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71st Year ? No. 31
Franklin, N. C., Thursday, August 2, 1956
Fourteen Pages
They Came-They Stayed-They 'Conk-ered' Highlands
As the sun peeped over the ridge yesterday (Wednesday)
morning a rakish assortment of "human beans" started romp
ing up and down the main stem of Highlands. These odd crit
ters, who had swelled into thousands by mid-morning, turned
? rreaa .nan rnouj
out from all over the country to help the resort town cele
brate "Hillbilly Day". The "Parade of Hillbillies" was staged in
the morning, the afternoon featured a string band contest,
and a street dance and the crowning of the "Country Squire"
and "Highlands Belle" occupied the night hours.
Opening Of Folk
Festival Tonight
Solidly backed by a talented
variety of entertainers, the
fifth annual Macon County
Folk Festival opens tonight
(Thursday) "under the stars"
In the Franklin High Stadium,
for a three-night run.
Performances will get under
way at 8 each night and will
continue "until the entertain
ment runs out, or gives out,"
according to members of the
sponsoring Franklin Junior
Chamber of Commerce.
Advance registration by en
tertainers has been "encourag
ing", it is reported, and the
festival is shaping up nicely.
Competition will be limited
to amateurs living inside .Ma
con County and the contests
will cover most musical instru
ments, singers, buck dancers,
dance teams, string bands, and
specialty acts.
Three square dance teams al
ready have registered, along
with more than 20 Individual
entertainers.
Cash awards will be made to
the winners in each event, In
addition to ribbons.
"Panhandle Pete, the One
Man Band", who pitched In to
help the local Jaycees stage
their first festival, will again
be on hand as the show comic.
Several string bands also are
working up comedy acts for
presentation between those
competine for prize money.
Music for dance teams, sing
ers, and buck dancers will be
provided by the "Black Rock
Mountain Boys", an outfit
headed by Harry Roberson, of
Otto. The band currently has
a radio program over a Cor
nelia, Ga., station.
Admission to the festival will
be 25 cents per person. The
proceeds are earmarked for the
Jaycee civic betterment; fund.
Annual Baptist Association
Meeting Slated August 9-10
August 9-10 are the dates for
the 53rd annual meeting of the
Macon Baptist Association,
largest church group In the
county.
Three churches this year will
host the two-day gathering, ac
cording to the moderator, the
Rev. M. W. Chapman.
On the opening day, a session
will be held at the Burning
town church and that night a
special service is planned for
the Iotla church. The Cartooge
chaye church will be the scene
of the meeting the second day.
Houk Back From Raleigh;
Amendment Vote Sept. 8
Macon Rep. G. L. Houk re
turned Saturday from Raleigh
where he and other members
of the General Assembly ap
proved several pressing mea
sures, including the Pearsall
Plan, a piece of legislation de
signed to meet the school seg
regation problem.
The special five-day session,
called by Gov. Luther H.
Hodges, was the shortest in the
state's history. It ended Friday
at 4:44 p. m.
Most significant action taken
by the Legislature, Mr. Houk
said, was the passage a con
stitutional amendment embody
ing the "guts" of the Pearsall
Plan.
This amendment, along with
others passed by the lawmakers
in regular session, will be sub
mitted for the approval of the
state's voters in a general elec
tion on September 8.
The two-point amendment
would allow:
(1) state-paid tuition grants
to send a student to private
school if his parents object to
his attending a racially mixed
school, and
(2) local option elections on
the closing of local schools if
conditions become intolerable.
The Senate passed the pro
posed amendment to the con
stitution 49-0 and the House,
106-2.
At W. N. C. Open Meet ?
Zickgraf Breaks Records
Franklin's lanky swimming
star, Bill Zickgraf, broke four
records Friday in Asheville in
turning in the top individual
performance in the W. N. C.
Open Swim Meet.
The 6' 3", 185 pound tank
man, who is a varsity swimmer
at the University of North Car
olina, set new marks in the
men's open 50-yard free style,
100-yard free style, 100-yard
breast stroke, and 100-yard
back stroke.
In the 50-yard free style, "he
broke the existing record of 27.1
seconds with a blistering 25.3.
He clipped two whole seconds
from the 100-yard free style
mark, swimming it in 1:02.
In toppling the 100-yard
breast stroke record, Bill was
clocked at 1:12.7. The old mark
was 1:15.1.
He churned the 100-yard
back stroke event in 1:11.5,
shaving the old record of 1:14.6.
Bill also racked up a third
place in the men's open div
ing event, although he is not
considered a diver and does not
place any emphasis on it in
his training schedule.
Son of Mr. and Mrs. Grant
Zickgraf, he is a rising Junior
at U. N. C.
The W. N. C. competition is
sponsored annually by the Commerce. Bill was sponsored
Asheville Junior Chamber of by the local chamber.
Burn i ma m
? rr?M sun Photo
Bill Zickgraf . . . Record Breaker
The '56 theme Is "The light
of the World is Jesus".
Reports Planned
Reports on local and state
levels will feature the sessions
Mr. Chapman said.
Among state officials expect
ed here to give reports on the
first day are Morres Grapt, ol
Thomasville, editor of Charitj
and Children, who will report
on the orphanage; Dr. L. L
Carpenter, of Raleigh, editor of
the Biblical Recorrer, who will
speak on the activities of the
publication; Dr. Richard K.
Young, of Winston-Salem, whose
talk will feature work at the
Baptist Hospital; Dr. M. A.
Huggins, of Raleigh, general
secretary of the Baptist State
Convention, who will discuss
the cooperative program of the
convention; Dr. Julian S. Hop
kins, of Raleigh, secretary of
evangelism, whose topic will be
on that phase of church work;
and Dr. Bruce Whitaker, of
Raleigh, secretary of the Bap
tist Student Union department,
who will speak on B. S. U. ac
tivities.
Local reports in these fields
SEE NO. 2, PAGE 10
Siler Family
Reunion Slated
Here Saturday
Silers from here, SUers from
there, there'll be Silers from
just about everywhere when the
clan that helped pioneer this
area shows up in Franklin this
Saturday for its 105th "family
meeting" without break.
This year's gathering ? al
ready officially under way with
the arrival of several members
from out of town ? is slated
for Slagle Memorial Building.
Host and hostesses are the Rev.
A. Rufus Morgan and his sis
ters, Mrs. Esther M. Freas, of
Franklin, Mrs. Anna M. Barr,
of Charlotte, Miss Lucy C. Mor
gan, of Penland, and Mrs.
Laura Warren, of Murphy.
More than 200 Silers are ex
pected to be ort hand. And, if
past meetings are any indica
tion, they'll come from more
than a dozen states and several
foreign countries. And all ages,
from infants to several nona
genarians, will be represented.
One important feature of the
business meeting of the clan
will be the election of a chair
man to succeed the late C. S.
Slagle.
Last year, the family marked
the 200th anniversary of the
birth of Weimar Slier, progen
itor of the Macon County Silers.
While this year's will be the
105th gathering of the clan, it
is the 104th annual one. Early
in its history, the family met
twice in one year when the
date for the get-to-gather was
changed from January to late
summer.
Jury Is Still Deliberating
Boy's Murder Trial Verdict
*
New Singers,
But Old Song
A new grand jury is singing
an old song.
The old tune Is "A New
Courthouse For Macon County",
a favorite of grand juries for
more than a quarter century.
In filing its report of condi
tions of county facilities Tues
day afternoon with Judge Zeb
V. Nettles, the grand jury made
the following observations about
the present 73-year-old court
house:
"We have examined the
courthouse and find all offices
crowded for room. Rest rooms
are not sanitary on account of
room. Some county records have
no fire protection. Some win
dow screens need repairing. The
entire grand jury recommends
a new courthouse."
A committee found the prison
camp in "good condition" and
another observed that the coun
ty jail is "very neat, clean, and
orderly", but made three spe
cific recommendations:
1. Replace four commodes not
SEE NO. 4, PAGE 10
Trade Promotion -
Dinner Is Slated
Plans for promoting more
trade here will be discussed by
merchants and other business
? men of Franklin at a dinner
, meeting next week.
The gathering is set for 6:45
? p. m. Wednesday (August 8) at
. the Cartoogechaye School.
> The Franklin Press will be
r host ffjr the occasion.
All the newspaper's regular
' display advertisers are invited.
; In addition, a representative of
any business in this community,
; Interested in trade promotion
will be welcomed.
Persons planning to attend,
however, are requested to notify
The Press ? phone 24 ? by
not later than Monday, Aug
ust 6, since it is necessary to
know in advance how many to
prepare for.
In addition to the business
discussion, a brief program of
entertainment is planned.
?
It Was Just About
A Decade Ago, Judge
Mettles Remembers
Nearly a decade ago, a young
Superior Court judge suggested
streamlining county government
here by replacing the old
county courthouse with a new,
modern building.
Monday morning, that same
judge, in the same courtroom,
in the same old courthouse re
peated this suggestion, but this
time tempered it with some
rather pointed remarks.
Recalling his courtroom sug
gestion of many years ago.,
Judge Zeb V. Nettles declared
that the 73-year-old courthouse
is "totally inadequate".
"I made that statement al
most 20 years ago," he told the
grand jury, "and I make it
again now."
If the citizens are to have
pride in their county, they are
entitled to a new courthouse, he
said.
"I think that your county
does not regard this matter in
the way it should," the judge
declared.
Pointing to inadequate stor
age facilities in the old struc
ture, Judge Nettles said a fire
would result in "endless litiga
tion" since most of the county
records would go up in smoke.
He cited an instance in another
county where a courthouse
burned and described the con
fusion that followed in attempt
ing to check titles and records
as "a terrible thing."
He said the expansion of
county government means simp
ly that "you are going to have
SEE NO. 6, PAGE 10
Was It An Inquisitive
Finger That Did It?
Firemen think an inquisitive
figure might be responsible for
a false alarm last Thursday
about 9:45.
The alarm was turned in at
the call box on a pole near the
courthouse.
Since the protective glass
over the alarm button has been
out for several years, they
think someone couldn't resist
the temptation to prod the but
ton.
Mrs. Purdom Sweeps Local
Flower Show For 2nd Year
For the second straight year,
Mrs. E. S. Purdom, of Wayah
Valley, has walked off with top
honors in the Franklin Garden
Club's annual flower show.
The colorful show, held Fri
day and Saturday in the high
school cafeteria, saw Mrs. Pur
dom duplicate her last year's
achievement by winning the
Ribbon winners are listed on
Page 7.
sweepstakes award and the tri
color award in the arrange
ments division.
T. M. Deckman, of Gneiss,
took the tri-color award in the
horticulture division.
Praises Show
A nationally accredited judge,
Mrs. C. K. S. Dodd, of Sara
sota, Fla., who took in the show
unofficially, described it as a
"wonderful show" and "one that
showed great and splendid in
terpretation" of the theme, "A
Mountain Garden".
Judging the event, which at
tracted more than 200 exhibits
from 56 exhibitors, were Mrs.
W. T. Duckworth, of Asheville,
Miss Ann Albright, of Waynes
ville, Mrs. Arthur A. Pearson, of
Fletcher, and Mrs. J. R. Hurley,
Mrs. J. R. Pate, and Mrs. A. W.
Bottoms, all of Canton. Prior
to judging Friday morning, they
were entertained at a luncheon
at the Franklin Lodge and Golf
Course.
BULLETIN
James Dudley Mathis was
found guilty of involuntary
manslaughter and was senten
ced to 3H to 5>? years at a
first offender camp.
The jury still had not arrived
at a verdict yesterday (Wed
nesday) at 2 p. m. in the trial
of 17-year-old James Dudley
Mathis, who is accused in the
June 12 rifle slaying of his
father on a mountainside in
the Cowee section.
Following .an hour's charge,
Judge Zeb V. Nettles turned the
case over to the jury at 12:30
and it retired behind closed
doors. At 1:05 the judge called
the jury back to the courtroom,
and, upon learning that a ver
dict still had not been reached,
recessed until 2 o'clock with an
explanation "we don't want to
starve you gentlemen to death".
The state is seeking a second
degree murder or a voluntary
manslaughter verdict.
Youth Impassive
Throughout the trial, the
youth has been Impassive. He
has stared off
Into space, yawn
ed, looked the
courtroom over
from floor to
ceiling, played
with a rubber
band he found
on the floor,
probed his finger
In a hole In the
railing behind
his chair, and
scraped the soles
Ma this
of his shoes. Shortly before the
lunch recess, he leaned over to
ask Deputy Van Frazier the
time.
Officers testified during the
trial that James Dudley admit
ted accidentally shooting his
father, mistaking him for a
groundhog. The body of the
elder Mathis was found slump
ed over a 12-gauge shotgun
near a groundhog hole. A .22
SEE NO. 5. PAGE 10
By-Pass Into
Georgia Open
The construction by-pass be
tween Franklin and the Geor
gia state line is now open to
traffic, although the new sec
tion still has to be gravelled.
According to George Byrd, of
the state highway shed here,
the by-pass will not be marked
by the state because It cannot
be classed as a detour around
the new highway project on
US 23-441.
A detour, he explained, must
adequately carry all kinds of
traffic. The new by-pass is ac
tually a net work of narrow
county roads running through
the Clark's Chapel and Hick
ory Knoll sections and could
not handle heavy traffic, he
said.
A section of about six-tenths
of a mile had to be opened up
by highway maintenance crews
near Otto to complete the by
pass. It is this section that still
must be gravelled, Mr. Byrd
said.
The by-pass was opened to
provide relief for those work
ing and doing business in the
immediate N. C.-Georgia area.
A state marked detour runs
through Highlands.
? Pr*M Stall Layout
A total of 69 blue ribbons were awarded In the Franklin Gardeit Club's annual flower show
Friday and Saturday. Checking over the winners are <L to R) Mrs. John M. Archer, Jr., Mr*.
Allan Brooks, show chairman, and Mrs. J. Ward Lonr, club president.