ONLY NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHED IN
CHOWAN COUNTY
V ■■ ■-.
Volume XXlV.—Number 28 I
Edetubn Tax Rate Set At SI.OO
Norfolk Southern Railroad
Bridge Collapses Resulting
In Two Men Being Drowned
Two 145-Ton Diesel
Engines and a Box
Car Tumble Into Al
bemarle Sound
A disastrous train wreck occur
red on the Norfolk Southern Rail
road bridge crossing Albemarle
Sound shortly after midnight Fri
day when two 145-ton Diesel en
gines and a freight car crashed in
to the water, tearing away about
150 feet of the bridge. Another
car remained dangling on the
tracks, but did, not drop into the
water. The Diesels were pulling
a 77-car freight train at the time
of the accident, which occurred
about 528 feet north of the draw
bridge.
As the result of the bridge col
lapse two men lost their lives,
W. A. (Billy) Munden, 56, an en
gineer of Norfolk and Shirley R.
Bray of Raleigh, the conductor.
Munden will be remembered by
many Edentonians. having lived
in Edenton some years ago and
boarded at the home of Mrs. B
F.. Francis. The bodies of the two
drowned men were recovered
Saturday morning by John Waff
apd his son. Mr. Waff has had
a great deal of experience in
dragging for drowned bodies and
it was reported that the recover
ies were his 30th and 31st.
Bray was found hear the die
sel engines and about half an
hour later Munden- was found-ap
proximately 100 yards from the
bridge.
Three other men had narrow
escapes in the wreck,' these be
ing John Lowery of Norfolk, road
foremarNJif engines; E. C. Jones
of Pantego, head -brakeman, and
Burton Rankin of Norfolk, Negro
fireman.
Munden was in the lead engine,
together with Rankin, While the
other three, Lowery, Jones and
Bray were riding in the second
engine. Joe Stephenson of Nor
folk was in the caboose at the
time of the accident, but not in
jured.
Norman Lane, an employee of
the Norfolk Southern Railroad,
who lives near the north end of
the bridge, was an eye witness of
the wreck and did heroic work in
rescuing those in' the water and
spreading alarm of the accident.
Lane and 'his son, Carl, were
fishing near the bridge when they
heard a loud ndise and saw rays
of one 6f the diesel engine lights
shoot upward and the other down.
They realized an accident had oc
curred and- in a boat went to the
scene. Jones war picked up at
the bridge arfd Lowery was
found clinging in a stake near the
bridge. They were all taken to
Chowan Hospital, but were la
ter released. Jones was the
most seriously injured, receiving ,
a deep cut on his forearm. All
suffered frqm shock and bruises.
News of the wreck spread
rapidly after Lane reported it
Continued on P«g» 7—Section 1
[civic calendar]
The "E" Vires Club will hold a
> business meeting this (Thursday)
afternoon at t o'clock in the spe
cial services building at the base.
Officers for the Edenton Rd
tary Club will be installed at the
chib's meeting this (Thursday) af
ternoon at 1 o'clock.
Edenton Jaycees will meet to
night (Thursday) in the Penelope
Barker house at 7 o'clock.
Chowan Tribe No. U. Improv
ed Order of Red Men. will meet
Monday night at • o'clock.
Chowanoke Council No. 54. De
gree of Pocahontas, will meet
Friday night, July 12, at • o'clock
in the Red Man halL
Edenton Lions Clnb will meet
Monday night. July IS, at 7
o'clock. :■/ '
Vacation Bible School is being
held at the Christian Church and
THE CHOWAN HERALD
Bell Painting Os Cupola House
In Elizabeth City Soon Ready
To Be Presented To Edenton
According to L. S. Blades, Jr.,
. of Elizabeth City, a water color
painting of the Cupola House has
been delivered to him and is now
being framed, after which it will
be presented to Edenton by Eliza
. beth City.
“I feel that the original paint
-1 ing is everything that we could
; expect,” says Mr. Blades, “it’s
1 beautiful. The Ford Motor Com
pany has been very gracious in
this and I, personally, am very
happv.with the results.”
Arthur T. Lougee, art director
of the Ford Motor Company,
points out in one of his letters
that the dealers throughout
the country have made the Ford
Times possible through their sup
port, it being circulated and paid
for entirely'by these dealers. It
is through their sponsorship that
America has been so graphically
presented to its citizens and, in
this extra effort “beyond the call
Descendants Os i
Thos. D. Warren
Are Being Sought
TheTWHita late last Week re
ceived a request from the Univer
sity of the South. Sewanee. Ten
nessee, to locate members of the
Warren family.
A letter from Arthur Chetty.
historiographer at the university,
had this to say:
"We are trying to locate the
descendants of Thomas D. War
ren. who lived in Edenton in 1857.
He was one of our first twenty
trustees and we want to invite
his descendants to our centennial
events. Can you help us locate
members of the, Warren family?"
Any information should be sent
to Mr. Chetty at University of the
South, Sewanee. Tennessee.
Two Local Scouts At „
National Jamboree
Two Edenton Boy Scouts, Jack
Overman and Billy Dail, left
Edenton Monday morning on
their way to Valley Forge, Va.,
where they will attend the na
tional Boy Scout Jamboree in ses
sion this week.
AT LEADER'S CONFERENCE
Joe Thorud, local agent for Na
tionwide Insurance, Mrs. Thorud
and their daughter, Mary, attend
ed the company’s annual leaders’
conference. Mr. Thorud was one
of approximately 200 leading pro
ducers from a 14-state area.
The conference was held at At
lantic City, N. J., June 26 through
June 29.
Wives Os Marines Organize
Group Known As The Career
Wives’ Counseling Service
A new organization, with ser
vice as its objective, has been cre
ated at the Edoiton Naval Au- -
xiliary Air Station. To be known
as the Career Wives’ Counseling
Service, it has been modeled af
ter the group having the same
name which has had such success
at Cheny Point.
The primary purpose of this
voluntary service organisation is
to aid and inform the drives of
Marines. The members df the
Career Wives’ Counseling Service
are women who are interested in
the civic and family aspect of
lift* oh a Marine Corps station,
and through their combined ex
with toy Mrvtce-connectri prob
Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina, Thursday July 11,' 1957.
of duty”, it is most appreciated
that the Ford Motor Company it
self has made it possible for the
picture of the Cupola House to be
painted in the original, so that
Elizabeth City may present it to
Edenton.
The picture of the Cupola
house, along with other Edenton
pictures painted by Corydon Bell,
appeared in the april issue of
“Ford Times,” and Mr. Blades,
then Mayor of Elizabeth City,
proposed the presentation of the
painting as a token representative
of the good feeling Elizabeth City
holds for Edenton. t
Mr. Blades is now on a vaca
tion for about 30 days, but before
leaving informed Mayor Ernest
Kehayes that the picture was be
ing framed and will be ready to
be presented to Edenton at an,
early date. He Suggested that Mr.
Kehayes and Mayor Levin Cul- i
pepper begin plans for official
presentation of the picture.
Fish Aplenty j
\
Robert Evans, Chowan County
Wildlife Protector, last week
turned loose 25,700 bass finger
ling in Chowan County streams.
Os this number 18.500 were re
leased in Pembroke Creek and 7,-
200 in Dillard's Creek.
The fish were sent to Edenton
from the federal fish hatchery at
Charles City, Va., of which F. F.
Tanner, formerly of Edenton. is
superintendent.
Rotarians To Install
New Officers Today
Edenton Rotarians will meet
this (Thursday) afternoon at 1
o’clock in the Parish House at
which time officers for the Ro
tary year will be installed. The
new president, Robert S.-Marsh,
will also announce appointment
of the various committees to serve
under him.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
AT CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Vacation Bible School began at
the First Christian Church Mon
day of this week and will con
tinue through Friday, July 19.
Classes are arranged for children
of all ages fKpm 9 A. M., to 11
A. M., all of whom are invited to
enroll.
LIONS MEET MONDAY
Edenton’s Lions Club will hold
its semi-monthly meeting Mon
day night, July 15 at 7 o’clock.
Medlin Belch, new president of
the club, urges every member to
be present.
lems.
This organization promises to be
-of great importance and benefit
to both the men and their fami
lies stationed at NAS, Edenton,
and will certainly attract any wo
men interested in being a part of
such a worthwhile and signifi
cant function.
Meetings will be held the first
Monday of every month at 2:00
P. M., Base Time, at the Reenlistr
men! Center. Membership is
opei) to all wives of Marines of
any rank, and anyone interested
in attending the next meeting, to
be held Monday, August sth, or
in Teaming more of the projected
program, please call either Mrs.
; Patricia Short, at 2497, or Mrs.
1 Helen Bowen at 2252.
Home Demonstration Club Members On Tour j
v * p
A Trailways bus load of Chowan County Home Demonstration Club members and a few
other friends' enjoyed a tour of Jamestown. Yorktown and Williamsburg Wednesday of last
week. During the tour they visited various places of interest and thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
At left the group is seen while at the battleground at Yorktown. At right the group is seen
wending their way to old St. Luke's Church at Smithfield.
Two Important Referendums
Scheduled To Be Held Aug. 23
Two important referendums as-j
fecting farm people in Chowan.
County and this area will be held j
on August 23, according to Coun- j
ty Agent C. W. Overman. These'
are “The Nickels For Know-How” I
and “The Dime Per Bale For;
Cotton”.
This is the sixth year The Nic
kels For Know-How program has
been in operation. During this
period feed and fertilizer users
in North Carolina have been pay
ing a nickel per ton on feed and
fertilizer purchased. The money
collected by dealers was turned
over to the North Carolina Agri
cultural Foundation.
This money has been used tot
supplement appropriations made,
by the State of North Carolina
to further and expand agricultur-!
al research, marketing and other j
activities to help farm people.!
Scholarships
Available For
’57 Graduates
Plans for recruiting and train
ing more teachers for North Caro
lina public schools are announced
by W. J. Taylor, superintendent of
Chowan County schools, and John,
A. Holmes, superintendent of j
Edenton Ci,ty Schools, Scholarship
loans not to exceed $350 an
nually are now available to high
school graduates entering college
for the purpose of preparing to
become teachers, say the two
school officials.
Funds for 300 scholarship loans j
were provided by the 1957 Gen- j
eral Assembly as a means of at - i
tracting outstanding high school
graduates to teaching careers.
The scholarship program is de
signed to help maintain an ade
quate and competent teaching
force for the constantly rising en
rollment in North Carolina public
schools.
Individuals are eligible to re
ceive scholarship loans for four
years or until they qualify for a
teacher’s certificate based on the
bachelor’s degree. Scholarship
loans, together with interest
thereon, may be cancelled by
teaching one full year for each
annual scholarship received.
The Scholarship Loan Fund is
administered by the State Super
intendent of Public Instruction.
In making awards, consideration
shall be given to the aptitude,
purposefulness, scholarship, char
acter, and financial need of the
applicant; also, to grade levels
and subjects of instruction in
which the teacher shortage is
most critical.
High school graduates and oth
er prospective teachers desiring
further information concerning
this program are advised to con
tact their local school superinten
dent or write directly to the State
Superintendent of Public Instruc
tion in Raleigh.
" TRASH FIRE
Edenton firemen were called
out about ID o’clock Thursday
night wh€n a trash fire developed
at the Halsey Hard Wood Com
pany. No damage was done.
t 1
j Work with peanuts Has been;
! speeded up by its proportionate
share of the funds.
The law provides that tTiis pro-;
' gram shall be on a three year ba- {
: sis. For its continuation, there j
'must be a favorable vote every |
three years. On August 23, the I
referendum will determine:
whether it will be continued for
another years years.
The Dime Per Bale For Cotton j
is a new program. On August 23,
cotton producers will vote on
whether they will assess them
selves a dime per bale to aid re- j
search and other work on cotton.
Cotton is one of the major cash j
1 crops and is in need of education- 1
, al and promotional program as-1
sistance.
“Watch your paper for further
j information on these referen-1
! dums,” Mr. Overman says.
Edenton Boy Scouts
At Camp Darden
A group of Edenton Boy Scouts,
members of Troop 156, left Sun
day afternoon to spend a week at
Camp Darden near Franklin, Va.
They were accompanied by W. P.
Goodwin, and expect to return
home next Saturday.
JAYCEES MEET
Edenton’s Junior Chamber of
! Commerce will meet this Thurs
i day) night at 7 o’clock at the Pe
nelope Barker house. President
Warren Twiddy urges a full at
tendance.
Contract Is Let For Curb And
Gutter At Local High School
At a meeting of Town Council
held Tuesday night a contract
was awarded for construction of
curb and gutter in front of the
Edenton Junior-Senior High
School. The lowest bidder was
Faulkner - Wallace Construction
Company of Kinston, whose bid
was $4,690.25. The curb and gut
ter will be placed only on the
east side of the street and should
remedy a drainage problem which
causes no little inconvenience
whenever there is a rainfall. The
work is expected to be completed
before the opening of school.
The contract calls for construct
ing a line of pipe from the street
to the main storm sewer line on
Broad Street in order to carry
off the water properly.
In response for requests for
names to be given streets in the
newly annexed area to Edenton,
quite a few were submitted most
of which were names of many
who helped make the colony. In
cluded in the Hist was Hugh Wil
liamson, professor of mathematics,
theologian, physician, astronomer,
politician and historian. He was
an early advocate of vaccination
against smallpox, head of the
state medical department in 1780,
author of the first study of clim
ate in relation to health. He was
one of the original board of trus
tees of the University. He was
one of the organizers of the Dis
mal Swamp Company, formed to
Hew Crop
[ Field survey made on July 8
! shows that a new crop of boll
weevil is now working. A few
! squares were found damaged by
boll worm. Red spider was found
in one field.
Unless fields are found to be
clean. County Agent C. W. Over
man recommends that growers
dust this week and next. "En
drin dust might be more effective
for boll worm and just as good
for boll weevil." says Overman.
"For red spiders, apply 2% Para
thion at the rate of 12 pounds per
acre or 1% Parathion at the rate
of 15 to 18 pounds per acre."
Chowan Club
Women Enjoy
Historical Tour
The Jamestown Festival was
the destination of 35 Chowan
County Home Demonstration Club
women, non-club women and
husbands as they left Edenton
Wednesday morning of last week
at 6:30 o'clock on a new air-con
ditioned bus.
The first stop was made at
Benn’s Church, Smithfield, Pa.
The Rev. Raymond Carson invited
the group into the church and
explained the recently completed
renovation program. St. Luke’s
Church, the nation’s only origi
nal Gothic Church and the oldest
Continued on Page 7—Section 1
cut a canal from the Chesapeake!:
Bay to the Albemarle Sound,
which idea finally took shape in
the present inland waterway. He '
was the author of a remarkable
study of the various Indian tribes
and of the first satisfactory his
tory of North Carolina from its;
beginning to the date of writing. I
He was a member of the first j
Federal Congress, a powerful par- 1
tisan of ratification and finally a
signer of the Constitution.
Other names submitted were j
Thomas Pollock, who was largely
responsible for financing the De
Graffenried settlement at New
Bern and was twice Acting Gov
ernor of the colony, in 1712 and
again in 1722, just after Eden's j
death.
John Hodgson, who for many
years was a comfhissioner of the
town of Edenton and treasurer of
Chowan County. Three times he
served as speaker of the House
of Commons.
The Rev. Clement Hall, who
was a missionary of the Society
for the Propagation of the Gos
pel, established the first second
ary school in North Carolina
right here in Edenton. He was
the author of the first book pub
lished in the state except for the
famous “yellow jacket” compila
tion of laws. As rector of St.
Paul’s Church, he ministered to
settlers along all the rivers up
to Granville County. In the first
$2.00 Per Year In North Carolina.
Revaluation Cause
For Slicing 30 Cents
Off Last Year’sßate
120 Years Ago
| As Found In the Files of
! j The Chowan Herald
j\. ~ . ,
Chowan County voters turned
in a majority of 181 voters for
the establishment of an ABC
store.
County tax Tate was boosted
from $1.19 to $1.50. brought about
by county-wide school bonds and
added outlay due to the social se
curity program.
William Perkins, superintendent
of public welfare, reported that
people were applying for old age
assistance who were by no means
eligible.
C. E. Kramer received a check
for $25.37 for the Chowan County
Chapter of the National Founda
tion for Infantile Paralysis as the
county's share from telegrams
sent to President Franklin Roose
velt.
Dr. M. P. Whichard, county
health officer, reported that
health conditions in Chowan
County were excellent with no
cases of typhoid fever and only
an occasional case of malaria.
"Rosa." presented by the Lions
Club, proved to be a very credit
able performance, with large
crowds attending two perform
ances.
Henry Rogerson won the Fluffy
Ruffles flour contest sponsored by
the W. D. Holmes Wholesale Gro
cery.
William Harrell and Leslie Har
rell accepted positions as cashier
and overseer of the coffee shop at
Hotel Joseph Hewes.
Miss Sarah Elizabeth White was
elected president of her class in
the Washington School of Secre
taries.
Ed Bond Post of the American
Legion held a big fish fry at Hicks
Field.
County Agent N. K. Rowell
headed a delegation of Chowan
County farmers to Greenville for
a mass meeting to insist that the
1937 soil conservation bill be
whipped into law by Congress.
The annual Masonic picnic was
held at Tuscarora Beach.
Raleigh Hollowell sold hi s
Edenton Feed and Fuel Company
to enter the employ of the Dur
ham Life Insurance Company.
seven or eight years of his min- j
istry, he traveled some 14,000
miles and baptized about 6.2001
persons.
Robert Smith, who was a ;
brilliant lawyer, a Revolutionary j
patriot and a patron of educa- 1
tion. He left a large part of his 1
; fortune to establish a school in j
j Edenton. the only such bequest j
| before 1800.
Charles Pettigrew, who was!
I first master of the famous clas-j
sical school in Warren County;
and later master of the school in
Edenton. He entered the minis
try just before the Revolution
and 20 years later was elected
the first bishop of the Episcopal
! Church in North Carolina. Al
though he farmed large planta
tions across the sound and lived
there a good part of the time,
he continued as rector of St.
Paul’s Church as long as he
lived.
Thomas Jones, who was a
lawyer and member of the Pro
vincial Council. He was chiefly
responsible for all the parlia
mentary procedure leading up to
the adoption of the Constitution
of the state of North Carolina,
and is believed by many to have
drafted it.
Thomas Barker, who was ac
tive in colonial government for
years on end. He was treasurer
for the northern half of the col-
Continued on Pago 5 Section 1
DRIVE CAREFULLY—
YOU MAY SAVE
YOUR LIFE!
\^
Proposed Budget Will
Be Adopted at Spe
cial Meeting Friday
Night, July 26
i
Meeting in special session Fri-
I day night, July 5, Town Council
I approved the budget for the fis
[j cal year 1957-58, which calls for
, a SI.OO tax rate on the SIOO prop
i erty valuation. The proposed rate
is 30 cents lower than the previ
j ous year, when it was $1.30. At
.j a previous special meeting when
the Councilmen considered at
j length the budgets of the various
I departments it was generally sup
-1 posed that the new rate would
| have to be at least $1.09. How
j ever, after reshuffling the figures
: the Finance Committee came up
with the proposed budget of SI.OO.
The rate is based on a new
property valuation of $8,474,700
: as against a valuation of $5,350,-
000 last year. The new budget is
1 now on file at the town office and
unless some major objection is
registered it will be officially
adopted at a special meeting of
Town Council Friday night, July
26.
The new budget provides for
anticipated overall expenditures
of $182,185, which is made up as
follows:
Administration . s 9.197.00
Police Department . .T1.6'*5.60
Fire Department 17.081.00
Street Department 96.080 00
Comet* i v 2.040.00
Publicity Department __ S‘^o.oo
Other Expenses _ .24.‘272 00
Total - Slß2Tlßo.no
To meet these expenditures, the
estimated revenue is anticipated
from the following sources:
Revenue* trom Electric and
Water Department _$ 20.000.00
Automobile and Bicycle Li
censes . .. 1.000.00
Hants 75.00
Officers* Fees __ 3.000.00
Parking Meters ___ 10.500.00
Beer and W in- Licenses 1.0X).O0
Interest on Delinquent Taxes 500.00
Schedule R Licenses 9.500.00
Intangible and Franchise Tax 7.500.00
Miscellaneous Revenue - 1.500.00
Street Paving Assessment... 25.00
Street Department R*\**nue_. 200.00
Unexpended Balance from
Previous Year 5.000.00
Powell Bill Funds .. .... 15.500.00
Unexpended Powell Bill
Fund balance _ ... ... 18.541.00
rhowan Fire Protection ___. 3.020.00
Property Tax . . 82,247.00
Total. .. .. __5182.208.00
The budget provides for slight
increases in salaries for practical
ly all of the town employees.
Town Councilmen at Friday
night’s meeting also approved the
Electric and Water Department
budget, which, in substance, fol
lows:
REVENUE
Electric•• 5259.053.09
Water __ 35.139.00
Sale of Merchandise 9.000.00
Bond Interest 3.000 09
Total Rev -nue - .*306.185.00
EXPENDITURES
Electric - $185,000.00
Water 27.500.00
Sewer 9.000 00
Miscellaneous 63.325.00
Total Expenditures 5284.825.00
Ray A. Childers
Leaves Edenton
Mr. and Mi'S. Ray A. Childers
left Wednesday morning for
Dunedin, Florida to spend a per
iod of time as guests of relatives.
Mr. Childers has sold his inter
| est in radio station WCDJ in
Edenton to E. M. Schuman and
family of Latrobe. Pennsylvania.
He plans to operate a new radio
station at Farmville, N. C., and
i will remain in Florida until a
i construction permit is granted by
the Federal Communications
Commission.
Mr. Childers has been in Eden
ton two years, coming here from
Raleigh when the Edenton radio
station was organized.
In leaving, Mr. Childers said he
became very much attached to
Edenton during his stay here and
left with somewhat of a feeling
| of regret.
POCAHONTAS MEETING
Chowanoke Council No. 54, De
gree of Pocahontas, will meet
Friday night, July 12, at 8 o’clock
in the Red Men hall. At this
meeting new officers for a six
months term wifi be installed, so
that Mrs. Ella Gray Potts urges
all members to attend.