Newspaper Page Text
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VENIN VF
By Quimby Melton
J; Griffin and the State of Geor
j gia lost one of her outstanding
citizens Wednesday when W.
Ennis Parker was killed, along
• with 80 other persons when two
ii airplanes crashed in midair in
I North Carolina.
News that Parker, 61, presi
j dent of Pomona Products, vice
' president of Stokely-Van Camp
and a director of that corpo
j ration, came as a shock to those
j! who knew him best — his home
■' folk in Griffin. The idea that this
:! man, still in his prime as a bus
iness and civic leader had been
killed threw the community in
to a state of shock. It was hard
to realize that the man who
was largely responsible for Po-
I mona Products becoming the
important food processing com
' pany it is, who engineered its
merger with the Stokely and
j Van Camp firms, who as chair
man had guided the Griffin-Sp
! aiding School system through a
j period of expansion and read
justment, the man who had
meant so much to his church.
' the man who was a friend of
i everyone he knew, the man who
; was unspoiled even though his
I success had been phenominal
and he had been honored with
i the highest office his profession
i could bestow on him, would no
longer be with us to help make
j the community and state a bet
j ter place to live.
— + —
Tuesday noon Good Evening
sat across the table from Ennis
I Parker at the regular weekly
meeting of the Exchange Club.
: We talked about many things
and at one point Ennis asked
Good Evening about his recent
trip to Europe; he seemed es
pecially interested in that part
of the trip that took us by air
plane across the Atlantic to Eu
rope and home again over the
same ocean.
Now if there is a man in Grif
i fin, aside from the airplane pi
lots who live here, who has tra
veled extensively by air it was
i Ennis Parker. Last year when
I he was president of the Nation
| al Canners Association he was
? almost continually on the go,
visiting practically every state
; in the union. It is estimated he
' probably flew as much as 100,000
miles — the equivalent of four
times round the world.
“Were you afraid at any time
■ while you were way up there in
! the air crossing the ocean?”
Ennis asked Good Evening.
"No” we replied; "But enroute
home, 39,000 feet above the oc
ean and flying 600 miles an
hour, had a sudden thought that
has stayed with me. It was:
“Here I am displaying com
plete confidence in the pilot of
this airplane, a man whom I
have never seen, a man whose
name I do not know, yet I have
faith in him and in the mechan
ical giant — the jet plane —he
is flying; but at times my faith
in the greatest pilot of all—Jesus
Christ — wavers. I’m willing to
trust my life to the captain of
this jet liner, but sometimes re
luctant to trust my life, my all
to the captain of my soul.”
Ennis listened to this state
ment attentively and then said
“That’s certainly true; I’ve also
thought of that.”
Good Evening believes that
Ennis had supreme confidence
in His Master. His life here on
earth proved his belief.
Good Evening believes that
when the two planes crashed
Wednesday Ennis slipped away
to meet the captain of his soul
with confident faith that he
would be greeted “Well done
thou good and faithful servant.”
We’ll all miss Ennis Parker—
but we believe if Ennis were
here he would say to us to carry
on and make Griffin an even fi
ner place to live, to work, to
worship and to serve.
— * —
Good Evening held up the col
umn written for today, telling
something more of his trip to
Europe. We will publish it Sat
urday.
INSIDE
Local Ne w s. Page 2.
TV For Children, Page 3.
Editorials. Page 4.
Grants. Page 5.
Aborti°ns. Page 5.
Society. Page 6.
Teachers. Page 8.
Girl Watchers. Page 8.
Crime Panel. Page 9.
Bruce Biossat. Page 9.
Sports. Pages 10, 11.
Camp Meeting. Page 12.
Comics. Page 13.
W a nt Ads. Pages 14, 15.
College News. Page Ifi.
Military News. Page 16.
FBI Trying To
Identify Dead
By CARL VINES
HENDERSONVILLE, N.C.
(UPI) —FBI agents worked tow
ard final identification today of
the 82 bodies hurled over a
wooded valley when a Piedmont
Airliner collided with a small
plane.
A sheriff's deputy reported
that all the bodies, “or parts of
them,” had finally been recov
ered from Wednesday’s disast
er.
Among them was newly
appointed Navy Secretary John
T. McNaughton, 45, his wife and
young son, and a space
technician of the National
Aeronautics and Space Adminis
tration (NASA).
The FBI rushed a team of
agents to the wreckage to help
identify the victims. The bodies
were laid out on the concrete
floor of the National Guard
Armory, covered with white
plastic sheets.
Aviation safety officials began
the final search of the forest,
hunting for clues to the in-flight
crash. Voice tapes and flight
recorders from the airliner
were recovered and rushed to
Washington for examination.
Spectators were kept away
from the twisted and scattered
remains of the jetliner and the
Cessna 310 which collided
around 4,000 feet above this
resort city in the western North
Carolina mountains. Three per
sons were in the small plane,
owned by Lanseair Inc., of
Springfield, Mo., and the
airliner, Piedmont’s morning
flight from Atlanta to Washing
ton, carried 74 passengers and a
crew of five.
Disastrous Day
It was the fifth air crash of
the day over the southeast. Two
Army reconnaissance helicop
ters collided in Alabama, killing
four men; a Navy pilot died in
a crash off the Florida Coast; a
mosquito spraying plane
Three Charged
With Cattle
Stealing
Three Griffin men have been
charged with cattle stealing by
the Spalding County Sheriff’s
Department.
The three, Cecil Edward Coe,
28, of Wilson street; Kenneth
Thomas, 20, of Wilson street, and
Bernard Fuller of Route Two,
Griffin, are charged with shoot
ing a steer in a pasture and
hauling it off.
The 500-pound steer was shot
in a pasture on Old Orchard Hill
road six miles east of Griffin.
The steer and pasture are own
ed by Harold Morris.
Each of the men has been
charged with cattle stealing, wh
ich is a felony in Georgia.
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(Griffin Daily News Staff Photo)
Camp meeting is being held this week at Pirkle Memorial Congregational Holiness
Compground on Fayetteville Highway. Services are being held each evening. The
Rev. Asa Dorsey of Gainesville is the evangelist. Mrs. lona Bateman (1) and Mrs.
Mary M. Ard serve meals to campers and visitors in the campground’s cafeteria.
Other pictures on page 12.
DAILY NEWS
Daily Since 1872
crashed in Georgia and killed
the pilot, and a helicopter
plunged into a Florida swamp,
but its two occupants were not
hurt.
The collision occurred shortly
after the airliner had taken off
from the Asheville-Henderson
ville Airport and witnesses said
the Cessna plowed into the
underside of the larger plane
with a “big boom and a big
flash of fire.” One witness said
the Cessna seemed to disinte
grate and “bodies fell like
confetti” from the jetliner.
The plunging airliner
screamed low over the town
and two summer camps for
boys and girls before slamming
into a wooded area near the
intersection of interstate high
way 26 and U.S. highway 64.
Bodies Fall
Horrified observers saw
bodies drop from the sky
around them. A child’s body fell
at a filling station, that of a
stewardess dropped on the
median strip of a highway, and
one body crashed through the
roof of a house.
“Oh, my God, tell me it’s not
true,” exclaimed the owner of
the house.
Twenty bodies were found in
the wreckage, most of them
burned beyond recognition. Fif
teen others were recovered
from woods within a half-mile
of the crash site.
McNaughton, newly appointed
Secretary of the Navy, had
boarded the plane, flight 22, in
Asheville. He and his wife,
Sally, had come to lush
mountain setting to pick up
their son, Theodore, 11, at a
summer camp.
The NASA technician, Thomas
R. Bolton, 49, of the Marshall
Space Flight Center at Hunt
sville, Ala., was en route to the
Bendix Corp, in New Jersey.
Thirty of the victims were
southeast-southwest broker-dea
lers of Stokely Van'Camp, Inc.,
bound for a national -ales
convention at White Sulphur
Springs, W. Va. Two Stokely
employes, including vice pres
ident Ennis Parker, 61, of
Griffin, Ga., also were killed.
The convention was cancelled.
Also among the victims were
William J. Kerwin, 39, Bethes
da, Md., executive vice presi
dent of the National League of
Insured Savings and Loan As
sociations, and a widow, Mrs.
William D. Love, Jackson,
Miss., and three of her chil
dren, headed for a visit to Al
exandria, Va.
There was immediate reac
tion in Congress. Several House
members called for prompt ac
tion to forbid small planes to
use general commercial air
ports.
Former Gov. John Reed of
Maine, a member of the Safety
Board of the U. S. Department
of Transportation, said "We are
going to probe this tragedy in
depth to make aviation safer.”
GRIFFIN
Griffin, Ga., 30223, Thursday, July 20, 1967
W. Ennis Parker, 61,
Killed In Jet Crash
7 Georgians
Were On
Fatal Flight
ATLANTA (UPI) — Seven
Georgians were among the 81
persons who died in the fiery
collision of a Piedmont jetliner
and a private plane Wednesday
near Hendersonville, N.C.
They included: C. L. Geiger,
Bowdre P. McKendree, and
Gordon Lewis, of Albany; Ennis
Parker, of Griffin; James B.
Chidsey Jr., of Rome; John
Price, of Athens; and D. F.
Vaughn, of Savannah.
Geiger, McKendree, and
Lewis were connected with the
Spence-Geiger Co. in Albany, a
food brokerage firm. Parker
was president of Pomona Pro
ducts in Griffin and a vice
president of Stokely Van Camp
Inc. Chidsey was a food broker
in Rome.
All five were going to White
Sulphur Springs, W. Va., for a
national sales meeting of
Stokely Van Camp, Inc.
Top Holsteins
To Be Sold
Here Saturday
Fifty-five top Holstein cows
and heifers will be sold Satur
day at the Southern Invitational
Holstein Sale to be held at the
Kiwanis Fairgrounds south of
Griffin.
The sale will include 16 young
cow's and 39 bred heifers.
Some of the best Holsteins
from North Carolina, South Car
olina, Kentucky, Tennessee and
Georgia are expected for the
sale..
Details of the sale are being
coordinated by the agricultural
committee of the Griffin Kiwa
nis Club.
Sale headquarters have been
set up at Holiday Inn on North
Expressway. Sale manager is
Jack Mathis of Decatur.
The sale is being sponsored by
the Georgia Holstein Associa
tion.
Weather:
FORECAST FOR GRIFFIN
AREA —• Mostly cloudy and
warm with scattered showers
and thundershowers Friday.
LOCAL WEATHER — Maxi
mum today 82, minimum today
69, maximum Wednesday 85,
minimum Wednesday 66. Sun
rise Friday 6:46 a.m. sunset
Friday 8:46 p.m.
O'- *
V/ V /
i '• ' W- v 1
WEnnis Parker
Library Director
Answers Questions
On Bond Election
The director of the Flint River
Regional Library answered a
number of questions today in
connection with the proposed
bond issue to finance a new buil
ding.
Spalding County voters will
vote "yes” or “no” in a bond
election Tuesday. Under the
plan proposed by trustees of the
library, bonds would be issued
to provide $350,000 in local funds
to be added to a federal grant
of $250,000.
Here, in question and answer
form, are library director Wal
ter Murphy’s comments:
Q — W’hat will become of the
present Hawkes Library build
ing?
A— It will be put to use by
the Griffin-Spalding County Sc
hool System. The specific pur
pose will be decided by the Sc
hool Board.
Q — Where will be the new lib
rary be located?
A— The Library Board ot
Trustees has retained a library
consultant to prepare a site
study which would recommend
the best location for a new Grif
fin and Spaldihg County library
building. The consultant’s report
is now being studied by a site
committee of the board. Several
sites are under consideration. It
is felt that the library should be
located where it will be used to
the greatest extent. The need
for some parking has also been
discussed.
Q — Who will be the architect
for the new library?
A — No architect has been se
lected. The building and plans
committee of the library board
will consider several architects
before making a recommenda
tion to the full board. A beauti
ful, functional building that is
economical to operate and main
tain is desired.
Q — How has the building size
been determined?
A— American Library Asso
ciation recommendations for
buildings serving populations
from 25,000 to 49,999 people call
fmj minimum space require
ments of 0.6 square feet per
capita. The minimum figure for
Spalding County is 24,000 spuare
feet. This does not account for
future population growth. The
building is not being made lar
ger because other counties are
affiliated with the system. These
counties pay for the services
they receive. Moreover, they
either have new buildings of
their own, or they are interes
ted in obtaining them. Griffin
and Spalding County receive ad
ditional state and federal money
because of the regional affilia
tion.
Q — What deadline must be
met to apply for the maximurr
federal grant of $250,000?
A— August 31, 1967.
Q — What serves as the public
Vol. 95 No. 169
library for the people of Griffin
and Spalding County?
A— A building of 5,100 square
feet which was planned in 1915
as a free library for children.
Q — What is needed?
A—A library building of at le
ast 24,000 square feet to serve
the present Spalding County pop
ulation of approximately 40,000
people.
Q — Why should Griffin and
Spalding County have a new
library?
A— Because the existing buil
ding is not large enough to ac
commodate the materials, ser
vices and personnel that should
be provided by a modern pub
lic library. In 1916, the library
had about 300 books; in 1967, the
collection included more than
70.000 books, 1,100 filmstrips,
1,500 recordings, 150 current pe
riodical subscriptions, and nu
merous pamphlets, brochures,
and other printed materials.
To meet .the reference and ge
neral educational needs of citiz-
(Continued on page Two)
United Fund
Chairmen
Named
Newton M. Penny, chairrpan
of the 1967-68 United Fund Drive
in Griffin and Spalding County,
has announced the following div
ision chairmen for this year’s
drive.
Industry-Robert P. Scroggins;
clubs and organizations, Mac
Baird; public agencies, Mrs.
Josephine Mills; County, Julius
Elrod; downtown, Hope Ham
mond; professional, Robert Og
letree. Schools, Layman Hatta
way; special gifts, Lon Knowles
and C. T. Parker; Negro divi
sion, Dr. Charles C. Releford;
outlying, Ernest Hulsey; resi
dences, Mrs. Bobby Goolsby;
and publicity, Warren K. Sco
ville.
Soviets Warn
Os Trouble
Mideast
MOSCOW (UPD—The Soviet
government warned today that
what it called continued Israeli
aggression against the Arab
states theatens a resumption of
the Middle East war on a large
scale. It called Israel’s actions
a threat to international securi
ty.
Prominent Griffin
Business Leader
W. Ennis Parker, 61, one of
Griffin’s most prominent citi
zens, was killed Wednesday
when a jetliner and a propeller
driven aircraft collided in t h e
skies over North Carolina.
The flaming-wreckage of the
two planes plummeted to the
ground near Hendersonville, kill
ing 81 people.
There were 73 passengers and
five crewmen aboard the jetli
ner and three people in the
smaller craft.
Mr. Parker, a vice-president
of Stokelji-Van Camp and presi-
For editorial comment, see
Good Evening’s column.
dent of Pomona Products Co. of
Griffin, along with several oth
er victims, was on his way to a
national sales meeting at the
Greenbriar resort hotel at White
Sulphur Springs, W. Va.
Mr. Parker was an outstand
ing leader in his community.
In addition to being a promi
nent industrialist, he was vital
ly interested in the civic and ed
ucational affairs in Griffin.
He had served on the Griffin-
Spalding Board of Education for
many years, retiring in 1963
when business kept him out of
the city much of the time. At the
time of his retirement, he was
chairman of the board.
He was a past president of the
Griffin - Spalding Chamber of
Commerce, a past president of
the Exchange Club and a past
president of the University of
Georgia College of Business Ad
ministration Alumni Society.
Mr. Parker was a leader in
his field of business.
Besides serving as vice presi
dent of Stokely-Van Camp, and
president of Pomona Products
Co., he was a past president of
the National Canners Associa
tion and served on two different
occasions as president of the
Georgia Canners Association.
During his 28 years in Griffin,
he was active in numerous com
munity projects. In addition to
being a long time member of
the Board of Education, he was
currently serving on the Flint
River Boy Scout Council, was a
member of the Spalding County
Housing Authority, a member
of the Griffin Board of Tax As
sessors, and a deacon in the Fir
st Baptist Church.
Mr. Parker was born in Bax
ley, Ga. on May 21, 1906. He liv
ed his entire life in Georgia.
He graduated from Athens
High School in Athens, Ga. and
graduated from the University
of Georgia in 1926 with a degree
in Business Administration.
After graduation he became
associated with a chain of gro
cery stores in Atlanta, then
known as Rogers Stores, and
now Colonial. He served the sto
res as buyer and merchandiser
for 11 years.
In 1939 he resigned to become
associated with Walter Graefe
at Pomona Products Co. in Grif
fin. The company then was en-
Country Parson
8r- ■-/Zv
7-2®
“The failures I hate most to
see are those brought on by
someone’s ill - advised criti
cism.”
Griffarea
- What Is It? See Editorial, Page 4.
gaged in the processing of sou
thern fruits and vegetables.
The following year he was el
ected vice president and served
in that position until 1955 when
Pomona Products Co. merged
with Stokely-Van Camp, Inc. of
Indianapolis, Ind.
Mr. Parker was then elected
president of Pomona Products,
a division of Stokely and main
tained this position until his
death.
Also in 1964 he was elected
vice president of Stokely-Van
Camp.
He is survived by his wife, the
former Miss Martha Chapman;
a daughter, Mrs. Charles Bal
lance of Atlanta; a son, W. En
nis Parker, Jr., who is serving
as a Lt. (j.g.) in the U.S. Navy;
two grandchildren, Anne Park
er Ballance, and Charles Walk
er Ballance, Jr., both of Atlan
ta; three brothers, Joe Parker
of Atlanta, Marion Parker of
Homerville, Ga., and Chapman
Parker of New Orleans, La.;
four sisters, Mrs. Dilworth Mid
dleton of Mclntosh, Ga., Mrs.
A. H. Davis of New Smyrna
Beach, Fla., Mrs. J. H. Lee of
Waycross and Mrs. Ruth Jenk
ins of Atlanta.
Haisten Funeral Home is in
charge of arrangements.
Ex - Griffinite
Killed In
Air Collision
Bowdre P. McKendree, Jr., of
Albany, Ga., who was killed in
the same plane collision that
took the life of Mr. W. Ennis
Parker of Griffin, was a former
Griffinite.
Bowdre’s father, at one time,
was manager of Friedman’s Je
welry in Griffin.
Bowdre attended Griffin High
School while his family made
their home here.
He married the former Miss
Starlett Geiger, whose father
owns Spence-Geiger Co. in Al
bany, Ga.
Bowdre was employed by that
firm as a salesman. He was on
his way to a sales meeting in
West Virginia when the fatal
plane collision happened.
Welding Course
Offered At
Griffin Tech
Griffin Tech offers a one year
course in welding.
The course consists of specia
lized classroom and shop learn
ing experiences. These are con
cerned with all types of metal
welding, brazing, and flame cut
ting. Instruction emphasizes pro
perties of metals, blueprint
and welding symbols.
The skilled, all-round welder
is able to plan and lay out work
from drawings, blueprints or
other written specifications. He
has a knowledge of the weld
ing properties of steel, cast iron,
bronze, aluminum, nickel and
other metals and alloys. He al
so is able to determine the pro
per sequence of work operations
for each job and to weld in all
types of joints, held in various
positions.
Students are now being accep
ted for the fall quarter to begin
Aug. 14, 1967. Applicants must
be at least 16 years old and take
an admission examination. In
terested persons should contact
Griffin Tech for additional infor
mation.