VOLUME 2, NO. 9
The Alleghany News
A NEWSPAPER DEDICATED TO COVERING THE NEWS AND PROMOTING PROGRESS IN ALLEGHANY COUNTY
$1 00 a Year in Alleghany County SPARTA, N. C., FRIDAY MORNING, APRIL 11, 1941 $L50 a Year Out of County
SPARTA NEEDS NOW . . .
an industrial plant, a mo
dern hotel, a federal post
effice building and a civic
club. Let’s go after them!
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
People
YOU KNOW
In Alleghany
By Staff Writer
ODELL K. RICHARDSON
Another former resident of the
county who has made good away
|. from home is Odell Kelly Rich
r ardson, of Elkin, who at 37 has
compounded many a powder and
pill in the prescription depart
ment of the Turner Drug com
pany. Known as “O. K.,” his
name is synonymous with the
methods he employs in his pro
fession, for every prescription
that he fills must be O. K. and ac
cording to the physician’s orders.
Mr. Richardson was reared at
Stratford, and after graduating
from the Sparta high school he
attended the Appalachian State
Teachers College at Boone. He
taught at Ennice one year, thei
entered the University of Tenn
essee, where he was graduate<
from the school of pharmacy ii
1930.
After passing the North Caro
lina state board he held a position
with a Sylva drug firm four years.'
* Afterward he was with the pre
scription department of Summit
F Street pharmacy in Winston-Sa
lem for a year. He purchased a
drug store in Erwin, Tenn., which
he operated two years and later
sold at a profit. He returned to
Sylva and from there he went to
Elkin two years ago ,to head the
prescription department of Tur
ner Drug company.
Possessing a genial personality,
he has acquired hundreds of
friends who hope that he is a per
manent fixture of the town. He is
a member of the First Baptist
(Continued oh Page Eight)
R. A. Doughton,
John A. Higgins
Named On Board
T h i r d Memhej- oi We
Group to Be Select*
At Meeting Soon;
Within the next few days Alle
ghany county’s welfare board is
expected to meet for the purpose
of electing a third member and
formally organizing.
Gov. R. A. Doughton, who has
been a member of the board for
the past several years, was re
appointed a few days ago by the
state board of charities and public
welfare. At their meeting Mon
day, the county commissioners en
dorsed another veteran member
of the board, John A. Higgins.
These two men must select a third
member and appoint a chairman.
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A new law, passed during the
last session of the legislature,
gave county commissioners au
thority to appoint one of their
own members to the welfare
board.
Blevins Resigned
The vacancy on the board is
due to the recent resignation of
Vance Blevins, who felt he did
not have sufficient time to de
vote to the duties of the job.
One of the duties of the new
board will be to elect a welfare
superintendent, whose term of of
fice will begin on July 1 for an
indefinite period under the merit
system now being instituted in
public welfare work. Miss Lillie
Ervin, of Sparta, has served in
this capacity for several years.
Activities of the welfare de
partment are numerous and in
clude the administration of the
social^ security program, old^age
dren, surplus commodities, inves
tigation of WPA and CCC appli
p cations, aid to the blind and so on.
Two Arrested
In Past Week
Dillon Sedden, 24, of near Spar
ta, was arrested last .Sunday night
by Sheriff DeWitt Bryan and
placed in jail here on a charge of
driving under the influence of
liquor.
At a hearing before Justice Sam
Brown, Sidden pled guilty and
was bound over to superior court
He was also released from jail
Tuesday.
; Paul Vernon, 23, of Galax, was
arrested by Patrolman Richard
Griggs near Saddle Mountain last
Saturday, charged with drunk
P driving and placed in jail here.
Following a hearing, at which
Vernon pled guilty, his case was
si .bound over to court.
Cheeks To Reside In Boulder,
Colorado; Left Here Tuesday
Sunday School
Organized For
Presbyterians
Initial Meeting To Be Held In
Church Sunday Morning
At 10:00 O’clock.
NICHOLS IS SUPT.
Getting underway at 10 o’clock
this Sunday morning, the initial
meeting of the newly-organized
Presbyterian Sunday school will
be held in the church here, to be
followed by a special Easter ser
vice at 11 o’clock.
At a recent organizational
meeting, Glenn Nichols was
yarned supefjntenjent ofThe Sun
day school. AltorJ^Thompson was
chosen secretary and treasurer.
Teachers and their respective
departments are as follows: Rev.
C. W. Ervin, adults; Miss Lillie
Ervin, young ladies; H. H. Hig
gins, boys; M%s. C. A. Thompson
and Mrs. R. L. Berry, beginners.
Until about two weeks ago,
when the Baptists began holding
services in their new church, the
Presbyterians were meeting joint
ly with the Baptists for Sunday
school, which was held in the
Presbyterian church. There has
not been a Presbyterian Sunday
school here since the local church
was built.
Rev. R. L. Berry, pastor of the
church, will deliver a special Eas
ter sermon Sunday morning at
11 o’clock. Special music will be
provided by the faculty and stu
dents of the Glade Valley high
school. All those not in active at
tendance at some other church
are urged by Rev. Berry to be
present Sunday.
Teachers Attend
NCEA Meeting
Harold Higgins Is Delegate
from Sparta; Five from
Laurel Springs.
Six Alleghany teachers, acting
as delegates from this county, last
week end attended the fifty-sev
enth convention of the North
Carolina Education association
held at Asheville.
Those attending the convention
included Harold Higgins, of Spar
ta, Miss Ivy Grace Doughton,
Miss Alice Taylor, Mrs. Hazel
Taylor, Miss Hazel Lee Taylor
and Mrs. Ruth Choate, of Laurel
Springs.
K. G. Phillips, principal of the
James A. Gray high school, Win
ston-Salem, was elected president
and John C. Lockhart, Mecklen
burg county superintendent of
schools, was chosen, vice-president
of the association.
It is the association's policy to
elevate the vice-president to the
presidency, which means that Mr.
Lockhart will become president a
year from now. Mr. Phillips, last
year’s vice-president, succeeds S.
G. Hawfield, of Raleigh, as presi
dent.
The secretary - treasurer is
named by the board of directors
in September. Other features of
the final session were addresses
by Governor Broughton and State
Senator H. E. Stacy, of Lumber
ton, chairman of the 1941 educa
tion committee, and adoption of
resolutions.
—
[ Widely Known Local Attorney
Closes Office After 40
Years of Practice.
George W. Cheek, who had
.practiced law in Sparta for more
than 40 years, and his wife, the
former Miss Mervyn Jones, left
here Tuesday for Boulder, Colo.,
where they will make their fu
ture home.
Mr. Cheek declared he was ex
tremely sorry to be leaving his
native county, where he has so
many friends, but that he and
Mrs. Cheek had decided that the
climate in the west would be bet
ter for their health. The attorney
also said that he wished to be liv
ing near his two daughters, and
that he planned to establish a
business in Boulder.
Dewey Sturdivant, who operates
the Reins-Sturdivant funeral
home here, was named early this
week to succeed Mr. Cheek as a
member of the selective service
board. Mr. Sturdivant is reported
to have agreed to accept the po
sition and his name has been for
warded to Raleigh for affinrfa
tion.
Mr. Cheek was also president of
the district bar association and
United States commissioner for
this county, but as yet no suc
cessors have been appointed.
Born in 1872 at Whitehead, Mr.
Cheek received his education at
the old Trap Hill school and at
Wake Forest college, receiving his
degree in law in 1900. That same
year he came to Sparta and be
gan a thriving law practice. In
1905 he was appointed commis
sioner, serving in this capacity
for 36 successive years.
In between his duties as com
missioner and attorney at law, he
operated a successful mercantile
business. Begun in 1911, it was
sold 15 years later. Two years la
ter he became mayor of Sparta,
serving until 1931, For several
years he operated a tea room in
the Transdu building, where his
law office was located.
Of Presbyterian faith, he was
an elder and leader in the Sparta
(Continued on Page Eight)
Meeting Of Fair
Officials To Be
Held Here At 7
Previously-Scheduled Meeting
Is Called Off Because of
Poor Attendance.
Postponed last Wednesday night
because of a meager attendance,
a business meeting to discuss
plans for the 1941 county agricul
tural fair has been called again
I for tonight at 7 o’clock in the of
fice of the county farm agent.
Officers of the fair association
and members of the board of di
rectors are especially urged to be
present at the meeting tonight, R.
E. Black, county agent and presi
dent of the fair association, said
yesterday. Business men, club
women, farmers and all persons
interested in making the next ex
hibition a big success are invited
to attend and offer suggestions.
Harold H. Higgins, agriculture
teacher here and secretary-treas
urer of the association, declared
that an effort would be made to
: make the forthcoming fair a coun
ty-wide fair, of interest to all
residents of all communities. No
fair was held at Piney Creek last
fall.
Tentative Data
Besides making plans and be
ginning preparations for the next
fair, officers and board members
will tonight set a tentative date.
Alleghany’s fair must be held
a week or so before the state fair
in Raleigh, in order that exhibi
tors may enter livestock in both
exhibitions.
Mr. Black pointed out that he
would like to see more persons
looking forward to the fair, and
preparing for it months before
it actually takes place. “We want
more entries in every depart
ment,” he said, “and I would like
prospective exhibitors to under
stand that it helps our fair to
bring along some product and en
ter it in competition, even though
there appears to be no chance of
it winning a prize.”
Amos Wagoner is vice-president
of the fair. Last fall the officers
of the fair, board members, club
women, and other interested
ties managed to put oyer
the most successful
held in Alleghany, Mr.
planning for the next fair to
on a much larger
last.
‘Protective Custody’ For Axis Ships
When the U. S. seized Italian, German and Danish ships
in American ports for “protective custody” to prevent sabo
tage, the axis powers soon protested the action to the state
department. A typical scene as the U. S. stepped in is the
above in which Italian seamen cheer an Italian flag sur
rounded by U. S. marines shortly after their ship was seized.
A Quiet But Fair Easter Is
Expected; Church Services
Populace Will Attend Church,
Go Fishing, Enjoy Pic
nics On Parkway.
Expected to be considerably
milder than last Easter, when the
mountains and valleys were cov
ered with a blanket of snow, this
Easter Sunday will be observed
quietly here with special services
planned for the churches in the
morning, fishing trips and pos
sibly picnics in the afternoon.
Both the Baptist and Presbyter
ian churches here have planned
special services. Rev. V. W. Sears
will deliver the sermon at the
Baptist church. Rev. R. L. Ber
ry will preach for the Presbyter
ians. Special Easter music will
also be provided.
Several business establishments
in town have announced that they
expect to be closed on Easter
Monday. But the schools of the
county are remaining open and
so are the majority of county of
fices. The Northwestern Bank will
close, however.
Among other churches in the
county to hold preaching services
Sunday are Shilo, Piney Creek,
Rocky Ridge, Big Springs, New
Salem, Prather’s Creek, Liberty,
Whitehead and Laurel Springs.
Providing it is a clear day—
and all predictions are pointing
towards one—Easter bonnets and
new spring outfits are expected
to make their appearance on the
streets. Merchants are expecting
a record business today and to
morrow, for the weather has been
disagreeable for the past few
days.
CCC Camp Gets
Four More Boys
Four Alleghany youths were en
rolled in the CCC camp at Lau
rel Springs last Wednesday Miss
Lillie Ervin, superintendent of
public welfare, announced yester
day.
Boys received at the camp were
Howard Carpenter, of Ennice;
Walter Rose, of Furches; Hollie
Atwood and Leonard Evans, of
Sparta.
Each of the boys was given the
privilege of going to California
for enrollment in a camp on the
west coast
Dentist To Work
At Glade Valley
Having begun his work at the
Pine Swamp school last Monday,
Dr. E. T. Koonce, state board of
health dentist will continue
working thefe throughout the re
mainder of this week and begin
at the Glade Valley school Mon
day, Miss Ola Collins, county
nurse, announced yesterday.
Students at Whitehead and Air
bellows schools are planning to
go to Pine Swamp today for den
tal examinations. Students - at
Hooker and several other small
schools will be treated at Glade
Valley.
Dr. Koonce will probably be at
the Glade Valley school all next
week, it was announced. Other
schools at which he will work
are to be announced later.
I
RE-APPOINTED
Supt. W. C. Thompson, who was
re-appointed Monday as superin
tendent of public instruction in
Alleghany county.
County To Send
Five More Men
To Army Today
Only One Volunteer Among
Group of Trainees Leav
ing for Ft. Jackson.
Alleghany county will this
morning send five more men, one
of whom is a volunteer, to Fort
Jackson for a year’s army train
ing under the operation of the
selective service military pro
gram.
Drafted from the registration
list were Claudis Rayford Dye, of
Laurel Springs; Neil Robert Har
less, Galax; Everette Curtis Fort
ner, Ennice and John Wiley Rich
ardson, Cherry Lane. Earl At
wood, of Sparta, was a volunteer.
In addition to receiving last
minute instructions from mem
bers of the draft board, the five
trainees will this morning be giv
en bus tickets and meal tickets,
entitling them to free food and
transportation en route to camp.
Another Quota Soon
Draft officials have not yet re
ceived another official quota for
April, but it is expected that an
other group of men will go to
camp in the next two or three
weeks. State draft areas will be
assigned quotas every two weeks
from now on in order that a suf
ficient number of men will have
been sent to camp by July 1,
which is the half-way mark.
Unless there are volunteers for
the next assignment, the follow
ing named men will be required
to fill the quota: Lett Joe Cau
dill, at West Grove, Pa.; Wiley
Edison Mabe, Furches; Robert
Rudolph Crouse, Piney Creek;
Dent Bowie Pugh, Topia; and
William Bryan Taylor, Mocks
ville.
Fifty questionnaires were sent
out to registrants last Friday and
returned to draft officials this
First draftee from this area to
be turned down because of phy
sical defects is Bradley Johnson
Superintendent And
Committeemen Are
Appointed By Board
Supt. W. C. Thompson Re-Ap
pointed. No Other Appli
cants for Position.
W. C. Thompson, of Glade Val
ley, was reappointed superinten
dent of public education in Alle
ghany county at a meeting of the
board of education last Monday"
and will begin his fourth year
July 1.
Since there were no other ap
plications for the position, it was
inevitable that Mr. Thompson
would be reappointed. Board
members, however, stated this
week that he had proved so pop
ular and capable in his work that
his reappointment would no
doubt meet with the wholeheart
ed approval of each county school
district.
Like most persons involved in
the public life of this county, Mr.
Thompson was born and reared
and attended school in Allegha
ny. Glade Valley is his home com
munity, and he was born there
35 years ago.
After his graduation at the
Glade Valley high school in 1925,
he immediately began to teach—
serving on the faculty of a Sur
ry county school for one year.
The following year he returned
to Glade Valley and took a com
mercial course.
Davidson college claimed him
in 1927, and graduated him (with
a B. S. degree) four years later.
For three years after his gradua
tion he served as a teacher at
his high school alma mater. The
next year he became principal.
In July, 1938 he succeeeded
John M. Cheek as superinten
dent of public education in this
county.
During his-teirare- inf OfiSeerma
ny changes have occurred in the
county educational set-up. As en
rollment jumped, facilities have
expanded. When the new build
ing at Little Pine and Rich Hill
are completed, the building pro
gram in the four school districts
will have been rounded out.
Besides service on the county!
board of health and work as an
accountant for the county, Mr.
Thompson is a former superin
tendent of public welfare, serv
ing in that capacity until 1938.
He is on the advisory commit
tee of the NYA and is an elder
in the Glade Valley Presbyterian
church.
“Gone With Wind”
Coming Next Week
To Be Shown Here on Return
Engagement With Nothing
Cut But The Price.
which will be shown at the Spar
tan theatre on a return engage
ment next Monday and Tues
day. There will be both matinee
and shows in the evening.
Hundreds of people who saw
this famous picture when it was
here a little less than a year ago
will look forward te seeing it
again. And those who have not
yet seen it will welcome the op
portunity; for on the return en
gagement nothing has been cut
except the price.
This film version of Margaret
Mitchell’s famous book is a mo
tion picture which exceeds in
superlatives, in characters, scen
ery, drama and history. This vi
vid picture of the Civil War is
presented in a most dramatic
manner.
Starring Clark Gable, Vivien
Leigh, Leslie Howard and Olivia
de Haviland, the picture includes
a cast of 1,230.
The burning of Atlanta, Sher
man’s march and dozens of other
historical incidents are shown in
a very realistic maimer.
No expense or effort was spared
in the filming of “Gone With the
Wind," which has been pro
claimed as the greatest picture
ever produced. In technicolor it
is unmatched for its beauty of
scenery.
David O. Selznkk purchased
the picture rights to the book at
a cost of $50,000, the highest price
People of this section will have
the opportunity to see one of the
greatest moving pictures of the
century, “Gone With the Wind”,
Most of Old Committee Re
Appointed. New District
Is Established.
Committeemen for the coming
school year were appointed Mon
day by the board of education
which, at its regular monthly
meeting, established a new school
district in Glade Creek township.
Reason for the new district—
created by dividing Glade Creek
district (No. 3)—is because of the
construction of two new school
buildings in that township, at Lit
tle Pine and Rich Hill, it was
stated.
Work on the two school build
ings got underway last Monday
under the supervision of Lester
Stump, who was superintendent
of the county office and assem
bly building project. Thirty WPA
workmen are employed. The
county board of commissioners
has furnished four carpenters.
School committeemen, as named
at the meeting, are as follows:
District No. 1, Walter Osborne,
Dewey Sturdivant and George
Crouse.
District No. 2, W. F. Parsons,
Frank Busic and Carlie Hash.
District No. 3 (Rich HOI),
Frank Brooks, Tom Greene and
Jimmy Wagoner; (Little Pine),
Kyle Edwards, Arthur Greene
and Andy Evans.
District No. 4, M. E. Reeves,
Van Miller and Colonel Jones.
Only new committeemen were
Tom Greene, Jimmy Wagoner,
Kyle Edwards and Andy Evans.
G. N. Evans was sworn in Mon
day as^a memftgf the board of - P
education. Mr. Evans, of Barrett, -
will in July begin his fifth tertn -
as a member of the board. In the
primary election he defeated Fred
Collins, of Glade Valley.
Order Made For
26,000 Tons Lime
Eighteen Cars of Phosphate
On Way to Farmers Of
Alleghany County.
County Agent R. E. Black an
nounced yesterday that around
2,600 tons of lime have been or
dered for the farmers of this
county, with all but 750 tons hav
ing arrived at Galax, and that
more will be ordered later.
Farmers are being notified
when their lime is expected to
ariVe, and they are being given
the day designated, plus the two
following days, in which to get it
off the car. Mr. Black is urging
them to get it unloaded within
the free time as demurrage will
start several days after they have
been notified.
“After farmers have received
their lime, they should stop by
the office at their first conven
ience and sign a receipt for it,"
Mr. Black said.
To date seven cars of 20 per
cent phosphate have been or
dered, and 11 cars of 45 per cent
phosphate. More will be ordered
later, it was stated.
Lime and phosphate to be re
ceived by fanners in Alleghany
this year is expected to be as
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