h
THE RED CROSS IS A SYMBOL OF MERCY ~ WE CANNOT FAIL IT!
The Johnstonian-Sun
VOL. 25
SELMA, N. C., THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 1942.
Single Copy 5c
NUMBER 5
Johnston County To
Rent Own Textbooks
*-
Johnston Coiunty First To With
draw From State Set-up And
Resume Its Own System of
Renting- School Textbooks—
County Had Been Ti-ying For
Two Years To Get Out of The
State System.
The State Textbook Commission
and the Johnston County Board of
Education settled their differences on
the rental textbook question Wednes
day, and the county was permitted to
■withdraw from the State set-up to re
sume its own system of renting school
textbooks.
Settlement came after Johnston
County paid $6,005, which the com
mission said the county owed on
books furnished for its rental system.
Johnston County had been trying
for two years to get out of the State
system, claiming it could rent books
to pupils more cheaply than the State
could. The 1941 legislature enacted a'
bill permitting withdrawal of any
county, and -Johnston became the first
to get out.
^‘SWING OUT” AT
8:13 TONIGHT AT
SCHOOL HOUSE
Home Talent Play With Interest
ing- Musical Comedy Will
Offer Evening of Fun And
Fine Entertainment.
/
“SWING OUT,” the scintillating
musical comedy, sponsored by the
Selma Kiwanis Club, will be pre.sent-
ed at the Selma high school audito
rium tonight (Thursday) at 8:13.
Matinee this afternoon at 1:30.
“Swing Out” is a story built around_
The KissTer family. T. J. Kissler,
played by E. C. Perry, is a satisfied
business man who has invented ‘Kant
Kum Off Kissable Lipstick.’ Mrs.
Kissler, played by Mrs. Aaron Lassi
ter, is definitely a social climber and
her whole life revolves around mak
ing- the right impression on the
‘right’ people. Annie, Mrs. Kudolph
Howell, is a good soul but a little
slow on the uptake.
John Arthurs, Bill Thad Woodard,
runs the Arthurs Advertising Agen
cy, and handles Mr. Kissler’s adver
tising. Betty Kissler, played by Miss
Naomi Smith, is just home from col
lege and has definite ideas as to whom
she wants to marry. Rita Phillips, in
terpreted by Mrs. Jimmie Woodard,
is an attractive widow, and isn’t above
making eyes at any attractive.
Patsy Miller, Mrs. Bill Woodard, is
a neighbor of the Kisslers and is a
lisping scatterbrain. Perkins, the but
ler, played by A. K. Eason, and what
a butler he is! Gus Nelson is a the
atrical agent and the part is played
by Mr. McGee of the local school fac
ulty. Pierre Gaston, a Frenchman, is
a. lady killer, and has the adoration
of every one, except Mr. Kissler. The
part is played by Jimmie Woodard.
One of the outstanding features of
the play will be the French Maid
Chorug. These girls, dressed as little
French maids, unite to form an ex
ceptional chorus number.
Several special selections will be
rendered. The entire program is found
elsewhere in this issue of The John
stonian-Sun.
The baby contest winners will be
announced tonight.
Rationing of Sugar
Planned To Begin Soon
Washington, Jan. 24.—Government
rationing of sugar, will begin early
next month, with each person limited
to about a pound a week.
Announcing the program. Price Ad
ministrator Leon Henderson said it
was proposed, too, to recover excess
stocks from persons who have hoard
ed supplies.
The prospective allowance of one
pound per person a week compares
with average per capita home con
sumption of about 1 1-2 pounds per
week in 1941.
Henderson said thfere was an actual
shortage of about one-third in .the
sugar supply, and that this, rather
than hoarding, necessitated this first
foodstuff rationing of this w-ar.
Rationing- books have been design
ed and printing of them will begin at
an early date.
Daylight Saving Time
Begins February 9
The nation will stai*t get
ting adjusted to a system of
of daylight saving time in less
than two weeks. Easterners
who only a few’ months ago
scratched their heads, ran
their clocks up an hour as a
means of conserving electrical
power will join the rest of the
nation in doing the same thing
over again February 9th when
the daylight saving scheme
goes into effect.
The national daylight sav
ing bill, signed by President
Roosevelt, is directed towards
conserving electric power and
generally increasing the effi
ciency of the w’ar effort. Tire
“fast time” schedule will re
main in effect for the dura
tion of the war and for not
more than six months there
after, provided Congress does
not nullify it in the interim.
The law provides specifical
ly that clocks governing inter
state transportation and all-
federal activities must be mov
ed ahead by one houi’. Thus,
when railroads, bus lines and
interstate trucking lines begin
observing the new schedule,
other industries—whether or
not they are mentioned in the
law—must gear themselves
accordingly.
Prominent Free Will
Minister Dies At 92
Dunn.—Funeral services for the
Rev. Hannibal W. Jernigan, 92-year
old Free Will Baptist minister who
died Thursday of last week at his
home on Dunn, Route Five, were con
ducted Saturday afternoon at 2 o’clock
from the Stoney Run Church. The
Rev. J. A. Blalock, conference moder
ator, the Rev. C. S. Johnson, the Rev.
W. B. Strickland, the Rev. E. A. Kil-
lette and the Rev. J. Edward Johnson
officiated. Burial took place in the
church cemetery.
The deceased retired from business
and started preaching when he was
50 years of age. He was the oldest
minister in the Cape Fear Conference
of the Free Will Baptist denomina
tion. During the past 40 years he had
served in practically every church
in the conference, including Stoney
Run, Wood’s Grove, Hodge’s Chapel,
Benson, and Collier’s Chapel. He was
moderator of .the Cape Fear Associa
tion for 20 years.
In 1938 he received nation-wide
publicity when his daughter, grand
daughter and great-granddaughter all
graduated in the same class at the
Dunn High School.
Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Etta
Wheeler Jernigan; four sons, E. H.,
R. B., W. H., and H. W. Jernigan, Jr.,
all of Dunn; and four daughters, Mrs.
Leslie Hudson, Mrs. George W. Jer
nigan, Miss Evelyn Jernigan and Miss
Vera Jernigan, also of Dunn; one
brother, R. J. Jernigan of Dunn, Rt. 5;
and two sisters, Mrs. B. H. Jernigan
of Dunn, Route 4, and Mrs. Ellen Jer
nigan of Godwin, Route 1.
Johnston Scouts Hold
Court of Honor Meet
Selma Kiwanians Enjoy
An Unusual Program
The Selma Kiwanis club was the
scene of an unusual program on last
Thursday evening, put on by Program
Chairman David S. Ball. Mr. Ball an
nounced he was going to give a quiz
program, but that only two persons
would be in it. Names were written
down and the first two drawn were
Solicitor W- 1- Godwin and Mayor
B. A. Henry, who were asked to stand
in full view of the audience. Mr. Ball
then explained that he would give
,S1 each for all correct answers and
that for failure to answer correctly
any question would mean the one be
ing questioned would have to pay 50c
penalty, .the money to go into the
Kiwanis fund for the underprivileged
children of the community. Pulling
a roll of bills from his pocket, Mr.
Ball said the money would be depos
ited in advance, but both Mayor Hen
ry and Solicitor Godwin explained
that they didn’t have 50 cents. To
this Mr. Ball replied that each would
have to pawn something- worth at
least $1. He examined their neckties
and was assured that each of them
were wearing $1 ties, therefore he
was ready .to proceed. Mr. Godwin
was given the first question but failed
to give the answer. It was passed on
to Mayor Henry and he, too, failed to
give the correct answer. Turning to
Bill Godwin he pulled his beautifuF
necktie through his fingers and placed
a keen-edged pocket knife under the
center preparatory to cutting it in
half. Bill inquired in a rather startled
tone, “you don’t mean you’re going
to cut my tie!” Mr. Ball reminded
him that since it was a $1 tie, half of
it belonged to him, and intwo it went.
The Solicitor’s countenance bespoke
his utter astonishment as a roar of
laughter went up from the members.
Turning .to Mayor Henry, who was
Kearing a brand-new tie for the first
time, Mr. Ball repeated the same op
eration on the Mayor’s tie that he
had just performed on the one Mr.
Godwin was wearing. Mayor Henry
was equally astounded as he saw hi^
nice .tie.fall in half before thait razor-
like knife blade in the hands of Mr.
Ball. The audience went wild with
laughter and applause as the two men
stood there pulling at the stub ends
of their favorite neckwear.
Each was given a second trial in
order .that they might have an oppor
tunity to win one of Mr. Ball’s dollar
bills, but each missed the mark. The
second operation took half of each
man’s remaining tie as compensation
for their failure to answer correctly
the questions given them. While the
audience realed with laughter, the
two stood there with the dry grins
and uttering half-muffled chuckles
which were barely audible.
Then Mr. Ball announced that he
would introduce the main speaker of
.the evening, who, he said, was one of
the outstanding members of the club,
who had held practically every office
in the club and had made many good
speeches before that body. As he was
about to name his man, the Rev. D.
M. Clemmons and Raleigh Griffin
both came to their feet, declaring
they had an important message to
present to the club, each declaring he
had the floor, and failing to quell the
argument between the fwo, Mr. Ball
took his seat and waited for them
to argue out the questions as to who
had the floor, and then each began
his speech. The parson’s voice being
a little more powerful than that of
the banker, he got in the first para
graph of his speech, but the instant
he s.topped to catch his breath, Ral
eigh broke in with still greater effort,
and thus the show went on for sev
eral minutes, each following an en
tirely different line of thought. It was
soon over and all declared the pro
gram one of the best ever witnessed,
so far as humor goes.
Selma School Raises More Than
$300 For Red Cross War Relief
ELLIS HAD LONG
CRIMINAL RECORD
New Jersey Youth Charged
With Murder of Smithfield
Woman Had Been Arrested
31 Times.
COTTON MARKET
The following is today’s cotton
market report as furnished by the
firm of Floyd C. Price Son of Sel
ma, N. C:
Strict Middling 20 l-2c
Middling 20c
Strict Low Bright 19 l-2c
Strict Low Dark 19 1-4
The Boy Scouts’ Court of Honor
for the Johnston district was held at
the Legion Hut in Smithfield Monday
evening, with 85 scouts present from
five different troops in the county.
Smithfield troop, No. 21, was win
ner in total number of points scored
in the various contests, but Clayton
was far in advance in number of
scouts receiving merit badges and
advancement certificates. Judges were
C. H. Westin of Goldsboro, Tuscarora
Council executive; the Rev. J. T.
Green, scout master at Four Oaks;
and W. C. Bowen of Smithfield, re
cently named chairman of training
and leadership for the council.
‘^Hearty Welcome ”
Berlin, (From German Broadcasts.)
Jan. 28.—A Berlin broadcast said to
day that any American soldier who
reached Northern Ireland “rearing
for action” against the Reich could be
assured that a “hearty welcome”
awaited them on the continent. I
The broadcast said the arrival of!
■the troops in Northern Ireland was
not unexpected because American
technicians had been there preparing
bases since before the United States
entered the war.
Justice of State Supreme
Court Died Tuesday
Hariot Clarkson, 78, an Associate
.Justice of the North Carolina Su
preme Count, died Tuesday at the
home of his son, Francis O. Clarkson.
He was taken ill shortly after his
arrival in Charlotte with Mrs. Clark
son Friday from their summer home
at Little Switzerland.
Death was attributed to heart trou
ble. He had declined a dinner invita
tion the night before because he felt
he had been exerting himself too
strenuously during the past few days.
NOTICE TO RED
CROSS WORKERS
All.chairmen of Red Cross War Re
lief committees in Johnston County
are requested to send all contributions
they have on hand to the County
Treasurer, Hugh M. Austin, Smith-
field, by noon .Saturday of this week.
Send all you have on hand whether
you are through canvassing or not, as
we are very anxious to know the ex
act amount raised up to that time.
This is very important.
E. S. STEVENS, Chairman
Joseph James Ellis, New Jersey
youth who bludgeoned Mrs. Bessie
Brewer, Salvation Army home rnana-
ger, to death January 18, at the Army
Headquarters Home in Smithfield,
proved to have had a long criminal
record before reaching Smithfield.
Chief of Police J. A. Massey has
received from FBI headquarters a
transcript of Ellis’ record, along with
confirmation of the murderer’s finger
prints which Massey had sent to be
checked.
The two-page record tells a story
of a boy who started out wrong at
an early age and never got back on
the right track. His record shows that
he had been arrested 31 times.
Prior to 1935, Ellis had been in the
hands of juvenile authorities numer
ous times, chiefly for running away
from home and stealing from his pa
rents. He had served time in the Jer
sey City parental home on four occa
sions. In 1935 he began branching out
into petty larceny and embezzlement,
and was arrested six times within the
next two years.
He came down to Raleigh in 1938,
broke into a house and, being caught,
was sentenced to the roads for 12
months for housebreaking and lar
ceny. After his release, he was arrest
ed several times in Pennsylvania, Vir
ginia, and Louisiana. He served 30
(days in New Orleans for breaking and
entering with intent .to steal.
; Ellis had been staying at the Salva
tion Axmy ..Home—£oE_two or three
weeks, helping around before he
knocked Mrs. Brewer in the head with
a hammer, stole her money, and went
to Raleigh in her car.
Junior Glass Donates $50.00 of Receipts Fronx
Play Recently Given — School Has Given Al*
most As Much As Entire Gitizenship of Selma.
Missing Man Sought
By Johnston Police
Lidy WeUons Believed to Have
Fallen Into Holt Lake
and Drowned.
Metal Collecting Plan
Announced In Johnston
The faculty and students of the Selma school have raised more
than three hundred dollars for the Red Cross War Relief fund,
it was announced here today. The junior class, alone, contributed
fifty dollars. This fund was realized from a play recently given by
the juniors. Each room in the school responded to the call, and
the amount contributed by each grade is as follows:
* Miss IngTam $5.00
Miss Fant 5.00
Miss Herring 5.00
Miss Spiers : 6.00
Miss Blackmour 5.00
Mrs. Perkins 5.00
Miss Boyette 7.00
Miss Watlington 7.00
Miss Ammons 7.00
Miss Boyette 7.00
Miss Wood 7.00
Miss Lentz 7.00
Mrs. McGee 8.50
Miss Griffin 15.00
Miss Nelson 7.45
.Miss Whitaker 10.00
Miss Jones 10.00
Miss Harris 10.00
Mrs. Vaughan 18.00
Miss Massey 10.00
Miss Tyler 10-12
Mr. McGee 7.70
Miss Williamson 8.10
Miss Ward 12.50
Miss Livingston 10.00
Mr. Broughton 10.00
Mrs. Barnes 10.50
Mrs. Shackleford 12.50
Prof. O. A. Tuttle 8.00
The amount raised by the town of
Selma, as reported in these columns
last week, was $352.74.
Will this good town let the faculty
and students of her school raise more
money than the citizenship of the en
tire town?
Lidy Wellons, middle aged man of
a prominent family, disappeared
from his home near Holt Lake last
Monday and has not been heard from
since, although during the meantime
his aged father, D. J. Wellons, has
died and been buried.
There is nothing definite to indicate
that Wellons had done anything more
out of the ordinary than take a trip
“with French leave” but friends say
he was not accustomed to going away
in this manner.
There is a report that he may have
drowmed in the waters of Holt Lake,
as it was reported that Wellons was
seen Monday night in an intoxicated
condition standing on .the lake bridge.
Acting on the possibility that Wel
lons may have fallen off the bridge,
police dragged the lake for a while
Sunday morning, but recovered no
body. A more thorough investigation
of the disappearance is expected if
the nxissing man does not show up
•within a few days.
Smithfield, Jan. 26.—The Johnston
County farm agent’s office, in cooper
ation with the Red Cross and other
county agencies in salvaging scrap
iron and other usable scrap materials
for national defense purposes, has
named a number of places in the
county where farmers may'carry
their material for donation to the
Red Cross.
January 29 and 30 are set as clean
up days for the material to be gath
ered and delivered and January 31 as
the day for it to be collected by junk
dealers, who will buy it. The amount
received will be donated to the Red
Cross.
Places designated for different sec-
tion.s to collect their scrap material
are as follows:
Archer Lodge—At school grounds.
Benson—At school grounds.
Bentonville—At G. W. Flowers’
store..
Boon Hill—At Princeton school, and
Brogden school.
Clayton—Vacant lot near Clart-on
Supply Co.
Corbett-Hathei- — School grounds.
Coriiith-Holder—School yard.
Elevafion—Langdon’s store.
Emit—Wilder’s store.
Four Oaks — Blackman’s Cross
Roads and at Four Oaks school.
Glendale—At school yard.
Kenly—Vacant lot near water tank.
Meadow—At school yard.
Micro—At school yard.
Pine Level—Beside railroad near
Oliver’s store.
Pleasant Grove — At community
building, and McGee’s Cross Roads.
Rehobeth—Chester Barbour’s store.
Selma—At school yard.
Smithfield—Vacant lot next to post
office.
Stancil’s Chapel—At school yard.
Wilson Mills—At school yard.
Red Cross War Relief
Fund Reaches $4,000
At last reports the Johnston Coun
ty Red Cross War Relief Fund had
reached $4,024.26.
E. S. Stevens, county chairman of
the Red Cross drive, warns that the
campaign must be brought to an im
mediate close. National headquarters
is urging that reports be made and
the money forwarded; and all com
munities with funds collected are
urged to remit to Chairman Hugh M.
Austin by Saturday night, January 31.
One of the largest amounts report
ed collected by a community recent
ly came from Princeton in the sum
of $94.60, which had previously re
ported a collection of $60.92, thus
bringing Princeton’s total donation to
$155.52.
The Smithfield Manufacturing Com
pany has contributed $50, and Wat
kins Chapel church, Middlesex, Route
1, contributed $5.00.
Corinth-Holder school, with all
members of the faculty also members
of .the Red Cross, has donated $38.72,
in addition to membership fees.
If there are others who have not
contributed to this fund and would
like to do so, please contact some lo
cal Red Cross chairman, or send your
contribution direct to Hugh M. Aus-
■tin, Smithfield, N. C.
OUTSTANDING
The Crowders Creek club has been
selected as the most outstanding 4-H
Club in Gaston County for 1941, re
ports W. Z. Smith, assistant farm
agent of the N. C. State College Ex
tension Service.
Seen and Heard Along
THE MAINDRAG
:By H. H. L. '
Called To Rocky Mt.
On Account of Illness
Mr. L. E. Smith, who holds a re
sponsible position with the American
Telephone & Telegraph Company,
was called to Ms home in Rocky
Mount last night on account of the
illness of his twelve-year-old son, Al
vin McLean Smith, who is suffering
from an attack of double pneumonia.
COTTON GINNINGS IN
JOHNSTON COUNTY
Kiwanis Directors Meet
At Home of M. R. Wall
The new board of directors of the
Selma Kiwans club met at the home
of Kiwanis Secretary M. R. Wall on
last Monday evening at ■ 7:00 o’clock,
with all members present except one.
A three course chicken supper was
served in the spacious dining room
adjacent to the living room, which
was thrown en suite.
Many items of business were taken
up during the business session, to
gether with reports from the commit
tee chairmen who discussed plans for
the work during the new year.
GETS LETTER FROM
NEPHEW IN HAWAII
Mrs. Annie Barham received a let
ter a few days ago from her nephew,
Joseph Barham, stationed at Pearl
Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands. He
writes his aunt that he was a witness
to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on
December 7th, but was uninjured. He
is a son of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Bar
ham, of near Wendell, and has been
in the Navy about two years.
LIGHTS
Census report shows that there! ’
were 28,.309 bales of cotton ginned ini Nearly 1,400,000 of the nation’s
Johnston county from the crop of!farms have substituted electric lights
1941, prior to January 16, 1942, as 1 for the traditional oil lamp during the
compared -svith 36,207 bales for the!past 6 1-2 years
crop of 1940. ' 1 Rural Electricfication Administration. \ efficient service.
Glad to welcome MR. C. H. FLEM
MING, of Raleigh, to the Maindrag—-
MR. FLEMMING has accepted a posi
tion with the SELMA DRUG COM
PANY—he is no stranger to our peo
ple, having held a position with this
same company a few years ago—
BILL CREECH showed us one of the
new prescription blanks just printed
for DR. E. N. BOOKER—down in the
left-hand corner are the words: “Buy
Defense Stamps and Bonds”—those
same words should be found on all
printed matter—don’t forg-et the play,
“Swing Out,” sponsored by the Sel
ma Kiwanis Club, at the high school
auditorium tonight at 8:13 o’clock—•
you’ll miss a treat if you fail to see
it—MRS. ROBERSON, who is direct
ing the play, has done some hard
work and all those who attend will
get a thrill—that comedian, A. K.
EASON, will be worth your money,
not to mention E. C. PERRY—the en
tire cast is composed of outstanding
actors and actresses—-and all home
talent—DAVID BALL’S program at
the weekly meeting of the Kiwanis
club on last Thursday night will long
be remembered—and especially by
BILL GODWIN and MAYOR HEN
RY, who came away minus a necktie
each—when these gentlemen failed to
answer questions propounded them
by DAVID, he bdgan nipping off a
few inches of their ties, until a stub
about half an inch long remained—■
“you’re not going to cut that tie,” •
BILL GODWIN protested! “why, that
tie cost me $1.50”—but BILL’S pro
testing did no good—who said BAR
BER SMITH, of the City Barber
Shop, could play checkers?—he’s a
good barber, all right, but as a check
er artist, well, we’ll have to put him
in Class C-^that new house of RAL
EIGH GRIFFIN’S is about complet
ed—but what’s worrying us is,^ is he
going to live there alone?—if you
have heard anything, please let us
know before this Maindrag goes to
press next Thursday, for RALEIGH
is .a fine fellow and we don’t want to
see him living in that lovely home all
by himself—we wonder if OSCAR
CREECH, local village mail carrier,
is superstitious about black cats and
the number “J3”—according to news-
per records of either days, OSCAR
will end 13 years of service on Feb
ruary 13—local gossip has it that
OSCAR has never had a complaint
I lodged against him by the patrons of
according to the 1 his route during all these years of
li'-l
itN.,
•^1. :j
*