THE ROANOKE RAPIDS
N. C.’s TABloid
Picture NEWSpaper
— All Home-Print —
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VOLUME TWENTY-THREE BOANOKE RAPIDS, N. C. THURSDAY, MAY 12, 1938_NUMBER 44
FIRST AIR MAIL
PLANE WILL LAND
HERE MAY 19TH
An episode of air history will be
recorded for Roanoke Rapids next
Thursday, May 19, at ten o’clock in
the forenoon, when an airplane will
land here and receive air mail to
be flown to all parts of the United
States and foreign countries. The
flight of air mail from Roanoke
Rapids on Thursday will mark the
first even of this sort to ever occur
here and will be the high mark lo
cally in observance'of National Air
Mail Week, according to L. G.
Shell, Roanoke Rapids postmaster,
who stated that air mail from Wel
don would be placed on the plane
at the same time.
In-connection with Air Week, j
Postmaster Shell states thfikrin his
opinion the intent behind this na
tional event is to establish “feeder
lines” connecting with transconti
nental air lines with stops on the
feeder lines in those places showing
the most interest in the use of the
Air Mail Service.
A short program, including one
or two short addresses, will be giv
en at the field, it was stated. The
local postmaster urges that every
person in the city who can possibly
do so be present on the field which
is located on the Littleton road a
short distance beyond South Rose
mary when the plane lands. He al
so asks that event be recorded by
all persons having movie picture
cameras as well as those having
cameras of other types.
In discussing National Air Mail
Week, Postmaster Shell emphasized
the importance of the use of air
mail in shortening the time ele
ment. He also called attention to
the fact that a count of all air mail
will be made in both the post of
fice and the trains during the week
starting on Sunday, May 15 and
continuing through Saturday, May
21. A supply of the new air mail
stamps, recently authorized by the
Post Office Department, has been
received. They will be placed on
stale Monday, May 16.
Mr. Shell pointed out that the
cost of air mail service is small
when compared with the quick ser
vice rendered by its use, the cost
of such service being only three
additional cents postage on an or
dinary letter. Mail of any descrip
tion may be transported by air mail
—registered mail, special delivery
matter as well as parcels, the air
mail fee of six cents per ounce or
fraction thereof applying to all
classes of mail.
PATTERSON APTS
READY MAY 15TH
Roanoke Rapids’ first big apart
ment house will be ready for occu
pancy after May 15th, according to
announcement made this week by
R. D. Beam, of the Wachovia Bank
& Trust Company of Raleigh, rent
al agents for the new Patterson A
partment here.
Workmen are putting finishing
touches to the 8-apartment house
this week, and even a casual in
spection of the luxurious quarters
convinces one that the Patterson
Apartments will easily rank with
the most modern and pretentious
apartment houses in the entire
state.
The new apartment house is the
result of completely re-modelling
and re-arranging the interior of the
huge Patterson Mansion, located in
the center of spacious and beautiful
grounds in the middle of the city,
just across the street from the new
Municipal Building and Post Of
fice.
All apartments contain four and
five rooms, in addition to private
baths, and each has a separate
servant’s entrance. Six apartments
are accessible from the main en
trance, with entrance to the stair
way located in both the front and
back of the building, while two of
the apartments have separate out
side entrances. In addition, there
is a back service stairway, with
large corridors connecting various
apartments in the building.
Heat, hot and cold water, an e
lectric stove and electric refrigerat
or will be furnished with each a
partment, and they are equipped
with individual meters for electrici
ty.
Remodelling of the building was
done by the John F. Danielson
Company', of Raleigh, with E. H.
Franks, superintendent, in charge
of the work here. It required a
bout twO-months to complete the
contract'.
I 1
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Calls Convention
DR. JOHN W. MARTIN
County cnairr.i. . xne uemocrai
16 Party of Halifax County, who
has called the County convention
for Saturday, May 14, at Halifax
courthouse at 11 a-m.
Dancers At
Kiwanis In
Big Program
The dancing classes of Mrs.
Tommy Holmes, with more than
thirty young dancers, staged one
of the best programs of the Ki
wanis Club of Roanoke Rapids in
many a week, the youngsters, in
costumes presenting taps dancing
groups, folk dances, military tap
ping, clown tapping and an older
group with boy-girl tap-ballroom
specialties.
Postmaster L. G. Shell asked for
cooperation from club members
during National Air Mail Week
next week and F. C. Williams,
speaking for the club, advocated
all business firms use air mail
stamps during the week and be
present when the air mail plane
lands here at 10 next Thursday
morning. The purpose is for tests
to see where feeder lines may con
nect with main line planes.
The Minstrel cast will be enter
tained next Thursday at 6:30 at
Chockoyotte Country Club and the
High School traffic squad will be
invited at the same time. Howard
Pruden was appointed chairman of
the arrangements committee.
James Grogan, a representative
of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.
in Roanoke Rapids, and a former
Kiwanis\ Club member of the
Lynchburg Va. club, was elected
to member: hip.
The Rev.' C. T. Rogers, pastor
Rosemary Methodist Church, was a
guest at the club. H. S. Loy was
program chairman for the night.
Beat Henderson
The Roanoke Rapids golf team
defeated the Henderson Country
Club golf team at the Chockoyotte
Golf Club yesterday afternoon.
HALIFAX DEMOCRATS
TO MEET AT 11 A.M.
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
Delegates to the Halifax County
Democratic Convention from the 17
county precincts will meet in Hal
ifax at the court house at 11 a.m.
on Saturday, May 14th.
The purpose of the convention
according to County Chairman Dr.
John W. Martin, will be to hear a
keynote address which will be a
reminder to all Democrats of the
glories of their party, to elect del
egates to the State Convention in
Raleigh at noon on May 21st, and
to hold a meeting of the County
Democratic Executive Committee,
the precinct chairmen, for the pur
pose of choosing a County Chair
man and for other business relating
to the party welfare.
Books Now Open
County registration books open
ed last Saturday and will be open
thru Saturday, May 21st. All vot
ers who are not now on the county
books, who have lived in their pre
cinct for four months, or those
who have become 21 since the last
election or will be 21 before tlie
November, 1938, election, are en
titled to register and must register
now in order to vote in the Pri
mary on June 4th. Registrars will
be found at the precinct polling
j places this Saturday and next.
lSU°OEf^YTor%^ 0lEs
Husband Killed
Here 25 Years
Ago; Raised Nine
Mrs. T. C. Shaw, widow of the
late Thomas C. Shaw, died sud
denly at her home about one-mile
from South Rosemary at 3:30 this
afternoon, Thursday, May 12th.
Mrs. Shaw was in her 68th year,
and her death came as a distinct
shock to the many members of her
immediate family, as well as the
community as a whole, as she had
been in excellent health up to the
time of her death.
Mrs. Shaw was at work in the
garden near her farm home, when
she was suddenly stricken. A
daughter, Miss Virgie Shaw, was
nearby and frantically summoned
the help of a son, Shelton, who ar
rived just as the aged lady drew
her last breath.
The death today of Mrs. Shaw
recalls the tragedy of the murder
of her husband on May 3rd, 1913,
for which “Kid” Cobb, of this city,
was electrocuted.
Her husband’s murder left Mrs.
Shaw with a family of nine chil
dren to raise, the oldest of whom
was only eighteen. Her struggles
thenceforth to raise her family has
won for her the admiration and
respect of everyone in the com
munity.
A faithful member of New Hope
Methodist Church, Mrs. Shaw
leaves many friends in the com
munity who mourn the passing of
a faithful, Christian woman.
Mrs. Shaw is survived by six
daughters; Mrs. J. R. Jenkins, Mrs.
W. D. Allen, Mrs. John Hoggard,
and Misses Virgie, Ruth and Susie
Shaw, all of Roanoke Rapids; three
(Continued on Page 8)
3 DROWNED NEARBY
AS 2 FIGHT VAINLY
Three colored boys met death by
drowning at the State Line, a few
miles from Roanoke Rapids, last
night. Two others suffered narrow
escapes. The dead are Thomas
Jones, 14, and Walter Jones, 29,
brothers, and Arrela Blount, 12.
The bodies were recovered from
Fountains Creek at two o’clock this
morning, five hours after they went
under for the last time.
Two others, older brothers of the
Blount boy, tried to save the three
who could not swim as their fish
ing boat overturned in the dark,
throwing the five occupants into
eight feet of water. Thrashing a
round in the dark, the Blount boys
had practically saved the younger
boys when Walter grabbed the res
cuers around the neck and in
breaking his hold, they lost the
two young boys.
The sheriff’s party searched for
several hourg before finding the
bodies, which were brought to
Wrenn’s Funeral Home in Roanoke
Rapids.
The boys lived on the State line,
across the road from each other.
The Jones family lived on the
North Carolina side, the Blounts
on the Virginia side.