'The Ruralite' makes its first appearance

By Lisa Majors-Duff

It cost $1.50 a year to subscribe, 75 cents for six months and 50 cents for four months. Its first subscriber was Joe Mallonee - "We wish to thank Mr. Mallonee for one dollar and fifty cents," the publisher wrote.

The Ruralite came to life in Jackson County in the mid-1920s, when the rest of America was celebrating the end of World War I and entering the Flapper Age. A report out of New York in 1926 estimates the value of alcohol bootlegging in the U.S. at $3.6 billion, and thanks to Henry Ford and mass production, one could buy a Ford for $290. The Grand Ole Opry was transmitted on the radio from Nashville for the first time just the year before.

The Ruralite was started by E.E. Brown (grandfather of current Sports Editor Carey Phillips) as was reported on page 10 of the first issue. The story was titled "Brown opens new print shop here" and reads as follows: "Mr. E.E. Brown, until recently the foreman of The Journal, has severed his connection with this paper and has opened a new commercial printing shop, located in the basement of the Bryson Building.

"Mr. Brown has been connected with The Journal for a long number of years, and this paper wishes him well in his new venture. The Jackson County Journal"

Since the article was signed "The Jackson County Journal," it stands to reason that it first appeared in the county's other newspaper at the time. Another story of interest in the first Ruralite appeared on page 4 and involved plans to reopen a "historic highway." (This story, too, was attributed to The Journal.) It seems several Jackson County businessmen had been invited to a meeting called by the Walhalla Chamber of Commerce to discuss reopening the historic Sloan Turnpike. The 24 men - including E.L. McKee, C.L. Allison, Harry Buchanan, Ben Queen and J.W. Keener - were to be guests at the Alexander Hotel while in South Carolina.

The road and its historic nature were described as follows:

"This was once one of the most familiar roads in the mountains. Over it the pioneers of our region went to market, and over it the South Carolinians of three quarters of a century ago fled from the heat of the lowlands to the cooling breezes and the sparkling streams of the mountains. The Sloan Turnpike was familiar to the Calhouns, the Hamptons and the others of bygone generations of the great South Carolina."

The story ends with "A resolution was unanimously adopted endorsing the opening of the highway and naming it the 'Wade Hampton Memorial Highway.'"

A front page story about what would soon be Great Smoky Mountains National Park read as follows:

"The park commission has made its report, recommending that a national park be established in the Great Smoky and Plott Balsam Mountains of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee, was urgently made by Secretary Work.

"Congressman Temple, republican, of Pennsylvania, has introduced the bill providing for the establishing of the Park, in the house.

"Representative Weaver states that he is confident the bill will pass both the house and the senate at the present session."

The advertisements in the first Ruralite are as interesting as the news. Take for example the full-page ad for The Paris Department Store, which lists house dresses for 98 cents, large Turkish towels for 25 cents and men's work shirts for 59 cents.

Then there's the quarter-page ad for Sylva Pharmacy, H.L. Evans, proprietor. With Mother's Day just around the corner, Mr. Evans was offering "a delicious assortment of mother's favorites all coated with incomparable Artstyle Chocolates. Being made of metal, it is a perfect mailing package. Uncle Sam will carry it to her wherever she may be."

Just under that ad on page 2, D.E. Murray offered "All supplies for bees for sale." And A.J. Dills offered a house for rent on page 4.

Most of the ads in The Sylva Herald's microfilmed copy of the newspaper have prices hand-written on them in black ink, as if The Ruralite's ad manager had just recently tagged them. The full-page for The Paris cost $10, while the announcement from N. Don Davis of his intention to run for sheriff in the Democratic primary cost 50 cents. Sylva Supply purchased two full pages for $20, while that quarter-page for Sylva Pharmacy went for $2.50.

Ruralite Publisher E.E. Brown wrote in his first editorial about the new newspaper's policies. In his second editorial, he pledged to live up to the compliments The Ruralite was receiving from the community:

"The Ruralite seems to have made a very good impression with the first issue, and we are receiving large numbers of compliments as well as a large number of subscriptions, but not so many subscriptions as compliments, we suppose because they are not as expensive.

"We are proud that we have pleased so many of the people; but at the same time we think that we had better make good all of these good things that are being said about us, because the new will soon wear off and then the things will turn and the talk will not sound so good when we fail to ge[t] something in that some one thinks we should or something of the kind and that is why we are thanking all of them while the talking is good.

"Now laying aside all foolish talk, we will say that it is our intention to make each issue better and we can do it if each one will assist us just a little. Phone in or write in anything that is worth telling the public. If you will call phone 122 at most any time of the day from 7 in the morning until 11 at night you will find some one ready to work late owing to the rush of work, and our promise of giving service..."

Editor's note: The Sylva Herald traces its 75 years of providing news and views in Jackson County to the first issue of The Ruralite. With that in mind, the editorial staff paid tribute to The Herald's forerunner when we named our weekly "Ruralite Cafe" column in 1997.

Back to Archive: 01/04/01.