The Rockdale Reporter and Messenger (Rockdale, Tex.), Vol. 76, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 23, 1948 Page: 1 of 24
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Rockdale Reporter and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Lucy Hill Patterson Memorial Library.
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SUBSTITUTE FOR
newspaper
ADVERTISING
THE ROCKDALE REPORTER
Aockdal* Messenger Established 1173
AND MESSENGER
Rockdale Reporter Established 1196
Today 24 Pages
tn two scenom
ROCKDALE. MILAM COUNTY. TEXAS THURSDAY. DECEMBER 23. 1948
NO. 48
lAMBLING
•bound
Ihockdale
—With
W. H. C.
-n again Christmastime.!
Ail the staff here at The Re-
join me in sending the
Best Greetings to Repor- j
rt'aders everywhere!
n Not Keepers.
know at least one boy who
.hould feel lucky at this Christ-,
Cecil Criswell, genial
holts businessman, told me
J~v about a couple of boys'
h there finding a bill fold with j
sum of money and papers in it]
the road between Buckholts ^
Ad Hall. They brought it to
Cards gave the name of
owner as Ray Conway Cone
Rockdale. The billfold was de-
wed to its owner intact through
B Ryan at the Rockdale State
^nk.
fhich almost equals the lost
•old story this newspaper rc-
about a year or so ago which
them all for years to come,
billfold was lost, or stolen, at a
King station ir Rockdale, found
i a 5eat at the Majestic theater
San Antonio, and finally re-
vered by the owner in Okla-
all through the efforts of
ncle Sam’s postal department,
d especially Clyde Franklin, lo-
PM.
sinded.
N Scarbrough, editor of the
Taylor Times, evidently was
ing back to his old days of
reporting when he wrote
weather headlines in last
ursday s Times. The 8-column
banner proclaimed: ‘‘DROUTH
ALL ED ON ACCOUNT OF
IN"
BROTHERS IN NAVY—Jack Crane, left, came in from boot train-
ing at San Diego Tuesday night to spend the Christmas holidays
with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. G. Crane. He joined the Navy
Nov. 9. He will return to duty Dec. 28. His brother, James B. Crane,
right, who served three years in the Navy during World War IT re-
enhsted and took his old rating of Metal smith third class, leaving
Rockdale Dec. 7. James left the West Coast Dec. 20 and is now in
the South Pacific.
lotted.
4ND a Christmas present for
^Rockdale in the form of a letter
ing a bouquet at the town. It’s
Randolph Raine, former
idalian, now living in Uvalde:
Dear Friend Cooke: I want to
?liment you on the good paper
you put out. I really enjoy read-
ing it. I had occasion to be in
ckdale last week and
zed what a nice clean
fit you have and the growth it
made in the past ten years,
ckdale is my home town and I
'joy shaking hands with my old
friends. I’m proud of Rockdale,
feep up youi good work. J. R.
ine, 735 N. Getty, Uvalde, Tex-
as”
Cars Collide on
Downtown Street
Friday, Sunday
Two cars were badly torn up
City is Making
Survey on Sewer
And Water Deal
Preliminary surveys looking to
Claude Robinson
Is Fined $500
In Assault Case
Indicted on a charge of assault
with attempt to murder, Claude
Robinson, of Cameron, was found j
guilty by a jury in district court
Tuesday and fined $500 and costs, j
The charge grew out of an as-!
sault on C. II. Landis, 71, former
Rockdale night officer, on the!
streets of Rockdale last September j
14. L.andis, severely beaten, was;
in a Marlin hospital and later a
Dallas hospital, but eventually re-
covered.
Robinson was represented by
Bill W’allace, Cameron attorney.
J. A. Says Merry Christmas in
★ ★ ★
PHILOSOPHER
★ ★ ★
A Round About Sort of Way
but no-one seriously injured in a starting work on the improvements
collision Friday afternoon at the to the city's water and sewer sys-
corner of Cameron and Green terns have been under way in
streets in the Rockdale business Rockdale the past week,
district. | Officials said Tuesday that in
C. O. Young, of Taylor, was driv- all probabilities the city will be
ing west on Cameron street and ready to ask for bids in the early
B. L. Williams, negro preacher of part of 1949.
Temple, was driving south on j A surveyor has been at work
Green street. Both drivers suf- from the firm of Julius Mongom-
fered minor cuts and bruises and cry Company, engineers, of Austin,
both cars were wrecked as they making the surveys for the water
spun artrnnd on the wet pavement, and sewer lines.
A pick-up truck, belonging to Rockdale voted approval of
the Gaither Motor Company and $120,000 In bonds for improve-
parked in the street on the corner ments and extensions to the two
in front of the used car lot, was systems in an election last Oct. 26.
struck by one of the cars and re- -——— - ■. ..
ceived a bent fender.
Another wreck in the business
district occurred here Sunday
was when cars driven by C. E. Moses
little of Rockdale and F. A. Heintze of
Taylor collided at the corner of
Cameron and Ackerman streets.
Results of County
Committeemen Polls
Are Announced
Disastrous Fire Is
Narrowly Averted at
Isaacs Home Monday
i A disastrous fire was narrowly
averted at the C. R. Isaacs home
Monday morning and damage con-
J. A.
fined to one room.
Bed clothing on a chair fell into
a gas heater starting the blaze.
The floor in the room was badly
__ charred, the clothing burned, chair
Merry Christmas' I Alva E Sanders, Administrative damaged, besides other damage.
’ . »....... ' Officer, Milam County ACA, ad- C. R. Isaacs Jr., who had left
P_ . i» i , D i vises that a total of 1591 votes were the home for a short period, re-
turm TO Market rtoaa cas^ by Eligible Farmers in the turned and discovered the blaze.
To Be Resurfaced i recent Community Committeeman The fire department chemicals
lAi'Cru | ancj Delegate to the County Con- made quick work of the blaze.
ftrmtom iet road 112 in Wil- ventlon Election, !.< ’• l v..... ..-.
kmson, Milam and Lee counties County in the respective Commu- ^rs> T. S. Morkley
J'"1 Bet a resurfacing job, the nities on December 9. r*. • TN^n^e.
State Highway Department has an-j Community Committeemen el- v!0S 111 UOliaS rill©!
Faced. ;ected to serve during the 1949 tt a Attack MondaV
The road, from near Jim Abot program year from each commu- He an /\IiaCK lunuuy
:|o Loop 123 at Lexington, a dis-, nity are as follows: Mrs. T. S. Markley, sister-in-
JjMe of approximately 18.5 miles, | Rockdale: Fritz Doss, R°(- ( a e< )aw 0f Mrs. J. O. Newton of Rock-
pi on the list approved for resur-1 Texas; Herbert Menn, HOCKaae, Monday in Dallas fol-
fwmg. The engineer has been i Texas; Seth S. Sheppard, Rockda t,, jowinf? a heart attack suffered
to proceed in the most Texas. 0 j while she was enroute to business
Kasible and economical manner! Clarkson: Joh^H. Allen, ■ » that morning.
H_an estimated cost of $23,200. See COMMITTEEMEN, Page 12 | „
put
I’m
(Etiriatmaa flkatta iFaitli
By F. T. SAGER
Pastor Peace Lutheran Church
’’And the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go
•»*n unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to
past." Luke 2:15.
Again wa are pririleged to prepare for the celebration
°f th» joyful Christmas Festival, the birth of Christ our
StTior. Our Christian faith has its source and life in this
Child of Bethlehem's Manger. We believe that He came to
***• Wii people from their sins.
This faith makes Christmas meaningful.
The angels appeared to the Shepherds and told them:
Unto you is born this day a Savior, which is Christ the
Lord-" Then, in the words quoted above, we have their
'••ction. There was no doubt left in their minds. They
Mid: "Lot us now go and see this thing which IS *:0.n'*
They had heard the glad tidings of the Christmas
and they believed it with all their hearts. They h
How many people, in this modern w%rld. have such
*,th? they would only turn to this Christmas •*ory* ,
»•• and believe. The peace, the love, the joy
Christmas, can be taken into the human heart alone *
»,th- W. can talk about the Babe in the manger, we can
««g our Christmas carols, we can join in the JW'i;'1”
h but if we have not accepted the Child of ®
^ laith. we have missed the heart and core of Cbrlftr^a*’
.7bo«9h Christ • thousand times in Bethlehem be born.
He s not born in thee, then thou art still forlorn.
Faith is the hand that reaches out across the yja»a sn
"lng» the Savior with His blessings into our „
Again this day there comes to us from Bethlehem s
. the message "Believa in the Lord
4 t»ou shalt be saved."
Lord, increaae our faith this Christmas Day
Jesus Christ
, Funeral services were held in
I Austin, her lormei home, on Wed-
nesday.
i Mrs. Markley had made her
home in Dallas for past four years.
She has made frequent visits in
Rockdale and will be remembered
by many friends.
Milano Boy Scouts
Hold Court of Honor,
Enjoy Picture Show
Milano Boy Scout Troop 89 held
a picture show party, sponsored
by the Council, for all boys that
had advanced in rank. The group
saw “Urubu” and “Colorado Sun-
set."
The Troop plans to offer a pic-
ture show party following every
court of honor.
Scoutmaster J. C. White and
Councilmen T. S. McCullum and
H. H. Pruett provided the trans-
portation.
Thomas C. Gamer,
Now Aboard Cruiser
USS Pasadena
Thomas C. Garner, fireman ap-
prentice, USN, son of Mrs. Oma
Garner of Rockdale, is serving
aboard the light cruiser USS Pasa-
dena, a unit of Task Force 38,
which is undergoing an intensive
training period in the Western Pa-
cific and the China Sea area.
These exercises are being con-
ducted for the purpose of giving
officers and men of the task force
realistic training in all phases of
See GARNER, Page 12
Editor's not*: The Yegua
Philosopher on his Johnson
grass farm on Yegua Creek
has the Christmas spirit, his
letter this week implies. In
a yuletide spirit, we even
wish him a Merry Christmas,
which gets down to th* bot-
tom of our list.
Dear editar:
It bein just about Christmas, al-
though it doesn’t seem like it
ought to be even as far along in
the year as summer as I ain’t got
my cotton hoed out yet, although
you can’t use
my f a r m i n
schedule as a
calendar, any
more than you
can a scientific
poll in place of
a election or
a new spaper
editorial as the
voice of the
people, I
thought I
would just let
the world
problems take care of themselves
this week and let you know I have
enjoyed readin The Reporter dur-
ing 1948, and if I am just as ignor-
ant now as when I started it ain’t
your fault, as I’ve read other news-
papers besides yours. Can’t
the blame on just one paper,
a democrat and like to scatter
things around.
What I mean. Christmas is a
time when a mao ought to settle
back and reflect that things ain’t
so bad after all, that even my
loud-mouthed neighbor has h i s
,'ood points and all Republicans
ain’t all bad, and The Reporter,
compared with any other business
in Rockdpie, ain’t got nothin to
apologize lor.
There have been times durin the
past year when I have cussed your
paper, but if you want to know
somethin I have never failed to
read a single copy and am at my
neighbor’s mail box waitin for it
every time it comes out. Of course
this may be in the same catagory
ns a man’s interest in the weather
report, he always wants to get it
whether he likes it or not, good
or bad, bid I will not go into that
as it’s Christmas time and a spirit
of generosity is in the air, except
in Washington, where Madame
Chiang is finding it otherwise. I
can sympathize with her husband,
General Kai-shek in China. I sent
my wife in once to borrow some
money at the bank for me and
it didn’t work no better here than
it does in China, although Madame
Chiang is considerably ahead of
my wife. The bank didn’t send
no chartered airplane after her.
But I’m gettin off my subject.
All I started out to do was to wish
you a Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas,
J. A.
BABSON'S OUTLOO
Roger W. Babson’s Business and Financial Out-
look for 1949 will appear in The Reporter on Thurs-
day, December 30.
Mr. Babson, a pioneer in the field of business
and financial statistics, enjoys a remarkable record
for accuracy in his annual forecasts, which have been
appearing in this newspaper for the past several
years. kFor 1948 his score was 91 per cent correct.
At the beginning of 1948 Babson was the only
commentator to predict:
1. That there would be no World War III in 1948.
2. That “due to the bungling of the price con-
troversary Mr. Truman has a fair chance of re-elec-
tion.”
3. That the Dow-Jones Industrial Averages
would fluctuate between an upper ceiling of around
185 and a floor of around 165, and that Commodity
Speculation would be curbed.
Watch for Mr. Babson’s Outlook in the issue of
Dec. 30.
| Shoplifter Has
Hard Day Here
Last Saturday
_________________ ________ _____v A. C. Bryan, about 60, who gave
education class at Rockdale high ] His address as Texarkana, was ar-
school will observe traffic and give rested here Saturday afternoon
warning tickets to violators in 1 and jailed on a shoplifting charge,
downtown Rockdale during the He is still in the county jail at
early part of January, it was an- Cameron awaiting trial,
Bryan is charged with theft at
Haley’s Dry Goods Store, Rockdale
Driving Class
To Check on
Local Motorists
Members of the driving safety
Graham Kyle,
furnish good
^students.
FFA Boys Win Second
In Soil Conservation
Contests at Taylor
Rockdale’s FFA boys won second
place at the Taylor Soil Conserva-
tion contests held at the Taylor
high school Dec. 11.
Fourteen schools were repre-
sented, each school entering three
boys as a team. Granger was first
with a score of 2900. Rockdale
second with 2890. Troy won third
with 2785. The possible perfect
score was 3300.
Sidney Maxwell, of Rockdale,
scored second high of all the boys,
winning two sacks ofi cottonseed
meal. All Rockdale boys scored
among the ten high boys.
Members of the Rockdale team,
besides Maxwell, were James Caf
fey and Earl Gerstenberger
nounced today by
instructor.
The program will be sponsored ’ Dry Goods, Duke’s Drug Store, and
jointly by the school and by city Person's Hardware Store. All of
officials, Kyle said. It is designed j the merchandise was recovered
to work two ways: to furnish the ( with the exception of an^electric
class with actual experience in ob-! shaver taken at the Peanjhn store,
serving and watching for viola-. E. G. Crane, local justice, said,
tions being studied in the class- Bryan took two men’s belts at
room; and to serve as a warning Haley’s, a pair of pants from the
program to local motorists, and | Rockdaie Dry Goods, and a ther-
a‘d them in learning to comply jmos bottle at Duke’s, in addition
with safety regulations. I to the shaver. He was trying to
,Ky.le th® twenty members; peddle the merchandise on the
ol his high school class will beistree{s down town to passersby.
stationed throughout town at dif-1 ___
ferent periods during the day, or'«»r.n. —
days. When they observe a mo- j WIlllGXn T. COllG NOW
torist breaking any of the traffic
rules and regulations which they
are studying in class, they will
present him with a courtesy traf-
fic ticket which will politely in-
form him of the traffic violation
he has committed and
program the class is conductin
School and city officials, as well | rjcr USS Tarawa,
as numerous individual citizens in- j Force
Liberty Hill is
Given Library by
Class at Corpus
Things have been happening in
the Liberty Hill community near
Rockdale since George Sessions
Perry’8 story on the Haynes family
as a typical negro family appeared
in the Saturday Evening Post a
few months ago.
Monday the Liberty Hill com-
munity was presented with a com-
plete 1500-book library with the
compliments of the history depart-
ment of the Corpus Christi white
school.
The library has been officially
designated as the Bill Dykes Li-
brary, honoring one of the early
pioneers of the community.
It all began when J. A. Creighton
and R. N. Reeves, history teachers
with the Corpus Christi schools,
read Perry’s magazine article to
the classes. Immediately the stu-
dents and teachers of the history
department decided they wanted
to do something for the Liberty
Hill negroes.
A committee for gathering the
books was appointed at Corpus
Christi. Ernest Woods, whose
father was a pioneer of this section
before the turn of the century,
was named chairman of the com-
mittee, and they advised over 1500
books of all kinds were collected.
Other members of the committee
were Pat Thomason, Elon Brick ly,
and Le Roy Lance.
Here for the presentation Mon-
day were Instructor Creighton and
Chairman Woods, who stated that
plans now call for an annual pres-
entation of books to build to the
library each year.
Perry’s recent Saturday Evening
Post article depicted the Cap
Haynes family as a typical family
in the negro settlement. It was
one of a series of articles on
various families throughout the
United States for the Post. Fol-
lowing publication, the Cap Haynes
family has been showered with
letters and gifts from throughout
the United States and the commu-
nity has benefitted also, although
the Corpus Christi library gift has
been the biggest thing that has
happened to the community as a
whole.
Serving Aboard
Carrier USS Tarawa
William' Thomas Cone, chief j
— electrician’s mate, USN, son of
explain thojR q. Cone of Route 3, Rockdale,
lducting. | js serving aboard the aircraft car-
well | Hot- TTSS Tarawa, a unit of Task
... , . i----- 38, which is now under-
terviewed, gave their endorsement going an intensive training period
of the program which it is believed jn ihr w„do,.n tv,.....: tv,,,
will work to the benefit of safer
driving in Rockdale, as well as
experience for the
Two Cameron
Patrolmen Injured
In Wreck Friday
Jack Higginbotham and Jack
Gaines, Cameron highway priU-ol-
men, are in a Taylor hospital fol-
lowing a wreck four miles east of |
Hound Hock on Highway 79 late
Friday afternoon
The men were enroute from
Austin to Cameron and skidded
on the entrance to the bridge, the
car turning sideways and hitting
the bridge rail.
Higginbotham suffered five bro-
ken ribs, chest injuries, bruises
and lacerations. Gaines was less I
seriously injured with cuts and
bruises.
in the Western Pacific and the
China Sea area.
These exercises are being con-
ducted for the purpose of giving
officers and men of the .task force
realistic training in all phases of
Naval activities. In addition to
the training on ship board, person-
Mrs. Clarence Sledge,
Former Rockdalian,
Dies at Cotulla
Numerous friends here learned
with regret of the passing Monday
of Mrs. Clarence Sledge in Cotulla.
Mrs. Sledge had been seriously
ill for sometime. She with Mr.
Sledge, who was with the Missouri-
Pacific here for several years,
made many friends during her stay
in the city.
Funeral services were held at
Luling on Tuesday afternoon.
BACK AT HOME
J. M. Holley has returned to
nel familiarize themselves with the Rockdale after recently receiving
ports and peoples of foreign lands. | his discharge from the army He
Ports of call between training ' served three years, 27 months of
maneuvers, include Honolulu,! which were spent ih France, Ger-
Tsingtao, China, Yokosuka, Japan, I many and Austria. He will enter
and Guam. Texas University in February.
Large Crowd Attends
P.-T. A. Meeting
Thursday Night
The Rockdale Parent-Teacher
Association held its regular meet-
ing Thursday night when one of
the largest crowds ever assembled
at a meeting, was in attendance.
The Gymnasium was beautifully!
decorated for the occasion, with j
lighted Christmas trees, moss and
holly being placed at vantage1,
points across the stage and on the
speakers table.
The High School Band, under)
the direction of E. F. Boxell, gave
a splendid forty-five minute con-
cert as a prelude to the meeting, i
Rev. F. T. Sager, pastor of the
Lutheran Church, led in prayer,
after which a short business ses-1
sion was hel<J, with Mrs. Bill Kyle,
president, in charge.
A group of high school students
were in charge of the program,
with George Haley as master of
ceremonies and Betty Joy Doss
as reader. Wiley Gilmore, ac-
companied at the piano by Mrs.
See P.-T. A., Page 12
a i Christmastime
Arrivol of the Christmas
Season reminds ms of our
obligations to the ’fine
people of this commapity.
We appreciate the escel-
lent treatment we hove re-
ceived and take this means
of sending our Greelings
to each of you.^
. THE ROCKDALE REPORTER
Bill
Betty Jo* Irma
Sam Roland
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Cooke, W. H. The Rockdale Reporter and Messenger (Rockdale, Tex.), Vol. 76, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 23, 1948, newspaper, December 23, 1948; Rockdale, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth694321/m1/1/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lucy Hill Patterson Memorial Library.