I found s fast presentation
I of local and county news
I df general interest.
Volume V.—Number 37
Chowan’s Criminal Docket
In Superior Court Quickly
L Cleared By Judge Burgwyn
'—) . i
Final Case of Term Dis
posed of Early Tues
day Morning
f STIFF SENTENCES
r Habit, Crabtree and von
Wischon Cases of
Most Interest
Before winding up one of the
shortest sessions of Superior Court
ever held in this county Judge W. EL
S. Burgwyn brought compassion and
mercy into the consideration of a
number of defendants before him, one
a hardened criminal, on Monday.
Outside of the Habit case, probably
the most expectantly interesting to
Chowan and treated of in an ~Ua-|
cent column, the arraignment of
Kurtweid von Wischon, Norfolk sea
man, safe cracker and burglar, and
Jobnny W. Crabtree, bigamist,'" occa
sioned the most attention by a crowd
ed court room.
Where everyone felt that von
Wischon would be railroaded for a
great term of years, the court
brought surprise by imposing a some
what modest penalty of but 5 to 7
years. As for Crabtree; he was sent
to the rdads for an Indeterminate
term of from 3 to 7 years.
Von Wiscnon, when arrested here
in early summer after burglarizing
the Jenkins Motor Company office and
being caught the same night in
Hertford with the Edenton spoils in
his possession, was a pretty cocky
fellow who seemed to bow defiance
to the law and its authorities. But
* on Monday it was different. His
bravado , gave way to tears as he
- sobbed dramatically and bitterly
when •<3«rk i *fifon tread openly a let
ter von Wischon had written Jiylge
■. Burgwyn, begging for mercy and j
' saying he was at the end of the trail'
and wished to start afresh.
The court remarked he felt" the'
time for sorrow had passed, but that
he would be as merciful as he could. 1
He kindly lectured the prisoner, im-|
posed the sentence in Central Prison
' (Continued on Page Five)
Seats Arrive For
New Auditorium
At Edenton School
Gordon Murphy, Jr., Is
Elected to Replace
Brothers
OPENSMONDAY
Superintendent Holmes
Says Everything Will
Be In Readiness
Seats for the new Edenton High
School auditorium arrived Wednesday
and Superintendent John A. Holmes
i is hopeful that all will be in place
for the opening of school next Mon
day morning. Work is being pushed
rapidl? at the school and by the time
the doors are thrown open Mr.
| Holmes is confident everything will
|| be in readiness. Painting about the
school has been completed and with
- the-new auditorium and practically
new class rooms, teachers and school
0 officials are expecting an auspicious
opening and a very successful term
A flew teacher has been elected to
1 replace Wilbur Brothers, who resign
i / ed as science teacher, the new man
# being Gordon Murphy* Jr., of Nash
ville, Tenn. Mr. Murphy is a grad
uate of Vanderbilt University and re
ceived his Master Peabody
substitute teacher in the Nashville
city schools. He has studied all the
, sciences, and though he had not de
-1
| cept the position and will make a val
| uable member of the faculty.
JKome economics an added
THE CHOWAN HERALD
A HOME NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO TtiE INTERESTS OF CHOWAN COUNTY
>■ ■ .
| Capehart Resigns |
George Capehart, who was vir
tually drafted into the position of
Scoutmaster of the Edenton Boy
Scout troop shout a year ago,
resigned late last week. Mr.
Capehart was more or less dis
satisfied with the progress made
by the local troop and frankly
admitted that he was not adapted
to the particular job thrust upon
him.
Kermjt Layton, who has for
years been associated with the
local troop ss assistant Scout
master, and is thoroughly ac
quainted with Scout work, has
been appointed by the troop com
mittee to succeed Mr. Capehart.
Mr. Layton will be succeeded as
assistant Scoutmaster by Colon
Sawyer.
578 Is Enrollment
In County’s White
SchoojsHrst Day
Chowan High Hopes to
Get Extra Element
ary Teacher
3 NEW TEACHERS
Principal and Superin
tendent Pleased Wit|i
v Jr* - mt&fegt
. .3- - - , .art ■ , *
Much pleasure has been expressed
. by Superintendent W. J. Taylor over ( ,
! the interest shown by parents and
.scholars at the opening of the mid-1
(county white schools last Monday,
and he id hopeful that this year's
I total attendance, particularly at the
I new high school at Cross Roads can
! e'ven yet be forced up to an all-year •
high. , r
While the enrollment at Chowan j
High, according to Principal P. L. J
Baumgardner, is noted at 425, out of
an aggregate of 578 in all the mid
county white institutions, and with
128 of these enrolled in the high
school grades in the new school, both
Mr. Taylor and Mr. Baumgardner are
hoping that the elementary attend
ance score will be further increased .
during the first two weeks prior to
September 26.
The reason for this is obvious to
the teaching heads. An enrollment
of fifty scholars in the first grade at
the cdunty high* school has provoked
a situation that is proving of em
barrassment. The possibly over
crowded situation with the present
faculty staff could be relieved, it was
explained, if the attendance showed
an increase sufficient to permit the
(Please Turn to Page Four)
New Register Book
At St Paul’s Church
Gift of Robert A. Foster
Presented Monday By
E. W. Spires
Due to the generosity of Robert
A. Foster, of Somerville, N1 J., St.
HftuPs Church is now in possession of
a brand new register book. The
gift was presented in behalf of Mr.
Foster at the meeting of the vesfty
Monday flight fey EL W, Spires. The
register replaces an old book which
is highly prized in that it contains
many prominent signatures from all
over the country as well as other
nations.
Mr. Foster has a great deal of af
fection for Edenton and many of its
citizens, it being remembered that
by much research on his part authen
tic data was for inscription
on the Josef i Hewes monument when
erected on the Court House Green.
Mr. Foster also, at great expense,
salvaged the old records of Unanimity
Lodge and neatly bound the minute
books. He also donated a register
book to the lodge as well es the
I Mr. Foster plans to pay another
( visit to Edenton some time in Octo
ber, at which time he will be accom-
Edenton, Chowan County, North Carolina, Thursday, September 15,1938.
Kramer Appoints
Observing Aids In
Big War Maneuver
Four Warning Posts
Designated Will Cover
Chowan County
INSTRUCTIONS
Spires Put In Charge of
Telephone Communi
cation During Test
Selection of four chief observing
aides and the naming of .E. W.
Spires as the chief of the telephonic
communications for all of Chowan,
together with some new instructions
and warnings to be followed by every
county resident, were some of the
announcements made yesterday by C.
E. Kramer, county chief of opera
tions in the war maneuver to be con
ducted by the government through
out eastern North Carolina around
the middle of next month.
The maneuver, intended to detect
an incoming enemy corps of bombing
planes destined to destroy Fort
Bragg, near Fayetteville, wiH"be on
for two weeks prior to October 17,
and Chowan County is reckoned as
one of the pivotal points of such de
tection.
There will be four observation
posts located here, not on so elabor
ate a scale as in other sections for
they will be void of the great sound
and sight apparatus used by the War
Department, but each post to be man
ned by army observers and local
civilians.
Once any planes have been heard
or seen by the ears or eyes of these
observing posts telephone flashes will
be shot on at once to Fort Bragg,
and will be considered as a sufficient
warning to make the proposed on
slaught battle.
Mr. K amer, recently yarned as
Chowan chieftain by Mayor Flora,-
of Elizabeth City, who is handling
(the entire series of warning nets in
the counties north of the Sound, is
quite enthusiastic over Chowan’s part
in the maneuver and is hopeful of
good results.
For two of the posts, Sections t
and 3, Mr. Kramer has named two
leading national guard proponents
here, Roy L. Spry and Captain Pearly
L. Baumgardner, of Center Hill.
Captain Pat H. Bell, Chowan bridge
tender, will operate Post No. 2, andi
Thomas B. Wood, of “Athol,” will be
in charge of Post No. 4. These and
Mr. Spires will be the Kramer chief |
aides throughout the maneuver.
Mr. Kramer brings out that all,
these posts will be manned by volun
teer observers picked from the Amer- j
ican Legion, the Legion Auxiliary, i
Boy Scouts and all other civic, com
mercial and fraternal organizations.
The members of the local National
Guard ambulance unit will be asked
to play a very important part in the
program.
Those wishing to volunteer their!
help are urged to communicate with j
the county chief or any of his assist
ants. Ladies, says Mr. Kramer, will
(Continued on Page Five)
A Prisoner Speaks
I
| In just what sort of a psychological
or philosophical way a' professional
criminal’s mind works during his
haunting unoccupied hours in prison,
was, perhaps, never better shown
than by a letter penciled by Kurt von
Wischon, diminutive Norfolk, Va.,
seaman, safe cracker and burglar, the
Albemarie’s Ho. 1 offender, read in
open court here. Monday at the very
Start, almost, pf the Chowan. Superior
fall term. Von Wischon sent . the
epistle, carefully and ,* beautifully
written; intelligently phrased, pern
tent in tenor, admitting his past fore
doomed his future ■as hopeless, but
begging for the customary one more
chance, to Judge W. H. S. Burgwyn,
of Jackson, the jurist read it kindly,
commented considerately on it, and
said the time had passed to be sorry
and that clemency would prove futile.
Von Wischon, a hardened criminal
since he ms 17, during which period
he had served 17 sentences in 10 dif
ferent states of the union and had es
caped three times from as many jails,
all according to an FBI report frofn
the bureau chief, J. Edgar Hoover, of
Washington, lost his nerve complete
ly as his letter was read back to him
for all to hear, and wept dramatically
and bitterly at the reading and at the
Jurist’s Accompanying remarks, as he
was told he must start again, for the
eighteenth time, on a 5 to 7 year in-
I determinate MM* |
Weighty Matters Confront Town Council
At Long Monthly Meeting Held Tuesday
Night; Special Session Called For Friday
Pittsburgh Sounds Its Trumpet
Double-barreled in its intent
was the folio wing letter, happily
praiseworthy of the recent spec
ial bridge edition of The Chowan
Herald, and elaborately more so
in its endorsement of the Albe
marle as a place to live and die
in, which reached the editor this
week from Vincent C. Dwyer, of
1606 Murray Avenue, Pittsburgh,
Pa. The epistle which speaks for
itself and envies the editor “who
can lie down under the beautiful
blue skies of North Carolina and /
rest your weary bones on her
sweet, warm sod,” is as follows:
“Dr. Mr. Editor:
“Some kind and unknown soul
mailed to me a copy of The
Chowan Herald’ of August 18th,
1938.
“First, may I specifically con
gratulate you and the publishers
of The Chowan Herald,’ on the
extent and excellence, both edi
torially and typographically of
your paper. It is a distinct cre
dit to any city anywhere in these
United States.
“Then, if I may, I want to ex-
Pressure Brought
Bn School Board
To luy Band Bus
Feeling Prevails Band
Is M Iroct Part of
School
NEED ADMITTED
Liability Involved Now
Appears to Be Prin
cipal Holdup
Though several other affairs werej
, in progress at the same time, a good- j
ly number of Chamber of Commerce
| members met Thursday night at the
I call of President Joseph H. Conger
I primarily to discuss the idea of se
' curing a bus to transport the Eden- j
[ton High School band. Several es
! forts had been made to secure funds
with which to purchase a bus, and
when these failed an appeal was
made to the Chamber of Commerce
to sponsor a movement which would
add this much needed equipment.
At the same time the meeting was
! being held a Building and Loan ses
j sion was in progress, the band was
parading on Broad Street and a game
of soft ball was being played on
(Continued on Page Five)
afterward to promise to leave North
Carolina and never return.
Von Wischon’s letter was as fol
lows:
Central Prison, Raleigh, N-. C.
“Honored Sir: The reason for this
letter is due to past and present cir
cumstances involving my life. I say
my life because I fully realise I am
at trail’s end. Perhaps this is of
little interest to you, sir. as “•**
of -us come Jo the end of our way
ward trails, hut there are not many
who know quite what to do when
they get there. True, where there is
life there is hope; but when life is a
burden,- and the load grows too heavy
to bear, and your heart trembles with
only sorrow and regret, you know
there’s not a ’chance* to rise from the
depths of despair. It is then, your
honor, only then, does one know he
has come face to face with himself,
and knows it as the end of the trail.
“It leaves one in a very sad state
of mind when he wakes up to a full
realization that he has wandered too
far in the forest and become lost
from his. self, and that those - who
might loan a helping hand, providing
the past has not caught up with the
present and he will make a change
before it is too late, to feet sorrow
and regret of-experience. Thus have
I spoken from experience. But now
it is too late. I • fear there is no
chance in which I can possibly hope
press my pleasure in traveling
through your truly wonderful
State. No where have I enjoyed
my travels more; nowhere have 1
met with more cordial contacts
with residents. Indeed, (and I
would not want you to broadcast
this) when I have accumulated
enough of this-here-k>cal-gelt-I
and my friend have the firm in
tention of hieing to our beloved
State of North Carolina to live—
and I mean to LIVE.
“From the beautiful, enticing
shores and beaches; the marches
and meadows of the wonderful
coastline, to the plateau and be
yond to the great mountains,
North Carolina has in it what
Nature created best, for every
him, use and fancy.
“So, to my unknown North
Carolina frienid, j who - sent me
your good paper, I dip, with sin
cerity and gratitude, ‘Thanks,
Thanks, Friend, a million,’ whom
ever you are, I envy you who can
lie down under the beautiful
skies of North Carolina and rest
your weary bones on her sweet,
warm sod.”
Football Season
For High School
Opens On Friday
Columbia High School
Will Be Season’s First
Opponent
ON HOME FIELD
Friday Night’s Game at
Rocky Mount Forced
To Be Called Off .
Though it was expected to raise
the curtain for Edenton High School’s
football season Friday night, a game
with Rocky Mount High School was
called off, thus postponing the open
ing until Friday, the 23rd.
Coach Dave Holton had a game
scheduled for tomorrow night to be
played in Rocky Mount, but due to a
Piedmont League baseball game the
stadium could not be secured.
The curtain will be raised for
Edenton High School’s football sea-j
son Friday afternoon when Coach.
David Holton’s outfit will tackle
Columbia school. The game will 1
take place on Hicks Field at 3 j
(Continued on Page Five)
Lions Club Anxious |
For Night Football
Committee Appointed to
Make Necessary Ar
rangements
Night football games claimed the
attention of the Lions Club at their
meeting Monday night which result
ed in the appointment of a committee
composed of Graham Byrum, Kenneth'
Floors,: William Privott and Clarence
Leary, who were instructed to make'
an investigation of likely games that
could be scheduled and arrange the
flood lights for-the purpose.
The Lions also went on record to
cooperate in every possible way with
the anti-aircraft maneuver to be put
on during October in which Chowan
County has been designated to take
an active part.
For the information of members |
and hinting at better attendance dur
ing the months ahead, Secretary W.
J. Taylor told those present that for
the past seven months the club has
had an average attendance of 75 per
cent which was considered very good
in that it included the summer
months during which time many of
the members were on vacations.
Onp new member, W. C. Bunch,
superintendent of the U. S. Fish
Hatchery, was added to the club. He
was placed on the club’s safety com
mittee, composed of George Dail and
Geddas Potter.
This newspaper is circu
lated in the territory
where Advertisers will
realise good results.
$1.25 Per Year.
Failure to Make Sewer
Connections Causing
Menace
$1 ratelexpected
Pressure of Business
Caused Delay on
Budget Action
Faced with many important mat
ters, Town Council on Tuesday night
held one of the busiest and most
lengthy meetings in several months.
It was originally proposed to approve
the year’s budget and set the tax
rate, but due to the amount of busi
ness confronting the group, this mat
ter will be acted upon at a special
meeting to be feteld Friday night.
However, before adjournment Albert
Byrum, chairman of the finance com
mittee, briefly reported a tentative
set up arranged earlier in the month
and despite several boosts in appro
priations, it was his opinion that the
town’s business can be adequately
carried on with the same tax rate as
last year, which is *y.oo on the SIOO
valuation.
Several requests for financial as
sistance were presented Tuesday
night, all of which will be considered
at Friday’s meeting when the tax
rate will be determined.
William Privott, spokesman for a
delegation representing various or
ganizations and interested citizens,
appealed for town aid in furnishing
a monthly salary for the scoutmas
ter of the Edenton Boy Scout troop.
Mr. Privott very ably presented the
(Continued on Page Four)
Judge Burpyn Is
High In Bis Praise
Os Chowan County
Says Albemarle Unable
To Repay Debt of Gra
titude to Julien Wood
BRIEF~CHARGE
Urges Children to Be
Familiar With His
tory of County
Prior to the Monday consideration
| of a number of cases on the criminal
j docket, all of them of striking and
unusual interest to this section, to
-1 gether with the imposition of severe
j but merciful sentences, Judge W. H.
| S. Burgwyn swerved from the usual
I procedure in charging the newly de
; signated grand jury, of which John
G. Wood was named as foreman, and
| principally confined his remarks to
much praiseworthy comment for
Chowan’s ancient history, its primal
men and what they did in hewing
j civilization out of a quagmire wilder
! ness, and particularly, to the gratifi
-1 cation of a crowded court room, spoke
in warm praise of Julien Wood, Eden
ton’s first citizen and former State
Highway Commissioner.
The eminent jurist said all North
1 Carolina, and specially the entire
’ Albemarle, will ever remain under a
debt of gratitude to Mr. Wood, which
it can never repay. His services as
(j an earnest conferee in all highway
( matters, his initial and lasting inter
i ’ eat in the location, construction and
: dedication of the new Sound bridge,
( have made this debt a paramount
one and worthy of the zeal of Peri
, cles, the early Grecian builder and
road enthusiast. The Judge did not
: cite the Pericles reference, but it is
! fitting, nevertheless, and was in his
; thoughts, he said Monday night.
Mr. Wood was not in court to hear
i the eulogy but learned of it later,
.' and spoke in thanks to the Judge
, I about it. The latter said, “Mr. Wood,
• I meant it all, but commendation is
i poor pay.” “I have been amply re
• paid in a thousand ways,” said the
| local banker.
r In starting his charge, which aVoid
t ed all lengthy references to interpre
tations of the law, save to call brief
, attention to drunken driving, dance
i hall irregularities, school bus imger
> factions, and the work of all county
. officials, Judge Burgwyn gave as hts
1 reason that the people today are well
(Continued <m *Mf Semi _M