January 14, 2008

Out of our Past

Compiled by Bill Moose

Twenty-five years ago: Record & Landmark, Jan. 14-20, 1983.
“Members of Garfield Street Senor Citizens Club met Tuesday at Garfield Recreation Center. Mrs. Hettie Smith, president, conducted the meeting and extended words of welcome to the 30 members present. During the devotions, members sang ’Jesus, Keep Me near the Cross’ and Howard Powell led the prayer.” (1/14/83)

“The South Iredell Viking boys, riding an emotional high after Coach Gary Sherrill recorded his 200th win last Saturday night, completed a perfect week with their third consecutive victory Friday night, downing the Statesville Greyhounds, 57-49 in Western Piedmont Conference action.” (1/15/83)

Photo: “The congregation of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church honored Mrs. Margaret Muse on Sunday during the morning worship hour and then at a luncheon in the church fellowship hall. Mrs. Muse recently retired after serving as church organist for the past eight-and-a-half years at Wesley Memorial.” (1/17/83)

“A national monument to be dedicated to American Ex-Prisoners of War and MIAs will be erected on the parade grounds of Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville. The North Carolina Chapter of American Ex-POWs is heading up the fund-raising efforts. William C. Chuber, vice commander of the state organization, is heading up the fund-raising in this area.” (1/18/83)

“County commissioners decided Tuesday to allocate an additional $1,600 that would complete countywide road-naming project. A three-person committee was also selected to develop recommendations on how the county should handle future requests from residents who want to change the name of their road.” (1/19/83)

“Statesville is the first city in the two Carolinas to get a ’greenhouse style’ addition at the local Shoney’s Big Boy Restaurant on E. Broad St. Company officials are planning similar structures at 10 other Shoney’s restaurants during 1983. Shoney’s opened in Statesville in 1978.” (1/20/83)

Fifty years ago: Record & Landmark, Jan. 14-20, 1958.
“Three new industries that built plants in Statesville during 1957 will be honored at the annual membership meeting of the Statesville Chamber of Commerce. Paul Meech, president of the chamber, will present keys of welcome to officials of C. Howard Hunt Pen Company, Hubbard Farms and Carolina Culvert and Metal Company.” (1/14/58)

“Bill Wooten, former editor of the Iredell News, this week joined the staff of radio station WSIC. Wooten, who had done radio work with WSIC a number of years ago, will head the news department at the station.” (1/15/58)

“Statesville citizens will go to the polls Tuesday to vote on a $750,000 bond issue to finance much-needed improvements to water and sewer facilities. The need for these new facilities is increasing rapidly. Statesville now has a population of 19,000, but it has been estimated that it will have a population of 28,000 by 1975.” (1/16/58)

“Members of North Iredell Post 113, American Legion, are planning an organized rabbit hunt to secure enough animals for a big barbecued rabbit dinner February 4. Pierce VanHoy, who is in charge of arrangements for the feed, said he had organized about 10 hunters and 25 dogs to go hunting January 21. The mass hunt will be held near Union Grove.” (1/17/58)

“With 17 second remaining, Scotts had the ball with the score knotted at 73-73. A Scotts forward was detected in the lane. Scotts fans didn’t like the call and let it be known, with officials assessing a technical foul. Norgen Wilhelm hit a foul shot with three seconds to go for 74-73 Cool Springs. Cool Springs’ bench poured out on the floor and officials assessed a technical foul. Peggy Padgette hit the foul shot to knot it for Scotts 74-74 and had the ball out of bounds. A quick pass to Padgette and the shot was in the air when the buzzer sounded, giving the Black Panthers a hard-fought 76-74 victory.” (1/18/58)

“The Diamond Hill Baptist Church on Sowers Street voted to build an educational building which will cost approximately $100,000.The building will be added at the back of the church and will have approximately 25,000square feet of floor space.” (1/20/58)

Seventy-five years ago: Statesville Record, Jan. 17 and 20, 1933.
“Statesville and Mount Holly high school basketball teams split a double-header encounter in the initial engagement for Statesville in the South Piedmont High Conference, at the local court Friday evening. The Statesville girls beat the Mount Holly sextet by the decisive score of 40 to 9, while the Statesville boys lost to the Mount Holly lads by a score of 16 to 9. A large crowd witnessed the game. Quite a number were here from Mount Holly.” (1/17/33)

Statesville, route 5: “Even though the weather was quite unfavorable a crowd of young people met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Williams last Friday night. After a social hour together string music was rendered by Messrs. Roy and Duke Templeton, Kermit Pharr and Clay Goodwin. The music was very good and so was the final feature of the evening —
a generous serving of ’everything good,’ peanuts, apples and candy.” (1/17/33)
Troutman, route 1: “During this bad weather is a good time for farmers to get their seed books out and make plans for the spring planting.” (1/17/33)

“At the regular meeting of the recently named advisory board, aiding Miss Beatrice Butler, Mrs. E.M. Land and Mrs. W.R. Byford in the administration of the second allotment of funds from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, held at the Welfare department offices Tuesday evening, a number of important matters were given consideration. An itemized report relative to the unemployment situation in Statesville was provided by Mrs. W.R. Byford. This report shows that there are 207 white men, heads of families, able and willing to work, but with no regular employment; 241 colored men similarly situated.” (1/20/33)

“Statesville now has two licensed pilots. J. Augustus Deaton and Fred Slane, Jr., underwent a rigid examination at the hands of Department of Commerce Inspector, in Charlotte, Wednesday, and were given private pilot’s license to operate a plane. Mr. Deaton has the distinction of being Statesville’s first licensed pilot, having taken his flying test just a few minutes before Mr. Slane.”

One hundred years ago: Landmark, Jan. 14 and 17, 1908.

“The bad weather the latter part of the year and the scarcity of labor resulted in much cotton being left in the field, and it is there yet with little prospect of being gathered soon if at all. The unfavorable weather also prevented many farmers from getting a wheat crop sowed last fall.” (1/17/1908)

“Four large plate glass, about 82x122, intended for the front of the new Patterson building on west Broad street, were found to be broken in small pieces when the box was opened yesterday. The glass was from Pittsburg and a duplicate order was wired at once. The loss on the glass is about $200, with the freight added, probably $250 or $275, which the railroads will have to make good.” (1/14/1908)
“Mr. O.E. Crowson, editor and publisher of the semi-weekly Mascot, has begun the publication of the Evening Mascot. The publisher says the publication is an experiment and the paper will not be run ’a week longer that it pays legitimate expenses.’” (1/14/1908)

“The Statesville Cotton Mills, the City Roller Mills, Statesville Flour Mills, J.C. Steele & Sons’ foundry and machine shop and the Statesville Knitting Mills are now run by electricity. Fixtures are being put in to operate Mr. James A. Brady’s printing establishment, where THE LANDMARK’s press work is done, by electricity and the power will probably soon be connected at Mr. L. Ash’s tobacco factory. The new Paola Cotton Mill will be operated by electricity and other industries will be added as time goes on. In a few years, if the power works as well as expected, nearly all the industries will use electric power.” (1/17/1908)

“The weather and the roads being too bad to hold another meeting of the Teachers’ Association, Prof. L.O. White, county superintendent of schools, suggests that the teaches do a little systematic studying. Until February 10, I want all the teachers to review North Carolina history. The examination papers show how rusty a majority of the teachers are in North Carolina history.’” (1/17/1908)
One hundred twenty-five years ago: Landmark, Jan. 19, 1883.

“A craze for going to Texas seems to have lately taken possession of the people of this section of the State. Many have gone from Rowan, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Iredell and Catawba. Young, middle-aged and old people have turned their backs upon the ancestral homes and set their faces toward the State where wealth is to be had without labor and life is a perpetual picnic. Ah! well. The most of them will wish they hadn’t.“

“Several of the young lady boarders at Simonton Female College went to Charlotte, by Tuesday morning train, to enter the Female Institute there, the school having been closed Monday. A special coach was brought up for them Monday night. It is painful to see our college thus broken up and the pupils going away.“

“We have had almost every variety of weather within the past week except good weather. Snow, sleet and rain have all visited us. The streets have been alternately as slick as glass and as sloppy as rain and melting snow could make them — and the end is not yet.”