From Days Gone By Dec. 23, 1915

December 23, 1915.

   Mr. L. N. Batchelor, one of the old men of Washington County, died at his home seven miles south of Tennille on November 1st. He was stricken with paralysis two weeks and his condition became critical. He was originally from Putnam County where he enlisted in the 59th Ga. Regiment in the War Between the States serving until 1865. After the war he moved to Johnson County and later to Washington County.

    The custom of burning candles on the Christmas tree comes from two sources. The Romans burned candles at the Feast of Saturn as a sign of good cheer, while the Jews burned candles during the Feast of the Dedication, which happened to fall about the same time as that of Saturn in the Roman calendar. It is quite possible that for this reason there would have been many candles burning all over Palestine about the time of the birth of Christ, and from this comes the term Feast of Light, which is the name used in the Greek church for Christmas day.

    Having pleaded guilty to the charge of forgery in two cases, T. B. Martin, a white man, was given the minimum sentence of two years in each case yesterday morning by Judge Matthews in the Superior Court. Martin in his plea to the judge, stated that whiskey had been responsible for his down fall, causing him to pose a good position and to drift further away from his northern home until he reached Macon, where becoming desperate, he forged two checks.

    It was charged that he visited two local furnature stores and purchased from each a portmanteau, giving a check far in advance of the price, and receiving change thereof. Martin left town immediately after forging the checks and was caught in Savannah. Since that time he has been in the county jail where he founded a paper the "War-Whoop", which chronicled the happenings in the jail. The paper showed that the writer was a man of no mean ability in writing and in illustrating as he added a touch to his stories by illustrating them.

    The manager of a factory recently engaged a new man and gave instructions to the foreman in instruct him in his duties. A few day afterwards the manager inquired whether the new man was progressing with his work. The foreman, who had not agreed very well with the man in question exclaimed angrily, "Progressing! There's been a lot of progress. I have taught him everything I know and he is still an ignorant fool."

    At the risk of pun it may be said that the quail does not make the boll weevil, because the weevil is not on this fine bird's bill of fare.

    Mrs. Lillie Hutcheson, aged 22, wife of P. C. Hutcheson died at Adrian after a short illness. Besides her husband she is survived by her parents, Mr. & Mrs. Y. L. Hall; six brothers, L. L. Hall, Dr. E. J. Hall, A. J. Hall, Albert Comer and Y. L. Jr. One sister, Florrie Hall. Internment was in Adrian cemetery.