Dickenson County herald. [volume], July 20, 1939, Image 1

About Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1939-195?

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
Volume 3
Clintwood, Va., Thursday, July 20, 1939
No. 9
Southwest
Virginia
Incarcerated
By E. R. Beverly
Carrol B. Minor, Federal Proba
tion Officer for the Eastern Dis
trict of Virginia, who is doing a
good job teaching us the elements
of probation and parole, came to
class the other day laughing. His
little daughter asked him that
morning if we had yet learned our
ABC’s.
Ivol Fleming, Clintwood boy,
plays right field on the baseball
team of the Virginia Industrial
School team at Beaumont. Old
lvol is learning to speak the East
Virginia brogue. It would do your
heart good to hear this lad slur
his R’s. A boy works himself out
of that institution by earning a
certain number of merits. Ivol
earns one each day.
Beaumont is different from what'
I ever thought a “reform school”
was like. No bars, no locks, no
guards. Each boy is set working
his way out. It is his responsibil
ity, and if he lives up to it, he
can go back into his community
ready for community life. That
community should receive him as
one who has solved a hard prob
lem for himself and deserving of j
honor for it. Was it John Wes
ley, who seeing a group of prison- t
ers, said, “There but for the grace j
of God, goes John Wesley!”?
John Rasnick tells of having an
interview with a boyhood friend,
whose address is now 500 Spring
Street, Richmond, Va. The man
came in, looking keen and happy.
He spilled out his feelings in this
way.
“I know that none of my rela
tives care anything for me. They
have stopped paying any attention
to me. So I have no feelings to
hurt when I think of my kind-1
folks. From the earliest time I
can remember I have been inter
ested in machinery. I never had
any chance to work with it back
home. I was lucky enough to be
placed in the machine shop here.
1 can tinker with machinery all I
please. If anything gets out of i
joint here, they call on me to fix
it. I am happier than I ever was
in my life because I can do what
I always wanted to do.”
And yet, my friends, these
places are institutions ,and I do
not advise you to try them!
Vernon Maxwell, husband of
the former Betty McCoy, is cash
ier of the Richmond School of So- 1
cial Service. Vernon is a Pound j
boy and a protege of Fred Greear. j
The Little Red Schoolhouse
built by Herbert Hoover in the
See page 2 I
YOUNG REPUBLICANS
MEET AT NORA
On last Friday evening the
Young Republicans of Dickenson
County met in the Ervinton High
School auditorium at Nora with
approximately three hundred and
$eventj(-five in attendance from j
every section of the county.
Senator Roland E. Chase was
the chief speaker of the evening.
Other speakers on the program
included Tivis D. Owens of Haysi
and Noah Tiller of Fremont.
Harry, Jake Priode and Billy
French furnished music for the
occasion. ,
Officers elected for the coming
year were: Haskell Arrington,
president; Earl Speer, secretary
and E. J. Rose, treasurer.
Locals Win Over
Damascus 1 to 0
In the best baseball game on
the local diamond this season
Clintwood scored a 1 to 0 victory
over the strong Burley League
Damascus nine on Sunday after
noon. Smith, on the mound for i
Clintwood, and the Damascus hurl-1
er, Pilson, each allowed but four
safeties. Smith led in strikeouts
with a total of 9, while Wilson
allowed not a man to reach first by
the free route. The four hits al
lowed by Wilson were garnered j
by Poole, Tot Sutherland, Jack'
Sutherland and John Graves.
The first inning opened '.with the
first two Damascus players flying
out to the infield and Smith get
ting the third man on strikes.
Clintwood’s half of the first was
identical, with Hughes and Stan
ley flying out and the third batter,
retiring o n strikes. Damascus
staged its strongest scoring threat;
in the second frame. First man up
fiied out to deep cents with the I
next batter popping up to short. |
but two errors and a walk filled j
the bases. Smith bore down and
retired the side on a strikeout. I
Clintwood scored the only tally
of the game in the second inning.
Poole led off with a single. With
a sacrifices bunt Poole advanced
to second and took third on a
wild throw. Tot Sutherland hit
safely scoring Poole but was out
at second when he tried to stretch
it into a double. A hit to the
pitcher and a strikeout ended the
inning. From the second frame
until the sixth neither side threat
ened seriously. Wilson was com
pelled to throw but three balls in
the sixth inning. Stanley, Deel and
Poole all hit the first pitch with
with the first two batters going
out at first and Poole flying to
deep center.
Damascus opened the seventh
with a lusty triple. The man on
third attempted to come home on
an infield hit but was thrown out
Turn to page 5
Old Age Pension
Rolls Increased
Under an amendment accepted
by the United States Senate the
federal government will pay two
thirds of the old age assistance
grants up to maximum of $15.
Above that amount, according to
the amendment, the federal gov
ernment will match state funds
dollar for dollar. The present law
provides for a straight 50-50
matching arrangement.
According to Dr. W. H. Stauf
fer, state commissioner of public
welfare in Virginia, the immediate
effect of this amendment, in his
opinion, would be to add more
persons to the old age pension list
rather than pay more to those
persons already receiving the pen
sion.
The Virginia state department I
of public welfare’s report on June |
expenditures showed that the av
erage grant old age case was J
$9.63, a four cent increase over |
May. There were 13,722 cases re-,
ceiving financial assistance com
pared with 13,036 in May. The
average old age assistance pay
ment for the counties was $8.72 i
per case and in the cities $12.55. |
Total old age assistance payments |
in June were $132,169.07 com-i
pared with $124,951.37 in May. j
STATE LIQUOR BOARD
REPORTS SALES DECREASE;
In July 13 the state liquor;
board reported that sales in 18 of
its 90 stores declined the twelve
months ended May 31. Employees
in these stores will receive lower
salaries, since the salary of these
employees is dependent upon vol
ume of sales. Volume of sales'
at six stores, on the other hand,
increased. Among the stores show
ing increases were Gate City and
Grundy.
Mr. and Mrs. John Orr an
nounce the opening of the Lone
pine Lodge tennis court. Member
ship fee for the season will be
$1.00. Every one invited to join.
Walter and W. O. Deel attended
the Deel Reunion at Murphy on
Sunday.
NEW MODEL CARS MAKE
APPEARANCE ON SUNDAY
Local inventors, Junior Ramey
and John Deloach appeared on the
streets Sunday with their latest
model horseless carriages. About
2 o’clock a. m. Sunday residents
on Main Street were awakened
by the put-put of Ramey’s new
streamlined Maytag scooter.
Throughout the day residents and
visitors admired his latest model.
Late Sunday John Deloach, pio
neer car man of Clintwood, ap
peared with his four wheel de luxe
carriage. He was followed through
the streets of Clintwood by a
group of admiring young citizens.
Barter Players to
Return Aug. 7th
Mr. E. A. Hyde has announced
this week that the Barter Players
will return to Clintwood on Au
gust 7 with the very popular pro
duction, '"Lady Baltimore.” Resi
dents of the county have welcom
ed such news and are already
making plans and telling friends
about the forthcoming production.
Persons who witnessed the first,
appearance of the Barter Players
in “First Lady” are urging their
friends to take advantage of such
high class theatrical productions
as staged by the Barter Group.
DICKENSON COUNTY HIT
BY ELECTRICAL STORM
Following several torrid days
Clintwood was visited last week
by the most spirited electrical dis
play in the history of this area.
According to old citizens, and veri
fied by reports coming in from
all sections of the county no such j
electrical display has ever been
witnessed in this section. Residents
reported that the electrical storm
was so intense that persons could
have easily read printed matter
with very few interruptions or
periods of darkness.
Mrs. T. E. Neel continues to
improve following her recent ill
ness.
I
Pioneer Cabin Being Restored
By Relatives of Builder
The sons of the late “Loggin”
George Mullins, assisted by their
Uncle Albert are restoring the old
log house on the Mullins farm a
few miles below ‘Clintwood where
the beautiful stone structure built
by George Mullins now stands.
The cabin was built by one of
Dickenson’s pioneer citizens, Har
mon Mullins, on year after the
War Between the States and was
located a short distance to the
west of the stone structure. Har
mon, his brother, Isaac, and their
greatgrandfather, Isaac, each
“carried corners.” The fourth per
son assisting in the construction
is unknown.
The cabin has been moved to a'
knoll straight in front of the stone
building near the highway and is
i being restored to the most minute
detail.
J Through the efforts of the Mul
S lins family a bit of pioneer cul-'
j ture as found in Dickenson Coun
ty has been preserved for posteri
ty and the two closely situated
buildings offer an interesting con
trast as ta progress in our county.
Judge Henry
Skeen of Wise
Passes Away
Judge H. A. W. Skeen, 82, one
of the most noted and venerable
jurist ever to grace the bench in
the state of Virginia, died at Johns
Hopkins Hospital-, Baltimore, Md.,
following an aperation after sever
al months of declining health.
Judge Skeen retired from the
bench Jan. 1, 1939 on the anni
versary of his appointment after
47 years of service.
Of Scotch ancestry, Judge Skeen
was born at Castlewood, Virginia
on December 26, 1858. His par
ents were George C. and Lucinda
Skeen. His early education was re
ceived in Powell’s Valley and at
Wise, later attending school in
Kentucky where he taught four
years before returning to Wise to
follow his profession. In 1887 he
was qualified to practice law and
two years later became mayor of
the town of Wise. He made an
enviable record as jurist and was
| seldom reversed in the higher
courts.
The two most noted cases over
which he presided were those of
Talt Hall, a Kentucky bad man
who killed a Norton policeman
and received a death sentence and
the sensational Edith Maxwell
case.
Surviving are his widow, Mrs.
Edlie Pennington Skeen; six
daughters, Mrs. Geo. G. Ritchie of
Richmond; Mrs. Frank Burian and
Mrs. J. E. Joson of Stone, Ky;
Mrs. Geo. Sewell of Middlesboro,
Ky.; a son, L. C. Skeen of Stone,
Ky.; a brother, J. B. Skeen of
Turkey Cove, Lee County, and two
sisters, Mrs. Sarah Gilley and Mrs.
Cosby Tate of East Stone Gap.
The body of Judge Skeen was
brought back to Big Stone Gap on
Tuesday and funeral services were
conducted at the Methodist Church
at 2:30 p. m. on Wednesday at
tended by probably the largest
throng ever .to attend a funeral
in Wise County.
TO SEE WORLD’S FAIR AS
HARMANY TOUR MEMBERS
Mesdames A. A. Skeen, Jess W.
Skeen and James M. Skeen left on
Monday as members of the Har
many Tour from Norton for a
week’s visit to the World’s Fair
and New York City. In addition
to three full day’s attendance at
the fair the trip will include a
tour of the city, a night at the
Paradise Night Club and a visit to
Radio City. Mrs. Virgil Skeen,
who had planned to take the trip
was unable to do so on account of
illness.
Mrs. Walter Sutherland and
granddaughter Dolly have return
ed from a trip to the Clinic for
crippled children which was held
in Richmond.
J. W. Rose of Honey Camp was
in town last Saturday.