North Carolina Newspapers

Vofame XX.—Number 34. Edenton Weathers Worst Storm In 20 Years Title To Hicks Field To Bis Aired Town Council And : School Trustees Will Hold Joint Meeting ©• One Deed Recorded In j 1723 and Another In 1914 ! TITLE CONFUSING Both Groups Anxious to Clear Up Matter of Ownership Town Council and Edenton School Trustees are scheduled to meet joint ly Tuesday night, August 25 at 7:30 o’clock in the Municipal Building. The purpose of this meeting is to consider title to Hicks Field which might pos sibly develop into a friendly suit in order to have the court decide who legally owns the large plot of ground. Old records are not so clear as to' the title, but in Book C, page 49, sec tion 2 and page 36, the following ap pears: “August 11, 1723, Robert Hicks to the Commissioners for Edenton a Deed for-Land adjacent thereto. “This iiidenture made this 9th day of August 1723 Between Robert Hicks of the Precinct of Chowan in the Pro vince of North Garolina on the one part and Christopher Gale, John Lo vick, Edward Mosely, Esq. & Nicholas Crisp Gent., on the other part Wit nesseth, Whereas the said Robert Hicks hath by Patent from the Lords Proprietors of the said Province Dat ed the 10th day of March 1721. One hundred acres of Land, adjoining on the back of the Land lay’d out for a Town called Edenton, bounded as by his Patt: Recorded may appear, Now this Indenture Witnesseth That said Robert Hicks for the better accommo dating of said Town with conveniences of Estovers and Pasturage to encour age the" further settlement thereof as also in consideration of the sum of Seven Pounds & Ten Shillings in hand paid by the said Christopher Gale, John Lovick, Edward Mosely & Nicho r (Continued on Page Twelve) County Schools W1 Begin Term Sept 7 White Oak School Be gins Monday, Aug ust 24<th W. J. Taylor, superintendent of county schools, announced this week that the White Oak Consolidated School will open the 1953-54 term on Monday, August 24. A teachers’ conference will be held at the school on Friday morning, Au gust 21, at 10 o’clock. Chowan High School and Rocky Hock schools will open Monday, Sep tember 7. A teachers’ conference will be held Friday, September 4, at the school.' Registration For School Aug. 25-26 All Entering School For First Time Required To Register Pre-school registration will be held in Edenton Schools on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 25 and 26. Students should register in the fol lowing locations between the hours, of 9 A. M., and 12:00 o'clock noon and a P. M., and 4 P. M., on the days in dicated. % 1 Students in grades 1-6—Edenton Elementary Building on Court Street. Students enrolling in grades 7-12— Edenton Junior-Senior High School building on North Broad Street. Those who should register are: 1. All students, elementary and high school, who have moved to Eden ton School District from other com jfc - 2. All beginners who will be six years of age on-or before October 16, fHE CHOWAN HERALD Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina. Thursday, Auerust 20,1953. [Powell BH Funds] Under the Powell Bill, which al locates funds to the various mu nicipalities for building and main taining streets, Edenton last week was notified that its share for this year will be $13,580, The amount is $1,580 above what Town Council estimated in the proposed budget for 1953- 54, where $12,000 was anticipated as revenue during the year. Coach Ben Perry” Working Daily On Football Machine Bleachers and Press Box Erected; First Game September 11 Coach Ben Perry has called for can didates to report for football practice at the Edenton High School and in the neighborhood of 30 boys have al ready donned uniforms and are get ting in condition for the coming grid iron season. The first drills were devoted to limbering up exercises and scrimmage sessions are now being held at night. Assistant Coach Alton Brooks has reported for duty and will assist Coach Perry in rounding out the 1963 Aces’ football machine. This year the Aces will be in the Albemarle Conference, having with drawn from the Northeastern Confer ence last year. As a result they will compete with smaller towns, but the going does not necessarily mean that the competition will not be keen. The first home game of the season is scheduled with Roanoke Rapids Fri day night, September 11, and other games will be with Columbia, William ston, Elizabeth City, Tarboro, Hert ford, Ahoskie, Goldsboro and William ston. The Roanoke Rapids, Elizabeth City and Goldsboro games will not be conference contests. An added attraction on the football field will be the new steel bleachers which were erected during the sum mer. They replace the wooden bleach ers which rotted to such an extent that they were unsafe. The steel bleachers on the south side of the field will seat 1,568 people, while the portable wooden bleachers on the north side will accommodate 570 spec tators. A press box has also been erected on the north side of the field, so that a better football atmosphere should (Continued on Page Twelve) Peanut Referendum WiH Be Held Aug. 29 Growers Will Vote on an Assessment of 1 Cent Per 100 Pounds The North Carolina Peanut Growers Association, Inc., will conduct a refer endum August 29 to determine if farmers will assess themelveß lc per 100 pounds of peanuts produced for commercial use. There are several specific things that could be done to aid in the mar keting of North Carolina peanuts. Some of these are: to keep producers informed of support prices, and help farmery make full use of the loan programs. The use of .Virginia type peanuts must be expanded in order to insure prosperity for the peanut in dustry. Promote the fact that Vir ginia-North Carolina peanuts have su perior quality for edible purposes. Work on transportation and storage problems in order to reduce market ing coßts and promote orderly mar keting, and many others. Every pea nut producer is urged to vote in the referendum August 29, 1963. - H jaycees Deny Any Os Members Wrote Letter To Herald President Tom Shepard Brings Matter Up at Club Meeting Following announcement in The Herald last week that a letter signed “Three Jaycees,” which was critical of the Police Department, would be pub lished if and when the authors identi fy themselves with The Herald’s edi tor, Tom H. Shepard, president of the Edenton Junior Chamber of Com merce, wrote The Herald to deny that any Jaycee had anything to do with the letter. General contents of the letter have leaked out, not through The Herald, but otherwise, so that Mr. Shepard’s letter, in full, follows: “Dear Mr. Bufflap: It has come to our attention from the “Heard & Seen” column in your paper that a letter has been received signed “Three Jaycees”. “Your comments were discussed at length at our regular meeting, Aug ust 13th. Our organization does not sponsor or approve letters written by any of its members except on official Jaycee activities and with full ap proval of the club. “It is hard for us to believe that any of our members would write a letter of any nature signed only as a Jaycee. “It has been passed by our Board of Directors that if any member of the Edenton Junior Chamber of Commerce is found to have been one of the writ ters of this letter or any other letter signing the name Jaycee or Edenton Junior Chamber of Commerce with i out . club approval, his name tvill be ! stricken from the roll. “We wish publicly to disassociate our name in any way with the said letter.” Editor’s Note: The Herald invites letters from readers, so long as they are not libelous, but The Herald must know who the author is, although the name need not appear when the let ter is printed. Letters will be publish ed if The Herald agrees or disagrees with the subject discussed. Civic Calendar Dime Society of the Baptist Church will meet Tuesday night at 8 o’clock at the home of Mrs. E. W. Bond. i Revival services at Rocky Hock Baptist Church are in progress this week and will end next Sun day, August 23. Revival services are being held this week at Warwick Baptist Church. Rocky Hock and Beech Fork Home Demonstration Clubs will have a joint picnic supper at Hertford Beach Tuesday after (Continued from Page Six) I THE OLD CANNON OF EDENTON I I By J, L. WIGGINS | 1 Inanimate objects, if they could speak, have perhaps a more diversi- Ified and interesting history than hu man beings have. This is justly true of the old cannon of Edenton. " Sometime during the month of May, 1778, Captain Wm. Boritz, of : the staunch vessel Holy Heart of Je sus, sailed out of the harbor of Mar seilles, France with forty-five Swiss cannon aboard. These had been or dered through an act of Congress at i the request of the delegates from Vir gftua and North Carolina, but with ' no appropriation from Congress with ' which to pay for the guns. However, • it was understood by Captain Boritz, through the American agent in i France, that he was to receive 150 ■ pounds of tobacco for each 100 pounds of cannon delivered, i Captain Boritz reached Edenton in i July 1778 and asked Congress- what! disposition he was to make of the i cannon, but received no reply. In the meantime, the colony of Virginia sent an agent with an order for the de livery of the Virginia portion of the guns to South Quay at the head of , navigation on the Blackwater River, i a tributary of the Chowan River, and, at that time, a port of entry for Vir ■ ginia. Captain Boritz unloaded twen ty-two of the cannon there and re ■ ceived his pay in tobacco, as Virginia had quite a lot of tobacco stored at 1 J. A. Holmes Urges Passage Df Huge School Bond Issue Principal Speaker at the | Lions Club Meeting Monday Night John A. Holmes, Superintendent of the Edenton City Schools, addressed the Edenton Lions Club at its regu lar meeting Monday night. Mr. Holmes voiced an appeal for the pub lic to support the bond issue program for improvement of schools and men tal institutions. Mr. Holmes related the history of the Edenton school system ‘ from 1775 when the first legislative act was introduced for a school in Edenton. From that time until 1903 Edenton’s children attended the Eden ton Academy and the parents of those attending supported the school. Eden- , ton voted a special tax for schools in I 1903 and this was the beginning of public supported schools for the town. . In 1916 bonds were sold for the erec ! tion of the Edenton Graded School in the amount of $35,000.00 and in 1924 ; an additional $50,000.00 was secured , for expansion of the school. In 1938 ; an auditorium was added and the old . part of the building remodeled. The cost for this work amounted to $70,- 000.00 of which $31,500.00 was from federal sources. Four years ago funds were provided for a new high school but funds were not adequate to pro vide for an auditorium, a band room, and other necessary class rooms. Mr. r Holmes stated that some of these , needs will be realized if the bond is . sue to be voted on October 3, is pass . ed. . Following Mr. Holmes’ address, W. , J. Taylor, Superintendent of Chowan County Schools, emphasized the need , for-additional facilities in the county schools and urged the public to sup , port the bond issue. I Mike Malone was the guest of his father, W. E. Malone. . The Lions Club will meet again on , Monday night, August 24, but will not . meet Labor Day. ! Storm Breaks Up 4-H Camping At Manteo > ■■ Chowan County 4-H Cfub members, together with those from other north eastern counties, rushed home from, , Manteo Friday due to the storm which struck this area. The camp was scheduled to break up Saturday, but conditions became so alarming that many parents of children went to Manteo to bring their children home. The Chowan group was the last to leave Manteo Friday and their re turn home eased the concern of their parents. Chowan members attending were: Carlton Perry, Ronald Perry, Edgar Leon Halsey, Jr., Robert Wayne Hal sey, Sherly Hobbs, Barbara White, Betty White, Catherine Perry, Caro lyn Yvonne Tynch, Lloyd White, Jr., Sidney W. White, Jr., E. C. Toppin, Marcine White and Wallace Goodwin, Jr., local 4-H Club leader. South Quay. These Virginia cannon were hauled overland to Suffolk, Virginia, a dis tance of twenty miles,.and there were distributed. These guns were con veyed by ox wagon and several were lost on the way by the wagons break ing through bridges. The writer does not know what finally became of the Virginia cannon, but at Fort Ethan Allen, Bennington, Vermont there are mounted several guns similar to the Edenton cannon. During Captain Boritz’s absence up the Chowan and Blackwater Rivers, Thomas Benbury and Robert Smith, of Edenton, applied to Governor Rich ard Caswell for means to pay for the twenty-three cannon for North Caro lina. As the guns were estimated to weigh 100,000 pounds, it would re quire 150,000 pounds of tobacco to ! nay for’them. Messrs. Benbury and Smith had a small quantity of tobacco on hand, but not enough to pay for the cannon. In this dilemma, they ap pealed to Governor Caswell. He told them to buy the balance of the tobacco from Virginia. They tried to do so, but Virginia would not take North Carolina’s ship piaster in payment. Captain Boritz was then getting very impatient and mad, finally, be coming disgusted, he dumped the can ,'non overboard near Joseph Hewes i* (Continued on Page Nine) ~ ■ ■ Many Trees Topple In Path Os Strong Wind; Town Littered | Rent Control Ends Federal rent control in Eden ton and Chowan County has been terminated and the local Rent Ad visory Board, headed by A. B. , Harless, has been disbanded and * awarded a certificate of commen dation by the United States Gov ernment. Board Chairman Harless, along with members J. H. Conger, Sr., H. J. Cuthrell, Herbert Hollowell and Henry Quinn made every ef fort to intelligently administer 11 the Federal rent law and wish to thank the citizens of Edenton and r Chowan County for their coopera- * tion. VFW Pist Pians so ; Sell Trash Cans To i t Have Cleaner Town; Proceeds of Project Will Go Into VFW Youth 1 Activity Fund j William W. Perry, Commander of 1 William H. Coffield, Jr., Post 9280, : of VFW announced this week that a 1 project is now in the planning stage to sell trash cans to local home own- ' ers in order to make our town a clean- l er place in which to live. Tentative plans call for a door to door campaign in which VFW mem bers will sell 10 and 20 gallon heavy duty trash cans. The committee hopes to get the latest type can which may only he opened by humans. House numbers will be painted on top and side of cans as an added service in hope that everyone will purchase one. ; Tn his announcement, Commander Perry stated that he and the commit tee had made a survey of Edenton Streets and noticed that many people put their trash out in baskets and cardboard boxes and some just dump their trash in the gutter. This pro ’ ject has a three-fold purpose. It will provide useful trash disposal for the citizens of Edenton which in_turn will make the town cleaner and healthier and also provide funds which will benefit our children through the VFW Youth Activity Fund. It is noted that a clean town has been stressed many times by town officials, so everyone is urged to buy a trash can and help make our town clean. Schools In Edenton Op September 2 Two Vacancies On Fac ulty Due to Recent Resignations According to Superintendent John 1 A. Holmes, both white and colored schools in the Edenton Administra- ! tive Unit will open Wednesday, Sep- : tember 2 for the 1953-54 term. Mr. Holmes reports that the entire faculty had been filled, but due to two 1( resignations teachers are needed for the second grade and commercial de partment. These vacancies occurred ' recently when Miss Elizabeth Elliott . resigned to teach in Japan and Mrs. Frances MacDonald also tendered her J resignation. Mrs. Nathan Dail has accepted the • position of second grade teacher, so , that as of Wednesday only the va- ; cancy in the commercial department ' was unfilled. ( Conn Family Moves To South Carolina Mr. and Mrs. Jack Conn and two children left Edenton Tuesday for Rock Hill, South Carolina, where they will make their home. Mr. Conn has been promoted to division sales man ager for the S. C. State Automobile Association and has under his super vision half of the state of South Caro lina. \ The Conn family has lived in Eden ton a little more than three years, during which time they .have made many friends, who regret to see them leave. $2.00 Per Year. ) ' ' Street Department Still Busy Cleaning Up Debris HIGH WATER About 50 People Spend Night In Edenton Armory Thursday night Edenton and vicini ty weathered the worst storm since the devastating storm which occurred in 1933. Very strong winds ripped down a number of large trees and during the night large and small limbs, leaves and other debris littered exery street in town. The most damage was done at the home of W. H. Gardner on West Church Street. A large oak tree on the opposite side of the street blew on his house, causing the upper limbs to damage the roof and the front of the building. A chimney and television antenna on the back of the home was also blown down. Many other television antennae were also blown from their supports or badly twisted. With rain falling in sheets and due to a high tide in Albemarle Sound, flooded conditions prevailed at several places. Water raised over the county dock and extended beyond the ' door to- the police station, and cars were stalled due to water standing on Wa ter Street. In Pembroke Circle water was grad ually encroaching on the J. R. Du laney and A. E. Jenkins property, so that these two families spent most of the night in the Belk-Tyler store. At the request of the Red Cross Di saster Committee, members of the Edenton unit of the National Guard, police and the Fire Department re mained on the alert during the night. A short wave radio was set up in the police station which was in com munication with the armory all night. The Edenton Junior-Senior High (Continued on Page Six) Appeal Is Made For Greek Relief Funds Ernest Kehayes Is Ap pointed Chairman of Local Drive Dr. A. F. Downum, chairman of the Chowan County Chapter of the Red Cross, this week received an appeal for funds to aid Greek people who are victims of earthquakes. Mr. Downum at once set in motion a campaign to raise funds for these stricken people and named Ernest Kehayes chairman of a drive. Mr. Kehayes will not make a house to-house canvass, but will be happy to receive any contributions for the purpose. A series of earthquakes following by landslides and fires have resulted in tragic disaster and misery for Greek people. Because communica tions have been broken, the full extent of the toll is not known. However, latest confirmed reports revising ear lier estimates, indicate that 1,000 have been killed, thousands injured and more than 100,000 homeless. The Greek Government and the Greek Red Cross are engaged in rescue and relief operations. The Greek ambassador has requested the American Red Cross to assume responsibility in the United States for collecting relief funds for Greek Red Cross. Dr. Downum and Mr. Kehayes be lieve local people will desire to • ex press sympathy for disaster victims and will contribute to this relief fund. With this appeal presented, it is hop ed many people will make a contribu tion, which should be sent to either Dr. Downum or Mr. Kehayes. ADVANCE CHICKEN FRY Members of the Advance Home Demonstration Club plan a chicken fry Wednesday, August 26, at the home of Mrs. Bristoe Perry. The af fair will start at 0:30 o’clock. QUIZ AT ROTARY MEETING R. F. Elliott was in charge of the program at last week’s Rotary meet ing. Mr. Elliott’s program was in the form of a questionnaire regard ing pertinent facts about Edenton and Chowan County.