Tabor City tribune. (Tabor City, N.C.) 1946-1991, 1957-04-17
Arthur
Says
By Billy Arthur

the grass Is growing, birds arc
singing. buds are swelling, cal
YES are bawling, babies are
squalling. and spring is here"
This is the time Of the year
when man who is attempting
to raise a garden is not on very
good terms with the neighbor
who raises chickens.
Troubles never come singly
in this season. Cholera and
hoopskirts come togethe-
and. peaches that bloom in tie
Light Of the moon are sure to
get killed, and that pretty
soon"
Surely, spring Is definitely
upon 1857 and evidently ident-
ical to 1887 and 1888 when the
above quotes entertained news
paper readers in North Caro-
lima. Practically every Tar
Heel editor in those days COM
posed something about spring
Let's recall few:
AT White Plains (Beaufort
County, on Easter Sunday,
hard rain came up disturbing
the church services, and numb
erS who had not been inside
the church in years went in.
Flying kites on the street is
not exactly the correct thins
these days. A kite falls before
q horse, and the horse dashes
off and breaks another boys
fathers wagon TO pieces, end
this keeps that boys mother
from getting a new hat like the
rest and going to church with
the latest styles on Sunday.
The cry today is where did
you get that hat?
in the spring young wom-
ems fancies lightly turn TO
thoughts of headgear, and VIC
men especially loveth flowers,
more especially those that hats
are trimmed with.
The Easter business is
booming. and the girls are even
prettier than last year"
One editor looked even be-
yond the spring clothes buy
ing period. He foresaw 1.-THE
dull season approaching when
the merchants clerks will have
leisure time to whittle on goods
boxes and play marbles" An
other confidently observed:
This verify is spring. Wit
ness the housekeeping exer-
tons and anxiety of agricul.-
urallstS to convince business.
NOW doth the affable phos-
phate agent get off his ancient
wares on the unsuspect,ng
farmer at profitable prices. A
bout this period, look for the
long-faced married men. The
furniture is all in the varC
and the musical tattoo OF the
carpet beater has commenced
We're told this is the season
when pretty maidens in thu
rural districts inscribe their
addresses on eggs they send to
market, hoping thereby to op-
en- up a correspondence with
the bubble susceptible clerks
who handle them"
Yes. spring is here. at viii
soon be time TO shoulder a fish
pole and take a sneak to the
mill ponds" because now is
the time to go fishing. for when
the dogwood is white the rob-
ms will bite"
Those are the days when
the strength of a small boy
comes and goes. He can handle
with ease. In digging fish
worms, a tool which he can
hardly stagger under In loosen
ing up ground in the garden.
And a great many men are
built that way.
Everything now shows the
handiwork of nature. The bees.
the birds, the flowers are all
coming forth and all nature
seems to be clothing herself in
a most beautiful garb, her
bridal robes Of spring-time.
Still we 60 limping around in
an old last years buster and a
secondhand pair Of shoes with
italic heels"
In a more restrained manner
Edward A. Oldham, who edited
the Durham Globe in 1893
covered just about everything:
I'm de spring when de fields
are all kivvered with green
And de clover and de bloom
smells in de ar,
And de wet in de grass kinder
tickles yer feet,
And de red bug make a person
sw'ar.
Den am de time dat 1 loves
mos
When I comes erlong home
hind der pillow,
In de cool OBJ de day when I
hears oil erroun'
De jingle OBJ de bells on de-
cows.
when dc bluebird comes wild
or straw in its beak
Il