Old timers who mourn the pas
sing of things that were dear to
earlier generations should never
overlook the, boarding houses we
used to have in New Bern.
Scattered around town were
these pleasantly informal eating
places, where quality and quantity
blended into meals that took no
account of calories. You stuffed to
heart’s content, and shared the
latest gossip with every bite you
ate.
No one ever knew in advance
what was to be served on any given
day, but nobody cared. There was
bound to be a wide variety, and
those who had arms long enough to
qualify for the famed “boarding
house reach” got plenty of it all.
In many respects a boarding
house was just like a family gath
ering. Table manners didn’t worry
the regulars, and second helpings
were the order of the day. There
was good natured banter over the
f(wd consumption of this or that
diner, but it was like the pot call
ing the kettle black. Everybody
was a hog over the vittles, except
the temporarily ailing who were
“off their feed” for the time being,
i. Invariably, the energetic lady
who operated the boarding house
I was a cheerful and loquacious
soul. She loved people, and darted
i in and out of the kitchen to ex
change conversation with the folks
I who entrusted their digestions to
I her care.
* Perhaps memory is playing
'jugy tlfolcs on us. but for the life of us
We^can’t reiuienifber en};bacl^:ait
>• long, bouhtifuUy-lad^ Ww
getting sure enough mad during
the hectic discussions that accom-
pained the meals. It’s bard to be-
} come successfully infuriated, when
i' you’re cramming food like a late
• arrival at a chimch picnic.
I Surprisingly, you didn’t hear
f much about stomach ulcers either.
Maybe the unhappy mortals who
, were plagued by ulcers simply
stayed away from boarding houses
i —^or should have stayed away
’’ earlier. At any rate, it was quite
clear that no one among those
present was suffering at the mo-
f
ment from the inadequacies and
disturbances of a squeamish stom
ach.
Today, at noon, most of us de
scribe our meal as lunch, but it
was always called dinner in the
old days. To call this enormous
intake of food a lunch would have
been a disgraceful misrepresenta
tion of the fatts.
First come, first served was the
pattern, and the boarders who got
a head start were privileged to
latch into the best pieces of meat
on the, platter. Actually, this was
their only advantage, since the ava
lanche of assorted vegetables that
rounded out the feast was never
depleted. Much remained after the
last of the thundering heard had
departed.
Eating first, and leaving, wasn’t
entirely advisable. You knew full
well that the moment you were
gone you would become the topic
of conversation. Your ■ faults and
failing were paraded out for caus
tic criticism, and an untruth or two
got added occasionally to liven up
the gossip.
What the boarding house crowd
didn’t know about what was going
on in town wasn’t knowing. It goes
without saying that no one ever
’ irved a life so perfect that his fel
low boarders couldn’t tumble him
from his self-erected pedestal.
With no chance whatsoever of
ibeing a hero or a heroine to the
crammer at your elbow, or across
the table, you became resigned to
being yourself. It did little for
vanity, but it relaxed you into the
proper state for enjoyment of the
repast spread before you.
Human nature being what it is,
(Contim;*d on Pago 8)
There Is Little Affection
But His Talent is Admitted
How do New Bern citizens feel
about Governor Terry Sanford,
now that the General Assembly
has closed shop after stringing
along with him rather consistently
on his major legislative proposals?
Well, a sample survey by The
Mirror, aimed impartially at
friends and foes, and taking into
full account the views of prejudic
ed poiliticians along with rank and
file voters, presents this picture.
He has emerged as a man who
knew what he wanted, and did a
thorough job in achieving his ob
jectives. In doing just that, he con
vinced New Bernians of his abili
ty; but here, on the shores of the
Neuse and Trent he would hardly
appear a likely candidate to win
a popularity ■ poll at the moment.
Aside from the hosility that bis
tax plan inspired—and this could
n’t have come as any great surprise
to the Governor—lit cgn be con
clusively said that as of now he
doesn’t appear to have that cer
tain something in his personality
caioulated to make fellow mortals
regard him with fondness.
Most successful politicans do pos
sess this characteristic in vai’ying
degrees, and it is an asset that
comes in handy at the polls. How
ever, history is liberally sprinkled
with leaders who offset this handi
cap by convincing constituents that
they were the best qualified can
didate in the running for a given
office.
.Significantly, Sanford and others
too ran better in the last Guber
natorial race than Trenton’s John
D. Larkis, although to our way of
thinlcing the Jones county veteran
of many political wars was the
most personable gentlemen seeking
residence in the Executive man
sion at Raleigh.
John’s charm—and we do mean
charm—^failed to bring him the fi
nancial backing he needed, and choice,
that hurt. Even so, with or without
hacking, it” is doubtful that he
could have sold himself against
the rest of the field as the people’s
SANFORD AT TRYON’S DESK
—Photo by John R. Baxter.
For reasons satisfactory to them
selves, a lot of folks—including
many New Bemians—^liked Lar
kins personally and didn’t vote for
him. On the other hand, a great
many New Bernians who didn’t
partioularly like Sanford went to
the polls and cast their ballot for
him. We gather, from talking with
some of these local voters, that
they would probably support him
again, despite-, widespread resent
ment over the sales tax.
As one New Bernian puts it—“I
voted for Larkins the first time
because he was from our section.
After he was eliminated, I voted
for Sanford because he impressed
me as being able, and his opponent
made me uneasy with his approach
toward the racial problem. I’m
still glad I made the choice I did.”
Another citizen, quite critical of
the way that Terry went about
throwing his support to Kennedy at
the Democratic National conven
tion, also says he would vote for
Sanford again if the clock were
turned back to the Gubernatorial
race.
“Like the average politician,”
this New Bernian observed, “Terry
had his own axe to grind. It made
some of the other politicians migh
ty unhappy, but getting on the
bandwagon early was to Sanford’s
advantage and he made the most
of it. I didn’t admire him for the
way it was done, but that’s poli
tics.”
Those who felt that North Caro
lina’s latest Governor would run
into extreme difficulty and possib^
ly fail, when he tried to get his
(Continutd on Pago 8)