Whenever anyone mentions ov
ercoming a handicap, Billy Arthur
pops up in our mind. This diminu
tive ex-New Bernian not only sur
mounted the obstacle of being just
36 inches tall, he capitalized on it
to good advantage.
Some of the world’s wee people
end up in carnivals or hide their
chagrin behind the grease-paint
mask of a circus clown. Billy, by
sharp contrast, thumbed his nos6
at an unkind Fate and asked no
quarter in earning his bread at
man-sized undertakings.
In the highly competitive field
of newspapering, you’re strictly on
your own. Fellow reporters are
much too busy meeting deadlines
to worry about the guy struggling
at the next typewriter. Editors
can’t fill up their pages with prom
ises, excuses or an alibi.
Billy knew that from the moment
he first faeed & blank piece of pa
per, and racked his brain for ideas.
Readers are prone to believe that
writing comes easy for some of us.
Good writing never does, and that’s
what Billy, even as the rest of us,
aspired to.
Here, on the ill-fated New Bern
Tribune, he gained the experience
that enabled him to establish and
maintain a successful newspaper at
Jacksonville. Billy was smart
enough to get a head start in the
early boom days of Camp Lejeune,
and smart enough to keep pace.
For reasons satisfactory to him
self, he later sold his paper and
moved to Chapel Hill, where he
still writes and still eats regularly.
While at Jacksonville, he got him
self elected to the legislature, and
after bowing out of office, became
reading clerk for the House.*
Billy may not have the reach
to pick apples off even the lowest
hanging limb, but in every other
way he measures up. That’s all that
counts. His legs, short though they
are, reach the ground, and the
tallest Silm Jim in captivity can
claim no imore than this. It’s not
the length of your lower extremi
ties, but the footprints you can
make on the sands of time that
gives you rank among mortals and
the right to look God in the face
without shame.
As a friend of Billy’s, we like
best his keen sense of humor. He
knows many a yarn that’s good for
a belly laugh, and some of them we
wouldn’t think of printing. Not un
less we planned to leave town on
the next plane.
One of his better pranks, while
he was a University of North Caro
lina cheerleader, had Ellis Fysal,
_ an All-Southern footballer as the
’ victim. Fysal, incidentally, is a
brother of Mrs. Albert Jowdy, Sr.,
of New Bern.
Ellis had played a particularly
good game on one occasion. In
fact, he was responsible for most
of the key tackles in a bruising bat
tle from which the Tar Heels
emerged victorious.
Chapel Hill’s most popular pho
tographer snapped a flock of pic
tures during the game, and Billy
knew that Ellis would want a col
lection of these photographs as a
keepsake of his best college per
formance.
Billy managed to get to the pho
tographs before Ellis showed up,
and removed every single picture
in which Fysal was shown making
a tackle or throwing a block. He
left for Ellis to see the compara
tively few pictures in which Ellis
- had been blocked out, bowled over,
or had his nose buried in the dirt.
Fysal ripped and roared like a
wounded lion, when he couldn’t
find anything worthy of preserving
for posterity. Billy let him blow his
stack until he was limp with ex
haustion, then let him in on the
secret.
That’s Billy Arthur for you—a
great little guy.
The NEW BERN
«b
Per ^
VOLUME
Vew
BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, T959
NUMBER 40
BETH EXTENDS GREETINGS — New Bern’s own Beth
Lansche has the honor of greeting this year’s Miss America,
Mary Ann Mobley, when she arrives for a visit at famed
Cypress Gardens in Florida. Gracious and charming, the
local youngster made history three months ago by qualify
ing as a full-fledged member of the world renowned Cy
press Gardens ski team just two days after she arriver for
a try-out. Beth gained necessary experience earlier at Trent
Pines here. “She has won the respect of everyone with her
skiing and modeling ability,” says Ed Pickard of the popular
resort, “and we are all delighted to have her with qs.” As
for Beth’s reaction, she told The Mirror that “they’re won
derful, kind and considerate, and just as nice as our folks
back home.”
Year Is Faced with Optimism
By Most Folks in These Parts
New Bernians in general are em
barking on this new year of 1959
with ‘a feeling of cautious opti
mism. On the home front they ex
pect the good things to outweigh
the bad, but on the international
scene they are less sure.
Local business men are looking
for no resounding boom, but holi
day sales held up well, and there
is little reason to fear a lull in
cash register ringing during com
ing months.
Farmers had a good year, thanks
to favorable weather conditions,
especially the heavy percentage of
farmers who depend upon tobacco
as a chief source of income.
National experts are predicting
an increase in cigarette smoking,
the cancer scare notwithstanding,
and weather closely comparable to
last summer’s during the coming
season would be a boost to agri
culture hereabouts, and resultingly
to all phases of the economic life
in New Bern and Craven county.
Politically, this predominantly
Democratic region is naturally hap
py over the decline of Republican
strength in Washington. The aver
age New Bernian who concerns
himself about such matters is con
vinced that the chances are excel
lent for election of a Democrat in
the next Presidential election.
This despite the fact that even
the most seasoned politician in
these parts admits he doesn’t have
the faintest idea of just whom his
party will nominate. For that mat
ter, few have decided notions as
to the Republican standard bearer.
Right or wrong, they feel that Nel-1 tion.
son Rockefeller stands a 50-50 Nothing immediately foreseeable
chance' of nosing out Vice-President on the local political scene for 1959
Richard M. Nixon for the nomina-' is expect;pd to create as much com-
INCLUDE ME IN—“Let me at it,” this black bird seems
to be saying, as he seeks landing room on a feeder that
Photographer Billy Benners set up for this exclusive Mirror
portrait of some of his fine feathered friends. All New Bern
ians have expressed the same sentiments as they forge full
speed ahead into the year that lies before them.
ment as the resignation in the wan
ing weeks of 1958 of City Manager
Craig L. Barnhardt.
Earnhardt’s departure from of
fice had been rumored from time
to time for many months, but
when the rumor evolved into fact
it came with a measure of, sur
prise. There was mixed reaction
to the news.
New Bern’s hopes for additional
industry don’t appear too bright at
this writing. Sale of Bate Lumber
Company in the last days of 1958
generated little enthusiasm. Most
citizens assumed a wait and see
attitude, but whatever the Bate
sale develops into, residents are
wishfully thinking in terms of fac
tories to supplement our admitted
historic assets.
Speaking of the potential gold,
that might be mined from our gold
en past, this is a year of unequal
ed opportunity. Official opening
of Tryon Palace is counted on to
attract an influx of tourist dollars.
Some New Bernians are skepti
cal about the Palace as a major
attraction, but if it should fail to
click as a show place there would
be keen disappointment felt by the
average person here.
Concentration on promotion of
the Palace, important though it is,
will be ill advised if it obscures the
urgent need to complete prepara
tion for a nationally recognized ob
servance of our 250th anniversary
in 1960.
The Palace is going to figure
conspicuously in the celebration,
(Continued on Page 2)