Newspapers / The New Bern mirror. / March 25, 1960, edition 1 / Page 1
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New Bern, in the Gay Nineties, may not have been as gay as old timers fondly recall, but juice to make one jubilant was no problem. With 15 saloons operating, a stal wart citizen could quench his thirst quite conveniently and add one of two for the road Even those gents who found themselves confronted with tongue as dry as dust in the wee small hours had no need to worry about a curfew. As a matter of fact, J. W. Harrell, who was the proprietor of Our House at 26 Mid dle street, stressed in his advertis ing that his establishment was op eh night to provide a sufficiency of wines, liquors, beers, ales, etc. Just what that “etc.” consisted of we’re not quite sure, and Mr. Harrell is no longer around to en lighten us. Anyhow, we gather that an imbiber who couldn’t find type of interior decoration to suit his fancy was just about impos ^le to please, and hardly worth the trouble. Thomas Bowden had his inviting oasis at 52 Middle street, and he too advertised wines, liquors, ales and beer in every logical media, in cluding New Bern’s City Directory. As Bowden put it, he carried a “full line of bottled goods.” E. W. Bryan had a nice location at the corner of Craven and South Front streets, and assured the pub lic that the “finest goods are kept in stock and every effort made to please the trade.” There is no rea son to doubt, at this late date, that - he did in truth bring pleasure te his customers. ^ ' John D. Dinkins was likewise a dealer for all popular alcoholic concoctions, but he -emphasized in his advertising that “pure North Carolina whiskey is a specialty.” Incidentally, his place of business was at 54 and 56 Middle street. An enterprising man, he didn’t restrict himself to selling joy juic es. He also served notice that he paid the highest prices for bees wax, and hides (green or~dry). In that connection, he announced far and wide that he was “always on the lookout for coon, fox and deer hides, and all other kinds of skin.” J. S. Garrett’s Saloon, at 38 Mid dle street, always kept “the very best ^oods in stock” and gave “prompt and polite attention to all.” Obviously, lower Middle street was something of a drinker’s para dise, and what puzzles us is why more of the town’s dapper dapdies didn’t stagger off the market dock and drown in the midst of their in vigorated meanderings. J. P. Taylor had his welcome 'mat out at 18 and 22 Middle street, while a gentleman we know only as “Jimmie” kept the citizenry in a mellow glow at 75 Middle. Taylor claimed the largest wholesale and retail house in the city, and in ad dition to potent spirits carried a full line of groceries, boat chand lery, oil and rubber goods. For the sake of accurate history, it should be noted that Middle street didn’t have an exclusive claim on all of the more frequent ed spots. For example, A. M. Ed-' wards did a thriving business at 61 Broad street. In fact, he was “sole agent for the celebrated Bud- weiser export beer.” . And, as a real challenge to the Middle street establishments, Ber geron’s Cafe at- 7l South Front street, under the Gaston House, ad vertised “the most elegantly fitted bar in the city.” There, the man agement assured one and all, -you could get “choice drinks to order.” Other saloons that were flourish ing in the Gay Nineties here in cluded Blumgardt at 126 Middle, NEW BERN •n WEiKLY " OF n fft V. VOLUME 2 NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 1960 NUMBEE fWOi^l^PAS'r-^We’i’e indtod forflii^rice- less photo to Mrs. Charles H. Hall (Mamie Berry). It is Miss Mollie Heath’s class of 70 years ago, or thereabouts. Pupils in addition to Mrs. Hall shown here (see if you can pick them out) are Sam Street, Lillie Tolson, Bertha Wooten, Annie Bagby, Nat Berry, Percy Peck, Etta Wal- nau, Sarah Stewart, John tuptdii^ Tommie lASitter, Huih Hughes, Mamie CoUigan_, Ethel Hughes, Jan Stewart, Alice Spencer, Frank George, Lelia Styron, WiU Day, Alpheus Disosway, Maude Smith, May Moore, Richard N. Duffy, Ade laide Peck, Augusta Parks, Jesse Quidley, Herbert Lupton, Ralph Hunter Smith and Hilda Davenport. Ups and Here Suit New Bernians the Best Even though America’s learned scientists and apprehensive mili tary experts are growing increas ingly exciteS about outer space. New Bernians show no signs of being up in the air over the mat ter. It may be a case of the ancient adage—familiarity breeds contempt —or our complacency might be 'based on a layman’s inability to grasp the significance and immens ity of it all. Whatever the reason, each new revelation gets a far heavier play in the press, and oh television and radio, than the interest display ed by the average citizen warrants For example, the recent astound ing broadcasts from a U.S. missile speeding toward the sun failed to cause the slightest stir among na tives residing in this grand old town on the banks of the Neuse and Trent. Only local small fry, and to a lesser extent the sophisticated teenagers in our midst, seemed in trigued by the mysteries that ex ist on the moon, on Mars and other heavenly bodies. Adults in general have exhibited collective indiffer ence, or an -emphatic opinion on the part of many that we ought to William Collegan at 31 Qi^en, Dav is & Arnold at 47 Middle, J. P. Rodman at Queen and Broad, L. J. Taylor at 'Taylor Junction, and Mark Disoway’s wholesale place at 67 South Front. Maybe they didn’t sell more joy juice than do our ABC stores to day, but we^ rather imagine that they were a lot more colorful. What a pity it is that somebody sober wasn’t around to preserve in writing some of the tall stories told by loaded customers. stick to the earth enough alone. and leave well] A sample survey by The Mirror reveals this sentiment, but our t BERNE MUSEUM PIECE findings should surprise no one who is half-way diicerning. AH you need to ascertain the low ebb of interest is to notice how infer- quently you and your friends and relatives discuss doings in outer space. Pushing the rockets to one side, and just about out of the picture altogether is our day-to-day talk of things closer to home and closer to our hearts. Topping the conver sational list of late has been the series of racial incidents here, with politics and collegiate basketball tourneys following in that order. Since New Bern, despite its ec centric quirks, is fairly typical as Tar Heel towns go, it can be said thM most North Carolinians are just as unexcitid about outer space as the fqlks here are. They’re unex cited, that is over what is sent up yonder. When it comes to what might be sent this way from the other direction, that’s something else. Hence, the New Bernian who ap parently wouldn’t blink an eye if the United States-landed a dozen rockets on the moon is ready and willing to jump at the first report of the latest flying saucer. And, human nature being what it is, the panic that occurred a couple of decades ago when Orson Welles did his coast-to-coast “Men From Mars” radio program would probably be repeated today if aired under the same circumstances. It all boils down to the fact, that, in the final analysis, human (Continued on Back Pago)
March 25, 1960, edition 1
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