Most Of The News
All The Time
THE STATE PORT PILOT
A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
The Pilot Covers
Brunswick County
VOL.. NO. SIXTEEN
NO. 11
6-PAGES TODAY
Southport, N. C., Wednesday, October 31, 1951
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
$1.50 PER YE AM
—
New Channel For Cape Fear
River Proposed As Part Of
Local Defense Developmen
-— *
Thirty - Five Foot Channel
East Of Bald Head Island
May Be Feature Of Sunny
Point Defense Develop
ment
HAS IMPORTANT
PEACETIME USE
Project Would Eliminate
Necessitv Of Southbound
Ships To Pass Tip Of
Frying Pan To Come
Here
By W. R. KEZIAH
Southport harbor and Sunny
Point basin improvements that are
reported to be on the immediate
agenda will be of general ship
ping interest, both to coastwise
traffic and shipping in the great
lanes that lie off Frying Pans'
or Cape Fear Shoals.
According to present informa
tion it appears that within a
year or so shipping will be able
to come in from either the east
or west and pass around the butt
of the shoals instead of going far
out to sea to avoid the rough and
often impassable shoals.
This change will come about
through the opening of a new 35
foot entrance just east of Bald
Head island, presumably through
Corncake Inlet. The old channel
or entrance between Bald Head
island and Southport will also be
maintained at 35 feet, the infor
mation says.
Ships coming down the coast
will not have to go around Fry
ing Pan Shoals. They can turn in
east of Bald Head island to go to
Wilmington, Sunny Point or Sou
tKpbrtr Tf the weather is very
bad around the shoals they can
merely come in east of the island,
pass Southport and out again be
tween Bald Head and Fort Cas
well. In effect, this will be an in
side passage route when one is
necessary.
Ships going east can turn in at
Southport, taking an inside pas
sage to escape the shoals, turning
out after passing Southport and
regain the ocean above the rough
waters of the shoals. Likewise all
shipping from the west with car
goes due at Southport, Sunny Po
int or Wilmington, will come in
through the present channel.
In some instances nearly a hun
dred miles of travel will be saved
ships. To illustrate this fact, a
ship bound from the west to the
east with a partial cargo for
Southport, Wilmington or Sunny
Point and with the rest of the
load to go on east, can come in
through the westward channel and
go out through the eastern chan
nel without the long trip around
the shoals. The same thing holds
good for west bound ships with
( Continued on pagei Five )
1 Brief Netst
I Flathet
■*
BENEFIT BARBECUE
A barbecue supper for the ben
efit of the Shallotte liigh scliool
band will be served in the lunch
room tomorrow (Thursday) ev
ening, beginning at 6 o’clock.
CONFERENCE CONVENES
The North Carolina Conference
of the Methodist Church convenes
at Grace Methodist Church in
Wilmington todayy and will con
tinue through Sunday. Mrs. El
izabeth Brunson is a delegate
from Trinity Methodist Church
in Southport.
SHALLOTTE FT A
An organizational meeting of
a Parent-Teacher Association for
Shallotte high school will be held
Friday evening at 7:30 o'clock.
All patrons and friends of the
school arc urged to attend. Ar
rangements have been made to
have a State official present for
this meeting.
PAINFULLY HURT
Tommie Garner of the Bolivia
Lumber Co., sustained painful in
juries Friday when he was struck
across the face with a limb
which had been pushed back by
a piece of logging machinery.
On Saturday his eyes were swol
len shut and there was some
fear that vision might he im
paired permanently. Later de
velopments have indicated that he
will completely recover.
V
Prospective Channel Site
DAM—In 1885 work was commenced on a rock and concrete dam for the purpose !
of blocking the waters of the Atlantic Ocean from the Cape Fear river by way of ffeW
Inlet. The job required 18 years for completion. Nowr a project is under constdera
tion to open a second channel from the Cape Fear to the ocean, and it is possible that
the new entrance will be at or near the site of the inlet which was closed more than
half-century ago.
Brunswick Man
Declines Life
Out Of Prison
Woodrow Hart Voluntarily
Returns To Central Prison
To Complete Terms Of
Sentence
Woodrow Hart, convicted of
the knife slaying of Ed Wescott,
is back in State prison after get
ting a 60-day parole in Febru
ary of this year. Before he was
given his parole his sentence was
due to expire August 29. 1952.
Now it will be May 3, 1953 be
fore he gets out.
When he was given a 60-day
parole in February it was in the
nature of a 60-dav leave to visit
and work for a sister in' Ken
tucky. He failed to make re-.
ports to the parole office. The
paroles office tried unsuccessful
ly to contact him or his sister
and he was finally listed as an
absconder and the Kentucky po
lice were asked to pick him up.
It appears that the Kentucky
police did not pick him up, but
this week he reappeared at the
prison with the statement that
he would rather serve out his
term than live on the outside un
der parole supervision. His re
quest, of course, was granted,
with some months extra taxed
on the original sentence for his
failure to comply with the pa
role conditions.
Production Is
Key Farm Need
PMA Chairman Leo Medlin
Sees Need For Maximum
Land Use On Part Of
Brunswick Farmers
The production from every farm
and the protection of every acre
on every farm is needed if agri
culture is to continue to provide
for the Nation’s needs, says Leo
F. Medlin, Chairman of the
Brunswick County PMA Commit
tee.
To make sure there is enough
food and fiber to meet the Na
tion's needs for a strong defense
and to take care of a growing
population in the years to come,
in the chairman's opinion a sound
program for maintaining farm
productive capacity is essential.
He points out. timt the general
j fertility level of our soils is still
| fating down. Soil improvement has
i helped a great deal on many
I farms, bul it has not yet reached
[ the point whether it balances the
i losses of soil and fertility on oth
er farms.
Each year we are taking near
ly twice as much plant nutrients
i out of the soil by cropping alone
as we are returning, the ehair
i man explains. It is not uncom
mon in some areas for erosion and
leaching to take more than 20
(Continued on page 4)
Fishing Prospects
Is Best Of Season
With Good Weather In Pros
pept And Plenty Of Game
Fish Reported In This
Area, Fishing Should Be
Good \
KING MACKEREL
CATCH REPORTED
These Fine Fish And Plenty
Of Bluefish Promise Good
Sport For Visiting Par
ties For Next Few
Weeks
Today brought the most favor
able indication of good sport
fishing weather that has been
seen at any time this year, with
spotted weather of the past week
apparently broken. Bluefish are
numerous on the shoals and out
on the gulf the special attrac
tion is king mackerel. An extra
fine good fish, now averaging
better than 10 pounds each in
weight, the king mackerel are
something for the sportsmen to
hold in high regard.
With the nearer bluefish on the
shoals some of the parties have
a hard time resisting the temp
tation to stop and fill their tubs
with- blues instead of going to
the gulf for the kingfish. Only
two boats reported on gulf
stream ti'ips yesterday, and one
of these parties slowed down on
their way and hauled in 106 blues
before going on to the gulf.
Some of the parties and catch
es of the past week were as
j follows:
Claude Godwin, W. E. Godwin,
Jr., Clyde Odom, David Godwin,
John Wilson, all of Fayetteville,
35 king mackerel, 106 blues, S
amberjacks, 5 bonita . . . J. M.
Continued on Page Five
Albert S. Dixon
Dies Thursday
Elderly Lockwoods Folly
Resident Dies Following
Period Of Poor Health
Albert Sidney Dixon, 83-year
old resident of Lockwoods Folly
township, died Thursday after
noon. He had been in failing heal
th for a number of years.
Funeral services were held from
! the home Saturday afternoon at 3
| o'clock with Rev. J. M. Carroll
| °f the Methodist church officiat
ing. Burial was held in the Dix
| on Chapel Methodist church cem
ietery.
Mr. Dixon is survived by his
| widow, Mi's. Cornelia Robinson
.Dixon; by two sons, A. L. Dixon
| and Raleigh Dixon, both of Sup
ply
-;|T-!
Shallotte Man
Robbery Victim
Carl Andrews, Shallotte busi
ness man, was painfully beaten
and robbed of an undisclosed
sum of money Saturday night
by unidentified assailants in
South Carolina.
According to reports of the
indictment, the Shallotte mer
chant had most of the receipts
of the day’s business . on his
person when he decided to vis
it an eating place across the
State line for a late supper fol
lowing the close of his stqre.
Sheriff E. V. Leonard, who
received a report on the assault
and robbery on Monday, con
tacted Sheriff C. E. Sasser of
Horry county in an effort to
apprehend the guilty party and
to help recover some of the
loss, particularly several checks.
PTA MEETING
The Southport Parent-Teacher
Association will meet tomorrow
(Thursday) p. m., at 7:30 o’clock
•in the high school auditorium.
W. B. KK7.IAH
Our
ROVING
Reporter
The fact that residents of the”
defense area have not yet been
asked or ordered to move out S is
not to be taken to mean that
construction work will have to
wait until they have time to move
after the orders to vacate are
given. For all knowledge to the
contrary, construction work may
begin before any of the residents
of the area are ordered to va
cate their homes. The dispatchc;
i from Washington have stated tljat
as much as 18 months may fce
| required to finish the constrp
I tion. But the whole huge lapl
I area will not see immediate cctr
I struct ion work. Home owners tin
t some areas may not be requljM
j to move out for several weeks fcr
I months after the work stai^t
But they will have to move, the;
; much is certain. Residents of tjl :
area may as well begin now mdjk
| ing their future plans. WashiiJ; -
i ton has classed the local proje'
as “immediate”. Meaning that ! v
is to start at once. No one shop!
be fooled or anticipate delay jin
j construction because of the fp,
[ that home owners in the ait-.
h
have not yet been given notice.
In this, what you might call
the beginning of the evolution of
Southport the trouble is not in
getting you to buy, it is in get
ting the other fellow to sell. There
is plenty of vacant land that can
be obtained for business purposes
inside and outside the town. Get
ting places that have buildings is
another matter. It seems that a
great deal of the future of the
town depends on getting people
who will buy land for the purpose
of constructing both residential
and business buildings. Such folks
will conic alright in time, but
the longer we delay in getting
them the slower will be the eco
nomic progress.
Anything that provides a pay
roll is an industry. The sensible
way of looking at things now
will result in our citizens seeing
that they have secured the sec
ond biggest military industry in
Southeastern North Carolina as a
result of the recent handouts by
(Continued on page 4)
Vote Saturday
On Question Of
Research Fund
Farmers Will Have Oppor
tunity To Decide Whether
To Contribute Five-Cents
Per Ton For This Cause
NICKELS FOR KNOW
HOW GOES TO TEST
Small Payment Believed Im
portant, To Finance Agri- j
cultural Research Pro
gram In State
Brunswick county farmers and
all others that buy livestock feed
or fertilizer are eligible to vote
in Saturday’s referendum. To
decide whether to contribute 5
cents per ton on all feed and fer
tilizer they buy to the Agricul
tural Research Fund.
The ballot will be worded as
follows: "For expanding agricul
tural research and making resear
ch information more available to
the farmers by adding five cents
per ton to the purchase price of
feed, fertilizer and or their ingre
dients.For.Against.”
Polling places in Brunswick
County are: Waccamaw town
ship at the Waccamaw school,
Shallotte township at Russ Store
in Grissettown; Lockwood Folly
township at J. M. Parker in Sup
ply; Smiithfield township at
Midway filling station on Supply
and Southport highway; Town
Creek township at A. P. Henry
Store in Winnabow; and North
west township at Rourk Store in
Leland.
. T*he polls will open at 6:30 a.
m., and close at 6:30 p. m. on No
vember 3. All persons voting will
sign their names on a register at
the time of voting.
Lengthy Docket
Heard In Court
' _
Numerous Cases Disposed
Of Before Judge W. J.
McLaab Here In Record
er’s Court Monday
A lengthy docket was disposed
of before Jodge W. J. McLamb
in Brunswick County Recorder’s
Court here Monday, with the fol
lowing cases being disposed of:
Samuel Jackson, failure to stop
at scene of accident, fined $25
and costs.
Otis Johnson, overloading, nol
pros with leave.
George Smith, improper brakes,
adjudged to pay costs.
Robert Henderson Williams, no
operator’s license, fined $25 and
costs.
Harry Winston Tharp, drunk
ed driving, not guilty.
Velma Watts, drunken driving,
fined $100 and costs.
Johnny Lee McDowells, over
loading, costs.
Luke Watkins, overloading, ad
judged to pay half the costs.
Carl McCormick, no operator’s
license, fined $25 and costs.
Holly Johnson, improper auto
equipment, prayer for judgment
continued.
Willie Greenhouse, overloading,
adjudged to pay half tiie costs.
Grady Herring, public drunken
ness, fined $23.25 and costs.
Jessie Rhodes, public drunken
(Continued on page 4)
Consideration Will Be
Paid To Displacement
Of Brunswick Citizens
Tells How Sunny
Poinl^Got Name
Letter From Man Who Was Born There Gives Interesting
Information Regarding Defense Site
From B. B. Sorensen of Ap
palachicola, Fla., comes the an
swer to a question put in this
paper two or three weeks ago.
The question was regarding how
Sunny Point got its name, and
when Mr. Sorenson, who lived
here at Sunny Point until about
20 years ago, has all the answers.
He writes:
“X am the son of the late Oscar
Sorensen. My father purchased
the land from Frank Hewett in
1865, just after the civil war. My
father lived there for a year and
then left. Returning two years la
ter he got a small boat and frei
ghted all kinds of things to Wil
mington. I was born there at Sun
ny Point.
“When my father found he
could not make- a go of things
freighting stuff to Wilmington he
went on the Cutter Colfax in
1869. Later he was appointed
keeper of the river lights and he
held this job for 45 years.” The
family was living at Sunny Point
all of this time.”
“The place was not named un
til 1886. My dad had a party one
day and among those present was
a Doctor Nelson. It was a bright,
sunny morning and just as the
sun came up across the river Dr.
Nelson said, “We will call this
place Sunny Point.’ 'The place has
gone by that name ever since and
if you have ever been there on a
clear morning I think you will
agree that the name is an ap
propriate one.”
It may be mentioned here that
Sunny Point is a long inward
curve of the Cape Fear river. It
faces squarely towards Fort Fish
er and Kure Beach in New Han
over county. The sun comes up
ing water and the name could not
over two or three miles of glisten
have been more aptly chosen.
The late C. Ed Taylor of South
port bought the land from B. B.
Sorensen, who inherited it from
his father, Oscar Sorensen, and
( Continued On Page Five )
Minister Accepts
Call To Southport
Proposals Asked
For Postoffice
Post Office Inspector E. J.
I Kyle of Greensboro is inviting
! proposals for post office quar
ters at Southport for the period
of five to 10 years, beginning on
August _ 1, 1952.
The quarters must have floor
space of about 1,500 square feet,
must be* in a good central loca
tion. Heat, light, power, water,
toilet facilities, plumbing, heat
ing and lighting fixtures, safe
or vault and all necessary fur
niture must be in the lease.
The right is reserved to reject
any and all bids. General infor
mation concerning the lease may
be obtained from Postmaster
Marjorie Livingston or from the
inspector indicated above.
RadciifFwiir
Fill Jail Job
Southport Man Has Been
Working In Fayetteville
For Several Months; Will
Succeed Alex Williams As
Deputy
Alex Williams, who for the
! past 11 months has served as
! deputy sheriff and jailer under
Sheriff E. V. Leonard, has re
signed and has accepted a posi
tion with the Atlantic, Gulf and
Pacific Dredging Company. For
Mr. Williams, this is a return to
his lifelong occupation, for he
has spent most of his life as an
engineer on U. S. Government
dredges.
In leaving his law enforcement
position, Mr. Williams declared
that he did so with regret, for
he had thoroughly enjoyed his
association with Sheriff Leonard
and other law enforcement offi
cers of the county. “I just got
an offer that is too good to
turn down,” he explained. “I wish
Ed and the boys the best of
luck.” he added.
While he served in the capaci
ty of jailer Mr. Williams earn
ed the commendation of the
grand jury, who spoke favorably
of the improvements in the con
dition of that building under his
management.
Last week in an editorial this
newspaper praised the record of
Mr. Williams, but inadvertently
referred to him as Bert Williams
instead of his right name of Al
ex Williams. These two men
are brothers, and the mix-up was
due entirely to lapse of memory.
Sheriff Leonard said Monday
that he has named H. G. Rad
cliff of Southport to fill the po
Continued on Page Five
Thomas D. Toler, Jr., Of
Staunton, Va., Will As
sume Pastorate Of South
port Baptist Church
TO ASSUME DUTIES
ON NOVEMBER 18TH
New Minister Succeeds The
Rev. H. M. Baker Who
Left Southport In June
For Rutherford
County
Thomas D. Tolar, Jr., of Staun
ton, Va., has accepted a. call as
pastor of the Southport Bap
tist church and will assume his
pastorate of the local church on
Sunday, November 18.
The new minister succeeds the
Rev. H. M. Parker, who resign
ed the pastorate of the South
port Baptist church in June to
go to Round Hill Baptist church
in Rutherford county.
The Rev. Mr. Turner is a grad
uate of Furman University and
of the Southern Baptist Theolog
ical Seminary in Louisville. He
is an overseas veteran of World
War II.
At present he is serving as
assistant pastor of the First Bap
tist Church at Staunton and as
pastor of two mission churches
in that section. He has preach
ed in the Southport church and
has been back for another day of
vigiting in the community.
The new minister is married,
his wife being the former Miss
Ruth Hall of Wilmington. They
have two children, one two years
of age, the other ..two months
old.
Arrest Follows
Truck Accident
Truck Loaded With Itiner
ant Workers Struck By
Tractor - Trailer Thurs
day On U. S. No, 17
Wade Boss, 19-year-old Wil
mington man, was arrested for
reckless operation by Patrolman
J. S. Jones Thursday. The offic
er states that the G. M. C. trac
tor-trailer, operated by Boss and
traveling north, crashed into a
one and a half ton Chevrolet, op
erated by Anthony J. Mores, 27
year old Negro, of Goulds, Florida.
The accident occurred on Route
17, 2 miles south of Supply, The
tractor-trailer was headed north
and the Chevrolet was bound
south, carrying a number of Ne
groes, five of whom were more
or less seriously injured. The in
jured were: Niva Wilson, Balti
more, MU.; Anthony J. Mores,
.Junior Williams. Revine Williams
land Pledge Williams, Goulds, Fla.
1 Continued on Page Five
Two Plans Under Consider
ation By Government, One
Of Which Would Reduce
Acreage To Be Acquired
By Government
ST. PHILLIPS LIES
WITHIN BOUNDARY
No Route For Railroad To
Ammunition Depot Has
Been Finally Decided,
According To State
ment
The proposed ammunition out
loading facility at Sunny Point
on the Brunswick County side
of the lower Cape Fear River
would not include the historic
Orton Plantation mansion and
gardens, but famed St. Phillips
Chuich and cemetery about one
mile to the south would fall in
the easement fringe of property
involved.
This was the word today from
Col. R. C. Brown, district en
gineer of the Wilmington District
of the Corps of Engineers. The
Wilmington District, he pointed
out, has been charged with the
drafting of plans and specifica
tions for the project.
Col. Brown, who explained that
the entire facility is in the plan
ning stage only, had this to say
about progress of the proposal
so far:
The project embraces some 20,
200 acres of land fronting for
better than seven miles on the
Cape Fear river and reaching in
land about five miles. Northern
boundary of the area is located
less than one mile south of Or
ton mansion while the southern
boundary is just beyond Walden
creek.
There are two plans currently
under consideration. One recom
mends that the entire 20,200 ac
res to be purchased outright.
This recommendation, it can be
easily understood, would necessi
tate the removal of all people
living within the area to other
sites.
The other plan proposes that
only 14,750 acres be acquired for
operational purposes. The remai
ning 5,450 acres under this plan
would be contracted for under an
easement plan for a protective or
buffer none on the outer fringe.
| Resident of the easement area
would not be required to vacate
their homes and farms in contrast
to those living in the operational
area. There has been no decis
ion on either plan so far because
as Col. Brown advised, the pro
ject is in the planning stage and
has yet to be acted upon by high
er authority.
The government has expressly
stated that changes in living con
ditions of people to be affected
by the building of the facility
be held to a minimum.
Col. Brown’s announcement
| gave these additional details:
Twenty-one white families rep*
I resenting 85 people and 35 Ne
gro families representing 170 in
habitants live within the opera
tional area proposed in the sec
ond plan, while six families of
25 people occupy that area pro
posed for easement agreement.
Three churches are in the op
erational area, Bethel, St. Pauls
ane one near Reaves Point on
( Continued on page Five )
i ---
I
Tide Table
Following Is tho tide table
tor Southport during the next
week. These hours are approxi
mately correct and were furn
ished The State Port PUot
through the courtesy of the
Cape Fear Pilot’s Association.
High Tide Low Tide
Thursday, November 1
S:5S A. M. 2.34 A. M.
9:09 P. M. 3:23 P. M.
Friday, November 2
9:30 A. M. 3:22 A. M.
10:04 P. M. 4:14 P. M.
Saturda; November 3
10:48 A. M. 4:13 A. M.
11:03 P. M. 5:08 P. M.
Sunday, November 4
11:48 A. M. 5:10 A. M.
0:00 P. M. 6:07 P. M.
■Monday, November 5
0:08 A. M. 6:12 A. M.
12:51 P. M. 7:10 P. M.
Tuesday, November 6
1:14 A. M. 7:21 A. M.
1:55 P. M. 8:12 P. M.
Wednesday, November 7
2:21 A. M. 8:31 A. M.
2:56 P. M. 9:12 P. M.