Auto sales bring $$$ for Donley County
the biggest business in Clarendon? You probably
stop and think awhile, but here's one industry which
any industry in the county in retail sales. And
is a big, big part of the county's economy.
it's the car industry. It's by far the biggest in-
in the county.
Clarendon Press made a brief survey this week of
money the car industry brings into the economy,
figures were astounding.
Press Picked last week's automobile business as a
week of automobile sales. A Press reporter check-
the automobile registrations for new or used cars
found information which willsurprtse the
persu
week, according to new and used car registrations,
worth of cars were registered in Donley
Of that amount, $128,240 worth of cars were put-
in Clarendon, and about $12,000 worth of cars were
elsewhere.
of 42Carswere registered to make this total. Some
42 Vars were urchased from outside of Donley
Most f these w,. "e used cars• Of the total, 26
trucks were purchased new•
There's no real way of knowing whether last week's sales
will be an average week for this year, but, ff it was, some
$7,299,812 worth of cars could be registered in Donley
County during 1973. And ff last week could be considered
average, some $6,668,480 worth of vehicles could be pur-
chased from Donley County car dealers.
If this a trend, the automobile industry generates nearly
$7 million worth of trade in the county. And that's lots of
trade for a county this size.
Another interesting note is that most new cars sold in
Clarendon are .purchased by people who live outside Don-
ley County. Of 23 brand new cars purchased from Donley
County dealers last week, 17 of them wentto buyers outside
Douley County. This shows that the county is receiving
much money from other counties.
The main factor in out-of county purchases is the intense
promotion made by Chamberlain Motor Company via the A m-
arillo advertising media. Chamberlaln's "Downhill all the
way" slogan has captured hundreds of car buyers, and
his personal service has brought these same people back to
Doniey County each time they buy their next car.
Other degleys, including Alderson Chevrolet, Mills Motor
Company and lmer Motor Company, also get a good amount
of out-of-cotu,cy business, which is due many times to per-
sonai service.
Just the fact that this multi-milliondoUar business comes
to Donley County is a help to our economy, but the business
also does wonders for local taxes.
Using last week's sales as a sample again, some $3,910.50
was paid in sales tax for automobiles registered in Donley
County. The local tax office keeps 5% of this money as pay
for collecting this state tax. The county's total on last week's
pales is $196. If this is multiplied 52 times, this is $10,192 for
the year.
The county also receives the first $50,000 of all license
plate money, then receives half of all license money after
that. Last week, a total of $924 was collected for licehse
plcates on new or used cars registered in Donley County.
This creates a healthy sum for the county also.
Of course, everybody knows that much of this potential
$7 million in car sales goes to Detroit, but then much
of it stays home, too. Much of thmoney pays the various
car dealer employes, who then put the money into Donley
County economy through purchase of groceries, clothes,
etc.
The new car sales in Donley County aid the county very,
very much. And we all should be proud of the county's
aggressive dealers who are responsible for this giant part
of the economy.
Donley County, Texas March 22, 1973 3 Sections Volume 1,
KNORpp at the Doniey County State Bank told
that old bankers never die; they just lose
State Bank at Hedley had heduled a
rt - s meeting at the bank last F riday afternoon,
Ullivan of Waco, vice chairman of the beard,
Plans to attend the meeting. He chartered a plane
left at 5 a.m. Friday morning, instructing the
Memphis. hour, dozed
Still Sleepy because of the early off
soon as the Plane took off, then woke up about
ca:toW?" he asked the pilot.
ust 1..._ exarkana,,, the pilot told Sullivan. Sul-
---s,, and went back to sleep.
°n, and Sullivan knew that it was time to land
asked the pilot about the delay, and the
fog Was holding, them up. Sullivan then
me more sleep.
he was on the ground in Memphis.
however, but Memphis, Tennesseel!
didn,t know about Memphis, Texas.
Plane, ate breakfast, and then depart-
s, Texas, where he made the board
• • • not on time, but at least he wasthere.
NEWHOUSE BOUGHT a new electric chain saw
was very, very proud of it. He toted it out to
u some firewood for his fireplace, but he
K sOcket anywhere out there.
Story to be true, but Rabbit Osburn says
THESE CLARENDON HighSchool studentsattendedtheorga-
ulzational meeting of the Clarendon High School Key Club
Monday night. The Key Club is sponsored by the Clarendon
Kiwanis Club. Pictured here are Alan Harper, Gary Jack,
Twelve Pages
No. 45
US to another story Rabbit Osburn told
that Bright had an insurance meeting
Rabbit said that Bright drove his car
is, attended the meeting, then forgot about
aM rode the bus home.
had left his car, he went back to the bus
ticket, and rode back to Memphis.
at least it's a good story.
my wife and I made a Sunday trip to my
It had been quite a spell since I
way, and we Just decided to run down
It was a rewarding afternoon, be-
many fond memories of my boyhood.
once said that "You can never go home
I believe there's merit in that state-
a few short years, has changed so
town. Factories have gone up
rues have been built by the hundreds. To
town is growing up. Even the streets
n thing s that never change. We drove by
and saw boys and girls sitting on the
Used to do. We saw tennis players playing
COurts we used to u
- dra-,, • , se, and we saw teen-
lust as was the case 7 or 8 years
town When I was a bey, I lived 20 miles
As we left Graham, we drove out on the
to the old home place where I spent
As we drove, I saw new houses which had
And old houses, which 7 or 8
activity from their occupants,
ed. SOme of them weren't even standing.
most of them elderly, who oc-
Many of them have died, and the
rues, their home-places rotting in the
where my friends lived. Most of
things in the cities. The youth of
around our home Place has left, most of it
stay.
ur hbme lnthe country were once well-
With Paint and flower beds. Now, as the
vn too old and feeble to take care of their
ed.
tthrongh my mind as we drove past
once knew were astounding. I re-
drove to town twice a week to buy
Sday afternoon and once on Friday
our time was spent in the country.
a trip to town was very special),
miles home to feed the pigs and
ring..
e. But, they're Jhst mere-
knew on the farm is no longer there.
me, never to be again. The mere-
goes from day to day. Yester-
it Will never be again.
An organizational meeting was held Monday night for the
formation of the Clarendon High School Key Club, an or-
ganization of high school boys sponsored by the Clarendon
Kiwalds Club.
The Key Club is an international organization of boys.
Each local group works as a service organization, work-
ing for the community and school.
Several Clarendon boys, along with Kiwanis Club mem-
bers, have travelled to various Key Clubs in the Panhan-
dle to get information about forming a club.
Ten boys met at the high school cafeteria Monday night to
organize the local Key Club. They met again Wednesday
morning. They will apply for a charter from the Inter-
national headquarters.
Elected as temporary officers were Alan Harper, presi-
dent; Danny Monroe, vice president; Tommy Hill, secre-
tary; and Wayne Hardin, treasurer.
Other boys who attended the organizational meeting in-
cluded Roy Monroe, Gary Jack, Eddie Eads, Mac Thornberry,
Randy Crosiin and Scott Hamilton•
Basil Smith will serve as Kiwanis Club sponsor for the
Key Club. The high school principal will serve as the school
sponsor.
Kiwanians attending the organizational meeting included
Darell Harper, Basil Smith, Jeff Walker, Earl Ford and
Dean Singleton. A group of Key Club members from Pampa
instructed the group on organizing the new Key Clu. Five
Kiwanians from Parpa attended.
The special guest for the organizational meeting was it.
Gov. Jim Gilmer of Amarillo.
THIS CAR WAS DRIVEN by Eng:nta Tatum of Clarendon when it collid,d with a Childress
car in a grinding collision Sunday afternoon. Seven persons were injured. (Press Photo
by Will Lowe)
SPRING has brought out the squirrels in full force. This
squirrel was having a great time Sunday when photographer
Will Lowe snapped a shot. The squirrelproved very photo-
genic.
Hospital race
gains momentum
The race for the Donley County Hospital District board of
directors gained new momentum as the filing deadline ap-
proached last Friday. Four more persons filed for places
on the hospital board. Four members had filedthe week be-
fore.
The four newest entriesinthe race include Ernest Barbee,
Place 1; Delbert Robertson, Place 2; and Dot Doty and Lacy
Noble in Place 3.
Three places are to be filled on the 7-member board. This
is the first election in Doniey County history to elect the
hospital board members. The board formerly has been ap-
pointed by the Commissioners Court, but a new bill which
passed in Austin last week called for the election of the
board members. The other four places are filled this year
by bold-over board members, who will run for election next
April. This year's election is set for $hrdav April 7.
With the new entries and the deadline already past, here's
how the election sizes up. The following names will be list-
ed in this order on your ballot.
Mac Thornberry, Scott Hamilton, Eddie Eads, Danny Monroe,
Randy Croslin and Wayne Hardin. Not pictured is Tommy
Hill, who also attended. (Press Photo)
Council sets zoning hearing
The Clarendon City Council Tuesday night set a tenta-
tive date of April 10 fora zoning hearing to consider the re-
zoning of a tract of landwest of the First Baptist Church for
a proposed 102-bed nursing home•
A request was made that the council consider re-zoning
the property for a nursing home, but not for any other pur-
pose. The council will confer with the Panhandle Regional
Planning Commission on the matter.
McDonnell Construction Company of Abilene announced
last week that they will build the ultra-modern nursing
complex in the near future if the PRPC and city council
approve the plans. The project is estimated to cost in
excess of $400,000.
For those who haven't bought license plates yet, better
hurry! The deadline for having plates on cars is April
1, Just over a week away. The tax office closes at 5 p.m.
on Friday, March 30, and won't open again until Monday,
March 30.
The local tax office said that about 1,000 cars had been
registered, to date which is about half to two-thirds the total
cars in the county. So they expect a mad rush at the last
minute•
Place 1, Ernest Barbee and Roland Shields.
Place 2, Delbert Robertson, Mrs. T. M. Caldwell and Owen
Johnson.
Place 3, DOt Doty, Darell Harper and Lacy Nobles.
The last four entries came on the final day, with three of the
entries in the race made during the final hour before filing
deadline.
Ernest'Barbee lsafarmer lnDonley County. He is a form-
er member of the Donley County Hospital Board. He was on
the beard when the original lawsuit was filed against Dr.
George Smith by the hospital board. He was one of the mem-
bers who was removed from the hospital board when their
terms expired on April I, 1972. Commissioners replaced four
member s on that board because they felt the board acted "ir-
responsibly" by filing the lawsuit against the county's only
doctor.
Robertson is prese!y serving on the hospital board. His
term expires April l.obertson was also on the board which
filed the lawsuit against Smith. He is a mortician for Murphy
Funeral Home. Robertson was consistently voting in a dif-
fering direction from the majority of the present board. He
had previously announced that he would not seek another term
on the hospital board, but he changed his mind prior to the
deadline.
Mrs. Doty, wholivesatSherwoodShores, is a nurse. She is
the wife of Glenn Dory, a carpenter.
Lacy Noble is a Lelia Lake farmer, well-known to most
Donley County residents. He and Mrs. Dory are newcomers
to the hospital scene.
Shields is a Clarendon farmer, Mrs. Caldwell is a house-
wife and Owen Johnson is a partner in Wallace Monument
Company. Harper is sales manager for Chamberlain Motor
Company. These members filed week before last for the
board.
Seven persons injured in auto crash
Seven persons were injured in a grinding 2-car wreck at
the intersection of Highway 287 and Farm Road 1260 near
Lelia Lake Sunday afternoon at about 3:30 p.m.
The wreck involved a 1967 Ford, driven by Ava Slaton of
Chlldress, and a 1967 Chevrolet driven by EugenlaTatum of
Clarendon.
Investigating Highway Patrolman Ray Burch said the Slaton
car was travelling east on Hwy. 287 when the Tatum car
crashed into the side of it. Mrs. Tatum aPparently didn't
see a Yield sign, Burch said.
The injured, all taken to Hall County Hospital, included
Mrs. Slaton, Mrs. Tatum, Crystal Tatum, Edna Mae Watts,
John Tatum and Thomas Lee Tatum. All were released by
Tuesday. .
Tills .UTO was driven by Mrs. Ava SIMon of Clflldrcss wlwn it and it Ciart,ndon car
collided during a grinding wreck m, ar Lelia Lake Sunday. (Press Photo by Will l,owe)
