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The Cherokee Scout m
and Clay County Progress P?r Copy
Volume 79 - Number 25 Murphy, North Carolina - January 9, 1969 - Second Class Postage Paid At Murphy, North Carolina
37 % Fewer Fatalities ,
Highway Patrol Reports
Fewer Deaths In 1968
Highway deaths decreased
while the total number of
accidents increased during
? 1968 over the previous year in
six far-western counties, a
report showed that was
released by the North Carolina
' State Highway Patrol early this
week.
The accident report for
District III, Troop F, includes
Cherokee, Clay, Graham,
Jackson, Macon and Swain
Counties, and gives a
county-by-county breakdown
of accidents and injuries as well
as a 1967 comparison.
According to the report,
there were 17 fatalities in the
district in 1968 as compared to
27 in 1967, for a 37 percent
decrease. The 1968 deaths
occurred in 13 accidents, while
there were 19 fatality accidents
in 1967.
Graham was the only one of
the six counties that did not
have any automobile fatalities
in 1968. Cherokee County led
with six deaths, while Swain
listed five. Jackson County
deaths numbered three, while
Macon had only two, with
both of these pedestrians. Clay
County had only one highway
death, which occured when a
10 year old boy was killed
when he ran into the path of a
car outside of Hayesville.
Thirteen persons were killed
School Improvement Project
Continues For Fifth Year
Murphy Elementary school
is participating in the
Comprehensive School
Improvement Project (CSIP)
for the fifth year, Bill Hughes,
principal, announced this
week.
The Comprehensive School
Improvement Project is a plan
jointly sponsored by the North
Carolina Department of
Instruction and the Ford
Foundation for developing new
and improved teaching
methods in the primary grades,
according to Hughes.
All CSIP activity has been
limited to the first grades for
the past two years.
The progress of this program is
evidenced by the fact that first
grade failures have been
reduced by some 300 per cent
in the school year 1967 - '68 as
compared with the school year
1966 - '67.
Hughes contributed part of
this success to the teachers,
who have combined a number
of essential elements to make
the program productive for the
children.
The CSIP differs from
standard first grade teaching
levels in that the children are
divided into four groups, with
each child encouraged to work
as fast as individual ability will
allow. These groups are
flexible, never being entirely
the same from one grading
period to the next. This is to
allow even more individual
growth.
The school day is then
divided into three periods. One
period is lengthly, and the
other two being rather short.
The children have a home
Continued On Page 4
in Cherokee County in 1967.
The total for the year was
pushed upward when three
people were killed in a
car- tractor- trailer accident just
before the end of 1967.
According to the statistics,
Jackson County is the most
accident prone, recording 347
accidents for the year. In order
of frequency, Cherokee
County recorded 212, Macon
203, Swain 200, Graham 79,
and Clay 70. Property damage
ran porportinate with accidents
for all counties, with Cherokee
having $134,114 and Clay only
$24,835. The total property
damage for the district was
$612,871.
A total of 535 people were
injured in 316 injury accidents.
These were distributed as
follows: Jackson, 156,
Cherokee 135, Swain 97,
Macon 71, Clay 45, and
Graham 31. An interesting not
is that there were no serious
injuries in over two-thirds of all
of the accidents reported.
Comparing 1968 with 1967
shows that the total number of
accidents increased only four
percent, while the number of
fatality accidents decreased 32
percent. Persons arrested
increased 17 percent, violation
charges were up 18 percent,
drunk and disorderly arrests
increased 24 percent and 35
percent more were stopped for
speeding than in 1967. The
numbers in 1968 are: persons
arrested, 4718; violation
charges, 5236; drunk and
disorderly, 462; and speeding,
2036. The total miles driven by
Troop F patrolmen was
631,538 miles, a 12 percent
increase over 1967.
At press time there had not
been any fatal accidents in
Cherokee or Clay Counties in
1969.
Local Volunteer Firemen
Extinguish Two Fires Monday
The Murphy Volunteer Fire
Department answered two fire
calls Monday, pushing the total
number of calls answered to
three since the first of the year.
At 8:30 Monday morning
the firemen were called to the
Johnny Ferguson trailer
located at the bottom of the
Texanna Hill, just off the Joe
Brown highway. A large
amount of smoke was pouring
out of the underneath of the
trailer when the firemen
arrived, although no visible
flames were seen.
Someone was apparently
trying to thaw some water lines
underneath the trailer, and the
weatherboard and undede of
the trailer were left
smouldering. The estimated
damage was placed at less than
$50.
The second alarm was
sounded at 1:45 Monday
afternoon. The fireman were
called to the Curtis Body
SHop, which is located behind
the E. C. Moore Company in
downtown Murphy. An open
space heater was found to be
burning up to the ceiling, but
the covering of the ceiling did
not catch fire. Here again
damage was light, estimated to
be less than $50.
* The first alarm of the new
year was sounded at 3:30
Saturday morning, January 4,
and firemen rushed to the
residence of Clarence Davis in
the Tomotla section of
Cherokee County. The entire
house was consumed in flames
Folk Games
To Begin
Folk f*m?s will begin at the
John Campbell Folk School at
Braastown this Saturday night
and will continue each
following Saturday. All ages
aw invited but parents must
come with children under 14
years of age.
There wil be no admission
other than the willingness to
participate.
by the time the truck arrived.
The house and its contents
were a total loss.
The cause of this Are is still
undertermined.
A telephone alerting system
just recently installed was used
in these calls. Town Clerk
Charlie Johnson said Tuesday.
Johnson said that the town had
been trying to get the alerting
system for over a year.
Johnson described the
Annual Meeting
The Cherokee County
Chamber of Commerce will
have their annual meeting and
banquet Saturday, January 25
at O'Dells Restaurant.
The social hour will begin at
6:30 p.m. with the dinner
starting at 7:00.
system as working this way:
when someone at the jail picks
up the Fire Department phone,
the telephones of ten
volunteers begin ringing
automatically and continue
until it is answered. Each of
the ten volunteers contacts two
other men assigned to them,
making complete
communication contact to the
29 volunteers possible within
minutes.
Johnson also said that the
volunteers had completed a 30
hour fireman's school, which is
connected with Tri-County
Tech and the Department of
Community Colleges.
In the event that you need
the services of the Fire
Department, call 837-2212. It
might pay to record this
number somewhere near your
telephone, or better yet,
memorize it.
Babe Ruth League Is
Proposed For This Area
The formation of a Babe
Ruth 16-18 Baseball league to
cover several Western North
Carolina counties is being
proposed by several Murphy
baseball enthusiasts. This
league is different from the
conventional Babe Ruth
leagues in that the age limit is
for boys 16 to 18 years of age.
According to Chuck
McConnell, who is working
with getting the league
organized, a meeting of all
interested people will be held
on January 26th in Bryson
City. At this meeting will be
Bill Sewell of Arden and Dave
Bristol of Andrews. At present
the plans are that Sewell, who
has worked with this league
before, will discuss
organization procedures while
Bristol will talk of
management.
"The largest problem is
organization," MrOnnnoii
emphasized, adding that this I
problem might be solved by I
beginning the league in the i
high schools and then 1
continuing play after school is <
out in the Spring. He said that
Modeal Walsh, president of the I
Smoky Mountain Conference, <
will be sending letters to the (
high schools before the a
meeting on the 26th. 3
Hopefully, McConnell said, J
after several years some civic i
organization would take over f
the organization of the league, r
Each town in the area that /
wants to participate could have /
one or more teams, depending t
on the number of players
available. b
The Babe Ruth 16-18 league a
was formed in 1966 - in an s>
effort to continue the training b
of boys who had no organized a
teams when they graduated a
from the regular Babe Ruth n
league at 15.
ICE ON A CURVE about half wa7
between Murphy and Andrews was
the cause of three separate accidents
that occured within a few minutes of
each other around 11:30 Wednesday
morning. The above picture shows a
head-on collision between a N. C.
State Highway Patrol car and a
government motor poolcar. Patrolmen
Don Revis and Tom Battle were
traveling toward Murphy to
investigate two accidents when the
patrol car slid across the center line
and into the path of the government
car. The ice on the road had caused a
tractor- trailer truck and a small
foreign car to spin across the road just
minutes before. The roadway was so
slick that it was difficult to walk
across the pavement where the
accidents occured. The driver of the
government car was taken to the
Andrews hospital complaining of
chest pains. (Scout photo by Bill
Gray)
'69's Are Green And White
County Commissioners
Public Hearing Is Called
On Rural Federal Housing
A public hearing scheduled
for Friday, January 24, to
determine whether or not
Cherokee County will pass a
resolution for obtaining low
rent Federal Housing projects
was called for by the Cherokee
County Board of
Commissioners at their regular
monthly meeting last Monday.
The resolution if passed,
would include Cherokee
County in federally financed
rural housing projects built
under the Western North
Carolina Regional Housing
Authority. The meeting is set
for 7:30 p.m. in the County
Commissioners room at the
Courthouse in Murphy.
All of the six Board
members were present for the
day long meeting. They were
W. T. Moore, Chairman, Ray
Sims, Luther Dockery, Jack
Simonds, Carlyle Matheson,
and Andrew Barton. L. L.
Mason Jr., County Attorney
and Board secretary was also
present.
In other business of the day
the Board unanimously agreed
to reject the proposed creation
of a regional welfare service
program to be known as the
State of Franklin Department
of Public Welfare and
Rehabilitation Service. The
proposed service would set up
welfare programs in the seven
WNC counties covered by the
State of Franklin without
regard to county lines. The
Board felt that the county was
doing an adequate job and that
any extra expenditure was not
needed. Mason said. This
motion was made by Sims and
seconded by Simonds.
Cloe Moore, Mayor of
Murphy was appointed as the
Cherokee County
representative on the Western
North Carolina Regional
Planning Commission to
replace the late W. D.
Townson. Moore's
appointment was also
unanimous.
Several requests were made
to the Board for work to be
done on county roads, which
the board forwarded to the
State Highway department.
These were: grading and
graveling the cemetery road
near Hiawassee Dam; general
repairs on the Maltby
Cemetery Road; graveling,
grading and paving of the road
from Old U.S. 19 on Martin's
Creek to U. S. 19 known as the
Gold Branch Road, and grading
and paving secondary road
1550, known as Hendrix Road.
In a budget mix-up, the
Board unanimously agreed to
transfer $12,000 out of the
General Fund account into the
General Refunding Bond
account to pay off bonds
maturing in January 1969 that
were not accounted for in the
budget for this fiscal year.
A total of ten holidays were
approved by the Board for
Red &White License Plates Expire Feb. 15
Time is running out fast on
the red and white license plate
now on your car, truck, or
other vehicle, as it expires on
February 15, just a little over a
month from now.
The new 1969 green and
white tags went on sale last
Thursday, January 2nd, at the
Western Auto Store on Valley
River Avenue in Murphy,
where the license agency is
located.
According to Harry Burgess,
manager of the Store, all
self-propelled vehicles that are
operated on public highways
must be licensed.
These include all commercial
farm and private cars and
trucks as well as motorcycles
and small motor bikes.
Burgess stated that all of
these vehicles must have
liability insurance coverage, as
required by state law, before a
license plate can be issued. He
noted that insurance is not
required on trailers, such as
campers and boat trailers, since
they are pulled by an insured
vehicle.
To obtain a tag Burgess said
that the renewal card mailed to
vehicle owners before the first
of the year must be brought to
the store. He recommends that
everyone read and follow the
instructions enclosed with the
renewal card. The name of the
Insurance Company (NOT the
agency) and the policy number
must be written on the back of
the renewal card to obtain a
tag. To speed up the
procedure. Burgess advised that
this be written, dated and
signed before coming to the
store. He also said that it is not
necessary to bring the
insurance card.
No personal checks can be
accepted for license plates.
Burgess added, and that having
the correct change will save
time.
Hours that tags may be
purchased are from 9:00 to
4:00 Monday through
Saturday, with the expection
of Wednesday, when the store
closed at noon.
The cost of the tags for most
automobiles is $11, which
includes a $1 Driver's
Education fee. This fee is
added to all tags over $10, and
goes to the N. C. Department
of Education to help finance
the Driver's Education program
in the amount due must be
sent to Raleigh, and not to
Murphy, to obtain plates
through the
Several makes of cars will
pay up to $15, depending on
Peace Corps Placement
Test To Be Janua ry 18
Cherokee and Clay County
area residents interested in
putting their skills to use in
developing nations around the
world are invited to take the
Peace Corps Placement Test at
1:30 p.m. on Saturday,
January 18 at Room 14,
Federal Building, Otis Street,
Asheville, N. C.
The Peace Corps uses the
Placement Testi to determine
how an applicant can best be
utilized overseas. The test
measures general aptitude and
the ability to learn a language
not education or achievement.
The test requires no
preparation and is
non-competitive; an applicant
can neither pass nor fail.
Persons interested in serving
with the Peace Corps must fill
out an Application, if they
have not already done so, and
present it to the tester before
the test. Application forms are
available from post offices or
from the Peace Corps in
Washington, D. C. 20525.
Fifteen thousand Volunteers
are currently serving in Asia,
Africa, Latin America, and the
Pacific Islands, working with
the people of those nations in
self-help projects ranging from
food production to health to
education.
their weight. The amount due
is given on the renewal card.
The green and white tags are
the same colors used in 1967,
which was the first year that
North Carolina used
reflectorized license plates.
Red and white tags have been
displayed ever since February
15, 1968. Their use from
December 31, when they
expired, until February 15 is
permissible onlyif the vehicle is
registered by the N. C.
Department of Vehicles.
License plates may also be
purchased directly from the
department in Raleigh in
person at the Motor Vehicles
Building, or by mail The
renewal card and the amount
due must be sent to Raleigh,
and not to Murphy, to obtain
plates through the mail
The Murphy agent serves
Cherokee, Clay, Graham and
parts of Swain Counties,
according to Burgess. He asks
everyone coming to Murphy to
obtain plates not to wait until
the last few days of the
deadline.
County employees this year.
These are New Year's day,
Easter Monday, Confederate
Memorial Day, Independence
Day, Labor Day, Veteran's
Day, Thanksgiving and
December 24, 25, and 26, for
Christmas. All of the Board
members voted for the
holidays except for Simonds
who abstained.
A unanimous vote of the
Board placed Chairman Moore
as the Board's representative
on the Political Action
Committee of the N. C.
Association of County
Commissioners.
The Board also agreed to
recommend to the state
legislators of the General
Assembly certain legislation
sponsored, after approval, by
the Register of Deeds
Association.
Bloodmobile
Visit To Be
Wednesday
The Red Cross Bloodmobile
will be in Murphy on
Wednesday, January 15, from
1:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the
Chamber of Commerce
building.
Mrs. Ed Harshaw, Blood
program director for Cherokee
County, said that the critical
shortage of blood throughout
the state compounds tbr
demands for donors in this
area.
People who have colds or
the flu or those that have
recently taken flu shots are not
able to give blood. This has cut
down drastically on the usual
supply. Mis. Harshaw said that
even if only 35 or 40 uaits
could be obtained from the
Murphy area, it would still be a
great help.
The Red Cross has sent
blood to Cherokee County a
number of times in
emergencies, Mrs. Haishaw
stated, and the blood that is
donated here could very well
end up being used in this
county. She emphasized that
everyone who is physically able
should come out and help with
their donation.
Woodmen
Of The World
To Meet
The Woodman of the World,
Unit 891, will meet at the
Murphy Power Board Building
Monday, January 13, at 8:00
p.m.
I I
f Milestones In The History Of Cherokee County, 1820 - 1968 I
BY MRS. LOUISE A BAYLESS
(Editor's note: This is the
first of a six part series on the
history of Cherokee County,
compiled by Mrs. Louise A.
Bayless of Murphy. Mrs.
Bayless, who has spent several
years gathering this material,
said". . .(this has been
compiled from a variety of
sources, too numerous to
mention here. Of particular
senefit, however, have been
the books, "Wheeler's History
jf North Carolina" and "Our
citage. The People of
Cherokee County" by Mrs.
Margaret Walker Freel and by
he notes of William H. West,
>arlv Historian of Cherokee
bounty. Numerous letters and
irticles from the diary of
fiercer Fain and family of
ilurphy. have furnished valued
nforniation. Also material
rom the scrapbooks of my
nother, Mrs. Nettie Graham
Ulev (Mrs. Luther Dickey
Ixley), have help
remendouslv.
While every attempt has
?en made to insure accuracy
nd completness. undoubtedly
ome facts of value will have
?en inadvertently omitted
weing to the brief time
vailabel to assemble the
laterial.
Numerous individuals gave
valued assistance to the
project, notably Joe E. Ray,
Mrs. Mary Porter Fain Owens
(Mrs. Alex), Mrs. Margaret
Meroney Warner, (Mrs. Ben)
and the Murphy Librarians,
Miss Josephine Heighway and
Mrs. Katie Lay (Mrs. W. M. ).
Also, Mrs. Margaret Freel
(Millsaps), Chroniclers and
Historians of the local scene.
Thanks to them, and to many
other well-disposed individuals,
is gratefully tendered for use of
their many stories of Murphy
and surrounding area.
However, they are in no way
responsible for the compiler's
sins of omission or
commission.")
1820 - 1876
-1820- The Baptist Church
had its beginning in the New
World under Roger Williams,
coming to North Carolina In
1727. The Baptist Church of
Philadelphia founded a mission
in the Inidan nation at the Old
Natchez town on the north
side of the Hiawassee River,
above the mouth of Peachtree
Creek. It was established by
Currahee Dick, a mixed blood
Chief. It was placed in charge
of the Rev. Evans Jones, who
translated the New Testament
into the Cherokee language.
His assistant was James
Wafford, a mixed blood, who
compiled a speller. In 1820,
the Rev. Humphrey Posey was
appointed by the Mission
Board of Philadelphia to take
charge of this Mission. This was
a combined church and school,
and the section is still known
as the Mission Farm, presently
owned by W. Dave Townson
heirs and the Sudderth family
in the Peachtree section of
Cherokee County.
Bishop Francis Asbury
preached the Methodist Creed
from 1800 to 1813 Following
him was the Rev. Ulrich
Keener who preached to the
Cherokee Indians.
? 1821- In 1821 a survey was
made to locate the line
between the two states of
Tennessee and North Carolina
in Cherokee County. A
commission including Joseph
McDowell, David Vance,
Robert Henry and others, was
appointed by the two states to
survey and locate the dividing
line.
? 1830- The Town of Murphy
was formerly called
Huntersville, for Col. Archibald
R. S. Hunter, who was the
town's first white settler. He
established a trading post with
the Cherokees in 1830.
-1835- The first Post Office
was established at the present
site in Murphy under the name
of Huntington, Macon County,
on Feb. 23, 1835, with A.R. S.
Hunter as Postmaster. Felix
Axley was shown as the first
entry in the Hunter Trading
Post Account Book, now
preserved in the Murphy
Carnegie Library.
? 1836- The N. C. Legislature
provided that the Indian Lands
west of Macon should remain
under the jurisdiction of that
County until a new County
should be formed for them.
-1838- Fort Butler was
established as headquarters for
the Eastern District, to be
commanded by General
Abraham Eustas, to carry out
the removal of the Cherokee
Indians. Fort Butler was named
for the Secretary of War,
Benjamin F. Buter. General
Winfield Scott was in charge of
the removal, preceded by
General Wool. Captain George
Hayes acted as Interpreter
during the Cherokee Removal.
(Captain Hayes is the
Grandfather of Misses Kate and
Lelia Hayes of To mot la
Section). General Scott was
also to round up aH the Indiana
who had escaped after
President Andrew Jackson's
famous Edit to move West. The
Fort Butler site is now
designated by a granite marker.
The Cherokee County
Historical Society and the
D.A.R. and the North Carolina
Department of History and
Archives have proposed plans
for the restoration or
rebuilding a representative Fort
on the site, now owned by the
Town of Murphy. Land was
donated by the Tar Heel
Investment Company in Sept.
1925, and by Louis Bourne
and others.
-1839- Cherokee County was
formed in 1839 from a portion
of Macon County. Its name
was derived from the tribe of
Indians who once owned this
county. The County Seat was
called Murphy after Archibald
D. Murphey, the "Father of
Public Education in North
Carolina". Through a clerical
error the "e" was dropped in
the legislative act incorporating
the town in 1851. Archibald
Debow Murphey was once a
Superior Court Judge.
Felix Axley who waa born
Sept. 12, 1802 and died Aug.
12, 1858, removed from
Tennaaaat prior to 1835 and
waa Instrumental In the
forming of Cherokee County.
He was considered "Father of
the Bar" in Western North
Carolina and of F. P. and J. C.
Axley. He presided over the
First Court of Pleas and
Quarter Sessions held in the
main building at Fort Butter
from 1836 until Jan. 11, 1841.
1840- The family of William
H. Meroney was the first white
family that lived in the tows
proper. Mercer Fain moved to
Cherokee County from
Tennessee and established a
general store. The Dniry Weeks
taught in the first school,
teaching the Alphabet, in a log
house above Mercer Pain's
store. Other buildings in the
town were the store of
Johnson King and William H.
Thomas,partners. It has been a
mystery how the huge
millstones were moved to the
rite.
-1841- A grist anf flour Bin
was built by A.HS. Hunter on
Axley Creek. It was operated
at one time by the Hugh Hayes
family. It was purchased by the
Felix Axley family who
operated the^mlfl until 1930.
Hunter. He said Uw|Lm dm
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