Editorial And
Opinion Page
Bruce slaTtcm
The time I quit drinking
Hardees coffee, believing in
representative government in
Robeson County and playing Henry
Berry Lowrie in Strike at the wind!
I'll be 60 years old come October 1, 2001 and 1 am devastated
about it. I am now relegated to playing Henry Berry LowTie's
daddy (Allen or "Papa" Lowrie) in our fabled outdoor drama.
Strike at the wind! every Friday and Saturday night through August
11. As most of you know, Henry Berry' Lowrie's daddy and
brother William are Killed historically and in the outdoor drama
too. Therefore. I get hauled in front of the beast (a building on the
set of the Adolph L. Dial Amphithreatre, on the grounds of the
N.C. Indian Cultural Center in the Red Banks community about 3
miles west of Pembroke) and am gloriously killed nightly.
A I- - It A ? -1 -
/\ias, i nave uvea so long inai 1 nave outgrown the possibility
of acting the part of the hero, Henry Berrry Lowrie. It makes me
sad, but I still love Strike a) the Wind! and invite all of my friends
(and enemies too) to come out and see the show. It begins nightly
at 8:30 p.m. There is usually a pre-show at 8 p.m. and the box
office opens at 7:30 p.m.
General admission is $8 with senior citizens $6 and children
(under 12) $4.00. Call (910) 739-0516 for more information.
And Hardees has dared to charge $1.01 (with tax, of course)
for a large black coffee. 1 used to invariably walk around with a
large cup of Hardees coffee in my hand, but not anymore! I
refuse to pay a buck for a cup of coffee, no matter who makes it.
Hardees has made a public relations snafu and lost me as a daily
customer. I have my limits, you know.
And I have quit believingMn representative government in
Robeson County, especially since Indian Patrick Bullard was
elected chairman of the county school board without a single Indian
vote... other than his own. And Terry Smith, a White ultra
conservative, is the new vice-chairman. Have we lost our collective
minds in 01' Robeson? Ummm!
Pembroke Resident
Earns Degree from
Southern Methodist
University
DALLAS (SMU)-- Lawrence
David Malcolm of Pembroke was
among I ,'630 students who received
their_diplomas at Southern
Methodist University's 86th annual
May commencement on Saturday,
May 19,2001.
Malcolm received a Master of
Divinity degree with a major in theology.
The degrees awarded include
. 863 bachelor's, 458 master's, 280
professional (law and theology),
and 29 doctoral degrees. The largest
number of degrees awarded was
ihe Edwin L. Cox School of
tsiness, which had a total of475.
thef Totals were: Dedman Col;ge
of Humanities and Sciences,
597; Dedman School of Law, 397;
Meadows School of the Arts, 272;
the School of Engineering, 146;
and Perkins School or Theology,
67.
SMU is a private, comprehensive
university located in Dallas. It has
an enrollment of about 10,000 students
and a full-time faculty of
more than 500. SMU offers undergraduate
degree programs in
Dedman College of Humanities
and Sciences, Meadows School of
the Arts, Edwin L, Cox School of
Business and the School of Engineering.
Graduate and professional
programs are offered in these
schools and in Perkins School of
Theology and Dedman School of
Law. _
<ro
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Editorially Speaking
Patrick Bullards' legal residence?
The responses to last week's editorial were many and varied. Some folks
felt that Patrick Bullard showed great shrewdness by obtaining white votes
to become chairman and then voting for a Black and an Indian to become
assistant and associate superintendent. Others felt that we have blasphemed
and some felt that we were right. A few thought we were too hard on Patrick
Bullard. Nevertheless, we continue to watch him and still have questions
about his motives, political allegiances and legal residence. We firmly believe
that he should abide by the law, if he is residing outside District 5. We
do not believe, as we have heard, that anybody owes him inclusion of his
new home outside the district into District 5. If seems a simple matter to us,
if he is residing outside the District he represents, he is in violation of the
law and should resign. If he is residing w ithin the District, then everything
is fine and legal. Bullard's apparent allegiance to Terry Smith and his cohorts
makes us nerv ous and we stand on that. Again we say, if he is residing
outside District 5 he should resign.
Recently he publicly denigrated other board members for not attending a
workshop. These are the actions that keep us watching Bullard. As unfortunate
as it is, the board of education votes most times five to five and the
chairman must break the tie. Now it appears with a novice for chairman and
a racist for vice chairman that anything could happen. We would hope that
Bullard would use his new found power to bridge the obvious division between
the board members. If indeed he is a friend and confidant of Terry
Smith, he should be able to influence him in a positive manner. We are not
impressed with either Terry Smith or Patrick Bullard's show of power or
Bullard's public denigration of fellow board members. That has been Terry
Smith's tactics since before he was elected. He is notorious for voting against
a recommendation and then going to the daily newspaper to explain why.
We do not wish to see Bullard become a pawn for Terry Smith. Neither do
we like for him to appear to be a "loose cannon." He should become knowledgeable
of board policy and be an effective chairman and encourage fellow
board members to get on with the business of education.
We are watching especially the teacher transfer situation at South Robeson.
We thought teachers worked where they were assigned instead of deciding
their own location. While we agree with the right to appeal, we disagree
with the public clamor and playing out of disgruntled employees in the daily
newspaper. It is understood that the editor of the daily newspaper, while
publicly denying that it is so, has a different standard for people of authority
based on their color. We wonder if that much attention would have been
given to the recent RCC debacle if there was not a fear by white conservatives
(or racists) in our midst who feared that Johnny Hunt and Tom Jones,
former board members of RCC might eventually end up with an Indian or a
Black as president of that college. Fortunately population numbers being
what they are, the eventuality of an Indian president and attorney at RCC is
assured. These same sentiments, come into play with the board of education.
We doubt seriously that a white superintendent would receive the scrutiny
by the daily newspaper that Dr. Harding receives. What other explanation is
there for front page coverage in the daily newspaper whenever a few whites
with a token Indian or Black meet??? We believe it is part of the subtleties
and nuances of local whites who continue to protest the losspfpolitical
power. With these thoughts in mind, we expect Patrick BuWdrd to do the
right thing, in his personal and public life. We suggest editorially that the
new chairman get busy and make sure that all policy relative to transfers are
consistent and enforceable. Give teachers and other employees a fair and
proper appeal process and don't be drawn into the trap of publicly questioning
every decision after the fact. That doesn't seem unreasonable to us....,
Something is seriously wrong at South Robeson and immediate action must
be taken. Children's educational lives are at stake
by the editor, Conner tray boy.
State Babe Ruth
Tournament
begins July 20
The 2001 State Babe-Ruth Tournament
is being hosted by the Lumber
River West Babe Ruth. The 14year
old division at Purnell Swett
High School will begin the Babe Ruth
Tournament July 20 at 12:30 p.m.
Other games will be played at 2:30,
4:30 and 6:30 p.m. Games are also
scheduled for July 21, at 12:30,2:30,
4:30 and 6:30 p.m., July 22 at 2, 4
and 6 p.m., July 23 at 5:30 p.m. and
7:30 p.m. and July 24 at 5:30 and
7:30 p.m.
The cost for admittance is 54 for
adults and S2 for students with children
under 6 admitted free.
The following teams will participate
in the Tournament: District l-Pemo
Stewart; District 2- North Wake; District
3- Tidewater Supper; District 4Wayne
County; District 5-Nash
County; and District 6- New Bern.
Along tne Robeson Trail
by Dr. Stan Knick, Director- UNC-P Native American Resource Center
I just finished reading Delano
Cummings' new book, River Dreams:
Tales of a Lumbee Warrior (Signal
Tree Publications; 2001). In a way it
is a sequel to his earlier work, Moon
Dash Warrior (1998). But in another
way, it moves well beyond his earlier
work and into the well-trodden-butne
ver-completely-explored territory of
epic story telling.
Epic storytelling has been going
on for a long time. All traditional
cultures, whether Native American
or not, have always bad storytellers.
They entertained us. They taught
us lessons. They bonded us together
as a family, as a clan, as a culture.
They passed along from generation
to generation the oral traditions of
our history, our identity and our
spiritual selves which made us who we
are.
In the written form, we can look
back at least as far as Homer, that
possibly-legendary epic poet of
ancient Greece (Iliad; Odyssey) for
the roots and patterns of good epic
storytelling ? the use of certain
formal characteristics such as;
beginning in the middle of things;
passages with lists or catalogs;
invocation of supernatural sources of
guidance, such as a muse or spirit
guide; use of repetition as a way to
strengthen continuity; dealing with
dramatic heroic or legendary
characters or events. It is a longestablished
form.
In more recent times, writers such
as Marijo Moore and Gerald Vizenor
have brought a Native American
perspective and flavor to the form.
And with River Dreams, Del
Cummings situates himself squarely
among the storytellers.
The book opens right in the midst
of things; "It is dark, and the wind is
blowing through the trees. I can look
down and see out over a jungle. I feel
nothing, yet I can hear and see
everything. I feel strong and
powerful. I feel there is nothing I
cannot do. What is going on? Where
am I? Who am I? I remember. I am
a United States Marine. It is 1966,1
am 20 years old, and I am fighting a
dirty Asian war. I am a long way from
my home and my family and the land
of the Indian (p. 1)."
From this powerful beginning,
Cummings weaves in and out of
reality and a series of dream sequences
to tell his stories. He reaches into the
distant and the more recent past, and
also into the future. He incorporates
Henry Berry Lowrie ? 19th century
folk hero of the Lumbee ? as well as
un-named elders and young people, a
red-tailed hawk and various other
animals. The scope of the work is very
broad, but it is all held together by
good Homeric storytelling techniques.
Even the dream sequences have a
compelling credibility to them.
In one dream sequence Cummings
writes: "I am a blessed warrior
because I have seen the great light and
I have been outside my own body. I
have felt the powers surge from the
graves of my forefathers into my body.
I have heard and still hear the spirit
voice of my long-ago grandfather
talking to me, and I listen. I have
experienced visions.' I have a
protector who watches me from above
through the eyes of a hawk and gives
me strength when I need it. I have
talked with the animals, and I know
the secret of life (p. 119)."
Del Cummings says, and rightly
so, that he is a blessed warrior. He is
also a blessed storyteller.
For more information, visit the
Native American Resource Center
in historic Old Main Building, on
the campus of The University of
North Carolina at Pembroke (our
Internet address is www.uncp.edu/
nativemuseum).
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
People Helping People
in Times of Need
To the Editor:
There are many conflicting emotions
following any kind of tragedy. The
tragic loss of our home recently by
fire has left us going through various
emotional stages. Yes, we are
saddened by the loss of our personal
belongings and years of accumulation
of material things, but we are acutely
aware that material things can be replaced.
And in the final scheme of
things, only the spiritual and eternal
things have any real value. Our
home, like many of yours, was a sanctuary
for us. It was there that we had
lived for many years, raised our two
wonderful daughters and suffered the
loss of our only son in infancy. It was
there where many prayer services
were held as I battled with the consequences
of cancer and recovery. It
was there that friends and family
came to encourage us and to pray
with us. The house itself is lost, but
the memories and recollection of both
the good and bad times we've gone
through as a family remain in our
hearts.
This house was precious to me for
a very significant spiritual reason.
While meditating and praying over
having cancer and preparing to go
into treatment, God had mercy once
again and extended a special miracle
in my life. It was there, in our bedroom,
the same room where my son
died, that God allowed angels to
come down and sing to me. This was
his way of assuring me that everything
was going to be all right as I
underwent chemotherapy. It was
these singing angels that lifted me up
spiritually and prepared me for the
ordeal ahead of me. In this house,
through personal trials and tribulations,
I learned to trust more completely
in God. These spiritual matters
and the closeness of my son,
though departed, are the things that
1 will miss.
God has no other hands to minister
through except yours and mine.
We are instruments only of his use
and can be used only as we submit
daily and sometimes hourly to him.
As we adjust to the loss of our house,
I wish to thank all of you, friends,
family, neighbors, people I don't
know personally, and the many
churches who have come once again
to our aid. Your generosity can only
be provided through the grace of God.
We are especially grateful to the
Smithtown and Prospect Fire De
partment for their prompt and efficient
response. Jimmy Goins ofNorth
Carolina Insurance Service went beyond
the call of duty. He was not only
our insurance agent, but also a friend
in a time of need. The Robeson
County Environmental Department
and the Robeson County Inspection
Department responded swiftly to assure
that we had the necessary permits
so we would not be without a
plac^to stay for an extended period
of time. Terry Pate of Terry's Repo
was willing to rent us a mobile home.
Most other repossessed mobile home
places wanted to sell theirs. Mr. Pate
responded to the need and we are
grateful. My fellow board members
from Lumbee River EMC have
shown compassion and assistance. I
am touched by their expressions of
support. So many people have responded
that it is impossible to call
all your names, but know that we are
grateful. As recipients once again of
the many acts of kindness and
thoughtfulness, words are inadequate
to express our appreciation. Material
things can be replaced, there is no
replacement or substitute for love,
concern and acts of thoughtfulness.
It has helped us through another hard
time in our lives. We are grateful to
all of you and solicit your continued
prayers and we pray for God's continued
blessings on you. Thank you
so much!
Sincerely yours,
MA DIE RAE LOCKLEAR
Prospect Community
steei Buiiaings,
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40x60x12 was $17,500 now
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1 OOx 175x20 was $ 129,650 now
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1-800-406-5126
Raffle Winner
The winner of the Toby Carter
Drum raffle was Haysc Allen Locklcar.
The family wish to Thank all who
participated in making the raffle a
success.
Thanks also go out to all those
prayer sent to the Creator on Toby's
behalf.
Lumberton Junior High
School Has Open House
Lumberton Junior High School
Open House will be held August 1,
2001, from 2:30 p.m. through 5:30
p.m. Students and parents willbe able
to tour the campus and meet teachers.
M MM MM