The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, May 03, 1929, SECTION TWO, Image 9
*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