Newspapers / The New Bern Mirror … / May 11, 1961, edition 1 / Page 1
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The NEW BERN IN THE EASTERN NOR. CAROLINA ^ 5 Per Copy L . fe' f . it- i* I As viewed by the general public, newspapermen are supposed to be case hardened and somewhat on the cynical side. Reporters unin- tentionaHy add to this illusion at times by hiding their emotions pretty effectively under stress. You can’t cover a tragic or vio tent evwt^M||th any degree of ac ctivacy, unless you concentrate on the job irt hand. Let the excitement of the moment grip you, and' your brain f^s to function as it should. When 'that happens, you’re apt to come up with f distorted story. The tnfth of the matter is that even veteran scribes are, down deep, hopelessly sentimental. That jin someiSbing we refer to as an inters^” is our stock in . 8#h; neither evaluate nor chroni^ it ^^ively until you feel it in ’yom- heart. Just as a musician has to lose himself in the composition he is \ playing, hi order to reach the heights,^_HO newspaperman reaches his fu^rpotential unless there is honest to goodness compassion rid ing on his phrases. Show us a great newspaper story, and we’ll show you a story tinged with senti ment. Uniika other writers and would- be writers, a reporter can’t wait for inspiration. Big news breaks quickly, and unexpectedly. It can catch you with a bad cold, or a toothache, or despondent over some personal problem, but there’s no putting it off imtil tomorrow. Sick or well, a newspaperman worthy of the label recognizes drama mid 4»atbas in an instant. What’s more, he will go to almost ridiculous lengths and disregard his own safety to make a dead line. It isn’t a case of being noble or heroic. Getting the story, and moving it with all possible speed, is a phobia, and can no more re sist it than the hapless moth can avoid a candle’s fatal flame. Additional proof of the average newspaperman’s sentimental na ture was furnished at Cape Cana veral a week ago, when Astronaut Alan B. Shepard made his success ful flight into outer space. Writing of the epic event, Neal Stanford said, “Hundreds of hard ened newsmen gathered at the press site on the Cape, and not a little disgruntled at the “scrub” of ..the original flight Tuesday, choked up visibly as they recorded minute- by-minute Navy Commander Shep ard’s great adventure.” Stanford added that “there wasn’t a dry eye” at the scene. Quite frankly the editor of The Mirror considered the advance pub licity given the planned launching as very ill advised. It appeared to us that Uncle Sam and the press were jointly setting the stage for a crushing blow to our prestige if the flight failed in its objective. What failure would have done to us, propaganda wise, after all the ballyhoo spread around the world, is little short of terrifying. The gamble wasn’t worth it, con sidering what we had at stake, and we’re sure the press would have cooperated had the government in dicated a desire to withhold pub^ licity until success could be achiev ed. Fortunately, the blunder was a monumental blessing in disguise. The sharp contrast between the se crecy and ‘evasive hedging that Russia fesorted to, and this na tion’s wwide-open policy, had great impact upon all the peoples of the world. Every news medium on the face of the earth. Including Communist reporters representing the Krem lin, was afforded an opportunity to witness the spectacle at Cape Canaveral, and the privUege of writing about it without restric tion. That, the world knows, was a far cry from the way the Soviets handled their own man-flight into (Continued on Page 8) VOLUME 4 NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, MAY 11, 1961 NUMBER 6 • rttsacuc UP Aijh Demonstratiort that will be a highlight of Sunday’s Water Safety-O-Rama at the Trent Pines Club. Marine helicopters can Oc irertiicr important^ at limes, as Astrunaut Aiaii onep~ ard would heartily agree after his speedy pick-up this week.—Official Cherry Point Photo. You Can Learn a Great Deal At Your Water Safety-Rama If you’re one of the many who enjoy boating, fishing, swimming and water skiing, you owe it to yourself to be at Trent Pines Sun day afternoon at 1 p.m. On tap, all for free, is an enter taining and educational Water Safety-O-Rama sponsored jointly by the New Bern Civic Council and the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service. What you learn, along the shores of the rippling Trent, may save your life this summer or next. Or perhaps it will save the life of someone else who* might fall vic tim to tragedy because you failed to recognize the hazards that lurk in every body of water. Cooperating to make the pro gram a success are the United States Coast Guard, the United States Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, the American Red Cross, the Trent Pines Club, and the North Carolina Wildlife Re sources Commission. Bring the kids along, and they’ll get a bang out of the Air-Sea Rescue by Marine Corps Helicop ters, the U. S. Coast Guard in Acion, Boating Safety Demonstra tions, Skin Diving, and the Ameri can Red Cross Rescue Team. Musk for the occasion will be provided by the 2nd Marine Air Wing Band from Cherry Point, and this feature in addition to all the other tilings in store is well worth the time and effort you’ll put forth to attend the event. Among the water-safety experts on hand will be William J. Mc Donald, a Red Cross specialist and Duane Raver, who does a column regularly for Wildlife' in North Carolina; the official .'magazine of the Wildlife Resources Commission. Since water sports are heavily indulged in by thousands in this coastal region, Sunday’s Water Saftey-O-Rama holds real signifi cance. The chances are you’ll pick up a lot of new information. Even if you’re already well informed, it won’t hurt to be reminded of the mishaps that might involve you and your loved ones during the summer season. As Duane Raver says, “A fre quent companion of the accident- destined skipper is an insidious character named Complacency. He will ride with just about anyone who will let him aboard, and often is almost a stowaway in his steal thy approach. “The key to dealing with this problem of IT, CAN’T HAPPEN TO ME attitude is first of all the rec ognition that none of us is exampt from difficulties afloat. Now at first glance that doesn’t seem to be much of a problem; but this very fact of either ignoring or hiding from our minds the possibility of accidents makes it doubly difficult to deal with. “The two obvious approaches to boating accidents are one, the pre vention of such mishaps, and two, preparedness for dealing with ac cidents if they do occur. If the first, prevention, were completely effective, there would be no need for the second, cure. “At our present stage, both must be emphasized for best results. The ousting of complacency from your boat is good starting place for boat ing accident prevention. “No one likes to be saddled with an extra load of do’s and don’ts while having fun. But it is your responsibility as skipper to bring your passengers home safely, and this takes constant alertness on your part. Prepare for what can possibly happen, and you will help keep trouble away. “It seems that we are almost constantly searching for rules to do things by. In this pursuit it soon becomes apparent that there are many situations that simply can’t be handled by a set of rules. The fact remains that there is no substitute for sharp thinking in tight situations. “For example, if you forgot all the boating safety rules now on hand and stuck to one capsule rec ommendation, it might be this— be a water sportsman. The more you think about this and all its implications the more effective it becomes. Are you a water sports man, all the time? ‘“iVhat would you do if your out board motor suddenly burst into flames while you were out a mile or so from the nearest shore? Even if you were thoughtful enough to have an effective fire extinguisher aboard, would you know how to use it properly? While flaming gasoline is spilling out into the floor of your boat is no time to read directions (if there are any to read). “The point is that all ememgency equipment and procedures should be thoroughly checked out in ad vance of any boat trip. It may seem like a routine thing to use a fire extinguisher, but actually various types of fires call for quite specific procedures. Make sure that you and all your passengers know where the safety equipment is kept and exactly how it is to be used in an emergency. “Drownings have occurred when the victims were within arm’s length of a life-saving device. In a case or two, life jackets or buoy ant cushions were locked in a com partment when the craft capsized or swamped. One situation foimd the life-saving device floating be neath the overturned boat. “Even where no approved life saving devices were aboard, boaters have gone down thrashing wildly with some sort of a floatation ob ject bobbing nearby. A minnow bucket, paddle, partially filled gas can, thermos jug, any of these will keep you afloat for hours. “Your greatest help in cases of emergency is confidence that you can handie the situation. Yoiur greatest enemy when trouble starts is panic and wondering “What do I do now?” William J. McDonald, the Red Cross specialist who will be here Sunday, says, “The last choice for anyone not actually trained in swimming rescue should be the decision to jump into the water with a drowning person. Throw^ a buoy, pushing out a fioating board, standing in, shallow water and flipping one end of an article of clothing or^ towel to pull him in are much safer methods of res cue and just as effective. “In considering self-rescue, one must face the possibility of find ing himself overboard fully clad in heavy clothing. Should a person be placed in this position, he has but to swim as one would normaUy, except that he must USE A STROKE WHICH KEEPS HIS ARMS UNDER WATER. “Careful study of the whole business of drownings indicates that the vast majority of these deaths occur within IS feet of (Cotitinued en Back Page) J
The New Bern Mirror (New Bern, N.C.)
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May 11, 1961, edition 1
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