Marguerite Cline, Mayor of Waleska for some fourteen years, documented a most interesting piece of the city’s history in the July 11, 2014, issue of the Cherokee Tribune. It seems a Waleska couple named Cline were having their floors redone, and in the process of emptying the room came across an old book which outlined the ordinances of the City of Waleska. It had no date, but as Waleska was incorporated in 1889, that serves as a “not before” date. Given that it was published before the advent of electricity, and that by 1935 roughly 70% of all homes in the US had electricity, I’d suggest that the fifty-year span between 1889 and 1939 is a safe bet as to the date the book was written. In reviewing it she noted that the town marshal was surely the busiest man in town.

You certainly expect the marshal to be responsible for law enforcement, and he was. Many of these ordinances seem peculiar today, such as the one authorizing the marshal to inspect premises to ensure that they did not have a chicken coop in front of their house or on the sidewalk. He was also required to impound every horse, mare, mule, hog, cow, or goat found running loose in town. Owners were required to pay fifty cents for the first day, plus an additional twenty cents per day the animal was impounded, for the return of their livestock. There were other traffic problems in Waleska, with ordinances making it illegal to put glass or anything else in the streets and sidewalks that might cut either the feet of its citizens or bicycle tires. Also, interestingly, maintenance of the streets and sidewalks was considered a civic duty and not a government one: “Every male person within the jurisdiction of Waleska who would be subject to road duty shall be liable to work upon the streets and sidewalks of said town for such number of days each year as the Council may fix for that year, not to exceed ten days.” If someone resisted this civic duty, the marshal was in possession of a ball and chain and authorized to use it.