Newspaper Page Text
T? Vl VEMN GOOD f \JF ^
By Quimby Melton
Griffin is a city on the Go!
No doubt of this, but every now
and then something happens to
illustrate that even the fastest
growing community may have
certain hangovers from the days
when that city was a small town,
even a small village.
For instance:
Saturday a five-foot copper
head snake was killed at the
Taylor street entrance of Gxide
Nichols Furniture store. This is
right in the middle of town.
The Monday morning Good
Evening, himself, saw a mon
grel dog standing in the middle
of the busy intersection of Hill
and Taylor street, calmly wag
ging his tail and not budging
from his post. We drove on, la
ter came back to town down
Eighth street, and lo and behold
there was a stripped yellow cat
streaking across the street and
onto the lawn of the former R.
G. Hunt home; that cat was
running as though a dog was
chasing it.
And the other day, so it is re
ported a billy goat led a lot of
folks a merry chase through
town. The pet had gotten out of
a pen on the north side and was
finally caught on the south side.
And remember, it wasn’t so
long ago that deer were seen
crossing Maple Drive.
Sure, we’re growing and will
continue to grow. But now and
then something happens that il
lustrates the fact that while we
are a metropolitan center, we
are still far enough from “the
big city” to enjoy things that
can happen only in the country.
— + —
When Good Evening read of
the big snake being killed “right
up town” he was reminded that
half a century ago there was a
, large “wagon lot" just back pf
what was then The Griffin Mer
cantile Company — a place
where farmers could'd rive into
town, “park” their buggies and
wagons and go about their busi
ness.
This wagon lot wax “right next
door” to the place where the
snake was killed. Such wagon
■ lots have been forgotten by all
but the old timers. Where this
one was located is now the
place where a bookstore, an au
tomobile agency, a service sta
tion, a bakery, a sporting goods
store and a dry cleaning estab
lishment and a restaurant are
in business.
In fact that part of Taylor st
reet that once was the gathering
i place for people who had driven
into town to shop presented an
entirely different picture then
than now. Across from where
the snake was killed was one
big. sprawling cotton warehou
se — there were three other
such warehouses in the city.
Certainly Griffin Is growing
and will continue to grow. But
let’s not forget our pioneer days
and be thankful to the men and
women who laid the foundation
for Greater Griffin.
— * —
Didn’t intend to write the
whole column about snakes and
cats and dogs, and wagon lots.
But while we’re talking about
the old days, and to fill out this
column, Did you know?
Years ago there were:
There were watering toughs up
and down Hill street, where
stock could quench their thirst.
There were saloons on almost
every corner and on one corner
there was a solon on the street
level and another saloon down
, stairs in the basement? Where
man could satisfy his desire for
drink.
There was a water spout, er
ected by the Woman’s Christian
Temperance Union, corner Hill
and Solomon, where the more
sober minded could quench their
thrist.
There was a well just off Hill
on West Solomon where water
could be drawn by those who
preferred “well water” to “city
water”. ,
And there was a large under
ground reservoir under Hill
and Solomon, and under Hill
and Slaton, where thousands of
gallons of water were stored
just In case of an uptown fire.
The fire department, then a vol
unteer afiair, had its headquar
ters In a small frame barn on
North 1K Sixth, just across the rail-
GRIFFIN
DAILY NEWS
Established 1871
Out; Talmadge To Run,
GOP Cries White House
sps
:
i :
III
iillSil! a
i
: : 1
V
; 1 Bilk 'h it, iMVimi . 'T -IJ
'
y. m m
£
ft
:
Talmadge coming home to
run for governor again.
Bo Says He’s IVot
Afraid Of
ATLANTA (UPI) GOP
congressman Howard (Bo) Cal
laway let it be known Tuesday
he wasn’t afraid of Sen. Her
man Talmadge or any other
Democrat, as his Georgia sup
porters prepared to demonstrate
their faith In him.
“We have them (the Demo
crats) so scared now, Herman
Talmadge is thinking about com
ing home,” Callaway said.
Callaway, reached in Wash
ington, made his statements
after it was learned that form
er Gov. Ernest Vandiver had
decided to drop out of the Geor
gia governor’s race for health
reasons and it was likely Sen.
Herman Talmadge would return
to make the race.
Talmadge and Vandiver have
scheduled simultaneous news
conferences in Washington and
Atlanta for 10 a.m. today, and
sources in Callaway’s Atlanta
campaign headquarters said he
also would hold a news con
ference in Washington.
Callaway supporters through
out the state were being con
tacted Tuesday night and asked
to send telegrams of support to
Callaway, who has been pushed
toward the governor’s race but
has made no formal announce
ment.
The GOP congressman said
late Tuesday night that the Dem
ocratic upheaval actually
Farm Boy, 15, Kills
Kidnaper; Girl Safe
By WILLIAM ECENBARGER
United Press International
SHADE GAP, Pa. (UPI) —
Peggy Ann Bradnick, 17,
kidnaped a week ago by a long
sought deranged sniper who
turned killer, was rescued
unharmed today. The kidnaper
was shot to death at point-blank
range by a 15-year-old farm
boy.
The boy, Larry Rubeck, fired
a 12-guage shotgun through a
window of his home at nearby
Fort Littleton at the kidnaper,
William D. Hollenbaurgh, 44,
who was standing on a porch.
Hollenbaugh, was struck in
the neck and died on the way to
a hospital.
Peggy Ann cried over and
over to rescuers:
“Thank God . . . Thank God .
I’m safe . . . I’m safe.”
A short time before his
death, the kidnaper—who shot
an FBI agent to death Tuesday
—shot and wounded a deputy
sheriff and commandeered his
automobile. He put Peggy Ann
on the floor in the rear of the
car and the wounded deputy,
Francis Sharpe, in the front
seat and drove to the Rubeck
farm home at Fort Littleton,
two miles from Shade Gap.
The Rubeck boy saw the auto
from a barn where he was
doing chores. He ran inside the
house, grabbed a .12-gauge
shotgun and yelled to his
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Wednesday, May 18, 1966
a
wmm
i§
: 1
n
”?:.v
:• ■
■<
\
\A
Vandiver as he was photo
graphed on a recent trip
to Griffin.
strengthens the Republican Par
ty and gives him more of a
choice of what to run for this
summer.
“This gives me one more op
tion than before,” Callaway
said. “I can run for Congress,
run for governor or run for
Congress and then shoot for the
Senate In two years.”
Callaway predicted that neith
er he nor Gov. Carl Sanders
would have a chance to run for
the Senate this year.
"Senator Talmadge has no in
tention of resigning,” Callaway
said, “He’ll run for governor
and if he’s elected, he’ll appoint
the next senator.”
Callaway called the Vandiver
decision and speculation about
Talmadge “the most significant
political development in my life
time. This really shakes up the
applecart.”
Callaway’s office issued a
short statement Tuesday which
expressed concern for Vandiver.
The statement did not mention
Talmadge, but took what most
observers considered a poke at
the senator.
“I hope . . . that the loss of
this strong candidate (Vandiver)
will not compel the leaders of
his party to take drastic steps
attempting to control the capital
without regard to the best in
terests of Georgia and its peo
ple,” the statement said.
mother:
“Hit the floor, mom. That
crazy mountain man is on
the porch.”
Hollenbaugh appeared at a
window and the boy shot point
blank at him.
The end of a week-long
search for Peggy Ann and inr
kidnaper came with dramatic
suddenness.
8hortly before 7 a.m., EDT—
with the sky heavily overcast
and the mountain peaks shroud
ed by clouds—the assault order
was given to the force of 300
state policemen, 200 National
Guardsmen, 100 FBI agents
and 75 game protectors.
About 30 minutes later it was
all over.
Peggy Ann, the wounded
deputy sheriff and the dying
Hollenbaugh were rushed to the
hospital in McConnellsburg in
an ambulance and two state
police cars.
At the hospital Dr. Russell
McLucas, Fulton Countv Coro
ner, said:
“Sharpe is in fair condition.
He was wounded once in the
abdomen. He is undergoing
surgery, and will survive.
“Peggy Ann is fine, excellent.
I cannot confirm that there was
any physical abuse.”
Senator Denies
White House Link
By DON PHILLIPS
ATLANTA (UPI) — Former
Gov. Ernest Vandiver, stabbed
by recurring heart trouble, bow
ed out of the 1966 Georgia gover
nor’s race today and Sen. Her
man Talmadge announced he
will come home and run for the
job if the people want him.
Republicans cried out the ma
neuver was a deal conceived at
the White House but Talmadge
vehemently denied it.
The Georgia senator, who rose
to power 19 years ago in a spec
tacular door-locking clash with
Ellis Arnall who may be one
of his opponents this year, told
Washington newmen that if he
runs for the governorship he
will not resign from the Sen
ate until elected. He said he
will name his own successor but
declined to say whether he might
consider naming Vandiver.
In formally announcing his
plans to retire temporarily from
politics and enter a relaxed law
practice and farming in his
tranquil hometown of Lavonia,
Vandiver disclosed that he has
been under a doctor’s care for
heart trouble since he was fell
ed five years ago by a severe
attack.
Talmadge issued a prepared
statment at 10.30 a.m. EST and
then told newsmen his decision
to run for the governorship will
depend on “telephone calls, tele
grams and visits” within the
coming days and weeks.
He said he would announce his
decision well in advance of the
Democratic primary qualifying
deadline June 15.
He said that if elected gov
ernor he would personally ap
point a “man or woman” to
fill his unexpired term. He said
he had given no thought as to
who might get the nod.
Talmadge said he agreed after
“much soul searching” to offer
himself as a potential candidate
after Vandiver advised him of
his physical condition.
Arnall indicated he plans to
stay in the race to the end, set
ting the stage for a new battle
against Talmadge reminiscent
of another era when Talmadge
had him locked out of the gov
emor’s office during the famous
two-governor fight.
“Do you know of any reason
why I shouldn’t stay in?” Arnall
asked a questioner.
Arnall said he thinks the Tal
madge move was an effort to
bolster a lost cause because
Vandiver was a “very weak
candidate.”
Vandiver, looking relaxed al
though he suffered a fresh
heart attack of mild conse
quence last weekend, made his
anticipated announcement to a
crowded news conference in a
downtown Atlanta hotel.
He admitted he had been
bothered with recurring heart
trouble, including painful angi
na pectoris, since he suffered
his first attack six years ago
during his turbulent days as
governor. That attack came
shortly after the Georgia school
desegregation crisis.
Vandiver’s decision to bow
out of politics this year raised
the prospects of a sensational
year in the political arena.
Talmadge Is expected to
Country Parson
V sr /|_u!r H H
•, >
“God is interested i n
where you are going—not
where you’ve been.”
the Senate to bid for the
in this year’s elec
in an effort to stall a
Republican campaign
capture the state’s top office.
Talmadge disclosed in a Wash
statement this morning
Vandiver, in informing him
his decision, “urged me to
a candidate for the of
of governor in tho 1966
primary election”.
“After much soul searching,
have reached the conclusion
I can best serve mv state
its people in these trying
as governor, rather than
in the United States
Talmadge added that “I
like an expression of (the
wishes and if the
of Georgia desire me to
as their executive then I
gladly respond to their
Callaway Quiet
GOP Rep. Howard (Bo) Cal
laway, who had reportedly been
the verge of announcing he
challenge the Democra
tic nominee, was keeping quiet
about whether he would risk a
battle with Talmadge.
GoV. Carl Sanders, who re
tires this year, immediately
cam© into speculation as a pos
sible Senate nominee should
Talmadge leave the office. He
said he might run for the of
fice sometime but would not go
as an appointee.
Vandiver walked briskly into
a downtown hotel suite with his
wife, Betty, beside him and
first distributed copies of a let
ter from his physician, Dr. Car
ter Smith. The report revealed
he was examined Monday and
that an electro cardiogram
showed a possible increase in
his heart trouble.
The letter also said the fre
quency of his minor heart seiz
ures increased for two weeks
prior to the latest examination.
Asks Support
Vandiver said that if Tal
madge would run he (Vandi
ver) would “hope the people of
Georgia would support him”.
When asked if he knew for
sure that Talmadge would run,
he said he did not know for
certain.
Vandiver said he did not in
tend to drop out of politics.
“I am not lige (Gen. Douglas
MacArthur. I don’t intend to
fade away. I intend to stay in
terested in politics,” he said.
He said he would now prac
tice law in Lavonia and do
some farming and fishing.
Callaway suggested that the
Vandiver - Talmadge develop
ment had been worked out at
the highest Democratic level.
“Obviously, this was con
ceived and planned at the
White House,” the GOP leader
in Georgia said in a statement
from Washington.
Callaway said the Republican
challenge in Georgia “is strong
enough to force a United States
senator to leave his post and
enter the (governor’s) race”.
“Whatever decision I make
will not be based on the
strength or weakness of the op
position, nor will it b e influ
enced by outsiders, but will be
based solely on the way I can
best serve the people of Geor
gia,” Callaway said.
The statements from politici
ans began to fly thick and fast
during the day, Tuesday.
Callaway Issued a short state
ment Tuesday night expressing
concern for Vandiver. Callaway
made no mention about specu
lation that Talmadge would seek
the Democratic guve material
nomination, but concluded his
statement with what some ob
servers called a dig at Tal
madge.
“I feel certain that. . .the los3
of this strong candidate (Van
diver) will not compel the lead
ers of his party to take drastic
steps attempting to control the
capltol without regard to the
best Interests of Georgia and
Continu e d on page seven
Vol. 95 No. 116
■ S
IJH
j
Gov. Sanders: He would
n’t accept appointment to
senate but might run for
office.
Griffin, Thomaston Seek
To Improve IJ. S. Route 19
The Griffin and Thomaston
Chambers of Commerce will
meet soon to discuss the possi
bility of making U.S. 19 an ar
tery for feeding cars onto Inter
state 75 at Perry.
The proposal will be part of a
plan to upgrade U. S. Highway
19.
Leon Smith, editor of the Tho
maston Times and Free Press
newspapers and president of
the Thomaston Chamber said;
Victim’s Brother Dies
After Learning Of Stabbing
Man Dead Of Stab Wound
Suspect Has Heart Attack
Murder charges were expected
to be placed against a Griffin
man today In the stabbing death
of another Tuesday night.
Officials identified the dead
man as Farris Cheak, 56, of 430
Bell street, Griffin.
Wright Clontz, 58, also of Grif
fin, was being held according to
the Spalding County Sheriff’s
Department.
Sheriff’s officials said Cheak
was stabbed in the chest with a
butcher knife at his home.
Clontz, according to officials,
began walking to Spalding Coun
ty jail to turn himself in after
the stabbing. He met a police
man on his way and turned him-
MMM.
mm v
. yy.
£ .
a, i 1 I m§ I ■
••
k, i 1 1
k . f H 11
il! r pi mm i >
; ' m
■ «, ✓ * ,\ : y y.[
m ' ; A :
•I.”- “ 2
A j
..... A
t Itli
v m
m m
1 '.fS
"
:
V
■ >;
: ■
i <
mm : s
y
_ ^ ■
.-J ■it
~
(Griffin Daily News Staff Photo).
Lt. Gov. Geer Visits
Lt. Gov. Peter Zack Geer talks with Spalding Sheriff Dwayne Gilbert during
his visit to Griffin Tuesday. He talked to the Griffin Chapter, American Business
Club. (Story on Pag* 7.)
★ ★ ★ ★
Hell Be On
The Other Side
SAVANNAH (UPI) — Police
Court Judge Henry Brennan
will be in court as usual next
Monday, but he will be sitting on
the other side of the bench.
Brennan will face charges by
city police that he failed to
yield right of way when his car
collided with another vehicle.
Pro-tem Judge James Black
burn will hear the case — and
Brennan will take his place in
the defendant’s row.
-JL- ^ -JL ^
“We are arranging a meeting
between our Highway Commit
tee and officials of the Griffin
Area Chamber of Commerce at
an early date to go deeper into
this proposal.”
Griffin spokesmen have dis
cussed a south-bound route from
Griffin to the Flint river on U.
S. 19; then on U. S. Route to Ro*
berta, 341 at Roberta to the In
terstate 75 at Perry.
The proposal may prove to be
self in to the lawman, a deputy
said.
After being jailed, Clontz suf
fered a heart attack and was
taken to the Griffin-Spalding
County Hospital where he is be
ing held under guard.
Upon learning news of his
brother’s death, James Cheak,
who was a patient at the Griffin
Spalding County Hospital, died
of a heart attack, officials said.
Officials did not give a motive
for the stabbing. Sheriff Dwayne
Gilbert and the Griffin Police
Department were investigating
today.
A warrant charging Clontz
with murder was expected to be
Maddox Stops
To Campaign
In Griffin
Lester Maddox made a cam
paign stop in Griffin today and
declared the Vandiver-Talmadge
turn of events in Georgia poli
tics was no surprise to him.
“I have been predicting it,’*
he said.
He said he still was a candi
date for governor.
Maddox said he thought the
whole thing was hatched in the
White House.
“The voters will have a choice
between Johnson’s Great Society
and Lester Maddox,” he said.
a means of improving Highway
19 as well as attracting tourist
trade being drained off U.S. 19
by improved U. S. 41, 341, and
Interstate 75.
Thomaston officials may differ
with the Griffin plan for routing
only southbound traffic on U. S.
19 to 1-75 and keeping the U. S.
341 and U. S. 41 route for north
bound traffic. Thomaston may
hold out for a north and south
choice in each proposal.
sworn out this afternoon, accor
ding to the officials.
Weather:
FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN
AREA — Mostly cloudy, warm
and humid tonight and Thursday
except turning a Pttle cooler
Thursday afternoon. Scattered
thundershowers tonight, decrea
sing Thursday.
LOCAL WEATHER — Maxi
mum today 75, minimum today
63, maximum Tuesday 70, mini
mum Tuesday 62. Sunrise Th
ursday 5:37 a.m., sunset Thurs
day 7:30 p.m.