The Greenville News du lieu suivant : Greenville, South Carolina • Page 12

PAGE TWELVE THE GREENVILLE NEWS, GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA SUNDAY. APRIL 18, 19 6 5 End Of The Line? I ime Pinches Once Busy Norris Depo By DOUGLAS MAULDIX News Staff Wrhrr whose love for railroading is He remembers a private joke led electrical engineering ai only surpassed by his fondness about an obscene designation vnnnctpr r-hhv 1 A 1 .7 1 -if i NORRIS Battered by time for amateur (ham) radio. the operators used for Kaiser statjon at Greer, and the weather, the Norris Gibby came to the quiet, Wilhelm in the war. Gibby's trained ear can detect railroad depot has been here for peaceful burg eight years ago His great uncle was Fairfax a train miles away. He knows 60 years.

and has watched as business Harrison, president and organiz- by the Sound where it is, and Before a railroad flatcar trun- gradually declined. Inroads of er of the Southern Railway. His when it will be at the depot, died it to Norris in two sections, trucking, the mass use of auto- father, John Gibby, was a rail- A small freight roars by, and the depot served in Liberty mobiles and changes in trans- road policeman murdered in Gibby eyes it closely. He then where, in railroad parlane it got portation methods are held re- 1963. Two Georgia Negroes picks up a telephone, dials a bumped by a new station.

sponsible for the decline. hanged for the crime. number and says crisply: "68 by In turn, the depot bumped a Seated at a time-worn desk, After 20 years in the New at 4:12." station at Norris. That depot Gibby mans the smudgy station York banking business, Gibby The train roars into the dis-ended up at a small whistle stop eight hours a day. came to Greenville so he could tance, and the Norris station is at Courtenay near Seneca where He keeps tab on passing be near his son, Bill, who stud- quiet once again.

it served until decommissioned trains, accepts reservations for by the Southern Railway years passenger departures from oth- er Doint-S. hanri es the snarse Like other small stations, once freight and railway express traf-alive with passenger and freight fic business the Norris depot may Qne of his few warehouse ltems on a recent day was 8 The S. C. Public Service Com- cracked tombstone being return. mission will hear arguments to manufacturer May 20 on Southern petition to close the station.

The railroad In. days Sone hJ Norns contends the depot has and is taKtlonc wa a transportation losing money. School kids rode early The closing will be formally to Liberty for classes. protested by Norris Mayor Bar- Wofke" commuted to Easley ney L. Chastain, and possibly fd Grev1 job-sfi, fe.a oth'ers farmers boarded with their Today the station sits almost home-pown vegetables for ped-wiJj wnmf dlmg the bigger towns.

They v.ii.;- rode the late trams home. Time and the automobile changed all gray paini necKing, 11s waning The depot was a transportation hub age and dusty wjtn Misuse, Now only three pasenger and modern transportation methods The station agent is VV. H. trains can stop here, each day, NORRIS No more the bustling depot of yesteryear, the Norris railroad depot sits placidly by the busy Southern Railway main line, awaiting a decision which may end its 60 years of service, until the motor car caught up with it. Gihhv a tall talkative man ouu "ovc uc An agent's job at Norris ranges from keeping close watch for trouble on passing trains, to shooing dogs and other animals off the tracks.

1 The agent tried to stay out of the railroad business. At 15 he was a soldier in France in 1 been a ielgapher tanslaiing NORRIS-Station agent W. H. Gibby spontaneously throws copy from the Associated Press 8 greetin8 to 8 friend on Southern Railway's Crescent wires at the Greenville newspa- streamliner as it speeds by the Norris depot, highballing pers in pre-teletype days. to Greenville.

Political Advertisement Political Advertisement Political AiivprtlffTnffnt 'A 11' 1' I i NORRIS While a freight train whizzes by, station agent W. H. Gibby inspects the i Lv' 1 5 fleeting cars for possible trouble spots. The duty is a major one at the small depot which LrUr.M 1 the Southern Railway wants to close. OllPiD I 1 1 1 1 if ftiSsf Photos By If f-1 I I Douglas Mauldin ELI? MM! ill 1 1 IM tilS 1 NORRIS Dusty and cracked, the bench in the waiting room of the depot seems to be waiting for its final hour, which may not be far away.

The passengers who board flag-stopped trains here now are precious few, the agent says. NORRIS Wheels once busy on this small cart are seldom turned now, railway officials say, because of dwindling business at the small depot on Southern! Greenville to Atlanta line. NORRIS The schedule speaks for Itself. Norris is no longer the busy depot. v.

yM. yyyyyyW- A MdrJff 4 C0 Left to right: Henry A. Brown, Alester G. Furman III, Junius H. Garrison Arthur C.

McCall Times change so does the Right Man change in Insurance, Real Estate, Property Management and Investments. He constantly keeps pace through study and specialized training. So for any of your financial needs, call the Right Man. Since 1888 he has made it his business to serve you best Over the years Greenville has changed. So has Alester G.

Furman Co. 77 years ago there was only one Right Man. Today there are 3 departments and 59 Right Men to serve you. The Right Man has kept up with change The progressive development of Greenville as a leading city in the Carol inas has come largely due to good government. J.

KENNETH CASS has played a vital role in metropolitan Greenville's progress serving as Mayor for 14 years as alderman for 10 years. There is no substitute for EXPERIENCE! Elect J. KENNETH CASS to again serve a growing Green, ville. Your vote for CASS is a vote for competent and qualified leadership. VOTE FOR CASS APRIL 27th CE 2-5661 INVESTMENT SECURITIES, FIRE, CASUALTY, LIFE INSURANCE, RESIDENTIAL AND BUSINESS REAL ESTATE, PROPERTY MANAGEMENT V.

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