N©w B6m Public Library
The NEW BERN
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PUBLISHED WEEKLY
IN THE HEART OF
EASTERN NORTH
CAROLINA
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NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1963
NUMBER 32
Newsmen who handle cover
age In their area for the larger
State dallies make countless
long distance calls. In our case,
during a span of30 years, we’ve
found that almost without ex
ception telephone operators are
courteous, speedy and efficient.
Occasionally, there have been
humorous slips and unexplained
crossing of wires. Once, for ex
ample, we heard an operator
turn to a fellow operator and
say, “I just had THAT WOMAN
on the line again, and she burped
like she always does.”
For the heck of It, we in
terrupted and expressed sym
pathy. One of the operators-
probably the young lady who
made the remark-gasped au
dibly and both of them snicker
ed. If their supervisor was
nearby, she may have snickered
too.
Then there was the time when
this writer was In the midst of
dictating an Important story to
a desk man at the Raleigh News
and Observer. All of a sudden,
a woman’s voice broke in.‘‘Spot
has had puppies,” she pro
claimed excitedly to another
woman at the other end of the
line.”
For several minutes the
blessed event was discussed in
detail. Although we didn’t know
Spot, the course of the conver
sation revealed that there were
seven puppies In all-five girls
and two boys-and every single
one of them looked just like
Spot.
The voices finally faded, and
we continued dictating our own
grim news about an automobile
accident that had snuffed out
three lives. Not however before
the desk man In Raleigh asked,
‘‘Who In the hell was that on the
line?” To which we replied,
‘‘A couple of folks who love
Spot.”
Back In Coastal Plain League
days, when we served as stat-
istatlon of the loop, we had a
plug-in telephone In the press-
box at Kafer Park. It had an un
listed number to keep a constant
stream of calls from coming in
to ask what the score was at
that point in the game. As a
courtesy, for emergency rea
sons, the number was furnish
ed hospitals, physicians and
law enforcement personnel.
One night the phone rang
during a rally by the New Bern
Bears In a red hot game with
Kinston. Picking up the re
ceiver, we im mediately bacame
the target of a torrent of bitter
words from a very angry
woman.
‘‘I wish you would hand up,”
she screamed. ‘‘Every time I
try to uso the phone you’re al
ways listening In. I can’t open
my mouth without having you
eavesdrop. You make me sick,
you old snooper. Just you wait,
I’m going to report you to the
company.”
Very foolishly, we hung on
until the woman ran out of
breath. By that time the New
Bern rally had been nipped In
the bud, and the Kinston Eagles
went on to win the ball game.
As things turned out, a lot of
fans at Kafer Park were just as
unhappy as the woman who
spared no words In giving us
down the country for something
we weren’t guilty of.
Dr. Charles Allen, the noted
Atlanta pastor and author—who
conducted a series of services
at New Bern’s Centenary Meth-
(Contlnued on Page 2)
SPURRED THEM ON—Although the spunky Golden
Knights weren’t fortunate enough to finish in front of
the pack in New Bern’s Midget Football League, their
cheerleaders never let them down. At every game, the
feminine rooters shown here lifted their voices loud
and long. Sponsored by the City Recreation Depart
ment, the gridiron loop for local small fry gave the kids
pperience for bigger things to come, and they loved
it.—Photo by John R. Baxter.
DIDN’T STOP ROARING—It was a disappointing sea
son for the determined but outmanned Lions. You
wouldn’t have guessed it by listening to the lusty
whoops of their loyal cheering section. The tougher
the going, the stauncher these young ladies became.
Everybody loves a winner, but — win or lose — you
knew for sure that on the sidelines the Lions had
moral support. As the New York Yankees are sa3nng,
wait ’til next season.—Photo by John R. Baxter.
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