THE STATE
A Weekly Survey of North Carolina
Kntortal u Mcond'dBU milUr. Juno !, 1933. nt (lie PoMoflic* at Unlnl*h, Konb
Carolina, unitor Ilia Ar« of March 3.
1И79.
Vol. IX. No. 42 March 21, 1942
Cleveland County
It lias a most imposing' and im¬
pressive array of distinguished
sons, as well ns being an interest¬
ing county from many other
points of view.
WMKN we arrived in Shelby,
Cleveland County, Inst Tues¬
day morning, whom do you
reckon we hunted up first to ask for
data concerning interesting places anil
peoplo in the county?
You hit it the very first guess!
We found him in his office. Same
genial smile, same jim-swinger coat,
same silvery locks. And yet, ns we
shook hands with him, we realized
that .omothing was wrong: something
woe missing and out of place. For a
moment wo couldn’t figure it out, and
then it. suddenly dawned on u«.
“Where's the flower?” we demand¬
ed, pointing at the unadorned lapel
of hi* coat.
“Oh, it was there all right this
morning,” he replied, ‘‘but I had to
go out a few minutes ago and when 1
put on my overcoat I broke off the
stem."
That explained it. And, speaking
of that well-known floral adornment,
you may he interested in knowing
that his Sunday school class gave him
a rather unique present last Christ¬
mas -they instructed the local llorist
at Shelby to supply him with a fresh
carnation every morning. He appre¬
ciate* it lot*.
(Note: If you are still wondering
who in the world we’re referring to,
your ignorance about North Carolina
is not only abysmal; it’s deplorable.
However, we’re pretty certain that
every reader knows.)
“Vn have come," he informed us,
“to the greatest county in North Car¬
olina.”
(Thus far we have written up
•»!>
counties. We have heard the above re¬
mark exactly 01) time-.)
"If is great.” lie continued, “from
nn agricultural standpoint, from an
industrial standpoint and from the
standpoint of citizenship. When it
comes to growing cotton, Cleveland
County produce* a larger yield per
acre than any other county in the
bnited Slate-. I haven’t the figure-
011 hand for 1941. hut in 1940 we pro¬
duced 58,000 hales on 47,000 acres.
"Our mills and factories are pros¬
perous and progressive and wo have
made splendid headway from that
point of view. And the best part of
all this is the fine relationship that
exists between employers and em-
№. As you go over the countv.
re you'll agree that the bous¬
ing accommodation, for our mill,
workers are far above the average
standard.”
And, sure enough, we found that he
was correct in this.
"We have had many great citizens
in Cleveland County,” lie continued.
"They date back to the Revolutionary
War. Since then, we have hud men
and women who have been outstand¬
ing in service to the state and nation
during every period. In more recent
years, for example — just to mention
a_ few — there are Federal .Judge K.
^ ates Webb, who was in Congress for
18 years and served ns chairman of
the Judiciary Committee; Governor
Mux Gardner, Speaker of the House;
О.
M. Mull. State Su|K‘rintemlont of
Kducation Clyde Erwin, < ’ol. John W.
Harrelson, administrative dean of
State College: the late Judge James
L. Webb, solicitor for I
»•
years, state
9
f
Putting an identifying name under
this picture would be as superfluous
as putting a name on the Rock of
Gibraltar.
senator and judge on the Superior
Court for 1*4 years: Forrest
и
Shuford, Commission of I-ahor ; L. It.
Harril). who is head of the 4-1 1 clubs
in the state; Graham Anthony, pre»i-
detit of the Yeeder-Root Company, of
Hartford, Conn.; I>r. -T. S. Horton,
who built up the largest county fair
in the stole here in Cleveland and i-
mnnnger of the State Fair in Raleigh,
and many others. You also will find
natives of Cleveland County who have
left the state and have become promi¬
nent a« preachers, doctors, and busi¬
nessmen in other parts of the country."
He also told us about the Dixon
1
