Harness
racing in Russia? Yes—see page
18 for story about an American
horse winning there.
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'cond
Uiqh roll
GI«n<lon
haqe
Comwon
Clll<VH3l/'
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Pin&lu(i
New teachers
in schools of the Southern Pines
system are listed in stories on
page 20 and 23.
1|
VOL.—44 No. 42
Explosion Kills
Former Mayor Of
Town, C, N, Page
The explosion of a water heat
er at a beach motel Saturday
morning tragically took the life
of a prominent, beloved member
of this community.
Channing Nelson Page, 66, for
mer mayor of Southern Pines,
was instantly killed when the ex
plosion took place at 6:30 am at
the Ocean Isle Beach Motel on
Ocean Isle, near Shallotte.
Mr. Page was still asleep when
the blast in a nearby utility room
practically demolished the room
he and his wife occupied, and
another unoccupied room. Mrs.
Page was not hurt, except for a
few bruises, though she suffered
deep shock. The Brunswick
County coroner, noting that it
was the “worst accident he had
seen” in his eight years in office,
said it was “a miracle” Mrs. Page
was not hurt.
Funeral services were held
Monda.y morning at Brownson
Memorial Presbyterian Church
conducted by the pastor. Dr.
Julian Lake, with burial in Mt.
Hope Cemetery.
Active pallbearers were Bryan
Poe, Joseph Matthews, Walter
Harper, Garland Pierce, Dwight
Hoskins and James Besley.
Honorary pallbearers were
Henry Graves, George Mulroy,
Morris Johnson, C. L. Worsham,
Maxwell Rush, J. T. Overton,
George Little and J. W. Dicker-
son.
Surviving are Mr. Page’s wife,
the former Catherine Dowd of
West Virginia; one daughter.
Mrs. Carlton C. Kennedy, Jr., of
Westport, Conn.; three sons, C.
N. Page, Jr., of Memphis, Tenn.,
Andy, assistant golf pro at the
Southern Pines Country Club,
and David, teacher and coach
(Continued on Page 8)
TWENTY-FOUR PAGES
SOUTHERN PINES, N. C., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1964
TWENTY-FOUR PAGES
PRICE: 10 CENTS
mm
i»l
Dr. James Visits
Sandhills Monday
Dr. William D. (Bill) James of
Hamlet, Democratic candidate for
the House of Representatives in
Washington, visited this area
Monday on a campaign tour.
Mrs. Pat Rainey of Southern
Pines, who has been named
chairman of the Moore County’s
women’s committee for Dr. James
accompanied the candidate
around Southern Pines and
Aberdeen, introducing him to
people
Dr. James, a physician who has
indicated he will wage an inten
sive campaign in the 8th District
between now and November, is
seeking to unseat Rep. Charles R
Jonas, Republican, of Lincolnton,
who defeated Democratic Rep.
Paul Kitchin of Wadesboro in
1962.
Moore Young Democrats
To Meet September 9
Mrs. Carolyn H. Blue of Eagle
Springs, president of the Moore
County Young Democrats Club,
has announced that a meeting
will be held Wednesday night,
September 9, at 7; 30 in the court
house at Carthage. All members
and interested persons are invi
ted.
Mrs. Blue is a candidate for
YDC National Committeewoman
from North Carolina.
liHi
Schools Here To
ren Friday For
Half-Day Session
School bells will ring tomorrow
(Friday) morning for children at
tending the East and West South
ern Pines schools.
In East Southern Pines, the re
porting time is 8;30. In West
Southern Pines, 8;05 is the start
ing time. For schools there, this
earlier time will continue as the
regular opening hour each school
day.
All local students will be dis
missed at 12;30 Friday and cafe
terias will not operate. Then
they’ll be free for a Labor Day
holiday weekend, returning for
their first regular day of school
on Tuesday morning of next
week, September 8.
Items about the teachers who
are new this year to both the
East and West Southern Pines
schools appear elsewhere in to
day’s Pilot.
Four Moore County Men
Charged With Murder Of
State Highway Trooper
Moore County State troopers
and other officers took part Mon
day night in one of the most in
tensive manhunts in the history
of the Sandhills. They also play
ed a large part in its success
ful culmination.
It was a long, hard, sleepless
night for dozens of officers, fol
lowing the murder of a Hoke
County trooper, W. T. Herbin,
34.
Within a few hours after the
discovery of Herbin’s body, shot
in the face about 9;30 pm be-
<•
BROKEN DAM— Flood waters pour through
a break in the Thagard’s Lake dhm at Whisper
ing Pines, Monday morning. Taken from below
the dam, the scene shows a comer of the old
mill house at left and, in center, one pro
jecting end of the broken stone and concrete
dam, with water rushing out of the lake, between
the two points, running from left to right, in
the photo, at great depth. This dam break top
ped the damage list from floods over the Sand
hills area. (Pilot photo)
Heavy Haiit Causes Floods In Area
Flood waters receded Tuesday
and Wednesday after numerous
rain-swollen streams and ponds
had burst their bounds and the
crumbling of the dam of a 275-
acre lake sent millions of gallons
of water spreading over the
countryside.
The old rock and cement dam
of Thagards Pond, heart of the
Whispering Pines lakeside resi
dential development, broke about
6;30 a.m. Monday, and water
poured and whirled through the
100-foot opening all that day,
across the nearby road and into
Little River.
The swollen waters reached three feet deep. The stream ori-
US 1, between Lakeview and
Vass, some four hours later and
that highway was blocked during
the rest of the day.
The water on US 1 started re
ceding during the afternoon, as
the water poured on into Little
River township; threatening Tl&ng
Point Bridge near the Fort Bragg
reservation. Little River flows on
from that point to supply the
Fort Bragg water system.
On Tuesday, when US 1 and
other highways were clear, the
flood waters lower down on Little
River rose over the Lobelia road
in Little River Township, nearly
submerging Long Point Bridge
and causing problems on roads
into the Fort Bragg reservation.
NC 22 between Southern Pines
and Carthage was cut off by high
water at two places, north of
Michael’s Store and at Little
River Farm but was clear on
Tuesday.
At Aberdeen, the big recreation
lake beside Highway 1 overflow
ed and poured water over por
tions of the playground, also into
the back lots of nearby Taylor
! Motors, Ltd. and Moore Motor
Williams To Head
Southern National
Bank Offiee Here
Bruce Williams, Lumberton
banker and civic leader, will join
Southern National Bank on Sep
tember 8 and will move to South
ern Pines to be in charge of its
office here, it was announced this
week by Hector MacLean of
Lumberton, the bank’s president.
To take the post here, Mr. Wil-1 Co. Many cars and trucks were
hams is resigning as a vice presi- moved to higher ground, but
dent of First Union National
Bank and manager of its Lumber-
ton unit. He has been with First
Union, and with the Scottish bank
which merged with First Union,
for 11 years.
Mr. Williams, 37, is a native of
Rowan County and a graduate of
North Carolina State. He is mar
ried to the former Margaret Rose-
man of Salisbury and they have
a daughter, Peggy, 10 years old.
He was in the Army in World'
War II and spent 18 months in the
Pacific theatre of operations.
In Lumberton, Mr. Williams has
been very active in church and
(Continued on Page 8)
some stayed hubdeep in the
water and the Moore Motor Co.’s
basement garage was flooded.
ginating at Powell’s Pond and
I'unning through Aberdeen, join
ing Aberdeen Creek below the
Aberdeen Lake dam, also contrib
uted to this flooding.
Dams of several farm ponds of
the area washed out., “Road
Closed” and detour signs were
commonplace. Where highways
were blocked, men of the State
Highway Department and State
Highway Patrol stood on guard
and re-routed traffic. At the
closed section of US Highway 1
north of Lakeview, members and
mobile equipment of the Vass
Rescue Unit were also on duty.
Much northbound traffic was
re-routed by way of US 15-501
(Continued on Page 8)
THE WEATHER
Maximum and minimum tem
peratures for each day of the past
week were recorder as follows at
the U.S Weather Bureau obser
vation station at the W E E B
studios on Midland Road.
Max.
August 27 83 71
August 28 83 71
August 29 78 71
August 30 84 70
August 31 82 70
September 1 84 70
September 2 84 60
County System
Attendance Up
Attendance in schools of the
Moore County system on Tues
day, the first full day of school,
totalled 6,748 or 225 more than
on the first full day of 1963. In
the Moore system are all schools
of the county except those in the
separate Southern Pines and
Pinehurst units.
However, according to C. Edi
son Powers, assistant superin
tendent. this is considered “way
down” because of recent almost
continuous rain which has ham
pered work in the tobacco crop.
Powers said many parents had
called or visited him in distress
over the situation on the farms,
where instead of entering school
this week the young people are
having to work to save the crop.
They said if the work isn’t done
immediately, once the rain quit,
great loss would be suffered.
Powers reported the attend
ance figure is expected to rise
above 7,000 within a week or 10
days.
Last year’s first-full-day at
tendance total was 6,523.
Biggest attendance rise in in
dividual schools was at Pinck
ney, up 150 from 675 last year to
825, and Aberdeen, up 72, from
836 to 908.
CIVIL COURT TO OPEN
Superior Court Judge Walter E.
Crissman of Winston-Salem will
preside over the regular civil
term of Moore County Superior
Court, starting Tuesday at Car
thage, because of the Labor Day
holiday on Monday. The term
will continue for two weeks.
Moore County Recorder’s Court
will be held Saturday instead of
Monday.
AREA WILL HAVE
HOLIDAY MONDAY
Post offices, banks, town
and county offices, ABC
stores and most other stores
and offices 'will be closed for
the Labor Day holiday in
Moore County on Monday.
At Carthage, a term of Su
perior Court will begin Tues
day, because of the holiday,
and the county commissioners
will defer their regulsir
monthly meeting from Mon
day to Tuesday.
Southern Pines town offices
and the public library will be
closed Monday. The Pilot
office will be closed.
Motorists Asked
Burn Car Lights
In Safety Drive
As a token of their interest in
traffic safety, over the upcoming,
dangerous Labor Day weekend.
North Carolina motorists are ask
ed by the State Highway Patrol
to turn their cars’ headlights on,
while driving, from 6 p.m. Friday
to 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Warning of weekend highway
hazards and' asking cooperation
from motorists of this area, Cpl.
Glenn Russell of the Patrol’s dis
trict office in Siler City advised
drivers to plan their trips care
fully, allow time for rest stops
and abide by the rules of the road.
During last year’s Labor Day
weekend, Cpl. Russell said, there
were 20 fatalities on North Car
olina highways. 'The two leading
violations were failure to yield
right of way and speeding, ha
said.
All troopers will be on duty
over the weekend, he said, and
all speed-clocking devices will be
in operation.
tween Raeford and Fayetteville,
four Pinehurst Negroes were ar
rested and jailed, under first-de
gree murder charges.
It was a State Highway Patrol
project throughout, with all oth
er law enforcement agencies as
sisting, as concerted action got
under way immediately. Assisting
the Patrol at roadblocks set up
on main highways in Moore
were several deputies, police of
Aberdeen, Southern Pines and
Vass, and Constable L. F. Wood
of Cameron. They sought a car
described by motorists as having
been seen at the site of the
crime.
About 11 pm word was flashed
that Hoke and Cumberland troop
ers had located the wanted car, a
1957 black Ford abandoned on
the Fort Bragg reservation with a
flat tire and one Negro man. Will
Allen, 60, of Taylortown, inside.
He gave the name of another man
he said had left him there and
Officer Rudolph Frye went to
make the arrest. They appre
hended Albert Reaves, 48, at his
home in Taylortown, a Negro
community near Pinehurst.
Taken to Raeford, Allen and
Reaves under interrogation gave
names of two other men and
Trooper Samuels, with Sgt. J. S.
Jones of Siler City, returned to
Ta.ylortown to make further ar
rests. On the way they stopped
by the police department at
Aberdeen and added reinforce
ments—Aberdeen Night Police
man Eddie Rose, Trooper Gerald
Cain of Carthage, Deputies J. A.
Lawrence and Lawrence Buie,
ABC Officer Ed Floyd and West
End Constable Oscar Bailey.
Some were taken from a nearby
roadblock.
They arrested Willie Smith,
Jr., 35, and Rudy Clegg Bruton,
about 22, at their homes in Tay
lortown.
Samuels said all three arrested
men were in bed, apparently
(Continued on Page 8)
LOCAL MAN'S DEATH CAUSES ALARM
Plumbing Inspector Tells Dangers Of
Water Heaters; New Rules Explained
Hundreds of local residents are removed or the dip tubes have
been replaced with an approved
type. Plumbers, he said, are un
able to keep up with the calls
being made on them by people
who want their heaters inspected.
Stutts quoted a report of the
Boiler Inspection Division of the
State Department of Labor on
six water tank explosions in pri
vate homes and two in business
establishments, as well as on
several tanks that were classed as
“near-miss explosions” after the
danger was noticed by owners
before an explosion occurred.
The report said that the dip
tube (wiring insulation) melted
at a much lower temperature
than it should' have, “finding its
way into the thermostat, causing
the thermostat to stick and the
tanks were automatically in a
run-away condition.”
(Continued on Page 8)
’.s'' ^
f'v
JS.'
having their water heaters check
ed to determine if the heaters
have plastic dip tubes which have
caused several explosions over the
state in recent months, Joel Stutts,
plrimbing inspector for the Town
of Southern Pines, said this week.
Local attention is being focused
on the hazard by the tragic death
of C. N. Page, former Southern
Pines mayor, in such an explosion
at an Ocean Isle Beach motel last
Saturday morning.
Stutts said that water heaters
—either electric or gas—might
have the potentially dangerous
plastic dip tubes if they are “top-
fed” (the cold water line entering
at the top of the heater) and are
less than six years old.
The inspector said that num
erous water heaters with the
dangerous type of dip tube have
been found locally and have been'
GETTING READY— Southern Pines Blue
Knights coaches and a quartet of players talk
over the outlook for the team’s opener with
Wadesboro, away, Friday night. Left to right;
Tony Trentini, head coach; Larry Addleton,
assistant coach; Larry Bradley, guard; Harry
Webb, end; Hal Hassenfelt, quarterback; James
Mallow, halfback; and John Williams, assistant
coach. (Humphrey photo)
Bus Chartered To Take
Students To Wadesboro
Glenn L. Cox, principal of East
Southern Pines High School, an
nounced today that a special bus
will be chartered to take stu
dents to the first football game of
the season at Wadesboro Friday
night.
TTie bus will leave from the
high school at 6;30 pm and re
turn immediately after the game.
Reservations and payment of
the $2.50 fee should be made by
10 am Friday, to Binky Rawlin-
son, head cheerleader.
TOUGH OPPOSITION EXPECTED FRIDAY
Blue Knights To Open 1964 Season At
Wadesboro In Non-Conference Game
BY JOHN McLaughlin
The Southern Pines High
School Blue Knights have been
completing the polishing stage of
the threefold plan—consisting of
“conditioning, experimenting and
polishing” — which was devised'
by head coach Tony Trentini to
prepare the squad for the oncom
ing season.
On Friday, September 4, the
Knights will journey to Wades
boro for a non-conference battle
with the Tigers of coach Ed
Emory. Wadesboro, considered a
strong contender for top honors
in the tough 2-A Tar Heel Con
ference, is led by linemen Battle
Wall and Wayne Rineberge and
(Continued on Page 8)
Pleasants Renamed To
Head Road Committee
County Commissioner James
M. Pleasants of Southern Pines
has accepted reappointment as
chairman of the Secondary Roads
Committee of the North Caro
lina Association of County Com
missioners, for the coming year,
it was announced this week.
Mr. Pleasants is a former pres
ident of the Association. He has
served during the past year as
chairman of the Secondary Roads
Committee.
Tobacco Sales
Will Begin In
Area Sept 10
Moore County's two Middle
Bell tobacco markets—Aber
deen and Carthage—will start
sales Thursday of next week,
September 10, with prospects
for a successful season.
Opening at Aberdeen will
be three warehouses—Har
dee's, New Aberdeen and
Planters—while at Carthage,
the Victory and McConnell
warehouses will open.
Rains have delayed harvest
ing of tobacco in this area,
but the leaf is reported to
be a fine crop and good prices
are anticipated.
Full sets of buyers are ex
pected at both markets and
federal tobacco inspectors
(graders) have been assigned.
5 COMPANIES SERVING COUNTY
Cost Studies Continue On Providing
Wider Extended Area Phone Service
Officials of the United Tele
phone Company met with repre
sentatives of the North Carolina
Utilities Commission on Thurs
day, August 27, to discuss coun
ty-wide Extended Area Tele
phone service. The service would
permit toll-free calling to all
points in the county.
Prior to this meeting, the Uni
ted Company had forwarded to
the Commission a cost study in
dicating the revenue needed by
the Company to provide the ser
vice. This study took into consid
eration the loss in toll revenue
which would result, the addition
al investment required, the effect
on taxes paid by the company
and the effect of certain savings
which the company would ex
perience.
ISince four other telephone
companies serve Moore County,
in addition to United, and be
cause these companies would be
involved in providing the serv
ice, the Commission representa
tives decided to request each of
these companies to prepare a cost
study also.
A preliminary meeting had
been held August 25 by United
officials with representatives of
the Sandhill Telephone Company
of Aberdeen, the Pinebluff Tele
phone Company (wholly owned
by the North Carolina Telephone
Company) and Central Carolina
Telephone Company serving the
West End area, with headquar
ters at Hickory. Not represented
at this meeting was the Randolph
Telephone Membership Corpora
tion, a co-op, of Bennett and Cole
ridge, with whose officials limit
ed participation had been discuss
ed previously.
After the cost study data has
been obtained from each of the
other companies involved, a sec
ond meeting will be held between
the Commission and representa
tives from all the participating
companies to work out the final
approach to the matter. It is
hoped this second meeting can be
held within two weeks.