Macon Highway Safety Record for 19i8 to Date (From State Highway I'atrol records) KILLED I IN/URKD, 9 ? 3L Do Your Part to Keep These Figure* pownl Qlft 2Bacnt of schools, said yester day tbit steps are being taken U f 11 the vacancy, and thst Vie f"~' ? sure the position will be filled before Mr. Finley ha* to Uuve Franklin. Due io the faet that the vacancy c?#un In the middle fit the ssho 1 year, it would be tilfficuli to obtain a person trorti outside the county system, stftfte all persons now teaching .tire under contact, Mr. Houk pointed out. Pe sons now employed In the Macon County system who have the - leces ary certification to l fill the position of principal of Vt? school here are W. C. New ton, teacher in the Highlands school, O. F. Summer, principal at Highlands, and Jfcay Moses, teacher tn the Otter Creek ? Co.mmied on Page Eight Musical P; og.ram Set Fl3T Tonight At 7:30 A special program of Chrlst cas music will be presented at the First Baptist church to ?ight. The service will open at 7:30 o'clock. 50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK On last Wednesday, December 21, Col. and Mrs. L. Howard of Smith's Bridge celebrated the 50th anniversary of their wed ded life at their home. There were present three persons who attended their wedding. They were: Mrs. Elizabeth Penland, Crecy Long, and Jr. Josh Brad le. Besides these were about 35 Invited guests, including Rev. Campbell a.nd family. imme diately following their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Howard settled where they now reside and have lived there ever since. 25 YEARS AGO Saturday evening an enjoyable barbecue was given by Miss Elizabeth Deal and Mr. W. L. Deal at their home. Those pre sent were: Mrs. L. A. Berry, and Mrs. C. L. Ingram, chaperones, Misses Lenwood and Margaret Ingram, Elizabeth, Angle, and Martha . Deal. Myrtle Bollck, Mary and Ethel Berry, Messers Will and Weaver Elliot, Jack Cabe, Walter Young, James Jus tice, Furman and Bonnie Berry, Marlon Deal, Charles Ingram, Jr., and As tor Deal. m&ii Reported To Have Criminal Recflrdl ?Wt men and one woman were arrested In Franklin l~t? Sunday night by State High way Partolman Pritchard Smith, Jr., and Sheriff J. P. Bradley on charges of having a stolen automobile in their" pMMWion. .TfyS flvepfcrSdtyi all from otifc 8f si&te, were said by Patrol man Smith to have criminal records. Hie arrest took place in front of Duncan Motor company, where the, group had stopped. They were attempting to pawn an automobile tire to obtain gasoline to so to Chattanooga, Tenn. Mr. Brnith and sheriff Bmdlfjf were drlvjftS by. Noticing th? grStttf ana the flashy autsm-v ble, a 1M6 two-tone Buick con vertible, felt that the situation warranted Investigation. After none of the occupants could produce title to the car, the law enforcement officials pro ceeded with further questioning and John WolfOrd, driver of the car, and said by Mr. Smith to lie a 'New 'York city parole violator, admitted stealing the automobile, the officers said. The other members of the quintet, Miss Blanche Dalpe, of Long Island, John Frledel, Bal timore, Md., Roser K. Chesser, Baltimore, and George J. Deen felter, Baltimore? denied anv knowledge of the theft cf th? car, but the entire group la being held in the Macon Count" 'lall. A hearing will be held be fore a United States comn's sloner some time this week, M~. Smith said. During the questioning, Wrl ton placed the number of cars that he had stolen 73 or 8", but said he had been con victed only three ttmes Mr. Smith said the FBI had been Called In on the case. Midnight Service Will Be Held At St. Amines This year's annual midnight service at St. Agnes Episcopal church will start nt 11:30 o'clock Christmas eve, with the rect-r, the Rev. A. Rufus Morgan, tn charge. The service will be marked by the celebration ol the Holy Communion and the Btnglpi of carols, .il y ? ,. *4 * ii . i y CROP OF 450 HEARS ANNUAL YULE CANTATA 29 In CHenw For Third Chri#tma? Music Program An attentive audience of ap- I proximately 450 persons crowded iflto the Franklin Methodist 1 Shwfch Sunday flight for the third annitai Christmas can tata, presehted by; Hi#fllb*rs of the choirs of Franlti ri fehurehes, Every seat was takeri and standing roam was at a pre- j mlum In the side aisles and at 1 the rear of the auditorium , ps the one-hour program opened promptly at 8 o'clock. ; ThU year'* performance was directed by MM. Clarence Henry, with Mri. Gilmer A. Janes at the organ and Mrs. H w. C&be fts pianist Twenty-nine voices Were heard in the chorus. W fearing Whifcg ctidir robes and carrying lighted gafidleg, the participants entered the auditorium from the Sunday school department and march', a down the center aisle singing, "O, CJome, All Ye Faithful", an 18th century melody. The program was divided Into three group* of numbers. In the first, taken frm "Music of Bethlehem," by Bol ton, the entire choir sang "Ring bfl, d Sohf" and "Song cf Bope,:; titf JHaie ehofuS fen (Tered "A King shail Reign", and the women's choriis 6ort cluded with "First Christma; Carol". ' The second group opened W!.in Adam's "O Holy Night", a voc-1 solo by Mrs. Henry, The ch^lr sarig Hoi toll's "fa Bethlehem firaw Near'' and Keating'# "W# foUri# Otfr torfi^ fjei ft, Mr.?. R. S. JOnfcS gave a reading', "When the King Oafc?", by1 | Cynthia P. Maus I In the third group, the choir sang "Lullaby Hymn" and "The M>islc of the Bells", both by Holton, and three oarols, "Olo-la In excelsls Deo", "We Three Kings ', and "The First Noel". Un. Jones re*d John Erskln'? peem. 'The Shepherd Speaks", and the choir saflg "Muslfl of o'.hlehem''. | The program closed with the benediction, pronounced by the church's pastor^ the Rev. A. C. Olbbs. Members of the choir were: Sopranos: Mrs. Betty Alexan der, Mrs. Bill Bryson, Mrs. A C. Olbbs. Mrs. Earl Harmon, Mrs. Donald Jones, Miss Harriett Murray, Mrs. Nobla Murray, M s. B. S. Phllbrlck, Miss Betty Sha rltz. Mrs. Guy Sharitz, Mrs. I Hyldah Shepherd, Mrs. Bob Sloan, Mrs. Reby Tessler, snd Miss Esther Wallace. Atlos: Mrs. Prelo Dryma.n, Mrs. Hoyt Evans, Mrs. Nell Johnston, Miss Elizabeth Jones, Miss Lil lian Jones. Mrs. Lucille Lassiter, Miss Dorothy Sloan, and Mrs. H. X. sloa.n. Tenors: Mac Duncan, Phil McCollum, Richard Sloan, a d George Tessler. Basses: E. J. carpenter, the Rev Hoyt Evans, and s. W. Mendenhftll. Schools In County To Close Thursday For Yule Holidays Public schools throughout the Macon County system will close at the end of classes tomor row (Thursday) for the Chrlst i holidays. Classes will be resumed Won I day morning, January 3. I Contrary to the practice In ; the past, when schools In dl' ferent localities took vary In: lengths of time for Christina' ' vacation, all the schools thl; i wr wjll start end ftxd th< hoiiiays Dmtftimtowly.'.-.. TfiTte'" ' Phone Firm Plans $100,000 Program Prize Beef Brings $773 At Auction Of Package* The slightly more than 100 packages of beef from Hayes Greglry's prize coif briught a total of $773.90 at Saturday night's auction at the SLagle memorial, sponsored by the Ffanklln Rotary club. The total weight was 557 pounds, so that the average was approximately $1.39 per pound. Some of the steaks, however, sold for about $3 per pound, notably the package of T-bone that, after spirited bidding, went to E. J. Whitmire for $1950 The heaviest of the more than 30 buyers was W. C. Bur rail, who purchases amounted to approximately $167. As s result of the sale, there .not only was enough money to t&ta cure of the 75 cents a pound (oh the foot) price guar anteed for th? animal when 1 won first prize In Asheville, but there was approximately $70 profit, which will go into the Rotary club's Memorial building furnace fund. B. W. McOlamerywas auction eer. The package of T-bone steak Offered as a prize went to Wiley brown, DRY VICTORY CELEBRATED Piiflde, Meeting Mark find Of Legal Beer An tf W(M Her# Ceietffiitlng the end of legal beer and wtn? to this county, Macon County flrys Saturday paraded through th# business district and then held a meet ing at the courthouse. The observance came three days after the deadline on the sale of beer and wine here, which were voted out by .mar gins 6* about 10 to 1 In the electioii (aSt Atlgtist 28. The courtfiotfse Was filled for the program, held ftfc 11 a, m., immediately after the parade. Judge George B. PattcOT pre sided, and the chief spealter was the Rev. Charles A. Parker, pastor of the First Baptist church. The' Rev. William Sor rells and the Rev. Htoyt Evans led in prayer. Music was pro vided by the Sylva High school band. The parade, led bv the band formed at the Franklin sch ol. The line of march wos the Georgia highway to Palmer street, Palmer to its Intersec tion with East Main, and East Main to the courthouse Yule Programs Planred By Union Sunday Schools Special Christmas services si Union Sunday schools tn th'i oounty have been announced I -s follows: Walnut Creek school j Friday at 10 a. m.; Rainbow Springs, Friday at 2 p. m Sloan's chapel, Friday at 7:30 Olive Hill, Saturday at 7; Sal err Mpthodlst church, Sunday, a 2:30; and Frlendshlo tabernacle December 28 at 2:30. DIME BOARD RAISES $250 A total of $250.25 was place* on the Lions club's dime board 1 kept open on the public squir ? the last three Saturdays. Th ! money wlll# be used for cur ? chase, by 'a club commlttf ? headed by Elbert Angel, to bu 1 clothing for needy Mapo ' County children Non-Crank Service Wi'.l Be Put In Here; Dial In Highlands A $100,000 expansion program that will provide the caramon battery (non -crank) type of telephone service for Franklin I and will approximately triple the number of operators on duty here was announced this week by the Western Carol na Telephone company. The program also calls (or In stallation of dial systems n Highlands and Clayton, Go.., and improvements and extensions In other towns served by the tele phone company, which has its headquarters in Franklin. The announcement followed authorization by the N. C. Utili ties commission last week which will permit the company to double its capital stock. The plans also call tor im provement and speeding up of long distance service out of Franklin, R. E. McKelvey, the company's general manager, said. After the cut-over to the new equipment, Franklin will be a toll center, which means that the operators in Franklin ? will handle long distance calls | themselves, Instead of passing j them along to operators in Cor nelia, Ga., or some other town. Several direct circuits fnrm Franklin to Ashevllle and Franklin to Atlanta also are planned. While the equipment for Franklin, Highlands, and Clay ton already is on' order it will be about the first of May before I the Franklin equipment will ar ' rive and can be Installed, and It probably will be sometime in 1950 before Highlands and Clayton are cut-over to the dial service, Mr. McKelvey said. The new Franklin switchboard Continue]! on Page Eight ? Subscribers To Get Next Week 'a Press On Friday Next week's issue of The Press will be published 24 hours later than usual The paper will be placed in the mail Thursday night, and should reich Macon County subscribers Friday morning. As explained last week, the changes in publication schedule for the last issue before Christmas and the first after Ch'istmas was decided upon in order to make possible a week's va cation for members of the staff. PLAN PLAY, PAGEANT A Christmas play and pageant will be given at the Iotla Bap tist church tomorrow (Thurs day) night at 7:30 o'clock. The public is invited to attend. PLAN YULE SERVICES Speciil Christmas services will , be held st Gillespie's chapel tomorrow (Thursday) evening ' at 6 o'clock, at Mt. Zlon at 8 1 o'clock, and at Maiden's chapel Friday at 7 p. m. i ? ______ ' The W.eather Temperatures and precipita tion lor the past seven day*, and the low temperature v?< terday. a* recorded at the Coweeta Experiment rtntlnn. High Low Prec. Wednesday , 68 54 .01 Thursday 65 55 .55 Friday 63 48 1.04 Saturday ....* 44 34 .29 Sunday 51 35 .69 Monday 49 27 .00 Tuesday 20 -00 Total rainfall