Asheville Citizen’s readers enjoyed decades of cartoons and the political views of “Billy” Borne. Willis “Billy” Gustavus Borne, whose father was from Switzerland, came here from Toledo, Ohio. He became the Citizen’s cartoonist in 1907 and was referred to as Asheville’s Tom Nast. One hundred years ago Borne gives a nod towards the end of 1915. Borne’s cartoons were used by
Jon Elliston opened his “Asheville in 1915” talk by appearing in period costume dressed as a “newsie” with a newspaper delivery bag slung over his shoulder, and walked up the aisle hollering out the news headlines of the day while passing out copies of a 1915 Asheville Citizen front page. All one hundred and fifty enthralled attendees were suddenly transported to