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Can anyone explain why the telephone so often rings at the precise moment when answer- t ing it is least convenient? VOLUME 21; NUMBER 51. By The Way By Oorls A. Sander* THE THING Whatever “the thing” was, it was certainly there, and stayed long enough for many Newber- rians to see it. It wasn’t Super man, because he was on TV at the time “the thing” was hovering above Newberry. It wasn’t a fly ing saucer, because it wasn’t “fly ing.” Seems it was nothing but just a weather balloon which caused no more damage than eye- strain on those who scanned the skies trying to figure it out. WKDK radio was swamped with calls about the object and the peo ple out there got in touch with the Columbia weather bureau. The best information obtainable is that “the thing” was thought to be a weather balloon released from Denver, Colorado a couple of weeks ago. It was variously de scribed as being 300 feet in dia meter, 12 feet in Ingth, and 65,000 feet up. After staying around for several hours Tuesday afternoon and evening, it apparently drifted on to cause similar excitement elsewhere on its nomadic course. When trying to sell them some thing they can’t afford, the tele vision salesman tells the ladies that they owe it to themselves, a sales pitch I have often used on myself in moments of hesitation. NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1959 + $2.00 PER YEAR Council Refuses To Broadcast Meetings; Praises Volunteers Local Guard Commander Is Named Assistant State AG IT’S ALL HERE There seems to have been much discussion of late about the accur acy of press reporting of city coun cil meetings. There have been mis understandings which -shouldn t have occurred, and wouldn’t have occurred had there been verbatim reports of the meetings available to correct inaccuracies and mis representations of council’s state ments and actions. As a result, in the future, whenever it is possible, I expect to be on hand at meet ings of council with my little Stenograph machine, in order to take down every word that is said in important discussions. I did this Tuesday night, and my notes containing every word of the dis cussions concerning the fire de partment and the broadcast of council meetings are on file at The Sun office. I regret that members of council would not go along wnth the motion to broadcast the meet ings. Since they wouldn’t, perhaps this verbatim reporting could be considered in the line of a “public service,” and should there be any doubt as to what was said, the notes will be available for the scrutiny of anyone who wishes to see them. Tom Hayes, field representative of the Woodmen o' the World, presented Den I of Pack 222 an Ameri can flag on Saturday morning, April 11. Mr. Hayes made the presentation through Camp No. 1054. Standing by Mr. Hayes, holding the flag is Robb e McCaughrin, Denner and holding the other end is Ben Rook, Den Chief. Others in the picture are, left to right, Mac Way, Bobby Lominick, Randall Floyd, Mrs. Powell E. Way, Jr., Den Mother, who met with the den for the last time prior to sailing, for Okinawa to join her husband; Mrs. James Smith Jr., who will succeed Mrs. Way as Den Mother, Robin Duncan, nephew of Mrs. Way, Mike Underwood and Monty Smith. Robin and Mike were visi tors to the den. Absent when the picture was made were Rodger McCleur, and Mrs. E. T. McCleur, assistant Den Mother. (Sunphoto.) Ridge District UDC Conference The Drayton Rutherford and Calvin Croziers Chapters will be hostess to the Ridge District Con ference, United Daughters of the Confederacy on Wednesday, April 22, in Newberry. The conference will be held in the Central Metho dist Church. Mrs. R. D. Wright and Mrs. A. T. Neely will be gen eral chairmen for the meeting. Mi's. W. A. King, Clemson, President of the S. C. Division UDC will be the speaker. Reports will be given by the chapter presi dents. All members are invited. Registration will begin at 9:30. Reservations for the dutch lunch eon should be made with Mrs. C. 1. Youmans, Newberry. Representa tives from chapters in the follow ing counties are expected: New berry, Abbeville, Aiken, Green wood, Edgefield, Saluda and Laur ens. CONGRATULATIONS I would like to take a little space to congratulate Colonel B. F. Wingard on his appointment as assistant adjutant general for South Caro’ina. While Col. Win gard is a resident of Clinton, he has worked in Newberry for a number of years and we sort of claim him as our own. Not many j Newberrians realize how much | Col. Wingard has done for New-j berry, as commanding officer of| the 228th Group. His was one of: the guiding hands in working out the recenf re-organization of the South Carolina National Guard, which resulted not only in New berry retaining all of the guard units it already had, but in adding an additional battery with cor- lesponding additional payroll 111 j where he was past president, serv- the count\. led as chairman for the Red Cross We are happy that the Adjutant | for Newberry County, and was the General of S. C. has chosen as first Cub Pack Master in Newber- his assistant a person who can truly be described as “an officer and a gentleman.” Neville Dies Wednesday After Long Illness David W r yatt Aiken Neville, 73, of 1450 Calhoun St., died late Wednesday night at the Newberry County Memorial Hospital. He had been in ill health for the past sev eral years and seriously ill for the past two months. Mr. Neville was born and rear ed in Cokebury, a son of the late WTiliam Gordan and Virginia Aik en Neville. He was a graduate of Presbyterian College in Clinton and served in the U. S. Marine Corps during World War I. For several years he worked in Washington, D. C., for Congress man Johnson from Spartanburg. For the past 30 years he had made his home in Newberry, where he owned and operated the Neville Bottled Gas Co. until his retire ment in 1956. He was an outstanding member of Aveleigh Presbyterian Church, where he was an elder and former superintendent of the Sunday School and held many other offi ces of the church. An outstanding citizen of his community, he was a member of the Kiwanis Club, Chappell Named To USC Council John Chappell, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack CJhappell of Newberry, was elected a member of the stu dent council from the College of Arts and Science at the University of South Carolina last week. Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Lominick of Dillon and Mrs. A. E. Lominick of Pomaria spent Sunday in the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Eargle. At its regular meeting Tuesday night, City Council assur ed a host of volunteer firemen, who were present for the oc casion, that they were “appreciated/’ The City Fathers also refused to approve a motion by Councilman Frank Armfield that the meetings of council again be broadcast over Radio Station WKDK. Dr. Neil Truesdell, chaplain of the Volunteer Fire Depart ment, explained the presence of the group as follows: “I have been asked to be the ry. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Mary Bean Neville; three sons, David W. A. Neville Jr., Medical College of S. C., Charleston, Rev, Lamar Flemming Neville of Mar- tinsburg, W. Va., and William Gordan Neville, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va.; three sisters, Mrs. M. M. James of At lanta, Ga., Mrs. Lewis Lancaster of Nashville, Tenn., and Mrs. G. A. Nickles of Charleston; two brothers, Rev. John Neville of Old Fort, N. C., and Dr. William G. Neville, Garanhuns, Brazil; and a number of nieces and nephews. Funeral services were conduct ed at 3 p.m. Friday from the Ave leigh Phesbyterian Church by Dr. Neil E. Truesdell. Burial was in Rosemont Cemetery in Newberry. Active pallbearers were Carlisle Bean, Dr. Bothwell Graham, Rev. Whit Kennedy, John Clover, Keitt Purcell, Steve C. Griffith Jr., Floyd Dennis, Carter Abrams. Honorary escort was composed of thf 1 elders of Aveleigh Presby terian Church. Four State NEPH Winners Are From County State winners in the “National Employ the Physically Handicap ped” Essay contest will be pre sented awards by Governor Ernest F. Rollings in Columbia on April 22 at noon, according to an an nouncement by Dill D. Beckman, chairman of the Governor’s NEPH committee. Of the five state win ners, four are from Newberry County. First place in the state contest went to Margaret Luceille Baij'd of Berkeley high school, Moncks Corner. She w r ill receive a $50 prize. Mrs. Baker Named Head State Garden Club Mi's. Richard L. Baker of New berry was elected President of the Garden Club of South Carolina at the Twenty-ninth Annual State Convention held in Spartanburg April 9 and 10. She succeeds Mrs. J. T. Rutledge of Conway. Mrs. Clem Youmans of Newberry was elected corresponding Secretary. Mrs. Baker has been prominent ly identified with religious, civic and social affairs not only in her own community but throughout the state. She is a native Newbcr- rian and the daughter of Mi's. Can non Gary Blease and the late Mr. Blease who was Sheriff of New berry county for twenty-four years. She is the niece of the late Cole. L. Blease, former governor of South Carolina and U. S. Sena tor, and the niece of Eugene S. Blease, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Mr. and Mrs. Bak er have one daughter, Mrs. Sydney E. Carter of Charleston and one grandson, Sydney E. Carter, Jr. Mrs. Baker is an A.B. graduate of Anderson College prior to its transition to a Junior College. While a college student, she parti cipated in numerous organizations and activities, received many hon ors, and was President of her Lit erary Society. In 1957 Mrs. Baker was guest speaker for the alumni convoca tion. Mrs. Baker is a charter member of the Newberry Garden Club which she helped to organize, and she has served as its first presi dent and in many other capaci ties. She was also first President of the Council of Newberry Gar den Clubs and is its immediate past president. She has been a member of the Executive Board of the Garden Club of South Caro lina for the past eight years ser ving* two years as recording secre- tary, three years as roadside de velopment chairman, and three years as garden pilgrimage pro jects chairman. For two years she was on the Roadside Development Committee for the South Atlantic Region of the National Council of State Garden Clubs. South Carolina received special recogni tion for its accomplishments in roadside development at the Na tional Convention in Utah in 1956 when Mrs. Baker was roadside development and litterbug chair man. Mrs. Baker is an active mem ber of the Central Methodist Church where for many years she has been associated with numerous phases of the Church’s program in cluding being a choir member, teaching Sunday School, and ser ving as pianist in the primary de partment. While she served as President of the School Group of the Moth er’s Club, the Girl Scout Cabin was built largely through her ef forts and the efforts of this group of women interested friends of scouting. Mrs. Baker has served as Newberry County Chairman of Women’s Division of the March of Dimes. She has given freely of her time to the work of the Crip pled Children’s Society and is cor responding secretary of her local chapter. She is past President of the Newberry Music Club and a former board member of the State (Continued on page 3) Colonel Barringer F. Wingard of Clinton has been named assist ant Adjutant General of South Carolina, it was announced today by Adjutant General Frank D. Pinckney. Colonel Wingard succeds Colo nel Donald H. Collins who was re cently made Director of Selective Service for South Carolina. His appointment becomes effective April 13. He commands the 228th Signal Group with Headquarters in New berry. He began his National Guard Service in 1934. Col. Wingard was graduated from Clemson College in 1928 and was commissioned a second lieu tenant in the Officer’s Reserve Corps at that time. During WW II he rose to the rank of Major. He served as a Lieutenant Colonel in Korea as a member of che Military Govern ment and was awarded the Bronze Star 'medal for that service. He is a veteran of over 29 years military service, including 8 years active duty with the army. He has attended a number of Army Schools, among them, the Personnel management School at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana; the Basic Anti-Aircraft Artillery Officer’s School at Fort Monroe, Virginia; and the Advanced AAA Officer’s School at Camp David, North Carolina. Prior to his appointment to As sistant Adjutant General, he was spokesman for this group.- I sin cerely hope that everything that is said and everything that is done will be for the betterment of New berry and will be imparted and received in the finest form of community spirit. “As you know, I am a member of the volunteer department by virtue of being the chaplain of it, and we would like very much to have this opportunity of making certain statements that might be in the line of trying to set straight some things that might not be clearly understood, perhaps not understood by council or perhaps not understood by the citizenry of Newberry. “Now we know and we very re spectfully recognize what you do and who you are and there is noth ing that is to be said that in any way is a matter of trying to us urp or anything else in any way to the slightest degree your auth ority in whatsoever you do and in whatsoever decisions you ar rive at. “Now the interest that I have is this, and I, as a member of the department am able to ascertain the feeling of the department, there are three things that they would like very much to be known: two things they would like to be known and one thing they would like to know. “The first thing is that the de partment would like very much to have everyone to know that every member in that department stands solidly and unreservedly behind Chief Beam. That is the thing that has been a matter of absolute cer tainty as far as the years of my connection with the department are concerned. The members of the department have explicit trust and confidence in Chief Beam. It is a matter there of such un swerving loyalty for the leader that I think that you, as the city fathers recognize is a good and wholesome thing for an organiza tion to have for the leader and so if there is any doubt in the minds of anyone in Newberry, we would like very much to have that clari fied, that as far as the members of the fire department are con cerned, they stand united and sol idly behind Chief Beam. “There is the second thing we would like very much to have the general public to know and to have the council to know and that is that there is no division of minds in the fire department. Consciously or unconsciously there seems to have been in recent months or the last year or so the idea that perhaps the department can’t make up its mind about things. Well, I have been a member employed as a teacher in the New- °f many organizations through the berry School District. He was pre- years but I know of no organiza- iL : Second place winner was Kay Davis, whose picture is shown here. Kay is a student at Newberry high school and is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Aubrey Davis of Newberry. She will receive $35 from • the Governor. Third place went to Mary Kathryn Whitaker, also of Newberry high, who will receive $15. Fourth place was won by Sandra Fulmer of Mid-Carolina High, fifth place by Betty Jeter, Whitmire high. Each of the five winners will receive certificates signed for the President In a letter to all participants in the 1959 contest, Mr. Beckman stated “From the fine response of high school students . . . we know that interest in the contest is cer tainly increasing. All of the es says submitted this year show that considerable research was done on the essay subject. We feel certain that you have found that the handicapped can and do be come independent citizens who fit into the social and economic life of our communities and although disabled, their abilities contribute much to their communities.” The Newberry contest was g'uid- ed this year, as it has been each year since its beginning, by the late Dr. Mamie S. Summer, who passed away before the essays were completed and judged. viously employed as a Staff Assis tant for the National Guard for nine years. He is active in military and ci vic affairs in both Newberry and Laurens Counties. Colonel Wingard is married to the former Nellie Ruth Wasson of Laurens and they have one son. They live at 203 West Walnut Street, Clinton. Michael Dowd Rites Yesterday Michael (Little Mike) Leroy Dowd, 214-year-old son of Mr. and Mi's. Joe E. Dowd of Prosper ity, died early Tuesday morning at a clinic in Prosperity. Michael was born in Newberry County and had made his home in Prosperity and Newberry. He had been ill for several months. Surviving besides his parents, are his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Dowd of Prosperity and Mr. and Mrs. H. L. Brock of New berry; and his great-grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Dennis of Prosperity, W. F. White of Little Mountain and Mrs. Gertrude Brock of Newberry. Funeral services were conducted Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church by the Rev. J. S. Wessinger and the Rev. G. B. Corley. Burial was in New*- berry Memorial Gardens. tion that I have ever been a mem ber of, nor have I ever heard of such an organization where there is such a united feeling of unanim ity and cooperation. The esprit de corps of the Newberry Fire de partment is stronger than in any organization I have ever seen. “They might have personal dif ferences about little things, but when it comes to fighting fires, we are as one man and we would like very much for the people of Newberry to know that there is no division whatsoever in the New berry fire department. “Now there is a third thing the fire department would like to know. Now there isn’t a man here who has specifically said what I am going to say now, but this is the thing they want to know. You know, it is one thing to do some thing, it is one thing to risk your life to save the property of peo ple and to do it at a financial sac rifice which these people have voluntarily assumed. Nobody ask ed them to join the department, when they came in they knew what was going to be involved; they knew it was going to take gas to go to fires, tear their clothes, get their bodies burned; they knew they would be risking death. They do it because they like that kind of thing. 1 can say this—of all the people I have known, these men are the bravest I have ever seen. There are some people alive today who have been pulled out of fires who would have been dead if not for the bravery of these men. “This is the thing the depart ment wants to know: They want to know if their work is appre ciated. I use that in the true meaning of the word; not that they want praise or plaudit. They want to know if w'hat they are doing is the kind of thing that has value or meaning to it which is enough compensation for them to do the things that they do. You know it isn’t an easy thing for a person to have to get out of his bed, maybe with ice on the ground, under all or varied kinds of cir cumstances and go out and save my property and j^our property and the people of Newberry. It isn’t an easy thing; it would be so much nicer to just let things go; and they have been lead to be lieve that either consciously or unconsciously what they have tried to do for the city of Newberry has not been understood or that their labors have not been appre ciated; that they have not been, in a sense, adequately wanted. I think they could do a little bet ter if they had the idea, if they knew the council and citizens of Newbeny understood and appre ciated what they are doing.” Mayor Layton: Rev. Truesdell, let me say that I deeply appreciate your coming here tonight and the remarks you have made in regard to the fire department. In regard to the first one, Chief Beam, I am glad to know—I feel I already knew the members of the depart ment were behind Chief Beam 100 percent. Then too, I am happy to know there is no division among the fire department. In regard to the last, whether the city of Newberry appreciates the fire de partment, I want you to know that we do. /We are proud of them; they are doing a wonderful job. We want them to know we are behind them 100 percent and we are going to do everything pos sible we can to cooperate with them and anything they need at any time, if they will ask for it, they’ve got it.” The mayor called for a rising vote of appreciation from council, and reiterated the appreciation of council for the vounteers. After the departure of the dele gation, Councilman Armfield stat ed: “I would like to make this ob servation. I think we all do appre ciate the fire department fully and when strangers come to town we take them around and show them the town, take them around by the fire department and show them that and tell them all about it and what a good job they do. That falls on ears that usually never gets back to the firemen because these people are visiting us and are gone in a few days. “I think there is some justifi cation in what Dr. Truesdell says; maybe we don’t express our appre ciation enough because they do (Continued on page 3) GREETINGS BIRTHDAY April 19: Mrs. P. M. Nichols, Martha Sue Cromer, Claude Summer, Frank M. Senn Jr., John C. Davenport, Ellis Dav enport Jr. April 20: Elizabeth Hargrove, Arthur George Dwyer, Linda Driggers, Jack Timmerman, George Spotts, Anne Cannon. April 21: Perry O. Wicker, Betty Bowers, Mickey Chapman, Fred James Harmon, Betty Folk, Barbara Davis, Ferd Summer. April 22: Henry T. Fellers, Mrs. George Stephens, Mrs. George S. Minick, Mrs. Joseph L. Tolbert, Mrs. Frank Mflls, A. O. Livingston, Henry L. Parr III, Paul Duncan. April 23: Kenny Cook. April 24: Gloria Cleo Hawk ins, J. Ray Dawkins, Frank Cul- clasure, Hendrix Monts, Ernest O. Wicker. April 25: Fred Gilbert, Emily Grier, John Paul Whitaker.