North Carolina Newspapers

The Waynesville Mountaineer bp g g Published Twice-A-Week In The County Seat of Haywood County At The Eastern Entrance Of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park p ? 71st YEAR NO. 4 16 PAGES Associated Press WAYNESVILLE, N. C., THURSDAY AFTERNOON, JAN. 12, 1956 $3.50 In Advance In Haywood and Jackson Counties af?' Tu/ter A9a,n Head lhamber of Commerce Here RICHARD BRADLEY . , . re-elected president NED J. TUCKER . . executive vice president HARVEY M. Dl'LlN . . . treasurer C. G. THOMPSON ... vice president ASC In Haywood County Allocated '$78,000 By U.S. naywuua i/uumy iras uetn ai located $78,000 from the national allocation of $250,000,000.00 which Congress authorized to share the cost of establishing conservation practices on farms throughout the United States. All farms in Haywood County are eligible for their share of the above allocation. The ASC County Committee has set the initial re quest from January 16, 1956 ttirough January 31. Farmers un able to contact the ASC office dur ing this period can request assist ance any time during office hours until April 15, 1956 Your County ASC will share the cost on a 50-50 basis on ttje fol lowing practices. 1. Seeding pasture or hay on land so subject to erosion that it should be converted to a perman ent cover to prevent further eros ion. 2. Seeding additional pasture or hay on cropland to improve soil structure, water-holding capacity and retard erosion. 3. Application of lime on farm land to permit the .growth and stability of grass and clover. 4. Establishment of contour stripcropping to prevent the soil from water or wind erosion. 5. Establishment of a stand of white pine trees on farm land for erosion control. 6. Improvement of an establish ed permanent cover on land that is now in and is intended to re main permanently in use as pasture and on which the benefits of the improvements can be extended materially. 7. Construction of permanent drainage ditches for draining crop or pasture land. Payment will not be made on clearing existing ditch es or ditches that will bring ad ditional land into production. 8. Installation of drain tile on farmland 'to dispose of excess Water. Lime and fertilizer will be furnished with all seeding prac tices in the amount required to in sure a good stand. All materials (See ASC Fund?Page S) i . r- ~ : - r-yn Hugh Ratcliffe Will Head CDP At Ratcliffe Cove Hugh Ratcliffe was elected chair man of the Ratcliffe Cove CDP for 1956 at a community meeting Tues day night at the REA building. Other officers chosen were: James Medford, vice chairman: Miss Mary Alice Leopard, secre tary: R. C- Francis, treasurer; Mrs. G. W. Liner, reporter; Miss Phyllis Leopard, song leader; Mrs. Mark Palmer and Mrs. Mark Galloway, program co-chairmen: and Francis, Mrs. Lem Leopard, Mrs. Algie Rat cliffe, L. Z. Messer and Walter Francis, members of the board of directors. In other business, the families made plans for community im provement projects for the new year, and committes were appoint ed. They also heard a f discussion of "community development through involvement" by Morris L. Mc Gough, executive vice president of the Asheville Agricultural De velopment Council. The council sponsors the annual Western North Carolina Rural Community Devel opment Contest. Ratcliffe Cove won the 1955 Hay wood County Community Develop ment Contest and also won a $100 award and placed among the top 10 communities in the WNC com petition. WATKINS RECOVERING M. D. Watkins is reeciving visit ors at his home, where he will be confined for about three more weeks, while recovering from a mild heart ailment. . Richard Bradley was re-elected president of the Chamber of Com merce here Tuesday night by the newly elected board of directors. Ned J. Tucker, eexcutive vice president was also re-elected to his position again. C. G. Thompson was named vice president, and Harvey M. Dul in was named treasurer of the or ganization which serves this en tire end of the county. The election came as the first matter of business for the board which was elected by ballot by the membership of the organisation in December. A financial report for 1955 was presented last year, and showed collections of ?12,858. Tentative plans were made for | staging the annual banquet in mid-February instead of early f summer. , A number of reports were heard from members of the board which indicated a banner tourist year. I J. W. Fowler, Jr., superintendent of Lake Junaluska, told of the - various world-wide conferences. ( and several other meetings which would attract people to the Lake ? from nine Southeastern States and Cuba. i President Bradley said he would J name chairmen of the nine divis ions of the organization within a few days, apd also annoi^nce the program adopted by each group for the year. Plans are to get the working pro gram under way within the next three weeks, then formally present them at the annual banquet in February. JUDGE J. WILL PLESS is shown as hr signed the Judgment shortly before noon Tuesday ending the controversial county home farm case. (Mountaineer Photo). Fire Destroys 30 Acres Of Woodland Near Bethel ? 1 rake It Easy rhis Friday, It's The 13th Better tread lifhtly tomorrow and avoid black cats, stepladders. broken mirrors, et all. Of course, you don't have to worry because it's only some of your friends who are superstit ious?not you yourself. In case you haven's noticed, it'll be Friday the 13th. Approximately thirty acres of woodland in Pigeon Valley were destroyed by fire last Friday night and Saturday, County Fire Warden R. E. Caldwell reported to The Mountaineer today. . The alarm came in at 5:30 a.m. Saturday and the blaze was brought under control that day shortly after noon, but was not extinguished completely until 11:30 a.m. Monday, the fire war den said. The woods, situated about one mile northwest of Bethel School, is on the property of C. R. Camp bell, Layman Brown. Bryan Burn ette, and Tom Ferguson. The origin of the fire Is un known. Because of the dry condition of the forest floor and frequent high winds. Mr Caldwell urged county residents to be especially careful aboyt fire and to report all for est fires immediately to his resi dence, GL 6-6808 Ulyde Postoffice Reports 5.5 Pet. Gain In Receipts Canton Library Exhibit Depicts Forestry Progress ( Depicting 50 years of progress : in forestry in North Carolina, a s special forestry exhibit will be open to the public at the Canton i library through Jan. 21. i Hours to view the exhibit will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day, except Sunday. ( The exhibit, made possible i through the cooperation of the su- ] pervisor of Pisgah National For est, the director of the Sou'ii- ' eastern Forest Experiment Station. ? the U. S. Forest Products Labora- ( tory and the Champion Paper and i Fibre Co. was for several days dis played at the Pack Memorial Li- . brary in Ashevtlle, Several features have been add ed by Champion for its exhibit in i Canton. I The exhibit shows the measures < that are applied by public and I private forestry agencies, including : Champion Paper, in maintaining a : contnuing supply of wood which is essential raw materal for forest rpoducts industries. Haywood GOP To Meet Tuesday Haywood County Republicans, and those interested in the party are invited to attend a meeting in the commissioner's room here Tuesday, January 17, 7:30, accord ing to Elmer "Red" Miller, chair man of the county GOP executive committee. Chairman Miller said that sev eral important matters of business would be brought to the meeting. The chairman will preside and pre sent the matters to be discussed. An increase of 6.5 per cent in gross receipts, at the Clyde po# :>ffice during 1955 as compared with 1954 has been reported by Postmaster Richard Hannah. Gross receipts (excluding money ardersl for 1954 were $6,343 15 in 1955 and $6,123.19. Mr. Hannah said. The Clyde postmaster also re ported an 8 per cent increase in stamp sales ? from $5,456.45 in 1954 to $5.916 35 in 1955 Money orders purchased at ~lyde last year totaled $102,065.66, with fees amounting to $1,201.40. Vlr. Hannah added. D ? i n nevivai oervices Set Next Week At Baptist Church A series of revival services, based on the Sermon on the Mount, will be conducted at the First Baptist Church of Waynesville next week by Dr. Henry E. Turlington, pro fessor of the New Testament at the Southern Baptist Seminary at Louisville. Ky. Morning services will be held at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Wednesday. Thursday, and Friday and evening services nightly at 7:30. The public is invited and those attending are asked to bring their Bibles. Draft Board Classifies 15 County Men Fifteen Haywood County men were assigned draft classifications at a meeting of Selective Service Board 45 Monday at the court house. They were: Class 1-A (available for induc tion!?William Bryant Hill. Junius McKinley Mashburn, Ronald Ben jamin Gardner. Class 1-C (enlisted)?Robert Pat ton Price. Class 1-C (reserve)?Robert Lee Gentry, Maynard Devane Dixon. James David Mitchell, Richard Camden Smith, Joseph Ralph Fer guson. Jackie Claude Bare. Cecil Ray Young. Class 3-A (hardship)?Carl James Presnell. Class 5-A (over age) ? David George Price, Milas Noland Kirk patrick. David Wilford Greene. The next board meeting will be held January 25 at 9:30 a.m. Drivers Urged By Patrol To Heed All Stop Signs Clyde Firemen Fight Blaze In Church Cemetery Clyde firemen made a run Mon day afternoon to?of all places? a cemetery! The call came in at 2:05 p.m. from the North Canton Baptist Church, where dead, dry vegeta tion in the church cemetery and an adjoining woods caught Are. apparently started from burning brush and fanned by high winds. Ten firemen answered the alarm and extinguished the blaxe which was threatening several homes and barns in the vicinity. Haywood County drivers were urged today by the State Highway Patrol to heed all atop signs ana bring their vehicles to "a full atop" as required by North Carolina law. Cpl. Pritchard H. Smith said this morning a large number of acci dents investigated recently in the county by the Highway patrol have been caused by drivers falling to stop at a stop sigh. The corporal said that failure 1% heed stop signs has caused several fatalities in Haywood County, and added "there have been three that I can remember off hand." Cpl. Smith asserted that the State Highway Patrol will arrest all drivers who run through the signs. Stranded Fam i ly Finds Help In Waynesville On December 30 Waynesville police and town employees con tributed money to buy a bus ticket home for a 14-year-old Alabama boy. stranded in Waynesville with only 57 cento on a return trip from Washing ton, D. C. The next day, another group of Waynesville residents took up a collection to help a young couple and their three small children reach home in Charleston, W. Va? after their old car broke down here. This second story of Waynes ville generosity was disclosed here only this week. The unique chain of circum stances began when a 1947 Ford, driven by James Sigman and con taining his wife and three chil dren. develepod transmssion trouble in Waynesville as the Sigmans were en route from At lanta to West Virginia. The car could have been re paired. but it would have requir ed a lot of time and money, and the family had very little of eith er. In fact, Sigman had only 99 cento in his possession when he arrived here. ? I Contacted about repairing the car, James Welch, mecahnic at Potts Motor Co., quickly noted the plight of the young family: window glass was broken out of the car. the vehicle had no heat er, and its floorbroads were brok en, causing carbon monoxide fumes from the exhaust pipe to seep up into the interior of the car. Unable to fix the weatherbeat I en car easily. Welch offered to "trade" his 1940 Ford for a worn out, practically valueless televi sion set which Sigman had in his Car. Sigman quickly agreed to the trade, and moved his family into the Waynesvtlle mechanic's car. which was in good condition and equipped with a heater. While the family were trans ferring their meager possessions to their new car. Welch got in touch with a Waynesvllle used oar dealer, Clarence Muse, and several other local men and took up a collection of $16 to help the Sigmans reach West Virginia. After Buddy Parrs contributed a tank of gas. the family again started northward. (See Stranded Family?Page t) i ' ' Judgment Ends Farm Suits; Board Given Riaht To Sell Judge Says County Can J Sell Property , The county home farm case came ( to an end Tuesday, shortly before neon, when Judge J. Will Pless. presiding Judge of civil court here, granted the defendants a judgment 1 as of nonsuit. J The action came after the plain- J tiffs had placed Jarvis H. Allison.aa former county commissioner, on J the stand. Allison testified for more than an hour. Upon questioning from the court, the plaintiffs announced that they had a number of additional wit nesses. and that the evidence would be cumulative, and that they presented all of the features of the evidence relied upon by them in support of their allegations, and rested their case. Then it was that the defendants moved for judgment as of nonsuit, and this was allowed by the court. The commissioners through their lawyers then announced that they would not pursue their counter claims and cross-actions, in which they were seeking $23,000 damagse 1 and cost from the plaintiffs be- J cause of the stopping of the sale , of the 140-acre farm 1 The formal judgment, dictated ^ by Judge Pless. set out: 1. That this is an action brought in the name of the plaintiffs as representatives of a class, and that the ruling of the Court in this case will constitute a bar to further litigation by the plaintiffs or any other persons upon the same cause of action. 2. That the restraining order ' heretofore issued be and the same is hereby dissolved. 1 3. That the plaintiffs take noth- r inj; by their action, and the cause is dismissed as of nonsuit at the v costs of the plaintiffs. ? 4. That the defendants take noth ing by their cross-action or count er-claim, and that the same be di$- ' missed as of nonsuit. 5. That the County Commission- ^ er- not attempt to hold a sale of " the real property which is the sub- ' ject of this litigation prior to the first day of April, 1956, the de- v fendants having consented that the "? Court should include this as a part of the judgment, but this shall not " prevent advertisement of the sale or other preliminary arrangements ( therefor prior to the date of April r 1, 1956. 1 Before dictating the judgment, 1 fudge Pless said that "times are t different, and must be recognized." r He cited that his home county of r McDowell had abolished their 1 county home many years ago and had not missed It. Judge Pless also pointed to the program of old-age benefits and the fact that only 12 to 14 inmates were in the home at the time it was closed in the spring of 1954. "Since the farm is worth $100. 000 or more, according to esti mates. this would be a good eco- 1 nomical move, and the taxes from 3 the property would well pay for (See County Farm?Page 8) i ? ! n ' * rui - ?? urive-in ineatre Mere ' To Close Several Weeks i i The Smoky Mountain Drive-In t Theatre on the Balsam Road near 3 the Dayton Rubber Co. plant will be closed for several weeks for painting and repairs, according to owner Joe Masste. c The date of the theatre's reopen- | ing will be announced in this I newspaper. 1 rhree Persons Injured [n Five Auto Accidents mi re people were nuri in one ot '1 five accident* reported today by t the State Highway Patrol and the t Waynesville Police. The injuries occurred when a c 1U53 Chevrolet, driven by Frances 1 Rogers of Clyde, collided with a i 1P93 Oldsmobile, driven by Baxtor Taylor of Asheville, according to t Patrolman W. R. Wooten. * Miss Rogers suffered a fractur- v ed jaw. and leg injuries; Taylor had t bruises, and a passenger riding t with him, Max West, sustained I: fractured ribs. Miss Rogers was charged with t failure to yield the right of way, [ and improper turning. 1 Damage was estimated at $350 L to MU? Rogers' car and at $1,200 1 to Mr. Taylor's car. \ Seven persons escaped injury * I iutou?j yviicii a mji t,nevroiei. Iriven by Charles D. Smith, over timed on the Crabtree road. Smith was charged with reckless Iriving by 'Patrolman Wooten. Ja mages to his car were estimated it $150. Another county accident which ook place January 2, but which nas not reported until today, ln olved a 1954 Chevrolet pickup ruck driven by Calvin Jolley of tsheville and a 1950 Ford driven ly Mrs. Geraldine Ford of Canton. Patrolman Wooten reported that he truck ran into the rear of the lassenger car as the latter was lalted in the left lane of the four ane highway, preparatory to mak ng a left turn near radio station VWIT. Damage was estimated at (See 3 Hurt?Page B) ? ? ? ? ? ? 575,000 Damage Suit Went h Civil Court Here Today ce On 209 "ails To Halt School Buses State Highway Dept. mainten ance men were called by Patrol man W. K. Wooten of the High way Patrol this morning to place Sand on a patch of ice on the Crabtree road. Fines Creek School officials said another patch of Ice was located near Jack Ferguson's store iK that community, but said that all school buses were able to make their runs. Principal Fred Safford of Crabtree-lron Duff High School also reported that his school buses arrived on time. Mother Of Orphan Boy Writes Here A letter of gratitude from a fidow in Canada for Christmas noney sent to one of her nine chil Iren has been received by one of ler benefactors in Hazelwood. Tlie unique story started in De ember when Herschel Caldwell, lazelwood barber, was on hU way o Hazelwood school with a Christ nas tree for hfs son's homeroom. En route to the school, Mr. Cald vell suddenly noticed a small piece if white paper, tied with a string, lapping in the wind. Unwrapping the paper, he loticed that it bore a message from 12-year-old orphaned boy in "racadie, New Brunswick?Sylvio ionier, asking for money for Christmas. Heeding the boy's plea. Mr. Cald vell took up a collection and sent iylvio six dollars. The letter from his mother, vritten to Mr. Caldwell, reads: "I received your letter before Christmas. I am very glad you sent ne $6.00 to help us for Christmas. Thank you very much for this bill. This is Sylvio's mother who writes his letter. I am alone with my line children. 1 will send their tames. My oldest one, Wencelas, lorn 28 Dec. 1940. Patrice born 21 Nov.. 1941. Sylvio born 27 Sept., 1943. Lucien born 13 Dec., 1944. , Jean Claude. 25 March, 1946. Agenard. 26 Nov., 1947 Marielle, 24 Feb., 1950. Mariette, 15 Dec., 1951. Jean Mary,'23 July, 1954, "My husband died 10 April on 3aster day this year 1955 at 44 rears. "If you can help me by sending tew or second-hand clothing, I will iccept every thing you send us for lelp. "Sylvio was very happy over the noney you sent and for all the amily I say thank you very very nuch. 1 wish you a happy new rear. "Yours very truly, Mrs. Mederic A. Sonier" "P.S.: Your asked for a picture if my family. I have none at the iresent time. Later I send one. I lave no camera to take pictures low. M. S." A $75,000 damage suit was start ed in the civil term of Superior Court here today The suit was brought by Mrs. Margaret Gidney. wife and administrator of Charles W. Gidney. who died following an automobile accident in Clyde. The Gidney estate is sufng Charles 11 Leatherwood for the $75,000 plus the value of the car. citing Leath erwood as driver of the car that , ran into Gidney's vehicle on the new highway through Clyde. This is the first case to go to a jury since court convened here Monday morning with Judge J. Will Pless, of Marion, presiding. Three divorce cases were presented to the jury. Lawyers in the death case this morning said they expected the case would take all day today and half of tomorrow. Testimony began shortly after 11 this morning, after the lawyers had presented their complaints to the court. Gidney was a barber in Canton at the time of his death. Divorces granted until this morn ing included that of Anna M. Boone vs. C. L. Boone; Joseph Milner vs. Julia Milner Other cases settled before going to court included: Jack Redmond' vs. Grover C. Clark; G. W. Clark vs. Robert and Billy McCracken; Allied Roofing Co., vs. Tom J. Krazier and Ruth Frazier; Monarch Fine Foods vs. Smoky Mountain Grocery; Juna luska Supply vs. Way RatclifTe; R. L. Parks vs. Sue Parks: W. W. Cairnes, of Canton, recovered $7, 500 damages from the State High way Department. HD Work In County Told To Rotarians Thi' program of Haywood Coun ty's 28 home demonstration clubs was outlined by Miss Mary Corn well, home demonstration agent, at a meeting of the Waynesville Ro tary Club Friday afternoon. Miss Cornwell explained that the 28 clubs in Haywood County have a total membership of 748 women, organized for these four purposes: 1. To carry scientific information to farm families. 2. To assist the homemaker in the conservation of life and to pro mote the higher standards of liv ing. 3. To improve home and com munity life by making more ef fective the institutions of com munity life, such as schools, churches, libraries and health facilities. 4. To discover, develop, and utilize leadership by affording op portunities for club members to serve as leaders. In their work. Miss Cornwell pointed out, home demonstration clubs deal with foods and nutri tion, gardening, poultry, dairying, food conservation, housing and home furnishings, home manage ment, family life, home beautifi cation, clothing, and arts and crafts. Miss Cornwell told the Rotarians that North Carolina is on an all out program to hejp raise the in come level of the people in this state. It is estimated, she said, (See H? Work?Page 8) I ... . I The Weather \/ i CONT'D COtD Decreasing cloudiness and cold today. Friday, partly cloudy and continued cold. Official Waynesville temperature , as reported by the State Test Farm: Date Max. Min. Pr. Jan. ? 38 16 Jan. 10 30 21 Jan. 11 32 25 * Highway Record For 1956 In Haywood (TO DATE) Killed ? ?.. Z Z 0 (1959 ? ?) Injured . . . Z 3 (1959 ? 2) Accidents... 14 Loss ? ?. $6,430 (This information compiled from records of State Hlcfe way Patrol.)