AFRICAN FOLK ART IN DUPLIN ? Chuck D^vis appeared
in three Duplin elementary schools last week. D^vis has
studied African folk art in sixteen countries and is a
graduate of Howard University. He is currently working as
part of the American Dance Festival out-reach program
as an artist-in-residence. The Duplin County Arts Council
sponsored D^vis as part of the out-reach program and
according to DCAC director Merle Creech, D^vis will
return for two more days of African folk art presentations
during November. Pictured abqve, students at Wallace
Elementary School ask D^vis questions about African folk
art.
Art Education Benefits
* Students Total Development
Art education spills over
into the basic subjects,
American Dance Festival
artist-in-residence Chuck
Davis said while visiting
Duplin public schools last
week.
"It is one thing to hear a
drum beat," Chuck Davis,
Qhterican Dance Festival ar
tist-in-residence said. "But
to actually recognize what
that sound means is part of
art education." The sound of
a single African drumbeat
cannot only relay a message
but identify a tribe. Authen
tic drums strung with goat
skin and musical instruments
made from ordinary gourds
assisted Davis in this three
days of African folk arts
presentations in Duplin ele
mentary schools. The pre
sentations were sponsored
by the Duplin County Arts
Council. While< in Duplin,
Devi's met tiwh about 3,000
students and their teachers.
D^vis said local folk art is one
of the best ways for small
communities to provide art
education while working with
a limited budget .
"It is unfair to say the
public school teacher must
teach all the basic subjects
and arts, too," Davis said.
"Teachers with classes of
more than 10 or 12 students
cannot possibly supervise art
activities successfully. More
of the responsibility for arts
education should involve
parents and the commu
nity." D^vis pointed out the
arts must be recognized be
fore they can be developed
within a community,
"Some of the most suc
cessful programs 1 know
have involved folk art,"
Davis said. "Folk art is an art
which is being lost and like
African traditions, local
family heritages may be re
lated to a particular quilt
pattern." Utiljzing local ar
tists and traditions will help
prqvide a basis for art appre
ciation throughout the
schools and not take a large
amount of money. The local
arts council is another possi
bility for providing art edu
cation in public school sys
tems with budgets limited to
basic studies, he said. Appli
cation by school systems or
individual institutions with
little art education monies
stand a good chance of
recejving grant funds from
any of the state, national or
corporate arts education out
reach programs, D^vis
added.
Communities can work to
build the school^ library with
numerous how-to books and
slides of places outside
Duplin County which can be
taken by parents and local
aw 1t
citizens. D^vis suggested to
getherness workshops, in
which 'several classes parti
cipate and teach each other
different art projects.
"Arts benefit children be
cause the arts are a tool to
help foster a respect for
learning," P^vis said. "Arts
are not used just to make an
artist but to assist^ in the
development of the person."
The discipline students learn
from participation, in arts
activities, such as dance,
drama, music or handcrafts
carries over into the study of
basic courses in the class
room, D^vis explained. D^vis
is a graduate of Howard
University majoring in dance
and theatre. The Chuck
D^vis Dance Company is the
dance company in residence
at the Bronx Community
College in New York and has
performed world-wide as
part of the International
Communication Agency of
the United States Govern
ment. Davis is a native of
North Carolina.
The Duplin County Board
of Education is currently
offering senior high school
students the opportunity to
participate in a local folk art
education program, accord
ing to Associate Superinten
dent Garv Sanderson. The
program, "Our Rich Inheri
tance: A Study of Duplin
County's Regional Folklife,"
was designed to assist
Duplin students in meeting
requirements for arts edu
cation credit needed for the
North Carolina Scholars'
Program. The program being
piloted this year will draw art
education from the diversity
of folk culture in the Dunlin
area, he said.
"This program makes it
possible for students to learn
about their rich cultural heri
tages as citizens of Duplin
County," Gary Sanderson,
associate superintendent of
Duplin County Schools, said.
"The course will make it
possible for students to have
learning experiences which
would not otherwise be
available. The classroom for
this course is the entire
community and the people of
the community serve as
valuable learning resources
to the students, We are
proud that Duplin County
has been permitted by the
State Department of Public
Instruction to pilot this pro
gram." Duplin senior high
school students participating
in the program will study the
traditional forms of folk en
tertainment, material culture
and crafts, and family folk
\ loTfe. "
,#2^ Along
OA tho Way
in ? Imlly Klllatt*
0 The north and south run
ning railroad of Duplin
County left many towns with
out good transportation con
nections and promoted a
group of area businessmen to
build a railroad connecting
Kenansville to the main At
lantic Coast Line in Warsaw,
the May 9, 1940 issue of the
DUPLIN TIMES explained.
The Atlantic and Carolina
tiilroad was chartered fro tr.
arsaw to Kenansville or
March 30. 1914. The organi
zational meeting was held in
Bowden on April 12, 1914
with incorporators A.R.
Turnbull and William J.
Jones of Norfolk, Va., T.A.
Hefty of Bowden, R.D.
Johnson of Warsaw, H.D.
Williams and L.A. Beasley of
Kenansville. Turnbull was
fleeted president; Jones,
Secretary; Beasley, general
consul and the remaining
incorporators were named as
the Board of Directors of the
Atlantic and Carolina Rail
road.
According to the 1940
article, Turnbull financed a
large portion of the railroad
construction and the remain
ing funds were raised
through a Kenansville bond
A>ue. The bond issue was for
a total of $10,000. Beasley
was given a great deal of
credit for the construction of
the railroad. As a prominent
Kenansville attorney.
Beasley worked on the rail
road project drawing up the
charter, securing right-of
ways and providing other
types of legal services.
The roads in Duplin
Aunty were not in good
shape in the early 1900s and
most were still worked by
hand under the supervision
of a local overseer. The
condition of the roads slowed
freight to more than a two
hour horse team trip between
Magnolia and Kenansville.
And. model T automobiles
traveled in low gear most of
the way from Warsaw to
?enansville through deep
ud and sand. After the
railroad was in operation for
one year, many Duplin far
mers commented they had
saved enough during the first
year of rail service on freight
to pay their tax created by
the bond issue.
At the peak of the rail
road's success hundreds of
loads of fertilizer and other
freight were hauled on the
line each year. The pas
sengers were said to number
in the hundreds each year
and at the peak of the
railroad, yielded more than
$4,000 in fares annually. The
freight rates are said to have
peaked at about $10,000
worth of business in a year.
Passenger service was of
fered twice daily between
Warsaw and Kenan^ville and
the train caried the Kenans
ville mail for many years.
The conductor of the At-'
lantic and Carolina Railroad
was J.E. Jerritt, and the
engineer was Robert
McGowen. Jerritt came
south to work for Turnbull
who owned a million dollar
lumber company. As
conductor, Jerritt was in
charge of operating the rail
road, doing office work and
acting as conductor. He con
tinued to fill that position
even after the sale of the line
to Atlas Plywood Corporation
of Boston, Mass. in 1931.
The following quote about
Jerritt appeared in the article
published on the Kenan^ville ?
railroad line in the 1940 issue
of THE DUPLIN TIMES:
"Mr. Jerritt is the most
popular and beloved man in
Kenan$ville, and liked by all
who know him. He is praised
by his wide circle of friends
and railroad acquaintances of
the larger roads as a most
capable and efficient railroad
operator, and a splendid
citizen."
The first train used by the
Atlantic and Carolina Rail
road was constructed by the
East Carolina Railroad of
Tarboro.
i 1
CANCER BENEFIT
BARBECUE
Nov. S. 1083
Pottershlll Community
Building
lor
daughter-in-law of
Mrs. Dolly Raynor
PLATES -$3
Sponsored by local
T churches, concerned
citizens, and friends and
relatives.
\ ?' '
FUNERAL
SERVICE PLAN
CASH
FOR FUNERAL AND FINAL
EXPENSE PLANS
In order to meet the cost ot Funeral Expenses, It Is
necessary to have supplementary coverage. We otter
this coverage through United Family Life Insurance
Company. Everyone needs additional money to cover
funeral and other final expenses.
Some of the Benefits Areas Follows:
? Life Insurance Coverage from SSOO.OOto $3,000.00
? Available for the Whole Family to Age 00
? Rates Can Never Be Increased
? Coverage Can Never Be Reduced ? Regardless Of Age
? Policies Can Never Be Cancelled by the Company
? No Medical Exam Required
? Guaranteed Plan Available
You cannot realize the heartsick anquish and bewilderment that con
fronts those who are left behind to make the final arrangements, where no
decisions were made while the family was still together. . .So, since you do
care for your loved ones, don't shift your final responsibility to their
shoulders when it Is so easy to get atttfce Information yourself.
If you would like more details on this low cost Family Protection Plan ?
Please call 658 2303 or fill out Informaton below and return to us.
There is NO OBLIGAT ION. For additional Information Call
Opal Smith ? 568-4245 or
TYNDALL FUNERAL HOME
658-2303 or 658-4811
Name:
Address: .
City: State: Phone No.:
Number In Family: Ages:
Thank you for your intorost
Horn* of Thoughtful Sorvlco Sine* 1M
efjetk
SALE
fc
Starts Wednesday, October 26
through Saturday, November 5
Don't Miss This
Gigantic Sale
@Relk Tyler
downtown Mount Oliv?
L *4
Duplin County Board Of Education Honored
At North Carolina Awareness Conference
Duplin County Board of
Education was honored at
the N.C. Awareness Con
ference Sept. 20. Duplin
County was one of 23 school
systems chosen from across
the state to receive the'
prestigious award for
Programs of Excellence in
Education. The recognition
banquet was held at Mc
Kimmon Center in Raleigh
where Gov._Jim fiunt priased
the educators for their en
dc?vorsi for excellence and
plaques were awarded.
Traveling to rec^ve the
award were James T. Strick
land, R.E. Wilkins, Carl D.
Pate, Hubert E-. Phillips, L.S.
Guy Jr., Dr. Alice Scott, Dr.
Austin Carter," Cecil
Beamon, Jim Flowers and
Mary Wellons.
Each year educational
programs are reviewed by
Gov. Hunt's committee and
30 are chosen to recave the
award. This year Duplin's
direction Sports program,
based at Wallace Elemen
tary, was among those se
lected. Tim is a unique
program wh'ich combines
athletics and academics to
help students imprqve math,
reading and coping skills.
Mary Wellons remained in
Raleigh to present the pro
gram to the 7th annual
Awareness Conference Sept.
21 and 22.
[zsmrn
I ? Direct from the Mill Prices
I ? We Carry Our Own Accounts
I ? No Waiting
I ? Over 300 Rolls of Vinyl &
I Carpet in Stock
I ? Our Own Professional
Installation
I ? Lowest Prices
I We're Bigger Than We Look Displaying
28,000 Sq. Ft. of Furniture & Carpet in
? a 14,000 Sq. Ft. Store.
*"One of the best things we have is our price."
It4 KKDKHK K
I4 UK MM KF. *
CoMT \N V
HWY. 117 - ROSE HILL
B PHONE 289-3448 g
October 7983
Is
Appreciation Days
At
Outlavj^MobileHomeSgj^
In Mount Olive
We Invite You To Cash In The
Coupon Below During The
October Appreciation Days
ONB STOP SHOPPING
Double Wldes
Single Wldes
Complete Financing
I BE SURE AND BRING THE COUPON BELOW
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I H ^ '500 REBATE ON 14' WIDES. NEW H
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