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The NEW BERN
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5 Per Copy
VOLUME
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1959
NUMBER
He evidently had a lot on his
mind, this Catholic priest, as he
hurried up Broad street toward St.
Joseph school. With his head down,
and deep in thought, he didn’t see
a boy seated in a "wheelchair on a
porch across the thoroughfare.
“Hey, Father,” the lad shouted.
“Come over here a minute!” It
sounded as much like an order as
a request, and the priest lost no
time in complying. There was a
note of urgency and importance
in the boy’s voice, and the priest
sensed that this was no trivial mat
ter.
, “You’re a new Father in town,
aren’t you?” the occupant of the
wheelchair observed, and the priest
answered in the affirmative. “I
thought so,” the boy told him.
“You’re not supposed to pass by
here without speaking to me, all
the Fathers stop and speak.”
Needless to say, the priest never
again passed along Broad street
without pausing to speak to Buddy
Simpson. Like everyone else, he
found that exchanging salutations
and small talk with Buddy was al
ways an inspiring experience. The
youngster was a Methodist, but he
felt completely at home with all
men, women and children of every
faitii;
In the 16 years of his life, Bud
dy became of the .most influ
ential p'ersons in New Bern’s long
history. His cheerful and courage
ous acceptance of the -inadequate
body that deprived him of normal
acfivity made others appreciate
dr own fortunate lot:,
While* the, children around him
romped and played, he watched
them without' complaint. Never
once did he indulge in self pity,
or begrudge others the health he
could never have. Even in his last
days of pain, he didn’t lose his
marvelous sOnse of humor.
For example, there was the time
at St. Luke hospital during his fi
nal illness, when Dr. Francis King
and Dr. Joseph Diab were rolling
him on his bed as a part of neces
sary treatment. “You’d better look
out,” Buddy warned them impishly
“If you make me fall off of this
bed, you’ll have to see my lawyer.”
Not only Dr. King and Dr. Diab,
but other local physicians as well,
had tremendous admiration for the
plucky youngster as he fought
against hopeless odds. It was typi
cal of Buddy that none of the at
tention showered on him by his
family and his countless friends
ever spoiled him to the slightest
degree.
His favorite hangout for years
was the entrance to St.* Lukes, a
few doors from his home. He was
the self-appointed official greeter,
and no one got in or out of the
hospital without a pleasant word
from Buddy. His own optimistic
attitude was a constant reassur
ance to those who came to the hos
pital with heavy hearts.
He was particularly fond of high
way patrolmen, policemen and fire
men. To their everlasting credit,
let it be said that they brought a
great deal of happiness into his
life by going out of their way to
be kind and considerate. Actually,
however, he did more to brighten
their lives than they could possibly
do for him.
His favorite was Lt. Tom Brown
of the Highway Patrol. That’s why
on the night of his death, we ask
ed the patrol station here to radio
Brown in. Greenville and let him
know that Buddy’s stubborn battle
for survival was over. It was too
late to get the news into State
papers, and we knew how interest
ed Tom was.
Mentioning everyone in a single
column who meant a lot to Buddy
is an impossibility, but certainly
we can’t overlook Tommy and Ter
ry Midyette. They were never too
(Continued on Back Page)
TWIRL GIRLS—New Bern High school’s majorettes SHaile I Head Majorette Linda Harrison, JitaethUSlli
their pattest, asjhey -for . Msweta Latvd and Mfldred GwaltftBst^-rrPhote Hth
one of their preci^h performances. Left to ilight, they are / Baxter.
A School Bell, Not Fire Bell,
Rings for Our Smoke Eaters
It’s worth a front page story in
anybody’s newspaper when scores
of volunteer firemen from New
Bern and surrounding towns attend
a training schbol on their own
time for four successive nights.
That’s what happened this week
at Craven county’s courthouse. In
addition to a good attendance by
local smoke eaters, there were
groups from Vanceboro, Dover,
Bridgeton and Newport in the
class instructed by H. Elwood Ins-
coe of the North Carolina Depart
ment of Insurance.
Thursday night’s final session
culminated with an actual demon
stration of modern fire fighting at
Glenburnie, where an oil blaze of
considerable proportions was delib
erately set off. Thanks to the latest
techniques, a conflagration that
would have presented a major
problem in days gone by was quick
ly brought under control and ex
tinguished.
New Bern firemen didn’t need
this demonstration to convince
them that Inscoe is not only an ex
cellent teacher, but a man who is
capable of practicing what he
preaches. He proved it last year
during a similar school here.
As luck would have it, an alarm
came in for an honest-to-goodness
fire on Pembroke road. The upper
portion of a frame dwelling was
burning when Inscoe and New Bern
firemen -arrived. He immediately
sized up the situation, and with the
assistance of the men he had been
instructing was able to confine the
damage to a limited area with the
use of a fog spray.
Contrary to popular belief, there
are many instances where throwing
countless gallons of water on a
fire isn’t the answer. Actually, it’s
a scientific fact that using an un
limited amount of water in an ex
cessive and improper manner can
do mord harm than good in certain
situations.
Absorbing heat is one of the
aims in trying to squelch a blaze,
and it has been proven beyond all
doubt that one gallon of water fog
will absoi'b more heat than six gal
lons of water. And, when the fire
has been extinguished, there is not
only less fire damage as a rule, but
far less water and smoke damage.
However, the first concern upon
arrival at any fire is the possible
need for rescuing persons who
might be trapped. “No property,
regardless of its value,” Inscoe re
minded those attending the New
Bern Fire Department 'Training
School, “is as important as a single
human life.”
OLD BERNE’S town HALL
Having made certain that na
one’s life is at stake, the second
step is to locate the base of the
fire. Failure to do that not only
hampers efforts to extinguish the
flames, but can result in spreading
the blaze with ill-directed streams
of water.
Obviously, the third and fourth
steps are confinement of the fire
to the least area possible and ex
tinguishing it with the least dam
age. Insurance records often re
veal that, there is more damage
done by water than by the fire it
self.
This, of course, cannot be avoid
ed always but with modem meth
ods of fire fighting it can be mini
mized. As Inscoe pointed out in
conducting the 12 hours of concen
trated instruction, the difference
is training. The fireman of today
is no more conscientious and cour
ageous than the old time smoke
eater, but with a knowledge of the
equipment now available he should
be more eMcient.
Inscoe emphasized the impor
tance of leadership in any fire de
partment, and the need for disci
pline. He minced no words in
pointing out weaknesses that are
apt to exist at one time or another
in many departments, and said to-
be respected in the community a
fire department must deserve re
spect.
“Your fire fighting is often done
under stress,” he told the class,
“and you’ll be criticized by side
walk firemen who think you’re do
ing a poor job. Bystanders who are
not familiar with the problem con
fronting you will make unkind re
marks. You must learn to control
your temper, and let the critidsn*
run off you like water off a duck’s
(Continuad on back pago]