The NEW BERN
)
PUBLISHED WEEKLY
IN THE HEART OF
EASTERN NORTH
CAROLINA
5^ Per Copy
VOLUMNE 3
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 1960
NUMBER 5
Seldom has a greater distinction
come to this city by the Neus6 and
Trent than to have two of its New
Bern High school students win the
Aycock trophy as the finest scho
lastic debating team in all North
Carolina.
Marshal Ball ond Richard McEn-
ally faced terrific competition, and
the pressure a teen-ager is under
when he manages to reach the fin
als is something they WQn’t soon
forget.
Visualize hundreds upon hun
dreds of keenly intellectual young
sters who have devoted thousands
of hours collectively to intense
study and practice, and you begin
to realize what a stupendous
achievement it is to finish at the
top of the heap. * ,
Thus, it isn’t surprising that nev
er before in New Bern’s history
has a debating team" from here
gone all the way. The overwhelm
ing majority of North Carolina’s
high schools, both large and small,
have likewise failed to gain such
recognition, so our past failures
are no cause for embarrassment
Through the years, debating
teams representing the State’s
small high schools have more than
held their own against schools
with a much larger enrollment.
Which goes to prove once more
that brains and talent are just as
prevalent in the smaller communi
ties as they are in the center of
heavier population.
If you’re a regular or even oc
casional reader of, The Mi^op, you
’re awafe faet; ihat%e Re
peatedly contend New Bemians
can do what anyone else can do.
And yet, as_a town we are prone
to place confidence in outsiders
that we wouldn’t think of accord
ing our own native sons and daugh
ters.
Never was this demonstrated in
more sickening fashion than when
we spurned the talent in our own
midst, and hired out-of-towners to
put on a 250th anniversary cele
bration we should have put on our
selves. It is a shame and disgrace
that those who handled the matter
displayed such a complete lack of
faith in our own citizens.
We have no quarrel with the hir
ing of Kermit Hunter to write a
pageant for us. His previous dra
mas (staged outdoors instead of in
a high school auditorium) have
been creditable productions, so
reaching all the way to western
North Carolina for an author might
have been the thing to do.
The real pity in this connection
is that Hunter’s creative ability is
at its best when devoted to an out
side spectacle. As a result, it is our
considered opinion that he ^ was
handcuffed when restricted to the
limits of an indoor stage. In other
words, we are paying handsomely
for a man’s talents, without per
mitting him to use those talents in
the fullest sense.
Hiring Hunter has been just a
small phase of the money tossed
to outsiders. Behaving as if we
didn’t have enough sense to get in
out of the rain, much less stage a
celebration, we went elsewhere to
hire a director and a collection of
performers to supplement the com
paratively few New Bemians who
\vill appear in the" “pageant.”
And, it is our understanding, the
celebration committee is shelling
out money to an out-of-town agency
to handle publicity, and still more
money to an out-of-town agency
to handle advertising. These are
things that most certainly could
have been handled right here on
the scene, at home.
We’re not ready to admit that
the New Bern we were bom in,
and have lived in ever since, is com
pletely peopled by a bunch of
dumb bunnies who are incapable of
doing an outstanding celebration
job in their own right.
(Continued on Back Pago)
HOKSIER', MUSIC MAlKERS—Continuing our series of
priceless photos from the distant past, we proudly present
.today the New Bern High school orchestra that hatched
harmony for chapel programs just 52 years ago,-Ask any
old-timer, and he’ll tell you this 10-piece combo was a
mighty tuneful outfit. Front row, left to right, you’ll find
Ruth Watson, Daphne Coward and Mary Mitchell, On the,
second row are Elliott Pittman, Harvey Brown, Jessie
Wyatt, Cora Munger, Lavinia Folsum, Stein Basnight and
William Blades. -
Don't Forget, This Sunday
We'll Observe Law Day USA
New Bern’s official observance
on Sunday of Law Day U.S.A. will
coincide with similar observances
in every city, town and hamlet
throughout the Land of the Free.
Offhand, it might seem some
what inappropriate to select the
Sabbath for such an occasion, but
this is hardly the case. As a matter
of fact. New Bemians need only
to turn to their family Bibles to
discover the importance placed on
law by their Creator.
Familiar to us all, of course, are
the Ten Commandments that were
handed down to Moses, and passed
along to us in the Book of Exodus.
Equally pertinent is the reminder
in Leviticus that “ye shall have one
manner of law, as well for the
stranger, as for one of your own
country; for I am the Lord your
God.”
And in Proverbs, it is observed
:;hat “where there is no vision, the
people perish; but he that keepeth
the law, happy is he.” Add to this
the portion of Psalm 119 which
tells us that “great peace have they
which love the law” and it be
comes clear that rather than being
inappropriate, the Sabbath above
all other days of the week is a time
to renew our respect for law and
order.
That law is necessary in a De
mocracy such as ours, no man of
reason would deny. Naturally, it’s
important as a means of livelihood
to the 30 local attorneys who have
chosen it as a profession, but no
less important to the average citi
zen. Without it the American way
of life would die in short order.
What, to be specific, are the
BERNE ZOOLOGICAL SCENE
principles of Americanism that are
protected by legal restrictions in
this country of ours? According to
the American Heritage Foundation,
they are the right to a good educa
tion, the right to live where we
please, to work where we want to,
to worship according to our con
science, the right to a fair and
speedy trial when accused, the right
to vote secretly, to join and belong
to an organization, to own proper
ty, to start our own business, to
manage our own affairs, and to
make a- profit or fail—depending
on our capabilities.”
Through necessity, there are also
limiting principles. Our founding
fathers wisely took steps to see to
it that the rights of an individual
shall not interfere with the equal
rights of other individuals. The
rights, in fact, of an individual
shall never int^ere with the wel
fare of the people as a whole.
Obedience to the laws under
which we live are part and parcel
of our limiting principles. Admit
tedly, some of our laws are less
popular than others, depending up
on how much they cramp us. ^me,
no doubt, should be removed from
the books. Others should be enact
ed. This can be accomplished by
citizens themselves, if they elect
officials of vision and high integri
ty.
New Bern, fortunately, compares
favorably with other American
communities when it comes to a
general observance of the laws of
the land. It is no misstatement of
fact to say that almost without ex-
(Continued «n Beck Page)