Krui 1Hrrti-Q!rattftt (Cnni; ij
The NEW BEKN
PUILIIHID WIIKLY
IN THI HIART OF
■AtTIIIN NORTH
P^Sionei
VOLUME 13
NEW BERN, N. C. FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1971
Yesterday was when Morris
Hilaon, who later married a
New Bern girl and lived here for
a spell, arrived on earth In of all
places, the small, far-off town of
Shelby, Montana.
The stork made the delivery
there because that’s where the
Dempsey-Qibbpns fight was
held. Papa Hitson had his heart
set on seeing the world
heavyweight bout, so advanced
pregnancy notwitlistanding, the
Hitsons headed west.
It proved to be one of
Dempsey’s tougher battles. For
15 rounds, under a hot July sun,
he tried to put Gibbons away,
but Tommv dodged the
dynamite and Dempsey had to
settle for a decision.
Yesterday was when an
indignant local woman insisted
that the president of New Bern’s
crusading Jaycees confront
aldermen at City Hall, and
demand that all dogs be
removed from streets here.
When it was suggested that
she attend the meeting too, it set
her on fire. “Are you crazy?’’
she exploded, “you don’t ex^t
me to go up there and get all the
dog owners in town mad at me,
do you?’’ That ended it.
Yesterday was when you
could park in front of your
favorite downtown soda shop,
and get curb service. It made
you feel important to order a
couple of drinks for you and
your date, and with utmost
sophistication, hand over a
dime.
Yesterday was when all the
. desks for pupils at New Bern’s
public schools had ink wells.
Few kids owned fountain pens.
Those staff pens weren’t much
for writing, but great for
piercing the posterior of the boy
in front of you.
Yesterday was when hooded
members of the Ku Klux Klan
marched on Middle Street, and
you could tell who a lot of them
were by looking at their feet. If
you knew a citizen well, his only
pair of shoes was recognizable.
Yesterday was when every
gal at New Bern High School
had a mad crush on handsome
but exasperatingly shy
Redmund Dill. He was much too
busy being a sports star to get
deeply involved.
Yesterday was when those
permanent wave machines a
woman sat under at the beauty
shop looked like something out
of science fiction, what with all
them wires attached to her
head.
Yesterday was when it was
fun wearing corduroy knickers.
By scraping your knees
together while you walked, you
could get them to make a sort of
chirping sound. But they wore
out quick that way.
Yesterday was when Z. V.
Butts taugnt music here, and
usually played his violin when
there was amateur
entertainment presented. He
also wrote a play about World
War One called “Just Buddies!’
and it was staged at the
Masonic.
We had another violinist,
Elmer Prunier, who somewhat
later also taught music here.
However, the best remembered
(Continued on page 8)
RECOGNIZE YOURSELF?
How swiftly years roll by,
Why it was only yesterday
You attended New Bern High,
Your heart young and gay.