HE WAYNESVILLE MOUNTAINEER
Published In The County Seat of Haywood County At The Eastern Entrance
FIFTY-THIRD YEAR NO. 52
Prisoners Will Get
Sumptuous Meals
On Christmas Day
By Hilda Way Gwyn.
In a check up aDou town on how
Christmas will be observed by various
groups, a survey was made of the
prisoners in the Haywood county jail
and the state prison camp near Ha
zel wood.
In the jail are to date nineteen pris
oners, who will have all the chicken
and dumplings they want, baked sweet
potatoes, turnips, their choice of either
hot biscuits, or corn bread, and coffee.
Each will be given by Sheriff Welch,
a bag containing oranges, apples, nuts
and candies. They will be served as
usual in the seclusion ol their own
cells, on trays.
The seventy-nine prisoners at the
state prison camp will eat their
habitual caleteria style. They will
have chicken and dressing, baked
yams, hot biscuits, apple pie, and
coffee. At each place will be an or
ange, apple, banana, and some candy ,
which with the exception ol the
banana, supplied by Dr. S. L. String
field, is a gift from the state.
But the question naturally arises,
what will the families of these men
sit down to on Christmas Day ? Wiii
they have all they want of chicken
and dumplings? Many of these men
are heads of families and fathers of
little children and before their impris
onment, the sole support of their
dependents.
It brings up the ever old problem
that has faced mankind always iJ'
only the sinner suffered in ninety
eight homes there will bp a vacant
place, and the vacancy will represent
for those at home a heart ache.
What Price Crime?
Mrs. Florence Mays
Buried Thursday
Morning at Crabtree
Last rites were conducted on Thurs
day morning at 11 o'clock at the Crab
tree Chapel for Mrs. Florence Mc
Cracken Mays, 67, who died on Tues
day night at 8:45. The pastor of the
chapel, the Rev. A.F. Phibbs, assisted
by the Rev. R. P. McCracken, of Clyde,
officiated. Burial was in the cemetery
nearby.
The nephews of Mrs. Mays served
as pallbearers.
Mrs. Mays died at the home of her
sister, Mrs. D. R. McCracken, in the
Crabtree township, with whom she had
resided since the death of her hus
band, Fletcher R. Mays, of Moores
ville, a number of years ago.
Mrs. Mays has a wide family con
nection in the county. Immediate
members of her family surviving are:
three sisters, Miss Belle McCracken,
ti Crabtree, Mrs. Jerry R. Leather
wood and - Mrs. Glenn A. Boyd, of
Waynesville, and one brother, Weaver
U. McCracken.
360 License Tags
Sold In Waynesville
J. Dale Stentz is urging all motor
ists to get their motor license. To
date there' have been sold around
360, while it is estimated that there
will be between 1500 and 2000 sold in
this section.
There are only five more selling
days, and after the last day of De
cember there will be, a heavy fine im
posed on any driver who has not se
cured his 1938 license. There will be
no extension of time, so everybody
who drives is urged to attend to this
purchase at once. ;
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT
Mr. and Mrs. M. H. Bowles an
nounce the birth of a daughter, Flor
ence Ann, on December the 21st, in
Irwinton, Ga.
jl (Copyright
Difficulty Encountered In
Establishing Christmas Date
(Editor's not This is the talk
given by Rev. J. H. Higgin, Jr., at
the Waynesville Rotary Club Thurs
day.) There is no need to mention, of
course, why we celebrate Christmas.
The word means mass, or church fes
tival, of Christ, and at that season we
celebrate the birth of our Lord. But
perhaps we are not generally ac
quainted with the origin of certain
features of the celebration.
For one thing it is interesting to
observe that it .was centuries after
the birth of Christ before the Chris
tian church finally settled on a date on
which to celebrate the anniversary ol
Jesus' birth. For a long while the
6th of January was widely used. The
25th of March was thought by some
to be the proper time. Finally, about
the beginning of the fifth century,
the 25th of December was settled upon
and has been used ever since. No
body knows, of course, the actual date
of the birth of Jesus; nor indeed it is
a matter of any significance.
Strangely enough, December 25th
was settled upon because it was the
date for certain heathen festivals,
WAYNESVILLE, N. C, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1937
MAni tljr angrl raft rnttn tljrm.
3mv not:
3far brljnlit, 3 bring tpjutt&tttgn uf great
jag, wljtrlj filiall bp to all pruulp."
UL YEAR LONG, year in and year
I out, this, your newspaper, brings you the
y M tidings of the world. Not all of them
are joyful, certainly none so glorious as the Christmas
story Which St. Luke announced 2,000 years ago in
the glowing words of promise above. Hut .most of
them are important to you, and all of them are as
honestly reported and fearlessly, fairly presented as
your newspaper'6 conviction of its obligation to serve
all the people can make them.
& Fear not, in this world of ominous change and
strife, when your newspaper, because it is an American
newspaper, ca dedicate itself unhampered to a life
of truthfulness, education, moral and civic leadership.
Fear not for the world when its people can and do
still forget their petty selfishnesses in the Christmas
spirit of fellowship and giving.
There is no other news we bring you that fills
our own hearts with gladness as the tidings of another
Christmas till them. And so, a Merry Christmas to
you all, and may the love and peace and hope of the
Great Birthday mellow your cares throughout thcyear.
and had been so long before the birth
of Christ. The Romans had their
"Saturnatit, and the people of North
ern Europe their "Yule." They were
both nature festivals, celebrating the
winter solstice when comes the turn
ing point in winter, and the sun be
gins to climb back toward the zenith,
overcoming the bitterness of winter
with his warmth and bringing a prom
ise of spring and summer. They
were very joyous festivals, the Sat
urnalia lasting for seven days, be
ginning December 17th. The Romans
gave presents' and burned candles,
and among the Northern people there
flourished the custom of lighting a
huge log in the homes of the wealthy
with appropriate ceremonies.
The adoption of December 25th as
Christmas Day by the church was a
piece of sheer strategy. Since a fes
tival celebrated on that day was al
ready intrenched in the minds and
customs of the people, the church
simply took over the old festival,
completely altering it in purpose and
significance. No longer was it nat
ural joy at the conquest of the sun
(Continued on page 2)
of The Great Smokv Mountains National Park
L Cuhr 2:111
aljp PubliBljrrB
Regular Paper To
Be Published On
Wednesday Night
The Mountaineer will be back on
schedule next week, going to press
at Wednesday noon, as usual.
This special issue was published in
order to carry a number of special
Christmas features as well as the
large number of season's greetings.
But next week, the publication
dates will be back normal.
Christmas Tree
Held At Tannery
Santa Claus distributed 640 bags,
containing oranges,: candy and nuts,
to the employees and their children
of the Junaluska Tannery last night.
This was the 14th annual Christ
mas tree event staged by the Tannery
for their workers and children. The
plant will close at noon today for
the Christmas holidays. The men
are paid for Christmas Day, a custom
which has been followed since the
Tannery was started 54 years ago.
$1.50 IN ADVANCE IN COUNTY
Many Trees Fixed
With Christmas
Lights This Year
Among the many decoratives fea
tures of Christmas observance about
town, which are adding their bit to
the general festive atmosphere, are
the uttntctive outdoor trees, which
are annually increasing in number.
They give not only the local resi
dents a cheerful feeling after dark,
with their colorful symbol of Yule
tide, but also the motorist far from
home, who is passing this way, is
cheered.
Particularly effective are the trees
on the lawns which are located on
hillsides and can be seen some dis
tance, us is the case of several about
town.
It is a' very beautiful custom, for
the owners of homes to share then
Christmas with others, and should be
encouraged, as the Woman's Club is
doing in their contest which is held
each year for the most attractive tree.
Also adding a note with deep sig
nificance is the wreath which is given
each year by Father Howard V. Ume,
and is hung across the street near the
post' office.
Annual Community
Christmas Tree
Will Be Held Here
The annual community Christmas
tree, which is sponsored annually by
the Woman's Club, and to which the
Rotary Club, the town uldemicn and
other interested citizens contribute,
will be held on Christmas afternoon ul
4 o'clock on the lawn ot the court
house. Oscar Uriggs has supervision
of the erection of the large tree which
is placed each year on the mam walk
on the court house grounds..
A brief program consisting of
Christmas carols will be the only fea
ture, outside of the distribution of
of the gifts, and candy and lnut bags.
In charge of the last will be Mrs. Dan
Watkins, the president of the club, and
lh following committee: Mrs. Frank
Ferguson, Mrs. John M. Queen, Mrs.
J. C. Drown, and Mrs. James W.Kil
lian. To Give Driver's
License Test Here
Since the legislation was passed
demanding that all drivers of motor
cars or trucks, hold a state drivers'
license and the abolishing of the first
method of passing an examination
before a member of the State High
way patrol, all persons in this com
munity have had to go to Ashevillc to
take the examination.
Announcement has been made this
week, that beginning on Monday there
will be a state representative, who
will pass applicants on each Monday
morning at the town hall, from 11
o'clock to 1 o'clock, The fee for a
drivers' license is one dollar.
It has been necessary since the en
actment of the legislation in 1935 for
all drivers to hold a driver's license.
Marriage Licenses
Doyel Pressley to Parthena Gibson,
both of Canton.
Bill Rose, of Waynesville, to Velma
Hannah, of Cove Creek.
Wm. Glenn Griffin, of Canton, to
Fay Rogers, of Enka.
Jim Southerland to Annie Mae Bur
gess, both of Clyde, Route 1.
Winf red Wright, of Hazelwood, to
Myrtle Middleton, of Balsam.
Dave Shipman, of Canton, to Sallie
Hall, of Asheville.
The offices at the court house will
be closed at noon today. Usual hours
will be resumed Monday morning.
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