The Red Cross always is
tliere to help in time of
distress.
VOLUME XXX
The Blackbird
^^blished by Journalism Class of Rocky Moimt Senior High School
Join the Junior Red Cross
l»riYe, whicli starts member-
ship October ‘20
ROCKY MOUNT. N. C. TUESDAY, OCTOUER 14, 1958
Three Girls Prove Old Adage
‘Female Smarter Than Male’
Judy Leonard, (Jail Wald, and
Roberta Williams proved the much
disputed remark, “Girls are smart
er than boys,” when these girls
became semilirialists in the 1958-5i)
National .Merit Scholarship Compe
tition.
Out of 479,000 students, the three
Rocky Mount High School seniors
were among 10,00 of highest scor
ers on the National Merit Scholar
ship Qualifying Test endorsed them
as semifinalists. This moved the
girls a step closer to a part of an
estimated $5 mills in Merit Scholar
ships.
.'l-Hoiir Exam >'ext
Judy, (iail and Roberta with
the other seminflists, will next
take a three-hour examination, the
Scholastic Aptitude Test of the
College Entrance Examination
Board. This test will be given in
testing centers throughout the
United States Uecemiber C.
The girls have been sent “just
pages and pages” of foinis to fill
out. This wiil supply the examin
ing board with ail the needed
information about the girls and
their school I'fe.
Students passing the semifinals
will, as finalists, be eligible for
$5 millions in awards •ponsored
by business organizations all over
America. In this the final phase
of the competition, high school
grades, extracurricular activities,
and student leadership will be
graded as well as the tests.
■Winners To Get 4-Year Fnnd
Those named the Mei it Scholars
of 1959 will receive a four-year
award covering the four college
years. Additional funds will be pro
vided acording to the individual
needs of the student. The Merit
Scholars will be announced about
May. 1.
All finalists will be awarded
Certificates of Merit which recog
nizes their high ability. All col
leges will be notified, ena/bling
these students to be considered tor
other awards.
^ Nearly one-third of the national
tlon ol N. C. will be attending^ senior ciass has been tested. The
Another Holiday!
Schools out! Rocky Mount
schools will close an entire day
for the annual meeting of the
NCEA (North Carolina Educa
tion Association) in Elizabeth
City, Tuesday, October 21.
This makes a holiday for the
students but the “poor” teach
ers from the North-Eastern sec-
meetings.( This day really must
be made up.)
>U.HBER 2
Successful ‘Mag’ Sale Ends
6i
'I Want That!’’
t'liris Woodard, soiihoniure, JTary Will Woodard, junior, and Law
rence Satterfield, senior, top mai^azine salesmen in each class, nre
iiavinft trouble decldinfr whicli of the many prizes they want for
tlieir acliievement. piioto by Johnnie Harper
Casting Complete
^Lights Out’ Stars Seniors
goal of these tests is to make it
possible for a greater number of
students to enter college next fall.
Carolyn J. Nickols Now Waits
For Outcome of Press Meet
Carolyn Jean Nichols, Rocky
Mount’s and The News and Obser
ver’s Representative to the Ford
Motor Company’s National Teen-
Age Press Conference, has a long,
anxious wait before she will learn
whether she is a winner of one
of the five scholarships.
True To Type
Carolyn >’ichols, contest win
ner, keeps busy to help time
pass faster until Ford sciioiar-
ship winners are announced next
mouth.
In competition with 174 other
students from all over the United
States, AAlaska, and Hawaii, Caro
lyn spent a little over two days in
Detroit, Michigan. Contestants were
required to answer a detailed ques
tionaire on their grades, choices
of subjects, hobbies, and extra
curricular activities.
Contestants also had to attend
press conferences and turn in a
news account of Ford’s ’59 car line.
Winners of one $8,000 scholarship
and four $1,000 scholarships will
be announced in November.
Though contestants worked quite
hard most of the time, they still
had fun and were entertained at
a banquet which featured a floor
show with Jill Corey, popular
s’.nger, and the Stepbrothers, a
dance- team.
WTiile in Detroit, all contestants
stayed at the Statler Hotel as
guests of the Ford Motor Company.
Students tried out the '59 Ford in
groups of four. Carolyn’s group
won the gas economy contest and
they each received a gift.
Carolyn was teased quite often
in a friendly way by the many
“Yankees” about her Southern
accent.
“Ligbis Oiit,” a threc-act
tery comedy, has its complete ciist
with Honey .Hclntyre, Lou Ann
Ann Randoipii and Edtvard Fleming
New Room Mystery
What’s in the “Green Rom?’
looks like is a mystery to every
one but the members of Black
Masquers, because it is a private
room that may be entered only by
members of this honorary organi
zation for dramatic students.
Besides re-decorating the Green
Room and helping .Mrs. Ada Hobbs,
dramatics teacher and advisor to
the club, choose the cast for the
play “Lights Out,” members of the
organization are drawing up a new
constitution.
Officers recently elected are
Honey McIntyre, president; Sandra
Hardesty, vice president; Glenda
Ferrell, secretary; and Jolm Wa-
lers, treasurer.
To be eligible for membership in
The Black Masquers, one must
have worked on two major pro
ductions.
Posters Now Down
As Campaign Ends
Posters are down, homerooms will
be visited no more, for 'file Biaclt-
bird officially closed its supscrip--
tion campaign, leaving the staff
quite sad because they didn’t reach
the goal of 600.
In the campaign the sophomores
were ahead, with seniors next, and
the juniors lagging. Though subs
cription sales fell far below the
goal, the staff reports that it will
do its best to uphold the faith of
the ones who did subscribe.
All members of the staff were in
competition with each other to see
who could sell the most subscrip
tions Ref?ina Harles, Susie Street,
and Judy Smitii lead. Each sold
over thirty subscriptions.
Piayimr the laadln^ roltw
other members of the'cast with
important parts are Skippy Best,
Jerry Biankenshi)), Penny Connell,
Diane Kennedy, Brenda Robinson,
Judy Sorrell, Dale Stevens and
Wayne White.
“Lights Out” takes place at a
house party with a possible buyer
for the Stimwell estate- That’s
all Agnes Harwood (Honey Mc
Intyre) had expected when she
invited several acquaintances for
a week-end at the mansion. But
what a night of thrills and chills
lay ahead for both guests and hos
tess, a night filled with creeping
figures, ghostly threats and a
strange voice in the dark!
Many hours already have been
spent by Mrs. Ada Hobbs, drama
tics teacher, in the casting of this
first Edsonian production of this
year.
Plans are still incomplete as to
the presentation date.
Work Pays Off
After Ten Days
With reports in and prizes se
lected, one of the reportedly big
gest magazine campaigns ever to
hit Senior Higli has ended after
ten toilsome days of students’
knocking on doors and pleading
with customers for sales.
Three most successful door-
knocker.s in the sctiool are Cliris
Woodard, Lawrence Satterfield,
and >Iary Will Woodard. Highest
honieroni in sales was that of Mr.
Chris t'arpeuter. As a reward Mr.
Carpenter’s homeroom will enjoy
a free trip to tiie Ice Capades in
Raleigh.
Mr. Carpenter will dine with
-Mr. C. W. Doak (of the Curtiss
Publishing Company) in Raleigh
before joining his homeroom at the
Ice Capades.
The junir class was the highest
in total sales fololwed by the sopho
mores and seniors. Each class con
tributes part of its profits to the
student organization. Sophomores
and seniors give twenty-five per
cent. However, since the juniors
sponsor the Junior-Senior, only ten
per cent of their profit goes to the
SO.
At the time of this writing, re
ports have not been completed but
Miss Gate Parks Kitchen, SO ad
visor, stated that the response of
the students for this campaign has
been overwhelming.
Miss Kitchen also said that the
student participation in this cam
paign has been wonderful and that
a camipaign like this is a demon
stration of the students’ abilities
and is a credit to the school.
Ptzes ranged from a fountain
pen set for the seller of ?20 worth
of subscriptions to a portable radio
for a $325 salesman. A certificate
of achievement was given to any
one selling ?30 or more.
Senior Highers Eligible
‘I Speak For Democracy’
To Enter Contest
All Senior Highers are eligible
for the “I speak tor Democracy”
contest, which this year will be
under the direction of Mr. Julius
Abernathy, Speech Club advisor
and math teacher.
Deadline for all talks Is October
15, an dthey should range from
three to five minutes in length.
Talks will be recorded on a tape
recorder by Mr. Abernathy and the
lap will be played back to judges,
who will decide upon and anounce
a winner.
I/ast year’s winner, Carolyn Nic
hols, will be trying again. Carolyn
has already won several other im
portant journalistic awards this
year, including first place in “Your
Newspaper Guards Your FreedO’m,”
an editorial contest sponsored by
the Elks Cluib, and first place in
the News and Observer’s press
contest.
Those students who are interest
ed in the speaking contest should
see Mr. Abernathy in homeroom
206, located in B-(building as soon as
possible.