Our Town 100 years ago: Mooresville and South Iredell in 1923

Apr 18, 2024

Today, the Tribune continues its 19th annual series of articles looking back at the news and advertisements from Mooresville’s newspaper of a century ago.

These news items, with original headlines, are from The Mooresville Enterprise, predecessor to the Tribune. They are transcribed, edited and introduced by local historian O.C. Stonestreet.

Visits Cave Man in Iredell County

W. D. Troutman, the versatile correspondent of the Statesville Daily, recently sent his paper this interesting story:

Yes, there are cave men who live and move and hunt within hearing of the Friday evening orchestra. Primitive men of Aztec origin, with a habitat way back in the bowels of the hill, living much as lived their primitive parents.

I had occasion, recently, to visit one of these cave men down on the border of Chambersburg [township] and Barringer’s townships. You leave the Amity highway at a point near Mr. B. C. Howard’s, wend through Mr. Howard’s garden, then his melon patch, and on through some cultivated fields.

Here you close both eyes and turn half-way round and there’s an obscure path leading into a copse and through a gently sloping woodland. You come to a ravine which rolls away rapidly into a velvety meadow, with a clear little stream, purling gently creek-ward.

Up against the hill, you will note something resembling a panel of hieroglyphics such as was popular in, you might say, pre-historic days. You approach this panel and give the high sign, repeating the shop-worn “sesame” and then, magic or no magic, there appears before you a sure-enough to goodness cave man.

I went through these maneuvers and the door swung open. Enter, stranger, and behold the abode of a contented man!

There it was! A home underground. The walls were of solid clay, but were swept as clean as a parlor floor. Back into an alcove dug into the clay was placed a cooking range, and further along was an open fireplace, which I think would be rather cheery on a snowy winter night. On the wall was swung a rifle and some fishing tackle. On the inside of the door was nailed a picture of Christ with this inscription, “I am at the head of this household.”

The cave man struck a match and insisted that I read this inscription. On the joist overhead hung a fiddle and bow. The furniture was primitive. There was a table, a bed, some boxes and chests, but things were neat and tidy.

Now, the seeming hieroglyphics on what appeared to be a billboard outside were woodcuts of celebrities. Some of the older of these, like Etelka Gerater, Adeline Patti, Sarah Bernhardt and Jennie Lind were almost indistinguishable. But there were a number of others, as the Gish girls, Theda Bara and Mary Pickford and a funny little fellow whom I think is called Charlie Chaplin.

One panel seemed black and when quizzed concerning this, the cave man said, “No, it isn’t black! That’s Fatty Arbuckle, with his face turned toward the wall!”

In his primitive abode is a queer admixture of things, religious, and otherwise. On cold winter nights when the mercury crawls down into the pocket, this cave man builds a big fire of hickory, closes the panel, gets down his fiddle and plays for the goblins and elves.

He takes life easy. There’s a platter of dressed squirrels and on the table, a roast ‘possum. There’s a bag of meal; and life is a beautiful thing- no hard work for Mr. Cave Man. He is neighborly and obliging – but to labor with one’s hands incessantly- Ah, no! That isn’t the life.

When tired of playing for the elves and fairies there is simple devotional exercise ere retiring. There is the delicious joyousness of no six o’clock whistle to awaken him. There are almost no conventionalities to be observed, just life in his grotto, with nothing but fish to catch and coons to hunt.

Now, you didn’t know we had them that near home. Did you?

We have them. Go see!

[Note: More on Mr. Lee Moose (1853-1937), “Iredell’s Cave Man,” can be found in my 2012 book,Tales from Old Iredell County, available through Amazon.]

Dixie Cotton Mill Reorganization

The Dixie Cotton Mill Company of this city is undergoing a probable process of reorganization, the deal whereby certain changes are to be made, having been determined upon a meeting of the directors of the company held last Friday. A. F. Burton, a prominent cotton mill man of Lexington, has agreed to take charge of the operation of the mill, and has planned additional building and machinery.

The mill was organized many years ago with a capital of $100,000, and during the inflated war period, when profits and dividends were at their healthiest period, the stock was increased and each stockholder was given added stock to the original investment. The stock has been reduced to the original $100,000.

Mr. Bruton has agreed to take $100,000 of common stock, and the directors have agreed that $200,000 of preferred stock may be sold, thereby giving the mill company $400,000 capital to work on.

An additional building of 400x150 feet, two stories, is contemplated, and also a cloth room, dye house and other necessary equipment to carry looms sufficient to take care of the entire output of the spindles. All of this proposed improvement will be submitted to ratification of the stockholders and meeting of whom are to be held within a few days.

Mr. E. W. Brawley will relinquish the presidency of the mills and retire from active management of same, devoting his time and energy to his many other interests in the town and community, but will retain his financial holdings in the new organization.

The Dixie Mill is ideally located at the north end of town, just outside the corporate limits, at the D. C. Brawley homeplace.

Voils & Voils, Dentists

Drs. C. U. and V. V. Voils, dental surgeons, have launched a partnership and have furnished one of the handsomest and best-equipped suite of rooms to be found anywhere in the South.

Their offices are over the M. and F. Bank and comprises a reception room and office, laboratory, two operating rooms for white and one for colored people, extraction, examination and X-ray room. The parlors are elegantly furnished and one visiting the rooms almost wishes he had bad teeth to be worked on- that is some visitors do.

The operating rooms are equipped with the Ritter system, all sorts of electrical appliances for the sterilization of the instruments, air tubes and heating processes, etc. The laboratory has modern sterilizing equipment and compressed air machine which works automatically.

With the touch-button system in the walls, one can be notified that the doctor is waiting without a word being spoken or a call made verbally.

The powerful X-ray machine is a marvelous instrument and a picture of your inner mouth can be made in two seconds.

A visit to the parlors will interest you.

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