Few characters in this grand old
town of ours were ever more color
ful than Sigmund Bloomgardt, who
ran a little second-rate clothing
establishment on lower Middle
street.
Bloomy, as he was affectionate
ly referred to by natives who knew
him, didn’t prosper quite as much
as some of our other respected
Jewish merchants who came to New
Bern from across the sea. If that
ever bothered him, he didn’t com;
plain about it.
Having hailed from Germany, as
did his wife, if we remember
rightly, he naturally was regarded
with a certain amount of hostility
during the first World War. He had
less than nothing in common with
those responsible for that, mighty
conflict, but it made him an object
for'suspicion and ridicule just the
same.
Small boys ,.living in Bloomy’s
neighborhood, over on Eden street,
used to taunt him whenever he
came out of the house, or ventured
into his yard. Always it was the
same rhyming chant:
“Kaiser Bill went up the hill
, to take a look at France;
Kaiser Bill came down the hill
With bullets in his pants.’’
Actually, Kaiser Bill never got
any bullets in his pants, or any
where else. Defeated in war, he
was sent into exile and lived to a
very ripe old age. Hence, the chant
hurled at Bloomy was more poetry
than^truth.
Bloomy might have been a beau
tiful baby, but physical attractive
ness wasn’t one of his assets in
later years. He had an exception
ally ugly face, but his friendly
smile worked wonders in winning
the favor of ail who knew him.
During the depression, when
Hoover had everybody looking for
prosperity just around the corner,
serving on a jury at the County
Courthouse was an opportunity
rather than a burden.
Picking up a few dollars in this
fashion was a fortunate thing for
some of the folks who had empty
pocketbooks. Bloomy qualified for
this category, and landed in the
' jury box fairly often.
Hard of hearing, he njissed most
of the testimony, and the big words
used by blustering lawyers in their
pleas to the jury were, to put it
mildly, far beyond his .comprehen
sion.
Perhaps it was just as well. At
any rate, the juries that Bloomy
served on invariably rendered good
verdicts, which makes us wonder
if it wouldn’t be better today if
some jurors heard less.
To think of Bloomy is to think of
his big black umbrella. He toted
it rain or shine, to and from home,
and got kidded about it a lot. Those
who kidded him got soaked by a
f considerable number of sudden
showers, as the years rolled by.
Bloomy meanwhile stayed dry.
It never occurred to this kind
ly German Jew that he was making
history in his journey from the
cradle to the grave. Yet, his per
sonality is interwoven in the fab
ric of New Bern’s lasting lore.
In the final analysis, we forget
the so-called big wheels who dom
inate our community life for their
comparatively short stay on earth.
Their contribution, great or small,
passes into oblivion, while remain
ing ever fresh are the memories
of folks like Bloomy.
Bloomy amassed no wealth, wrote
no book, composed no ^song, nor
elected to political office. He did
n’t look important, and measured
by things material he lived up to
his looks.
Why then, do so many New Bern-
ians still remember the likes of
him? It’s a question not easily an
swered. His immortality stems from
the intangible. That’s a word
Tfie HE\N BERN
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
IN THE HEART OF
EASTERN NORTH
CAROLINA
5^ Per Copy
VOLUME I
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, JULY 18, 1958
NUMBER 16
HE STILL REMEMBERS—Buster Willis, the 13-
year-oid Boston bull who bosses the Raymond Wil
lis home at 906 Christopher Avenue, never has
figured out'why the family telephone conked him
on the head when he was just a puppy—a few
weeks old.
Actually, it did him a big favor, seeing as how
it cured him of-nibbling and yanking lamp cords.
What happened before the telephone episode
should have cured him, but it 6nly made him
world famous. ” "
Fresh from weaning, he bit into a lamp cord on
an otherwise peaceful morning, and inadvertently
turned himself into an electric appliance. Ordi
narily, he was content to tug at cords in much the
same way that he tugged at Raymond's and Mary's
heartstrings. This time it was different.
He was stiffer than a starched collar when his
owners found him. He still had the severed cord
clenched between his teeth, and the end of his
tongue had been neatly clipped off by the 110
volts racing through his tiny body. The rest of
his tongue had disappeared down his throat.
"He'll either live or. die," Dr. D. R. Coppage
said, "and there isn't much we can do about it."
Buster appeared right dead, so Dr. Coppage ap
peared dead right.
Three day's later, Buster's unconscious twitch-
ings turned to wiggles. Having been lit up with
some pretty strong stuff, he didn't act too joyous
' when he staggered to his feet.
Winning a tug of war over all available lamp
cords, he latched onto the telephone cord. The
telephone had Buster's number. It toppled from a
' small table, and clobbered him, as they say in places
other than Harvard. The blow woke- Buster up
instead of putting him to sleep.
From that day to this, Buster has assigned the
telephone to long distance, and Buster does the
measuring. Don't bother to cali the Willis home, if
Raymond and Mary aren't at home.
The phone won't be busy, but Buster will be
—minding his own business. That large charge did
serve one other purpose, aside from solving the
cord problem. It gave Buster so much energy, stor
ed up in his innards, tjiat he is still a live wire,
despite his advanced years.
p
Crusade Chairmen Are Busy
Preliminary work to assure the
success of the Laymen’s Witness
for Christ Crusade that opens here
on August 16 is well underway.
Committees and their chairmen
have already been named, and the
committees are functionmg. Spur
red by the realization that never
before in the nation have so many
prominent lay speakers assembled
in a single city, local church lead
ers are highly enthusiastic.
Named as executive chairman of
the one-week series of services in
the New Bern high school auditor
ium was Ernest Smith, who is
largely responsible ' for bringing
the Crusade here.
Livingston Stallings will serve
as chairman of the finance com
mittee, while Donald Smith is mu
sic chairman. Others named are
Harry Wright, publicity chairman;
Tim Montgomery, prayer chair
man; Sam Futrell and Milton Lang
ston, co-chairmen for reservations;
J. Wilbur Smith and V. J. Chance,
co-chairmen for ushers; Cedric
Boyd, auditorium chairman; J. E.
Edwards, chairman for business
Wasn't Hard to Sense the
Gravity of Lebanese Move
New Bernians had little trou
ble sensing the gravity of the
Lebanese crisis, when the storm
broke this week.
Before the official announce
ment that Marines were being
sent into the trouble zone, news
of the impending action filtered
out of Cherry Point and Camp
Lejeune through unofficial med
iums.
Citizens in these parts stir
red uneasily, recalling the move
ments of men from the two big
bases during World War Two
and the later. Korean action.
Bloomy wouldn’t have understood,
but New Bern understood Bloomy.
What else mattered?
Most apprehensive of all were
the many Marine families living
in our. midst, and their count
less friends. Home is where the
heart is, and this thing had ar
rived there to dampen the joy
that a heart should have.
A service town such as this
does not have to read the pa
pers, listen to radio, or watch
television to know when an in
ternational crisis looms on the
horizon.
Invariably, it is reflected in
the activity engendered at near
by bases. There has been noth
ing routine about the activity at
either base in recent days, len
der the circumstances, this could
hardly be classified as surpris
ing.
firms; Mrs. W. F. Dowdy, Sr., res
idential chairman; Rev. K. Alvin
Pitt and Capt. W. H. Abernethy,
co-chairmen for personal workers;
Rev. Cevil Campbell, ministers’ ad
visory chairman; and Craig Barn-
hardt, hospitality chairman.
Aside from New Bern, intense
interest in the Crusade has been
voiced over a wide area, and large
groups from neighboring commun
ities are already making plans to
attend.
More of Something
Needed if Warden
Is to Catch Kitty
Maybe New Bern’s dog catcher
should take a course in cat catch
ing, or else get a larger and strong
er net.
All primed to ensnare a number
of objectionable cats on King street
the other day, he managed to
catch the oldest and orneriest fe
line of the lot.
That is, he caught the critter
temporarily. Clawing and biting
like two infuriated women in a
hair pulling contest, the cat ripped
his way through the net and took
off down the street.
How far can a cat run before
he runs out of breath? That, if
the dog catcher is still interested
is where he’ll find the town’s most
determined escape artist.
Suggest Plan
To Foil Fake
Call for Aid
Like other New Bernians, Ken
and Shirley Margolis haven’t been
too happy over the revelation in
last week’s Mirror that someone
with a viciously warped sense of
humor is placing fake ambulance
calls here.
This unbelievably cruel charac
ter calls up in the wee small hours
and pretends that there is an acci
dent victim in dire need of emer
gency attention.
These urgent pleas for help
haven’t come from pay phones, but
from some residence. The caller,
obviously no stranger, has shown
by his descriptions of make be
lieve accident locations that he
knows New Bern and its surround
ings.
Ken and Shirley, it seems to us,
have come up with a suggestion
that can cramp the style of this
character and others like him. In
fact, it can put him out of busi
ness.
It will only take a few seconds,
they reason, to verify afiy and all
ambulance calls. When a call
comes to one of the local funeral
homes for an ambulance, the am
bulance driver, or anyone else re
ceiving the call, can ask the num
ber of the phone from which the
call is coming.
The driver could say, “Please
give me the number of your phone
ahd I’ll call you right back to con
firm it.”
If the caller was faking, from
his usual private phone, he would
n’t comply, knowing he would give
himself away. If the call was on
the level, such a request from the
ambulance driver would bring a
forthright reply.
The same procedure, if follow
ed, would no doubt discourage
such a character from phoning in
false fire alarms, if the notion
strikes him. If the call comes from
a pay phone, there’s a solution to
that, too. In calling back the num
ber for confirmation, the proprie
tor of the business establishment
can be asked for, and his identity
determined.
A Weekend Prayer
Gracious Father of the whole
human family, our hearts are ov
erwhelmed as we contemplate the
wonder of Thy workmanship in all
the earth. How vast the domain of
Thy Spirit ish How manifold Thy
creations are! How intricate the
patterns which are brought into
being by Thy divine power! We
acknowledge in humility that Thy
plans are marvelous beyond any
telling or understanding of them.
Gratitude wells up within us
when we recall that Thou hast set
us in families upon the earth. What
a rich blessing it is to be loved
within an intimate circle of fellow
ship, and to have opportunity for
extending love throughout that
same circle! Teach us, our Father,
the way of greater tenderness with
those who love us most. Increase
our patience and graciousness in
the Province of home. Make our
homes increasingly the instruments
which Thou canst use best in the
enlargement of Thy Kingdom.
Let us never forget, dear Father,
our relationship to the whole of
Thy family, wherever they may
live. Enlarge our hearts until those
who are not our kinsmen in blood
may truly be our kinsmen in broth
erhood. May nothing that is human
be foreign to our concern and our
compassion. Through Jesus Christ,
our Lord. Amen.—M. Elmore Turn
er, Pastor, Broad Street Christian
Church, New Bern, N. C.