County Population Up 14 Per Cent
Preliminary census figures for Chowan County show a population
increase of 14 per cent in the past 10 years. The Town of Edenton showed
a less dramatic' 3.7 per cent increase.
County Manager Cliff Copeland released the figures, saying he is
confident they are “in the ball park” and while there may be room for
some contention Chowan County apparently received a more complete
census of population than neighboring counties and towns.
The figures place Chowan County’s population at 12,271, up from 10,764
in 1970. This is a dramatic rebound from previous declines in population.
Edenton’s population is 5,138, according to the preliminary count, up
from 4,956 10 years ago. W.B. Gardner, town administrator, expressed
disappointment in the figures, saying they are in conflict with an ind
pendent census conducted less than two years ago to establish boun
daries for ward voting.
Second Township, which includes Arrowhead and Chowan beaches and
Center Hill, showed a 35.2 per cent increase. Population in this township
is now 2,487, up from 1,840 established in 1970.
In all areas, population per household was down a great deal. In 1970 it
was set at 3.38; this year it is 2.84 countywide. One observer noted that
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Vol. XIVI-No. 29
Public Parade
Lester T. Copeland
Chowan County commissioners
were meeting in regular session on
February 4. The meeting was
being held in the Fourth Floor
conference of the County Office
Building.
It was business as usual. That
is until 11:55 o’clock. Com
missioner Lester T. Copeland
excused himself. He went across
the hall to the Board of Elections
and filed for a second four-year
term from the Third Township.
Without a word, he returned to the
meeting with his colleagues.
Yes, it was always business as
usual with Lester Copeland. It was
that way Monday. He was busy at
his turkey farm on Route 1, Tyner,
he was late for lunch, and his
wife found him dead beside a truck
he had just helped load.
With the truck loaded, he sent
his workers to lunch. And as was
his nature, he stayed behind to do
the little tasks; to make sure
everything was secure.
Lester Copeland literally
worked himself to death! And at
the age of 54 he lived a full life but
there was so, so much remaining
on his agenda. Though as Mr.
Copeland would have had it, he
died the way he lived - busy.
It is however, poetic that the
Master Planner acted on the eve of
more than 30 days of political
rhetoric by Democrats and
Republicans. Rhetoric of any
nature irritated Mr. Copeland. He
chose to cut straight to the core of
Continued on Page 4
801 l Weevil Effort Successful
ByL.F.Amburn,Jr.
(Second in a Series)
An unusual, brightly inverted
colored cup on a five foot tall pole
situated along field and roadsides
in North Carolina this summer has
raised considerable curiosity
among travelers and residents
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INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION Tilmon Keel, center, vice president of Jimbo’s Jumbos, discusses
a major expansion project with officials of Edenton-Chowan Chamber of Commerce. At right is Les
Fagan, chairman of the Industrial Committee. Jerry Hendee, left, is the new chamber executive
vice president. This is the second major expansion at the local peanut processing plant in less than a
year.
Jimbo’s Jumbos Sets Industrial Expansion
In less than 10 months after a Si
million expansion, Jimbo’s
Jumbos, Inc., on Peanut Drive,
has begun work on another
project. Construction of a 12,000-
square-foot refrigerated storage
building is underway.
J. Tilmon Keel, vice president,
said the new facility will provide
refrigerated storage for 5-million
according to state agriculture
officials.
The odd looking contraption is a
boll weevil trap and is a part of the
cooperative undertaking by the
state and federal governments
and individual cotton growers to
eliminate the destructive cotton
pest.
In Chowan County the traps are
still very much in evidence but
those looking for boll weevils in
them have become disappointed.
The boll weevil eradication
program has been so successful
here some scouts and trap at
tendants haveen’t seen a weevil in
nearly three years.
“Some of them wouldn’t
recognize one (boll weevil) if they
saw it,” joked Pete Thompson,
county agricultural extension
chairman.
“We’ve had quite a few calls
from travelers just wanting to
know what those things are,” said
N.C. Department of Agriculture’s
Pest Administrator Howard
Singletary, “they are kind of
strange looking.”
The trap which is made from
about 45 cents worth of materials,
consists of a plastic cup, some
screen, a small plastic box, a
cigarett filter and yellow paint.
The cup is turned upside down
and painted a shocking char
treuse, a highly visible color that
is especially appealing to boll
Continued on Page 4
had the number of people per housing unit remained the same the
county’s population would be near 16,000.
First Township, including Edenton. has a population of 7,595; Third
Township, 1,284, just six more than 10 years ago; and Fourth Township,
905.
N.J. George, chairman, Chowan County Democratic Executive
Committee, said Mrs. Snooky Bond, census coordinator, deserves a lot of
praise for the diligent manner in which the census was carried out.
“I believe our precinct chairman provided the leadership to get the job
done,” George said. He paid special tribute to the Black Caucus and
Civic League for contributions in the overall effort.
The census figures showed there are 5,164 housing units in Chowan
County, a 42.9 per cent increase over 1970. Os this number, 2,022 of them
are in Edenton. The figures show also that 6.8 per cent of the units in
Edenton are vacant while the countywide vacancy rate is 16.4 per cent.
“If there is any real argument about the census figures it will be with
the vacancy rate in housing units,” one knowledgeable source said. “In a
community where rental units are so hard to find it is difficult to un
derstand how the enumerators arrived at such a high vacancy rate. ’ ’
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, July 17, 1980
pounds of peanuts. It represents a
capital investment of $250,000 for
construction and some $2-million
in inventory.
Keel estimates that four or five
additional employees will be
needed to operate the palletized
facility.
The facility will give Jimbo’s
Jumbos in plant capacity for
peanuts needed in the processing
plant during the summer months.
At the present time the company
uses commercial storage
facilities, primarily in Suffolk, Va.
In late September, 1979, the
local peanut processing plant put
in operation a sl-million facility
which Keel said at the time could
result in SSO-million in product
sales annually. The additional
processing capacity alone is 30-
million pounds per year.
Keel repeated that the firm has
the customer base to reach full
plant production capacity in less
than five years.
Keel and Harry Gard, president,
have seen the plant increase
production facilities to a 250,000
pound daily product capacity.
Officials at Jimbo’s Jumbos
envision that another 5-mUlion
cold storage facility will be needed
in the not too distant future. They
Tarheel Bank
Assets Increase
GATESVILLE - A dramtic 16-
million increase in assets on June
30 was reported by Tarheel Bank &
Trust Company, according to
Robert E. Lee, executive vice
{resident, cashier and trust of
ficer. The major physical ex
pansion of Tarheel during the year
was the opening of a branch in
Edenton Village Shopping Center.
Tarheel assets at the reporting
period were $42,306,403.14, up from
$36,368,027.55 at the same time in
Continued on Page 4
explain that a continuous program
of expansion at Jimbo’s Jumbos to
meet the customer needs is a sign
of their confidence in their product
as well as in this community.
Fire Damages Bank Building
A downtown Edenton landmark,
the Bank of North Carolina, N.A.
Building, was heavily damaged by
fire and smoke early Thursday
morning. The first was contained
to the board room, while extensive
smoke damage was experienced
in the main floor banking area.
Some smoke damage was on the
second floor of the three-story
building.
Fire Chief Luther C. Parks said
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FIRE CONTAINED—This photo by Flynn Surratt of The Chowan Herald staff shows the remains
of the board room of Bank of North Carolina, N.A., in downtown Edenton which was heavily
damaged by an early Thursday morning fire. Edenton Fire Department officials theorized that the
fire started in a sofa in the room and the main portion of the bank was heavily damaged by smoke.
Pete Thompson C.B. Smith Dr. Vance Hamilton
Business Banquet Is Planned
Plans are being made for a
Business Appreciation Banquet,
sponsored by the 10-county
Single Copies 20 Cents
Stalls Completes
Career Center
Two Year Study
Kenneth L. Stalls has completed
two years of a successful
feasibility study for the Tri-County
Career Education Center and will
return to his post as supervisor of
Vocational Education in Chowan,
Gates and Perquimans counties.
At the same time, Eugene
Rascoe will return to the
Vocational Education program at
John A. Holmes High School with a
challenge from one member of
Edenton-Chowan Board of
Education to develop a strong
student club.
Dr. John Dunn, superintendent,
explained that the Tri-County
Steering Committee is extremely
pleased with the study directed by
Stalls. Funding has now been
reduced to $25,000 and it was felt it
would not be wise to continue
employing a director during the
upcoming period of seeking
funding for construction and
equipment.
Stalls will continue to work with
the committee and the Tri-County
office will remain open at
Perquimans County Schools in
Hertford.
Cecil W. Fry pointed out that
Holmes has never had a strong
vocational education club. “This
helps the student a great deal; it
builds confidence in public
speaking, etc.,” he said.
Continued on Page 4
the fire apparently originated in a
sofa in the board room, which was
set up for an early Thursday
meeting.
Firemen were called at 4:40
A.M. after a policeman on patrol
and Alvin Hollowell
simultaneously reported the fire.
Chief Parks said it was attacked
through a window on West Eden
Street.
Continued on Page 4
Albemarle Area Development
Association. C.B. Smith of
Seabrook Blanching Corp., in
Edenton, is chairman of the AADA
Industrial Committee which is
making arrangements for what is
hoped will become an annual
event.
The banquet will be held in
October. However, selection of
businesses to be recognized will be
completed by August 22. The date
of the banquet will be announced
as soon as commitment is
received from the keynote
speaker; expected to be a popular
public figure who has shown
considerable interest in Nor
theastern North Carolina.
Smith told a planning committee
group recently that the purpose is
to have programs which will get
more people involved in AADA.
“We need to get people more
enthused about AADA and
broaden the base of interest and
particiption,” he said.
Plans are being made for up to
400 people at the banquet where
one business from each of the 10
counties - Camden, Chowan,
Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hyde,
Continued on Page 4
Lester T. Copeland
Mr. Copeland, 54
Lester Taylor Copeland. Route
1, Tyner, died suddenly at his
home Monday afternoon. He was
54.
Mr. Copeland, owner of
Copeland & Sons Turkey Farms
and other farming interests, was
completing a four-year term on
the Chowan County Board of
Commissioners. He was unop
posed for a second term,
representing the Third Township
on the five-member board.
He was a charter member of
Ryland Ruritan Club and active in
Ballards Bridge Baptist Church,
where he served as a deacon and
Sunday School teacher. He was
also active in other community,
county, regional and state un-
Continued on Page 4