Newspapers / The Franklin Press and … / July 5, 1928, edition 1 / Page 5
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r ."'"'3 r-A - ' nv il lij .QLAWDS i 4 KEYCITyOFlHSMOUNTftt EDlTION lF' a inm i . ,, If -dm f fc 3K 1-"' WfH LmiA ') I 1 I" I II Jrrssrsssr "..-?y7 v- ' t? -v v:Pv. , i iE,8t,i W mF? 1F if fift 1 if. if Wlf m 8 ifl bSi -v VOLUME XLIII FRANKLIN, N. O, THURSDAY. JULY 5. 1328 NUMBER TWENTY-SEVEN Off OJinfe m fc LURED PRCR HARBBOK BOll Region Escaped Sweep of Glaciers Consequently Contains Plant Life Not Found Elsewhere. Four miles from Highlands, North Carolina, the highest incorporated town east of the Rockies, there lives a botanist a graduate of Harvard university, who has discovered and de scribed numerous species Zof "plants previously-unknown to botanists. The man is Prof. T. G. " Harbison who, since 1886, has spent the greater part of his life in the unique Highlands region'. The region ' is unique ' for several reasons. The town of Highlands it self is situated at an altitude higher above sea level than the altitude of any other town in the East, 3,850 feet up in the rock-studded mountain tops. The town is five miles from the mighty monolith, Whiteside mouu tain, one side of which is a per pendicular wall of white-splotched granite a mile long and fifteen hun dred feet high. For still another reason is the Highlands region unique : during the . glacial period the section, for some unknown cause, was untouched by VW4 ing portion of the earth s surf ace Only two other spots on the globe are said to have escaped from the glacier masses. One of these is in Japan and the other in India. ..A re suit of the escape of the Highlands region from the glaciers is that many forms of flora and fauna, found no where else in the world except, in some cases, in India and ! Japan are now Irvine there. Prof. Harbison states that, along with the Highlands- region, the Smoky mountains are thought to have escap ed the glacier movement. Highlands and the Smoky mountains are so near together, however, that for practical purposes they may be considered as one reeion. According to Frot. Har bison, certain plants are believed to have been preserved . in the Smokies that were killed elsewhere, and from the Smokies some of them have again spread over the mountain country in which they grew previous to the time of the glacial movement. The white oak tree is said to be an example of one of these plants. A knowledge of the Highlands country will enable one to understand why the botanist has chosen to make his home under the frown of Satulah mountain's cliffs and where, from the rear of his home, an observer can see 70 miles away to a point in the Piedmont region of South Carolina. It is a country where on a summer's day one may stand on batulahs sum mit and view a region comprising parts of four states and a diameter ot dw miles an spread in a snrouu of dreamv haze. It is a country where, when the storms and fogs descend over batulahs cut ts, a man cannot see 10 feet in front, of his nose. Prof. Harbison was asked to toll the historv of the school at High lands, and it was believed that he 1 could then be led to tell something of his own life and of his work as a' .botanist and horticulturist. He was for seven years principal of the school at Highlands which was then privately supported, gifts having been received from such notables as : Edward Everett Hale. At one time the school, although in a town of less than 500 inhabitants, had pupils enrolled from 22 states. The botanist, after a moment's thought, began the story of the school's early history. It had been no mistake to believe that he would ' soon mention his work with plants. Prof. Harbison, who is 66 years old, who wears a Van Dyke beard, who is . keen of eye, quick of movement, and cordial in manner was seated near a window from which the 70-mile view . is visible on a clear day. "In January, 1887, we had what we called the 'deep snow in High lands," he recounted. "One fall of snow covered the ground-to a depth of three feet. The merctfry fell to 19 below zero. The snow was on the ground long enough for a month's sledding. Antle Henry, a liveryman, made some temporary sleighs on which he gave free rides for two weeks or more." . ' I Prof. Harbison stopped. "That is1 (Continued on page two) , HIGHEST CM.lP EAST OF ROCKIES Camp Parry-dise, Five Miles From Highlands On Top of Little Scaly Mountain I Four States Visible. " Camp Parry-dise, five miles from Highlands, and havipg the highest altitude of all the camps located east of the Rockies, opened July 3. Camp Parry-dise, one of the best known of the camps for girls in Western North Carolina, is situated on the crest of Little Scaly mountain, from which point four states are visible, the view including a vast panorama from the borders of Tennessee to the Piedmont section of South Carolina. Little Scaly is 4,400 feet above sea level, The story of how Judge Harvey L. Parry, Atlanta resident, came to locate Camp Parry-dise on Little Scaly, and when Mr. Smith took the party there, the judger to quote Mr. mmwmmmw&&W view. quire the property and start a sum mer hotel there. Mr. Smith was in vited L'to join him inH;heenterprise, but did not because of numerous other interests. The summit of Little Scaly never has been used for a sum mer hotel, but Judge Parry did pur chase the property. The result of his interest in Little Scaly has led to the establisahment of Camp Parry dise, under the directorship of Mrs. Parry, Mrs. Parry is 'well qualified by reason of training and experience to direct Camp Parry-dise. She is a graduate of Boston Normal School of Gymnastics, a former director of physical education at Agnes ' Scott college, and is the local director of the Girl Scouts of Atlanta. Camp Pafry-dise occupies an ideal site ii mem silt in a grove of white oaks. The camp. tower rising from the crest of the mountain is plainly visible on the road, from Dillard, Ga., to Highlands, and never fails to attract the atten tion of motorists. Dillard is the nearest railroad point from the camp, being 13 miles away. The camp prop erty comprises - about -100 - acres, - all of which is in woodland with th" exception of the clearing in which the swimming pool is located. , The . program of camp activities in cludes swimming, horseback riding, nature lore, arts and crafts, archery, hiking and woodcraft, and dramatics For lovers of hiking there is an un parraled opportunity to see rarer sights of Eastern America's mountain country. The membership of the camp is limited to 30 providing, as a result, individual attention for each" girl. The camp will be open until August 2H. Mrs. Tarry has been in Highlands since June 15, -preparing for the eight weeks camping season. HIGHLANDS WOMEN TO BUILD CLUB HOUSE One thousand dollars is being raised by the women of the Highlands Com munity club, reports Miss liurncy Durgin, for the erection of a Wo man s UuB Mouse ana community Center When the money is raised and placed in deposit" in the bank, a lot for the location of the club house will be denoted to the club by Peyton Anderson of Highlands. Miss Durgin reports that half of the $1000 has been raised. The lot to be denoted by Mr. Anderson is located on upper Main street. It is possible that the Community club may swap it for another lot more suitably located. The officers of the Community club are: Mrs. j. a. nines, president; Mrs. W.. S. Davis, secretary, Mrs. Minnie Edwards, treasurer: Mrs. J. E. Root, vice-president; Mrs. Burney Durgin, second vice-president. That Highlands is a center of civic activity is proved by th fact that the following clubs now function in the town: Village Improvement As sociation, Macon County League of Women Voters, Library Association, Highlands Community Club, Parent- Teacher Association. , , IUG5ILAI1DS, TJIC IHGIIEST UTORPOrtATED TOViJ CAST OF M ROCKIES. TO BE PIAYCR01D CF SODTHEAST MUSEUM OPENS AT HIGHLANDS Known as Highlands Mu seum of Natural History Sponsored by Prominent Men and Women. A biological -station Jor- researchr-in the nature of the marine biological laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass., was opened at Highlands July 4th. It is to be known as the Highlands Museum of Natural History. It will have for its purpose to collect, pre serve and make record of all flora and fauna of the region. Clark Foreman, a nephew of Clark Howell, publisher of the Atlanta Con stitution, is president of the Museum. Edward McCrady, from the Charles ton Museum, is director. ' Scientists from all parts of the United States will make Highlands their . headquarters for summer re search. Among these will be Miss Margaret Ashley of Atlanta, Ga., In dian mound expert, who has done re search work among the Indian mounds I scarcni - r r UrifversTty T6T"NortHCafolma will" like wise be in Highlands to do research at the museum. Still another scien tist who will be in Highlands is Clif ford Pope, assistant curator of the herpetology department of the Amer ican Museum of Natural History. Herpetology is that branch of zo ology which relates to reptiles, their structure, classification and habits. Mr. Pope is one of several men the American Museum of Natural History ' has, already sent to Highlands to study the species of salamanders found in that section. He has pre-, pared two phamplets on the species of salamanders he has studied. T. G. Harbison, botanist and res-1 ident of Highlands, is a member of the board of trustees. Mr. Harbison, who has discovered and described , , .., t nwiy new spcc.es u i, P..u ...c u, which Highlands is the type region and who collected data from the southeastern states for Sargent's "Manual of the Trees of North America," prepared the botanical ex hibit which was on display at the date of the museum's opening. A forestry exhibit was prepared by the forest ranger at Highlands who represents the Nantahala National Forest. A fern exhibit was prepared under 'the direction of a specialist in fern indentification. An exhibit of salamanders, including live specimens of each variety, was on display. . Thc Highlands Museum has already supplied the American Museum with 30 specimens of salamanders, all col lected in the vicinity o Highlands and shipped to Washington. "In many ways the flora and fauna here are unique," stated Mr. McCrady, director of the museum at Highlands "This section has several character istics which are only common to Ja pan and India, due to its escape from the glacial era, with the result that there have been preserved here some very old forms of flora and fauna." An aquarium has been built at the front of the museum quarters where various varieties of ferns arc to be nlanted and where frogs and fish will be reared. A new wing has been erected to the Hudson Library which houses the exhibitions of the museum and the laboratory. The back portion of the wing is taken up by the lab oratory, and will be used, among other things,' for dissecting purposes. Numerous insects, representing the various classifications, are on display in glass cases.. Charts, particularly on salamanders, have been . prepared by the president and director and arc on exhibition on the museum's walls. Finances are being provided for by the board of . trustees and the board of founders. Each member of the board of founders has donated $100 toward the work. Those who have aided materially in the plans and who are more closely connected with and interested in the museum are: Miss Margaret Rayenel, Miss Albertina Staub, Miss Edith Eskrigge, W. M; Cleaveland, T. G. Harbison, Mr. J. Jay Smith, Clark Foreman. On every Saturday afternoon the museum will be open to the public, anH it will be free for the use of members on all other days. It i-? r liigfeirini iouD(i 75.080 FISH KOI? IN HIGHLANDS POOL Speckled and Rainbow Trout Will Later be Placed in Streams In Numbers of 10.000 to Each Mile." What is reported to be the best privately owned fish nursery in North Carolina has recently been completed at Highlands at a cost of $525. It was built by the contributions ot Highlands people interested in fish conservation. . . The nursery is comprised of four troughs constructed of native lumber, and arc screen covered and -padlocked. Each trough is four and a half feet wide, by twenty-five feet long. The nursery has a capacity of 100,000 fish, and is filled to three-quarters ot its capacity, novv having 75,000 finger lings up to four inches in length in the troughs. Speckled and rainbow trout are the two varieties being reared. Within two years . time all the str3TTi!-" -hp vinnitv of , Hitrhclands win oe Kepi in ine"-rt'iii -tug -irw.M until they have reached a length of six inches, after which they will be released in schools of 10,000 to each mile of mountain, stream. Then the Highlands country will be famous for still another thing: Jt will be the fishermen's paradise of the south eastern mountains. Dr. E. R. Gilbert, one of the pro jectors of the fish nursery, points out that by releasing the frsh after they have reached a length of six inches, 75 to 85 per cent of them will live. He states that when f ingerlings are released only' 2 per cent of them reach maturity. The federal and state governments have co-operated with the Highlands citizens in building the fish nursery and in furnishing fish for rearing. The fingerlings were brought from the Balsam and Marion hatcheries in this state. J. J. Mann, county game warden, encouraged the erection of the troughs at Highlands. He explained to Dr. Gilbert what the state and federal governments would do, and the re sult was that Dr. Gilbert raised money enough in the form of sub scriptions from Highlands citizens to make possible the .nursery. King's Inn Has Formal Opening King's Inn, which Mrs. Bob King delights to call "The Old Homey Flace, held its formal opening -tor the summer season of 1928 on June 27. Approximately 150 people visited the remodeled summer hotel and ex pressed delight at the attractiveness of the building and the grounds. The living room, luxuriously fur nished, has been made three times its original size. .The size of .the din ing room, kitchvii and pantry has been doubled. Nine new rooms have been provided for in "the addition "to the building, making a total of 39 rooms in the inn, all of which have private or collecting baths. The spacious solarium is furnished with new awnings, and with antique furniture, the same brought from Charleston bv S. P. Ravenel, early Highlands settler. Mrs. King strives to furnish the best food obtainable, and takes pride in saying that King's Inn furnishes the best "eats" in West ern North Carolina. She states, fur thermore, that the beds, mattresses and springs are the best obtainable. The yard and grounds of King's Inn are unusually attractive. Moun tain azealia, in full 'bloom on the grounds, is a riot of ' color. A flower garden occupies one side of the yard, and the only four , Carolina pines i:i Highlands grow in ; front of King's Inn. Mr. and Mrs. King also own the Plaza hotel at Anderson, S. C. planned to make Highlands the center of biological summer research in the southeastern mountain section. Anv . . . . .." come to Highlands and avail hlm'j'-lf of the use w te museum s equip-, mcnt, for which there .13 no dnr;.;;. scientist is welcome and is invited loion wnicn tne course is situated Golf Course Under Construc tion to Cost Big Sum Many Prominent Men Connected With Project. Among the recent visitors at High lands are tourists who have traveled in many parts of the world, who have seen the most famous of the kjn wu 1 3v3 in aiinin.u, aim who have played on golf-courses in Switz-" crland. The oninion of at least two of these tourists is that the course at Highlands will be as pretty as any in the world, and probably the prettiest mountain course in the Unit ed States. No singlQ enterprise ever under taken at Highlands has equaled in magnitude this undertaking. An amount of money has probably never been - spent in Macon county on 'a single enterprise of any nature equal to what will eventually be spent on the golf links project at Highlands. The j sum of $600,000 was originally set as the amount to be spent, and the completion of the present work will call for the expenditure of $300, 000. Not even Asheville, the summer plavrniinnfhgastwjlj have a,, , -..,.. . , ..Ul: tng'' mgmarii:f com se,-r- .u. 1 iv- links at Highlands are destined to become known over all the states of the - Southeast - as - the - most - famous -of the mountain courses. Backed by f inancers from Dallas, Chicago, ' New Orleans, Atlanta, and by numerous local citizens of High lands, there is no lack of funds for the enterprise. As a matter of fact, one millionaire has attempted to buy the property and take over the com pletion of the work in its entirety. The , present qwners, however, have no intention of selling. The pros pects for the future are top bright to allow another to reap the results of what has already been begun. The world's oatstanding golf play ers will be in the Macon mountains around Highlands within the next few years to play on the new course. At least some of the thousands who flock to see Bobbie Jones play else where will motor to the mountains to experience the double treat of seeing him play here and of seeing the sights of the section. The stories which fill the sport paercs . of daily newspapers, featuring the feats of Jones, Ehle and Gunn, will interest more and more people as interest in golf becomes more marked in the future. Many of these future stories will have the golf links at Highlands for the setting of the sports accounts. With golf notables attracting sports writers from lead ing dailies, the Highlands country is destined to become as well known as Asheville. Riding, up the mountain road from Dillard, Ga., to Highlands, one un expectedly rounds the last curve that stands between him and the site of the lake, which is to divide nine of the eighteen greens from the other nine. The cliffs of Satulah mountain overlook the bed of the lake. Summer homes dot the sides of Satulah. To, the right and the. left the hills are rolling and thickly wooded, rising to. sharp points in the distance. The nine greens and the nine fairwav; oh either side of the lake have lit erally been changed to sodded earth from rock-strewn, laurel-matted ground, much of which has been wet -and -damn-for -tmtold '"ars and un touched bv sunlight. y Construction difficult? have been numerous. It is neces'-.ry to see a section of the matted undergrowth such as has been removed to make the long fairways in order to ai nrecnte the magnitude of the eng ineering difficulties, j; E. Root, th' rnginer in charge, reports that it has been necessary to remove an immense amount of timber, no small part of which was laurel and rho dodendron. In some sections the coursees of streams have been chang ed. Underdrains, with pipe from 10 to 24 inches in diameter, have been laid to care for the change of water courses. No difficulties, however, have stood in th way of the engineering crew. The 425 acres which compose the area 44.4 . bring put in shape as ranidly as 125 laborc' o tems of horccs, and (Continued cn jngc two)
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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July 5, 1928, edition 1
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