Perhaps you noticed, in reading
last week about New Bern’s 191Q
Bi-Centennial Celebration, that it
relied on the talents of honi'e-
towners rather than outsiders for
its spectacular success.
We of this generation apparent
ly lack the faith in our own capa
bilities that these old timers had.
They believed, and The Mirror
feels rightly, that New Bernians
had enough intelligence, imagina
tion and enthusiasm to do the job
properly without hiring somebody
else to do it for them.
What applied a half century ago
applies today. It’s a sad commen
tary on our confidence, qr absence
of it, when we deem it necessary
to rely on others rather ourselves
for what should have been a com
munity prepared, produced, staged
and enacted 250th anniversary pag
eant.
Such a pageant, in its proper
proportions, deserves a cast com
posed of hundreds of men, women
and children. Anything less, wheth
er we like to admit it or not, is a
sorry excuse for an occasion as
momentous as this.
We may try to kid ourselves,
but we’re not going to kid other
North Carolinians who have not
only seen -their share of honest
to goodness pageants but in many
instances have produced and taken
part in such pageants in their own
home towns.
Since New Beren and Craven
eounty taxpayers have had .ib.shell
out thousands of dollars to'defray
the cost of the pageant, it appears
to The Mirror that they deserved
an opportunity to at least speak
their piece as to how the money
was to be spent.
Instead they were 'completely in
the dark while a small group met
in top secret sessions, and came
forth at long last with something
all cut and dried. Even a commit
tee of outside “big names” appoint
ed by Governor Hodges arrived on
the scene too late to do much ex
cept go through the formality of
endorsing an accomplished fact.
If by any chance you’ve wonder
ed, as a taxpayer, why the press
didn’t keep you informed on the
matter. The Mirror can explain
that. You see, the top secret ses
sions were off limits for news
papers too, along with, we under
stand, the news media of radio
and television.
It was all over but the shouting,
as far as major plans for the pag
eant are concerned, when the pub
lic finally learned what had been
done in its name and with its mon
ey. At that, they learned only a
portion of the plans and little if
anything about the pageant budget.
This much is a mathematical
certainty. If the pageant runs 15
nights in the New Bern High
school auditorium, and every seat
is filled for every performance, on
ly 16,350 persons can see it. That’s
just a fraction of the New Bern
and Craven county taxpayers who
are furnishing the money to put it
on.
Compare this with the attend
ance possible, had the pageant
been presented in the high school
stadium—one of the finest and
best lighted high school stadiums
in America.
Any additional expense involved
in an out-of-doors production,
which wouldn’t have been as great
as some folks would have you be
lieve, could have been more than
offset by the much, larger number
of cash customers who could be
seated for the performances.
Aside from excellent lighting
that could haye been easily sup
plemented, the high school stadium
has a public address system that
could be utilized. Somehow, it
seems, somebody here has gotten
a pageant confused with a play pre
sented on an indoor stage of lim-
The NEW BERN
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
IN THE HEART OF
EASTERN NORTH
CAROLINA
5 Per Copy
VOLUME 2
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, I960
number 43
BACK HOME—Robbie Kennel, sporting a beard that comes
of today, smiles his appreciation as Jean kids him about
a large photograph of the couple that appeared in the San
Francisco News-Call-Bulletin when their ocean liner ar
rived On the Pacific coast from Australia. Pictures of the
Kennels also appeared in the San Francisco Examiner, and
they were interviewed on thp San Erancisico Chronicle’s tele
vision program. Everywhere the youngsters have been
goodwill ambassadors for their native New Bern.—-Photo
by Billy Benners.
New Bern Jaycees Honored
Outstanding Trio Last Night
A New Bern dentist, a Cove City
farmer and a 1959 New Bern High
school .graduate y/ere honored, last
night at the annual Awards Ban
quet of the New Bern Junior
Chamber of Commerce, held in
Hotel Governor Tryon ballroom
Named as the city’s young man
of the year by a secret committee
of civic leaders was Dr. Lewis P.
Bratton, a local dentist who Jives
at 2109 Grace Avenue with his
wife, the former Audrey Marie
Campbell of Raleigh, and their two
children, Charles, who is two years
old, and Pamela, who is seven
months old.
Dr. and Mrs. Bratton have lived
in New Bern since September 1958.
While here he has been active in
Community affairs. Among other
things, he has served as a member
of the United Fund committee for
Craven county, and is a member of
the board of directors of the Crav
en county Cancer Society.
As a Jaycee, this year’s Disting
uished Service Award winner has
done outstanding work as District
Chairman for Youth Fitness, and as
a member of the board of directors
for the local Junior Chamber of
Comerce.
ited dimensions.
Our dictionary defines a “pag
eant” as “an elaborate spectacle,
a procession in costume.” For our
part, we’re glad we don’t have the
responsibility for presentation of
anj^ing in that category on a high
school stage. But of course, the
dictionary could be wrong. Any
how, if the procession is a little
one we might get by.
Active in church work, he is sec-«was born in Raleigh on December
retary and treasurer of the Sun- 2, 1926, graduated from Needham
day school at Grace church. He' Broughton High school in 1844.
DR. LEWIS P. BRATTON
Young Man of Year
Dr. Bratton joined the Air Force
and left the day before High school
graduation. Assigned to the Medi
cal Corps at Keesler Air Force
Base near Biloxi, Miss., he was dis
charged in 1946. He entered the
University of North Carolina and
graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor
of Science degree in chemistry.
Later, after receiving a degree
with honors in textile chemistry
and dying from North Carolina
State, he worked for tw© years
with DuPont in Camden, S. C.
He received his D.D.S. degree
from the University of North Caro
lina, and during his practice of
dentistry here in New Bern has
made many friends. The Jaycee
honor which he received last night
goes to some young man in the
community between the ages of 21
and 36.
Selected as Craven county’s Out
standing Young Farmer the
Year, and honored last night, was
James Carlton Ward of Cove City.
Twenty-nine years old. Ward is
marled and has two children.
He began farming in 1952, after
the death of his father. He has con
tinually improved his farming ope
ration by practicing approved ag
ricultural methods. He has increas
ed his yield from crops, and in
creased the size of his farm opera
tion.
In addition to his crops, he has
a large herd of beef cattle, and is
grading his herd for better results.
He has a weU-rounded grazing pro
gram including Ledino clover. Fes
cue, Lespedeza, and Coastal Bermu
da grass.
(Continued on back page)