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JONES COUNTY
NUMBER 26 fRENTON, N. C, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1958 VOLUME
This is th* jumbled hasp of
wrockago duAipsd back of Howto's
Gan go that was a 1957 Ford un
til 11:15 p. nr. Saturday whan it
flow into a pint thicket northwest
of Kinston on NC 58.
r'4 Gene Allen “Squeaky” Heath,
21, cif Snow Hill Wednesday was
reported to be in fair condition at
-Memorial General Hospital in
*Kinston from injuries he suffered
in an almost unbelievable auto
mobile accident Saturday night.
Without seeing the car Heath
was driving and the damage it did
to a pine thicket northwest of
Kinston it is difficult to believe
that a car could be so thoroughly
tom apart. And after seeing both
the car and the area in which it
exploded it is equally difficult to
understand how Heath is still alive.
Hea[h at 11:15 p. m. Saturday
was driving south from Snow Hill
to Kinston at an undoubtedly high
pate of speed. At the intersection of
TfC 58 and the Wheat Swamp Road
he lost control of his 1957 Ford
hardtop. The car struck two is
lands in the intersection, then
leaped from the ^muted-curve
some distance in the air to come
down and skid headon into the
stump of a large pine that had
been cut off almost flush with the
ground.
This very solid stump tossed the
car into~~the air. Still travelling
through the air the car next came
to a telephone pole 28 inches in
circumference, which was shat
tered. Next in the line of flight
■of the car were three pine trees.
One 36 inches in circumference was
cut cleanly off about six feet above
the ground. Another 28 inches in
circumference was torn com
pletely out of the ground and also
cut in two sections and the third
pine of 22 inches circumference
was cut in two sections and torn
out of the ground. These trees and
the telephone pole were roughly
75 feet from the stump where the
car began its last flight.
After tearing through these trees
and the pole the car scattered over
an acre or more of the wooded area
jus,t south of Hilton Kennedy’s
home. The motor was tom out and
went in one direction, fenders,
doors, boot lid went in still other
directions.
Some where in this wild flight
Heath was thrown out of the car.
Some 90 feet from the spot where
the trees were clipped off Ms
wildly flailing body struck a pine
about 18 inches in circumference
and at a point about two feet a
bove the ground. The tree had the
bark tom away over about a
square foot area and there Heath’s
right ietg between the ankle and
knee was torn from his body.
His body flew on through the
pine woods for another 20 feet,
finally striking a large pine about
seven feet above the ground and
falling to the ground where he
was found, still conscious as soon
as peopieH^ themeigbbcrhood be
gan arriving at the scene.
From the point where the car
went out of control on the highway
to where Heath’s body finally fell
is more than 300 yards. From the
point where the trees and tele
phone pole were mowed down his
body was thrown another 175 feet.
Residents of the area express
the opinion that Heath was racing
with another oar at the time of
the accident. They also point out
that Heath is quite familiar with
the road, having passed over it
three or four times Saturday af
ternoon while hauling shrubbery
to the National Guard Armory in
Snow Hill. '
Tom Stilley Quits
Jones County Board;
Ralph Scott Successor
At a special meeting of the Jones
County Board of Commissioners
Tuesday night Chairman Tom
Stilley tendered his resignation
and announced that he is leaving
the county to accept a job with the
soil conservation service in Lenoir
County.
Superior Court Clerk Murray
Whitaker named Ralph Scott, well
known farmer of Chinquapin Town
ship, to serve out the unexpired
portion of Stilley’s current term
and also the new term which be
gins on the first Monday in De
cember.
Stilley was elected in November
to his fifth term on the county
board, and would have completed
bijs eighth year at the regular
December meeting.
Auto-Tractor Wreck
Near Jones-Lenoir
Line Thursday Night
Ed N. Riggs of Pollocksville
suffered a bruised nose and heavy
property damage to his car just
aifter dlark last Thursday night
when his car rammed an unlighted
trailer loaded with corn.
The accident took place just east
of the Jones-Lenoir county line
on NC 58. Lewis Battle, tenant on
McKinley Battle’s farm, was driv
ing the tractor. Both vehicles
were headed wes,t. . j ^
Riggs sa^s Bights from an ap
proaching oar blinded him, mak
ing it impossible to see the trailer
until almost the point of impact.
The tractor was lighted but
there were neither lights nor re
flectors on the trailer. Battle es
caped injury but the tractor suf
fered considerable damage.
Marriage License
The only marriage license is
sued in the past week by Jones
County Register of Deeds Mrs. D.
W. Koonce went to James Ediward
Frazier, 25, of Hubert and Ethel
Joyce Mills of Fuquay Springs.
Jones Commissioners Vote
Build Health Department Clinic
A special meeting was held Tues
day night by the Jones County
Board of Commissioners which
voted to build a clinic for the
health department on a tract of
land being given the county by
Mrs. Verder Pollock and her
daughter, Jean.
Dr. R. J. Jones, district health
officer, explained the plans and
financing of the clinic and pointed
out that current federal alloca
tions to North Carolina have al
ready been ear-imarked and that
no new money will be available un
til July 1, 1950.
Dr. Jones said that under exist
ing laws federal funds would pay
for 66.7 per cent of the cost of
the clinic, and he added that there
is some posilbility that the 1959
session of the General Assembly
may make some state funds avail
abile fop further help with the
project.
The estimated cost of the clinic
is $30,000 and it will be located
east of Trenton on the Pollocks
viille highway, just around the
curve from the Woman’s Club
house. The donation of the land
by The Pollocks is being done in
memory of their husband and
father who recently died.
Attorney Donald Brock was
named as agent for the commis
sioners in negotiations with the
State Medical Care Commission
that will be necessary in securing
approval of the site, the building
plans and certain -other parts of
the building program.
Members of the COunty Alcoholic
Beverages Control Board meeting
wi*h the commissioners said that
the county’s share of the cost of
the clinic could be obtained from
the AlBC reserve fund, if the county
general fund were unable to foot
the entire bill once the construction
is underway.
New Fire Alarm Horn
At the meeting Monday night of
the Trenton Fire Department Fire
Chief Thomas Stilley announced
that the town now has an air horn
as a fire alarm to replace the
Maysville, Kinston
Churches Top Goals
In Methodist Drive
A checkup last week of the cur
rent five million dollar drive by
North Carolina Methodists for
their higher education fund show
ed that 103 churches in the state
had reached their goal.
Of that number 15 were in the
New Bern District which includes
the churches in Craven, Lenoir^
Jones, Onslow and Carteret coun
ties.
Among these were Maysville
Methodist Church which reported
collection of 103 per cent of its
goal, Kinston’s St. John which re
ported 131 per cent of its goal.
Lee’s Chapel also in Jones County
with 100 per cent of its goal and
Belgrade Methodist with 143 per
cent of its goal.
This first report showed that
$2,036,381 of the $5 million goal
had been reached.
I
Sheriff Yates Reports
Three Local Arrests
Sheriff Brown Yates reports
three arrests in the past week in
[ Jlones Cbuhty; one for drunken
driving, one for speeding and the
third for public drunkenness.
Patrolman Glenn Morgan in
dicted Joe Haddock Jr. on the
drunken driving charge and book
ed Robert Earl Hall of Cypress
Creek Township on charge of
! speeding 95 miles per bour and
! driving on the wrong side of the
road.
James Harrington of Comfort
was the fellow accused of public
drunkenness. -
siren, which could not be heard at
a distance. Any of the volunteer
firemen to hear the horn reports
immediately to the fire house. The
department discussed plans for
the Christmas tree which is to
stand on the corner of the court
houe lawn. Plans will be carried
out later.
Kinston Tobacco Market Drops From 2nd to 4th Place in World Rank
The sales season in the New
Bright Belt for 1958 has ended and
tthe blessing of an almost perfect
growing season saw the gross
pounds of tobacco sold jump
13.563 per cent over 1957 in this,
the world’s largest flue-cured to
bacco sales area. This increase
was made on the same acreage al
location as in 1957 but it is likely
that fewer acres of tobacco were
actually planted {because more
acres went into the soil bank in
’58 than in ’57.
While this 13.563 per cent in
crease for the belt was good news
from Wallace to Ahoskie there was
no eause ijbr1 jubilation on the
Kinston Tobacco Market where
there was wily a 1.774 per cent
increase in sales for'’56 over .’57.
Compounding the injury, Kinston
slipped from the second place raids
it has held since 1961 among the
world’s flue-cured tobacco mar
kets. Not only did Kinston fall from
2nd place but it fell all the way to
4th place.
Both Rocky Mount end Green
ville zoomed paSt Kinston.
While the Kinston market could
only add 946,278 pounds to its ’58
sales, Rocky Mount was adding
7,108,086, Greenville was adding an
11
WM
amazing 10,867,761 and Wilson kept
its top spot easily with a big 7,072,
050 pound increase over ’57 sales.
By every standard the Kinston
Tobacco Market lost ground.
Greenville averaged $57.29, Wilson
averaged $58.40 and the tiny Wal
lace market on the southern end
of the belt averaged $58.20 for
’58 sales. Kinston’s average was
$56.94.
In the period from 1950 through
1957 the Kinston Tobacco Market
had sold an average of 14.944 per
cent of the belt’s tobacco. This year
it slipped and badly, only selling
13 528 per cent of the belt’s crop.
In ’57 Kinston sold 15.086 per cent
of the belt’s tobacco.
Said quickly, this drop of 1.558
per cent of the belt’s total sales
does not sound too bad. But ap
plied to the 401,228,190 pounds that
were sold this year on the New
Bright Belt this small sounding
percentage drop comes out at
6,251,135 pounds. This is what Kin
ston would have sold in addition
to its 54,274,114 pounds if it bad
just KEPT UP with the belt.
The high water mark of Kinston
sales, as a percentage of die belt,
was reached in 1962 when 15.624
per cent of the belt’s tobacco was
SaStit .* £ ....
sold on Kinston warehouse floors.
The tabulation below will give a
concise picture of the 1958 sales
situation among the top four mar
kets.
Market 1957 Sales 1958 Sales
Wilson 72,656,022 79,728,072
Rocky Mount 51,424,414 58,527,500
Greenville 44,505,259 54,592,020
Kinston 53,326,894 54,527,500
Most phenomenal of all was the
huge increase racked up by Green
ville.
Here is another tabulation which
offers food for much thought dur
ing the winter season, showing the
record for the past nine years of
the Kinston market.
Year Par Cant of Sales
1950 14.310
1951 15.011
1952 15.624
1953 14.441
1954 15.102
1955 15.265
1956 14.736
1957 15.066
1958 13.528
There may, or may not be any
relation between the tabulation a
bove and the rental agreements
which have kept competition down
on the Kinston market.
Until 1952 a cut throat, building
war competition had shot the Kin
ston market higher and higher in
rank among the markets of the
world.
But beginning in 1952 a “gentle
man’s agreement” was reached
which brought an end to this rough,
tough variety of competition that
had built the Kinston market.
Under the first agreement two
new warehouses were kept off the
market for a .five-year period at
an annual rental of $42,000. In
1957 after that first “live-year
plan” had run out another was
negotiated under which those two
new warehouses were opened, but
under which four old sales floors
were closed for another five-year
period.
In 1952 there were 13 groups of
warehousemen competing for busi
ness. In 1958 there were only
seven. In 1962 the list included
Brooks, Central, Eagle and Caro.
lina, Sheppards, Planters, Star,
Cooperative, Old Knott, New Knott,
Tapp, Dixie and Farmers. In 1958
the list includes the two Centrals,
two Stars, two Sheppards, Co
operative, Banner and Old Knott,
and the Dixie and Farmer.
The Planter’s Warehouse in
cluded in its management such
men as Ivan Bissette of Griffon,
whose influence brought millions
of pounds of Pitt County tobocco
to Kinston. At the Eagle and Caro
lina Percy Holden was on hand to
exert his proven influence with
millions of pounds of tobacco from
Greene County. At the Central
Warehouse Emmett Jones repre
sented the huge tobacco acreage in
western Lenoir County and east
ern Wayne County.
The great tobacco growing area
south of Kinston had strong repre
sentation in a half dozen ware
houses. But the critical area in
sofar as the Kinston Tobacco Mar
ket is concerned is the rich sec
tion with a tremendous tobacco
acreage that lies between Kinston
and the markets of Greenville,
Farmville, Wilson, Rocky Mount
and Goldsboro. This surely does
not mean that the large area to
the south of Kinston should be
taken for granted and eareful at
tention should be paid to every
farm with an acre of tobacco.
However, the loss to the Kinston
market of the proven influences in
Pitt, Greene, Craven and Wayne
counties is the most serious dam
age it has suffered in the past 10
I years.