Newspapers / Rocky Mount High School … / Sept. 14, 1962, edition 1 / Page 5
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the BLACKBIRP, rocky MOPKT senior mOH SCHOOL HERMIT NOW LIVES AT rORT FISHER Robert Harrell appears from his pillbox home at r«wt Fisher with his resrister, which he insists all his visitors sl»n. (Staff Photo) New Courses Offered At Senior High In Russian, Spanish III, And Math Students Journey To See Hermit At Fort Fisher (Editor’s note: Jimmy Wil liams and Dwight Thomas re cently journeyed to Fort Fisher to obtain the following feature for THE BLACKBIRD. Fort Fisher, now a fisherman’s haven, is inhabited by only one person, the Fort Fisher Her mit). Living at Fort Fisher practi cally alone for over seven years, Robert Harrell has met and conquered most of the obstacles that have faced him in his attempt to write a book. Bom and raised in Shelby, North Carolina, he encountered many problems in his early life, one of which was his education. “I have tried every since I was fourteen years of age to get an education by working my way through sev eral schools,” Robert says of his schooling. EDUCATION He attended Gamer-Webb Junior College and taught typ ing to finance his education there. At one time, he was taught psychology by an in structor of Albert Einstein. Af ter attending other schools in Washington and New York, he settled down in Shelby, work ing in print shops and event ually opening a small jewelry shop. Rocky Mount Lanes Restaurant Open 24 Hours 301 By-Pass North Rocky Mount, N. C. Phone 442-7676 Bunting, Hardy & Minges Formal Rental Wear Exclusive . . . But Not Expensive Your Ivy Leagrue Headquarters ALMAND'S DRUG STORE Your Complete Rexall Drug Store Upon deciding to write his book on psychology, he sold his shop and came to Fort Fisher. After being thwarted in his attempt to buy a lot and build a house, he moved into a small pillbox on gov ernment-owned land, five miles south of Carolina Beach. And, despite almost unbelieveable odds, Robert Harrell has been there ever since. He has lived through seven hurricanes and during one, Donna, water was up to his shoulders in his camp with 100 miles per hour wind whipping through. The nearest human was 20 miles away, in Wilming ton. Two fires have wiped him out. One was set by pranksters and the other spread from his own campfire. He has had three nervous breakdowns and suffers from a weak heart and bad hearing. LIVING QUARTERS The 70-year-old man lives in a concrete pillbox, measur ing 24 feet by 16 feet by nine feet, constructed by the gov ernment during World War II for basic maneuvers. An old car stands embedded in the sand nearby and his camp as he calls it, is littered with trash left by tourists, who visit him First Federal Savings & Loan Assn. 116 S. Franklin St “Rocky Mount’s Oldest and Largest” at an overwhelming rate. Last year, over 17,000 people came to see him and he talked to every one of them about any thing they wished. Ava Gard ner has been to see him twice and Governor Sanford has promised a visit. Lying directly in front of his camp is a sound, beyond which lies the ocean, and about a half mile behind him is the Cape Fear River. lit is from this sound that he obtains most of his diet, primarily consist ing of oysters, clams, mussels, and fish. He prides himself in his roasted oysters and on oc casion serves them to his guests. To fatten the oysters up, he feeds them com meal. Robert hopes to get at least part of his book published soon so that he can repair a wreck ed boat and fix up his camp. His only income is the change that tourists leave him and this is used to buy essential supplies. He goes to Carolina Beach once a week to get mail, groceries, and water. HEALTH TROUBLES For six years, he obtained his water from a four-foot well dug about 30 feet from his pillbox. Last year, health of ficials condemned the well and ever since have been trying to run the Fort Fisher Hermit out of the county. They have had him in court on several occasions, but have found no grounds to evict him yet. Robert has been in court un one other occasion. This was to testify against two men who kidnapped him and tried to kill him. Their car became bogged down on the sandy road leading to his camp and he escaped. The two are now ser ving prison terms. Thus, Robert Harrell carries on in his struggle to publi>^, his book. He plans to remain at Fort Fisher until his entire book is published, and the five- foot, three-inch marvel of a man will. Ii' you happen to be in that vicinity in the future, drop in to see him, not as a tourigt attraction, but as a tribute to all men. He’ll be glad to see you. To further enrich its curri culum, Rocky Mount Senior High School is offering three new courses, Russian I, Span ish III, and Math 12X. The Russian I course uses the audio-lingual approach, which places greatest stress on the understanding and speak ing of the language. The class first has to learn an entirely new alphabet and sound sys tem. Later the class will visit the language laboratory twice a week to work with tapes featuring a native voice. Spanish III has as its objec tives advanced conservation and composition, advanced litera ture, and the theater. This course also includes the study of everyday life of Spanish speaking people throughout tho world. The Math 12X class is made possible by the integration of plane and solid geometry into one year course, which gives some students an added se mester of mathematics. In the past, solid geometry and trig- onmetry were a one year course. Now trigonometry may be taken during the first se mester and during the second semester fundamentals of an alytic geometry and the cal culus may be taken. Get The Best TRADE MARK Milk and Ice Cream Phone GI 6-4128 DAVID HILL'S GROCERY THE BEST IN FOODS — FEEDS And NOVELTIES Phone Gibson 6-6618 Cokey Road Rocky Mount Rocky Mount New Car Dealers Association A-C MOTORS, INC. RAY BANDY’S THOMAS-FARRIS MOTORS, INC. ROSE BUICK COMPANY BEL-AIR CHEVROLET CADDELL MOTORS DAVENPORT MOTOR COMPANY FLAKE B. CHIPLEY, INC. ALLAN MIMS, INC. J. C. FIAR MOTORS, INC. JOHN VANN MOTORS, INC. Whitehurst ESSO Servicenter ATLAS TIRES, BATTERIES, ACCESSORIES EXPERT WHEEL BALANCING ROY WHITEHURST 101 South Church Street Phone GI 6-9909 Rocky Mount, N. C. Joflltd undtr outhoflty of Th* Coca-Cola Compony by
Rocky Mount High School Student Newspaper
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Sept. 14, 1962, edition 1
5
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