★ ★
ART EXHIBIT
An interesting exhibit of art,
loaned to the gallery for this
week only, now on view. The
story on page 17.
ILOT
★ ★
NEEDY FAMILIES
Several families, who were rec
ommended by the Welfare De
partment, need your help. See
page 8.
VOL. 39-^NO. 4
TWENTY-SIX PAGES
CHKISTMAS GREENERY is being shipped out of the Sandhills
in larger and larger quantities each year. This picture, made at
the Railway Express office Tuesday, shows a small number of
boxes that people are shipping to friends, or to florists for resale.
Many people have picked up handsome profits from the unique
little business, though not as much this year as in the past be
cause of a lack of pine cones. The/ post office reports a heavy
mailing of packages containing greenery also. The boxes in the
picture here, being handed to Emery Smith by Agent Frank P.
Smith, were mostly destined for northern customers. (Pilot photo)
JUST 11 DAYS LEFT!
With Christmas Nearing, Tempo
Of Business And Mail Increases
With just 11 days left before"*^
Christmas, Southern iPnes citi
zens started into the hectic ap
proach to the holiday season.
Merchants reported business
was up; the post office reported
that some 12,000 pieces of mail
had been dispatched yesterday,
with thousands on thousands of
pieces expected before the lull on
outgoing mail sets in a couple of
days before Christmas Day.
And, even though a killing
frost last year had about done . .
away with pine cones, for this ^ ^ f ig ts on the Christmas
Destruction Of
Christmas Trees
Irks Merchants
Merchants in downtown
Southern Pines were expressing
much disgust this morning at
the people who have been des-
year at least, the shipping of
other Christmas greenery got in
to full swing.
One statistic stood out: aRil-
trees in front of their establish
ments.
Some of them had almost de-
„ . , , ., cided not to decorate the trees at
way Express officials here said
that to date enough packages had took the remaining dec-
been shipped to practically fUl, o^^tions down; and some shrug-
considering the many more to ged their shoulders and asked:
come, at least two full box car “What’s the use?”
loads. The merchants pointed to the
And Jeanie Butler, daugh- fact that Southern Pines is one
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Butler of the few towns m the countiy
of Midland Road, got the thrill of that has lighted trees on the
her life when she received a per- streets, a fact that is much appre-
sonal order for 200 pine cones ciated by most thinking people
from the Governor of New Jer- in town. They have also been re-
sey. It was a difficult task to sponsible for decorating the giant
gather them, she reported, but a magnolia at the corner of Penn-
hasty recruiting job in her fam-1 sylvania Avenue and Broad St.
ily and an even hastier search of | Police have caught several
the woods produced the needed young boys taking the lights and
number. [have given them stern lectures.
Merchants in Southern Pines Others have been taken into the
will be open next Wednesday I station and appeared before
aftemoonn for the convenience of j Justice of the Peace,
holiday shoppers, as they have; police said this niorning that
for the past few weeks, but no anyone else caught might not get
other special openings are plan
ned as of this writing.
Part of the schools wUl let out
in the Southern Pines system'
next Thursday at noon. That’s
(Continued on page 8)
off with a lecture.
Joint Glee Club
Of Southern Pines,
Elon Choir Will Carthage To Sing
Render ‘Messiah’
Here This Sunday
The famed Elon College Choir
will sing “The Messiah” at the
Church of Wide Fellowship Sun
day at 8 p.m., a program to which
the public is cordially invited.
The choir, composed of 60
voices, is appearing in Southern
Pines as a part of its annual
Christmas tour. Under the direc
tion of Professor John Westmore
land, the choir is well-known
through the state and has received
many ovations for its Christmas
programs.
The concert was arranged by
Roger Gibbs, a graduate of Elon
and former baritone soloist with
the choir. He said the program
would be an outstanding feature
of the pre-Christmas season and
urged a large attendance.
The concert will begin prompt
ly at 8 p.m. in the church sanctu
ary.
The combined junior and senior
high school glee clubs of Southern
Pines and Carthage will present a
Concert of isacred Ch|ristmas music
December 16 and 17, it was an
nounced this morning by Roger
Gibbs of Southern Pines, who di
rects the glee clubs.
This is the first time that such
a concert has been arranged,
Gibbs said, and would feature 160
voices.
The first concert will be pre
sented in the Carthage high school
this Sunday at 4 p.m. After that,
the combined glee clubs will ap
pear in Southern Pines Monday at
8 p.m. in Weaver Auditorium.
Mrs. Ina L. Bullock will be the
accompanist for the concert here,
which will feature solos by Jean
Franklin, Grace DuPree, Delores
Maready, Marcella Cook, Susan
Ewing, Patsy McCree and David
Riddle.
The public is invited to both
concerts at neither of which a
charge will be made.
Council Drops
Discussion On
Parking Meters
Scheipers Gets
Confirmation In
Session Tuesday
Confirmation of Louis Scheip
ers, Jr., as City Manager of South
ern Pines to succeed Tom Cun
ningham, who has resigned effec
tive January 1, took less than five
minutes at the regular Council
meeting Tuesday night.
The appointment, which is ef
fective January 1, received the
urianimous vote of the Council.
At the same time he was designat
ed city accountant and registrar
of vital statistics, also effective
January 1, two positions that have
been handled by Cunningham.
At the meeting, notable for its
brevity, the Council also took up
the question of whether or not
parkmg meters might be the an
swer to the growing traffic prob
lem here.
For lack of a motion, the dis
cussion died with no positive ac
tion, although not before Cimning-
ham had disclosed details of a
study he had been requested to
make by Council last month.
His study indicated, Cunning
ham said, that Southern Pines
would be adaptable to about 200
meters which would, if statistics
from other towns proved correct,
produce about $10,000 in revenue
annually.
“While parking meters aren’t
the sole answer to the problem
here,” Cunningham said, “they
probably would be of great bene
fit in helping to control the traffic
problem that surely exists and
which is getting worse by the
dav.”
He said that a survey made in
1954 by an official in the Charlotte
city government had showed that
there were only seven towns in
North Carolina with a population
over 4,000 that did not have park
ing meters. (There were 64 towns
in the survey). . .
He further pointed out the town
of Belmont, which is comparable
in size to Southern Pines, has 199
meters which produce about $7,500
per year.
“The amount of income the me
ters produce are, of course, direct
ly related to the intensity of the
enforcement,” he told the. Council.
“Parking meters are not for the
purpose of raising revenue. Rath
er they are to control traffic,”
Cunningham said, and added that
the fact that Southern Pines is a
resort town had little bearing on
the matter.
“Actually, a study would show
that most resort towns in this
(Continued on Page 8)
^ Christmas Tree^^ ★
Christmas? On a day like this, all hot sun and April bahni-
ness? Yes. Christmas is here. Or coming fast.
You can tell it by the air of gayety everywhere; you can tell
it by people’s faces, occupied, intent, smiling. Busy as bees or
bird-dogs or mothers-and-fathers-Christmas-shopping. And smil
ing like mothers-and-fathers-Christmas-shopping.
So many days to go ... so many hours when the children are
in school. So many hours, in other words, to make hay and get
the presents bought and safely stowed away out of sight. Just
so much time left before they rhust be wrapped and the tree
trimmed; the dinner cooked and the halls decked with holly and
mistletoe.
And if anyone, after reading all this glorification, STILL
doubts that Christmas is on its jolly, long-remembered, long-look-
ed-for way, let the skeptic come down here on Pennsylvania Ave
nue and breathe the fragrance coming off those fir trees stacked
in the sun in front of our neighbor, the A and P.
Everybody who c»mes into this office today is stopping and
giving a long delirious sniff and gasping: “Oh, the smeU of the
Christmas trees!”
Taylor Re-elected To
Hospital Presidency
Jaycees To Award
Prizes In Outdoor
Lighting Contest
The Southern Pines Jaycees
will sponsor a residential Christ
mas Lighting Contest here this | Southern Pines high school foot-
year, Alvin Adcox, chairman of ball team wiU be held next Wed-
the contest committee announced nesday, Decemer 19, at 7:30 p.
m. at the Elks Club.
The banquet is being sponsor
ed by the Elks Club and wiU fea-
Elks Plan Annual
Banquet For High
School Grid Team
The 11th annual testimonial
banquet for members of the
this week.
The contest, which will
judged between December
and 28, is being promoted to ture Jim Duncan, ex-football star,
spread the spirit of Christmas by I Wake Forest and a former members of the restora-
■ tion committee of which Mrs.
State Historical
Officials Visit
Alston House
With the rebuilding of the Al
ston House completed, action
started this week on the furnish
ing and refurbishing of the in
terior of the building, according
to the schedule as set up by the
State Department of History and
Archives, under whose jurisdic
tion the old Moore Coimty home
now stands.
Led my Mrs. Ernest L. Ives,
vice president of the county His
torical Association, whose presi
dent is Sheriff Charles J. McDon
ald, a group met at the old place
in the bend of Little River this
morning to spend most of the day
surveying the grounds, and
working out plans for landsca
ping and furnishing of the house.
With Mrs. Ives was George
Maurice of Eagle Springs, a vice
president of the state Historical
Association, and a prime mover
in the local restoration project.
Also present were Mrs. K. N. Mc-
means of decoration with light,' standout member of the profes-
he said. Anyone with an outside sional New York Giants, as prin-
Christmas decoration will be in
the contest. Winners will receive
Drive For Funds
To Aid Hungary
Refugees Slows
General Pearson Menoher,
chairman of disaster preparedness
and relief of Moore County Chap
ter, American Red Cross, said to
day that the American Red Cross
has opened a special campaign to
raise five million dollars for emer
gency relief for Hungarians.
The campaign was announced
by American Red Cross Chairman
E. Roland Harriman, as reports
showed over 100,000 refugees
have crossed Austrian borders
thus far in an increasing stream.
The International Red Cross an
nounced a feeding program
scheduled to reach 200,000 daily
by' the end of the year.
“With the tide of refugees
mounting and with winter adding
to other hardships of these help
less Hungarians, our Red . Cross
must continue to function in its
traditional role as the disaster re
lief agency of this nation,” Harri
man said.
Moore Coimty’s quota of this
five million dollars is $829. The ;
request is that these funds be sent!
to Red Cross headquarters in
Southern Pines, marked “for Him- I
garian Relief.” It is desired that;
this emergency be met within two '
weeks, according to Gen. Meno
her.
“We, who are safe, sheltered
and free, have not responded to
this appeal as we should. To date i
only 17 persons have sent funds in
the amount of $398.18. Let us
shake off this apathy and raise
our small quota this week,” he
said.
one of two prizes to be given by
the local Jaycee chapter.
Adcox, in announcing the con
test, said, “It isn’t how much
money they spend on their dis
plays that is important, but rath
er the originality and ingeniiity
with which they use their deco
rations.”
Plans for two other Jaycee
Christmas projects were com
pleted earlier this week.
Jaycees, their wives and dates.
'cipal speaker.
Another feature of the banquet
will be the annual presentation
Charles T. Grier of Carthage is
chairman.
From Raleigh and the state de
partment of Archives History
of the James S. Milliken Mem- and Archives came William S.
orial Award, made available by Tarleton, who is consultant from
the Veterans of Foreign Wars the department in charge of the
post here, to the outstanding' Alston House pjroject; also Miss
member of the team. Last year, Joy Joyce of the Hall of History
the award was presented to
Johnny Watkins.
A VFW panel of judges has
been working on its selection for
the honor.
Letters and stars will also be
awarded some members of the
team, together with gold foot-
will sing Christnias carols at balls, and medallions wiU be
Saint Joseph’s Hospital and
Moore County Hospital Friday
night December 21. Gifte from' ed'by the^Elk^Club.
individual members of the Jay-
awarded squad members.
The gold footballs are present-
cees will be distributed to the
children in the two hospitals.
Norris Hodgkins Jr., is chair
man of arrangements for
carol sing.
Tentative plans were set this
week for a New Year’s Eve
dance, sponsored by the local
chapter, to be held at the Pine
Needles Club. Tickets for the
dance wiU go on sale the early
part of next week.
In addition, a permanent cap
tain for the 1956 squad will be
elected. During the regular
course of the season a game cap-
the tain is selected for each indivi
dual game; the permanent cap
taincy is considered one of the
top honors to be won at the
school.
The Elks committee preparing
the program is headed by C. N.
Page. Tickets for the affEiir are
available to the public.
(Continued on Paee 8)
P. O. MAILING
With a volume of mail that al
ready appears to be a record
breaker. Postmaster Garland
Pierce urged again this morning
that patrons cooperate with the
post office during the holiday sea
son.
He has suggested that all pa
trons mail their Christmas cards
by Sunday if at all possible smd
that cards for out of town ad
dresses be separated from those
that are to be distributed locally.
Last year the post office set a
record in the number of pieces of
mail handled. • Wednesday ap
proximately 12,000 pieces \^ere
canceUed, not including some
1,000 pieces of parcel post.
The windows at the post office
wiU be open all day next Wednes
day and Saturday, in addition to
this Saturday.
Staff Also Is
Re-Elected At
Annual Meeting
Jack M. Taylor of Aberdeen
was reelected president of the
Board of Directors of Moore Coun
ty Hospital, Inc., and George H.
Maurice, of Eagle Springs, a char
ter director and former president,
was elected honorary president at
the annual meeting of the board
held Wednesday night in the hos
pital Nurses’ Home.
A nominating committee com
prising Norris L. Hodgkins, South
ern Pines; Paul Dana, Pinehurst,
and J. D. Edwards, Aberdeen, rec
ommended the reelection of all
1956 officers for another year, but
Katherine N. McCoU, of Southern
Pines, announced that she would
be unable to serve as 2nd vice
president and a member of the
board, and the name of Mrs. John
E. Dixon, Pinehurst, was substi
tuted for the vacant vice presiden
cy. Richard S. 'Tufts, Pinehurst,
was reelected 1st vice president,
Paul Dana secretary and treasur
er, and John F. Taylor, Pinehurst,
assistant secretary-treasurer.
New Directors
New members elected to the
Board of Directors were Mrs.
Samuel G. Allen, succeeding her
late husband; Dennison K. Bul-
lens. Southern Pines; George
Thomas, Cameron; Joseph Reece
Monroe, Eagle Springs, and Nel
son C. Hyde, Pinehurst,
The board members heard an
nual reports from all committees,
and a digest of the hospital’s fi
nancial audit, recently completed.
A resolution was adopted leaving
to the discretion of the officers the
effective date of the change of
name from Moore County Hospi
tal, to Moore Memorial Hospiteil.
A resolution expressing the hos
pital’s great loss in the recent
death of Miss Laura Kelsey, of
Southern Pines, for many years
president of the Auxiliary and a
member of the board of directors,
was adopted. Mrs. Alwin Folley,
of Southern Pines, reported on the
activities and plans of the Auxil
iary.
Among subjects discussed at the
board meeting was that of visitors
to the hospital. Mr. Arnold Jack-
son, a recent patient at Moore
County, described “a hospital Sun-
Ray” as “bedlam, with five and
six visitors to a patient, wards
crowded with people, halls almost
irnpossible to get through.” He
said “this is something that we di-
(Continued on Page 8)
Eugene Stevens Awarded Builder^s Cup
Eugene C. Stevens of Southern
Pines, longtime resident of the
Sandhills and one of its most de
voted civic workers, was award
ed the Builder’s Cup in annual
presentation ceremonies Friday
night at the Pinehurst Country
Club.
The affair, sponsored by the
Sandhills Kiwanis Club, was a
complete sellout as hundreds at
tended the Ladies Night program
to pay respects to the winner.
Jimmy Hobbs, president-elect
of the club, recalled many in
stances of Mr. Stevens’ outstand
ing civic record, citing his work
with the Boy Scouts, service on
the Southern Pines Town Coim-
cil (16 years), and his chairman
ship since 1942 of the war Bond
sales in Moore County.
“More important than all
those, however,” Hobbs said, “are
the many personal services he
has rendered through counselling
of both young and old citizens of
the county. And in none of his
many actions in civic work has
he sought personal gain or satis
faction. . . all were accomplished
because he thought they should
be. It was as simble as that.”
In reviewing the work that Mr.
Stevens has done, Hobbs also re
called his services as a member
of the Board of Vestry at Em
manuel Episcopal Church, his
sponsorship of the Men’s Club in
Southern Pines, and his efforts,
along with four other public spir
ited citizens in making possible
the construction of a larger stage
at the high school. 1
Stevens was taken completely I
EUGENE C. STEVENS, longtime resident of Southern Pines
and one of its most devoted civic workers, was awarded the
Builder’s Cup, symbolic of public service, in annual ceremonies
staged by the Sandhills Kiwanis Club last Friday night at the
Pinehurst Country Club. Making the presentation is Jimmy
Hobbs, president-elect of the club. • (John Hemmer photo)
by surprise at the presentation
and, indeed, had had to be coax
ed into attending the affair.
He said he was extremely
pleased with the honor but could
think of many others who were
far more deserving.
The program was, according to
several of the old-time members
of the club, the best-attended
ever.
It turned out to be a feal festive
occasion, with wives, daughters
and sweethearts turning out for
the dinner-dance, complete with
orchestra and floor show.
John Ponzer, president, pifesi-
ded, ano introduced several vis
iting guests.
There were no formal speeches,
(Continued on Page 8)
Carolina Orchids
To Begin Unique
Rental Service
Orchids, anyone?
A unique service, designed pri
marily for Winter residents of the
Sandhills though not limited ex
clusively to them, has been in
itiated by Carolina Orchids, Inc.,
that will make it possible for
anyone with a few spare dollars
to keep blooming plants in their
homes at all times.
They’re put there on a rental
basis, which is determined by
the number and type of plant
specified.
There are many types of rental
services; in New York it is pos
sible to have a great work of art
in your home for a prescribed
period of time for a small price;
in Connecticut, you may rent fa
mous pieces of sculpture for your
garden; and in California, there
has even been a business started
whereby you may rent, complete
and authentic, sets that have
been used in movies.
Mr. and Mrs. Karl Bridges,
owners and operators of Carolina
Orchids, had many requests for
the rental services, mostly from
winter visitors who wanted the
plants while they were here but
who didn’t want to be bothered
with taking them back to their
summer homes.
The rental idea was a natural.
Under the new service the
company will provide one or
more blooming plants which will
be exchanged monthly or as
often as is otherwise necessary.
All they ask is that the patron
take reasonable care of then*
(and it isn’t a difficult thing to
(Continued on page 8)