North Carolina Newspapers

ELKIN The Best Little Town In North Carolina THE TRIBUNE Is a Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations ELKIN Gateway to Roaring Gap and the Blue Ridge THE TRIBUNE Is Read By 14,000 People In Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin VOL. No. XXXV No. 28 PUBLISHED WEEKLY ELKIN, N. C., THURSDAY. JUNE 12, 1947 $2.00 PER YEAR 18 PAGES—THREE SECTIONS Quick Action 1 Is Sought In Flood Hearing PASSES — Mrs. Anna Cox Gra ham, 90, shown above, passed away at her home on Gwyn Avenue, Thursday evening, fol lowing a serious illness of six weeks. DEATH CLAIMS v ELKIN WOMAN Mrs. Anna Cox Graham, 90, One Of Town’s Best Known Women, Dies Thursday A RITES HELD SATURDAY Mrs. Anna Cox Graham, 90, one of the city’s best known women, passed away Thursday evening at 7 p. m. at her home on Gwyn Avenue. She had been seriously ill six weeks. "Mother Graham," as she was known to citizens of this commun ity, observed her 90th birthday on April 12. She had spent most of her time in a wheel chair since she broke her hip six years ago. A daughter of the late Hardin , and Emaline Cox of Mouth of Wil T son, Va., she was married to Wil liam A. Graham, who preceeded her in death 30 years ago. • Mrs. Graham came to Elkin 25 years ago and had been active in the civic and religious life of the city until she -was injured six years ago. She was a member of the Elkin Methodist Church. Surviving are nine children, Mrs. L. E. Osborne of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Herbert P., Hardin C., Dixie, French W., Worth A., and Shef fie, all of this city; Rev. Grover C. Graham of Statesville and Mrs. I. L. Halsey of Mouth of Wilson, Va., 25 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Funeral services were held at First Methodist Church, this city, at 11 o’clock Saturday morning * with Rev. Robert G. Tuttle, pas tor, and Rev. L. B. Abernethy of Charlotte, officiating. Rev. Mr. Yokley, pastor, assisted Mr. Tuttle in services at Potato Creek Meth odist Church in Virginia at 2:30 p. m., where burial was made in the church cemetery. Fred Murphy Begins Seven-Year Sentence Fred Murphy was taken to the state prison in Raleigh last week by Sheriff Sam Paterson to begin serving a seven-year sentence for T robbery. The sentence was imposed at the April term of Surry superior court, but Murphy had filed notice of appeal to the Supreme Court through his counsel. Last week, however, he notified the court that he had abandoned his appeal and he was taken to Raleigh to begin serving his term. Murphy was arrested in South Dakota several months ago and brought back to Surry county by plane. Two Are Bound Over To Superior Court A Fred Andrew Collins, 21, Route 1, Elkin, charged with operating a car under the influence of liquor and driving after revocation of his driver’s license, was bound over to the superior term of court by Jus tice of the Peace J. L. Hall in Mag istrate’s Court Monday morning. % His bond was set at $600. John Edward Holla way, 24, was bound over under bond of $300 on charges of reckless driving by Jus tice of the Peace C. A. McNeil. “The secret of making one’s self Tiresome is not stop.” Voltaire. to know to L Committee Hears Testimony In Yadkin Project Proponents of the Yadkin River Flood Control Project, headed by Representatives John H. Folger and C. B. Deane, asked Congress for immediate action on the flood control plan at a hearing before a War Department subcommittee of the House Appropriations Com mittee in Washington last week. The two Congressmen urged subcommittee approval of the $75, 000 item in President Truman’s 1947-48 budget for advance plan ning of the project and, if possible, appropriations of additional funds for other preliminary work. They pointed out that the 79th Con gress has already authorized the expenditure of $7,194,000 for the proposed flood control program in spite of opposition which was re peated before the subcommittee at the hearing. Harry H. Hensel and C. A. Mc Neil, spokesman for Elkin at the hearing, testified that most of the local manufacturing concerns and wholesale houses were in the flood threatened area, and that 45 miles of railroad along the Yadkin river are threatened constantly by flood losses. John E. Justice, Jr., of North Wilkesboro, chairman of the Yad kin River Flood Control Commit tee, asserted that federal tax in come from the business in the flood area “abundantly justifies” the program. A partial check of such taxes in North Wilkesboro alone showed collections of $447, 461 in 1946, he said. Federal Judge Johnson J. Hayes told the subcommittee that nearly all of the loudest protest against the project comes from those least affected. “It seems absurd to think that six miles of land in Caldwell County along the Yadkin is more I valuable than 45 miles of the same type of land below there in Wilkes,” said Judge Hayes, “to say nothing of another 100 miles along the river in Surry, Yadkin, Forsyth, Davie. Davidson, Rowan, Montgomery, Stanly, Richmond and Anson Counties.” Opponents of the plan had told the committee that nearly 10.000 acres of land would be inundated by the proposed dams and that the best security against flood was "to get above high water reach.” Testifying against the project were F. J. Beale, F. L. Townsend and V. D. Guire, of Lenoir; How ard Ferguson and T. L. Ferguson, of Ferguson; and J. T. Saunders of Happy Valley. J. B. Williams, president of the North Wilkesboro Chamber of Commerce, said that only about one-third of the land which the dams would cause to be inundated was cleared, and that the average v. nf the land was $30 to $40 per aw>.. In a joint statement, Represent (Continued on page eight, 1st sec.) LAW-BREAKING ON INCREASE Police Records Show 81 Ar rests Made During May By Local Officers DRUNKENNESS LEADS Law-breaking is on the increase in Elkin. According to police records a total of 81 arrests, the highest number of any month so far this year, were made during May by local officers. Public drunkenness led the list of violations with 37 offenders, Speeding ranked a poor second with 10 cases listed. Seven per sons were charged with operating automobiles under the influence of liquor, and five were charged with illegal possession of liquor. Other violations were reckless driving, four; driving without op erator’s license, four; violating hotel laws, four; engaging in af frays, two; immoral conduct, two; assault, two; violating prohibition laws, one; resisting arrest, one; driving with improper lights, one; and assault with a deadly weapon one. Records for previous months show 52 violations in April, 68 in March, 44 in February and 46 in January. KNIGHT OF THE OPEN ROAD — Richard E. Cook and his horse, Buck, are shown here as they paused in Elkin Monday on the return leg: of their 3,200-mile round trip from Midland, Michigan, to Florida. Mr. Cook got tired of “high speed driving” in automobiles and set out to see the country in his home-made, horse-drawn house on wheels. He left Michigan last October, spent the winter in Florida, and plans to reach home again about July 4. <photo by bell* BIBLE SCHOOLS HELD LOCALLY Arc Either Under Way Or Being Planned By Various Elkin Churches ALSO IN JONESVILLE Daily Vacation Bible Schools are either being conducted or plans are underway by churches in Elkin. The Pilgrim Church school be gan Monday morning with about 50 children being enrolled. Rev. Joseph C. Brown is being assisted in the school by Colleen Gentry, Betty Felts, Mrs. Eugene Badgett, Mr. and Mrs. Otis Felts, Mrs. Sam | Roberts, Naomi Hinshaw, and Mrs. Joseph C. Brown. The school will be conducted for a two-week period and the theme is, “A Troop School for Christian Soldiers,” with the organization being set up along military plan. The classes convene each day from | 9 until 11:30 o’clock. The pro gram is varied and several outdoor sessions will be held. Commencement is scheduled for Friday evening, June 20, and on the following Saturday a picnic is being planned. Daily Vacation Bible school at First Methodist Church is already underway with about 65 children enrolled. The classes meet each morning from 9 until 11 o’clock. Workers in the school are Mes dames Clyde Hall, M. A. Hines, Van Dillon, Jr., Ralph Triplett, W. L. Hine, C. H. Leary, Roscoe Poplin, Rich Chatham, George Royall, H. L. Johnson, Robert Lankford, Jack Elderton and Misses Margaret Click, Anna Ka thryn Dobson, Bettie Harris and Bonnie Jane Hall. The school will close Friday with each of the three depart ments having a social. Mrs. M. B. Lee and Mrs. Mason Lillard have been co-workers in planning the Methodist School. Registration at First Baptist Church will be held Friday, June 13, at 9 a. m. Mrs. Adrian Nixon and Mrs. Livingston Williams are superintendents for the school. Workers are Misses Emma Cooke and Ruth Masten and Mes dames Leslie Reinhardt, Fred Harris, G. H. Tatum and Mrs. John A. Sears. The school will continue throughout the week of June 16. Tentative plans are being made by Elkin Presbyterian Church for a Bible School to be held in July. Churches in Jonesville and sur rounding communities have schools in progress at present and others are making plans to begin within the near future. John Garris, Jr., Is Guilty On 2 Counts John Garris. Jr., charged with breaking and entering, was given a suspended sentence of three to five years in the state prison at Raleigh in Surry superior court last week. Conditions on which the sen tence was suspended were that Garris pay the cost of the action, show good behavior and not go about the home of his sister, Mrs. Mary Colbert, for three years. He was sentenced to six months on the roads upon conviction on a charge of malicious injury to property. 3,200 Mile Trip Fails To Bother Man And Nag - . In No Hurry, Make About 25 Miles Daily BY THOMAS WILSON When Richard E. Cook heard the call of the open road last Oc tober, he responded by giving up his job as driver of a livery truck and setting out on a 3,200-mile trip from his home in Midland, Michigan, to Florida and return. But his means of transportation isn’t exactly what the gasoline advertisers have in mind when they urge people to travel. It is a horse-drawn, home-made house on wheels, and the only resemb lance it bears to an automobile lies in the fact that it rolls on rubber tires. It rolls only “about 25 miles a day,’’ but that’s fast enough for Mr. Cook. He set out to see the country, and at that rate of travel I the scenery doesn’t whiz by so fast that he misses much. Mr. Cook passed through Elkin Monday on the homeward leg of his journey, and stopped just out side the city limits to cook dinner and let Buck, his white Perchion horse, get some rest. “I never really saw the country until I took this trip,” said Mr. Cook. ‘‘I’ve traveled a lot in au tomobiles, but they’re too fast. You can’t see the country from an automobile.”' The unique traveler got out a stove that he had built from an old gasoline tank, lighted a fire, (Continued on page eight, 1st sec.) JESSUP APPEALS TO HIGH COURT Convicted Of Second Degree Murder, Ml. Airy Man Re leased On $15,000 Bond IS GIVEN THIRTY YEARS Robert L. (Bob) Jessup of Mt. Airy was released under bond of $15,000 Saturday following his conviction Friday of second de gree murder in the killing of Roy Towe on March 15, The bond was signed by W. E. Gillispie, Fred R. Jarrell, B. J. Rattie and Nannie J. Rattie. Jessup was sentenced to serve 2D to 30 years in the state prison at Raleigh last Friday by Judge Frank M. Armstrong when the jury brought in its verdict after deliberating for nearly nine hours. Jessup’s counsel filed notice of appeal to the State Supreme Court. The. Mt. Airy man had been charged with first degree murder for the fatal shooting of Towe near the Bunker Woods service station in March. According to testimony, Towe had started to leave the station when Jessup asked him to wait. Towe was found a few minutes later with two bullets in Ids body. Witnesses said Jessup was standing over Towe’s body with a pistol in his (Continued on pa^e eight, 1st sec.) Local Red Cross Donates $500 To Co. Health Dept. The local Red Cross Chapter has presented a check for $500 to the Surry County Health Department for the purchase of \-ray films, it was announced today by C. J. Ilyslup, chair man of the Elkin Chapter. The films will be used in the Health Department’s campaign to x-ray every person in Elkin and surrounding communities in the fight against tubercu losis. LOVVORNISTO SPEAK AT MEET Agronomy Extension Specia list To Attend Session At Dobson Courthouse ON NEXT WEDNESDAY Dr. R. L. Lovvorn, agronomy ex tension specialist in charge of per manent pasture work, will be the principal speaker at a meeting of the Surry U. S. D. A. Council in the court house in Dobson next Wednesday, June 18, at 2 p. m. Plans are being made to develop a permanent pasture improvement program for Surry County live stock producers, and the meeting will be an attempt to coordinate the recommendations of various agricultural agencies on the sub ject of establishing and maintain ing permanent pastures. Soil conservation personnel, ag riculture teachers, instructors in veterans’ farm classes, AAA rep resentatives, FHA supervisors and .leading farmers have been invited to participate in the program. Neill M. Smith, chairman ol the Surry Agricultural Workers Council, asserted that rapid strides have been made in the past few years by Surry County farm ers in improving pastures, but de clared that “much work remains to be done.” He said the use ol lime and phosphate and the dis tribution of pasture seed through the AAA program last year had resulted in considerable improve ment, but that hundreds of farm ers still have “broom sage pas tures.” Mr. Smith stated that best re sults could be obtained by seeding permanent pastures in the fall but that most farmers were toe busy marketing their crops dur ing that season to attend to their pastures. Flat Rock Bible School To Start The Daily Vacation Bible School of Flat Rock Baptist Church will begin Monday morning, June 16 according to an announcement made today by Mrs. Jack Brown, who will act as superintendent ol the school. “They can conquer who believe they1 can.”—Df'yden. . L Elkin Commissioners Name R. L. Alexander Town Administrator $100,000 BOND SET IN CASES Bell Brothers And Two Other Men Are Charged With Bilking Motorists SEEK TO LOWER BOND Attorneys appeared before Judge Felix A. Alley in superior court at Concord Monday after noon where they obtained a writ of habaes corpus for Millard and Glenn Bell, who have been held in Yadkin County jail for several weeks on charges of highway rob bery and impersonating an offi cer. Bonds have been set at about $100,000 to cover several cases against the two brothers. The writ was signed by Judge Alley and Sheriff A. F. (Bill) Mox ley is directed to produce the two prisoners in court at Concord at 2 o’clock today (Thursday) when the judge will hear evidence on their plea to lower the amount of the bonds. Ed Shore, who was charged with the Bell brothers was released on bond of $2,500 for his appearance at superior court first Monday in September. Burton Key is in jail also in the same cases but has no part in the bond hearing today. The defendants claim the bonds required by the magistrate who committed them to jail are exces sive and are asking they be low ered. Attorneys appearing before Judge Alley Monday were F. D. B Harding of Yadkinville and W. M Allen of Elkin. Attorney Eugene Trivette of North Wilkesboro will join them in the hearing today and the state will be represented by Solicitor Avalon E. Hall of Yad kinville. Both Millard and Glenn Bell Burton Key and Ed Shore are charged specifically with holding up motorists between the Yadkin river and Wilkesboro on highway 421 and relieving them of money. In some cases they represented themselves as officers, claiming the victims had violated some law and the money taken was for bonds. Key has admitted his part in the holdups and implicated the others. The two Bell boys are brothers of Marvin Bell, who is scheduled to die in the gas chamber at Ral eigh next week, June 20th, after being convicted of raping Peggy Shore, Elkin girl. Vernon Litteral was convicted with him and is facing execution at the same time The supreme court has denied them a new trial. 170 ENTRIES ARE EXPECTED County Agent Neill M. Smith Expects Large Increase At Fat Stock Show TO PLAN FOR EVENT A preliminary survey by County Agent Neill M. Smith indicates that a total of 170 entries from 11 counties may be expected in the Elkin Fat Stock Show and Sale this fall. The entries from each county as shown by the survey arc as fol lows: Surry, 36; Wilkes, 22; Ca tawba, 22; Yadkin. 20; Alleghany, 20; Iredell, 20; Forsyth, 12; Ashe, eight; Caldwell, six; Alexander, two; and Stokes, two. The figures indicate that tins year’s show and sale wiU be the largest ever staged here. Elkin civic leaders and Surry County Farm Agents are expected to meet at an early date to lay plans for the event. Neill M. Smith, county agent, stated that a large number of interested per sons had expressed the opinion that better prices could be obtain ed by staging the sale approxi mately 30 days earlier than last year's dates of October 9 and 10. “Another advantage of having an earlier show would be that participants in the 1948 show could purchase more small stock, since feeder sales are generally held during the latter part of September,” Mr. Smith declared. He said that a feeder sale has al ready been announced for Sep tember 23 at Jefferson. Tribune Advertising Crcts Results CITY ADMINISTRATOR — R. Lewis Alexander, above, was ap pointed as City Administrator by Elkin’s board of commission ers at a special meeting: last week. He will serve on a part time basis in the new post to facilitate the administration of municipal affairs. His appoint ment was effective June 10. SPARTA WOMAN SHOT TUESDAY Mrs. I’eggy Bowman Hit With Shotgun Blast By Unknown Assailant MOTIVE UNDETERM1NEE Mrs. Peggy Bowman, 47, o Sparta, was shot from ambush a: she was picking strawberries ir the garden of her home near Sad dle Mountain Tuesday. According to G. D. Richardson Alleghany county sheriff, she wa: hit with a shotgun blast at a rang: of 50 to 60 feet by an assailan lurking in the woods at the edg< of the garden. More than 100 pellets lodged ir Mrs. Bowman’s body, one of whicl pierced her right eye. She wa: taken to the Martin Memoria Hospital in Mount Airy where hei condition was said to be critical. No motive could be found fo: the shooting. Officers brough bloodhounds to the scene, but thej were unable to trace the assailant Sheriff Richardson said the in vestigators found the spot when the amfiusher lay in wait for Mrs Bowman, but the trail led only t< the road a short distance awa; where the gunman presumably cn tered an automobile and made hi: scape. Sheriff Richardson mdicater that the SBI might be called t< assist in the case. Receives Injury In Well Mishap R. H. Sheppard, of Elkin, suf fered minor injuries when a pumi struck his head and leg as he wa working in an open well at th< home of Ralph Gentry near Stati Road Monday about noon. The pump was being lowered in to the well, it was reported, wliei the hooks holding it broke. Mi Sheppard averted serious injur; and possible death when he.dodget the pump as it fell. He was treated for injuries t< his leg and head. Two From Surry To Compete In Contest Lorine Snow, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Roosevelt Snow of Dob son, and Sam Taylor, son of Mr and Mrs. P. N. Taylor of Whit< Plains, will enter the distric health contest to be held a Chapel Hill next Thursday, Jun< 19. Miss Snow and Mr. Taylor wen crowned as Surry County, queei and king of health at the annua 4-H Club health pageant staged ii Dobson last month. They will compete with othe: county health winners for tin honor of representing the North western district in the Stats con test to, be held during 4-H Clul week, August 18-23, in Raleigh. of rearing ponds. The Waynesville Pish Hatchen of the N. C. Division of Game anc Inland Fisheries has a capacity for annual production of 25,00( trout 7 to 10 qfcbt* iu length. Poolrooms Are Licensed With Restrictions Elkin’s board of commissioners appointed R. Lewis Alexander to fill a newly-created municipal post of City Administrator at a special meeting in the city hail Thursday night. The new office is designed to serve a function of liaison between the public and the town’s governing body. The board also voted to author ize the issuance of beer license to local pool room operators at the called meeting, but stipulated that licensees must prohibit gambling, profanity and drunkenness in their places of business, and that pool rooms which are unkempt in physical appearance must make improvements. The vote was unanimous on both proceedings. Commissioners R. C. Freeman, J. O. Bivins, Rus sell Burcham and J. W. L. Benson, and Mayor Garland Johnson were present at the special session. Dan Hudspeth, appearing before the board in behalf of his appli cation for license to sell beer, de clared himself eligible under ex isting statutes to receive license and assured members of the board that he would comply with pro visions of the four-point program to eliminate objectionable condi tions at the pool room under his management. He stated that plans were un der way to remodel the pool room throughout. The new City Administrator’s ■ post was established to relieve the . board of commissioners of the | considerable amount of detailed wrork involved in the administra tion of town affairs, and to serve as a medium through which the ; public may obtain more efficient and more effective action on the part of the board. Citizens with problems of a municipal nature will be referred to the Administrator, who will in 1 vestigate and analyze them and 1 present them with whatever > recommendations he deems neces 1 sary to the town board for action. Mr. Alexander, whose appoint ment became effective Tuesday, • June 10, will serve in the new post , on a part-time basis, and empha ’ sized that his duties in the capa . city of City Administrator would ■ not interfere with his practice of : law. However, he will be avail . able at his office at regular hours i to citizens who have municipal ■ (Continued on page eight, 1st sec.) ) COURT UPHOLDS DEATH VERDICT 1 June 20th Set As Date Of Execution Of Marvin Bell, Ralph Litteral ! HAVE LONG RECORDS The Supreme Court of North Carolina last week sustained a i judgment that will send Marvin . Claude Bell and Ralph Vernon r Litteral to the gas chamber on I June 20 for the rape of Peggy Shore last August. , Bell and Litteral had appealed their cases in January after a Wilkes county superior court jury had found them guilty of the crime and Judge Hoyle Sink had passed the death sentence. ' According to the opinion handed down by the supreme tribunal, • "the defendants were accorded a ’ fair trial, free of prejudicial ■ error ..." : Litteral had contended that he j was of such low mentality that he ' did not know right from wrong. : Bell offered no testimony. Unless Governor Cherry inter : venes, the two men will be execut i ed in the state’s gas chamber on l June 20. i Both Litteral and Bell have long crime records. They were ■ arrested last September 2 on : charges of kidnapping and assault ■ ing Miss Shore, of the Pleasant . Hill community, who was then i only 15 years of age. Miss Shore testified that the men forced her into their car on the night of August 23 and that both men as • saulted her following a wild auto [ mobile ride. The two ex-convicts ■ were given death sentences after i a jury, deliberating only 15 min utes, returned a verdict of guilty.