BEE GEE'S CORNER
THE OLD WILLOW
i ;
Three miles north of Brevard, on
the west bank of the Old Asheville
road, stood an old willow tree that
ha> been admired by the passerby
for a half-dozen generations. Thi
tree's life extended back close to if
not beyond the Kevolutionary War,
and has witnessed a wonderful ??
riety of events, during its life of
about a century and a half.
1 say- the tree "stood." It BO
longer stands. The weight of the.
accumulated ice from the recent
freezing rain split the old tree into
several pieces, and all That now re
mains is part of a splintered stump
sticking up a few feet. At various
times branches have been broken off
by lightning or wind or ice. Th?
tree has been topped several times,
but there was always enough of the
old trunk left to bud forth again,
and in a short while to grow and
spread and assume the usual appear
ance or a well grown weeping wil
low. The heart of the, trunk had
Jkvc decaying for many years, and
when 'he tinal crash came, there
was only a thin shell to support the
branch -s. .
Tin* main trunk, a couple of
yards- .bovo the ground, was more
that: fiftten feet around, giving a
t:ia?i:i" ;r of aobut five feet. It must
.ve ? -fn several inches more than
! -;t .through at the ground. For
Win !, it was a giant of a tree,
i' tlu; early days a line of
, u-c.; li'gs" Was laid from a spring
; h ?- cove, that supplied a flowing
:!o?r . ml watering trough. It was a
favorite stopping place, whether the
?'traveller was traveling the Old
I'hev* -v Trail, the Western Turn
H.k -. vr the Old Asheville Road. The
r<>':'..! t? turn bore these various
ra and doubtless, ere iong, will
be link in a paved highway be
tween Brevard and Asheville.
The lands in this vicinity were
granted by the State in 1796 or be
fo r<-. and "about the same time a log
cabin was built beside the little
stream that flows a few yards from
the willow. Shortly afterwards an
EXECUTOR'S NOTICE
Having qualified as executor of
the ? -late of Polly E. Frady, de
ceased. late of Transylvania County.
North Carolina, this is to notify all
pei-. i - havinp claims against the
estate of the said deceased to ex
hibit them to the undersigned at
my home on Brevard. N. C., Rt. 2,
on o: before the 14th day of Feb
ruary. 19">0. or this notice will be
pleaded in bar of their recovery.
This 8th day of February. A. D.
?MS?.
\VlUX\y LASALLE FRADY. !
? Executor of Estate of Polly E. <
Frady, deceased. 6tpFl4&M21 .
NOTICE
North Carolina
Transylvania County.
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT
Of II. Ore. Trustee.
vs. ... I
J. D. Neal, and Rhoaa E. Neal.
The above named defendants J.
B. Nr?'al and Rhoda E. Neal, will
take notice that an action entitled
as above has been commenced in the
Su;m" >i>r Court of Transylvania
N-vjli ("Hi-olina, for non payment of
note 'xecuted by the said defend,
a'lts. Said defendants will further
take notice that they are required
to appear at the office of the Clerk
of the Superior Court in said county
and State at Brevard, and answer
or demur to the complaint in said !
action on the 4th day of April, or :
v. thirty days thereafter, or tie
Plairhiff will apply to the Court for
the prayer in said complaint.
This the 6th day of March, 1929.
ROLAND OWEN, Clerk Superior
Court of Transylvania County. ?
4tc pisgahb 7-14-21-28 $5.54
f
If it's
EGGS
you want -
? . ? *? " * ?? " * '?
v?>ur]i?-MM flu- ?T(K>d balanced
ration < lint's contained .in
Quaker
FUL-O-PFP
EGG MASH
Kv.-r \ onncc of thi? ?reat feed is
.
Himis- up of ju>t tin* thinsi's a hen
mrl. l ' have to <!-> !>.\>t. 1( s
to :ko because it |?avs
r pro/ii, \\ . ? have it for von.
FOB SALE BY
B. & B. FEED
& SEED CO.
Main St.. Drevard, N. C.
fold hatter's shop was erected in
front of the cabin. The hatter mad*
| the old fashioned hand-made felt
hats, and was well known as a good
hatter over Western North Carolina.
A number of the old and prominent
citizens of Asheville and Vicinity
kept standing orders with him for
two hats a year. Some also from
the Pigeon Valley and from the sec
tion around what is now Henderson
ville.
Before the hatter's shop, beside
the road, stood two large willows,
one on either side and a few yards
from the stream. They were large
trees at the time of the first auction
sale of Cherokee lands in what is
now the western part of this coun
ty, in 1820.
The hatter prospered, and in
course of time planned a new house,
one that in its time was one of the
most pretentious of this section. The
house still stands beside the old wil
low stump. The date inscribed on
the chimney by the old chimney
builder is 1830.
Whether these two willows were
set out by the old hatter, or wheth
er there was a willow thicket here,
and he cleared all except the two
i ices, we will probably never know.
But regardless of the origin of
i he trees, the old watering trough
i>ene;ith the willow has had many
.?.sitors. In its- early days, the vis
ors were an occasional Indian,
r. ![.;)?. i of trader. When the Indians
we tv moved farther west, there was
.in occasional settler and his family
on the way to take up lands farther
up the valley. Some of those who at
tended the Cherokee land sales on
the. Toxawav in 1820 doubtless stop
ped hero.. A member of the militia
company fiorn this section watered
his horse before starting to help es
urt the Cheroke.es from North Car
. !in:i to tfiis Indian Territory in
is::t5. In iill liklihood the same young
ildier left to go with his company
? the Mexican War in 1846. The
aeration did the same in
10
vounger
1861 at the outbreak of the Civil
War. The main travel passed this
way during the stirring times of the
Civil War. It was only within times
easily remembered that the travel
along the road from Brevard to Hen
dersonville outdistanced the travel
from Brevard to Asheville.
j The tree on the north side of the
1 stream was cut down many years
ago. About the time of the Civil
(War, I have been told. The old hat
ter's shop, and the cabin back of it
had disappeared a few years earlier.
With time and dry rot they were
about ready to fall to pieces, and the
timbers went into firewood or into
other farm buildings.
; About 1905 a shoot from the old
tree was set out beside the road
about 16 or 20 yards south of it.
This shoot has now grown to a
large tree, and in shape and beauty |
j bids fair to rival the old tree.
The relocation of the Old Ashe- ,
ville Road in 1928 moved the road I
about 10 yards east of the old loca
tion.
The old pump log and watering
j trough has been succeeded by iron
'water pipes.
The old hatter went to his reward
nearly a hundred years ago, and his
lands passed through various hands.
They were acquired by the late Geo.
j C. Neill several years before the
Civil War. In dividing his lands, he
! conveyed this portion to his daugh
ter, Elizabeth, who was the wife of
James W. Morris. Their son, John
jL. Morris, now owns the place.
By the date in the chimney, the
! house has now stood some ninety
'iijne years, and the greater part Of
that time has been in the hands of
the same family, thruogh three gen
erations.
The old willow, through it all, has
looked on during many changes. The
fire arms have changed from the old
flint lock rifle, through the days of
the percussion cap, the breechloader,
ana the magazine rifle ? similar
changes in shotguns and pistols.
Travel has changed, on foot, horse
tack, wagons, carriages, through
their general changes, to the modern
railroad, automobile and aeroplane.
Education, from no schools, and on
ly the "slight larning" that could be
obtained at home, through the small
private schools, the small public
schools, gradually enlarged and de
veloped into our modern educational
system. Mails have developed from
| an occasional carrier to bring mail
i to bring the occasional letter from
Asheville, to the modern delivery
.system, including rural delivery at
the farmer's door. As numerous and
as far reaching changes have oc
curred in practically every line of j
endeavor. But no changes have
been greater than in the manner of
life. In the old days, one had to
be fairly expert in at least half
dozen trades, or more. When this
tree was young, the farmer and his
family grew, raised or made prac
tically everything they ate, wore or
used. Now, they buy nearly every
thing they eat, wear or use, except (
part of their rations and feed.
lieu- r arson Samuel Davis, con- j
i-ulted with the building committee
about the location of a church in
1800. Here Bishop Asbury watered
his horse in 1814. Here was a discus
sion as to the election on the loca
tion for the county seat of Hender
son county in 1838. Here was one
of the meeting points to discuss the
measures in 1860 to secure the es-i
(ablishment of Transylvania county.
<>f "Christian Reid" (then Miss
Frances Fisher ? later Mrs. Tiernan)
Here was a favorite stopping place
about 1872, as she was gathering in
formation to write "The Land of
the Sky" ? the book that gave this
name to Western North Carolina.
The old willow is gone, and ap
pears to be gone forever. It will
take some tome to tell whether what
is left of the old stump has life
enough left to bud forth again, and
continue to give joy to every passer
by.
I THE RIGHT WAY TO TRAVEL f
is by train. The safest. Most com- {
fortable. Most reliable. Costs less.
Inquire of Ticket Agents regarding
greatly reduced fares for short trips.
SOUTHERN RAILWAY SYSTEM
SAM B. CRAIG
Attoney-at-Law
MASONIC TKMPLI
PICKENS. 3. C
Office Phone 89 Res. Phono It ]
EYES EXAMINED
GLASSES FITTED
LENSES DUPLICATED
Brevard Office in P. 0. Building
Open E very TUESDAY Afternoon
W. H. HAWKINS & SON
49 Years of Satisfaction
Hendenonville, N. C.
GOOD THINGS TO EAT
MADE BY SPECIAL ORDERS
Phone your order now for
GOOD BREAD, CAKES, PIES AND PASTRIES
Phone 24
PHILLIP'S BAKERY
BREVARD, North Carolina
WAX YOUR FLOORS
AND PREVENT DIVORCE
Every woman wants pretty floors in h6r home. All it
takes is the proper ingredients and a Waxing Ma
chine. We have both, and we have experienced men
to do the work. Call
ED. GILLESPIE
PHONE 123
General Painting Contractor, Floor Finisher and
Home Beautifier.
(Straight down the road
las ier *>> faster M faster
ahead of the crowd, * it
flashes across the line
fH! its the Champion "
It's here ? the new improved "Standard" Gasoline
?the gasoline you've wanted? and waited for.
Judge it for yourself. Any way you want. Test it in
old cars. In new cars. Test it for pulling power.
For climbing power. Its racing-start add racing
finish power. Its all 'round built-in goodness.
Watch it weave through the holes in traffic. Leap
Out from under on the straight-of-way. Go zooming
up hills. Marvel at its split-second starting, etfei
in the coldest weather. On any kind of roa^
Match, if you can, its clean white crystal purity
We are confident of your verdict. It's ail thai
we say it is ? this new improved "Standard1*
Gasoline. 44 It's the Champion.1' On sale every
where at the big red "Standard" pumps wilh the
familiar "Standard" globes. Made and guaranteed
by the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey*
"STANDARD'*
Improved
GASOLINE
? ? * ' M ?>.. *