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VOLUME XCIII NUMBER A g
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Kids Agree: Santa
Keep Your Whiskers
By PAM PURCELL
It’s unanimous: Santa Claus shouldn’t
get his beard cut.
That was the consensus of part of Mrs.
Doris White’s first-grade class interviewed
at the Summerville Elementary School.
They were in agreement that Ol’ Saint Nick
should keep his famous beard.
The youngsters reacted with everything
from shock to apathy after being told by a
reporter from The News that Mrs. Claus
was complaining because Santa always
manages to get his beard in his coffee. She
wants it cut, the children were told, but
Santa thinks all the little boys and girls of
the world like his fuzzy trademark.
What did the youngsters have to say
about the controversy?
One little boy, with a surprised look on
his face, said, “Without his beard, Santa
wouldn’t be an old Santa.”
A small girl with a shy smile said, “My
daddy has a beard and a moustache and he
drinks coffee. When it gets dirty, he washes
it.”
“He couldn’t go ‘ho ho ho’ if he shaved
his beard off,” said one boy.
Another little boy said, “Santa wouldn’t
be able to give out presents if he shaved his
beard off.”
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Members of Mrs. Doris White’s first
grade class who talked with The
Summerville News at the Summer
ville Elementary School agreed that
Santa Claus should never have his
beard cut. Shown here are (first row,
Pair Face Burglary Charges
Two Chattooga County men
allegedly involved in nine
separate burglaries in the
county and in Alabama were
Trion Election Nears
Friday is the last day candi
dates in the upcoming Trion
general election can register for
the election.
To date, incumbents Clyde
Bethune and Robbie Camp are
the only persons to have quali
fied for the two council seats
up for grabs.
In the recorder’s race,
incumbent Tom Grubbs has
qualified for the post, along
with King Anthony.
The election will be held
Jan. 5. Persons who will be out
of town or who are unable to
vote due to a physical dis
ability can vote by absentee
ballots, which are available at
the Town Hall. All absentee
votes must be postmarked
prior to 7 a.m., Jan. 5, in order
to be counted in the election.
In other Trion news, all
property taxes are due Dec. 20.
Persons who fail to pay their
Students Like Santa's Beard
recently arrested by the Chat
tooga Count Sheriff’s Depart
ment.
Sammy Wayne Ward of
taxes by that date will face a
penalty, recorder Grubbs said.
After Jan. 7, fi fas will be
issued against property with
outstanding taxes, he said.
Qualifying Date
Nears in Lyerly
The Town of Lyerly will
hold a general election Jan. 9
with a mayor and five council
men to be elected.
Town Clerk is accepting
qualification fees through 6
p.m. Dec. 30 from eligible
Lyerly residents. The qualifi
cation fee for mayor is $lO,
and $5 for a council seat.
Presently Ben Ragland is
mayor. Councilmen are Terry
Gardner, Clifford Jackson,
Claude Majors, Joe Potter and
Daniel Wyatt.
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Two girls agreed with a smile that if
Santa Claus cut his beard, he would be an
“old grandpa.”
“He would still be Santa Claus, but he
just wouldn’t look right,” one little boy
said.
With a big grin on her face one girl said,
“He would be an old man if he shaved off
his beard.”
Another student, a small boy, agreed by
saying, “He’d be an old man if he didn’t
have his beard anymore.”
When asked if they had any suggestions
to help Santa Claus out of trouble with
Mrs. Claus concerning his beard, most stu
dents came up with the same idea—wash it
when it gets dirty.
“After he finishes his coffee, if his beard
is dirty, he could wash it and keep Mrs.
Claus from being mad at him,” said one
boy, who promptly demonstrated how
Santa should wash his chin.
“If drinking coffee makes his beard
dirty,” giggled one little girl, “he could
wash it and then he wouldn’t have to have
it cut and look old.”
No matter whether or not he had his
beard, it was unanimously agreed by all the
students: “We love Santa Claus. He’s nice
and we can sit in his lap and have our
picture made with him.”
L-R) Tasha Worthington, April Lynn
Riley, Sherri Toney and Amanda
Park. (Second row) John England,
Jeremy Pickle, Lyn Hamby, David
Spurgeon and Felix Knowles.
Menlo and Marcus Anthony
Huskey of Cloudland were
arrested at a Menlo residence
following a manhunt which
began in Blanche, Ala., on
Friday.
Ward has been charged with
five counts of receiving stolen
property in Chattooga County
along with three counts of
burglary in Cherokee County,
Ala.
Huskey has been charged
with five counts of burglary in
Chattooga County and three
counts of burglary in Cherokee
County, Ala., according to
reports.
Both men are presently
lodged in the county jail
pending $25,000 bond each.
A spokesman for the
sheriffs department said a
third suspect, Mrs. Margaret
Ward, has been arrested and
charged with one count of
theft by receiving and
disposing of stolen property.
Mrs. Ward has been released on
a $2,500 bond.
Huskey and Ward, according
to reports, were arrested
following an alleged attempt to
burglarize a store owned by
Charles Hilyer in Blanche, Ala.
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA 30747 - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1977
Chattooga Resident Is Killed in
Coosa River Boating Accident
By PAM PURCELL
The Coosa River claimed
the life of a Trion man Friday
afternoon when strong winds
created waves which swamped
the lightweight fishing boat he,
a companion and two dogs
occupied while crossing the
bitterly-cold river.
Everett Nix Sr., 59, of 52
Moore Street died in the acci
dent, which occurred at 12:45
p.m. at a location between the
Coosa Hunting Lodge and
Riverbend Farm on the Coosa
River, west of Rome. It was
the second apparent drowning
in that area in exactly three
weeks.
Funeral services were held
Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
from the J. D. Hill Chapel of
Lane Funeral Home with the
Rev. Allen Lawrence offici
ating. Interment followed in
the West Hill Cemetery.
Nix’s companion in the
14-foot aluminum boat was
Carlton Vines of 1209 Pine
Street in Trion.
Vines, an attorney in
Summerville, told The News
Tuesday that Nix; Nix’s son,
T •! Wf 1 Well-Known Shopkeeper
Lib W OOd SeUs Store At Cloudland
Mary Elizabeth Wood,
known to just about everybody
in these parts as Lib Wood, has
sold her famous general store
on Cloudland Mountain.
The sale of Son-Lib Trade
Center was finalized last week
when Sara and Joe Pless
purchased the quaint general
store, a development which has
taken a tremendous burden off
Lib, but one which at the same
time has saddened her a great
deal.
“It’s killing me,” she com
mented quietly in an interview
Wednesday when a reporter
asked her how she was
adjusting to not being behind
the counter of the business her
and her late husband opened
during the Depression. She said
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Sonny and Lib Wood (at left) take it
easy with friends at their newly-opened
New Lyerly Park
Plans Discussed
By TERI RUSH
Plans for a new Lyerly park
were finalized at the Town
Council meeting Tuesday
night.
The park, to be called
Angus-McCloud Memorial
Park, will be located on the
northern town limits
boundary. The 15-acre park
was donated to the city by
Miss Ruby Lee several months
ago following her death.
The council voted Tuesday
night to set aside SI,OOO to
begin building the park. The
town will also accept
donations, both time and
money, from Lyerly citizens
and businesses, for the park.
Lyerly residents Anderson
Smith and Robert Lackey were
asked by the council to be in
charge of funds for the park
and to open a bank account in
its name.
Plans for the park include
the construction of a ball field,
picnic area, restrooms, and,
Everett “Pug” Nix Jr. of Hope
well Va.; Rick Camp and him
self had been bird hunting
Friday morning. They were
using the boat to cross the
rver.
‘We were on our way back
to where we had put the boat
in,” said Vines. “We were
about a mile from the Alabama
line Mr. Nix and 1 were in the
boat, and, because of the
strong wind and rough
currents, Rick and “Pug” had
decided to walk down the river
bank.”
He continued, “We were a
good distance from the bank
when a big gust of wind cajne
up all of a sudden. The boat
went up on a wave and came
down. When it came down
another wave came in the front
of the boat, causing it to more
or less sink. By this time “Pug”
and Rick had noticed what had
happened and came to help us.
“1 managed to get close
enough to the bank so they
could pull me out with a stick.
“Pug” then went in after his
father,” Vines explained. “We
both (Nix and I) had on life
she already misses her
customers, but in the long run
believes her decision to sell out
was a wise one.
MARRIED IN 1935
Lib first came to Cloudland
with her late husband, Sonny
Wood, in 1935. The couple had
« married only a few
months following a thAe-year
long-distance courtship. Lib, in
the early 1930 s when jobs were
scarce, had left her hometown
of Dalton to work in Summer
ville. She didn’t work here
long, but the job did give her
the opportunity to meet
Sonny, the son of longtime
depot agent F. B. Wood Sr.
Sonny began traveling to
Dalton to see her. “Some-
Son-Lib Began as Case
eventually, tennis courts. Each
year new items will be added
to the park as funds become
available, the council said.
The first step in building the
new park will be to remove
trees on the parcel of land for a
ball field. It was pointed out
that possibly the timber could
be sold ds pulpwood.
Saturday, Jan. 14, has been
set aside as a community work
day at the park site. Mayor
Ragland asked all interested
people to come to the park and
lend a hand.
Mayor Ragland said, “The
only way we’re ever going to
get a park is just to go ahead
and build it.’’
In other business the
council discussed building a
fence around the city’s
reservoir to prevent vandals
from damaging the lids on the
tank, possibly creating a water
purity hazard.
preservers before the accident
happened, but somehow during
all of it Mr. Nix’s preserver
came off. They pulled him
from the river and gave him
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
for over half an hour. Rick
fired his shotgun several times
into the air hoping to catch the
attention of residents (believed
to be living in some barely-visi
ble) trailers across the river.
That failed, so he went to get
help from a farm some four
miles away.”
Camp, a neighbor of Nix’s,
was walking along the river
bank with “Pug” at the time of
the accident.
“We were a little ahead of
them and we looked back to
see how they were coming
along. They seemed to be
doing fine,” stated Camp, a
relief pitcher for the Atlanta
Braves. “The next time we
looked, a big wave had come
up and went into the front of
the boat.”
He continued, “We ran back
to help them. We got to
Carlton first and pulled him
out. I stayed with him to make
times,” Lib recalls with a smile,
“Sonny would come over and
wouldn’t have any money and
he would have to push his car
part of the way back home.”
Married in 1935, they took
their savings of sl9, went to
Cloudland, and opened a
tavern-case. “We started with a
pound of cheese, a pound of
boiled ham, seme bacon and
eggs, and a case of beer and
wine,” she recalls. “We spread
it out and tried to make it look
like a lot. After we sold that
we went back and bought some
more.”
When they first opened they
slept on a mattress on the
floor. Soon they moved a bed
up to the attic of the cabin,
and later Sonny built a bed-
case-tavern. The photo was taken in
1936.
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Indian stellar offensive tackle and
defensive end Jeff Smith signed a
grant-in-aid with the Aubum Tigers Sat
urday at a reception in Menlo. Seated
with Jeff are his parents, Mr. and Mrs.
sure he was all right and “Pug”
went in after his dad. When I
was sure Carlton was all right, 1
went and helped “Pug” get his
father out of the river.
“We gave him mouth-to
mouth resuscitation for 30 or
45 minutes,” said Camp. “1
started to go get some help,
but had to turn around and
come back because I was bare
footed. 1 had taken my boots
off when I went into the river
and my feet were about frozen.
I was gone a couple of hours
before 1 came back with help
because the closest help 1 could
find was some four miles
away.”
Nix failed to respond to all
efforts to revive him.
Nix was born on March 9,
1918, in Gordon County, the
son of the late Will Nix and
Eula Williams Nix.
He was an employee of
Riegel Textile Corporation
Trion Division for 39 years.
Before retirement he was a
supervisor in the Weave Room.
He was a member of the
Quaiter Century Club and a
member of Trion First Baptist
room off the back of the place.
It was not long before the
small, rented cabin became
known for its barbecue sand
wiches and dinners, using a
still-secret sauce the two con
cocted. The tourist trade was
booming in Cloudland then,
and with a lot of work and
sweat the couple managed to
make a living of it. “We had a
lot of business,” she recalls,
“people were coming to Cloud
land in cars and trains by
then . . . everybody was gay,
lively, and had a lot of fun.”
Around 1937 the highway
was built, which would help
the case become even more
popular, and she recalls feeding
the work crews.
BRUSH WITH DEATH
In the early 19405, Sonny
had a brush with death, almost
being killed in a boating acci
dent. He recovered, however,
but his severe injury to the
head kept him from joining the
military when the United
States entered World War 11.
It was roughly during this
period that two major happen
ings occurred in their lives.
They got out of the restaurant
business, and they built their
own home.
“He (Sonny) was tired of
the restaurant business,” Lib
explains. “He wanted to have a
store with something of every
thing, that was his ambition in
life. He finally reached that
goal five years before he died
(in 1967).”
“Everybody came to our
store,” she says, “mothers,
children, dates .. . we’ve had
customers who raised children,
and now their children are
coming to the store.”
For good reason. Son-Lib
Trading Center is like a com
pact Sears-Roebuck store.
Whether you need a hammer, a
Signs With Auburn Tigers
Church.
Survivors include his wife,
Mrs. Nell Nix of Trion; one
daughter. Mrs. Charles McCoy
of Stone Mountain: two sons.
Glenn Stanford Nix of Trion
and Everett F. Nix Jr. of Hope
well. Va.; two sisters, Mrs.
Fletcher Toles of Menlo and
Mrs. Mildred Ramey of Trion;
three brothers. Carl and Harold
Nix, both of Trion, and
Delbert Nix of Shannon; one
granddaughter; two grandsons;
and several nieces and
nephews
Active pallbearers were
C. H. McCullough. E. B King.
King Anthony, Jerry Thomas,
Ernest Lacey and Duke
Jennings. Honorary pallbearers
were men of Trion First
Baptist Church and Charles
Logan, Fred Peace. McMillan
Myers and Arvel McLeod.
Last month a Florida man
died approximately one-half
mile from the scene of the Nix
accident after the boat he was
in overturned and he
presumably drowned.
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LIB WOOD
new pair of shoes, or groceries
(plus a world of other goods),
you can find it at the store.
Their rustic home, located a
few hundred yards from the
store, stands as a memorial to
their hard work. A carpenter
friend did much of the work,
although Sonny worked with
him while Lib tended the store.
And their oodles of customer
friends provided them with
many hard-to-get materials.
And though they always
enjoyed their work at the
store, it had its drawbacks.
“We never did get to go any
place," she says of those years.
tee LIB WOOD, page 16
Ernest Smith, and standing is Chat
tooga head coach Buddy Windle. Jeff, a
6-foot, 4-inch, 235-pound prospect,
was highly recruited by several major
colleges. (See story inside.)
PRICE 15c