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Che Summerville News
The Official Legal Organ of Chattooga County
WINSTON E. ESPY
PUBLISHER
TOMMY TOLES
EDITOR
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Address All Mail to: THE SUMMERVILLE NEWS, P. 0. Box 310, Summerville, Ga. 30747
Editorials
Growing Pains
Trion seems to have resolved a thorny
issue which at times threatened to split the
Town Council and Mayor asunder.
It has voted to have developers bear all
the cost for utilities on their property but
has indicated that it would run gas, water
and sewer lines to the property lines of
tracts desiring such service.
Some Councilmen are concerned that
the supply provision hasn’t béen firmly
resolved. While some tracts planned for
development within the city are only a
short distance from existing utility lines,
others are located far from such services.
Some are concerned that the city may
have to run larger lines several hundred
yards to some of the tracts because ex
isting lines may be inadequate.
Chattooga Prophet?
Pennville artist Howard Finster recent
ly received a computer from Lehigh
University to help him create and print his
sketches. Two professors from the
Bethlehem, Pa. university came South to
help the Rev. Finster set up the system.
The unique folk artist has spoken to
colleges and universities around the na
tion, had his art featured in some of the
finer art galleries of the country and ap
peared on national television.
His good nature and humbleness have
made him a favorite with people who ap
preciate his art, as well as with those who
prefer more traditional expressions.
The Bible says no prophet is without
honor except in his own country and
among his own brethren. The Rev. Finster
probably knows the fullest meaning of
Chattooga’s Heritage
The Chattooga County Historical
Society is the latest group organized to
help preserve our area’s heritage.
The Sesquicentennial Commission, of
course, is working toward a one-time
observance of the county’s 150th anniver
sary next year. And the Chattooga
Bicentennial Commission, which is ex
pected to meet soon, will be concerned
about putting together a local celebration
this year in observance of the U.S.
Constitution.
From Our Early Fil
_ %
: 44 YEARS AGO
The following are excerpts from the March 11, 1943, issue of The Summer
ville News.
* * *
PERMIT REQUIRED FOR KILLING OR SELLING OF MEAT — Atlan
ta, March 10. — An undue hardship for the small farmer was promised this
week by Col. James H. Palmer, regional administrator of the Food Distribu
tion Administration, in charge of enforcing the USDA order which will require
anyone who slaughters meat or sells livestock after March 31 to secure a permit.
Under the new regulations, every farmer and butcher who slaughters meat
for sale (but not for home use), regardless of the size of his business, must secure
a permit from his county war board. All meat sold must be stamped with a
permit stamp. Every dealer in livestock must register with the war board, but
gets no stamp and can sell to anybody. The farmer who sells cattle he has grown
or fed, keeping them more than 30 days, is not a dealer and is not required
to register before buying and selling, but must keep records. All livestock
dealers and slaughterers, large and small, must also keep records for inspec
tion of the FDA.
* * *
AD: MARY PENN SHOP — New! Dresses Received Today $5.98, $7.98,
$9.98; Sale of Better Dresses $4.90; New! Spring Hats $1.98, $2.98, $3.98; Sale
Of New Tams SI.OO.
DAVID T. ESPY, JR.
GENERAL MANAGER
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Within County . ..............$6.83
()ut-of-Count{‘ Rates
Available On Request.
Published Evela Thursday By
ESPY PUBLISHING CO., INC.
Second Class Postage Paid
At Summeruville, Ga. 30747
PUBLICATION NO. SECD 525560
Some city officials feel the policy will
hamper growth in the city. They feel that
city participation in utility expansion is a
capital investment rather than an opera
tions cost, one that would pay “‘dividends”
in the form of an expanded tax base and
more jobs in future years.
Regardless, the issue seems to have
been settled for the time being.
But it wouldn't be surprising to see it
come back to life in the next few months
and years as Trion tries to cope with
‘*growing pains’’ brought about by being
“tossed’’ into the ‘‘cold, cruel world”” when
Riegel Textile Corporation’s new owners
ended the firm's symbiotic relationships
with the city.
that passage since his art hasn’t brought
him much acclaim from his own communi
ty and county.
Yet, he continues to be one of Chat
tooga County's more positive and visible
tourist attractions. The Rev. Finster
sometimes seems both bemused and puzzl
ed by the attention. The lack of recogni
tion by his own “‘country’’ hasn’t seemed
to bother him to any appreciable degree.
The Pennville artist has focused atten
tion of the art world on Chattooga Coun
ty in a positive and long-lasting manner.
Given all the negative controversies in
which the county seems to be embroiled on
a constant basis, we ought to thank the
Rev. Finster for givig the world a different
view of our community.
We need it and we appreciate it.
The Society is expected to be an ongo
ing affair that will seek to preserve local
landmarks, papers and heritage.
It’s first public meeting was last Sun
day and more sessions are planned.
Volunteers are invited to become involv
ed in the many aspects of the Historical
Society’s mission.
We welcome the Society and wish it
complete success so that future genera
tions will be able to appreciate their
heritage. .
WILLIAM T. ESPY
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Viewpoint
By Tommy Toles, Editor
Messing With Murphy
Almost everyone has heard of Mur
phy's Law: Anything that can go wrong,
will go wrong. And most of us can vouch
for its accuracy.
I recently came on a list of several
similar “‘laws’’ and thought I'd pass them
on to readers of The News. They follow:
No good deed goes unpunished.
Beauty is only skin deep but ugly goes
clear to the bone.
The other line always moves faster.
(Amen).
If everything seems to be going well,
you obviously don’t know what's going on.
It's impossible to make anything
foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
When in doubt, mumble. When in trou
ble, delegate. j
Interchangeable parts-won't.
A S3OO picture tube will protect a
10-cent fuse by blowing first.
A Smith and Wesson beats four aces.
Living well is the best revenge.
When a broken appliance (or a car) is
demonstrated for the repairman, it will
always work perfectly.
No matter how long you shop for an
item, after you've bought it, it will go on
sale — cheaper.
A bird in the hand is safer than one
overhead. (Amen again! Yep. I once was
“bombed” by a bird).
Anything good in life is either illegal,
immoral or fattening.
Celibacy is not hereditary.
On The Funny Side !
By Gary Solomon vy
It's not often that a person who spends
most days sitting in a comfortable office
knocking out articles on a word processor
gets called on to do real work. When it
does happen, it's something to write
about.
My church is renovating a basement
beneath its sanctuary to make room for
more classes, and a few weeks ago they
asked any member willing to help to fill
out a survey listing his construction ex
perience and skills. I wrote, “‘I can paint,
and have hung sheetrock once, if that con
stitutes ‘experience.’ "’
That is honestly the sum total of my
construction expertise, other than occa
sionally pounding a few nails (usually the
one on my left thumb). But I figured I'd
be okay as long as someone worked along
side me who knew what they were doing.
The day of infamy arrived. The call
came. ‘‘Can you work Tuesday night?”
asked the man in charge of the project.
“Sure,” I replied. “What'll we be doing,
painting or sheetrocking?”’
“Installing insulation.” Installing in
sulation, excuse me? Didn’t they read my
answer on the survey?
“Uh, okay,” I said with some hesita
tion. *‘As long as there’'s someone present
to show me what to do.”” The man assured
there would be several other men there.
Come Tuesday night, I walked into the
church to find three men already at work.
I immediately recognized one, Ron, as a
local accountant, so I figured one of the
others was the building expert.
After we introduced ourselves, I said
to one of the men, ‘“Walter, what business
are you in? Contracting? Carpentry?”’
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Whoever has the gold, makes the rules.
The chance of a piece of bread falling
with the buttered side down is directly pro
portional to the cost of the carpet.
The race is not always to the swift nor
the battle to the strong. But that's the
way to bet.
Nothing is as easy as it looks. (Ever try
to play tennis)?
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
The chances of seeing someone who
knows you are dramatically increased by
not wanting to be seen. (Wayward
husbands and wives should keep this in
mind).
If more than one person is responsible
for a miscalculation, no one will be at fault.
Never play leapfrog with a unicorn.
Friends come and go, but enemies
accumulate.
A short cut is the longest distance bet
ween two points.
And, finally, my favorite: Don't mess
with Murphy!
¥
FOOTNOTE: I wrote a story and
headline in last week's edition using the
word ‘‘aberration.”” The only problem was
that I spelled it incorrectly. It came out
‘““abberation.”” I knew better but,
somehow, the message never made it from
my brain to the typewriter. Naturally, as
soon as I saw the paper come off the press,
the word “jumped” out at me. Murphy
again . . . with a lot of help from Toles!
“No,” he said, “I'm an accountant, too,
just like Ron.”
“Well then, Bobby,” I said, turning to
the third man, ‘“‘how about you? Got your
own construction company, do you?”’
“No, I'm a computer salesman.”
A sudden chill ran down my spine, and
my mind flashed back to a church where
I faced the same predicament years ago.
That congregation was rebuilding after a
tornado, and I volunteered to help. I work
ed three Saturdays with various and sun
dry folks, and from all indications none of
us had a clue as to what we were doing.
We seemed to be operating on the plan, “If
it's loose, nail it down. If it’s nailed down,
knock it loose. If any measurement is off
by less than a foot, that’s close enough.”
One thing’s for sure. It won’t take a
tornado to blow it down next time. So
meone sneezing can do it.
Fortunately enough, I soon learned
that the guys I was working with this time
around had years of construction ex
perience between them. That was good,
because during three hours of hard labor
I never did figure out how to load the
staple gun we were using to tack up the
insulation. If someone else hadn’t known,
we would have been stopped in our tracks
after 10 minutes when the gun first ran out
of ammo.
Using volunteers saves money, but on
ly if they do the job right. The word will
be out any day now, I'm sure, that if the
Protestant faith has to depend on well
meaning but bumbling folks like me to ad
vance the work of the kingdom, it would
be better off paying infidels who at least
have some idea of what they're doing.
Guest Column
By Max Cleland
Presidential Pilot
During the crisis years of World War 11, a Georgia man
had ““the right stuff’’ to become the first presidential pilot.
Today, the president flies on Air Force One. But there
was no aircraft exclusively for the chief executive and his
guests before one was built for Franklin Roosevelt, a DC-4
named ‘‘Sacred Cow."” ;
The plane was completed in late 1944. Early the next
year, FDR was scheduled for a secret conference with
British leader Winston Churchill and Russian ruler Joseph
Stalin. They were to meet in Yalta, Russia, after FDR had
traveled by ship to Malta in the Mediterranean Sea.
Lt. Col. Henry Myers, a native of Tifton, was in the
Air Transport Command (ATC) that played taxi for VlP's.
Out of all the elite fliers of the ATC, Myers was to become
the first pilot of the president’s official plane. He was
chosen because, as Brigadier General Harold George later
said, ‘“There is no better pilot in the world than Hank
Myers.”
On that first trip, a Russian plane nearly collided with
the Sacred Cow. But Myers directed the flight to Yalta
and back well enough to retain his command. In the next
three years, the job took him to the most significant
destinations of his time: London, Paris, Berlin, Potsdam,
Casblanca and Buenos Aires.
He flew a select delegation into Germany immediately
following the collapse of the Nazi government. Shortly
thereafter Myers piloted a group of congressmen, in
cluding Senator Richard Russell, around the globe for
meetings aimed at rebuilding the world economy on a
peacetime basis.
Myers naturally accumulated anecdotes about his
famous passengers. On one particularly hot flight, an
American officer berated the pilot and crew for working
in their shirt sleeves after George 11, King of Greece, had
boarded the plane in full dress uniform. The tirade ended
abruptly, though, as the monarch appeared in the cockpit
and asked to be notified when they were 15 minutes from
landing. His Highness had stripped down to the royal
undershirt and shorts.
Winston Churchill, being flown from Montreal to
Washington, D. C., approached the pilot’s seat with cigar
and brandy in hand and wanted to take the controls. When
the reporters on board got the Prime Minister involved
in conversation, producing an unsteady flight, Myers flip
ped on the automatic pilot. As they came in view of the
capital, Churchill, talking all the time, was convinced he
had steered them safely through the journey.
Since FDR traveled in a wheel chair and could not visit
the cockpit, it was President Harry Truman, among the
notables, who came to know Myers best. Time magazine
once wrote of Myers’ ‘‘engaging, infectious self
confidence,” and ‘‘give-'em-hell Harry” obviously ap
preciated Myers’ willingness to fly in difficult weather.
Myers piloted Truman to Grandview, Mo., so the presi
dent could see his mother on Christmas Day, 1945, despite
a front of heavy sleet.
On another occasion, with a bad storm over Key West
and Truman wanting to leave that city, he asked Myers,
“What would you do if I weren't aboard?”’ Myers
answered, “I'd fly,” so they did.
In the most famous incident of Myers’ career, Truman
goaded his confident pilot into a bit of reckless fun. They
were gruising back to Washington, D. C., one time when
the First Lady and her guests were standing on the roof
of the White House, watching an Air Force flying exhibi
tion. Truman asked Myers, “Do you suppose we could dive
at the White House?”
“Just flying over the White House means you could
ggt Bgr(:urlr‘xded, muc}(li less buzzing it,” Myers later recall
ed. But Truman said, “I'm used to catchi now.
I'll take the blame.” bing e by
“Leveling at 3,000 feet, we nosed straight down,”
Myers remembered, “‘and we didn’t pull out until we hit
500 feet. We climbed, banked and dived again. Everyone
on the roof looked frozen with fear except the two ladies
— Bess and Margaret Truman. They waved and danced
happily.”
_ Myers was born in Tifton in 1907, a descendant of the
city’s founders. After graduating from Culver Military
Acat-iemy n Missouri and the University of Georgia, he
received Air Corps pilot training in Texas and won his
wings in July 1931,
The next year, American Airlines hired him as a clerk.
When the flu bug grounded a host of pilots, he was given
his first chance to fly.
. Once America entered World War 11, the Air Force
borrowed” him and scores of other commercial pilots for
see GUEST COLUMN, page 6-A