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The NEW BERN
WEEKLY
VOLUME I
NEW BERN, N. C„ FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 1958
NUMBER .1
ti ■
-S.'-
;® Many an old timeir, when the
^ moon sprinkles diamonds on the
ji Neuse and Trent, dreams of sail-
r ing down the river on the Steamer
Phillips or the Howard with his
‘ fair lady. ^
S Today’s suitor, looking for an
it isloated spot to park his converti
’■i' ble, is more to be pitied than en
vied. In his smug disdain for the
■' joys that appealed to past genera
tions, he will live and-die without
knowing just how much he has
missed.
Don’t let aii tms huiiabajoo
about the advantages of your hot
rod era fool^^ou, son. Grandpa got
around too, and he wouldn’t trade
his memories of those wonderful
boat rides, in the company of
equally romantic couples, for all
the fretful drag racing you can
cook up on an empty and exasper
ating evening.
Captain S. J. P|billips manned the
river craft that carried his name
on the bow, while Captain Nick
Jones was head man on the How
ard. Both were used primarily for
hauling freight. Fort Barnwell and
vicinity depended on the Phillips
to fetch staples and fertilizer, and
haul produce back to New Bern.
As for the Howard, its port of call
was Trenton.
There were similar vessels cruis
ing along our rivers, and they too
were utilized on occasion for a
moonlight sail or a church picnic.
N. W. Hardison of Arapahoe ope
rated the Three Samuels for the
beneHts of Pamlico folks. Captain
Hart Bloodgood’s boat took care
of^^Swanshoro and way points, p,
li. Salter ran below^Harlowe, and
Clyde Morton’s big freighter went
to Harlowe. •
None of these craft would have
proven very seaworthy in the tur
bulent waters of the Atlantic, but
for what they were fashioned they
left little to be desired. Most espe
cially this held true when it came
to meandering in the moonlight.
Even better than these boats
available to the general public
were the private sailboats that a
few lucky New Bernians possessed.
If you’ve never known the thrill
of having your best girl by your
side, while a brisk wind filled the
canvas over your head, you’ve nev
er really lived.
There something really majestic
about a wind-propelled craft, be it
small or large, and something pret
ty wonderful (iisappeared from the
local scene when these trim and
graceful skiffs passed into oblivion.
Ilie larger river boats eventually
passed into oblivion too. Having
outlived their usefulness they were
left along our shoreline to decay
into objects of ugliness. Begrudg
ingly, they lingered in their dis
repute.
Although they listed badly be
fore their final demise, they pro
vided an excellent vantage point
for New Bern youngsters who
wanted to go swimming within a
stone’s throw of their homes.
Of course, some of these boats
were too conspicious for splashing
around in one’s birthday suit, so
those carefree lads who preferred
unconfined freedom headed for
warehouse docks near Union Point
or to the Pocomoke out Riverside
.
'M'
way.
Those are days to remember. A
kid with a new bicycle was an
oddity, and the privilege of driving
an automobile was vunthinkable. If
you had a dime in your pocket
you were wealthy, and a whole dol
lar was something you only heard
grown folks talk about.
But life was mighty good. Just
when things were threatening to
get dull, somebody’s horse would
run away. Croakers were biting in
the river, and crabs were plentiful
under the bridges.
Nobody had ever heard of a
virus. Honest injun, they didn’t
come along until folks started get
ting real sanitary. Of course, you
MANSION OF MEMORIES—No book within the walls of
the New Bern Public Library is more intriguing than the
historic edifice itself. Home of'John Wright Stanley, the
structure provided two nights of lodging for George Wash
ington on his 1791 visit here, and was used temporarily as
General Burnside’s headquarters after the Yankees captur
ed New Bern in the War Between the States. General Lewis
Addison Armistead, leader of Pickett’s charge at Gettys
burg, was born in the stately frame structure.—Photo by
John R. Baxter.
on
New Bern's Radio Operators
Hurricanes, or what have you.
New Bern’s 24 ham radio operators
are ready and willing to maintain
communications with- the outside
world.
Paced by that grand old pioneer,
Albert Parker, a man with 40
years’ experience, they are mem
bers of the Coastal Carolina Emer
gency Network and the Craven
County Civil Defense Network.
Parker is coordinator for the
Coastal met. A brainchild of the
American Radio Relay League, it
covers the nine counties of Crav
en, Carteret, Jones, Greene, Beau
fort, Pamico, Pitt, Lenoir and On
slow. He is also a,- member of the
board of directors of the Tar Heel
En\ergency Network.
New Bern’s, hams, in addition to
Parker, include Kenneth Rose.
Ralph Hudnell, Sam Sweeny, Need
ham Crowe, Frank Driver,' Errol
Bennett, George Soltow, Bennie Elp-
ting Jimmie Paul, Jimmie Sumrell,
George Bowden, Wilton Block, A1
Williams, Maj. Hayden C. Coker,
Bennie Tingle, Robert Brock, Dal
las Waters, Milton Rogerson, Mi
chael Blythe, Walter Baldree, Jim
Wilkie of Bridgeton, and a member
of the fair sex, Mrs. Welma Har
man.
Another budding ham will be
added to the fold shortly. Law
rence Meekins is expecting his li
cense momentarily, knd already
has a mobile unit. TVo other hams,
Dallas Wafers and Ralph Hudnell,
have mobile units too, and these
can prove invaluable in time of
disaster.
All of New Bern’s ham stations
can continue operation in the face
of power failure, if generators are
available. Any service rendered by
a ham is strictly a labor of looe.
He is licensed with the unAH-
Are You Guilty of
This Misjudgment?
Why, a New Bern waitress asked
the other day, do most people pick
out a freshly vacated table, litter
ed with dirty dishes, when they
visit a restaurant?
It really happens that way a lot
of times, although other tables are
available.
caught measles and mumps and
stuff like that, but it was bound
to happen sooner or later and no
body got excited about it. Boyhood
was paradise.
standing that he will never accept
pay for helping others, and the
ones we knew wouldn’t think of
doing it, even if authorized to do
so.
If the editor of The Mirror can
inject a personal note, we would
like to testify firsthand that a
ham is the most important person
in town during a hurricane.
Thanks to Parker, we were able
to reach the outside world during
the height of Hurricane lone, giv
ing an accurate picture of the
death toll and property damage to
press, television and radio.
A ham in South Carolina, whose
You'// On/y Ho//er 'Unc/e'
Waiting for Ants to Expire
New Bern housewives, plagued
with ants this summer as never
before, will have to wait a long
time if they expect the pesky little
critters to die of old age.
A queen lives up to 15 years, and
those busy workers that invaded
your pantry in such wholesale
numbers have a life span of seven
years.
Maybe some of the ants around
your place look different from
the ones encountered heretofore.
That isn’t surprising. ’There are
5,000 types, and 400 of these live
in the United States.
Just how many kind ^u could
round up in New Bern is hard to
say. However, if we’re lacking in
variety, we aren’t lacking in num
bers. Whatever the species, they’re
up to no good as far as humans
hereabouts are concerned.
Are. you convinced that ants talk
to each other, giving friends and
relatives the low down on newljf
discovered food? Well, your con
clusion is quite correct. Ants can’t
see, except to distinguish light in
some instances, but they smelt
and communicate with their an
tennae—those “feelers” that stick
out from their heads.
Ants, in many ways, act like
humans. They want their children
to have the things they didn’t have.
They have jobs for big workers
and jobs for little workers. As
for the youngest and strongest,
they pass a physical just like the
local draft board orders for human
youths.
What is the physical for? Why,
naturally, it’s to pick out soldiers
to protect the civilian ants from at
tack by the enemy. So far we hav
en’t discovered any ants that fav
or foreign loans.
Like the squirrel, an ant is a
miser, storing up far more ftmd
than he can ever use. Don't criti
cize them for that. No ant or squir
rel could possibly be a worse hoard
er than some New Bernians in the
human family were during World
War H.
name we don’t even know, picked
up our call, rigged up a one-way
phone patch in a minute or two,
and had us talking to distant news
services in nothing flat. We could-
n!t hear the news services, but they
heard us, and the world read the
story that afternoon while lone
still raged.
Later, Parker and other hams
sat by their sets for hours, sending
and receiving messages that
brought assurance and joy to fran
tic relatives of New Bernians and
other residents of the coastal area.
As far back as 1933, when 22
persons in the area lost their lives
in a major hurricane, we were get
ting the same sort of cooperation
and unselfish services from Parker
and other like him.
So, whatever the catastrophe may
be, all New Bernians can be thank
ful not only for our local hams and
their 2,000 Tar Heel comrades, but
also for the 186,000 hams scattered
throughout America.
Ham radio is a fascinating hob
by, enabling its operators to con
verse with every country on the
globe. But, more than that, it is
a vital and all-enveloping means
of communication when tragedy
strikes. New Bern, as much as any
place on earth, can be thankful for
that, and bless the Good Samari
tans who make it a neighborly,
heart-warming reality.
Oldtimers or Kids,
They Love Museum
Oldsters who visit the Firemen’s
Museum here are always keenly
interested in the steamers and
hose wagons.
Not so with the ki^s. They head
for the mounted head of Fred, the
firehorse. By the way, has anyone
ever heard of another firehorse
thus enshrined elsewhere?