1
m .... Mi
41
'(7 i
17 Teals Over 5,C:3
Vtzt Higlr,
'IJ.;al Dairy - County ",
Creamery, Cannery
Excellent Highways
Cheap v Electric Power
for Industries
, Law-abiding Citizenship
'I
VOLUME XL1V
n
I
2i
TV
11 in
Clanaged by , Woman .'and In Fifteen Years Has Made
Remarbable Progress" Lands Grow Two and Three
Crops Each Year Macon County Farmers Should See
. Osborne Farm. . i
A trip, to the Osborne dairy farm
four miles up the Pigeon river from
Canton- is 'one that every Macon
county farmer should make. This
farm h owned by Arthur Osborne
and his sisters, Misses Lou and
Florence. Miss. Florence is general
manager of the farm and always has
the hundreds' of details of manage
ment at , her finger tips. . The farm
in question has been in the possession
of the Osborne family since 1784 when
an immense tract of land was con
veyed to Ephrim Osborne, grand-
, father of the present owners. An
ancestor, William" Fitz Osborne," com
manded half of the army of William
tthe Conquor in the battle of Hastings,
1066y when Harold, , the last' of the
Saxon : kmgs wa$ "defeated - As ::a
. reward for his ' services in that battle
William Fitz Osborne was made Earl
of Hartford and was given the isle
of Wight by the Conqueror. -
. (' Thf hietnrv' rf . tlio. Oehnrfio fnmiv
since the Battle 'of ; Hastings shows
lhat the family possessed to avsuper.
Catiye degree the spirit of the pioneer.
The family was one of , the ' first to
Cnter what is -now Haywood county
t When the-Osbornes first settled on
Oe! Pigeon river the entire valley was
covered with immense walnut trees.
Here Ephrim Osborn cleared the
present farm. . For years it "is said
that the farm was managed as other
larrns in the community. ' The land
was rich and , produced an abundance
for; the family needs... As the year's
foiled on with little or no attention
aid to the upkeep of the soil the
present owners irt 1924 found them
selves with a "run "down?, farm.- In
1310, however, the Osbornes' started
dairying; " in ta'Sntalfaythwo
or inree cows or tne grade variety.
la 1914 Miss Florence Osborne came
to ? the conclusion that grade cows
were not so profitabla At that time
they had 13 head of cattle on the
place. .These were replaced with! a
lew thoroughbred " Guernseys. .
For the past fifteen yeara Miss
' Florence Osborne has devoted her
attention to the improvement and
enlargement of her herd of thorough
breds. She now has more than
eighty thoroughbred Guernseys on
the . place. Among, these is Eliza
Gale',; state champion last year.' An-
vuiyiiu ijvpuic. V' J.1I19 UJW g4VC ,UUU
'' pounds of milk1 last March. Last
year four cows of the Osborne herd
produced 2,000 gallons -of milk. Near
ly all of the cows make m6re than
400 pounds of butter fat each year.
Last year Eliza Gale's record was
795 1-2 pounds of butter fat. "Would
,vou sell anV of voiir hptt- nwt?"
Miss Florence was asked.' She only
smiled, but it was easy' to see that
her. -Dest cows are not for sale at
any price The champions she owns
were, raised on the Osborne farm,
and, not purchased. Cosnequently
Miss 'Florence is justly proud of her
efforts along this line Her success
in the dairying business while out of
the ordinary has been due to many
experiments, hard , work and the ap
plication of good, hard, common sense.
She believes that what , she has done
others can do.: : ; : r r
. There are only seventy-five acres
in cultivation on the Osboren farm.
In 19J4 the farm had practically
ceased ' to produce ordinary crops.
Quite a bit of the bottom land was
' in swamps. Miss Osborne then pro
ceeded to drain the swamps and ' to
build fences and cross fences. To
produce food for . her . thoroughbred
Guernseys, she saw that the soil must
be improved. Consequently, no little
time and attention has been . devoted
to this phase of her activities. First
of all it became ' apparent that the
one crop system where two" or three
could be grown was a losing propo
sition. Now the Osborne farm pro
duces each twelve months two or
three crops three always if several
weeks', of grazing be " considered a
crop. The manure from the barns is
spread on green crops, suh as barley,
vetch and alfalfa, each . fall. In this
way no leaching process takes place
, and the crops and lands get an im
mediate and 100 Dercent benefit from
the fertilizer. For the past several
years not one pound of commercial
fertilizer has been used on the Os
borne, farm. Each fall small grains
are sowed. When crops are a few
inches: high cattle are permitted to
trraze thereon for several weeks.'
Then the cows are removed and the
crops ; are , permited to grow until
spring when they are cut for hay.
. Immediately thereafter corn, and other
spring crops are planted. ' For fif
teen years the; same 10-acre field has
been planted in corn and each year
t'-.e corn becomes HttT In f?ct
f i r f M ? x ' f' - ; -
Tlf i L
7
i 'X k iff f; .
' . ,
are produced each year. . On eight
acres of sweet clover Miss Osborne
pastured " forty cows- one . surrtmer
Not a. square foot of tillable land
on the Osborne farm ' is allowed, to
lie idle for one day in the year.
Fromi the 75 acres .in "cultivation
enough roughage is grown to feed
the 80 odd head of cattle. ' For the
grain component of the ration Miss
Osborne . formerly mixed the feed ; at
home,, but now she is using commer
cially . prepared feed sacked by the
Purina? company. Among the interesting-crops
found . growing on the
place was . a - field or. two of .alfalfa.
This crop is cut three, or four times
per year and will average about four
tons per year to the acre., . ! :t ;
As a sideline Miss Osborne raises
white , leghorn chickens. ,She ; now
has 400 hens . and 1300 baby , chicks.
The baby chicks were bought from a
hatchery .i and ' are,;; beeing reared in
brooder, houses by means of the Sim
nlex automatic oil burninqr. brooders.
This year Miss Osborne is starting
out witn , saver toxes as anotner siae
line. Fur farming has. become quite
a - business , in Canada and - in the
northwestern ; part of this . country.
She also has " mink. '
On the Osborne farm arc a number
of hogs and sheep, the sheen vbeing
kept to clear the pastures of weeds
The writer also noticed a percheron
horse and colt.- - Also fine white
collie dog& -
Now to sunt tip: Fifteen -years ago
Miss "Osborne started, : with a run
down, farm.; Scores of farms better
than the Osborne - farm fifteen years
ago can be found in Macon county
to-day. '? But there is not a farm in
this ";; county r tQ-day , thai: -t can.equall
the present; Usborne farm, .trom the
producing standpoint probably no farm
in Western North 'Carolina will yield
as much, acre for , acre, as Jhc farm
managed by a woman over on the
Pigeon river. From the proceeds
of this farm two immense barns and.
three; silos have been constructed
The farm has been drained" and
fenced and from 13 head of grade
cattle the herd has been increased
to more than eighty thoroughbreds
all within : the span of , fifteen years.
As, an object lesson every farmer in
Macon' county should visit the 'Os
borne farm There they can learn
something of the 1 ins and outs , of.
dairying, but above all they, can learn
.how to build up the soil so that one
acre will produce more than five acres
yield at present. '. .... ,
On the trip ' over to Haywood, sev
eral Macon, county farmers and two
or three men from Franklin went
along. Among those making the
trip were W. R. Higdon, G. W. Dow
dle, Hal Slagle. J. C, Higdon, Fred
erick Sloan, George Crawford, Rob
ert ' Enloe, Jim Gray and two small
sons, George and Fred, Sam Franks,
and S. A. Harris. While there
George Crawford bought a thorough
bred bull calf and brought it home in
a car. The calf was only a few
days old and - cost George 25 good
American" dollars. Had this calf
been of the common scrub variety
usually found in Macon county a
blow in the head with an axe would
have been ' its . fate. It costs no
more to rear and feed a thorough
bred than a scrub and just why" the
otherwise intelligent . citizenship of
Macon county persists in raising scrub
live stock in preference to thorough
breds is a matter that was more or
less discussed on the trip to Haywood
and return. The general idea seemed
to prevail that it is a matter of
expense in getting a start with the
thoroughbreds. It was . suggested by
one prominent farmer making the
trip that all scrub cattle be sold and
the money invested in a lesser num
ber of thoroughbreds.
Train Schedule Changed
Taking effect on the 28th day of
April the Tallulah Falls railway an
nounced a change of, schedule. The
train now arrives at 1:00 P. M. and
leaves at 2:00 P. M. The running
time between , Cornelia and Franklin
has been reduced by ten minutes and
between . Franklin and , , Cornelia by
fifteen minutes. ' " .
Thad Watts Dead
. Mr. Thad Watts died at his home
at Teresita on April 26, 1929 and
was buried April 27 at Gillispie's
Chapel,' his home church. ' -
Heart trouble is said to have been
the chief cause of his death.
f Mr. Watts was a good citizen, a
good husband and father and leaves
t'1--H a wife,- several c!.s!iren and
r- - - 1 - ' 1 ... ,., r.
V
FRANKLIN, N. C.THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1329.
n n
In. Effect Denies That He
Promised Porter Not to
Vote For Billings Inti
mates That Election of
School Supt. is Function
of Board of Education.
V In reply to the letter of Mr. J. A.
Porter published in last week's Press
in which Mr. Porter accused the new
member of the board of education
of failure to carry out their promises
to him not to vote for M. D. Billings
as county "Superintendent of Schools,
Mr.. Dean, one ' of the men so ac
cused, discloses his vote. In effect
Mr. Dean denies that he made any
such promise" but admits voting for
Coggins rather than Billings. How
ever, after Billings recerved a majori
ty of the votes Mr.-Dean moved to
make - the election unamioous. Mr.
Dean further states: "It seems that
Mr. Porter tries to leave the im
pression that the new members of the
board of education are charter memr
bers of the Annias Club." In closing
his- communication Mr' Dean inti
mates that the election of a superin
tendent v of . schools is a function of
the board of education. : Mr Dean
also asks a few questions concerning
Mr. Porter's record in the last gen:
eral assembly. ; . '
The leter of Mr. Dean follows: .
Editor Press : -
.It seems that Mr! Porter tries to
leave the impression 1 thp.t . the new
members -oft" the - bdUdf "uOCaTiUa
are charter members of , 'the Annias
Club.
I had a short talk with Mr. Porter
just before he left for, Raleigh.
r He said since the Republican con
vention, had indorsed' me for a mem
ber of the board, he aimed to ap
point me as be believed the minority
party ought to have representatives on
the board. He also asked how I
would vote for County Superintendent
of Schools. I told him I would vote
for T. J. Johnston. He seemed to
think Tom would make a good one
and he thought we could get, him for
about $1800 per annum, .
.So on April the 16th the board met
to elect a superintendent. Mr.Johns
ton was not an applicant. The elec
tion was " by ballot . Mr Billings
received a majority of the votes cast.
I voted for Dr. J. C. Coggins. I
had become acquainted with him. He
had been in my home, I had heard
him preach.. . He seemed to be a
highly educated christian gentleman,
well recommended , and seemed well
qualified to fill the office.
We need more , christian workers
in our county, especially men who
will magnify the christian religion
in precept and example. Since there
seems to be a spirit of modernism
pervading our state schools.
I can't concieve of the idea that
the few Jews and Catholics in our
state should exclude the bible from
our schools.
Teach it not sectarianism, but
Christianity. Let Luke be read and
reported .on instead of some ficticious
love story.
So when the vote was announced,
I moved that wc make the election of
Mr. Billings unaminous. Motion
carried.
Mr Porter asked me the result
of the election soon after we ad
journed. I told h!m. " He wanted
to know how we all voted. I told
him how I voted but not how any
one else voted.
The board took the oath of office
which, I suppose we all regard as
a sacred thing. I suppose it is or
should be our sincere desire to bet
ter the schools of Macon county.
The board is composed of honorable
and influential men (myself excepted).
We want to do (he right ; thing5 if
we know it, and solicit the coopera
tion of all friends to public education.
Life is made up of successes and
disappointments. ' . ,
Some of us thought the legislature
would repeal ? the obnoxious absentee
ballot voting law,v close the filling
stations and stores (except drug
stores) on Sunday. '
A good many voters of the opposite
party from Mr. Porter voted for
him thinking he would at least carry
out the platform. ;
The question arises, did he try, or
did he vote with the dominant fac
tion of his party who tried to defeat
nearly all propositions proposed by
members of the minority party local
or otherwise? ' "-
(Q)tD
LjLiLi
DEAN REP1JE3
TO i A. PORTER
r-, Mr ?
r1 j n -pz
VS?. LI
DOLLARS IN GOLD
Macon County Chapter U.
D. C. "Brings Home the
Bacon' ,
The annual meeting of the First
District of the United Daughters of
the Confederacy was held at Black
Mountain Saturday, April 27.
The following delegates from our
local chapter attended:
Mrs. , S. L. Rogers, Mrs. F. L.
Siler, Mrs. Lyman Higdon, Mrs. Carl
Slagle, Mrs. W. C. Cunningham, Miss
May, Beryl Moody.
A prize of ten dollars in gold was
offered by the District Director, Mrs.
David Hall of Sylva, for the largest
attendance from any chapter, the size
of the chapter and mileage consid
ered. Our Macon County chapter
won on both counts and was pre
sented with the prize by Miss Dula
of Old Fort. . "The Baby Chapter"
as our chapter is called, being the
youngest in this district received the
congratulations from the 20 or more
delegates assembled.
. Mrs. McKee of. Sylva, the state
president gave a splendid address.
Luncheon was served by the Black
Mountain chapter, after which a pa
per on Fort Fisher , was read by a
lady from Wilmington. - ,
The U. D. C. of North Carolina
will within the next four, years, raise
five thousand dollars to commemorate
bravq old. Fort Fisher,: the very, last
of the Confederate forts to fall !
The. women of the South bore the
burden' of .the. war !, .' ;The women of
our " gallarit "men' of the'" sixties. -It
has been said that the U. D. C keep
alive sectional feelings.
Any one ' thinking this should have
seen the . decorations at-, the beautiful
high school , building at Old. Fort.
There were a dozen flags of the
"Stars and Stripes" to one , of the
"Stars and Bars." .
The Macon county delegates were
given little flags of the Stars and
Bars as souviners to wear home.
Our chapter announced our Cen
tennial celebration for June 15th and
invited every chapter in the District
to attend. , .
Five dollars of our prize will be
kept in the treasury as a "golden
nest egg." The other five, will be
used . to pay . for planting rooted
flowers along the bus route, that
come again from roots each year.
In this way, the largest number will
benefit or enjoy our prize money.
A list of those giving plants for
our bus route from the eastern city
limits to the Ga. line will be found
under "Centennial Notes."
Boys Arrested
Frank Carver and Will Elmore, two
boys about 17 years of age, were
arrested Monday at - Sylva by! the
sheriff, of Jackson county. The boys
had received permission from the
Perry-Jones Chevrolet company to try
out a car that the company had for
sale. The boys remained away for
three or four hours and Mr. Perry
finally became uneasy about the car
and telephoned to Sylva. Mr. Perry
went to Sylva and after receiving an
explanation from the boys he became
convinced that they did not intend
to steal the car Consequently, he
requested the sheriff to release them
which he did.
In Memory
Mr. Sarah Ann McPherton
Sarah. Ann Angel McPherson was
born February 19, 1854 and died
April 16, 1929. ,She was 75 years, 1
month, 28 days of age She was
married to R. H McPherson No
vember" 23, 1876. She joined the
Presbyterian church when but a girl
and lived a christian life until her
death. - She , leaves to mourn her
death one brother, two sisters, one
son, one daughter and a host of
friends. ; ,
antagonize Mr. Porter, just asking
questions." " '
As a general thing members of
the legislature arc kept so busy ex
plaining away their sins of ommission
and commission, that they don't have
time to. participate too freely in the
election of County Superintendents,
but leave it up' to the boards of
education. v
With kindest jregards for all con
cerned, I am
"" ' Your truly, -
TEN
Copper; Ti.. :r- J
Precious . ,-.J .c . i-
Mica, Ivat!'., UlfciU., J
' precious Gems . , I
Abundance Good LaLc t
Ample Transjsortatica
Facilities
Pure, Clear Water
Productive , Soils
NUMBER EIGHTEEN
VETERANSTO BE
H0H0RE9GUESTS
At Macon County Centennial
. on june lain, miornsj;
and Mrs. T. J. Johnston
To Entertain the "Soldiers
In Gray."
Plans for the Ccnjtennial , are jr
ing features of the celebration wwl
be a general roll call of the oil
Confederate -Veterans who will be, t
guests of Attorney and Mrs.. T J.f
Johnston. According to the record,
u 111c tuuri nuuse incre are omj.
eighteen of the old , soldiers alive Aa,
Macon county. Perhaps there is an
error in the list. If so the ccm-"
mittee in charge of arrangemeifr
requests that the list be revised. : u
there,are vererans whose names do
not appear, below, their names shoutl
be sent to Mrs. F. h. Siler at Frank-
lin. The survivors of the Lost'
Cause are dear to the people of Ma
con county and the entire county will
take delight in paying them homage
on 'June 15th. The list of survivors
John N. ' Arnold, : Company K. 9th; ,
J. C. Bates, Company B. 39th ; JL
A. Bates, Company B. , 39th; John L.
Cabe, Company I. 39th ; J. L. Conlej,
Company E. 6th ; : J. H. Deweesei
Company . K. 9th ; W- M.;, Gregort,
Company X 6th; R. H. Hall, Con
pany A 65th; Jefferson Martin, Com
pany K 29th ; W.. C. Mason, Company.
ry's) Thomas Legion ;'T;.W.. Rhodes
Company B.: 39th;' A. ?.. M. Shopc,
Company D. 62nd ; James, Stockton,
Company I. Thomas's Legion; J. T.
Winstead, Company I. 39th William
E.; Roper, Company' JB.. 16th; W. V.
Haney, Company B. 39th. H
Centennial Notes
All the old veterans do not tatb
The Press.
The U. D. C. is hereby asking
anyone living nearest these veteratts
to please inform them of the plass.
for June 15th.
We are trying as near as possible
to get our bus route in bloom by thlt
date. The unsightly . spots are beins'
planted in flowers that will come
again and also multiply each' year
from roots "raw." Banks are betes,
planted in vines. ' .
The following ladies have given such
as. Pink Rambler and Iris plants.
Zinnia seed,, Mrs. Tom Slagl
Thousand Mile Vine, Mrs. Joe Sefr
ser; Iris, purple and gold, Giant
Qnnmn Pm Vin Mro Cart CUade?
Iris, Golden Glow, Zinnia seed, Mrs.
Henry Slagle; Lemon Lily, Sevea.
Sister rose vines, Mrs. Fannie Siler;
Cottage Lily, Pink Rambler, Dusty
Miller, Mrs. F. L. Siler; Cosmc
plants. Miss Lily Rankin; Cherokee
Rambler, Iris, Mrs. Will Cunninghara;
Iris, Zinnia seed, Mrs. Moody; Caa
nas, Mrs. George Slagle.
Anyone having plants for the bus
lin nlpasp' nntifv Mrs. Will Cunninff-
ham at her store, v
All of the merchants in town harp
donated flower seed for - the. nigi
way. The State Highway Com..
mission has given us permission to
plant anything on the highway rigtt
of wav and are glad we are intei
ested in beautifying same.
DROVE FIRST WAGON
TO MACUN UUUN 1 1
The late George Carson, grand
father, of Mrs. J P. Conley, is said
to have driven the first wago
brought to the county by the white
men His descendants do not know
the route over which the wagon was
driven, but front ; all reports, 'Mr.
Conley experienced considerable dif
ficulty in Retting the ' wagon across
the mountains. In those early days
only Indian frails crossed, the Coweos
and the Nantahrlas. ' -
North Skeenah News
Mr. E. L. Dehart is slowly inrj,
proving. "
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Blaine was
in this section Saturday and Suar,
day.
Miss Vernor Lc'ford was the gu"'.
of Miss Bertha Carpenter Saturd .
Mr, E. B. Dehart was in t
section .Saturday. zv.A S""
Mrs. Anna Lr!ford v3? 1
r.-r