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About The Dade County times. (Trenton, Ga.) 1908-1965 | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1955)
4tU (T Dade County’s Only Newspaper. VOLUME LV DALLYIN' IN DADE Virgil Stewart Reminisces . . . Virgil Stewart, owner of Dade County’s only museum, is our personality for this week. He is doing the county a great serv¬ ice AV/V, by KfJ collecting ~ ----O-- rocks, w -->--~*'**~' fossils, Indian lore and Civil War lies. His museum, located about four miles south of Trenton, is quite interesting and well worth a visit. Mr. Stewart is well-informed cn all his collections, having studied dozens of books on ex- plowing and classification of fossils. His intense interest in his hobby carries over to his listeners, and they often find themselves scrutinizing every rock they ccme upon after visit ing his museum. Born in Rising Fawn January 31, 1877, Mr. Stewart left at the age of two with his family to live at Stewart Town. His father owned a farm at that time on land that new belongs to the Rising Fawn School. He re¬ members the log and poplar house of his babyhood that cnce stood in front of the Jeril Cooper house, and the little bunk house in back that was the quarters of the Lookout Mountain - Rising Fawn mail carrier. Mr. Stewart still re¬ members the spotted horse that the mail carrier rode. Mr. Stewart was educated in subscription schools at Byrd’s Chapel and at Trenton. He still has a certificate awarded him by the Trenton instructor, J. B. Allen, for completing a course in shorthand. He could write 80 words a minute, but he could not use this asset in his work, for after his school days, he worked at several trades He spent four or five years at the old iron furnace in Fawn doing boiler repairs and rivet heating. After that, he learned how to do construction and electrical work at U. S. Pipe and Foundry in Chattanooga. Loses Arm During Work During the time the wooden railroad bridges were being re¬ placed by steel ones, Mr. Stew¬ art worked for the New York Steel Steel Bridge image ^u. Co. This period “ was interrupted by** or ‘ as a carpenter on the Hotel. He began wir ing bridge, company again. a "‘ it was while working In South Georgia that he wm involved an accident that caused him l0 h woked^in He a and~ meat market in ~ Q vpar for D. I. Jenkins and ana grew grew to w value vatu his friend- D. S. ____. Middleton , ship with Dr. of¬ to the extent that the pair ten went on fossil hunts and picnics. They especially liked to identify various herbs they found growing in the county. Mr Stewart has found since £Ttn'L7e nmfTioallv every kind of b« County When the courthouse was un- Mr. Mr. Took Place Northwest of Trenton Jail The ioilowin* following article article is is taken from The Weekly Times, Cha tanooga, Tenn., Thursday, M y 10, 1883. We thank Mr. Virgil Stewart of Byrd’s Chapel fa- letting us copy parts of the ar¬ ticle from his paper. HANGING AT TRENTON D. F. Walker expiates his crime on the gallows. D. F. Walker was hanged at Trenton, Ga., yesterday for the murder of S. S- Hardberger, which was committed on Sand Mountain last October... While making a journey frem South Pittsburg to Rising Fawn, Hardberger was accosted on Sand Mountain by two men, whom later developments proved to be Lee Treece and D. F. Walker. The traveler was well dressed and carried a bundle of clothes with him. The men were se¬ creted in the woods; when the stranger was within hailing distance, they called to him, and and presented presented their men guns. Hard STf^TttSJ foul Devoted to the Best Interests oi Dade County and Georgia. THE DADE COUNTY TIMES, TRENTON, GEORGIA, THURSDAY JULY 14, 1955 By Myrna McMahan Stewart operated a restaurant in a building belonging to Dr. Middletcn. This building was located cn the southwest corner of the ------1--------W square and has long ago been torn down. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart ran the business until her death after which Mr. Stew- 'art sold out to go to work at I the insistence of Sheriff Tom Newman at the Lookout Moun- tain Hotel, . Takes Course in Exploring The hctel was in its first year and was owned by the Dinklers, and Mr. Stewart’s job was time- keeper. Noticing that there was J little to occupy the guests, he began to do some serious think¬ ling about opening a museum at The hotel. He grew so interest ed that he tock a correspon¬ dence course in exploring from Denver University and eventu¬ ally became a member of the Explorers’ League. This idea didn’t work out at the hctel, so he came back home to Stewart Town to have mere of an opportunity to work out his idea for a museum and to gather more fossils from this area. He looked after the dogs for the Chattanooga Fox Hunt¬ ers Association which came out every week to his farm. Gradually people from out of the state heard about his mu¬ seum, and found it so interest¬ ing that they urged him to move over on the highway so mere people could see his col¬ lections. A friend, Xenephon Murphy, decided to help him, so some land was purchased from Bunyon Hatfield about ten years ago. They built the present mu- seum, which includes a room sleeping in the rear. Mr. Murphy went into the army, shortly afterwards, so the mu- seum and the property became .solely Mr. Stewart’s. His sisters, Misses Fannie and Ellis Stewart, live near him, and he keeps fairly busy, working on the grounds, looking after a garden, and talking to the many tourists that stop by. He is so devoted to his hobby that his Iistene rs often become in- tere. ted in starting little collee- of their 0 „ n . H e has ' visits from other collect- many o sometimes bring him colle ctisn. Friends a large part m , with his hobby ^ hJm . Has Bushel Baskets of Arrowheads Arrowheads, spearheads, pet- (rifled shells, mussels, Indian „ and . Civil War relies relics bv by the the thousands fill the building to almost overflowing. He has the Cherckee alphabet, a $2 bill from the Rising Fawn Iron Company dated 1875, a stuffed black turkey, a pencil and but- ton collection, one of the first «* *** e v e c maUe and countless othei articles from irom the me past. DUt y bea,Jo M. ^ ^ h their {eet _ They him, securing only $2.65 $2.65 and a pocket knife. Shortly af¬ terwards, while on a spree, Walker boasted of his deed in the presence of several parties, describing in detail the spot were the body was secreted. Walker and Treece were ar¬ rested shortly after their con¬ fession. At the trial Treece turned state’s evidence and confessed the crime. He claims that he was persuaded into the crime by Walker; that Walker compelled him to fire, and he purposely missed the man. The proof corroborated this confes¬ sion, and Treece was sentenced to the penitentiary for ten years and is now working out his sentence at the ccal mines, while Walker was sentenced to death. Walker constantly de¬ nounced Treece’s confession as an infamous lie. Walker has been confined in Trenton, under con- of jailer Smith. Four State Revenue Agents Ben Wilbanks, Bill Souther and J. D. Scoggins made a raid on a dis¬ tillery with four 1,000 gallon stills Wednesday which resulted in the arrest of one man and the escape of another. Sheriff F. C. Graham an^ deputies as¬ sisted in the surprise raid. Benton Harris, of Soddy, Tenn,. was arrested by the officers who found the four stills in op¬ Tri- County Hospital Boosts Three Oscar C. Hillard, tor of Tri-C:unty Hospital Fort Oglethorpe, as that plans have been completed for the establishment of a phar¬ macy in the hospital. Floyd White has been named as pharmacist. Three promotions have also been announced, including the appointment of Miss Evelyn Adams as chief nurse, Mrs. Sara Thacker as assistant chief nurse, and Mrs. Ann Dyer a s credit collection manager. The administrator said the promotions were in line with a hospital policy cf filling cies with present hospital scnnel whenever possible. White will continue his job as phaimacist at Little’s Phar- in Chattanooga in addi¬ tion to his hospital post. He is a graduate o f Central High School and the Southern Col¬ lege of Pharmacy in Atlanta. Miss Adams has been with the hospital since last September as nurse supervisor and succeeds Margaret Messick, who re¬ recently. She receive! Boy Scouts Troop 36 of New England has just received frem Washington a President’s Award, as a result of work done at the Scout Exposition in Chattanoo¬ ga April 22nd and 23rd. The award was placed on the wail in the Methodist Church on last Sunday morning for one and all to see, alongside the many ether trophies won by this troop, the next most recent being the award for best attend¬ ance the greatest number of times at Courts of Honor in the Cherokee Area Council. A requirement fcr achieving the award was to have a troop with an A-No. 1 record, fully staffed by required leaders, pro- He has a little machine for making hickory canes that he gives to his friends, which also cannot be numbered. One of his pet diversions is carving In¬ dian faces on native stones. Quite a few may be found in the museum. Mr. Stewart is a member of Tennessee Archeological Socitty, attends meetings of this or¬ once a month. HU b - *~ . e hls conviction and has clung to him with a devotion which which is is worthy worthy of of the the highest praise... He repeatedly refused to allcw ministers to visit him until a few days since, and de¬ clared that he intended to die as he had lived, a man without religion. During the last ten days, however, several ministers visitei him, and he seemed to thoughtfully consider their ad¬ vice. The last interview with his wife was extremely affecting and would have melted a heart of stone. She was dressed in a simple gown of sombre brown and appeared to be utterly be- side herself with grief. Her lit- tie baby of a year was in her arms, and her little girl of four at her side. She is a handsome woman of 21 or 22 and her ap¬ pearance indicates that she had been well raised, and was well educated. The poor woman was in a paroxysm of tears the entire lime she was near her husband, eration at the time cf the raid. Harris’ partner, believed to be his brother, escaped and is currently being sought by coun¬ ty authorities. The stills were captured ten miles from Trenton, on Lcokout Mountain. They were located abcut four miles off the main road. Two trucks, 4,000 gallons of mash and approximately 25 gallons cf whiskey were seized. University Hospital school of and has served as a teacher at the St. Louis, Mo. City Hospital and as superin- tendent of nurses a t Murray County Memorial in Chatsworth. Mrs. Thacker has been a nurse at Tri-County since its opening and is a graduate of the Crawford W. Long School of Nursing in Atlanta. Previous to her appointment, she was day supervisor. Mrs. Dyer, who has been em¬ ployed i n the business office since March, has had eight years of experience in Dr. Fred Simonton’s Clinic i n Chicka- Work Being Done on Hospital The Assembly Hall in the res¬ idents’ quarters, on the third floor of the o 1 d building, is about to be completed. The July meeting of the Board of Trustees cf the Tri -County Hospital was held in this hall. The hospital is in the process of being painted. Walls on the first southwest floor have been painted and work Is beginning perly supported by parents and other interested adults. With this background Troop 36 at¬ tended the Exposition with the avowed purpose of coming away with the highest honors, which they did, but they did not ex¬ pect to leceive a President’s Award, which is red, white and blue, bearing the personal sign¬ ature of the President in the following form: PRESIDENT’S AWARD SCOUT EXPOSITION The White House Washington (Signed) Dwight D. Eisenjiower to Unit No. 36 Leader: Hardee Price April 22-23, 1955 (Boy Scout Insignia in Circle) DO A GOOD TURN DAILY” Although going around with their heads in the air as a re¬ sult of this, their most recent accomplishment, boys of Troop 36 nevertheless are enjoying the use of their new volley ball court, erected in the yard just west of the Church. Hardee Price. ‘" shake in SMS* the intensity of her grief... 1 “I ”1 hope, you will forgive me, ber husband said, visibly af- fected. “I readily do.” “Darling this is awful to bear, but we’ve got to hold up against cruel fate,” sobbed the husband Walker had completely bro ken down and was crying like a babe, while h i s wife could scarcely give utterance to her words, in her deep grief.. .At one time she exclaimed “Par- don my poor husband, and save . . him oh God!”. This appeal was made in a wringing voice which penetrated the thick walls of the jail, and ____________ the singing _ crowd _ on the outside stopped and looked inquiringly at one an¬ other. .. Just before the prisoner was led out, at 12:30 o’clock, he asked that h e be allowed to to dress his hair and this was carefully done. He was hand¬ cuffed to the sheriff’s arm and marched from the jail to a Published Weekly—Since 1901 Dade Bank Sets October 1 Opening A tentative opening date of Oct. 1 for the Bank of Dade was set by the beard of directors at a meeting held Friday afternoon. George Harrison, of Canton, Ga., is preesident of the board, and Col. D. E. Mcrrison is vice-pres¬ ident. Directors are D. T. Brown, Raymond Townsend and J. % Case. | The board voted to order vaults for the downstairs record Nitrate Offered AMMONIUM NITRATE DIS- COUNT PROGRAM — The spe¬ cial discount ammonium ni¬ trate program in the Tennessee Valley is being offered again this year. As its part of the program for 1955, TV A plans to offer am moniurn nitrate from July through December 31, 1955, at a graduated discount averaging approximately 12 percent of the regular f.o.b. plant price for distribution to farmers in the Tennessee Valley counties of Georgia during the period July 1, 1955, through January 31, 1956, for uses listed below: Eligible Crops and Rale of Application 1. Grain and/or grass mix¬ tures with winter legumes — 100 lbs. per acre. 2. Oats, wheat, rye, barley or rye grass alone or mixed (ex¬ cept spring application on wheat — 100 lbs. per acre. 3. Perennial grasses alone — 150-200 lbs. per acre. 4. Perennial grasses and le¬ gumes — 100 lbs. per acre. 5. Establishing perennial grasses alone or with winter legumes — 100 lbs. Each farm as defined in the 1955 ASC Handbook for Geor¬ gia is entitled to not more than 4.0 tons at discount during the period July 1, 1955, through Janurry 31, 1956. Farmers are urged to take part in this program if they are in need of ammonium nitrate cn their farms. In order to receive the dis¬ count farmers must call by the local ASC Office and receive their certificates of eligibility. The Dade County ASC Hand¬ book is being amended to add the following practice D-5. (Establishing vegetative cover in the fall of 1955 for protec¬ tion from erosion.) Maximum Federal Cost-Share —50 percent cf the average cost of establishing the vegetative cover including (1) the needed application of commercial fer¬ tilizers and (2) seed. Pasturing consistent with good management Is permitted, but none of the growth may be harvested fcr hay or seed. Vo¬ lunteer stands will not qualify. A good stand and good growth must be obtained in sufficient time to protect the area from late fall and winter rain in 1955 and must be maintained on his coffin without even a visible tremor. The guards, fifty in number, were drawn in a cor¬ don about the wagon and the march to the gallows was be¬ gun. The gallows was located about 200 yards to the northwest of the jail...The number present is variously estimated at 2,000 to 2,500... j When the guards had taken their positions, Sheriff Bird an- nounced that the prisoner de- sired to make a few remarks... Hls speech was long, lasting thirty minutes...He reiterated his confession and the events of the shooting... he thanked the porter, the sheriff and a num- ber of others for courtesies ex¬ tended him and then began his denunciation o f Treece ... He asked any ministers who were present to come to the scaffold and deliver a prayer...An im¬ passioned prayer was delivered in which Walker joined. A song was then sung and another prayer delivered... NUMBER 26 loom and the upstairs bank proper. The vaults will be ship¬ ped from Winchester, Tenn., within the next few days. Four tellers cages and desks for the president and bookeeper have already been secured. It was announced that the charter for the Bank of Dade has been granted and the F. D. I. C. has approved it. the lad to date specified in the county program. SPECIFICATIONS: o. Fertilization — If a cur¬ rent soil test is not available, apply 400 to 600 pounds of 4-12-12 cr 5-10-10 or 8-8-8, or equivalent, per acre at plant- On grasses or small grain, or mixtures containing grasses or small grain, add up to 40 pounds of nitrogen after plants are established. b. Seeding — Following are the eligible crops and minimum and maximum seeding rates per acre for single seedings. In adapted mixtures, the seeding rates per acre may be reduced to one half to three-fourths of the respective seeding rates for single seedings. Ciimson clover — 20 to 25 lbs. Hairy vetch — 20 to 25 lbs. Annual ryegrass — 20 to 25 lbs. Rescue grass — 25 to 35 lbs. Oats — 3 to 4 bushels. Rye _ 1V 2 to 2 bushels. Barley 1 Vt to 2 bushels. c. Cultural Methods — All legumes shall be inoculated. Seed shall be sown on a well- prepared seedbed. Winter cover crops should be sown in Sep¬ tember or October. If the area is to be grazed, livestock must be excluded until plants are well established. Farmers who are interested in this practice must make a request lor cost-sharing Im¬ mediately since the funds for carrying out this practice will be very limited and will of ne¬ cessity have to be on a more or less ‘‘First ccme, first served basis.” 135 Children Get 2nd Polio Shots Miss F a n n i 1 u McWhorter, Dade public health nurse, stated Wednesday that 135 school children in the first and second grades reported to the health center to receive second injec¬ tions cf the polio vaccine. 355 were given shots the latter part of April. The shots may still be ob¬ tained at the health center Fri¬ day afternoon or S a t u r day morning, July 22, and 23. No definite date has been set for the third injection. resum¬ his address...He called a of his friends to the and b i d them a last He then announced was ready.. .After the rope on his neck and the black adjusted.. .he asked the to give him fall enough to break his neck and then be¬ a loud prayer... The repe was cut at 1:37 p.m. The fall broke his neck...and the third minute h e was dead by Drs. Davis and Simmonds. The body was allowed to hang twenty minutes was then placed in the cof¬ fin and carried into a room in the court house, where the sen¬ tence was pronounced. Notes Thirteen kegs o f beer were on the grounds. A photograph of Walker will be sold in this city to-day. The last hanging at Trenton in 1858, when a colored wo¬ man was hanged for murdering children.
