Baby Jesus was a Title One Baby
by Betty Oxendine Mangum
Lumbee Indian
This is what happened when this
little baby was bom...
Mary and Joseph Oxendine were
behind on their State taxes and received
a letter stating that they would
have to be jailed if the taxes were not
paid by the end of the day on December
the 24th. Joseph and his very pregnant
wife Mary left very early in the
morning from Pembroke to travel to
Raleigh to pay their delinquent taxes.
They took all the money they had and
loaded into their Volkswagen bus.
They were sad and frightened as they
were expecting a baby anytime-if they
paid their taxes they had no money to
go to the hospital. They also were so
proud they did not want their first
child bom in prison or jail. They realized
there would be no money for
food, extra gas. or for a new' outfit for
the baby.
They arrived into the city at 4:30
P.M.. and finally found the State Office
building and got a meter space
where some extra time was left on the
meter. Mary and Joseph held hands as
they climbed the steps to the big office
building. It was deserted except for a
security guard and some homeless men
on the street.
Mary was not feeling well and in a
great deal of pain. Finally they found
the office, 7777 for State taxes. In
large letters on the doorwasasignthat
said...CLOSED EARLY FOR OFFICE
PARTY. PLEASE COME
AGAIN ON DECEMBER 26TH.
OFFICE IS OPENED AT 8 A.M..-5
P.M.
Mary began to quietly cry and her
husband held her closely and tried to
wipe away her tears. He wondered if
the) would be slopped on the road b\
the patrol man and sent immediate!)
to jail I he> thought the) better find a
plate for Mary to rest as she was in
pain and felt frightened and alone.
The) wondered if their parents.
Cora and Clifton, would tr\ to come
by and see them tonight You sec. the)
were too embarrassed to tell them that
the) might go to jail so the) had left
tow n and not told anyone. Mary's famiK
didn't like Joseph as the) thought
he had gotten heir onl) daughter pregnant.
although he repeatedly denied it
and said that angels had told her she
would bear a child.
No one in the family, or the town
for that matter, believed any of that.
They were both from very poor families.
and no one from the Indian housing
projects ever amount to anything.
So what could you expect? They were
very much in love, although Joseph
h imse I f suspected that Mary was pregnant
for another Jones boy. He just
kept those thoughts to himself because
he had always loved Mary since
first grade.
Mary told Joseph that she felt like
the baby was going to be bom any time
and she needed to find a place to lie
down. Although they had no money
for a hotel room they did stop at the
Holiday Inn, Velvet Cloak and the
Brownstone. and inquired about any
free rooms in the city. The desk clerks
thought the guy must be on drugs as he
was dirty and he was driving a beat up
Volkswagen bus. Surely, the clerk
thought, he must realize that rooms in
Raleigh cost S89.00 a night.
One girl on Hillsborough Street
told them there were some vacant
bams on the road to Fuquay-Varina
and around Holly Springs. Mary and
Joseph decided thai thev had to find a
place soon. It was getting dark and
very cold and the w ind was beginning
to howl
They took the exit for FuquayVarina.
off Highway I and were soon
out in the country in Wake County.
Everywhere traffic had almost vanished
and animals were gathering for
their evening feeding time. Joseph and
Mary selected an old barn that was
abandoned. Nearby there was a cow
pasture and horses. Some little bantam
roosters and hens were walking
around, eating and talking. Joseph
quickly stopped the Volkswagen bus
and went to the bam. He found manure.
straw and stalls in much need of
repair. He quickly made a nice bed of
straw for Mary and got some fresh
water cupped in his hands for her. She
laid down and closed her eyes and
tears streamed down her face. Joseph
wished he had left her with her folks
and their nice warm house. He knew
she was hungry, tired and frightened.
The cows stopped eating and Uiechickens
and the horses gathered around
her bed. They wondered what was
happening at the old Mangum bam.
Sometime during the night he kissed
her tears and fear away and the time
came for the baby to arrive. Stars over
the bam began to glow with brilliance.
Outside you could hear whispers in"
the sky and hear wings flutterrng-ahd
yet nothing was visible to the eye.
Mary and Joseph both wept with the
arrival of a little boy. He was so precious,
had baby blue eyes and a head
of black curls. The baby began to cry
and the singing in the sky became
louder. The animals were amazed and
realized that something very special
had happened in the Ole' Mangum
bam.
Joseph ran to the old Volkswagen
bus to get the old blanket from the
front seat to wrap the new babe. The
air grew still and the stars became a
million and it was as light as day. They
were frightened that they would surely
be found now . You could now see the
bam for miles, hearing the singing and
seeahostofangelsoverthe bam. Such
a sight had never been seen before in
the world.
The town drunk said he saw the
bright lights when he left the bar in
downtown Holly Springs...rumors
were that at dawn the First United
Methodist Church brought milk, food
and warm blankets. The Triangle Native
American Society brought gifts of
deer meat, buffalo stew, squash, nuts,
fruits, com. red and white potatoes,
fish, oysters, cranberries, pumpkin
bread, littledeer skin jackets, a beaded
cradle board and moccasins.
JC Penney's bought a baby bed, a case
of formula and many little blue
clothes for the baby boy. The news
w ent like fire to Raleigh a and soon the
News and Observer photographer
Hearl Wilkinscame and took a picture
for the front page. The Sydney Morning
Herald also sent a reporter namedDawn
Tanner to get the cover story.
Governor Hunt got a call from Dr.
Brian Gentle and Rev. Doug Jesse of
the United Methodist Church. They
had collected the taxes in their church
offerings and wished to pay the taxes
for Mary and Joseph Oxendine...And
that is what really happened one night
in Wake County when the Title I baby
was bom.
(Mangum served as a Title I Consultant
with the State Department of
Public Instruction and wrote this story
in December, 1995.)
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JBIgj
According to Scripture
by Robert O'Qulnn of the Pembroke Seventh Day Adventist Church
The Dead- Part 2. I was taught
that when one died the soul or spirit
went straight to heaven and that one
learned everything they desired,
praised the Lord ,and much more.
Don't we rise to a higher plane of
knowledge and ability? Psalm 6:5
"For in death there is no remembrance
of thee; into he grave who
shall give thee thanks?: Psalm 113:17
"The dead praise not the Lord, neither
any that go down into silence."
Psalm 88:10-11 "Wilt thou show
wonders to the dead? Shall the dead
arise and praise thee? Shall thou loving
kindness be declared in the grave?
Or thy faithfulness in destruction?
Ecc. 9:10 "Whatsoever thy hand,
findeth to do, it with thy nught;. fpr., .- *
ther$~is no word, nor device,.nor,
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave,
whither thou goest." Isaiah38:18 "For
the grave cannot prase thee, death
cannot celebrate thee; they that go
down into the pit cannot hope for thy
truth." Psalm 119:175 "Let my soul
live, and it shall praise thee; and let
thy judgments help me."
The term soul is usually referring
to the life or whole being in the Bible,
not something that has life in itself.
Psalm 146:4 "His breath goeth forth,
he returned to his earth; in that very
day his thoughts perish. " Ecc. 9:5-6
"For the living know that they shall
die; but the dead know not any thing,
neither have they any more a reward;
for the memory of them is forgotten!
Also their love, and their hatred, and
their envy, is now perished; neither
have they any more a portion for ever
in any thing that is done underfthe
sun." Isaiah 38:19 "The living,-.the
living, he shall praise thee, as i do this
day; thy father to the children shall
make known thy truth."
Notice that usually he Bible refers
to the soul as being an entire entity,
not as something apart from man.Can
a soul sin? The wages of sin is death.
We are one whole being. Lev. 4:2
"Speak unto the children of Israel
saying if a soul shall sin through
ignorance against any of the <fbmmandments
of the Lord concerning
things which ought not to be done,
and shall do against any of them."
Psalm 78:50 "he made a way to his
anger: he spared not their soul from
death, but gave their life over to the
pestilence." Psalm 88:3 "For my soul
is full of troubles, and my life draweth
nigh unto the grave." Psalm 35:7 "For
without cause have they hid for me
their net in a pit, which withoutcause
they have digged for my soul." I Samuel
26:21 "Then aid Saul, I have sinned
return my son David; for I will no
more do thee harm because my soul
was precious in thine eyes this day;
behold, I have played the fool and
have erred exceedingly ." Joshui 11:11
"And they smote all the soulsthat were
therein with the edge of the sword,
utterly destroying them; there was not
any left to breathe; and he burnt Mazor
with fire." Psalm 40:14 "Let tljem be
driven backward and put to shame
that wish me evil." psalm 54:3 :For
strangers are risen up against fne, and
oppressors seek after my soul; they
have not set God before them." Acts
2:41 "Ihen they that gladly refceived
his word were baptized and the same
day there were added unto them about
three thousand souls." Acts27:37 "And
we were all in the ship two hundred
threescore and sixteen souls." I
lhcssalonians5:23"Andthc veryGod
of peace sanctify you wholly; and I
pray God your whole spirit and soul
and body be preserved blameless unto
the coming of our lx>rd Jesus Christ "
I hope that one can see from the above
passages that God thinks jjr us as one
ntire being, a whole unit as it were.
Ix. If one were to have a light bulb
crewed into a light socket and then
umed on he switch that controlled the
low of electricity to that bulb, what
vould happen? The light would come
>n! And what would happen if the
witch were turned off? The light
vould go out, but where did the light
jo? Did it go somewhere else to exist?
)id it somehow go up the line to where
he electricity comes from? Or did it
limply cease to exist? Let's consider a
tile of boards, some nails and a hamner.
Wehave nothingelse in the room,
>ut ourselves. We then deide to drive
he nails .into the wood in such a way
hat I box Is fdftfWH! Did the box exist
jrfor to beihg'fbrthid? Clearly it did51"'
tot! And what' happens to the box
>hould we decide toremove the nails?
Dnce again we have a pile of boards.
some nails, and a hammer, but where
did the box go? It's existence discontinues.
It did not have to go anywhere.
The box had no existence before it was
formed, and after we took it apart, it
simply went back into parts ( Elements)
from which it came. So it is
with God's creation of Man. He formed
us, and made us live.
Aviator turned author Antoine de Saint-Exupery disappeared without
a trace on a photographic mission in 1944. His most famous work
Is, perhaps, The Little Prince which he wrote in 1943.
in iojj, UDerun uouege in unio Decame ine nrsi co-euucauonai
college in the U.S. and in 1841, it became ttf?l first U.S. college to
award degrees to women.
i 1'
_ This
Community
Just Keeps
Getting
Healthier.
Anita L Jackson, M.D., an otolaryngologist,
has joined the medical staff
[of SRMC. Her private practice is
I Greater Carolina Ear, Nose and
1 Throat located in the Southeastern
% Medical Park. A native of Georgia,
* Dr. Jackson earned an undergradu1
ate degree from Princeton, a
master's degree in biology from
^ Stanford and a medical degree
from the University of Illinois.
She completed her surgical
training at Howard University
Hospital and earned a master's
degree from the Harvard
H School of Public Health.
She completed her residency
training at the University of
Tennessee.
Anita L. Jackson, M.D.
We can all feel good about each new addition to the
medical staff at Southeastern Regional Medical Center.
Every physician brings years of education, specialized
training and personal expertise to our highly diversified
health care team?and to our community.
We'd like to extend a warm welcome to our newest
doctor. With your arrival, there is a significant improvement
in the general health of this community.
SOUTHEASTERN
I REGIONAL
MEDICAL CENTER
300 West 27th Street; Lumberton, NC (910) 671-5000
-Announcing
PEMBROKE TRICE
Joseph T. Bell, M.D., FAAP
Debra Baker Beasley, FNP
Providing Preventive And Acute Medical Care For Infants, Children and
Adolescents-A Full Spectrum Of Outpatient And Inpatient Care,
After House Services And Pediatric Sub-Speciality Services
Located at the Corner Of 3rd And Odum Streets
(Former Location Of Sheffs Seafood Restaurant)
Pembroke, NC
OPENING EARLY JANUARY 1998
Office Hours: Monday through Friday
8:00 A.M..tto^5:00 P.M.
by Appointment
Call Now For Appointments
521-0201
In Association With
Lumberton Children's Clinic, P.A.
WE ACCEPT: ACS HEALTHNET, AETNA, PPO/MC/EPO, liCBS CARING PROGRAM, BCBS
MEDPOINT, BCBS PREFERRED. CARE SELECT, CAROLINA BENEFIT ADMINISTRATORS-ABBOTTS
LAB, MEDCOST, UNITED HEALTH CARE-PHP A ALL OTHERS, PROVIDENT
PREFERRED NETWORK (HEALTHSOURCE PROVIDENT),UNC HEALTH PLAN,
MEDICAID.