Tht NEW BERN
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
IN THE HEART OP
^ NORTH
VOLUME 15
NEW BERN, N. C. 28560, FRIDAY, MARCH 31,1972
NUMBER 3
Yesterday was w^ien we got to
know Private A. C. Vaughan of
Rh) Grande City, Texas, rathw
well, while emceeing USO
shows tor Cherry Point marines
during World War Two.
Ifls town had a popi^tion of
twelve hundred, and
remarkably, evei^ boy of
fighting age in Rio Grande City
was in the armed forces.
Periuqis no other cmnmunity
could make this boast.
Naturally, the foUu there fdt
pretty serious about the global
conflict. Every Wednesday
night, a midweek prayer ser
vice in their First Baptist
Church, the pastor used a slide
projector to flash photographs
on a screen in the sanctuary of
all local service men.
Prayers were said, and
someoDw the boys seemed to be
right there with their loved
ones, “my mother wrote me
about it,’* Private Vaughan
confided to us. “She says if I
close my eyes. I'll be able to see
mysdf in the church, and she
says if I listen, I might even
hear her prayers."
Less thim a week after the
Texas.youth told us this story,
he was on Us way to combat m
the Pacific. We never saw Um,
or heard firom Urn again, and it
has always been our grim hunch
tlud he died on one of tte
islands.
Vaughan, like so many
marines in those sad days,
learned to feel at home in New
Bern. He was somev^t on ^
shy side, vdiich no Texan is evw
supposed to be, but warmed up
when people went out of their
way to be kind.
Thank the Lord, a number of
people did, including mottierly
Rosa Daugherty who worked in
the canteen at the USO dub on
Blast FVont Street here. What
she did for boys in uniform has
to be a star in her crown.
One of the nice things about
being friendly toward
strangers, is the good feeling it
gives you inside, long after they
have gone out of your life
forever. It can warm your heart
in the coldness of later years.
To be kind to home towners,
who may be able to return the
favor, is sometimes based on
selfish motives. The real test
comes when you show con
sideration for those who will
never be in a position to
reciprocate.
Yesterday was when
Saturday night and Monday
morning were the peak periods
for water consumption in New
Bern. Washing yourself and
washing your clothes caused the
h»vy drain.
Today they could tell you at
dty Hall that the traditional
Saturday bath is a thing of the
! >ast, and offer figures to prove
t. And no longer do local
housewives wait until Mmiday
to get their laundry done.
Many a big vdieel around
town, if he speaks truthfully,
wiU have to admit that a bath
for him was a weekend affair,
until homes here became well
heated, and unlimited hot water
was available.
Climbing intoa bath tub in the
old days was a necessary or
deal, not a casual interlude of
(Continued mi page 8) i
IN THE LONG AGO—This frame edifice, com-
g leted in 1811, waa New Bern's original First
taptist church. It stood at the intersection of
Jtmnson and Metcalf on the same spot where St.
IlOyears.
dedicated in
seen here
was sold to the Christian denomination. They in
turn sold to Episcopalians, who worship in their
present brick structure. Again Hie Aurror ex
presses appreciation to the many persons in New
Bern, and far off places, who have commented
enthusiastically on this s^es of excee^gly rare
pictures.—Photo from Albert D. Brooks Collection.