September 15-21, 1949 

Ruffin native George Washington Mitchell has died in France where he was an employee of the American embassy for nearly a half-century. He was about 70. 

His body will be returned to Rockingham County for burial in the Mt. Hermon Baptist Church cemetery at Ruffin, according to his sister, Mrs. Sina Warner of Ruffin. 

Mitchell grew up on a farm but left the county in his early 20s. There are different accounts of how he got to Paris. Some say he was a wild horse rider with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show when it played there but others think he was a bareback rider for Barnum and Bailey's Circus. 

In any event, he took a liking to Paris and, in 1902, found work at the embassy. After a few years, he was promoted to doorman, a job he held until his death. During World War II, he moved with the embassy staff to Lisbon and returned to Paris after it was liberated. 

A Paris correspondent said Mitchell was "known to all the great and near-greats in many fields who came to Paris since the turn of the century." He was photographed by virtually every important French and American photographer and was described as "the confidant of artists, businessmen and diplomats." He could speak French and German and had visited every capital in Europe. 

Annie Penn Memorial Hospital administrator J.W. Harbison said the hospital has begun a policy of requiring incoming patients to post a deposit upon entering, with emergency and charity cases being the only exceptions.... A.E. Fair has been elected chairman of the Leaksville-Spray-Draper Red Cross chapter, succeeding Mrs. Frank T. Suttenfield.... Businessman Paul D. Hastings will be chairman of the Reidsville Salvation Army's fall fund-raising campaign. 

Reidsville Luckies first baseman Leo (Muscle) Shoals completed the kind of season most hitters can only dream of: He stroked a league-record 55 home runs, led the league with 137 runs batted in and was second in batting average at .359.... According to Fifth District Highway Commissioner James Barnwell, the $3,644,429 that Rockingham County will get from the state road bond issue will pave 138 miles of dirt roads. The remaining 515 miles of dirt roads will be stabilized, stoned, widened and straightened and banks along them will be cut back, he said.... A new Boy Scout troop is being organized by the Baraca Sunday school class at First Congregational Church in Reidsville. 

For the house: Three-piece bedroom suite, with mattress and springs, $109.95. 

Let's go riding: Hudson Super-Six four-door sedan, fully equipped including heater, $2,347. 

At the grocery: White potatoes, 10 pounds for 43 cents; fresh-killed, dressed fryers, 49 cents a pound; grapes, 17 cents a pound; cabbage, 2 pounds for 10 cents.