Page Four
THE NEW BERN MIRROR, NEW BERN, N. C.
Friday, September 4, 1959
THE NEW BERN MIRROR
Pubtithed Every Friday at 111 King Street,
New Bern, N. C., by the Sole Owner
j. GASKiLL McDaniel
Editor and Publisher
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
One Year $2.50 Six Months $1.25
Entered as second-class mail at New Bern April 4,1958,
under the act of March 3, 1879.
NOW AS ALWAYS
Most of today’s television commercials are the last word
in absurdity. It is no credit to America’s intelligence that mil
lions of people take them seriously, but such gullibility is
nothing new.
Long before TV or radio, the general public was easy to
fool with a clever line of chatter. Every medicine show that
visited New Bern did a rushing business, and what happened
here was duplicated elsewhere in cities, towns and hamlets.
At that, the spieler who peddled snake oil from the not
so glamous surroundings of an improvised stage was a piker
compared with the pitchmen who simply set up a tripod at
the corner of Middle and Pollock streets.
Unlike the medicine show salesman, the sidewalk operator
provided no free entertainment other than his own wisecracks.
He started with nothing, so to speak, and saw to it that those
who did business with him ended up with nothing.
Offhand, you might expect his customers to be the dumb
and illiterate, and many of them did fall in that category. How
ever, also swindled quite neatly were some of New Bern’s
leading citizens, including a number of businessmen who be
came obsessed with the notion that they could outsmart a gyp
artist at his own game.
On one occasion, a particularly smooth manipulator ar
rived in New Bern under what would appear to be discouraging
circumstances. It was mid-afternoon on a sultry summer day,
and Middle and Pollock streets were all but deserted.
Undismayed, he stood up in the rumble seat of his yellow
sports roadster and started waving a $20 bill. There weren’t
too many $20 bills floating around town in those days, so the
two small boys stopped and gazed up at him in awe and as
tonishment.
Naturally, the pitchman knew he wasn’t going to reap any
money from the empty pockets of the deeply impressed ur
chins. However, they were in valuable to him as the first com
ponents of a crowd that quickly gathered from nowhere. Be
fore you could have said, “Hello, sucker,’’ he was surrounded
by curious New Bernians ready to be had.
“Who will give me $10 for this $20 bill?” the stranger
called out. A $10 bill popped up out of the crowd, and the sale
was completed in a matter of seconds. And, when the pitchman
offered the $10 spot for an investment of $5, he had no trouble
disposing of it.
Then the $5 bill went for a dollar bill, the dollar for a
half, and the half for a quarter. Continuing, the visiting phi
lanthropist parted with the quarter for a dime, and tossed the
dime into the crowd with a magnificent flourish.
By this time, shopkeepers were running to the scene like
a hungry dog overtaking a ham bone. Everybody and his
brother had forgotten about the oppressive heat. It wasn’t too
hot to get something for nothing while the getting was good,
and the gold rush was on.
With perfect timing, the swindler started selling bars
of soap for a half dollar, with a dollar bill attached. All the
while he was talking up a storm. The more he wisecracked,.
the more soap he sold.
His supply of soap exhausted, he came up with a batch
of lovely pocket watches that glistened with dazzling splendor
in the beams of a most cooperative sun. The watches were
worth fifty bucks apiece, he said, but this was an introdutcory
offer and he had been authorized to sacrifice them at the ridic
ulously low price of just $20.
Saving $30 was even better than buying a $20 bill for
$10, so the watches went like wildfire. Most of the purchasers
already had a watch, but this was too good a chance to pass up.
Besides, these watches that the stranger had were crammed
full of jewels, and the case was a thing of splendor.
In the space of a half hour the swindler had cleaned up
and cleared out. When last seen, he was headed across Neuse
river bridge in that sleek yellow sports roadster. Left behind
were the suckers, with watches that would turn green with
the morrow and stop ticking forever.
Historical
Gleanings
-By- '
FRANCES B. CLAYPOOLE
and
ELIZABETH MOORE
HAND ENGRAVING REPAIRING-REFLATING
JEWELRY and SILVERWARE
STONIS RE-SlT or REPLACED
Old mounfingt rebuilt, new
ones created • Valuable
popers, photos permon/iec/
GOODING Service
.>14 Elks Temple-phone 4367 New Bcrn,N.C.
AMOCO
SERVICE CENTER
• COMPLETE CAR SERVICE.
White Gas for All Conveniences
303 George St., Ph. ME 7-3925
Odorless Dry Cleaning and
Snow White Laundry
- ONE-DAY SERVICE -
DELIVERY OR CASH & CARRY
BRADDY'S
323 S. Front
ME 7-2159
PATENTS GRANTED BY STATE
OF NORTH CAROLINA, CRAVEN
COUNTY, NOW PAMLICO
COUNTY
1782, Samuel Lawson, 50 acres on
the East side of Goose Creek, be
ginning at James Brinson’s line.
Alexander Martin, Governor. PI.
1782, James Brinson, 300 acres
on the East side of Upper Broad
Creek, beginning at Solomon Ed
wards’ post, near Goose Creek.
Alexander Martin, Governor, PI.
1782, Joshua Fulcher, 400 acres
on the East side of Beard’s Creek,
beginning at the head of Cedar
Branch, to Pamplico Road. Alexan
der Martin, Governor. PI.
1782, John Carruthers, 250 acres
on the East side of Wayne’s Creek,
beginning at West side of Long
Point, and to an oak on the North
side of Ditch Creek, to Swan Creek.
Alexander Martin, Governor. PI.
1782, John Carruthers, lOO acres,
beginning at the mouth of a small
bay on the East side of Table of
Pines on the North side of Bon
ner’s Bay. Alexander Martin, Gov
ern nor. PI.
1782, James Clayton, 500 acres
on the sound, beginning to North
of Dead Woman’s Hammock at
Chinquapin stake, the head of a
small Bay South end of Solomon
Leath, to the sound, along etc., to
the beginning. Alexander Martin.
PI.
1782, George Carpenter, 300 ac
res on East side of Dawson’s Creek
in the pocosin. Alexander Martin,
Governor. PI.
1782, William Hall, 100 acres on
the West side of Goose Creek, be
ginning at a pine on the North
side of Balahack. Alexander Mar
tin, Governor, PI.
1784, John Tillman, 840 acres on
the North side of Bonner’s Bay, be
ginning at the pasture fence at
head of Coxes Creek, to an oak on
'Youpon Hammock, down the river
to three live oaks on Round Ham
mock, to the head of Fishing Bay,
to Cages Point at the mouth of
Bay River, along the sound side
to the mouth of Maw Bay, to the
mouth of Maw Creek. Alexander
Martin, Governor. PI.
1784, Maxamillian Fulsher, 350
acres on the South side of Bay Riv
er, beginning in Wharton’s line,
to Moor’s Creek, right against the
Chappel, up the creek, near Moor’s
line near the bridge. Alexander
Martin, Governor. PI.
REWEAVING
Cigarette Burns — Moth Holee
Cuts and Tears
Mrs. W. E. Street, Jr.
505 E. Front St. Phone ME 7>277Y
New Bern/ N. C.
The Mirror Advertising Pays!
Ask
for Tom'i
Everywhere
J. k. Powell
DISTRIBUTOR
ME 7-2265
Vllloge Verses
A SISTER'S LAMENT
Dad has his worries, and so does Mother,
But my biggest worry is a little brother;
He teases my dolls, and he pulls out their hair,
And he scatters my playthings everywhere.
When I want to read, he makes lots of noise—
An awful nuisance, I think, are boys;
When I skip rope, he’s in the way.
And you should hear the things he’ll say.
He’s much to small to ride my bike.
Or do the other things I like;
And yet, each day from sun to sun
It seems he’s sure to spoil my fun.
With him around, my life’s a mess,
And still, this much I must confess:
Just like my dad, and just like my mother,
He owns my heart, my little brother.
—JGMcD.
1784, Jesse Fulsher, 80 acres on
the South side of Bay River, join
ing the land where Draper lives,
beginning at John Proctor’s begin
ning tree a little below Little Flee
Point. Alexander Martin, Gover-
nor. PI.
1785, Thomas Graves Fonvielle,
90 acres on the South side of Goose
Creek, beginning corner of Furni-
fold Green’s land. Richard Caswell,
Governor. P2.
1786, John Carruthers, 200 acres
on the North side of Lower Broad
Creek, beginning dogwood Benja
min Whitaker’s and Joshua Ful-
sher’s corner on the East side of
Spicer’s Swamp. Richard Caswell,
Governor. P2.
1786, John Beasley, 100 acres on
West side of Goose Creek. Richard
Caswell, Governor. P2.
1786, John Carruthers, 400 acres
WE SELL
USED AUTO PARTS
Wc Buy:
Batteriei
Brasi—Copper—Radlalora
—Scrap Iren and Stael
SAULTER AUTO SALVAGE CO.
Morehead Hwy. — Dial ME 7-3910
on the South side of Bonner’s Bay
and East side of Wain’s Creek, be
ginning at a lightwood stump at
William Carruthers and John Car
ruthers and McCotter’s corner, to
Mall’s Gut, that makes out of
Wain’s Creek, down said creek to
a live oak at the mouth of said
creek and Bonner’s Bay. Richard
Caswell, Governor. P2.
1786, William Clayton, 640 acres
between Neuse and Bay Rivers on
West side of Lower Broad Creek,
beginning at Thomas Delamar’s.
Richard Caswell, Governor. P2.
(Continued on Page 5)
WE BUY, SELL and TRADE
Stocks, Bonds and
Mutual Funds.
Give Us a Trial
Donald T.
MIdyette
DEALERS — BROKER
Investment Securities
237 Craven Street
Phene ME 7-7174
Efficiency and Economy Go Hand
in Hand when You Rely on
Experts to Satisfy Your
Building Needs.
Never Settle for the Next Best
Thing. It's Bound to Be
a Bad Bargain.
NO DOWN PAYMENT - 36 MONTHS TO PAY
B & B Supply Co.
Highway 17 South
Phones: ME 7-3040—ME 7-5710