From Days Gone By August 8, 1925

 August 8,1925.

    At the asking of County Agent M. E. Crow, the tobacco men from North Carolina and Virginia are here. They are Mr. T. B. Cheney and Mr. E. H. Hodnett of Ringgold, N. C. and Mr. Matthew Keese of Keeling, Va. They are experts on tobacco growing and are eager to share their expertise.

    They will get a list of farmers interested in growing tobacco in 1926 and it is predicted that this county will be dotted with the weed next year. The price is good, the quality fine and neighboring counties are getting in thousands of cash dollars already for it's culture. 

    To the east and to the west they are growing it successfully, to say nothing of towards the south and everyone believes that Johnson will come among the first counties of the belt in it's production once the crop gets started here.

    Mr. J. H. Rowland and farmer, William Dudley, brought in the first 1925 cotton bale, the earliest on record. The bale was ginned by W. H. Lovett & Son and was a light bale, weighing 597 pounds. The Dixie Cotton Co. by E. E. Sanders bought the bale.

    Sheriff Lovett J. Claxton and his deputies made several arrests Sunday of disorderly person's around the county, mostly in the western part. The disturbances arose among the colored people. It has become a frequent thing of troubles arising at negro churches and the ring leaders are being gone after hot and heavy by the more orderly element of their color. Everytime they have a big meeting there seems to be more or less of it brewing and the church leaders say they want to break it up.

    Ralph Anderson of Kite has returned from camp at Fort Bragg. Mr. S. M. Johnson is back with the baseball team at Lakeland, Fla. after suffering a broken ankle.

    Mr. Raymond H. Rowland has moved his sawmill into the city lot where his planing mill burned. Mr. & Mrs. John E. Hall of Hall Brothers and Mr. R. E. Hayes of Hayes Cash Store have gone to New York to buy merchandise.

    Mr. W. H. Lovett partnered with his son, Master Billy in the ginnery here and at Harrison. It was formerly E. A. & W. H. Lovett. The firm is now W. H. Lovett & Son. Billy is barely 5 years old and is now the youngest businessman probably in the state. He takes the place of his late grandfather, Alf Lovett.

    The payroll of the Wrightville & Tennille railroad company in the year 1924 amounted to $170,235.04. This is equal to $14,186.25 per month, or $465.12 per day. Of all the money taken in by the W. & T. for 1924, 47.23 per cent went for payrolls.

From Days Gone By August 1,1925

 August 1,1925.

    Hon. William Jennings Bryan, the great Commoner, and three time candidate for president, died at Dayton, Tenn. while taking a nap. He had just came out of the famous Scopes evolution trial and was preparing to launch a national drive against the teaching of evolution in all the public schools of the nation. Death was due to heart failure. Mrs. Bryan was on the porch when he passed. His son was in Idaho and daughter in California.

    Bryan was born in Salem, Illinois March 19,1860. His parents lived in Virginia, his father a lawyer and judge. He graduated law in 1887 and practiced in Lincoln, Nebraska. His national fame came from two speeches he made to Congress. One was against the appeal of the silver purchase clause of the Sherman Act in 1893, he advocated the free and unlimited coinage of silver at a ratio of 16 to 1.

    In 1896 he raised the 3rd Nebraska Volunteers and was it's colonel during the Spanish-American War. In 1901 started printing "The Commoner" at Lincoln. He was Secretary of State under President Wilson. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

    The effort for a new trial for J. J. Tanner before the Supreme Court should see a decision in the next few days. City Court was busy with cases with most of them dealing with drunkenness.

    County Agent Crow is seeking the services of a tobacco expert to come to Johnson and assist in raising tobacco. Many Farmers are interested in it's growth which seems to be a tremendous money producer lately. It is now grown all over the county except the northern section. Fine crops are in the Buckeye area near the Lauren's line and near the Emanuel line.

    Mrs. Bashie Watkins, widow of John Watkins of Blundale, and Mr. Denson Thomson of Meeks were married in Kite at Mr. J. L. Hatcher's home. They will make their home in Meeks.

    Miss Mabel Sumner and Mr. J. Dean Page were married July 21st in Wrightville. Mabel is daughter of Rev. & Mrs. G. F. Sumner. Dean is a son of Mr. & Mrs. Elbert Page of Pleasant Plains community in Washington Co. He has worked the last two years in Tampa, Fla. with the railroad. They will make Tampa their home.

From Days Gone By July 25,1925

 July 25,1925.

    Sheriff Lovett J. Claxton and his son James, returned from Council, Ga., below Waycross with Jim Upshaw, a colored man who left here post haste some nights back for parts unknown after a bad affair down in the colored section of Wrightville. Upshaw decided he would use a knife and stick on one colored woman who goes by the name Coot Baker. She charges him with cutting her badly across the breast and other places and beating her across the back leaving her for dead on the dirt by the railroad tracks. She hollared loudly until help came. Upshaw fled, the Sheriff started a hunt and he was located at the big sawmill below Waycross.

    Mayor James M. Cook had a big court with more than 15 cases being docketed. The court room looked like a session of some higher tribunal with more than 100 people present.

    The crops are looking good all over the county with hopes of a good fall harvest. The corn is good and with the rains sights of it should be made. Cotton is good but depends on the outcome of the weevil's work over the next 20 days. Fodder pulling will soon be in full force.

    The first open cotton recorded this year was brought in by C. H. London who lives on the farm of L. D. Lovett. The traveler towards Kite, just across the Cedar swamp and up the hill on the left cannot help but notice the pretty young peach orchard of Mrs. J. H. Rowland. It has been growing the last couple of years and since McRae's misfortune and Wrightville's good fortune shows the peaches in our county will do well.

    Mr. H. L. Hall who operates the Crystal Theatre in Dublin, has now leased the Dixie Theatre here.

    Johnson seems to be on the move. The Bee-Line is going to be put through, the Jeff Davis is being revived and highways all over the county are better than ever and schools and churches are having a reconstruction boom going on with consolidation and new buildings are coming along.

    Mr. & Mrs. Byron Price had a fine baby daughter on Sunday July 12th.

    Mr. Felton Hall died on Thursday night at home near Liberty Grove from gastritis. A wife and two children survive. He was a son of Mr. M. A. Hall and was 23 years old. He was buried at the Hall Cemetery.

    News was received of the death of Richard Mixon on July 11th at his home in Corsicns, Texas from appendicitis. His wife survived him along with his brothers, Rev. W. A. Mixon of this county, George W. of Lyons and Cornelius of Texas. He also had five sisters.

From Days Gone By July 18,1925

 July 18,1925.

    The Supreme Court of Georgia denied the appeal for a change of venue in the State vs Chas. G. Rawlings, jointly charged with the murder of G. A. Tarbutton on Ringjaw Bluff. Judge Camp has already named August 17th for the trial in Johnson Superior Court. Meanwhile Rawlings awaits his fate in jail with J. J. Tanner incarcerated with him, Tanner waiting on appeal for a new trial with the high court.

    A new power company, Georgia Southern Power Company was granted a charter. This company bought the Oconee River Mills at Milledgeville, an electrical plant with a hydro-driven unit on the Oconee River and a steam plant under the name of Milledgeville Lighting. They have also contracted to buy the Dublin plant.

    The city father's have been putting the streets in fine shape using the tractor to pull the large road machine, and the streets, lanes and avenues are in good condition.

    Mr. Laudice D. Lovett bought Mrs. C. Tom Mixon's home on South Marcus next to Mr. I. R. Tanner. Mr. Lovett plans to move the house back from the street and remodel it.

    Mr. & Mrs. T. C. Brantley had a daughter July 7th named Attie Hazel. Mr. John E. Beasley has filed for bankruptcy. Morgan Snell brought to town an egg in an egg in it's it's original form from his barnyard. John B. Harrison brought in the first open boll of cotton off his 7 acres. Dock Mosely has two fields of cotton west of town which he believes will produce a bale or more to the acre.

    Mr. Dennis Hutcheson died at Rawlings Sanitarium from a complication of troubles. He was about 57 and lived most of his life in Wrightville. He operated saw Mills and had a good business. He left two daughters, Mrs. Lou Anna Wilson and Mrs. Osley M. Sumner, one son, Guy Hutcheson. He was buried at Westview by Kent & Bush undertakers.

    Willis Powell, colored boy, driving a strip down car Sunday afternoon, was killed in a wreck near the home of Mr. J. N. Hall when the car summersaulted with him as he ran down a steep hill. In the strip down with Powell were two colored girls with one being badly injured. Willis did not die instantly but lived to some time during the night. It is said that when the car dipped down into a hold it swerved around and over, throwing him up in the air. He is a son of Homer Powell who lives on the plantation of Mr. Edd Linder near Galilee church.