Newspaper Page Text
* \
/ , A
The only newspaper
published in Fort Val¬
ley, the largest peach¬
shipping station in the
world.
Volume No. XXXVI, Number 14.
Fully Fifty Thousand Attend Blossom Festiva
Day’s Events as Reported
by Special Press
Many varying estimates have been
made of the number of guests who
attended the little Peach Blossom
Party of the Fort Valley section last
Thursday, but the most reliable wee
undoubtedly that of Mr. J. L. Ev¬
erett of Fort Valley, who had charge
of the entire barbecue arrangements.
Mr. Everett had 37 entrances pro¬
vided to the barbecue grounds. At
each entrance was a three deck
table designed and built to hold 1,500
plates of barbecue each. Thirty seven
times 1,500 is 55,000. Mr. Everett
says that he saw to it that the plates
of barbecue were stacked on the
three decks of the tables so that each
table would be loaded to its capacity.
There were between 3,000 and 5,000
plates of barbecue left untouched,
which were later given to colored
people of the community. It is known
that several thousand people did not
go to the barbecue. Many got their
lunch at the hotels, restaurants, and
private homes, and many brought
!u ’hes with them. These are facts
of "tual observation. From this data
dear that there must have been
r f\000 people in Fort Valley
for tl e Third Annual 'Peach Blos
■ Festival.
; best story we have read of the
etc activities was that written by
H i.er Bell, staff correspondent of
T Atlanta Journal, and we are tak¬
ing the liberty of reprinting that
story below.
The Journal’* Story of The Festival
Twelve thousand spectators sat en¬
thralled in the huge open-air the¬
ater here Thursday afternoon as, in
allegorical fashion, the story of the
Georgia peach was painted in sym¬
bolic pageantry for the occasion of
Fort Valley’s Third Annual Peach
Blossom Festival. The pageant was
the crowning feature of a day given
over to celebration of blossom time
that has tinted the peach belt in a
gorgeous panorama of opulent pink.
For more than two hours a cast of
700 characters wove in and out of
the scene as the history of the peach
was traced from its cultivation in
ancient China, 2,000 years before
Christ, until the finale depicted a
sea of blossoms in which the entire
cast joined in paying tribute to King
Peach, while a float wheeled by the
audience that was typical of “Fort
Valley, the Hub of 16,000,000 peach
trees. >»
On the stage of natural beauty,
studded with the green of the fir
trees and brightened with the flare
of peach blossoms sat King Elbert
Whiting and Queen Helen Hume
surrounded by a courtly array of
ladies in waiting, courtiers, pages
and attendants, while opposite, as¬
sembled by Pomona, the goddess of
fruit, played by Miss Gladys Slap
pey, were characters symbolic of the
countries in which the peach was cul¬
tivated before it was brought to A
merica—China, Japan, India, Persia,
Greece, Italy, France, England, Bel¬
gium, Holland, Spain and Mexico,
with the spectacle transformed into a
riot of color as America entered and
presented thirty-six peach-growing
states.
Fort Valley Congratulated
The crowd that overflowed the
stadium was typical of the entire
day’s celebration—done on a scale
that surpassed even the spectacle of
last year and with a magnificence
of effect that evoked a flood of con¬
gratulatory comment for the man¬
ner in which Fort Valley playeef host
to so many thousands. By special
trains, by automobiles, in horse
drawn vehicles and even afoot, the
crowds poured into Fort Valley be
p-: ni •" with daybreak, and with true
ern hospitality, the citizens
v : corned the visitors, entertained
them at a gigantic barbecue at noon
and then staged a pageant that sent
them home singing the praises of the
middle Georgia city.
Montezuma Win*
Every seat in the big theater had
been sold before the celebration got
under way in the morning with a
parade of gaily decorated floats typ¬
ical of the peach belt, and in which
THt PftjNr tl ~ a ft Th>4i‘tr Clientele Surpassed by That of Paw Weeklies in the Aggregate of Its Purchasing Power.
THE LEADER-TRIBUNE
AND PEACHLAND JOURNAL
Circulates the most highly developed sections of Houston, Macon and Crawford Counties, where more than half of Georgia’s peach crop is produced.
FORT VALLEY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 1924. EIGHT PAGES.
the Montezuma float, a huge bower
of blossoms peopled by six beautiful
girls—Miss Louise Hays, Miss Fran¬
ces Felton, Miss Ruth Haugabrook,
Mrs. Jack Reid, Jr., Miss Virginia
DeVaughn, and Miss lone McKen¬
zie—was declared the winner by
the judges. The Randolph County
float won the second prize, and the
Monticello float third prize, while
favorable mention was awaided the
miniature locomotive and car of the
Central of Georgia.
The parade of floats circled the
downtown streets through lanes that
were cleared with difficulty and
wheeled around the judges’ stand on
which were seated an array of
specially invited guests, including
Governor Clifford Walker, Major
General David C. Shanks, of the
Fourth Army Corps area; Mayor
Walter Sims, of Atlanta; and other
visitors alongside General Chairman
C. L. Shepard, Mayor A. C. Riley and
other Fort Valley citizens respon¬
sible for the success of the festival.
Military Training Urged
Rev. J. W. Smith then said the in¬
vocation opening the exercises and
he was followed by Mayor Riley, who
welcomed the visitors to the city.
General Shanks delivered an address
in which he advocated the citizens’
military training camps—presented
in spectacular effect a few minutes
before as three army planes “bomb¬
ed” the crowds with circulars—and
Governor Walker was called upon for
a short speech. He congratulated the
Fort Valley people on their enter¬
prise in holding such a celebration
and declared his administration was
staunchly back of such projects and
all others tending to'the uplift of
Georgia, either from an educational,
industrial or agricultural standpoint.
An exhibition by a composite drill
team from the Twenty-Second in¬
fantry, Fort McPherson, was next
given, directed by Captain A. R. Boll¬
ing.
The Great Barbecue
The barbecue then claimed the at¬
tention of the crowds, spread in gi¬
gantic fashion on tables that spread
row after row in a wire-encircled
field near the center of town, and ad¬
joining the pageant grounds. Thou¬
sands of gallons of coffee were serv¬
ed steaming hot from the water tank
wagons, seven thousand loaves of
bread were sliced, four thousand gal¬
lons of Brunswick stew prepared,
and 47,006 pounds of meat had been
on the barbecue pits since Monday
night. There was plenty, and more
than plenty, for all who came, so dili¬
gent had the committees worked to
prepare for visitors.
Everything moved with a smooth
ness and precision that suggested
the army, as the people filed into the
’cue that probably was the largest
in the history of Georgia. The crowd
was admitted through gates desig¬
nated alphabetically, so that visitors
might find their friends among the
500 Fort Valley and Houston county
women who served in a gracious and
hospitable manner. Once inside the
gate, the guest found his way to the
array of tables, stretching end on
end for hundreds of yards, where
were placed other viands that go to
make a satisfying barbecue, prepared
only as Georgians can prepare such
a feast.
Excellent Order
The pageant, (I Peach of the
World,” followed, with every one of
the allotted 10,500 seats in the'*Oak
land Heights theater occupied and
with an overflow of hundreds who
gained admission and who were al¬
lowed to find accommodations as best
they could. It was an orderly crowd,
well policed by Fort Valley Ameri
can Legion representatives, special
details from the Atlanta and Macon
police departments, and by local po¬
lice. Indeed, the order that prevailed
within the theater was characteris¬
tic of the attitude that marked the
entire day—not a single disturbance
reported to mar the success of the
celebration.
Amplifiers plaeed on the stage gave
(Continued on Uat page).
PEACHES NOW HEADY
%
Hileys are now ready for the first
application of spray, and peach
growers in Middle Georgia are ad¬
vised to start spraying this variety
immediately with four pounds of
powdered arsenate of lead to 200
gallons of water plus the milk of lime
from slaking tvi'Wl'i^ 'inds of stone
or unslaked lime. If dust is used in¬
stead of the liquid the 0-5-95 formu¬
la is recommended, however, the 80-
5-15 may be used if the grower de¬
sires.
Elbertas will be ready for the first
application by the latter part of this
week, and they should- be treated at
that time with the above materials.
Upon the completion of the Elberta
spraying the other varieties should
receive the first treatment in the fol¬
lowing order; Georgia Belles, Unee
das, Carmen, Early Rose, and other
early varieties. The development of
the fruit of each variety should be
watched closely in order that the
first spray or dust can be applied
when about three-fourths of the
petals or pink part of the flower
have fallen.
The warm weather during the lat¬
ter part of last week caused many
adult curculios to leave their hiber¬
nation quarters. Our jarring records
show that by the latter part of last
week there had appeared from hiber¬
nation an average of one beetle to
each two trees. If arsenate of lead
is used when the petals are falling
it will be possible to kill many of
these beetles before they deposit
eggs. Therefore, growers should
start this first treatment on the dates
advised in order to poison the bee¬
tles as they appear from hibernation
Prospects for a peach crop in
Georgia are excellent, in fact the
best for years. A special effort
should therefore be made to finish
a high quality crop this year by
spiaying thoroughly with the recom¬
mended materials at the right time.
Government and State Laboratory,
Fort Valley, Georgia.
Issued April 1, 1924.
o
MONTEZUMA FLOAT
WINS FIRST PRIZE
In the parade of beautiful floats
in the Peach Festival at Fort Val¬
ley Thursday morning, the Monte¬
zuma float sponsored by the City
Council of Montezuma, won first
Peach Pageant Originated
by Fort Valley Young Lady
Writing in the woman’s depart¬
ment of The Macon Telegraph of
March 23, of opportunities for com¬
munity service, Mrs. Nell Womack
Hines had the following to say of the
fine work of Miss Etta Carithers in
connection with the orjgin of the
Peach Blossom Festival:
Fort Valley’s Daughter
This chance came to Fort Valley—
and she took it. Now—not only did
she take this chance—-but she was
fortunate enough to have one of her
very own daughters—and she is young
and pretty as you could see from that
picture I spoke of—to take hold as
soon as the worker from headquart¬
ers left—and lo and behold! look
what has come out of this affair—an
annual festival that “beats the band.
I do not have to tell you more about
it—you already know.
Miss Etta Carithers, daughter of
W. H. Carithers, of Fort Valley,
graduate at the State College for
Women in 1919 and from here went
to New York and at Columbia Uni¬
versity studied Social Science—be
cause she loved the work and be
lieved in it—and made up her mind
to stick to it and anybody can make
a success if they feel like that. It
was in January of ’21 that the “try
out :• I came for Fort Valley, and in
March Miss Carithers took charge as
director. Fresh from Columbia and
full of enthusiasm I can just imagine
how she took hold—I have seen her
work here as the head of our Y. W.
CUM BREAKS DIRT
EOH UMBRELLA SHEDS
Dirt was broken Tuesday for
umbrella sheds to be erected at
passenger depot here by the
tral Railway Company.
pipe to take away the rainfall on the
sheds is now being laid, and work will
be pushed rapidly on the construction
work.
The main shed will be 423 feet
long, extending from a point four
feet from the traffic tower all the
way to Church street, and will be
between the depot and the first track,
with wings extending to both wait¬
ing-room entrances. The sheds will
be of wooden construction, with a
flat roof 14 feet eight inches wide
and an asphalt floor 19 feet 7 inches
wide.
Completion of the sheds is assured
before peach season.
Mr. Baldwin and other officials of
the Central have recently shown an
appreciative interest in the work
done on the railway park by the civ¬
ic improvement committee of the
History Club with the fine coopera¬
tion of Mr. D. C. Strother. In com¬
pliance with a request from the civ¬
ic committee, the railway company
recently brought a carload of gravel
from Montgomery and a carload of
beach sand from Tybee and had it
put on the walks in the park—which
the History Club has named “Sydney
Lanier Park.” This sand on the walks,
which were formerly covered with
slag, has added greatly to the attrac¬
tiveness of the park, and many per¬
sons are now seen walking through
the park, admiring the flowers and
shrubbery. This cooperation has been
very much appreciated by the
who have taken so much interest in
the park and have spent four or five
hundred dollars in its beautification
and care.
prize.
The float was an ernormous shell
covered with pdach blossoms pink
crepe paper and three large trans¬
parent butterflies with silver edged
wings were mounted on the front.
Miss Louise Hays, as Miss Monte¬
zuma, sat in the shell shape canopy
surrounded by her maids, Misses
Frances Fdlton, Virginia DeVaughn,
Ruth Haugabook and Clarabelle Maf
fet.
During the parade the Montezu¬
ma float received applause and ex-
C. A. for two years and she has made
a ‘splendid success of it. In May of
that year the first big community
affair took place—they had a May
Day festival—and every child in the
town had a part. This festival was in
the afternoon and that night the cho¬
ral society, a part of this work, gave
a concert. Then came the Fall and an
orchestra had been organized, and
when Christmas came the community
players gave a beautiful play to make
money to buy the lights and the
other things for the “tree” which was
kept lighted for a week and around
which the carols were sung. There
was also a Christmas cantata writ¬
ten by one of Fort Valley’s promi
ne»t women Mrs. F. W. Withoft,
and this was given as part of the
work.
Came the Spring—what would
they do in this work now. Then it
was that Miss Carithers, as the head
of this community service work, had
the wonderful idea of making the
peach blossoms and fruit the central
idea for something not only beauti
f u j but lasting. So a special worker
was secured and with this thought
j as the foundation upon it was built
Fort Valley’s Peach Festival which
promises to last as long as she does.
Did two or three do it—? Not on
your life—I think every man, woman
and child in that town has been work¬
ing, and you can see the result. Does
it PAY? Ask them. We think it does.
True Story of the Origin
of Famous Elberta Peach
FESTIVAL BOOSTER LOSES
GLASSES; LET’S FIND 'EM
Atlanta, Ga.
The Mayor of Fort Valley,
Fort Valley, Ga.
Dear Sir:
While a visitor in your pretty lit¬
tle town yesterday, the twenty se¬
venth, I lost a pair of nose glasses in
a case with A. K. Hawkes’ name on
the outside, and my name and ad¬
dress, Mrs, J. T. Turner, 34 E. 12th
St., Atlanta, Ga., was on the inside.
I want to advertise in your paper
for them.
Will you please give me the name
of the paper or papers or suggest a
better method to obtain them.
Any information will be greatly
appreciated.
I want to also take the liberty of
personally thanking you and your
town people for the hospitality ex¬
tended their guests. I want to say
that the barbecue was the best ar¬
ranged I have ever attended—Mason¬
ic or otherwise. I am sure there was
no better way of handling so many
people, and Fort Valley can rest as¬
sured that every visitor of the day
will always be a “booster” for their
town.
An early reply will be greatly ap¬
preciated.
A fervent booster,
Mrs. J. T. Turner.
3-28-24
•o
METHODIST REVIVAL
WILL BEGIN SUNDAY
Revival services will commence at
the Methodist Church Sunday to be
held for two weeks. Rev. W. F. Smith,
presiding elder of the Macon district
will arrive Monday and remain till
the meeting closes, preaching twice
each day.
Mr. George Pickard of Resaca,
Georgia, will lead the singing, assist¬
ed by a chorus from the Fort Valley
churches. Mr. Pickard has a pleasing
voice for solo work and is a good
director.
Mr. Smith is an excellent preacher
with many friends in Fort Valley
who are glad to have him for these
special services.
The services will be held at 10:30
A. M. and 7:30 P. M. The morning
service will begin and close promptly
on the hour.
•O'
CITY OFFICERS NOMINATED
IN PRIMARY LAST FRIDAY
The municipal primary held last
Friday for the nomination of officers
for the city of Fort Valley passed
off very quietly with the following
results:
For Mayor
A. C. Riley, Jr. 348
For Aldermen
(Three to be elected)
J. D. Duke ..... 246
L. P. Gray ...... 87
Jno. A. Houser 272
O. M. Houser . 119
W. M. Wright 313
For Water and Light Commissioners
(Two to be elected)
R. D. Hale ... 301
O. E. Pearson 163
C. L. Shepard 227
For School Commissioner*
(Two to be elected)
M. S. Brown .. 224
Glenmore Green 265
J. W. Woolfolk 195
For City Democratic Executive Com¬
mittee
(Three to be elected)
C. B. Anderson ....................................
J. A. Bedingfield ................................
Emmett Houser ................................
The candidates receiving a plu¬
rality of votes were duly elected at
the regular election held yesterday
(Wednesday).
■o
There will be a mass meeting at
the court house at Perry Monday to
elect a new Democratic Executive
Committee for Houston County.
clamations of praise from the crowd
of people witnessing the parade.
—Montezuma Georgian
l >
The most intensively
circulated and thorough
ly read news and ad¬
vertising medium in its
field.
$1.50 Per Year In Advance.
The following article was written
by Mr. Albert S. Hatcher from an
interview vfith Mr. Lewis A. Rumph,
and was first published in the maga¬
zine section of The Atlanta Journal.
The Leader-Tribune has Mr. Rumph’s
permission to reprint the article.
We are indebted to Rev. Geo. W.
Mathews for the copy of the article,
which we intended to reproduce in
our pre-festival issue of March 20,
but the copy was misplaced and did
not reach us until the day after that
paper was published.
The recent death of Samuel H.
Rumph, of Marshallville, Ga., the
accredited founder of the peach in¬
dustry as a commercial factor, has
prompted numbers of articles in va¬
rious newspapers over the country
endeavoring to give a history of the
origin of the Elberta gnd Georgia
Belle peaches, the first commercial
varieties, but the writers of none of
these articles seem to have had access
to the real facts in the case.
Being in position to obtain first¬
hand and true information in the
matter, I decided to write this article
from a personal interview with Lewis
A. Rumph, who is an uncle and not
a brother of Samuel H. Rumph. (It
might be well to say, by way of pa¬
renthesis, at this time, that Lewis A.
Rumph and Samuel H. Rumph were
born in the same house and both
having lost their fathers when they
were boys were raised by widowed
mothers in the same household and
were so closely associated all through
life that a great many people, ex¬
cept relatives and the close neigh¬
bors, took it for granted that they
were brothers.) Now as to tine true
incidents of the origin of the peach
industry, they are as follows:
In the year 1857, I. C. Plant, who
was engaged in private banking in
the city of Macon, Ga., was called on
by a representative of a Delaware
nursery, from whom Mr. Plant pur¬
chased an assortment of selected va¬
rieties of budded peach trees, known
as Chinese Cling, Early Crawford,
Late Crawford, Mixon Free, Tillot
son, and Stump the,. v World, Mr.
Plant sent these treeji tb‘ his friend,
Colonel Lewis Rumph (father of
Lewis A. Rumph and grandfatl^sr of
Samuel H. Rumph), whose farm and
home was three miles east of Mar¬
shallville, Ga. All these trees, Colonel
Rumph set out in his family orchard.
The trees grew to be large and
fine, and the Chinese Cling produced
especially choice fruit. Seed was
saved from the fruit of the Chinese
Cling by the mother and grandmoth¬
er of Samuel H. Rumph, in the year
1870, and to him they gave the seed
and he planted same. None of the
seed planted at that time produced
any very choice fruit, save one tree,
which produced an exceptionally
fine yellow freestone peach. (By way >,
of parenthesis again, family history
has to be interwoven with the his¬
tory of the founding of the peach
industry. On October 20, 1874, Sam¬
uel H. Rumph and Lewis A. Rumph
(his uncle) married sisters, having
a double wedding. Samuoi H. to Clara
Elberta and Lewis A. to Virginia Re¬
becca Moore. A year or two after
his marriage, Samuel H. Rumph
named this vei’y choice freestone
peach “Elberta,” for and as a com¬
pliment to his wife.)
Mr. Rumph had reason to believe
that this very choice peach which
he had chirstened “Elberta” would
stand shipping, so he carefully pack¬
ed in several one-third bushel crates
the first shipment gathered from the
parent tree, and forwarded by ex¬
press to Arch Deacon & Co., New
York City. The shipment was report¬
ed arrived in good order and returns
remitted at .$5 per crate or $15 per
bushel.
After this successful experience
(bear in mind there was no ice or
refrigeration in those days), Mr.
Rumph was convinced that shipping
Elberta peaches was a commercial
possibility, so he proceeded_ to bud
the. “Elberta” into his nursery stock
(Continued on last page).