Newspaper Page Text
THE
CHATTER
...BOX.o
l oral-Count y-Stat e
By the Office Boy
Newton County mourns the
loss of two loyal friends, in the
deaths of Ex-Mayor Jack L.
Elliott, and Covington News
Columnist J. O. Martin, this
week.
Both rendered invaluable ser
vice to the county, where they
served in official capacities in
realms of government and edu
cation, resnectively. Both re
flected a dedication in their
chosen fields, which attested to
their vital interest in the pro
gress and welfare of the coun
ty and people they served. Both
came of the old school, in which
they learned that “a man's word
was his bond”. Both were
known in the churches of them
choice, as faithful stewards. In
the lives and endeavors of such
citizens, lies America’s strength.
Newton County is a better
place because they lived and
labored here.
We learn with regret of the
hospitalization of Mr. Martin’s
brother. Stiles Martin, at Pied
mont Hospital in Atlanta, fol
lowing a heart attack. Mr.
Stiles Martin, a former staff
member of the Atlanta Consti
tution, has ably served in the
State Department of Commerce
for the past several years, and
has a wide circle of friends in
this section. We consider our
selves fortunate in being num
bered among these, who join
in wishing Mr. Martin a rapid
recovery.
Congratulations are in or
der to the Newton Rams and
their coaches Milton McLaney
and Bobby Way for the plus
average record of 6-4, with
which they wound up the sea
son. with Friday night’s defeat
of Monroe as the finale! They
Continued on Page 11
Two More Candidates Enter
Covington City Council Race
Two more candidates have
entered the Covington City
Council election set for Wed
n sday, December 6. 1961
Previously the three incum
bent councilmen had announced
for re-election.
Y. B. (Buddy) Baker and
Otis Spillers, the latter a
former Councilman, made
known their intentions of en
tering the City election on
Tuesday. Mel H. Waggoner,
Fred Kitchens and E. E. (Buck)
Callawav are the incumbents
in the 1961 balloting. Mayor
Nat Turner is presently with
out an opponent in his race.
Mr. Baker is making his sec
ond race for a city office. He
was a candidate in the 1960
election for the City Council.
He is an employee of Coving
ton Mills and has been promi
nent in youth work in the
county, especially baseball,
basketball and football. He is
a member of the Covington
Mills Methodist Church where
High School Band Members Who Are Seniors Pose For Picture
<FNTOR MEMBERS OF THE NEWTON COUNTY High School
K?. Town in the picture above. Seated, left to right: Mik.
Budd, Margaret Rape. Miriam Gardner. Mada Patterson. Ehxabeth
A Prise-Winning
k Newspaper
t 1961
F Better Newspaper
Contests
The Covington Entery '^ablished in 1864 — The Covington Star, Established in 1874 and The Citizen - Observer, Established in 1953
VOLUME 97
SANT ^xAUS TO VISIT CITY NOVEMBER 30
« // ,❖ ❖ ❖❖❖❖♦ ❖* ❖ ❖ ❖❖♦»•> ** * * *** *♦ ♦
Lunu on Thursday Honored Porterdale Teachers
Miss Belcher, Miss King,
Snow, Ficquett On Program
PORTERDALE As Walter Cronkite narrates his inte
resting program, “Eye Witness ’, he always says with em
phasis, “And you were there!” On Thursday, November 9,
1961, I was there, an eyewitness to history, when Miss Jordye
Tanner, Principal of Porter
dale School, honored the
teachers on Salute to Good
Teachers Day of American Ed
ucation Week.
The place was the school
lunchroom; the event was a
luncheon; the celebrities were
retired teachers and princi
pals’; the other special guests
were teachers and close asso
ciates.
Mothers of pupils in each of
the nineteen classrooms ex
changed places with the teach
ers for an hour and a half to
make their own contributions
to this salute.
Bronze with yellow centers
chrysanthemums and phyra
cantha berries were combined
to beautify the T-shaped tables
overlaid with white where each
place was marked by a bright
he teaches the Intermediate
Class in the Sunday School. He
is also a member of the Golden
Fleece Masonic Lodge No. 6 m
Covington, and has been ac
tively connected with Boy
Scout work in the county.
Mr. Spillers has taken an
active part in all civic and
club activities in Covington and
the county. He is presently
President of The Covington
Rotary Club and served as
president of the Newton Coun
ty Chamber of Commerce in
1959.
Callaway, Kitchens and
Waggoner were re-elected ai
the City election in 1959 and
each has served on the council
for several years.
The announcements of the
five candidates are carried on
the Legal Page of The Cov
ington NEWS today.
The deadline for candidates
to qualify is next Tuesday,
November 21, 12 noon at City
Hall.
ffinuingtim Jfrw
red apple and miniature open
books.
Guests relaxed and reveled
in the happy fellowship of the
occasion while enjoying a de
licious turkey dinner prepared
by Mrs. Hoyt Bailey and her
helpers and served by Eighth
Grade girls.
Miss Tanner as jovial, poised
Mistress of Ceremonies, paid
tribute most fittingly to each
celebrity. It was most unusual
that the two only former prin-
Continued On Page 22
'College Niohf
At Newton High
Monday 7:30 p.m.
Newton County High and
surrounding high schools will
observe College Night at the
NCHS auditorium Monday
evening, November 20 at 7:30,
according to an announcement
by Eddie Najjar of the local
high school faculty.
Mr. Najjar says that repre
sentatives of all area colleges
will be here and all parents
and students are invited to the
meeting.
Students and narents from
Henry County. Rockdale, Jas
per, Jackson, Social Circle and
Loganville will be present to
discuss future college enroll
ment with the college officials,
Mr. Najjar stated. He says that
this is the first time the Col
lege group has met with stu
dents at night and he especially
invites parents to the meeting.
Master Masons
Meet Saturday
A call communication of
Golden Fleece Lodge No. 6 will
be held Saturday night at 7:30
P. M., for the purpose of con
ferring the Entered Apprentic
ed degree on two candidates.
Charles B. Kitchens, W. M.
Ann Greer and John Jordan. Standing: Oliver Bowden, Charles
Loyd. Lee Campbell, Billy Skinner and Tommy Brown,
COVINGTON, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1961
Officials At Legion Auxiliary Birthday Dinner
AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY UNIT 32 of Newton County observed its birthday ala dinner
and program at Legion Home Monday evening. Aopearing on the program were the officials above,
left io right: Ben Chatfield. Georgia Deparment Commander of the American Legion; Mrs. William
T. Martin. President of the State Legion Auxiliary: Mrs. Luke Hill, President of Unit 32 Auxiliary:
C. T. Bohanan, Commander Newton County Post 32; and Rev. Carl Standard, newly-appointed as
sistant chaplain of the Georgia Department.
3 Negro Youths Held In
Theft Os 10 Typewriters
Three teen-age Negroes are
being held by Covington City
Police in connection with the
theft of 10 typewriters from
the R. L. Cousins School Fri
day night.
Chief Wendell Kitchens and
Supt. of Schools J. W. (Whit)
Richardson reported that the
youths admitted the theft and
led police to the spot near a
Brown Bridge Road trash pile
where nine of the machines
were recovered early Tuesday
morning. The tenth typewriter
was recovered in Atlanta Tues-
day afternoon.
Two of the Negroes had tak
en one of the typewriters to
Atlanta early Saturday morn
ing and were waiting for a
pawn shop to open when At
lanta Police investigated and
took them into custody. The
theft of the machines at the
school was discovered by Prin
cipal R. L. Stewart Saturday
morning as he made a routine
inspection of the school build
ing about 11 a.m.
Covington Police said none
of the boys were students at
the school. They apparently
backed their car up to a door
at the school and loaded the
machines. Most of the type
writers were recovered at the
B-own Bridge road site with
sheets of tin and old mattresses
placed over them. A light rain
fell Monday night but it failed
to ruin the mechanism of the
machines Mr. Richardson stat
ed. He said that the total value
of the machines is about $2,000
and that no insurance is car
ried on such equipment inas
much as the premium is too
high.
Supt. Richardson and Prin
cipal Stewart commended the
local Police for their fast re
covery of the machines. Ac
tually only one day of the typ
ing classes at Cousins School
was lost.
Mr. Richardson said tha*
many thefiis have occured re
cently at Cousins Schools as
well as other county schools.
Decatur-Oxford
Ministers Set
Workshop, Monday
All the Methodist Ministers
of the Decatur-Oxford District
will meet at the Covington
First Methodist Church on
Monday, November 20th, 9-12
A.M. in a workshop on Christ
ian Education.
The Workshop is sponsored
by the Methodist North Geor
gia Conference Board of Chris
tian Education. The meeting
will be led by the Rev. Y. A.
Oliver, Executive Secretary of
the North Georgia Conference
Board of Education, assisted
by his rtaff of workers.
All of the ministers wOU be
guests of the Board for Bunch
at 12:15 noon, served by the
Young Adult Sunday School
Class of First Metho dus t
Church.
COVINGTON NEWS
O/i Pa g es
Today
J. 0. Martin,
Educator, DM
In Atlanta
t
J. O. MARTIN
Funeral services for J. O
Martin, former superintendent
of Newton County Schools, au
thor of “Newton Memories”,
Covington News column and
former state educator, were
held Saturday at one o’clock,
at Spring Hill Chapel in At
lanta. Officiating in the final
rites were Dr. Eugene T.
Drinkard, the Rev. Mr. Ben
Smith and Dr. Candler Budd.
Mr. Martin, who died Fri
day at a private hospital in
Atlanta, where he had made
his home for the past severa*
years, was a native of Craw
ford County. He was the son
of the late Mr. and Mrs. Thom
as J. Martin of that county.
He attended M. B. Walker
Institute at Roberta, took
courses from the University of
Georgia; and received his B. S.
and M. A. degrees from Pea
body College: and travelled
extensively abroad.
His outstanding career in I
Education began in Newton i
County, where he taught his'
first school at the old Bostwick
School. Later, he served as
superintendent of Newton
County Schools for three years,
prior to his appointment as
State School Supervisor, in
which capacity he served for
23 years.
He was author of several
’bills designed for school im
ptrovement. One of these cre
ated the department of school
Continued On Page 22
MORE THAN
120,000
| READERSWEEKLY
Merchants Asked To Open
2 Friday Evenings In Dec.
The annual visit of Santa Claus to Covington is scheduled
for Thursday, November 30 at 1:30 p. m. on the Public Square.
The Jolly Ole man’s visit was announced at the November
meeting of the Newton County Chamber of Commerce Mon
day at Buck-N-Kid Restaurant.
Kiwanians To
Hear Program
NCHS Bas'tball
Covington Kiwanis Club, at i
their regular weekly meeting
Thursday (today), will get a
first - hand preview report on;
the two Newton County high
school basketball teams for the
coming cage season. Principal
Homer Sharp of NCHS has
charge of the program today.
Appearing on the program
will be the NCHS girls Coach
Stone Cooper and boys mentor
Ronald Bradley. Each coach
will bring along three players
to the meeting.
Players from the girls team
who will be present today are:
Sandy King. Connie Hopkins
and Sherry Jeffries. Boys pre
sent will be Henry Bowen,
Billy Shaw and Butch Farr.
Second part of the Kiwanis
International panel forum pro
gram of Georgia District Di
vision 12 pertaining to “Na
tional Purpose” was discussed
by two groups at the Coving-
Continued On Page 22
Joint Church
Thanksgiving
Service Here
The downtown churches wil’
have a joint Thanksgiving Ser
vice Wednesday night, Novem
ber 22 at 7:30 at the First
Methodist Church.
Rev. Edgar' Callaway, pas
tor of the First Baptist Church,
will bring the Thanksgiving
message.
Combined choirs of the
cnurches will lead the congre
gation in singing.
Jack Elliott, Former Mayor,
Funeral Is Held On Saturday
Final tribute was paid Jack
Lattimore Elliott, former Cov
ington mayor and prominent
Newton County civic leader, in
3:00 o'clock services at Cov
ington First Methodist Church,
where the body lay in state
from 2:00 until the time of ser
vices on Saturday. The Rev.
Grady Lively, pastor, officiat
ed in the last rites.
Mr. Elliott, 78, died of a
heart attack, at his home, early
Friday morning. A native of
Newton County, the deceased
born in Salem Community, was
the son of William C. and Mrs.
Sarah Jones Elliott.
Early in his business career,
Mr. Elliott travelled for McCord
Wholesale Grocery Company. In
1905 he married the former
Miss Georgia Smith. They mov
ed to Covington in 1917, when
Mr. Elliott and the Wick Por
ter formed a partnership in the
Porterdale Mercantile Com
pany. He later purchased Mr.
Porter’s interest, and operated
the Company until his retire
ment during World War 11.
Following his retirement. Mr.
Elliott, who was alway„ keenly
interested in the progress of
his community, became more ]
active in civic affairs and
served as Covington’s mayor]
for three terms, at the ter
mination of which he was forc-
NUMBER 46
Program chairman of t h e
annual event is Alvin Rape. J 9
stated that a “treat” will be in
store for all boys and girls v o
come to the Public S uare on
November 30. Santa’s arrival is
set for 1:30 o’clock so that t’-e
smaller children may have a
chance to see and talk wUh
Santa before the county schools
turn out for the afternoon.
Another important item on
the C. of C. agenda Monday
pertained to Covington down
■ town stores remaining open on
two Friday evenings until 9
p. m. before Christmas. ?I1
merchants in and around the
Public Square will be contact
ed within the next few days
about remaining open on Fri
day December 15 and Fridav
December 22, Don Wood and
Phillip Cohen are committee
members designated to work
on the project. They said that
if the local stores remain open
on those two Friday evenings
all shoppers will have a chance
jto do some extra buying at
ihome. Many workers who
i commute to the Atlanta area
do not have a chance to visit
the stores in Covington during
the rush h o u r s preceding
Christmas.
Stores in Covington and the
county will also remain open
on Wednesday afternoons dur
ing the month of December.
The Chamber Monday heard
a report from holiday commit
tee chairman Don Wood that
stores and businesses would ob
serve Thursday, November 23
as a holiday. All stores will re
open on Friday, Nov. 24 for
usual business hours.
Otis Spillers, chairman of
the nominating committee,
read the list of officers no
minated for the year 1962. Bill
Thompson of Dodge Wire is the
president — nominee. Election
of the full slate of officers will
be held at the December meet- .
ing of the C. of C.
One visitor was present
Monday. He was Al White of
McCormick, S. C., the guest of
Ed Ricker.
JACK L. ELLIOTT
ed to withdraw from official
duties due to declining health.
For some 25 years Mr. El
liott served as Sunday School
superintendent, trustee and
choir member of the First
Methodist Church, of which he
was a member. He was also a
trustee of Salem Camp Ground;
member of Covington Kiwanis
Club of which he was a p a s t
president: a Mason, and Knight
Templar.
His business acumen, pro
wess as a sportsman and ser
vice to his community, as well
Continued On Page 22