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VOL. 35—NO. 43
PRICE—TEN CENTS
OFFICIAL CHURCH BOARD — Eleven of
the 16 members of the Official Board of the
newly formed Southern Pines Methodist Church
are pictured here after the church’s Charter
Day service Sunday. Left to right: L. E Led-
den, steward; W. A. Leonard, steward; J. A.
LowdermUk, steward; Mrs. Carolou Johnston^
chairman of commission on missions; Milton
Wilson, alternate delegate to the annual confer
ence; Mrs. J. S. Hiatt, Jrf, president WSCS and
chairman, commission on membership and evan
gelism; E. E. Hubbard, steward and lay delegate
Many Received
In New Church
On Charter Day
One hundred and five persons
attended a Charter .Day service
for Southern Pines Methodist
Church held at the Civic Club
Sunday morning with the Rev. O.
L. Hathaway of Fayetteville, dis
trict superintendent, presiding.
Between 50 and 60 persons
joined the church Sunday, in ad
dition to infants baptized and
young people taken into prepara
tory membership. A group to be
taken into membership next Sun
day and thereafter will bring ac
tual membership of the new
church to over 70.
The Rev. E. E. Whitley, young
pastor who has been organizing
the church since June 1, delivered
the call to worship and the invo
cation.
Actual organization of the
church took place during the
church conference and quarterly
conference.
Officers. Conuniitees
Officers and committees were
elected, after the entire report of
the nominating committee for
these posts was accepted. They
are:
Elected Stewards: Earl E. Hub
bard, Lynn E. Ledden, J. A. Low-
dermilk, L. D. Jones, W. A. Leon
ard and Karl A. Bridges.
Trustees, 1955, Richard Boaz;
1956, Dr. Malcolm D. Kemp, and
(Continued on Page 5)
to the annual conference; Dr. J. S. Hiatt, Jr.
trustee and lay leader; Richard Boaz, trustee-
O. L. Hathaway of Fayetteville, district superin
tendent; and the Rev. E. E. Whitley, pastor
Members of the Official Board not in the photo
are: L. D. Jones, steward; K. A. Bridges, stew
ard and chairman, comnjission on finance- Dr
M D Kemp, trustee; Dr. M. B. Huffman!
Church School superintendent and chairman,
commission on education; and Mrs. J. A. Whit
ley, recording steward.
(Photo by Emerson Humphrey)
Officials, Public To Be Invited To
Attend Meeting On ‘Outside Zoning’
Council Gets Report
On Civil Defense;
Firetruck Has Radio
With approval of the town
council. Mayor L. T. Clark, City
Manager Tom E. Cunningham and
Town Attorney W. Lament Brown
are working on plans for an open
meeting to discuss the controver
sial question of zoning outside the
town limits.
Probably to be held at Weaver
Auditorium, the meeting would
bring together the governing
boards and officials of Southern
Pines and Aberdeen; the people
Good News From
Polio Patients
It was good news this week
from Southern Pines polio pa
tients.
Nancy and A1 Godwin, children
of Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Godwin.
Jr., of Midland Road, are home,
after treatment in the polio ward
of N. C. Memorial Hospital,
Chappl Hill, and are reported to
old. ^ to the
Blue Knights To
Play Here Today;
Schedule Changed
The Blue Knights of Southern
Pines High School, who played to
a scoreless tie with Maxton’s six-
naan football squad last Friday
night in their season opener, will
make their first home appearance
here today (Friday) at 3 p.m., with
West End High School gridders as
opponents. (Story of last Friday’s
game, page 7).
This will be the only afternoon
game of the season, Head Coach
Irie Leonard pointed out. The
following week (Friday, Septem
ber 24), the Blue Knights will
tackle Rowland, said to be a tough
aggregation, at Rowland under
lights.
Two changes in the schedule
were announced this week by
Coach Leonard. Bladenboro will
be the opponent here in the night
Honrecoming game October 8, re
placing the formerly scheduled
Robbins which is reported to have
a shortage of players. A feature
of the Homecoming game will be
sale of tickets by members of the 1
Southern Pines Rotary Club, all
athletic
whose property would be affect
ed, not only between Southern
Pines' and Aberdeen but in other
directions from Southern Pines;
Highway Commissioner Forrest
Lockey of AJaerdeen, State Rep.
H. Clifton Blue of Aberdeen-
Hawley Poole of West End, Dem
ocratic nominee for State Senate;
Chairman Gordon Cameron of the
county commissioners and J. M.
Pleasants, member of the county
board from Southern Pines; and
all interested persons.
The power to zone for business
and residential development out
side a town’s limits can be grant
ed only, by the General Assembly.
If the matter can be worked out
satisfactorily in preliminary con
ferences and if there is wide
spread public approval of the pro
posal in the areas involved, Moore
County legislators would be asked
to submit a local bill that would
authorize the zoning power.
Members of the council, at their
regular meeting in town hall
Tuesday night, said they thought
the zoning power would be gen
erally approved if all concerned
understood what it was about.
Zoning everywhere, it was point
ed out, tends to raise property
values by promoting orderly de
velopment.
In a session that lasted nearly
four hours, the council spent a
large proportion of the time de
bating, but taking no action on a
proposal to raise the price of lots
at Mount Hope Cemetery, which
is owned by the town, in order to
make it more nearly, but stiU not
completely, self-sustaining.
A related proposal was put to a
vote, but defeated when Mayor
(Continued on Page 5)
Kiwanis, USAF
Will Stage Kids
Day September 25
School Cl]^ldren
Will Go To Pope
AFB For Program
An estimated 600 Moore Coun
ty youngsters will take part in the
annual Kids Day program Satur
day, September 25, sponsored
jointly by the Sandhill Kiwanis
Club and the USAF Air-Ground
Operations School at the Highland
Pines Inn.
The kids and “kids-at-heart” of j
Moore County—the latter being '
interested adults, including mem- Bfi
bers of the Kiwanis Club who will
be on hand for the program— are i
invited by Brig. Gen. Daniel W. |
Jenkins, commandant at the
school, and the Kiwanis Club to
turn out for the day’s events.
W. T. Huntley, Jr., of Southern
Pines and T. Roy Phillips of Car
thage are co-chairmen of the
event for the Kiwanis Club. Kids
Day programs are sponsored
throughout the nation by Kiwanis
Clubs and Air Force units.
The program was announced
this week as follows:
9 a.m.—Youngsters will assem
ble at the Southern Pines school,
many coming from other sections
of the county in busses, and re
ceive Kids Day buttons.
10:15 a.m.-r-Air Force busses
will be loaded and will depart for
Pope Air Force Base. Adult su
pervision will be provided on all
busses.
11 a.m.—Arrival at Pope AFB
and inspection of a “static dis
play” of aircraft, including train
ing planes, troop carriers, jet
planes and bombers. 'There will
Mso be a “fly-by” showing planes
in the air, an aerial display, con
tinuous movies shown in hangars,
a fire-fighting demonstration and
a parachute display by members
of the 82nd Airborne Division.
(Continued on Page 8)
USAF Air-Ground School Slated
To Move Early Next Year From
Southern Pines To Keesler AFB
More Economy,
Cv A'i/-
t:
Gilmore Opponent
For Committeeman
Now Out Of Race
: -i?'
vf;',J
HOME OF SCHOOL—With a familiar designating sign loom
ing in the foreground, the Highland Pines Inn was a center of
attention here this week after it was announced that the USAF
A^-Ground Operations Sphool, which has occupied the stately,
piUMed structure since June, 1951, will move in a few months
to Mississippi. This view shows the Inn porch topped with a
Power for Peace” banner in observance of Armed Forces Dav
last year.
HOPE TO SOFTEN ECONOMIC IMPACT
Local Leaders Act In Effort To
Keep School, Delay Departure
News that the USAF Air- ness interests, discussed the situ-
Ground School is to leave South- " "
ern Pines brought immediate ac
tion by business, civic and gov
ernment leaders in the Sandhills.
On Monday, when knowledge
of the impending Tuesday an-
A delegation of Moore County
Young Democrats is at Charlotte
for the State YDC convention
that opened 'Thursday and will
run through Saturday.
'The candidacy of Voit Gilmore
of Southern Pines for YDC na
tional committeeman from North
Carolina received a boost this
week unexpectedly when Parker
Whedon of Charlotte, the only
other announced candidate, with
drew from the race because of the
iUness of his young son who is
under treatment for polio.
An election during the conven
tion at the Hotel Charlotte will
pick the national committeeman
and other Btate YDC officers.
Gilmore has the endorsement of
the 8th District YDC, given at
the district convention here, and
many other assurances of support
from throughout the state. He
may yet have opposition, but
backers here were hopeful of his
success whether or not he is op
posed. 'They headed for Charlotte
prepared for a campaign to estab-
(Continued on Page 8)
nouncement became known, a
group of civic leaders put in tel
ephone calls to Senators Erwin
and Lennon, Rep. C. B. Deane
and other possibly influential
persons in an effort to see wheth
er the school can be retained here.
Another group, meeting Tues
day morning, representing the
town government. Chamber of
Commerce, civic clubs and busi-
Boxer Dog Shot
By Police After
Attack On Man
A large boxer dog that killed _
cocker spaniel belonging to Ted
Barrow of Country Club drive,
and then attacked Mr. Barrow
was shot and killed by police of
ficers called to the Barrow home
Tuesday night.
Police Chief C. E. Newton said
that Officers H. B. Chandler and
M. R. Stout responded to the call.
When they arrived, the chief said,
the boxer was tearing up the
mangled body of the spaniel. The
vicious animal then hurled him
self at the police car, apparently
trying to get in the window on
the driver’s side. It was then shot
and killed by the officers.
Mr. Barrow said that the boxer
attacked his spaniel near the
house and that when he went out
(Continued on Page 8)
ation further and heard reports
from the senators and represen
tatives, all of whom said they
were investigating the matter and
would do what they could to de
termine whether the move to
Mississippi is inevitable.
Purposes of the local efforts are
to keep the school here if possible
or to soften the impact of its de
parture by a delay that will give
leaders here time to obtain some
other similar unit or payroll
source that would help maintain
the area’s economy at the present
level.
Efficiency Are
Listed Reasons
The United States Air Force
Air-Ground Operations School,
which has been in the Highland
Pines Inn since June, 1951, will
move to Keesler Air Force Base,
Miss., as scon as accommodations
for it there have been made
ready, it was announced Tuesday
by Brig. Gen. Daniel W. Jenkins,
commandant at the school.
When the school moves de
pends only on when the new
quarters at Keesler Field are
ready. It is likely, the announce
ment said, that this will take
place early in 1955.
According to the announce
ment of the move that came
earlier Tuesday from Gen. O. P.
Weyland, commander of Tactical
Air Command of which the school
is a unit, “Selection of Keesler
for the school’s new location is
based upon the availability of
more economical and efficient fa
cilities on an established Air
Force installation.”
The school rents the Highland
Pines Inn from the Stitzer Hotel
Company which is headed by
Charles W. Stitzer of Southern
Pines. Apparently the Air Force
has concluded that it is more
economical to operate the school
on an Air Force base. It is re
ported that similar changes are
being made elsewhere.
The increased efficiency men
tioned in the announcement as
resulting from the move prob
ably refers to elimination of bus
trip^ from Southern Pines to
Pope Air Force Base which have
been necessary because the school
here is removed some distance
from an operating Air Force Base
with flying and other facilities
available.
General Jenkins was not at the
school 'Tuesday. Local release of
the news was made after the an
nouncement had come in on the
The Air-Ground school’s $75,-
000 monthly payroll is considered .. — x..
a vital factor in'the economy of teletype from General
sa and business- Weyland at Tactical Air Com
mand headquarters at Langlev
Field, Va.
Progress In Past Year Summarized
Pat Morrison, 15, daughter of
Mrs. Pauline Morrison 865 N. May
St., a patient at Memorial Hospi
tal, Chapel Hill, has been up in
a wheel chair this week and is
walking a little bit, her mother
said Thursday. Doctors say she
will not need braces but her right
leg is i^tiff and she walks with
a limp that it is hoped will work
out.
No new cases were reported in
Southern Pines or Moore County
this week. 'The 1954 count for the
county remains seven, four of
which have been from Southern
Pines.
The Emergency March of
Dimes drive officially ended Wed
nesday, but contributions may
still be made to community chair
men in the various towns and ru
ral communities of the county.
{field lights fund. Members of the
club have given a total of $1,500
to the fund and hope to regain a
considerable portion of this
through the sale of tickets.
In the other schedule change,
the team from WhittakerS-Battle-
boro school near Rocky Mount is
replacing Carthage in the October
22 night game here. It is under
stood that Carthage has poor pros
pects for an adequate squad.
The schedule changes mean that
both Robbins and Carthage forfeit
games to Southern Pines in coun
ty standings.
MATCH PLAY BEGINS
Match play began Wednesday
in the annual Southern Pines
Country Club golf tournament
after a week of qualifying rounds.
Mere than 60 players are taking
part in the event.
Town Council Lists Accomplishtncnts
Eighteen accomplishments of
town government during the past
year are listed in a statement
made public at the town council’s
regular meeting Tuesday night
Councilman Voit Gilmore, at
whose suggestion the hsting was
drawn up by City Manager Tom
E. Cunningham, read the state
ment to the council and the citi
zens attending the meeting.
The statement acknowledges
with pleasure recent favorable
newspaper and radio publicity re
garding the town’s progress dur
ing the past year, in improvement
of its taxation and financial sit
nation, and continues as follows:
“This appears to be a favorable
time to call to the attention of the
people of Southern Pines a few
specific accomplishments of this
administration. Constant effort by
the mayor, the council, interested
citizens, the town manager and
our loyal town employees have
brought about the greatest effi
ciencies and economies in the his
tory of Southern Pines. We can
point with pride to many improve
ments that make our Town a bet
ter place to live, and among then!
are these specific accomplish
ments of the present town admin
istration:
‘Reduction of the real and per
sonal property tax from $2.20 to
$1.75. (The lowest tax rate in over
30 years).
“Reduction of water rates by
approximately 10% on the mini
mum biU. (Making the present
water rate the same as we enjoy
ed in 1930).
“Elimination of the poll tax.
“Construction of over two miles
of new sanitary sewers. (All out
of cash, no new bonds).
■‘Paving of over two miles of
streets. (All out of cash, no new
bonds).
‘Liquidation of an inherited
the town and area and business
men are worried about the econ
omic blow of its suddenly being
cut off.
Kiwanis Resolufion
Further action was taken at the
regular meeting of‘the SandhiUs
Kiwanis Club Wednesday when
the club adopted a resolution rec
ognizing the Air Ground School’s
beneficial effect on the communi
ty, acknowledging a debt of grat
itude owed to the school by the
community and urging that the
school be allowed to remain in
Southern Pines “if it be in ac
cordance with the economy and
plans of the Air Force and
Army.”
Their resolution pledged the
club members, individually and
collectively as a club, to any as
sistance they may be able to give
to keeping the school here and in
the meantime, the resolution sta
ted, “our hearts shall beat time
to the USAF Air-Ground School
and especiaUy to its excellent
commander of personnel.”
The resolution was introduced
by Jack S. Younts. A Kiwanis
committee on the matter is com
posed of Ward Hill, Voit Gilmore,
W. P. Saunders and Norris Hodg
kins, Sr.
deficit of over $20,000 and estab
lishment of a $30,000 cash surplus.
(The first general fund surplus
we have had in 10 years).
“Full payment and retirement
of a $5,000 fire station note car
ried by the town for over 25
years. (On which past administra- -A- “desperate need” for leaders
tions paid over $5,000 in interest), in local Girl Scout troops will be
Leaders Needed
For Girl Scouts
‘Establishment of a model zon
ing ordinance to protect the
Tovm’s future growth on an or
derly basis.
‘Improved garbage collection
service, including collecting yard
rakings and tree trimmings knd a
new policy for the rear yard pick
ups.
Inauguration of a competitive
bidding system for all town pur
chases. (With many significant
savings already realized).
“InstaUed extensive West
Southern Pines improvements, in
cluding street paving, water and
(Continued on Page 5)
discussed at a meeting to be held
at the Red Cross office, 244 S. W.
Broad St., 'Tuesday at 7:30 p., m.
Mrs. John Ostrom, who an
nounced the meeting, said that
several troops are new without
leaders or assistant leaders and
invited all women who think they
might be able to volunteer their
services to attend the meeting to
learn more about the needs and
requirements.
Miss Cathryn Creasman of San
ford, executive of the Central
Carolina Girl Scout Council,
which includes Moore County,
will attend the- meeting.
Continues to Operate
Meanwhile, the school will con
tinue to operate. It is now in a
regularly scheduled “stand
down” period when classes are
suspended, but a new class is
slated to begin a weekly study
session September 27, with the
classes to continue their custom
ary turn-over of 100/officers each
week until the school moves.
The Air-Ground School’s fuU
complement of 123 officers and
men who are stationed here per
manently, many of them occupy
ing homes and apartments in
Southern Pines with their wives
and families, will move with the
school.
General Jenkins’ announcement
noted that the departing officers
and men will miss the atmosphere
of Southern Pines, where person
nel ' of the school have played
prominent parts in coihmunity
life, and that they “will always
remember the good times they
have had heret”
For the town, departure of the
school comes as a shock. Not Only
are the Air Force personnel val
ued citizens in their own right,
but the school provides a $75,000
monthly payroll that is one of the
largest in the county from any
single source. Most of the “per-
(Continued on Page 5)
COURT TERM
Judge Francis O. Clarkson
of Charlotte is scheduled to
preside at a term, of Moore
County Superior Court for
trial of civil cases, to open at
the courthouse in Carthage
Monday morning.
Because cJ fhe Superior
Court session the weekly
recorders court usually held
on Monday will be conduct
ed Saturday of thiis week.
Judge J. Vance Rowe and
Solicitor W. Lament Brown
have announced.
For the complete calendar
of next week's civil term, see
story on page 10.