<L\)t l^igblan^ei Jflacomnn
VOL. LXVin? NO. 15
Court Convenes
x t ?
Here On Monday
Judge Gwyn Faces Light
Criminal Docket; 25
Drunk Driving
Judge Allen Gwyn, of Reids
ville, will face a comparatively
light criminal docket when the
April term of superior court
opens here Monday morning at
10 o'clock.
Seventy-six cases, 25 involv
ing drunk driving, are schedul
ed for trial during the criminal
session, according to Miss Kate
McGee, clerk of court, and she
added that more may be added
to the docket between now and
the opening of the term.
Twenty-one cases are listed
on the civil docket, including
11 divorces.
Following are criminal cases
listed on the docket:
Drunk driving: Charles Bur
gess, Bobby Joe Stewart, Carl
Holland (also leaving scene of
accident), Carlton Sanders,
James D. Dills, Lloyd Zachary,
Doyle Painter, A. C. Ivestor,
June M. Welch, Charles E.
Johnson, Oeorge B. Bates (also
careless and reckless driving),
Lester B. Chappel, Boyd Thomp
son, Olenn Wilson, Hess Ray,
Harvey Green, Frank Scott,
Samuel E. Aikens, Robert Glen
Owens, A. L. Jacobs, Ben Mc
Clure, Dwight N. Buchanan, Lax
Dills (also no driver's license,
breaking and entering, viola
tion of prohibition laws, assault
with a deadly weapon, resisting
an- officer), Ivan H. Wyatt, and
John Gregory.
Others are G. D. McClure,
abandonment; Rufus A. Askew,
fraud; Wayne Ledford, aban
donment; Ralph Vinson, non
support; Frank Waldroup. forc
ible trespass; Harold V. Mer
rell, aiding and abetting drunk
driving; William W. callison,
non-support and assault; L. W.
Rice, Jr., aiding and abetting
drunk driving; Lem Hafer. care
less and reckless driving; James
Russell Maney, careless and
reckless driving; Ernest Ben
nett, non-support of illegitimate
child; Jural Smith and Louise
Hall, adultery; Shirley Walter
Kerns, abandonment; Charlie
William Paul, careless and reck
less driving; Howard Hasting,
speeding; Joe Albert Shuler,
aiding and abetting drunk driv
ing; Eugene T. Keener, man
slaughter; Samuel Leonard Gib
son, carrying concealed weapon;
Harold Swafford. non-support;
Claud Louis Calloway, no driv
er's license; Edgar McCall, as
sault; Cletis McCall, assault
with a deadly weapon; Otis P.
Welch, abandonment; Norman
P. Fltagerald, abandonment;
SEE NO. 2, PAGE 7
209 ATTEND
H.DJIEET1NG
Members Come F rom 3
Counties ; Tour
Holly Springs
Approximately 200 home dem
onstration club members from
Macoo, Jackson, and Swain
counties held their annual Dis
trict 2 federation here yester
day (Wednesday) at the Frank
lin Methodist Church.
New officers of the district
were installed by Mrs. J. S.
Gray, former president of the
N. C. Federation of H. D. clubs.
Mrs. E. M. McNish, of this
county, was named chairman,
Mrs. W. J. Grady, of Jackson,
vice-chairman, Mrs. George Cul
breth, of Swain, secretary-treas
?rer, and Mrs. Carl Slagle, of
this county, was reelected his
tories.
The highlight of the after
noon's program was a tour of
the Holly Springs community,
which tied for fifth place in
last year's Western North Car
lina Rural Community Develop
ment Contest. Preceding this,
the women were served lunch
at the Holly Springs commun
ity building.
In line with the tour of the
progressive community was the
theme of this year's federation:
"All Together for Rural Prog
ress".
A coffee hour in the church
basement, arranged by members
of the Union -Maple Springs
and lotla clubs, opened the an
SEE NO. 1, PAGE 7
MURDER TRIAL
JURYSELECTED
12 Men And Alternate
Picked From Venire
Of 100 Citizens
A special 12-man jury and
one alternate Monday was se
lected from a venire of 100
Macon County citizens to de
cide the fate of a 45-year-old
Cherokee County woodcutter,
who is charged with the first
degree murder of Cherokee
Sheriff Frank C. Crawford on
March 3.
The accused slayer, Noah
Dockery, went on trial Monday
in Murphy. Most of the day
was spent selecting jurors.
To make the highly-publiciz
ed trial as impartial as possible,
Macon Sheriff J. Harry Thom
as two weeks ago was ordered
by the court to summon a
venire from this county.
Those serving on the Jury are
J. B. Brendle and Earl Justice,
of Franklin, Route 4, Vernon
Bryson, of Cullasaja, Van Van
hook, of Franklin, Route 2, O.
B. Dayton, of Franklin, Route
1, Ted Campbell, Morris Led- 1
ford, and James (Jim) McCall, j
of Franklin, Route 3, and Har- ,
ry Higgins, Nat Phillips, Earl
English, and H. W. Cabe, all of
Franklin.
The alternate juror, who will
serve in the event one of the
regular jury drops out because
of illness or some other reason,
is W. R. Gibson, of Franklin,
Route 3.
Dockery is alleged to have
killed Sheriff Crawford with a
shotgun when the officer came
to his house to serve a warrant
on him.
WILL ATTEND CONFERENCE
The Rev. M. W. Chapman and
the Rev. W. L. Sorrells, Macon
Baptist pastors, plan to attend
the Western North Carolina
Baptist Pastor's Conference at
the Pleasant Balsam Baptist
Church near Waynesville on
Monday. Both are listed on the
program as speakers.
Rural Contest
Is Perfected
Here Tuesday
A Macon County Rural Com
munity Development Contest
organization was perfected at a
special meeting Tuesday night
in Franklin.
Called by County Agent S.
W. Mendenhall, the meeting
was attended by presidents of
the 10 Macon communities en
tered in the 1953 W. N. C. Rur
al Community Development
Contest, representatives of local
civic organizations, and exten
sion service personnel.
After hearing Morris L. Mc
Gough, manager of the Ashe
ville Agricultural Council, Inc.,
explain the community develop
ment program and the contest
approach used by other W. N. C.
counties, the group elected a
county council to oversee a local
contest and this body in turn
named one to raise prize money
for the winning communities.
Named to the county council
for the contest, which will
function as a steering body,
were Erwin Patton, president;
Walter Taylor, vice-president;
County Agent S. W. Mendenhall,
secretary; W. W. (Bill) Sloan,
treasurer; and John Crawford,
Frank Plyler, and W. W. Reeves,
representing the American Leg
ion, Franklin Jaycees, and Vet
erans of Foreign Wars, respect
ively, as directors. Mr. Patton
is president of the Patton com
munity, Mr. Taylor is the Holly
Springs leader, and Mr. Sloan
is a representative of the Nan
tahala Power and Light Com
pany.
Presidents of the other eight
communities also will serve on
the council as directors. They
are Fred Bryson, Carson; Char
lie Sutton, Clark's Chapel;
Woodrow Teague, Prentiss; Roy
Potts, West Union; Wallace
SEE NO. 1, PAGE 12
Need Baby
Sitter? Franklin Girl
Scouts Available
Need a baby sitter?
Well, the Girl Scouts of th4l
Franklin Intermediate Troop
4 are looking for babies to sit
with as a means of strength
ening the troop's financial
standing.
Just telephone 382, day or
night, and a Girl Scout sitter
will be lined up.
' Miss Lillian Jones and Mrs.
Larry Cabe are the troop
leaders.
ALL FRANKLIN
ALDERMEN AND
MAYOR IN RACE
Registration Starts On .
Saturday For Election
On May 5 I
Probably for the first time :n
recent Franklin history, the I
mayor and the entire bcsard of !
aldermen have filed for rteiec- !
tion.
Mayor W. C. Ejrr?]) and ,
Aldermen Erwin Patton. A. G.
Cagle. J. C. Jacobs. Frank Mar- ]
tin, Oscar Led lord, and Verlon I
Swafford all filed Monday
night, during the board's regu
lar meeting, as candidates in
the twon non-partisan election
on May S.
In Wie election, voters will
select a mayor and six alder
men for two-year terms.
Many of Franklin's older citi
zens say this is the first time,
in their recollection, that all
incumbents have decided to run
again.
From all outward signs, the
election is destined to be one
of the quietest in years.
With the filing deadline com
ing up Saturday, only one oth
er man has announced his can
didacy. C. Banks Finger, local 1
attorney, tossed his hat in the 1
ring as a candidate for mayor j
two weeks ago. In the 1951 elec- ]
tion, several men were in the ^
race long before the deadline.
Saturday also will see the
opening of registration books. '
the first of three registration ;
dates. The books will be open
the two following Saturdays.
April 18 and 25, in the town
office in the Bank of Franklin
building. April 25 will be chal
lenge day.
John M. Moore is the regis
trar and J. A. Palmer and L. C.
Higdon are judges.
Mayor Burrell is now serving
the unexpired term of the late
Robert M. Dillard, who died in
office in January, 1952.
In the election, Alderman
Patton will be running for his
fourth two-year term and Aid- i
erman Swafford, who is serving .
as vice-mayor, his third.
The other four men, Mr. ,
Cagle, Mr. Jacobs. Mr. Martin. ,
and Mr. Ledford. were elected j
in 1951 and will be seeking their i
second terms.
SUPPER NETS $218.75
Saturday night's benefit sup- (
per at Iotla School, sponsored '
by the P. T. A., netted $218 75, ?
it has been announced.
Forest Merger Protest
Carried To Legislators
HEADS DRIVE
Mr. McGlamery has been nam
ed by the board of directors of
the Franklin Chamber of Com
merce to head this year's mem
bership drive, which will get
under way about the middle of
the month. The commerce body
has adopted an annual budget
if $2,875, with $1,000 of the
amount going for promotional
work.
SET CLEAN-UF
FOR FRANKLIN
Mayor And Board Pick
Week Of April 27
To May 2
"Paint up, fix up, and clean
up" will be the standing orders
of each day during the week of
April 27 to May 2.
That week has been desig
nated by Mayor W. C. Burrell
ind the board of aldermen as
franklin's ofiicial "Clean-Up
Week".
In conjunction with the_
:lean-up campaign, the Lions
31ub will stage a broom sale,
iccording to President Frank
Martin. The brooms are made
SEE NO 2. PAGE 12
B. L. M'GLAMERY
Health Center
Gets Approval
i
W. E. i Gene i Baldwin, chair- \
man of the board of county ]
commissioners, said Monday the ]
board has decided to accept the i
Medical Care Commission's pro- ;
posal to build a health center
here, provided Dr. Edgar Angel ;
will feive the county a suitable
lot on which to build the cen- ;
ter.
Dr. Angel, who two weeks ago
said he would give the land to
the county, reiterated his of
fer yesterday (Wednesday) and
said he would work out the de- ;
tails with the county.
Under the set-up proposed by
the commission, an organization
that allocates funds to counties
for health centers, Macon would
shoulder 19.2 per cent of the ,
total cost of erecting a center.
While no definite plans have
been made, the county prob
ably would build a small center,
as suggested by the commis
sions as suitable for a county
of this size, at a cost of about
$30,000. The county's share of
this would be about $6,000.
The land offered by Dr. Angel
is directly across from Angel
Hospital on Riverview Street.
Evangelistic
Series Opens
Here Sunday
Dr. R. C. Campbell, well
known Shelby evangelist and
author, will open a week-long
evangelistic series Sunday eve
ning at the First Baptist Church.
The services will start night
ly at 8 o'clock, running through
the following Sunday evening,
I April 19.
Special music is planned each
: night by the church choirs, ac
| cording to the Rev. M. W. Chap
j man. pastor. Miss Evelyn Gid
I inghagen will be in charge of
! the music program and Mrs
| Bill Bryson will be organist.
A native of Cleveland County,
j Dr. Campbell is a graduate of
] Wake Forest College and the
| Southwestern Seminary. He has
| written eight or more books
and is one of the best known
SEE NO. a, PAGE 12
The 'Whammy' Will Get You If You Don't Watch Out
The "Whammy", an inno
cent-looking little black box I
which has virtually eliminat
ed "how do you know how
fast | was going?*' from the
motorist's vocabulary, arrived
in Macon County this week.
Above (center picture) is
the speed indicator of the
"whammy", which registers
the speed of each passing ve
hicle. When the picture was
made, the needle on the indi
cator was dropping back from
60 m.p.h.. and this chain of
events followed:
Patrolman V. E. Bryson
(left), after checking the
speeding car, radioed by por
table transmitter (outside pa
trol car) to Patrolman C. M.
Byrd, who was set up about a
mile down the highway. Pa
trolman Byrd (right), having
heard the radio description of
the speeding car, stopped it
and wrote a ticket. In this |
eaae, the speeder was from
Ohio and he somewhat sheep
ishly admitted he should have i
known better, "we have thorn J
things in Dayton". After a fl
8EE NO 3. PAGE 12 1
Four 'Encouraged' Over
Chances T o Keep
Offices Here
Four men appointed here Frf
iay by Franklin citizens to pro
test the consolidation of the
Nantahala and Pisgah national
Forests have made personal
contact with three Washington
legislators and yesterday i Wed
nesday i said they were encour
aged over the chances" of keep
ing the Nantahala headquarters
In Franklin.
The four ? John M. Archer,
Jr., Mark L. Dowdle, R. S. Jones,
and Holland McSwain ? return
ed late Tuesday night after
talks with Sen. Clyde R. Hoey,
Sen. Willis Smith, and Cong
ressman George A. Shuford. who
were home for the Easter holi
days.
Mr. Archer said all three leg
islators indicated they were in
sympathy with Franklin's plight,
and said if the facts have merit
"they will go to bat for us."
An announcement last Thurs
day that the Nantahala Forest
and its headquarters here would
be taken under the wing of the
Pisgah Forest, which has head
quarters in Asheville. was re
ceived here with stunned disbe
lief.
Then, as the shock wore off,
a determined move to protest
the consolidation snowballed.
Friday morning, some 25 citi
zens met at the county court
house to map a plan of action.
A steering committee, with Mr.
Dowdle as chairman, was imme
diately set up and another
committee was appointed to
raise money to finance the pro
test move.
In the meantime, Lake V.
Shope, register of deeds, start
ed circulating a protest letter
in Cherokee, Clay, Graham,
Jackson, Swain, and Transyl
vania counties, getting the sig
natures of the chairmen of both
the Democrat and Republican
parties. Nantahala Forest land
lies within all these counties.
The steering committee nam
ed at Friday's meeting appoint
ed Mr. Archer. Mr Dowdle. Mr
Jones, and Mr. McSwatn and
instructed them "to go to
Washington, if necessary" in an
effort to keep the Kantahalai
headquarters here. In addition,
to the four, others on the steer
ing committee are Georae Reece- -
and Jess Shope. chairmen of
the county Republican and Dem
ocrat parties, respectively, Wil
liam Katenbrink. president of
the Franklin Chamber of Com
merce, Mayor W. C. Burrell. W.
E. 'Gene i Baldwin, chairman of
the board of county commis
sioners, Victor Perry. Franklin.
Jaycees representative, and A.
R. Higdon, member of the state
executive committee of the Re
publican party.
Mr. Perry and Mr. fngdon
were appointed to raise money
among citizens to finance the
protest.
Fortunately for the fotir-man
:ontact committee, a trip to
Washington was not necessary,
rhey found the three legislators
lome for Easter and contacted
5en Hoey on Monday In Shel
>y, Sen. Smith in Raleigh or?
ruesday, and talked with Cong
essman Shuford at his home
n Asheville as they returned
lere late Tuesday night.
Mr. Archer said the next step
ly - the steering committee will
le to compile information and
igures on the Nantahala Forest
or study by the two senators
nd congressman.
A reported move to take the
r. S. mail contract away from
he Tallulah Falls Railroad and
laugurate a star route from
ranklin to Athens, Ga., also
ras put before the legislators
l the form of a protest, Mr.
rcher said. He indicated that
ossibly something could be
one to help the railroad, the
nly one in this area, keep the
in tract.
'artoogechaye P. T. A-.
Plans Supper T ueiday
And Installation Rite
A "family night supper" Is
anned Tuesday evening at the
artoogechaye School by the
T. A., followed by the Instal
tion of new officers.
Supper will be served at 7:30 ??
clock and all members are
iked to bring a covered dish.