FAMILIAR TO US ALL—^It’s entirely intentional on our part if this smirking
character bears resemblance to that usually grumpy gent at your house who
growls at his wife, and threatens to clobber the younguns. He could be most
any Dad in town, come Sunday morning. Maybe Bill Pierce, for Sample,
beaming at Jo, Betty Jo and Billy, or Bill Bynum loosening up his ^arm
for Katherine, Tommy and Kathy. Peep in any living room in Ghent, Rive^
side Tryon Village, or elsewhere around New Bern, and youlLjet mucn
the same picture. Thank goodness, it’s a happy picture—far removed from
light bills, leaky faucets, burned toast, and aU the other disconcerting things
that often take the sweet out of Home Sweet Home. Actually, Dad doesnt
deserve this aU-out display of temporary adoration. Nobody knows that
better than he does, but forgive him for lapping it up. Blue Monday ^1 be
bluer than ever, he’ll be overdrawn at the bank, and his old lady will
start yapping for a new sack dress. On top of that, the family dog is apt
to make off with the steak purchased for supper, and Jumor wiU knock
out a tooth, sass the folks next door, or smear jam on the walloper But
for one day at least, let Dad think he’s really somebody important, and
be thankful that he’s no worse than he is. •'
Dogs Breathe
Easier with
'earer Law
f/'
.„Jew Bern dogs are breathing
easier, if a dog evey, breathes easy
in hot weather, now ;thet City At»
tosney Alfred^ D. Ward has claitir
fiedi the new law governing their
conduct. j
Some of the pooches, and their
masters too, were upset over the
idea of leashes or confinement, n
they do get picked up, the canines
won’t have to worry about quick
extinction.
What does worry some of the
town’s more adventurous dogs is
the fact that they’ve been law
breakers in the past, and didnt
l*03li2G it*
Having roamed to their heart’s
content, from one end of town to
the other, they’ve discovered be«
latedly that they should have
oughta been arrested.
That’s an awful thing for any
self-respecting dog to discover, es
pecially when he thought he was
being an honest if not upright citl
X,. X
Which proves, of course, that no
dog should learn to read.
Over 3,000 Miles
Of N. C. Coastline
All New Bpmians know that our
town is located in the area embrM-
ing North Carolina’s Coastal Plain.
What very few if any of them
know is that the Coastal Plain cov
ers 26,000 square miles. Level and
sandy, it extends inland for 150
miles. No part of it has an altitude
above 500 feet. . , . ,
You may be surprised to learn
that the state’s general coastline
is 301 miles in length. If you meas
ure the over-all length of the coast
line, around bays, inlets and estu
aries reached by tidal water, it s
3,074 miles.
BOUNTIFUL CROP OF BRASS
Honolulu — The latest roster of
the United States Pacific Com
mand shows a record 50 admirals
and generals based in Hawaii.
Last year there were 36.
The present line-up is: Army—
16 generals; Navy—14 admirals;
Air Force—14 generals; Marines—
four generals; Coast Guard—one
admiral. Hawaii National Guard
—one general.
The man who goes around with
sour face ends up in a pickle.
VOLUME I
T/ie NEW BERN
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
IN THE HEART OF
EASTERN NORTH
CAROLINA
5^ Per Copy
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 1958
■ dMHi -
1h
IT'
Story About
Inscription on
TombIsTrue!
Writing in Sunday’s Kaleigh
News and Observer, Jack Croswell
related’Hhe oft told story of a
drunk in a graveyard who came
across the following inscription:
Reflect, O Man, wWBe passing by.
As you are now, so once was I;
As I am now, soon you will be,
Prepare for death and follow
. me.”
Then, aoctwding to the story
drunk added these lines:
‘To follow you I can’t consent.
Unless I know which way you
went.”
Aipparently Jack, like a lot of
other people all oVer the world
who have heard the story, is under
the-impression that it’s a yam that
somebody made up.
The part about the drunk is fic
tional all right, but there realty
is such an inscription—right in our
own Cedar Grove cemetery. What’s
more', the added lines he quoted
were once put on the tomb, not by
a drunk but by a boy who was tak
ing a short cut through the ceme
tery, eimoute to Central school.
A Weekend Prayer
Grant, we beseech Thee, Al
mighty God, unto us who know that
we are weak, and who trust in
'Thee because we know that Thou
art strong, the gladsome help of
'Thy loving kindness. Amen.
O Savior of the World, Who by
Thy cross and precious blood hath
redeemed us, save us and help us,
we humbly beseech Thee O Lord,
Amen.
—Rev. Alton P. Hill, Jr.
Trinity Methodist Church,
Today^s Friday^ the 13^
In Case You Care at Alt
I
Don’t get an inferiority complex,
and feel a little on the stupid be
cause you’re apprehensive and un
easy on Friday the 13th.*
No less a New Bernian than
Mayor Robert L. Stallings, Jr., is
just as superstitious as you are.
Between the engine and the driv
er an automobile gets many, many
hard knocks.
less leans toward aU the ancient
adages dealing with bad luck.
“I guess everybody is inclined to
be somewhat restrained when the
13th faUs on Friday,” he says. “We
may not take it too seriously, but
at least it’s on our minds.”
As a matter of fact. Mayor Stall
ings says he would request another
hotel room probably, on any old
day in the year, if the clerk at the
desk assigned him to Room 13.
And, just like you, he wouldn’t
light three cigarettes on a match
unless it was the last match to be
had.
What about walking under a lad
der? “I always walk around,” Ro
bert Lee admits. Furthermore, he
begins to ask himself what’s going
to happen next when a black cat
crosses his path. '
We didn’t get around to asking
him about broken mirrors, but it’s
a cinch he’ll start wondering about
seven years bad luck if he ever
shatters one. So you see, you’re
traveling in choice company when
you knock on wood, cross your
fingers, or say “bread and butter.”
In fact, Compton’s encyclopedia
allows as how such delusions are
almost unanimously oommon
among us mortals. “While modern
man prides himself on having
thrown off all such superstititions,”
it says, “remnants of magical be
lief are found among fairly intelli
gent people.”
Under this head, according to
Compton’s, are the aforementioned
notions, along with lucky coins,
spilling salt, wish-bones, opals and
a thousand other things that are
supposed to bring good luck or
bad luck. Millions of people take
zodiac signs seriously. If you think
that’s foolish, talk to the farmer or
city gardener who plants on Good
Friday.
In fact, there’s a Madam Farrel
one mile north of Goldsboro on the
Wilson highway who appears to be
making a mighty good living out of
this business of. superstitions. At
any rate, she’s operating in a brick
home with a nice neon sign. That’s
a far cry from the crummy little
tents that fortune tellers used to
work in.
Billing herself as a “gifted
palmist and psychic medium” she
claims she “tells you any ^d
everything you wish to know with-
Inside Courthouse
Is Place To Look
You can’t tell a book by its cov
er, and fortunately the same thing
is true of Craven county’s repaired
and reconditioned courthouse.
From the outside it looks even
worse than it used to, but the in
terior is now modern and up to
date. And, by retaining the outside,
taxpayers were saved a pretty sum.
If you’ve been wondering why
those windows on the Broad street
side were bricked up, it was done
to eliminate a fire hazard. Stair
ways and open windows could re
sult in a major tragedy, if a bad
blaze broke out.
out asking any questions, givM ypu
names of enemies and :^end^
gives true and never failing adVide
on all affairs of life.” In addition.
Madam Farrell says she will “help
you on business, love, marriage,
wills, deeds, mortgages, lost and
stolen articles, and speculations of
all kinds.”
Mayor Stallings is a mighty
learned man, with some impressive
college degrees, but maybe we
ought to send him over to Madam
Farrell for a refresher course. We
ought to send the board of aider-
men too.
In fact, we could get up a whole
excursion for all City and County
officials, plus doctors, lawyers,
teachers and most certainly the
editor of The Mirror. Imagine what
could happen in our town if everjp-
body knew everything there waa
to know about everybody else.
Why, in nothing flat we ought to
be able to bring a lot of new folks
to our town. We might need to, in
order to fill the vacancies caused
by all the other folks who decided
to leave town in a hurry.
Maybe we’d better leave well
enough alone. Even so, it’s EYiday
the 13th, so be like Mayor Stall
ings—re^ careful, just in case.
EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY
Klamath Falls, Ore. — A sub
stitute mailman says he was bit
ten by a mailman’s dog.
The substitute said the dog bit
him as he tried to deliver a let
ter to the home of the man for
whom he was working.
All the while, the substitute say^
the regular mailman sat on tlM
porch and watched the dog bite.
■hMAM