Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / June 29, 1933, edition 1 / Page 1
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■* ' '' “AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH j SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.”—John viii. 82. ’ VOL. LIV. . CHARLOTTE, N. C, THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 1933. r ' ’ ~ v f . ?! :'■«£'.! ; 4* ■ o4. j NO. 25. LARIMER HIGH SCHOOL, EDISTO ISLAND* S. C. (Issued by the Department of Specific Work of the Presbyte rian Board of National Missions.) Our colored pastor had two difficult problems to solve when he went to Edisto Island over twenty years ago—the one to destroy a belief in primitive signs and the other to stimulate a belief in progressive signs of the day. It was equally as diffi cult to break down superstitious “signs” as it was to build up effective responses to the signs that pointed to a new way to .ife. Deeply rooted are customs and traditions and they cannot be swifty destroyed, nor can new habits be quickly established. Some of us still act as ff we think it is a bad sign to walk un der a ladder, or to sit down with thirteen at a table, but we are not fettered as is the average Edisto Islander who turns nei ther to the left nor to the right, takes neither a step forward nor backward without speculating as to what his movements un der such and such conditions would be a sign of. Umbrellas, if they had um brellas, were, you may be sure, never opened in the house, ana the geese were never plucked save in the light of the full moon. Seeds were planted according tt> rdysterious “signs.” Whether the crop was to be good or bad was also determined by signs. It was thought drought could be forestalled by the making of cer tain signs on the ground while the making of other appropriate signs was thought to cure dis ease. The destruction of superstitious beliefs has been a slow, slo^v process. “It never could have Dr. Metz asserts emphaticallyT “nor by Larimer Day School alone. The two have been need ed to work hand in hand, in or der to uproot primitive beliefs. In the church we touched the adults—but they were slow to change, until their children went to school where supersti tious beliefs were openty ridi culed. The parents not wishing to be laughed at by their off spring, gradually changed their customs. This, then, made if easier to train the children that conjurers are quacks to ; be avoided and that the way to a happy and useful lift is to follow the Bible, while the way to a healthy life is to know and ob serve nature’s laws.” Today there is in Larimer School a special clinic room. On certain days a sign is posted. A sign the children have been trained to believe in. A sign that announces that a doctor, a dent ist or a trained nurse will be there to examine and treat not only the sick, but those who wish to avoid sickness such as malaria, typhoid and jdiphthe ria. The islanders no longer make silly signs to avoid the bad luck of sickness. At Edisto Island church and Larimer School they have been taught the truth and the truth has made them free from such hampering ignorance. It is sometimes airncure ior the city boy to be on time though he be used to catching a certain car, meeting a specific train and answering the class room bell. Too often the average white child keeps his eyes on the clock, hoping soon work will be over and he will be free to play. But the colored '•hild from the country neither works nor plays by the clock. His parents work; from sun up till sun oiown or until a job is completed, while he now works and now plays according to his moods and immediate needs. To “go to school” usually means to the white child, to be in the class room every day, ruin or shine, from nine until twelve and from one to three thirty, from September to June, but the colored child drifts in irregularly sometime in the fall after the cotton is picked’ and stays until time for the spring planting, and, remember, spring 1 monies early in the South, so he ' is lucky if he spends four or five ' solid months in the classroom. Nor does thf| average colored ' child reach tftfe schoolhouse ne- 1 eessarily at nine. Often if it 1 f akes him quite a while to com- ' plete his morning chores and to ' get over the roads, he comes in : much later, but that does not 1 matter to him, nor does the fact 1 that he leaves the schoolhouse ' early. Then if it rains, of course 1 he does not think of venturing ! out. 1 One of the first things Dr. Metz did' was to teach his pupils that they must come to school on time. If he ever knew the saying, “Better late than never,” he certainly did not teach it to them. “Either be on time or stay out of school” was his chap el message that first day. Then they saw him hang a sign to a post by the road. The rain has since washed the words off that sign but stragglers know it means “School Opened. Late Comers not welcome—go home.” And home they go even if they have walked some seven miles. There were those who argued nobody would' come if they had to be in their seats promptly at nine, but they were mistaken, At a quarter to nine Dr. Metz . blows his trumpet. By nine the j children are seated at their j desks ready for morning wor-1 ship Only “once in a blue moon” I does some straggler miss school! because he got there after the “What does that sign on the white folks* church mean? ‘Presbyterian Church, DSfc’ Why the U. S?" a dHt hued lad asked Dr. Metz one day. Dr. Metz followed’ the sug gestion by conducting a class in Church History wherein all was explained about the difference between the Presbyterian Church, U. S., and the Presby terian Church, U. S. A. The next Sunday evening at Christian Endeavor, the young people be gan talking about the meaning of the sign on the big Presbyte rian church up the road. “Let’s put a sign on our church,” came an enthusiastic suggestion which was promptly acted upon by the group. Today those who pass down the King’s Highway have <but to read the black and gold sign to know that they are welcome.to. the morning and evening services of Edisto Island Church, U. S. A. Larimer School, like most of the schools, closes for the sum mer but the sign, “Larimer Li brary,” invites readers through out the year. There is hut one room in the schoolhouse that is screened and that is the library. The screens say to the mosquito and the fly, “Keep out—Good bye.” They say to the reader, “Come in, browse around, be up to-date, read the signs of the times!” BOWERS CHAPEL CHURCH, LAURINBURG On Sunday, June 25, our pas tor, Rev. H. 0. Walker, preached a wonderful sermon. Hie text was Matthew 13th chapter and the 30th verse. It was full of in spiration and thought. Every one who was under the sound of his voice wa8 uplifted. We are still hoping to have many new mem bers before the year has expired. The Sunday schol is increas ing and much interest is being aitoused under the headship of Mr. Hector McNeil. Quite a number witnessed the Children’s Day program Sunday night. It was enjoyed by aU. A cordial invitation is emended to all to worship with us. A MEMBER. By 0r. Kelly Miller One evening about dusk a ?ro boy, in his middle teens, :osted me to inquire where :ould find a colored setitlem t was in a section of Was! on where colored people are permitted to live under covenants, and which they ri y frequent. On inquiry I fo ;hat this dusky vagabond loboed his way from L; >urg, Va., in quest of North illurements. He wore two s >f clothes which, together w; in extra pair of shoes stra >ver his shoulder, constat lis wardrobe. I at once sei iis situation and pointed him ,he Salvation Army for a nig] oo'ging. As I was going in «ame direction, I accompa; lim on the street car after ing his fare. During the fit minutes’ ride I gathered whole life story and turned over to the tender mercies i of :he Salvation Army which lljoks sut for the unfortunate who are iown and out. I can not say now whether it was my raw human goodness or Lhe recollection of my own slin ilar predicament some years ago that made me so quickly re sponsive to his appeal. It hap pened in this wise. I had just lectured in Springfield, 111.,, and Ind boarded, as I thought, a train for Cincinnati, .Ohio, where I was booked for.therBlgh School Commencement address the next morning. When I hand ed' the conductor my ticket', he hastily scanned it and q about my destination. Ogf in that the train was moving in the apposite direction as fast as the wheels would roll. The conduct or kindly suggested that he would inquire at the next stop about a taxi tby which I might return to Springfield. The rate was fifteen dollars. I was not in funds to meet the demands of the robber. The train master then advised that he would car ry me to the next town—Pleas ant Plains. Sansramon Countv. sacred to Abraham Lincoln— where I might st^y over night and catch the same train the next morning in time for my Cincinnati engagement. I arrived at this sleepy town about eight o’clock, and diligently looked all around but there was no colored face in sight. I was painfully aware that there were towns in Abraham Lincoln’s old State where the sun is not allowed to set on a Negro’s head. Darkness was fast covering the town with Lhe mantle of night. I looked around and saw opposite the de pot what looked like a rustic ho tel and started in that direction when the lights were suddenly blown out for the night. I then returned to the station and lis tened for the moment to the de pot crowd indulging in about the same grade of talk as prevailed in Lincoln’s day. I then put my psychology to work. In the lan guage of Robert Burns, I “tint my reason a’ together,” and nicked out a man of benevolent face who I judged would be re sponsive to a human appeal. “Sir 1 am a stranger in this town, hav ing missed the outgoing train; will you tell me where I may find a night’s lodging?” “Certainly/ came the immediate response ir a kindlv tone of voice. “There is a colored man named Ben up th« street who will be glad to accom modate you.” I thanked him pro fusely, (but had to inquire fur ther how I could reach Ben’s quarters. “O, I’m going righl pass there and will be glad td show you.” Thereupon he volun teered to carry my grip and di rected me to mv colored host He stooped at the first house be yond the concrete pavement and presented me to Ben and his wife and admonished them to ( take good care of this gentle- , man. Having refused the proffer j of cigar money, my guide, phil- j osopher and friend wended his | homeward way and left me there ] to darkness and to Ben. The reader will please note that I said nothing about, race or • color in my quest and query about a night’s lodging. But my Cicerone knew his Pleasant Plains, a village of six hundred 1 white souls and two colored ones. The white folks were of about the caliber and grade of those who composed the Scottsboro jury at Decatur, Ala., only their race prejudice was not constant ly inflamed by aggravating proximity to a large Negro group. Race prejudice was rath er in the passive than in| the ac tive voice. The avowed attitude was benevolent and kindly. Dur ing the ten minutes’ walk to Ben’s cottage, I allowed my vol unteer guide to do most of the talking, injecting only the right Word here and there to keep the conversation moving and to avoid mutual embarrassment of silence. “Ben and his wife,’’ I was informed, “are the only col ored people in the neighborhood. They get along all right and we all think a lot of; them. Ben is n tyler and works for the white farmers throughout the neigh borhood. His wife is a good wo man, too, and works for the best families in the town.” To all of which I rejoined: “This is very interesting indeed.” I spent the night with Ben, but have often pqqdcred uhat might, have been my predicament* had Pleasant Plains not had a single colored resident. In my next release I will tell about my conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Ben, as I judge that such reminiscence might prove as engaging a dog-day diversion as any other form of disquisi tion. i GOOD RESULTS EXPECTED FROM COTTON CAMPAIGN Continued support of the cot ton reduction campaign by North Carolina farmers and bankers, augmented by the cooperation of the agricultural forces, points to a successful reduction in this State, Dean I. 0. Schauto, direc tor of the State College Exten sion Service believes. District and county meetings, under the supervision of the College Extension Service, have been in progress during the past two weeks and definite results will be available within the next few days. North Carolina's re duction quota is 363,000 acres. Lack of information from Washington during the inaugu ral days of the campaign handi capped the movement momen tarily ; however, the county agents and vocational teacheffe were prepared by Tuesday, June 27, to answer the many ques tions arising. The College Extension Ser vice now has the bulk of its per sonnel in the cotton reduction work. Roy H. Thomas, director of vocational education, has placed 133 vocational teachers: from 50 counties as assistants to the county agents in the cam paign. “It is necessary that the farm er understand that he is to be i paid for hig cotton reduction,” says Dean Schaub. “And that the plan is purely voluntary on the farmer’s part. Payment will be made on a yield per acre ba ; sis and two plans are offered. “Under the first plan, the • farmer is paid from $6 an acre for land producing from 100 to . 124 pounds with an increased • amount depending upon tpi yield per acre. With this plan, options on government cotton a1 rix centg a pound in destroyed by :n. No option ) 1-2 eents a member. ‘‘The second plan 'aimer a straight ca*h\rehtal f rang >nly. The rate of payment is from $7 per acre on land pro 124 luting between 100 xiunas of cotton with tile scale •anging as high as $20 for land producing over 275 pountte, the rate depending upon the yield ?er acre.” ATLANTIC SYNODICAL SUN DAY SCHOOL CONVENTION To the Pastors, Superinten dents and Sabbath School Work ^es within the bounds of Atlan tic Synod, Greetings: The time is not far distant when we. will be marshalling our Lorces for another anriual pil grimage to the Atlantic Synod ical Saibbath School Convention find School of Methods which meets at Brainerd % Institu tute, Chester, S. C., August 14, 1933, through Sunday August 20th. We are hoping to register 175 delegates who will remain in the dormitories on the cam pus until the final curtain Sun dya night, August 2Qth. We have in the Atlantic Synod 183 churches, and if each church will send one delegate we will have a representative from each field. Of course, we are counting on getting 6 or 7 dele gates from such places as . guess where? Since we are going through Sunday this year, board and lodging will be $3.00 instead of $2.50 as was last year. Reg istration will be the same. Reg istration, $1; Room and Board, $3; total, $4. If we have not elect its delegate or delegates a1 cnce and make plans for Ches ter, S. C. “On to Chester, Au gust 14th!” Recently, some on« said if we take the “DE” out depression, we win nave leii ; “Press-I-on.” In the spirit of the great Apostle Paul, let us press on to the mark of the high call ing in Jesus Christ. Leadership , is necessary to unity of action. Christian leadership is what we are attempting to develop at our summer conferences. Last year we failed to meas ure up with our assessment as we so much desired. Here is hoping for a better report this, year. According to the General | Assembly Minutes, '82, we have' 6074 Sunday school pupils en- j rolled in the Atlantic Synod, as j follows: Atlantic Presbytery; 1,180; Fairfield, 2,215; Hodge,* 968; Knox, 818; and McClelland,’ 893. Our Synodical assessment! is the small sum of 2 cents per j pupil. There should Ibe in the | Synodical treasury the amount of $121.48 when the report is I called for. Since we have twelve months in which to get 2 cents from each Sunday school pupil, I am sure no school will come up short this year. We are expect ing from the Presbyteries not more than the following amount and looking for not one dent j less, viz.: Atlantic Presbytery,j *23.60; Fairfield, $44.30; Hodge, 819.36; Knox, $16.36; and Me-1 Clelland, $17.86. I Yours for a bigger and better Synodical Sabbath School Com vention and School of Methods for 1933. V 1 H. M. SCOTT, Dean. Ocala, Fla., Box 24. ( CHILDREN'S DAY AT I ST* PAUL'S PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BROKEN BKOW, OKLA. Promptly at 2 o’clock P. M.,« June 25th, the Ibell began to ring and the children began to march in and take their seats in order: the little tots first and after them came the older ones under the leadership of Mps. Bennie Brown and ijfisg Corena Lewis. Brother Bennie Brown is a graduate of the High School of Muskogee, Okla.; however, most of his training at Elliott Academy, Val __ kla. At this school Miss Oorelfa Lewis is a present stu dent. Both of these students are the product of St. Paul's church. The exercises were superb. Miss Inez Cubit opened the pro gram with some remarks. Mr. Jesse Lewis made the welcome address and was responded co by Mrs. Irene Polk, followed with a paper setting forth the reas ons why we should have such a program. The little folks, about 40 in number, were very anxious to speak. Some of them appeared on the stake before their names were called. j The church was filled beyond its capacity. Many were unable to get in (but were compelled to stand <m the outside at the win jdows to hear what was being .said. j There were also wagons and jcars from far and near. The ex- - . ereises had been well advertised (and all took in the program. It ,was made up principally of speeches, solos and quartettes. Those who composed the female ,quartette were Mrs. Alma Lew jis, Mrs. Chaney Workman, Mrs. j Tommie Guibit and Mrs. Isrina |vvans; and those composing the ; male quartette were Mr. Jerry (-3vans, Mr. John Parker, Mr.; Robert Parker and Mr. Willie B. Parker. These two quartettes seemed to sing con esting songs. Everybody seemed to conspire to help make the ex ercises one of the best in the his tory of the church. After the program a good collection was taken and sent to the Board.1 We are trying to do our bit to help the Board out of debt. G. A. MORROW. * Okkt*.. CHAPEL HILL CHURCH, LAURINBURG, N. C. On Sunday afternoon, June 25th, at 3 o’clock. Rev. H. 0. Walker, our pastor, was with us. To the Junior church he spoke - of the resurrection and the everlasting Christ. He asked the young people not to lose faith ns the people did when Christ died, but to carry on, for the Church is everlasting, the same as Christ. To the Senior church, Rev. Walker preached from thg'Sth chapter of Corinthians, 1st verse: “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a build ing of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heav-_ ens.” Paul wrote this message to the people in Corinth, telling them to be faithful, then their hope for immortal glory would be certain. Just ag Paul sent this message Rev. Walker brought it to us. He urged us to Ibe sure that when we moved out of this earth ly house, we have a house eter nal in the heavens to which we may go. Our pastor made our hearts burn as he spoke to us concerning these things. The congregation wab small, because there were Children’s Day programs at different churches, but our collection was the best for ages. We collected $14.05. j We are going over the top this year because God is pleased jwith our efforts and we have a grade “A” minister. L The young people, with Mr. i Dannie Hugh Dockery as spon sor, gave a singing contest and a basket social recently. From (these two gatherings they col lected nearly $6. J The 5th or 6thi of July is to be a gala day for the young and •old of Chapel Hill church. Un der the leadership of Mrs. Fletcher a picnic ig< to be given at Lake Waccamaw. j Mrs, Janie Malloy, Mrs. Trapp ##***on pwe 4)
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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June 29, 1933, edition 1
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