USA > Georgia > Floyd County > Rome > A history of Rome and Floyd County, State of Georgia, United States of America; including numerous incidents of more than local interest, 1540-1922, Volume I > Part 64
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HOTTEST DAY IN 7 YEARS- Romans had a perfect right to swelter today.
At 2:30 this afternoon it was the hottest in seven years, the thermome- ter registering 108 degres.
Records kept by Miss Mary Towers and by her father prior to his death showed that the previous high record was in 1913, at 109 degrees. No higher temperature has ever been recorded here .- Aug. 1, 1921.
A STAR THE LOVERS SAW-How many people saw that wonderful shoot- ing star Monday night about 10:10 o'clock? (Of course all the lovers did !) It seemed to leave its place over Lav- ender Mountain and proceed in a curve toward John's Mountain, in a generally northern direction. For ten or fifteen seconds it could be seen, shooting like a fireball. Wonder it didn't hit some other star, and cause a shower of sparks to descend. Maybe it didn't because space is so infinite. The dis- tance between stars must be as great as from the earth to the moon, which the astronomers say is 93.000,000 miles. if your correspondent remembers cor- rectly .- Sept. 20, 1921.
PASTOR SINGS OF ROME-The Rev. J. L. Ballard, of Atlanta, a visitor to Rome Thursday, January 13, throws some nice bouquets at the Hill City in the current issue of the Wesleyan Christian Advocate, as follows:
"The work of the week was closed Thursday at Rome. Were you ever in Rome? If you never were, the first time you have the opportunity, go. It is one of the most picturesque places the writer ever saw. Wide streets, all paved, splendid stores mostly of brick or stone. Fine office buildings and handsome residences. But my, what a beautiful church! It was built in 1884 by the wonderful man, Dr. J. W. Lee, who was the greatest church builder among us. Bro. Irvine, the presiding elder, and Dr. Dempsey, pastor of the
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First Church, Rome, are both first-year men, but have gotten hold of things, and the work moves on with great promise.
"The week's work was closed at beau- tiful, picturesque Rome. A hurried walk to the train, a ride to Kingston in sight of the beautiful Etowah River, then through the mountains trimmed with sleet and snow, and we came to Atlanta."-Jan. 24, 1921.
TO SWAT TEA HOUNDS-A brand new social club has been formed at Rome for the purpose of pursuing pleasure to her seductive lair and mak- ing war on all "tea hounds, lounge liz- ards, chewing gum buddies and cake eaters," as the charter preamble fiercely states. The members are petitioning in- formally for the right to operate and be operated upon in the courts of Epi- curus, God of Pleasure, father of Epi- curean June; Cupid, God of Love and Trouble, and Thor, God of Thunder and White Lightning. They are Ed Cald- well, W. E. Weathers, Fred Hull, Will A. Patton, Roy Echols, Fred Malone, Edwin Reese, Donald Cantrell, W. B. Watts, Denny King, Tom Rawls, Alfred King and Harris Best-thirteen leather-
MRS. GEO. R. WARD, who prior to her mar- riage was Miss Margaret Ketcham, quite a belle in her day.
necked gentlemen who rise above the superstition of unlucky numbers.
The constitution swears, in addition to other things, that "the object of the corporation is not pecuniary gain for itself and members, but rather for a generous distribution of any pecuniary gains the members might latch onto from any possible source," and this ob- ject has caused their friends to hint that a deep-dyed plot is being hatch- ed to resurrect the "Boys of Poverty Hall." The name for the present will be the "Moonlight Golf Association," and the members intend to let theirs shine. Branch clubs, not clubs on branches, are to be formed if desired.
The chief meeting place is not stated, but a rumor has it that the first initia- tion will be held at the place "where the jay -- bird jarred the mountain," near Black's Bluff. If sky water does not prevent, that meeting will prob- ably be held tonight, and the first monthly dinner will occur within a week at the Forrest. There will be no officers for the present, unless Charlie Harris should butt in. Each of the Si- lent Thirteen will govern himself in accordance with the emergency and the best interest of (the) society .- 1-25-'21.
GEO. R. WARD, a leading business man of Rome, and the father of Geo. B. Ward, of Birmingham.
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A HISTORY OF ROME AND FLOYD COUNTY
NOODLE SONG SKETCH-Major Tom Noodle's entertainment for the teachers last night at the court house was a success from every standpoint. The Major presided with a dignity and grace befitting the occasion, the Berry School quartette sang cleverly, as did Fred Hull in a solo, and the character sketch, "Old Black Joe," was well pre- sented. Miss Ruth Colegate's reading was greatly appreciated.
The hit of the evening was a sketch entitled "Deal Fair," a sermon by a Methodist preacher, Byron Watters, of Pinson, assisted by his audacious dea- con, Frank Gaines. Major Noodle, Miss Carrie Mull, Robt. Cowan and L. O. Phelps put on another clever sketch en- titled "Charlie Over the Forest." Lem- onade was not served, said the Major, because no lemons could be found in the crowd .- Jan. 7, 1921.
A CHEERFUL CHRISTIAN .- Sam P. Jones, in Rome: "Christians should not be long-faced, but bright and happy. God never made a man who loved fun better than I do, and I'll say right here, Judge Bleckley told a mighty big truth when he said: 'The next best thing to religion is fun.'"
FISHING IN WINTER-This is a fish story, folks! The tale is on the fish.
Jim White, Robert Middleton and Al- bert Lehman took Mrs. White and sev- eral other young ladies down to Hunt's Pond, about seven miles from Rome, on the Cave Spring road, Saturday, Jan. 22, on a fishing trip.
The weather was so warm that the party spread their lunch on the grassy banks of the pond, and the men caught several small fish.
Prof. Albert Lee Snyder, the Griffin weather prophet, was once heard to re- mark that the people who go picnick- ing in winter time will live to wear overcoats in July, so we shall see .- Jan. 24, 1921.
SPRING MUST BE HERE-Some fisherman has stretched a trout line across the Oostanaula River just above the Fifth Avenue Bridge. Fishing this year is going to be good, especially be- low the lock and dam on the Coosa, say the wise ones .- Mar. 20, 1920.
MORE CUSTOMERS SATURDAY .- There were more customers in the Gammon store Saturday than for many
days preceding, said Mel Gammon, who felt that business conditions are show- ing improvement .- Mar. 20, 1921.
BACK WITH FISH STORIES-W. C. ("Hawkshaw") Smith, assistant chief of the fire department, returned to his duties this morning at headquar- ters at the City Hall after a stay of ten days at a camp at Little River Falls, Lookout Mountain, DeKalb County, Ala. Mr. Smith was as brown as a nut after his vacation. He re- ported having caught a lot of bass, bream and trout, as long as his long arm, some of them.
Members of his family accompanied him. City Manager Sam King and Po- lice Sergeant Lamar Talley visited his camp Sunday .- July 20, 1921.
HISSING RATTLER IS KILLED A rattlesnake that rattled and hissed when aroused Monday morning was killed by Deputy Sheriff Lindsey Wright, of Sheriff Wilson's force. Mr. Wright was passing in an automobile when he saw the snake stretched out in the Redmond Gap road, on Laven- der Mountain. He shot once with his pistol and missed. The next shot hit the snake in the body, which caused him to coil and express his anger in his own peculiar way.
The snake's head became as large as a man's fist, and Mr. Wright drew a fine bead and shot through it. Mr. Wright left the snake, but severed his rattles, which were twelve, with a but- ton. These he brought to the court house and showed his friends. The snake was as big as a man's forearm and about four feet long.
Mr. Wright was going to Little Texas Valley on business connected with his duties when he found the snake .- Aug. 30, 1921.
THE MAIN QUALIFICATION .- When Maj. Chas. H. Smith (Bill Arp) was mayor of Rome in 1868, he and the city council received the following communication :
"I herewith make application to your honorable body for the office of night marshal of the city of Rome, and if appointed I promise in order to dis- charge my duties faithfully to try and keep awake at all hours.
"Thanking you in advance, I remain, yours respectfully.
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MISCELLANEOUS-ITEMS FROM THE PRESS
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THE BOAT AND THE DRENCHED BOATMEN LANDING.
BOAT UPSETS-An interesting ex- perience from the standpoint of the spectators and an exciting one from the standpoint of the participants was staged Friday morning about
9:30 o'clock 100 yards above the Fifth Ave- nue Bridge when a batteau containing John Camp Davis, the well-known law- yer and member of the Legislature, and the Rev. Gordon Ezzell, pastor of the North Rome Baptist Church, capsized and threw them into the water, along with two boatmen.
The pastor and the attorney had taken a boat run by Cecil McGill and a man named McLeod on Fifth avenue, Fourth Ward, with the idea of paddling through the immersed "Beaver Slide" section and of landing at Sixth avenue and West First street, near the Audi- torium. They went up Avenue A and then curved southward. After crossing the main body of the Oostanaula well above the bridge they encountered very swift water in a clump of small trees, and the boat hit a limb at the same time that the water hit its port side, upsetting and throwing one of the boat- men out. The others clung to the trees and the boatman grabbed his boat and swung it in, at the same time keeping his paddle, which was also new.
A shout went up from the crowd on the bridge, and two men with boats put out to the rescue. One was George Camp, janitor at the court house, and
the other Mr. McIntire, fisherman well known in the Fourth Ward. Mr. Mc. Intire took Mr. Davis and Mr. Ezzell into his boat and paddled them back across the river and landed them at the Rome end of the bridge, whence they went to Mr. Davis' office in the Masonic Temple to dry.
The other two clung to the trees a while longer and received assistance from Mr. Camp, who helped bail out their boat, in which they finally pad- dled to Sixth avenue and West First street, when they went to dry in the basement of the county jail. The dis- tance from the trees to this point of landing was about 400 feet, and from the trees to the point where the other two landed about 600. The first pair clung to the trees about 15 minutes and the other two about 10 minutes longer.
The boatmen were due to have re- ceived some pecuniary consideration for the trip, but this was forgotten in the excitement. The friends of all con- gratulated them on such a thrilling ex- perience, and in a group on the bridge composed of Almer R. Davis, Jack Mc- Cartney, the Rev. H. F. Saumenig, and W. C. Rash, it was remarked that since Mr. Ezzell was a Baptist and Mr. Davis a lawyer, a little water would hurt neither, and that the boatmen were used to it by nature and training.
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A HISTORY OF ROME AND FLOYD COUNTY
Justice E. P. Treadaway yesterday bound over Charles Hand, charged with kicking Linton Jones, 10-year-old boy. near the Rome Hosiery Mills and on a tender part of his anatomy .- Feb. 11, 1921.
5 THROWN INTO LAKE-Members of the Women's Auxiliary of the Floyd County Farm Bureau had a big time at Updegrove Lake, Armuchee, at their big picnic. A feature was the upsetting of a canoe carrying Misses Bertha Evans and Willie Bohannon, Harry Selman, Arthur and Elmore Miller, caused when one of the boys and one of the girls tried to exchange seats and produced an uneven keel effect which let water in. Several jumped to the other side of the boat all at once and she went over.
Most of those aboard could swim. The boys helped the girls and the girls clung to the boat, while Mr. Harrison luckily came along and fished them out. Mr. Harrison advised them that it was well to keep an even keel, but the boys were too busy blowing and the girls wringing out their skirts to hear.
Ethel Salmon, six-year-old daughter of one of the Salmons, of Armuchee,
SEABORN WRIGHT, orator and "prohi." leader, who once ran for Governor and was mentioned for President on dry ticket.
got run over by a buggy, but it did not hurt her to speak of.
After the excitement had subsided, the regular program was carried out, being the picnic and a lot of handshak- ing .- June 10, 1921.
500 PEOPLE "BAPTIZED"-The largest "baptizing by immersion" in the history of Floyd County took place yes- terday afternoon at 3 o'clock at Ar- muchee, 100 yards below the bridge over Armuchee Creek and the Summerville road. Five hundred, more or less, re- ceived the heavenly sacrament, which penetrated to their skins and poured off their bonnets and hats.
The occasion was the scheduled bap- tism of 14 candidates for admission to the Armuchee Baptist Church, and the fact that so many others got drenched was due entirely to a sudden rain.
The Rev. Gordon Ezzell, pastor of the North Broad Baptist Church, also of the Armuchee Church, had arranged to submerge the following: Mrs. Cleve Salmon, Miss Lizzie Graham, Mr. and Mrs. Plant and their mother, Mrs. Ea- gle, Hill Yarbrough, Clifford and Sel- man Johnson and Jim Goodwin. At the water's edge Misses Beatrice and Annie Holder, Clara Graham and Addie May Salmon asked to be included.
Leaders of the church attending the candidates began singing that old hymn, "When We Gather at the River." The clouds, in the meantime, had been gathering, but very cautiously, and only a puny sprinkle gave warning of the buckets that were soon to fall. The pastor stood firm, the candidates for immersion held their ground and the singers chanted on. Only a few on the outer edge of the crowd scampered away to the bridge. The storm broke. Most of the crowd remained under the trees. A few ran to the gin house. A couple with a baby, six months old, across the creek from the most of the folks, crept into a dry goods box that some boys had set in the bank as a "cave" or "dugout," and they didn't come out until the rain had stopped, nearly an hour later.
Gradually those under the trees broke away to gin or bridge, until both places of refuge were well filled. The gin house was so full that the overflow ran to the bridge. The faces of some of the girls lost their luster, and many silk stockings and white shoes were dyed with the red old mud of Georgia. Hats were a sight. Nearly a hundred auto- mobiles and conveyances stood in two or three inches of water near the gin.
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WHERE THE CROWD SOUGHT SHELTER.
The old Armuchee covered bridge (right), below which the baptizing took place. The old Buena Vista hotel, which stood at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Sixth Avenue, is shown at the left. The small frame building was Daniel R. Mitchell's law office.
Dr. Ezzell and the churchmen held their ground and were soaked thor- oughly.
Half the crowd hopped into convey- ances and went elsewhere. The other half trooped back to the creek with the candidates due to be immersed. They were all set again when a flash of lightning lit up the sky and struck a tree near the bridge, and the thunder roared like the wrath of Old Scratch. Nearly half of those remaining went back to the gin house, and it was an- nounced that the ceremonies would be performed next Sunday at 2:30, provid- ed it didn't rain.
The Rev. A. V. Carnes a little later immersed several new members in Hackney's pond, Summerville road, near Big Dry Creek. Members of this party arriving at Armuchee asked: "Did you have any rain here?"
And the answer came back: "We didn't have anything else."-Sept. 12, 1921.
COW IN "TANGLEFOOT TRAP"- Mrs. J. D. Clark called up the police yes- terday and told them a cow had bogged up in a hole filled with tar at the end of the North Rome car line. When the of- ficer arrived, the cow and the tar were gone .- Sept. 2, 1921.
Policeman Poole was painfully hurt yesterday afternoon when the fire chief's automobile hit him. Mr. Poole was in a Ford car ahead of the chief's car, which was answering a call to the Rome Oil Mill, and fearing a collision from behind, Mr. Poole jumped out of
the Ford. In order to avoid hitting the Ford, the chief turned aside and hit the policeman .- Feb. 18, 1921.
INJURED IN FALL-Mrs. Fanny Nance, of South Rome, is being treated for a broken or badly sprained right arm as the result of an accident Friday night in the yard of her home after a visit to neighbors across the street.
About six years ago Mrs. Nance fell and broke her left wrist, and four years ago an automobile ran over her and broke her right shoulder and dislocated her left hip. Friends and relatives have made many inquiries about her .- Dec. 19, 1920.
GARAGE HIT BY LANDSLIDE-A landslide not quite political came Wil- son M. Hardy's way last night at 1 o'clock which caused him to bounce out of bed in a hurry. Bank and rock wall on the old Nicholas J. Bayard lot, just above him at the northeast corner of Third avenue and East Fourth street, loosened by the heavy rains, came slid- ing down into his cement garageway, part of it falling against and crushing an edge of his garage and blocking the removal of his car until "Dr." Will Mitchell arrived with a gang of men and saved the situation.
Several tons of dirt from the steep bank came down with a five-foot re- taining wall and made a pile about a foot high for a distance of 25 feet, the entire length of the garageway.
The highest point of the bank is sev- eral feet higher than the top of Mr. Hardy's bungalow, but it was thought
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A HISTORY OF ROME AND FLOYD COUNTY
the retaining wall would hold it. Mr. Hardy owns part of the high bank. which contains the home of B. F. Quigg, superintendent of city schools, which was built many years ago by the late Nicholas J. Bayard, a descendant of the gentleman of the same name who was once United States Ambassador to France.
Mr. Hardy refused to confirm a ru- mor that he bought the bank from J. Paul Cooper.
A small house on Reservoir street fell over on its side yesterday morning when rain and a sluice caused the foun- dations to crumble .- Feb. 9, 1921.
LUXURY UP THE RIVER-Rex Culpepper, Beecher Funderburk, Her- man Shiftett and others are camping out at Whitmore's Island for a few days, having gone up the Oostanaula Sunday. They pushed their houseboat up with Mr. Culpepper's motor boat, and went through the rapids around the island without a bobble .- Aug. 15, 1921.
MAN HANGING ON TREE-Wild excitement was created at a down- town cafe late last night when a party
DR. GEO. MAGRUDER BATTEY, whose marriage to Miss Emily Verdery caused
him and his younger brother, Robert, to move to Rome.
of northern tourists or eastern tourists who had driven into Rome on their way back home told of seeing a man hanging to a tree about five miles out on the Summerville Pike. They told the cafe proprietor they had often heard of lynchings in Georgia, but said they had never before been brought face to face with any.
Their story attraeted considerable at- tention and two members of the local police force accompanied them in their automobile to the place and found-a scarecrow hanging to a tree. The tour- ists had never seen a scarecrow, for they were not used, they said, where they lived .- Tribune-Herald, Sept. 7. 1921.
TYPEWRITER BUSINESS GOOD -A story of how two men who are said to have had safe-eracking reputa- tions, took in a lot of gullible Romans on a typewriter repairing scheme has just came to light with the disappear- ance of the men and the clamor of a host of sadder but wiser ereditors.
Incidentally, according to a detec- tive who came here on the trail of the three, local officers of the law nar- rowly missed claiming a $7,000 reward offered for their arrest following a bank robbery and other depredations.
The two are gone from here. Their equipment and supplies are gone or tied up, and creditors are wondering how the assets will be untangled so as to satisfy all. The detective said he hoped to bag the fugitives by last Sun- day night, but whether he has succeed- ed is not known here .- Aug. 7, 1921.
NEW DEPUTY AT LINDALE- Harry P. Meikleham, agent of the Mas- sachusetts Mills at Lindale, Friday ap- pealed to Ordinary Harry Johnson to swear him in as a special deputy sheriff. Mr. Meikleham received an appoint- ment to serve in the mill section, but has not yet taken the oath.
There was some question as to wheth- er he should be put under bond, and if so, by whom, so the matter was deferred. -Jan. 14, 1921.
BACK TO THE FARM-You can't keep 'em down on the farm unless you give them some of the privileges of the town. That was the substance of the opinion voiced by Leland Green, prin- cipal of the Berry School for Boys, in an address to the Kiwanis Club today. C. Bernard Keim's male quartette from
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MISCELLANEOUS-ITEMS FROM THE PRESS
Berry School also enlivened the pro- gram with folk songs.
Doc Routledge, recently wedded, was the smiling recipient of a "kitchen shower" by the members, which left him with a great heap of utensils from can openers to baking dishes before him .- Sept. 27, 1921.
AN IDLE LAD'S PRANKS-The po- lice have been asked by James M. Harris, local manager of the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Com- pany, to look out for a youth who on Friday at 12:20 p. m. shot four times into the company's 25-phone lead cable on the Lindale road and put a number of suburban and Lindale phones out of commission. The mischief was done be- tween the Chas. Porter place and Mrs. Jno. C. Miller's, and a number of people heard the shots .- Nov. 28, 1920.
CHRISTMAS BEER DESTROYED -Christmas liquor trade of the La- Fayette district of Walker County was broken up to a considerable extent last week by Revenue Agents Williams and Wardlaw, who reported to headquar- ters in the Federal building here that they destroyed three or four stills with 7,000 to 10,000 gallons of beer, but without catching anybody .- Dec. 24, 1920.
SUIT IN CHICKEN CASE-Hear- ing on the injunction suit filed by J. L. Botts, of Chulio District, in Floyd Su- perior Court, to make Bud and Madge Hicks keep up their chickens, will be held Saturday at 10 o'clock before Judge Moses Wright. A temporary in- junction was granted.
Botts alleges the chickens are eat- ing his crops and the owners have per- sistently refused to restrain them .- Feb. 17, 1921.
PREACHER AFTER "MOON- SHINE"-Moonshiners and bootleggers in this neck of the woods have another obstacle to deal with.
Bob Stewart, preacher, who made it so hot for the moonshiners in another section of North Georgia that he al- most disrupted his church, many mem- bers of which were said to be secretly allied with the outlaws, and was re- moved to another charge by the Metho- dist conference, is now on the trail of the malefactors in Floyd County.
While pastor of churches in the more mountainous section of North Georgia, Bob Stewart is said to have led Federal officers on raids that resulted in 47 ar-
rests of moonshiners. He also reported many other dew boys who "beat it." On one occasion he is said to have quit in the middle of a sermon to lead a party of revenue men who arrived at his summons.
Mr. Stewart is now in charge of the churches on the Armuchee circuit, hav- ing been assigned to that charge about a year ago. He has been going quietly about his duties and winning the confi- dence of the better element of the citi- zenship with whom he comes in contact. This he now has to the fullest extent, it is said, and the good citizens of the Armuchee section of Floyd County are said to be for him to a man. Now he is ready to begin his warfare on the il- licit liquor makers and distributors .- Sept. 16, 1921.
AIRPLANE TRIP-Mr. and Mrs. Pennington Nixon flew over Biscayne Bay, near Miami, the other day in an aeroplane, according to a telegram re- ceived by Mr. Nixon's. twin brother, George Nixon. They had just returnd to Florida after a trip to Cuba.
Mr. and Mrs. Nixon are due back in Rome tomorrow. Mrs. Nixon was for- merly Miss Marion Dean .- Jan. 7, 1921.
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CAPT. RICHMOND PEARSON HOBSON, U. S. N., on a prohibition lecture tour in 1904. With him is Miss Alida Printup.
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A HISTORY OF ROME AND FLOYD COUNTY
"OBSEQUIES" AT THE COURTHOUSE OVER A KEG OF "LICKER."
POURS OUT LIQUOR-City Man- ager Sam King had the rare pleasure last night of pouring out a gallon of licker at the police station which had been captured at the home of Bill Bal- lard, colored, on East Third street, near the railroad, by Revenue Raider Grover C. Williams and Policemen Jess and Mell Johnson. Bill was landed in a cell. 1 -
Mr. King poured it into a sink which became stopped up as the white light- ning tried to escape through the drain. He could only sigh. "Them was the happy days."-Jan. 19, 1921.
INTO WATER WAGON-Harv. Wood, a hefty negro ditch digger em- ployed by the city, was arrested yester- day at noon on West Fifth avenue by Officer Tolbert, charged with plain drunkenness. He worked hard for sev- eral hours, but got too close to some licker and fell off the water wagon, hav- ing been on it about a week.
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