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VOL. 82 NO. 11 PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GA., THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 1953 ESTABLISHED 1870 '
Panthers Become Third Team
In State to Win Three Titles
PERRY DEFEATS CLARKSTON
IN FINALS IN MACON, 63-57
The Perry High Panthers became the third school in the
state to win three State Class B championships as they edged
a strong Clarkston team, 63-57, in the finals in Macon last
Saturady night.
The team, coached by Eric Staples and Frank Holland,
duplicated the feat of Vienna and Canton, who already have
three Class B titles on their brilliant records.
It was an uphill battle for the
Panthers all the way, They defeat
ed North Habersham without too
much trouble on Wednesday after
noon, soundly trounced Thomson,
76-41, on Thursday and then had
a little more difficulty downing
Homerville Friday night by 14
points. •
Clarkston had marched to the
finals by defeating Gumming and
Cochran and had been picked by
some sport writers as the favorite
of the tourney. Thirteen years ago
the Panthers had lost in the State
Class B finals in Athens to a
team representing this same
school.
But Billy Powell and his mates
had gained some valuable exper
ience in their first three battles
and played one of the best games
the quintet has turned in all year.
Anything less than their best
would have meant defeat because
Clarkston never knew when to
quit .
An 11 point lead in the third
quarter for Perry melted quickly
and the enemy came within two
points of the locals in the last few** 1
minutes. But Perry was not to be
denied. They had come out of
three ties in the first half.
Powell turned in a beautiful 28-
point total on 10 field goals and
eight foul shots, and Franklin May,
usually not an outstanding offen
sive man, came through with 14,
both Powell and May shooting
mostly from outside the' tight
Clarkston zone defense.
It was a team victory from start
to finish; it just happened that
Powell was “on” for the big one
and his mates kept feeding the
ball to him. 1
See play-by-play of the title
game on the inside.
Perry 63 Pos. Clarkston 57 ,
Powell 28 f Defoor 4
Leverette 5 f Cottingham 16
Beckham 7 c Martin 17
May 14 g Armistead 10
Gray 4 g H, Williams 10
Score at half, Perry 29, Clarks
ton 22. Subs, Perry, Miller 5.
Clarkston, C. Williams, White.
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STATE CLASS B CHAMPS: One of Perry’s best basketball teams in a long line of good
teams took the Class B Championship in Maco n last Saturday night. Left to right, front row,
are Billy Beckham, David Gray, Joe Leverette, Billy Powell and Franklin May. Top row,
Martin Beeland, Billy Brock, Tommy Mobley, Jackie Miller and John Malone. Assistant 1
Coach Frank Holland is at left and Coach Eric Staples at right. See other basketball photos
on inside pages, all courtesy of Macon Telegraph.
Houston Jfyomt journal
Perry Boys Make
All-State Team
The Atlanta Constitution picked
two Perry stars on the All-State
basketball team following the Class
B tournament in Macon last week
end.
They were Billy Powell, sharp
shooting forward, and Billy Beck
ham, gangling center who was the
Perry defensive star.
Here’s the Constitution’s All-
State team;
Forward, Billy Powell, Perry.
Forward, Leo Holland, Cochran.
Forward J. B. Bearden, Cass
ville.
Forward, Robert Lassiter, Coch
ran.
Center, Billy Beckham, Perry.
Center, Charlie Martin, Clarks
ton.
Guard, Eddie Minson, Homer
ville.
Guard, Billy Armistead, Clarks
ton.
Guard, Earl Tidwell, Cassville.
Guard, Howard Warren, Ludo
fici.
1 Perry boys who won honorable
mention for the All-State team
were Franklin May, David - Gray
and Joe Leverette, taking in all of
the Perry starting five.
Jay-Cees Endorse
Gas System Here
A RESOLUTION
Whereas the benefits to our
community to be received by a
supply of naVjral gas are numerous
and great, the Junioi Chamber of
Commerce of Perry, Georgia, by a
unanimous vote of its members,
hereby goes on record and resolves
that it fully supports the forth
coming election.
The Perry Junior Chamber of
Commerce urges the citizens of
Perry to visit Vie polls on Tuesday,
March 24, and to vote in support
of the introduction of natural gas.
STEWART RICHARDSON,
President, Perry Jaycees
T. F. HARDY SR., 77,
DIES OF ILLNESS
Thomas Franklin Hardy Sr., 77,
retired farmer, died in Dooly
County Hospital at 11:30 p. m.
Tuesday after an illness of three
months. He had been seriously
ill for the last two weeks.
Mr. Hardy was a member of
the Perry Baptist Church. He was
a native of Houston county, the
son of the late F. F. and Martha
Powell Hardy. He would have been
78 years old on Saturday.
Funeral services will be held at
11 a. m. Thursday at the Perry
Baptist Church, with Rev. Charles
Casey of Macon and Rev. John
Pridgen of Perry officiating, Burial
will be in Woodlawn Cemetery
here.
He is survived by five sons, Al
ton, P. C„ and T. F. Hardy Jr., all
of Perry; Gaston Hardy of Macon
and W. R. Hardy of Sunnyside; and
three daughters, Mrs. Hoke Reed
of Vienna; Mrs. W. F. Fisher of
Miami, Fla., and Mrs. J. B. Irby
of Perry.
Gardner Watson Funeral Home
of Perry is in charge of arrange
ments. "
Big Group Attends
Methodist Rally
Perry had a big turn-out at the
Methodist church school workers
council held in Macon Tuesday
night. Out of the 286 present at
the Vineville Methodist Church,
people from all over the Macon
district, 17 proudly stood up rep
resenting Perry.
Sam Lamboch, chairman of the
district, presided and kept the
large crowd in high humor with
his ready wit. Marion Brown of
Perry, secretary of the district,
assisted Mr. Lamboch in the roll
call by towns .
Dr. L. A. Harrell, district super
intendent, gave a short talk.
Mr. Lamboch’s introduction of
the main speaker, Dr. B. Joseph
Martin, president of Wesleyan Col
lege, was quite a speech in itself.
Yet Dr. Martin backed up every
word of it by charming his audi
ence completely.
Those present from Perry were;
Rev. H. H. Heisler, Mr. and Mrs.
Francis Nunn, Mr. and Mrs. Mar
ion Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Edward
Mason, Mr. and Mrs. Houser Gil
bert, Cater Rogers, Miss Frances
Couey, Mrs. Stanley Smith, Mrs.
V/. E. Marshall, Mrs. Otis Gunn,
Mrs. J. G. Bradley, Mrs. Lewis
Bledsoe and Mrs. T. E. Sandefur.
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DEATH STALKED ACROSS BIG INDIAN CREEK
BRIDGE six miles south of Perry on U. S. 341 and took the
lives of four Robins Field employees. This Home Journal
photo shows the terrible violence of the crash and fire which
snuffed out three lives instantly and brought fatal injuries
Narrow Big Indian Bridge
jSnuffs Out Lives of Four
. I
Three Bleckley countians met
flaming deaths on murderous Big
Indian Creek six miles south of
Perry on U. S. 341 Monday after
noon and a fourth died Tuesday
i night in a Hawkinsville hospital.
State Troopers F. L. Brock, J. j
S. Loggins and E. E. Veal listed,
the dead as Mrs. Laura Ann Gore
Bozeman, 26; Reno R. Fordham,
47; O. C. “Temp” Smith, 40, and
George “Buddy” Davis, 45, all
residents of Empire near Cochran.
Mrs. Bozeman, Fordham and
Smith died instantly and Davis
died Tuesday night.
The perilously narrow bridge,
which now has claimed five lives
since Jan. 26, also caused two
others to toe sent to the Taylor
Memorial Hospital at Hawkinsville
with injuries. The injured were 1
Claxton Jones, 29, of Empire, and
I Carl Landrum, Atlanta, driver of
1 a car transport.
The five Bleckley countains were
returning to their homes from
Warner Robins when the accident
happened on the northern end of
the bridge. They were in the car
belonging to Mrs. Bozeman, whose
husband worked overtime and was
to come home in another car
later.
Car Stopped at Bridge
Trooper Brock said his investi
; gation showed that the driver of
| the Bozeman car had stopped at
the bridge to allow an oncoming
I gasoline truck to clear the narrow
I bridge before going on it. The car
transport, loaded with four fords,
came up from behind the passen
ger car, plowed into its rear, side
swiping the gasoline truck at about
] the same time. The transport car
; ried the passenger car along with it
:as it went over against the left
I bridge rail and jammed the car in
! the “jack-knife" of the truck and
j trailer. The gasoline truck was not
damaged seriously and stopped
soon after the crack up. It was
driven toy Cullen Bowdoin, Macon,
who was not hurt.
The wreckage of the passenger ;
car and transport burst immedi- i
ately into flame, touched off by [ i
gasoline, and the i'ntense heat
kept rescuers away from the car,
Landrum and Davis were reported
to have been thrown clear of the
wreck and Jones was said to have
been able to free himself of the
wreck despite serious injuries and
the fact that his clothes were
1 afire.
I
i The Perry fire department ans
wered the call for help and put
out the fire which engulfed the
passenger car and the front section
of the transport. Two of the Fords
on the transport were lost in the
fire while the other two were
scorched. There was little left of
the passenger car and the trans
port’s cab.
Burned Beyond Recognition
The three Bleckley countians
were burned beyond recognition
[ and there identities were estab
lished by knowledge that they
: were in the car and certain effects
and clothing could be identified
by relatives.
The driver of the transport,
Landrum, was released from the
Hawkinsville hospital Tuesday aft
er treatment but Jones was des
cribed as being in fair condition.
Landrum was charged with “fail
ing to have his vehicle under con
trol.”
The bridge was blocked for
more than two hours after the
accident, which occured about 5
p. m. Two wreckers were required
to pull the passenger car from
the vise formed by the transport.
The asphalt top on the bridge road
way was burned away and highway
department workers were repair
ing the spot Tuesday morning.
Correction Promised
Dixon Oxford of Dawson, a mem
ber of the State Highway Board,
was contacted during the night by
interested citizens in Houston and
Pulaski counties and he assured
them that the highway department
will take “immediate steps” to
widen the bridge. People in all
three counties were said to be
“highly incensed” over the high
way department’s tardiness in cor- j
reeling a situation which has been 1
called to the attention of state of- j i
ficials on many occasions. ' <
i
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to another. The passenger car is shown a mass of twisted
steel in the “jack-knife” of the car transport just after the
Perry fire department had extinguished the blaze so the
last of three charred bodies could be brought out of the
car.
PERRY WILL VOTE TUESDAY
ON NATURAL GAS FOR CITY
Residents of Perry will decide
, next Tuesday whether or not the
city will have a natural gas system.
On that day voters will be called
upon to authorize issuing the ne
cessary securities for building and
equipping a municipally-owned dis
tribution system.
Under Georgia law more than
50 percent of Perry’s registered
voters must participate in the elec
, tion before the securities can be
| issued. Approximately 570 Perry
j residents must go to the polls next
j Tuesday and a majoriey of them
I vote favorably, if the proposed
■ project is to succeed.
Here, according to the Mayor
and Council, are further facts
about the propsed gas system:
Gas By October
I The only step necessary before
j actual construction of the gas sys
tem can begin is holding the elec
tion. A supply of gas for this area
lias been approved by the Federal
Power Commission, and financing
has been arranged. Plans and spec
ifications have been drawn up, and
if the election carries, construc
tion will begin in early summer
and be completed in time for every
resident to have gas burning in
his home hy October 1.
City Not Going Into Debt
The gas system will be financed
by issuing revenue anticipation
certificates which can only be re
tired from proceeds of the system.
These certificates do not involve 1
the city’s general credit ,and no
city property is mortgaged to se
cure them. Even if future councils
wish to do so, no taxes can be
levied to retire this obligation.
Will Serve Whole Area
Nearly every home in Perry is
located close enough to proposed
mains for residents to receive gas
service. Every home within 100
feet of a main will be served with
out any charge for installing the
service line to the house. The only i
cost to the customer will be the | ■
installation of piping inside his! i
house. '
Annual Subscription
$3 a Year After April 5
3 Appliances Can Be Converted
? Residents of Perry who are now
. using bottled gas can immediately
1 convert their appliances to the
- new fuel. Service companies usu
-1 ally charge approximately one dol
lar per orifice for converting such
appliances. Much of the interior
i piping now toeing used in connec
-1 tion with bottled gas appliances
• can be retained.
Gas To Be Reasonably Priced
> The rates proposed for gas serv
ice in Perry will afford every in
, dividual homeowner an opportun
-1 ity to realize considerable savings
in fuel costs. An investigation of
other Georgia cities which have
i natural gas selling at the rate
• which will be in effect in Perry
, shows that the average customer
j is saving from 15 to 40 percent of
the amount he formally paid for
other fuels. A sliding scale rate
will be in effect, whereby the
price of gas will decrease with in
creased use. Some large users will
save more than fifty percent of
their present fuel costs.
Will Benefit City Treasury
Even with selling natural gas
considerably cheaper than other
fuels, the City of Perry will toe
able to make a profit from operat
ing the system. After certain re
serve funds are set up, the city
will probably be able to: (1) re
duce the gas rate, (2) reduce taxes,
or (3) provide additional munici
’ pal services without increasing
taxes. Every other city in the South
which has built a municipal system
has found it successful and has
j realized a profit from its opera
tion.
People Urged To Vo'o
In issuing this information about
the natural gas system, the Mayor
and Council urged every Perry
resident to participate in next
Tuesday’s election.
Mayor Mayo Davis said, “As I
see it, Perry has everything to gain
and nothing to lose in obtaining
a gas system. The whole future
(Continued on Back Page)