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The NEW BERN
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
IN THE HEART OF
EASTERN NORTH
CAROLINA
5^ Per Copy
VOLUME
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1958
NUMBER 31
Well, New Bern’s eager young
sters, all set for Halloween, can’t
wait for spooks and goblins to
show up on the scene.
They started celebrating, days
and days ago, and all jaclc-o-
lanterns, ^ grotesquely smiling so,
have sorf of worn their welcome
out, before this special night,
witches riding broomsticks will be
a common sight.
Instead of waiting patiently,
with great anticipation, local juve
niles, alas, have rushed the situa
tion. They’ve had a slew of parties,
and played the usual games,
they’ve gazed at friends in masque
rade, and tried to guess their
names.
At schools, in homes all over
town, kids have joined the fun, and
Halloween’*-most over, though it’s
hardly yet begun;
Perhaps, I’m only getting old,
and cranky with my years, I guess
my bushings are worn out, I may
have stripped my gears. But it
seems to me in days gone by, re
call it if you can, our Halloween
observance was on a one night
plan. Not chopped in little jiblets,
for nibbling at all week, with the
prolonged celebration growing
stale before its peak.
We kids back in the golden past
had one exciting night, but the
mayhem we could fashion, threw
grown-ups in a fright. We roamed
and roamed with violence that was
most extraordinary, and few things
that were movable, remained
stationary.
vToday those brqts of yesterday
" parents, aridlHey’re saying the
younger generation is much, much
worse at straying. But kids, don’t
let Pop kid you, he was quite a pro
blem child, and all the neighbors
viewed him as someone rather
wild.
He used to pester street cars, by
yanking at their trolley, and break
ing into Central School to him was
oh so jolly. He’d climb in through
a window, and ring«.the bell like
mad; No he wasn’t any angel, now
honest, were you Dad?
Remember, you climbed that
flag pole, and when you got up
“there, you hung aloft for all to see
long handled underwear. Then
with fiendish 'cleverness, you cut
the rope off short, and greased the
pole, oh yes indeed, in those days
kids were smart.
I’m glad that things are tamer
now, instead of being mean. New
Bern’s small-fry act right nice, in
spite of Halloween. But it seems to
me that, somewhere, something’s
awful wrong, when Halloween’s ob
servance is spread out all week
long.
And though I should feel some
remorse, in memory there’s delight
when I recall the mischief you
could do in oqe short night. Unlike
today, the old time brats knew
naught of trick or treat, they
simply rambled, pulling pranks on
every city street.
Before the days of plumbing,
farther back than we recall, when
all folks had houses, a large one
and a small, the youngsters
thought it clever on every Hallo
ween to sneak through countless
backyards, and rearrange the
scene. Upsetting little houses was
quite the thing to do, and those
who owned the houses were mighty
upset too.
Ashes dumped on porches—such
acts were on the list, and usually
aimed at cranky souls, who fumed
and shook their fist. Woe tp the
grown up who had shown, in dim
or recent past, that he had little
use for kids, for then the die was
C8St
The man who kept the baseball
that were knocked into his yard
got what was called his just des
sert, and of course, he took it hard.
Tiiis night of nights they made a
wreck of his front-yard picket
fence. It wasn’t very neighborly,
TI^JE TO FORM—Two of Now Bern's cutest cut-u|M, David
tlfirner and Ann DIsosway, fry their hand iri' cuttinjr a
' pumpkin for Haiioween. David's wisecrack gets a big laugh
from Ann, and even the Jack-o-Lantern has to smile.—Phw*
-to by Billy Beiihecs.' - * , ■
Local Adults Fear Goblins
Just Like Their Youngsters
When New Bern adults smirk at
youngsters who fear Halloween
witches, goblins and ghosts, they
are in effect wearing a false face
themselves
All oldsters, whether they care
to admit it or not, are plagued by
their own pet goblins—every day
and night of the year. Some of the
things they are afraid of happen
to be real, but-many are imaginary
or will never catch up with the
intimidated mortals who dread
them.
These goblins aren’t to be con
fused with the skeletons that ev
ery family has in its closet. New
Bernians are conscious of them,
too, but are most careful not to
let them get out and shake their
scandalized bones under public
scrutiny.
Perhaps no goblin is more feared
by all of us than the spectre of
ill health. We may not be fully
grateful for the amazingly intri
cate bodies that God gave us when
He created us in His own likeness.
Usually we abuse them foolishly,
but lurking in the back of every
one’s mind is the haunting realiza
tion that there’s no substitute for
good health.
As a matter of fact, much of the
advertising aimed at us by manu
facturers makes ^full use of this
fear complex. One highly success
ful toothpaste peddler found it far
more profitable to harp on “pink
and it didn’t make much sense.
Juvenile delinquents are all the
talk, today but Dad and Grandpa
were much worse, no matter what
folks say. Modern youngsters really
bad are few and far between, a
fact that’s doubly evident on a
modern Halloween.
toothbrush” than to publicize his
product, and the claim thal this
or that cigarette is “less irritating”
to the delicate membrane;^ of the
nose and throat has paid off hand
somely too.
“You rarely ever know it, and
your closest friend won’t tell you.”
Maybe _he will and maybe he
won’t. Anyhow, an ad writer on
New York’s Madison avenue
spawned these omnious words, and
millions of bottles of a well-known
mouth wash were sold as a result.
Anothei; of our goblins is the
fear of economic reversals. The
employee is afraid that somewhere
along the way he will lose his
job, and fail to get another one.
^he employer dreads the possiM>
lity that mounting costs, keen com
petition and gpvernment restric
tions will put him out of business.
New Bern women who are pret
ty, along with those who aren’t,
are fearful of wrinkles, and gray
strands that show up in their locks.
The men folks don’t shout for
joy, either, when a trace of snow
shows up on their noggins, but are
far more afraid of baldnesi^
'The loss of social prominence is
a goblin for many. They panic at
the thought that they wUl be snub
bed when invitations are sent out
for parties and functions where the
so-called elite are destined to gath
er.
GETTING A PREVIEW—Ken Powell, who lives on W;atson
avenue, peeps at himself in the morror before venturing
forth to celebrate Halloween. He doesn’t have a Chinam^ s
chance of fooling his neighborhood friends with that On-
ental face, but it’s going to be fun trying.—Photo by Billy
Benners. ’ '
Such folks suffer almost as much
as the social climber who has
failed to crash the inner circle on
any and all previous occasions, and
is scared stiff over the prospect
of spending the rest of his or her
life on the outside looking in.
There’s a bit of, the pessimist in
all of us. Day in and day out, in
our secret heart, we shudder over
the thought of calamities that in
most instances never happen. The
calamities that do come usually
are misfortunes never contemplat
ed, and insidiously sneak up on our
blind side.
Back of it all, of course, is the
age-old animal instinct that tells
us self preservation is the first
law of nature. We want to preserve
the things that are near and dear
to us, and because we treasure
them to the utmost we are con
stantly looking over our shoulders
for an unseen robber.
What’s more, we are plagued by
superstitions that far outweigh the
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