Pag* 2, W**l Craven Hlghllghla, NovamMr 26,1981
Little Dodge City
By JONATHAN PHILLIPS
Special Correspondent
They used to call it Little Dodge City.
It’s a little hard to believe that Vanceboro ever had that
sort of reputation, but I’ve heard enough stories from enough
oldtimers to believe that deserved or not. Vanceboro once
had a wide reputation as being one tough town.
Vanceboro now has its share of troubles and
toublemakers, just as every other town does, unfortunately.
But it’s a pretty safe town, full of friendly, non-dangerous
people probably a nicer, safer town than most, even for its
size. There are no undue dangers, unless maybe you decide to
take a Saturday morningstroll through the woods wearing a
brown jacket during deer season.
It would be hard to convince me^at things have ever been
a whole lot different in fact. In reputation, however.
Vanceboro used to be a mean town—it may have been an
undeserved reputation, but it was there.
Don’t break down
“It’s alright now, but they used to say if your car broke
down in Vanceboro. you was a goner,” an old-timer in a
neighboring county said. “They used to call it Little Dodge
City."
During the war, the old tales go, even more servicemen
swarmed into Eastern North Carolina than are present now.
When a bunch of ’em went on a binge, they would
temporarily “take over" whatever burg was the unlucky
recipient of their boisterousness.
That never happened in Vanceboro.
“There was once a couple of Marines in a cafe we used to
have here,” a local resident remembered. “They got to being
fresh with the waitress. You hear worse’n that on TV now,
but it was pretty serious stuff back then. They didn’t realize
the cook was her brother.
“They beat those Marines so bad they had to take ’em to
Duke to the hospital.”
That was barehanded. The tall tales told that the
supposedly-mean Vanceboro folks sometimes used weapons,
too.
Running the gauntlet
There was the time a buck deer inadvertently left the
woods and took an untimely stroll down Vanceboro’s Main
St.
As a former resident tells it, “it all of a sudden sounded like
another world war out there. Folks was blasting away at
that deer right in Main Street, and didn’t seem to worry
about where the shots would go that missed.”
Amazingly, the buck ran the lead-filled gauntlet and
PCA Annual Stockholders
Meeting: 1981
By MRS RUBY LILLY
The Annual Stockholders Meeting for 1981 «f East
Carolina Production Credit Association was held recently
at the Shrine Club in Kinston, N.(^
Invocation was given by Mr. Wallace Banks, followed by a
very delicious dinner to patrons and guests, served by King’s
Restaurant of Kinston.
The call to order then began, and the welcome, and
recognition of guests. The Business Session then was
followed by the Director’s Report, and Financial Reports.
The Election of Directors, and Election of Nominating
Committee was headed by Mr. James A. Hodges, Jr.
attorney, who later gave the Report of the new Election of
Directors.
Mr. David Fryar, Vice Pres, of the New Bern office,
introduced Mrs. Jeanne Robertson, who was the speaker
and entertainer of the evening.
Mrs. Robertson was Miss North Carolina from 1963-1964,
and a Miss Congeniality winner at the Miss America contest
at Atlantic City, N.J. She is a member of the prestigious
National Speakers Assn. Convention and speaks all over the
country professionally, and has been hostess to many beauty
pageants. She was beyond a doubt, one of the most dynamic
speakers ever, and received a standing ovation from nearly
1000 patrons & guests.
Her slogan was “to take your liabilities (things you can’t
change) and to turn them into assets, which was an
inspirational thought to leave with those privileged to hear
her speak.
Two very distinguished guests were present. Mr. Clet
Horne, president and Mr. Walter Langley, Vice-President,
of the Main Bank of Columbia in Columbia S.C. Mr. Langley
was formerly from Pactolus, N.C.
The East Carolina PCA serves the counties of Lenoir.
Jones, Onslow, Craven, Carteret, and Pamlico, and has
assets of over $40,000,000 for the year of 1981.
ducked back into the pines, presumably with a final flurry of
fireijower urging him on. Equally amazingly, if there was
really that much lead in the air, no human casualities were
reported either.
That was not the case the perhaps-apocryphal night a
drunk in a nearby (and long-defunct) dance hall got mad at
the world in general and showed his displeasure by
whipping out a switchblade and taking a swipe at everyone
in sight.
Luckily, his drunken lack of hand-eye coordination,
coupled with the stampede out the door, prevented any
human filleting. Unluckily, the door couldn’t hold all the
people, and some had to make for the windows to escape the
knife-wielding madman.
The last man out had to get a number of stitches in his
derriere, the only target the crazed drunkard managed to
stick.
A night at the movies
Sure, it’s hard to believe anything like that happened in
Vanceboro.
^ But a South Creek native who used to run the projector in
the theater here, back when there was a theater here, is
another who tells Little Dodge City stories.
“I looked down from the projection room one evening on
two girls—girls, now—just fightin’ like cats all the way up
the street. Nobody stopped ’em. Finally one threw the other
right through a storefront window. I figgered that would
stop it.” he said..
“But ten seconds later, she came flyin’ back out the
window, and they went to scrappin’ some more.”
Another allegedly common occurence was one Vanceboro
man who would have too much to drink and drive his car
back and forth along the sidewalk under the theater
marquee.
Vanceboro as Little Dodge City? A little farfetched, right?
My theory is that a few—or maybe all—of the two-fisted
tales are true to at least some degree. Any town will have
some history of such incidents. For some reason, however,
Vanceboro’s incidents got exaggerated and spread around—
this, coupled with another reputation as a notorious speed
trap, gave the town a bum rap.
But maybe there’s been no harm done. Folks only have to
go to Vanceboro to realize that it’s a peaceful little town, and
the old stories make for a few good backporch conversations.
And if my car had to break down. I’d rather break down i n
Vanceboro than anyplace else. I know a couple or three good
mechanics here.
Girl Scout News
By JUDY FREEMAN
Approximately 2,000 Girl Scouts and adult volunteers
from the 26-county area of the Girl Scout Council of Coastal
Carolina, including Vanceboro’s Junior Troop #482,
converged on the council’s newest campsite, “The
Homestead” in Louisburg the weekend of October 16-18.
For three days they enjoyed enrichment sessions with
outdoor games, primitive camping and nature crafts, and
the dedication of the 110 acres of gentle rolling land
balanced between open fields and forests.
Excited Girl Scouts and volunteers came from the eastern
portion of the state, from.Wilmington to Hatteras, to partake
in sessions, enjoy the out-of-doors, and dedicate the
campsite.
Some of North Carolina’s finest craftsmen were on hand
Saturday exhibiting and demonstrating basket weaving,
caning chairs, spinning, and the art of making natural dyes.
Participants also viewed the North Carolina Crime
Prevention Van on the site and enjoyed the Hemlock Bluff
Kicking Cloggers and a blue grass band, “The Blue Grass
Reunion”, at the “Hoedown”, later that evening.
The dedication ceremony culminated the event Sunday
with the Council President. Mrs. Frances McLellan,
welcoming the group of Girl Scouts, volunteers, and guests.
Dr. Harold Doster, President of Atlantic Christian College
and a member of the Council Board of Directors delivered
the dedication address.
It was a weekend to remember for all who participated,
including Heather Dudley, Shannon Dudley, Linda
Freeman, Kristy Malan, Wendy Ormand, Cheryl Andrews,
and Tammy Wolfe, members of Troop #482, and their
leader, Ms. Lorraine Just, and assistant, Mrs. PatStedwell.
Candy Sales
h'or two weeks in November local Girl Scouts will be
taking orders for Katherine Bcich Candies. This year they
will be offering cansof chocolate turtles, mixed nuts, and the
ever jMipular peanut butter crunchie.s. New thisyear will be
a Holiday Gift Pack, two large cansof candy or mixed nuts in
a Christmas wrapper.
Mr. Worth “Bill” Johnson, student teacher in Mr. Richard^^
Cannon’s Distributive Education Class.is busy filling Ton^^F
Wat orders in the classroom at West Craven High School
iPhotti liy U.L. ( clMtiiili. ,IiM
Distributive
Education
Sales Project
Marketing & Distributive Education Students at West
Craven High School have been participating in a very
important sales project during the last month.
Students were issued a kit with twenty-nine items of gift
giving type. They were given instruction in selling and
meeting the customer’s needs in the classroom, then they
went out to meet their customer and to explain the benefits
the customer could receive from the products in the kit.
Most of the students did very well with their
salesmanship. Forty-four of the fifty-seven MDE students
participated in the sales project. They averaged $136.36 per
student. Daphne Dixon was the highest achiever in the
project. Daphne sold $601.05 worth of merchandise. Teresa
Cox followed second with $497.90 in sales and Linda Petty
was third with $386.05 in sales.
Each student that participated in the project will receive
fifteen percent of the profit from his/her sales toward a trip
to Disney World in May.
West Craven
HIGHIIGHTS
Sharon Buck
Production
Qlen Seamster
Sports Editor
R. L. Cannon, Jr.
Publisher News
Business Manager Edith Hodges
Christine Hill Mika Hodges
Office Manager Office
P. O. Box 404, Main Street, Across from the Post Office
Vanceboro. North Carolina 28586
Phone: (919) 244-0780, (919) 244-0509
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spectively from above.) lusps 4iir-fi d)'
All prufil.s earned by the girks belong to their troop, and
are u.sed to buy camping supplic.s or to finance trips. /
The people of Vanceboro have always been very generous
to the (lirl Scouts in the pa.st, and with your sup()ort they are
sure to be successful again this year.
“Girl Scouting Needs YOU”
We have all seen the commercials on television, a group of
Girl Scouts or Brownies telling you “Wo need leaders.” And
you thought to your.self. “Vanceboro already has scout
leaders, they don’t need me." WRONG! There is a des|M;rate
need for leaders in our town.
Did you kn(tw that we have Cadet Scouts, but they don’t
have a leader?
■ Did you know that many of our young girls are unable to be
scouts because the tnxips are full?There are waiting lists for
girls wanting to be Brownies or .luniors.
Ifyoii are interested in being a leader, plea.se contact Joy
Wright or Lirriane Just for more information. Rememlxo’.
“Girl Scouting .N'cecis I'Ol'I
"Girl .Scouting Ni-cds YOl’I"