Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Why the Destruction of Ec field Trees? For generations Edgefield has proud .of her beautiful trees shady stree'ts, and although we an old town and not specially fa ed with wealth; and few, if any tentious homes or imposing pi buildings, we have been told by siders that our town is consid one of the most picturesque in state, beautiful for situation and markably adapted to scenic and 1; scape effects. Such improvements very tedious and expensive. In past Edgefield had a Civic club w did a great deal of work along lines of beautifying the sci grounds and planting trees. All this has been destroyed. I was saying very recently t lady who lives in another town wi I was a guest, that the Edgef trees were being mutilated, and with others in the company si "We are very sorry, as that has b one of the cheif attractions of Ed field." As a-town grows and begins to < to its interests and to its commun assets, new problems arise wh should be very wisely dealt with \i the proper balance kept. If we not, we will find ourselves in ,a p dicament which will forever him our growth and contentment. 1 should hot act like a parvenne cently fallen heir to a fortune, a buying a large red limousine, dr frantically down the street beyo the speed limit, over running 1 poor neighbors and the children a believing that because we are oc< pying a position of financial superii ity that we can therefore lord it o\ the whole community. We should be well poised and i ceive our new attainments or i quirements with equilibrium a aquinimity, not forsaking the old f the new, but giving to them th( rightful place and their position honor among us. The associatio and traditions of a place are as VJ uable and should be as carefully pr tected and guarded as the modern i terests which make for the comfo and welfare of the people. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, tl seat of Harvard university, stan the "Washington Elm," which hu dreds of tourists visit the town see, around which is an iron railir and on whose bosom are " mar scars, No Harvard student or oth< citizen of Cambridge would dare ( want to touch that tree, for around are clustered the associations c more than a hundred years, and ui der it stood George Washington, th Father of His Country, and thei with his companions planned some <: the struggles which brought victor to the American army. Plymouth, Massachusetts, has a among the most cherished memorial trees standing here, there and everj where on whose breasts are marke the name of the old patriarch wh planted them. These things are of es ceeding interest, and recently thi town was the Mecca for thousand of visitors who went there to see th place where the footsteps of the Pil grim fathers were first planted o: New England soil. If all the ancient landmarks of Ply mouth had been removed; if all th towering oaks had been cut and th original Plymouth Rock had beei thrown into the sea; if there were n< Mayflower Inn and museum to ex hi'bit reminders of the past; if no vis ible mementoes of the memoriei which clustered around the past hac been preserved; if every commercia interest had had right of way to de stroy these hallowed associations anc the ?own had become a replica of its newly established neighbors; if thc citizens of that town had so far for gotten the heritage of the past as tc have forgotten for a moment to pre serve its hallowed memorials, il would not today be the beautiful Mecca for modern pilgrims of every class who hourly make Plymouth a rendezvous, and from whose pictur esque hills these pilgrims look out on the beautiful Atlantic on whose bos om the makers of America had sail ed into port. Edgefield has a wonderful history and heritage. Let us not forget in our haste for material improvements, though they do minister to our com fort and advantage, that there are other things which are necessary to. the happiness of our community. There are other debts we owe the past and these obligations can only be paid by the finer instincts of rev erence and gratitude. There are those, I am told, who gather around them a coterie of their satellites, and laugh at the protests of those in our community who from time to time have expressed them selves at a sense of injustice. It would be well for them to remember the old adage" that, "He laughs who laughs last." Tree culture and forestry are jects of national interest an< greater memorial is being found day to honor the heroes of the W war than the living memorial trees planted on the streets and nues of our towns and cities anc our highways. Recently in the organ of American Legion I was reading s very interesting articles on the pl iiig of such memorials, some of tl being miles of highways bordered memorial trees. This is being don? the most progressive sections of country and even among the col climates. If these can have the o1 hanging trees and the shady la: surely our sunny South should be lowed to have that privilege. Recently at Greenwood, memo trees were planted in honor of Greenwood soldiers of the World -\ an account of which will be found another column. The women of Edgefield would glad to pay a tribute like this to til soldier sons, but they have no ass ance that these living memorials \ be treated with consideration. I hs no authority to speak for the prest Civic League of Edgefield, but I sure this organization stands for 1 preservation of trees. In some s tions of our country I am told tl whenever any question arises in gard to a tree, there is an offic called a tree warden to whom 1 case is referred, and who understar how to adjust the situation for t best interests of the community as whole. Not long ago, the town ordinan forbade a person hitching to a tr on the square, and this was right, for one was glad to obey the law, a; did do it, although at times, it ga me considerable inconvenience b although the people were forbidd even to hitch to a tree, when t town authorities decided they want' them cut down they were cut, and tl people wonder today why it was th a tree so valuable that it must n be used as a hitching post became : valueless that it was utterly destro ed. In Edgefield we have had mai memorial trees. Many of these ai now unsightly stumps of no value f< shade or beauty. Dr. Luther Gwaltney wis a mini ter in Edgefield for mary years, high type of public spirited citizei He planted the cedar trees on "Loi ers' Lane" and the elms and wate oaks in front of his home in Bui combe. This row of trees i.n front <: his home, he said he hoped woul shade the little children as they wer to and fro on their way to school an church and would be his memorial ai ter he had gone. These "rees wer just beginning to serve the purpos for which they were planted-t shade and beautify. No man or se of men had a right to cut cr mutil?t these trees. No private citizen woul have dared to do it and if it ha seemed necessary for the town coun eil to disobey an ordinance ther should have been community consul tation. The roads were bad becaus of the installation of water works but the roads would have ?een gooi now with the trees still standning am the outlook infinitely more inviting as it is today with the trees gone for ever. Those who loved and honoree the name of Dr. Luther Gwaltney fo these many years feel that an incal eulabie and irreparable injustice ha: been done to the memory of thi: good man and the citizens of Edge field who loved him, and most of all to our people who have been de prived of the benefits of his labors. The trees on "Lovers' Lane" made it one of the beauty spots of Edge field. The road was bad because oi the waterworks, and as a matter oi fact and personal observation, had .been neglected more than any othei place in similar condition, but the mutilation of the trees was not the remedy. They are now eye sores to the people who face the street. Com plaints were made about the condi tions of th% street but the cutting of the trees was not the desired remedy. If as much good work had been done on the roads before the trees were cut as has been done since there would have been no necessity to cut them. I have lived on that lane all my life, and the road was as good there as elsewhere in the town under ordi nary circumstances. Mr. Billie Burnett was a public spirited citizen who loved Edgefield and he, too, said that he believed in shade trees, and at his own expense planted many trees which had be come "a thing cf beauty and a joy forever." One generation plants for another. The fact that it takes a tree so long to grow and develop makes it the more valuable and the more im portant that they should be wis dealt with. Many of these trees are mutila and one whole side of them cut,, that they look like a new variety tree with only one side. Not only the trees on the sidewalk mutil?t but those growing in the yards of people. Miss Mary Fair planted memo] trees on the lane leading up to * home of her uncle, Mr. N. L. Bn son, and said she felt the need Shade so much as she walked ei I day back and forth to her work. ' her expense she had this done a said she wanteu them to be a men rial to her after she had passed awi These have also been badly disfigi ed. There is a superstitious idea that certain seasons shade trees shoi be trimmed. This is not the ca: Shade trees should never be trimm according to tree conoisseurs for t sake of the tree. I heard Prof. Mooi of Columbia, professor in the Sou Carolina University, say that eve time a tree was trimmed, there was place made for decay which would nally reach the heart of the tree.' tree on a sidewalk of course, shou not have limbs obstructing the pi sage of pedestrians, or-dead lim which might fall, and there might 1 the necessity for some concessii for telephones and electric lights, b there should be a distinct limit the wanton vandalism which is ben perpetrated on our trees. All the trees on our park were cu That may or may not have been wise step, but I believe that wht anything so drastic is contemplate that there should be a mass meetir of citizens called, and reasons state for the move. Ordinarily people trust the affair of the city to be administered wise! by those whom they have elected 1 office, but there are two sides to question. The officials are the se: vants and not th? masters of the pee pie. This is a government of the pee pie, by the people and for the peoph and as a true Democrat I believe w should have the power of protest an the right to be heard. There shoul be an open administration of affaii and confidence and mutual undei standing, or there will be distrusl and suspicion and a feeling of ir justice. I have recently visited severa towns, some larger, some smalle than Edgiifield. They have more in dication of progress in some of them but trees overhang the streets and r some places large oaks stand in th center of the sidewalks. They are pre served on account of their age am beauty. When ?very tree was cut on thi sidewalk from the home of Miss El la Bates down to the bridge, I pro tested to a member of the counci and he said it was because the side walk was wet and if it was paved the trees could be left. I have noticec in other towns that the tree; stand untouched on the sidewalks paved or unpaved. The same trees which were said to make a wet side^ walk, were the trees which in summei protected the pedestrians and gave them shade. The sidewalk has beer as wet since as it was before the trees were cut. If.no protest had been made 1 would think that the vandalism wai only thoughtlessness, but mrny oi our intelligent citizens have protest ed and their protests have been mel with sarcasm and a threat to contin ue the injustice. These replies to the protest of our citizens have not been calculated to make good feeling in our community. I sometimes feel as if I were living in the days of the Spanish Inquisi tion when helpless women and chil drlen were guillotined without mercy and without appeal. Every tree on the sidewalk in front of my home has been cut from "Lovers' Lane" to the hill. We want shade on the Bun combe streets the same as other parts of our town have. I write this because I must express myself. The people of Buncombe, many of them are protesting. It is too late for us to say anything for the land marks have been destroyed; but I love the whole town and hope that other sections of our beloved city will not be the victims of the axe. Must Edgefield still submit , to the destruction of her landmarks? Rath er let us-spend the money paid to the employees, in planting shade trees along our streets for the comfort of future generations. It is no use to cry, "Peace, peace when there is no peace," for "no question is ever set tled until it is settled right." Henry Ford says: "The principal cause of our politi cal mistakes is our failure to ask questions and our lack cf power to compel answers. We assume that of ficial action is always wise. We as sume that frequent precedent is a sufficient safeguard. We assume that civic responsibility can be satisfied by the phrase, 'It's what they all do.' | What is needed is a citizenship that i will ask questions and not be bluffed into a confused state of mind by the j contempt with which questions will at first be received. If every town ship had a Socrates, a questioner, more light in government would come." Mrs. .Adam Moss and Mrs. J. M. Patterson Guests of Federated Clubs. Contineud from page four.) ed by Mrs. Tillman and spoke on the undertakings of the Federation and of the disappointment that Edgefield was not recently represented at the district meeting at Fairfax; of her taking the place last year of vice president when Mrs. Tillman declined to serve. She said there was a need for more clubs and more women that they hear and see the ideals of the Federation, what women have striven for through the years what they have worked and prayed for, when they had no voice in the affairs of state. Now, she said, we have this added power and another lever with which to reach our standards. Mrs. Patterson spoke of the Na tional Educational work and of the immediate call to plant memorial trees, and of great and immediate ob ject in view, the honoring of our sol diers whom we promised to hold in eternal memory. Avenues and streets are everywhere being planted as memorials. Mrs. Tillman - >duced Mrs. Moss, who in her rmg remarks near her, whom she rt... rred to as "Sheppie" and said they had been college friends at Converse. Mrs. Moss gave a running ?ccount of some of the remarkable achieve ments of the Federation among them the Boys' Reformatory in Florence, the Reformaory for Girls in Colum bia, the School for the Feeble Minded in Clinton, the establishment of the Educational Commission and many other splendid forward movements, which she said they had secured through the^r influence without the ballot, and rejoiced in more glorious achievements with the ballot. She Urged the women to register and vote and to use their influence to secure other votes. One special appeal was for the Home Demonstration work, and Mrs. Moss seemed surprised and lifted her pretty eyebrows when they told her Edgefield was without what she said was the most constructive agency in the program of the county. She urged the planting of memorial trees and the multiplying of clubs. She also welcomed the male members of the club. Rev. P. P. Blalock was present as a member of the Music club and so pleased was he with the addresses of these two honor guests, as well, no doubt, as the others who presided and took part, that he said he was thinking ail the time of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and was beginning to see how Eve could have charmed him into partaking. The persuasiveness and charm of these were irresistablie to him, and j indeed, to all of us. I When the program was over, Mrs. Hugh Mitchell and Mrs. Walter Mc Donald conducted the guests into the dining room where at the door they were welcomed by Mrs. J. S. Byrd and Mrs. J. H. Cantelou. In the dining room, Mrs. P. M. Fel tham and Mrs. Helen Nicholson were seated at the table, the color scheme being white and yellow, with a center decoration of chrysanthe mums. They cut the cream and cake which was also in white and yellow. This was served by Misses Janie Ed wards and Mary Cantelou, who also passed mints. The parlor was rich in arrange ments of red chrysanthemums. Among the sweetest . though the smallest who greeted the guests as she passed down the receiving line with her mother was little Mary dor ris Wright who knows already how to be gracious and smiling. Successful Box Party. The box party of the Waycross school was a pronounced success, the sum of $45.50 being realized from the sale of the boxes, which will be used in purchasing additional equip ment for the school. The box of the teacher, Miss Lucile Brunson, was knocked' down at the handsome sum of $6.50. The Advertiser congratu lates Miss Brunson, the trustees and patrons upon their splendid suc ces. Mrs. J. L. MIMS. Mrs. Ads ' Moss. said she felt at > - hand on Mrs. He. ie laid her .on sitting Program of Minstrel to Be Given in Opera House Fri 1 day Night by Baraca Class. PART ONE: Plantation Scene_'_Entire Company "Dear Old Pal"_Mr. Takis "Good-Bye." Tosti_? __ __ Mr. Contopidis PART TWO: Grand Opening Choruses: "Just Keep Smiling," "Hot Lips," "Swanee River Blues" "That's How I Believe in You"_J. I. Padgett "If I Was What I Aint Instead of What I Is"_R. M. Scurry "Oh, How I Wish I Knew"_Mrs. W. C. Lyon "All the World Will be Jealous of Me"_Mrs. Rudisill "Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go ( With Friday on Saturday Night?" j.J- H. Tompkins "Sweetheart of Sigma Chi"_John Mims "Here Comes Dinah, / " , ", ,. Belle of the Ball" j-- Scurry and Tompkins PART THREE: $ "At Dawning"-_Mr. Takis "Last Hope"-Servetas Brothers Quartette __ _.. __ Messrs. Takis, Contopidis, Servetas Brothers "Won't You be My Honey"_Marjorie Mitchell "Elegie"-1.-._Mr. Takis Duet-Servetas Brothers Quartette-Messrs. Takis, Contopidis, Servetas Brothers "Susan Jane"-Marjorie Mitchell "Who Knows"_..__ __ Mr. Takis "Dark. Town Strutters' Ball"_Annie Sue Miller PART FOUR: CAST OF CHARACTERS: Judge Luke Warm __-J. H. Tompkins Sergeant Much Worn_1~ _J. I. Padgett Officer Cornfed_L_W. 0. Posey Tar Heel Bilkins_R. M. Scurry Peter Pineapple_J. G. Alford Zeke Whitehead_; Hoyle Miller Come On Wherewith_W. M. Harling Alabama Screwluce_Ed Whatley Percy Pinfeather_Dozier Tompkins Lilly White-Sara Lyon Samantha Primrose_Mrs. W. C. Lyon Other Members ofs Minstrel Company: John Mims, Mr. Rudi sill, Rhae Timmerman, Mr. Mobley, Mrs. R; M. Scurry, Sadie Mims, Flora Bethea, Mary Davis, Mrs. Rudisill, Marjorie Mitchell, Anni? Sue Miller. Members of Orchestra: Miss Ruth Lyon, Pianist; Mrs. Walter Cantelou, Mrs. Leon Warren, W. C. Lyon, George F. Mims. H. C. Viele & Co. JEWELERS 1008 Broad Street NEXT TO THE FASHION Formerly on Jackson Street Before Fire* Auto Repairing -AMD Battery Service When you want first-class and guaranteed work on your car bring it to us. When you need battery service come to us. OUR PRICES REASONABLE ALL WORK GUARANTEED HERLONG'S CASH GARAGE JOHNSTON, S. C. Large Stock of I Jewelry to Select From I We invite our Edgefield friends to visit our store I when in Augusta. We have the largest stock of | DIAMONDS ? WATCHES 8 CLOCKS | JEWELRY . 3 CUT GLASS 8 AND SILVERWARE 8 of all kinds that we have ever shown. It will be a pleasure to show ? you through our stock. Every department is constantly replenished j* with the newest designs. $ We call especial attention to our repairing department, which has g every improvement. Your watch or clock made as good as new. 5 Work ready for delivery in a short time. O A. J. REIM KL I 980 Broad St Augusta, Ga. |