January 1959 Archive
Rotary Veteran Bidden Farewell
The Rotary Club of Widen at its regular weekly meeting at the Widen Club on Thursday, January 8, 1959, said “so long” to its second oldest member, Herbert C. Johnson, who has retired from his position as General Secretary of the Widen YMCA and has now departed for Orlando, Florida, where he and Mrs. Johnson will live in their newly built home.
Herb came to Widen in 1939 and has been an active member of the local Rotary Club since that time, serving as president on four different occasions and in other official capacities during the other years. During this present year he has acted as Program Chairman and has presented several delightful evenings of entertainment for the club members. That is probably the most difficult job in any Rotary club work and Herb will be sorely missed from that spot.
However, his affiliation with the Widen Rotary Club will continue, as his seniority in the club entitles him to the “Senior Active” status, giving him a life-time Rotarian with the right to attend any club any time wherever he may be.
As a token of appreciation to Herb, the club turned out en masse, with only one absentee at this final meeting, and that was unavoidable, and as a going-away gift, the club presented Herb with a roll of greenbacks to make him feel more at home among the wealthy Floridians. The presentation was made by Rotarian Harold Beattie in a brief and appropriate ceremony.
New Officers Named For Bank of Widen
According to an announcement, made by Mr. H. L. Beattie, General Manager of Elk River Coal and Lumber Company, new officers were elected to serve the Bank of Widen for the year 1959, as follows:
Robert H. Hughes, President
H. L. Beattie, Vice President
D. L. McMillion, Cashier and Secretary
H. G. Brackenbush, Assistant Secretary
Charles F. Dodrill, Assistant Cashier
The following Directors of the Bank of Widen present were:
Mr. Robert H. Hughes
Mr. Stephen Canonico
Mr. H. G. Brackenbush
Mr. H. L. Beattie
Mr. G. D. Craft
Three men were named as Loan and Discount Committee, as follows:
H. L. Beattie
H. G. Brackenbush
G. D. Craft
Mr. Hughes is the new president of the Elk River Coal and Lumber Company. Mr. Canonico is the new Vice President and Mr. Brackenbush is the new treasurer. Mr. Beattie is now general manager and Mr. Craft is outside superintendent, as he formerly was.
Mrs. Harold L. Beattie Assists West Virginia’s First Lady
Mrs. Harold L. Beattie, of Widen, West Virginia, was one of the hostesses who assisted Mrs. Cecil H. Underwood at a Coffee given at the Executive Mansion in Charleston on Wednesday, January 7, 1959. Benefits from this party will be used to help combat arthritis, birth defects, virus diseases and disorders of the central nervous system, in addition to supporting continued aid to polio victims.
Pictured with Mrs. Beattie, above, is Mrs. Harry Marshall.
HARRISON YOUTH IN AUTOMOBILE WRECK
Gary Cox, 19-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Ardie Cox, of Harrison, West Virginia, was in an automobile accident early Saturday morning, January 10, 1959. The car he was driving did not make a sharp curve about one mile east of Clay. The car hit guard rails and park cars and rolled through a yard and crashed into a utility pole.
Cox was knocked unconscious. The car burst into flames, but nearby residents of Clay rescued him.
According to hospital reports, Cox received lacerations of the forehead, knee, chest and face and has possible internal injuries.
MRS. SARAH WALKER, WELL KNOWN DILLE WOMAN, DIES
Mrs. Sarah Alice Walker, 80 years of age, died on Sunday, January 4, 1959, at her home, in Dille, W. Va. after a long illness.
She was a member of the New Hope Baptist Church at Morris.
Surviving are her husband, S. G. Walker; two daughters, Mrs. Clara Tinnell of Dille, and Mrs. Fannie Spence of Washington, D. C.; two sons, G. M. Walker of Dille, and C. B. Walker of Dunbar; one sister, Mrs. Bertha Wright of Hookersville; nine grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.
Services were conducted at 10:30 A.M. Tuesday, January 6, 1959, by Rev. Emerson Walker, in the Big Union Baptist Church at Dille. Interment was in the Baughman Cemetery, near Morris.
