BEAT
FAYETTEVILLE!
THE BLACKBIRD
by Journalism Class of Rocky Mount High School
BEAT
FAYETTEVILLE!
VOLUME XXIII
ROCKY MOUNT, N. €., TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1952
NUMBER 8
Newsees
Contest Play Chosen
“Good Medicine,” a comedy in
one act by Arnold and Burke, haa
been chosen by the Edsonians for
presentation in the dramatic con
test in Greenville, March 7-8.
The setting of the play is the
poorly furnished living room and
office of a doctor, trying to get
started in his chosen profession.
The plot centers around how he
got started and made a big suc
cess through the best medicine,
honesty.
The cast of three people has not
been chosen yet but will be an
nounced at a later date.
Trophies Awarded
Boxes on a table—too small for
shoe boxes—too deep to be books—
greeted the students of the RMHS
Friday before last when they en
tered the auditorium for their regu
lar assembly. To the delight of
this year’s football players, the
boxes contained trophies which
the Good Sports club had decided
to give.
The trophies were small minia
ture football players wearing uni
forms of the school colors—black
and gold—and each had the jersey
number which the player receiving
it wore.
Hedgepeth To Preside
Betty Ann Hedgepeth, the vice-
president of last year’s Junior
Music club, will replace Sylvia
Pullen as the club’s president for
the coming year. Ruth Sides is re
placing Betty Ann as vice-presi
dent and will be next year’s presi
dent and Alice Diehl Barnes is the
new secretary-treasurer, replac
ing Edgar Bulluck.
The new members of the club
attended the monthly meeting held
at Ruth Sides’ home last Wednes
day night.
RMHS Girls Compete For May Queen Title
Smiling happily, Marie Tyler shows some of the personality that
helped elect her Azalea Attendant.
—Photo by All*ert Ruuil, Jt.
Miss Sanderson Joins
RM Commercial Dept.
A bit of something new hit
RMHS when Miss Frances B.
Sanderson came to fill a vacancy in
the commercial department. She
hails from Bath, N. C., and comes
here straight from East Carolina
College, where she majored in
busines,s, to take over for Missi
Ann Birkhead, who gave up teach
ing for a secretarial job at the
University in Chapel Hill.
When asked what she planned
for the future, she blushed" in her
own private way and said that she
had no specific plans. Murmurs
from the back of the room men
tioned marriage and boy friends.
Who knows ? ? ?
Eight Beauties Enter
Race For ‘Crown’
Tyler To Represent Nash
At Annual Azalea Festival
Choir To Sing
In appreciation for the ne\v
robes which the Rotary Club made
possible, the choir, under the direc
tion of Mr. Harold T. Parry, will
present a program of eight selec
tions to the club at its regular
weekly meeting at the New Rick’s
Hotel next Friday night.
The numbers will be “Now the
Day is Over;” “All Through the
Night;” Wanderin;” “Auf Weider-
sehen;” “S w e e t h e a’r t s;’
“The Woodchuck Song;” “Dry
Bones;” and “Almighty God of
Our Fathers.”
The selections by the choir will
be the feature of the program at
the Rotary Club meeting.
Marie Tyler, an attractive
brown-eyed junior from Rocky
Mount high school, will represent
Nash Coujity at the fourth annual
W'ilmington Azalea Festival to be
held March 28-29.
Each of the fourteen neighbor
ing counties was asked to select a
girl to serve as an attendant to
the Princess who will be selected!
from New Hanover county. The
Princess and her attendants must
be between 16 and 18 years of age,
must attend high school, and must
be single.
The attendant from each coun
ty will be honored at the Princess’
Ball and will also ride on a float
in the parade. She will also be
escorted to the various places of
interest in New Hanover county.
Marie is the first girl from
Rocky Mount to receive the honor
of being elected to the Azalea Fes
tival Court. The other girls nom
inated were Ajieen Griffin, Dot
Whitley, Janet Fulcher, Kather
ine Parker, Joyce McNeely, Sis
Livengood, Jean Cooper, and Shir
ley Robbins.
Marie .will leave Rocky Mou.ni)
on Friday, March 28, and return
home late Saturday, March 29.
Students Pledge For Prayer
Hufham Elected President
Christine Hufham, a sophomore,
has been elected president of the
North Carolina Y-Teen organiza- ■
tion. Christine is a charter mem- j
ber of the local Y-Teen club and is
vice-president of the local club. |
The State Y-Teen conference
was held in Winston-Salem on Feb
ruary 16. There were 110 girls
from different parts of the state
in attendance.
•‘TO WHOM IT MAY CON
CERN:” We the undersigned feel
led by the Spirit of God to organ
ize and uphold a morning prayer
service for ALL ' denominations.
We feel that the time is at hand
for Rocky Mount high school to
turn to God.” Such is the petition
that has been circulated through
the high school during the past
weelis.
Students here have definitely
been benefited by the evangelistic
meetings of Bob Finley and the
work of “The Call.” A demand for
a high school prayer service has
developed following these two cam
paigns.
Reverend A. B. Bryan, president
of the ministerial association, has
been contacted and is doing all he
can to get the ministers to help to
get the service started. It is plan
ned to have three meetings a week
for the time being. After a trial,
period, the services will be heldi
more often is possible.
The meetings will be short wor
shipful periods in which the inter
ested students may lead the meet
ings in songs, prayers, or short
talks. Since plans are not complete,
the people who will advise and
lead have not been designated.
Any student who wishes to sign
a petition and has not had the
chance may contact Kay Finch,
Billy Cooper, Tommy Avent, or
Barbara Coley. Even if some of the
students Tiave not signed the peti
tions and want to attend the meet-
ing-s, they may.
Albert Rabll To Star
In Drama ‘Wild Rose’
Albert Rabil has been chosen
for the leading role of Norman
Stafford in the musical comedy
“Wild Rose,” to be presented
April 4.
The setting of the play is in
Mrs. Dora Valentine’s country
home. The plot is a very mixed up
affair where everyone is in love
with someone else who is not the
person he is supposed to be. It
all begins when Queen Malens,
played by Nancy Eason, wishes her
daughter to have the best and so
secretly leaves her child in place
of Mrs. Valentine’s little girl,
played by Peggy Alexander. When
they grow older, each girl falls in
love with one of her own kind. As
the musical unfolds, so does the
problem which in the end is com
pletely and happily solved.
Others in the cast are Gypsy
Joe, Bernard Taylor; Rose Valen
tine, Jean Cooper; Luther Valen
tine, Albert Parker; Brenda Staf
ford, Nancy Leehane; Mrs. Staf
ford, Christine Hufham; Rose
Malena, Velna Motley; Theodore
Willingham, Lloyd Thrower; Leon-
ore Hastings, Jeannette Holmes;
Gladys, a maid, Grace Strange;
Keene, a butler, Lewis Booth;
Clarabelle and Imogene, guests,
Patsy McCauley and Lib Bateman;
Zelena and Floretta, gypsy girls,
June Cockrell and Mary Ayscue.
^ Who will be the ‘52 May Queen?
Sixteen junior and. senior girls
I have been chosen by their respec
tive classes to compete for the
title of queen and the court at
tendants.
The eight girl candidates select
ed by the Senior class for this)
honor are Norma Pittman, Jean
Cooper, Jane Allsibrook, Becky
Griffin, Ann Page, Betty Lou
Davis, Dot Whitley, and Tam Hol
liday. The eight winning junior
girls are Marie Tyler, Janet Ful
cher, Mary Avera, Shirley Stone,
Elva Griffin, Myra Padgett, Sylvia
Crocker, and Joyce Thomas. Por
traits of the girls are made by
Mrs. Dot Barringer.
Whitecomb To Judge
Judges for the queen are chosen
by the staff from some national
figure. This year the staff has
chosen Jon Whitcomb, well-known
commercial artist and illustrator,
to act as judge. He accepted on
condition that a candid unretouch
ed snapshot of each girl be sent
along with the regular .portrait.
He said they would serve as a
guide to what each candidate real
ly looks Ifke. Judges ir’ the
have been A1 Capps, Charlie Jus
tice, Alan Ladd, Billy Rose, and
Harry Conover.
For the past five years the cor
onation ceremony, sponsored by
the Blackbird, has highlighted the
intermission of the annual Junior-
Senior dance. The girls who have
been chosen as queen during those
years are HazabelFe Pearsall,
Nancy Yelverton, Robin Arring
ton, Peggy Edmondson, and Sarah
Joyner.
ALBERT RABIL, JR.
—Photo by Barringer
Good Sports Present
Statuettes, Issue Bids
Bids to the Good Sports club
were issued to eight junior girls
during homeroom period, February
8. The girls were Betty Ann Hedge
peth, Neva Taylor, Nancy Parry,
Sally Adams, Edwina Jones, Bar
bara Ann Drake, Beryle Peters,
and Frances Riddle.
Originally the club was organ-
ozed to promote good-will between
RMHS and Charles L. Coon high'
school in Wilson. It now tends to
help in all phases of sportsman
ship in the school.
Some of the projects of the club
are the selling of game ribbons
and the annual giving of a supper
to all the athletic teams. This year
the club presented the members of
the football team with statuettes.
The statuettes were miniature
football players in the local school
colors with the number of each
individual player in black on the
sweaters. On a placque, at the
base of the statuette, are inscrib
ed the letters RMHS.
The new officers for the club
are Shinley Robbins, president;
Jean Proctor, Vice-president; Thel
ma Lancaster, secretary; and
Sheila Rabbins, treasurer.