran around a barn, fired at her,
the bullet striking her in the right
side and penetrating the abdomen.
She died in Angel hospital Tues
day night, December 20.
IT 1M COLD
. HERE IN 1887
Old Record Shows Low
Of 17 Degrees In
That Year
A very interesting historical rec
ord was loaned to ; The Press
Tuesday by Mrs. Joe Setser, of
Cartoogechaye. It is a diary started
by Mns Setser's great-grandfather,
Jacob Siler, in 1842, and records
the extremes . of weather and
local happenings in the Cartooge
chaye community. He kept the rec
ord from 1842 to 1809, and it was
taken up by Mrs. Mary Slagle
Gray in 1870 and carried to 1927,'
when Mrs. Setser took it over
and has kept it up to date.
Some years are missing, but the
book contains many reports of ex
treme weather which have a pecul
iar interest at the present time
when old citizens are recalling the
cold seasonis' they have known.
One entry tells of a great snow
which began on December 10, 1870,
and which was still on the ground
on December 24 when another
came, and this was followed on
January 1, 11877, by a fall of IS
inches, which made the snow 26
inches' deep. This entry also states
that the mercury reached 14 be
low on January 4.
The next low temperature was
recorded on January 11, 1880,
when the thermometer read 10 be
low. Again on January 16, 1887,
there is an entry of 17 ' below,
which was the reading here last
Friday morning. -
On February 14, 1899, there is
a report of 6 below, and a pasted
clipping shows that it was 15 be
low in Asheville and 16 in Waynes
ville. Many heavy snows are mentioned
through the years, much heavier
than have been known in recent
times. -'
There were epidemics of disease
among the cattle as evidenced by
an entry made by Jacob Siler in
April, 185, which records that
cattle are still dying, and one-
fifth of the cattle in the county
have died, some people losing all
they had.
On April 24, 1800, Mr. Siler en
tered the record of an earthquake
felt . in Macon county, which he
compared to the shaking of the
earth during the war of 1812.
Another entry made on October
18, 1879, states that the water was
higher than at any tune since
1840. and that it ran through the
bridge at Franklin.
The various entries in the old
book make the past live again, and
show that our claims of record
breaking weather are all wrong,
for it has happened before.
Solving problems of the 130 mil
lion acres of commercial forest
land owned by farmers is claiming
the utmost attention of federal and
state agencies.