Figures Show Local Territory
JINX TO
SEABOARD
4 Wrecks In 3 Years Near City
Wednesday night’s disastrous
wreck on the Seaboard Railway
near the city limits brings to a to
tal of four the number of wrecks
that have occurred within a ten
mile radius of the city within a
little over a three-year period.
Although last night’s wreck was
by far the most costly, both from a
monetary and loss-of-life stand
point, the others which have hap
pened near the city cost well into
the thousands of dollars and it
was considered miraculous that
they were not attended by loss of
life.
The Seaboard obviously hit their
streak of hard luck in the local
area when early in the morning on
Saturday, April 1st, 1939, a Nor
folk-bound freight train ran
through an open switch near Thel
ma. The switch throwing was ob
viously the work of freight train
hi-jackers, tho an extensive inves
tigation on the part of police and
railway detectives did not material
ize in any arrests.
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In the 1939 train wreck a large
twin-cylinder engine of the latest
type was overturned, 27 freight
cars smashed, several hundred
yards of track torn up and one of
the cars struck a nearby building,
demolishing it. Jake Matthews,
Roanoke Rapids automobile sales
man, was sleeping on the second
floor of the building, but was un
injured. Wrecking crews were able
to have traffic moving as usual
over the line within 24-hours or
so after the wreck, tho it re
quired five days to remove all of
the wreckage Damage was esti
mated at $40,000.00 in that wreck.
W. C. Hofler of Raleigh, engineer
of the ill-fated train, suffered a
fractured leg when the huge engine
overturned, and it was necessary
to cut off a part of the engine to
move it to the tracks.
WRECK IN CITY LIMITS
The next railroad disaster occur
red in the city limits of Roanoke
Rapids when a S*eaboard “shifter”
ran through a “cocked switch” on
the spur line near the old canal
here on Monday, March 24th, 1941.
Three freight cars were derailed
and piled up as a result of this ac
cident though no one was injured.
No delay to through traffic was
suffered in this mishap as it hap
pened on the spur track maintain
ed by the Seaboard to serve Roa
noke Rapids industrial plants lo
cated on the Roanoke River.
WRECK AT SUMMIT
The Seaboard then encountered
more hard luck in this area when
two freight trains collided just be
low Summit in broad-open day
light on the morning of Tuesday,
December 2nd, 1941. Fog hindered
the wrecking crew and it was
more than 24-hours later that traf
fic on the main line was moving
as usual.
Crews of the two trains miracu
lously escaped with their lives
when they jumped, and only the
fireman on the engine which was
derailed along with five freight
cars was hurt. One of the cars
caught fire and burned.
In the Summit train wreck both
freights were headed the same di
rnofirtM A '‘UlrvUknll'l 4? 4- _
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ed into the rear of a local freight
going onto the siding at Summit
to let the other pass. Fog and
probable miscalculation of the
speed of the train ahead is believed
to have caused the wreck. The local
freight was only about three
fourths on the spur line when the
engine coming up behind crashed
into the caboose. The conductor
and several other members of the
local freight's crew jumped when
they saw what was about to hap
pen, as did the engineer and fire
man of the other train.
The engine of the rear train
jumped the track, and plunged
down the embankment to halt
headed across Highway 158, where
it stopped upright after plowing
up a large part of the shoulder of
the new section of highway, though
comparatively little damage was
done to the concrete slab. The coal
tender turned on its side and the
freight car immediately behind it
overturned, caught fire and was
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ASK ABOUT PAYMENT PLANSI
• '1 DEALER ADVERTISEMENT F
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YOUR FORD DEALER IS —
White Motors, Inc.
Roanoke Av. at 9th Roanoke Rapids, N. C.
New Lines
Drawn For
Fishermen
An order from the Department
of Conservation and Development
changing the lines originally set
for fishing in the Weldon vicinity
on the Roanoke River, to a point
below the old river bridge below
Weldon, has been revoked by R.
Bruce Etheridge, Director of the
Department of Conservation and
and Development, Julian Allsbrook,
local attorney, stated yesterday.
The department several days a
go changed the line which had
been at the new river bridge at
Weldon to a point below the old
bridge. This change brought dis
satisfaction from fishermen along
the river and the matter was taken
up with Etheridge by Attorney Alls
brook.
Early last week an order came
through from Etheridge changing
the newly formed line to allow fish
ing some 300 yards above the new
bridge at Weldon, an extension of
the original line by some quarter
burned. A couple of other cars
were derailed, and about 25 yards
of track torn up.
Huge throngs of sightseers were
attracted for miles about the area
to view the wreckage in the Thel
ma and Summit smash-ups.
or a mue.
It was also learned that Ether
idge has instructed game and fish
wardens along the river to refrain
from enforcing the order given to
change the lines from their origi
nal status.
685 People Now
In Civil Defense
Group In City
The Roanoke Rapids Office of
Civilian Defense today released
some figures showing the number
of Volunteer Workers in the Cit
izen’s Defense Corps and the num
ber taking some sort of training.
Actually the Citizens’ Defense
Corps needs 775 men, women, and
youths. To date 685 persons have
been assigned to duties. Of this
379 are actually taking training
and another 147 have completed
all of their training.
These figures, however, do not
represent the total number of
folks taking Civilian Defense
training. There are many hun
dreds of other men and women
employed in the local industrial
plants who are taking similar
training to those in Civilian De
fense, but whose primary job dur
ing air raids will be protection
of the industrial plants themselves
rather than the general civilian
section of the town.
According to F. M. Sherry, Lo
cal Defense Corps Commander,
progress in training is outstanding
considering the tremendous job of
giving liisLruuiiuiis 10 so many
workers. Sherry highly praised
Shearod Crumpler and his co
instructors in their training work.
Some of the outstanding training
jobs to date are the Auxiliary Po
lice, a large part of whom have
completed all of their training;
the Utilities Repair crew, who
have also completed their basic
training; the Emergency Food and
Housing Corps who have complet
ed a 20-hour Nutrition Course and
a 10-hour Canteen Cooking Course
and who will shortly begin their
final 7-hours of instruction. Large
classes are being rapidly pushed
through their final course of in
struction at Roanoke Mills No. 2
and Rosemary Mfg. Company,
while the Control Center Operat
ors, in addition to their regular
weekly 4-hour vigilance at the
Control Center, are brushing up on
their Gas Mask and General Sub
jects courses.
For all Civilian Defense workers
wno mignt De unaoie to complete
their Fire Defense Course-A, cov
ering the control of incendiaries,
and Gas Defense Course-A, use
and care of the gas mask, the
special large classes to be held
at the High School Auditorium on
Friday and Sunday of this week
and Friday and Sunday of next
week, are recommended.
Lieutenant Allan T. Dotson, Jr.
of Company D of the 30th Engi
neering Battalion, has been assist
ing the local Defense group, par
ticularly in giving courses of in
struction on care and use of the
gas mask and his lectures are ex
tremely interesting.
Fannye’s
IS READY!
Fannye has just
returned from a two
week's New York
buying trip ...
“More than any other
group, the women of a
nation carry the delicate
flower of morale in their
hands. From them, as ever,
must come the fragrance of
a life worth fighting for.
With them must be found
surcease from strain. On
them is the burden of relief
from the tragic, the grim
and the drab ...”
*
209 Roanoke Ave.
Opposite Peoples■ Theatre
Roanoke Rapids, N. C.