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71,st Year ? No. 16
Franklin, N. C., Thursday, April 19, 1956
Sixteen Pages
AGITATED BY HEAVY rain and snow, ground moved
from under a large fill Monday afternoon on US 23-441 near
Cowee Gap, sending some 75,000 yards of dirt thundering
into the valley below. The slide ripped out about 200 yards
of the .highway. Rather than refill, highway officials prob
ably will relocate the section of highway.
Rebounding Winter
Strikes At County
A rebounding Winter wiped its feet on Macon County's wel
come mat for Spring this past week, leaving as calling cards
damage from storms, flood, and landslides.
Biggest blow was a huge earth slide Monday afternoon near
Cowee Gap (US 23-441) that ripped out nearly 200 yards of
highway during a heavy snow storm and sent some 75,000 yards
of dirt thundering into the val- Western Carolina Telephone and
ley. Nantahala Power worked to the
Starts Wednesday
It all started off Wednesday
of last week with an unseason
able snow that measured any
where from 12 to 14 inches in
the Highlands-Cashiers area to
just a trace in Franklin. Tele
phone and power crews from
? < * t a
week-end mopping up the dam
age. Western Carolina called in
crews from other sections as far
away as Weaverville to assist
with the job. The men reported
as much as five inches of snow
piled on telephone and power
wires.
Rain Came
I he Weather
The week's temperature* an<l rainfall, as
fvcorded in l-Yanklin by Manson Stiles.
U. S. wrr.ther observer: in Highlands by
Tudor N. Hull ami \V. C. N.?wton. TV A
observer; and at the Coweta Hydrolotfic
Laboratory.
FRANKLIN
Temperatures
High Low Rain
Wed., April 11 53 34 .90
Thursday 68 27 _
Friday 69 31
Saturday 72 31 .Pi
Sunday 63 52 1.20
Monday 57 1..K!
Tuesday -V> 31
COWEETA
Wed.. April 11 5 .4
Thursday 68 28
Friday Gii 3J
Saturday 73 32 .13
Sunday t6 55 4 31
Monday 5,1 41
Tuesday 55
Saturday morning dawned
bright and clear, but by after
noon dark clouds moved in and
the rain came. There were snow
flurries, too.
For the 24-hour period begin
ning at 5 a. m. Sunday, 2.73
inches fell in Franklin, 4.17 in
Highlands, and 4.31 at Coweeta
Hydrologic Laboratory.
Under the press of the down
pour, streams feeding the Lit
tle Tennessee River sent the
river out of its banks, inundat
ing the Franklin Airport and
the approaches to the Phillips
Bridge. Near the N.C.-Ga. state
line, the river flooded sections
of the highway.
Damage from flood water,
however, was light and confined
SEE, NO. 1, PAGE 8
" m - -
'Too Close . .
Says Man Oi"
Narrow Escape
"I feel the Lord, was with
me on this, so I don't have
much fear for the future."
That's Phil Brown's phil
osophy. He offers it with good
reason.
His car was the last across
the big fill on U,S 23-441 just
a. minute before the slide oc
curred.
"I didn't realize it at the
time, of course," he said in a
telephone interview from ihis
home in Asheville, "I thought
I was on solid ground."
Even as Mr. Brown's car
moved over the section large
cracks were breaking in the
pavement. Nearby, highway
maintenance men collectively
held their breath as the car
rolled toward the Cowee Gap
side.
Once on safe ground, he got
out and looked back just as
the huge earth slide thunder
ed into the valley below, tak
ing about 550 feet of highway
with it.
A materials inspector with
the 14th Highway Division,
Mr. Brown had one regret:
"I just wish I hadn't gone
through ... it was just too
close for comfort."
HEAVY RAIN Sunday sent the Little Tennessee River out of Its banks, covering the ap
proaches of Phillips Bridge. In a 24-hour period, 2.73 inches fell in Franklin alone and more
th.n four in the Coweeta area Und In Highlands. Flood waters receded Tuesday.
Locals Get
VFW Posts
Members of the local V.F.W.
post and auxiliary broadened
their scope of activities Sunday
afternoon by being elected to
several district prists.
Mrs. Howard Barnard was
named district auxiliary presi
dent, Mrs. Neal Johnston, secre
tary-treasurer, and Mrs. Eliza
beth McCollum, trustee.
In post politics, C. Jack Rag
an, former local commander,
was elected junior vice-com
mander of the district.
The meeting of the 17th
V.F.W. District was held in
Brevard. Others attending from
here wei-e Mr. and Mrs. Richard
Slagle, Zeb Meadows, Howard
Barnard, Mrs. T. H. Fagg, Miss
Elizabeth Meadows, Mrs. Lu
cille Angel, and Mrs. Lucinda
Crownover.
Long Elected
P. T. A. Leader
J. Ward Long is the new
president of the Franklin P.T.A.,
succeeding B. L. McGiamery.
Election of new officers for
1956-57 featured the organiza
tion's last meeting of the cur
rent school year Monday night
in the high school cafeteria.
Its May meeting has been can
celed to avoid conflict with
graduation exercises.
Elected to serve with the new
president are Mrs. J. Frank
Martin, vice-president, Mrs. Bill
Horsley, secretary, and Dan
Stewart, treasurer. Mrs. ^ohn
Bulgin installed the new offic
ers.
The program also featured
committee reports. Exhibits
prepared by both elementary
and hieh school grades were
on display for the meeting.
Mrs. Pearl Hunter gave the
devotional.
Jaycees Name
Hill President
Franklin Jaycees have elected
Dr. J. L. Hill, Jr., local optom
etrist, to lead their organization
for the fiscal year 1956-57.
Meeting Monday night to elect
new officers, the club also made
plans for sponsoring its annual
rodeo in June, staging the
"government for a day" project
in the schools, and holding the
"Teen-Age Road-e-o", the stu
dent driver competition.
Named to serve with Dr. Hill
are Bob Moore, 1st vice-presi
dent; Bob Carpenter, 2nd vice
president: Roy Biddle. Jr., sec
retary; Neil Finger, treasurer;
C Banks Finger, state director;
and Hall Callahan, Sam Gib
son, and Vic Perry, members of
the board.
Mr. Finger is the retiring
president. The new officers will
be installed at the club's reg
ular meeting in May.
Political Pot Erupts As
Filing Deadline Arrives .
SERVICE IS
SMALL PRICE i
Judge Pless Charges
Jury; Says System
Is A Safeguard
Service on the grand jury is
a small price to pay for being
an American citizen and no
one should Intentionally avoid
this obligation when called up
on to serve.
That's the feeling of Judge J.
Will Pless, who is presiding over
the April term of Superior
Court here this week.
In his charge to the grand
jury with the opening of the
ABOUT HALF
Judge J. Will Pless yester
day (Wednesday) morning
had disposed of about half the
ca.ses listed for trial on the
criminal docket.
Court officials said the dock
et probably won't be cleared
entirely before this afternoon.
Civil actions will be heard
by the judge when the crim
inal docket is finished.
The court term opened
.Monday morning.
term Monday morning, Judge
Pless stressed the importance
of service on the jury and the
oath jurymen take to carry out
this service.
Describing it as an "impor
tant body", he said the grand
jury is the result of conditions
that surrounded our forefathers
when they settled in this coun
try. In England, he pointed out,
they had no rights of any kind,
so when they settled America
they were afraid of all govern
ments. This prompted them to
set up a number of safeguards
for the individual, including the
SEE NO. 4, PAGE 8
Three-Way Fight On
For House Seat; Four
After School Posts
Shortly before the noon fil
ing deadline Saturday, Macon's
smoldering political pot erupted
into life for the May 26 "off
year" Democratic primary,
throwing the representative
race into a three'-way fight and
pitting four men for the three
seats on the county education
board.
Meanwhile, J. Lee Barnard,
chairman of the elections
board, has announced registra
tion dates for the election and
appointed officials to oversee its
conduct.
Houk Files
In a move shortly before the
deadline, incumbent Rep. G. L.
Houk turned in his filing paper
and fee. On his heels came C.
Banks Finger, Franklin attorn
ey who opposed him two years
ago for the house seat. With
J. C. Sorrells, Franklin auto
salesman, already in the race
for several weeks, this last
minute filing by the two at
torneys sparked a previously
dormant political caldron.
Friday, the three incumbent
members of the education board,
Erwin Patton, C. C. Sutton, and
George Gibson filed again. The
following day, Ted Reber,
Franklin realtor, jumped into
the race.
Incumbent Richard H. Slagle
Is unopposed for the nomina
tion as county surveyor. He also
filed on the final day.
Although it cannot enter can
didates in the primary, the Re
publican party had to meet the
filing deadline with its men in
the fall general elction. The
G O. P. put J. C. Crisp, local
photographer, out for the rep
resentative post and J. L. San
ders for surveyor.
OfficiaJs Named
Registrars, judges, and alter
nates for the 12 precincts in the
county have been appointed.
Harden Says Industry Must
Give More Than Employment
Industry has to offer more
than just the opportunity of
gainful employment, John Har
den, vice-president of Burling
ton Industries, told the Frank
lin Chamber of Commerce last
(Wednesday) night at the or
ganization's annual meeting.
In a prepared speech handed
The Press prior to the dinner,
the speaker declared:
"Industry must also have
character. Along with offering
jobs at good wages, under pleas
ant working conditions, indus
try must ? and generally does
today ? practice the Golden
Rule with those who comprise
the various industrial families.
' In this day and age busi
ness must build character as it
builds volume. Character is nec
essary to business success today.
People quickly discern the dif
ference between truth and false
hood, between honesty and dis
honesty, between sincerity and
insincerity."
John M. -Archer, Jr., presi
dent of Nantahala Power and
Light Company, introduced the
speaker, who is director of pub
lic relations for Burlington.
Held in the high school cafe
teria. the dinner meeting drew
more than 125 members and
their wives.
As a feature of the program.
President Verlon Swafford out
lined his program for the year
SEE NO. 3, PAGE 8
H. D. Anniversary
Event Slated Here
As hostesses for the 20th an
niversary celebration of home
demonstration work in this
area, Macon County's club wom
en are now preparing to wel
come club members of the 2nd
District Federation to Franklin
on Tuesday morning.
Set for the Methodist church,
the celebration officially will
open at 10 o'clock. However, be
ginning at 9:15, members of the
Cartoogechaye club, with Mrs.
Fred Slagle in charge, will serve
coffee to guests in the F. S
Johnston Bible Class roorti.
Special Invitations
Special invitations have been
extended to members who were
present in Franklin for the first
district Federation meeting in
1936, according to Mrs. Florence
S Sherrill. county home agent.
These pioneer women will be
honored by Mrs. Carl S. Slagle,
of Franklin, who served as first
president of the district.
Early Leaders
Also expected to attend are
several early leaders of the
farm and home development
program. Coming from Ral
eigh for the celebration will be
I. O. Schaub, Fred S. Sloan, and
Miss Ruth Current.
Mr. Schaub is the retired dean
of the N. C. Extension Service.
Mr. Sloan, who will bring greet
ings to the club women, is a
native of this county, a former
Macon farm agent, and was dis
trict farm agent for several
years. He is now a program
planning specialist with the
service. Miss Current, who is
state home agent, attended the
first meeting here.
Miss Anna Rowe, of Asheville,
who served as district home
agent with Mr. Sloan, also is ex
pected to be on hand.
State Greetings
Mrs. J. C. Berryhill, of Char
lotte, president of the N. C.
Federation Home Demonstration
Clubs, will bring greetings from
the state organization.
A 4-H club member in 1936, .
Mrs. Paul Ammons, will give the
4-H report of that year, and
her daughter, Elizabeth Ann.
will tell of the work being done
today.
The beginning of the home
demonstration program will be
SEE NO. 2, PAGE 8
The first name listed is that
of the registrar, the next two
are Democratic judges and al
ternate, and the fourth is Re
publican judge. By precincts,
they are:
Franklin: Preleau Shope, Jim
Palmer, and Roy Mashburn.
Cowee: Carroll Gibson, Robert
Rickman. Frank Browning, and
Floyd Bradley.
Burningtown: Bill Parrish,
Floyd Ramsey, Fred Ledford,
and Forest Huggins.
Nantahala No. 1: Luther Jac
obs, Newell Baldwin, Wade Lam
bert, and Osborne Younce.
Nantahala No. 2: James R.
Shields, Jim Grant. Ray Shields,
and Grady May.
Cartoogechaye: Bob South
ards, Eugene Crawford, Wayne
Smith, and Bunn Kiser.
Smithbridge : Morris Norton,
Prince Curtis, Ted Henry, and
Alex Holbrooks.
Flats: Raymond Penland, Roy
Dryman, Jim Fisher, and J. L.
Miller.
Highlands: Weldon Paul, Hen
ry Cleveland, Neville Bryson,
and Thomas Harbison.
Sugarfork: Raymond Wood,
Fred Henson, Troy Holland, and
Willis Norris.
Ellijay: Charles B. Bryson,
George Stanfield, Canton Henry
and Pritchard Russell.
Millshoal: James M. Raby,
Owen Ammons, and Woodrow
Franklin.
Books To Open
Registration books will be
open for three Saturdays, April
28, May 5, and May 12. Chal
lenge day will be May 19.
Late News
and
Briefs
v.
Bulletin
An expansion program of
"substantial proportions" is in
the cards for the Burlington In
dustries, Inc., hosiery plant Just
outside Franklin.
Supt. Stephen A. Bundy yes
terday (Wednesday i, in an ex
clusive statement to The Press,
said the go-ahead for the addi
tion has been given and the
construction will start almost
Immediately.
The plant official said the ex
tent ol the program had not
been determined. The engineer
ing department still is "toying
with several plans," he added.
However, Mr Bundy said it
will mean a "sharp increase" in
employment here.
GOING NORTH
At 2 o'clock this (Thursday)
afternoon, some 40 seniors from
Franklin High School will leave
via chartered bus for Washing
ton. D C.
Accompanying the seniors on
their annual "invasion" of the
northland will be Principal Har
ry C. Corbin. T. J. Edwards, and
Mrs. Roy Biddle, Jr.
* * ?
ZONE MEETINGS
A "covered dish" supper is
slated Saturday night at 7:30 at
Slagle Memorial Building for all
residents of Zone 3 of the town
neighborhood development pro
gram. The zone will be official
ly organized.
Zone 3 is the area within
West Main and Iotla Streets.
T. H. Fagg will preside.
HEAR GOVERNOR
Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Whitmire,
Mr. and Mrs. Bob S. Sloan, Mrs.
Weimar Jones, and John Long
were among those from here at
tending the Jackson ? County
Chamber of Commerce dinner
meeting at Western Carolina
College Saturday night. The
meeting was highlighted by an
address by Gov. Luthtfr H.
Hodges.
* ? ?
IN N?W YORK
Miss Margaret Jones, daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. R. S. Jones,
of Franklin, left Tuesday for a
trip to New York City to visit
the United Nations.
She recently won a high
school speech contest on the
United Nations.
SEE NO. 1, PAGE 4