CIRCULATION Net Paid Last Week 2994 &h* HjiaWanb^ Baconian ON THE INSIDE ? Staff correspondents of THE PRESS keep the Inside paces of this newspaper alive with news about your friends and neighbors Read the Inside panes from top to bottom and you'll know Macon County. 74th Year ? No. 51 Franklin, N. C., Thurxky, December 17, 1959 Price 10 Cent Sixteen Pages THERE'S A horse-burying hole in the pavement on Bldwell Street that's making everyone unhappy but the fellows who sell tires. CLEMSON FANS might like to know that WBTV will televise the Clemson-Texas Christian game from Houston at 3:30 Saturday. JAYCEES ARE selling some of those delicious butter mints again. A couple of years ago they couldn't get enough for folks who wanted to give tins of the mints for Christmas presents. UNDERSTAND the Promelettes "did us up brown" when they were on TV in Greenville Saturday night. Hunter Young fans are still swooning over the smiles he used to captivate the audience as his band played for the small dancers. HAVE YOU paid for those TB Christmas seals you're using on your cards? Figured you might have forgotten to send in your check for 'em. GROUPS GIVING baskets to the needy this Christmas may ob tain toys for them by stopping t>y the welfare department and picking out what they want. .These are the toys repaired by Mrs. Olson's eighth graders and there is a wide variety. THOSE WHO missed Sunday's -performance of Handel's "Mes siah" will be able to hear a re cording over WFSC Sunday after noon at 4:30. ? ? DR. FURMAN Ansel promises the "three little kids and the one big kid" who sent him a Christ mas card that he'll light up his big Christinas tree again this year. YOU CANT say that Macon County lsnt trying Its damdest to keep the cars rolling over the Tallulah Kails. A LOt OF the communities are erecting Christmas scenes, even though there in no contest. This shows ? good spirit. CHRISTMAS LIGHTS along Main Street mm to carry out the simplicity of the celebration. Decorations in other towns are much too gaudy, suggesting the commercialization of Christmas that tries to bide the true mean ing. WISH THE weather would set tle down and quit being woman like fickle. It's that hot-and-cold Stuff that breeds flu and bad winter colds. MANY FOLKS with the taste of turkey still In their mouth say they're going to have ham for Christmas. Still others say they'll have turkey soup from the skeleton of their Thanksgiving bird. HEAR THAT'S a real estate office Lee Woods is building at the end of his Town Motel. WIIXi WONDERS never cease! The town washed the streets one day last week. The old tank truck has been fixed up and fitted with p. pressure spraying unit, so we can assume this street washing will be routine in the future in stead of rare. APOLOGIES TO Rabun Gap High for our reversing the scores of the basketball game here last week. Rabun beat the Franklin boys in the non-conference game. AFTER 49 days in Duke Hos pital recovering from a heart operation, little Melaine Hooper arrived home last Thursday as chipper as a cricket and ready to start back in the first grade after the first of the year. WAYNES VILLE Mountaineer, noting that Judge Patton spoke his mind last week about the old courthouse here, thinks we need more men of the judge's calibre. ON TALLULAH FALLS - Maconians Testify At L C. C. Hearing A large delegation of Macon lans searching lor a remedy to the financial sickness threatening to kin the Tallulah Palls Railway were in'' Oainesville, Oa? last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for the Interstate Commerce Com mission hearing on the proposed abandonment of the 57-mile freight line. Ten In the delegation, Includ ing two lawyers retained by the local "Save the Railroad Com mittee" testified during the two and a half days of testimony be JOINS BURLINGTON Jim JL Brogden, Macon Coun ty native and former assistant football and baseball coach at HAmptoa Blch School, Hamp ton, Va., has accepted a posi tion In the peraonnel depart ment of the Raeford plant of Pacific Mills, a division of Bnt ington Industries. A graduate of Franklin High and Western Carolina, he is married to the former Misg Rebecca Murray, of Franklin. They have two children. Rebecca Lynn, 2, and Deborah Fae, 10 months. His brother, Ed Brogden, lives on Route 4, and a sister, Mis. J. P. Norton, Jr., resides in Rabun Gap, Ga. Mr. Brogden is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Brogden. Panthers Win Both Cage Tilts With two games remaining be fore the holidays. Franklin High's lads and lassies chalked up vic tories over Sylva and Cherokee this past Week. Friday night in the local gym, the girls led off the night's twin bill by soundly whipping the Sylva girls 107 to 10 in a game that was Franklin from the start. The half-time score was 62 to 3. The boys followed up with 56 to 34 victory, after trailing by only one point. 25 tawC4, at the half. 4 Tuesday night in Cherokee, tne local teams continued winning, the lassies By a score of 80 to 32 and SEE NO. 1. PAGE 8 PRENTISS SING The third Sunday singing con vention will be held at the Pren tiss Baptist Church Sunday be ginning at 2 o'clock. Several visit ing singers and local groups will be present. J. L. Sanders is in charge of the program. (ore I.C.C. Examiner H. J. Blond. Talcing the stand were J. C. Jacobs, president of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce. Clyde Clark, manager of Franklin Min eral Products, Rufus Snyder, local coal dealer, Wayne Faulkner, of Zlckgraf Hardwood Company, Kenneth Clark, contractor, Ervln Patton, representing Nantah^la Creamery, and W. W. Reeves, hardware merchant. Handling the legal chores were J. H. Stockton and O. L. Houk. both of Franklin, and Park Low, of the N.C. Utilities Commission. Others There A strong delegation from Clay ton, Oa.. was present, as well as representatives of many towns along the Tallulah Falls line. This latest hearing stemmed from a ruling last June by U.8. District Judge Boyd Sloan that a 1933 certificate of abandon ment held by Southern Railway on the Tallulah Falls was Invalid. Southern owns the picturesque line, which has been in receiver ship since the early '30s. Losing Money H. L. Brewer, the receiver, testi fied before the examiner that the Tallulah Falls has been losing ground financially since 1956, a year when the line hauled 4.S95 loaded cars. This year, he explain ed. cars numbered only 2,787. Should the I.C.C. rule against abandonment, a lawyer for the re ceiver said it would be agreeable with his side to abandon only the IS miles of track in North Caro lina. Mr. Brewer told the examiner the abandonment of the N. C. portion would permit the railroad to salvage the ties and rails for use on the Georgia segment. This would cut expenses substantially, he said. Quick To Oppose North Carolinians present were quick to oppose any such arrange ment. They presented figures to show that net revenue on the North Carolina portion of the line was in excess of <65,000 for the year. Operating costs, pro-rated for the N.C. section, according to the receiver, came to $43,000 for 1058, but Mr. Brewer contended that N.C. should carry a propor tionate share of the cost of op erating the Georgia section as well. These three points were brought out by those opposing the aban donment: 1. Business along the line from Cornelia, Ga? to Franklin would suffer and In some Instances be destroyed. It is understood that several small businesses and in dustries threaten to close down if the railroad is abandoned. 2. Growth in the area needs rail service to continue to attract new business and industry. 3. The area has enough business to support a railroad if service can be assured. After the I.C.C. rules on the new petition, the decision will rest again with Judge Sloan. It is understood it will be about six months before the I.C.C, an nounces its ruling. P.-T.A. MEETING The East Franklin P.-T.A. will meet tonight (Thursdayi at 7:30 at the school..The students of the second and third grades will pre sent the program. A social hour is planned following the meeting. So SayA "MR. MACONIAN" Hi-ya' Neighbors : Some congratulations are in order for the grand ?i ? jury. Its report doesn't parrot those of some past ones and it actually has some new ideas to offer. F'irtstance, that recommendation about an audit orium for Franklin High is a sound one. And the suggestion that the county commissioners put an architect to work on estimates for the courthouse is even better. With Judge Patton dorn' the prodding, it's about a sure bet that some of these things will be carried out. And I thank you, Mr. Maconian ON POWER DEAL ? No Intentional Delaying By Duke, Archer Declares I s there some foot-dragging in the filing of the application with the N. C. Utilities Commission for the sale of Nanthala Power and Light Company's electric distribu tion system to Duke Power Com pany? John M. Archer, Jr.. Nantahala president, says "definitely not", explaining that the delay has been caused by "a couple of unfore seen operating problems that have to be ironed out". He said W. B. McGuire, Duke's president, was sincere when he made a statement in September that the application would be filed at once. "None of us were aware at the time of these problems," Mr. Archer declared this week. The application is a Joint paper and must be signed by of flea Is of both Nantahala and Duke, he explained. Once the application is filed, a public hearing will be set by the utilities commlsson. Talks To dab Meanwhle, Franklin Rotarlans are pondering some points and answers brought out by Mr. Archer when he was the club's guest speaker last Thursday night. He traced the growth of Nanta hala Power Since it was chartered in 1929. including the purchase of other systems, to the present point where Its service area covers all of Graham and Swain, prac tically all of Jackson and Macon, the eastern portion of Cherokee, and a very small area In Clay County. The Nantahala president said electric service has been svailah'e to every person In the area for several years. Statistics Given Here are some statistics he brought out: On Dec. 31, 1M& the company was serving 1,28# cult? nrfc, as compared to It, 014 Dae. 41. IM8 Kilowatt-hours sold to residential customers In- 1638 totaM 916, (07, at an average rat* ot J J>c per KWXf. and In 1W8. SS.Ud.229 M an average of 1.8c per KWH. Cony mercial customers purchased in 1938, 707,467 KWH at an average rate of 4.2c, and in 1958, 16,436.833 at an average of 2.2c per KWH. Industrial sales in 1938 totaled 10,511,472 KWH. as compared to 56,796,560 in 1958. Sales to other customers in 1938, such as Hay wood Electric Coop., Western Carolina College, and the Town of Highlands, amounted to 356, 059 KWH, and In 1958. 9.584,961 KWH. 1.500 Miles At the end of 1938, Nantahala had in operation 103 miles of distribution lines, as compared with 1.500 miles on Dec. 31. 1958. Mr. Archer said during the period covered by the history, the company has Invested a total of about $33,000,000 In Western North Carolina. "This In Itself represents a very definite contribution to the wel fare of this Western North Caro lina area. When we first started operations here, the only utility service was by several small. Isolated companies. We now have a well-integrated operation which has made utility service available to every person in the area; and up to this time we have been able to provide adequate power for the rapid growth of Western North Carolina." Explains Rales The Nantahala president also explained how Nantahala has been able to provide power at at tractive rates. "There are several factors in volved," he told the Rotarlans, "however, the greatest, one that has contributed to your savings and which dwarfs all others Is that Alcoa has been in position to absorb at its Alcoa. Tenn., plant all of the excess power not needed in the Nantahala utility business, thereby being responsible for a large part of Nantahala's total revenue. Without this revenue, most of which has been In payment for secondary power, your electric rates would not have been kept at the present level. "None of the secondary power generated and sold to Alcoa could have been sold to others In this area, and only because of the peculiar nature of the operation of an aluminum smelting plant, which, unlike most other Indus tries. has a dally load factor of nearly 100 per cent, enabling it to advantageously use large quantities of secondary power in conjunction with its other power faculties and contracts. During periods in the past, the tlon of aluminum was far In excess of market requirements: however, Alcoa continued to use all our ween power to smelt aluminum, which was stored until market conditions permitted Its sale. \ Questions-Answers Here are some of the questions answered by Mr. Archer: Q: If dams provide cheap power, should they not be sold to a utility for public use since they were built under power of eminent domain? A: When Bill McGuire. of Duke, was here a few weeks ago he whs asked the question why his com pany was not buying all of Nanta ha la's hydro plants rather than just the four small ones. He re SEE NO. 2, PAGE 8 MRS. LEDFORD D!ES AT 102 Death Silences Her Beloved Accordion Death has silenced the ac cordion 102-year-old Mrs. Sarah Ann Ledford loved so much. She died Tuesday of last week, December 8, after an illness of two weeks at the home of a son, Zemery Crawford Ledford, on Route 2. Mrs. Ledford's accordion was an important thing in her lift. Last June, in a feature article appear ing in THE PRESS following her 102ncJ birthday, her love for the accordion was mentioned, alona with the fact that ^he'd lost her last one in a fire. At the time she was sure she coulri "pi:; one ,i little right now if I lihri or.e."' A couple of months lat.r, Mrs. JeaneUe E. Daley: of Phoenix. Ariz., who read the story., pur chased an. accordion .' o . M.s. Led ford 'end it was pioniptiv 'Jelivi:; ed- Tile few months sine.- this generous t^ft arrived jii-r ? happy ones Indeed for Alr.sl Ledljui, h.i family reports: Funeral services for M Led ford, a native of DUrktowrj- Tenn . were conducted the uft.;rr.c:;n of the 10th at the Union Methodist Church by the Rev. Earl Crowe, pastor, the Rev. Claude Ledfont, the Rpv. James Sanflers, and the Rev. Fred Sorrells. Burial was in lie church cemetery. Grandsons " rvinK as pallbearers w.'re Gor don. Herrell, Clyde, David, Bryan, ?iti.d Efnr.ix Ledford, Surviving, in adcjiUon to her. .n. are 19 fcrandchildreh, 24 m at-Bi andchildrcn, and six great iai at-irrancchildien. Ai rangetficnii were handled by Potts Funeral Home. TEAM OF YOUNG MACON COUNTY SQUARE DANCERS PERFORM ON TV GREENVILLE CHANNEL SATURDAY Channel 4, Omnvillf, ,S. C.. was Jammed with Macon County fares for a while Saturday when the Promeiettes danrerf on Bob Poole's show "Carolina Promenade Party". The young dancers, who ranged in age from si* to nine, are