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( AN INSTITUTION OF COMMUNITY SERVICE SINCE 1909 )
Hertford County 1759-1959
The Herald 1909-1959
6 Pages—This Section
AhoskiC/ N. C.
Milestone Year—1953
Mule Trader
To Airplanes:
LSJernigan
AHOSKIE — The firm of L. S.
Jernigan and Son in Ahoskie has
been in the business of furnishing
power and implements for the
farm all the way from the mule to
the airplane.
Cap’n Lee Jernigan, the found
er. got into the mule business in
association with E. It. Evans in the
1930’s while he was still operating
his own family farm out on the
Jernigan Swamp road and follow
ing the mule - powered plows of
tliat era. When his son, Stanwood,
T'Ww up to manhood he naturally
became a part of the firm.
But by then the transition from
mule power to mechanical power
had begun, and father iind son be
gan the development of their 
company which today is one of the
leading agricultural implement
concerns ot the Ruanokc-Chowan
area. Combined with the imple
ment business is distribution o f
, i'a.solinc and oil to keep the trac-
-S-rs running, and an airix?rt from
w.'iich is furnished a spraying and
dusting service to control insects.
The firm occupied its present
building on Rhuc Street in 1945,
e.xpanding from its origin-nl loca
tion in the horse and mule barn
across the street. It was in this
new building that L. S. Jernigan
and Son became the first Ahoskie
concern to devote itself exclusive
ly to the agricultural implement
business. Complete sales and serv
ice in the Ailis-Chalmers line was
featured.
Since that time the father and
son team has aggressively and
progressively continued to expand
their service to agriculture in this
area in the implement and power
- ^ud. In 1959 they entered the oil
'*fc,Yribulion business, establishing
iy>^\'Jernigan Oil Co. to distribute
'■ "Tfll jjetrolcum products and at
t'nc\ same time built their-rctcil
service station at the corner ot
Alain and Rhuc.
It was in 1952 that they pioneer
ed an airplane spraying and dust
ing service and 1954 improved xhat
service by construction of their
own private airstrip to accommo-
Scs TRADER. Page 4
Vonn Formed
Hardware
Firm in 1918
AHOSKIE—Farmers Hardware
Company, located at the corner of
Main and Maple streets, is the
outgrowth of one. of Ahoskie’s
earlier businesses founded in 1918.
J. N. Vann, Inc., was the 1918
firm, located in the site of the
present Colonial Store, in the
Parker building on Main Street.
Mr. Vann wa.s president and W. T.
Forbe.? secretary.
In 1940, H. C, Babb was as
sociated with Vann in the hard-
wai'G operation. After the war, in
1945, the firm was sold to Levi
Dilday and his brother, Horace.
In 1947, the Dildays moved from
the Parker building to the pres
ent location of Willoughby Furni
ture, on Main Street, and later
to their present location.
In 1949, Levi Dilday became
sole owmer of Farrners Ilardware,
which today has foui' employees
and handles a corapietc line of
hardware, Westinghouse and
Maytag appliances.
Hi-Fi Sound
Latest Thing
Godwin-Savin
0m
Home of The Herald and Herald Printing House
THE HERALD. AHOSKIE
This building located on the
corner of North and McGlohon
streets, was first occupied by The
Herald in 1937. Th’; -e additions to
the building have been made
since that time, the latest com
pleted in 1958 to house the com
mercial printing equipment of
the Herald Printing House.
Thei-e are approximately 9,000
square feet of floor space. In. ad
dition to business office equip
ment, the building houses the fol
lowing printing equipment; four
linotype machines, Models 31,.
Comet with teletype casting;
mechanism, 14 and 25; Duplex |
Model E webfed newspaper |
printing press; Ludlow; Elrod ma- j
terial caster; Monotype display!
type caster; teletypesettcr per- j
forator; 3 metal saws; Elliott j
mailing system; photographic:
dark room and equipment and |
Fairchild Scan-A-Graver; 3 proof,
presses; Monomelt plate leveler; \
Hammond stereotype caster; No-j
land re-melt - furnace; Challenge :
power miterer; numerous type 1
cabinets housing many tons of]
cast type and standing printing j
forms, and both fixed and mobile I
steel make-up and composing'
“stones.”
Kelly B automatic cylinder ■
press; 1250 Multilith offset print-,
ing press with plate making,
equipment; C & P 12 X 18 auto
matic platen press; 10 X 15 Heid-'
elburg automatic platen press;!
8 X 15 C & P handfed platen ^
press; 17 X 22 Baum automatic ^
folder; Challenge Power drill;;
Rosback perforator; Smythe pow-1
er stitcher; 34 ” C & P power:
paper cutler; miscellaneous tools j
and equipment; together with;
tons of flat printing papers of'
many grades and sizes. ■
The building provides ware- ■
house space to accommodate more i
than a carload of roil newsprint..
It is centrally heated by two auto-1
matic healing units.
Business and edilorial 'offices j
are aii^cbriditioncd. .Ai coj^i^upus;
file ot all Issues of The Herald i
and the other newspapers printed'
in the printing plant is maintain-;
cd on microfilm.
'■%fy
Luther H. HODGC'i
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
GOVERNORS OFFICE
RALEIGH
January 28, 1^59
TO THE PUBLIS.HE,RS AND STAFF OF THE HE.RALD
De.;t..r Kriende:
as
■ I .an. b:--ppy to join oth?r North CuroUnians in sending best wishes
d congratu-.ition;-. to the Hor.ald as it observes its 50th year of publication
one of F.iSiorn Nort'r. C.arobna’s outsf.anding community newspapeu’s.
1 t.ha.f. j’a ronnc ctiori with this obpervo.ncc atxd with, the nb-
Hci'van.eo of the 200th .’itutiversary of Hcrl-rord County, which is being
ceiebroteri this year, the Her.i.ld is pubi-ishing iia ’'Miloatono'* edition.,
i understand this odilion will contain articic-s reviewing the past history
the story of present day aehiuverP'.-nts.
ftmd Couni'
I Ivi
fie rtfore. Coar.ty h'xs t history in which ..vii North Carolinians can
take pride, Ihc Hei-old is to be ospeciaily comtTiCnded'-for bringing the
story of this history thv- attention of the Stale in this special atnuversar]^
Ofution,
Ag;'" \ best |Uh6hef.: to the Her.ald •i.s it enters its vseebnd 50 years
North CarolinuL'; cornnmrity newspaper frAlornity^ .
vn. ’ lo livs ■n.'. its '-rt.oH.o as "An In,.siitulion of C,or’.''.nu.;nity Service
Since 1909.
1,61 FtaSAttsa® ...... . ,
Ahoskie Feed
& Fuel Amoco
Distributors
Sincerely yours
Cities
ROANOKE-CHOWAN TIMES-NEWS, RICH SQUARE
Parker Bros. Employs 34
AHOSKIE — Godwin and Savin
Compan}' has followed the progress
of radio and electronics since 1936,
when the fu'm was founded as a
radio repair and sales shop by A.
S. Godwin.
In 1945, the name was changed
to Home Appliance Company,
with Godwin, J. S. Vinson and J.
N. Pierce as partners. Two years
later, Godwin bought out his part
ner's interest and was sole owner
again until 1951.
At that time, Charlie Savin pur
chased a half-interest in the firm,
and the present name was first
used. In 1956, Fred M. Hill, Jr. also
purchased an interest.
Latest Icature ot the firm is high
fidelity and stcreoplionic sound
equipment by Zenith. They alos
handle Zenith television, riidios and
equipment, and RCA Whirlpool
home appliances, and service all
electrical items.
On page two of the first section
of this Milestone Edition there is
a group of photographs of the
present day newspaper workers
and printers who make up the
publishing and printing organiza
tion of Parker Brother's, Inc., pub
lishers of The Herald at Ahoskie,
The Bertie Ledger-Advance at
Windsor, The Gates County Index
at Gatesville, and the Roanoke-
Chowan Times-News at Rich
Square and Jackson in Northamp
ton County; and also the oper
ators of tlie commercial printing
divisions known as The Herald
Printing House at Ahoskie and
the Windsor Press at Windsor.
Identification of those whose
photos are shown, together with
their positions with the company
follows:
First row, left to right; John J.
Hill, vice president and mechanic
al superintendent; John W. Mit
chell, advertising manager The
Herald, Ahoskie; Joe M, Parker,
sales and production manager
commercial printing division. The
Herald Printing House, and treas
urer; J. Roy Parker, Jr., manag
ing editor “Your Home News
paper” and secretary; J. Mayon
Parker, president and general
manager.
Second row: Robert S. Gerry,
assistant secretary and make-up
foreman; Fred Hill, linotype op
erator; Stanley Pearce, display
advertising compositor: Mgry T.
Bond, proofreader and Scan-A-
Graver operator; Charle.s Bond,
news editor of The Herald.
Third row: Vernon Riddick,
commercial printing pressman.
Herald Printing House; Meredith
Smith, business manager Bertie
Ledger - Advance and Windsor
Press, Windsor; Frank Powell,
newspaper pressman and mailer;
Carlton Moi-ris, editor and man
ager Gates County Index, Gates
ville; Gilbert Vaughan, linotype
operator and floorman.
Fourth row; James McDaniel,
compositor commercial printing.
Herald Printing House; Lam-a
Harrell, editor and photographer
Bertie Ledger-Advance, Windsor:
John G. Powell, linotype oper
ator; Carolyn Joyner, circulation
clerk and as.sistant bookkeeper;
Apple Jernigan, business office
manager.
Fifth r«w: Betsy Darden, com
mercial printing bindery assistant
and advertising dispatch: Everett
Liverman, commercial printing
pressman. The Herald Printing
House; William Alligood, lino
type operator and commercial
printing pressman. The Windsor
See EMPLOYEES, Page 5
lOSKIE—Ahoskie Feed and !
Company, headed by Clay-:
S. Godwin, Jr., has changed ;
:tions twice since it was |
ed. Originally distributors of ■
Service products, the firm j
now holds the franchise as Amer-1
ican Oil Company distributor.
The change was made when i
the fli'm moved into its present I
location on Catherine Street in I
1958. At that time, the Amoco i
distributor leased his former!
building to Roanoke - Chowan:
Chemical Corporation, moving to \
the other side of the lot which |
also fronted on Maple Street. '
Alexander Bell's Invention;
Public Nuisance' to Modem Necessity
Earley Co.
Grew By Work,
Little Fanfare
F. R. SYNDER, JR., Editor
Roanoke-Chowan Times-News
AHOSKIE — The historj’ of 'Tire
Earley Co. in Ahoskie is one that
includes several ‘first and. only’
labels.
It has been a pioneering and
growing concern under the lead
ership of Claxton Earley, in assoc
iation with his brother, Wil
lard. Tile Earley brothers are
from native stock of pioneer resi
dents of Hertford county, their
family reaching back to be num
bered with tl’.e first settlers in this
area.
The Earley Co., as near]y_evcry
farmer in the Ahoskie area knows,
sells and mixes livestock feeds,
buys grain, livestock and poultry.
Its store, warehouse, mill and
grain elevators, its livestock mar
ket pens, and its egg factory sheds
and pig parlor all are located on
Highway 13 just outside the town
limits, south. The Earley Co. deals
in the familiar checkerboard pro
ducts with the Purina brand.
But back to the ‘first and only’
and the pioneering done by The
Earley Co: It had its start in De
cember, 1942 in Claxton Earley’s
garage, he says. In that year while
ho was emploj'ed as a traveling
salesman he took over the fran
chise to sell Purina livestock
feeds in Ahoskie and the lirst load
was delivered to his garage. But
on January 1 of 1943, The Eai'ley
Co. opened lor business at the
corner of Main and Maple Streets
See EARLEY, Page 4
AHOSKIE—In 1913. the Ahoskie
town council granted a permit to
J. W. (John) Godwin to operate a
private telephone until “such time
as it might become a public nuis
ance.” By 1917, the telephone had
caught on, like the automobile, and
Iranchiso was granted to J. T.
Willoughby, owner of the New Era
Telephone Company of which God-
manager.
win -v
The New Era company strung
lines to Cofield, Winton, Harrells-
ville, and St. John, and soon drew
competition. The Chowan and Roa
noke Telephone Compan3'. with
headquarters in Colerain, received
a franchise for an Ahoskie office.
However, they furnished service
only during daytime hours untO
August, 1923, when 24-hour service
began and rates were raised 50
cents per phone.
In March, 1926. the Chowan and
Roanoke company was sold to the
Carolina Telephone and Telegraph
Company of Tarboro, and The Her
ald expressed the hope that Ahos
kie would I'cceivc service as good
as that fuz'nished the Piedmont
area by Bell Telephone Company.
Ahoskie was chosen for the cen
tral hccidquarters of Carolina Tele
phone's exchange in Winton, Mur
freesboro, Windsor, Aulander, Ply
mouth and Williamston. A new!
brick building costing 35,000. witli'
a switchboard valued at 39,000 was
installed on Mitchell Street.
In 192B, there were 109 subscrib
ers for (phone service in Ahoskie,
102 in Murfreesboro, and 24 in Win
ton, for a total of 235 in the county.
By 1958. this number had risen to
2,994, with 1,968 in Ahoskie, 830 La
Murfreesboro, and 196 in Winton.
E. L. Thorne, recently honored
by the company for 30 years’ serv
ice. came as manager of Ahoskie
in 1928.
A sign of the blossoming tele
phone service was the forest of
telephone poles which went zip in
the next decade, as new routes
went in between Ahoskie and Mur
freesboro, Winton and Roduco, and
other points in the surrounding
area. In 1931. Winton was convert
ed from manual to automatic op
eration. In 1938, more local auto
matic facilities were provided at
Murfreesboro, and in 1940 an ex
tension was made to the building at
Ahoskie.
Asjsoon as World War II ended,
land was purchased for a new j
building site in Ahoskie, in the
middle of the block between Main
and North on McGlohon Street. As
soon as the building was erected,
toll switchboard facilities were ex
panded.
As telephone service grew, the
Ahoskie building grew, with a ma
jor addition completed in 1951. The
following year. Ahoskie was con
verted to dial phones, and the
“HeOo Central” era was finished.
Land was purchased at Winton
in 1952 for a new. unattended dial
office, which was completed and
placed in operation in 1955. In 1958.
further expansion in the R-C area
was noted with the inauguration of
DDD—direct distance dialing—from
ixjints in Northampton County.
Forerunner Corporation:
Camp Sow Logwoods Possibilifies
FRANKLIN, Va.—A wealth of
natural resources have helped
make Hertford Countj' one of the
state’s leading agricultural coun
ties, and have contributed largely
to the success of mcuiy firms.
One of the greatest attractions—
and a continuing one today—was
the wealth of virgin timber. It was
the rich timberland near Como in
Maney’s Neck township which at
tracted Paul D. Camp in the
bleak reconstruction daj’s of 1878.
The young Virginian built a
small sawmill and logging opera
tion there, merging it into the
Camp Manufacturing Company
with his brothel's. James L. and
Robert J. Camp, in 1887.
By harvesting and processing the
timber crop, a shot in the arm was
given to the wavering market
prices at that time, and regular
emploj’ment was provided for
many seeking a supplement to their
war-deplenished farm economy.
Another unique institution, the
Camp PD Hunt Club, also began
in 1887 as an informal gathering of
Paul D. Camp’s friends. One of the
1759'
HERALD
I909'I9S9
charter members was the late Guy
C. Picot, who died in 1955. Eventu
ally, after Paul D. Camp’s death
in 1924, the clubhouse in the “Big
Woods” east of Como was given to
the group ot hunters by the Camp
Manufacturing Company.
Manufacturing under the new
company formed by the Camp
brothers in 1887 was set up primar
ily at Franklin, Va., but expansion
of operations over the following
years placed additional mills at
Arringdaie and Buttenvorth, Va.;
Marion and Russellville, S. C.; and
Wilmington and Wallace, N. C.
Passing years and changing con
ditions caused those operations to
be included, however, and the last
outljing sawmill operation was
closed in Marlon. S. C., in 1943.
Only the Franklin, Va., sawmill
i remains ot the vast lumber-pro-
^ ducing organization. The Franklin
' sawmill is still one of the largest
• in Virginia and the Atlantic states.
, Recognizing the potentials of
I See CAMP. Page 3