Perspective
Ma Frattie predicts weather
"It's so hot I can't breathe. My
head's all stuffed up. I ache all
, over, and I feel like somebody
took me from high to low gear all
in the same shift of the knob," I
. complained to Ma Frattie as we
>, rocked on her rickety porch.
EASTERN
ECHOES
OH GAIL ROBERSON
t "Hits the weather, girl," she
responded. "Hit's a'gonna rain. I
kin feel it in my bones."
"What'd the weatherman have
. to say for today?" I inquired of
; her as I wiped the sweat off my
? face with a tissue and then swal
? lowed a big gulp of ice water. I
I should have known better than to
ask her anything like that. I
should have known.
"Hit ain't worth holler'n in a
1 bucket to listen to them folks,"
' she stormed back at me. "All ya
; gotta do is take a look 'round ya.
If'n ya'd jest op'n yore eyes ya'd
larn a few thangs for yoreself
'stead of 'pending on them know
it-alls. If'n ya pay attention, ya
kin stay one step 'head of all of
? ___ ? >?
? em!
"Well, now, Ma. Suppose you
just tell me how I'm supposed to
take that giant step," I asked,
goading her on just as hard as I
could. I've never been to her
place that I don't always get a
good column out of the frisky old
woman, and I planned for today
to be no different that any of my
other visits.
"First off," she obliged me,
? "watch the animals. Them cats
of yorn's a good place to start.
I They'll act up when a storm's on
the way. Even the woods rabbit
gits to searchin' fer food when
he's usually restin'. Horses and
cattle huddle together with their
backs to the wind and birds fly
low to the ground.. .at least them
whut ain't done took to the nest.
A bee.. .he'll not risk gettin' his
wings wet. No sir. He'll git up in
thet hive an stay whar hit's tight
and dry till hit's all done and over
with."
I moved to the porch steps and
propped my aching shoulders
against a post. Might just as well
humor her while I'm here, I
thought to myself.
"I used to have a cow that took
to scratchin' her ear 'gainst the
barn and swushing her tail just
afr' every storm we had," she
continued. Some of my gra
dyoungin's come back from thet
fancy school and tired to tell me
hit was cause of pressure and
hummitty...ever how ya say it. I
don't know nothin' 'bout no hu
mitty, but I know thet old cow's
itchy ear and twitchy tail was a
sure sign fer me to git my clothes
of'n the line."
She reached down, tapped me
on the shoulder and pointed. "See
thet thar spider crawlin' up thet
wall? Sure sign of rain. And
soon."
I peered up at the sky. All I saw
were two small gray clouds set in
an otherwise delightfully blue
canopy.
"And another thang. Cast yore
eyes on them plants over yonder
girl. Them old dandelions and
daisies is closin' up tighter'n a
school of catfish in a tea kittle.
Oak leaves too. Look at 'em.
When hit comes to storms they
fergit their manners. They're
curlin' right up and showin' ya
their silver petticoats!"
She walked to the edge of the
porch. "Them scanty clouds is
startin' to look a mite burnt
'round the edges. Befo' ya know
it, hit'll be darker'n old Satan's
tonsils. Better git yoreself to an
other glass of ice water.
But I didn't laugh when I spent
the next day raking the pine bark
back in the flower beds, picking
up limbs and trying to fill lup the
gullies in the driveway as a re
sult of all thae rain we had that
night.
So, here's a woman who has
learned a valuable lesson in
weather prediction, and who, in
the future, will assuredly pay
more attention to her body's ach
ing bones and the oak tree's sil
ver petticoats... all compliments
of Ma Frattie, of course.
Go ahead
and run it.
Maybe there's a car
coming and maybe there
isn't. Fortunately, most peo
ple figure the risk isn't worth
the chance.
But with a heart attack, it
doesn't work that way.
Most people ignore the sig
nals. Or chalk it up to indi
gestion. Or wait to see what
happens next.
Every year 350.000 heart at
tack victims die before they
reach the hospital.
If you feel an uncomfortable
pressure, fullness, squeez
ing or pain in the center of
your chest that lasts for two
minutes or longer, you may
be having a heart attack. In
some cases, the sensation
may spread to the shoul
ders. neck or arms ? and be
accompanied by sweating,
dizziness, fainting, nausea
or shortness of breath.
The important thing is to call
your local emergency medi
cal service or ask someone
to drive you to a hospital
emergency room.
If you ignore the signs of a
heart attack, you'll have no
one to blame.
Not even yourself.
WE'RE FIGHTING FOR
VOUR LIFE
American Heart
Association
Remember native Americans
"As we remember, let's not
forget the first Americans"
A familiar, though refurbished
face, played an important role in
this year's celebration of Ameri
ca's struggle for liberty.
?F
4k
* As we celebrated the 100th an
1 niversary of the Statue of Lib
! erty, who's upheld arm has been
' a symbol of freedom for millions
over the years, much was said
about the immigrants who set
! tied America.
! The experience is as strong as
; ever. During this decade more
than 7 million legal immigrants
are expected to become Ameri
cans. Much attention will be
given to this influx of foreign
hopefuls. For many the dream
that is America will come true,
while others will find it difficult
to adjust. They will all become
Americans with the rights and
privileges associated with lib
erty.
As we celebrate and offer hope
to thousands from distant lands,
little thought will be given to
those who are the real Ameri
cans, those who have more right
than any of us to be here.
"It's the beauty of the sunrise,
the taste of the water from the
well we dug. I have no other
place where the water tastes so
good. I don't want to leave."
Frances Bahe spoke these
words as she pointed to the wood
and mud home where she was
born 60 years ago and wants to
remain in today. The govern
ment, however, has different
ideas.
In 1868, a treaty intended to
end was between the Navajo In
dians and white settlers granted
the tribe 3.5 million acres in
northeastern Arizona. In 1882,
the Hopis and other Indians re
ceived 2.5 million rocky acres of
an area in which they had lived
for hundreds of years.
Over the years, government
action has changed the reserved
areas many times and resulted in
many Navajos and Hopis living
in the wrong reservation areas.
To reduce the tension between
the two, Congress instituted a
program to relocate the families
in government housing off the
reservations. Many have been
relocated in a world they don't
understand while others have
vowed to remain on the land of
their heritage.
There's more to this story than
can be told in this column, but the
real point is the continuing disre
gard for true Americans who
were here long before the first
white, black or yellow face. And
while the age-old rivalry between
the tribes is being used as rea
soning for the moves, the dis
puted land is rich in mineral re
sources, mostly coal. It isn't
difficult to see the real reason for
wanting the Indians out.
Since the first "paleface"
stepped foot on American soil,
native Americans have been ex
ploited. Many of the once-proud
tribes have ceased to exist while
those who survived have been
forced from their ancestrial
homes to barren wastelands.
Even now they were not safe
from further abuse as the need
for new sources of minerals
threatens their homes.
During the early settlement of
America, Indians did often pose
a real threat to the white man.
Though the danger was caused
directly by the settlers mistreat
ment of their American hosts,
many felt the Indian must be con
trolled in order for the new na
tion to grow.
After generations of abuse, na
tive Americans no longer pose a
threat to the security of this na
tion. We seem to be content with
pushing them aside and forget
ting their right to be here. Our
treatment of American Indians
throughout our history is a dis
grace; a disgrace we seem intent
on continuing.
This same nation that contin
ues to serve as a beacon of hope
for thousands offers very little
for those who were forced to give
bo much. After all, it is their
land, their heritage, their homes
we are making available to oth
ers. The least we could do is re
spect their right to share in it.
A smear campaign
United Farm Workers leader
Cesar Chavez is stepping up his
smear campaign against the
grape industry. In New York
ACCENT Ml
ACriClLTIPL
f NC FARM QURWU
FtOtRATION
? Ctiy, he posed for photographers
> squeezing a bunch of grapes. The
! caption on the wire service photo
! said Chavez was launching a
; grape boycott to force growers to
ban, quote "deadly pesticides.".
Our first thought is why are
: pesticides always labeled
; "deadly" by the press. Peeti
; cides do the same job for plants
?that medicines do for humans.
Yet, we doa't label medicines ss
"dead |y," although they cer
tainly can be if miswari. Hie
same is true with pesticides, but
the cases of misuse are rare, and
death from misuse is extremely
rare.
The public doesn't know that,
so Chavez is going around the
country trying to stir up support
for his crusade against pesti
cides. Of course, it's a labor ac
tion that has virtually nothing to
do with pesticides, but Chavez is
quick to sieze on any angle he can
for publicity. The Tylenol scares
and the unfortunate incident of
last year when an unapporved
pesticide was used on watermel
ons evidently gave him a brains
torm.
Chavez doesn't fool all the
press, however. Business colum
nist Louis Rukeyser says, "If you
can't win a strike, smear a com
pany." A new tactic, be says,
given formal recognition by la
bor unions.
Guess who Rukeyser identifies
as one of the practitioners of this
tactic? Hie United Farm Work
ers Union.
Sitting here thinking ,
"Only 168 shopping days left until Christmas. "
Nicholson became a Quaker
In 1672 William Edmundson
and George Fox brought the
Quaker message to Perquimans
County. It is likely that among
their hearers was Christopher
Nicholson, who was definitely a
Quaker before the end of that de
cade and became a leader among
Friends. The association of the
Nicholson family and Friends
lasted into the twentieth century.
HISTORICAL
NCTES
BY
RAy
WINSLOW
Fragmentary records from the
time of Culpeper's Rebellion ap
pear to indicate that Christopher
represented Perquimans in the
General Assembly sometime
about 1677. The late 1670s was a
period of turmoil in Carolina. A
large group of colonists was
strongly opposed to English laws
affecting their economic activ
ities and dissatisfied with the in
efficiency too prevalent in the
colony's government.
The dissidents resorted to mili
tary force in 1677, seizing govern
ment officers and public records.
Friends supported the proprie
tary government (because it was
duly constituted, if unsatisfac
tory) and the rebels moved
against them.
Some Friends who had been in
Virginia were seized when they
returned to Carolina, among
them being Christopher Nichol
son, described as an "ancient in
habitant" and "burgess." Al
though many of the signatures
are torn, it is apparent that
Christopher signed the Remon
strance "from the people of God
who are scorn called Quakers" to
the Lords Proprietors who owned
Carolina on September 13, 1679.
Friends protested the were "a
separated people" who "stood
single from all the seditious ac
tions" of the rebellion.
Christopher's wife Hannah
died on December 2, 1678, less
than a week after the birth of her
seventh child. For somewha
tover a year Christopher re
mained a widower, but in April
1660 he remarried. The certifi
cate of his second marriage, to
Ann Atwood, daughter of
Thomas Atwood of Middlesex,
England, is the earliest record
preserved by the Quaker
Thet "old wlvee' tele* ehout not weeMn# windows when the eunleehlnlnfl
en them to worth listening tot The ?-<ndow* wtt dry too feet end wM
Monthly Meeting in Perquimans.
The certificate reads: "This is
to certify the truth to all people
that Christopher Nicholson of
Perquimans River in the County
of Albemarle and Ann Atwood of
the same county, having inten
tions of marriage according to
the ordinance of God and his join
ing, did lay before Friends at a
general meeting meeting and the
matter was deferred for the
space one month or more during
which there was inquiry made
whether the man was clear from
all other women and the maid
clear from all other men ; so find
ing nothing to the contrary but all
things clear and Friends having
unity with their marriage: They
took one another in the meeting
at the house of Francis Tomes
where the meeting is kept in Per
quimans River in the presence of
God, and in the presence of us his
people according to the law of
God, and the practice of the holy
men of God mentioned in the
scriptures of truth and they there
promising before God and us his
people, to live faithfully as man
and wife as long as they accord
ing to God's honorable marriage,
they there setting of their hands
unto it the 11th of the 2nd month
(April in the old calendar) 1680
and we are witnesses of the same
whose names are hereunto sub
scribed."
(Part 4 next week.)
Celebrate anniversary
20 YEARS AGO
Celebrate 25th Wedding Anni
versary Mr. and Mrs. William
Dennis Cox (Now Hertford
Mayor in *86) were honored April
on their 25th wedding anniver
sary with a surprise party given
by their daughters, Miss Susan
LCCNNC
BACK
By
VI061NIA WHITE
TMNSE/*U
Cox and Miss Pain Cox, at their
home on Grubb Street. Mr. and
Mrs. Cox were married in Gulf
port, Miss, on April 10, 1943, and
have two daughters, Susan, who
is a senior at UNC-G and Pam,
who is a freshman at College of
The Albemarle.
2$H Charged With Drunken
Driving: The State Highway Pa
trol charged that nearly 2000 mo
torist with driving drunk during
March, establishing a record for
this offense for a single month.
Lt. Col. Edwin C. Guy, Patrol ex
ecutive officer, reported arrest
for driving under the influence
were up more than 500 over Feb
ruary of this year.
Combs Reelected Captain Of
Team: Fred Combs, all- Ameri
can football defensive back, was
reelected captain of the Wolf
Pack's baseball team. Combs
however, has not seen any action
in State's 5-2 season thus far due
to a pulled hamstring muscle. It
still is undetermined when
Combs will be able to take his po
sition in centerfield.
Peoples Bank Offers Service
Feature: R.L. Stevenson, Exec
utive Vice President of Peoples
Bank, announced today a new
banking service for the people of
Perquimans County. Beginning
Monday April 8 the Consumer
Credit Department of the local
bank will be open as follows:
Monday thru Thursday 2:30 to
4:30 p.m.; Friday 2:30 to 7:00
p.m. These hours will be in addi
tion to the regular commerical
banking hours.
THIS
PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Established In 1932
Published Each Thursday By The Dally Advonce, Elizabeth City, N.C.
Second Class Postage Paid at Hertford, N.C. 27944 USPS 428-080
Jam B. Williams
Editor
Carol A. O'Neal Debbie T. Stalling*
Advertising Manager Circultion Manager
ONE YEAR MAIL SUBSCRIPTION RATES
In-County Out-Of-County
*9.00 '10.00
1 19 West Grubb Street
P.O. Box 277
Hertford, N.C. 27944
Member
North Carolina Press Association
National Newspaper Association
North Carq>lno Association of Community Newspapers