From Days Gone By May 12, 1911

May 12, 1911. The racing of automobiles has become exceedingly dangerous, especially within the corporate limits of Wrightsville. There is an ordinance prohibiting this. The rate of speed at which several cars were driven to and from Idlywild last week was a menace to the life of pedestrian and children. If it isn't stopped a tradgedy will surely occur. Speaking of racing, Wrightsville was well represented at the automobile races in Dublin wednesday. Several drove their cars over and a large crowd traveled by the Wrightsville & Tennille Railroad. Mrs. E. L. Stephens and children returned home from Warrenton this week and all her children are down with the measles. E. N. Hitchcock is also quite sick with measles, he has been in bed for a week. Mrs. J. T. Tharpe died at her home here this week after a long illness. She is survived by her husband and several children. She was an excellent woman, and a devoted member of the methodist church. Her funeral was held at Piney Mount. The sophomore class of Warthen College entertained the senior class with a picnic at Idlywild. Mr. Curtis Robinson is graduating from the Atlanta Dental College. Mr. George W. Granger and Miss Leitha Holmes were married at Scott last week. The groom is assistant postmaster there and also secretary/treasurer of the town council. The bride is the daughter of Mrs. M. L. Holmes. Dr. Gordon Brantley and his new bride arrived this week from their wedding at Lake City, Florida. John R. Grice has completed the excavations for adding a cold storage cellar in the basement of the Grice Inn. Two large bedrooms will also be added on the back. E. A. W. Johnson and family will move to the home of Mrs. Mollie Johnson until their new home is completed. B. B. Tanner and T. V. Kent petitioned for a charter under the name of Tanner & Kent Furniture Company. The Martin boys are on the "ice wagon" again, and are out every day now, crying "ice" in their usual cheery way. A defective flue in the boiler at the power house shut off the electric lights this week but repairs were made at once and the lights are on again. The flue of E. J. Tompkins' kitchen caught fire but as the blaze was slight, it was extinguished soon. On the subject of fires a concerned citizen, probably from the fire department made the following thoughts of pistols as fire alarms: " It would be exceedingly bad to have a disasterous fire in the city of Wrightsville, but worse to have the fire and at the same time, have some innocent person accidentally shot to death by some one shooting their pistol as a fire-alarm. It is dangerous, it is a violation of the ordinance of the town, and it shows what a large percent of the citizens of Wrightsville are carrying pistols in violation of the laws of the state. Do these pistol shooters care nothing for what other people think of us as a town? Is it true, what Booker Washington said, "that the negro was making more rapid strides toward higher civilization, than the whites?" Are the white boys of Wrightsville going to be the first to verify the truthfulness of that assertion? I hope not, We have more civilized methods of making fire-alarms than the use ofso dangerous method as the pistol. Besides, if you are going to carry a pistol young man, do like a white man; go register, pay the fee and carry it openly. You have complied with the law. You would have no one to fear."