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VOL. Lav 11 Number 47
Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press
At Franklin, North Carolina
Telephone 24
Entered at Poet office. Franklin, N. C., as second class matter.
WDMAR JONES ? .Editor
BOB S. SLOAN Business Manager
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ance with the postal requirements.
NOVEMBER 20, 195S
They've Done It Again! ?
They've done it again!
The "they" refers, of course, to Macon County
4-H and FFA youth, and the "it'' to stealing the
Fat Stock show at Asheville.
For the third straight year, Macon County's con
tingent has brought home the grand championship,
not to mention lots of blue ribbons and many other
honors. x
That three times in a row didn't just happen. It
is the result of hard and intelligent work on the
part of the boys and girls. And back of that was
encouragement and direction on the part of their
adult advisors. Still farther back was a lot of good
home training of these youngsters, that produced
the character on which this success was built.
If we've had an agricultural revolution in Macon
County in the last quarter-century ? and we have ! ?
the record these young people are making indicates
we may have half a dozen revolutions in the next
25 years.
And along with the improvement in farming at
titudes and practices has gone a corresponding im
provement in the attitude of the Macon County
public toward home-grown products.
As recently as five or six years ago, most home
folk thought they must have Western beef. Today
not only home folk, but people far and near, have
come to recognize that we have the top quality
right here at home.
The proof of that statement is on file in the of
fice of Franklin Frozen Foods. Manager Oscar
Ledford has had orders for weeks, from such places
as Detroit, Miami, and Cincinnati, for halves or
quarters of this premium Macon beef.
Clint May
Clint May loved the Nantahala country that to
him was home. And he loved the larger community
that is Macon County.
He loved them and he had faith in them. He
wanted for them the best. He believed the best was
attainable for them. And so he set out early in life
to help bring about that best.
Especially, he was determined that this genera
tion of children should have the best possible edu
cation ; to him, devotion to the public schools came
next to his religion.
Not a wealthy man, he worked hard to earn a
living for himself and family. Then, at the end of
the normal day's work, he often started on another,
laboring far into the night for community better
ment ? a road needed here, decent schools for all
Macon County, a higher school standard, or what
ever community project needed doing. And he did
it all quietly, without ostentation.
It probably is true of him that he gave his life
for his country, in the usual sense ? that is, that he
drove himself to an untimely death ; he was only
39. Certainly it can truly be said of him that he
gave his life for his country, in the larger sense ?
that is, that he gave it, day in and day out, week
in and week out.
The General's Dilemma
In fairness, it should be recalled that General
Eisenhower has never made a flat promise "to
bring the boys home from Korea". "
But the flat promise he did make, in the last week
of the campaign ? the promise to go to Korea ? led
many people to believe he could and would end the
Korean fighting. He would not go, these people
must have reasoned, unless he thought it would do
some good ; he is a great general and a great man ;
he must have in mind a way to end all this.
It is possible some of the General's advisors in
tended that the promise should be so interpreted;
it is possible, perhaps probable, that the General,
who showed himself on more than one occasion to
be remarkably naive in political matters, did not
realize the implications.
However that may be, today he faces a terrible
dilemma.
That dilemma was well stated in a recent history
paper written by a Macon County college student:
For the past few days a question has been raging
through my mind: Is Eisenhower going to Korea, and if
so, what in the world is he going to do there?
I am not the only one wondering about this. The day
after the election, 1 spoke to a mother of two boys in
Korea. The old darky said something 'w&ich I believe is
in the hearts of many mothers:
"De wrong man done won, but he promised to bring
my two boys home from Korea. I hope he knows what
he's talking about, but I don't see nothing he nor any
body else can do by going over there."
I
What will the General do when he gets there?
One of the first things he will do, as any father would,
is look up his son. Then what?
Try the peace talks again? Surely not. If Russia had
wanted peace in Korea, she would have reached some
sort of compromise with us long ago.
Tram the South Korean soldiers? Maybe, but that
would take far too much time. Our boys say if the South
Koreans do take over on their own, it will mean loss of
ground paid for by American lives. Any way, it doesn't
seem fair for tiny Korea to be left to stand against all
of Russia.
It is hoped that the General has something new in
mind. If not, I don't see bow he can do much good over
there.
He will have to end the war or lose the confidence of
the American people who elected him. That is a large
assignment for one man. I hope for his sake, as well as
for the sake of the democracy we cherish, that he will be
able to stop this part of Communist aggression.
The question remains, how?
? Letters
PROUD OF NEW DEAL
Editor, The Press:
We, the majority of losers in the last election ? the very poor
people of the country and the Negroes ? still have much to be
thankful for. We have been shown by two great men what
sort of leaders to choose and fight for in the future.
In spite of all that has been said about the New Deal by
people who hate it, we are proud of it, and of the man who
gave it to us. We are also proud of the tough little scrapper
who has fought with anything he could lay hands on to carry
on the New Deal program, and all it stands for.
The New Deal pfogram gave inspiration and help to the
little poor man who wanted desperately to be able to make a
living for himself and not be dependent on crumbs from the
rich man's table. It also gave hope and encouragement to the
Negro by seeking to obtain for him, his right to be a true
citizen of the country he supports with his taxes, and fights
and dies for.
(MISS) CORA TALLEY.
Franklin.
Others' Opinions
THE WAY IT IS
(Mutual Moments)
Actually, the so-called weaker sex Is the stronger sex be
cause of the weakness of the stronger sex for the weaker sex.
BIGGEST TROUBLE
(Bill Kezlah In Southport Pilot)
As we have frequently said, our greatest trouble as a news
paper man is that we frequently come into contact with peo
ple who are dumber than we are.
WITH A FERVENT "AMEN"
(Whiteville News-Reporter)
To the announcement that members of the State Highway
Patrol will crack down on "excessive noise" In the operation of
vehicles, we can only add a fervent "Amen".
A little more than three years ago, many people uttered a
sigh of relief when the General Assembly banned the sale and
explosion of firecrackers, but the populace has been greeted
with a mare than adequate successor in the form of gutted
mufflers, cut-outs, and ear-shattering Hollywood-type noise
producers.
Cpl. T. P. Hofler, in charge of the State Highway Patrol
unit in Columbus County, is giving motor vehicle operators a
chance to correct their equipment without being cited to court.
He has asked that note be taken of this warning. Those who
Ignore the opportunity to get rid of gutted mufflers and any
I Who's burned up? f
other faulty equipment that makes excessive noise will have
no one to blame but themselves if they are ordered to court.
The wise, as usual, will take heed. The careless will find the
courtroom an expensive waiting place.
YOU'RE RIGHT ? IT'S GETTING WARMER
?(New York Times)
Largely through the publications of Dr. Hans W. Ahlmann,
Swedish cltmatologist known the world over for his work In
the Artie regions, we have learned that the world has been
getting warmer in the last half century. Spitsbergen's mean
temperature was higher by ten degrees in 1950 than it was In
1900. Eskimos are catching and eating cod ? a fish that tbey
had never seen before 1920 or so. The White Sea and the Gulf
of Bathnia are open to navigation three or four weeks longer
than they used to be. In Iceland fanners are growing barley
in soil that used to be frozen. Dr. Ahlmann 's trump card has
been the glaciers. They have been melting away of recent years
at such a rate that the oceans are now higher by two-fifths of
an Inch than they were In 1900. If the icecaps at the Poles were
to dwindle In a week to nothing New York's skyscrapers would
be Jutting out of the ocean and fish would be swimming In and
out of their offices.
All this comes down to saying that we are living in the clos
ing phase of an ice age which is 30.00C years old and that the
icecap has shrunk from Virginia to Greenland and the Pole.
The old-timers who complain that winters are not what they
used to be are right In the main, though they make the mis
take of thinking that the local conditions with which they are
familiar hold good for the world.
Dr. Ahlmann, a close student of this matter, now tells us
that the world temperature seems to be leveling off. Probably
it will take thirty or forty years to make certain. Suppose It
turns out that the temperature is now fairly steady. What of
the future? It certainly does not mean thermal constancy.
Whether or not the temperature will go up or down nobody
can foretell. There is good reason to believe that It has been
rising and falling rhythmically for thousands and perhaps for
millions of years. This being so it may be that we are at the
beginning of a decline and that thirty years hence we shall
be boasting about the mild winters we used to have back in
the Nineteen Forties and Fifties, and the street-cleaning de
partment will groan at the vast amount of snow that It has to
remove.
STRICTLY
PERSONAL
By WEIMAR JONES
It has now been nearly seven
years since I came back to
Franklin, where I was bom and
reared, to live. And alter all
this period of time. I still find
myself surprised at how SMALL
some things are.
I had been <back home on
visits often enough to accustom
myself to the remarkable growth
of the town and the amazing
development of the rural areas,
but usually these visits were
too short for me to note how
various landmarks and other
things that were here when I
was a child had SHRUNK dur
ing the years.
It is an experience that
everybody who has come back
to their home community,
after an absence of years,
must have had. ?
As a child, nothing appealed
to me more than to play on the
bank on the east side of the
Georgia road (pardon me. Maple
street), just about opposite the
present home of Mr. and Mrs.
Frank W. Reece. The yellow
clay was ideal for the building
of railroads, complete with
fills, cuts, and tunnels. It also
was ideal for rulnihg forever
the seat of a boy's pants, and
I had that clay-covered seat
warmed many times for play
ing on that bank.
But the point is that, in c
those days, that bank was a <
great, towering cliff, and to- t
day it doesn't seem high aH i
all!
Then there was the Lyle Cut
(now Lyle street). Those were
past cuts and incredible (ills
that the late Dr. S. H. Lyle
created in order to get a street
to the front ol his home. Today
there seems nothing extraordi
nary about them!
And the construction machin
ery he used! It was something
arand new, a horse- or mule
Irawn "scoop" that picked up a
irast quantity of earth at one
;pot and dumped It at another.
Actually, I am sure the amount
>f dirt moved was inconsequen
tial, but those scoops were more
remarkable, and seemed bigger,
than the largest steam shovel
)f today.
There was "Summer Hill"
now the Sewell residential
nysterious mountain then; and
jroperty). It was a huge and
i place, incidentally, where
x>ys of the community found
hemselves at daybreak at the
irst killing frost, to pick up
;allons of chestnuts. Today It
s what its name implies, a
3ILL.
How big the cross-ties in
the railroad track seemed,
and bow wide apart were the
rails!
And the courthouse was a
nammoth building ? especially
it night. To a small boy going
.0 the post office on a winter
evening, the streets were dark
snough, but the yawning cavern
hat was the courthouse door
ind hall was so tremendous
Continued On Page Twelve
News Making
As It Looks
To A Maconite
? B j BOB 8tO AN
I heard of an idea the other
day which seems to me would
bear investigation on the part
of people throughout this sec
tion. There is a proposal that
a highway postoftice be estab
lished between Athens, Oa. and
Bryson City. This highway posi
ofiice would connect with the
highway postoffice that runs
irom Asheville to Murphy.
The idea has been developed
far enough to where 1 saw a
proposed schedule which would
give Franklin two mail deliver
ies irom the south each day. It
seems to me that any plan
which would give more .rapid
mail service from Atlanta and
other southern cities is well
worth our investigating.
? ? ?
Admitted that The Press had
an error concerning the Jate
for the bloodmobile, 1 don't
think that it is sufficient ex
cuse for our failing to obtain
our quota of 100 pints. We got
72. This blood helps to save our
boys' lives. It is badly needed.
Other communities raise their
quotas. What's wrong Macon
County? Don't we want to stand
behind our boys as other com
munities do? Are we going to
count on some other community
to give the blood to save our
boys' lives?
? * ?
Once again Franklin and Ma
con County boys and their beef
calves walked away with all .
honors at the livestock show in
Asheville. Maybe we had better
slow up a little or they may
drop us from the league as too
fast competition. It is Just one
of the many signs of progress
by the farmers of. Macon Coun
ty in recent years. Not only did
we have the grand champion of
the show, but we had also 30
blue ribbon winners out of 35
calves entered from this county.
That it seems to me is the
greatest honor of the show and
is most indicative of the high
quality beef that is found
throughout Macon County.
? ? ?
The other day Bruce Palmer
sold the Franklin Feed Mill. I
hear he got a good price. I hope
so because I think he deserves
it for sticking with something
through rough times. He start
ed in the old Hastings building
which was so rickety that you
had to wear a heavy mackinaw
even In the building to keep
warm in the winter. Bruce used
to have a hard time writing
orders with gloves on. He had
enough confidence however, to
stay with it until he built a
new modern well equipped feed
mill.
Do You
Remember?
(Looking backward through
the files of The Press)
50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
"The smallest hair throws a
shadow" ? across a man's appe
tite when he finds it in the
butter.
Mr. John Leach, of Andrews,
is visiting his mother and other
relatives here this week.
John Angel and Frank Palm
er returned from Waynesville
Tuesday. Frank Curtis remain
ed over there a few days.
25 YEARS AGO
This Is a List of the Boys and
Girls So Far Who Have Joined
the 4-H Club: Hascie Clark,
Grace McGaha, Frank Bryson,
Eddis Holbrooks, Eme Lee Car
ter, Hazel Matlock, Lucile Mor
rison, Dorsey Matlock, Weaver
Sheffield, Weaver Holbrooks,
Claude L. Rickman, Woodrow
Gibson, George Hurst, Earl
Rickman, Ralph Bradley, Paul
McCoy, Mary Duvall, Olen Brad
ley, Bonnie Parrish, Cecil Gib
son, Dorman Gibson, OdeQ
Hurst, Nelson Elmore, Mary Jo
Elmore, Paul Hurst, Hallle R.
Dalton, Eddis Clara Painter,
Harold Sheffield, J. M. Dalton,
Robert Ervln Sloan, Wilfred
Fisher, Cleveland Smart, Mary
Cumi Teague, Horace Mann.
10 YEARS AGO
Mrs. L. B. Ramey, of Cham
paign, 111., is visiting her sister,
Miss Ethel Hurst, At her home
on Harrison avenue.
Allen Siler left the N. C. State
Highway commission as assis
tant division engineer a few
weeks ago to accept a position
with the Ashevllle Construction
company. He was with the high
way commission 20 years, since
he was a boy in his teens.
Mr. and Mrs. Gus Shuford, of
Lincolnton, have been visiting
their relatives in Macon County.