- THE ROANOKE RAPIDS
SECTION "B"
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TilAL. R-326 ALL DEP’TS THURSDAY, FEB. 19,1942 SECTION B—PAGE 1
DEFENSE LEADERS
SAY FIRST TEST
WELL CARRIED OUT
5I-.____
Ciiy in Total
Darkness For
Half An Hour
Hid enemy bombers flown over
this section looking for Roanoke
RapHs at about 9:30 Sunday night
the chances are they would have
failed to find the city. That is
how complete the city’s first test
blaccout and air raid drill was
perfected by local Civilian Defense
lead;rs, city officials, and residents
of tie town.
Fcr almost half an hour the city
was in almost total darkness, and
only a few pin points of light here
and there would have served to
aid eiemy bombers had they flown
over the city while the blackout
was n progress, so effective was
the diill.
Vieved from atop the local high
school building shortly after the
air rad sirens had given their ear
splittirg howls, city officials and
Civilian Defense leaders watching
could lee the lights in the city
and thige in urban districts sud
denly gi out and within a few
minutes after the sirens had given
the warring scarcely a light was
visible bom any point in the city.
Civilhn Defense Commander
Frank Sherry said that he estimat
ed the blackout at about 98 per
cent complete. Lights were visible
in a. coipis or ouiiaings in tne dus
iness districts where lights had
been feft burning as a precaution
agains burglary, and two or three
residerts had left lights or fires
burninj in their homes while they
were avay, With these exceptions,
Sherry said, the blackout was car
ried out in fine style.
However, Mr. Sherry said, the
blackout served to convince the
Office of Civilian Defense that the
ordinary blackout curtains are not
definitely effective in refuge rooms.
He stated that a survey was made
of refuge rooms outfitted with
blackout cirtains and found that
light could md did come through
cracks in tie space between the
window parels and the blackout
curtains.
"We find .hat the use of ply
board in the refuge rooms will be
much more effective in blackout
of rooms wlere there must be
lights in use. Sunday night’s black
out revealed that the ordinary
blackout curb ins or drapes are
not entirely efl ctive in a complete
blacken- of the refuge room, al
though blackout curtains could be
used in the rest if the house pro
vided the refugt room, itself, is
completely black® out. By this
we mean that bkekout curtains
could be used ovei remaining win
dows of the houseto prevent light
escaping from the \iouse in the e
vent a door in the efuge room is
suddenly opened ant light allowed
I to escape into othel parts of the
building. i
“With this in mini we are pre
paring a mechanics- drawing of
the proper methods if completely
blacking out the refute room with
ply board. This plybiard method
will allow ventilation mid at the
same time will allow a window to
be raised in the refuge room with
out letting light escape to the out
side. We are expecting to have
this drawing ready for publication
in the Herald next week, and we
suggest that each resident of the
city prepare his refuge room ac
cordingly”.
Commander Sherry said that an
other blackout test would be held
in the city sometime in the near
future and that he hoped that a
refuge room would be prepared in
every home in the city by that
time.
CHURCH SUPPER
On Thursday night, the young
people’s division of Pleasant
Grove Church served a supper in
the Sunday School rooms of the
church. The proceeds which a
mounted to $20.00 will be used in
buying a defense bond for their
society.
MINISTERS
TO GET
AUTO TIRES
Ministers may obtain new tires
or retreads for use on their cars
necessary to the performance of
their religious duties, H. B.
Speight, chairman of the local tire
rationing board, stated yesterday.
The rule adding ministers to the
list of those who may purchase
new rubber is contained in revised
regulations covering both tire and
retreading rationing effective to
day. The new regulations were
received this week by the local
Board.
Under the revised regulation, the
local rationing board may in their
discretion and subject to existing
quotas, issue certificates for tire
replacements to ministers satisfy
ing the following condition: “A ve
hicle operated by a regularly prac
ticing minister of any religious
faith and which is used principally
in and is necessary to the per
formance of his religious duties”.
Mr. and Mrs. L. A. Denton of
Raleigh were business visitors here
during the week-end.
Lions Plan
Ladies Night
Program
Members of the Roanoke Rapids
Lions Club at their regular meet
ing on Thursday night discussed
their coming L..dies Night and
Charter Night celebration, schedul
ed to be held at the time of the
next meeting of the club on Thurs
day night, February 26.
Plans for the coming event call
for a banquet in the basement of
the First Baptist church, at which
a speaker of note will be had, fol
lowed by a dance in the Vepco
clubhouse. Wives and lady friends
of Lion members will be guests
for the occasion.
Plans for the forthcoming Mid
Summer Lions Carnival were also
discussed. It was announced that
a unit o. the Kaus Exposition
Shows has already been signed to
appear at the Carnival, and that
plans were underway to secure
other attractions for the annual
affair. It was stated that the Kaus
show is the largest and most color
ful ever signed for a Lions Car
nival and that the show boasts of
about 14 of the finest rides in the
show business.
A report on the recent Presi
dent’s Ball, sponsored jointly by
the Lions Club of the county, and
a further report that a light had
been placed on the street in front
of the high school building for
the benefit of the skating rink a
cross the street, completed the
business session.
Local Youth Is
Raised To Navy
Petty Officer
Zalph T. Cross, son of Ernest E.
Cross of 410 Madison Ave., Roa
noke Rapids, recently was advanc
ed to Aviation Machinist Mate,
Third Class, at the U. S. Naval Air
Station, Pensacola, Fla., according
to an announcement by that sta
tion’s Public Relations office.
Cross enlisted in the Navy at
Greenville in February, 1940, and
was sent to the U. S. Naval Train
ing Station at Norfolk, Va., for his
elementary training.
He was transferred to Pensacola
in June, 1940, and was assigned to
duty with the ground crews of
one of the flying squadrons sta
tioned at the “Annapolis of the
Air’’. His latest achievement gives
him rating as a Chief Petty Of
ficer, at a considerable increase in
pay.
The keynote of today is work. And where you find work, you
find a welcome for ice-cold Coca-Cola. In offices, factories and
workshops the pause that refreshes with ice-cold Coca-Cola is a
little minute that’s long enough for a big rest... contributing to
more work and better work.
BOTTLED UNDER AUTHORITY OP THE COCA-COLA COMPANY BY 1# •
WELDON COCA-COLA BOTTLING WORKS, INC TOP trilSt itS quality