The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-08-08
OLD ENGINEER T. A
Learned to Read and Write After
65th Year of Age-Other Green's
boro Jottings.

today. The dochet IL pretty large,
there being DIT present 265 criminal
cases. There are 40 special tax cases
against the merchants of the county.
There will be Ono homicide case.
DR.. j. G. BroaGnax came very near
being fatally hunt by the street cars
Saturday night. He was driving down
Summit avenue rGrtly on the car track
and was run into by a car. His buggy
was wrecked and hIm.elf considerably
bruised and shaken UP. oIIunately
he sustained NJ serious injuries.
Mrs. DR.. j. z. Wyche and little
daughter, accompanied by DIR. w. J..
Richardson. left today for Wilmington
for the Deneft of the little girls
health.
Mrs. w. T Fa;rcloth. of Goldsboro.
relict OF h late chief Justice, came
saturday night with her neEhew, Su-
rerlntendent j. 2. Joyner, and left this
morning with Ger daughter, Mrs. G.. w.
Sanderlin, and nIrCes, Mrs. Clara Davis
and Miss Georgia Sanderlin, for Ashe-
vile and Waynesville.
Mr.. NJ. w. Thompson, of the
Greensboro Goa and Ice Company, was
yesterday elected superintendent Of the
Sunday-school of the First Baptist
church, in place of Mr.. ]. T. Bass, re-
Gently removed 20 Wilmington. Mr.. R
w. Haywood, editor OF the Telegram,
was elected secretary. Rev. DR.. Scroggs
returned this morning from attendance
on he district conference at Randle-
man. The other Greensboro delegates
Games back Saturday and last night.
Mr.. A. A. Kirkman, who has beer in
West Virginia for two months seeking
health, returned yesterday much i'm
proved, n has resumed his duties in
the Southern. railway telegraph office,
taking what is called s'first trick on
North Carolina division.
The residence OF Mr.. =. N. Boone was
broken into by thieves Saturday night
n several articles of table ware are
missing.
Mr.. w. J. Blackburn, who has been
representing the American Cigar Com
pany in Tennessee with Headquarters
at Nashville, has been given North
Carolina as MS territory, and yester-
day arrived to TAX charge with head
quarters at Greensboro.
The funera: OF the late Captain Jacob
HICKS was held iIom West Market NJ.
+. church yesterday afternoon, SER
vices being conducted by Revs. Turren-
tine and Crawford. Captain Hicks
was a remarkable character, full of
VIM, determination and strong i'm
pulses. illustrations of this are two
incidents within the past ten years.
Abou seven years ago the order was
issued that a! engineers who could not
read and write should be DISCHARGED
from the post. This floored him. He
was then 90 years old. He kept his
counsel and one morning he came down
ana invited a crowd of chosen friends
10 go down to the depot next day and
see him pull the throttle again on So
Sure enough When the time arrived
there sat the old grizzled veteran of a
hundred wrecks OF mishaps al his post,
LOOKING as proGu as Lucifer, with his
engineers tags on.
investigation showed tina this old
man had in three months time qualified
himself to resume his position by learn
ing to read and write, the railway COM
pany giving him his old place unon his
making application in his own hand
writing and showing by actual test
that he could read train orders dis
tinctly.
4 year or two after this, when Su-
perlntendent O'D1ien took charge, he
had the usual shaking up" orders
issued. Among them was one taking
Captain Hicks, N account of age. from
Tie main line and assigning him to he
branch road between Winston and
Greensboro. He refused to be side
tracked, declared that he would run a
main line engine or nothing, and he
persisted. until the officials, when his
last day for mann line service had ar
rived, counterman6ed the order and he
lived to make his run on his cherished
main line. He always said he was
prouder OF this, ven than of learning
to read and write.
Correspondence of The Messeneer)
Greensboro, N. c., August S.
Everybody here was grieved this morn
ing to earn that Judge John GRAY
Bynum was at the hospital in a critical
condition, the result of fall last night
down the stairs leading from the Mer-
chants Club rooms. He a started
home and just as he reached the head
OF n stairs stumbled over some small
obstruction, thought to have been a
watermelon rind and losing his balance
fell headlong down the whole flight of
steps, his head striking on the asphalt
pavement. His physician, DR.. Robert
son, just now, at 1890, tells me: Judge
Bynum's condition Is quite serious. His
INJURIES are a scalp wound on top of
the head. fracture at base of skull and
left shoulder broken. The fracture of
skull has caused a paralysis of left side
of body. His general condition is some
what improved as he Is slowly recov-
ering consciousness. We have hope of
his recovery"
The first brick was laid this morning
On the new city resovoir which will hold
millions of gallons Of water. Excava-
ton began January 1st and has been
diligently prosecuted since.
The recent inventory of the city Ii
brary shows I'LL books, only one book
having been lost. 1t was opened today
after three days closing for inventory
and catologueing. One hundred and
twenty-four volumes were loaned in
the first three hours. The library will
be six months old tomorrow. During
this time there has been free access to
Its shelves by all white citizens. There
has been an average Of 125 visitors pei
day, and 1910 loans and renewals.
Mrs. ]. NJ. Simpson and children and
Mr.. Glenn. G. Wright left today fol
Atlantic City. By going to Winston, p
miles farther off, it is said the trip tc
Atlantic City and return over the Nor
folk and Western is eight dollars cheap
er than to go direct from Greensboro
over the Southern.
Petitions were presented to the county
commissioners today, one from Deer
River and the other from jamestown