Here in New Bern, we shiver
and shake when the mercury drops
as low as 15 or 20 degrees above
zero. Imagine living in Bemidji,
Minnesota, where an official read
ing Ifr miles north of the town on
January 17 showed the thermom
eter holding firm at 56 degrees
below.
Some folks say that we feel the
cold worse here because of the
damp climate, but damp or dry,
we can’t visualize the brutal weath
er that residents in'the north
western states are subjected to.
They try to prepare for the bliz-
, zards, but there’s just so much you
can do before the wintry blasts
move in.
Millions of dollars are spent
each year by northern cities to
clear away the snow from blocked
street. Even with modern equip
ment that you’ll never see any
where in Dixie, frustrated Yankees
find it’s impossible to battle on
equal terms with Mother Nature
when she dumps repeated blankets
of white on hapless mortals below.
Things may be far from perfect
in New Bern and the rest of Caro
lina’s coast country, but we’ll still
try to hang on here in preference
to the frozen areas up north. And
f with springtime in store for us,
there shouldn’t be too much desire
; to look elsewhere for beauty. April
I and May - are usually glorious
I months in these parts, and we aim
to make the most of them this
#■?: _year._
. *.
'" One bit ifie mrtqiiiF'^aspc't^^^^
the present political picture is the
lack of appeal that neing District
Solicitor holds for the average.suc-
cessful attorney. Although the job
pays well, compared with the in
come that some men make, various
lawyers with whome we’ve talked
say they want no part of it. They
allow as how a Solicitor has little
time to call his own.
That is why, we are told, no
other attorney saw fit to oppose
New Bern’s Cecil May when he
announced for the office that
Farmville’s Bob Rouse is giving
up. When Rouse first ran to suc
ceed Greenville’s Dick Bundy,
after Dick was appointed Superior
Court judge, there were numerous
other candidates in the race. It
is almost unbelievable that in a
few short years the office has
ceased to be attractive, but such
is the case.
Solicitors in this sprawling Dis
trict are faced, if we remember
rightly, with 40 weeks of Superior
Court each year. They must do a
great deal of traveling. If they
devote the time and effort neces
sary to properly prepare the prose
cution of important cases, it means
burning the midnight oil. If those
cases aren’t prepared thoroughly,
there will be a scarcity of convic
tions resembling the Perry Mason
show.
Probably the biggest reason for
Solicitor Rouse’s decision to retire
was his conscientious devotion to
duty. Bob wasn’t one to drag his
heels in his determined efforts to
fully explore the facts in a pend
ing case. Because he went all out
. to live up to his solemn responsi
bility, he was away from home a
great deal. For a typical family
man, who enjoys being with his
wife and kids, the pressure was
too great. Bob got fed up with it.
' Fortunately for May, he lives
closer to the center of the District
than Rouse, and can stay home
more nights. In fact, it will be a
reasonably short drive in every
direction, and he can get to court
in plenty of time by leaving home
fairly early.
Having a Solicitor who resides
in Craven county is something that
the District hasn’t experienced for
many a year. Only oldsters recall
(Continued on Page 8)
The NEW BERN
i
'«HED WEEKLY
Per
VOLUME 4
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 1962
NUMBER 46
i
OUT OF THE PAST—^You’ll have to go back approximately
50 years to remember New Bern’s Knights of Pythias
band. Pictured here, ready to strikei up the music are Jo
seph Nelson, Fred Thomas, Clarence Crapon, Albert T.
Willis, John R. Taylor, Guy Cox, Eugene Robinson, Ollie
Pigford, Jjeopold Sutan, Eph Brinson, Oscar A. Kafer, and
Elliott Pittman. Robinson was the director. In their day,
these tooters and drum beaters were strictly first class.
? '•
I V
t ’
STILL GOING STRONG—Jasper High school has turned
out many a fine girls basketball team, and the 1962 ball
club was no exception. Coached by R. H. Woodard, the out
fit set a fast pace in the Craven-Carteret Conference. Here
the happy youngsters pose with their latest trophy. City
schools have abandoned the girls game in North Carolina,
but it’s still popular in rural areas.—Photo by John R. Bax
ter.