The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-10-13
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS


 am bit given to .exaggeration, or that I get interested in some man, woman or thing and play them up too strong, but this would be dreary world if every body wore blue goggles.
 
 I freely admit that I do get tremen- dously interested in the passing show and that in spite of, myself I may itali- cize overmuch. but then it's better to err on the side of praise than it is to pour cold water on folks or enterprises. I reckon am just natural born booster and can't get over it. And so here goes for the Blount Highland Progressive club.
 get so many invitations to attend so many different kinds of things that never know what am going to run across. Sometimes I draw a blank, but usually I get a premium of some kind guess the reason life is so fascinating to me is that look on 1t as a big prize box affair, and never get tired looking into it
 A letter came from Blount Highlands asking me to ruh out and make a couple of speeches at a community fair. know some wag will say that I would never have gone if Professor Armstrong had not baited the invitation with the kind of bait I always swallow But be that as it may, accepted and took the train from Remlap and was met and carried on top of the mountain. had heard of Lees chapel before be- cause l knew of a Baptist church To- cated in it and called by the same name I had it linked with My good friend, W. J. Nash of Oneonta, one of the pastors who always stuck by me and the Ala bama Baptist when I owned it. also found brother Hamric, the pastor of the Methodist church, on the ground. But the thing which took me on the hilltop was to see not merely the community fair but the Blount Highlands school out of which it grew.
 The first thing which surprised me was the graded road from the depot to the crest of Blount mountain, for it is only a per cent grade, but after I found out that it was the work of our county engineer, Batson, and was the first work of any importance done by him after getting his diploma as civil engineer could see how and why it had been so well done. I sometimes fear that our road engineers do not get as much praise for their good work as they deserve.
 
 Now. did not lug in the road without Ia purpose, for it's building was the first genuine test of the community spirit of Blount Highlands, for when the county could not see it's way to appropriate a sufficient fund to undertake it, the citi- zens got together and subscribed s125o to- wards it. I am hoping and praying that such spirit will sweep oveE Alabama and that the 600 bond issue will go over with a whoop. Do good roads pay? I'll give a con- crete instance. In July some of the cit izens found out that they had a lot of truck that was going to waste. None of them had enough to make it profitable to make trip of about g miles to Bir- lmfngham. Then uprose a man with a l workable plan and said: Let's buy a community truck, and it wasn't long be- fore it was bought and in operation. I have seen it pass The Age-Herald, and | # has regular place on the Twenty first street viaduct.
 But let's leave glittering generalities and get down to facts and figures for the Blount Progressive Highland club is nothing unless it's thoroughly busi- | ness. It forever negatives the idea that farmers cannot get down to brass tacks and keep books. This club does it, and l in looking over the books I found that more than sl45o worth of perishable stuff had been sold in Birmingham since the l truck began to operate in July. Enough l to more than pay for the cost of the | road, and nearly enough to include the | cost of the truck.
 1 The movement has just started Bear l in mind that the idea was born in the summer too late owing to the dry weather to plant special food crops. The l amount realized was just pick up. ! But those behind the enterprise are not going to trust to luck. but for next year have outlined a plan of community planting so that there will be something to market oaring all the seasons, and in sufficient quantities to pay. They are alive on the planting end of the prop osition.
 Better still, they are awake to the ne- cessity of grading their stuff and packing it in attractive packages, and it's their aim to make tbe words "Blount High lands'' stand for the best possible fruits, vegetables. poultry. eggs, butter. syrup, canned goods, preserves etc. They are going to do what we have been trying to get communities through the food preparedness and marketing bureau to i undertake in all of the campaigns which have been made during the past few years.
 1 To better facilitate the handling and classifying of the various products to be offered for sale, storehouse will be built at once, and a secretary will be placed in charge to look after it al certain hours. I will not attempt here to go into the details of the manner of checking up and crediting the sales made. but system has been devised which fits the needs. The encouraging