A,e Pilot Clovers
Dninswick County
r^sixTEEN NO. 38
THE STATE PORT PILOT
Most of The News
All The Time
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
6-pages today Southport, N. CM Wednesday, December 31, 1947
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
SI. 50 PER YEA*
Lj Expansion
Lram Mapped
I for Brunswick
Lay Commissioner J.
[Bridge r Promises Ear
i\ction On Soldier Bay -
jjjjettown Paving In
ffa County
MEN'S BEACH
ROAD INCLUDED
fiaion Of Paving Of
jrtr Road Also Plan
With Contracts To
Be Let Early In
New Year
fhivav expansion program
^-sivu'k county estimated
jh. ? cost more than 5300,
4e majority of the program
? jt bettering farm to raar
Kjjj? has been announced
A Br: :iors. highway com
ner tor the Third division.
,'slans call for hard sur
? e;Jht miles of the Orton
i" connecting a new four-mile
a of hardsurface leading
,:;-e jtmcti"a of highways 17,
c at Woodburn toward
Ipjr: This work is expected
K - with. n a month, or when
tCal :t tails can be worked
L- 1 contracts have been se
1
pevs for the work have
nade by the Highway de
pwt. ami a date for letting
contracts will be announced
Bridgers said.
17 other projects, bids for
t will probably be announ
? month, have been sche
I to include more than 20
i : har Surfacing in lower
Bridgers said.
f stretch connecting Hold
iSiich with Highway 17 ami
t- connecting Soldiers Bay
I GnSi-ett. >wn are included in
i::er schedule.
It Holden's Beach issue
tic nearly a year ago when
py owners, reporting they
l faced with a fuel, food and
t. supplies shortage, appeal
's tile Highway Commission
> '? Hor,-?.> i!k' Atlantic
way Bridgers promises
y ictior. these two stretch
^ road.
Se Soldiers Bay to Grisset
: stretch connects the lower
f of Brunswick's rich farm
k with highways now leading
I markets. Bridgers pointed
I
5: eight miles from highway
k*ard Orton will be met with
rial miles of pavement
t"; from Scuthport toward
Bridgers said.
Irief New$
Flashu
KS TO MEET
rs of the Southport
?i Club will meet tomorrow
ts-iay i at 1 o'clock at the
unity Center Building.
' NEXT WEEK
* the first Thursday night
tte month falls on New
the regular monthly meet
the Southport Parent
?rs Association will be held
*eek later on Thursday, Jan
L
PWU ALL REOPEN
of the Brunswick county
white and colored reopen
yesterday following the holi
The past few days of dry.
fT weather has enabled the
way fgrces to get about all
dirt roads In good condi
' and few. any 0f the buses
^Ported as having had dif
"y in getting through with
loads of children.
??% V D0<Kt-T TODAY
I 'fi no Recorder's court last
e|td with many cases hav
|Cwn continued from preceed
|*eeka. today's docket to be
? ty Judge W. J. McLamb
Solicitor .1. w. Ruark is said
mi unusually heavy one. It
r^cted that ail day will be
P1*1' with trving the eases
all be tried.
KVORKKKS im. eased
'mS poor fishing as a re
a C".:ibination of moon
Pp' to., much ram and cold
P"' Mi Mrs. Walter J.
r>th' "f New York, have been
the past week In South
ami arc very much pleased
things They did not see a
*h'le at Southport, but the
J toW them plenty about
?and the 25 inches of snow
, ? in New York just after
. -ft there. Mr. Horvath is a
, ":;t Sales Consultant in
VTk Bi>th he and Mrs.
are very much int?fested
I _
iCheck, Good Idea Sent In
For Whittler's Park Project i
I
Siler City Man Believes That Register Or Bulletin Board
Might Prove Attractive Feature
From Siler City comes a nice
letter, a check for $5.00 and a
good idea with regard to Whit- j
tier's Park in Southport.
The sender of the check and !
writer of the letter is T. L. I
Smith. He says he has been
noting with keen interest the !
plans for repairing the benches
| at Whittlers Park and says
i that he is expecting to enjoy
some of the benefits there- i
I from.
Mr. Smith then goes on to |
tell of his idea, backed with a ;
$5.00 check to start things with.
He said: "There is another fea- i
ture that I would like to sug- j
gest, and that is a Visitor's |
! Register or Bulletin Board.
| Some of the fellows that like
Southport and Whittlers Park
live up-state. In fact, they live
throughout a lot of states.
When we come back, as we all
hope to do sometime, it would
greatly interest us to go
through the register and see the
names of the friends who have
been there during our absence.
"And, he continued, "the re
gister's list of names would be
advantageous if there was ever
a need for repairs. We would
like to be remembered and to
have a part in things, instead
of being left out, as I was dur
ing the recent rebuilding."
Mr. Smith concluded by say
ing that if the fellows here did
not think well .of the Registery
or Bulletin Board Idea, his
check for $5.00 could just be
turned over to the YVhittlers
Park fund, to be used as need
ed.
Community Christmas Tree
Successful In Two Towns
Plenty Of Presents And En
tertainment Help To In
sure Success Of The Com
munity Christmas Tree
Here And At Shallotte
PLANS FOR NEXT
YEAR BEING MADE
Community Christmas Tree
Fund Being Started And
Money Paid In Will Be
Used To Purchase
Presents Wholesale
According to reports, both the J
Shallotte and Southport Com- 1
munity Christmas trees were a !
great success. R. E. Bellamy, whoj
was here Monday, said that for;
the tree at Shallotte there was a i
wealth of presents and a large '
crowd turned out for the -.relehra- 1
tion. It is understood that the
Shallotte folks already have plans
for a bigger and better Com
munity Christmas next year.
At Southport, thanks to the !
leadership of Mrs. Helen G. Bra- 1
gaw in securing presents and
donations with which to purchase
others, a considerable number of j
presents were left over. These j
were distributed later among
colored families of the town, I
where the expectations were not '
so great for a big Christmas.
The tree used at Southport was
one of the live cedars on the
courthouse and Episcopal church
lawn. Charles Trott pinch hit for !
Santa .Claus, whose plane was,
grounded in New -York by the
snow storm. While the great mass)
of presents were being handed |
out a large number of the young j
people sang Christmas Carols, I
with others accompanying on >
string instruments.
t Persons responsible for the
I event are especially appreciative
of the help given by practically!
all of the Southport people and
| by Jimmie Briggs, of Raleigh; j
Todd Furniture Company and the
Ideal Laundry of Wilmington, j
These people made especially gen
jerous donations.
For next Christmas Mrs. Bra
jgaw is already starting a saving
[fund, planning to purchase pre
sents at wholesale and to have
t them for both white and colored
i children. A larger and more pro
fusely decorated tree will be se
I cured and set up somewhere,
I either near the City Hall or on
ithe Garrison lot.
Chosen Winners
In Farm Contest
Mr. And Mrs. Grover R.
I Gore Selected As First
Place Winners For Bruns
wick In Better Farming
For Better Living Contest j
Mr. and Mrs. Grover R. Gore,
, of Shallotte, were named Bruns
I wick county winners in the Bet
ter Farming for Better Living
contest which was sponsored this
year by an electric power com
pany which serves a portion of
this area. .
There were about a dozen en- j
tries in the contest, and although
several of the contestants failed j
to complete their work and did |
not keep records of their achieve- 1
ments, it was felt that the re
sults of this first year's efforts
j were well worth while and will
provide a helpful foundation for
a bigger and better contest next
year.
County winners competed for
i regional prizea, and region win
'uers for the sweepstakes award.
(Continued on page four)
Piggott To Open
Packing House
Dallas Pigott, who has been j
a member of the Hardee anil
Pigott seafood producers and j
shippers for the past ten years
ha 4 sold out his interest to
>Ir. Hardee and is preparing to I
go into business for himself.
He has purchased the >1. H.
Hart house and will take over |
there tomorrow, January 1st. !
Mr. Hardee will continue op- j
erating the house that he has j
been using for the past fifteen
years.
Mr. Hart has not teen reach- '
ed for a statement as to his j
plans - and it is not known if
hi- will continue In his seafood
business. It is reported, how- j
ever, that he also plans to sell
his four boats.
Free Seed Oats
Offered Farmer
Iowa Man Thinks New
Strain May Prove Adapt
able To This Section;
Makes Unusual Offer To
Local Man
Very much interested in Bruns- j
wick county farm lands, being as- j
sociated with New Jersey people !
who are now planting two 100
acre blueberry farms near South
port, B. M. Graham, farmer, stock
raiser and ice cream manufac
turer of Debora, Iowa, made an
interesting proposition to a re- I
presentative of this paper this j
week.
Mr. Graham said: "We have a \
new variety of oats in Iowa and |
they seem to be the best. They
produce an average of somewhere
around 100 bushels per acre."
He went on to offer: "If you
think these oats will grow here I
will send you 10 bushels. You
can place them with some farm- 1
ers for seed. The profit from the
sale of tne seed, if there is any,
can be turned over to the Salva
tion Army."
In other words, Mr. Graham
plans to give ten bushels of the
new Clinton oats, paying the
freight on them himself, and ask
ing nothing except that the seed
produced be sold among Bruns
wick farmers, this in order that
they can get started with this
variety of oats. If the farmer
with whom the seed is placed
makes any profit from the sale
of the seed he grows he can
simply donate it to the Salvation
Army, after deducing his ex
( Continued on page four)
Young Naturalists
Visit Southport
Norman McCulloch of Raleigh
and John Carr of Greensboro are
spending this week at Southport,
st udying birds, inscct and reptile :
life. Both of these young nat- '
uralists spend much of their time ,
out of school at Southport or j
some other point looking for the ]
things in which they are interest-,
ed.
McCulloch says that the rattle
snake "Brunswick" acquired here
by the State Museum, two years
ago, has grown and is doing well.
Local memory of "Brunswick" is
that he was unusually talented in
sounding his rattles. He kept up
a continuous performance all of
the time when anyone was in
sight or hearing distance of his
cage. I
Lane Groupings
Are Set Up For
Car Inspections
No. 28 To Be Located At
Lumberton Will Service
Brunswick, Columbus^
And Robeson Counties
THIS MAY WORK
LOCAL HARDSHIP
Motorists In This Area Not
Required To Have Vehic
les Inspected Until
Lane Is Opened
Inspection of motor vehicles in
North Carolina will get underway
on January 12 but the two lanes
which are of special interest to
owners in this area will not go
into operation until a later date.
Lane No. 28, to be located at
Lumberton and with J. S. Edger
ton of Red Springs as supervisor,
will serve Robeson, Columbus and
Brunswick counties.
Motor vehicle owners must have
their vehicles inspected once dur
ing 1948 and thereafter twice
each year. However, local resi
dents have no immediate concern
over the new program and can
wait until the lane for this area
is opened before they need ta do
anything other than get their ve
hicles in shape for inspection.
Leland Woman
Dies Thursday
Mrs. Lorena Bergman Died
At Her Home Following
Extended Illness; Funeral
Services Saturday
Following a long illness Mrs.
Lorena Bergman, prominent resi
dent of the Leland community
and charter, member of the Wood
burn Presbyterian church, died
at her home Thursday.
Funeral services were held Sat
urday afternoon from the Wood
burn church with the Rev. J. D.
Withrow officiating, assisted by
the Rev. Woodrow Robbins, Bap
tist minister. Burial was in the
church cemetery.
Surviving Mrs. Bergman is her
husband, E. A. Bergman; one
son, G. R. Innis, of Leland, and
two daughters, Mrs. Nellie Ste
ward and Mrs. Cora Jenkins, both
of Charleston, S. C. A number
of grandchildren and brothers and
sisters also survive.
Active pallbearers were Joe
Williams, Billy Raftery, Charlie
Skipper, Odell Evans, K. B. Dress- j
er, and Dan Willets.
Honoraiy pallbearers were Dr.
Warshauer, Dr. Farthing, Dr.
Barefoot, Linwood Krankle, Mar
vin Powell, Will Adams, Glas
gow Hicks, Robert McDougal.
Fred Futch, Sr., Carl F. Strunch,
Dawson Jones, W. L. Paden and
T. F. Turner, G. D. Ellis, Eu
gene Evans, J. A. B'odine, Leon
Todd, Wilbur McKeithan.
Boats Hit Large
Shrimp On Monday
Shrimping apparently picked up
this week, possibly due to the ex
isting clear, cold weather. Catch
es ran as high as 10 and 15 bu
shels to the boat, the product be
ing large and of fine quality. Jf
the break for the better is last
ing it will mean a lot to the
boatmen, buyers and the shrimp
pickers.
Twelve months oi sieu
studded happiness is our
New Year wish for you.
Declares Oil Lease Papers
Have Been Fully Completed
Local Man Gets
Duty On Lightship
Worth Ward, who began ser
vice with tlie Coast Guard here
at Oak Island 22 years ago, is
now stationed on the Frying;
Pan Lightship, 33 miles off
Southport.
He is now Chief Motor Ma
chinest Slate on the ship. His
unexpected assignment to the
vessel came about several
months ago as a result of his
desiring to be near his family.
There is a catch to the assign
ment, however. In common with
other members of the lightship
crew, he has to spend two solid
months on the ship and then
gets one month ashore with his
family. The only contact his
family can have with him while
he is on duty is through the
once- a- month mail and over the
ship to shore phone on rare oc
casions.
Samuel W. Evans
Dies At Freeland
Funeral Services For Aged
Columbus Citizen Held
Monday Afternoon At
The Home
Samuel Wesley Evans, 77, pass
ed away Saturday night at 11:15
o'clock at his home in the Free
land community following a lin
gering illpess.
Funeral services were conduct- 1
ed Monday afternoon at 2 o'clock
from the residence by Rev. Otto]
Edwards of Loris. Interment fol
lowed in the Little Cypress Ceme
tery near Freeland.
Surviving are his wife, Mrs.
Annie B. McKeithan Evans; four
sons, S. R.t Troy O. and Harry
C. Evans, all of Freeland, and
Harvey Evans of Jeffersonville,
Ind.; four daughters, Mrs. O. D.
Pruitt and Mrs. Elroy King, both
of Freeland, Mrs. Austin Long of
(Continued on page four)
Representatives Of One Of
Interested Parties Says
His Company Has Papers
In Hand Giving Drilling
Rights
UNNECESSARY TO
RECORD AGREEMENT
Representative Declares
This May Be Done At
Any Time During Per
. iod Of Lease Prior
To Beginning Ope
rations
A story in this paper in the j
late summer told of one of the
major oil companies securing a j
lease for oil drilling rights fori
five years, on a huge tract of |
Brunswick county lands. The pa- j
pers for this lease are known to '
have been drawn and were sup- 1
posed to be signed by all parties, j
However, these papers have j
never been filed for recording at
the courthouse and official con
firmation of the deal has there
fore been unobtainable.
A few days ago during a con
tact with the representative of
one of the interested parties who
was in town at the time, an in
quiry was made regarding this
deal. He stated postively that the
lease was made.
Asked regarding the recording
of the papers, he said: "They will
be recorded when and if the com
pany decides to drill for oil. They
have the papers and it is not ne
cessary for them to be recorded
until they are actually ready to
start something."
These papers are known to be
for a five-year period. The com
pany can start drilling, if it is
decided to start, at any time
within that period. However, the
longer they wait before starting!
the less time they will have tol
carry on before the present lease
expires. It is understood, however,
that the lease carries an option
for renewal, if desired.
This same party made the
statement that oil is known to
exist throughout two-thirds of the
United States. However "In many
areas this oil is located too deep
to be brought up by present day
methods," he said.
YV. B. KEZIAH
Our
ROVING
For 1943 a lot of the tobacco (
acreage that Brunswick county ?
farmers depended on in 1947 is
out. Twenty-seven per cent of ;
last year's crop acreage, taken
from this year, looks to be a '
severe cut. But this cut was de
signed to keep the crop in line
with the worlds need for tobacco
and thereby bring the growers
better prices for what they do|
produce. The acreage cut has j
both its bright and dark sides
and the dark sides look a great
deal l^ss dark if you give the
bright side its rightful considera
tion!
With a smaller acreage less
fertilizer will have to be bought,
Itss work will have to be done.
On the acreage that is planted
the better land will be used and
more attention will be paid to u
better quality of tobacco. There
is no good reason why the 1948
reduced acreage should not yield j
just about as much money as the
1947 crop did. And if > this rea
sonable expectation should prove
to be correct it will go without
saying that the percentage of
profit to the growers will be
much greater, especially if they
act wisely in handling the land
that is taken out of the tobacco
producing column.
Tobacco, while being our great
est money crop, is also our most
costly crop to produce. It take#
a lot of time and money. We
have many other crops that can
be produced atf almost a fraction
of what it costs to grow tobacco.
The situation is one that creates
many individual problems for the
farmer, but none of these prob
lems are unsurmountable. We are
not attempting to hand out free
advice to our farmers. They get
too much of that as it is. This
is merely expressing the belief .
(Continued On Pag? 6)
Local Group Is
After Symphony
Small Group Of Southport !
Music Lovers Will Make j
F.ffort To Raise Funds 1
For Concert By North
Carolina Symphony Or
chestra
A local group will begin next :
week a campaign to raise the
necessary $750.00 guarantee for <
the appearance of the North Car- j
olina Symphony Orchestra for,;
two concerts in Brunswick county
in the early spring.
Tentative plans call for an af- ,
tcrnoon performance at Shallottc
(Continued on page four)
Fishing Boats
Still At Work
After a fine spring and sum- ?
mer, local menhaden boats had 1
poor picking during October, Nov- i
ember and December. Some of
the boats which joined the fleets 1
at Beauford during that period
are understood to have done well, j
Monday, with* a marked change :
In the weather, fish were locatcd i
near Southport. Some of Ihe boat- 1
men say that if the weather holds'
out they may have a period of j
good operations on these fish.
Benefit Games
Friday Night
For Teachers
A double-header basketball
program has been arranged by
Principal H. T. Sanders for the
Southport high school gym
nasium Friday night, beginning
at 7:30 o'clock, the entire pro
ceeds from, which will go into
a fund to help members of the
Waccamaw high school faculty
replace their personal property
lost in the fire of December 21.
Spccial tickets are being
printed for this event, and sev
eral hundred will be offered
for sale. It is expected that
many of them will be purchas
ed by persons who have no idea
of attending the contests, but
who wish to help the teachers
replace some of their lost pro
perty.
For those who do plan to see
the contests, plenty of action is
in store. The promising South
port high school girls team will
test their strength against a
hand-picked group of start of
former teams, and a battle
royal is in the making.
The Southport high school
boys will go up against a team
built about three of last year's
stars who are here for the holi
days. They are Franto Molly
check, one of the neatest little
left-handers ever to wear the
colors of Southport high; Skip
py Stiller, a big, rugged guard
who also can shoot; and Jim
my Russ, a slick ball-handler
and all-round good floor man.
Many dyed-in-the-wool cagc
fans will welcome a chance to
see these girls and boys in ac
tion, and a big attendance is
expected.
Lighting Contest
Winners Chosen
Xmas Decorations About
City Were Not So Numer
ous As In Previous Years
But Some Were More
Novel Than Ever
First prize for the best home
decoration in the annual Christ
mas Lighting contest sponsored
by members of the Southport
Woman's Club went to Dr. and
Mrs. Roy C. Daniel, with the se
cond place award going to Mr.
and Mrs. Joel Moore, whose home
is almost directly across the
street.
First prize .for the best living
Christmas tree went to Mr. and
Mrs. H. B. Smith, second place
going to Miss Margaret Park
hill.
Among ' the colored citizens of
the community, Clie decorations
of Alberta Roseboro, teacher in
the primary department of the
Brunswick Training School, was
adjudged winner.
There were fewer decorations
this year than in years past, but
some of this year's efforts em
bodied new ideas. For instance,
the decoration at the home of
Mrs. W. M. Wells featured a
Santa Claus cut-out from whose
mouth there was being emitted
a constant stream of bubbres,
which reflected colorful lighting
effects as they floated away into
the night.
The C&ndles in the doorway de
corations at the home of Mrs.
W. S. Wells featured electric
candles which simulated burning
tapers.
Numerous other decorations
showed that much time and hard
work had gone into their produc
tion.
Many A And B
Drivers Fail To
Obtain Permits
Last-Minute Rush Fails To
Afford Opportunity For
AH Persons Whose Name
Begins With First Two
Letters To Qualify
ENFORCEMENT WILL
BEGIN TOMORROW
Patrolmen Directed To Be
gin Spot-Checking With
$25.00 Set As Mini
mum Fine For Neg
ligence
At one time Monday more than
50 "A" and "B" automobile driv
ers were waiting at the court
house to take their examinations
! to get driver's license. According
to all that can be learned a great
many residents of this county
| whose names begin with those
; letters have failed to obtain their
| new credentials.
j A statement made in Raleigh
Monday by L. S. Rosser, commis
sioner of motor vehicles, indicat
| ed that of an estimated 150.000
I persons whose surnames began
I with those letters, only about
j 115,000 have obtained their new
! license.
Mr. Rosser's statement was
accompanied by the assertion that
the highway patrolmen will begin
spot checking drivers beginning
tomorrow, January 1. Persona
whose surnames begin with A.
and B. and who are caught driv
ing without a new license after ,
today will be hauled into court
and fined not less than $25.00 for
each offense.
Persons whose names begin with
C. or D. may begin getting theif
license tomorrow.
Aged Resident
Of Supply Dies
Samuel G. Varnum Pastes
At Age Of 90: Funeral
Services Being Held This
Afternoon Near His
Home
Samuel Galloway Varnum, 90,
Supply, died Tuesday morning at
6:30 o'clock after a long illness.
Funeral services were held this
afternoon at 3 o'clock at the
graveside in Holden cemetery,
near Supply. The Rev. Bert Ben
nett officiated.
' Active pallbearers were Son
,Long, A. L. Dixon, R. L. Varnum,
i Clyde Dixon, and Lee Galloway.
Mr. Varnum is survived by two
I daughters, Mrrf. Mary Fisher of
|Leland and Mrs. Ida Thornton of
' Wilmington.
Southport Lady
Dies On Sunday
Mrs. Annie G. Peacock Died
At Home Of Daughter (n
Chase, Md., Following
Heart Attack
Mrs. Annie G. Peacock, 63,
widow of the late Wesley L. Pea
cock. native and lifelong resident
of Southport, died Sunday at the
home of her daughter, Mrs. Ann
Danz, at Chase, Maryland. Her
death followed a heart attack
sustained a few days previously.
She had spent the past sum
mer here with a daughter, Mrs.
W. R. Bomberger, going from
here to visit the daughter in
Maryland. In addition to the
daughters. Mrs. Danz and Mrs.
Bomberger, Mrs. Peacock is sur
vived by two sons, Charles L.
(Continued on page four)
Social Hour Is
Planned Sunday
Commission Named To Aid
With Promotion Of Soci
al Life Of Trinity Meth
odist Church
The Rev. L. D. Haymau met
Sunday afternoon with members
of a newly appointed commission
for the promotion of social life
within Trinity Methodist church
and plans were formulated for a
social hour in the church annex
Sunday evening following tlw
worship service.
It was the opinion of the new
pastor that it is particularly ap
propriate that a program ot
this nature be held on the first
Sunday evening in the New Year.
Plans call for an informal gath
ering to which all persons, whe
ther old or young, will be wel
come. Refreshments will be serv
ed, and it is hoped that those
present may spend an hour is
pleasant fellowship together.