'Xiew Bern Public Library
The NEW BERN
^ PuhH '•■'n WEEKLY
5^ Per Copy
VOLUME 6
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 1963
NUMBER 11
On recent June mornings—
at an hour that even this dawn-
busting editor considers
early—we have been rudely
awakened by the mating call
of a catbird outside our bed
room window.
Around the corner on Han
cock street, In the vicinity of
the telephone office, another
catbird call has been respond
ing. For a full hour, each morn
ing, the courting continued, with
no apparent attempt by the two
lovelorn birds to get within
closer proximity.
Romance being what It Is,
among all creatures that fly,
crawl, walk or swim, we were
baffled by such bashfulness.
It didn’t make sense in the very
month that Is supposed to be
reserved for brides and
grooms.
The answer to the mystery
was twofold. Upon Investigation,
we discovered that the catbird
outside our window wasn't a
catbird at all, but a mocking
bird pretending to be one. He
was having a great time fooling
the lady catbird around the
corner, or so he thought.
To satisfy our curiosity,
while the exchanged mating
calls continued unabated, we
walked to the telephone office
In the hope that we would see
the lady catbird in a nearby
tree. It was the silly sort of
an urge you would expect a
nosey newsman to have.
We spotted her, perched on
a power line, but she wasn’t
a catbird either but another
impish mockingbird. It was im
mediately understandable why
the two hadn’t gotten together.
Each, thinking it was fooling
a catbird, was a victim of its
own cruel deception, and could
succeed In the deception only
so long as It remained at a
distance.
This morning, all was silent,
except for the chirping of
sparrows. The catbird mating
calls were gone, and we’ve
been wondering what happened.
Did the two mockingbirds get
tired of pretending to be what
they weren’t, or did Dan Cupid
maneuver them into a bonaflde
romance of their own?
This particular bird business
was intriguing to us, but it
would hardly be considered
newsworthy to the State papers
we write for. Not so with the
celebrated trail In Federal
Court here this week Involving
Congressman Charles A. Hal-
leck. Minority Leader of the
House, and five others.
The Indiana Congressman and
his co-defendants had been
charged with shooting doves in
a field at Camp Bryan that
had been generously sprinkled
with cracked corn and wheat
to entice the migratory birds.
Such baiting is unlawful and
certainly not the sort of thing
to reflect credit on a true
sportsman. However, It is not
regarded as a major crime,
and is not an Infrequent of
fense. What put it on the front
pages and magnified it into an
important news story was the
fact that Congressman Halleck
was one of the accused.
The Inevitable publicity has
made the top ranking Republi
can Congressman a very un
happy man. Sharing his dis
comfort to a considerable ex
tent has been another of the
defendants, E. Wayne Weant
of Greensboro, a deputy under
secretary of commerce.
Halleck, and In lesser degree
(Continued on page 8>
SEE WHAT IT SAYS—Judy Bunting doesn’t have to re- Up Week, but the two youngsters advocate civic tidi-
mind Susan Chagaris not to be a litterbug, but they are ness for the rest of the year as well. With your help,
mutually pleased as they inspect one of a hundred signs it is possible to have a neater and prettier town.—
erected in New Bern at strategic points. This is Clean Photo by Wray Studio.
IT'S DESIRED NOW—Millions of footsteps have made
their impact along this covered walk at New Bern High
school, and alternately happy and sad were the young
and hopeful teenagers who took those steps. Until vaca
tion is over, it will be an empty avenue, forsaken and
forlorn. It’s a wistful thought, but many who have grad
uated, with mixed emotions and sudden tears, may
never pass this way again.