Most Of The News All The Time THE STATE A Good Newspaper VOL. NO. SIXTEEN No. 41 6-PAGES TODAY Southport, N. PORT PILOT In A Good Community C., Wednesday, February 4, 1952 The Pilot Covers Brunswick County PUBLISHED EVER') WEDNESDAY *1.50 PER YEAH Dredges Await Full Equipment For Doing Work Barges And Quarterboat On Way Up Coast From Flor ida Delayed By Bad Wea ther But Should Be Here Soon dredge McWilliams NOW IN WILMINGTON Another Dredge Is Working While Third Is Now Stan ding By Waiting For Equipment Bad weather in Florida appears to have been causing trouble for the 358-foot LST and three tugs and barges that are bringing up equipment for the McWilliams Dredging Company from New Or leans. The outfit is understood to have left Fort Myers, Fla., Monday and if it encounters no further trouble it should arrive here some time over the week end. The LST is used as a quarter boat for the crews of the G. A. McWilliams, in addition to those quarters she has a deck load of pipe for the McWilliams and is under tow of a tug. The sev eral barges also loaded with pipe lines, etc., are also being towed. The load of- one of the barges includes the two giant spuds for the G. A. Williams. This equip ment has a combined weight of 80 tons and the two 100-foot an chor booms on the barge also present a lot of weight. The McWilliams has been wait ing at Wilmington for 10 days to load the anchor booms and spuds before she can get down to work. There is no nearby equipment outside of Wilming ton for lifting the huge spuds and dropping them on the ship in their proper upright position. The McWilliams also needs her pipelines before she can get to work. Tire Dredge No. 5 is at Dock No. 2 and is having to stand by there waiting the barges from Louisiana. Enough pontoon pipe lines were brought up with her for use on the river, but she has no land pipes to carry the mud nearly a mile to the dikes in land. Without waiting for the tugs and barges with land pipe- j iine from Louisiana, a tug was sent to Charleston Tuesday to | pick up a barge load of pipe that was available there for the No. 5. Meanwhile the dredge Ventor of the Hill Dredging Company of New Jersey is steadily pump ing away, from a point just ab ove the old fish factory location of the Menhaden Products Com pany. The entire dredging situation may be summed up in the dredg es McWilliams and No. 5 stand ing by and waiting for equip ment and the Ventor at work. Apart from these contract work ers. the' Army Engineers dredge Gerig is due to arrive from Sa vannah by Tuesday of next week. Brief Newt Flashes DRIVE CHAIRMAN Ray Walton, Southport attor ney, has accepted the chairman ship of the Red Cross Fund Drive in Brunswick County this year. That campaign will be in progress during the month of March. PUBLIC HEARING A public hearing will be held on Tuesday, February 12, at the City Hall to hear requests for changes in the Zoning Ordinan ces. Interested property owners are invited to attend. RETURNS HOME Dr. R. C. Daniel has returned from Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem where he was a patient for several weeks. Friends thro ughout the county will be glad to learn That his condition is greatly improved. BADLY BURNED Standing too close to a hot stove, Vergil Messer, 11-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Mes ser of Fort Caswell, was seri ously burned about the legs last week when his pajamas caught on fire. It is said he will be hospitalized for about three weeks. PTA POSTPONED The regular February meeting of the Southport PTA will not be held on Thursday night as scheduled but will be held next Thursday night, February 11. There is a make-up game being played Thursday night between the Southport and Shallotte teams, in the Shallotte gyym. Golden Anniversary COUPLE—Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Gray of Supply who recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of their wed ding at their home in Supply. He is 74 years old and Mrs. Gray is 60. Advertise Bids On Hospital Contract All Plans Completed And Approved And Proposals From Contractors Will Be Opened Here On March 4 TOTAL OF $110,000.00 AVAILABLE FOR WORK Plans Call For Important Additions To Facilities Of Dosher Memorial Hos pital Plant All plans have been completed and approved for the renovation of Dosher. Memorial Hospital and the advertisement for invitation for bids has gone out this week. The bids will be opened on Wed nesday, March 4. The firm of Leslie N. Boney, architects, of. Wilmington, has been busy with plans for this work for the past several months, and it has been necessary to work out many changes and al terations in order to fulfill the requirements of the State and Federal governments, and at the same time provide adequate fa cilities. Funds totaling $110,000 are available for this work. Of this amount about $12,000 was raised last year in a hospital fund drive that had the enthusiastic backing of citizens in every sec tion of Brunswick County. The Duke Endowment Fund helped with the project, and the Med ical Care Commission came in as the largest contributor. Separate bids will be received on general construction, electric wiring, plumbing and heating, and all contractors must have prop er license. Among the more important ad ditions will be a new kitchen, a new addition of four rooms, a sprinkler system and new eleva tor. There will be a general re arrangement of existing facili ties, and it is contemplated that the ground floor will be the main floor under the new plan. Six Fatalities For Past Year Number Of Persons Losing Life In Highway Acci dents Cut In Half During 1952 In Brunswick Six persons were killed, 95 in jured and there was an approx imate property damage of $90, 000 on the highways in Bruns wick County during the year 1952, according to Corporal C. H. Lynch of the State Highway Patrol, The corporal pointed out that the six deaths in 1952 was only half the 12 killed in 1951. How ever, the property damage and number of arrests for all man ner of traffic violations in 1952 probably exceeded the number re ported in 1951. One person was killed the past year when a car ran into the rear of a trailer. A second death occurred when a car skidded and turned over on the pavement. One pedestrian met his death when he stopped in front of traf fic and a boy was killed riding his bicycle on the highway. An other death occurred in a wreck on a bridge and one person met his death when he walked aro und a bus into traffic. Winter Fishermen Have Good Catch Going out Sunday morning with Captain Fred Fulford on the Davis Brothers, a party brought in 450 sizeable black fish or sea bass. Using hand lines and engaging in bottom fishing, the party stated that the fish were biting so well that they usually brought in two at a time to the line. The party was made up of a group of Southern Bell tele phone men who have been wor king here for some weeks, and Monroe Butler, local restau ranteer. The telephone men were A. S. Tatum, R. D. Tuch neck, R. W. Taylor and R. C. Johnson, all from Winston Salem. Beer And Wine Vote March 3rd Voters Of Southport May Register For This Election On Each Of The Next Three Saturdays An election will be held in Southport on Tuesday, March 3, to determine if legal sale of beer is to be continued find the sale of wine is to be legalized. Registration books will be op en for. each of the next three Saturdays, and Saturday, Feb ruary 28, is challenge day. Mrs. Riley Willis is registrar for Ward 1; Miss Annie M. Newton is registrar for Ward II; Mrs. Worth Ward is registrar for Ward III. Mrs, Willis will have her reg istration book open at her home, although the voting place for Ward 1 is to be Price Grocery. Registration books for Ward II and Ward III will be open at the courthouse, although voters in Ward II will cast their ballots at the old Southport Laundry. Ward III voters will vote at the court house. Several Cases Tried In Court Variety Of Cases Disposed Of Here In Brunswick County Recorder’s Court During Monday Session A variety of cases were dis posed of here in Brunswick coun I ty Recorder’s Court Monday, with the following judgments result ing: H. E. Bozeman, 30 days, sus ' pended on payment of costs. Leonard Latham Long, public i drunkenness, 30 days, suspended on payment of costs. Cyrus McKeithan, drunken dri ving, $100 fine and costs. Andrew Richard Parker, public drunkenness, fined $10 and costs. R. T. Benton, public drunken t ness, 30 days suspended on good be havior for two years and pay ment of costs. Clarence D. Copeland, speed ing, fined $10 and costs. Abram Frink, no operator’s li | cense, fined $25 and costs. ' (Continued On Page Five) New Attractions Being Added To Band Day Plans Drum And Bugle Corps From Camp Lejeune To Lead Band Day Festival Parade At Shailotte On March 7 OTHER ENTRIES NOW COMING IN Band Now Making Trips T^ Various High Schools In: County To Put On Demonstration The Drum and Bugle Corps from Camp Lejeune will lead the Band Day Parade on Satur day, March 7, it was announced this week. At the same time ijt was revealed that the 40-piece Edwards Military Institute Band and drill unit will be present. Another major attraction will be the appearance of the Wil mington American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps, which is direc ted byy W. W. Jacobus, who is in charge of the Shailotte high school band, host for the day's festivities. Another entry in the Band Day competition will be the Mullins High School Band, a 40-piece out fit which made its appearance last Spring at the first annual Shailotte Band Day Festival. As a preliminary to the com ing event, voting already is un derway for the selection of a Band Day Queen. The following; young ladies have been nominat-1 ed from the high school group: Marilyn Register, seniors; Betty Hewett, juniors; Barbara Mur den, sophomores; Janie Piggott, freshmen; Wilda Hickman, 8th grade. The Shailotte Band is now ma king a tour of the high schools of the county. Last week this group appeared at Waccamaw,! this week it is playing at Bolivia and next week at Leland. Band boosters are proud of the i-ecent record made by the Shailotte boys and girls at Rocky Mount where they placed second in competition with'S;^ other bands1 at the Lions Con vention parade. The Morehead City band placed first and Tar bor6 third. Teen-Age Girls Given Chance Committee From Wilming ton Azalea Festival In vites Local Representative To Participate This Year The Teen-Age Committee for the Wilmington Azalea Festival advised yesterday that Southport has been designated one of the 25 cities to be represented in the Teen-Age Azalea Festival for 1953. The hope was expressed that Southport would enter the festival by sending an attend ant. The qualifications for such attendants are as follows: Attendant must be unmarried and unengaged; must be at least 16 years old and not more than 18 years and 3 months old. The escorts for the attendants selected from other cities outside of Wilmington will be provided byy the Teen-Age Festival Com mittee in Wilmington. When the attendants from out side of Wilmington have been selected it is desired that full in formation be sent the Teen-Age Committee. This information is ( Continued on page Five ) ! Polio Victim CYNTHIA LEE SHERRILL, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Sherrill of Southport, is a cheer ful little lady these days, as she stages a successful recovery from an attack of polio which she developed last August. She is one of three 1952 patients in Brunswick County who was as sisted by local chapter funds —Art Newton Photo. Burning Permit Law Effective February 1st Landowners Of Brunswick County Urged To Comply With Regulations Design ed To Help Protect For ests From Fire Damage The State-wide law relating to the burning of brush within 500 feet of any woodland area with out first obtaining a permit to do so will be rigidly enforced, ac cording to County Ranger D. L. Mercer. The brush burning permit law becomes effective February 1 and is in full force and effect throu ghout North Carolina until June 1, Mercer said, adding that he has been instructed to prosecute all known violators of the law. The penalty for violation of this State-wide law, a misdemeanor, is punishable upon conviction by a fine of not more than $50 or imprisonment for a period of 30 years. Careless burning of brush was said to have been responsible for many of the 3,332 fires that last year swept over 184,026 acres of North Carolina’s timberlands, causing an estimated loss of $640,646. High wuius in March and April coupled with the ordinary dry spell at that time will make burn ing extremely dangerous. "We are urging every person to be Continued on Page Five I W. B. KKZ1AH Our ROVING Reporter Peter Buckman, a native of Holland who came to this coun try when he was nine years old and who is now a disabled vet eran of World War I, brought something to this office this week that is not very familiar to residents of Brunswick County. It is a pair of ice skates made in Holland, 85 years ago. Both steel aand woodwork are still in perfect condition, void of rust and rot. Only the straps are miss ing. The steel blades are 17 inches in length. Peter says he skated on them when he was a boy in Holland. “No ice for’em here”, he added. Somewhere back in the late 1930’s the State News Bureau was established, with Bill Sharpe the chief cook and bottlewasher with the possible exception of Having a secretary. He had to be versatile in a big field with limited wherewithal to cover it. One of his very first trips out of Raleigh was to come to South port and together with a girl who had plenty of pulchritude, we went over to Bald Head Isl and. Except for the fact that he knew what constituted a good picture, Bill never claimed and we never claimed for him that he was a wizard with the camera. But on that Bald Head Island Bill got a shot that is still hot. We have since seen it hundreds of times in as many publica tions. It shows the girl half re clining on a dead cedar tree with palmettos furnishing the back ground setting. The State Mag azine carried this old picture again last week and it is just Continued on page tour Southport Trawler Catches Big Anchor 40 - Tons Of Anchor And Chain Hauled Aboard Wolf pack In All Day Operation Off Long Beach Last Week The Wolfpack of the Bill Wells fleet, Captain Frank Jackson and his mate, Nelson Adams, both colored, got its net fouled in a large ship's anchor off Long Beach early Thursday morning. For' several hours the men worked with the aid of the Wolf pack’s powerful winch. They fi nally got the anchor aboard. But still trailing the anchor down into the depths was one of the huge chains that was favored by sailing ships in the old days. By securing the chain as fast as 10-foot lengths could be hoi sted up, the two men finally found the Wolfpack pretty well loaded with the anchor and some 400 feet of chain piled on top of it. The whole load weighed about 40 tons. Then a hitch came. No more chain would come aboard and tugging by the winch only threa tened to pull the boat down in stead of bringing up more chain. The reason was obvious. The other end of the chain was still fastened to the schooner that sank along with the chain. Frank and Nelson gave up all idea of trying to lift the schoon er out of the mud by the chain. They were likewise reluctant to throw all of that 40 tons of anchor and chain back overboard. So they got a hacksaw and sawed away at the chain for a couple of hours and finally liberated the Wolfpaek from her sea anchor. It took them from 8 a. m., until 9 p. m, to load and cut loose from that chain. They got home at 10:30 p. m. There is a follow-up to their adventures. The anchor that messed them up belonged to the Virginia, said to be rather noted for blockade running during the seige of Fort Fisher.* After that period, the Virginia is credited with having done some other sort of running to Spain and Cuba. The Spanish seized her and then released her. She was making her way back to her Cape Fear waters and is said to have met with trouble in a storm when she was almost directly off the Big Hills at Long Beach. She went down there and the anchor pulled up by the Wolf pack went down with her. Southport Officials Save Over $38,000 Man Demonstrates Shooting Technique Two Southport bird hunters got a lesson in marksmanship one afternoon last week from Joe Lewis, Bolivia farmer. Lewis had met the hunters at a nearby store and had told them where had seen a covy of quail the day before. He of fered to go with them, and, sure enough, just as the men alighted from their auto a nice bunch of birds came out of the field and lighted in a nearby canebrake. The hunters called in their dogs and went stalking toward the singles. The dogs came on point, and when two birds took off the local men, each armed with a double-barrel bird gun, blazed away without drawing a feather. The other quail had swung left in the direction of their voluntary guide, who was carrying a single shot, .22 ri fle over his arm. Suddenly there was a “ping”, as his ri fle fired at the flying bird. “I got mine”, Lewis said quietly and there was the quail flutter ing in the grass. Boat Operators Given Warning Coast Guard Issues Warn ing Against Boatmen Ty ing Up To Aids To Navi gation In Waters In This Area Fishermen and pleasure boat operators .today were reminded by the Admiral Russell E. Wood, Commander 5th Coast Guard dis trict, that it is a violation of the Federal law to mqor any craft to Coast Guard aids to naviga tion, or in any other manner im pair the operation of such aids. Mooring boats to buoys is considered obstruction and inter ference with aid ,to navigation; an illegal practice as established in Title 33 Code Federal Refu lations; Subpart No. 70.05. Violation of this section is pun ishable by fine, not to exceed $2,500, imprisonment, or both. Provisions of the section declare that one-half of such a fine shall be paid to the person or persons supplying information which leads to a conviction. Recent inspections by Coast Guard vessels make it apparent that local fishermen and pleas ure boat operators have been mooring their craft to navigation buoys in violation to the sec tion. Vessels illegally moored to aids to navigation may easily ob struct the view or otherwise ob struct the usefulness of the aid. Buoys may become unmoored or even damaged by craft fastened to them. Aside from the unlawful as pects of mooring to buoys there (Continued On Page Five) Negotiations With Govern ment Representative Re sults In Purchase Of $42, 000 Water And Light Bonds For $7,000 ACCRUED INTEREST OF $3,000 INCLUDED These Bonds Were Sold During World War II In Order To Enlarge Power Plant Officials of the City of South port have succeeded in retiring $42,000 worth of government bonds, plus additional $3,000 in accrued interest, for a cash set tlement of $7,000. These nego tiations are final and the bonds have been returned here and have been destroyed. In order to complete this bus iness Mayor J. E. Gilbert and members of the board of aider men were in negotiation over a period of several weeks with a representative of a Federal ag ency who was interested in work ing out this savings for the city. Money with which to complete this deal was borrowed from a former resident of Southport, who has loaned the sum of $7,000 at 6 percent, with one note to fall due each year. Interest is paya ble monthly and all notes may be paid off before maturity if the opportunity presents itself. These bonds were sold in the early days of World War II, and were for the purpose of pur chasing power plant equipment necessary for furnishing electric power to the Navy at Caswell Section Base. When this facil ity failed to last more than a few years, the government ex pressed a willingness to accept some of the loss in the way of writing off some of the outstand ing bonds. The successful completion of this agreement represents a sub stantial reduction in the bond ed indebtedness of the City of Southport. Commissioners In Session Monday Small Amount Of Business Disposed Of Here Mon day As Board Met In First Of Month Session Very little business was trans acted by the board of county commissioners at their regular first Monday meeting this week. Because of an error in listing, E. V. Skipper was relieved of $810.00 valuation on tractor for the year 1952. It was ordered that William E. Parker be allowed to buy the William H. Parker estate land in the City of Southport by pay ing $50 this date and $20 per month until the full abount of $362.87 is paid. It \