THE WAYNESVILLE MOUNTAINEER ?7
taynesville 50 Years Ago
as 'RiP Van Winkle' Town
( years is a long time in the
,nv man and especially does
] like a long time to those
?ho are still in our teens,
ould turn back the pages of 1
for 50 years our county ,
look pretty primitive to all
years ago there were no
oads in our entire county,
s and mule teams were a
sight on the few muddy
hich led from our coves to
ns and villages. The tele
and electric lights in use
> counted on one's fingers,
as no such thing as a con
I school, and school buses
known. The one-teacher
nth a four-month school
; about all our county af
i the way of elementary
iral people depended al
irely for a cash crop on
pittance received from
bacco. and the little truck
i produce and get to mar
ig the summer season,
ind fishing provided about
recreation known to most
?ai people, while the peo
ynesville looked forward
ner to the little influx of
ho came in on the train,
their trunks and found
odging on Eagle's Nest
ur Springs.
the lack of adequate
i entire section of our
e was almost isolated
rest of the state duringti
WINNER of a speaking contest
sponsored by the North Carolina
Bankers Association at Waynes
ville High School Tuesday was
George Williamson, sophomore
at WTIIS. who will compete
against other Western Carolina
high school students at a group
contest in Asheville next Wed
nesday. (Mountaineer I'hoto).
the long and cold winter months.
Fifty-two years ago the First Na
tional Bank of Waynesville opened
its doors for business, but it is a
well known fact that there was lit
tle business. If Rip Van Winkle
had chosen to take a nap anywhere
in Waynesville 50 years ago. and
uday would open his eyes he
would see some strange and un- j
believable sights. First of' all he
would be scared to try to cross
one of our busy streets lest he be
run over by one of the many horse
less carriages which run up and
down our paved streets.
If he chose to take a walk down
Main Street after dark he would
find that he no longer needed to
carry his lan rn .lest he stumble
and fall in mud hole, for our
modern white way would illumine
his path all the way from the Gor-!
don Hotel to the Baptist Church
He would not even need his trusted
muzzle-loader to protect him
against wild animals should he ven
ture as far as Maggie or Soeo Gop.
Should his stroll take him to
ward Hazelwood he would be amaz
ed to see under construction one
of the most modern school build-.
| ings of our time; and should he
pass Wayriesvllle High School at
3 o'clock in the afternoon. he
would think that everyone in the
county had become young again as
he would see 1500 boys and girls
all piling out of the building after
the day's classes are over. And what
would he think when the shifts
change at Dayton Rubber or the
employees of L'nagusta and the
Tannery come out of the factories
afttr the day's work?
If he should go to Canton, he
would rub his eyes in wonder as
he saw the smoke and fumes boil
ing out of the great stacks of the
; Champion Paper and Fibre plant,
and when he would be told that
this great industry alone employed
nearly 3.000 people and that it
grossed over $13,000,000 per year,
he would be moved to exclaim, "I
1 must have had quite a nap".
But this is not all. Poor Rio of i
Sleepy ltollw fame must take a
trip to Crabtree, Iron Duff, and
fines Creek?he must go to White |
Oak and Jonathan Creek?he must
: go to Soco Valley?to Saunook and
Balsam he must go to Aliens
Creek and to Francis Cove ? to:
Bethel and Cruso ? to RatelifTe
Cove, to Henson Cove, to Hominy
and Thirkety?and in all of these
rural areas he will see what the
Community Development Program
has done within recent years.
He will see modern school build
ings and beautiful churches, paved
highways and attractive homes all
lighted by electricity and many of
them with telephones, radio and
television sets. Everywhere he goes
he will see farms well cultivated
by modern tractor-drawn machin-!
ery. dairy barns and feeder barns, i
In the lush meadows and on our
mountain sides he will see great
herds of dairy cows and beef cat
tle grazing contentedly.
He will soon learn that for the
farmer this means a cash income
which would stagger his imagina
tion. He \tould also iearn that ;
whereas 50 years ago a farmer
grew 20 bushels of corn to the acre 1
that now in our county it is not
unusual for a farmer to grow 100
bushels of hybrid corn to the acre
He would see curing barns packed
full of the finest burley tobacco
that can be grown anywhere and
he would learn that a farmer last
year received $1,400 for one acre
of tobacco.
Should he become weary from
his journey and choose to spend
the night in the home of one of our
farmers, he would be awakened in
the early morning by the crowing
of a chanticleer as he heralded the
dawn of a new day. And at the
breakfast table bis host would tell
him that he gathered from his flock
of New Hampshire Reds the day
before 1500 hatching eggs, which
would be picked up that day by a
mobile truck and taken to a large
hatchery where the baby chicks
would in nine weeks time be pro
cessed into 2'j-pound broilers for
the tables of city dwellers in all
parts of the country.
Should he take a walk around
the house after breakfast, instead
of seeing the old time apple house.
VISIT NEWSPAPER PLANT?Members of the Bethel high school
journalism club visited The Mountaineer office Wednesday, and
saw first hand how a newspaper is assembled, edited, set into type,
and printed The students were shown every phase of news gath
ering from reporting to photograph- . setting of type, engraving
pictures and press room activities. Here the group is shown gath
ered around one of the Linotype machines in the composing room.
The operator of the complicated machine is Charles Miller. Cook
ing on from left to right, standing: Nicholas Ronarrigo, instructor.
Holihie Jean Blaylock. I'atricia Teague, .ludv Welch. Ila/el llenson.
Helen Ledbetter, Catherine llonaldson. Nancy Davis, and kneel
ing. Edith Fressley and Barbara Rogers. Absent when the picture
was made was Rillie Joe Davis.
(Mountaineer I'hoto).
he would see ;i huge building with
electric refrigeration and 30.000
bushels of choice Stayman. Home
Beauty, and Guide it Delicious ap
ples attractively crated and ready
for market at $4 and $5 per bushel.
Then turning to his host, tie
would say, ' Well now I recollect
w hen we used to load our apples in
a covered wagon and drive across j
Wagon Koad Gap way down into
South Carolina, going sometimes'
as far as Charleston and peddle out
apples for 33 cents a bushel. After
about two weeks we would conic
back with a little sugar and coffee
and some prints to be made into
clothes for the children. I never
thought I would live to see this!
day. Thanks for bedding me down
over night and now I ntust be on!
my way."
Finally old Rip makes his way
back to Waynesville and into the
First National Bank where his gen-j
ial host is none other than Mr. i
Jonathan Woody, a native of Hay
wood County who grew up as a
boy at Cataloochee Mr. Woody
takes time out to sit down and dis
cuss the affairs of the day with
this aged man who has so recent
ly awakened from his 50 years of j
peaceful slumber and in his talk
he reveals how that 37,000 happy
people live in our county, which
having been richly endowed by our!
| Creator with a wonderful climate!
and magnificent scenery, now at
tracts thousands of tourists from
all sections of our great land each
summer season.
lie tells him of plans which are
under way for the building of a i
great recreational center where
not only our local people can have
year-round recreation, but where
our tourists can come and play.
More and more we are attracting
industries which added to those
which have developed during the
past 50 years will enable Haywood
County to continue to be the rich
est and most prosperous county in
all of Western North Carolina.
You should see our Chamber of
' Commerce and our many civic
clubs and organizations which, with
' justifiable pride, make their con
tribulions to cultural life. Our
churches are modern and provide
a well-rounded religious program
for all of out people.
Before you leave our county. I
want you to visit our library and
1 want you to see the Bookmobile
as it leaves for its rounds among
our rural people, and then go out
to our Country Club and view one
of the most beautiful golf bourses
in all of the state.
We are proud of the progress we
have made during the past 50;
years and if you will take time to
read at: your leisure this last bank
statement showing a total deposit
of $(> million contrasted to the $100
thousand SO years ago you will see
that we too are proud of our
economic resources.
We salute Haywood County ?
we glory in the accomplishments
of the past half century, and
should you bp passing this way in
the year 2004 drop in and we will
tell you of how we have moved
forward with the passing of each
decade and of how Haywood Coun
ty riierits with justifiable pride the
rating of the No. 1 county in the
Tar Heel State.
I'se the Want Ads for results
City Hall Falling Down?!
TUCSON, Ariz, i A I" Old-time
winkers in the City- Mali are a lit-:
tie stunned by what the man who |
supervised its construct bin has to]
say. Architect. M. It. Starkweather
'said the building went up accord
ing to faulty plans lie said it was
unsound from the day it was built.
That was in 1017
"It was falling to pieces then,"
Starkweather added.
Meanwhile, City Hall workers
| tread lightly.
j There were about 1,553.000 mar
' i iages In the United States in 1053.
Jrown Shoes
\ren't Proper
A^ith Everything
Lots of men harbor a mistaken
(tea that brown shoes go with
verything. 'Taint so!
The current fashion for suits of
ight navy in flannels and tropical
vcights for spring and summer
scar is a case in point. The man
vho wears them with his neatly
lolishcd shoes of tan or brown is
?ompletely otT base. Black shoes,
f you like blue suits, even if it
neans an extra pair. And the new
:iavy shoe is permissible, also.
Other don'ts include the wearing
>f real loafers for business as well
as sports. Slip-ons, yes. Loafers in
the accepted sense, no.
In other words, elaborate buckle
treatments, tassels, handstitehing
in rugged leisure types are dis
tinctly otr base with your neatly
tailored office suit If you like the
comfort of the laceless slip-on
shoe this spring there are dozens
of smart correct patterns to choose
from.
These are styled like orthodox
dress shoe fashions with the added
attraction of trim look, no lacing
bother. Popular fashions include
the plain tip, the U vamp and even
in some cases the straight and wing
tip. They are usually high on the
instep, with elasticized goring with
no trim.
ECONOMY SIZE LARGE SIZE
only only
52c 24?
With COUPON On Pane <>
FARMERS
EXCHANGE
Asheville Koad
Sea Island
COOL COMFORT
All day long and into the balmV hours of eevning
the SEA ISLAND by N'orris gives satisfying wear
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fill a man's natural desire for smart styling and
comfort. Made from J. P. Stevens' combed cotton
seed-cloth voile. Sanforized for lasting fit and guar
anteed fully washable. Select yours from white or
handsome solids in either long or short sleeves. Slay
cool and comfortable . . . get the Norris SEA
ISLAND for every occasion.
$1.98-$2.98-53.95
Turner's Store
lain Street Waynesville
ECONOMY SIZE ^
only 52c i
LARGE SIZE A
only 24c
r .
&4tM0X,
DISH TOWEL
in
ECONOMY SIZE
FACE CLOTH
in LARGE SIZE
with COUPON on Dage 6 I
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