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The Pilot Covers
I
Brunswick County!
THE STATE PORT PILOT
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A Good Newspaper In A Good Community
Most of the News
All The Time
VOLUME 39
No. 10
8-Pages Today
SOUTHPORT, N. C.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 1967
5* A GOPY
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
Change Of Command Ceremony
Ensign Leslie M. Meekins, right assumed command of the Coast Guard Patrol Boat
Cape Upright during ceremonies here Friday morning. He replaces Lt. (jg) Barthole
mew Hennessey, left center, who is receiving a salute from Chief Quartermaster Or
lene Stout, who also was reporting aboard for duty. Behind him is Chief Boatswains
Mate Eugene Gray who, along with Lt. Hennessy is headed for Vietnam. Other mem
bers of the crew of the Cape Upright are lined up in the background. (Photo by Spen
cer)
Organizational Meeting
Distinguished visitors and newly elected officers of the Methodist Mens Club at
Ocean View Methodist Church are shown here during the organizational meeting last
week. Front row, left to right, Roy Turnage, North Carolina Conference Lay Leader;
Rev. J. S. Huggins, pastor of Ocean View; C. V. Stidham, club president; Rev. C. G.
McCarver, District Superintendent; W. F. Cupit, club vice-president; and C. Payne,
publicity chairman; back row, Wayland Vereen, project director; Tommy Helms, deve
lopment director; Wade Pearce, District Lay Leader; Lee B. Caster, secretary-treasur
er; S. C. Carr, program director; Dr. C. Burns, Assistant District Lay Leader.
Richmond Bar
Praises Judge
James Bowman
When he was sworn in as a
member of the North Carolina
Bar Association 29 years ago
Judge James C. Bowman took
the oath before Judge Don Phil
lips in Rockingham. Thus it
appeared fitting that his first
assignment as a Superior Court
Judge last month should have
been to go to Rockingham.
This he did, and he must have
been well received. Following
the completion of that term, the
following resolution was passed
by the members of the Rich
mond County Bar Association:
Judge Bowman is presiding
over a term of Superior Court
for trial of civil cases in South
port this week, the first time he
has served in his home county
as a Superior court judge.
“WHEREAS, Honorable James
C. Bowman recently appointed
Judge of Superior Courts of North
Carolina was assigned to hold and
did hold his first session of Su
perior Court at Rockingham,
North Carolina, on July 24,1967,
and
“WHEREAS, Judge Bowman
presided at said term with fair
ness, dignity and impartiality and
gave thorough consideration to all
matters coming before him for
hearing, and
“WHEREAS, the members of
the Richmond County Bar Associ
ation appearing before him were
highly impressed with the way and
manner in which he conducted
said Court.
“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED that the Richmond
County Bar Association does
hereby commend the Honorable
James C. Bowman, Judge Su
perior Courts of North Carolina,
for the able and fair manner in
which he presided at his first
(Continued On Page Fourj
Border Markets
Curtail Sales
The Flue-Cured TobaccoMar
keting Committee reconsidered
previous action and voted unani
mously Monday night in Lumber
ton toplacetobaccomarketsinall
belts, exceptGeorgia-Florida, on
a four-day week, with Friday
sales eliminated.
The plan is effective im
mediately. The Border Belt will
discontinue Friday sales starting
this week. South Carolina
markets had taken similar action
previously.
The committee first voted the
four-day week, on motion of T.
W. Graves,Wilson,buyer, repre
sentative from Imperial Tobacco
Co.
It then took up the four-hour
day question on motion of Au
gust Wallace, Smithfield, presi
dent of the Eastern Belt As
sociation. After considerable
discussion the question was
called on a roll-call vote.
The decision to go on the
four-hour schedule after the first
ten sales on each belt was ap
proved by a vote of 19 to 7
with most growers and ware
house representatives of the
Border Belt and South Carolina
opposing.
With a four-day week limit,
sales are limited to 20 hours
a week for the first ten days
of the Belt’s season. Each set
of buyers can sell 400 baskets
an hour. Each basket can weigh
up to 200 pounds. Thus the time
control controls the rate of flow
of tobacco through the markets.
Early in Monday night’s meet
ing P. R. Floyd, Fairmont, presi
dent of the Border Belt Ware
house Association, presented his
Belt's recommendation that the
Border Belt be allowed its five
day sales week for the first ten
days of the season—in other
words, be allowed to sell this
Friday. Floyd presented a sub
stitute motion to the four-day
week motion to that effect, but
the motion died for lack of a
second. The new restrictions on
sales time were approved fol
lowing discussion revealing that
the present flow of tobacco would
make marketing holidays in
evitable unless immediate re
strictive action was taken.
Graves said his company was
reaching its limit of capacity
at the present. Other buyer
representatives on the 36-man
committee emphasized the same
point.
Farmers Must
Ask For Refund
Brunswick county farmers
have until September 30 to apply
for refunds on gasoline used for
non-highway purposes over the
past year, according to Bruns
wick County Farm Bureau Presi
dent Ira L. Chadwick.
Farmers with adequate gas
purchase records, said Chad
wick, will be reimbursed for gas
used from July 1, 1966. through
June 30, 1967.
Chadwick emphasized, how
ever, that a farmer “must file
for his refund in order to get it.”
The local farm leader said that
“help with gas tax refunds is
one of the many services offered
to members of the Brunswick
(Continued on Page 4t
Open Bids For
County Library
Here Thursday
Two brothers from Washing
ton, D. C. have given $100 to the
building fund of the Southport
Brunswick County Public Li
brary. Angelo V. Catucci, in
surance broker, and Henry G.
Catucci, a vice-president of
Western Union International,
made the contribution as “an ex
pression of thanks for the many
happy hours we have spent in
Brunswick County”. The broth
ers have owned a cottage on Long
Beach for the past 17 years.
Out of town donations have
come also from Mr. and Mrs.
Joseph H. Susong of Akron, Ohio;
Mr. and Mrs. Howard Laonhardt,
Falls Church, Va.; and Charles
W. Wells of the Seaharvest Pack
ing Co., Brunswick, Ga.
Locally, Mr. and Mrs. P. A.
Fulcher gave $50; Ivan Ludlum
made a gift of $20 and the South
port Art Club $15.
Memorial gifts have been re
ceived for George Whatley, Col.
Wilmer J£emper, Sam Rees, Sr.,
Mrs. Martha C. Dickey and Bry
ant Potter.
* Bids for construction of the
comity.library will be opened to
morrow (Thursday) at 3;30 p. m.
The next step will be signing of a
construction agreement with the
North Carolina State Library
in Raleigh. Until the actual sign
ing of this contract, every dollar
received in local contributions
will be matched by a similar
amount from federal aid. Any
person who has planned to help
in this project but who has not
done so is urged to get his dona
tion in within the coining few
weeks while every one dollar
given is worth two through match
ing funds.
Methodist Men
Organize Club
Tie Rev. Johnnie S. Huggins,
pastor of Ocean View Methodist.
Church, Yaupon Beach, an-T
nounces the chartering of a
Methodist Men’s Club at the
charter meeting August 7.
The club got off to a grand
start with 37 charter members.
Following a seafood dinner,
the men of the church immediate
ly turned to a business and or
ganization meeting. Carl V.
Stidham, Sr., of Southport was
elected the club’s first presi
dent. After election of other
officers the club’s charter was
presented to President Stidham
by Roy Turnage, lay leader for the
North Carolina Conference.
In addition to the men present
from the church, the following
guests attended: The Rev. Clyde
G. McCarver, Wilmington Dis
trict Superintendent; Dr. Clyde
Burns, Associate District Lay
Leader; Wade Pierce, District
Lay Leader; the Rev. L. D. Hay
man, founder and former pastor
of Ocean View; the Rev. William
Davenport, pastor of Trinity
Methodist Church, Southport.
The Lay Leader of Ocean View,
Sam C. Carr, and the Rev. Hug
gins have worked hard toward
bringing a Methodist Men’s Club
to the beach area. They wish to
remind all Christian men of the
area to come to the club meetings
on the fourth Monday evening at
7:30 o’clock. The meetings will
be held at the church, with sup
per prepared by the ladies of the
WSCS.
Ski Troup In Southport This Morning
The five-girl ski troup on their way to Expo 67 in Montreal from St. Petersburg, Fla.,
reached Southport early this morning. They stopped here long enough to stage a brief
water show in the Southport Harbor and to come ashore at the Southport Boat Harbor
where Pat Markus presented greetings to Mayor E. B. Tomlinson from officials of her
home city in Florida. Shown here, left to right, are harbor manager H. A. Schmidt;
Miss Kathy Joyner, Southport’s official hostess; Cathy Austin, Linda Austin, Pat
Markus, Alice Roberts, Mary Fraas and Mayor Tomlinson. (Spencer Photo)
Mrs. Aldridge
Presides Over
State Meeting
The Sixteenth Annual Con
ference of the Association of As
sistant and Deputy Clerks of the
Superior Court of North Carolina
met at the Blockade Runner,
Wrightsville Beach, during the
past weekend with a Brunswick
County woman president.
Mrs. Vickie Aldridge, As
sistant Clerk Superior Court,
Brunswick county, has served as
president of the association dur
ing the past year. Other offi
cers were Betty B. Jenkins, Gas
ton county, 1st vice-president;
Frankie C. Williams, Rocking
ham county, 2nd vice-president
Jean O’Neil, Chowan county, sec
retary; Barbara Beatty, wake
country, treasurer; Institute of
Government, Chapel Hill, ad
visor.
A workshop “Clerical Op
erations under the New District
Court System” was conducted
on Thursday afternoon by Marion
B. Person, Clerk Superior Court,
Cumberland county. The panel
included Dixie Barrington, Rob
eson county; Annie Belle Lowe,
Durham county; Jean O’Neal,
Chowan county; and Max Black
burn form the Administrative Of
fice of the Courts.
Friday’s classes included a
report on major 1967 legislation
affecting the clerk’s office by Ed
Hinsdale form the Institute of
Government, and Judge J. Frank
Huskins from the administrative
office. The Court of Appeals,
selection of jurors, solicitorial
reorganization and amendments
to the Judicial department Act of
1965 were discussed.
Nathan Yelton spoke on the
(Continued on Page 4)
Time And Tide
Thirty years ago this week the sailing regatta was over and was
considered to have been a successful venture. Southport was host
to the yachting crowd with various kinds of entertainment. Over two
thousand visitors had been here for the races.
The “Geeches” of Savannah, Ga., took the Class “A” title from
favored “Syndicate” when the skipper of the latter fell overboard.
A man from the Holden's Beach prison camp saved a family of
four from drowning when they went in water over their heads.
Johnnie Varnum was credited with this dramatic rescue.
Twenty-five years ago this week a scrap metal drive was being
conducted by the Southport Baptist Church. The proceeds from this
campaign were to go to the Building Fund.
Dances were being held in the USO building once again. These
dances, along with games and movies, highlighted the activities for
service men In this area.
The making of surgical bandages was postponed because the
material had not arrived due to unavoidable difficulties; two men
escaped through the front door of the jail with the help of a hacksaw;
first aid classes for the Civilian Defense and the Red Cross disaster
relief committee were being held here.
Twenty years ago this week a wide variety of fish were caught
offshore, highlighted by eight sailftsh strikes and two catches. The
biggest sail measured 7’2” and weighed 55-pounds.
The Brunswick cold storage plant at Shallotte was to open during
the coming week; Bill Sharpe, director of the State News Bureau,
was to make a picture story of the intracostal waterway as soon as
he finished his vacation; Long Beach was growing rapidly with 25
houses having been built recently.
Fifteen years ago this week Long Beach was reportedly invaded
by flying saucers. After being seen by a dozen different people
(Continued on Page 4)
Schoolmen Learn From Architect
If public school officials want to spend part of the sum
mer learning how to get the most from the school con
struction dollar, what is the best approach? A good way
is to talk it over with an architect. Here Winston-Salem
architect Gorrell Stinson goes over fine points of efficient
school building planning with W. D. Flowers, superinten
dent of Fremont City School, and Ralph C. King, assistant
superintendent of Brunswick County Schools.
Three Drown In
Two Accidents
Three persons drowned in two
separate accidents in the Le
land area this week, according
to Coroner Lowell Bennett.
Two young boys drowned Fri
day morning in a boating acci
dent at Sturgeon Creek. The
victims were Fred McKeithan,
age 9, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Julian McKeithan, and William
Anthony Burden, age 8. With
them at the time of the accident
was Michael Bailey, 14 years of
age, who said he tried in vain to
save his two companions.
The bodies were recovered by
members of the Ogden Rescue
Squad but it was too late to do
anything about revising the
drowning victims.
The body of 55-year old Elbert
Melvin was found in a drainage
ditch Sunday. He lived alone
near Maco and a search was in
stituted when he was missing
Saturday night. The victim was
partially paralyzed.
Coroner Bennett reported that
Melvin apparently fell into aditch
filled with water from recent
heavy rains and was drowned.
He ruled death to be due to an
accident.
The coroner said that no in
quest will be held in either case.
Local Jaycees
Sponsor Circus
The long-established Clark and
Walters Circus of Hugo, Okla
homa, making its first Eastern
tour in many years, will exhibit
at Southport Friday, September
1. Performances will be pre
sented at 6 and 8 p. m. at Taylor
Field. General Admission tickets
being sold by the Jaycees. They
will admit purchasers to any seat
under the circus Big Top at no
extra charge, as reserve seats
are not sold at this circus.
The sponsors receive a higher
precentage on admission tickets
which they sell before Circus
Day and the public is urged to
buy them from Jaycee members,
each of whom will be carrying
these tickets.
The 1967 performance of the
Clark and Walters Circus fea
tures two prominently-known
circus family groups of versatile
performers. They are the Con
ners group and the Dick Johnson
Family. A score of trained ani
(Continued On Page Pour)
Dealers Place
Chief Emphasis
On Marketing
The first of a series of dis
trict meetings being planned by
the North Carolina Fisheries As
sociation was held Friday night
at the Tradewinds Restaurant at
Yaupon Beach and the theme of
the meeting was on marketing.
The session drew a large at
tendance not only from Bruns
wick county seafood producers
but from other parts of the state
as well. Several state officials
also were in attendance. Ar
rangements for the meeting were
made by C. B. Caroon of South
port and Lew Dunn of the N. C.
Department of Conservation and
Development.
The meeting was presided
over by Elmer WillisofWilliston,
who pointed out that permissive
legislation was passed by the
Legislature, allowing various
elements of the fishing industry
to assess themselves for pro
motional purposes.
Willis said plans are being
made to call for a referendum
of dealers and processors this
fall on the question of assessing
themselves a sum that would
develop funds for a full-time
promotional and organizational
worker.
He said such a program is
much needed by the industry to
present its needs to the people
and the State Legislature.
(Continued on Page 4
Southport Has
Close-Up Look
At Ski Group
When a boat bearing a wel
coming delegation from Southport
met the Miss Sunshine in the
vicinity of the Yellow Banks early
this morning those aboard thought
for a moment they might be seeing
a waterborne UFO.
That was because the two girls
who were doing the skiing stint in
this marathon run from St.
Petersburg, Fla., to Montreal and
Expo 67 were clad in black wet
suits and were wearing helmets
that looked like they might have
been for wear in out of space.
The boats met and passed, and
the welcoming craft undertook
to overtake the excursion house
boat before it reached Southport,
but it never made it. When it
reached Southport the Miss Sun
shine had moored to the rem
nants of the City Dock, the two
trim young creatures had come
aboard the mother ship and
changed and all five members of
the troup were ready to put on a
water show for the benefit of the
large crowd that had gathered on
the Southport waterfront.
First they did some formation
maneuvers with flags flying, then
some more difficult trick stuff.
They left no doubt that they were
accomplished in the art of water
skiing.
Then the entire group, in
cluding the welcoming com
mittee, went back to the dock at
the Southport Boat Harbor where
an exchange of greetings and
gifts was made, refreshments
were served, pleasantries were
exchanged, good wishes were said
and the visitors took off upriver
for their appointment at Wrights
ville Beach.
It was a good show—a day late.
That was a result on an acci
dent near Charleston on Monday,
causing a one-day delay in the
schedule.
Tide Table
Following is the tide table
for Southport during the
week. These hours are ap
proximately correct and
were furnished The State
Port Pilot through the
courtesy of the Gape Fear
Pilot’s Association.
HIGH
Thursday, August 17,
5:33 A M U:46 A M
6:09 P M
Friday, August 18,
6:27 A M 0:34 A M
6:57 P M 12:40 P M
Saturday, August 19,
:15 A M 1:22 A M
7:45 PM 1:22 PM
Sunday, August 20,
7:57 A M 2:04 A M
8:21 P M 2:10 P M
Monday, August 21,
8:39 A M 2:40 A M
8:57 P M 2:45 P M
Tuesday, August 22,
9:15 A M 3:15 A M
9:38 P M 3:28 P M
Wednesday, August 28,
9:51 A M 3:52 A M
10:06 P M 4:10 P M