North Carolina Newspapers

In these columns will be found a fair presentation of local and county news of general interest. Volume ll.—Number 38, Busy Court Session Comes To End Friday * *, John Horne Sentenced To Die In Lethal Gas Chamber TAKESAPPEAL Grand Jury Is Compli mented by Judge For Excellent Work One of the busiest terms of Cho wan County Superior Court and one which drew the largest crowds in a number of years came to a close Fri day afternoon. Large numbers of court spectators were turned -away each day of court, the room on each occasion being filled even before the opening of court. One of the principal drawing cards was the trial of John Home for the murder of his wife in the local cotton mill. Testimony in this case was completed Wednesday afternoon and the arguments presented Thursday morning. L. E. Griffin assisted So licitor Herbert Leary in the prosecu tion, while W. D. Pruden, who was appointed by Judge W. C. Harris, de fended the murderer. After the argu ments of both sides Judge Hands charged the jury, rehearsing for them the various grounds upon which the state claimed Home should be found guilty of first degree murder, as well as bringing out Mr. Pruden’s conten tion that a verdict of not guilty should be returned. The defense placed no witnesses on the stand, Mr. Pruden’s only defense being that due to brooding over domestic troub les Home was mentally incompetent when the deed was commit.ten. The jury returned a verdict of guil ty on Thursday and Judge Harris withheld the sentence until Friday morning when in the presence of the cefendant be ordered the death pen alty in the State lethal gas chamber on Friday, December 6, between the hours of 10 A. M. and 12 o’clock noon. Mr. Pruden subsequently filed an appeal which will give Home a lease on life until his appeal can be acted upon. Horne seemed u moved as he heard the sentence, shov/ing no sign of nervousness whatever. Judge Harris said he felt sorry for him and asked if he had anything to siy, “I believe not,” was Home’s only reply as he was harJcuffei and taken to state prison to pay the penalty for his terrible crime. He was taken to Raleigh by Sheriff J. A. Bunch and officer Robert Pratt, who also took Tom Rawls to the prison. Rawls had previously been sentenced to serve from 25 to 30 years for chok ing to death Hester Satterfield. hollowing the sentencing of Home on Friday, the case of Glavin Hollo well, 19 year old youth, was heard. Hollowell was charged with man slaughter, having been found guilty of driving an automobile while intox icated resulting in a wreck in which Jesse Bass was killed. He was sen tenced to serve 18 months in jail, to be assigned to work on the roads. William F. Bembridge, the last of the criminal cases on the docket, failed to appear, his bond on two charges being forfeited. Judge Har ris ordered a capias issued and set a new bond at SIOOO. Bembridge on Monday posted this bond with Clerk of Superior Court Richard Dixon. During the latter part of the ses sion Judge Harris also pronounced sentence on Clifton and Frank Bond, who were found guilty of stealing meat from Jim Davenport. They were found guilty earlier in the week but sentence withheld due to the ’ll ness of their brother, Willis. The charge against the latter was nol pressed, but the two others were giv en four months on the condition that they pay for the meat stolen. During the closing minutes of court a tribute was paid to the late W. S, Privott, when W. D. Pruden offered the following resolution by the Chowan County bar: > “Whereas William Scott Privott, a member of the Bar of Chowan Coun ty, died July 3rd, 1935, and whereas Major Privott was the oldest member of the Bar in this County and was outstanding in professional and com munity affairs, having served with distinction as Mayor of Edenton, County Prosecutor, Judge of the Re corder’s Court, and twice as Repre sentative from this County in the State Legislature, and whereas in ad dition to his distinguished services to his community and State in civil life he was also a brave and patriotic soldier, having served on the Mexi (Continued on Page Six) MASONS MEET TONIGHT The regular meeting of Unanimity Lodge will be held tonight at 8 l o’clock. THE CHOWAN HERALD a home Newspaper devoted to the interests of chowan county B Q I TAKEN BY DEATH | 0 .................. ."B X. E. COPELAND Mr. Copeland, who was taken to the Protestant Hospital, Nor folk, Saturday, September 7, fol lowing a sudden illness the pre vious Wednesday, died in the in stitution last Friday morning. Mr. Copeland’s condition appeared to be improving Thursday, but suddenly took a turn for the worse and he died early Friday morning. clothing” school HELD ON SEPT. 27 Miss Julia McKiver Will Discuss Re modeling and Restyling of Fall Garments A clothing leaders’ school will be held in the King Arms Tavern all day Friday, September 27, at which Miss Julia McKiver, assistant to Miss Willie Hunter, State clothing spec ialist, will be in charge. The topic of this meeting will be a seasonal lesson, when restyling and remodel ing fall garments will be taken up. Each club in the county has two clothing leaders and an alternate, and Miss Rebecca Colwell is very anxious that each club is represented at this school. DRUNKEN DRIVERS HALED IN COURT Each Defendant Given Minimum Fine Os SSO; Driving Privilege Re voked For 12 Months A busy session of Recorder’s Court was held Tuesday morning when four cases of driving automobiles under the influence of liquor and two other cases was on the docket- Percy Pratt, 19, of Kinston, the first defendant, plead guilty and was taxed the minimum fine of SSO and costs and prohibited from driving a motor vehicle in North Carolina for 12 months. D. B. Tracy also submitted to a like charge and received the same sentence. Perry Ray White, of Cisco, who was charged with carrying a con cealed weapon at the home of Ed Ashley, was found pot guilty. D. L. Cobb, 19, of Merry Hill, was fined SSO and costs and the revoking of his driving license for 12 months on a charge of operating an auto mobile under the influence of liquor. William Stallings, colored, was charged with operating a car under the influence of liquor, reckless driv ing and resisting arrest. The latter charge was dismissed, but he was .found guilty of the other two, Judge Pruden merging the sentences, giv ing Stallings SSO flne and costs and revoking his driving license for 12 months. . John Fleming, colored, was given another chance by Judge Pruden when he appeared in court for steal ing a sack of flour. John stole the flour from a friend who had given him a ride home, and explained to the judge that he had had a drink and didn’t have control of himself. He • was given 30 days on the roads, sen tence to be suspended upon payment of costs and showing good behavior ! for 12 months. LLOYD GRIFFIN TAKES UP NEW DUTIES IN RALEIGH Lloyd E. Griffin left Edenton Mon ■ day for Raleigh, where he has taken up his duties as secretary of Hie State School Commission. Mrs. Grif fin and children will remain in Eden ' .ton at present, while Mr. Griffin will 1 make week-end trips home from Ra leigh. . t i Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina, Thursday, September 19, 1935. LOCAL HAN DIES 1 FOLLOWING BRIEF 1 STAY IN HOSPITAL 1 X. E. Copeland Victim j Os Cerebral Hem orrhage large"funeral Throngs of Friends Pay 1 Their Final Tribute Os Respect Friends and relatives were dismay ed Friday morning upon receipt of < news of the death of X. E. Copeland, 1 who passed away in the Protestant : Hospital in Norfolk, Va., about 5:00 i o’clock that morning. He was taken to the hospital Saturday, September 7, following a sudden illness resulting from a cerebral hemorrhage the pre vious Wednesday. Members of the family were of the opinion that he was showing some improvement, but his condition turned for the worse and he died Friday. Mr. Copeland, 62 years of age, a native of Chowan County, had been a prominent citizen of Edenton for the past 20 years, having been a partner with John C. Bond in the hardware business for the past 15 years. He took an active part in all civic affairs and was vitally interested in the erec tion of a bridge across the Albemarle Sound, being chairman of the commit- tee from the Chowan Business Men’s Association which recently called a meeting of Albemarle counties to concentrate on the erection of a bridge rather than the location of same. He was chairman of the Chowan County Fair Association for a num ber of years, and it was through his unceasing work and untiring efforts that the association staged some of the best fairs in this section of the State, and finally cleared up a fair debt of several years’ standing. He was chairman of the association when it was decided to discontinue fairs in Chowan. Mr. Copeland was also a member of city council at the time of his death, being elected to represent the Fourth Ward. He had the interest of the town at heart and was one of the most level-headed members of the Council. His advice and timely sug gestions will be greatly missed by the board. Deep thought was given to matters concerning the welfare of the city and taxpayers, and he was frank in making known his opinion regard less of what may be thought of him. Funeral services were held Sunday afternoon at the home on North Broad Street. Throngs of people were unable to hear this service, con ducted by Rev. E. L. Wells, pastor of the Baptist Church, the home being crowded as well as the porch and sidewalk for some distance from the house. It was one of the largest funerals to be held in Edenton in some time and the great number of floral offerings were an attest of the esteem in which he was held. Those surviving are his widow, Mrs. Alethia Bland Copeland, one daughter, Miss Mary Lee Copeland, and four sons, Hugh Bland Copeland, of Ahoskie, Clyde X. Copeland, of Jackson, Miss., and Wendell and El bert Copeland. Two sisters and three brothers also survive, as follows: Mrs. Laura Ward, of Belvidere, Mrs. E. G. Privott, of Suffolk, Va., L. J. Copeland, of Hertford, C. F. Cope land, of Sunbury, and Herman Cope land, of Suffolk, Va. The honorary pallbearers were: M. C- Gregory, Dr. J. A. Powell, Dr. L. P. Williams, Dr. M. P. Whichard, C. E. Kramer, O. B. Perry, G. M- Byrum, E. W. Spires, M. F. Bond, Jr., T. Wallace Jones, J. H. Conger, W. J. Taylor, R. F. Tuttle, Cutler Wozelka, J. A. Woodard, F. P. Wood, F. W- Hobbs, C. N. Griffin, J. G. Campen, Chas. H. Wood, J. H. Holmes, D. B. Liles, John C. Bond, Will Perry, W. A. Leggett, J. W. Davis, P. T. Owens, D. M. Warren, J. S. Small, G. P. Byrum, Wood Privott, W. D. Pruden, R. E. Leary, F. F. Muth, J. L. Wiggins, Oscar M. Elliott, and W. J. Berryman. The active pallbearers were: Wil liam Jones, H. A. Campen, Albert Byrum, William E. Bond, Richard Elliott, and W. O. Elliott, Jr. Legionnaires Invited To Elizabeth City Officers and members of Ed Bond Post,, American Legion, have been given a special invitation to attend the installation of new officers of Seth Perry Post in Elizabeth City on Wednesday night, September 25. The invitation is being made known to local Legionnaires and a goodly num ber from the Ed Bond Post is expect ed to attend the affair. PROSPECTS GOOD i FORNEW ARMORY ON HICKS FIELD : E Present Building Re- j ported to Be Unsafe By Grand Jury i WIRE PRESIDENT City Gives Title to Site For Erection of New Structure Edenton’s determination to be one of the 47 North Carolina communi ties scheduled for a new federal ar mory has been evidenced the last few days by earnest and energetic moves on the part of those most deeply in terested in the proposed project. Mayor E. W. Spires, who, in every civic venture, leaves few stones un turned if he scents a likelihood of anything beneath, and Major M. P. Whichard, N. C. N. G- chieftain in this section of the Albemarle, have been on their toes since the armory scheme began to show reality, and have worn out much mental energy and shoe leather carrying their ef forts back and fortfl among the busi ness interests of the town. The Mayor became so enthused Tuesday he pounded out a telegram to the President of the United States, acquainting him with the fact that the present armory shack here was just no good, that the last grand jury had said as much, that it was, also, unsafe, and that if the President would do something to approve the project for a new one it would be too fine for words. The telegram, which went in dupli cate, also, to Harry Hopkins, WPA Administrator at Washington, D. C-, and which Major Whichard shot around to various State executives, too, was couched as follows: “Erection of building for 115th Ambulance Company North Carolina National Guards at Edenton will not only afford employment, but will supply much needed quarters for this important unit. Present frame build ing inadequate and reported unsafe by Grand Jury last week. We sin cerely hope you will see fit to ap prove project now before you pro viding new building.” The WPA has announced its inten tion of building 47 new armories in the State at a cost of $1,021,000 — that is it will if Mr. Hopkins can be seduced into believing they are neces sary—and has given assurance that Edenton is on the score board for one of the 47- On Monday the WPA State officials even went so far as to publish an architect’s drawing of what the armories will be like, and the picture was quite a pretty thing. It will be an ornament to this town and as far as could be learned Eden ton is the only town in this neck of the woods that stands any chance at all of winning out. Last month the town deeded a part of the old fair grounds property for a site, this because Adjutant General J. B. Van Metts said the project ap plication would stand no chance of concurrence except this was done. The deeded tract will be for land between Park Avenue and the Boy Scout cabin, and will in no sense interfere with the adjacent land on the same property upon which it is hoped the government will build a new high school. The cost of the building, to be of concrete block construction, will be around $24,000, and its main floor of a sufficient size for local indoor athletic events, like boxing matches, and such stuff. Wednesday Major Whichard got another letter from General Metts saying it would also be required that title to the deeded land would have to be in perpetuity, void of all re structions and from interferences that might result from the erection of other buildings nearby. In proving the title City Attorney W. D. Pruden made a lengthy survey of the old court records and traced the acquirement of the land by Eden ton from a deed signed in 1723 by Robert Hicks. U. S. Recruiting Officers Out After Young Men Lieut. J. S. Piram and Sergeants Cole and McNeill, of Fort Monroe, Va., will be at the postoffice today between 9 and 10 A. M. for the pur pose of securing recruits for the Coast Artillery at Fort Monroe, Va. [ This recruiting party will return i again Saturday morning at 10 q’clock, I and any young men interested are re \ quested to appear at the stated time, i Men between 18 and 35 are being > accepted, who must pass the stand 1 i ard army entrance examination- The . pay ranges from s2l per month to . $157.50 with allowances, the term of enlistment lasting for three years. J City Schools Ready For Opening Monday a a , j LEAVES EDENTON | if: i£ ; Ti I I LLOYD E. GRIFFIN Mr. Griffin, First District Sen ator in the last State Legisla ture, left Edenton Monday for Raleigh, where he has taken up his duties as secretary of the State School Commission. His many friends here will look for ward with pleasure to his week end visits home. FOOTBALL BOYS START PRACTICE Prospects Appear Bright For Very Strong Team Again This Year At High School Although Leon Brogden, new coach of the Edenton High School, had not arrived when this newspaper went to press, a number of the football can didates engaged in light practice work Tuesday afternoon at Hicks Field. Prospects are very bright for a strong team again this year, with very few of last year’s championship team missing. Bill Harrell, Richard Rogerson and Clyde Lee Cates will not be in the lineup this year, but a number of new candidates will report and it is hoped that Coach Brogden will be able to fill these three men’s places- Harrell filled the quarterback position and won much praise for his syste matic method of calling signals. He is light in weight and possibly will be replaced by ,‘Little Bud” Cayton, who showed up extremely well in a number of games last year. Rogerson will be greatly missed on account of his excellent punting. However, John Byrum and Paul Spencer are no mere novices at boot ing the ball and possibly the kicking duties will fall upon one of these. Clyde Lee Cates, who made possi bly the most improvement of any member of the squad last year as the season progressed, will be missed at halfback. Cates proved to be a con sistent ground gainer and was ex tremely dangerous to the opposition in braking up forward passes. All in all football fans are of the opinion that Edenton has the making of another championship team and both fans and players are anxious for the arrival of Coach Brogden, when a call will be made for football candidates and regular practices held. D. M. Warren Still Unable To Work D. M. Warren, cashier of the Bank of Edenton and chairman of the County Board of Commissioners, who recently returned from a Norfolk, Va., hospital, is still unable to attend to his regular duties. Mr. Warren is able, however, to go to the bank a few minutes each morning but re turns immediately afterward to his home. According to information from his home, his condition appears to be improving. MERRY HILL REVIVAL i CLOSES SUNDAY NIGHT Revival services at the Merry Hill . Baptist Church came to a close Sun ; day. The meetings were very well attended and resulted in several new i members being added to the church. ! BAPTIST MEET AT SANDY CROSS CHURCH NEXT WEEK r Thq Chowan Baptist Association >• will meet next Tuesday and Wednes : day at Sandy Cross Church in Gates > County. An interesting program has f been arranged and a large attendance is looked forward to. .. This newspaper is circu lated in the territory where Advertisers will realize good results. $1.25 Per Year Teachers Meeting: Call ed For Saturday at 10 A. M. NEED TEACHER Miss Pettus Resigns to Continue Work In Raleigh Final finishing touches are now be ing made to the Edenton school pre paratory to the opening of school on Monday morning. All class rooms have been cleaned, windows washed and a number of minor repairs made so that everything will be in readi ness when the doors are opened at 9 o’clock. Teachers will arrive very soon, all of them being requested to meet with Superintendent John A. Holmes in. the school building at 11 o’clock Sat urday morning when plans will be discussed for the term. Miss Madge Pettus, who had signed up to teach mathematics again this year, sent in her resignation to Mr. Holmes this week. Miss Pettus had a position during the summer in Ra leigh, and at the last minute she was offered the job permanently. The position pays about twice the amount she would receive teaching and there fore she resigned as a member of the faculty. Her successor had not been named as The Herald went to press, but Mr. Holmes explained that he was seeking another experienced math teacher. Leon Brogden, who replaces Henry House as teacher of history and ath letic director, is the only other new member of the faculty this year. Mr. Brogden had not arrived up to Wed nesday afternoon, but expected at any time, mail for him having already arrived here. Mr. Holmes has received official notice that this year children who be come six years of age before Janu ary 15 can start school at the open ing date. These children, however, must enter school during the first month, it was explained. This date has been advanced two months, hav ing formerly been November 15. According to information received by Superintendent Holmes the neces sary blanks and books to be used in the new State text-book rental sys tem will arrive in time for school opening. Due to the rift between Harry Hopkins and Harold Ickes, relative to new school projects, the chances of new school buildings in Chowan Coun ty are very slim. Mr. Ickes favors the investment of federal money in permanent improvements, while Mr. Hopkins is anxious to spend the mon ey on smaller projects that will im mediately take labor from relief rolls. Dr. H. G. Baitty, following the meeting of the two administrators with President Roosevelt, hasn’t en tirely given up hope of the Chowan projects, he being of the opinion that later on money will be allocated for more improvements of a permanent nature. In the meantime the local schools will operate with the same plants as last year, making whatever arrangements possible to care for the increasing number of pupils. ASA SHAW ENDS HIS LIFE AT MILL Sends Bullet Through Right Temple After Telling Relatives What He Contemplated Asa Shaw, aged 53, ended his life Sunday night by sending a bullet through his right temple. The deed was committed at the Wilkes Veneer Mill, where Shaw was employed as night watchman. During the day Shaw told relatives that he intended to kill himself, but very little attention was paid to his threat as he had made the same as sertion on a number of previous oc casions. He instructed a relative to come to the mill at a certain time to take charge of his body, and gave further instructions not to come be fore or else he himself would be shot. Relatives and acquaintances thought little of what Shaw had said until the pistol shot was heard which ended his life. He was unmarried and for a num ber of years was night watchman at the old Edenton Lumber Company plant. He is survived by only two brothers, George Shaw, of Edenton, " and James Shaw, who when last i heard from was in Norfolk, Va. Funeral services were held Monday 3 in charge of Alma of Hert -3 ford, pastor of the Assembly of God. * Burial took place in the Phelps bury ing ground in Bertie County.