* * * THE ROANOKE RAPIDS
* * *
What Roanoke Rapids Makes WT f™ , .. .
r Herald Classified Advertising
—Makes Roanoke Rapids „ ,
r Gets Ouiek Results
^4 4^ 4
★ ★ a
-VOLUME XXXII -ROANOKE RAPIDS, N. C., THURSDAY. JULY 24th. 1347 NUMBER 38
| Roanoke]
i Ramblingsf
♦AVID HARUM STORY
JJ S' Farmer: “Be this the Wo
C man’s Exchange?"
Woman: “Yes.”
Farmer: “Be you the wo
man?”
Woman: “Yea.”
“Well, then I think I’ll keep
Maggie."
BE BETTER BOYS
There is a judge around here
who is prone to pass up a murder
. $xse before he’d miss a chance to
** sentence a thief—he hates stealing
just that much.
The tale is told that he was
once in the position of presiding
over the trial of four young boys
charged with stealing over a
thousand dollars worth of ciga
, rettes. It was their first arrest
their first black mark.
The trial over and their guilt de
ided, the judge calmly looked
|.iem over — there they stood be
* fore the bar of justice, the eldest
of them not 21 uwaiting sentence.
"Boys,” began the judge in a
kindly tone of voice, "I’m sorry to
see you all in thiB court. You’re
Buch fine looking boys. You should
be just now starting out in life.
But — you've been arrested—
you’ve had a fair trial and you’ve
been found guilty; and your fate
! jH in my hands.”
Here he sighed.
"I'm going to have to put you
boys away for a little while, but I
want you all to accept this in the
spirit in which it is given. I want
you to regard it as a deserved
punishment and to take it as a
lesson. When you come back I
want you all to be better citizens
' and better boys than you were
[ when you committed this crime,
j > "Mr. Clerk — I want it put down
A| there that these boys will be con
■ fined to the state prison at Ral
ly cigh, North Carolina, at hard labor
■ for a period not less than twenty
I nine and not more than thirty
I years.”
■ A ..... cm i .-4 tho «tnrt ht> iust
I didn't believe in stealing—period.
^ Said one colored boy just
| hack from the war to another:
P “Boy! Dent English lias a gun
dat’U shoot 25 miles!”
"Shoot, big boy," replied the
other, 'Dein Germans has one
all dey needs is yo' address!
c Archibald Rutledge.)
UE DELUGE
We trust our efficient sports
writer, Wiley Warren, will par
don our intrusion into his field
just this once but we thought you :
* might get a lift out of this story.
Last week when the Jays went
on their rampage against the New
liern lads and base hits were fly
ing around like you-know-what- .
was-flying-around-last-montli sev
eral fans sitting in the stands
next to the Rambler were discuss
ing two ball games in which a
touring team called the Florida
All-Stars took part.
In the first game, the boys from
fl the Peninsula State trounced Sea
board in a wild-swinging affray
very'badly — the exact score the ■
Rambler didn't catch, but this fan
said the All-Stars hit 28 home
runs. It was so bad that, even
though starting the tilt at two
o'clock, they had to call it on ad*
i count of darkness.
The other game was played
against a Weldon nine and after
eight straight home runs in one
ft inning (each of which wen
through a different pane of glass
in a business establishment just
across from the diamond) the
Weldon team decided to quit. tA
decision which was helped along
by the appearance on the scene
of the irate owner of the window
glass, .accompanied by various and
sundry representatives of the town
constabulary.)
m _ .. __ >n»un the door.
Lady, I have your husband
here. He was run over by a
steam roller.”
Lady: “I'm not dressed to
anybody; push him under
the door and call a doctor.
THE BEACH!
The Rambler continues his visits
to the beaches of the nation. But
he « almost cured of hta desire
*< to v-sTt same last week And this
is how it all transpired:
After stretching out on the bleak
wrind swept sands at Virginia
S,ach last Sunday (first covering
!Twith u nice warm blanket as
only a true tourist wlU do) J*
was roused suddenly by the peep
• cr out of the sun which had final
ly * arrived ^rfom North Carolina
Rubbing his eyes, he lookeo
-
Erurrhieh^
°°lv Were - and fearsome to be
h°llT-keT^ up^nd
SsriwrM
Should he run or should he attack
bhoum » ! armament
itgsSs.rrJs
He wuf saved from making a
H ^ by the sudden ap
hasty decision by Ume
Pea«n''"' fhat they were only
he cea ^1n« like himself—coy
human beings u» . ^
-red with blankets to keep on we
wind—who had ^11eJ‘on“a“P|„ter
r.V"oneTnd the" another
spot became uncomfortable.
mM AND THEBE
DEPARTMENT t‘aitei" lot
That ..nl^entwho^ £
up" rSoa^ke, Virginia, thU
tcmVtMti m rm Al
Local National Guard Unit
Officially Recognized At
Friday Night Inspection
Company E. 119th Regiment. 30th Infantry Division
North Carolina National Guard, was officially recognize)
hy 'he federal government last Friday night when Majoi
Pierce, of Raleigh. Third Army representative, inspertet
the local unit, it was announced this week hy Captain Ra
leiph Seay.
District
Governor
To Visit
Leonard V. Huggins
On July 28 the local Rotary
Jlub will be host to Leonard V
Vic> Huggins, governor of the
89th District of Rotary Interna
ionalv a district which includes
16 clubs on Northeastern North
Carolina.
Huggins will visit the local cluk
o advise and assist Presideni
ien Lancaster, Secretary Kichan
d. Taylor and other officers or
natters pertaining to club ad
ninistration and Rotary service
ictivities. Huggins, a Chapel Mil
esident and hardware merchant
s one of the 173 district gov
irnors of Rotary Internationa
vho are supervising the activitie:
>f some 6,200 Rotary clubs mad<
ip of 305,000 business and pro
essional executives in 78 coun
ries throughout the world.
Rotarians aver that "wherevei
lotary clubs are located, theii
ictivities are similar to those ol
he local club because all are
>ased on the same general ob
ectives — developing better un
lerstanding and fellowship among
msiness and professional men
iromoting community-bettermenl
inderiakings, raising the standard.'
>; businesses and professions, anc
ostering the advancement of gooi
vill, understanding and peaci
imong all the peoples of th<
vorld.”
Funeral Services
For John I. Wychc
Held In Weldon
Was Prominent In Busi
ness And Chureli
Work
Funeral services for John Irt
Vyche, Sr., 68, of Weldon, whc
iied Sunday morning, were heU
Monday afternoon at 4 o’cloci
rom the Weldon Methodist Churci
vith the Rev. D. L. Fouts ii
charge. Interment was in Cedar
.vood cemetery.
John Ira Wyche was born ii
lireensbolle County, Va., July 21
1879, son of the late Benjamit
Walker and Mattie Elizabetl
jreen Wyche. He attended th<
>ublic schools in Emporia, Va.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
•tandolph-Macon Academy ant
/ras graduated from Smithdea
Business College in Richmond.
He came to Weldon 45 year
igo and for a number of year
was associated with the firm o
Wyche, Bounds and Companj
which was later operated by hin
individually.
He later became interested ii
Lhe Merchants Distributing Com
pany of which he was serving a
president and general manager a
He had been a member of th
board of stewards of the Weldo
Methodist Church and of the Men1
Baraca Class, in which he serve
as treasurer.
Surviving are bis wife, the foi
mer Alice May Vincent; thre
daughters, Elizabeth, of the horn.
Mrs. Sam B. Underwood, Jr., c
Greenville, and Mrs. A. L. Coer
rane, Jr.* of Jackson; three son
John I. Wyche, Jr., of Weldor
Ben W. Wyche and J. Vincei
Wyche, of the home; four sister
Mrs. Clayton Land, Mrs. Peti
Prince and Mrs. Meadie Taylc
all of Emporia, and Mrs. Willia
Hayes of Portsmouth; one broth*
Benjamin W. Wyche, of Emporl
and five grandchildren. .
Plans have been completed f
the Georgia - Carolina Ham
■hire type conference to be he
in Orangeburg on September 8
The first annual fat stock ah<
and aale am to be held In Star
County was recently staged
Albemarle,
•
"You have one of the finest ar
mories I have seen," commented
Pierce in giving the local outfit
n passing rating on its federal
inspection.
"Three officers and 44 men
comprise the company at the pres
ent tune with recruits being ac
cepted upon application and pass
ing of the physical examination,"
Seay stated.
Seay’s subordinate officers are
Carl Keeter, first lieutenant, and
Willie Jones, second lieutenant.
James Taylor, first sergeant, is
the ch'ief non-commissioned offi
cer.
"We are holding two-hour drills
each Tuesday night and the first
six months will be devoted ex
clusively to the laying of a foun
dation in military organization
and training for recruits.
"Vv'e have a good nucleus with
which to build up a company
in Roanoke Rapids. All of the of
ficers and approximately 75 per
cent of the men saw combat ac
tion during the past war.
"At present all our men ar„*
privates with the exception of
Taylor, but ratings will become
effective immediately, the lowest
paid men receiving $2.50 a drill
und the pay scale going up to
$5.50,” Seay added.
Taylor, who is top sergeant of
the outfit, enlisted in the local
National Guard prior to the late
war and served throughout the
entire conflict as its first ser
geant.
A complete rosier of the men
in the company is as follows:
Thurman E. Askew, Robert C.
Brown, John R Burnette, John
M. Conner. Howard G. Cooke,
Herman AI. Cooke. John Al. Coop
er, Wilbur Davis
Eugene G. Dickens. Fred H.
Edwards, Leon Edwards, John E.
Gibson, Harry L. Harp. Jr.. Clee
•VI. Hux. Robert L. Lane.
Dan E. Harrington. Jr., Josepn
R. Harrington, Jr.. Maynard R.
Lyles, Henry H. Lyles, John B.
Moore, John H. Overton. William
H Hooker, James W. Sanders.
William E. Shepard. Leon A.
Taylor, James R. Taylor, Lin wood
C. Warrick, William F. Welch.
Robert H. Williams, Randolph
Vaughan, Buck C. Wright, Audley
r-i Collins, Garland I. McGhee.
J. T. Holland Speaker
At Rosemary Baptist
J. T. Holland, assistant asso
eiatioal missionary of the Roa
noke Association, spent the past
v eek at. the Rosemary Baptisi
Church assisting the pastor, Rev.
K. Marshall White-Hurst, in fol
lowing up the Vacation Bible
School and helping in general
i pastoral work. Last Sunday eve
ning Air. Holland preached the
evening sermon.
He is a graduate of Mars Hill
College and will attend wake For
est College in the fall. His work
this summer has been under the
guidance of Rev. C. W. Sage
more, missionary of the associa
tion.
City Commissioners
Meet This Afternoon
The hoard of commissioners
of the city is meeting this
afternoon (Thursday) In a
special session called for the
purpose of discussing the
street paving project and to
work on the budget for the
new fiscal year.
sen join
Army Here
This Month
; Five From Roanoke
Rapids Among
1 Enlistees
During the first 15 days ui
’ July, 10 young men from Halifax,
Northampton and Warren Coun
ties were enlisted in the regular
army through the Army Recruit
1 ting Substation, located in Roa
’ r.oke Rapids, according to
statement issued by Master Ser
grant Robert M. DeYoung, sub
station commander.
' Those enlisting were: Donalc
’ M. Higgins, Marion C. Brown
{ Edward W. Taylor, James G
~v Britton and Joseph H. Hux, at
*’ oi Roanoke Rapids; Vincent C
' Outland, Jack H. Thompson am
James C. Bryan of Rieh Square
*’ James L. Herbert and Thomas S
pr Pettitt of Enfield.
r> The sergeant stated that it i
p now possible for High Schoc
r’ graduates to be assure^ of ad
mission to many of the Arm
Air Force Technical Schools bt
>r fore enlistment. Further inform*
3- tion may be obtained from th
id U. S. Army Recruiting Substi
9. tion, State Guard Armory, Ro*
hoke Rapids.
•w The ration during the dry p
ly rlod of & cow should be slight
in laxative and cooling to the J
gwtlve system.
County Democratic
Committee Meets To
Appoint Board Member
There will be a meeting of the
| Democratic Executive Committee
of Halifax County tomorrow, Frf
day, July 25, at 11 a. m., in the
i Court House at Halifax for the
purpose of filling the vacancy
tn the Board of Education caused
by the resignation of Ralph C.
Rives of Enfield.
The meeting was called by J.
Waldo Whitaker, chairman.
After Twenty Years . . .
Miss Elizabeth
Tait Resigns As
Teacher In City
After over 20 years’ service in
the Roanoke Rapids School sys
tem, Miss Elizabeth Tait sent in
her resignation last week to I. E.
Ready, superintendent of the lo
cal schools.
Miss Tait was serving, at the
time of her resignation, as prin
cipal and teacher of the fourth
grade at Clara Hearne School.
An active member of the Rose
mary Baptist Church. Miss Tait
was for the past several years
superintendent of the junior de
partment of the Sunday School
of that church.
Reason for the resignation was
given by Miss Tait in her letter
ay the declining health of her
mother. Her plans are at present
to stay with her mother in Mo
bile, Ala.
Since coming to Roanoke Rap
ids, Miss Tait had endeared her
self to a host of friends, many
cf w'hom have expressed the
thought “that the community suf
fers' a great loss at her leaving.”
Richard Merchant
Buried In Weldon
Funeral services were held on
Wednesday afternoon from Grace
Episcopal Church. Weldon, for
Richard H. Merchant, 66. of Bal
timore. Md., former resident of
Weldon and Halifax, and father of
Postmaster Paul Merchant of
Weldon. Rev. Lawson Cox was in
charge of the services.
Masonic burial rites were . held
at the graveside in Cedar wood
cemetery.
Mr. Merchant, a retired em
ployee of the B. and O. Railway
Company, died in Baltimore City
Hospital Monday after a short
illness. He was a member and
past master of the Royal White
Hart Lodge, No. 2. AF and AM.
of rialifax.
Surviving are his wife, Mrs.
Susan T. Merchant, and six chil
dren, by his first wife, the late
Eva Maddox Merchant; two daugh
ters, Mrs. Elsie W. Rose and Mrs.
Elizabeth M. Hall of Rocky
Mount; four sons, R. E. Merchant,
George M. Merchant and Benja
min D. Merchant of Chester, Pa.;
Paul Merchant of Weldon; one
sister, Mrs. Richard Morris, of
Baltimore, eight grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren.
Halifax In First ..
100 In Nation In
Peanut Product'n
Pitt County Leads U. S.
In Tobacco Acreage
Halifax County was among the
first 100 counties in the nation
in peanut acreage during 1945, ac
cording to figures released in
Washington this week by the De
partment of Commerce.
Ten other counties ranked in
the same class. They were: North
ampton, Bertie, Edgecombe, Mar
tin, Hertford, Pitt, Chowan. Gates,
Perquiman and Bladen.
Pitt Counuty led the nation in
tobacco acreage in 1944, the fig
ures, as received by Senator Hoey
Tuesday, showed. The 1944 figure
is the latest available on the to
bacco acreage program and shows
that Johnson County was second
and Robeson County was third.
Wake, Wilson, Nash and Colum
bus Counties were among the top
ten in the nation also.
' Aurelian Springs
Harris Family
Enjoys Reunion
On Sunday, July 20, Mr. and
L Mrs. T. B. Harris of Aurelian
Springs enjoyed a family reunion
nt which a barbecue and bruns
wick stew dinner was enjoyed by
all. Their 11 children were all
together for the first time since
| May of 1942.
[ Those present were Mr. and
Mrs. Ben Harris of Whitakers,
Mr. and Mrs. Casper Holloway,
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hairis and
j family, Mr.‘ and Mrs. Linwood
1 Harris, all of Emporia; Mr. and
. Mrs. W. C. Carver and family,
f Mr. and Mrs. Peter Jordan of
. Roanoke Rapids.
r I Johnny, Ruth, Tom and Cleve
e land of the home, and Mae Har
. ris of Emporia; Sgt. Lewis Hobbs
and Miss Ethel Daniel, friends
of the family, from Emporia, and
Orady Thompson, a relative, from
>■ Essex, also enjoyed the reunion,
y Photos, both group and single
l- snapshots, were taken during the
late afternoon,
White Schools In County
To Open September 4th
Board Ui Education
Appoints Two To
Committees
White schools in Halifax Coun
ty will open September 4th and
colored schools will open Septem
ber 1st, according to an ail
ment from the office of W. Hen
ry Overman, county superinten
uent, released yesterday.
Opening dates were decided in
a special meeting of the Halifax
County Board of Education held
on July 15 in addition to several
other items of business, including
the appointment of Mrs. Louise
Butts, of Halifax, to the District
No. 1 School Committee, and
Way land M. Bunch, of Hobgood,
to the District No. 4 Committee.
Repairs and additions to the
Scotland Neck graded school
building (work which will begin
this week, according to the an
nouncement) was also authorized
by the board as was membership
in the State School Board Asso
ciation.
Merer changes
Listed By
Water Dept.
Meter changes tor the past week
were listed by the Sanitary Com
mission office as follows:
Meters Removed
S. S. Smith, 711 Madison street;
Dr, R. A. Adams, 911 Madison
street; Croatan Cafe, 247 Roanoke
A.venue, and F. W. Royal, 723A
Jefferson street.
Meters Transferred
G. E. Brown, Third and Wil
liam. moved to 438 Charlotte;
Frank Rhone, from 900 Vance to
X)8 Henry Street; Dr. J. H. Cutch
ln, 1003 Jackson Street, to 911
Madison Street.
Meters Installed
Carl’s Cafe, 247 Roanoke Ave
\Je; Tommie Eoone, 204 Hamil
ton: Fitts-Crumpler Company, 258
Roanoke Avenue; J. O. Matthews.
1027 Washington Street, and H. S.
Parker, 200 W
Mills Close For
Annual Vacation
i>3irmti«r Sunday. July nth
the local textile mills will be
closed for their annual sum
mer vacation.
In making the announce
ment, mill officials said that
all employees who have been
regularly employed by the
company for twelve months
prior to July 27, 1947, will be
eligible for vacation pay to be
computed at 2 per cent of
straight time earnings from
July I, 194« to June 3<Wli of this
year.
Armed Forces To Issue
Medals To Veterans
Washington, D. C. General
distribution of the American de
fense service medal and the World
War II victory medal to eligible
veterans will start August 1. 1947,
the Army, Navy, Marine Corps
and Coast Guard have jointly ‘in
formed the American Legion.
More than 18,000,000 medals arc
expected to be distributed.
Each service is preparing to is
sue instructions individually thru
local information media as to
when, where and how applications
for the medals are to be made.
Veterans must apply only to that
branch of the armed forces in
v/hich they served.
Cement Blocks
Made Stronger
By Spot-Check
Raleigh Reports from labora
tories indicate improvement in the
quality of cement and cinder
blocks manufactured in North
Carolina since minimum standards
authorized by a new law went
into effect July 1, it was an
nounced by Supt. C. D. Baucom
of the State Department of Agri
culture. weights and measures di
vision. #
Baucom siad some reports show
masonry blocks now being made
with a load-bearing strength of
1400 to 1500 pounds per square
inch of gross bearing area, which
is double the state’s minimum re
quirement of 700 pounds per
square inch.
Where manufacturers do not
have adequate testing equipment,
Baucom explained, they may have
their blocks tested by the Pitts
burgh Testing Laboratory at
Greensboro or by Froehllng and
Robertson, Inc., at Charlotte. Reg
ular tests are required and au
thentic reports on the testa must
be sent to the weights and meas
ure* division. Many manufacturer*
have inquired where the teat*
might be made.
In addition, the division plan*
spot check* of blocks in manu
facturing plant* and blocks that
already have bean dalivarad to
construction Jobs.
‘ . to protict
Jones Released After
Court Rules Girl’s
Death Accidents
Harding Jones, of (aaston,
was lifjd blameless in the ac
cidental death of 10-year old
Belly Louise Cobh on July lltli
iu a hearing held Monday of
Ibis week in Mayor's Court.
After Jones had been identi
fied as the driver of the ear
which struck the girl, Coroner
Rufus Britton and Patrolman
;C. C. Deese, of the Roanoke
Rapids police department, tes
tified that the accident was
purely unavoidable.
Jones had been held under
$1000 bond on the technical
charge of manslaughter since
the tragedy.
n_■_ m i
Charges Against
Buggs Islanc
Says Long’s Testimony
Refuted By Army
Engineers
Scotland Nock Declaring tha
“the advocates of flood control
hydro-electric development, con
trolled stream flow and othe
benefits to be brought about b;
the damming of the Roanoke riv
er at Buggs Island. Va., are jus
as much interested in the welfari
of the nation as \Y. Lunsfort
Long of VYarrenton. N. C.t ant
jo not desire any more than .\1:
Long does to inundate tungster
mines which may be valuable L(
I lie United States government.'
Eric \V. Rodgers of Scotland Neck
secretary of the Roanoke Rival
Flood Control Committee and thv
Roanoke River Basin Association
.‘sued a statement here today tr
reply to one issued by Mr. Lon*
in Washington this past week.
In Long’s statement he said h«
was “deeply and sincerely inter
ested” in flood control on tin
Roanoke river hut declared tha
he was opposed to hydro-elcctrji
production at Buggs Island, “no
economically justified.’’ Long fur
:her said that "my personal in
terests mean nothing" and hi.
fight against the project was be
ing made "more on the basis J
the welfare of the nation thai
with regard to my personal for
tune." Long said his oppositioi
tc the hydro-electric phase of thi
I roject was that it would requiri
a deeper, lake and that there wa.
"danger of inundating land eov
sring potentially rich deposits o
tungsten ore." He added that th«
value of this tungsten ore con
:eivably might be “more thai
jil00,000,000 ... it is possible tha
are values exist far in excess o
the cost of the proposed Bugg
Island project” and "if the gov
eminent continues to make thes
appropriations a n d cventuall;
builds the dam it will find itsel
in a position for economic am
strategic reasons of having le
the water out of the reservoi
and charge off as a loss the whol
cost of the project.”
Rodgers who appeared before th
tee at Washington two %'eeks agi
at the same time as did Lon;
asserted that Long had made es
sentially the same declaration
before the committee and at thi
time his allegations had been dis
puted by the army engineers am
Congressman John H. Kerr whi
was leading the fight for th'
Buggs Island project.
In his statement issued toda;
Rodgers said that when Long ap
peared on July 11 before the Sen
ate Subcommittee "he was toll
then by army engineers that ap
parently he was assuming the lak
behind Buggs Island would alway
be at the top level, but thi
would not be the case, since th
water, except during times c
flood, would be constantly mair
ttined at Jme lower power leve
and that the army engineers o
pressed the opinion, based on e)
haustlve study, that there woul
be no damage to Mr. Long’s tunj
sten mines by reason of the cor
st ruction."
Rodgers went on to say th
at the hearing, the presiding ser
a tor of the subcommittee que;
tioned the army engineers an
obtained from them the stat<
merit that construction could g
forward for a year or long)
without raising the water leve
to such an extent as Long fear
Rodgers also said that “the pr
siding officer of the Senate con
I mittee also had assured Mr. Lx>r
that the United States Senate hi
no desire to do any damaeg to
natural resource needed by tl
government and before constru
tlon had progressed to the poi
where Mr. Long feared dama
would be done the Senate wou
have the proper federal expei
make an Investigation of \
Long’s property to determi
whether or not there would
the damage which Mr. Lo
feari."
ftodgtrs jxpfMMd bijlef tl
Unionized
By a vote of 42 for ami two
against workers at the Grant
Brick Works on the Weldon
Roanoke Rapids Highway,
Tuesday accepted the United
! Stone and Allied Products
Workers Union, of the (’. I.
().. as their representative.
The election, held under the
supervision of Harold W. Deas,
of Winston-Salem, representa
tive of the NIJtB, resulted in
union organization at the plant
tor the first time.
Complete tabulation of the
voting was as follows:
Uor the Fnion r*
Against 2
Not voting; 2
C. A. Wyche
Funeral Held
Here Monday
Prominent Business Man
Dies Saturday
Evening
( larence A. Wyche, 69. died in
Roanoke Rapids Hospital Satur
day evening about 6:30 after a
short illness.
Cm Monday afternoon, at four
•' c ock scores of people fron a!l
1 walks of life crowded inco-th*.
■ First Presbyterian Church o' Ron*
noke Rapids where funeral .sci -
cices, fMjidt.ccted by the R.»v. j.
1 W. Walker, were lieid. Intermeni
was in Roanoke Rapids Cemetct,
Clarence Adolphus Wyoh'*
i Clarence A. Wyche was born
March 14, 1878. in Granville Coun
ty. the son of the late Perry Way
ne Wyche and Rebecca Southall
1 Wyche.
He spent his early childhood in
Granville County and came to
Roanoke Rapids as a railroad tele
’ grapher when a young man.
At one time he was secretary
and treasurer of the Rosemary
, Manufacturing Company, stepping
I from that position into the pres
; | idency of the First National Bank
■ of Roanoke Rapids.
1 j At the time of his death he was
general manager of the Halifax
Farmer's Supply Company, a post!
I which led to many contacts with
people who lived outside of the
city.
* Survivors include: his wife.
Lem me Jordan Wyche. one daugh
1 ter. Mrs. David C. Clark, of Roa
- Wyche, of Petersburg. Va., and five
> noke Rapids, one son. Francis
; grandchildren.
Flag Lowered
; Out of respect to Mr. Wyche,
the flag on the post office build
■ ing was lowered to half-mast. It
! was the second time it has been
i lowered in mourning for a local
• person the first time was for
the late Dr. T. W. M. Long.
■ another of the city’s pioneers.
i Three Halifax Drivers
Lose Right to Drive
i Only three drivers from Halifax
> County were listed in the revoca*
i tion notice of the North Carolina
f Highway Safety Division for the
- period from June 27 through Jul>
I. 11, received this week.
One driver from Gaston. Georgii
- Louise Neal, fell victim to licenst
d revocation and in North Caro
- lina a total of 474 drivers losi
- the right to drive for varyinj
periods.
i Halifax County revocations were
George Mason and Johnny Scot
ot Roanoke Rapids, and Johi
j Whitehead of Palmyra.
0 »
r POLICE INVESTIGATE
s SHOOTING
3 Police were summoned to Sout!
• Rosemary Sunday night when i
i- was reported that two young bo>
a were firing a .22 calibre rifle int
d a house.
» In their haste, the boys left th
ie rifle on the porch of a home o<
> cupied by E. H. Shell. Police cor
fiscated the weapon,
re
Iri ".""" '
ts these two assurances, the fir
r. from the army engineers and tl
>s second from tha presiding offlc
»s “should appear to be sufficient
'g satisfy Long that no one I* d
eirous of damaging his proper
at' by Inundating the tungaten mini
McFee Tells Merchants
1 To Watch Expenses And
Service To Customers
**More small businesses have failed in the last six
months Ilian failed in the entire six years immediately
preceding,’ Charles B. McFee, Jr., managing director of the
\ irginiu Retail Merchants Association, told members of the
local merchants’ group in a talk at the annual outdoor
meeting at th» Roanoke Rapids Country Club Wednesday
afternoon.
“Venturing out on a limb,” McFee continued, “I’ll
say that there will be more small business failures in the
next two years than there have l»een in the past 10.
people* who were not merchants
in the first place, WQnt into busi
ness during the war. Not being
merchants, they are finding it
impossible to hold their own dur
ing this period of conversion to
a peace-time economy.
‘‘We, as merchants, must watch
our expenses, train our sales peo
ple and hold the price line. Pen
nies today mean more than they
have at any time during the past
five years and they will soon
mean even more," the former
Asheville resident declared.
Paying high tribute to the lo
cal association, its directors and
its secretary, McFee urged the
local merchants to always remem
ber to thank Providence for the
"competitor across the street" for
if it were not for him "our stores
would not be the modern, clean
places they are today, but the
-same old stores with dirt in the
corners.”
At the outing (featured by a
barbecue dinner), attended by
members of the Roanoke Rapids
Merchants Association and their
guests, Thompson Greenwood, as
sistant secretary of the Nortn
tarolina Merchants Association,
representing Willard L. Dowell,
executive vice-president and sec
retary of the state group, ex
tended the greetings of state of
ficers to the local organization.
"Mr. Dowell is too modest to
tell what he has done," Green
wood said in'part, "but although
-lMve only bee^ jvith the state as
iation sir.ee June 1, f’ra nr.
stricken with modesty about Mv •
Dowell's record. He has given 2..
years of his life for the merchants
of this state and it was he who
led the fight against the sales
tax and is continuing to do so.'
Both Greenwood and Mcfe
who were introduced by George
Wilkes* vice-president of the lo
cal group, paid high tribute to
the Roanoke Rapids Merchants
Association and its officers.
0%
Building
Box Score
Total this week _$47,800.
Total this year _$483,350
A total of $47,800 worth of build
ing permits was issued this week
by City Building Inspector Henry
Fitts and the grand total for the
year thus far soared as a result to
almost a half million dollars.
INDUSTRIAL
Industrial building permits is
sued to the Thompson Coal Com
pany accounted for $35,000 worth
of the new total.
Permits were issued to the com
pany to build a one story brick
office building at 1315 Roanoke
Avenue, at an estimated cost of
$4,000, a one story brick filling
station, $6,000, and a one story
brick building to be used as a
ready mix cement plant at an es
timated cost of $25,000.
COMMERCIAL
In the commercial field, C. W.
Smith was issued a permit to build
a one story block building on!
Bolling Road to be used as a
beauty shop, at a cost of $1,800.
RESIDENTIAL
J. O. Matthews, a two story
brick residence, 10 rooms and two
baths, on Washington Street be
tween 10th and 11th streets at an
estimated cost of $7,000.
E. C. Cain, one story block resi
dence, four rooms and bath at 315
Washington Street, $4,000.
Almeta Pleasants
Home From Duty
At Alaskan Post
Miss Almeta Pleasants, who has
^ been affiliated with the Red Cross
in Alaska, is spending her vaca
tion here with her parents, Mr.
5 and Mrs. W. H. Pleasants.
Miss Pleasants has done recre
9 ation and craft work with pa
tients in the 183rd General Hos
pital, Fort Richardson, Alaska^ foi
the past 17 months. She la a grad
- uate of the local High Schoo
and of the Woman’s College ol
11 the' University of North Carolina
9 Greensboro.
ir ..
0 ..
i* There were approximately 940,
9 718,000 layers on hand on Unite*
1 Btatw firms during May.