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The NEW BERN
PUBLISHID WBiKLY
IN THI HMi OP
_ "AtTBRN NORTH
Ifo,., norn tic 28^60
VOLUME 15
NEW BERN, N. C. 28560, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1972
NUMBER 31
Back in the days when
railroading was one of New
Bern’s major occupations, no
self respecting trainman would
have bMn caught wearing a
wrist watch. A pocket watch—
almost alwan a Hamilton—was
the accq>tea timepiece.
Once a month, as we recall,
every engineer, fireman,
brakeman and conductor
headed for Eaton’s Jewelry
Store, where Jake Ziegler
checked the watches for ac>
curacy, and regulated them if
necessary. Understandably,
even the slightest deviation
called for correction.
Pocket watches are still
regarded by railroad men as
essential (or their Jobs, not only
here but across the nation and
around the world. Some of the
oldsters have had theirs 40
years or more. They are
cleaned every 18 months, in
keeping with railroad policy.
We were reading the other
day about a survey made
among 1,000 employees of the
New Haven Railroad. It
revealed that only 50 of them
use wrist watches. On the
Southern Pacific, officials are
permitting a switch to this type
of watch after 107 years. It
seems a manufacturer has
made a wrist watch that is
acceptable to the industry.
Wearing a pocket watch in. the
old days wasn’t exculsively a
railroad practice. Ail of New
Bern’s leading citisens (the
males that is) sported them,
attached to a gold chain strung
proudly across their vest. A bay
window served to make the
chain’s appearance more
resplendent. To this day, we’ve
never figured out anything else
that a monstrous paunch is good
for.
The chains went out of style,
and in due time the vests
became obsolete too. Fairly
recently the vest was revived as
a piece of attire for the male
gender, and dazzling colors
have b^ome dear to the heart
of spor^ individuals around our
town. Could it be that watch
chains are on the way back, to
further brigthen the local scene.
Maybe a man is a fool to ever
thiw away something that he
can possibly wear again when
the styles change. Certainly a
thrifty woman could have saved
herself money by storing foe
bucket-like hats she wore in foe
Thirties until they became aU
foe rage in the Sixties.
Personally, we’ve always
been imprra^ by the big
picture hats that a tall and
stately female can wear so
becomingly. Unfortunately,
perhaps, a lot of our pretfo girls
are short, and a picture hat m
them looks like a toad frog
seeking shelter under a large
leaf.
Don’t let anyme kid you, men
always take a second glance at
foe gal who is dolled up in
something frilly and dainty and
feminine. It makes them feel
su^nsciouriy protective, and
that in turn makes them feel
important. When a woman
fee« a num’s sense of im
portance, he is easier to capture
and subdue than a stray
(Continued on page 8)
f, V
A Fellow With A Pole Up A Lazy Stream
Can Catch A Fish Or Mostly Dream.
—Photo by Theodore Baxter.