Newspapers / State Port Pilot (Southport, … / Jan. 6, 1960, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of State Port Pilot (Southport, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Most Of The News All The Time Volume No. 20 THE STATE PORT PILOT A Good Newspaper In A Good Community No. 27 8-Pages Today SOUTH PORT, N. C. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 1960 5c A COPY PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY The Pilot Covers Brunswick County 34 DIE IN BOLIVIA PLANE CRASH Maintenance In Coming Projects For Sunny Point Announcement Of Work Under Direction Of U. S. Army Engineers During 1960 Includes Sunny Point Dredging The Wilkes County flood con trol project, more family housing for Fort Bragg and a deeper har bor at Morehead City are top fea tures of the Corps of Engineers construction program scheduled to get started in the state during the second half of the fiscal year ending June 30. Col. R. P. Davidson, District Engineer here, advises that the building program for the Army, Air Force and Civil works ac tivities is estimated at $22 mil lion and will require from one to four years to complete. The $8.5 million reservoir, near Wilkesboro on the Yadkin River, is the re sponsibility of the Charleston (S. C.) District. Col. Davidson said the Charles ton District had advised him that a real estate office has been established in Wilkesboro to begin acquiring land and that the high way commission will start relocat ing highways in the spring. The District Engineer said con struction for the Air Force for the coming six months is esti mated at $4.5 million with most of the work earmarked for Sey mour Johnson Air Force Base at Goldsboro. This will include addi tional runway paving in excess of 100,000 sq. yds., a water filter plant to cost about $500,000 plus two three-story dormitories and a 1,000-man dining hall at a combined cost-estimate of $1 mil lion. Construction for the Army is estimated at $7.5 million. About $6 million of the total will be for 367 units of Capehart family hous ing for military personnel at Fort Bragg. The project is scheduled for bids in the spring. A total of 1,500 units of housing under the Capehart Act have previously been built and occupied at Fort Bragg. An estimated two million dol lars worth of waterway work in cluding maintenance and new starts is scheduled for Eastern North Carolina. The Morehead City project, to deepen the har bor from 30 feet to 35 feet, will account for about half of this sum. Plans show that the job will require about 2,000,000 cu. yds. of pipeline dredging and upwards of 1,000,000 cu. yds. of hopper dredging. The dredging of the bar chan nel at Oregon Inlet afid a new in side approach channel are in plans for the spring months. The new inside channel, actually a rerout ing of the existing channel, will connect with 12-foot channels lead in to Pamlico Sound, Wanchese and Manteo. The existing connect ing link is almost impossible to keep open because it cuts across the normal flow of the inlet cur rent. In other areas, maintenance dredging is scheduled for the Sun ny Point Army Terminal and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The work at the Terminal will require about 2,000,000 cu. yds. of dredging and the Water way about 600,000 cu. yds. r LBrUf Bit» Of -NEWSJ LIONS CLUB DANCE The Southport Lions Club wil! sponsor a- dance Saturday night. January 16. Music will be by hi-fi LIONS TO MEET The regular meeting of the Southport Lions Club will be helc tomorrow (Thursday) evening at the Community Building. TAX BLANKS North Carolina’s new income tax withholding plan went intc effect as of January 1. An effort has been made by the field per sonnel of the Revenue Department to contact every employer, but any employer who has not beer registered and assigned an iden tification number should contact the office of A. S. Watkins, Rep resentative of the Revenue De partment, at the courthouse, Wil mington. Edward V. Gore Named Postmaster Postmaster General Sends Certificate Of Permanent Ap pointment To Acting-Postmaster E. V. Gore E. V. Gore, acting postmaster at Shallotte since October, 1957, has received an appointment as postmaster for that office from Arthur E. Summerfield, U. S. Postmaster General. Prior to entering the postal service, Gore had worked for the U. S. Army Engineers for for 8 years and had served for 4 years during World War XI in the U. S. Navy. A graduate of Shallotte high school in the class of 1939, he went to work for the engineers, and stayed with them until he en tered service. He returned to his old job in 1948 and remained there until assuming duties of acting postmaster at Shallotte. Gore is married and has 5 chil dren. His oldest boy, Eddie Gore, was a star football player at Shallotte this past fall. His wife is the former Esther M. Milligan. Following is the text of the let ter received from Postmaster General Summerall: "On October 31, 1957, it was my pleasure to appoint you Act ing Postmaster of Shallotte, North North Carolina. “It is now my pleasure to send you the enclosed Certificate of Appointment. In accepting this Certificate you assume not onlf the obligations to adhere strict ly and faithfully to the laws and regulations of the Post Office Department but, also, the privi lege of serving the public as the I representative of the postal ser vice. It is with full cognizance of your ability that I entrust to your care the responsibilities of this position. "Sincerely Yours, “Arthur E. Summerfibld “The Postmaster General’’, W. C. Tripp is clerk in the Shal lotte office and Mrs. Christine An drews and Albert C. Gore are sub stitute clerks. Edward H. Red wine is the R. F. D. carrier for I this office. DuffieCommanding Officer At Spart Lt. Col. Johnnie D. Duffie' Assumes Duties Of Com manding Officer Of Sun ny Point Army Terminal As Of January 1 Lt. Colonel Johnnie D. Duffie of Columbia, S. C., assumed com mand of the U. S. Army Trans portation Terminal, Sunny Point, on January 1, succeeding Lt. Colonel William S. Norman, who retired 31 December 1959. He comes to Sunny Point from an assignment in the Office of the Army Chief of Staff. Colonel Duffie enlisted in the South Carolina National Guard in November 1936 and was commis sioned a second lieutenant in May 1940. During World War II he served in Europe with the 84th Infantry Division, participating in four major campaigns. His decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster; Army Commendation Ribbon with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star. Colonel Duffie has studied at William and Mary College, Amer ican University and Taiwan Uni versity. Among the Army service schools he has attended are the Transportation Officers Advanced Course, Command and General Staff College, Army Supply Man agement Course and the U. S. Management School. The Sunny Point Terminal which he commands was con structed for the sole purpose of loading and discharging ammuni tion. Containing three wharves, Continued On Page 4 Crash Recalls Other Tragedies Death of 34 persons aboard a National Airlines DC-6 which crashed near Bolivia early today sent Brunswick county residents to recalling disasters of the past. During World War II the bodies of 16 men who died when the Germans torpedoed a tanker within sight of shore were brought in to Southport. Eight years ago seven per sons lost their lives in a head on automobile crash on U. S. No. 17 near Shallotte. But not even the oldest residents can recall any com parable, peace-time tragedy. Recorder Has Short Session Numerous Cases Carried Over Until Next Week Because Of Absence Of Attorney For Several De fendants Recorder’s court was cut short here Monday when some of the attorneys representing defendants were out of town. The following cases were disposed of: Bond was forfeited for Gene Continued On Page 4 TIME and TIDE By JIMMIE HARPER It was January 3, 1940, and a portion of the gory past was spread over the front page that week. The story of Stede Bon net’s capture in Southport harbor (in 1718) was recounted in an excerpt from a state publication. The New Year’s dance had been “cracking good,” according to a news account. The enter taining orchestra had featured Lawrence Willing and John Boyd Finch on saxophone, and Robert Willing on “a string instrument that is a cross between a ukulele and a guitar.” it was noted that several homes in the community had observed the incoming New Year in traditional fashion, serving “Hopping John”—boiled p<..as and hog jowl—for the first dinner. Glenn Martin, airplane builder, had been through Southport on his 100-foot yacht and had not expressed interest in locating a plant in Brunswick; college students, reported home two weeks before, were reported back at school again; husbands of three of the twelve members of the Thursday Afternoon Bridge Club were named Rudolph; and a poem concerning the local postmaster, run in Just Among the Fishermen, concluded, “. . . may his tribute increase. Let’s hope the century passes by before his tall tales cease.” It was January 3, 1945, and Joel Moore Jr. had entered the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. Miss Ellie Ford Hin son had entertained young folks of Trinity Methodist Church at the parsonage on Thursday night; residents of the Brunswick County Home had expressed their thanks for kindness of the Continued On Page Four National Airlines Plane Plunges To Earth Early Wednesday Morning WRECKAGE— near Bolivia before Peaceful Farm Becomes Scene Of Big Tragedy By JIM HIGH The News Reporter Thirty four persons, 29 passen gers and five crew members, were scattered over 25 acres of the Richard Randolph farm near Bo livia early this morning. There were no survivors. The large National Airlines plane had left New York two hours earlier on a scheduled non stop flight to Miami, Fla. At 2:31 the pilot reported in and at that time gave no indication of trouble. The report was given over land. Soon the plane would head out to sea for the last log of the journey. The flight never made the ocean. Soon after 2:31 residents of Bo livia and nearby surroundings re ported they had heard either two or three explosions. These explo sions awakened many residents but they saw no flames or any other indications that a plane was in distress. The residents returned to their sleep. The plane was reported missing by the airlines and a search was begun, first over the ocean where the plane was expected after it had reported at 2:31. Richard Randolph, on whose farm the plane crashed, had heard the explosions. He arose from his sleep and looked out. All was still except for the pat ter of rain. He returned to his slumber. He arose early this morning as usual to feed his hogs about 7 a. m. Hardly had he stepped out his front door when he found a piece of plane fuselage. The noise he had heard during the night and the bit of wreckage set him in motion. He spread the alarm quickly. Soon people began to pile in from all over North and South Carolina and as far away as New York. Law enforcement agents, CAP members and newsmen were the first to get there. Then curiosity seekers began to line t-h» roads of Bolivia, seeking entrance up the Old Georgetown road which led to the scene of the strewn wreckage and bodies. Many were kept aw'ay from the wreckage by patrolmen who set up road blocks to keep out the curious. This w'orked in part but many wrou!d not be stopped as i they parked their cars and walk- i Continued On Page 2 I VICTIM—One of the victims of the air tragedy is shown still strapped in his seat, his head imbedded in the mud. Neighbors Heard Crash By VIC BUBBET The News Reporter A soft, intermittent drizzle, falling from a low hanging, grey ceiling of clouds blanketed the area where 34 persons died when the National Airlines airplane fell. Helicopters from New Bern, piloted by Marines, had already worked over the area, and were continually circling, just above treetops, hunting to determine the area of the crash. At last reports the crash area extended over a 3 mile radius with the main pieces of the cabin ap parently the center of the circle. Letsie Ann Randolph, Negro, wife of Hichard Randolph, fanned herself nervously as she recounted the sounds of the early morning crash. •‘When it happened it woke us up,” she said. Th- main portion j of the wreckage is located on the Randolph farm, within a quarter of a mile of their new brick home. “Richard said ‘That must be an airplane.’ I ran down to where j most of the children sleep, that was the first thing I thought of.” The Randolphs have 11 children. “Richard, I said, Richard that’s an airplane and its falling on the house! He said it was an airplane, but said it wasn’t falling on the house, although it sure did sound like it. “We looked out the windows and door, but we didn’t see any thing. Richard came on back to bed, then decided he ought to look again. He saw a light coming down, it wasn’t fire or anything like that, just a light shining up against the clouds. “We tried to decide where it went. But we didn’t see or hear anything else.” Letsie Ann shushed a couple of knee-high children clamoring for her attention, then tried to de scribe the sounds that woke her up. "You’ve heard airplanes when they are flying around practicing, then cut off, then come on again? Well it sounded something like that.” As for the later sounds, to de scribe them was beyond her ex perience. There is hardly anyway to describe the sound of a falling airplane unless you’ve been there before. Others said that the first sounds that woke them up were explosions in the sky. Archie Lee Robinson, 30, Brick mason from Bolivia, said he heard two explosions. But he said a friends Adell Clemmons heard three. “The first one must have awakened me," he said. Mary E. Randolph who lives about a half mile from the Rich ard Randolphs, said when the ex plosions and tearing sounds of the falling plane awoke her, she looked at the clock an it "was ten minutes to three, that was the first thing X did, look at the clock." The full impac of the crash hit the Richard Randolphs this mor ning as they hurried to get chil dren on the school bus waiting fo rthem. “McArthur, he’s our 14-year-old son, went out to the hog pasture to feed the pigs, and when he came back he told his daddy the airplane crash we heard in the night must have been nearby. He said he’d found a piece that look ed like it came from an airplane. “His daddy said he’d better go’ see. That’s when he found pieces Continued On Page 2 PICTURES All pictures of the airliner crash appearing in this paper were taken by Vic Bubbet of the News Reporter. More photos on page two. No Survivors From Worst Accident In History Of Brunswick County As Dead And Missiong Total 34 Persons DISCOVER WRECKAGE ON RANDOLPH FARM Time Of Accident Placed At Sometime After 2:3l A./M. When Last Re port Was Received From Plane A National Airlines plane with 29 passengers and a crew of five plunged to earth near Bolivia dur ing the early morning hours to day carrying all 34 persons to their death. Scene of the wreckage was the Richard Randolph farm, which is located on the old Georgetown Road about a mile and one-half from Bolivia. This is a dirt road which intersects U. S. Highway No. 17 at Bolivia. The 4-motored plane had de parted New York shortly after midnight on a non-stop flight to Miami, Fla. The last report from the doomed aircraft came at 2:31 a. m., and airline officials reckon ed that soon the plane was to change course and take off over open water. Reports from several residents of the Bolivia area early this morning indicate that one or more explosions may have occurred be fore the plane crashed. Ken Milligan, who lives a short distance away, reported that the noise of an explosion had awak ened him about 2 o’clock, that there was a second explosion and that he was standing on his porch looking up at the sky when the last explosion occurred. Other residents report hearing more than one report. The location of the wreckage indicates that the plane did not come to earth in one piece. There was no path through the trees nor along the ground to indicate a gliding fall. Bits of wreckage were found over a radius of one mile. There was no evidence of fire, even in the one wing section which still was intact and which still contained some basoline. First reports of finding the wreckage came shortly after day light after Coast Guard and other agencies had instituted a search for the plane when it became overdue. Early arrivals on the scene discovered bits of metal and other debris which led to a cen tral area on the edge of a field on the Randolph farm. There the passenger compartment rested al most intact, although crushed like an egg crate. A short distance away in the edge of the woods rested the pilots compartment, and still in his seat was the man at the controls. There were three other bodies here. As the first searchers moved about over the fields and through the brush they discovered other bodies which had been thrown Continued On Page 2 Tide Table Following to the tide table (or Southport during the next week. These hours are ap proximately correct and were furnished The State Port Pilot through the courtesy of the Cape Fear Pilot’s Association. High Tide Low Tide Thwsday, December 34, 2:16 A. M. 8:39 A. M. 2:30 P. M. 8:58 P. M. Friday, December 25, 3:22 A. M. 9:45 A. M. 3:35 P. M. 10:00 P. M. Saturday, December 36, 4:25 A. M. 10:48 A. M. 4:38 P. M. 11:00 P. M. Sunday, December 27, 5:25 A. M. 11:47 A. M. 5:39 P. M. 11:57 P. M. Monday, December 28, 6:25 A. M. 0:00 A. M. 6:38 P. M. 12:42 P. M. Tuesday, December 29, 7:20 A. M. 0:52 A. M. 7:36 P. M. 1:36 P. M. Wednesday, December 30, 8:14 A. M. 1:45 A. M. 8:30 P. M. 2:27 P. M.
State Port Pilot (Southport, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 6, 1960, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75