The
pilot Co\ers
Brunswick County
THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
Most of The New?
All The Time
OL
N0 S1XTEEN N?'38 4 PAGES TODAY Southport, N. C.t Wednesday, December 29, 1948 published every Wednesday ii.bo per
Iry List For
[January Term
|0f Court Drawn
I,, W. C. Harris Of Ral
Scheduled To Preside
i** One Week Mixed
?te? Convening On Janu
|^24th
? sY crimen aLslat?d
I 11V Long List Of Jur
I C-o-ToS^
| During lsw
j W C Harris of Raleigh
named to preside over
ft^uary term of Superior
I *luch will convene on Mon
riarv * Th.s ?
wJ ttrm although criminal
Improbably will take up most
Wit ume
ft, ry list was drawn by the
KJ d county commissioners at
t Ust meeting here, and in
Ejto the regular trial jurors
Ke January term of court a
ft 4nd jury to serve during
ft 'ear 1949 will be selected
ft/the number.
E the list drawn. 23 are wa
ft Listed by post offices, the
ft -- comprises the full list:
E^a-Mrs. G. G. Bordeaux.
Espee. S. C.-Mrs. Ray Long.
Etjwood T. T. Ward and
ftra. R. Ivey.
fl&nabw-G. F. Sullivan and
lid! G. Cooke.
Kjtivia?Mrs. Clara E. Lewis
L Mrs. Estelle Gore.
ILd-C. L. Lynch, W. E.
? Mis. f. D. Williams and
IE Ganev.
Iceland?I. V. Bennett, Mrs.
L Evans. Mrs. C. C. MiUiken
J.Mrs. Pearl G. Little.
?Li-Mrs. Cora Evans, L. W.
L.an Mrs. H. W. Stanley,
E\' l. Formyduval and
Cfon I. Hewett.
Eitiiport?Jack B. Drew, Mrs.
En G. Bragaw, Mrs. J. S.
Ere:. Mrs. Hermine Dasher, Dr.
|C Daniel. F. W. Spencer and
1 Clyde Swain.
Ebitotte?J. M. Parker, Mrs.
I::. Thomas, Mrs. Mary An
Kirs. D. L. Bowen, A Earl Mil
El C. A. Stanley, H. 1>. *Som
Ex-.-.e Mrs. C. Elliott Tripp,
Ee E. (Isaac) Hewett, Mrs.
Eeiia Hewett and W. A. Rey
liapply -Paul Hewett, Carrie
kil Floyd H. Varnum, Mrs.
Ik Grav." Lennell W. Hewett,
p A. Norriss, L. M. Robinson,
Lean Caison, Garland Clem
k A. S. Hewett, Hobby He
ir. Ermon Clemmons and Mrs.
?t; Galloway.
I ritfSiwi
Flashu
UT. HARRY WEEKS
*?rd wa? received at noon to
hy that tapt. Harry Weeks
h many years in charge of
k pilot boat for the W'Uming
?Hap>' I car Pilot Association,
W thi> morning at Dosher
fcaorial Hospital. His funeral
HI be held Thursday afternoon
" 1 o'clock at Trinity Metho
fct Church.
IflORS MEETINGS
A nesting of all pastors of
*Kiies in Brunswick county has
161 called for Friday night at
? o'clock at Supply Baptist
There will be a second
8 on Monday night at Mt.
^ Baptist church. Everyone
av'.'.ed to attend.
LN> MEETING
aext meeting of the South
r- Roman's Club will be held
'Wednesday afternoon, January
>'? 3.30 o'clocq in the South
|? ^gh school auditorium,
n"* of this program will be
sowing of the movie "18th
?:,ar>' Ufe in Williamsburg,
J* CERTIFIED
"*Wntant
A ^ McKeithan, Jr., son of
' T. McKeithan and the
!*? Tilden McKeithan of
P?rt. has finished his two
.course in accounting in
>wk City. He recently pass
h e Mamining board and is
, 'mP'oyed by the A. Bcshor
in New York City.
IS
vh?nth.n LEAVE
LWt J- McKeithan, young
t w_R-an who has .been with
Commission since
>ntj ' 1!H?, is spending a
^ *jU? his parents, Mr. and
t " J McKeithan, at Bolivia.
one of the Pure Oil
V B n!^king regular runs
Po" Am
Coast.
Arthur Texas along
Pumping Station May
s Solve Water Problem
With Two Beach Develop
ments Needing Source Of
Dependable Water Sup
ply, Ft. Caswell Wells
May Be Answer
LONG BEACH IN
NEED OF WATER
Development Of Dependable i
Water Distribution System
One Of Most Pressing
Needs There
I
Seldom seen by anyone because i
of its location and never given!
much consideration, one- of the1
most valtiable units of the Fort
Cashwell property, now up for
disposal by the WAA, is the
modern and costly pumping sta
tion for the water supply.
The wells, modern brick build
ing and modern pumping machin-J
ery are located deep in the woods j
on a two acre reservation. The j
purest of water is obtained in I
unlimited quantities and is carried'
by large water mains, running j
underground, through the Caswell!
Beach property to Fart Caswell,!
a distance of two miles.
In the old days before the wells 1
at this station were drilled, every- j
thing at Fort Caswell had to de-!
pend on cistern water for drink
ing purposes. The cisterns are
still there?huge concrete vats,
built underground to hold rain-;
water running from the roofsof
the buildings.
The water system from the
wells in the Caswell Beach woods,
Continued on page four
I
Dredge Lyman
Back In States
I Big Hopper Dredge Now In
Dry Dock At Jacksonville,
Fla., And Crew Members
At Home For Holidays
The Lyman, huge hopper dredge
of the U. S. Army Engineers,
has returned from Maracubo,
VenezaJa, to Jacksonville, Fla.,
and is now having a brief over
hauling at the shipyard there.
About the first of the year she
will begin dredging at West Palm
Beach, Fla. From there she comes
to Georgetown, S. C., for work
on the harbor. Her next sche
duled work, so far as is known,
will be at Atlantic City, N. J.
John D. Swan df Southport is
captain of the Lyman. In his
crew are a large number of other
Brunswick county men. Some of
Continued On Page Four
Firecracker Is^
Accident Cause
A prematurely exploding fire
cracker in the hands of 15 year
old Delmas Cumbee of Winna
bow sent him to the hospital
on Christmas day. One of his
fingers had to be amputated
and the rest of the hand is
said to have been badly dam
aged.
He is the son of Mrs. Sudie
B. Cumbee. It has not been
learned here how he came into
possession of the explosive. The
sale of firecrackers in North
Carolina is banned by law.
Baptists Enjoy
Two Programs
Candlelight Service Observ
ed At Church Wednesday;
Christmas Party Enjoy
able Affair
On Wednesday evening, Dec
ember 22, the Southport Baptist
Church presented a Christmas
Candlelight Service featuring the
congregation, choir, pastor and
several speakers. The program
was under the direction of Mrs.
E. C. Blake, assisted by Mrs.
Robert Carson, Mrs. George What
ley and Mrs. R. C. Daniel. Im
mediately following the candle
light service gifts were present
ed to all the children of the
Sunday School through the Junior
Department.
On Tuesday night, December
14, the Woman's ' Missionary
Society of the Southport Baptist
Church entertained at their an
nual Christmas party in connec
tion with their regular December
meeting, the party being held at
the home of Mrs. Lewis J, Hardee.
The living room and dining room
were beautifully decorated featur
ing the Christmas motif.
The program was given with
Miss Gertrude Loughlin in charge
and Miss Annie May Woodside,
Mrs. Jack Oliver and Mrs. Lucille
Williamson taking part, telling of
Christmas celebrations around the
world where the Bauti.sts have
missionaries. The Lottie Moon
Christmas offering was taken for
Foreign Missions and the reports
from the various Circles were
made.
The program was then turned j
over to the committee in charge:
of arrangements and Mrs. Robert:
Continued On Page Four j
SANTA?High spot of the
Christmas season, so far as
the children were concerned,
came Friday afternoon when
Santa Claus made a dramat
ic appearance at the garri
son grounds and proceeded
to preside over the distribu
tion of presents at the Com
munity Christmas tree. He
soon completed his duties
and was off on the South
port fire truck for the Bruns
wick County Training school
where he did a repeat per
formance for the benefit of
the colored children. This
delightful event was under
the direction of Mrs. Helen
Bragaw.
Waccamaw Bank
Mails Quarterly
50-Cent Dividend
Earnings For 1948 Above
Those Of Previous Year,
Exceeding Five Dollars
Per Share
J. N. Coburn, executive vice
president of the Waccamaw Bank
I and Trust Company, announced
last week that the directors in a
regular meeting on December
j 10th, declared a dividend of 50
| cents per share to holders of re
cord as of December 15th. The
dividend was payable on Decem
ber 20th ahd checks were mailed
on Monday in order to reach them
before the holidays.
Coburn pointed out that this
payment makes a total of $2.00
per share paid to stockholders
during 1948 on the stock which
has a par value of $10.00 per
share, and a book value slightly
in excees of $50.00 Earnings of
the bank for 1948 after payment
of all expenses and provision for
all taxes, will exceed $5.00 per
share which is above' 1947 earn
ings.
It was also announced that the
directors of the bank decided to
place dividend on a regular quar-.
teerly basis, paying them in
March, June, September, and Dec
ember in the future.
The Waccamaw Bank and
Continued on page four
Tobacco Growers
Given 5 Percent
Acreage Increase
President Of The Bright
Belt Warehouse Associa
tion Announces Boost In
Allotment For 1949
EXPORT SITUATION
APPEARS BRIGHTER
Means 57,000 More Acres
For Producers In North*
And South Carolina,
Virginia ( Florida
And Georgia
Brunswick county tobacco grow
ers got an attractive Christmas
present this week in the form of
a five percent Increase in acreage
for 1940.
Fred S. Royster, president of
the Bright Belt Warehouse Asso
ciation, announced the increase
yesterday at Henderson.
That figure, which had been set
tentatively last August, was
agreed on yesterday at a meeting
of representatives of the Produc
tion and Marketing administration
and warehouse interests at Colum
bia, S. C., he said.
Acreage for 1949 in the flue
cured states of Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Florida
and Georgia will be 960,000, as
compared with a quota of 907,000
acres this year.
Royster said that a "reason
able hope for a better export situ
ation in 1949 was the primary fac
tor" that resulted In approval of
the figure.
He added that "Domestic con
sumption was at an all-time high
this year, and I don't believe, and
I don't think any one else believes,
that there will be a downward
trend next year."
At Raleigh, W. P. Hendrick, to
bacco marketing specialist of the
State Department of Agriculture,
commented that flue-cured grow
ers are going into 1949 in a "good
position."
The five per cent higher acreage,
he said, is expected to produce
about the same amount of tobacco
as was used this year.
Vernon Wescott
Shot Christmas
Southport Man It Gravely
Wounded When Shot In
Stomach By Pistol In The
Hands Of His Wife
Vernon Wescott still is in a
serious condition at Dosher Mem
orial Hospital in Southport from
a bullet fired into his stomach
Christmas Day at his home near
Southport. His wife, Mrs. Myrtle
Creech Corsi Wescott, told inves
tigating officers . that she fired
the shot.
She was arrested at Dosher
Memorial Hospital by Deputy
Sheriff G. D. Robinson and Chief
of Police Otto Hickman and went
with the officers to her home
and showed them where she had
hid the pistol in a drawer. It
was a .32-calibre automatic from
which all shells had been fired.
There were three bullet holes in
the window and walls of the
room in which the shooting took
place.
As soon as he had recovered
I from the shock and from his oper
. ation, Wescott called Deputy
Robinson Sunday and told him
' Continued On Page Four
Our
ROVING
Reporter
W. B. KEZIAH
A very regretable thing to
sportsmen is the large number
of fine dogs lost or stolen in
Brunswick county this year. Many
of these dogs were brought in
by hunters from distant points,
I taken on hunts and never heard
i of again. In some instances they
| were just lost, in other cases
; they were deliberately stolen.
{Local hunters, as well as visitors
i have suffered from this theivery.
j The general belief is that most
of the animals are stolen by per
j sons from upstate. In some cases
,they come down in trucks with
dog cages and a few dogs, alleg
j edly on hunting trips. Really the
cages and dogs are a front In
wlijch they can place valuable
animals belonging to sportsmen
.and haul them away without any
one being the wiser.
We know of half a dozen Bill
Keziahs scattered about the State.
There is the Rowan County Re
gister of Deeds, a second cousin
of ours. At Monroe and Charlotte
are two or three more. Burling
ton has a lanky young football
player who attracted a lot of
Btate-wide attention this fall. Last
week Rev. and Mrs. H. B. John
son of Mt. Airy came across a
picture of the Burlington Bill
Keziah. The Johnson's are good
friends of ours, a circumstance
we are proud of. They clipped the
picture of the Burlington Bill and
mailed it to us with this com
ment: "Playing football seems to
have made you look younger and
Continued On Pag? Four
Community Christmas
Bald Eagles Already
At Work On Nests
Young Ornithologist Spent Part Of Christmas Vacation
Checking Up On Big Birds
With the year not yet gone the
numerous families of bald eagles
in Brunswick county are already
hovering over and rebuilding their
nests. They are preparing to
raise their 1949 families.
The day before Christmas
Quincy Scarborough, a bird club
boy from Fayetteville, came down
to investigate one of the eagles'
nests at Beaver Dam, four or five
miles from Southport. The old
birds are there and have been
busy rebuilding. It was thought
they might have already started
laying eggs. Investigation reveal
ed that there were no eggs, but
Scarborough says he thinks the
female will start laying this week.
This particular nest is in an old
forest pine, 90 feet from the
ground. Some time in the long
ago lightning struck this tree,
causing the top to split and grow
out in several branches. The nest
is on one of these branches and
by climbing another, a few feet j
away, it is possible to look in'
the nest, see the eggs when there
are eggs to see and the young,
when the young are there.
This looking at the young may
not be a altogether a pleasant
process. Even when there is no
thing but eggs in the nest the old
birds deeply resent intrusion.
When the eggs develop into young
eaglets the old birds become
vicious, it might be said danger
ous, to climbers. They are likely
to swoop in an strike such in
truders.
Both birds were resting on their
nest at the time of the visit last
week. When Scarborough got
started on his long climb up the
tree they took to the air but re
fused to desert the vicinity. They
swooped and circled around, utter
ing their angry cries, but they
seldom came nearer than 30 or
40 feet.
It will be different when the
young are in the nest. Then the
climber may expect to fell the
Continued On Page Four
Southport Seafood
Dealer Offers Jobs
Moscow Gall On
Christmas Day
Where he was it was 5 o'clock
in the afternoon of Christmas
day when Master Sgt. James K.
McKeithan talked to his mother,
Mrs. A. T. McKeithan in South
port at 8:30 o'clock Christmas
morning.
Sgt. McKeithan is in Moscow,
?Russia, with the American Em
bassy. The Russian time is
somewhat ahead of Southport.
Talking to his mother for sev
eral minutes, Sgt. McKeithan
told her that he was well, that
it was five o'clock in" the after
noon of Christmas day and for
her to tell all of his friends in
Southport hello and good
wishes for the New Year.
At 10:30 o'clock Christmas Eve
Mrs. McKeithan was told by the
Southern Bell long distance
operator in Wilmington to be
near her phone at 8:30 o'clock
Christmas morning, as she had
a call coming in at that time.
The call came on the dot 8:30
o'clock and was from Sgt. Mc
Keithan. It was a direct person
to person talk, Moscow to
Southport. Mrs. McKeithan says
she distinctly heard every word
spoken by her son. He, likewise,
had good reception.
Present Pageant
At Presbyterian
"The Christmas Pilgrim?"
Presented By Large Group
Of Young People Thurs
day Evening At Church
"The Christmas Pilgrims" was
presented on Thursday evening by
the Presbyterian Youth Choir and
delighted the audience gathered
to enjoy this Christmas program.
Thirty-five young people particip
ated in the pageant.
The prologue was delivered by
Frank Plaxco, Jr.
The roles of Joseph and Mary
were depicted by P. W. Larsen
and Linda Hickman. The records
were Barbara Hewett and Sam
Newton. Soloists were Iris New
ton, Claire Potter and. Tilda Thor
sen. Duets were sung by Ramona
Williamson and Carol Ann Wolf
and by Gwendolyn Cook and
Annis Cooker.
"Silent Night" was sung by the |
boys quartet.
The performance was under the
direction of Mrs. R. F. Plaxco,
Mrs. James Wolfe and Mrs. J. M.
Waggett. \
Inspection Lane
In Final Call
Motorists Have Today And
Tomorrow To Get Auto
mobiles Through Inspec
tion Before Deadline
Brunswick county automobile I
owners will have one more oppor-1
tunity this week to comply with
the motor vehicle inspection law
when Motor Vehicle Inspection
Lane No. 35 sets up for operation
at Supply on Thursday and Fri
day.
December 31 is the deadline be
fore which all motor vehicles in
operation on the public highways
Continued on pagt S
W. S. Well? Transmits Offer
To Po?t Bond For Men In
cluded In Estonian Refuge
Group
READY TO PROVIDE
Rt.AU i FOR MEN
Expresses Belief That These
People Will Make Good
Fishermen And Desir
able Citizens
W. s. Wells, Southport seafood
dealer, this week offered employ
ment to as many as ten of the
men included in the group of
Estonian refugees who landed here
last fall following perilous cross
ings of the Atlantic ocean In
small sailing vessels.
Wells has attempted to estab
lish contract with the Estonian
group, and failing that, has an
nounced his purpose to the press
and general coverage has follow
ed in newspapers and over rf '?
news broadcasts. Not only did1 he
declare his willingness to give'
employment to ten of the men
but he offered to stand bond in
the amount of $500.00 each, a
sum which is being required by
immigration officials.
The Southport man has been
giving consideration to this offer
for several months. When he firs
mentioned it several months ago
he said, "I think those folks
would fit into life of a community
such as ours, and the men should
make good fishermen. I know
there's one man in the gro p
I'd like to have working for me.
He referred to John Woortman,
skipper of the Roland, smaller of
the two vessels, whose navigation
and seamanship was considered
to little short of miraculous.
Wells says that he will give the
men employment in his f'Bh'"&
J business, and that he
worked out plans which wUl pro
! vide housing for them. He figures
that the single ones can live
aboard the boats on which they
are employed, and he has made
Continued on page four
Navassa Citizen
Suicide Victim
Eaekial H. Williams Died
Tuesday Morning At His
Home Of Self-inflicted
Gunshot Wounds
Ezekiel H. Williams, native of
Onslow county but resident of
Navassa for the past several
years, shot and killed himseU
early Tuesday morning in his
residence at Navassa.
Mr. Williams' 54 years old and
'the Cape Fear bridge tender for
the Atlantic Coast Line railroad,
had been in bad health for some
time. Worrying over his condition
lis believed to have prompted him
to take his own life. The Weapon
used was a 12-gauge shotgun,
loaded with buckshot shell. The
trigger was operated with a short
cane and the entire load cnteered
his left chest and passed complete
ly through his body. .
Coroner John G. Calson was
summoned to the scene by Deputy
Sheriff O. W. Perry and Con
stable J. E. Lewis of North West
township. Investigation * by the
coroner and officials revealed a
clear case of suicide. Mr. Wil
liams left notes instructing a
brother In Wilmington regarding
his burial and the disposal of his
property.
Decorations For
Christmas Were
Best In History
Streets Of City Were More
Colorful In Holiday Deco
rations Than In Any Other
Yule tide Season'
SEVERAL PRIZES
GIVEN IN CONTEST
The Annual Woman's Clubi
Lighting Contest Created
Unusual Amount Of In
terest This Year
Southport was gaily bedecked
for Christmas this year with the
street lights being more numer
ous and more colorful than ever
and with more interest than us
ual in the annual decorations con
test sponsored by members of
the Southport Woman's Club. -
Judging in this latter event re
sulting in the following awards:
Miss Margaret Parkhill's living
Christmas tree was judged to bo
the best in town and she received
as prize a box of candy from
Leggett's drug store. Mr. and
Mrs. H. W. Hood won secood
prize for living tree and received
a year's subscription to the State
Port Pilot.*
Three prizes were awarded fog
doorways, the first going to *<?
and Mrs. E. R. Weeks for their
blue and white lighting arrange
ment. The prize was ten ticket?
to the Amuzu Theatre. Mr. and
Mrs. Dan Harrelson received se
cond prize, a shampoo and set at
Dot's Beauty Shoppe. Their door
way was flanked with tall red
candles and bordered with greens.
Third' prize went to Mrs. Bid.
Taylor for her doorway which waa
a full sized replica of Santa Claus.
The prize was a set of hand
towels from Arlington's.
First prize for original house
decorations went to Mr. and Mrs.
James M. Harper, Jr. Santa Claus,
just going down the chimney, waa
spotlighted and "Merry Xmas" in
red letters was across the front
of the house. Their prize was a
set of mining bowls from South
port Trading Co. Mr. and Mrs.
Merle Hood won second prize, a
shampoo and set at Helen's
Beauty Shoppe, for their blue out
lined entrance and second story
Christmas tree.
The W. B. & S. Bus Lines won
the commercial prize for their
tree in the window of the bus
station. The prize was a fruit
cake from Harrelson's Grocery.
Basketball Game
For Fire Truck
Benefit Contest Between
High School Team And
Stars Of Other Yean Will
Be Played Thursday Night
Southport basketball stars of
other days can be seen at the
high school gymnasium here
Thursday night when Coach H.
T. Sanders trots out his 1949
model against a group of the old
boys. It is safe to, say that the
old-timers will have just as many,
admirers in the audience as tM
present players have.
The game will be a benefit at*
fair, all proceeds to be donated
to the Volunteer Fire Department'
to be added to the fund they are
%ssembling to complete payment?
on the new" fire truck that was
recently ordered.
Among the old-timers In uni
form Thursday night will b*
Skippy Stiller, Franto Mollycheck
and Jimmie Russ. These hare
been rated as among the best
players ever produced locally. Stil
ler is now studying in college,
Mollycheck is in the Navy and
Russ is working in Washington
for the FBI. All three the at
home for the holidays. Added to
the above the old-timers will hare*
Carl Brock, Bobby Jones and Ser- <
eral others. The school boys will
play their regular line up, accord?
ing to coach Sanders.
Seeking Report
On Seal Sale
Chairman Of Christmas Bead
Sales For Southport Wo
man's Club Is Anxious To
Complete Record u
Mrs. Mazie Hiatt, lji charge
Christmas seal sales for the
Southport Woman's Club, saya
that she is anxious to clear op
records of this year's sales anil
urges that each person who has
not yet paid for those he received
to do so at once.
Where the person does not wish
to participate in this worthwhile
program, he is urged to return
the seals to Mrs. Hiatt.
It is pointed out, however, ttuf
. (Oootiflued at pa?* four} j