Cleburne County AlArchives News.....Newspaper abstracts for AUGUST 1934 August 1934 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: C Gravelle tealtree@comcast.net January 18, 2007, 11:14 pm The Cleburne News August 1934 NEWSPAPER ABSTRACTS FROM "THE CLEBURNE NEWS", Heflin, Cleburne County, Alabama for AUGUST 1934 NEWSPAPER Issue of Thursday, AUGUST 9, 1934 BIRTHDAY DINNER FOR AGED LADY On Friday, July 27th, a host of relatives and friends met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. E.W. Beason to spend the day with Grandmother Thrower, celebrating her sixty-ninth birthday anniversary. She watched the crowd, smiling as all gathered in to show their love and appreciation of her and she enjoyed the day very much. (Note from transcriber: a subsequent corretion notice is given to indicate she was celebrating her 89th birthday.) The large table was laden with good things to eat, which everyone enjoyed. The afternoon was spent in eating ice cream and watermelons. Those present were: Mr. and Mrs. G.W. Thrower and daughter Mr. and Mrs. Reg Bell Mr. and Mrs. A.B. Thrower and son Mr. and Mrs. E.W. Beason and son Mrs. F.M. Zaner and son F.R. and J.F. Thrower Mr. and Mrs. H.T. Thrower and children Mr. and Mrs. Forney Cochran and children Mr. and Mrs. A.J. White and children Mr. and Mrs. J.S. Wade and children Rev. and Mrs. P.D. Taylor and children K.C. Thrower and son Vester McElroy and sons Mr. and Mrs. Ertis McElroy and son Mr. and Mrs. Allen and children of Oklahoma Oran, Marcus and Fayette Thrower of Arab Gladys, Freeman and Garvis Cochran Mrs. Theron Thrower and daughter Hughlett Bell Theo Morrison Evelyn Howle Mrs. Jessie Lumpkin Mrs. Mary Haywood Mrs. Luker Lola Beason About 90 children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were in attendance, and all departed for their homes about 6 o'clock, happy, and wishing for grandmother many more happy birthdays. One who was present. ----- DINNER GIVEN FOR VISITORS On Aug. 6th a dinner was given at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hamp Norton, the old home place of the former's father, Uncle Jack Norton, in honor of Mr. and Mrs. John Edwards and daughter Erline, of Louisville, Miss. Those present were: Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Norton of Heflin Mrs. Emma Edwards of Fruithurst Mrs. Lizzie Weathers of Cane Creek Bob Norton of Cane Creek Mr. and Mrs. Henry Norton and son Horace Mrs. A.E. Webb Mr. and Mrs. Euell Jones and sons Junior, Charles and Harold Mrs. Charlie Norton and daughter Montez of Heflin Mrs. Lillian McCrary and children, Frances and Bobby Mrs. Dewey Garner of Fruithurst Mrs. Lola Jenkins and daughters Marie and Vivian of Anniston Jack McCaghren and children, Hattie, Hazel and Homer of Hopewell Misses Irene Norton and Irene Warren of Cane Creek Marvin Whitten Mr. and Mrs. Hamp Norton and children, Garnet, Lewis, Mildred, Myrtle, Roy, Robert and James Elton Written by one present. ----- FORMER CLEBUREITE WRITES TO EDITOR (Letter from J.M. Pirkle) Quitman, Louisiana, July 27, 1934 Dear Mr. Editor, I was born near Bell Mills, on May 15, 1874 and lived there until December 7, 1903, when with my little family, I boarded the train at Heflin that night bound for Louisiana. We changed cars at Birmingham and Meridian and crossed the Mississippi River on a ferry boat. We landed at Rushton 12:20 the next day. We lived in Louisiana for a few years and moved to Texas and stayed a few years and came back to Louisiana and have lived on this place eighteen years. July 6, 1934, I went to Shreveport on a visit to my oldest son and family. Then on Sunday morning, my niece Mrs. Tillman Thornton, her husband and children of Waco, Texas came by, bound for Alabama. So I got into the car with them at 11:30, went through Ruston, Monroe and crossed the Mississippi River at Vicksburg on a toll bridge; we went through Jackson and Meridian, Livingston, Eutaw, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Pratt City and Jasper, on to Navoo, to the home of my brother Floyd Pirkle. We were on the road all night, finally arriving at my brother's at 10:45 next morning. We stayed with them until Thursday morning, then, Floyd and his wife went with us to Cleburne county. We went through Birmingham, Leeds, Pell CIty, Anniston and on to Heflin, my old home town. Then we traveled through scenes of my boyhood days, and then in a few minutes we were passing the James Tyler place, then W.M. Evans place. Soon we were passing the old school house place near Salem church where I went to school a number of years, first to J.R. Barker and then others. Next we passed the Isaac York's patch, now in cultivation and people living there. Next the Cross Roads and then my old home place. The next minute we were passing the river bottoms of our old place, then along the foot of the hills and through Rev. H. Allen and Johnnie G. Jones' farms. Then we crossed the river to Bell Mills. Soon we re-crossed the old river and went on to my sister's home, Mrs. W.T. Pesnell living near Pine Grove church. The trip from Heflin to Bell Mills was made in a few minutes, when formerly it took hours to make it. That afternoon, my brother-in-law Mr. Pesnell carried Floyd and I to Heflin in his car but the stores being closed, there were not many people in town, although I met a few old friends and I saw my cousin Mrs. L. Gaines and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Davis. We then went back to my old home and met Mr. Sayer. We walked down to the field and across the bottoms to the river. Mr. Sayer carried us across the river in a boat. Next we went to the home of J.A. Champion. Mrs. Champion is a cousin to my wife. Returning to Mr. Sayer's we started back and left the highway and went by the home of Rev. W.M. Barr and saw him and his wife. Mr. Barr, Howard White, Luther Davidson and I worked for J.A. Brown in 1901. I worked in the store most of the time and in the field part of the time. My sister's daughter, Mrs. Phillips and husband living at Anniston were there on a visit, when we arrived from Heflin. We visited my sister's oldest son living down on the river. The next morning we went to what was formerly Old Liberty church where we used to worship, but the building is gone and the place is growing up in briars, weeds and bushes. The church yard and the road to the spring have grown up in sapplings but we found the spring all right which is walled up with rocks and looked just as it did the first time I saw it. Of course we all quenched our thirst there. We went into the cemetery where I saw where my mother was laid to rest more than fifty years ago, and other members of the family buried there since then. Returning to my sister's home we found all her children there and had a most enjoyable time. Soon we started back to my brother's home and stopped in Heflin. I ate luch with J.G. Jones and we had an enjoyable visit. My brother and the others ate lunch with the editor, after lunch we all met J.H. Pirkle, county superintendant of Education, who is also a relative of ours, and had a pleasant visit at Anniston. I saw George Phillips and Allen Garner; stopped at Pratt City and ate supper with Floyd's sister-in-law Mrs. Jones and family. About two hours later we arrived at Floyd's and stayed there until the next Wednesday. It was an enjoyable and delightful trip to see my brother and sister and their families and other relatives and friends that I had not seen in over 30 years. J.M. Pirkle ------ LOCAL News J.H. Chappell left last week to visit with his brother W.T. Chappell at Overton, Texas for the next few months. We wish him a pleasant trip. His brother has been with him for some time. ---- Mr. and Mrs. Enoch Owen and sons Duke, Tyler and Virgil of Texas arrived last week to visit relatives in Cleburne county. --- A.E. Southerland of Cullman county was in Heflin last week. --- Miss Nora Sparks of Newark, N.J. and Miss Mildred Reaves of Long Beach, N.Y. are visiting their parents here, Mr. and Mrs. D.M. Reaves. ---- Mrs. Carl Smith and children of Tallapoosa are visiting Mr. and Mrs. D.M. Reaves. --- Mrs. Annie Mae Qualls from Virginia was the recent guest of her father, F.A. Vaughan. --- A SAD DEATH Mrs. Myrtle Leola Whitfield, age 25, of 3933 35th Ave N., passed away at a local infirmary early Friday evening. Funeral services were held at the residence Sunday at 9:30 a.m. The remains were sent to Heflin, Ala., on Sunday for interment by Brown-Service. Surviving are the husband, C.W. Whitfield; two daughters, Ann Elizabeth and Marian Lousie; her parents, Mr. and Mrs. S.L. Tolleson; three sisters, Pauline Etheridge, Alline and Eleanor Tolleson; three brothers, Hubert Luther, Jr., and Rudolph. The Birmingham News ------ NEWSPAPER Issue of AUGUST 16, 1934 OTTO PRICHARD PASSES The funeral for Otto Prichard, 46 years old, was held at Concord on Monday with Revs. J.W. Williams, P.P. Johnson and Rufus Johnson in charge of the burial services. Mr. Prichard is survived by his father and mother, his wife, five children and five brothers. The Cleburne News sympathizes with the family. ----- H.N. GABLE PASSES Cleburne county mourns the death of one of its oldest citizens, H.N. Gable, 94, who lived near Muscadine. He passed away while on a visit to his daughter Mrs. J.T. Walker in Cullman county. He was one of the five remaining Confederate veterans in Cleburne county. Mr. Gable was an outstanding citizen. He could always be depended on to stand for those things which are right and honorable, and his life and character was an example and a benediction to those who knew him, and in recent years as he stepped out of the active life and rested in the shadows, he was still a leader in his community and county by virtue of his splendid spirit and helpful advice to his neighbors. It is with sadness that we pay this last tribute to one of Cleburne county's best fighters and noble citizens. ------- OFFICERS MAKE THREE ARRESTS Last week, Deputy Tom Prestridge and Forney Thrower destroyed four large stills, pouring out 2,600 gallons of beer and arrested Joe Bryant and Duke Clayton. In another trip on the east side of the county, Ben Farlow was arrested. Three hundred sixty gallons of good peach beer was destroyed. ----- TEXAS VISITORS Mrs. J.H. Brannon, formerly Miss Effie Cook, and Mr. and Mrs. Claud Williamson and son of Ft. Worth, Texas are visitors in Cleburne county and in Atlanta, Ga. ----- CORRECTION In the birthday notice of Mrs. S.M. (Grandmother) Thrower in a previous newspaper issue, her age was given as 69, which should have been given as age 89. ----- NEWSPAPER Issue of Thursday, AUGUST 23, 1934 OLIVER DODSON PASSES TO BEYOND ON MONDAY Oliver Dodson, nephew of the Editor of the Cleburne News, passed at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. G.F. Dodson in Buchanan, Georgia on Monday morning, after a long illness. He had been confined to his home for more than seven years. He was never known to complain. Peace to his pure soul. The family has the profound sympathy of a large number of relatives and friends. ----- MRS. T.J. OWEN HAS BIRTHDAY DINNER On Sunday, August 19th, a host of relatives and friends met at the old home place of Mr. and Mrs. T.J. Owen near old Cane Creek to spend the day celebrating Mrs. T.J. Owen's 66th birthday anniversary. The day was enjoyed by a large crowd. The dinner was spread on tables under the shade trees in the yard. The tables were filled with plenty of good things to eat and in the center was a large birthday cake with 66 candles. The afternoon was spent talking over old times, and eating watermelons and fruit. Seventy children, grandchildren and close relatives left for their homes in the afternoon, happy and wishing for mother and grandmother, many more happy birthdays. ----- ELIJAH E. MYERS, 89, LAID TO REST Elijah E. Myers, 89 years old, was buried at Ai on Friday. Mr. Myers was a good man and was a resident of this county for about 50 years, and was held in high esteem by all who knew him. Several children survive him. ----- FORMER CLEBURNE WOMAN BURIED HERE Mrs. Elizabeth Daugherty, 35, wife of Duston Daugherty, died in a Gadsden hospital Tuesday night of last week, after an illness of a few days with rheumatism. The funeral and burial services were held at Ai on Thursday with Rev. W.M. Barr in charge of services. Mrs. Daugherty is survived by her husband, two half-brothers, W.A. Dodson of Bivins, Texas and C.F. Dodson; two uncles, J.M. and B.F. DeFreese of Ruston, La. She was a member of the Ai Baptist church. ----- IN MEMORY OF OTTO PRICHARD In loving memory of Otto Prichard who departed this life August 12. In my heart your memory lingers sweetly, tender, fond and true. There's not a day dear Daddy that I do not think of you. Oh, how we miss the voice that never calls. How we long for foot steps that never come. We miss you dear Daddy in a million ways. But we cannot and will not say you are dead, but just some day we'll understand; we'll all be together in a better land. A daughter, Mrs. John Wilson ----- CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY Mr. and Mrs. John Austin and children spent the weekend with Mr. Austin's parents at Sylacauga where a family gathering celebrating Mr. J.C. Austin Sr.'s 62nd birthday. The entire family went to Fayetteville and enjoyed a picnic dinner at the home of Mr. Sam Merrill, with more than 65 relatives attending. A good time was had by all. ------ LOCAL News S.C. Beason has been suffering from poison on his left leg. --- WIDESPREAD HUNT BEGUN BY OFFICERS FOR MISSING GIRL Birmingham, Ala., Aug. 22nd Mysteriously missing since she left for an automobile ride Monday might, Miss Fay New, 19 year old Howard College senior, was the object of a widespread search by police and from citizens on Tuesday night. The search was centered in the vicinity of the Ruffner Mines, about a mile and a half east of Irondale on the Trussville-Irondale highway. Police said they were told by a negro family living near the mine that they heard a woman scream some during during Monday night. Police said that Harold Taylor, Miss New's escort on the automobile ride, told them that the young woman jumped from his automobile and ran away while they were parked on the highway about midnight on Monday night. In an interview begun at noon on Tuesday, police said Taylor told them " I am praying that nothing has happened to her, but of course, I can't help knowing that something is almost bound to have happened." The Birmingham News Mr. and Mrs. Lon New, Miss Fay New's parents, are former residents of Heflin. Miss New is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alex Rowell of this Cleburne county. ----- NEWSPAPER Issue of Thursday, AUGUST 30, 1934 SLAIN GIRL LAID TO FINAL REST IN HEFLIN CEMETERY; Body of Slain Co-Ed is Borne to Grave at Childhood Home (written by Robert Kince of Birmingham Age-Herald) Heflin, Ala., Aug. 23 - - "For the Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." While tears streamed from the eyes in a silence broken only by the sobbing of the grief torn mother, Dr. T.V. Neal, Howard College President, spoke these simple, but impressive words over the body of Fay New on Thursday afternoon, shortly before it was consigned to its last resting place in the family burial ground here, where she was born 19 years ago. Here, where in the days of their courtship, Lon New waved a cheery greeting to Miss Dorsey Rowell, who later became Mrs. Lon New, from the platform of his speeding passenger train; now, the child of their bosom lay at rest among those she knew and loved the best. Here, among familiar surroundings, the same sturdy oaks, the same red hills, Fay New was buried while the entire community gathered in reverence to the memory of the little girl who left them years ago to seek her education in the city. While the familiar town clock of her childhood days solemnly tolled the hour of four atop the ancient courthouse, Fay New's body was lowered into the bosom of the earth, borne to its last resting place by five of her uncles on whose knees she climbed while a mere tot. The six pallbearer was A.B. Cain, her avowed sweetheart, whom police a few short hours before had released from custody after hours of relentless questioning in an effort to wring from him some information that could identify the one who had stabbed his sweetheart to death and dragged her lifeless body into a dismal cornfield near Irondale, where a searching party found it Wednesday afternoon. Cain, the man who said he loved Fay New had followed her part of the way on the fateful ride from which she never returned, stood beside her grave, his arm supporting the invalid father of the murdered girl, his eyes swollen with weeping while the body of his sweetheart was consigned to the earth. Throughout the two hour train ride from Birmingham he had whispered words of encouragement to the parents and had been gathered to their bosom, a man exonerated of all suspicion, a friend and benefactor in their time of trouble, the sweetheart of the dead girl. Services at the church were brief and simple. The Rev. O.G. Waid, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, read from that portion of the scripture which said "whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die" and said a prayer over the flower laden casket. The choir sang "God Will Take Care of You" and Dr. Neal, choking back emotions, paid a tribute of respect to the life and character of Fay New while she was a student at Howard College. Mrs. New, who had sobbed hysterically throughout the services, gave way to her feelings when the casket was borne to the waiting hearse. "Oh, Fay", she cried over and over again. "Mother is talking to you, answer me my darling, my love." On the verge of collapse, Mr. and Mrs. New leaned for support on the arms of willing friends and relatives for the short ride to the adjacent cemetery where the simple services were concluded. Pleading for "just one last look", the distraught mother was led away while the casket sank slowly into the grave, after repeatedly kneeling by the side of the grave and calling over and over the bier of her dead child. All but relatives and the closest friends of the family were excluded from the train before it left Birmingham when Sid Baxter, veteran Southern Railway conductor and a life long friend of Lon New, entered the special car provided by the railroad and and announced that "as much as I hate to do it, it is my duty to inform you that only members of the funeral party will be allowed to travel in the car." Whereupon the car, crowded beyond capacity, quickly thinned out, only relatives and close friends remaining. Mrs. New chatted with friends throughout the two hour ride. Kindly neighbors and relatives talked to her of anything and everything but the tragedy. Lon New, occupying a seat immediately behind his wife, sat throughout most of the trip with his sister Mrs. Will Harris of Bessemer. Cain sat first with the mother and then with the father. Crowds gathered on the platforms of the various towns through which the train passed, hoping to catch of glimpse of the funeral party, but Fay's body had gone ahead and was resting at the little church when the family arrived. ------ INDICTMENT FOR TAYLOR FILED Birmingham, Ala., Aug. 28th Harold Taylor, 29, son of a former city comptroller, was formally charged with the murder of Miss Fay New, a Howard College student, in an indictment returned late Monday by the Jefferson County Grand Jury, and was ordered held without bond pending his trial. After hearing 13 witnesses, including many who have been mentioned frequently in the recent investigation of the college girl's death, the Grand Jury voted unanimously to return an indictment of first degree murder, shortly before 4 p.m. Monday and about 30 minutes later, reproted its findings to Judge J. Russell McElroy. Action of the Grand Jury came exactly one week from the day in which Taylor admitted to police that he accompanied the young woman in his automobile to a by-road near Irondale and he said that the young woman leaped from his car and fled into the woods after he "got rough with her." The capias charging Taylor with Miss New's death was served on Taylor in his cell in the county jail about an hour after the indictment had been voted, and the accused man received the formal notification, read to him by a deputy sheriff, without a change in his expression. BURIAL FOR MRS. HIGGINBOTHAM Anniston, Ala., Aug. 27th Funeral services for Mrs. C.M. Higginbotham, age 23, of near Oxford, who was drowned Thursday in the Alabama River near Montgomery while on a swimming party, were conducted at Chulafinnee church at 4 o'clock this afternoon by the Rev. T.O. Slaughter, pastor of the First Christian Church. Interment was in Chulafinnee cemetery with Ussrey in charge. Mrs. Higginbotham's body was found about three miles down stream from the point where she stepped off a ledge of shallow water into the deep part of the river. Joe Stewart, a member of the swimming party, narrowly escaped drowning when attempting to rescue Mrs. Higginbotham when she screamed for help. The body was found by searching parties late Sunday afternoon and was returned to Anniston early today. Surviving Mrs. Higginbotham are her husband and her sister, Mrs. Mary McKeand whom she was visiting in Montgomery. About a year ago, her brother-in-law, H.M. Higginbotham of the Alabama Power Company office here, was drowned in Mellon's Mill pond near Oxford. ----- MAN JAILED IN SLAYING Piedmont, Ala., Aug. 27th Warren Lorren of Borden Springs, has been placed in the Calhoun county jail in connection with an investigation of the slaying of F.A. Kimberly, age 58, Piedmont policeman, Saturday night. Sheriff Borders was told by Plice Chief Snead of Piedmont, who was with Kimberly at the time, that Lorren had been arrested, handcuffed and was being taken to jail when he pulled a pistol from his pocket and fired at Kimberly. Following the shooting, Chief Snead said, he disarmed Lorrens and took him to the county jail at Anniston. Lorrens has declined to discuss the shooting, county officers said. Funeral services for Kimberly were held Monday afternoon at the Piedmont Methodist church. Burial was in Piedmont cemetery. Surviving are two sons, two daughers and five sisters. ----- F.P. OWENS IS LAID TO REST HERE SUNDAY; F. Pierce Owens, Merchant, Funeral Director, Dies in Atlanta Hospital Funeral services for F. Pierce Owens, age 50, widely known Heflin funeral director, who died Friday in an Atlanta hospital, were conducted at 3 o'clock Sunday afternoon at the Heflin Methodist church by the pastor, the Rev. C.P. Hamby, assisted by the Rev. L.S. Wessinger and Dr. G. Fred Cooper. Interment was in Heflin Cemetery, with White of Anniston in charge. Active pallbearers were brothers and brothers-in-law. They are J.A., L.A., M.F., R.T., W.H., Neal and Frank Owens and Louis DeArman. Mr. Owens had been a funeral director in Heflin for about 20 years and was one of Cleburne county's best known citizens. He was active in Masonic affairs, being a Shriner, and also active in the Methodist church which he served as a steward. Surviving are the widow, a son, F.P. Owens Jr., two daughters, Eva and Annie Pearl Owens, all of Heflin; five brothers, M.F. Owens of Miami, Okla., Dr. W.H. Owens of Charlotte, N.C. and J.A., L.A., and R.J. Owens of Heflin, and three sisters, Mrs. Thomas G. Hill of Tallapoosa, Ga., and Misses Alice and Minnie Owens of Heflin. ------ HAPPY OCCASION A happy occasion was last Sunday when the following persons spent the day with Mr. and Mrs. Roy Bell, at the old home place at Bell Mills: Mr. and Mrs. Ben House Miss Mattie Sue House Mr. and Mrs. Hampton House and daughter Mr. and Mrs. Henry Keen and daughter R.C. Bell Causey Tumblin G.B. Gaines Baley O'Brien from Atlanta Mrs. White and daugher Mrs. Oscar Hallman and children of Birmingham ----- IN MEMORY OF JOSEPH MORGAN DEFREESE Joseph Morgan DeFreese was born in Cleburne county, Alabama on June 26, 1863 and died near Ruston, La., on Aug. 21, 1934. Mr. DeFreese moved to Lincoln Parish, La., in 1885 and remained a resident of said parish. Mr. DeFreese professed faith in Christ while quite young and joined the Congregational Methodist church. After moving to Louisiana, there wasn't any Congregational church near so he and his wife united with the Cumberland Presbyterian church at Greenwood in September 1890. He remained a member and also a ruling Elder of the church until death. He loved his church and nothing afforded him more pleasure than attending church services. Mr. DeFreese's companion departed this life January 1920 and since that time he has filled the place of mother and father. Mr. DeFreese leaves to mourn is going, six children, Joe, Jasper, Arthur, Venden, Bessie and May; seven grandchildren and one brother, B.F. DeFreese. Mr. DeFreese was buried at Viena, Wednesday, Aug. 23. ------ File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/cleburne/newspapers/newspape1279gnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 25.7 Kb