Most Of The News
All The Time
Volume No. 17 No. 24
THE STATE
A Good Newspaper IA
4-Pages Today SOUTHPORT, N. C. WEDNESD,
ORT PILOT
Good Community
DECEMBER 26, 1956
The Pilot Covers
Brunswick County
$1.50 PER YEAR
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
Fishing Ground
No Secret Says
Fisheries Head
Off-Shore Explorations Have
Revealed Some Good Pros
pects For North Carolina
Fishermen
OTHER RESULTS
HAVE VARIED
Two Vessels Were Operat
ing Off North Carolina
Coast For U. S. Fish
And Wildlife Service
There is a rich, “unfished” fish
ing ground off the North Carolina
coast, but the U. S. Fish and
Wildlife Service is not keeping
it a secret, as it has been accused
recently, Garland Fulcher, presi
dent of the North Carolina Fish
eries Association said this week.
The Federal Service was accused
of withholding information follow
ing exploratory trawls by the
Service boats Bowers and Combat
off the coast in November. These
vessels put in at Southport sev
eral times during this period. At
the same time test trawls were
done at mid-depth and down to
250 fathoms by the Sarah J.,
owned by Earl H. Holton, vice
president of the North Carolina
Fisheries Association.
The exploratory trawls between
Cape Hatteras and Cape Fear
were costly in the loss of nets and
gear, according to Holton and G.
B. Talbot chief of the Fish and
Wildlife Service laboratory at
Morehead City. Several types of
deep-water shrimp were taken in
the nets—the largest counting 60
shrimp to the pound, and the
largest catch of them three
pounds in one drag of the trawl
nets. The next was found to be
soft and difficult to process, Hol
ton reported.
The fishing grounds known to
the commercial fishermen, but not
adequately fished, however, is the
Raleigh Bay area, Fulcher said.
Known as the “Fish Basket of
the Carolinas,” it extends from
Cape Lookout to Cape Hatteras,
about 45 miles in length and up
to 10 miles in width. The direct
approach to it is through Ocra
coke Inlet, which has silted un-~
til it is dangerous to all but the
smallest fishing craft. The alter
nate route in 90 miles around
through Beaufort or Oregon Inlets.
The NCFA received a most
favorable reception from the U. S.
Corps of Army Engineers when it
presented the case for the deep
ening and stabilization of Ocra
coke Inlet recently, Fulcher said,
and favorable action for its im
provement is expected in the next
session of The Congress, where
an enabling act and an appro
priation must be approved for the
work.
Thereafter, Fulcher said, great
er income will come to North
Carolina from the rich, “open
secret” fishing grounds of Raleigh
Bay.
Brief Bits Of
lnewsj
STUDENT PROGRAM
Student Recognition Night will
be observed at Trinity Methodist
Church Sunday evening with col
lege students who are at home
for the Christmas holidays in
charge of the program.
TO PLAY AT PARTY
The Brunswick County Train
ing Schools’ Swing Ensemble,
composed of part of the regular
school band, is scheduled to play
at the New Year Party at SPAT.
This is a special 12-piece band
formed into an orchestra for
dance music. Prof. S. S. Riggs,
director of the regular band, will
be in charge of the group at the
party.
ON DEANS LIST
The names of Lester A. Den
ton, Freeland; Betty Jo Fulcher,
Leland; Francis W. Owen, Shal
lotte; are on the dean's list at
Wilmington College, Dean Wil
liam M. Randall announced last
week. The Dean’s List, issued at
the end of the Fall quarter, con
tains the names of forty-two stu
dents who distinguished them
selves for the excellence of their
academic work in the college.
HOLIDAYS HERE
Mr. and Mrs. John Hevener of
Buxton, where Mr. Hevener is
with the Coast Guard, are spend
ing the holidays here at home.
Their son, George M. Hevener,
who has bee n serving in the
Pacific came in Monday to spend
Christmas and a few days with
them. Mr. Hevener, Sr., served
here in the Coast Guard for a
year and a half and since then
they have called Southport their
home. They own a home here.
Dies Suddenly
DECEASED—Friends in Brunswick county and
throughout the state were shocked this week by news of
the sudden death on Wednesday of Sam T. Bennett.
Health Center Is
Still Undecided
Commissioners Follow Trip ’
To Raleigh Last Wednes
day With Thursday Sess
ion That Ends In Dead
lock
POSTPONE ACTION
UNTIL JANUARY 7
v
Funds Available For Con
struction Of This Facility
If Location Can Be
Reconciled
The fourth day of deliberation
for the purpose of settling a dis
pute over the site of a Health
Center for Brunswick county
ended Thursday with no decision,
and the matter was postponed
until the regular meeting of the j
board of county commissioners on
January 7.
Last Wednesday Chairman
Herbert Swain and Commissioner
Durwood Clark were in Raleigh
for a conference with officials of
the State Board of Health. They
were accompanied by representa
tives from Shallotte and South
port.
On Thursday a report was
made of that meeting. Represen
tatives were present from both
communities, and both groups ap
peared determined to see the
proposed building located within
their own town.
The only attempt at official
dissolution of the tie came when
Commissioner R. E. Bellamy of
fered a motion to build the Health
Center at Shallotte. There was
no second.
On the trip to Raleigh con
continued On Page Two
Tarpon Tourney
Seen As Boon
Southport Man Now Serving
As Director Of Conven
tion Bureau In Orlando,
Fla., Says Southport Mis
sing Good Thing
After spending Christmas here
with his parents, Mr. and Mxs.
Joel L. Moore, Sr., Joel Moore,
Jr., executive director of the Or
lando, Fla. Convention Burean, is
being accompanied home this
week by his mother, who will
spend her vacation in the Florida
city.
As official host for Orlando,
Moore travels about a great deal
securing conventions for that city.
In addition he makes hundreds of
contacts with individuals attend
ing the t conventions and with
.sportsmen visiting the convention
city.
With a lifetime of knowledge
of what Southport has in the
way of sport fishing, he loses no
chance to speak up for his home
Continued On Page Two
5
Receive Funds
For Hungarians
Hungarian Relief Funds be
ing ■collected by the Ameri
can Red Cross continue to
come in, and Mrs. Phil King,
chairman of the Brunswick
County Chapter, says that
there appears to be no doubt
but that the local quota will
be met.
Thus far, the most generous
' contribution was a check for
$100 received from W. L.
Bell, native of Southport,
now a resident of Maderia
Beach, Fla.
Mrs. King urges that con
tributions be sent in at once
in order that all funds col
lected may be forwarded to
headquarters.
Air Force Man
Back In States
Capt. Teddy Lewi?; And
Family Returned From
Duty In Alaska In Time
To Spend Christmas With
Mother
Captain and Mrs. Teddy Lewis
and their three children arrived
home from Alaska just in time to
celebrate Christmas with his
mother, Mrs. Brady Lewis. To the
Captain, Mrs. Lewis and their
two older children the return
marked the end of a two and a
half year stay in the more or less
frozen North.
To Wanda Mae, the youngest
daughter, the leaving marked the
leaving of her place of birth, but
it is doubtful that she realized
that. She was born in Alaska
only 4 months ego.
The oldest girl in the family is
5 and the second child, a boy, is
3. Both were born in the United
States.
In his high school days at
Southport Captain Lewis was a
star on the Southport- high school
basketball team. Just as soon as
he graduated he enlisted in the
Army Air Force. For about 3
years he served as an airplane
mechanic and at the same time
learned the rudiments of flying.
World War II came along and he
was promoted to Lieutenant and
became a pilot.
He has now been serving 15
years as a pilot and has thous
ands of flying hours to his credit.
Here with his mother for the
Continued On Page Two
Sam T. Bennett
Dies Suddenly
On Wednesday
Popular Public Official And
Real Estate Man Died In
Shallotte While On After
noon Visit With Family.
FUNERAL BEING
HELD HERE TODAY
Deceased Was Clerk Of
Court For 6 Years Before
Voluntary Retirement
In 1952
Sam T. Bennett, public official
and prominent business man of
Southport, died suddenly Wednes
day afternoon and news of his
death brought a pall of gloom
over holiday festivities through
out Brunswick county.
Death was attributed to a heart
attack, and came while he was
in Shallotte on his way home from
an afternoon of visiting various
people and places ia Brunswick
with his wife, his brother, L. B.
Benriett and his wife. A short
time before his death the deceased
had complained of pains in his
Chest, and as a result they had
stopped by Shallotte to consult
a physician. Dr. Graves had made
a hasty examination, then advised
that Mr. Bennett be taken to the
hospital immediately. He died be
fore they could leave for South
port.
The deceased was the propritor
of Franklin Park Motel here in
Southport and was successfully en
gaged in the real estate and auto
mobile business. He also was hold
ing the office of coroner for
Brunswick county.
Few men in the history of this
county have had a wider circle
of friends than he did. Many of
these contacts came during tl)e 16
years that he served as Clerk of
Superior Court, an office to which
he was elected in 1938 and from
which he retired voluntarily in
1952. HS
He was 6. member of Pythagor
as Lodge in Southport, a member
Continued On Page Two
Chris (.mas tTflriy
Enjoyed By All
County Officials And Guests
Gathered Friday To Hold
Party And Exchange Gifts
A group of folks in and around
the court house staged a Christ
mas party Friday before Christ
mas and it was such a success
that they decided to repeat it next
Christmas. Thirty-nine people par
ticipated in the event.
The arrangements were to put
the 39 names in a box with each
participant drawing a name and
to provide a present for the per
son whose name was drawn.
A brief program was given at
the event, the “Greetings” being
in charge of Kirby Sullivan;
“Spirit of Christmas” by Ray
Walton; “Entertainment” by H. G.
Ratcliffe; Santa Claus by Bill
Keziah; “Refreshments” by Davis
Herring and “Goodbye” by
Dwight McEwen.
Participating in the event were:
Henry C. Stone, H. G. Ratcliffe,
Jack Brown, Ernest Parker,
Dwight McEwen, Thomas St.
George, Henry Hickman, James
C. Bowman, W. B. Keziah, Ken
neth T. Bellamy, Ray Walton,
Davis Herring, Neil Lewis, E. J.
Prevatte, Kirby Sullivan, James
Continued On Page Two
1 Qualified
|NE 2ND LT. HENRY E.
ItT, JR., son of Mr. and
|nry E. GilBert of Bolivia,
recently as a carrier
lilbert is a graduate of
jrolina College. To qualify
bleted six landings aboard
It aircraft carrier USS
|n the Gulf of Mexico. He
undergoing instruction in
|ht flying at the Corry
aval Auxiliary Air Sta
nsacola, Fla.
Bn|swick Man
Hi Prominent
le In Rescue
Curtis Evans Led Volunteer
BoaiCrew On Dangerous
Chriitmas Eve Rescue
Mia
CurtiSgjSvans, native of Bruns
wick coiiity and stationed at Oak
Island p£or to being demoted in
rank ant; assigned to the Coast
Guard C|tter Absecon, volunteer
k a lifeboat out in
rough sei to rescue two badly
burned seamen and transfer them
to a hospital early Christmas
morning.
A Panama freighter called the
Coast Guard vessel and asked
for aid iji transferring the badly
roughTsess, divans and a crew
volunteered to man the lifeboat
and get the men off. They ac
complished their task successful
ly, getting both men to a hospital
Continued On Page Two
Mail Delivery
All Completed
Post Office Employees Man
aged To Keep Ahead Of
Their Unusually Big Holi
day Assignment
Everything entrusted to the
mails was in the boxes before
Christmas Day, except a little
belated mail that people held off
from sending until the last
moment and which did not ar
rive until Christmas Day.
In other words, the decks were
all cleared of incoming mail be
fore the holiday, according to
Postmaster J; B. Russ of the
Southport office. He thought the
same state of affairs existed at
other offices in the county. There
was no decrease in quantity. In
fact, the holiday mail was much
above normal.
It just seems that this Christ
mas the mail patrons finally
heeded the urging to send their
Continued On Page Two
Our
ROVING
Reporter
With the New Year to make its
bow next Tuesday, just a week
after Christmas, a great many
people are going to be hard put
to adjust themselves from Christ
mas Greetings to Happy New
Year. This paper, coming out with
this week’s issue just the day
after Christmas, is able to ad-,
just itself fairly quickly. It is
able to say “Happy New Year’’
to a great many readers and to
say it the first of the week be
fore New Year. We wish every
body who reads the State Port
Pilot a very Happy New Year.
If we ever knew who it was
that first gave us the title of
“Mr. Sunny Point”, we have com
pletely forgotten to whom credit,
if any, is due. All we know is
that the title has stuck and is
still sticking. During the holidays
the overworked Southport post
office staff had no hesitation.
When a card or letter came ad
dressed “to Mr. Sunny Point”,
Southport, they chucked it right
into our post office drawer. A
good many of those messages
were from official sources in
Washington and New York. One
“Mr. Sunny Point” greeting card
that just missed the Christmas
deadline in getting here was from
Colonel and Mrs. Wm. A. McAleer
of Brooklyn.
Monday of last week was the
birthday of Mrs. Lou Holliday
Smith, former health nurse and
resident of Southport. She now
lives at AIcolu, S. C. She cele
brated her birthday by sending
us 4 subscriptions to the State
Port Pilot, for friends and rela
Contiaued On Page Two
Promising Plans
F6r Grid Loop
Planning Meeting Held Last
Week At Waccamaw
With Follow-Up Session
Planned
BY JIGGS POWERS
ASH, Dec. 26—Concrete moves
were made to give Southeastern
North Carolina a new football
conference at a meeting held at
Waccamaw High School audito
rium last Wednesday night.
Ana, a January uaie was an
at which the loop is expected to
be formally organized. Seven
schools from Columbus, Bruns
wick and Bladen Counties were
represented at the meet at which
Toni Webb, Southport principal
and football coach, presided.
' Seven Represented
Southport, Bolivia and Wacca
maw in Brunswick; Acme-Delco,
Hallsboro and Williams Township
in Columbus; and Bladenboro
from Bladen County had repre
sentatives on hand. Only Clark
ton of Bladen of the eight schools
invited failed to send an official.
■ It was said at the gathering
that Clarkton was not interested
in moving up to 11-man football
—the type play planned for the
proposed loop—from six-man ac
tion, in which that school has
been engaged for the past several
years.
Coaches on hand included Webb
and T. M. Lee of Southport;
Ernest Atkinson, Bladenboro;
Danny Peacock, Williams; Paul
Brummett, Waccamaw; Gene Nel
TOM WEBB . . ; . .
son, Acme-Delco; Landrum Wil
son, Bolivia; and Harrell Steph
ens, Hallsboro. Principals R. C.
Elkins, Hallsboro and John G.
Long of Waccamaw were also
present.
Long acted as host to the group.
Webb led a discussion on plans
Continued On Page Two
Demonstration Of
Driving Hazards
Be Observed
The Waccamaw Bank &
Trust Co., the Southport Sav
ings & Loan Association, the
county and city offices and
the post office will be closed
Tuesday in observance of New
Year’s Day. Several places of
business also will be closed.
All Brunswick county schools
will remain closed for the
holidays until next Wednes
day, January 2.
Menhaden Boats
Have Good Luck
Local Boats Return Home
In Time To Determine
That Prospects Are Good
In Local Waters
Returning from Beaufort last
week and putting in one day in
tiome waters, the Southport boats
were expecting to resume work
here today or tomorrow after ty
ing up for 4 days, owing partly to
foggy weather and partly to allow
the men to rest up a bit during
Christmas.
The six weeks at Beaufort were
very profitable, with each boat
getting from 3 to 4 million fish.
These were mostly roe menhaden,
valuable for their great oil con
tent and also providing the fish
ermen stores of fish roe for their
own use or for gifts to friends.
The one day of work put in
Continued On Page Two
4-—
Support Rates
On Weed Crop
Price Support For Certain
Varieties Will Be Reduc
ed For 1957 Tobacco Crop
Major change in the 1957 flue
cured price support program,
made to discourage production of
varieties viewed as undesirable
under present demand conditions
and to encourage an increase in
the proportion of the crop having
characteristics currently in de
mand, were announced last week
by the United States Department
of Agriculture.
These charges, which are in
accordance with recommendations
of grower organizations and in
dustry leaders in the flue-cured
tobacco area, are as follow: (1)
1957 crop flue-cured tobacco of
varieties “139,” “140”, and “244”,
irrespective of grade, will be sup
Continued On Page Two
Safety Officials From Sun
Illustrate Difficulty Of
Stopping
SCHOOL STUDENTS
AT DEMONSTRATION
Measurements Show Exact
Distance Traveled Under
Varying Conditions And
Different Speeds
Making a plea for safe driving
on the highways during the holi
days so that none of the young
people to whom they were speak
ing would be injured, Lt. Col.
William F. Murphy and W. W.
Haugton of SPAT spoke to the
high school students here Thurs
day morning, preceding a safe
driving demonstration that was
staged with State Highway Pa
trolmen and the Southport Police
cooperating with safety experts
from Sunny Point.
Commenting on the fact that
there was a very slight up grade
and that a gravel surface on that
particular stretch of highway
made stopping much easier than
would be the case on a smooth
stretch of road, William W. Hau
ghton, Safety Director at SPAT
and his assistant, Gene Burke,
directed a very revealing road
demonstration.
The demonstration was inten
ded to impress on how far a car
travels between the time a driver
receives a signal and when he can
bring it to a dead stop without
danger to either the car or its
occupants.
The driver is, of course, aware
that in the test he will get a
signal to be acted on. The tests
showed how far he let the car
go after the signal came and be
fore he or she could react by ap
plying the brakes. It also showed
the distance the car continued its
forward movement after the
brakes were applied and before
the machine came to a full stop.
At a 20-miles per hour speed
the driver, a high school girl,
traveled 12-feet before she react
ed to the signal and her breaking
distance in bringing the car to a
halt was 27 feet.
At 30-mph a male student driv
er did not react to the expected
signal until his car had gone 27
feet from the signal and it took
him 63 !4 feet to brake the car
to a halt.
At 40-nrph the reaction time
was 30-feet and the car traveled
91-feet before it could be safely
halted. Even then the machine
Continued On Page Two
General Glore
Visits Spring
With Newsman
Former Commanding Offi
cer At New York Port Of
Embarkation Greatly Im
pressed With Great Nat
ural Resource
MAY ATTEMPT TO
ATTRACT DEVELOPER
General And Mrs. Glore
And Daughter Spent The
Christmas Holidays With
Friends Here In
Southport
This week at the request of
Brigadier General James Glore a
newsman accompanied the gen
eral and his daughter, Clare Mar
garet, to Bouncing Log Spring.
He saw the semi-petrified log
rolling around, the pure clear
water gushing up and he was
not lacking in enthusiasm at the
possibilities for either domestic
consumption or industry.
Both he and his daughter got
a good drink of the water and
the general stated that he knew
of several industries in the North
for which he believed the water
was made to order. He expressed
his intention of talking to some
of the contacts that he is fre
quently making. __
Speaking literally and with
permission to quote, General
Glore, former Commanding offi
cer at the Port of Embarkation
in New York until he retired a
year ago to engage in some
private work said:
“There is a growing shortage
of pure water for industrial pur
poses in the Northern part of the
United States. In fact this short
age is growing everywhere and
it applies to water for both in
dustrial and domestic uses.
“I believe that the potential
value of the Bouncing Log Spring
for large scale, dependable in
dustrial use is undeniable. There
fore, continued effort to develop
the spring must be carried on
until such industry is attracted.
Although some time may be
desired
results, I believe that Ft,T-1^lllll
county and Southport have a
wonderful natural resource that
will inevitably be recognized and
put to great use.”
Coming here frequently during
the Sunny Point construction
period, General Glore became
possessed of a deep personal con
viction that there was much in
natural resources in Brunswick
that the general public has al
ways failed to notice. This visit
has only deepened this conviction.
Hurt Painfully
In Auto Wreck
Florida-Bound Man In Hos
pital As Result Of Collis
ion With Pick-Up Truck
Friday
A new car bound for Florida
was damaged to the extent of
$1,500 and a pickup truck,
owned and operated by Henry
Elton Hewett of Ash became a
total loss on the highway near
Shallotte Friday afternoon. The
driver of the New York car,
James Frazer is in the Dosher
Memorial hospital with bad cuts
about the head.
The driver of the pickup is
under arrest, charged with drunk
en driving and possession. Some
how, a jug of liquor in the body
Continued On Page Two
Tide Table
Following is the tide table
for Southport during the next
week. These hours ore ap
proximately correct and were
furnished The State Fort Pilot
through the courtesy of the
Cape Fear Pilot’s Association.
High Tide Low TMs
Thursday, December 27,
4:16 A. M. 10:28 A. M.
4:26 P. M. 10:38 P. M.
Friday, December 28,
5:10 A. M. 11:22 A. M.
5:20 P. M. 11:29 P. M.
Saturday, December 29,
6:01 A. M. 0:00 A. M.
6:10 P. M. 12:12 P. M.
Sunday, December SO,
6:47 A. M. 0:16 A. M.
6:56 P. M. 12:57 P. M.
Monday, December 31,
7:30 A. M. 1:01 A. M.
7:37 P. M. 1:39 P. M.