Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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An egotist is not a man who thinks too much of himself; he is a man who thinks too little of other people. Confidence is that feeling by which the mind embarks in great and honorable courses with a sure aope and trust in itself—Cicero. VOLUME 22; NUMBER 18. NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 1959 + $2.00 PER YEAR By The Way - by, Jborij Sander3 THE BIG DAY Monday morning, little Connie- said “just five more days!” Tues day, “Just four days!” Wednesday morning, “Just thiee more days!” Friday marks a milestone at the Sanders household. Our Little Connie—who really isn’t so little any more—starts to school. With the beginning of the school year, Chief Colie Dowd would have me caution you to be careful when driving in school zones. He states that the traffic signal at the corner of College and Calhoun streets will b^gin op erating on a “stop-go” basis when schools open. He asks that when you drive your children to school, you let them out of the car on the school side so it will not be neces sary for them to cross the street in the heavy traffic that will be present - at all schools during op ening and closing time. TABLES TURNED James B. Carey, president of the International Union of Elec trical, Radio and Machine Work ers, in his attempt to put the “kiss of death” on congressmen who voted for the Landrum-Grif- fin labor bill, had the tables turn ed on himm. He succeeded only in enhancing the admiration of con stituents for the congressmen who voted in favor of the bill. The last paragraph of Carey’s letter stated “We wish to assure you .however, that we shall do all in our power to prove to the work ing men and women in your dist rict that you have cast your lot against them and they should therefore take appropriate action at the ballot box.” Carey did not succeed in his ef fort at intimidation of many, if any of the congressmen to whom he sent this letter, and Congress-; man Bryan Dorn, his dander aroused, let Carev know about it in no uncertain terms. His reply, in case you missed seeing it in the daily papers, was as follows: “In your distorted concept of American democracy, you appar ently cannot imagine that some . members of congress are free. Free to vote their convictions. Free to stand up for all of Am erica. Free to support the Con stitution, the Bill of Rights and those principles and ideals inher ent in true Americanism. “Mr. Carey, your letter is an in sult to the free, patriotic, working men and women of the South who sent us to this Congress. The Southern people are opposed to bloc voting, stuffed ballot boxes, goons and rigged elections. The people of South Carolina do not send men to Congress controlled by any one group. My people de mand that I vote in the best int erest of all of the people of the United States. “Yes, I supported the Landrum- Griffin bill and I am proud of it. It is a step toward preventing- men like you and Hoffa from con trolling and dictating to the Con gress of the United States. It is a bill in the best interest of all of the American people. It will help protect the general public, the working people and farmers from gangsters, racketeers and crooks. “Mr. Carey, my people will not forget that to them you have been a ‘false prophet.’ You have sup ported foreign aid and reciprocal trade policies which deprive my textile people of thousands of jobs. You have opposed States’ rights, free local government and advocated bogus civil rights leg islation. You have endorsed the Supreme Court decisions and op posed virtually everything my people stand for. “The people of my Congression al District will accept your chal lenge to defeat me. They are not going to be dictated to at the bal lot box by you, Jimmy Hoffa or any other out-of-state selfish in terest.” DIDN’T GET AWAY While Newberrians have been fishing around for several years bow for new industry, all the “nibbles” turned out to be the -“ones that got away.” I think it would do Newberrians good to think more often of the ones that didn’t get away. We have three fine textile plants in Newberry, with a com bined employee list of over 1800 persons. I do not know about the payroll at Newberry Mills, Inc., but I imagine it would run about the same or perhaps more than the Kendall Company plants. I do know that the Mollohon and Oakland plants have a total of jibout 1200 employees, and a weekly payroll of over 870,000. Did you know that because of the influx of foreign textiles, caus ing a stoppage at the local tex tile plants of all Saturday work, Newberry lost an additional $25,- 000 a week just from the Kendall plants? I understand that some looms are beginning to run again on Saturday and that is good news. The point is, though, that at eack of the three plants in times past, there have been crises which could have caused a shut-down of one or all of the plants. Should this happen at even one of the plants, Newberry merchants would be “lost.” That is the reason I say that while it is fine to con tinue searching for new industry, we should let our present indus try know that we are behind them 100%, that we appreciate the fine plants, and, more important, the tremendous payroll they fur nish our city. Large Group At Convention In Charleston The Children of the Confeder acy had a most successful conven tion in Charleston the past week. Delegates were present from Michigan, New York, Missouri, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Okla homa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia. Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, W. Virginia and a large contingent from South Carolina. The Eloise Welch Wright Chap ter of Newberry registered the largest number of representatives of any chapter. This chapter also won for the third consecutive year the most coveted prize offered, the Rick's Banner for the best all round work by a chapter, with a membership of over 100. The business of the convention was conducted in a dignified and most business like manner, due to the efficiency of the President General, Ann Hemlett of North Carolina, ably assisted by John Chappell as Parliamentarian. Alice Youmans was page to one of the general officers and was striking in her lovely costume. The convention was not all busi ness. A boat trip to Fort Sumter and round the harbor ended with a hot fried chicken supper. The delegates were taken by bus to many historical places. The con vention closed with a grand ball in the Francis Marion Hotel, which was convention headquart er’s. The IbbO convention will be held in Houston, Texas, the home of the new president General, Patsy Noble. Attending from Newberry were: Mrs. R. D. Wright, past Presi dent-General of the U.D.C.; Mr. and Mrs. Jack Chappell and John Chappell, past President-General of the Children of the Confeder acy; Mrs. F. A. Truett, Brenda Truett, Priscilla Crump, Barbara Davis, Mrs. Dee Sumumer, Lila Summer, Lisa Lominack, Elizabeth Norris, Helen Brown, Miss Sallie Lee Cromer, Mrs. Ruby Trice, Anne and Betsy Bowers, Margaret Mason, Jean Rossiter, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Shealy and David Shealy, David Parr, Mrs. Clem Youmans, Mrs. Mike Youmans, Barbara and Alice Youmans. * Music Festival To Be At Church A music and hymn festival will be held at Wightman Methodist Church, Prosperity, Sunday, Aug ust 30 at 8 p.m. under the direc tion of Mrs. Joe Bedenbaugh. There will be piano and organ music, congregational singing and choir selections. Choirs which have been invited to participate are Lexington Baptist Choir, St. Luke’s Lutheran Youth Choir, Grace Lutheran YMuth Choir, Zion Methodist choirs and Wightman choirs. The pastor, the Rev. Paul C. Scott, extends a cordial invitation to the public to attend this iestival of music. CRIPPLED CHILDREN SOCIETY TO MEET The Newberry County Chapter of the Crippled Children’s Society will meet Wednesday, September 2 at 3:30 p.m. at the home of Mrs. J. D, French. REV. AND MRS. DANIEL MURRAY SHULL, JR. and son, Michael, rest at the home of his parents on Drayton street while on a three- months furlough from their mission field in Liberia. (Sunphoto) Inquest Witness Was Planned By Rev. Daniel Murray Shull Jr., Lutheran Missionary from the Liberian Field, and son of Rev. and Mrs. D. M. Shull Sr., pastor of Mayer Memorial Lutheran Church, is now at home on a three month furlough. Rev. Shull is accompanied > by his wife, the former Miss Christ ine Wessinger of Chapin, and their IG-month-old son, Michael. Rev. Shull, stationed at Toto- ta, Liberia, serves a parish of six congregations and 37 preaching points, with a population of ap proximately 10,000 people. With his aides, he spends several days and nights in succession visiting these points and villages, camp ing and cooking en route, since most of the people can be reached only by walking due to a lack of roads and means of travel. He conducts worship services Bus Drivers Get Instruction On Wednesday A school of instruction for New berry County bus drivers was held Wednesday morning in the New berry County court room. The group of 80 drivel’s and substitutes were welcomed by P. K. Harmon, director of schools. Also taking part on the program were C. E. Burnett, transportation officer for this area; Patrolman D. J. Abrams; George Huggin of the State Highway Maintenance shop in Newberry, and Superin tendent of Education James . D. Blown. > Mr. Brown told the drivers to assign one student on the bus as a “patrolman” to watch for rail road crossing's, help in loading and unloading, etc.; to stay on appoint ed routes except when authorized by the area superintendent to change; to make stops on the highway as short as possible so as not to hold up traffic. He also advised the superintendents to keep a record on all bus drivers to be used in deciding which driv ers should receive a bonus at the end of the year. He expressed appreciation for the wonderful cooperation receiv ed by the Newberry County ►School District and its bus drivers from the Highway Patrol and from the Highway maintenance shop. County Third In Production Of Pulpwood Newberry is the third pulpwood- producing county in the state, ac cording to recent information re leased by State Forester Charles H. Flory. South Carolina’s 1958 pulpwood production was 1,747,800 cords compared to 1,743,000 cords in 1957. The 1958 production was made up of 1,592,700 cords of round pulpwood and 155,100 cords of wood residues. Fairfield County led the state in pulpwood production, with 100,054 cords harvested last year. Georgetown was second with 99,- 680 cords and Newberry third with 76,139 cords. and gives instruction in both the English and Kpelle languages. Rev. Shull, during the week, of ten preaches to the people in the evening when their work in the fields is over, and in the morning before breakfast and before their work begins. After these services, he moves on to another village. At Totota, there is a nice church building where Rev. Shull preaches every Sunday morning in both English and Kpelle. Since Rev. and Mrs Shull are at home for a three month per iod only, they are not permitted to accept speaking engagements at large; however, within a few weeks he will lecture and show pictures on the mission work at Mayer Memorial Church, his home congregation. The public will be invited to this service. Swimming Pool To Be Closed The swimming pool at Mar garet Hunter Park will be closed Friday at 6 p.m. for the season, according to City Manager Ed Blackwell. Mr. Blackwell stated that there had been an unusually large at tendance at the pool this year. He said that due to the lack of personnel to operate the pool, because of school opening, it w ould be necessary to close it this week. Return After Maine Visit Mrs. R. E. Livingston, Jr. and children, Polly, Christy and Bob by, and Gene Epting have return ed to Newberry after a three week visit with Dr. Livingston, at Colby College, Waterville, Maine. Dr. Livingston is enrolled in the Lancaster School of Optha- Imology and will return to New berry on September 8. State Cabins Are Available A number of State park cabins are available for the Labor Day weekend and may be rented for any part of a week beginning Aug ust 31, according to State Park Director C. West Jacocks. Weekly rentals range from $15 to $42; weekend rates are about half this amount. Most of the cab ins accommodate six persons and all cabins are completely furnish ed except for bed linen, towels and table silver. Any family wanting to rent a cabirn should contact the state park superintendents directly. Cabins are available at Cheraw. Givhans Ferry, Oconee, Poinsett, Santee and Table Rock. Cabins for Negro families are available at Pleasant Ridge State Park and at the Negro area of Hunting Is land. Dancer To Be On Channel 10 Pat Shealy; daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dick Shealy, will appear on TV .Channel 10 Friday at 5 p.m. for the Foster School of Dance of Columbia. Seven witnesses took the stand at a coroner’s inquest Monday night to describe events leading up to, and following the death of Mrs. Laura Ann Grant, who died as the result of pistol wounds on the night of August 13 near the trailer home which she, her hus band and baby occupied, about 11 miles north of Newberry on the Greenville highway. Paysinger To Take Helm Of County Board The County Board of Education at its meeting Tuesday night adopted a budget for the ensuing school year of approximately $1,- 205,000, and considered again a bond issue to complete the school building program in Newberry County. The board also voted to raise the salaries of eight secretaries who work in various offices about the county by $5 a month. Gerald Paysinger, member of the board from the Newberry area, will take up the gavel as chairman of the board in September, suc ceeding W. H. Caldwell who has sought relief from the job for many months past. Mr. Caldwell will continue as a member of the board from the Little Mountain area. The basis of the bond issue dis cussion was a compiled list of various building needs throughout the county, prepared by P. K. Harmon, director of schools. No final agreement was reached about the amount of money to be sought, however, inasmuch as the board has not studied recommendations made by the seven area advisory boards. Return Home From Germany Lt. Col. and Mrs. Jack Work man and their daughter, Carol, returned to Newberry Sunday af ter spe 'ding three year's in Ger many, where Col. Workman was stationed with the U. S. Air Force. They will spend a month here with relatives, Judge and Mrs. Eugene S. Blease and Mrs. J. T. McCrackin and others before leav ing for Dayton, Ohio, where Col. Workman will be stationed. Homecoming At Colony Church The annual Homecoming Day will be observed at Colony Luth eran Church on Sunday, August 30. The program planned for the day consists of Sunday school at 10 a.m., followed by the regular worship service at 11. The Rev. C. J. Rice, a former pastor of the congregation, will deliver the ser mon. A picnic dinner will be served on the church grounds, after which a period of fellowship will be enjoyed. All friends and for mer members of the congregation are cordially invited to be present on this occasion. Underwriters Hear Davenport Benny Davenport of Columbia, a well-known insurance represen tative for 30 years, will address the newly formed Newberry Life Underwriters Association tonight (Thursday) August 27 at 7 p.m. at the Wiseman Hotel. Mr. Davenport served as agent, supervisor, manager and more re cently superintendent of the agen cies for the Pilot Life Insurance Company of Greensboro, N. C. While serving in this capacity, he recently reached automatic retire ment and immediately made a con nection with the Calhoun Life In surance Company as agency ad visor. Mr. Davenport served as presi dent of the Columbia Life Insur ance Underwriters, past president, S. C. State Underwriters and was secretary of the association for two years. He is a native of Greenwood but has been a resi dent of Columbia since 1934. After hearing the testimony, and deliberating about ten min utes, the coroner’s jury returned a verdict that “Mrs. Ann Grant came to her death as the result of self-inflicted wounds from a .32 calibre automatic pistol.” Highway Patrol Corporal W. J. Martin first took the stand and stated that at approximately 8:15, he went to the Grant trailer on “official business”. He was here about 15 or 20 minutes, he said, and after getting “what 1 went after,” he left. When asked by Coroner George R. Summer as to Mrs. Grant’s condition at that time, he replied “In my opinion, the way she acted and talked, she was intoxicated—under the influ ence of something. What it was I don’t know. That is the way she acted.” The second witness was Earl Wilson, a salesman for a mercan tile company, who stated he had been visiting a friend in Newber ry and left at 9:35 to return to his room in Clinton. “When I got along there at the Grant trailer,” he testified, “when I approached it, I noticed a car sitting off in the bushes with the headlights on and the wrecker sitting on the side of the road. When I got to where I could see in my own headlights, there was a lady standing in the road screaming, holding a baby in her arms, all bloody. She asked me to stop and take the baby to the hos pital, and in about the same breath she said ‘and the woman in the car is dying too.’ I said ‘well, no use taking the baby to tne hospital if there is a woman to be taken too.” He stated • that they then called an ambulance.. He said that he noticed the mo tor of the car was running “aw fully fast” so he went around to the left side of the car to cut off the switch. Finding thiat door locked and the glass rolled up, he went back to the right side where the door was wide open. He testified “As I started to reach across to cut the switch off, I noticed a gun laying in the wom an’s lap and just about that time she stirred and the first thought I thought of was getting that gun out of her lap. I picked the gun up and held it like that to the folks standing around. I said ‘here is what done it apparently.’ I thought until that time she just had a wreck. Somebody said ‘you ought not touch that gun.” I said ‘I guess I ought not to but I was afraid she was going to use it again..” I laid it in the back seat of the car, then reached across and cut the switch off.” Mr. Wilson said he stayed around until officers arrived on the scene, to give them his name and address in case he should lat er be needed in connection with the matter. He stated that he lat er went around and looked in the car and Mrs. Grant was still breathing. He told that when the ambulance attendants arrived, they said, “no use taking her to the hospital, she is dead.” Mr. Wilson told them she had been breathing only a short time be fore and he thought she should be taken to the hospital just in case she was still living. Mrs. Mittie Lee King, a neigh- bor of the Grants, was next call ed to the stand by Coroner Sum mer. She stated that she heard two shots and went to the door in time to see the car “headed toward the highway, cross-ways like.” She said she called co Mrs. Grant to stop and then she ran to where the car stopped, reaching there about thq same time as an other neighbor, Mrs. Longshore. She said they saw the baby in the car and Mrs. Longshore grabbed it out. She stated that she didn’t se anyone around after the shots were fired and she went to the porch. Mrs. King said that she talked with Mrs. Grant every day and that she had never seen her drinking, nor had she ever smell ed “a drop on her in my life.” Mrs. Edward Longshore stated that when she got to the car, to which she was attracted by the noise it was making, and saw Mrs. Grant, “I really thought she had been stabbed. I seen the blood on her back in two differ ent places.” She said after she got the baby she went in the house and called the ambulance. She said that she didn’t hear any shots, and saw no one around the Says Suicide Mrs. Ann Grant “DO I HAVE TO?” Miles Hawkins asks his mother, Mrs. Cheater Hawkins. Miles isn’t a bit happy about having to trade his ball, bat and glove for a stack of school books. Miles isn’t alone—there are hundreds of other youngsters asking their parents the same ques-* tion and the answer is yes! (Sunphoto) car at the time it came to rest. Mrs. Mary Agnes Kitchens, who lives on Route 2, Kinards, testi fied that Mrs. Grant had taken her to Joanna to the store some time in July. During the trip, Mrs. Kitchens said, Mrs. Grant “open ed up and said ‘Mary, I’ve got something to tell you.’ She said, “I can’t live the life I’m living.’ I said ‘don’t talk that way.’ She said T am going to tell you some thing. I have made up my mind to do it. I am going to get'me a gun and do away with myself and my baby.’ I said ‘don’t talk like that, you shouldn’t. Don’t take your baby’s life.’ She said ‘I don’t want to leave the baby with mine or his family either one. I am go ing to take it with me.’ That was all she said.” Deputy Sheriff J. C: Neel told of his investigation of the inci dent. He said he examined the car and found four shells and four balls. He told that he went to the Grant trailer and when he went in, the television was play ing, a fan was on. He went to the far end of the trailer and found Mrs. Grant’s husband, Larry, ly ing on’the bed. “We told him what had happened,” Deputy Neel stated, “and he said he didn’t know anything about it.” He said he secured information which caused him to go to a pawn shop in Clinton and he found thata Mrs. Grant had, on July 30, pawn ed a wedding ring and a diamond, and on the 3rd of August she bought a .32 automatic pistol. He said when they picked Mr. Grant up, he gave them a .32 automatic cartridge which Grant said he found in his wife’s^ pocketbook that afternoon. Neel said Grant told him he had drunk a half pint of vodka and three beers that night and that he appeared to be very muchly intoxicated. He said he talked to Grant the next day after he was sober and that Grant told the same story. After Neel’s testimony, Coro ner Summer offered the witness stand to anyone in the large aud ience who might have further information concerning the inci dent.. There was no response. Larry Grant voluntarily took the stand to tell what happened on the night of the shooting. . “I came in from work that af ternoon,” Grant said. “I had a half pint of vodka. I drank it and played with the baby a while. While I was taking a shower, the highway patrolman came and re moved the license plate from the car. After that I told her I. would go to make a call to Georgia to a friend of mine and have him have the dealer I bought it from, to get a car to gpet back and forth from work. In the meantime, I walked up to the station above the house there and I told him, ask ed if I could make a long dist ance telephone call and pay him. He said it would be all right and’ so I told him—they was watching television—I would just wait un til he closed. During the time, my wife drove the car up there and wanted me to go back to the house with her. I said ‘now, honey, that doesn’t have any license on it. If you get picked up again it will be to© bad. Take the car back to the house. When I make the tele phone call I will be home.’ I tried to make the call but no one answ ered. I went back, to the houee. When I walked into the yard and started to the door, she come up to me and asked me to go with her to make a telephone call to her father and see if he could do something. I said T am not going to drive the car without a lic ense . . come on and forget it and we will do something about it to morrow.’ I went in the house and lay on the bed. That is the last thing I knew until the sheriff woke me up.” The doctor’s statement showed that two bullet wounds entered Mrs. Grant’s chest, one of which passed through the upper part of the heart. GREETINGS BIRTHDAY Aug. 30: Maude Spotts, W. L. Chapman, Mrs. L. C. Graham, David Dominick, Nancy Senn, Harold Bennett, Roslyn Fret- well, Laura Lee Weigle. Aug. 31: B. F. Dawkins, Thom as Edward Epting, Collier Neel, John Wainwright Chappell, Mrs. John C. Wilson, Sammie Cook Graham, Mrs. David Ringer, Mrs. J. R. McKittrick, Frasier Sanders, Harry Stone Jr., Mrs. Robert Daniels, Linda Swygert, Bud Bowers. Sept. 1: Capt. Powell Way, O. M. Cobb, Ann Wilson Whitener, Mrs. Marilyn W. Pate, Carl B. Wise Jr., Donald Livingston, James Maxie Hawkins, Mrs. W. P. Lathrop, W. C. Koon, Prof. J. V. Kneece, Jim Purcell, Mrs. Frank Sutton, Susan Jones, Jan Page. Sept. 2: Betty Ann Ringer, Geneve Graham, Mrs. E. K. Counts, R. C. Hunter, David H. Long Sr., Mrs. Hugh Foster, Linda Rister. Sept. 3: Mrs. Sloan Chapman, Mrs. Sam A. Cook, Mrs. H. O. Counts, Wyman Williams, Mrs. J. S. Taylor, Bobbie Oxner, Ruth Rogers, Kade Cousins, Mrs. C. H. Alewine, Griffin Langford, Alice Faye Koon, D. J. Icard Sr., Lisa Summer, Martha Brown, Bonnie B. Cook. Sept. 4: Mrs. P. B. Ringer, C. E. Berley, Mrs. Ira Gibson, Ann Merchant, Henry Dennis, Mrs. George W\ Heller, Lewis H. Fennell, Linda Inabinet. Sept. Miss Marguerite Burns, Mrs. L. M. Graham, Mrs. Mary Hawkins, Larry Edward Graham, Mrs. George Hentz, Mrs. T. E. Longshore, W. H. Tedford, Ellis Davenport, Jinx Regnery, W. L. Davenport Sr.