The NEW BERN
Yesterday was when very
young pupUs attending classed
at Central School lined up like
soldiers at the entrance of the
newly constructed Primary
building each morning.
Promptly at 8:30, Miss Mollle
Heath cranked up a phonograph
in the downstairs hall, the front
doors swung open, and In we
marched to the stirring strains
of Hohn Philip Sousa’s Stars
and Stripes. Forever.
Waiting to greet us, with Miss
Mollie, were two other truly
dedicated teachers. Miss Lizzie
Hancock and Miss Ruth Berry.
Blessed indeed was every child
who embarked cm education
under their gentle guidance.
Yesterday was when New
Bern families with a doughboy
serving Uncle Sam in World
War One displayed a framed
star in the front window of their
home. Nobody (hippies weren’t
around) considered the red,
white and blue motif corny.
Yesterday was when young
males, loafing on the Elks
Temple comer during the Great
Depression, got their kicks by
tossing a wad of chewing gum
on the sidewalk, and counting
the minutes until some shoe
picked it up.
Yesterday was when Paul
Whiteman, the King of Jazz,
had a vocal trio with his
orchestra known as tlie Rhythm
Boys. Their Victor recording of
Louise was a big seller here.
If you’ve still got your record,
hang onto it, for it’s a collector’s
item. The best member of the
trio was, they said, Harry
Barris, and Bill Bailey wasn’t
bad at all. The other guy? Oh,
he was an unknown with a
husky sort of voice Bing Crosby.
Paul Whiteman, who came
our way for engagements at
Morehead City and East
Carolina College, also had a
pretty fair piano player. He
spent his spare time trying to
write a few acceptable tunes.
Little did anyone dream that
this musician, destined to die
young, would compose a lasting
classic, Rhapsody in Blue, and
team with his brother, Ira, who
create Porgy and Bess and
other superb Broadway
musicals. 'The aspiring piano
player was, of course, the
immortal George Gershwin.
Yesterday was when the
wrapper on bars of Fairy soap,
a brand found in almost every
New Bern bathroom, pictured a
cute little girl wearing a flossy
bonnet and a frilly dress.
If you’re in the neighborhood
of 60 or older, you probably
remember her. What you, in aU
likelihood of 60 or older, you
probably remember her. What
you, in all likelihood never
knew, however, is that she grew
up to be one of your favorite
movie stars of the Twenties,
Madge Evans.
Yesterday was when a kid
who didn’t happily swap his
pennies at the nearest store for
several licorice sticks wasn’t
hardly human. Today, a few
youngsters apparently care for
the stuff.
Yesterday was when Liberty
magazine, edited by Fulton
Oursler, enjoyed heavy
circulation here in New Bern
(Continued on page 8)
J
i.e^7 St
PUBLIf HID WIIKLY
IN THI HIART OP
■ASTIRN NORTH
CAROLINA
5^ Per Copy
VOLUME 13
NEW BERN, N. C., FRIDAY, MARCH 12,1971
NUMBER 51
Ntw vCuumg ^uuiU SiilUcUv,
Harold Lloyd
President, Chairman of Board of Trustees
Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children
HE VISITED NEW BERN—When Harold Clayton
Uoyd, 77, died Monday in Beverly Hills, it was not
only the exit of a great comedian of silent films but
the passing of an exceptional humanitarian. Uoyd,
who achieved lastine fame because of his hilarious
experiences in Safety Last, Girl Shy, The Fresh
man, Welcome Danger, and other successes, had
his serious side in later life. As Imperial Potentate
of the Shrine in North America, he attended a
Sudan Temple Ceremonial here 20 years ago. Then,
and for the remainder of his days on earth he was a
tireless crusader furthering the nation’s Shrine
hospitals for crippled and severely burned
children. Oldsters clung to their image of him as a
bespectacled, neatly dress prankster, but to the
young who had never seen his films he was a man
deeply concerned with seeing that they grew
strong, and laughed again.