Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / Sept. 22, 1999, edition 1 / Page 1
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Gift from the heart is something truly special to Manning :«BY LAURIE HUFFORD I Staff Writer g age 10 (1920), E. C. Alexander moved to Edenton. I^Ow retired, Alexander Still pleaches part-time at the First Christian Church, and has had time to build a beau tiful gift clock for longtime friend, Pete Manning. This friendship of 45-46 years be gan in the mid-1950’s when the two worked together in the Chowan Herald’s print shop. Alexander started working at the Cotton Mill at age 15, for 5 cents an hr. When he retired in 1983, Alexander was in charge of taking care of the whole village and the Mill, fixing everything that went wrong. He was also making more money: $500 - $600/week. He and his crews installed all of the fluorescent lighting in the Mill, and an other one of his tasks was the design and installation of the Mill’s air conditioning. ; “They told me when I got through with it (A/C) that I saved them $37,000,” says Alexander. Manning also recalls in stances where Alexander ef ficiently fixed machinery and saved money. One instance involved an eccentric gate on a linotype machine, which Manning heeded, but would be unable to get for two weeks. Alexander construc ted the part and installed it, quickly, and without charge. Later, Manning ordered the part, and found that it cost $96. On another printing press, a shaft was going to cost $800, plus labor, which put the cost at $3700. Alexander was able to fix the machine for signifi cantly less. Alexander’s method for fix ing or constructing things is one of natural genius. At age 10, he took apart his mother’s sewing machine, and learned how it worked. He says that he has been “messing with” watches and clocks ever since he was 15 years old, and has never studied, out of books, how to fix or build things. “The way I build things,” he says, “is, I just look as I go along. I just figure it out.” Alexander does not remem Aces Football is ON THE AIR EDENTON VS NORTHEASTERN THIS FRIDAY AT HOME Coverage begins with the East Carolina Radio sports pregame report! 7:00 PM Rebroadcasted Saturday 9 AM 1260AM WZBO "Wtudic '2f/uvi *di£e Chowan Herald Publisher Emeritus Pete Manning (at right) admires a handmade clock created especially for him by the Rev. E.C. Alexander of Edenton. (Staff photo by Laurie Hufford) ber anything that he hasn’t been able to fix, as long as he could get or make the parts for it. “I’ve run into one or two jobs,’’ he says, “where it was impossible to make a part or to buy it, because it had to be a certain kind of steel.” At one time, Alexander ran a sewing machine shop, and repaired all sorts of items for people, including furniture, dishwashers, bicycles, va cuum cleaners, clocks, wat ches - especially “anything that moved.” '"V -» gpjj^ >k -"**.. . * p 1999 TOYOTA TACOMA Auto, Air m 990 1999 TOYOTA CAMRY Loaded ^999 TOYOTA 4 0,* regardless of your past credit history! { Close Out Discount 1999 TOYOTA SOLARO 1999 TOYOTA COROLLA Auto, Air & Stem C>arland iLlalone ummint's Hertford of Suffolk 6 Chevy Blazer Intrepid Loaded, T288 Caravan Quad Seats, Loaded •tereo 97 Ford Mustang' Covert. Loaded f Ford Ranger X-Cab 5 Speed, Air ’24ft. Van Loaded lercury lager Fully Equipped 96 Nissan Quest Van Loaded 96 Pontiac Boneville SSE Loaded 96 Toyota Rav 4 Auto, Air 98 Toyota Camry >ave McCall Jay Palmer of Edenton of Elizabeth City V 96 Chevy s"'o"W" 96 Of Elizabeth l it 98 Chevy Monte Carlo Fully Loaded • As Low As Loaded 28Sho so rora Windstar Quad Seats, Loaded 1999 TOYOTA RAV 4 30 ISUZU Rodeo Loaded, 4x4 98 Mitsubishi Gallant Loaded srne**.... 95 Nissan 4x4 5 speed. Air 96 Pontiac Transport Van rno. mo 97 Toyota Corolla 95 Toyota Camry Loaded LE Loaded,T200 $*»eo Auto, Air PERRY, 1002 Halstead Blvd. Elizabeth City 335-4301 All payments based on *995 down, 72 months, plus tax, title, license and *199 Process Fee. New car prices after rebates. 4 < He says, “I’d just take the parts out of them, work on them, and put them back.” Charges were always mini mal, and often, there was no charge at all. “I love to work and do things for people,” he says. Alexander says that one reason he stayed with the Cotton Mill so long was that he got to do a lot of different jobs that had to do with fix ing things. He says that he also got to order most of the items bought by the company from 1952 on, and that he be lieves in shoppingfor the best price, as long as quality is comparable. He says that the company told him; “It’s in your hands. There’s nobody you can come to to ask anything, because we don’t know anything!” Alexander obviously likes people, and says that he worked in a cafe as a youth, and was also in the Armyfor a while. This next May, he will have been preaching at the same church for 53 years. ^ fIf n fan . Ha/<>n, Sfna. WIN A FREE OIL, LUBE AND FILTER SERVICE (Domestic Cars & Trucks) NORTH BROAD STREET EXT. (252) 482-8421 • 1-800-643-3878 joj ungo|s e srav o) uMop jqgu :gnT3^) A Mixture of Fixtures. Weve Got the Style For. Looking You Allegra' Whirlpool' A Fixture in ike Plumbing Business** Greenville • 3108 S. Memorial Dr. • FERGUSON |_ Bath 4^ Kitchen Gall cry ^eotwrIsesinc '4 According to Alexander, First Christian Church was organized in the old histori cal courthouse in 1923-1924, and moved to its present lo cation in the latter part of 1924. He remembers belong ing to it as early as 1929, at age 19, and was appointed Superintendent of the Bible School. He did this along with serving in other capacities, including preaching, until 1954, when he began preach ing exclusively. He preached full time until six years ago, when he suffered heart fail ure. He still preaches Sun day mornings, however, and hopes that the church will grow. The Mill’s closure, he says, hurt church member ship, and he worries about the church being able to af ford a new preacher when he can no longer do it. (Alex ander does not accept a sal ary for his preaching.) Alexander has made five clocks besides the one he made for Manning, each, one unique. Manning’s new clock chimes every 15 minutes with a beautiful tone, using a dif ferent number of strokes to indicate quarter, half or whole hour time. Several months of work went into the clock, with Alexander work ing on it intermittently. He estimates that it took a total of approximately 4-5 days of solid work to create the gift for his friend. The first clock Alexander made was for his daughter. The next, he says, will be for himself. Kiwanis Club to participate in WSP effort The Edenton Kiwanis Club is joining thousands of other Kiwanis clubs around the world in a Worldwide Service Project (WSP) to virtually eliminate iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) as a global health problem by the year 2000. Iodine is an essential micro nutrient in the human diet. Over a lifetime, a person needs a total of just one teaspoon of iodine. But a lack of iodine can cause mental retardation, still births, and a wide variety of other serious disabilities. Io dine deficiency is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation in the world today. Iodine deficiency disorders ire most prevalent in moun See KIWANIS On Page 9-B ? REMEMBERING ? 1934 - 1999 l PLAY WHIZ ■? ■7 ■? ? OUIX? EVERY WEEK • IN THE CHOWAN ^ HERALD l AND YOV COULDWIN. I SEE PAGE 5-B J TO FIND OUT ? HOW YOU CAN WIN?
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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Sept. 22, 1999, edition 1
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