IR o a n o
Ramblings
i *
on
^ One day last week the Herald s
shop foreman tried to get the long
distance operator on the phone.
After dialing the operator’s num
ber he heard “SHUT UP!’ ap
parently directed at him, followed
by the buzzing of the "BUSY" sig
nal. He did.
Which goes to show that more
people than just one are letting
the heat get them.
>
' UNFURNISHED?
Seen in one of the dailies m
Sunday want-ad: “Wanted to rent
by elderly couple with one son in
junior high school, 2 or 3 bedroom
house. 14 years with one landlord,
landlord died and heirs have sold
unfurnished. Couple with 2 chil
dren."
COINCIDENCE
Q One day last week while decid
ing to phone long distance to find
out about a certain story, a re
porter here thought about some
friends of his named Gravis who
lived in a city from which he
could get needed information.
After thinking it over, he de
cided instead to call the chief of
police in Duluth, Georgia. You
guessed it the chief's name is
Gravis.
m. __
MOKE ABOUT NEWS
During the height of the "big
rush” in the county about the
“beating" story, Jesse Helms, ra
dio man, sent a story in to two
press services that the patrolmen
had confessed and the confessions
were on their way to Raleigh. One ,
of them used his story and
"scooped” the other by one hour
and 3i minutes.
• and almost in type Wednesday
and almost in tyype Wednesday
night about the striking of the
other prisoner tWilliams). One of
these same national press services
(and, incidentally, the same one
that had itself been beaten on the
other story) picked up this story
and announced Wednesday night
the news that this matter was be
ing fully investigated.
Incidentally, among people on
• thb inside of the case, it is gen
erally conceded that a pretty good
fiction story could be written
about the way certain newsmen
handled the thing. We say fiction,
because it probably wouldn’t be
believed if printed for the truth.
Several innocent people are up
set, to minimize, about the way
their actions have been put before
the public.
• HIT-RUN DRIYTCR
One of the city’s policemen, C.
C. Deese. was called to Charlotte
during the week due to the seri
ous injuries sustained by hi3 fa
ther in that c.*v "'hen **true>. by
a hit-run driver - ' e s dik
ing along a highway.
The elder Deese suffered two
broken legs and other injuries
when struck by the automobne.
• I.OKING THROUGH
Looking through a newspaper
on the exchange desk this week,
we ran across the following item
from a "50 Years Ago” column:
"Kennedy had a quiet week this
week with last week’s big hang
ing almost forgotten. Only one
shooting was reported.”
KIDS ENJOY VACATION;
WHAT’S LEFT ANYWAY
0 All around town, the Rambler
saw the soon-to-be students enjoy
ing their last few days of vaca
tion. One especially exciting ball
game was going on in the down
town section of Roanoke Avenue
Wednesday afternoon as about
seven kids sweated and swatted
r. large softball around.
SEEN AROUND
A large new building will soon
4 be completed in the two hundred
block of the Avenue. It will be
a welcome addition to a vacant
lot. On toward the uptown sec
tion another new brick home is
going up unbelievably fast. It
seems only yesterday the Rambler
saw workmen digging out the
basement. Now, there are sides up
already. Driving out through the
Chaloner Park subdivision Sunday
morning, we saw about five new
& good-looking houses going up. The
town’s growing.
SUPS:
Due to a misunderstanding,
an incorrect account of the
city schools’ reopening was
printed on page four, Section
“C” of this issue of the
Herald. A correct account is to
be found on page one, Section
"A”. The Herald regrets this
f mishap.
*** THE ROANOKE RAPIDS
★ ★ ★
What Roanoke Rapids Makes „ ,, ... . . ,
Herald Classified Advertising
—Makes Roanoke Rapids „ „ . , „ ,
r Gets Quick Results
* * * * * *
VOLUME XXXII ROANOKE RAPIDS, N. C., THURSDAY. AUGUST 28th, 1947 = NUMBER 43
Warrants Served On Patrolmen Here
Roanoke Rapids schools arc ah
set for the fall opening next Tues
day morning, September 2, ac
cording to an announcement made
this week by Superintendent I. E.
Ready.
Pre-school registration of new
students will be held at 9 a.m. on
Monday, September 1. All fir3t
grade students will register at
their respective buildings. New
students entering grades two and
through six will register at Miss
Hearne's office in the sixth grade
building and new high school stu
dents will register in the high
school auditorium.
At 11 a. m., a general teachers'
meeting will be held in the High
school library.
At 2 p. m., white elementary
teachers will meet in the Sixth
Grade Building and white Hign
School teacher# will meet in the
High School library.
A general meeting of colored
teachers will be held at 3 p. m.,
On Tuesday. September 2, the
regular session will begin. Sixth
grade students will report to the
High school auditorium at 8:30
am. They will be dismissed at
10:30.
Students in the first five grades
will report to their respective
buildings at 8:30 a. m. They will
be dismissed at 10:30.
High School students will report
to the High School Auditorium at
9 a. m. and remain outside until
the sixth grade students leave.
High School students will follow a
shortened schedule until 1 p. m.
Supt. Ready said he was expect
ing a large enrollment in the citv
schools for the term, probably
larger than Iaj3t year.
Registration of piano students
•ill be ct 11 o’clock on Saturday
uorn'ing, August 30, in the High
School Auditorium.
Everett Urges
Halifax Farmers
Watch Leaf Sale
An urgent appeal to tobacco
armers of Halifax county to take
ull advantage of government loans
hrough the Flue-Cured Tobacco
Cooperative Stabilization Corpora
ion, was made today by B. B.
Lverett, president of the Halifax
County Farm Bureau Federation.
Everett said that many farmers
ire now selling their tobacco be
ow the 40-cent per pound average
guaranteed support price which is
nade on a prorated grade basis,
rhis is in keeping with the gov
rnment’s ^commitment to support
obacco prices at 90 per cent of
parity as of June 15 each year pre
eding market openings.
The tobacco farmer—the actual
>wner of the tobacco—is the oniy
jerson who can authorize tobacco
:o be turned over to the Stabiliza
;ion Corporation for loan purposes.
Mr. Everett quoted from a
statement by Carl T. Hicks, pres
ident of the Stabilization Corpora
tion, in appealing to Tar Heel
farmers to get a fair and stable
price for this year’s crop. “Many
:armers do not remain with their
:obacco until sale is completed.
Warehousemen will cooperate by
setting the time of sale to enable
the farmer to be present. He can
then arrange for his tobacco to
be placed under loan if the price
falls below support level."
To eliminate confusion on the
warehouse floor, farmers may
join the Stabilization Corporation
prior to taking tobacco to mar
ket. Memberships may be obtain
ed at the local tobacco warehouse
or the Stabilization Corporation
office* Raleigh, N. C.
Registration of Adult Class Students
Monday In Textile School Building
With Variety of Subjects Offered
Negro Dies When Hit
By Falling Lumber.
Henry Thomas 29 year old
Enfield Negro truck driver,
was fatally injured about 11
o’clock Tuesday morning when
struck by the top board on a
load of lumber from which he
hud just unfastened a restrain
ing chain.
Striking Thomas across the
bridge of the nose, the board
broke his neck and hurled him
to the ground where he suf
fered a fractured shoulder
from the falling lumber. An
assistant had leaped to safety
only seconds previously.
Rushed to the office of Dr.
R. B. Blow in Weldon, from
the scene of the accident near
Halifax Manufacturing Co., in
South W'eldon, Thomas was
pronounced dead upon arrival.
NC Leads Nation
Number Spindles
Used In South
Washington — North Carolina j
leads the^ natiaon in the number I
of cotton spindles which were used 1
in the weaving of cotton goods
during July, 1947, the Department i
of Commerce has reported.
North Carolina had nearly 6,- j
000,000 spindles in operation last
month, which represents over half j
a million more than all the New
England states put together. North
Carolina also leads South Carolina
in active cotton spindles by more
than a quarter of a million.
Registration for adult classes in
the Textile school of the Roanoke
Rapids High school will be held
at 1 o'clock Monday afternoon,
September I and again at 7 o'clock
that evening, in the Textile school
building, according to an an
nouncement from the office of
Adult Class Supervisor Will Nel
son today.
Any person, veteran or non-vet
eran, who wishes to enroll should
register at one of these hours and
may be enrolled in any of the fol
lowing classes: Machine Shop, De
signing, Spinning (including cal
culations), Weaving and Loom fix
ing (on the plain loom, Compton
and Knowles, Draper and Jac
quards )t Carding (including blend
ing, opening, capper, carding,
drawing and fly frame and calcu
lations), Building Trades, Cabinet
Making and Drawing (including
blueprint reading, mechanical and
architectural drawing).
Any veteran who has not previ
ously been enrolled in the local
adult classes should bring with
him his certificate of eligibility
and entitlement.
It is expected that each class
will meet for six hours per week.
The hour that the classes will
meet regularly will be decided af
ter registration is complete and
will be arranged to suit the con
venince of the class members, the
announcement concluded.
Romancos Lose
To Mooresville
In State Finals
The Roanoke Rapids Romancos
softball aggregation lost out in a
heart-breaking 5-2 game with
Mooresville in, the State Softball
Tournament Tuesday night after
reaching the finals Monday night
by turning back Kannapolis.
Russ DeBerry pitched the fina.s
game for the Romancos and was
touched for nine hits.
The Romancos scored two runs
on eight hits and made one error.
The Mooresvhlle team got five
tallies on nine hits and also com
mitted one error.
The local softball club has fin
ished in the state finals on sev
eral occasions in the past and
setveral times wound up as state
champions with the right to enter
the national tournament
Ladino clover is becoming pop
ular because of its great carry
ing capaolty, long gralng season,
high mineral and protein content,
and its perrenlal nature.
To avoid sore neoks or should
ers, each work animal should
have an Individual oollar, kept ex
clusively for that animal
Roanoke Rapids Is Surplus
Labor Area Reports Parker
With a surplus of 350 workers
in the county, especially in semi
skilled and unskilled classifica
tions, Roanoke Rapids has become
* & labor surplus area, Manager El
ton C. Parker* of the local office
of the North Carolina Employ
ment Security Commission, an
nounced this week.
As a result, Parker says, in hi3
August Labor Market Digest, "(it)
is having a two-fold effect on lo
cal industry; first, it tends to re
duce labor turnover; secondly, em
ployers have more opportunity to
^ do selective hiring.”
Demands for workers continues
to be moderate 'in clerical, sales
and skilled jobs, says the Digest.
Fifty-eight per cent of the 350
unemployed are women, 30 pet
cent are veterans and 12 per cent
‘ are male non-veterans with the
female workers available for work
being classed Into two gfeups:
semiskilled, including approxi
mately 100 seeking textile employ
ment, and clerical and sales. j
In recent months there has been
a tendency on the part of non
white female workers to accept
domestic employment. Several >f
them are seeking that type of
employment at the present time.
Male workers available fall in
to the following classifications:
six professional and managerial;
10 clerical and sales; five service;
30 skilled; 38 semi-skilled and 38
unskilled.
Job openings on file at the end
of July had dropped to approxi
mately 75 although 103 job open
ings were received during the
month. Although, says the report,
the outlook for further expansion
in Industry is relatively light dur
ing the remainder of the year in
this area, demands for workers
will exist largely for replacements
(Continued on page 4—Section O
Seized Machines Prior to Removal From City
Just prior lo being loaded inlo a Irurk to lie taken lo Halifax last Friday is this. .
group of coin-operated machines seized in a Thursday night round-up by city police.
An official of the Amusement Machine Co., located at 6 East I2lh Street said about
five or six of the machines were in the company's warehouse for repair anil were to
lie operated only in Virginia.
A hearing of charges in connection with possession of illegal machines will lie held
in Mayor s Court this Monday.
S'
13 New Teachers Added
yls 1947-48 Faculty Set
For Schools' Reponing
me city schools, which open
Tuesday, will have 13 new teach
ers, according to a list released
today by Superintendent I. E.
Ready. Eight of these teachers
are 'in the Junior-Senior High
school, one in the sixth grade,
two at the Rosemary school and
one each at Central and Clara
Hearne schools.
Complete list of the faculty fov
the Roanoke Rapids schools for
the year 1947-48 was given as fol*
lows:
Administrative Section
I. E. Ready, superintnedent:
Ruth Chapman, superintendent s
secretary and bookkeeper; E. ■
Woodruff, high school principtA s
secretary; Mrs. Margaret Taylor,
elementary supervisor’s secretary;
Roy Medlin, head of the mainte
nance department, and Mrs. R. E.
Bryan, manager of Coltrane Ha!!.
Junior-Senior High School
J. W. Talley, principal; Nancy
Abell, commercial; George W.
Baird, band and chorus (new in
city schools); Winifred Beckwith,
English; James Russell Beddard,
general science and biology (new);
Jessie Helen Belche, social sci
ence.
Mary Guy Boyd, librarian: Dan
iel Cagle,, mathematics and ath
letics; Martha Rob Cherry, homo
economics; Martha Craddock, so
cial science; Mary Ella Currin,
home economies.
Katherine Dunlap, music; Ver
nie Eddins, Latin and director of
guidance; Ada Edwards, mathe
matics; Harold Fildes, industrial
Arts, building trades and print
ing (new); Virginia Ferguson,
mathematics (new).
Marjorie Fleetwood, social sci
ence; Mrs. Betty Godwin, English;
Robert P. Hollar, science; Cran
ford Hoyle, physical education and
director of athletics.
Mrs. Iris Davis Hunsinger, Eng
lish and Junior high school ad
visor; Evelyn Josephson, English
and speech; D. I. Kidd, Jr., indus
trial arts; R. G. Knight, industrial
arts and drawing; Mrs. Elsie
Cherry Lewis, science.
Mrs. Ethel S. Michie, social sci
ence; Will Nelson, textiles: Mabel
Parchman* mathematics; Mrs.
Margaretle J. Reynolds, English
'new); Verona Rhue, commercial
(new).
Hart Sheridan, English; Mary
u. Turner, girls' physical educa
tion; Rocketellow Venters, history
and athletics; Marvin L. Wood
ard, Spanish and commercial
mathematics (new), and Rilla
Wooldridge, French and English
(new).
Sixth Grades
Mary Hix, principal; Sara Can
non, Emma Grace Clark, Dorothy
Clarke, (.new); Gladys Etheridge,
Mrs. Helen Hicks Israel and Hen
1 rietta Price.
* •* C/mtrni- School
Imogene Becker, principal and
fifth grade; Edith Barrett, first
grade; Allene Taylor (new), first!
grade; Margaret Boone, second
grade; Mrs. Mary Bunch, seconu
grade and music; Ruby Madry,
third grade and Omara Daniel,
iourth grade.
Clara Heanie School
Dorothy Delbridge, principal ani
fourth grade; Marjorie Cannon,
first grade; Emily Montague
(new), second grade; Esther
House, third grade; Irene Gordon,
special primary; Genevieve Hodg
in, fifth grade and music; Mrs.
Carrie Rawls Moore, fifth grade
and Mrs. R. G. Knight, special
grammar grade.
Rosemary School
I Viola Glover, principal and spe
cial primary; Maxise Broadwell
(new), first grade; Mary Dowder,
second grade; Sybil Beaman, third
grade; Margaret Green (new»,
fourth grade; Mrs. Helen F.
Smith, fourth grade and music
and Ruth Davis, fifth grade.
Vance Street School
Thelma Garriss, principal and
third grade; Mrs. G. E. Brown,
first grade; Betty Gates, second
grade; Virginia Gates, special pri
mary; Mrs. Winifred Debman.
fourth grade and Margaret Gar
riss, fifth grade and music.
Elementary Supervisors
Clara Hearne, general; Mrs. Lu
cy Brown, physical education and
Elizabeth Lang, music.
School nurse will be Mrs. Kath
leen Suiter.
-- I
The Local Week...
Banks Close Monday
All banks in the city will be
closed Monday, September 1, in
observance of Labor Day, it was
announced Wednesday.
Negro Woman Drops Dead
Stella Hawkins, 58-year-old ne
gro woman who lived seven miles
west of Enfield, fell dead while
on her way home from a store
near her home Wednesday.
Coroner Rufus Britton, who in
vestigated the death, deemed r.o
inquest necessary.
Interracial Group Leaves
The interracial church group
which invaded the county last
week left without incident last
Thursday morning in response to
a County Board of Health order
to either find an authorized trail
er camp or leave the county by
10 a.m. Thursday.
They were thought to have gone
to Florence, S. C., where they
have a member church. It was re
ported from Enfield that the cara
van had gassed up in that town
last Wednesday night.
Bryant Asks Jury Trial
Attorneys for L P. Bryant, su
perintendent of the Halifax Coun
ty Home, requested a jury trial
for their client when a case under
which Bryant was charged with
arunkcn driving was called for
hearing in Recorder’s Court in
Halifax Tuesday, August 19.
Investigate Maniac
Police Wednesday were investi
gating reports that a white man,
apparently mentally unbalanced or
sexually abnormal, had accosted a
young boy in the downtown sec
tion in the vicinity of Washing
ton Street on Tuesday night.
Birth Certificate Is
Signed At Age 350;
10 YEARS AGO
Virginia Dare, the first
white child born in the New
World, would have been 360
years old on August 18th, had
she survived.
Her birth certificate was
signed at Roanoke Island
August 18, 1937 by President
Roosevelt and Governor Clyde
R. Hoey, Herald files show.
10 years ago also, the Rose
mary All-Stars had been in
vited to play the champions of
Canada in an annual diamond
attraction at the Canadian
I National Exhibition in Toron
I to.
(Housewives: pot roast was
advertised at 91 cents a pound,
veal chops were going at 90
cents a pound.)
Post office To Close
Wednesday Afternoon
rhronghout Year
In order to conform with the
•egulations fixing the working
lours of Postal Employes at 40
>er week, and enable the office
:o maintain a full staff of such
employes on all other working
lays of the week, the Roanoke
Rapids Post Office will continue
to close each Wednesday at noon
throughout the year, according to
m announcement made today by
Postmaster L. G. Shell.
Postmaster Shell explained that
such Wednesday closings allow
each employee compensatory time
for the necessary Saturday morn
ings work. These closings elimi
nate the necessity of each em
ployee compensatory time during
other days of the week when
their absences seriously effect the
prompt and efficient handling of
the nublic’s business.
Mr. Shell stated the Wednesday
closings would be suspended dur
ing any necessary period of the
Christmas season.
In the first five months of this
year, slightly more cigarettes
were consumed than in 1946. Cigar
consumption was off 6 per cent.
Conflicting Stories Told
By Prisoner, Accused Men
About Alleged Brutality
Three long slender sapi
Freeman Myrick in Littleton
Three former state highv
accoutrements, commissions
resignation and confession t
“manhandling” a recaptured <
prison road gang last Thursd
ing police chief-of Littleton, t
rants for their arrest.
Claude Gregory, 45, serving a
sentence of from six to seven
, ears from Cleveland county for
arceny, and Marion Williams, 19,
serving two .years for drunken
ings stood in the home of
Tuesday.
ay patrolmen, shorn of rank,
and uniforms by their own
j having made a mistake in
scapee from a Halifax county
ay, in company with the act
)day awaited issuance of war
A warrant charging three
former highway patrolmen, C.
L. Teague, A. F. Fields and
John W. Wilson, and acting
Littleton police chief, R. D.
Jenkins with assault with a
deadly weapon was served on
two of the patrolmen (Teague
and Fields) and Jenkins in the
Roanoke Rapids municipal
building by Sheriff Harry
House at 10:50 this morning.
Wilson was served with the
warrant later.
Bondsmen for the four men
were: Fred Forrest, Roanoke
Rapids contractor: ."NL C. New
som. Sr., and M. C. Newsom,
Jr., Roanoke Rapids oil deal
ers; L. D. Hines, Roanoke Rap
ids; Allen Pierce, Weldon au
tomobile dealer; W. V. White,
Roanoke Rapids automobile
dealer; S. E. Crew, radio sta
tion operator and farmer of
Roanoke Rapids, and William
Johnson, Littleton farmer.
The men face trial in Re
corder’s Court, Tuesday, Sep
tember 2nd.
and reckless driving in Pitt coun
ty* chose last Wednesday, August
20. to escape.
Gregory remained at large
throughout the night, roaming
through dense woods about two
miles from Littleton and eluding
a large posse of officers and Hali
fax county citizens searching for
him with the aid of bloodhounds.
He was recaptured in the area
shortly after noon Thursday by
Deputy Sheriff J. H. Dickens and
Littleton Acting Police Chief R. D.
Jenkins, and was placed in Dic«
ens' car after being led out of
the woods near the point of cap
ture.
While a crowd of about 30 per
sons, including deputies, officers j
and curious milled about, a car
containing three highway patrol
men, later identified as Corporal
C. L. Teague, A. F. Fields and
John W. Wilson, drove up and
stopped.
Saying they wanted to see where
the prisoner had been recaptured,
the patrolmen borrowed Dickens'
car and with Gregory and Jenk
ins in the back seat, the three
climbed into the front seat and
drove back down into the woods
from whence Gregory’s captors
had brought him.
At this point three stories
emerge.
Says Teague in the confession
signed by the three patrolmen.
“When I arrived at the scene
where Gregory had been appre
hended, he was sitting in a car
which was parked in a woods
path. Having worked in and
around the area for several hours,
I was curious to know just whe e
the prisoner was apprehended. In
company with Patrolmen Fieh .
Wilson and Officer Jenkins and
the convict, I rode back down in the
woods where he was apprehended.
I had no intenntion at that time
of doing anything to the convi .
but after we arrived at where 1
was recaptured the convict ma..e
some slurring remarks about the
Highway Patrol and displayed a
very belligerent attitude. To this,
I became rather incensed, possibly
due to my fatigue and physical
condition.
"At this point he was removed
from the car and manhandled by
me. He was not handcuffed to a
tree as has been reported and h?
was not seriously injured.
“This was in the presence of
Officer Jenkins, who had nothing
to uo wun trie mannananng or
the convict^ also Patrolmen Wilson
and Fields, who had practically
nothing to do with this incident.
He was neither severely beaten
or seriously injured. He appeared
to be normal when we turned him
over to Superintendent Griffin
of the Prison Department. Super
intendent Griffin had no way oi
knowing what had occurred.
“I realize that I have made a
mistake and this statement is
made in my own handwriting an i
of my own free will and accord,
without promise or hope of re
ward.”
Says Gregory in effect (in an
interview Monday morning attend
ed by a Herald reporter): The pa
trolmen took him down into the
woods a short distance and hand
cuffed him to a tree. They cut
down some saplings and starte 1
beating him. One of them used
his cartridge belt as a flogging
implement. He said he asked the
blue-uniformed man who was no:
participating in the beating to get
them to stop beating him; -and
that he hollered several times. He
didn't mention the beating, Greg
ory said, until late that night,
after he had worked on the roads
all afternoon, been checked back
into the prison camp near Hali
fax and was being locked up for
the night. He said he asked the
steward to give him something t.>
rub on his bruises and, when ask
ed how he had gotten them, told
the steward that the highway pa
trolmen had beaten him up.
The next day, according to Greg
ory, he further complained about
the bruises and was put in the
prison hospital, where Dr. Franc's
M. White, prison physician, said
his injuries were not serious.
(Saturday, at the instigation of
oonciior Ernest ryier, who ha 1
been informed of the alleged beat
ing by W. T. Person, retired Lit
tleton railroad man, a thorough
examination was made and Dr.
Wh'ite reiterated that the injur
ies were not serious. Person told
a reporter Tuesday night that he
was not in the group standing on
the road at the time of the inci
dent) j
Gregory said that when inter
viewed Saturday night by some
people who said they were from
Raleigh, he thought they might b.*
newspapermen.
Myrick, when interviewed Tues
day morning at his home in Lit
tleton, told a Herald reporter sit'
stantially the same story as tho
patrolmen and the prisoner up un
til the time they went back into
the woods when, he said, he heard
a man holler, 44Oh, Lord, don’t let
them kill me" and then a series
of yells that sounded like, ‘‘Oh!’’
Myrick very pointedly stated that
he could not swear that Gregory
was th<) man dotag the yelling al
though he (Myrick) said ha could
hear blows as 1! someone were
• beating a man.
• Myrick showed the reporter
(Continued on p*ft *-Sect A)
Condition of Georgia Bank Cashier
Reported As 'Not Serious'; Martin
Charged Attempted Armed Robbery
recent bank robbery attempt in
Duluth. Ga., by James T. Marthi,
51, former Roanoke Rapids tex
tile worker, was received this week
by the Herald in a telegram from
[he Duluth police department.
Confirming the fact that Mar
tin had slugged Bank Cashier Ev
erett Bagwell with an Army .4-3
automatic, the telegram stated
Bagwell's condition as "not seri
ous” and said he suffered a flesn
wound near the top of his head.
Martin was apprehended by Du
luth police approximately 45 min
utes after the incident about one
and a half miles north of Duluth
after he had discarded excess
clothing, a brief case and the gun.
Charges against the former local
resident, who rose to the rank of
i aptain in the Army's Medical
Administration Corps during the
late war, were listed as attempted
armed robbery, the telegram stat
ed, and he is being held for trial
in Hall county jail at Gainesville.
(Duluth, located about 20 miles
v/est of Athens, Ga.,, had a prewar
census count of 608).
Martin used the pretext of
wanting to see Bagwell on gov
ernment business to lure the cash
ier into a back office where he
slugged him with the automatic.
The attempted robbery took plac>
on August 14 about 3 o'clock in
the afternoon and was thwarted
when Bagwell’s wife and a wom
an bank employee, alarmed by!
Bagwell’s groans, ran out the
front door of the bank screaming.
Martin's foster parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Richard Martin, reside at 30 f
Henry street.
Six Births Reported
Here From Aug. 18-23
Six births were reported at Roa
noke Rapids hospital this week.
August 18
To Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Muthig,
of Roanoke Rapids, a baby boy.
August 20
To Mr. and Mrs. Grizzard, of
Emporia, a boy; to Mr. and Mra.
Charles Wiley, Freeman, Va., a
baby boy; to Mr. and Mrs. James
Daniel, of Ahoskie, a baby boy.
August 21
To Mr. and Mrs. John Cox, of
Roanoke Rapids, a baby girl; to
Mr. and Mrs. R. S. Bradley, ol
Emporia, a baby girl.
Giving long lift to harness U
simple. All that la necessary Ii
to keep it clean and well oilat
with a good harness oil,
Body of Drowned Man
Recovered From River
The body of a mail identi
fied as Matthew Harris, 48 year
old State Highway Depart
ment employee, was taken
from the Roanoke River near
Halifax about three o'clock
Monday afternoon.
Harris, who lived near Pierce
Crossroads, went out on the
River Saturday afternoon os
tensibly to try out a new
motor for a boat and was last
seen about five o'clock on that
date.
The body was taken from the
river at a point about i/2 mile
upstream from the town by
Sheriff Harry House and S. F.
Keeler.
County School Board
Amends Request Made
Previously to Schools
The Halifax County School
Board of Education in a meeting
Tuesday morning modified a re
quest made previously to officials
ot the Littleton and Roanoke Rap
ids schools in regard to enroll
ment of pupils residing in the
William R. Davis school district.
The board had previously re
quested local school officials not
to enroll such pupils unless they
were in the 11th or 12th grades
end had been enrolled prior to the
1947-48 school term.
Amended, the request drops the
stipulation that these pupils be in
the 11th or 12th grades but retain
the one regarding “unless such
pupils have been enrolled in Roa
noke Rapids or Littleton schools
prior to this term."
National Guard Accepts
Seventeen Year Olds
17 year olds may now en
list in the National Guard
according to Capt. Raleigh W.
Seay, commanding officer of
CoM E, 119th Regiment, 30th
Infantry Division. NCNG, who
recently received the authori
zation to enlist the youths,
from the War Department.
Co. E recently received its
first truckload of equipment
and all men will be fully
equipped, Seay also said.
In the first 11 months of tfa
season, mills used about M mi
lion bales of cotton.