Newspaper Page Text
Harhsot# Progress-Argus
Volume 99 Number 48
Mr. Etheridge,
Perry Editor,
Died Tuesday
Mr. Charles Cooper
Etheridge, Sr., a native of
Jackson and former editor of
the Houston Home Journal in
Perry, died unexpectedly at his
home in Perry Tuesday
morning.
Mr. Etheridge was a former
president of the Georgia Press
Association and at the time of
his death was Houston County
Bureau Manager of the Macon
Telegraph.
Funeral services were held in
Perry at the First Baptist
Church Wednesday afternoon at
two o’clock. Interment was in
Evergreen Cemetery. Watson-
Hunt Funeral Home was in
charge of arrangements.
Mr. Etheridge is survived by
his wife, Mrs. Carolyn S.
Etheridge, Perry; a daughter of
Winter Haven, Fla.; two sons.
Jenkinsburg Loses Landmark
As Fire Destroys Minter Store
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JENKINSBURG LANDMARK DESTROYED - A fire of undetermined origin Wednesday afternoon,
November 29th, completely destroyed the grocery store at Jenkinsburg owned by C. W. Haley. For
nearly half a century the store was owned and operated by J. O. Minter with the building believed to
have been built around the turn of the century. A lone fireman is shown at the right playing a hose of
water into the burning interior while a group of spectators stand together at the left bottom. - Photo by
Benjie Parrish.
A Jenkinsburg landmark for
well over half a century, the
old J. 0. Minter General Store,
was gutted and completely
destroyed by a stubborn blaze
Wednesday afternoon, Novem
ber 29th. The building was
recently purchased by C. W.
Haley who operated the store at
the time of the fire.
Though the exact cause of the
fire may never be ascertained
there is some evidence that it
could have started in the flue of
the old pot bellied heater.
Mr. Minter operated the
general store for about 45 years,
having purchased the building
from L. A. Atkinson. Mr. Minter
said Thursday morning that he
believed the building was
erected in the early 1900’s and
thought that it was built by J. W.
Benson.
The fire threatened the
adjacent Jenkinsburg City Hall
but nothing was burned save the
flashing. However, as a
precautionary measure the
furniture and records were
removed from the City Hall.
Mr. Minter said that he and
his wife had been to a doctor in
Atlanta and saw the smoke in
Locust Grove enroute home.
Mr. Minter said that one gas
tank did not explode as the
pump line was underground nor
was there an explosion of the
propane tanks in the rear of the
building as they have a safety
valve.
Fire departments from Jack
son, Flovilla, Locust Grove and
the Butts-Henry Forestry Unit
responded to the call but as the
fire was so advanced when they
arrived there was little they
could do except try to save the
City Hall.
American Mills employees and volunteers are shown above removing fabric from the Fabric
Storage Room at the American Mills Plant during a fire Friday afternoon. - Photo by Benjie Parrish.
W. L. (Cotton) Vaughn, chief
of the Jackson Volunteer Fire
Department, said the first call
was received at Jackson around
3:30 o’clock. Mr. Vaughn said
that they could see the flames
and black smoke by the time
they reached the Jackson
Drive-In enroute to Jenkins
burg. Mr. Vaughn said that the
building and its contents were a
complete loss.
Mrs. T. H. Price, City Clerk of
Jenkinsburg, said that “we are
all really grieved with Mr.
Haley on his loss. It hurt the
entire community since we are
all really close knit. The fire
was tragic, almost like a death,
since the store was a landmark
in Jenkinsburg.” Mrs. Price
pointed out that the town of
Jenkinsburg received its chart
er on October 24, 1889.
Mrs. Price was lavish in the
praise of the volunteer firemen
from the different communities
who responded to the call. She
said that the roof of the City
Hall caught on fire and had not
the volunteers been present it
would have burned.
Mrs. Price said that flames
and smoke were reportedly
seen as far away as Griffin and
that men, as well as firemen,
came from Flovilla and Locust
Grove to do what they could.
Mrs. Price said that the fire
really put a damper on things at
Jenkinsburg since the City Hall
and Post Office are the sole
buildings left of a one time
thriving little town. She said
that she understood the blaze
was discovered by neighbors.
Hie fire was still burning
“pretty good at nine o’clock,”
Mrs. Price said, and was
thankful for the rain Wednesday
night.
The store had been a familiar
gathering place for a long
number of years of Jenkinsburg
residents and everyone was
thankful that there were no
injuries, according to Mrs.
Price.
Mr. Haley told the Progress-
Argus Thursday that the store
was a complete loss. When his
son, Wesley, arrived he opened
the door to possibly see where
the fire started but the smoke
was so thick it was impossible to
determine its origin.
Mr. Haley said that a pot
bellied stove was used only
occasionally since he had a gas
heater installed last January.
He said that the gas heater was
usually sufficient but Wednes
day morning he had a fire in the
stove because he thought that
his wife, who was just out of the
hospital, was coming to the
store to sit with him and he
wanted it to be good and warm
for her. Mrs. Haley was unable
to come, however, but Mr.
Haley said he had no way of
knowing’if the fire might have
started in the flue.
Mr. Haley was unable to
estimate his loss. He had
restocked his store with
approximately S3OO-S4OO worth
of goods Wednesday before the
fire and lost this as well as all
his other inventory in addition
to a double Coca-Cola box, ice
cream box, a milk cooler,
refrigerator, gas stove, electric
stove and some antiques plus a
small television set.
Mr. Haley said that there was
some insurance but at present it
will be after Christmas “before
we can do anything.”
Jackson, Georgia 30233, Thursday, December 7, 1972
Devils Still
Looking For
First Win
BY BRIAN WAITS
Progress-Argus Sports Writer
The Jackson Red Devilettes
evened their 1972 season’s
record to two wins and two
losses with a 48-35 victory over
Greenville Saturday night,
while the Red Devils lost their
fourth straight game to the
Greenville boys, 68-65.
After a disappointing start,
the Devilettes have come on to
take their last two opponents
with ease and play the type
basketball that was expected of
them this season. The fine
outside shooting of Lynda
Head, Regina Lawrence, and
Pat McCaleb along with the fine
defense and rebounding of
Patsey Barkley, Sherry Barnes,
and Doris Green is making the
Devilettes a team that will be
hard to contend with in the
coming weeks.
In the Greenville victory,
Lynda Head led the scoring with
22 points. Regina Lawrence was
next in line with 16 points. Doris
Green added 4, and Pat
McCaleb rounded out the
scoring with 4 points.
The Devilettes got their first
victory of the young season
November 28 at McDonough, as
they defeated the Henry County
girls 38-24. Regina Lawrence
was high scorer with 16 points.
Doris Green was next with 9
points, Pat McCaleb had 7, and
Lynda Head scored 6.
The Red Devils continue to
look for that first victory of 1972,
but they are improving from
game to game. The Devils are
beginning to show strength
inside with Melvin Walker and
Perry Crowder, while the ball
handling and outside shooting
improves.
The Devils latest loss was a
68-65 decision to Greenville last
Saturday night. Jackson played
its best game despite the loss of
their injured starting guard,
Danny Taylor.
Tommy Stewart led the
Jackson scoring with 19 points.
Melvin Walker followed with 16
points, Terry Myrick had 10,
and Perry Crowder scored 7.
In their game with Henry
County on November 28, the
Red Devils were defeated 78-71.
Tommy Stewart, who is
averaging over 24 points per
game, led the scoring with 25.
Ronnie Acree had 18, and
Melvin Walker added 11.
In upcoming games, the Red
Devils and Red Devilettes
entertain Henry County at the
Jackson Gym on Friday night
and travel to Monticello
Saturday night. They also play
Talbotton in Talbotton Tuesday
night.
Costly Blaze Hits American
Mills On Friday Afternoon
Full production with a full
crew was resumed Monday
morning after a stubborn 2%
hour blaze ravaged the fabric
storage room at American Mills
plant in Jackson on the
Barnesville Road shorUy after
noon Friday, December Ist.
The cause of the fire has not
been determined but insurance
adjusters were on hand the first
of the week to assess the
extensive damage.
R. P. Shapard, Jr., of Griffin,
president of the manufacturing
firm, said a quarter of a million
pounds of finished fabric was
lost in the fire. When
interviewed Saturday Mr. Sha
pard said the mill was unable to
determine at that time the loss
in dollars and cents.
Mr. Shapard said that the fire
itself began in the fabric
storage room and was con
tained in the bleached fabric
section and involved largely
material, not equipment.
W. H. (Billy) Shapard, son of
the president, and vice presi
dent in charge of American
Mills in both Griffin and
Jackson, told United Press
during the weekend that some
250,000 pounds of textile
material had been waterlogged
during the fire fighting opera
tions and that it had to be dried
out before a damage estimate
could be made.
The fife itself was first
noticed about 12:20 o’clock
Friday afternoon in the fabric
storage room. The Jackson
Volunteer Fire Department was
on the scene in minutes but was
unable to reach the fire itself
which was smoldering among
the fabrics, causing thick gray
smoke to emit from the rear of
the building located about a
mile and a half from the
courthouse on Barnesville
Road.
As the fire gained headway
emergency calls were made to
Griffin and Barnesville for units
to help combat the stubborn
blaze. The Griffin Fire Depart
ment sent a 1,000 gallon pumper
truck with a crew of four men to
the blaze. The truck left Griffin
at 1:25 p.m. and returned at 4:14
p.m. The Barnesville truck
arrived about the same time
and rendered valuable assist
ance in containing the blaze.
With the aid of oxygen and
masks, firemen were event
ually able to move inside the
fabric storage room where
water could be played directly
Butts Chamber
To Meet On
December 14th
The annual dinner meeting of
the Butts County Chamber of
Commerce, Inc. will be held
Thursday, December 14th, at
seven p.m. at the auditorium of
the Central Georgia EMC.
In a letter to members,
President Frank Barnes states
the purpose of the meeting is to
elect three directors to serve
three year terms each and to
discuss other business that
might come before the group.
The three directors will be
elected from the following
nominees Roy Goff, Wayne
Barnes, M. L. Hodges, Jr., Luke
Weaver, Lou Moelchert and
Lewis M. Freeman. These six
business men were nominated
by the nominating committee.
Mr. Barnes also announced
that Col. Harold A. Dye, U. S.
Army (Ret.), a deputy director
of the Georgia Department of
Industry and Trade, will serve
as guest speaker.
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It was a mess was the best way to describe the above scene at the Friday fire at American Mills in
Jackson when extensive damage was done to the Fabric Storage Room and to some 250,000 pounds of
finished fabric that suffered water, smoke and fire damage. Employees and volunteers are shown
removing textile goods from the burning plant. - Photo by Benjie Parrish.
on the blaze.
Even before the fire was
completely extinguished work
crews from American Mills
were busy with salvage and
mop up operations.
Frank Forehand, an official
at the plant, said there were
many “heroes”. Mr. Forehand
praised the hard work and
dedication of some employees
who rendered outstanding ser
vice in fighting the blaze and
was also lavish in his praise for
the fire departments of Jack
son, Barnesville and Griffin for
their most valuable assistance
in bringing the fire under
control and keeping it from
being even more destructive.
Mr. Forehand said that there
were no injuries reported in
fighting the fire but that a few
people were reported to have
suffered smoke inhalation.
Billy Shapard, vice president,
said that one of the most heart
warming aspects of the fire has
been the fantastic response by
other mills in the area as they
have volunteered assistance
and have sought to mitigate the
effects of the blaze.
Mr. Shapard said that the
William Carter Mill at Barnes
ville called in crews over the
Taylor, Edge Injured
Car Strikes Two Officers
At 1-75 Accident Scene
Two area law enforcement
officers. Butts County Deputy
Sheriff Bill Taylor, 27, and
Georgia State Trooper Ray
Edge, 30, of the Griffin
Barracks, were able to exclaim
in unison from their Griffin-
Spalding County Hospital beds
this week that “we’re lucky and
thankful to be alive.”
And indeed they were! While
working a minor accident on
1-75 in Butts County Friday
night both men were struck by a
car driven by a 37-year-old
Kennesaw man, Ivey Burkett,
who was charged with driving
under the influence and driving
on a revoked license.
Investigating officials esti
mate that the Burkett vehicle
struck the two men while it was
traveling about 45 m.p.h.
$5.00 Per Year In Advance
weekend and worked day and
night to bleach some of the
damaged textile material that
was wet down during the fire
fighting.
Mr. Shapard said that a mill
at Cartersville had pitched in to
help bleach and salvage some of
the material and another mill in
Alabama had offered to assist.
He said that the Alabama mill
was standing by to see what it
could do.
Mr. Shapard stated Monday
that he still could not tell how
much of the fabric could be
salvaged.
Billy Crum
Is Named
Scout Leader
Billy Crum Assistant Scout
master for Troop 80 and Advisor
for Troop 89 has been selected
Scout leader of the month for
Butts County. Mr. Crum is
doing an outstanding job with
the youth of this community.
Mr. Crum also is Sargeant in
the National Guard and has
been instrumental in acquiring
guard material for boy scouts.
Congratulations on an ex
tremely good job.
Deputy Taylor received two
fractured legs, a concussion and
a spinal injury while Trooper
Edge suffered a fractured
pelvis, a broken leg, a
concussion and bruises. Both
men were listed in fair condition
at Griffin-Spalding County
Hospital on Monday.
Trooper Don Duke who
investigated the accident said
that both officer’s prowl cars
had their lights flashing but that
Burkett told him he did not see
anything. The accident ocurred
on 1-75 between the 16 and 36
exits, about one mile from the 36
interchange.
Deputy Taylor’s body broke
the windshield of the car before
coming to rest some 80 feet
from where he stood. Edge was
thrown 60 feet from the point of
White Bandits
Hit Jasper
Package Store
Two bold white bandits with
ski masks over their faces and
heads and armed with a 32
caliber pistol held up Sac-O-
Suds in Jasper County Friday
night and escaped with over
S9OO in cash and other items.
The package store is just over
the river in Jasper County and
is owned by Jimmy Tomlin,
widely known area restaur
ateur, who also operates
Tomlin’s Restaurant. The two
men came into the store about
10:30 o’clock Friday night and
tied up the store manager,
Frank Thompson, of Jackson.
The two men took all the cash
from the cash register, a black
and white television and
Thompson’s wallet.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s
Department investigated the
armed robbery and said that
evidence points to a third party
being involved as someone
drove by and let the two men out
and then came back to pick
them up.
impact. Doctors at the Griffin-
Spalding County Hospital are
keeping a weather eye out for
any indication of head and
spinal injuries to both men, but
more particularly in the case of
Taylor.
It was reported to the Butts
County Sheriff’s Department
that Burkett and his wife and
two children, who were pas
sengers, were on their way to
Vidalia to visit relatives at the
time of the mishap. Burkett was
held in Butts County Jail at
Jackson Friday night.
Police said that Taylor and
Edge were investigating an
accident on 1-75 about one mile
north of the Georgia 36
interchange when Burkett’s car
left the road and hit the two on
the grassy median.
