THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1941
THE FRANKLIN PRESS AND THE HIGHLANDS MAC0N1AN
PAGE FIVE
Town Of Franklin Shows
Sound, Steady Growth
Geo. Dean Gives Figures
Of Progress Spiced
With Memories
By GEORGE DEAN
(Editor's note : George Dean was
elected treasurer of the town of
Franklin on May 16, 1929 and was
elected town clerk and tax col
lector on December 19, 1930. Since
then he has served continuously in
office;
His office lias been . a . clearing
ground for the endless chain of
everyday affairs that make up the
running of Franklin. With George
Dean . to lend his efficiency, his
quiet tact and patience to . the
settling of , town problems, Frank
lin has rested content, assured
that all' would be well under, his
guardianship.'
"His summary of Franklin's pro
gress as well as his comments on
early days make interesting reading
for both "old" and "new timers".)
In the past ten years many
changes and improvements have
been made in Franklin.' The tax
valuation has increased approxi
mately $250,000 and the water
revenue has increased fifty per
cent.
The bonded debt , has been .re
duced over $70,000 despite the fact
laid a new water line on Iotla
street. The same year they pur
chased a new fire truck with a
pump guaranteed to throw 500 gal
lons of water per minute. All these
improvements were made without
borrowing any money. In May,
1939, the town issued and sold
$23,000 of water and sewer improve
ment' bonds. With the help of
WPA about 11,000 feet 1 of . sewer
mains were laid, and a sewage dis
posal plant was built ; approximate
ly 12,000 feet of water mains with
17 -fire hydrants were installed and
a water storage tank erected of
120,000 gallon capacity. This gives
the town 300,000 gallons reserve
water supply.
The additional water supply, wat
er mains and five hydrants, with
the fire truck and pump has re
duced the fire insurance and has
saved the citizens many dollars in
fire insurance premiums.
Street Improvement
The same year the town issued
and sold $12,000 in street and side
walk improvement bonds. By spon
soring two' WPA projects ; several
streets have curb and gutter and
I asphalt pavement. Sidewalks have
been 'built on many streets and
other streets have been graded and
crushed stone placed on them.
These improvements have induced
I many citizens to uuiiu nice nuiiics
that $35,000 in bonds were issued and business houses of different
and sold in 1939. The financial rat-i, kinds.
Modern Building Under Construction
-Baal ill;
I' ru4-uji - rr lull Mil - W m " ' n r mi "-u , afuj i i i ni'i r n
it;, l ''liiiri : I
structure will replace buildings
Architect's drawing of new Rank and Harve Bryant Building on Main Street. TJiij handsome brick
. i . , , ,, destroyed by fire last December. . T
How The Bank Of Franklin
Weathered The 1930 Storm
Confessions Of A Director
During Dark Days And
Progress Since
ing of the town is high. -All bond
and interest payments have been
met promptly. No default has ever
been made except when the North
west Utilities company defaulted on
Steady Growth
The growth of Franklin has been
By M. D. BILLINGS
(Editor's Note. At the request
of The-Franklin Press and High
lands Maconian Mr. Billings has
written the following article about
the bank panic ten years ago.)
I first became officially connect-
fairly steady. There are several ed with The Bank, of Franklin in
reasons for this steady growth. It 1930, when I was elected to fill a
is the trading center for the coun-
interest payment in 1933 and the j ty. The' tax rate has ranged from
town paid this in less than one
month, This is a record that few
towns in the state can .boast of.
Water And Sewer Systems
The water and sewer system has
75c to 97c per hundred dollar val
uation over a. ten year period. We
have pure deep well water and
the water rates are below the
average for the cities and towns
been improved and enlarged. New of the state. Good schools, churches
pumps were bought and installed and paved highways .have all help-
in the old deep "wells in 1933 and
1936. In 1937 the town had a new
well drilled, installed a pump and
ed. In 1933 the Nantahala Power
and Light company purchased the
Electric power plant. They have
0 O -
ill
vacancy on the board of directors.
Prior to that time, I had held some
positions, such as mayor and alder
man of the town of Franklin, Sun
day school teacher for a while, and
county superintendent of schools.
But these all now seemed of minor
importance compared with the po
sition to which I had just been
elevated. My ego was highly maxi
mated, and I walked the streets
with a pride of step hitherto un
noted by the public, because I
felt, if there was an institution of
undoubted and unquestioned finan-
BUCK CREEK RANCH
IN THE HEART OF NANTAHALA NATIONAL FOREST
Cool
Quiet
Restful
Convenient to Reach by U. S. Highway 64
FISHING, SWIMMING, HORSE BACK RIDING, AND
OTHER KINDS OF RECREATION
Rates On Request
Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Latham
Rainbow Springs, N. C
improved the service, lowered the
rates, and hooked the distribution
system up with their other plants
so we are assured of ample power
at all times. Our rates for elec
tricity compare favorably with any
other section of the country.
"The Gocd Old Days"
The majority of the people in
Franklin are natives of Macon
county. Many of the leading busi
ness men of the town were bare
foot farmers a few years ago, hoe
ing corn, plowing mules and steers,
fishing and rocking hornet nests
and getting stung just over the
eye. Rabbit hunting and o'possum
hunting in the winter. They got up
before daybreak and milked the
cows, fed the mules and then
worked all day. They cut stove,
wood by the light of a lantern so
"ma" could cook breakfast. They
had no automobile or radio but on
the Fourth of July Franklin could
look out. We all "went to the
Fourth", chased the greasy pig,
climbed the greasy pole, ate pea
nuts, candy, drank lemonade and
raised heck in. general. When dark
came we went home with a head
ache, stomach ache and empty
purse. Our thirty cents was all
gone, but we "went to the Fourth"
next year.
"Them wuz the -good old days".
Your Health Your Savings
Both are assured when you
consult us for your medical
needs.
E keep abreast of the latest
trends in medicines.
t
"UR stock includes practically
every prescription ingredient.
riur
curate
service is swift and ac-
"I17ATCH for our monthly sales.
Every month we feature na
tionally known medicines at cut
prices. Buy in advance of your
needs. It will pay you.
pvery month we feature nation
ally known medicines at cut
prices. ,
Fourteen years growing with
Franklin has given us ex
perience in serving you.
AngeFs Drag Store
The Rexall Store
cial solidity it was the Bank of
Franklin.
This high-powered feeling of su
periority continued till about No
vember 19 or 20, 1930,. 'when one
morning Henry Cabe, the cashier,
was in my office discussing some
fiscal matter, when the door sud
denly opened and Gilmer Craw
.ford came in and told ' us the
Central Bank and Trust company
in Asheville had failed to open
that morning. Our bank had sev
eral thousand dollars on deposit in
the Central or thought it had. I
noticed a pale,, grayish green color
quickly spread over Henry's face
and I soon, had overtaken and
passed him in the pale, green feel
ing. From then on, things hap
pened. I was on the street just as
infrequently as possible, and went
to and from home by all the back
ways I could find.
The people got uneasy and began
taking their money out of the bank.
In tm effort to withstand' the storm,
The Bank of Franklin and The
Citizen's Bank consolidated. That
seemed to make bad matters
worse, until finally on December
16, 1930, the bank wagged its tail
the last time and expired from
what, I reckon, might be called
malnutrition. Anyway, the old Bank
of Franklin we had all come to
think could not ever fail, had
ceased to exist.
The' day of the failure was blue
and cold, but the faces of the
people of the town and county
were a lot bluer. After the numb
ness of the failure had became a
little less, the depositors and stock
holders began holding meetings in
an effort to find some way out of
the mess we were in. Finally, in
the first part of January, 1931,
they all agreed on me to be the
liquidating agent for the defunct
bank.' I never have understood why
I was : unanimously chosen, unless
it was they thought no one could
make it any worse than it was.
There are a number of interesting
and amusing incidents I could re
late that took place during the
next few months, but I won't take
up' space here to tell . them.
"All'g Well That End. Well"
When the bank closed, its liabil
ities were $608,000, and was due
depositors $388,798. After one of
the most united efforts I have
ever known made by the people of
the town and county The Bank
of Franklin re-opened without re
strictions of any sort, February 14,
1934, with deposits amounting to
$83,720, and .total resources of
$132,770. As of Mar. 19, 1941, the
deposits were $466,433 and total re
sources of $541,814.
I wish to close this sketch by
saying that the part I played in
getting the bank reopened was in
significant. I'm not saying this from
a feeling of false' modesty, but
stating a fact. The Bank of Frank
lin was reopened, the depositors
ipaid off in one way or another;
so that, in the long run, there was
little loss to any one. This was
done by the hard work and intel
ligent cooperation of at least 95
N. C. State Flower
mm
1w:'.,
Dogwood in full bloom, chosen by
1941 legislature as the state flower.
Whole mountain sides in the Nan
tahala Forest are splashed with
these white blossoms in Spring.
: : tk :
per cent of the people in atvliway
.connected with the lank. 1 want) v
to mention particularly the work'
done by the members of the -Kotary
. Club, To them and a few
others, non-members, is due the
major part of the. credit, so that
the town and county now has, I
think, one of the safest and sound
est banks in the country.
Ten per cent of the drivers in
fatal accidents in North Carolina
last year had been drinking.
TRIMONT INN
: . ...'' V . '...'....'
IN THE BEA UTIFUL TOWN OF FRANKLIN
Cool ... Inviting . . . Comfortable
DELICIOUS FOOD - COURTEOUS SERVICE
Large Verandas Spacious Lawn
Hot and Cold Water in EveTy Room
Private and Connecting Baths
Innerspring Beds
AN IDEAL PLACE TO LIVE IN THE SUMMER
A GOOD PLACE TO STOP OVERNIGHT
FOR RESERVATIONS
Write or Phone
Trimont Inn
Phone 96
Franklin, N. C
1. '