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The NEW BERN
I PUBLISHED WIBKLY
■N THI HIAItT OF
NORTH
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VOLUME 16
NEW BERN, N. C. 28560, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1973
NUMBER 39
The fuel shortage won’t
present a walking problem for
our Mayor’s vivacious wife,
Eula Kimbrell. Ever since i^e
moved to New Bern, a con
siderable number of years ago,
she has preferred hoofing to
riding, any day in the week.
Citizens who feel dismay at
the prospect of walking several
blocks are apt to stare at her
when she sets out to amble one
or several miles. A trek down
town from her Queen Anne Lane
residence is routine.
Politdy but firmly she has
refused literally hundreds of
rides from motorists, who
wanted to be kind. Only
strangers halt their vehicles
now. Eriends simply wave a
greeting and pass by.
Yesterday was when New
Bern’s kids didn’t get store-
bought gifts all during the year,
so whatever they found under
the tree on Christmas morning
was sufficient to cause ex
citement.
It was always a joyous time at
this editor’s house, even though
Santa Claus never brought the
bicycle, electric train, or
Shetland pony we asked for. We
did get wind-i^ trains and
autos, but invariably an adult
would accidentally step on
them, and mash them out of
commission before dinner.
How different things would
have been at the White House if,
instead of recording tape, a
supply of adhesive tape had
been purchased to place over
the mouths. of too talkative
officials.
Maybe those engaged in
trying to cover up Watergate
should have turned to Senator
Ted Kennedy for expert advice.
Kennedy ought to distribute
nausea pills, when he piously
insists that Nixon and Company
tell all.
At least there is no evidence
at this mint that the President
or his Plumbers figured in a still
mysterious death, deserted the
corpse of a girl presumed to
have drowned, and had the body
removed from the scene before
an autopsy could be performed.
And who is the Senator to
suggest that spending huge
sums on political campigns is
evil, and should be abolished?
After all, the Kennedy family
killed off all opposition in
Democratic primaries, when
John F. ran successfully for the
Presidency, by proving that
dollars can be mightier than
either the pen or the sword.
Same as always, our thoughts
this Christmas turn to
yesteryear and Mack Hen
derson’s portrayal of Santa
dauB in New Bern’s downtown
business district. It took cdn-
siderable padding and plenty of
whiskers to approximatly
disguise him.
Mack, who in real life was an
ex-tobacconist, salesman of
sorts, and Craven County’s
Coroner, drawled much too
much to be from the North Pole.
He most certainly had to be
from the South Pole, but did
have a way with small fry.
Henderson could sell
(Continued on page 8)
“Bringing Home the Christmas Tree,’’ by Alfred Hunt.
From Illustrated London News, 1882.