The NEW BERN
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Jack Horton (once honored
as North Carolina’s bus driver
of the year) has driven mil
lions of miles for New Bern’s
Seashore Transportation Com
pany,
Counting a short period at
the outset when he operated his
own bus, his career behind the
wheel dates back 37 years. For
Seashore, he has always follow
ed the same route, from Wash
ington (the original) to Wilming
ton.
It has been our good fortune
to claim him as a friend for a
third of a century, A loquacious
extrovert, with a disposition
that reminds you of Santa
Claus, he is famed for going out
of his way to do folks a favor.
On one occasion, back in the
early Thirties, this inclination
to be a man of good will under
all circumstances led to an un
usual occurrence. As was an
ticipated by a group he be
friended, Jack took the un
expected in stride.
Cruising along toward Wil
mington, from New Bern, he
halted his bus at a cluster of
myrtle bushes to pick up several
passengers who flagged him
down. They were going up the
road for a country mile or so,
and Horton punched cashed
fares amounting to a quarter
apiece.
The last passenger who
climbed on the bus said,
iiere's o'le mure os us, can
he go too?” Jack replied in the
affirmative, of course, and all of
the passengers got off and went
back of the myrtle bushes.
They returned in a couple of
minutes with a coffin. Having
given his word that he would
carry the additional passenger,
the bus driver wasn’t going to
break his promise.
He helped load the casket
upon the old-style, flat-top ve
hicle, The mourners boarded
the bus once more, and rode to
a little church nestling in the
Wildwood. They got off, remov
ed the coffin from the top of the
bus, and wrJked with becoming
dignity to the church cemetery
where graveside rites were
held for the deceased.
Jack’s brother Vance (who
retired quite a number of years
ago, and now lives in South
Carolina) used to drive for Sea
shore too. He was good natur-
ed like Jack, and just as ac
comodating.
Nobody ever found fault with
Vance, That is, nobody didUiitU
an obviously upset lady who had
traveled with him from Wil
mington to New Bern complain
ed to his boss, Charles (Shoot)
Hall, at the home office here.
“I hate to report this,” sh."
told Hall, ‘‘but the driver I
had this morning is out of his
mind. We would be riding along,
and all of a sudden he would
start flapp nghis elbows against
his sides lUe something crazy.
He did it several times, and
it’s got me so nervous I don’t
know what to do.”
Vance, admittedly light
hearted, had never been known
to cut monkey shines behind a
steering wheel, but the dls-
stressed lady sounded mighty
convincing. When he came
through on his next run, Shoot
hauled him on the carpet.
‘‘I wasn’t cutting up,”drawl
ed Vance in his tryplcal Charlie
Weaver style. “You know them
eggs I buy and bring up here for
the other drivers and you all in
the office. Well, if I want some
(Continued on page 5)
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H
H
n
BETTER GET GOING—Marilyn Ann Jones (daughter
oi Juanita and Elmo) of 1310 Benfield Avenue re
minds us all that a week of the New Year has already
passed into history. What about those solemn resolu
tions you made to work more and loaf less during
1965? Have you kept that promise to yourself to give
up drinking, smoking, desserts, or creamed potatoes
with gravy? In short, how are you coming along with
that list of good intentions? Don’t lose heart, if you’ve
stumbled. Pick up the pieces and make a fresh start.
It’s never too late to mend your ways.—Photo by
Wray Studio.
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