Newspaper Page Text
The Butler Herald
‘’KEEPING EVERLASTINGLY AT IT IS THE SECRET OF SUCCESS”
VOLUME 85
BUTLER, TAYLOR COUNTY, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1961.
NUMBER 27.
Tragedy Open Hearts j Tornadoes Strike
Or g ^
Butler Citizens ° e General Library rCOFSicl
University of Ga , . . °
iowns Friday
By JOHN PENNINGTON J
Atlanta Journal Staff Writer
BUTLER, Ga., April 3—This town * From the Atlanta-Journal)
played host to tragedy and heart- ! A sudden series of hard-hitting
break over Easter weekend | tornadoes that swirled down Friday
Its people wept and worked for ! corning killed one person, injured
strangers struck by misfortune on !*f aral ° 2®” StT!
the highway, and found new depths ^ a ™£ g *!" a I e “*/ 0Ur towns m
of compassion in doing so. , south central Georgia ‘
Hearts and homes and pocket- I UnadiHa, 40 miles south of Ma-
books-and the mortuary P - we re “J 41 ’ Was WOrSt hlt ^
opened to a family which had nev- ,
er heard of Butler, Ga., until short- ' Other tornadoes also struck at
ly before a wrerk on the highway Browndale, Centerville and Garetta.
claimed the life of one of their\ The tornado let down on Unadilla
number. ! at 9:04 a. m. Friday, according to
The episode started Friday after- State Department of Civil De-
noon. It was to end Monday. |fense. It demolished many private
t OQ ,, , i homes and business establishments,
Lynn Tupin, 28-year-old employe destroved the town - s RaDtist church
of a fiberglass plant in Berea, Ohio, destroyed tne town s Baptist cnurcn
a ; -.j, and tore roofs off several other ch-
was driving to Bradenton, Fla., with .
his wife and two of four children. ;
The family had recently moved I Torrential rains accompanied the
from Florida to Ohio and his trip tornado. Streets and low-lying areas
was to take some belongings to the were flooded, trees were uprooted,
new home ' fires were knocked down, and com-
.. f D 'munications were disrupted over a
Five miles south of Butler, the .. r
Tupins small station wagon col- ,
lided with a tractor. The vehicle i Mayor L. D. Hamilton said Friday
was ripped open and it spun down afternoon that it was still imposs-
the highway, rolling as it went, : *^1® ma ke any accurate estimate
and came to a stop right side upl 0 ^ damage, but added that he is
in the middle of the road. sure win run over * 50 °,000.
Mr. Tupin, thrown from the ve- Civil Defense authorities identi-
hicle along with his wife and 4- ; ^ le t° rnac lo victim as Jesse
year-old son, suffered a gash on I Thompson, a local resident. Mr.
his forehead. One foot was hurt, i Thompson, in the kitchen of his
He hobbled to his son, lying in the ! two-story frame house when the
middle of the road, and carried him j tornado struck, was pinned between
to the side of the road. Next he i two fallen walls, observers said,
went to the wrecked station wagon ! Rescurers managed to free him, but
and removed his 6-year-old daugh- j^ e ^ied shortly afterwards,
ter, screaming, through a broken i His wife, daughter and son-in-law
window. Then he went to his wife, jwere also in the house, but were
lying on the shoulder of the road. : not injured, thought the house it-
Her head was badly gashed. She self was flattened. Mrs. Thompson
died a few minutes later. jwas carried to the Hawkinsville
An ambulance from the Edwards hospital and treated for shock.
Funeral Home drove up and small- ! Mrs. Hazel Mitchell, an Atlanta
town compassion enveloped the un- i Journal correspondent in nearby
fortunate strangers. Perry, said at least 13 persons re-
Mr. Tupin and his sen were taken |ceived injuries during the storm,
to the hospital in Butler and put i j n Atlanta, Jack Grantham, state
in the same room. The son, Carter, d i re ctcr of Civil Defense, said a
had a badly hurt shoulder, broken | gt a te Patrol captain reported Friday
collar bone and numerous contu- I afternoon that “the situation is un-
sions and abrasions. Mr. Tupin had j der control.” He said no schools in
a bad head gash and a hurt foot, i t be town were damaged.
Train-Car Accident
In Columbus Kills
Four in Family
Entire Family of Sgt. Theodore
Baker Wiped Out in Accident
At Columbus Saturday.
The daughter, dark-eyed and
The other small towns where tor-
beautiful Lynn Marie, was found also camfi down Friday are
to be unhurt, except for some scrat- | south-of-Macon general
ches. Ward Edwards, son of the
area.
mortician and during legislative
sessions an aide to Lt. Gov. Garland
Byrd, and his wife Billie, took the
6-year old child home with them.
Mrs. Tupin was taken to the mor
tuary.
COLUMBUS, Ga.,—A Central of
Georgia passenger train, slowing
down for a stop in Columbus, crash
ed into a compact car carrying an
Army family of four Saturday after
noon killing three and critically in
juring the fourth. The second child
died Sunday at a Columbus hos
pital.
Dead were Sgt. Theodore Barker,
his wife Dixie, 30, and five-year-old
daughter Theresa. Three-year-old
daughter Cinday was in critical con
dition at the Columbus Medical
Center.
The collision between the Chicago
bound "Seminole”, passenger train
and the Barker’s car occurred at a
crossing on Old Cusseta Road at the
Columbus city limits two blocks
from the Barker’s home.
Observers said the train hit the
small car broadside instantly kill
ing the three and demolishing the
vehicle. The battered car, a wo
man’s stocking, and a child’s shoe
in a muddy ditch were grime re
minders of an abrupt end to the
family’s easter weekend.
The Barker’s were apparently on
their way home from town when
the accident occurred. There were
no injuries on the train.
Barker, stationed at nearby Fort
Benning, was a native of Hunting-
ton, W. Va., and his wife was ori
ginally from Baltimore, Md.
The state’s first weekend traffic
fatality occurred at 3 a. m. Satur
day when a North Carolina man
was killed and seven persons were
injured in a head-on collision 11
miles south of Waycross, Ga., on
U. S. 1.
Dead was 43-year-old Millard
Franklin Rhoades of Wilkesboro,
N. C. The seven injured, not identi
fied by the Highway Patrol, were
treated at a Waycross Hospital.
Two Taylor Countv
Students on Dean’s List
Mercer University
In Browndale, a small town in
Pulaski County near Hawkinsville
three barns were reported unroofed,
and wires and trees were reported
knocked down by high winds.
Friday night was a time of great I , * n Centerville, near Warner Ro-
concern for the citizens of Butler, ibins, wires and trees were down
Nobody slept, Mrs. Edwards said.
Concerned about the family’s plight
and heartbroken about the little
along State Highway 26, according
to the State Patrol. A porch was
blown off one house, and another
girl being thrown into the midst of housa received structural damages
strangers, many wept. | the patrol said. There were no re-
A shift was organized for people | P°rl e, d injuries there.
to sit up with the little boy, who
needed attention regularly. He was
never alone. Nellie Tauton, Eppie
Arnold, Mildred Standridge, Buddy
Dunn, Doc Tante, Ruth Clark, Lu
cille Reddish, Mildred Joiner, Mary
Anthony were among those attend
ing him.
Learning that the family’s finan
cial circumstances were very mod
est—the car was uninsured, there
were no savings to fall back on—
Louise Suggs and pharmacist Jim
my Smith canvassed the town and
Taylor County taking up collection.
They got nearly $200—approximate
ly the amount of the hospital bill.
A side drama developed. Lynn
Marie kept asking for her mother.
Mr. Tupin, choked up with grief,
asked the Edwardses to tell the
child her mother was dead. He
couldn’t do it.
How to go about such a task?
They told the little girl, darkeyed
and attentive, that her mother had
gone to heaven. They did not men
tion the bruised body at the fune
ral home.
On Easter morning Lynn Marie
and her brother had Easter baskets
In Garetta, south of Dublin on
U. S. 441, wires were reported down
and roads blocked, but no imme
diate injuries were reported.
In Eastman, strong winds blew
off several house and barn roofs
and damaged trees and wiring. A
small storm of short duration was
reported out in the country between
Hawkinsville and Cochran.
All the tornadoes tsruck between
9 a. m. and 10:30 a. m. Friday.
They struck just after the Atlan
ta Weather Bureau put out a fore
cast which warned of a threat of
tornadoes, accompanied by thunder
storms, hail and high damaging
winds, one a front extending over
a large portion of central Georgia.
The tornado country runs the en
tire east-west width of the state,
within a strip extending 60 miles
north and 60 miles south of Albany.
In its first turbulent weather re
port, issued earlier Friday, the bu
reau had placed the northern edge
of the tornado belt above Atlanta
and said storm conditions should be
over by noon. A later, afternoon
forecast moved the northern bound
ary down just north of Macon, but
One Person Killed,
Two Injured in
Wreck Near Butler
Mrs. Elsie Tupin, Columbia
Station, Ohio, Killed Instantly
When Car Struck Tractor.
Revival Services
Methodist Church
Will Begin Sunday
Mr. Sam Bailey
Died Tuesday A.M.
Of Heart Attack
The local Methodist church will j Funeral at Crowell Church
enter into a revival beginning next | Wednesday Afternoon, Three
Sunday and continuing through •
the following Friday. 0 Clock.
A young mother was killed Fri
day when the car in which she was
riding slammed into a farm tractor
about five miles south of Butler on
U. S. Highway 19.
Mrs. Elsie Tupin, 34, of Colum- i
bia Station, Ohio, was killed when
her husband’s car collied with a
tractor and overturned several tim
es osi the wet highway, the state
partol said.
Her husband, Lynn P. Tupin, and
two children, all of Columbia Sta
tion, were also injured.
Trooper M. A. Greene said Tupin
was attempting to pass the tractor
when it suddenly started to turn
left off the road. Operator of the
tractor, J. C. Garner of Butler, was
charged with failure to signal. Gar
ner and Calvin Wilcher also were i
injured in the mishap.
Greene of the Thomaston patrol
post said the car turned over three
or four times. The tractor came to
rest on its side, the trooper said.
Tupin and the children were con
fined Friday night at Butler Hospi
tal. Tupin sustained cuts about his
head, hands and feet. His daughter,
Lynn, 5, suffered cuts about her
face and arms and his son, Carter,
REV. P. E. MILLER
There will be two services daily:
4, sustained a broken collar boneiio a. m. and 8 p. m.
and cuts about his face.
Garner had cuts on his arm and
Wilcher’s left wrist was scratched,
the state patrol said.
Mrs. Turpin’s body was shipped i pray i ng
Guest evangelist Rev. P. E. Mil
ler of Cairo, will bring the mes
sages at each service. There will
be gospel singing, preaching and
Mr. Samuel Roy Bailey died at
•his home in Reynolds Tuesday
i morning at 8 o’clock after suffer-
I ing a heart attack. The retired
| farmer was the husband of Mrs.
[Mary Emma Haywood Bailey and
|a son of the late Mr. and Mrs.
(James Pickens Bailey. He was born
Nov. 3, 1897 in Anniston, S. C.
j Mr. Bailey had been a resident
'of Taylor County for 30 years and
I was active in civic duties and
farming until his health began
• failing several years ago. He was
j a Mason and member of the Crow-
l oil Methodist church.
| Funeral service was conducted at
j Crowell Methodist church Wednes
day, 3 p. m. with Rev. Virgil Cul
pepper, pastor of the Reynolds-
| Crowell Methodist Church, officiat-
(ing. He was assisted by Rev. E. H.
Dunn.
A Masonic burial was conducted
by the Reynolds Masonic Lodge at
! Crowell cemetery.
! Pallbearers were Austin Guinn,
| Hubert Young, Russell Montgomery
] C. D. Lucas, C. C. McCrary, E. T.
I Eubanks.
| Survivors include his wife, Mrs.
Bailey; one son, James Bailey; one
i brother, R. B. Bailey, Sumter, S.
i C.; one sister, Mrs. J. R. Tilley,
iBatesburg, S. C.
j Goddard Funeral Home was in
(Charge of arrangements.
to Columbia station
rial
Ohio for bu-
The church extends a cordial
welcome to everyone in the county
Mr. Turpin and his son were re- ! to a tt end
leased form the Butler hospital I
Sunday. His daughter was released |
after treatment Friday afternoon.
She was cared for over the weekend
by Mr. and Mrs. Ward Edwards.
Mr. Swearingen and
Son Attend Cattle
Sale in Mississippi
Civil Defense Met
Wednesday, Davis is
Deputy Director
ACL Has Second
Freight Train Wreck
Near Town of Mauk
like all the other children in But- extended the time limit.
ler. The girl went to Sunday school
and she wore a new dress.
A night of heavy dismal rains,
which fell over all the top two
Alternately moody and cheerful, thirds , of the s * at e, Precided the
sombre and bright-eyed, the ohild j tornadoes and Georgians, already
captivated the Edwards. “It will flood-weary after a February of
be tough to see her go,” Mr. Ed
wards said.
The Tupins left for Ohio Monday . . ,, . . ...
by train, leaving behind the wreck- Woodbury received the highest offi-
age of their station wagon and tak- ! clall ,y reported rainfall overnight
ing with them mixed emotions -i a popping four inches,
the memory of a journey disrupted j
such weather, began watching creek
and rivers warily Friday afternoon.
The little west central town of
by tragedy and the warm certainty
of friendship from strangers in
their time of need.
LADIES SELL ‘CORT COSMETICS’
IN YOUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD.
IF INTERESTED CALL TI 7-4555.
FOR SALE
Marglobe and Rutgers Tomato
Plants. Local grown and healthy
plants.
H. M. ROEBUCK
Rupert, Georgia
4-62t
The Walter F. George School of
Law, Mercer University, has an
nounced the names of nine students
who have made the Dean’s List
for the winter quarter.
Students attaining the Dean’s List
must have a grade of 78 or better
for the quarter. Traditionally the
highest grade given in law school
is 89. Dean James C. Quarles said
that this group comprises less than
the highest 10 per cent in scholar
ship in the law school.
Among the nine students obtain
ing this honor is Edward Alexand
er Davis, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed
Davis, Butler and Robert L. Swear
ingen, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. R. L.
Swearingen Sr., of Reynolds.
F. F. A. Public
Speaking Contest
Wayne Cox, a 9th grade mem
ber of the local Chapter of FFA
was adjudged winner of the Chap
ter’s Annual Public Contest in the
High School auditorium last Thurs
day.
In winning the contest, Wayne
chose as a subject “Water, The
Key to th eFuture.” He will be
awarded a trip to the National
FFA Convention which will meet
in Kansas City, Mo., in October.
Also he will represent his local
Chapter in competition with other
FFA speakers from Southwest Ga.
when he speaks at Tifton April 13.
Participating in the Chapter con
test were winners of each of the 5
Vocational Agriculture classes.
They were: Terry McCants, Shad-
rach Barnett, Billy Blasche, Terry
Allmcn and Wayne Cox. Sad-
|rach Barnett was placed 2nd and
j Terry, 3rd.
| Singers Coming to
^New Life Church
There will be regular worship at
the New Life Freewill Church near
Mauk this weekend. The preaching
w’ill be by the Pastor, Rev. J. B.
Lumpkin.
The Hammonds Trio from Tho
maston will be the guest singers,
Saturday night.
The public is cordially invited to
attend.
The members of the Butler Civil
Defense Unit met Wednesday night
with Col. Jones the director for this
area of Georgia. Col. Jones was here
to answer any questions that the
group leaders may have and to
make suggestions for plans of act-
Mr. R. L. Swearingen and son,
Mr. Robert Swearingen of Reynolds
attended the Panola Tate World j ion in the event 0 f disaster,
famed Hereford Sale at Sanatobia, Some of the things that must be
Miss., on M ar ch 21st. They b ° u 8 ht considered by our un i l are p] ans
both the Grand Champion and Re- ]f or evacU ation, routes for reception,
serve Champion bulls of the sa ^ e -, reception stations, housing in the
area for 10,000 displaced persons,
feeding stations, hospital and med
ical aid for injured, police for traf-
Miss Elain Posey
Enters Correct
Posture Contest
Lot 1 SLR Prince Royal 1st was
Champion Bull of the sale con
signed by Stockland Plantation of
Sondheimer, La.
Lot 8 SLR Advanced Vicl 145th j rnun i ca ti on , water supply, and «
was Reserve Champion of the sale source of auxiliary powe r.
consigned by Spring Lake Ranch j Fortunately, we have very able
of _J ue P l0 ’ Miss - land unselfish leadership in our di-
The Swearingen Hereford Farms rect Mrs . Jack Suggs and Deputy
have one of the best herds of the Dlrector Warden Wanza Davis.
Polled Herefords in the southeast.^ „ the efforts of Mr Davis
Mr. Swearingen, Sr., is one of the | we bave an invaluable collection
directors of the American Polled | of equipment that can be diverted
Hereford Association. ; j n j 0 d j sas ter relief when necessary.
The one thing that we must have
to further develop our preparedness
is the awareness of the public to
the responsibility that we have to
humanity.
In order to promote this prepared
ness we hope to conduct a home
nursing course of instruction under
the joint leadership of Mrs. Eppie
Arnald and the State Health De
partment. We have made first aid
classes available in the past to in
terested individuals and groups.
Every person in our city and
county should know where to go
and what to do. Do you know what
to do?
The group leaders who have res-
ponsibilly are:
Louise Suggs, Director
Wanza Davis, Deputy Director
Mac Marchman, Advisor
Mrs. Wilson, Welfare
Mrs. Arnold, Health
Carol Peacock, Police
W.H. Elliston, Communication
Austin Guinn, Radio
Marvin Peed, Fire
George Ilammack, Rescue
Gene Bone
Miss Elaine Posey has entered
the Miss Correct Posture Contest,
it was announced by Dr. T. M. Cot-
ney, posture chairman for Butler
and Taylor County.
Elaine is Miss Butler of 1960 and
will compete with girls from 30
counties of the 4th district.
These girls will be judged on
beauty, poise, charm and straight
ness of spine. The State winner will
compete in the world posture finals
in St. Louis in June. This contest is
sponsored by the Chiropractic pro
fession of the state.
Mr. Tommy Theus
Receives Prized Award
At Medical College
I
Brewton Parker Takes
On The Mound
Mr. Thomas Leon Theus, son of
Dr. and Mrs. Leon Theus, recently
received a Mosby Scholarship
Book Award for scholastic excel- GSC With Eubanks
lence and for service on the honor
court for the year 1961, and also
a medical text book.
“Tommy” as he is known to his
! numerous local friends is a mem
ber of the Junior Class at the
(Medical College of Georgia in Au
gusta.
Congratulations and best wishes
Tommy. We are really proud of
| you for your splendid scholatic
I record.
Mauk, Ga. — A 75-car train
near Mauk Tuesday was one of two
freight train wrecks on the ACL
lines the same day.
The Mauk wreck, in which 20 of
the 75 cars in the train were de
railed, was caused by a wheel
breaking on one of the freight cars.
The second wreck on the ACL
was the 127 car train 21 miles north
of Dade City, Fla., near the Ga-Fla
line.
No injuries were reported in
either wreck.
Thirty cars of the Florida train
derailed when the cars in the
center of the train jumped the
track. Cause of the Florida derail
ment was unknown.
Revival Begins
Assembly of God
Sunday, April 9
Beginning Sunday, April 9th., the
Assembly of God will hold a revi
val with Rev. R. F. Johnson of Grif
fin as the evangelist preacher. Rev.
Griffin has conducted revival ser
vices at this church previously.
Evening services throughout the
week will be at 7:45 o’clock.
The public is cordially invited.
J. B. WELDON
Pastor
j 1960 Fishing Licenses
'Good Until April 25
I ATLANTA,—The State Game and
| Fish Department has extended the
iexpiration date of 1960 fishing li-
censes in Georgia from April 1 to
April 25.
Fulton Lovell, department direc
tor, explained this was necessary
because the 1961 licenses were late
coming from the printers.
He said the delay in issuing new
licenses stemmed from the legisla
tive recesss during the battle of the
budget in the recent General As
sembly session.
Chicken Barbecue
Supper Sat. Evening
MT. Vernon, Ga. — The Brewton
Parker Barons defeated Georgia
Southwestern College Saturday af
ternoon behind the six hit pitching
of Dudley Eubanks of Butler. The
Barons record now stands at five
wins and no losses. Eubanks struck
out eight while issuing four walks.
The final score being 15-7.
Saturday, the swimming pool
commitete will sponsor a chicken
barbecue supper on the court house
lawn at 5:00 p. m.
Plates will be $1.25 each.
The barbecue scheduled for last
Saturday evening at the local court
house lawn has been set up to
Saturday evening of this week.
The occasion was postponed due to
inclement weather,
Come out and enjoy a good
meal and help your swimming pool
at the same time.