THE BLACKBIRD
Published by Journalism Class of Rocky Mount fflgh School
VOLUME XXIII
rocky mount, N. C„ TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20 1951 NUMBER 4
Newsees
LOCALS HOLD HIGH OFFICES
At the sixth annual D. E. Con-
»fention of the Eastern District
held' here November 1, the Rocky
Mount club had three of its dele
gates elected to high offices'. Dur-
wood Murray was elected Associ
ate President, Cavelle Batchelor,
Vice President of Eastern District
and Carol Jenkins, Secretary. The
convention was considered most
successful.
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY
On October 26 the National
Plonor Society hadi its annual fall
tapping service. To be a member,
one has to excel in the Society’s
four outsitanding traits, character,
scholarship, leadership, and ser
vice. The following were tapped,
Worth Hobbs, Billy Overton,
Thelma Lancaster, Preston Brad
shaw, Janet Mellor, Joyce McNeely,
Rob Ned Brannock, and Grace
Daniels. Miss Bond is the society’s
advisor.
WEINER ROAST HELD
Homeroom seven on October 12
had a weiner roast held out at
Riverside Park. Everyone in at
tendance had a wonderful time.
Homeroom seven’s class officers
■elected for the first semester are
France^ Riddle, President, Andrew
Hardesty, Vice-President, Joyce
Jenkins, Secretary, and Fred Lee,
treasurer. Student representatives
are Sonny Hallford, first semester,
and Bobby Scruggs, the whole
term.
CHOIR, BAND GIVE CONCERT
The high school choir and band
gave a joint concert in the high
school auditorium, November 14.
This year the Rotary Club was
sponsor for the annual appearance.
The funds will be used to purchase
■equipment, such as additional
Tobes, uniforms and other items’.
Director of both groups is mild-
mannered Professor Harold T. Par
ry, who came to Rocky Mount 17
years ago from Boaz, Alabama,
where he directed music at Sneads’
Seminary.
Subscription Campaign
Ends; Goal Not Reached
Magazines have been the subject
of most every freshman and jum-
ior for the last few weeks. Why?
Because the annual campaign for
raising the class treasury has just
been closed'.
With a goal of $2000 each be
fore them, the two classes fell to
selling in earnest on October 17
when Mr. Charles Doak opened the
campaign with a forceful pep talk
held during the freshman group
guidance hour. The juniors were
special guests of the freshmen
during this assembly.
With such a large goal before
them, each class knew that a lot
of work had to be put out. Every
afternoon and evening freshmen
and juniors were out knocking on
doors, trying their best to get sub
scriptions.
For two weeks this campaign
went on. Now the campaign has
been closed andl although the goal
was not quite reached, a consider
able sum was made by each class.
Totals of all sales for both class
es have not been completed yet,
but Miss Kitchin and her assist
ants are working hard to find out
exactly how much each class made.
With the seniors expecting a
large Junior-Senior next spring
and the freshmen looking forward
to a grand Freshmen Frolic, the
campaign was a very important
step in the eyes of all around Rocky
Mount high school.
IpTSA Survey Tells
Of Student Activities
In a survey made in RMHS re
cently it was found that each stu-
c'ent spends an avrage of 3.85
nights or afternoons away from
home in some out-of-school acti
vity. Of these activities 2.39 were
school sponsored. The students are
home 3.9 nights per week with
their families.
It was found that 345 students
held after-school jobs. Of these 146
stated that it is absolutely neces
sary for them to work. The stu
dents spend an average of 11.9
hour.s per week in recreational acti-
\it!es. There are 648 who have
regular duties at home. These dut
ies take an average of 3.2 hours
per week but all the time is not
taken up with work. The students
like the mystery, music and sports
on the radio and the favorite hob
bies are reading, music and sports.
The methods of recreation are dat
ing, phoning and dancing.
Religious activities take an aver
age of 3.9 hours per week but most
of the students say that this does
n’t interfere with their home work.
The students do not think there
are two many out-of-school acti
vities for them, but 410 say that
they teel they have too much home
work assigned.
w
i
—Photo by Albert Rabil, Jr,
Norma Pittman, 'Miss Print’;
Judy Brewer In Second Place
WHO’S WHO?
Who’s outstanding? That was
the question the seniors had to de
cide for what class has so many
distinguished people as this year’s
group.
Voting took place and when the
votes were calculated, Kay Finch,
Margaret Moore Eason, Dot Whit
ley, Shirley Robbins, Thelma
Lancaster, Sylvia Pullen, Jimmy
Armstrong, Gene Williams, Pres
ton Bradshaw, Billy Cooper, Al
bert Rabil, and Worth Hobbs were
the top twelve selected by their
class members as the ones who
best represented the senior class.
These people will take the place of
the senior superlatives, since it was
thought that in this way more peo
ple would get to be recognized. The
superlatives in the past have over
lapped with some people receiving
two or three superlatives and
others who were so close losing
■out.
Johnny Johnson^ YIP,
Leaves For Convention
John Allen Johnson ‘52, known
to everyone at RMHS as Johnny
Johnson, has been chosen as one
of the five representatives of the
Southeastern Area of the Ameri
can Junior Red Cross. These five
representatives, together with the
representatives of the three other
regional areas of Red Cross are
the governing board and policy
makers for the entire Junior Red
Cross program; a program that
extends into nearly every school in
the land.
Johnny goes to Atlanta Novem
ber 1 6and 17 to start his career
as a Red Cross VP I by attending
a regional conference at area head
quarters I
Good Wili Furthered
By RM And Wilson High
Delegations of the Good Sports
clul s of RMHS and Charles L. Coon
high in Wilson were hosts at the
annufi.] Good Will Tour, November
s). Members of the club here are
chosen on the high standards of
sportsmanship, leadership, charac
ter, and service. The primary work
of the club is to promote good
bpoitsmanship.
Members of the local club went
tt Wilson Friday and participated
in the Wilson assembly program
which was followed by a social
hour. Later in the morning the
group from Wilson joined the high
rchool group in Rocky Mount to
take part in the assembly program
he.e.
For the affair the school stage
was decorated with bleachers, goal
posts'each draped in the colors of
the two schools, with a background
01 floor baskets filled with chry-
ranthemums.
The program was in the form of
a radio' broad-cast during warm
up time for a football game. Ray
Wilkerson of radio station WCEC
acted as master of ceremonies. Ho
interviewed the two delegations
made up of the student organiza
tion presidents, the Good Sports
president, football coaches, co
captains of the teams, sponsors,
principals, and cheerleaders.
Following the program a lunch-
ton was served at the Teen-Age
cluh to the Wilson and Rocky
Mount groups. The table
was unique with its football motif.
A large arrangement of chrysan
themums formed the center piece
flanked by goal posts at either end
of the table was interpersed with
footballs filled with the same flow
ers.
RMHS Students Choose
Campus Sweetheart
Campus Sweetheart of 1951-52
was crowned at the Oxford Or
phanage football game in a cere
mony at the half. Dot Whitley,
head cheerleader, won this coveted
honor and Tam Holliday and
Norma Pittman were runners up.
The band came onto the field,
followed by the majorettes flanking
the convertable on which the three
girls rode. Emily Baker announc
ed the winner and Dot was pre
sented with a large bouquet of
> el low chrysanthemums.
This ceremony climaxed a cam
paign in which the junior and sen
ior homerooms nominated seiveral
senior girls to run for Campus
Sweetheart. 'The entire student
body voted and the three top con
testants were announced Friday.
Due to rain, the Oxford game was
postponed until Monday so the sus
pense and anticipation was at a
high note by the time the an
nouncement finally came.
Successful Campaign
Held For 1951-1952
Half-Time Features
Sponsors For Games
One of the projects of the social
committee of the student organiza
tion is the responsibility of getting
game sponsors for all the home
football games. The committee de
cides which class is to elect spon
sors and then conducts the election.
It also writes all visiting schools
and invites them to sand two spon
sors and escorts. At the half time
of the games on Friday night, the
four sponsors and escorts meet in
the middle of the field and the
RMHS sponsors present chrysan
themums to the visiting sponsors.
So far the sponsors for this year
have been Elizabeth Vann and
Mary Jo Mears from the sopho
more class for the Greensboro
game, Doris Ellis and Elva Grif
fin from the junior class for the
(Continued on Page 4)
Following the most successful
campaign ever held. Miss Norma
Jean Pittman, a senior, was crown
ed Miss Print of 1951-52 in assem
bly Friday. Ad'mist much applause
from the audience, Tam Holliday,
business manager of the Blackbird
made the formal presentation to
the student body and presented
Miss Print with a huge bouquet of
flowers.
Large Number of Votes Cast
The total number of votes cast
for all candidates was 51,494. Miss
Pittman, with the aid of her cam
paign manager, Albert Rabil, re'-
ceived a total of 9.451 votes. Tho
runner-up, Miss Judy Brewer, a
freshman, followed close behind
with 9,185 votes. Her campaign
manager was. Lloyd “Country”
Thrower.
The other candidates and their
campaign managers were Becky
Matthews with Carol Browning,
Jane Hatchett wiwth Bobby Sav
age, Mary Jo Mears with Wiley
Fisher, Penn Strandburg with
George Farmer, Elizebath Vann
with Worth Hobbs, Janet Fulcher
iwth Charlie Putman, Marie Tyler
with Tommy Looney, Elva Griffin
with Bobby Daughtridge, Jane Alls-
brook with Billy Rawls, and Dot
Whitley with Bernard Taylor.
Much credit is to be given to the
campaign managers and the stu
dent body for their active support
and enthusiastic cooperation in
making the campaign a success.
Miss Print In Fifth Year
This is the fifth year that the
Miss Print contest has been spon
sored by the Blackbird to raise
money for the paper. Each penny
donated counts one vote and these
votes were deposited in labeled jars
placed in the halls and carried
around by the students. Posters
attracted the interest of the stu
dents during the campaign which
ran from November 2-12.