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3H>* ISjisbtanfe* JBactmian
70th Year ? No. 4
Twelve Pages
FRANKLIN FIREMEN are shown hosing: a chimney (ire early
Monday afternoon at the home of Ted Gillespie on US 64 just
outside the city limits. Light damage was reported from the blaze.
Newspaper Editorial Page
Wins Top Award In State
Editor Jones Accepts
Plaque From Governor
At Duke University
Macon County's newspaper,
The Franklin Press, has receiv
ed the top weeklies award of
1954 for its editorial page.
The award ? a bronze plaque
? was accepted Friday night at
Duke University by Weimar
jones, editor - co - published of
The Press, from Gov. Luther
Hodges, who made 37 other pre
sentations to top weekly and
semi-weekly newspapers and 57
to daily newspaper staff mem
bers.
This marks the second time in
recent years The Press editorial
page has won first place in the
annual contest sponsored by the
N. C. Press Association. It also
has received several lesser
awards. The Press is one of only
a few state weeklies devoting a
full page to editorial comment.
The awards ceremony at Duke
was a feature of the annual
institute for newspapers. As
immediate past president, Mr.
Jones presided at the Saturday
morning breakfast honoring
past presidents, held at the
Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill.
With the close of the institute
at noon Saturday, Mr. and Mrs.
Jones left for a two-week vaca
tion in Florida.
An honorable mention in
photography also was received
by The Press in the contest.
Escapee Goes
Back To Prison
The Virginia Penitentiary J
escapee, Arthur Glenn Schach
man, who was picked up in a
stolen automobile by a high
way patrolman here last week,
Friday was taken back to prison
by Virginia authorities.
Schachman, 24, had been in
the Macon County jail since
his arrest about midnight Jan
uary 17 on US 23-441 (south)
by Patrolman A. A. Lewis. He
was one of six men who broke
out of the Virginia prison the
previous Saturday. He was
driving a stolen "hot-rod".
Hotel Reopens
The Skyway Hotel on Frank
lin's Main stem reopened Mon
day after being closed for near
ly a year.
Mrs. J. W. Ledford, of Hayes
ville, is managing the 30-room
hotel for Harry and Florence
Seamon, of Murphy, who re
cently leased it from the Schul
man Brothers in Sylva.
The Seamons operate the
New Regal Hotel in Murphy.
ATTENDING COURSE
Miss Rose King is attending a
short course in community living
at the John Campbell Polk School
at Brasstown as a delegate from
the Cartoogechayc Rural Com
munity Development Organization.
Editorial Tribute
Paid Press Editor
By Asheville Paper
A tribute to Editor Weimar
Jones, of The Franklin Press,
for having the best editorial
page among North Carolina
weeklies in 1954 appeared on
the editorial page of Tuesday's
issue of The Asheville Citizen.
The editorial, entitled "Tri
| bute", follows:
"Better than one-fourth of
th? awards for editorial excel
lence made annually to weekly
and semi-weekly newspapers by
the N. C. Press Association went
to mountain newspapers. WNC
papers won prizes in every cate
gory.
"None o" the awards, either in
the non-daily or daily fields,
however, brought more response
than the honor which came
naturally to Editor Weimar
Jones of The Franklin Press.
As Weimar went forward to re
ceive his handsome plaque as
first place winner in the editor
ial page competition the ap
plause doubled and tripled and
quadrupled until the rafters of
Duke University gymnasium,
where the meeting was held,
.airly rang.
j "The Citizen cannot recall a'
similar ovation in the long
, history of these coveted awards.
As we have said, it came natur
ally for this plain-spoken and
! sweet-tempered son of the high
hills. Among other things, Wei
mar Jones inspired the draft
ing of the code of ethics for
North Carolina journalism
which the Press Association has
just adopted. Let it be recorded
along with the applause that
his professional career has al
ways exemplified this code.
And the tribute, we'd say, must
have been worth a score of
plaques. It came out of the
very heart of a sometimes very
cynical profession."
Tobacco School
Set January 31
A school for tobacco growers
is scheduled to be conducted
January 31 at the Agricultural
Building under the direction of
a specialist from the extension
service in Raleigh, according to
County Agent T. H. Fagg.
The school, set for 9:30 a. m.,
will be marked by discussions
or. irrigation, best variety of to
bacco, proper fertilization, cor
rect harvesting and curing, dis
eases, and insect control.
Delegation Attends
V. F. W. Gathering
The local Veterans of For
eign Wars post sent a large
delegation to a district meet
ing in Asheville Sunday.
Making the trip were Com
mander C. Jack Ragan, Mr. and
Mrs. R. E. (Tony) Welch, Mr.
and Mrs. James E. Perry, Jr.,
W. W. Reeves, Dick siaglo*
John G. (Speckt Murray, and
Edwin T. Williams.
Deadline
For License
Is Monday
The January 31 deadline for
purchasing 1955 license tags Is
breathing hot and heavy on the
necks of motorists and the ex
pected last minute rush won't
make things much easier.
Specifically, Monday is the
31st and this means only four
days remain to buy tags; after
midnight, '54 tags join the
ranks of law breakers and
motorists displaying them are
ripe candidates for possible
fine, according to Verlon Swaf
ford, manager of the local Car
olina Motor Club office, where
the tags are sold.
Hours at the motor club of
fice ? in the Western Auto
Associate Store in Franklin ?
are 8 a. m. to 5 p. m.
And as the deadline nears, it
appears that several thousand
motorists in the area still have
to purchase the black and yel
low plates between now and
5 p. m. Monday. With the clos
ing of the office Tuesday after
noon, only 2,944 .gets of plates
had been sold. Total sales of
'54 tags topped 6,000.
However, a good majority of
those who still have to buy will
purchase from the newly-open
ed C. M. C. office in Bryson
City, Mr. Swafford pointed out.
In past years, the local office
has served that area also.
A breakdown of the sales fig
ures shows 1,876 sets have been
sold for automobiles, 986 for
trucks, 80 for trailers, and 2
for motorcycles.
Mr. Swafford urged all motor
ists needing tags to get them
today, tomorrow, and Saturday,
if they want to avoid the in
evitable long line that material
izes on the last day.
'MARCH' SET
FOR FRIDAY
' ,
Woman's Club Plans
Polio Fund Drive;
Behind Last Year
A blast on the fire, siren j
promptly at 8 o'clock tomorrow
(Friday) night will signal the |
opening of the "Mothers'
March on Polio" in Franklin.
As a feature of the annual
dimes drive, members of the i
Franklin. Junior Woman's Club
plan Jto canvass the entire town
for contributions in the "moth
ers' march".
A burning porch light will be
a signal to club members that
a hom? wants to contribute.
Mrs. Pat McSween and Miss
Kate McGee are co-chairman
of the march.
Meanwhile, the county-wide
campaign appears to have been
slowed by the weather. Andrew
Jones, county chairman, said
yesterday drive progress was
about one-third off on the basis
of last year's collections. Recog
nizing that the weather pos
sibly is responsible, the chair
man called for an all-out ef
fort in the coming week to put
Macon over the top of its $3,
000 goal. If necessary, the
drive will be extended, Mr.
Jones said. It is scheduled to
close February 1.
SEE NO. 3, ]f AGE 12
Girls Keep
Winning As
Boys Lose
Franklin's lassies continued
their undefeated climb in
Smoky Conference circles in
Cherokee Tuesday night, but
the Indians dropped the lads
along the way.
The girls won 41 to 37 with
Jody Lenoir and Audrey Gibson
collecting 18 and 15 points, re
spectively.
But the boys fared sadly with
the Indians, losing 45 to 29.
They collected only two points
in the first period, four in the
second, and at the half trailed
23 to 6.
Last (Wednesday) night, the
local teams met Sylva to play
a game that had been schedul
ed for last Friday night, but
was cancelled because of the
weather. Outcome was not
known at presstlme.
Tomorrow the teams play in
Cullowhee and Tuesday in Web
ster.
YOUNG MAN j
TO RECEIVE
AWARD HERE
Recipient Of D. S. A.
Medal To Be Disclosed
At Banquet Monday
The identity of Macon Coun
ty's "Young Man of the Year
for 1954" will be revealed Mon
day night at Slagle Memorial
Building when the Franklin
Jayeces stage their annual
awards banquet.
j Gene Ochsenreiter, Jr., of
| Asheville, immediate past pres
i ident of the state Jaycee organ
j ization, will be the guest speak
er.
Slated for 7 o'clock, the ban
quet also will
see the local
Jaycees honor
the "Boss of
the Year", a
ward ''Key
M a n" medals
to two Jay
cees, and pre
sent certifi
cates of ap
preciation to
? . ? local firms for
Ochsenreiter their coopera.
tion In various club projects.
The name of the "Young
Man of the Year" is a secret
known only by a closed com
mittee of non-Jaycees, which
made the selection from among
nominees presented by civic or
ganizations and service groups.
Several young men were nomi
nated for the award, according
to Jaycee Calvin Henson, who is
serving as liason between the
secret committee and organiza
tions making nominations.
The Jaycees will present the
"Young Man of the Year" a
Distinguished Service Award
key for his outstanding contri
SEE NO. 4, PAGE 1?
Local Girls'
Quartet Will
Entertain Lion;
I
Several members oi the
Franklin ana Highlands Lions
Clubs plan to attend th? mid
winter convention of D: tricts
31-A and B in Asheville on
Saturday.
Under the sponsorship of the
Franklin club, a local "iris*
quartet will sing at the lunch
eon session. Tney include isses
Lucille Holland. Robbie Gay
Tallent. Katherine Holder, and
Nancy Ansel, accompanied by
Miss Marjorie Maody at the
piano.
, ? Staff Photo by J. P. Brady
SNOW, SEVERAL INCHES of it blanketed the county *jn two falls this ps.st week, but was
' just about melted yesterday. This pictore, showmj a section of west Franklin, gives some indi
cation ol what greeted citizens with the dawn la:/. Wednesday. Might be worth saving until the
hot weather this summer.
I
Snow And Low Temperatures
Help Winter Grip County
Backed by snow and dipping
temperatures, Winter kept a
firm headlock on Macon Coun
ty during the week and a low
of 14 degrees in Franklin yes
terday (Wednesday) morning
served notice that more may be
coming.
The week's picture:
Snow ? after a fall of from
two to five inches over the
county Tuesday night of last
week, a fresh fall blanketed the
county again Friday night and
the shoveling out process began
all over again. In the Friday
snow, six inches fell at the
?Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory
and three in Franklin and
Highlands.
Temperature ? from a low of
23 Wednesday morning of last
week, the mercury took a steep
dive down into the teens in
Franklin and even lower in
Highlands. Monday and Tues
day, Franklin recorded readings
of 10 and 14, while Highlands
endured a shivvering 12 degrees
both days.
Schools ? Macon's school chil
dren were handed three un
scheduled holidays during the
week because of ice and snow
on some county roads. They
romped and played in the new
snow last Wednesday and
' ay. but were back with
Fiidav night's snow closed
schools Monday but they open
ed again Tuesday morning.
again Friday. However.
Highway^ ? as always, the
two snows put kinks in the
sleeping plans of the county's
state highway employees and
they sanded highways and ran
snowplows to keep traffic mov
ing. i
Accidents ? Highway patrol
man and city police reported
only two accidents directly
caused by icy conditions on the
highways and no one was in
jured in either. Franklin Police
man Homer Cochran said a
new automobile driven by Clin
ton Eugene Bowers, of Culla
saja, slid on ice at the inter
; section of West Main and Har
rison Avenue about 1:30 a. m.
j Sunday and hit a wall in front
of the Roy Beshears home. Mr.
Bowers, home on leave from
the U. S. Navy, received a
slight cut over his left eye, the
officer said, adding that damage
to the new automobile was from
three to four hundred dollars.
Patrolman A A. Lewis investi
gated another weather-prompt
ed accident January 18 on the
Patton Road. He said an auto
mobile driven b.v Wallace Lam
ar Vanhook. ^9, of Franklin,
Route 2. skidded on the ice and
snow and overturned down an
embankment about 11:30 p. m.
Mr. Vanhook was not injured.
Damage to the automobile was
about S250, the patrolman said.
Storm Dr.mage ? Only minor
trouble was reported by the
SEE NO. 3, PAGE 12
Photo by J Brady
AH SHUCKS ? That's the sentiment of five year-old Marv Frances Mediant
erv, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 1?. L. McGlatuery, of Franklin. Mary Frances'
disjjust lies in two facts ? there's not enough snow left for sledding, and all
her playmates have ^one back to schoo'. She has "Stumpy" to play with, hut
even he isn't particularly interested in what is taking place. .
BURLINGTON
PROGRAM
TO BEGIN
Will Officially
Start Tuesday;
Hussey In Charge
Burlington Mills' training pro
gram will open officially Tues
day morning "on a very mod
erate" scale at the V. F. W.
Building on Palmer Street.
The program, a preliminary
to the opening of the new plant
in mid-spring, for the present
will train loopers only. Employ
ment is being handled through
the state employment service.
John R. Evans, personnel di
rector. yesterday i Wednesday!
said instructors plan to ac
quaint themselves with their
surroundings Monday and will
begin training loopers the next
morning.
In charge of the training
program is C. B. Hussey, from
Burlington's Harriman, Tenn.,
piant.
Later, as the new plant just
outside Franklin nears comple
tion, various jobs tor both men
and women will be open, offir
cials have saicl.
Siren Signal
Of Mo School
Two blr.sts on the Frank
lin fire siren promptly at 7
a. m. will be a future signal
that schools will not operate
on that day.
District Principal Ralph L.
.Smith said this new arrange
ment has been worked out
with the fire department and
will go into effect tomorrow
(Friday).
The Weather
The week's temperatures and rainfall, as
recorded in Franklin by Man son Stiles,
I*. S. weather observer, and at the Coweeta
Hydrologic Laboratory:
FRANKLIN
Temperatures
High Low Rain
Wed., Jan. 19 35 26 .061*
Thursday 49 12
Friday 34 21 trace
Saturday 46 20 .3?*
Sunday 40 26
Monday 39 16
Tuesday 40 14 ....
* 2 in. snow Wed.
* 3 in. snow Sat.
HIGHLANDS
Temperatures
High Low Rain
Wed.. Jan. 19 3 1 27 .07*
Thursday 44 13
Friday 30 20
Saturday 40 28 .52*
Sunday 29 21
Monday 33 12
Tuesday 36 12
* 4.8 in. snow Wed. 19.
? 3 in. srrow Saturday.
COWEETA
Temperatures
High Low Rain
Wed.. Jan. 19 37 32 .54
Thursday 45 15
Friday 35 24 .575
Saturday 45 23
Sunday 31 26
Monday 36 16
Tuesday 40 17
* 6 in. of snow Friday.