North Carolina Newspapers

• 1 * # 1 "' ~~ I If ONLY NEWSPAPER IV I ITV BUSHED IN f VHOWAN COUNTY 1 : A .v k { Volume XXV.—Number 2 I Three Roper Men Are Foik *| I In An Extortion Attempt T« I Getss,oooFrom TwoWomen William Lawrence Tarkington,, Thomas Nixie Tarkington and Fred Franklin Tyson, Jr., Caught In Net Set By Officers HI William Laurence Tarkington, H 25; Thomas Nixie Tarkington, 21. arid Fred Franklin Tyson, Jr., 21, Kail of the Roper section in Wash [Hftington County, were arrested Friday morning in the Pea Ridge section. They are being held in connection with extortion H letters sent to Mrs. Irene Dunbar Hn of Edenton and Mrs. Cedric Dav- Hi enport, who lives near Roper. Hf Upon her return from a visit to H7 relatives in Pennsylvania over the R Christmas holidays, Mrs. Dunbar B found a Jetter in which she was H instructed to place $2,500 near an H oak tree along the Albemarle I Sound in Washington County, and I if She did not, one of her daugh- I ters would be killed. I Mrs. Davenport’s letter was f similar except she was instructed I to place $2,500 on a trestle near Ij the southern end of the Albemarle I Sound bridge. Mrs. Davenport’s | letter also contained a threat that |! if the money was not paid hei I daughter would be killed. Both I letters demanded the money to be I paid in S2O, $lO and $5.00 bills. I Mrs. IJunbar, who was fright IJ, ened by the letter, told friends I) abous it, who in turn notified B Chief of Police George I Dail. t Mrs. Davenport reported the re ■ ceipt.of her letter to Sheriff J. K. ■j Reid of Washington County. H Dail and Reid immediately con- II tacted the FBI and SBI. who lost ■I no time in making an investiga- K tion and planned for the appre- H hension of the men. Taking part W fn the carefully carried out plan were FBI agents in charge of M. 4».‘ Chiles, special agent in charge ft .of the fOMrlo^Division: in charge of Supervisor George Canady of Kinston; Sher iff J. K. Reid .of Washinigton County; Chfcf of Police George I. Dail of Edenton and members of | their departments; and members of the N. C. Highway Patrol un der the direction of M. C. Byrum of Williamston. Pnblic Hearing On | Zoning January 14j At the January meeting of | Town Council next Tuesday, night, January 14, a public hear ing will be held on a proposed ! change in the town’s zoning ordi- j nance. A request has been made; that the south side of Westj Queen Street between Granville; and M°sely Street be re-zoned | from RA-7 residential to RA-5 1 residential. The purpose of the rezoning is j to permit the former Baptist par- j sonage to be used as an apartment j ■house. Anyone interested in the] proposal is invited to attend and I take part-in the hearing. hwSCHUMAN CHOIR REHEARSAL J n Announcement is made that the I pchuman Choir will meet for a ..rehearsal Friday, night, January f f 10, at 8 o’clock. The rehearsal i will be held in the Penelope Barker house and every member j is requested to be on hand. Postgraduate Medical Courses Scheduled Be Held In Edenton The first two postgraduate | courses in medicine of 1958 spon sored by the University of North; Carolina School of Medicine will j get under way January 15-16. •foe first course will be held in ; the Afioskie - Edenton - Elizabeth City area. This course will begin ! Wednesday, January 15 and lec-j tures will be given each Wednes- j day for six weeks. The first group of lectures will be held in Edenton and the location of the following flye series will be ro- among the three town?. Both courses are -co-sponsored by tpe UNC Extension Division. The -KStstern NAC. course will-be co-sptnsored by- the First Dis trict Medical Society while tlie Raleigh course will be co-sponsor ed by the Wake Cbunty Medical THE CHOWAN HERALD The monkey wrench was thrown into the plot when Thom as Nixie Tarkington and Tyson went to the bridge to pick up Mrs - . Davenport's money. How ever, they thought they heard somebody moving around in the woods and started back to a near by service station, when the offi cers pounced upon them. Officers reported that an automobile sev eral times passed the spot where Mrs. Dunbar was ordered to place her money, and while it slowed down, nobody got out of the car to look for the money. William Laurence Tarkington, who is charged with writing the extortion letters, was later ar rested at his mother’s home. Of ficers reported that William Laur ence wrote the letters and was to give his brother SOOO and Ty son SSOO for their part in the plot. Mr. Chiles described the work of the officers who investigated this case as an example of out standing law enforcemen and stated it was another example of splendid teamwork among law enforcement officers. The three men were arraigned Friday before United States Com missioner Lloyd Sawyer at Eliza i both City and all three were ! bound over to the next session of ! the Federal Grand Jury at Eliza-] both City. Bond was set for Wil-: liam Tarkington at SIO,OOO. Each ! of the other two men was placed under $5,000 bond. They were placed in the Pasquotank County jail in Custody of the United States Marshall and later were transferred to the Wilaori-County > rfrfrjftl'Wwgoq. 1 i William Laurence Tarkington. who worked in Edenton, and his : brother, Thomas Nixie Tarking ! ton, are single and reside on a . farm in the Pea Ridge section of Washington County. Tyson, who is also unmarried, is a neighbor to the Tarkington brothers. ij civic calendar] i. ; ■* A rural health conference will be held in the Edenton armory ! Wednesday, January 15, which is open to the public. The pro gram will last from 1 to 4 P. M. Edenton's Parent-Teacher As sociation will meet Tuesday . night, January 21, at 8 o'clock in the Elementary School audi ] torium. Edenton Rotarians will enter jtain the Edenton Aces, 1957 i Stale Class A football cham ' pions, at a banquet Thursday j afternoon, January 16, at 1 i o'clock in the Parish House. 1 The third polio booster shots will be given by Edenton physi cians at the Penelope Barker house Friday, January 17, from . 6 to 8 P. M. The Schuman Choir will meet Friday night, January 10, at 8 o'clock at the Penelope Barker house. Edenton Jaycees will hold | their annual distinguished ser- Continued oa Page 6—Section 1 | The first lectures at both lOca-: tions will be delivered by Dr. W.! i Norman Thornton, Jr., professor | and chairman, Department of Ob i stetrics and Gynecology, Univer sity of Virginia School of Medi i cine. These lectures are designed j to cover some of the more import ! ant obstetrical and gynecological ] problems which the general prac titioner is called upon to handle. The Edenton lectures will -be held at the Hotel Joseph Hewes and the Elizabeth City meetings will be held in the Virginia Dare Hotel. Physicians desiring literature and technical information con cerning these courses are request ed to write to the Office of Con tinuation Education, UNC Scnool of Medicine, Chapel Hill. Edent 1 55 Ihowan County, North Carolina, Thursday, January 9,1958. li Aces Honored ] s, /; Edenton's Rotary Club will be host to the Edenton Aces, 1957 ( State Class A football champions. ] their coaches and managers, at a banquet to be served in the Parish House Thursday afternoon, Janu ary 16. at 1 o'clock. The Rotarians. all loyal sup-. porters of the Aces, annually en- i tertain the squad and again this: year are especially proud of the! boys who won their second con secutive stale crown. The program will be in charge) of Gerald James, principal of the Edenton Junior-Senior High School. Masons Install 1958 Officers] l Officers for Unanimity Lodge No. 7. A. F. & A. M., for the year] 1958 were installed at a meeting j held Thursday night of last week when Daniel P. Reaves became j the new master, succeeding Wil- ; liam W. Adams. i Other officers installed were: J. Ernest Ward. Jr., senior ward en; McKay Washington, junior] warden; R. E. Leary, treasurer; Louis George Wilkins, secretary;i J. A. Bunch, senior deacon; Lon . nie Harrell, junior deacon; Dr. A. I F. Downum and J. C. Parks, ste ] wards; James H. Griffin, tyler, I land R. A. Tarkington, chaplain, j ! The installation ceremony was 1 I performed by W. P. Goodwin withj : J. Edwin Bufflap, marshal, assist- 1 ] ing. i The various officers expressed. their ae-rociation for being pine- j i Id in tmlce and pledged their best i j efforts to make 1958 a successful ! year. After the meeting Mrs. I). i ■M. Reaves, mother of the new | master, served refreshments in the] j dining room. i Fishermen Ask For More Area In Loeal Waters A delegation of fishermen! from the Edenton-Hertford area.! were represented by Carroll j Holmes of Hertford and W. M. J Darden of Plymouth at a meet ling of the State Fisheries Com ! mission held in Raleigh Monday in behalf of the commercial fish | ing industry. A request was made to allow i gill net fishing during the 1 closed season on shad and her ring—-April 21 to June 1— and the committee went along with the request. The Commission was also asked to allow fishing in waters from the Albemarle Sound bridge to the Norfolk Southern Railroad bridge and from the head of Al bemarle Sound up the Chowan River to the Chowan River bridge. Permission was re quested to use three-inch and larger mesh nets. The Commission agreed to hold a public hearing on this proposal !at Morehead City on April 12 at 2 P. M. During the meeting the Com mission backed State Fisheries Commissioner Gehrman Holland’s j request for a $7,500 seaplane to ,be used in enforcement of com ! mercial fishing law's over the [state’s 6.000 square miles of water. Red Men Install Group Os Officers' 1 Officers for Chowan Tribe of I Red Men were installed Monday night, with Hurley Ward taking ! over the sachem’s stump suc > ceeding Albert Cullipher. The ; other elective offivers w'ho were ! installed were: Prophet, Albert Cullipher; ; senior sagamore, Caswell Ed • mondson; junior sagamore, Leroy - Harrell; chief of records, J. Ed ■ win Bufflap; collector of wam -1 pum, Jack Barrow; keeper of Continued on Pag* 3—Section 1 New Squadron Adjutant )| HHHfc -^■^■■■■MHHIiiHHMHHHHHHHHHHHHHI Second Lieutenant Ronald H. Guson. a recent graduate of Basic School. Marine Corps School. Qiianiico. Virginia, has as sumed the adjutant post of Marine Attack Squadron 211 of World War 11. Wake Island fame, at Edenton NAAS. As the squadron adjutant. Lieutenant Gilson will control the many and varied ac ministrative matters for the squadron commander, Lieutenant Colonel H. A. Eisele. The newly reformed squadron is fiVing the Douglas Skyhawk jet A4D-2. Lieutenant Gilson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert C. Gilson of Gloucester, Mass., was qradualed from Boston University, class of 1956. He and Mrs. Gilson, the former Joan Korlekamp, are now residing in Edenton. where the squadron is operating from the Naval Auxiliary Air Sta tion. —(Official U. S. Marine Corps Three Prisoners Gain Freedom In' Local Jail Break Rush Jailer Bertram| Byrum While Taking j Water Into Jail Bertram Byrum, Chowan Court-! ty’s new jailer experienced a jail break shortly after 7 o'clock Mon- ] day night when'three colored men ] gained their freedom from the! Chowan County jail. ; /The.. tfyjt Jasppr Cobb, Frank., floscoe and Stewart Burns, made) a break for freedom when Mr. Byrum entered the jail with a bucket of water. Mr. Byrum was rushed and in the scuffle he re-j ceived minor injuries on his hands! and knees as the Negroes made; their getaway. Cobb and Roscoe were confin ed in jail awaiting trial at the i March term of Superior Court .in connection with tire theft of a quantity of cigarettes from the W. D. Holmes Wholesale Grocery, j Burns had ly a few more days | to serve on a sentence for disor- 1 derly conduct. Cobb’s freedom didn’t last very ; long, for he was captured in Nor- 1 folk Tuesday morning. The other two have not been apprehended. At first it was believed the es- > capees stole an automobile, but it j was later learned tbaf they had not. January 25 Set As Deadline For Nominations To Name Chowan Outstanding Young Farmer Wesley Chesson. Jr., Chairman, of the Edenton Junior Chamber of Commerce project to name this; community’s most outstanding young farmer for 1957. announces that nomination forms are now; available from local'Jaycees or at] Hobbs Implement Company. Mr. j Chesson points out that the j “farmer” search is aimed at hon-1 oring the community’s agricultur ists who have made exceptional ] career progress without neglect-; ing good conservation practices orj responsible roles in community life. The Jaycees also hope that a better understanding of the farmer and his problems will re- j suit —and that more young people! will become interested in farming as a lifetime career. All farmers ages 21 to 36 are * eligible for nomination. Nomi- ] nees may be land owners or rent-; ers. The local search is part of a ROTARIANS MEET TODAY Edenton Rotarians will meet this (Thursday) afternoon at 1 o'clock in the Parish House. At this meeting business will be transacted, so that no program has been arranged. President Robert Marsh urges a 100 per cent meeting. ! Resigns : j\ d Chowan Commissioners at Iheir ; meeting Monday morning receiv ed the resignation of Mrs. Jac-' queline Lewis as Chowan Coun ! ly’s assistant home agent. The ersignation read as follows: "It is with regret that I inform i you of my resignation as of Jjanu ary*ls. 1958. I'have enjbyed my work in Chowan County, but feel i that my firsi obligations are to my family at home. Mrs. Lewis will return to her home at High Point, where she will be able to be with her hus ] band and parents. The Commissioners accepted the resignation with regrets and ‘ informed Mrs. Lewis that they, were well pleased with ihe re ports they have received through out the county regarding her work. Mrs. Lewis has been as sistant home agent for 7*2 ! months. JAYCEES MEET TONIGHT Edenton’s Junior Chamber of Commerce will meet tonight (Thursday) at 7 o’clock in the Pe-1 ; nelope Barker house. Now that I the holidays are over, Warren Twiddy, president, urges every; I member to be present. nation-wide effort now taking; place in some 1,500 American] communities, sponsored national-; ly by the American Petroleum In- i stitute, committee on agriculture, ; and the U. S. Junior Chamber of Commerce. After community judging, Jay cees will enter Chowan County's i winner in the state finals, the! i winner of which will be eligible i ] to represent the state in national ] i competition and may win an all-j ] expense trip to Indianapolis. Indi-I I ana. next April for the national j : awards program. There, Ameri-; ; ra’s four outstanding young farm- J j ers of 1957 will be selected and ! honored. Mr. Chesson points out that the] ] deadline for local nominations is] Saturday, January 25. “I hope we j j will receive many nominations, j i said Mr. Chesson, “for Chowan j 1 County certainly has its share of | ' exceptional farmers.' 47 JAILED IN DECEMBER i Jailer Bertram Byrum reported to the County Commissioners on Monday that during December 47 persons were placed in the Cho wan County jail. The expense amounted to $396.23, which in cluded jail and turnkey fees, soap and powder and telephone bill. [Firstßural Health Conference To Be Held Here Jan. 15 I Everyone Is Invited to Hear Health Prob lems Discussed The first District Medical So- j cicty, in cooperation with the State Medical Society, is sponsor ing its first Rural Health Confer ence on Wednesday, January 15, at the Edenton armory. The purpose of these rural health conferences is to bring up mutual health problems of our farm citizens and the physicians, as well as other health agencies, and discuss methods for their prevention or solution. Intere-ting topics to be covered at the meeting, are household poi sonings, farm chemicals - their uses and misuses, sanitation on the farm, preventative dental care, water testing, insect and ro dent control, and services offered, by Red Cross, Health Department - and other agencies. Dr. William A. Hoggartl, Jr., of , Elizabeth City, chairman of the j •oriferen.ee, has arranged an inter -1 i Img program and a large crowd ■ is expected. The meeting is open to the public and everyone is iti vitt cl Registration begins at 12:30 I’. M., Wednesday, January 15 and the program lasts from 1-4 P. M. ! i Lectures, demonstrations, slides and panel discussions will make; up the program. Dr. Zack Owens, pa-t president of the State Medi- ■ cal Society, will summarize the j program and give his views on. "why your family physician is in- ■ lerested in community health pro tection". Booster Polio Shots Planned Friday, Jan. 17 ». J - Edenton physicians are plan ning to give the third polio boos ter injection on Friday. January ] 17. The time is 6 to 8 P. M . and the place is the Penelope Barker i house ;it the south end of Broad ; Street.' The Edenton Junior Chamber of Commerce will help: run the clinic. i Everyone from ages 6 months, through 50 years who have not re- j ceived their third shot should be I. , pre-ent. And those who have] never laid any polio shots are urg- j od to come also. Not only will) I the injections help protect the in ! dividual but will help prevent the spread of polio by those who have : not had the shot. "Help yourself i as well as others arid get your po : ljo shots." say members of the; Jaycees. j Those who have completed their! scries of three shots are urged to j ] get a booster (annual) dose at this] time. Tin. 1 clinic is open to everyone. A donation of SI.OO will be accept ed to cover the cost of the vac- i cine. * ] i First Parents To Get! New Birth Certificate At Chowan Hospital Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Habit j j and their new baby, Michel An-! thonv, were presented with the first Hollister Inscribed Birth Cer tificate by T. L. Ridgeway, ad ministrator. as they left Chowan 1 Hospital this week. I “One of these beautiful birth j certificates will be presented to i all new parents as they leave the I hospital with their new babies.” I Mr. Ridgeway said. Each certificate shows a picture ! of the hospital, gives the patients’ and baby’s names, date of birth, j hospital administrator’s and doc j tor's signatures. Hollister craftsmen design and ■, LithoGrave these certificates to j last for generations and only the | finest diploma parchment paper is ' i used. As a result this certificate ] will be just as beautiful as it is ' j today when little Michel shows it j to his grandchildren. I “We have many things to be i proud of in our hospital.” Mr. Ridgeway said, “but we are es pecially proud of our maternity : ward. These' new certificates are ■ just one more step in our effort ► to provide the best possible ser vice to our maternity patients.” $2.00 Per Year In North Carolina Sale Os 1958 State Auto License Plates Trailing Last Year New Master ]j DANIEL P. REAVES With new officers installed for Unanimity Lodg<- No. 7, A. F. & A. M.. Daniel P. Reaves was in stalled as master for the year 1958, Thursday night of last week.; P I A Meeting January 2isl The Edenton Parent-Teacher I Association will meel in the Ele j I mentary School auditorium Tues-I ■■ day night. January 21. at 3; t o'clock, | i At. this mooting the principal | speaker will be Everett Miller, as- ' sistant superintendent of Public,' Education for the State of North ! I Carolina. Mr. Miller will speak on the subject "Education In ' North Carolina and Legislation j 1 Present and Future." Not only all members are. es- ; peciaily urged to attend thisj meeting, but a cordial invitation I is extended to everybody, even if I not members of the PTA. to be ; pre-ent 120 Years Ago I As liiiind lii (lie Files of The Chowan Herald The Herald was forced to ap- i pear late due to a lire damaging the office which was then local- i ed on East King Street. John B. McMullan of Elizabeth City announced he would be a candidate for Solicitor for the First District. C. E. Kramer, Chairman for the ■ President’s Birthday Party, an nounced the possibility of staging : a fiddlers' convention in connec tion with the party. Edenton Lions Club backed a movement for a paved road to Ihe new Albemarle Sound bridge. Mrs. Julien Wood was report ed to be in a serious condition af ] ter being stricken with pneu-; monia. Charlie Morgan had Ihe misfor , tune lo fall and break his collar : bone while hanging paper in the Chappell Restaurant. Continued on Page 6—Section 1 Fdenlon Police Make Total Os 691 Arrests During Year 1957 During 1957 Edenton police : 1 j made a total of 691 arrests, ac- i ! cording to the annual report of j Chief of Police George I. Dail. Os * I all the arrests miscellaneous traf- , 1 sic violations led the list with 211: } j Drunks were in second place with i 136. i i I Other arrests included 15 for] j disorderly conduct. 38 for speed-:’ ing, 41 assault cases, three for as-! ' frays, 29 for operating an automo-j i bile while intoxicated, 12 for care- i : | less and reckless driving, 36 for ] ; i larceny, 27 for whiskey violations,;: ! 18 miscellaneous arrests, 12 for i i breaking and entering, 68 for op- i j erating an automobile without an | operator's license, one hit and run, j 27 runaways, 10 for driving an automobile without a town li cense, seven for operating an au- : tomobile after the state license ex pired and two for armed robbery. Os those arrested 27 were re- ; DRIVE CAREFULLY -• YOU MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE! LSome Refused Plates Due to Incorrect FS-1 Forms Miss Goldie Layton, branch manager of the Carolina Motor Club, reports that sale of 1958 state automobile tags is trailing sales at the saine time last.year. The sale of the hew plates be gan Januay 2, when Mayor Er nest. Keliayes purchased the first 1953 plate in Chowan County. Mi;-.-- Layton urges automobile owners to secure their’ 19SS li cense plates as early as possible m order to avoid the rush and inconvenience w hich is hound to occur as the deadline approaches. Miss Layton aaain implij-'/e the fact that every motor vehicle owner must present a certificate of insurance. Form FS i. before n license can be issued. Form FS 1 ' me t be chocked again si the ap plication card for a license to see f both agree. This is ver> im portant Many people have gon» to Miss Layton's office onlv 1o find that the certificate arid reg stsati ai rem v. ! card did not agree and, thiscfore, they Were el’usj d a license and sent back to the r insurance agent for a cor rected FS-1 form. This, naturally -lows up the issuance of license plates arid, works a .hardship on the motorist who is obliged to stand in line for a long period of time and then discovers a license plate cannot be issued. This year ari extra Sl.tlO is add ed to every license plate costing SIO.OO or more This dollar will be used for driver education. Miss Layton’s office is on East Water Street with office pours being 9A.M. to • ’. M., except Saturdays, o lr n ti.e Pilicv closes at 12 o’clock noon. In. order to speed tip sen ice in pm chasing license, plates. Miss Layton offers the following sug gestion 1. Have lieeii e ctit :I readv 2. Be ,-uie .aid have cornet FS-1 form. 8 Have correct amount of mon ey and include $1.90 driver training fee. If these . suggestions arc car ried out, Miss Layton says more people can be waited on and less wait ing by those purchasing li censes. LEGION MEETING Ed Bond Post No. 40 of the American Legion will meet in the Legion building Tuesday night. January 14. at 8 o'clock-. Trov Toppm. commander, urge's a full attendance at the first meeting .of;- the new .year. A feature’ of the meeting will be a very interesting film on in fantile paralysis, winch will be presented by Tom Ridgeway. AUXILIARY TO MEET : The Ladies' Auxiliary of I’ost No. 9280. Veterans of Foreign Wars, will meet Thursday night, January 9. at 8 o’clock in the Post ; home. Mrs. Dora Stillman, presi dent. urges all members to a 1 . tend. leased to parents amt nine to oth er police. Os the H9l arrested. (ifJO were found guilty as cliargi d. The ar rests included 3it? white males, 30 white females, 24!) colored males and 25 colored females. Fines amounted to 59.437.08 and costs 55.272.21 for a total of 514.- 709.29. Os this amount. $3,334.43 was turned back to the town in wav of officers’ fees. During the year the police an swered 056 calls, investigated 70 automobile accidents, reported seven automobiles stolen, recover ed eight stolen automobiles, work ed 40 funerals, reported 415 street lights out, extended 226 courtes ies, found 342 doors unlocked, made 248 investigations, answered 20 fire calls, and is-'ued 6,783 traf fic citations. T’ police made 11.218 radio calls and were on tiie air 14 hours, 43 minutes and 28 seconds.