This week in Canton history...

Submitted by Canton1 on
By Sandra Jones Van Zandt County Genealogical Society

CANTON HERALD, March 23, 1950: 

Fight against rabies begins in county: A group of men of the Willow Springs Community, under the leadership of Tommy Weatherall and Booze Phillips, rounded up the dogs in the community for the purpose of vaccinating them against rabies late Wednesday afternoon.  Charles MacMahan, GI agricultural teacher, Devon Davis, VA teacher in Edgewood and O.B. King, vocational agricultural instructor at the local high school instructed Weatherall and Phillips and the owners of 82 dogs how to correctly vaccinate them.  Mr. King reported that last Monday afternoon a group of men in the Wallace community got together and vaccinated approximately 24 dogs.  Mr. King stated that by vaccinating dogs and other animals the spread of rabies in the county can be held down. Any community or group of men interested in having their dogs and pets vaccinated against rabies is urged to contact O.B. King or any veteran or agricultural instructor who will be only too glad to cooperate with them.  John W. White of Canton, district agent for the U. S. fish and wildlife service, attended a meeting last week in Tyler for the purpose of developing an area wide control program.

Van Zandt County is one of the hardest hit counties in the state.  Each citizen can help beat down the disease by destroying foxes.  Foxes are not protected by any federal or state law, although the hunter may not keep the skins.  The dead fox must be buried or left where he is killed.

A check of the doctors in Canton early this week showed that seven citizens from Canton are being treated for coming in contact with rabid animals.

Dr. J.O. Crim of Van, Veterinarian, stated the he has sent the head of two cows to Austin and both have come back with the report that they were rabid.  He vaccinated 140 dogs at Edom last week, 64 dogs at Martins Mill, 42 at Providence and 26 in Garden Valley.  In all, he has vaccinated approximately 600 dogs in the past several weeks.

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