Published by Journalism Class Of Rocky Mount Senior High School
VOLUME XXV
ROCKY MOUNT, N. C. TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1954
NUMBER 8
^Ile\ Scrapbook Win First Place At Drama Festival;
Other Honors By Second Play And Make-up Artists
Club, Scene Of Junior-Senior
Southerners To Provide Music
Miss Craighill, adviser for the junior class, has
stated that the annual Junior-Senior dinner dance
will be held at the Benvenue Country Club from 7:30
until 1:00, May 7.
The Southerners from Wake Forest College will
render the music for the evening. During intermission
the queen of the banquet and her court will be pre
sented as the highlight of the evenings entertain
ment.
There has been some discussion
among the students and teachers
as to whether the dance can be
opened to outsiders if they are
with a member of one of the
classes. It has been decided, how
ever, that as usual the dance will
be a closed affair except for the
members of the classes who are
married or have had their engage
ments formally announced.
As in previous years the
theme for the dance and the mem
bers of the beauty court will be
kept secret until the big night. All
committees working on the plans
are bard pt work and everything
^wlll be cou^ete'^ the night of.
the dance.
Bobby Wimberly, president of
the junior class, says the budget
money for each committee’s func
tions. Jane Hatchett, chairman of
has been set alloting enough
the music committee, has drawn
up a contract with the band and
Lee Ann Brown, chairman of the
bids committee has sent a copy
for the dance bids and programs
to the printer.
The food committee under the
leadership of Kay Williford has
made definite plans for the food,
and the program committee’s
plans are complete.
Members of both classes hav§
been buying new evening dresses
and deciding on which suit to
wear in this big occasion.
Hypnotist At Work
Dr. Pranz Polgar, sponsored by
the Jaycees, entertained approxi
mately 700 people with many fan
tastic feats of memorization, tele
pathy and hypnotism last Friday
evening. ,
Hypnotism was the highlight of
the program, which was conducted
with the help of volunteers from
the audience. Some fell asleep on
the stage and others in their seats
in the audience. While under the
hypnotic influence, the volunteers
did as Dr. Polgar directed but re
membered nothing of what hap
pened after he broke the spell.
A feat of telepathy was another
interesting exhibit. Dr. Polgar left
the auditorium, and while he was
out, his check was concealed. Up
on his return he asked a volunteer
to concentrate on where the check
was hidden. As the subject
thought. Dr. Polgar read his mind
and found his check.
Other acts included incredible
feats of memory in the use of
words and numbers taken from
the audience and placed on a
blackboard on the stage.
Seniors To Present
‘Our Miss Brooks’
“Our Miss Brooks”, a comedy in
three acts by Christopher Sergei,
will be presented by the senior
class May 21.
Try-outs for the parts have
been going on for over two weeks.
The characters chosen so far are
Miss Murchison as Miss Brooks, a
high school English teacher, Mollie
Spruill as Miss Finch, the librar
ian; Jimmy Lancaster as Hugo
Longacre. The athletic coach;
Jimmy Selby as Mr. Wadsworth.',
the high school principal; Val Mc
Millan as Miss Audibon, the music
teacher; Edith Ann Johnson as
Jane; Margaret Daughtridge as
Stanley; Eddie Booth as Martin:
and Patsy McAuley as Mrs. Allen,
Rhonda’s mother.
The tickets sell at sixty cents
for adults and thirty-five cents
for children. The proceeds will be
used to purchase the senior class
gift to the school.
Newsees
Tickets are now being sold for
the North Carolina Symphony
concert on May 18.
RMSHS band and choir con
cert is scheduled for Wednes-
diy night, May 11. Plans are
also beinp made for a lawn
conc'ert by the band.
Mrs. VanBuskirk invites the
student body to visit her biology
lab during the next two weeks to
see the display of soap carvings.
This year the students have put
special emphasis on the expression
of the organisms carved. Students
are asked to look for these char
acteristics when viewing the proj
ects.
Carolyn I.owder won a twen
ty-five do'Iar scholarship in
the Rocky Mount Junifft
Music Club contest. The
scholarship is given each year
tn the outstanding student
who p'ans to further his musi
cal education.
Baxter Savage, Norma Savage,
and Marvin Barnes attended the
Eastern District meeting of the
North Carolina Student Council
Congress in Elizabeth City, April
23. Norma led a discussion group
o nthe topic, “Students’ Respon
sibility to the Nation and World.”
,Shown above are Sue Yelverton, Patsy McAuley, Phil Wheeless,
and Wiley Fisher in their roles in the dramatics department contest
play, “The Case of the Crushed Petunias”, which was presented at tl»«
Dramatics Festival in Chapel Hill last Friday.
Patsy McAuley played the part of Miss Simple; Phil Wheeless,
Life Incorporated; and Wiley Fisher and Sue Yelverton were the sup
porting cast.
Staffs Pick ’54-’55 Editors
Staff officers for The Hi-Noc-Ar and The Blackbird
were elected last week to carry out the duties of the
top positions of these publications next year.
On the basis of their leadership abilities Bill Kin-
cheloe was elected editor of The Hi-Noc-Ar; Mimi
Brewer, business manager; Marvin Bames, advertis-
manager; and Bobby Savage, circulation manager.
These four students were the juniors elected to the
staff last year and are prepared to hold these posi
tion.
Newly elected members of the staff include the fol
lowing rising seniors who were voted upon by their
class: Erwin Rpbbins, Kay Williford, Nancy Newbold,
Johnny Hammond,.Jimmy Herring, and Wiley Shear-
in. The four rising juniors elected by the present Hi-
Noc-Ar staff are Faye Batts, Skippy Stone, Fred Har
ris, and Charles Sanders.
Julian Aldridge was elected by
The Blackbird staff to carry on
the work as editor of the paper
next year. Lucinda Oliver was
elected business manager; Flaye
Hammond, advertising manager;
and Eddie Felts, circulation man
ager.
Honorable Mention
In Two Divisions
Hunt, Club Speaker
Dr. Nile Hunt, recruiter for
teachers for the State Department
of Public Instruction at Raleigh,
spoke to the general assembly last
Friday at activity period.
This program was sponsored by
the Musettes, under the leadership
of Mrs. Ora Van Buskirk. Dr.
Hunt had spoken in February to
them about the need for teachers
and they invited him back to
speak to .the student body about
the teaching field and all it has to
affer the young people, tr.ying to
stir up new interest in this field.
The Blackbird staff is composed
of approximately twenty juniors
an'’ seniors New members and
other staff no.slllons win De voted
upon next fall.
Shouts, whistles and thunderous
applause met the announcement
made by Mr. Samuel Selden, direc
tor of the Carolina Playmakers,
that the Black Ma.souers had won
a first rating with their presenta
tion of “He,’’ at the thirty-first
atmual N. C. Dramatic Festival in
Chapel Hill last weekend.
Other honors were brought
home by Mimi Brewer and Billy
McIntyre, who won first place in
the scrapbook division. Honorable
mention went to the Edsonfan’s
production. “The Case of the
Crushed Petunias,’’ and to Mlmi
Brewer’s make-up job on Robert
Daughtridge.
Group Charters Bus
Twenty-seven students left
Rocky Mount by chartered bus
last Wednesday afternoon for the
University of North Carolina
where the festival was conducted.
They returned Sunday afternoon,
jubilant after an exciting and
successful weekend.
The sixteen girls who attended
were Patsy McAuley, Barbara Ann
Moore, Edith Ann Johnson, Sallie
Ann Bartholomew, Peggy Pettitt,
Kay Sanders, Barbara Brown,
Mary Proctor, Sue Yelverton,
Linda Joyner. Margaret Daught
ridge. Gordon Wilkinson, Mary Jo
Mears, Janice Grey, Mim Brewer
and Sis Livengood.
Nicky Shine, E. L. Daughtridge,
Newsome Maples, Eddie Penning
ton, Wiley Fisher, Phil Wheeless,
Marvin Ward. Bobby Chesson,
Garland Chick, Eddie Booth and
James Chandler were the eleven
boys who went.
The awards climaxed the year’s
work for the new director. Miss
Winkie Harris, who accompanicd
the group.
School Board, Dinner Guests
Second year Homemaking stu
dents entertained the school board
at dinner last evening in the
Homemaking Department.
Guests were met at the door by
Roberta Ea^on. Those attending
were Mr. George R. Edwards, Mr.
Frank S. Wilkinson. Mr. Guy E.
Barnes, Mr. W. R. Coleman, Mrs.
T. R. Easterling, Mr. M. W. Ivey,
Mr. Jessie R. Wells, Mrs. W. J.
Whitehurst, and Mr. D. S. John
son.
The first course, consisting of
tomato juice and canapes, was
served in the living room, after
which the guests were invited in
to the dining area. The table set
for ten was decorated with an ar
rangement of spring flowers and
green candles.
The menu was as follows, fried
chicken, new potatoes with pars
ley, garden peas, scalloped aspara
gus. hot rolls, butter, tossed salad,
iced tea. apple pie a la mode.
Assisting with the serving of the
meal were Carol Melton, Roberta
Eason, Prances Williams, and Bar
bara Jones.