Newspapers / The New Bern Mirror … / March 2, 1962, edition 1 / Page 1
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New Bern Public Library The NEW BERN % -n WEEKLY ▼ OF ■%> St ^ i VOLUME 4 NEW BERN, N- C., FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1962 NUMBER 43 A colorful campaigner removed himself from North Carolina’s po litical scene this v/eek, when James O. (Jimmy) Simpkins announced he would not be a candidate for Congress in the Third Congression al District. Friends and foes differ widely in their evaluation of his qualities and shortcomings, but the battling was never dull with Jimmy in the arena. He had a flair for showman ship that many candidates lack. Impulsive, or reckless if you prefer to phrase it that way, he appealed to many as a State Senator, and came close to winning a Congres sional seat despite the great odds working- against him. Here, in entire context as Simp kins wanted it published, is his announcement: “After careful consideration and a 20 month heart and mind search, I find that I do not wish to be a candidate in the May Primary for the Third Congressional District seat in the United States House of Representatives. I feel that I owe this early announcement to my many loyal supporters and cam paign workers, as well as any possible candidates for this office. “No candidate for public office has ever felt or experienced the honest, forthright expressions and sincere requests to run for this office as I have from the average citizen all over North Carolina and especially in my district. (Or, with humble thanks to the hun dreds and hundreds that have dis cussed this with me, I wish to announce that I will not be a candidate in 1962. I believe that I have a more important job ahead with new challenges and an oppor tunity to serve the people in a more effective way in my new job. “I am now engaged in a po litical program called DRIVE. This 'stands for Democratic-Republican- Independent-Y o t e r-Education. I will travel throughout the South ern states. (I have just completed a three week trip in Texas and will be in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas until the middle of March.) Then, I will be in North Carolina. “The purpose of DRIVE is to urge every working man and wo man to vote in every election — to give them a reason to support candidates that are dedicated in helping the working people of America — candidates that will deal with all legislation fairly. DRIVE will furnish members with Congressmen’s voting records as well as explaining bills before Con gress that affect their pocketbooks. “DRIVE will expose the so-called “Southern-Dixicrats” for their true worth in Congress, to the progress of the Southern states. In listing the voting records of the Southern Dixiecrats, DRIVE will prove that these Congressmen that run on the Democratic ticket and vote with the Republicans are frauds. (Most of the North Carolina dele gation fits into this category). “Example: Someone please tell me what difference it would make to the working man whether Paul Kitchen (D) or Charles Jones (R) represents the Tenth Congressional District of North Carolina. (Their voting records are almost identi cal.) “When the Barden-type Con gressman realizes that the “Little Man” is also a citizen, that the “Family Farmer”, the small mer chant, the commercial fisherman, the salaried worker, and the Negro is entitled to equal representation in Washington, then, and only then, will America be the land of the free and the land of equal op portunity. I believe we will have some new faces in Congress when the working man in the South (Continued on Page 8) A HALF CENTURY—Jimmie Brewer, Grand Master of Masons in North Carolina, presents a certificate to “Cap tain Charlie” Seifert attesting that he has been a member of Doric Lodge here for more than 50 years. Worshipful Master Harry Soufas lopks on in approval. Seifert, secretary of New Bern Scottish Rite Consistory, is nationally known for his outstanding service to Masonry and Shrinedom.— Photo by John R. Baxter. Ability Not Years Pays Off For New Bern's Bobby Ernul America is relying heavily on youth, as man reaches out to touch the moon and the stars. Oldsters aren’t taboo in the Na tional Aeronautics and Space Ad ministration, but a brilliant new breed of' youngsters has forged into the confidence of top experts. Some of these brilliant upstarts are solidly entrenched in key po sitions, and justly so. Included in the favored lot is New Bern’s Bobby Ernul, who is only 25. He graduated from North Carolina State college in 1959, as a promising aeronautical engineer. His ability quickly attracted aL tention, and Uncle Sam lost little time in finding an important place for him in the nation’s mush rooming space program. When Col. John Glenn, Jr., made his three orbits around the earth last week, Bobby was presiding over the tracking station on Kauai, in the Hawaiian Islands. There were just four such command sta tions functioning on this eventful day,*and at Kauai the New Bern boy was capsule communicator and flight controller. So great was- the faith placed in young Paul that he was given authority to bring Glenn out of orbit himself, if the astronaut be came incapacitated or his capsule developed a drastic malfunction that required immediate action. At Bobby’s fingertips was a switch that would set off the retro rockets on the capsule instantly. On the second and third orbits, Ernul talked with Glean for ap- HOME TOWN BOY proximately five' minutes. Bobby fed the astronaut information from a huge panel that had, among other gadgets, 27 meters rigged up for detailed data at a glance. Colonel Glenn and Ernul dis cussed the heat shield question that bobbed up, and it was thought at first that one of the pyrotechnic latches had come loose. A check between the capsule and the Kauai station, after Bobby instructed Glenn to place one of his switches in an armed position, convinced the two that all was well. Agreeing with the Colonel that a third orbit was logical, the New Bern engineer passed along this recommendation to Cape Canav eral. “Working with John was easy, compared with the orbiting that Enos, the chimpanzee, made,” Bobby told The Mirror last week end. Unfortunately, the chimp couldn’t do much in the way of reporting to those assisting him on the ground. Ernul was flown to Hawaii from Langey Field, Va., on January 15, to assume his duties at the Kauai base during Glenn’s epoch flight. The NASA had also sent him on a hurried trip to Kauai when the space trip for Enos was decided on. Now he is back at Langley Field, awaiting further duties in the space program. An indication of the important role played by Bobby can be found in the prominence given to his task by such leading newspapers (Continued on Page 8)
The New Bern Mirror (New Bern, N.C.)
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March 2, 1962, edition 1
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