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VOL. 36—NO. 24
TWENTY-FOUR PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES. NORTH CAROLINA. FRIDAY. MAY 6. 1955
TWENTY-FOUR PAGES
PRICE—TEN CENTS
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Negotiations On
Air School Lease
Are Continuing
Purchase Proposal
Abandoned; Rental
Plan Seems Likely
Negotiations on a lease agree
ment that is expected to keep the
USAF Air-Ground Operations
School in Southern Pines were
continuing in Washington this
week between representatives of
the Defense Department and the
Stitzer Hotel Co., owners of the
Highland Pines Inn in which the
school is now located,.
Members of' the citizens com
mittee working on the effort to
retain the school said this week
that the current negotiations do
not involve a proposed plan for
community financial participation
to purchase the Inn property
jointly with the government. The
current lease expires June 30 and
the school had been preparing to
be transferred to Keesler Air
Force Base, Biloxi, Miss.
Brig. Gen. Daniel W. Jenkins,
commandant at the school, said
this week that he had no official
announcement to make about the
status of the school, but that he
will release information when it is
received and when he is authoriz
ed to do so.
He said that Ein announcement,
attributed to the Air Force, that
the school would stay in Southern
Pines was publicly quoted last
week without his authorization.
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Grant Given New
Amerotron Post
A1 Grant has been appointed
vice president and manager of
Area C of Amerotron, according
to a report received Thursday
from the office of the president
of the company, Robeii; L. Huf-
fines, Jr.
Area C is the term used to des
ignate the southern plants of the
great textile empire. With the an-
ncuncement of his appointment,
came the news that Mr. Grant is
expected to report at his new
headquarters in Anderson, S
C., Monday.
Besides the South Carolina
plants, formerly under Textron
Area C includes the former Amer
ican Woolen plant at Tifton, Ga.
Under his new assignment, Mr.
Grant will hold the same position
in Area C as that now occupied
by Frank T. Roberts in the mid
south division that includes the
mills at Aberdeen, Raeford, Red
Springs and Robbins.
Mr. Grant held the position of
general manager of manufactur
ing for Robljins Mills before th
merger of that company with
Textron and American Woolen to
form the Amerotron Company. He
has been living in Southern Pines,
where he and Mrs. Grant have
played a leading part in covic
and church work in the communi
ty.
,
LEARNING FIRE FIGHTING—Cub Scouts
from packs in Southern Pines, Aberdeen, Pine-
bluff, Carthage and West End got a practical
lesson in fighting woods fires Saturday after
noon when, under direction of Forest Service
personnel, they set and then brought under con
trol a blaze in an area of deeply spread pine
straw at the town dump near the fire tower, off
Morganton road. The top photo shows Moore
County Warden Travis Wicker and District War
den David Drexel (standing, left-center) as Cubs
kneel to apply lighted matches to the pine
needles. Other boys stand ready with rakes,
flaps and at lower left, hand pumps operated
Parents
from tanks of water on their backs,
and others watch in the background.
The lower photo shows how the Cubs made
a fire lane and stopped the blaze, on instruc
tions from Drexel. The fire is burning in rapid
ly from the left of the photo, but the boys stop
ped it. Warden Wicker can be seen at the end
of the lane watching closely and with amused
admiration for the boys’ valiant efforts. The
Cub in the foreground is working one of the
hand pumps. The afternoon’s activity ended
with a climb up the tower, to see how fires
are spotted and located. Only a fraction of the
boys present are shown in these pictures.
(Pilot Staff Photos)
PLANNING CONVENTION
Russell J. Lorenson, president
of the North Carolina Society of
Accountants, is meeting today
(Friday) and Saturday with the
convention committee at the Rob
ert E. Lee hotel in Winston-Salem
to make final plans for the 1955
state eenvention.
TAG DAY
Saturday, the day before
Mother's Day, tags will be
sold in all county towns for
the benefit of the work car
ried on by the Moore County
Matern^d Welfare Committee.
The committee cooperates
with the Moore County
Health and Welfare Depart
ments. Funds raised on Tag
Day support a free bed al
ways available for needy
mothers at Moore County
Hospital; also, provide extra
machine and help to clinic
patients and pay the tuition
and expenses of midwives at
tending special training insti
tutes.
In Southern Pines, tables
by the post office and bank
will be manned Saturday
morning by members of the
local committee under the
chairmanship of Mrs. L. T.
Avery.
Need Cited For
Special Child
Welfare Worker
A recommendation that a child
welfare worker be added to the
staff of the Mo ere County Wel
fare Department was made to the
county commissioners Monday by
Mrs. Walter B. Cole of Carthage,
welfare superintendent.
The commissioners, in session
at the courthouse for their regu
lar monthly meeting, took the re
quest under advisement. Chair
man Gordon Cameron said the
matter would be taken up at the
June meeting (Monday, June 6)
when formal presentation of the
welfare department’s budget for
the next fiscal year will be made.
To illustrate the need for a
child welfare worker, Mrs. Cole
cited a family she had visited re
cently:
“The mother was, drunk under
the bed. The father was drunk in
the woods. A boy friend was
drunk on the bed and there were
eight children out of school.
“Two of these children are too
(Continued on page 8) '
SCHOOL ELECTION
REGISTRATION SET
Regislrafion ifor a schcol
tax election May 24 is requir
ed by all persons yrho wish to
vote in the election.
The question is whether the
local school tax is to be rais
ed two cents—from 48 cents
to 50 cents per $100 of proper
ty valuation.
The registration books are
now open and registration
will continue through Satur
day of next week. May 14.
Residents cf the Southern
Pines school district—which
extends beyond the city lim
its—are eligible to vote.
For details of the election
and why Southern Pine;
school trustees are asking for
a vote, see page 22.
Bill Would Extend
Vass Police Power
A bill to extend the authority of
police officers at Vass to the ter
ritory within one mile of the town
limits in all directions was intro
duced in the General Assembly
this week by Rep. H. Clifton Blue
of Aberdeen, at the request of
Mayer A. G. Edwards, Jr.
Baseball Tourney Schedules Drawn
Schedules for the Moore County
High School baseball tournament
were drawn up Wednesday in a
meeting of coaches at Carthage,
with play to begin Tuesday.
Two separate tentative sched
ules were made—one with Car
thage and one withput Carthage.
If Carthage wins in a State Class
A playoff against Mount Gilead at
Carthage Friday, the county seat
team will not be in the Moore
tournament. If Carthage loses
Friday, the schedule including
-Carthage will be adopted.
First game for Southern Pines,
on either schedule, will be at Me
morial Field at 8 p.m., Friday,
May 13. The opponent will be
West End or Vass-Lakeview, ac
cording to which schedule is used.
In any case, both semi-finals
games, one on May 17 and one on
May 18, and the finals Friday
night, May 20, will be played'un
der lights at Memorial Field here,
the coaches decided.
Knights Defeat Pinehurst
The Southern Pines Blue
Knights defeated Pinehurst 21-14
here Wednesday night and were
to play their final; game of the
regular season against Robbins
Thursday night at the local field.
The Knights trimmed Aberdeen
8-4 Saturday night.
(Photo of local team on page 12
today).
Budget Requests
Of County Schools
Run To $565,188
A 1955-56 county school system
budget totalling $565,188.91 was
presented to the county commis
sioners Monday by the county
board of education.
The commissioners will consider
the proposed budget in allotting
school expenditures by the county
system in the 1955-56 fiscal year
which will begin July 1.
J. A. Culbertson of Robbins,
chairman of the county board of
education, and other board mem
bers headed a delegation that in
cluded school principals and local
school committeemen from nearly
every district in the coimty, a to
tal of some 25 or 30 persons, near
ly all of whom took part in a dis
cussion of school needs that last
ed nearly two hours.
The requested funds include;
$400,659.28 for capital outlay (con
struction and furnishing of new
buildings); $124,359.63 for current
expense (alteration, additions to
(Continued on Page 8)
ELKS TO ftONOR
MOTHERS SUNDAY
The annual Mothers Day
ceremony conducted by the
Southern Pines Elks Lodge
will take place at 3 p. m. Sun
day, at the Country Club, it
was announced this week.
The Rev. C. K. Ligon, pas
tor of Brownson Memorial
Presbyterian Church, will
speak briefly.. There will be
special music.
Members ctf the Does will
serve refreshments and chil
dren accompanied by their
mothess will be given ice
cream.
The ceremony is open to
the public. Mothers of this
area are especially invited to
attend.
Council Names Gilmore As Mayor
In First Meetin;* After Election
Pethick Chosen
Mayor Pro Tern,
Blue Treasurer
■Voit Gilmore was elected mayor
as the newly elected town council
was sworn in and held its first
session at noon Wednesday.
Around the council table, as
chosen Tuesday in an election that
recorded a record turnout of 1,214
voters, were Walter E. Blue, re
tiring Mayer Lloyd T. Clark and
Gilmore, all former board mem
bers; and Harry H. Pethifck and
T. T. Morse, new members. Morse
is the first Negro elected to office
in Southern Pines.
■Voting for mayor by the five
councilmen was by secret ballot,
by choice of the group.
Gilmore was nominated by Pe
thick and Blue was nominated by
Clark. The voting ran three for
Gilmore and two for Blue.
Voting Tuesday to pick five
councilmen from 10 candidates,
citizens of Southern Pines accord
ed the winners the following
votes:
Blue 674
Gilmore 594
Pethick 580
Clark 530
Morse 486
The other candidates, with the
vote each polled were: Brig. Gen.
Pearson Menoher, 456; Bryem Poe,
450; James D. Hobbs, 406; Harry
W. Chatfield, Jr., 297; and D. G.
Stutz, 138.
Other actions taken by the new
council in its first meeting were
election of Councilman Pethick as
mayor pro tern and Councilman
Blue as town treasurer, a post he
has held under the past adminis
tration.
In choosing by open ballot the
] mayor pro tern and town treasur
er, Mr. Blue was at first elected
to the mayor pro tem post, but
said that, although he appreciated
the honor, he felt he could best
serve the town as treasurer, rath
er than mayor pro tem. Mr. Pe
thick added that he felt he might
the councilmen by Town Clerk
Louis Scheipers, Jr. The swear
ing-in was preceded by the last
meeting of the old council with
Blue, Clark and Gilmore at the
table and retiring Councilmen C.
S. Patch, Jr., and Joe O’Callaghan
not present. The council formal-
not be as readily available as i ly certified the returns of the pri-
treasurer as Mr. Blue, who owns
a downtown business, for the fre-
quet signing of checks that is one
of the ' treasurer’s duties. The
problem was solved when Gilmore
changed his vote from Blue to
Pethick for mayor pro tem. Then
Blue was elected unanimously to
the treasurer’s post.
A gathering of nearly 50 per
sons witnessed the swearing in of
mary and the regular election and
then adjourned.
The new mayor, 37 years old, is
president of the W. M. Storey
Lumber Co.. Blue is owner and
operator of The Modern Market
on Broad St. Clark is the pro
prietor of Clark’s Funeral Home.
Pethick is a retired oil company
executive and Morse is an insur
ance agent.
DRAWS AUTOMATIC ON OFFICER
Wounded Man Remains In Critical
Condition After Hospital Shooting
■Willie Junior Smith, 25, an em-'^"
ployee of the White Swan night
'Club in Taylortown, near Pine
hurst, remained in critical condi
tion at St. Joseph of the Pines
Hospital Thursday noon.
bullet wounds received when he
was shot by Sgt. H. V. Chandler,
Jr., of the Southern Pines police
department early Wednesday
morning.
Police Chief C. E. Newton said
that Chandler shot Smith when
the latter drew an automatic pis
tol from his belt as Chandler at
tempted to search him at the
door of the emergency room of the
'hospital. Only the fact that the
from I handle of an automatic has to be
Academy Property
Placed On Market
At $125,000 Price
The Notre Dame Academy prop
erty on Youngs Road near South
ern Pines was placed on the mar
ket this week at $125,000.
Previously annoimced plans call
for moving the elementary unit of
the Academy to a new building
now under construction in South
ern Pines and the high school unit
to a new Catholic high school to
be opened in the former St. Leo’s
Hospital building, Greensboro.
Formerly the 'Walter HoUowell
estate, the property consists of 250
acres, the main school building—
formerly a residence — separate
auditorium, separate chapel, two
gate houses, other buildings and a
lake.
Of the total acreage, 170 sur
rounds the buildings and 80 are
located across Youngs Road.
The property is offered through
all local real estate agents. An
nouncement of the intention to
sell was made to a group of agents
called to the Academy this week.
ONLY $38 NEEDED
Mrs. J. S. Milliken, chairman
of the Southern Pines drive o*
the Moore County chapter of th
American Cancer Society said
this week that she lacked only
$38 of meeting the town’s $600
goal. She appealed for final con
tributions that will put the cam-
Officials For
Moore Towns
Are Elected
Mayor's and town commissioners
were elected Tuesday in Aber
deen, -Pinebluff, Vass, Carthage,
and Robbins. All the new officials
will serve two-year terms.
The results:
Aberdeen
Dr. E. M. Medlin, unopposed in
his bid for mayor, received 129
votes.
Elected to the Town Council
were Ralph Leach, 128; N. A.
Pleasants, 124; J. J. Greer, 115; M.
B. Pleasants, 113; and George D.
Anderson, 87.
Defeated Town Board candi
dates were Lee Buchan, 82, and
Gene Lawrence, 25.
Of 448 registered voters, 144
went to the poUs.
Pinebluff
Mayor E. H. Mills unopposed
received 80 votes. Elected to the
three-member board of commis
sioners were two incumbents —
Mrs. Victoria M. Cleary, 75; and
Harold A. Payson, 82—and Harry
L. Howie who polled 77 votes. In
cumbent Gordon Keith received
17 votes, losing his seat on the
board.
Each getting one write-in for
mayor were: E .J. Austin, Brady
Brooks, Harry L. Howie, Gordon
Keith and Dan Mangum.
Receiving one write-in each for
commissioner were: I. L. Meaner,
E. J. Austin and W. K. Carpenter.
Sr.
Carthage
A total of 391 of the town’s 650
registered voters went to the polls
as Mayor A. L. Barnes, with 252,
defeated J. L. Kirby with 126.
(Continued on Page 8)
squeezed before it will fire saved
Chandler’s life. Chief Newton be
lieves.
Shot in the abdomen, then
downward through the chest as he
spun around. Smith fell through
the door of the emergency room
at the foot of the operating table
where a doctor and a nurse were
working on his reported girl
friend. Queen Esther Hardy, 21,
who had been shot a short time
before. Chief Newton said.
As the doctor and nurse turned
from the first patient to the sec
ond, administering glucose as he
appeared to be in a dying condi
tion, Officers said Smith muttered
to the Hardy woman, “Hold my
hand. Honey.”,
Officer H. V. Chandler asked
him, “'Why did you shoot her?”
And Smith answered, “Because
she was cutting out on me.”
Smith was taken to another op
erating room.
Chandler said he and Officer M.
B. Stout, both on night duty, went
to the hospital to investigate a call
that a girl had been brought in
with bullet wounds. Stout re
mained downstairs, talking with
Booker T. Wright, proprietor of
the White Swan, who owned the
car in which Smith had brought
(Continued on Page 8)
BANKS TO CLOSE
The Citizens Bank and Trust
Co. and other banks in the county
paign over the top. Contributions j will close Tuesday of next week,
should be sent to Mrs. Milliken. May 10, in observance of Confed-
at Box 55, Southern Pines. I erate Memorial Day.
Parade To Open
Girl Scout Rally
A rally for Girl Scouts of the
three-county Central Carolina
Council will begin in Southern
Pines Saturday morning when the
girls will gather in parade forma
tion on New York Avenue, near
the park at 10:30 a. m.
At 11, they will parade up one
side of Broad St. to Connecticut
Ave. and down the other side to
the starting point and will then
go to Pinebluff Lake for the other
rally events.
Attending will be some 200
girls from troops in Moore, Chat
ham and Harnett Counties, with
their adult leaders.
Auto Dealers Couveue At Caroliua
Several Moore County automo
bile dealers are on committees
helping to direct activities at the
20th annual convention of the
North Carolina Automobile Deal
ers Association which opened yes
terday (Thursday) and will run
through Saturday at the Carolina
Hotel in Pinehurst.
N. W. Phillips of Southern Pines
is chairman of the Golf Commit
tee whose other members are Au
brey Johnson and W. S. Taylor
of Aberdeen. The Association’:
golf tournament began Thursday
and continued through today.
T. Roy Phillips of Carthage is a
member o^f the Nominating Coni-
mittee and T. L. Black of Pine
hurst is on the Convention City
Committee.
Other Moore County dealers as
usual are on hand to help extend
the hospitality of this area to the
hundreds cf new car and truck
dealers from throughout the state.
The wives of many of the dealers
are accompanying them and a
program of bridge tournaments,
bingo games and dance instruc
tion is being provided for their
entertainment.
U. S. Senator Sam J. Erviii of
Morganton will address the lunch
eon session Saturday. MerriU
Mueller, NBC news analyst, and
a number of prominent aqto in
dustry officials are among the
speakers for other sessions of the
convention.
School Band Will
Play In Public
Concert Tonight
The Southern Pines School
Band, under the direction of Lynn
H. Ledden, will present its fourth
annual Spring concert tonight
(Friday) in Weaver Auditorium
at 8:15 p. m.
The program is planned for au
dience appeal as well as for the
technical advancement of the
band, the director said, pointing
out that “there is something on
the program for everyone.” 'There
will be a small admission charge.
Officers of the band are: James
Fh-imi, student band director; Don
ald Walter, concert master; John
Chappell, drill sergeant; and
Thomas Vann, drum sergeant.
The Band Boosters Club, adult
organization of parents and other
interested persons, will hold open
house for members of the band
and their friends in the school
cafeteria after the concert.