North Carolina Newspapers

CLEVELAND;—“A COUNTY THAT LEADS A PROGRESSIVE STATE IN DIVERSIFIED AGRICULTURE, AND WHERE HOSPITALITY REIGNS" paid-up circulation Of This Paper Is Greater Than The Population Given Shelby In The 1920 Census letoelattfi RELIABLE HOME PAPER Of Shelby And The State's Fertile Farming Section, Modern Job Department, VOL. XXXIII, No. 41 HIE CLEVELAND STAR, SHELBY, N. C. TUESDAY, MAY 26, 192V $2.00 A YEAR IN ADVANCE Damage About $18,000 With No Insurance. Fire Started From Kerosene Oil Heater. Other Buildings Threatened. Five families were rendered home less and a property damage of 818,000 to $20,000 was suffered Monday morn ing in a fire which destroyed the Mr?. Webb Eskridge two-story frame build ing on West Marion street, and for a time threatened the Chas. L. Eskridge garage, the T. W. and Frank A. Ham rick Arcade building, the Roberts Mauney Auto parts store building owned by Lee B. Weathers, and Bost’s Bakery owned by J. F. Harris, A. M. Hamrick and E. Y. Webb. The fire ori ginated shortly before eight o’clock when an oil heater used to heat a tank of water in the bath room of the apart ment occupied by Mr. and Mrs. David Roberts exploded and started a flame which soon enveloped the room. Mrs. Roberts heard the explosion and rush ed to the room where she saw the flame and gave the alarm. Damage $18,000 to $20,000. The occupants were soon scamper ing out, carrying their personal be longings and in the rescue work hun dreds of others helped carry out fur niture, but all of the five tenants lost heavily with no insurance whatever. In the hurry to carry out furniture, much damage was done, but the peo. pie worked faithfully and the mem bers of the fire department as well as the volunteer workers put up a magni ficent fight. Although the Eskridge building was burned completely, the valiant fighters holding four lines of hose on the tongues of fire, confined the flames to this one building. Mr. Chas. L, Eskridge says it is impossible to estimate the damage but thinks it will run between $18,000 and $20,000, the largest fire since Thompson’s lum ber plant was destroyed last June, en tailing a loss of nearly $40,000. The rear of the building contained many auto parts, such as engine blocks, fenders, tractor parts, etc., belonging to Mr. Eskridge. Because the building was of frame construction and close in the fire lim its, the insurance rate was prohibi tive, none was carried on building or contents. Five Families. The five families occupying the building were Mr. and Mrs. Hardin Lee. «Mr. and Mrs. David Roberts and Mr. and Mrs. Herman Eskridge, the male members of these, families being employed at Eskridge garage; Kir. ahd Mrs. Carl Ledbetter, Mr. Ledbetter Working at Bosts Bakery and Mr. and Kirs. J. C. Crocker. Fighting started from the roof of Eskridge garage, the nearest building to the flames and near the room where the oil heater exploded. This building was in danger but every precaution was taken to protect the roof. The au tomatic sprinkler system, installed some weeks ago in the garage, nevei got hot enough to melt the heads, efX, cept in the skylight on the saw-tooth roof. The city fighters had 700 fee! of hose in four lines playing on the flames from Marion and Morgan street and from the Eskridge garage roof while more hose was brought front Shelby and Eastside mills. The fire en gine operating on Morgan street had 180-pound pressure which required six men to hold the hose. Superintendent Toms says the water was ample and pressure good all the time, except in the longer lines of hose. Cherryville Comes. me nre department from Cherry ville was called to assist in the event the adjacent buildings caught and Captain Burns with eight men made the run in 23 minutes, but by the time they arrived the flames were under control. Municipal officers and the pub lic appreciate the assistance of Cherry, ville in^helby’s hour of peril and the proferred help of Gastonia which sent out a fire fighting unit but was turn ed back when it was found their serv ices would not be needed. 200 Telephones Out. A a large telephone cable on Marion street was melted by the heat and 200 phones were put out of commission,! but Manager Arwood had new poles: and a crew of workers repairing the damage by ten o’clock and expected to have all connections made Monday afternoon. The Boat Bakery building caught on the roof fully 25 times, but men with a hose line extinguished the flames as fast as they started. Plate glass show windows in the Roberts-Maun ey building and the Hamrick Arcade; building were broken by the intense heat. Had the wind been blowing as it did on Sunday, the fire might have j spread across the street and" wiped out the main business section of Shelby. : Timely help on farm problems may he secured by consulting the county and Pome agents or by writing to the State college at Raleigh for an exten sion publication dealing with the fcdoblem. farm Polks of ( leveland Are Smiling Now With (food Stands of Cot ton and Fine Crop Prospects. When the farmers of Cleveland county smile good cheer prevails all over the county and even in the towns, for the farmers are the mainstay of the county. Last week an optimistic feehng gradually entered the county ar.d by the end of the week farmers who gathered in town were wreathed in smiles over crop prospects for the year. Some weeks back the farmers were inclined to have the “blues’’ because of the cool spell that prevented the cot ton from coining up and in many sec tions the talk began to center around re-planting, but with several summer like days the “blues" have vanished and there is probably more enthusiasm over tha coming crops than ever be fore. There is a good stand of cotton in practically every section of the eoun ty and the “white gold’’ is growing fast with the hot days and consequent cultivation. The farmers who say that the crop this year will be better than ever base their prediction on the fact that the land over the county was prepared better this year than ever before; the good stand, proper ferti lization and a diversified crop that looks well to take care of the neecssary feed for farm stock. County Agent Lawrence believes that the feed crops this year in Cleve land will be considerably larger than ever before and that less feedstuff will have to be bought than ever be fore—which has ben one of the majo* programs of the county board of agri culture. All in all say many of the county’s leading farmers; “Prospects for a good crop are brighter at this [period of the year than in our mem ory.” I'se More Fertilizer. More fertilizer was used by Cleve land farmers during the planting sea son this year, or since January 1, than in the farmin history of the county, ac cording to an estimate made by Court, ty agent Lawrence who in making th« estimatg used actual figures to base his total amount. His belief is that at least 35.200 tons of fertilizer has been used which with the minimum aver age price of $30 per ton would make SI,056,000 that was silent for fertili zer. One rnilion dollars' and more for fertilizer in one count! Is there a ,y wonder why Cleveland farmers lead and are smiling. Five Districts Combined in No. 9 and No. 10 Townships. Election to Be Held. Other Meetings. The county board of education held a special session Friday afternoon at 2 p. nr. in the court house auditorium at which time the county-wide plan of school organization was modified, affecting all of the schools of No. 10 township, together with Belwood and Richards schools of No. 9 township. At the regular meeting of the board on the first Monday of June a petition will be presented signed by a number of the qualified voters and the school committeemen in the Belwood, St. Peters. Ledfords, Mulls and Pleasant Hill school districts, asking for an el ection to vote on the levy of a fifty cent tax on all real and personal prop, erty with a view to erecting a ten or twelve room brick building at Kn°B Creek church in No. 10 township. This consolidation comprises the above school districts in full with the ex ception of Pleasant Hill and Richards schools. All the territory in the Pleas ant Hill school district west of Knob Creek was transferred to the White school district of No. 11 township Onlv the territory in the Richards dis trict east of Knob Creek is to be in eluded in the new proposed district; all the territory lying west of said Knob Creek shall remain a part of the Piedmont high school proposed consol idated district. Offers Site Free. It is proposed that at some future time to make Philbeck school of No. 10 a part of the Casar school district. A generous donation has been offer ed from Mr. George Martin of four to six acres for a school site at Knob Creek church, one half mile from the state highway and in full view of same. This meeting was attended by all (.CoBtmuea on page _-i-y/. Well Known Lumber Manufacturer in Business 50 Years, Succumbs to Bright’s Disease at 72. Mr. VV. Horace Thompson, life-lone lumber dealer and manufacturer C?*! Friday afternoon at his home on West Warren street following an illness of several weeks with Bright's disease and his body was buried in Sunset cemetery aSturda.v afternoon at 2 o'clock, the funeral services being con ducted from the residence by Rev. C. F. Sherrill, assisted by Rev. A. L. Stanford, a large crowd of friends and relatives attending. Mr. Thompson was forced to retire from business about four years ago because of failing health and gradu ally his condition has been growing from bad to worse until he became un conscious several days prior to the final summons. Mr. Thompson was a native of Lincoln county and was 72 years old lagt December. For nearly half a century he was a leading lum er dealer and manufacturer, half of which time he operated in upper Clev eland, the other half in Shelby. For a number of years he operated a shin gle mill and when the Southern rail way was building extensively in the South, he filled an order for two mil lion shingles. The manufacture ot sash, doors and blinds, mouldings etc., was begun at Belwood. In 1900 he moved to Shelby and for awhile was proprietor of the Commercial hotel. As a lumber manufacturer, he had a number of partners, the firm name be ing Thompson'and Blackwood, Thomp son and Gantt, Thompson and Sons, Thompson-Branton Co., and later The Thompson Co., with his sons as part ners. air. mompson joined me metnocusi church and was astewart at Kadesh, I*'or many years he was active in church work and a Sunday schoo? teacher. He was married to Frances Hoyle who was a most faithful wile and mother. She survives and is a twiA sister of Mrs. R. E. Porter, mother of Mrs. Charles L. Eskridge. The follow ing children also survive: Mrs. A. C. Durham and Mrs. J. W. Austin of Bel lingham, Washington: Mrs. Dwight Carver of Miami, Fla.; Dr. C. A. Thompson of Hugo, Okla.; Emmett, ot New York city; Z. J., Carl and Rush Thompson of Shelby. Also surviving are two brothers, O. F. Thompson of Bellingham, Wash.; Cicero Thompson of Shelby; two sisters Mrs. F. M. Dix on of Hendersonville and Mrs. W. J. T. Styres of Cherryville. At the funeral services three vocal selections were rendered by Mrs. P. L. Hennessa, Mrs. Grady Lovelace, Mrs. T. J. Babington Messrs. C. A. Burrus and Fred Callahan. The following serv ed as pall bearers: J. H. Quinn, M. M. O’Shields, C. S. Young, J. L. Lackey, W. D. Broadway, W. D. Babington and Dr. E. A. Houser. Chautauqua Here All Next Week Redpath Chautauqua will be in Shelby all next week, the program covering five days from Tuesday, June 2, through Saturday, June 6 inclusive. The program of the Chautauqua, an annual attraction in Shelby, is said to be better than that of last year and highly enter taining and educational. Tickets are being sold by vari ous committees of the Womans and members of the club hope to have the required number sold by the first of the week if possible. Those who intend to buy tickets are urged to do so this week. Sales will be made by any mem bers of the club, and those who are not visited should call Mrs. Fred Morgan, Mrs. T. W. Hamrick or any of the committee heads. Plenty of binder twine on hand at 0. K. Ford Co.'s. ad For Geiser threshing machines and jurts see p. £. Ford company. act j Local Masons Hold Election and Last Meeting in Old Hall. Will Meet In New Temple Friday Night. The last regular meeting of local Masons in the old Masonic hall on I.a Fayctte street was held hut Friday evening, at which time officers of the lodge were elected. Attending the meeting was one of the largest crowds in some time it being necessary t > pro vide additional esating facilities to ac commodate the many Masons attend ing. In the election Fapt. .1. F*mk Rob Carr E. Cline was elected senior war den; George Washburn, junior war den; C. S. Young treasurer, and Rus sel Laughridge, secretary. The other officials will be appointed. Retiring officers were: C. S. Young, worshipful master; Will Metcalf, senior warden; Carr E. Cline, junior warden; J. F. Roberts treasurer and Russell Laugh ridge secretary. To Enter New Temple. On next Friday night the Masons ot this section expect a big event when they gather for the first time in the handsome new Masonic temple on the Washington-Warren streets corner of the court square. At this meeting there will be work in the first degree with three candidates. The new temple is practically com plete and the interior decorations and furnishings ready for the opening. The grand lecturer, who visited Shelby re cently, termed the new lodge rooms in the temple the be:«. fitted and most beautiful of any he has seen in re cent years. The temple itself ranks among the leading Masonic structures in the state and is a credit to the high standard of the men by whom it was erected. Prominent Member of Cleveland’s Most Famous Family Passes. Son of the Late Tom Dixon. Dr. Frank Dixon, nationally famous lecturer and a member of Cleveland's most prominent family, died Saturday in New York where lives his brother Tom iDxon, internationally known playwright and author, according to dispatches from the metropolis. Thfe deceased was rated as perhaps the most noted member of the great Dixon family arid was born h#re, the son of the late Rev. ThcWas Dixon, one ot North Carolina’s outstanding pioneer Baptist ministers. His family consisted of two broth ers and two sisters: Rev. Amzi Clar ence Dixon, renowned as a church lead er and minister in America and Eu rope; Tom Dixon, author and play wright, of Newr York, and creator of “The Birth of a Nation.”; Dr. Delia Dixon-Carroll, well known woman phy sician of Raleigh, and Mrs. Thacker, wife of a well-known Presbyterian minister of Richmond. The Dixons were all born here and received their education in this sec tion, leaving Carolina for wider fields and greater renown. Frank Dixon is known and well remembered by all the middle-aged and elderly folks of the county who recall easily incidents and episodes in his early lifeWhen the famous family lived here. His last visit was several years ago to attend a reunion of his family, which was quite an event in the life of Shelby and the county. He was a power on the lecture platform and combined the swaying powers of his two fa mous brothers in his ability to charm mammoth chautauqua crowds the country over. Although he devoted the major portion of his time to the lec ture platform he was also renowned as a church leader. A Raleigh dispatch regarding his death adds: “Dr. Dixon’s illness called his sis ter, Dr. Dixon-Carroll, to him but he died two hours before she reached him He was regarded in many respects the most noted'of the boys in the family. He was but a little short of Tob Dixon in his platform powers and was as highly esteemed for church leadership as his brother, Amzi Clarence.” Expression Recital. The expression class of the Shelby high school will give a recital Tues day evening in the Central school au ditorium under the direction of theii instructor Miss May Washburn. The program is said to contain some inter esting numbers and as the first ex pression program in the school will be largely attended it is expected. Girls no doubt have a fondness for nifty clothes, but they are not entire ly wrapt up in ihtni.— Florence tAUi.) Herald. ' 4 MR. GEORGE BLANTON OF SHELBY Mr. Blanton was one of the nominees last week as district dir ector of the North Carolina Cotton Growers Association, but it is not known whether he will accept if electai. Mr. Blanton is active vice-president of the First National Bank of Shelby, with total resources of over four and a half million dollars, one of the largest farmers in this section of the state, chairman of the board of trustees of the N. C. Orthopaedic Hospital at Gastonia and otherwise prominently identified with the business life of the county and state. "CASET" MOHS LEADS SHELBY HIGH TO SE5I0 SWOT STATE TITLE 16-Year-Old Jack Hoyle Stops Clayton With Four Hits And With Errorless Support By Young Surprise Team Easily Wins Champion ship Game. Grice Stars At Bat, And Victory Gives Town A Thrill. Just another title,” laconically re* marked 13 determined youngsters who returned Sunday from Chapel Hill, where on Saturday they surprised the state by winning the state high school baseball title for the second time, de feating Clayton Highs, Eastern cham pions, 5 to 1. It was not the first surprise the little club, coached by “Casey” Morris, has handed <*tjt this season for their string of victories has been a sucoessioh ol! surprise^ and pot uritil the final game did Shelby fan* realize that the peppery bunch knew not the meaning of defeat, and that be. sides being the youngest club to ever cop a state title was also the hardest) fighting, winning a state title when the odds were against them, even at home. As the score trickled into Shelby by inning* Saturday afternoon with one goose egg after another going up the large crowd of fans gathered about realized that the litle club was put ting up its best battle and when the early frames had been passed with out a marker being chalked up against Morris’ boys it was figured that the youngsters were well by the stage fright period and victory could easily be seen. Needless to say when the end of the game brought Shelby the state baseball title twice in succession—a reeord for the state—there was quite a demonstration and a miniature cele bration for the boys and their coach for the honor brought again by them to the town. (Jive Hoyle Great Support. To Jack Hoyle, the youthful Shelby hurler, goes much of the credit for the state title by holding the heavy hitting Clayton boys to four scattered hits he made the victory possible, but to his teammates, who for an oddity, even though in a tense title game where veterans blow up, played their first errorless game and never once bob bled or wavered during the contest as the twirler they supported never weak ened. To Grice, young guardian of the initial bag, went the hitting honors with the fleet-footed Magness and Cap tain Beam as close seconds. And to Morris, the big silent coach who makes champions out of apparently hopeless looking youngsters, goes the honor of directing a championship club in his first year out of college. To the town comes another realization now—that of having a coach wilhout equal in the state, and to Bill Fetzer there must have been some pride in witnessing the success of his favorite pupil and Carolina’s most popular athlete—and this summer many will be the Shelby fans that will journey to the profes sional games in which that coach per forms. For eight frames Hoyle held the Eastern champions to two hits, the two others coming in the ninth after two were out and without a score be ing made. Williams, Claytons famous high school mouncitiimii, \c&* tucked for seven hits and with a half dozen bobbles by his supporting cast could nob hold back the Shelby tide. The five opening frames were nerve-racking as both clubs failed to score, although Shelby jammed the bases in the first but could not put over a marker. In the sixth Hoyle issued a free pass to Rob inson, and Lassiter, next man up, drove on to center where it struck the University track took a bad bound that made it hard to retrieve and was credited with atwo-base blow while Robinson scored. But here Clayton’s scoring ended abruptly as Shelby i broke forth in the same frame with two clean singles and an infield hit mingled with four bobbles by the East ern champions and chased over five runs, enough to easily stow the title away. Even though Williams was a loser it was much of a twirler’s duel for Shel by’s seven safeties were by three men Grice, Beam and Magness, each of the trio securing a two-base clout. Wil liams, the Clayton hurler, secured two of the four hits off Hoyle, and only one blow, that by Lassiter., went for extra bases. The Shelby hurler issued only two walks and stopped eight Clayton' hitters by the one-two-three route, Williams walking one and whiff ing three. Got Title Habit. Clayton Roberson, 2b 1 Lassiter, If . 1 Parrish, ss Williams, p _ Clarks, cf J. Burner, 3b Allen, lb _ D. Barnes, e Wilder, rf __ AB. It. H. O. A. 3 10 3 3 3 0 1 4 0 0 4 0 2 4 0 1 4 0 0 3 0 0 _3 0 0 5 -3 0 0 1 2 1 1 1 3 7 Totals _31 1 4 24 13 Shelby Wilson, If . Self, 3b . Magness, cf Beam, c Dedmon, rf Harris, rf Dixon, 2b Grice, lb_ Connor, ss . Hoyle, p_ AB. R. H.O. A. 3 .3 .4 4 --3 4 1 0 1 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 10 10 13 8 0 1 2 2 8 3 3 0 0 1 2 4 0 0 1 2 Totals _ __33 5 7 27 6 Clayton Shelby 0Q0 001 000—5 000 005 OOx—5 Summary: Errors, Robinson (2), Lassiter, J. Barnes. Two-base hits, Beam, Grice, Lassiter, Magness. Sac | rifice hit, Connor, Stolen base, Dixon, Wilson. Base on balls, of Hoyle 2; off Williams, 1. Struck out, by Hoyle 8; by Wiliams 3. Hit by pitcher, Wilson i by Williams. Left on base, Shelby 6; | Clayton, -i. Umpires, LcGrundc uud i Lawmen, CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT IN SHELBY Miss Bowman. Health Nurse, Cites Cases Of Distress That Moves Kiwanians To Open Purposes. Miss Irma Bowman, city school nurse, touched the hearts of Kiwan ians Thursday night when she spoke on the “Underprivileged Child,’’ u question which has been command ing the attention of Kiwanians where - ever they are organized and while the club has adopted a policy not to take up collections, the sympathetic hearts of the members impelled them to give something toward the relief of children right here in Shelby who are suffering for medical, moral and mental attention. The collection was n liberal one and was made without solicitation ufter she had reported a number of homes where children are becoming charges on the community because of defective teeth, impaired hearing, undernourished bodies, di seased tonsils. In a number of cases the parents are too poor to pay for medical and surgical attention to cor rect these defects, too poor to buy proper food to nourish their frail bodies and in some cases too ignor ant to feel the necessity for such im portant treatment. Miss Bowman came not to seek money, although funds are needed for systematic charity in Shelby. But the startling facts of distressing cases which she reported were new to the ears of many within the sound of her voice and they would not leave the meeting without making a contribu tion for these underprivileged child ren. ignorance and rrejudice. Miss Bowman has done a great work among the children In the Shel by Public schools. After finding de fects by an examination of the en tire student body, she has visited all of the parents and advised that they consult a physician, u- »tist or ocu list, or change the child's diet, but in too many cases ignorance and pre judice on the part of the parents have caused them to neglect these children and as a result thereof, they will go through life under a great handicap, become charges on the community or meet a premature grave. There is another class of defectives who belong to homes of affluence where the parental love is so great that the parents had rather their con dition continue than to see them suf fer any pain. | Speaking from the standpoint of a physician, Dr. lE. B. Lattimore ex pressed the hope that a clinic could be held in Shelby again this year so these children can receive attention at a minimum of cost or without any cost whatever. He expressed the opinion that many of the cases are due to ignorance and prejudice dn the part of parents but that as the years, go by and hospitals are provided, the “under-privileged children” are grow ing fewer in number. Rev. W. A. Murray speaking from the standpoint of a minister called upon the men to give their children a right sort of moral training, which he declared more important than the physical and mental defects because the moral side of a child’s life con cerns its eternal salvation. He ap pealed to the fathers not to “pass the buck” to mother but cited scripture to prove that the father has a re sponsibility for the child's religious training that is just as heavy and im portant as mother’s duties. ROBED KLANSMEN CALL ON ERRING NEGRESS Visitors in town from the Patter son Springs section on Saturday told of a nightly visit in their section Fri day right by robed knights of the Ku Kiux Klan. The Klansmen, 15 or 20 in number, according to reports, called upon a negress of that section whose conduct of recent months has been a source of irritation to the people of the community. Three negro men were at 1 the house, it is said, when the silent party made its visit, but they soon departed and those in the section say that a solemn warning was issued I the negro woman about her conduct. A Patterson Springs man says that the woman had been giving a con siderable bit of trouble and that re cently upon being spoken to by a white woman talked outrageously to the white woman and “cussed” the Klan when warned about what they migh+ do. It is said the white woman then upon addressed a communication to Klans at Shelby arid Gaffney and it is thought that the isit resulted therefrom. The lark is said to be an early riser among birds, which doesn’t mean that rising early is a lark. There are times when the noise on the radio sounds like jt might bo from another world—it’s bo ucaat*