University of South Carolina Libraries
*1 The Camden Chronicle ~ "" I | , SB, ,UME4l. CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROUNA, FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1928. NUMBERS. s)ted humorist successful despite physical handicaps br several years the readers of paper have enjoyed the quaint on of homor from the pi n of .Gee who has become noted for his figs, and we are glad today to bio to present the story of his as furnished in the following jh by David English Camak, of Anderson Stiect, Groeville, S. C. itor of Chronicle:) ,rty-nine years ago W. Frank Mcs whose pen name is Gee McCiee, born on the bank of the 8avanKiver near Anderson, 8. C., his >nt home, ien Frank was eleven years old if To red the loss of his right hand, eft eye, the hearing of the right md half the efficiency of the left ink's .father, operated a cotton ind it was the boy's job to carry luffy white lint from the conir to the press. One day he was assisted by a boy chum, Charlie Jslow, ?nd they were having the of their lives, diving into the pile of lint and coming up with annfulls of the fibre, looking )ugc walking snow-balls as they iperxid away to the press room, it as the two bqys were about to into the -cotton for another load ile burst into flame wyth a soft ed sound like explosion of loose er. Frank hud the presence of to jump beyond the further 1 of the blaze, springing out of ir?e like a blazing torch. Charlis down in his tracks, and was ed to death in a few minutes, my seeing Frank in the agonies: ie months that followed, thought is a pity he had nod gone with lie; he would be ao horribly icapped for life. wewr, Frank not only refused e, hut learned to laqgh at his icaps. He had one good hand >one bright, beaming eye, and half the hearing of one ear. What if hli face was covered with scars? 'Twasn't looks that made th^ man. So Frank taught his left hand the, running of the righfc- fastened a leather strap to the charred stub of the right, hooked it over the plowhandle and proceeded to make q. regular hand in the held. Jn this position Prof. J. F. Harper, who told me this story, found Frank and persuaded hia father to allow him to attend school in the village nine months in the year instead of the three months which was the limit of thp ! local school, Thus Frank got twentyseven months of schooling In the vilj luge, which, added to his previous opj porUmities, made ubout forty months, J or four und a half yours schooling in his life. During the three years in the village he galloped through book after book, finally finishing the first year ih high school. .. I About this time an agent at the local railroad depot took an interest iu Frank and began teaching him telegraphy. At the 'end of one year the agent was transferred, and Fra?$t; took his place, at a salary of thirty, dollars per month. - - , i From the very beginning, Fmnkj made it a rule to save half his salary,,! Directly he was buying land and: , farming it on the share-crop plan.! Then he opened a country store and: (was soon doing a eixty-thousand-dollar business. In the meantime he had become a trustee of the locdt public school and had married ose-of the teachers, a young woman eof beauty and culture . who had Hie spiritual discernment to see the real man behind his physical deformities. He says she made him; she says ?!he discovered him. Together, McGee and his wife cmtie to the county seat, Anderson, ten years ago, where he entered the mercantile life of the little city. Todsgy, the .wholesale firm, iMcGee and BowIan, of which McGee is the senior partner, supplies the town and vicinity .with a large portion of nts flour., feeds, and coal, manufactures a sir. .distributes many hundreds of bushels at ;oom meal every week, and does enough in fancy groceries, fertilizers,' and so on, to run the) aggregate annual business of the firm to several hundred thousand dollars. iMoreover, McGee is .a silent .partner h} several other businesses, and, as .a private venture, own* and farms eight hundred acres of land. He made his farming pay dividends every .year except the two recent dry jrears when nobody made anything. In dealing With his tenants Mt&ee's word is his bond, and their word must he their bond. 3N*> contracts are signed, no mortgage* taken. Abfifee ;u?is a typewriter himself faster than he can dictate to . a stenographer. He (does all his office work except the book entries, and attends to all the special collecting. Instead <rf the stereotyped statement, he writes each delinquent customer a private letter adapted to the personality-of the customer and the condition of the account. A horn wit and philosopher, he can tell the biting truth to a customer m such a way as to get payment and keep his good will at the same time. Here is an example; Dear Mr . If you want any more free coal, please come and get it; we are giving away only forty tons this season. The delinquent customer called next day, gaijL his_old account, ordeiV ed some more coal, and went awajf laughing. The average annual deficit of unpaid accounts of McGee and Bowlan is only one-fourth percent, _i Beside all his private business, McGee has done some banking, is one of the moving spirits and a director m the largest hotel ,in the city, director in the chamber of commerce, and trustee and treasurer of the city tefrqnUj enrolling five thousand children. He has declined to aooept 'an office in the modest little Associate Reformed Presbyterian church of which he is one of the Main supporters, and which he attends faithfully. Online of his trips to the farm Mc3eo came in contact with pgiaoita ivy. it attacked his face'end became a wry evident affliction. Ota the ! streets ?wm friends (he has them | by the thousands im till wnlks of life) stopped him to express their sympathy, each invariably offering his favorite remedy. The situation became ladicnmiH, mid MtClee "wrote a piece for the pap*jr;" Here it is: Nobody ? Business Remedies For Poison Iny I had fkc misfortune to got poison ivy aJI ow.r my face not long ago. I had to wear the stuff" around several weeks, and the following' remedies were given me, .none of vwhich I used, so I got well without much trouble. Remedy No. 1.?"Bny, you go right home and get you a big dose of salts, and take them, and then wash yOur face good in sassafras tea, and go to bed, and yan'H be plum well in the morning?" Rdmedy Na 2.?:"tf you wnnter get rid of that breaking out all over your face, all yonVe got to do is to take a handful of hog land and rub it good on the .^veiled places, and carry a little Irish tater in your pocket for three days?" Remedy No. 3.?-The only thing that will cure that air poison oak is for you to get two or sthfee fresh chicken livers, and rub on the sore spots before going to bed and getting up. You dpn't carry no buckeye, do you? Well, if yon had a had one in your pocket, you'd a never ketched that stufff^ v ^ Remedy No. 4r?T*ht three or four chaw# of to backer and sacrifice them a little In spearee tebeintime, and make a poltis of it and put them m a cloth gad spread over your face, and before you know it, they will be done healed up!"' ' JRemedy No.- 5.?/The - only- thing that will stop that from a-spreading is rabbit innards. Catch a- few rgfcbita and take their - innards and make/ a poltice and let them lay flat, on your bheaking-but,. and you'll be all aright the next day!" iBomedy No. 6.-?'<My goodness,' you shone look Uke the devil! Boy, that same stuff put my grammars eyes out, Why don't you get you some pepper sauce and pour over a rag and soak y?ur face in it just before meals? -That will sure stamp it out!" Remedy No. 7.?"Gee, whizz! What In the world is you done gone and ketched? Pisin oak? That's awful. L?mme see. If you will take a hitkry stick and cut a notch- hr it, and rub it on them sores, and bury dt while yp? air a-looking at the new moon, you will get well in 24 hours. Yes, sir: Dat's de way I cure.Jedge Brown before de war. What was good den for pisin oak is good now. Please, sir, give de old nigger a dime!" ^ The next day the editor of fhe paper came, to McGee's office and | Waited till he got another "piece" for the paper, and so on day after day till the matter became a habit. That was eight years ago. Today, Gee McGee's daily column, "Nobody's Business,'' is appearing in more than a hundred papers throughout the He writes naturally, spontaneously, almost automatically, in the busy routine and amid thf r distractions of a wholesale merchant's office, recording the things that catch h?; sense of humor or touch off his philosophic mind, taking the everyday things of life as they come and drawing their pictures in print "When do you find time to write?" inquired s drummer one day. j "I've written two releases since you came in," was the astonishing reply. It was my pftVilhg% td~be~ a guest *j in the delightful home of this unusual man. Somehow wo got to talking in an intimate, personal way about tfra . big, <|eep things of life that matter^ ifibtf' directly he whs saying this: "Outside, I'm trimmed up Jot a- j beggar: but inside of me, I always knew I-couldn't ever do it." There lingers with mo the^ light i that came from that lone eye, as it flashed Its message of honor, integ- 1 riiy, and fortitude invincible. - HvM Sumter-Florence Road Scene Fatal Accident Sumter, April 28.?Ont man killed and three others injured, one seriously in a head-on collision between an ambulance and a light roadster eight miles from here on the Florence road at 11 j30 o'clock this morning. 1 (J. Smith of Marion, S. C., driver of the roadster, is in a local hospitaf with a broken leg, cuts about the head and possible internal injuries. His companion, Charlie Youcum, also of Marion* was instantly killed in the crash, his head being crushed and his body mutilated, A. K. Branson, of the ShelleyHrunson Funeral Home, who was driving the ambulance, and Dr. W. H. liarvfen, of Manning, who was riding with him, both suffered" broken noses and u number of bruises about tbe body. Dr. Harvin and Mr. Brunson were taking a patient to Florence when the tottcldent occurred. The patient wue not injured. Another ambulance summoned from Sumter after the crush, rounded the curve near the scene of the collision at too fast a rate of speed and overturned in the ditch. The driver was uninjured. The crash occurred on a long gradual curve which had been rendered slippery by a hoayy rain. The front of the roadster was crushed back into the driver's seat. The heavy ambulance was not damaged to a great extent. Relief Forces Start In Storm Area Atlanta, April 27.?Relief and rehabilitation measures gained momentum, today in the disaster urea of southern Cleocin, where at least 47 person? were killed, several hundred injured and scores rendered homeless in a series of tornadoes Thursday. Five deaths just across the South Carotin., lino, five near Anderson and one near Spartanburg, brought the total tatalities from the disturbances to 62. While local, state and national of-1 nciiils moved to obtain aid for the storm suffered in the form of rodeial appropriation and Red Cross donat '"'is, rescue workers announced after covering the stricken sectors at oi.ginal reports of the number Had b(le" ?* ***?* ? tod due to <lupl)c;itjons in names from various concentration centers. A careful survey showed that a 4*r8,< pait of the discrepancy occurm?d in reports from Metter and States!,oro, some 30 miles apart, and MMJatod m adjoining counties, where the greatest loss of life occurred. This devised count developed that each locality had dapilicated a total of 16 in their respective death lists. 'On the other hand, first reports tthat four Persons Amd been killed in Emanuel county, including two at Norristown, were found to have been erroneous. Of the definite^ known dead, the greatei part were negroes. Under the direction of local Red Cross officials, temporary relief stations began t? function today ir widely separated .Rectors of the storm area, distributing food and' i-lathing to the homeless and caring for tee injured in hospitals and residences of their more fortunate neighbors. -"Co-operating Jwith the national relief agency were the state board ol health imd militia, which furnishec ^deetfu-s, nurse* and medical Rnpplie: },"3din^ *nd tenia 'Tor th? Mfbgew. Appeals for ffunds for the Ret Cross to permit it to complete it: work in the storm ridden territory went out from several localities They wert augmented by a publk statement from Governor L G. Jlardman calling on the state's citizens t< respond liberally.. United States Senator Walter F George took stejw i? Washington tc obtain Federal aid by announcing he would introduce Monday a bill authorizing expenditure of unexpended funds appropriated at the last *???&>? of "Congress for hurricane sufferers in the Southeast for relief 4* the tornado stricken region. -Representative Charges G. Edward? of Georgia, started a motor tour ol Affected regions immediately -his arrival In Savannah thii morning, declaring he sought first hand informstwm with a sriew also to procuring Federal aid. The revised death Hat by comttmnlties; - - ..... Statesboro vicinity, 22. * Metter-vicinity, 18. Cochran, 4. Dexter, 2L Rents, L Anderson, S. C. vicinity, 4. Hobbyviile, 8. C., 1. Man's Body Found <*-, Stokes Bridge, April 28.?Quite a gruesome discovery was made near here some time recently. The body i Archie Trnlti. aged about 60 years, was found m a decomposed state, in tsn untenanted house on Wayne Kmgs plantation. It is reported ISbaV the eyes of the dead man were missing, being probably plucked out bj^vultures and according to tfje Condition of the body, the unfortunate man must have been dead for several days. His living the life of a tramp for many years, altho perfectly harmless, possibly accounted for his not m'88ed by thosc w^? knew him. had any near relatives it is not known.?Bishopville -Messenger. Cooper mine operators in the Butte, . mont., district are to- have Mav CUt 25 ?eTltS per da^ on May 1st, due to a fall in the nric? 25 to 18 cental pound. 5 ii I l.l .. . ' 1 -P ?J' i I . I ? FEDERAL ROUTE NUMBER ONE SOON TO BE MODEL HIGHWAY Augusta, Gu., April 27.?Finishing touches ure now bcihg put*, upon the , Georgia section of the fainouH United, States highway No. I, which traverses , the eastern portion of the United States from Fort Kent. Me., on the Canadian lankier, to Miami, Fla., on the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of' 2,785 (piles. The Georgia section <?f this widely heralded highway, stretching front j the Susannah riser at Augusta, to the St. Mary's river, four and a half; miles south of Folkston, a distance of} about 221 miles, is one of thoj lirtest paved highways to be found :my where. Paving of this section was cont lettjd last January und contractors nre now engaged in shaping up the -boulders so that they may be sodded with grass. This highwuy gives Georgia another important paved throughstate route. It travorses eight Georgia counties?Richmond, Jefferson, Emanuel, Ioombs, Appling, Bacon, Ware and Charlton?and touches the cities of Augusta, Wrens, Louisville, Wadley, Swainsboro, Uuxley, Alma, Waycross and Folkston. Other cross-state highways already paved or under contract to be paved are: Coastal highway f^om South Carolina line north of Savannah to _ Y loridtt lino south of Brunswick, a distance of about 125 miles, which is completely paved to Miami and Tasspa, via Jacksonville; the highway from the North Carolina line north of Clayton to the Alabama line west (>f West Point, a distance of approxiI uately 250 miles, which is all paved , with the exception of four and half ( milds in Gwinnett county, between Lawrencevflle and Buford, and 2E miles .in H$ll and Banks counties . between Gainesville aitd Baldwin; tht - highway from Atlanta to the Floride Tine south of Valdosta, ai distance oi about .125 miles, /which is all paVe'i . except about twenty miles in Turnei " county ami that is nour being paved j .while the highway from Atlanta tc s Chattanooga, a distance of 125 miles is all under contract and being paved ? the highwuy in Dade county, from th< J Tennesson line via Trenton to thi 1 Alabama like, a distance of aboui n twenty-five miles wharh is all. paved ^ ^ number of other .slate highway: nre partially paved, among them thi , Atlarvta-Thomasville highway, a dis tance of about .'100 miles, which h ' more than two-thirds paved; th< > Atlanta-Columbus highway, which is nil paved except about fifteen miles . and that i* under contract; the At, lanta - filairsville - Murphy highway, i {the Appalachian Scenic highway), a I distance of 135 miles, which is all paved except about twenty-five miles. United States Highway No. 1 is < aU paved except three short stretches ( totalling sixty miles, all in South : Carolina, and twenty miles of this unpaved section will be completed , and opened to traffic within the next , thirty days, leaving hut forty of the > 2,785 unpaved. The unpaved section r {-.of^-ciay and is a splendid road. 1 It will shortly be paved. ' .Traffic over United States HighL way No. 1 has been very heavy this Spring. Official counts made on the Georgia section below Waycjoss early in March showed w daily average of 600 north-bound tourist cars and one hundred and fifty south-bound cars. The Georgia section of United States Highway No. 1 is 20 feet wide and about 110 miles of it ds concrete, while the remaining 111 miles is of asphalt and penetration asphalt. It is not only a smooth, easy-riding road but is a most attractive one. So pleased was one tourist with his travel over it that he said he^felt a strong inclination to about face and go back over this highway." L. S. Moody, of Augusta, wHo Ta the secretary of the United States Highway No. 1 association, says that "this highway offers the shortest, most direct, and most comfortable route from the east to Florida, and I it affords the same advantages to a large section of the middle west whose tourists get onto No. 1 over intersecting highways north of Columbia, S. C. 'This important national highway, which has been given the first number in the federal system of roads, now marked with standard United States markers and all the motorists have to do in order to travel by this highway is to "follow the shield.' " Further discussing this great highway Mr. Moody said: "Federal highway Jlo. 1 passes through the states of the far northeast into the historic scenes of the Boston Tea party* New York city and Philadelphia; thence to Baltimore and Washington, and thfa into the heart of Dixie, traversing ' Virginia, tha Piedmont section of the Carolines and Georgia, better known as the Peach state, and finally ending on the aonny sands of Miami Beach. "South of the national capital, tfer motorist will be attracted to this route because of the number of cities and towns through which it pairiftri that holds so much of-diistorical ami general' public interest. After leaving Washington, it leads the traveler through Richmond,'Va., capital of the Confederacy and the interesting battle grounds of the War Between the State*; thence to Raleigh, capital of North Carolina, and IMnehurst, famous resort place. Continuing south, the highway passes through Camden and Columbia, the latter being the capital yf South Carolina, which was burned by General Sherman during the War Between the States. leaving Columbia, the highway passes through Aiken, one of th<Kj famous resort places in the world and: winter play ground of America's foremost poloists and horsemen. "Entering Georgia over the Savannah river at Augusta, which was founded by Ccneral Oglethorpe in 1736, the tourist will find many spots of historic interest. This city was the boyhood home of late President Woodrow Wilson and the old Wilson homo is on FederaJI Highway No, 1, as .well as the Presbyterian church where the elder Wilson preached." Distances from Jacksonville, Ela., to Washington, D. C., and some intermediate pointB ure given as follows: Jacksonville to Waycross, 79 miles; to Augusta, 2^70 miles; to AiVen, S. C., 287 miles; to-Columbia, S. C., 248 miles; to Southern Pines, N. C., 490 miles; to Raleigh, N. C., 5?67 miles; to Richmond, Va., 718'miles; to Washington, D. C., 828miles. Throughout its length in Georgia and Florida United States Highway i No. 1 is state highway No. 4. Thus i the markings?-U. S. No. 1 and State , No. 4?mako it exceedingly easy to i travel. ^ \ Back in November good roads f boosters in the several Georgia cities I along the highway organized the United States No. 1 Highway as, sociation for the purpose of adver) lining and iparking the highway. , Already the association has raised ; and expended $10,000 for these ? objects and as usual the highway is ? one of the best advertised in the t country. Dr. H. J. Cararwell, of Waycross'n i one of the most enthusiastic good! 5 road advocates in the . state, 4s. president of the association, which" * runs from Washington to Los Angeles, and is a life member of the i United States Good Roads associa> tion. Other officers are W. P " ' IMar0tin? of Augusta, vice president;' ' L- lS- Moody, of Augusta, secretary, I and J. D. Mitchell, of Waycross, ' treasurer. * In no part of the stiate are there more good roads boosters than are found in Augusta and the result has been that most of the importaigt roads leading into Augusta have bedn ^Au*??ta.iChrbnicle artd its editor, Thorns# J. Hamilton, havfe taken the lead in the good roada movement in thi* section and have exercised a considerable influence in Obtaining the splendid highway from aTOgBft** ^Chairmaa ? i ?, Richmond county commission, is also an outstanding leader ca^ ?* S90d and the J^ber" member#, of the commission! Mm loyal and enthusiastic -support g The Augusta Chamber of- Ctom/ * merce lays particular emphasis upon the necessity for improved roads and has actively Supported every such movement in this section. Frank Cornwall, chairman of the good roads committee of the chamfer of com*?. like Messrs. Hamilton and Holley, an able and enthusiastic mader in the cause of good roads. His work as chairman of the chamber's good roads committee has attracted widespread attention, L. S. Moody, secretary of _ the Augusta Chamber of " Commerce and also sec etary of United States Highway, No. 1 ?#*pciation? is also an active and affective worker in behalf of better highways. There are many other good roads boosters here. Drops Dead on Fishing THp Stokes Bridge, April 23.?Jasper Garrett, aged about 70 years, died very suddenly, last Thursday, at a lake near Lynch's River, where he in company with his son Tpm Garrett, and Albert Hopkins, had gone to spend the day fishing. He was standing by the wagon'tn which they made the trip and while making some remark to his companions, hovfell doad. He was apparently in very good health, and his sudden 'death was quite a shock to his son, end J^r. Hopkins, with whom he bed been trywi" ing his luck fishing, only a few minutes before he was stricken.? JBishopvillo Messenger. A man believed to be Granville P. Deitz is held by the police at Clarksburg, W. Va., in the belief that he J .1 police of that town. . ^mmmmmm??? v Roll kiting Broadway Comedy ^ | "SKIDDING" j; I Powerful Carolina j[ I Mountain Drama ^ I "SVN-UPm j i I TAMBURICA ORCHESTRA Magic, Cartoons, Popular Impersonations H>i>arkling Musical Revue ADS AND FANCIES OF 1920" I OUTSTANDING LECTURES JUNIOR TOWN oason Ticket for All the Attractions of 5 RIG DAYS $2.50 State Tax Extra Jutauqua here