t
ELKIN
The Best
Little Town
In North
Carolina
ELKIN
Gate way To
Roaring Gap
And The Blue
Ridge
The Elkin Tribune
NORTH
CAROLINA’S
NO. 1 NEED
GOOD
HEALTH
VOL. No. XXXV No. 16
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
ELKIN, N. C., THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 1947
52.UU BEK YEAR
16 PAGES—TWO SECTIONS
VETERAN’S INTERVIEW — E. P. Robinson, director of the district veterans’ office here, is shown
interviewing one of the many ex-service men who visit the office for advice and assistance. At the left
is Miss Pearl Wilhelm, secretary of the Elkin office, and Earl Harp, local veteran. —Tribune Photo
Veterans Commission
Office Is Busy Place
Is Rendering
Real Service To
Large Number
• BY THOMAS WILSON
When veterans of World War II
began coming home in 1945, they
brought a lot of problems with
them. Some were disabled and
needed medical attention. A
great many wanted to enter
schools and colleges under the
“GI Bill.” Nearly all of them
needed advice and assistance in
tl4e period of readjustment to
civilian life.
Recognizing the need of an
agency to help veterans with their
reconversion problems, the Gen
eral Assembly of North Carolina
set up a Veterans Commission in
1945 whose function was to aid
ex-GI’s in solving the problems
they confronted following dis
charge from military service. Sup
plementing the work of the Vet
erans Administration, the state
organization assists North Caro
lina veterans in preparing appli
cations for benefits under the
various laws applying to former
service personnel. The applica
tions are processed and presented
to the Veterans Administration,
u'here an examining board either
approves or disallows the claim.
The Veterans Commission office
in Elkin, one of 13 district offices
set up throughout the state, is
proving the value of the agency in
its service to veterans. Headed by
E. P. Robinson, a veteran of both
World Wars, the district office
here is visited by an average of
250 veterans per month, and the
number is increasing. In addi
tion, Mr. Robinson contacts about
100 veterans weekly on field trips
throughout the five-county dis
trict.
‘‘One of the most important ad
vantages of the district office,”
Mr. Robinson said, “is that we
can reach men in isolated com
munities who might not other
wise receive the benefits they are
entitled to as veterans.'’
The genial, white-haired direc
tor estimates that he has handled
nearly 5,000 requests for re
instating and converting govern
ment insurance policies. But
about 40 per cent of the current
requests for assistance pertain to
educational and on-the-job train
ing. Applications for medical as
sistance and hospitalization con
stitute another 30 per cent, and
pension, compensation and other
claims make up most of the re
mainder of the work.
(Continued on page eight)
!►
Red Cross Drive
Quota Exceeded
By Nearly $500
Reports of local Red Cross
workers up to yesterday after
noon indicated Elkin had ex
ceeded its quota of $2,700 by
nearly five hundred dollars,
and several teams have not
turned in results of their drives.
C. J. Hyslup, chairman of the
local Red Cross chapter, ex
pressed appreciation for the ef
forts of team chairmen in the '
campaign and for the generous
contributions of local citizens 1
who made the 1947 drive a sue- 1
ceps, and urged those who have
not made their donations to do 1
so/as soon as possible.
— :i-«‘ * ■ ■ ■«» —■—•- ‘
I
ARTIST OF THE ORGAN —
Paul Weber, nationally known
organist and recording artist
will present an organ concert
at the Gilvin Roth YMCA Fri
day evening, March 21, at 7:30
o’clock, playing the Hammond
electric organ with Vibraphone
and Solonox attachments.
Sponsored by the Elkin Junior
Chamber of Commerce and the
Lions Club, Mr. Weber’s con
cert is expected to be well at
tended by music lovers of this
section. Admission for adults
has been announced at $1.00,
with students tickets selling for
50 cents. Tickets are now on
sale at The Music Box, and will
also be on sale at the door on
the evening of the concert.
JONESVTLLE
WINS EVENT
Defeat Elkin In Finals Of
Parent-Teacher Grammar
School Cage Tourney
W. YADKIN DEFEATED
Jonesville defeated Elkin in
'"'o hard-fought, games in the
Elkin high school gymnasium Fri
lay night to win the grammar
school tournament sponsored by
'he Elkin Parent-Teachers Asso
ciation. The girls from Jonesville
seat Elkin. 21-16, and the boys’
jame ended in a 34-23 victory for
:he Jonesville boys.
The Jonesville boys gained a
ead in the first moments of play
md held it throughout the game,
Respite several rallies on the part
)f the Elkin five.
Jonesville's boys entered the
finals after defeating a smaller
West Yadkin team Thursday, and
he Jonesville girls won the right
0 play in the finals by edging out
,hc West Yadkin girls.
Both Elkin teams went ^nto the
:inals by way of forfeits from
1’raphill, whose teams were un
iblc to fill their engagements be
cause of heavy rain and muddy
■oads.
Call Special Junior
Order Meeting Here
All members of the Elkin coun
;il No. 96 of the Jr. O. U. A. M. are
isked to attend a meeting of the
u'der to be held Friday night at
1:30, according to G. C. Cooper,
councilor, and Paul Newman, sec
retary.
The Friday night meeting will
>e the beginning of a series to be
leld in the near future, including
1 district meeting on April 14.
JONES FAVORS
HIGHER SALARY
Was Co-Signer Of Amend
ment To Increase Pay By
Almost Two Million
ELKIN MEASURE PASSED
By MARJORIE R*GAN
Tribune Raleigh Bureau
Sentaor R. Posey Jones was co
signer with Senator Roper of Lin
coln county of an amendment to
the appropriations bill that would
have given school teachers almost
$2,000,000 more than they will now
receive.
The usually quiet senator spoke
out twice with a plea for higher
teacher pay during the Senate dis
cussion of the salary increase for
the teachers.
After a second amendment
was proposed by Senator Julian
Allsbrook, which would have guar
anteed teachers 30 per cent, Roper
and Jones agreed to support this
plan. The amendment was de
feated by the Senate, and the
teachers will get the amount rec
ommended by the administration.
The appropriation of $6,155,000
for teacher increases had been en
dorsed by Governor Cherry, who
wrote in a letter to the appropria
tions committee:
“In my judgment, if you adopt
the recommendation herein made
to you, the board of education,
whose duty it is to set salaries,
will have adequate funds with
which to provide at least a thirty
per cent increase in salaries for
teaching personnel.” He asked
that the money be earmarked for
teacher pay alone.
Controversy arose in the Gen
eral Assembly as to whether or not
the 30 per cent would be paid with
the amount recommended. There
was a heated discussion in the
House, in which Representative
George Snow took part.
Snow declared sarcastically that
there were “too many mathema
ticians” in the house, and said the
figures had been battered around
until they were going around in
(Continued on page eight)
TO COMPETE
IN CONTEST
Speakers From Five Counties
To Take I'art In Legion
Sponsored Event
ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Contestants from five counties
will compete in the district finals
of the American Legion-sponsored
oratorical contest in the Elkin ele
mentary school tomorrow after
noon at 2 o’clock.
Surry county will be represented
by Ann Harris, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Abe Harris, of Elkin.
Helen Margaret Wishon, daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Wishon
of Yadkinville, will represent Yad
kin county. Davie and Forsyth
counties will be represented by
Nancy Durham and Douglas Car
ter respectively. A contestant
from Stokes, whose name could
not be determined yesterday, will
also speak.
Winner of the district contest i
will speak in one of five divisional ;
contests next week, and the divi- :
sional winners will compete in the i
state finals in Statesville on March
51. ,
The public is invited to attend i
;he contest here tomorrow after- I
loon. i
MT. AIRY MAN
HELD IN JAIL
FOR SHOOTING
Is Charged With Killing Of
Roy Towe, 27
HAD PREVIOUS RECORD
Robert L. Jessup Released
From Prison After Sen
tence For Murder
SCORE LAXITY OF LAW
Robert L. Jessup, 45, of Mount
Airy, is in the Surry county jail
at Dobson awaiting a hearing on
charges of having fatally shot Roy
Towe, 27, of Cana, Va„ Saturday
afternoon at the Bunker Woods
Service station between White
Plains and Mount Airy.
According to Miss Edna Wood
and Elwood Jacobs, employees of
the station, the two men left the
building about 2 p. m. Saturday,
evidently on friendly terms. Miss
Wood said she heard some shots
after the two men left and looked
out the window to see Towe lying
on the ground.
Officers said Towe had two bul
let holes in his body—one through
the right shoulder and another in
the lower right ribs.
Jessup was arrested on the
Westfield road about two and one
half miles from Mount Airy later
in the afternoon. Officers said he
offered no resistance, and that he
was in an intoxicated condition.
The motive for the shooting
could not be determined.
Towe is the second man Jessup
is said to have killed on the same
spot. He allegedly shot and killed
Faye Seay, 23-year-old CCC work
er, on August 29, 1936, within 10
feet of the place where Saturday’s
shooting occurred. Jessup was
tried for murder and sentenced to
serve from 15 to 20 years in the
state prison, but was released on
parole in 1939 after serving two
years and three months of the
term.
In December, 1940, his parole
was terminated because of his
“excellent” prison record.
Since that time, he has been
tried in Surry county courts on
nine different occasions, several
of which would have justified re
vocation of any parole, officers
said.
Law enforcement officers of this
area, meanwhile, have expressed
concern at the laxity of the state’s
parole policy. Several cases have
been cited of parolees who have
given police trouble while on pa
role. Two outstanding cases were
those of Summerfield Martin, con
victed of slaying an officer, parol
ed, and then arrested on a kid
naping charge, and Ralph Vernon
Litteral, who, while on parole from
Jackson Training School, began a
career of crime that filled his
police record with some 50 crim
inal offenses. Litteral is now in
State Prison at Raleigh awaiting
the outcome of an appeal to the
Supreme Court after a death sen
tence received for the rape of
Peggy Shore.
Walter E. Johnson, Jr., solicitor
of the Eleventh Solicitorial Dis
trict, also expressed the opinion
this week that the paroling of pri
soners in the state was lax, and
(Continued on page eight)
CIVIC GROUPS
TO TALK PLAN
Will Discuss Exposition
Building At Joint Meeting
At YMCA Monday
LIONS TO BE HOSTS
The Lions Club will play host to
the Kiwanis Club, the Jaycees, the
American Legion and the Veterans
of Foreign War at a joint meeting
at 6:30 p. m. Monday, March 24,
at the YMCA.
The main topic of discussion will
be the construction of a building
to house such activities as horse
shows, fat stock shows, fairs, etc.,
on the ground just north of the
high school athletic field.
A special committee appointed
by the town commissioners to
study the problem believes a suit
able structure can be erected and
quipped for about $12,000.00 and
drat the venture will be self- liqui
dating over a period of approxi
mately five years.
A plan to finance the venture
vith a bank loan secured by lim
ted guarantees from interested
litizens was discussed at length in
i meeting of the town commis
sioners, the special agricultural
;ommittee, and representatives of
:ivic clubs on March 10. This plan
vas received favorably by that
;roup and it is believed that it will
>e recommended to the larger
meeting on March 24.
Is To Preach
At Methodist
Services Here
DR. C. E. ROZZELLE
Dr. C. E. Rozzelle, pastor of the
Ardmore Methodist Church in
Winston-Salem, and one of the
leading ministers in North Caro
lina Methodism, will be guest
speaker in the pre-Easter evange
listic services at the Elkin Metho
dist Church. Dr. Rozzelle will
preach each evening from Sunday
through Friday at 7:30, and each
morning from 8:05 to 8:30 he will
talk to children and young people.
The Young People and Inter
mediates will meet at 6 p. m. at
the church Sunday in a supper
meeting when Dr. Rozzelle will
speak. On Sunday morning the
children’s class will be received
into the church membership, and
on Palm Sunday the adults will be
received.
OFFICIALS OF
EASTER DRIVE
R. M. Smith Is Named Chair
man Of Seal Sale For
Crippled Children
GETS UNDER WAY TODAY
County chairmen for the annual
Easter Seal campaign for the
North Carolina League for Crip
pled Children were announced this
weak by Senator Thomas O'Berry,
president of the League, and Miss
Ethel Honeycutt, executive secre
tary.
R. M. Smith, of Mount Airy, was
named chairman for Surry county
in the campaign which gets under
way today, March 20. Mrs. Fred C.
Hobson, - of Yadkinville, is chair
man for Yadkin county, and C. B.
Eller, of Wilkesboro, will head the
drive in Wilkes county.
Records show that 62,000 hand
icapped children in North Caro
lina need improved physical con
dition, proper schooling, opportun
ity for recreation, and vocational
guidance, Senator O'Berry said.
Will SPEAK AT
FARMERS RALLY
Joe R. Williams, Of Farm
Bureau Federation Is To
Be Speaker
AT DOBSON COURTHOUSE
Joe R. Williams, assistant secre
tary of the North Carolina Farm
Bureau Federation, will speak at
a county-wide rally for Tobacco
Associates, Inc., tomorrow evening
at 7:30 in the court house in Dob
son.
Tobacco Associates is an organ
ization sponsored by the State
Farm Bureau to promote flue
cured tobacco exports markets.
S. H. Atkinson and P. N. Taylor,
president and secretary, respec
tively, of the Surry Farm Bureau,
pointed out that half the tobacco
crop is exported normally and urg
ed tobacco growers to support the
organization in the interest of
maintaining good prices in the ex
pqrt market.
Supported by farmers, banks,
warehouses and merchants, Tobac
co Associates is attempting to
raise funds to carry out the pro
gram. Surry county’s quota for
farmers, based on tobacco acreage,
is $1,400.
CORRECTION
The mass meeting for the
nomination of candidates for '
Elkin’s mayor and five com- 1
missioners will be held Friday
night, April 4, instead of
Tuesday night, as stated in last
week’s issue of The Tribune. ‘
The date, April 4, is correct, '
but the day was inadvertently
named as Tuesday rather than *
Friday.
Thieves Take $230 In
Cash In Burglary Of
Surry Co. Courthouse
HOLD MEMORIAL
DINNERJT T
More Than 600 Are Guests
Of Chatham Company In
Honor Of War Victims
PLAQUE IS PRESENTED
More than 600 guests of the
Chatham Manufacturing Company
attended a memorial dinner in the
YMCA last night in honor of the
12 former Chatham employees
who lost their lives in World War
II.
Sam Allred of Greensboro, a
student-veteran at Guilford Col
lege, sang two special numbers on
the program, which was presided
over by R. W. Harris, superinten
dent of ,the plant.
Clyde Cothren, president of the
Thurmond Chatham Unity club,
presented a memorial plaque to
the company on which was in
scribed the names of the 12 men
who gave their lives in the war.
A. L. Butler, president of the com
pany, accepted the plaque for the
company.
C. J. Hyslup, safety director of
the company, called the names of
the 12 men on the roll of honor,
and Earl V. Henderson sounded
taps.
Following the opening song,
“America,” T. C. McKnight, gen
eral secretary of the YMCA, led
the group in prayer.
Thurmond Chatham, chairman
of the board of directors of the
company, spoke briefly on the pro
gram, and Rev. J. L. Powers pro
nounced the benediction.
Guests at the dinner included
Chatham service men who have
returned to the company, other
veterans employed since their dis
charge, and parents and widows of
men in whose honor the dinner
was given.
The 12 men who lost their lives
in the war were Robert W. Cheek,
Jr., William B. Graham, C. Curtis
Hall, Charles R. Hanes, Walter J.
Osborne, Garvis W. Pinnix, Robert
J. Reynolds, Herman G. Sale, Paul
H. Simmons, Ira H. Smoot, Wil
liam J. Sparks and Ray R. Tran
sou.
schoolbilT
IS APPROVED
Legislative Committee Un
animously Okeys Local
Administrative Unit
INTRODUCED BY SNOW
A bill that would give Elkin
township a separate school ad
ministrative unit was unanimous
ly approved by members of the
State Senate and House education
committees at a point hearing in
Raleigh last Wednesday.
Surry county’s Representative
George K. Snow, who introduced
the measure in January, and Sur
ry’s Senator R. Posey Jones, a
member of the Senate education
committee, 6poke at the hearing
in behalf of the bill, which is ex
pected to pass the House and go
to the Senate at an early date.
A delegation of 11 Elkin citizens
attended the hearing in support
of the bill, including R. W. Har
ris, chairman of the local school
board; N. H. Carpenter, principal
of Elkin high school; Hoyle Cran- ;
ford, president of the Merchants
Association; Milton Cooper, rep- !
resenting the Parent-Teachers As- i
sociation; R. Lewis Alexander and \
W. M. Allen, local attorneys; Jack i
Caudill, president of the Lions ]
Club; H. C. Dobson, former mem
aer of the State Legislature; J. W. \
b. Benson, town commissioner; <
Hugh Royall, Claude Farrell, and c
Foley Norman, local business men. i
If the bill is enacted into law, ]
Slkin will have a full-time school
superintendent and a school unit f
idministered by a local board and f
separate from the county system. \
runds to administer the unit are
ilready available as the result of f
i supplementary school tax levy \
vhich was voted last April. j
It was pointed out that all z
arger towns of the state have i:
separate school units, and the bill, e
f passed, will place Elkin’s cduca
ional facilities on a par with f
hose of other schools. o
-\
rribune Advertising Gets Results s
TO PREACH — Dr. R. E. Rich
ards, evangelist, above, will con
duct a two-weeks’ series of spe
cial services at the Pilgrim
Church here beginning Sunday,
March 23, and continuing each
night until Sunday, April 6, it
has been announced by Rev.
Jos. C. Brown, minister of the
church. Special music is to be
provided by the Buckeye Gospel
Quartet, which will also be here
for the services. Services will
be held each week night at 7:30
o’clock, and on Sunday nights
as 7:00. The public is extended
a cordial invitation to attend.
EMPLOYEES ARE
DINNER GUESTS
Annual Employer - Employee
Banquet Is Staged At
Gilvin Roth YMCA
MAGICIAN ENTERTAINS
A cartoonist, a magician and a
square dance provided a full ev
ening of amusement for some 300
guests who attended the annual
employer-employee banquet in
the YMCA Tuesday night.
Alan Browning, Jr., master of
ceremonies, entertained the group
with a series of cartoon sketches
following the dinner, and J. Coke
Cecil, sleight-of-hand artist from
High Point, produced handker
chiefs and coins out of the thin
air in a program of tricks. Both
performers received enthusiastic
rounds of applause.
Following the opening song, led
by T. C. McKnight, Hoyle Cran
ford, president, welcomed the
guests to the banquet, which is
sponsored annually by the Elkin
Merchants Association. Claude H.
Farrell, past president of the asso
ciation, spoke briefly, and W. H.
Combs pronounced the invocation.
Mr. Browning and Mr. Cecil
were presented Chatham blankets
by George Royall.
The square dancing was led by
Orvid Wilcox.
DOBSONSEEKS
WATER SYSTEM
Proposed Bond Issue Of Ap
proximately $70,000 To
Be Voted Upon
TO ATTRACT INDUSTRY
A proposed bond issue of ap
proximately $70,000 to finance a
town water system in Dobson will
be voted on at a special election
the latter part of April or the first
part of May, according to a state
ment this week by Mayor Prank
Freeman.
Plans and specifications for the
vvater facilities have already been
drawn up, and an initial advance
3f $2,000 for preliminary engineer
ing work has been approved by the
Federal Works Agency.
Mayor Freeman expressed con
fidence that Dobson voters would
favor the plan for a municipal
vater system.
“It will be an added inducement
'or small industries to locate
lere,” he said, commenting on the
^resent trend tow'ard de-centrali
;ation of industry, “and will elim
nate difficulties of privately-own-'
id water systems.”
The new water system, if ap
>roved by voters, will consist of
me or more wells sunk several
mndred feet in the ground to as
uie an adequate supply of water. ,
Seven Offices
Entered, Three
Safes Cracked
Robbers broke into seven offices
and took approximately $230 from
two safes in the court house at
Dobson late Tuesday night or ear
ly Wednesday morning. A third
safe in the county accountant’s
office was cracked, but no money
was reported missing.
The combinations to the safes
had been chiseled off, and the
contents ransacked, but the thugs
were evidently interested only in
money. Mrs. Jessye Belle Black
welder, Surry county tax collector,
said a preliminary check-up show
ed approximately $140 was missing
from the safe in her office. K. W.
Lawrence, clerk of the superior
court, stated that about $90 had
been taken from his safe, although
he had not completed a check of
the contents.
The doors to the offices had
been pried open after the thieves
presumably gained entrance to the
building through a door that had
been left unlocked, or with a skele
ton key.
No finger prints were found, and
I investigating officers expressed
I the opinion that the robbery was
committed by experienced men.
Marks on one of the safes indicat
ed that the robbers wore gloves.
The thieves made a systematic
search of nearly every office in the
building, passing up only the coun
ty agent’s office in the basement
and the office of the draft board
on the first floor. About $80 in
an unlocked cabinet in the coun
ty school superintendent’s office
was overlooked.
Offices of the home demonstra
tion agent, register of deeds, and
the welfare office were broken in
to, but nothing was reported miss
ing.
Experts from the State Bureau
of Investigation were expected to
be called to aid in further investi
gation.
TO SPEAK HERE
TRAINING MEET
Extension Specialist In Fam
ily Relations To Address
Group At YMCA
OPEN TO 3 COUNTIES
Mrs. Virginia Swain, extension
specialist in family relations, will
be the chief speaker at a “Family
Life Training” meeting in the
YMCA here April 1.
Family life leaders of home de
monstration clubs, and 4-H club
leaders of Surry, Yadkin and
Wilkes counties are especially urg
ed to attend the meeting, which
begins at 9:30 a. m.
In the afternoon. Miss Willie
Hunter, extension specialist in
clothing from Raleigh, will dis
cuss and demonstrate sewing ma
chine attachments for home de
monstration agents of the three
counties. Mrs. Grace Pope Brown
and Mrs. Bess G. Devenport, of
! Surry; Mrs. Annie Laura Green
and Miss Margaret Morrison, of
! Wilkes; and Miss Irene Brown, of
Yadkin, are the home agents for
the three counties.
Thieves Take $600
From Lucky Break
Thieves broke into the Lucky
Break pool room here last Thurs
day night and took about $600 in
cash from a cabinet, according to
the owners.
Entrance to the building was
gained through a rear door facing
into the alley behind the pool
room. The culprits evidently
chiseled a hole through the door
and lifted the bar securing the
door inside.
The cabinet had been forced
open, and only cash was taken.
Local officers have no clues as to
the identity of the robbers.
Club Officials Are
Guests Of Kiwanians
Officials of various Elkin civic
dubs were guests of the Kiwan
ians at their meeting at the Gil
hn Roth YMCA last Thursday
evening.
Presdent Carl C. Pondexter pre
sided.
f